The emergency state was declared in the Society. It came as a surprise, and was never explained. Everyone was simply supposed to be prepared and flee as soon as the evacuation order was given. People felt uneasy, the tension and apprehension in the air were almost palpable. Kira was glad that Sixty-Nine asked him to come on a special assignment – Kira could not stand the anxiety that made everyone edgy.
'Where are we going?' Kira asked. They had left the densely populated tunnels and were in an unfamiliar part of the Society.
'You'll see,' cryptically replied Sixty-Nine.
'Hey, I wanted to ask you about the emergency state. Do you know why...' Kira began, but Sixty-Nine interrupted: 'You'll hear about that soon enough.'
Finally they stopped in front of a non-descript bunker door. Apparently that was their destination. Sixty-Nine knocked, the door swung open, and they walked in. It looked like they had come to some sort of meeting – there were eleven people sitting around a rickety table.
'Is a secret society or something?' Kira wondered, feeling slightly uneasy at the fact that everyone stared at him. He gave a small bow as a greeting.
'This is Kira,' announced Sixty-Nine. 'And these,' he nodded in the direction of the table, 'are the remaining Exterminators.'
Kira blinked: 'Remaining?'
The elderly man who sat at the end of the table said: 'The Exterminators Aizen and Gin have betrayed the human race and joined the machines.'
Kira couldn't believe what he heard. The mere idea was unthinkable. Ridiculous, even. Betrayed the human race? Joined the machines? There had to be a mistake.
'Why?' Kira weakly managed to ask.
The man answered: 'Exterminator Sixty-Nine, have a seat. You too, Kira. And we'll tell you everything about it. After all, you are about to join our ranks!'
Kira frowned. Exterminator Sixty-Nine? Since when? And what ranks? He must have looked confused because another man at the table gave a toothy grin and said: 'Exterminator Kira, do you like flying?'
