Chapter 26
It was less than forty-eight hours since the attack and Sesshomaru found himself in his office reviewing the information that was trickling in from his many departments. The entire organization had immediately begun attempting to identify H.A.V.O.C's bases in Antarctica and Greenland. He was reading about a hypothetical Antarctica location when he received the alert from the Intelligence department that Ellie Date was on the move.
According to the tracking device that was implanted beneath her skin, she was northwest of Iceland.
Most likely headed to Greenland. He thought angrily.
If all went according to plan, their new double agent would be reaching out to them electronically once it was safe to do so. Once she did, R.O.O.T would immediately infiltrate H.A.V.O.C's home network, copying all their information before uploading a virus, causing all of their systems to fail. The entire Technology department had been on standby, waiting for her signal.
The data they had collected at the Taiwanese warehouse was not very helpful. It was mostly related to the technology that was being used to create the Ultimate Soldiers. Apparently, Pansa Technologies was only a vendor that was fulfilling the orders and they had no information on H.A.V.O.C.
H.A.V.O.C would place the orders and arrange the pick ups by use of disposable phones. Everything was off the books and there was no paper trail that could be followed. The only connection that R.O.O.T was able to find were numerous Swiss bank accounts that were being used for payments, none of which had been traceable to any real person.
If they could hack directly into H.A.V.O.C's network they would then have information about every base and every agent that worked for them.
R.O.O.T had been weakened by the recent attacks and Sesshomaru knew that it was only a matter of time before they were struck again. Once the locations of H.A.V.O.C's bases were revealed, all of R.O.O.T's bases were under orders to destroy them simultaneously.
The battle strategy itself depended entirely on the locations of those bases and Sesshomaru found himself to be growing overly impatient for Ellie to arrive at her final destination and contact them.
It could take days before she is able to reach out. Sesshomaru thought to himself as he attempted to review all the reports that were on his desk.
He only succeeded for a few moments before Umi rang his line.
"Agent Wraith is here to see you, Sir. Shall I let her in?"
Unfortunately, in addition to the high stress situation going on with the base, Sesshomaru had a high risk internal situation that needed immediate attention as well.
"Yes."
It was only a few moments before he heard a knock on his door.
"Enter." Sesshomaru and her incredibly intoxicating scent greeted him a few seconds later.
As he stood to greet her, he fought the urge to close his eyes and relax into her calming fragrance as she approached his desk.
Sesshomaru and Kagome saluted each other before sitting down.
"We have a situation." He said, his voice calm and cold, as he studied Kagome's face. "With agent Frisk."
"Oh, God. What the hell did he do now?!"
"He touched me." Sesshomaru said, his voice deepening and his eyes narrowing.
It took a moment for Kagome to understand.
"Without his gloves on?"
"Correct."
"Why would he do that?" She wondered.
"So that he could manipulate me into assisting him with your revival."
"Wait… Why would he need to do that? Didn't you want to help me?" She stammered. "What the heck happened that night? I thought Koga and Frisk found you and you came willingly to the base to try and save me?"
Sesshomaru said nothing.
Kagome found herself getting angry.
"You were going to let me die? How could you?" She hissed, her face twisting into a scowl.
"I was going to help you."
"So what was the problem then?"
Sesshomaru responded by slowly blinking.
Koga… Kagome grumbled at the epiphany.
"It was because Koga was asking. That's why." She answered for herself. "You hate him so much that it would prevent you from saving my life?"
"The Tenseiga was broken. Agent Frisk advised that he would try to fix the sword. If he was able to do that, I was going to help you, Kagome."
"But, you wanted to drag it out for as long as possible to make Koga suffer. How sweet of you. Why the hell do you hate him so much?" She said, becoming enraged. "How cruel could you possibly be? I would think that you'd be able to relate to what he was going through. Why the hell would you put him through that?" She hissed.
"So that he will never fail to protect you again. That is why. Pain is the greatest teacher for the ignorant."
"He's not ignorant!" Kagome shouted. "I'm sorry, but how many times did Rin die under your care? What does that make you?"
Sesshomaru immediately scowled at her and slammed his fist onto his desk, startling her.
Wrong thing to say. Her mind chided.
"No, I will not be intimidated! I warned you once before at the restaurant. You will speak of, and treat, Koga with respect. Until you are able to manage that, I refuse to speak to you at all." She growled as she stood up and turned to leave.
"I have not yet dismissed you, agent Wraith." Sesshomaru called out calmly to her as she approached the door, however there was no mistaking the hidden warning that was in his voice.
"Are you going to be respectful, Sesshomaru?" She said calmly in return, refusing to turn and look back at him.
She could hear as Sesshomaru barely stifled a huff.
"As you wish." He said coldly.
"Great!" Kagome said with forced enthusiasm as she turned and once again took her seat.
"According to Frisk's file…" Sesshomaru started, attempting to get the heated conversation back on track, "… his powers should have endowed him with a wealth of top secret information that he has copied from me. He is an active field agent. One who is assigned to some of the most high risk missions in this organization. If he should become captured by the enemy, he has access to information that could be used to completely destroy us."
"What are you suggesting then?" Kagome asked seriously.
"We have two options. He can be removed from Alpha Team and take on an inactive Reconnaissance role within the department. Or, he can have all his memories removed and be released back into the real world." He said dismissively.
"Wait. What? No! Those aren't options at all!" Kagome huffed. "You're going to take away the job he loves or you're to erase his entire life? That's unforgiveable!"
"It is necessary."
"No, it's not! Why can't we just use one of our psychics to wipe out his memories from the time that he met you? We do stuff like that all the time!"
"I've looked into that. In researching this situation with some of the other psychics on staff, wiping a particular timeframe away would not be an option for us."
"Why not?"
"Because doing so will only take away the memories that he has from that timeframe. It is Frisk's powers and the way that they work that pose the greatest problem here. He has memories of mine that date back over seven hundred years. If we erase the memory of our meeting at the restaurant, it will not erase all of his memories of my past. He won't remember how he knows what he knows, but he will still know. Everything I know regarding the start of this organization and all the private information that I've accumulated over the past seventy years since its inception will still remain in his mind. Any knowledge that he has copied from me, for example, his ability to speak dog, will also remain."
That explains why he was able to bond with those dogs so quickly. Kagome thought to herself.
"The only options we have are to either suppress all of his memories related to me and place him at a desk for the rest of his career, or wipe the entire slate clean and give him false memories so that we can drop him off in the civilian world to start over."
"Why can't he work the field if we suppressed the memories that he copied from you? Why does that option require him to work at a desk?"
"Psychically suppressed memories can easily be pulled forth by another with similar gifts. We've recently discovered that the enemy employs the gifted much as we do, Kagome. If he gets captured, all someone would need to do is use a psychic to draw forth all the memories that had been suppressed. It is less likely for that type of situation to occur if he doesn't leave the base."
Kagome seemed to ponder this for a moment before she reached for her phone and quickly dialed a familiar number.
As Sesshomaru attempted to order her to put the phone down, she raised her finger at him, silently telling him to wait.
Sesshomaru's eyes widened at her audacity.
"Hey Mystic. I have a quick question for you. Is there a way to prevent other psychics from retrieving suppressed memories?"
Kagome's features furrowed and she nodded her head a few times.
"Is that something that is easy to do?"
Sesshomaru watched her take a deep sigh of relief.
"Thank you." Kagome said softly before hanging up her phone and focusing her attention back to Sesshomaru.
"Another psychic wouldn't be able to pull up any of Frisk's suppressed memories if you were to place a trigger within his mind. Mystic knows all about this kind of stuff. She can help him!"
"A trigger within his mind?" Sesshomaru repeated.
"Yes, it means that if someone attempts to remove the barrier that is suppressing the memories then something will be triggered to happen. It could be complete memory loss or false memories, an action of some sort, any number of things."
"Most curious." Sesshomaru whispered to himself.
"So are we good now?" Kagome asked anxiously.
"No. There is one other matter than must be addressed. What makes you believe that Frisk has not yet divulged any private information of his own free will?"
"He wouldn't do that. Trust me. Getting any information out of him about someone else's memories is impossible. I've tried."
Sesshomaru studied her. "I'm afraid there is too much at stake to be able to take such a chance."
"He didn't. He wouldn't. I trust him with my life and you can too. I swear it. You can easily prove it. Just get in touch with Verity and Pry. They'd be able to interrogate him and quickly verify it for you."
Sesshomaru paused at this and Kagome noticed he seemed to struggle with something.
"I find that solution could potentially lead to information that I would not like to be exposed to in fact be divulged accidentally."
"You mean that Frisk may accidentally think of something that he shouldn't disclose and Pry would read his thoughts?"
"Yes."
"So just use Verity then."
"Verity will only be able to tell me if he is lying. I need to know more than that. I have to know what he's said and who he's said it to."
Kagome huffed. "Can't you just trust him? I'm happy to vouch for him. I swear he wouldn't have told a soul anything."
"Would you risk your employment here on it?"
Kagome straightened. "Of course I would. Yes."
"Then let us see how noble your agent Frisk can be when he believes that his very life depends on it." Sesshomaru said aloofly.
"Agent Frisk is here to see you, Sir. Shall I let him in?"
"Yes." Sesshomaru responded.
It was only a few moments before there was a heavy knock on the door.
"Enter." Sesshomaru commanded calmly.
A few moments later he was greeted with Frisk's grave face peeking in through the door. Seemingly needing to summon his nerve, Frisk braced himself before approaching Sesshomaru's desk and standing at attention.
"Sit."
"Yes, Sir." Frisk said as he took a seat.
Sesshomaru wasted no time in getting straight to the point.
"You took something from me agent Frisk. Something that can't be overlooked." He said lowly. "This makes you a very large threat, not only to me, but to this organization as well."
Frisk stammered. "I know what I did and I did it to save Wraith's life. I had no idea who you were before we made contact in the restaurant that day."
"But you do now, and you have had a wealth of top secret information at your disposal for quite some time. Additionally, you are an active field agent, one who is mostly assigned to missions with the highest risk. If you are ever captured by the enemy, the amount of information you are privy to can be used to decimate this organization."
Frisk shook his head. "What are you suggesting then, General?"
"This is where the situation becomes most complicated." Sesshomaru soothed, his eyes narrowing. "You can either be removed from active duty and take a non-active position within the Reconnaissance department, or we can erase all of your memories and you can go back to the real world."
"But..." Frisk grumbled anxiously. "I would be left with nothing!"
Sesshomaru stared at him, saying nothing.
"You can't do this. You can't give me options like these. You're going to take away the job that I've worked my whole life for, or you're going to take away my whole life!" He roared.
"A most difficult decision."
"I wouldn't have needed to touch you if you had just agreed to save Wraith to begin with! How evil could you possibly be?! You would have let her die because of your pride, because of your hate for Fang!"
Sesshomaru again said nothing.
"There has to be another way. With all the psychics and special powers at our disposal, there has to be someone that can erase the memories that are specifically yours! Have you even tried looking into it?!" He shouted, becoming furious. "This can't all be about the organization. It's more than that isn't it? I know what you're hiding and I get why, I really do, but you're trying to end me here! This is my life you're taking away!"
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed.
"Mystic can help. I know she can. At least give me a chance. I love this organization!" Frisk shouted.
"I cannot take that chance. Suppressing certain memories will not be enough. Anything that is repressed can once again be recovered." Sesshomaru said coldly. "All our enemies would need is a gifted agent and all the information you are holding would be released."
"I won't tell anyone anything! I'd die before I'd tell a soul about any of R.O.O.T's secret information or before I would ever say anything about you or any of your children. I swear it!"
Sesshomaru reached over and grabbed Frisk's vest, pulling him over the desk so that their noses were almost touching.
"You have one day to make a decision. You are on inactive status starting immediately." Sesshomaru hissed, barely controlling his temper.
"Did Wraith or Inspect agree to this shit?" Frisk spat, as he removed himself from Sesshomaru's hold. "Process dictates that they be involved in this ultimatum that you are giving me!"
"I will be meeting with agents Wraith and Inspect within the hour." Sesshomaru said, his voice becoming disinterested. "You are dismissed, agent Frisk."
"I can't fucking believe this!" Frisk shouted as he stormed out of the room.
Let us see your true character now, agent Frisk. Sesshomaru thought as he watched the angry agent leave. What will you do next?
Kagome had been sitting at her desk, talking to Koga about potential locations that could have been used to house hidden bases when the door to her office was flung opened and she was greeted with a furious looking Frisk.
Upon meeting her eyes, Frisk grabbed Koga by the scruff of his shirt and proceeded to drag him out into the hallway before returning to Kagome's office and slamming the door behind him.
"What the hell?" Kagome huffed as she took in the sight of him.
The man was covered in sweat and he was shaking from rage.
"Frisk, what the hell happened? Are you…"
Before she could finish her sentence, Frisk turned to her closed door and quickly punched it.
A stifled 'Oooof' could be heard from the other side.
"Fuck off Fang!" Frisk shouted loudly. "Go eavesdrop somewhere else!"
Before Kagome could act, Frisk leaned over her desk and spoke to her in a harsh whisper.
"Sesshomaru is trying to get rid of me. He just gave me a choice. Either I resign from Alpha Team and become a regular desk agent, or he's going to erase my memories completely and dump me in the civilian world." He hissed.
"Wait. What? Why?"
"The night that you died, I went with Fang to find him so that we could try to get him to save you. He didn't seem interested in helping, so I touched him. I didn't know who he was. I didn't think I'd be touching a dog demon, one that also happens to be the founder of this organization. I used his memories about Rin to inspire him to help you. He figured it out and now he thinks I'm too dangerous to be out on the field."
Kagome worked quickly to process all of this information, but before she could speak her phone rang.
"That's him." Frisk spat.
Kagome quickly answered her phone, listening to Umi's voice as she requested her presence before the General. When she hung up, Frisk continued to speak.
"He doesn't believe that simply repressing the memories that I took from him is enough because if I'm captured, another gifted person might be able to pull it all back up."
"Frisk…"
"God damn it, Wraith. I need you to help me! I don't care how you do it, but I need you to do it." Frisk growled, panic stricken and furious.
"Tell me how." She said, seriously. "Give me something to work with."
"I can't! I can't tell you anything." Frisk said desperately.
"There has to be something you can share. Your life is on the line!"
"I… I fucking can't, Wraith. I can't do that. Then you'd know things that could put this organization in danger. I can't spread anything. I just can't."
"Give me something personal then."
"Same deal, Rai. Anything I tell you can be used against him and a lot of people could get hurt. I need you to figure something out when you talk to him. He likes you, Wraith. Please try to find a way around this for me." He begged.
Kagome bolted up and took Frisk into a firm hug. "I won't let you down." She whispered as she released him and stormed away.
Sesshomaru was expecting agent Wraith to come in and gloat, but he wasn't expecting her to practically break the door down when she entered his office.
"It is customary to knock." He said, his voice cold, as he watched her stomp over to his desk.
"See! He passed! I told you!" She huffed as hurried to remove the listening device that she was wearing under her shirt. "He had the perfect chance to out you in some way, but he didn't. There's no way in hell he shared anything from your memories with anyone else if he wasn't even able to do so with me, his most trusted person, when his very life here was on the line."
Sesshomaru nodded. "I will make arrangements with Mystic. Frisk will need to be worked on immediately. Do you believe he will give us any trouble?"
"No, none."
"Well done, agent Wraith. You seem to be an excellent judge of character. You saved us a most gifted agent."
"You shouldn't be so quick to throw people away. There's always a solution. You just have to find one."
"Advice I will take to heart, miss Wraith."
Kagome stormed into the lobby with her head held up high. As she marched over to the elevators she almost crashed into Koga who had apparently followed her to Sesshomaru's floor and was lying in wait for her.
The biggest gossip queen in all of R.O.O.T is Koga. She thought to herself.
"Is everything okay? What happened to Frisk? Is this about the dogs?" Koga asked in a hushed whisper.
Kagome could have laughed.
"You are so nosey, Koga. You should have become a reporter instead of a secret agent." She said honestly.
"Can you tell me what happened?" He pushed, completely unperturbed, as he got into the elevator with her.
"Koga!"
Koga blinked a few times. "Does that mean no?"
"Oh, my God." She muttered to herself, but felt incredibly guilty when Koga began to childishly pout. "I need to talk to Frisk. After I do, I can tell you. Okay?"
Koga nodded and as he did so, she noticed a slight bruise near his cheek.
"You really have to stop eavesdropping, babe." She said as she reached out to gently caress his cheek. "I know that you have an enhanced sense of hearing and all, and sometimes you pick up on stuff accidentally. But a lot of the time you intentionally poke your nose where you're not supposed to and there's definitely no excuse for why you were pressing your ear up to my door, is there?"
Koga's eyes narrowed.
"You can't tell me that wasn't what you were doing. You have a bruise on your cheek because of it and I heard you when Frisk punched the door."
"I just wanted to see if Frisk was ok." He muttered. "I've only seen him that angry once…" He trailed off, remembering Frisk's demeanor in his hospital room after he had attacked him.
"He's going to be fine. Sesshomaru knows what Frisk did to him. Which, by the way, thank you for telling me about." Kagome chided sarcastically.
"In my defense I didn't realize what he did until he starting speaking dog the first time we were in that Taiwanese warehouse."
"That was almost a week ago! I'm going to start holding out on you and see how you like it." She grumbled, crossing her arms against her chest.
"You already hold out on me. There's a ton of stuff you're not able to talk to me about and it always seems to be related to Sesshomaru." He growled, crossing his own arms.
"That's because he's the General, Koga. Sometimes my talks with him are top secret."
"It never used to be that way with Yamada. What does he secretly have to talk to you about all of the time? He relies too heavily on you, Kagome."
"It was that way with Yamada, you just never cared as much when it was him."
"He is interested in you, Kagome. Whether he knows it or not, he wants you. He didn't need you in the interrogation room the other day and he sure as hell doesn't need to talk to you in his office all the damn time either. Most times he could get away with a simple email or a phone call." He growled.
"Koga, he is not interested in me. I promise you that. If anything, I think he chooses to call me up to his office because he knows it will piss you off. And it does piss you off. Because every single time I leave his office I find you waiting for me in the lobby. Why can't you two just get along?"
"I'm not the one doing anything wrong. He's a total condescending asshole. Always has been." Koga gruffed.
"And he always will be. There's no changing that. That's his personality. That's who he is."
"That doesn't give him the right to treat me the way he does."
"You're absolutely right. The way he treats you is unacceptable. What you can do is stop reacting to it. I'm not saying that you should stop standing up for yourself, but maybe try not to visibly get so angry about it. He enjoys making other people uncomfortable. If you take the joy out of it for him, he'll probably stop." Kagome said honestly.
"Easy for you to say. He's not a total dick to you."
"He actually is from time to time. I just handle him differently." She admitted as she and Koga exited the elevator and made their way to Frisk's office.
"Good Lord, look at the line!" Kagome exclaimed as she approached Frisk's door.
"The Employee Moral Ambassador is a busy guy." Koga said through a barely hidden smirk.
"Hey! No cutting the line!" One of the female agents shouted as Kagome went to open Frisk's door.
"Are you serious right now? Alpha Team business takes precedence over whatever you are here to bitch about." Kagome said sternly as she entered the office and slammed the door behind her.
Koga snickered as he walked off, presumably to go back to his desk.
Kagome found Frisk leaning on his wall in the dark waiting for her.
"I have good news!" She exclaimed in a hushed whisper. "I think we found a solution!"
It was early in the morning when Koga's phone began to ring, abruptly rousing him from his deep slumber.
What the hell…
When he answered the phone he was greeted with Umi's cheerful voice.
"The General has requested your presence. Please report to the Intelligence department's main conference room."
Huh?
"I'll be right there." Koga replied as he tried to shake the sleep from his voice.
As he hung up the phone he quickly went to dress.
"What's going on?" Kagome's sleepy voice called over to him as she approached the closet.
"Sesshomaru wants me for something." He muttered.
"At 4am?"
"Apparently."
Kagome studied him for a moment before she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "Have fun. I'm going back to bed."
When Koga entered the office building he was greeted with a flurry of activity.
Something big is going down. He thought as he made his way to the Intelligence department's floor and approached the large conference room cautiously. As he let himself in, he noticed that it was occupied by Inspect and Anatomy, along with a slew of high ranking agents. The other department head's that lived on some of other bases were on flat screen televisions that were situated around the room. The long conference table was littered with phones, papers and laptops and General Sesshomaru was seated at the center, apparently studying something on his laptop.
"You will sit next to me." Sesshomaru commanded without looking up.
Why the hell am I here? Koga wondered as he quickly made his way into the vacant seat to Sesshomaru's right.
As if to answer his question, Sesshomaru pointed to one of the large screens that was hanging on the wall directly in front of him.
The screen showed the image of a detailed map with large red X's marked on fifteen locations around the world along with thirty green X's.
"R.O.O.T is going to war. We'd like your input on the several suggested strategies that we have designed." Sesshomaru said aloofly, not meeting his eyes, as he began typing.
"Me? Why?" Koga stammered. "Shouldn't Wraith be here instead?"
Sesshomaru stopped typing and glared at him.
"You have led many thousands of wolf demons, Fang, and many times it was to war. You also have centuries worth of high ranking military service under different identities as well, prior to your sign on with R.O.O.T. It is the accumulation of all this experience that we desire right now. For the past fifty years your abilities have been sorely underutilized by this organization, mostly because you have preferred it to remain that way. Today, I am not giving you that choice." Sesshomaru said in a low and cold voice.
"Are you complimenting me?" Koga said, somewhat stupefied.
"No."
"Oh."
As if becoming frustrated, Sesshomaru roughly passed over several topographical maps in Koga's direction.
"Those red X's are all of the bases that are listed in H.A.V.O.C's main network and the green X's are our bases. We have to take out all the red bases simultaneously in order for this to work." Sesshomaru advised. "These are the proposed strategies." He continued, as he hit a button on his laptop, prompting the many screens throught the room to animate and walk the room through the many courses of action at their disposal.
Koga watched intently as several battle plans played out for him and the rest of the group on the screens. When the presentation was over, Sesshomaru once again addressed him.
"We all collectively have thirty minutes to give the order. Once we do, the Technology Team will upload a virus into H.A.V.O.C's mainframe that will erase all of their internal data and shut down ALL of their internal systems. Once that happens all bases will be setting out to decimate the enemy."
Koga felt the adrenaline begin to pump into his body, sharpening his mind and his senses. He quickly fanned out the maps that Sesshomaru had passed over to him, and began to study them intently as he replayed the many potential scenarios that he had just observed in his head.
I've missed this. He thought to himself as he allowed himself to embrace the excitement that was slowly rolling over him.
It was as if a version of his younger self seemed to possess his body for a moment when he boldly began to speak.
"I agree with battle strategy number two, but I have tweaks that I would make." He said, confidently. "Based on the intelligence we pulled from their network, all their bases are located along the coasts of each continent. Based on the satellite photos, there are no visible traces of any of these bases. This would suggest that all bases are located underground with points of access that are located below the waterline. If this is true, it's not farfetched to assume they have a large naval capacity. They don't seem to have a strong air force as the best that they were able to hit us with a few days ago was a few jets. It's been several days now and they have not been able to gather together another fleet with which to hit us with again." Koga paused, trying to clearly communicate his thoughts. "This war needs to be fought in the sea. We have a large fleet that includes submarines. If we blast their entry points, their bases will flood and the bases will become immediately destroyed along with the enemies within."
"You said it yourself, they have a large naval fleet as well. We will loose ships and submarines if we engage them solely by sea." Sage, the Intelligence department head, said from his place on the T.V.
"That's why we should create a point of distraction." Koga said smoothly. "We'll send out the air fleet and lightly bomb their base locations. This will drive them to call to their sea support for defense. As their ships emerge to defend the bases, our ships will come up behind them, effectively corralling them. Our air fleet can then provide support in taking apart the visible ships, allowing our people to get through and blow up the access points." Koga said commandingly.
The room was extremely quiet for a few moments before Sesshomaru broke through the silence.
"Any opposed?" He said calmly as he looked around the room.
The room remained silent.
"Any in agreement?"
"Agree." The numerous agents said in unison.
"Well done, agent Fang." Sesshomaru whispered in a barely audible voice. "You will stay here as we execute this strategy of yours."
"Understood." Koga said excitedly, through a large toothy grin.