Chapter Seven
Section approached Woods slowly, keeping his hands in his pocket. Fall had started ending, and Section knew how cold Virginia got at that time. Woods sat alone, his wheelchair parked right next to a bench, maroon and orange leaves falling to the ground slowly. The vault was getting a bit ugly, in all honesty. The trees were almost completely bare, barely any leaves were left on them. The grass was still a bright green, but it was beginning to wane into a dull brown. Woods was especially depressing, still dressed in his baby blue bathrobe and his pajamas, his pale skin making it seem like he was going to croak any minute.
"What took you so long?" Woods asked. Mason sighed as he sat down on the bench. He didn't bother with the pleasantries.
"What the fuck was I doing there?" Section asked. Woods sighed.
"The dead don't suffer, that's why you and I are still here." Woods stated. "Menendez has a plan for you, and he's counting on you coming for him."
"Wait, Frank, you have intel?" Section asked, getting up slightly.
"Remember that Pendant?" Woods began. "Pfft… Disappeared. What do you think? It just sprouted legs and disappeared? This guy, he knows every angle, every move you're going to make. He's gonna take twenty to thirty million people with him, as if that's gonna bring her back. It's all about his sister."
"Frank, what the fuck happened in Panama?" Section asked. Woods sighed.
"I thought I got him in Nicaragua." Woods began. "About a year later, he shows up in Panama with that piece of shit Noriega. That was the last straw for the CIA. The orders come down from George H.W. for a snatch and grab. You're father and I went in, along with that Japanese guy, what a shitshow."
Woods took a moment to adjust his cap in the window of the humvee. As usual, it looked like shit. Mason signaled Woods to head up to McKnight's door. However, just before the three men could enter, McKnight cracked the door, visibly upset.
"She's so fucking pissed, go around back." McKnight pleaded.
"Best do it fast, for McKnight's marriage if nothing else." Mason hissed sympathetically.
"Speaking off, how are things with you and the wife, Iori?" Woods asked. Iori sighed happily.
"Things are good." Iori stated. "Chidori's pregnant with our third, we're thinking of the name Koskue."
"Good name, does it mean anything?" Mason asked as the trio entered McKnight's back yard.
"Means Rising Sun." Iori stated. "Not a nationalist thing, just thought it sounded nice."
"Gotcha." Woods said with a nod. The three approached a picnic table, where McKnight was sitting with a six pack of beer, tossing one to Woods, Mason, and Iori. They all raised their cans and took a sip.
"I'm guessing you didn't tell Jane?" Mason asked as woods approached a shed.
"Nope, seems I'm the only one who didn't tell their wife." McKnight stated. "She heard it from Jacob's wife, and Steve's, and Bill's. Can you imagine how that made me look? What about you, Iori, did you tell Chida-Chidor- did you tell your wife?"
"Yeah I told Chidori, she was happy, actually." Iori answered. "My contract ends after this mission."
"Damn, it'll be a shame to have you gone." McKnight sighed.
"You can always join up with us again if you ever move to the US." Mason stated. "Now then, let's go over the mission." Mason made a signal to McKnight.
"Okay, Manuel Noriega, henceforth referred to as Objective FALSE PROPHET." McKnight began. "It's a standard grab and smear. Ruin his reputation, minimize any chances of uprisings in his name. Invasion will provide us with a distraction as we go in with Navy SEALS."
"Got it, thanks for the beer McKnight." Mason stated. "Come on, I'll walk you out. So, Mason, is it true that you were brainwashed by the Soviets?"
"They tried their best." Mason confirmed. As the group left the backyard, they spotted a pair of teenagers vandalizing the humvee. They had sprayed 'Gringo go home' on the side of the vehicle. Well, they were certainly in country already.
The boat skipped across the water, speeding towards the beach near the consulate. Something was wrong, Hudson wasn't on the comms, despite Hudson running the operation. He didn't have time to think about it, he had to get off the boat. Once he was at shore, Woods climbed a ladder, preparing to fight the PDF soldier waiting for him. The soldier noticed him, pulling a flare gun out of his kit. Despite Woods throwing a knife directly into his eye, the soldier still set it off, alerting every PDF soldier to their presence.
"Well, if you're gonna fuck up, get it out of the way early." Woods joked.
"Yeah, figured you'd say something like that." Iori chuckled as he aimed down the scope mounted to his Type 64. The ensuing gunfight was rather bland, despite the scale. The sheer number of PDF soldier's made things exciting at least. One the trio reached the hangars, a serious threat lay ahead. Manuel Noriega's private jet. He wasn't on it, but it wasn't about to leave empty handed. It was likely carrying guns or drugs to ship to Menendez's clients, and the CIA certainly didn't want that.
"Woods, hit it with the M203!" Mason yelled.
"Ain't gonna do shit!" Woods yelled back. "Hell do we do now!?" Iori took a deep breath and pulled a pistol out of his pocket.
"I've got this. I'll explain later, just trust me" Iori stated, raising the pistol to his head. "Persona." Iori pulled the trigger, a massive figure materializing. It was a man in red, with gold wings and sharpened ornaments on his body. The figure, Woods could feel something familiar about it. It reminded him of her, of Minako. The figure cut through the plane, blowing it up, before releasing an inferno that incinerated most of the PDF in the area.
"Holy shit…" McKnight marveled over the radio. "Did you guys see that inferno? Hell did you guys do?" Clearly, McKnight didn't see that figure.
"Iori, what the hell was that?" Mason asked. "As far as I know, only one person has ever done that before."
"Then I don't need to explain." Iori sighed. "I was hired to hunt Minako down and take her back to Japan. We suspect she's in Panama right now."
"Look, as long as you don't turn that thing against us, we're fine with that." Mason stated.
"Minako was our friend, I just want some closure, just do your job, and we won't care about this." Woods stated.
"Thank you, I won't let you down." Iori stated. One short walk and a lot of dead PDF later, they found Noriega's motel room. Mason, Woods, and Iori stacked up on the door. Mason nodded before kicking the door in. Mason shot one soldier leaving the bathroom, Iori took out one reaching for a pistol, and Woods tackled Noriega to the ground. Mason began pouring the evidence, mostly some magazines and cocaine. This earned a confused look from Noriega.
"This isn't the deal, call your boss." The trio looked at each other nervously, comms suddenly lighting up.
"Objective FALSE PROPHET has intel on a priority Nexus target. Escort him as PC to an alternate location as a prisoner exchange, more to follow." Hudson ordered the group.
"Precious Cargo my ass." Woods spat.
"Nexus target? Who could be more important?" Iori asked. Pieces of a puzzle started coming together.
"Remember what Kravchenko said?" Woods asked. Mason and Iori gave each other a concerned look.
"What about that CIA dossier in Menendez's mansion?" Mason asked. "Something's wrong…"
"Did he go out like a soldier?" Section asked. Woods was silent. Section got up, pacing for a brief moment. "Don't tell me that fat fucking slop killed him!"
"It didn't go down like that kid." Woods murmured with remorse. "Noriega was just a puppet, we were all just puppets."
The whole op up to that point had been a mess. Noriega kept trying to escape, Hudson made them give him a gun, there was even a friendly fire incident. But now, it was time to take care of Nexus target. The plan was as follows, Mason would be in position to snipe any resistance, Iori would stand as backup, and Woods would kill Nexus target. Once on a rooftop, Woods unfolded a Barrett M82. Woods finally asked the question on everyone's minds.
"Who the hell is Nexus target?" Woods demanded as he chambered a .50 BMG round.
"Nexus target is Raul Menendez." Hudson finally stated. Woods sighed.
"You should have told us, Hudson, you should have told us." Woods sighed. Two PDF brought out Menendez. Something was wrong though. He wasn't in his usual clothes, his head was still covered, and then there was the dossier and what Kravchenko said.
"He even has people in the CIA." Woods recalled. Woods took a deep breath, aiming the M82 at Nexus target's leg. Woods fired. A sonic boom rang out, the target falling to the ground, struggling.
"SHOOT HIM WOODS!" Hudson spat. Woods fired one more time, into Nexus target's other leg, the man stopped moving. Woods left the building to confirm his death. Something was definitely wrong, Iori and Mason were nowhere to be found, and Noriega was smiling.
"What the fuck are you so smug about?" Woods asked. A realization set in. Woods sprinted to the body. Ripping off the hood on Nexus target's head confirmed the worst. Mason was dead.
"MASON!" Woods screamed, feeling his vocal cords strain to make any kind of noise. Woods aimed his handgun at Noriega, only to feel his knee give out before pain set in and a gunshot was heard. Stepping out of the shadows was Raul Menendez, and Minako Arisato. Woods reached for his pistol he dropped. Menendez responded by blowing out Woods' other knee before headbutting him. The world turned to darkness.
"Your friend, Alex Mason, is dead, by your hand." Menendez stated. "Do you understand why?"
"He was gonna kill David…" Hudson groaned softly.
"BECAUSE YOU MUST SUFFER AS I HAVE SUFFERED." Menendez spat before composing himself. "Now one more must die. You will choose, you, Woods, or David." Woods realized Menendez didn't mention Iori, it seemed he may have already been dead, given the body lying next to the furnace. Woods looked back at Menendez and Hudson. "You have ten seconds to choose or you will all be dead."
"Woods, I can't, I have kids…" Hudson pleaded. Menendez racked his shotgun. "Fuck…. Okay, do me." Menendez tossed the shotgun aside, ripping a pendant off his neck. He gripped Hudson by the head before gouging out Hudson's throat. He kicked Hudson's body to the floor before walking over to a delirious David Mason. He turned to face Woods.
"Your life will be consumed by absolute loss. Then, only then, will you understand what you have done to me." Menendez said before turning to David, showing him the pendant, speaking calmly, the way a brother spoke to their younger sibling in their darkest hour. "I will not kill you, boy. Now, like Woods, you will suffer with me. One day, you will see this pendant again, and you will remember everything you saw and felt tonight. You will remember all the years of anger and pain. And when you do David… come find me." Menendez left without another word, Woods crawled to David and Alex.
"Dad… no DAD!" David pleaded.
Section recomposed himself. Woods wasn't at fault, he was used. He couldn't have known that was his father under that hood.
"There's nothing you could have done, Frank. It wasn't your fault." Section told his surrogate uncle. Woods sighed.
"Me and your old man, we were the best… and we couldn't even stop him." Woods said. Section got up, approaching Woods and gripping his hand.
"Times have changed old man, he's going down."
Junpei woke up just in time, the soldiers had already come to take Mason, Woods, and the kid away. Naturally, Mason was right next to Minako, as was the plan all along. Minako faced Junpei.
"You did a good thing, Junpei." Minako stated. "A very good thing."
"It still doesn't feel right." Junpei sighed. "I mean, I worked with the very person who tore apart SEES."
"They'll see why I did everything I did one day." Minako stated, pulling a small canister from her pocket. "Beautiful, isn't it? The very thing that makes our Evokers work."
"I'm not interested in small talk, I already know what you're planning." Junpei sighed. Minako laughed.
"No, I'm not weaponizing this. There are far more destructive tools out there. Omega Group is ensuring that." Minako stated. "No, this is something greater. I can't carry out my plan now, the Soviet Union is weakening by the day. No, I'm biding my time with this."
"Did you uphold your end of the deal?" Junpei asked. "I just want to leave SEES, Personas, and everything behind me."
"Of course, I would do anything for my friends." Minako told Junpei. Minako snapped her fingers, taking a file from a Perseus agent. "Here, Mr. Sato, you, Chidori, and your children will be safe."
"Thank you." Junpei said with a smile. "One more thing, promise me you aren't going to hurt Mason."
"I won't." Minako assured his friend. "Infact, he'll be better off when I'm done with him. No more tricky vic."
A/N: Whew, got that out. Sorry it's been so long, I've been rather busy. But I'm glad to finally have this released, it's been a wild few weeks, I'll tell you that. So, Junpei's story is done. I'm happy with how this turned out, and I'm roaring and ready for the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed, and have a great day!