Chapter 28
When the Man Comes Around
6 Hours Ago, Makes Purple Offices
And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder:
One of the four beasts saying: "Come and see." And I saw.
And behold, a white horse.
There's a man goin' 'round takin' names.
An' he decides who to free and who to blame.
Everybody won't be treated all the same.
There'll be a golden ladder reaching down.
When the man comes around.
Shinji had discovered Johnny Cash. There was something visceral about the bluesy chords and the gravelly voice that just resonated within him and drove his fingers across the frets. His classmates glanced at him through his open office door and just shook their heads wondering where this mood was going to take him.
"You're the man!" shouted Kensuke as he posed in the open doorway with fingers lined up to blaze away like cowboy from the Old West.
Now, Industrial Area - Tokyo 3
The hairs on your arm will stand up.
At the terror in each sip and in each sup.
For you partake of that last offered cup,
Or disappear into the potter's ground.
When the man comes around.
Hear the trumpets, hear the pipers.
One hundred million angels singin'.
Multitudes are marching to the big kettle drum.
Voices callin', voices cryin'.
Some are born an' some are dyin'.
It's Alpha's and Omega's Kingdom come.
Shinji and Asuka were geared up for a building assault. Each had a squad, and they were packed into assault vehicles. Shinji was surprisingly calm. It was eerily quiet inside his gas mask with only the sound of his soft breathing. There was no chatter on until comms. No vehicle noise. Just a soft vibration showing they were still en route. The initial anger had faded to something much more cold. He was vaguely aware of the glances from Rei as her hands went through repeated checks on the powerful rifle across her lap trying to discern his true mood.
The vibration stopped indicating that the vehicles had reached their staging points. Stealth was imperative. No one felt like talking. The teams moved out with hand signs waving Asuka's team in one direction, Rei and her spotter to an overwatch position, and Shinji's team in a trot to their jumping off point. There was no wasted movement. No dawdling. Time was of the essence.
5 Hours Ago, NERV Operations Center
And the whirlwind is in the thorn tree.
The virgins are all trimming their wicks.
The whirlwind is in the thorn tree.
It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Till Armageddon, no Shalam, no Shalom.
Then the father hen will call his chickens home.
The wise men will bow down before the throne.
And at his feet they'll cast their golden crown.
When the man comes around.
The command staff were all gathered around the conference table. On the main screen was low resolution video from street cameras. It was playing the loop showing Misato's motorcade passing through the intersection, being caught up in a multi-car collision, surrounded by gunmen, Misato being hustled into a van, and bodies of security agents left behind.
"To sum up, you can see from the tactics and the timings that this was done by professionals. They had intel since Misato's team changes routes randomly. We're looking into that now. We're forming intel on who we're up against, but nothing conclusive yet. They're adept at hiding their electronic footprints."
Maya looked at the rest of the group and continued, "Surveillance teams have caught sight of the vehicles and have some probable final locations that they are investigating. Shinji, Asuka, and Rei, you will be on the extraction team."
"This is not supposed to be possible with all of the precautions that are in place!" It was a briefing record - 33 minutes and 29 seconds from briefing start to Asuka's outburst. Interestingly, it also set off Shinji.
"Do we know what they want? Have they contacted us?"
Maya let the wave crash on the shore and recede. Months of working closely with the Children had given her levers to manage their behavior and her own reactions to that behavior.
"The kidnappers have not made contact. It's likely that they want to get to a safe house to make contact. However, we need to consider the more likely possibility that they want Misato for her intel value and not for ransom."
That startled all three Children. The implications to that scenario were enormous. It would mean that Misato would be out of the area as fast as possible - potentially beyond their reach. There would be no negotiations for her release. Misato would be drained of anything deemed remotely valuable and then disposed of as a liability.
"Prep the team for immediate departure. Assume an urban building assault and extraction. Planning en route to the general area we believe them to be keeping Misato. Dismissed."
Now, Industrial Area - Tokyo 3
Whoever is unjust, let him be unjust still.
Whoever is righteous, let him be righteous still.
Whoever is filthy, let him be filthy still.
Listen to the words long written down, When the man comes around.
Hear the trumpets, hear the pipers.
One hundred million angels singin'.
Multitudes are marchin' to the big kettle drum.
Voices callin', voices cryin'.
Some are born an' some are dyin'.
It's Alpha's and Omega's Kingdom come.
"Olympus, Artemis, in position," came Rei's voice over the scambled, frequency hopping comm links. "No external activity. Some external lighting consistent with other buildings in area. Standard security cameras."
"Roger, Artemis," came Maya's voice from the command center. "Apollo. Athena. Execute."
The entire block was hit with a power outage as the teams led by Shinji and Asuka raced from their concealment to each hit one of the two doors to the warehouse. Shinji's demolitions man hit the hinges and lock of the door with special shotgun rounds allowing the team to drive the door into the hallway. Shinji was breathing hard trying to acquire targets through the smoke, noise, and flashes of the stun grenades. Two targets down as he pushed through the hallway towards the stairs at the far end.
There was an endless stream of chatter on the comms. Part of Shinji just took it in and processed it. The information just became part of the tactical picture he was working from. Asuka's team stalled in their entry because of fierce resistance, and the emptiness of the warehouse creating a killing ground that her team couldn't assault across without sustaining horrendous casualties formed in his head. His own team leap frogging up the stairs towards the offices added to the data. So far, the plans on file of the warehouse didn't reflect reality in any way.
"Apollo is on the second floor. Making entry for package retrieval." It all sounded so calm coming from Shinji's voice. Most would assume it was the training. Asuka knew better. So did Rei. It was why the plan was for Asuka's team to extract Misato instead of Shinji's. It wouldn't be good for anyone if Misato had been harmed, and Shinji saw the results first hand.
"I have targets exiting a window attempting escape on foot," cut through the chatter as Shinji locked onto Rei's voice.
"Artemis, bring the rain."
Shortly, Shinji could hear the reports echoing from the high powered rifle through the pickup from Rei's spotter as he reported shot data.
"Targets surpressed."
The counterattack was very good. It separated Shinji from his team and pinned them down. And, it happened. It was cliche. It was the scene out of every cheesy action movie where the hero breaks cover with just a pistol. But, it was terrifyingly real. Shinji's pistol whipped from target to target in the haze and smoke. His eyes were very white behind the eye pieces of his mask. Unlike the action movies, Shinji was liquid smooth in his evasions and wraithlike as he moved from shadow to haze and back to shadow. A magazine dropped from his pistol and a new one snapped the bolt home.
And the whirlwind is in the thorn tree.
The virgins are all trimming their wicks.
The whirlwind is in the thorn tree.
It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
In measured hundredweight and penny pound.
When the man comes around.
Fighting continued behind him, but he continued his relentless advance. One last guard and one last round from the pistol and Shinji was inside what used to be a small office. The door hung from broken hinges and blood pooled on the floor. Broken bodies of her captors littered the space, as a groggy Misato gave Shinji a weak smile from where she was handcuffed to a cot.
"Mom, we're going home," came out as he gave her a hug and began to sob uncontrollably.
Later, NERV Operations Center - After Action Review
These always were insufferably long. The review of every tactical step and dissection of every decision. Necessary but painful. The good and the bad out there for everyone to poke and prod. Shinji always thought he would get used to it after the Angel Wars but each subsequent review found new ways to bore and annoy him. An amused thought struck him. He was starting to turn into Asuka. A small snort of amusement escaped him causing admonishing looks from most of the staff, but more curiosity from Misato, Asuka, and Rei.
Team medical reports now - GSW's for some team members. Nothing life threatening but estimated recovery times going up on the screen now. Assorted minor things - sprains, bruises, and the like. Aside from bumps, bruises, and a headache from being knocked unconscious, Misato was in surprisingly good shape. Apparently, they had arrived ahead of the whatever they had planned for her. Shinji silently thanked the gods for that.
"We've gone over the captured documents and the initial interrogations of the survivors," came Aoba's voice. "They weren't after money. These were professional mercenaries who were well paid to snatch Misato. We're trying to trace the funds but there were plenty of cash cut outs to slow us down. We don't think it was a state actor, but one of these organizations that fears that we're going to unleash Instrumentality again with the Children. There are only a few of them with these kinds of resources and organizational abilities."
Misato nodded. In her debrief, there wasn't much else. Her captors had been very careful on what they said near her. Their knowledge of OPSEC (operational security) had been thorough and their discipline exceptional.
Misato looked around the table at the somber faces. "This incident raises lots of questions both internal and external. Things like where did they get their information? Why didn't we have any warning? How did they pull together the resources?"
"Well, this is by no means over. We're not going to let this stand. We need to take the fight to them," and with that, Shinji stood and quietly left the conference room.
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts,
And I looked and behold: a pale horse.
And his name, that sat on him, was Death.
And Hell followed with him.
Author's Parting Shot: Well, it's been a LONG time since the last update. Between changing jobs twice, having a son, and having to travel 5400 air miles a week for about a year, I just didn't have a chance to write anything complete. There were lots of fits and starts and the one that I did manage to finish was so pathetic that I didn't even bother to edit it. So, I've finally reached a place where I think I can start posting again. Hopefully, you won't have to wait 6 YEARS for the next update.
This one was a little dark without much WAFF. Bear with me. I think you'll like this arc and there will be plenty of WAFF to go around.
