Chapter 3

Things seemed to be getting a little better with Kirito's situation. Much to her delight, Kirito's sister had spotted him leaving the house again, albeit just for shopping. Surely, his condition was showing positive signs of improvement. This also encouraged Leonald, who needed his recovery needed to be fast - there were many eyes watching the SAO hero in the real world other than those of his family, and not all of them were friendly.

"Alpha one, reporting. K is en route to the target zone" buzzed the headset radio piece of the operative. Leonald breathed deeply. Almost a month of preparation had gone into this operation, ever since he had received the code red alert NVSC Freefall,. This was an emergency scramble sent by top command indicating that foreign spies had successfully infiltrated the organisation deep within the ranks. Knowing who to trust was only half the issue for Leonald - it was the fact that everyone had their eyes on one particular individual, known as Kirito, aka Kirigaya Kazuto, that made him particularly on edge. He had been assigned to monitor this target only a few months ago, and if Mockingbird had set their eyes on him, it would only be a matter of time before things began to get out of hand. He needed more reinforcements, and time was running out.

"Alpha Six, proceed to rendezvous. Do not engage until I give the command, do you copy?"

"Alpha One, copy. Over"

Today would surely put an end to the race. Leonald would move first, and take Kirito before the other interested "parties" could get their hands on him.

"Movement from the north of Tokyo station - black sedan" came a hurried report. Mockingbird had somehow managed to enter into running the same race and at the same time. And from the looks of it, they had a rocket start.

"Alpha Two, Four, move to secure the package. Alpha One, remain hidden, do not engage. Alpha Three and Five, your position is compromised, report your status"

Leonald dashed over to the edge of the rooftop to confirm the location of Alpha One. He had the eagle's nest vision from the top of a building, and could easily make out targets thanks to holo-tagging technology. Quickly scanning a nearby pedestrian crossing, Leonald manages to catch a glimpse of Kirito crossing into the direction of five approaching men in suits and sunglasses. Meanwhile, his sole operative in the area peeks from behind a newspaper and a white hat from a first-story cafe just above the road.

"Cheh, they're pretty bold, going out in full uniform" Leonald grimaced to himself. Considering how confident they were, Leonald couldn't help but get shivers down his spine about the timing. Was this coincidence, or something more sinister?

"Alpha Three and Five, respond" Leonald repeated while confirming the locations of the remaining operatives.

The silence in from the radio bothered him greatly. Alpha Three and Five were responsible for diverting the crowd in case of an emergency by causing a small commotion with firecrackers, but could not be seen or heard.

"Alpha Five, Alpha Three, do you-"

BANG. The door behind him bursts open, and in a split second his special forces training saves his life, tumble rolling him into the space behind a ventilation shaft as gunfire erupts from the stairs and into the guard rail.

"A SMG? You've got to be kidding me".

It was no joke. Three armed men in suits, one with what looked like a military-grade machine gun storm out from within the emergency stairs. There was no doubt about it, someone had set a rat within his selected operatives. Fearing for the safety of his remaining men, Leonald steadies his shaking hands and activates the emergency beacon in his pocket, while bracing himself against the ricocheting bullets. A horrific scream buzzes through his radio, followed by the sound of gunfire.

"This is Alpha One, we have a hostage situation in the cafe! Multiple civilian casualties, hell is breaking loose in here!"

There wasn't any time to respond. Leonald was being flanked from the left and right by two men with pistols, while the machine gun suppressed his escape. The only way down was from the top of the building. He had planned ahead for such a scenario, but to think that Mockingbird was so well trained as to cover any angle of approach from the rooftop…

Having no other choice, Leonald decides to dash out from behind cover after hearing the machine gun stopping momentarily. He had been hoping for a need to reload. Unfortunately, he was wrong. Baited into moving based on sound and emotional decision making, Leonald moves into plain sight momentarily, and the assassin fires a burst straight into his chest, crushing his ribcage and sending him flying straight back into another nearby vent. The impact is so strong that Leonald feels his back bones fracturing behind him. Running purely on adrenaline, he manages to confirms that the SMG had now finished its clip, and that the other two were now running closer to finish him off. Somehow, he was out of sight from the sides while prone, but he couldn't move either.. Furthermore, his vision was starting to blur. If only he had a weapon...

"Over here!" shouts a female voice. A girl with light-brown, dyed hair rushes into the assassin and tazers him in the neck as he reloads. He drops. Police with riot shields rush over to cover her as the remaining pistol bullets bounce off the hardened metal. Was it Alpha One? The Japanese SDF had mobilised too quickly for that to be possible. So who was it? What was going on? And where was Kirito? Leonald's vision was becoming blurrier by the minute. He guessed that he must have hit his head and caused a concussion. He would pass out within a few seconds. There was a helicopter hovering above … and then the girl again.

"We've got you, don't worry. Kirito is safe with us, and so are your other operatives. You're going to be okay"

Black was all that followed.