They stopped coming after the third wave.
No grouping had been larger than a dozen soldiers, and they had brought nothing more threatening to bear against the Marines than a couple of horse mounted cavalry. All had tried the exact same tactics against the blocking position: a head on charge with weapons leveled and voices raised in a mighty shout designed to break the courage of the defenders. They had tried, and had died. The discipled marksmanship of the leathernecks had ensured they hadn't even crossed the halfway mark on the street to threaten them. Had they not been trying to cut up every civ they could get their hands on, Joker might have actually felt bad for the dumb bastards.
It was almost certain at this point that this whole thing wasn't some kind of elaborate ruse or distraction, like some had been speculating. Whoever this attacking force was, they genuinely didn't seem to know what guns were, not showing any fear when barrels were pointed in their direction and seeming genuinely surprised when bullets tore into their bodies. And that didn't even touch on the damn pigs, orcs, and all the other weird shit that seemed to be a part of this army. More questions than answers as time went on.
It had been quiet now for about fifteen minutes, no new civilians or hostiles coming either for them or to any of the other posts on the neighboring streets by Second Platoon. The sounds of distant battle hadn't abated though, if anything getting even louder as Japanese and American Air Forces began clearing the skies of the small dragons they'd seen flying above the city and more reinforcements were arriving to join the ground battle by the minute. No one said anything as they waited, breaking silence only with reports of ammunition checks and occasional reloading. For his part, Joker had placed his shots carefully, spending just over half of one magazine so far into the fight. Part of it was professional pride, but he knew from experience that surprise battles like this tended to wreak havoc on logistics, making any potential resupply difficult in the short term. Especially since the new communications traffic promised new "excitement".
"Showtime to Archer One Actual, standby for new orders."
"Archer One, ready to receive." Mitchell answered.
"JSDF just shattered the enemy main force near the Old Palace, and we've begun a counter attack to keep them from regrouping. Break off one of your platoons into squads and have them move southward on a search and destroy operation."
"Understood, will we have any support?"
"First Division Units will try to meet you halfway on their own mission, and we have additional forces arriving from Camp Fuji at this time. But they're spread thin at the moment so your teams will need to make due with what they have on hand."
"Wilco, I'll get First Platoon on the job. Archer out." Mitchell looked over at his sniper. "Joker, take your team one street over and start from there. We'll make a clean sweep of it."
"Anything for you boss." Joker stood up, making a circling motion in the air to rally up. "You heard the man One-Two. Let's go take a romantic walk in Tokyo."
"Yut."
The eleven other marines followed after him, Reaper taking up position at Joker's right while they led the way down a nearby alley. The confined space made him nervous, all too aware that in close quarters a blade could be just as deadly as any gun. If they had been smart enough to set up an ambush...
They hadn't been, no sharp fanged monsters waited to pounce as they emerged onto the next street. In fact there wasn't anyone at all on the deserted street, the abandoned cars and discarded papers flowing in the breeze giving the whole scene an eerie familiarity with post apocalyptic media.
Urban warfare was always a tricky thing, even for experienced grunts like Joker and the others who'd fought in the Middle East. Even without the threat of snipers, one of a Marine's biggest nightmares just below IEDs, there were just too many hiding places and cramped conditions that even a knockoff Spartan warrior could turn to his advantage. And that wasn't even considering non-combatants, since there was no way all the millions of people who lived and worked here had managed to pick up and leave in such a short timespan. Rudely enough the bad guys rarely cared about the kind of headaches these sorts of things caused, and so they'd just have to suck it up and get on with the job at hand.
"Fan out, one fire team on each side of the street and one pick up the rear." Joker instructed, keeping his rifle level as they pushed on down the street.
"How far are we gonna go?" Reaper asked.
"Until we're told to stop or our contracts expire."
"So the heat death of the universe, great."
The discussion was cut off when one of the marines held his fist up in the air, signaling the group to stop. They all dropped to a knee, keenly alert as they scanned around for any threats.
"Movement up ahead." He whispered. "Looks like a group of foot mobiles."
Joker motioned for the others to stay low and move up, taking the point position as he went to crouch behind the front bumper of a nearby car. From his low visibility position, he could just barely make out the group without giving his own position awat. About a squad size, he estimated, one of them shouting at the others that didn't sound like any language Joker had ever heard. All looked human enough, wearing armor that reminded him of old movies about Roman legions marching to war in distant lands, save for the fact that these guys looked like they'd been roughed up a bit. Several of them were bleeding, and the cape worn by the yelling man seemed to have been singed by some kind of blast. Probably survivors who were trying to flee from the JSDF pushing from the northeast, just like the civilians they were happily butchering earlier. Well, Joker figured the Japanese wouldn't mind if he cleaned up for them.
"Weapons free."
Completely preoccupied with the berating of their leader, the squad never even noticed the Marines lining up shots on their flank. They were deviated when the shooting started with more than half dropping dead before anyone had been given a chance to react. One of them belatedly tried to raise a large square shield to protect himself, but it did little to stop the 5.56 heading straight towards him. Joker saved the officer for himself, dropping the loudmouth with a steady pair of shots to his torso.
"Contact! More hostiles coming from the front!" Reaper reported over the cacophony.
It was like the gunfire had been a lit beacon, as over a dozen newcomers started spilling out of the alleyways to join the battle, some human and others less so.
"Hold position! Don't let them get close!"
Had the enemy been somewhat organized, they might have tried using one of the nearby alleyways to flank the Marines and hit them from two directions. But either they didn't have any real leadership left among them, or what remained wasn't all that imaginative as the body of the enemy just ran straight towards them in a mass gaggle. It was a rifleman's dream, having that number of targets just rushing right into their line of sights. Some of the non-humans were a bit tougher, taking a few rounds to be put down for good or otherwise being faster than expected. But the combination of the sheer firepower and some crack shots like Joker made sure that none got close enough to threaten the squad. The few survivors seemed to get the hint that they may have been in over their heads, and tried to beat a hasty retreat behind whatever cover they could find.
"They're pulling back, keep hitting them." Joker ordered, standing as he swapped out his M4 magazine. "Watch the corners for any remaining lurkers."
They may not have been all that well led at the moment, but the enemy force seemed to be disciplined enough not to break into a complete route even in the face of their comrades being completely annihilated. Rather they opted to form a defensive line in front of what looked to be a 7-Eleven, which Joker had to keep himself from chuckling over despite the circumstances. Hostile reinforcements seemed to have arrived, forming a row of archers behind the survivors of the charge. Some didn't get the chance to loose their arrows as the Marines got off the first shot, but at least half a dozen managed to fire a barrage into the air towards them. Their comparatively slow flight time as they flew upwards then back towards the ground gave Joker and the others plenty of time to take cover. All fell harmlessly to the ground, and the archers had their "kindness" returned right back to them with interest.
With this backup plan thoroughly shattered, the impressive discipline of the enemy troops seemed to have finally eroded. Some broke from their shelters and tried to flee, while others decided to try just one last charge at their tormentors in a mad bid for revenge. The end result was the same for all of them. Their bodies hit the ground not long after brass shell casing as they were systematically wiped out.
"Can't fault these guys in determination." Reaper commented, making a face as he looked over the body of one of the spear wielders who had been coming towards him just a moment ago. "Or maybe it's stupidity."
"Check for any survivors, or any kind of markings intel can use later." Joker said as he watched down the street for any late arrivals. "Showtime, Archer One-Two. We just cleared out a batch of hostels near a 7-Eleven on the crossroads of….hell I'm going to butcher this, Kioicho-Dori and Shinjuku-Dori Avenues."
"Showtime copies all One-Two. Proceed down Kiocho-Dori Avenue until you reach the German Institute for Japanese Studies at the next intersection."
"Say again Showtime?" Joker frowned, wondering if he'd misheard. "The GERMAN Institute?"
"That's affirmative. Traffic camera footage suggests enemy squad retreating from First Division Units might have taken shelter there. Be advised: We cannot reach the building at this time, so it's unknown if civilians are within."
"We'll watch our shots, One-Two out." He looked back out to the others. "Listen up, we have a possible hostage situation in a German Research center down the road here. We're going to move up and clear it, but watch your fire. The last thing we need is a bunch of angry germans on our hands."
"What the hell are they researching? Anime and Manga?" One of the marines asked as they fell back into their previous formation. "Figure an internet search can do that just fine."
"Not everything is about your weeb shit, Hamilton." Another snorted. "The rest of the world actually likes getting laid once and awhile."
"Funny, that's exactly what your sister told me the other day."
"Both of you shut up." Reaper said. "We're still on the clock here."
The squad obligingly shut their traps, checking the corners and alleys for anyone who might have been hiding out. Joker was worried that an overjoyed civilian might spring out at them at the sight of a potential rescue and get shot, but the only non-combatants they found were a trickle of bodies that were occasionally strewn across the street. They stopped to check for life signs whenever they came across one that wasn't decapitated or otherwise had no hope of survival, but it seemed the attackers had been thorough, leaving none living in their wake. Joker felt a pang of sadness for them all, just people going about their day and being killed somewhere they thought was safe. That SHOULD have been safe. There was nothing he could do for them except make sure their killers paid in blood for their crimes.
It was only about seven minutes to get from one intersection to the other, even with the squad moving carefully and checking for survivors on the way. The building itself was rather unremarkable, the usual kind of business looking grey structure that seemed to be a dime a dozen in this part of Tokyo. He might have missed it entirely if it wasn't for the writing on the entrance in both Japanese and a Latin language that, as far as Joker could tell, at least looked German enough.
"Move up to the front of the building, but stay low." He ordered. The entrance was a glass door, and there seemed to be a lot of windows rounding the wall on the south side. If these guys were smart enough to place a lookout, it would make a breach and clear a lot more difficult, especially with civilians possibly within.
Fortunately, the approach to the front entrance had a high wall and shrubbery a few meters away from the doors, giving the Marines plenty of cover as they moved up. Taking in the situation as quickly as he could, Joker could see at least three spots of potential entry. The first and most obvious being the front entrance, though it was also the riskiest given the visibility it afforded any hostiles within. The second was the windows on the south side, some of which were low enough to allow for rapid entry. They were better then the open glass wall of the front entrance, but could still give a nice view to anyone watching. The final and best option was a single door on the north side of the building along a side road that led into a built in garage. There weren't any windows on that side, but the single door would force the Marines to enter just one at a time. Still, it was better than the other choices by a country mile.
"Movement right!" One of the marines hissed, bringing Joker out of his thoughts and working on reflex to bring his rifle up in the designated direction. He put it back down a moment later.
"Hold fire." He said, holding up a hand. "Friendlies."
The JSDF Squad mirrored much the same movements as the Marines before recognition, quietly making their way around what looked like a miniature car dealership to join the Americans at the high wall. The one in charge of them was probably close to twenty years Joker's senior, giving the other a confident nod as he crouched down beside him. He couldn't tell exactly what the other's rank was, but he had to be some kind of Senior NCO by the looks of things. With the eight of the Japanese joining them, new potential tactics started forming in Joker's mind. There was just one rather obvious problem.
"...I don't suppose you speak english?" He asked, giving a nervous smile. Joker didn't speak a word of Japanese, and if they couldn't communicate effectively, this entire venture would be a lot more difficult. The older man held up a finger, then looked behind him.
"Kuribayashi."
A shorter woman with chestnut brown hair moved forward towards them, a dark broad smile on her face as soon as she saw Joker and the others.
"Marines? Oh hell yes." She said in unaccented english. "Now we can kick some serious ass."
"Right." Joker said, surprised by her language skill while the back of his mind seemed to be focused on the woman's attractive physical qualities. Fortunately, the rest was firmly focused on the job at hand. "If you don't mind, we'll take the lead on this one."
The woman, "Kuribayashi", conferred for a moment with the older man before nodding at Joker.
"You have more experience at this then we do, so we'll follow your instructions."
That was good, Joker had been worried the other might argue since he technically outranked the sniper.
"We're going to breach from the north entrance and flood into the building." Joker said, holding up a flashbang grenade. That wasn't technically part of the usual gear for Marines, but so long as the Air Force was paying for it, he wasn't about to complain. "Once you hear this go off, have your team breach from the windows on the south side. We'll catch them in a pincer move and smash the enemy in between us. But watch your shots, we don't want to hit each other or any civilians that might be inside."
The woman translated again, and the old SNCO nodded, giving directions to his squad as they moved away once more.
"Squad, on me." Joker instructed once he made sure the JSDF weren't going to be too visible from where they were. The Marine squad made their way back north and onto the side road they had passed on the way in. "Stack up on the entrance near the garage."
The squad obliged, Reaper taking the "Kicker" position near the door while Joker hit the wall right behind the pointman and pulled the pin from his grenade.
"Do it."
Reaper smashed the door open with a mighty kick, then moved out of the way as Joker tosed the flashbang inside. A couple of heartbeats later, the explosive blew, and the pointman rushed inside.
"Breaching breaching!"
Joker moved in behind him, sweeping to the left as the other sweeped to the right. There was some shouting in the alien language, as two of the invading army's soldiers were staggering back from the door and trying to clear their eyes from the blinding flash. The pointman took the first one, Joker taking the other.
"Clear!"
"Move up!" He ordered, the sounds of gunfire from the other side of the building telling him the JSDF team had begun their assault as well. The next door was already opened, and the Marines swarmed through that one as well into what looked like a lobby behind the main entrance. There were close to two dozen people within, half of them civilians lying on the ground and trying to cover their heads as best they could, while the other half were charging the newcomers with swords and spears in hand.
They were fast on the recovery from the surprise attack, not giving even half of the Marines time to pass through the door before beginning their attack. Joker managed to down one of the two coming for him before what looked to be a Knight in gleaming steel armor got within arm's length of him while brandishing a longsword. Panic and self defense instincts kicked in as Joker dropped his M4 and moved to catch the "Knight" in a pinning blow as he hooked his right arm across the man's shoulder and put his strength into picking the man up and slamming him into the ground while dodging his attack. It was a technique he had mastered through years of training to be a martial arts expert, but it had been completely the wrong move.
The heavy plate armor threw Joker's sense of balance completely out of whack,and he went crashing to the ground along with the knight in a total daze. Stars exploded before his vision as his helmet hit the ground hard, and he scrambled to get to his feet but found his balance to be less than ideal. He fell back to the ground, able to make out the hazy shape of the Knight rising to strike once more. Joker's hand fell to his side, pulling his M9 sidearm from it's holster and switching the safety into the OFF position. The Knight raised his blade once more, and Joker put three rounds right into his chest. The armored figure seemed to freeze in place, as if he didn't quite understand what had happened to him. Then he fell backwards, the symbol of a red wolf emblazoned on his breastplate being covered with crimson blood leaking from his body.
Joker sat there for a moment, trying to regain his senses as the commotion went on around him. Ahead, he saw another door be kicked open and the Japanese began to push through. At the lead was Kuribayashi, a bayonet fixed to the end of her rifle as she changed forward and impaled one of the enemy soldiers at its end before ripping out and using it to slash across the throat of one of the others. It was a completely reckless tactic, one that would have been completely unacceptable in a place like Afghanistan. But here, with these kinds of opponents with that kind of woman behind the rifle, Joker found himself thinking it was kind of….Hot.
"Clear left!"
"Clear right!"
"Room Clear!" One of the Marines announced, a pair of hands grabbing Joker from behind and hauling him back up to a standing position.
"You alright, brother?" Reaper asked.
"I'm good, just got knocked for a loop is all." Joker answered, the world around him coming back into focus. "Any casualties?"
"Not besides your dumb ass."
"Have the Corpsman check out the hostages for any injuries." He said, seeing the civilians now daring to look up at the carnage that had unfolded around them. "And check the nearby rooms, there might still be more here."
"Rah." Reaper nodded , relaying the message to the others while their squad lead regained his balance.
Around him, the former hostages started to rise to their feet as the marines looked them over, many looking at Joker and the others and offering thanks of "Danke" and other words he didn't have a translation for. Joker just put on his best smile and waved them off.
"Just your friendly neighborhood Americans, no big deal." He said, feeling a bit awkward as he wasn't sure how many of them understood what he was saying.
It took him a moment to realize that something was strange, and Joker frowned as he looked over all the hostages once more.
"You see it too, right?" Reaper asked, sounding as confused as Joker felt. "Or, I guess what we're NOT seeing."
"Yeah...where are all the bodies? These guys were apparently killing every civ they could find out on the streets but not here."
"Not even any serious injuries." His spotter nodded. "Honestly, I figured this would be more of a remains recovery then a hostage rescue, but it doesn't look like this group killed any of them. Why?"
Joker didn't have a good answer. Hell, he didn't have a good answer to who these guys were and why they were here in the first place. How could he even begin to guess at their version of Law of War?
He was saved from having to answer a few moments later when Kuribayashi stepped up to him.
"Thanks for the help, but we can take it from here." She said. "We're going to make a full sweep of the building, then get the civilians out of here."
She still had some blood spatter on her uniform, eyes nearly pulsing with the adrenaline she must have been feeling just moments ago. It was pretty damn attractive, if Joker was being honest with himself.
'Christ, there really is something wrong with me.'
"Got it, pleasure to work with you." He answered aloud, not really sure if he should have berated or praised her for what he saw. The woman just smiled and moved away to carry out the rest of her orders, leaving a group of Marine's with evil looking grins in her wake.
"Thank you soooo much for your help, Justin-Senpai." Hamilton said, his voice high pitched as he fluttered his eyebrows.
"Watch out, I think we just met Joker's future ex wife."
"If you've got time to try and take my namesake, then you have time to do your damn jobs." Joker scoffed, motioning for the Marines to rally up once more as he headed for the front entrance.
"Archer Two-One, Showtime. Give us a SITREP, over."
"Showtime, the civilian hostages have been rescued and the group of hostiles have been taken down. JSDF is mopping up now."
"Understood Two-One. I have Hunter Two-One moving to your location now, link up with them and push one click south towards the Hie Shrine to run interference for a Tier One group assisting in the evacuation of the Embassy, over."
"Tango." Joker answered, seeing Humvees pulling up outside. "Saddle up Marines! We're Oscar Mike!"
~oOo~
They called her "W".
It wasn't her real name of course, but it was short, easy to remember, and it paid to keep a level of anonymity when working for the Central Intelligence Agency in Asia. Even in safe offices like the Embassy in Tokyo. Though at the moment, it's supposed safety was highly debatable at the moment.
"Just keep walking…. we're not interesting at all…" She whispered while looking out the window.
When news of the attack on the city had first reached the American Embassy, much of the staff had fled in a panic before the guards could restore order for those that remained, deputizing the armed CIA officers in it's defense while they waited for relief. The good news was that W contacted her own personal Special Action Team to carry out the rescue, the bad news being that they were taking far longer to get here then she expected.
The Commander of the Marine Security detachment chosen to pull back into the building rather than mount a proactive defense at the front gate. W had thought this to be complete on his part, before realizing that this bizarre enemy force had gone right past the Embassy without even pausing. He'd gambled that this particular opponent wouldn't see any particular significance of the Stars and Stripes flying here as opposed to the flag of Japan.
It had worked brilliantly, right up until the Japanese had crushed the attacking army and sent it's survivors straggling back this way. With their newfound search for safety, the humans had taken a newfound interest in the gated structure, while the non-humans looked like they were eager to just break things. There were only four of them at the moment, but they'd started giving the fence a good shake as if testing its sturdiness.
"Are they trying to break it down?" One of the case officers whispered.
"They might think there's valuables in here...at least if they're thinking in medieval terms. Defenses like that usually means there's something worth guarding. If they think the battle's lost, then they may be more focused on looting at this point."
"Shit, so much for our brilliant deception."
"Nomad, we have unwanted guests knocking at our door." W hissed into her radio. "Where are you?"
"Still two mikes out. Hang in there just a little longer."
"Easy to say from up there…" she growled.
"Uh oh, one of the big fuckers is back!"
W brought her gaze back to the main fenceline, swearing as she saw one of the giant trolls carrying a massive Warhammer stepping forward. If it was given the chance to smash open the entrance, the entire Embassy would be open to attack. The Guard Commander reached the same conclusion.
"Open fire! Don't let them through the gate!"
The front doors were thrown open, and the Marine Guards began laying down rifle fire at the would be intruders. The attackers shouted and began to press hard against the fence, making it lean hard against it's railings even as several fell dead from the bullets. But more were coming to join them as the sounds of combat filled the air .W raced out the door to join in on the battle, firing her handgun and taking position to be out of the Marines' way if they needed to maneuver. The troll didn't seem to be all that bothered by the small arms, seeming to shrug the bullets off for the most as it gave a swing of it's mighty hammer.
The fencing bent backwards dramatically, and several of the humans began to climb on top of it to try and hop over. W shifted her fire to these new threats, picking them off before they could be given a chance to charge across the courtyard. But it wouldn't matter in a moment if that Troll was able to knock the gate completely over and allow them to swarm towards the defenders.
She was starting to get worried about her ammo count when the beating of helicopter blades began to come from above, a Blackhawk coming into view from above the Embassy and circling around to the opposite side of the enemy force.
"Nomad is on station." The pilot announced.
"It's about time!" W said, smiling in relief despite herself.
"Hold on, I've got these guys." The Blackhawk's minigun started to spin up, spraying down the entire area around the fence with explosive rounds that reduced even the massive troll into bloody chunks. The war cries of the hostiles were replaced by terrible screams of pain and agony as Nomad continued his attack run down the road and gunned down any groups they could spot. When the smoke cleared, the fence had been completely obliterated, though it mattered little as even less remained of those who had been assaulting it just moments before. "No more hostiles in view, the Embassy is clear."
The helicopter came back around to hover above the courtyard, two ropes dropping down as a squad of five men clad in black tactical gear repelled to the ground below.
"Circle around to see if there's any other wandering groups of assholes Nomad." W said, walking over to the new arrivals. "Then come back here and get ready for pickup."
"Wilco."
"You guys sure took your sweet time getting here!" She yelled at the SOG team after they finished conferring with the Marine Guards.
"Sorry, couldn't get an Uber." Spar, the team's pointman, answered dryly.
"That would have been a lot less funny if you'd come to rescue a bunch of corpses." W crossed her arms, looking directly at the team's Captain. "You cut it pretty close."
"There was a lot of confusion and conflicting orders." Maze said. Even in his unmarked uniform, the former Green Beret looked every bit of a poster boy for the US Military, from his chisled facial features to his sharp brown eyes. "We figured you'd appreciate Nomad being armed and fueled."
"Conflicting orders shouldn't be an issue when I'M the one giving you instructions."
"A bit hard to swing your authority around whenever your trapped in an Embassy while we have to deal with actually doing the work."
"Whatever." W decided to let it go for now. They'd arrived before any casualties had been suffered among the defenders, so a prolonged argument wouldn't be worth the effort. Especially since she had more important things to focus on. "What's the situation in the rest of the city?"
"It's pretty much over with now from the sounds of things." Spar shrugged. "There's a couple of roving bands left like the one here, but nothing like any sort of organized defensive line. Just some mopping up to do."
"What about the evac choppers for the Embassy?"
"They were refueling when we took off, shouldn't be too far behind."
"Good. Then do one last check with the guards here and get ready to head back in the air, we've got things to do."
"We?" Maze echoed.
"Yes, we." W confirmed. "If the enemy lines have already been broken, then the JSDF will be moving in to secure Ginza soon. I want to be there when they do it."
"I'm lost. What's in Ginza?" Spar asked.
"It's apparently where this whole thing started. Some initial police report indicated that the invading army originated through some kind of 'gate' that appeared in the middle of the street."
"Just appearing out of no where?"
"That's what it sounded like." W confirmed, watching as a group of Osprey's joined the overhead traffic before coming in for a landing nearby. "Of course, we won't really know for sure until it's investigated."
"Still, that raises even more questions." Maze looked thoughtful. "A mystery Army ermerges from a mystery gate and attacks a modern day city armed with medieval weaponry."
"And a bunch of freaking looking things that are definitely not from around here."
"Exactly, there's too much we need to figure out about what happened here." W looked back up into the sky. "Have you finished your search, Nomad?"
"Affirmative, where do you want me to set her down?"
"The street in front of the Embassy should do just fine, just be ready to dust off as soon as we're aboard." She said, heading for the landing zone.
"Tango."
"So why the hurry?" Spar asked as the SOG Team followed behind. "It's not like the Japanese aren't going to look into it."
"You're not seeing the forest for the trees, Lieutenant." She said. "This is going to be a world changing event, and I don't intend to sit on the sidelines and let some suit up at Langley be the one chosen to spearhead the CIA's role in responding."
"So your looking to get up in the pecking order then."
W just sighed and shook her head. For all their talents as soldiers, and they certainly were talented at it, the members of SOG team Delta didn't understand the way things worked inside of the Agency. That was partially her fault and her boss's, as they did their best to keep them of the internal politics so they could focus on their given missions. It worked well keeping up effectiveness, but had it's downsides when they didn't understand her motives.
It wasn't just about rising in the ranks, information could make or break anyone within the CIA. The more you had, the more leverage you gained. Combine that leverage with actual talent and you could help decide the destiny's of entire nations. In the right hands, that meant a brighter world where America and her allies could feel safe and secure. In the wrong hands...well, that's how they'd gotten where they were today. Botched operations across Africa and the Middle East as ancient relics from the Cold War sat in comfortable offices making decisions on outdated ways of thinking. It was up to the younger generation of field and case officers like W to clean up after their messes and minimize the damage as best they could.
But if W could snag this golden opportunity while it still presented itself, then she and her allies could be the ones to make the best use out of this attack. So long as she had the will and the brains to play her hand in the right way.
"Where too?" Nomad asked as W and the others climbed aboard.
"Ginza." She answered, glancing out to see the Marine Guards shuffling the others from Embassy into the Ospreys.
"JSDF is operating in that zone. What should I tell them?"
"The truth. We're there to gather intelligence on the attack and assist them in any way possible."
Yes, the battle for Tokyo may have been more or less over now, but that would just mean there was more fighting ahead. Probably both literally and figuratively.