"From what you, Lance and Forge have told me, you seem to have done everything in your power to carry out this mission. It was just bad luck that stopped you from assassinating Trask. It is as much my fault as it is yours - I should have found out about Trask's accomplices and warned you about them."
"But if I hadn't hesitated before firing Trask could be dead now and we wouldn't have anything to worry about."
"You don't know that. Trask's accomplice seems to have been gifted with an impressive sixth sense. He could have saved Trask whenever you fired. The reason you failed to carry out the mission was out of your control, you did the best you could. Now I suggest you return home and get some rest."
"What about Trask?"
"I will decide on our next course of action depending on what occurs now. The deadline that Trask set for the countries to join Genoa is tomorrow, so we must see whether Trask will make good on his threats. When you're needed, you'll get a call. Until then get some rest, and don't keep blaming yourself. You did everything that you could do."
It had taken Hank a long time to get through security at the airport in Tokyo; security had been increased due to the meeting of world leaders. As he got out of the airport he looked at the piece of paper that had his daughter's address on it and wondered, not for the first time, whether he was doing the right thing. What would happen when he met his daughter? A lot of painful things had been said when she had left, and Hank wasn't sure that this time wouldn't be the same.
Shaking his head, he steeled his reserve. He hadn't travelled all this way to turn back at the last minute. Whatever happened, he had to at least see his daughter again, even if they couldn't patch things up.
The Temple was a hive of activity. Trask moved through the control room, checking that all the technicians were ready to carry out the plan. Chief Morley came to attention as Trask approached him. "Everything is prepared, chief?"
"Everything sir. We await your order."
"Excellent. Do not doubt that the order will come, world leaders are awfully stubborn when they don't have a visual aid to help them." Trask left the control room quickly and climbed two floors to the medical wing. Cain was lying on a hospital bed, unconscious and stripped of his armour.
"How's he doing?" Trask asked the doctor who was attending Cain.
"He's doing a lot better than when he came in, but it's still only touch and go whether he will survive. He was hit by a very powerful shot, and not even his armour could protect him from its full force."
"If he does not survive, then I will hold you responsible," Trask said casually. The doctor paled, knowing what Trask did to those who failed him. "Keep me updated on his condition." Trask turned and swept out of the room.
Pietro and Lance were in the bar Pietro and Hank had visited before Pietro's mission to Italy, a beer in their hands. "So what now?" Lance said after they had drunk most of their beer.
"Xavier's going to decide the next course of action depending on what happens. You know that today's the day when people have to either swear loyalty to Genoa or suffer the consequences?"
Lance was about to reply, when his attention was caught by the television.
"And now we go live to Tokyo, where a summit of world leaders has been called to discuss the implications of Bolivar Trask's ultimatum. Tonight is the night that the world leaders must give their choice, and we have exclusive coverage." Lance and Pietro watched in fascination as the scene changed to a circular room with twenty-five ministers sitting in it.
Trask took his seat in his personal chambers, facing the large view screen, and prepared himself for the coming encounter. He did not doubt that there would be no one who would align themselves with Genoa, and was happy because of it. Finally, people would see his life's work pay off.
The viewscreen flicked on, and revealed a circular room filled with ministers of the most powerful countries in the world. He paused for a moment before speaking. "Ladies and gentlemen. I have given you twelve days to consider my message, and I hope you have considered it well. Will you choose salvation or damnation? Will you be saved or destroyed?"
There was a slight delay as the ministers listened to Trask's words, then the American representative stood up. "Mr Trask, what you have told us adds up to nothing short of an attempt to con the free world into subjugating themselves to 'Genoa', and I tell you that we will not stand for this!"
The representative from the United Kingdom took her feet. "You claim to be the 'true prophet of the Messiah', yet you have provided us with no proof to substantiate your claim. You cannot reasonably expect us to believe your claims."
"So what you're saying is that you have chosen not to take advantage of this chance for salvation."
"Yes," the American minister said sarcastically.
"Very well. I expected this to happen, and I want to show you what happens to sinners who do not repent." He flicked on his intercom to the control room. "You may fire when ready."
Hank had walked to the building where his daughter lived; it was only ten minutes from the airport. He stared up at the high-rise block of flats with trepidation, before he took a deep breath, stuffed the paper into his pocket and went in. It took him several minutes to find his daughter's flat, where he knocked on the door.
After a couple of seconds the door was thrown open by a short, dark haired woman who stared up at Hank. "Oh my god!" she whispered.
Hank was lost for words. He hadn't seen his daughter for years, and now he'd finally met her, he couldn't find anything to say. That became suddenly irrelevant when his daughter threw her arms around him and he clasped her in a strong embrace.
Lance and Pietro watched as Trask ordered his men to fire. Nothing happened for several minutes, and the news presenter's voice spoke, "Is anything going on there John?"
"Just a minute," the reporter said. "Not yet… wait!" The screen changed from the minister's room to downtown Tokyo. People had stopped what they were doing and were staring up at the sky, which the camera was pointed at.
"What's happening there?"
"There's something in the sky, it's like a really bright beam of light or something. I dunno what it is." People were pointing at whatever it was now, when suddenly the reporter swore violently, and then the camera suddenly went black.
"I'm not sure what's going on, we seem to have a transmission problem," the presenter said. "Wait, we're getting something from the Japanese news. Oh my god!" A live feed appeared on screen, and it made Pietro's stomach drop into his feet. Where the centre of Tokyo had been, there was now a huge crater. "I… I don't know what's happened, but… it's unbelievable!" The news reporter said in shock. "Tokyo seems to have been utterly destroyed!"
At the Temple Trask watched the news feed of the remains of Tokyo. "Three days…" he whispered to himself. "Three days…"
Sorry that I haven't updated for so long, and a big thankyou to everyone who reviewed chapter 5. Their shouldn't be any further delays, and I hope this chapter makes up for the delay.