The Siege

Epilogue: Rest and Recreation

By JagdPanther

Four Years Later

Miyuki and Natsumi both miraculously recovered from all their wounds. They had long since left the Traffic Department, but they still were partners, of course. Both were junior inspectors just across the station. Many of the Traffic cops jokingly told the pair that they had gone over to the dark side of the force. Aoi and Yoriko was the pair to be reckoned with now, as surprising as it seemed. The Chief had moved up the ladder to commandant of the entire station. He regretted every second of it. And he thought managing the Traffic Department had been hard.

Ken finally worked up the courage to ask Miyuki to marry him. Miyuki couldn't have said "yes" faster. It wasn't long before the two were married and had a child, a young girl who they named after Miyuki's mother. Ken became the youngest commander of the Traffic Department in the history of the station, taking over for Kachou.

Bokuto Station itself was not the same, of course. The old station had been demolished and a new, state of the art facility was built on top of it, as defiance to anyone who would attack it. It had new security systems and surveillance to prevent kidnappings of officers, as it had failed to do before the attack took place.

As a result of the attack, the Japanese government looked seriously into more advanced methods of terrorism prevention and did a thorough search of their military for anyone who would try something that idiotic again. Many lives, both American and Japanese, were lost during the attack on the Sumida Ward. Many Japanese soldiers who had been taken prisoner were tried and convicted of treason by the government, and other terrorists were convicted of many other crimes. The biggest of all the trials were the trials of Colonel Nakatani and Commander Tonishi, both of whom had survived the final raid the second night of the battle. The two officers were convicted of treason, murder, theft of government property, and numerous other lesser crimes. In an unprecedented move by the Japanese government, the High Court made an exception to the Constitution and both officers were executed three years to the day that the battle for the Sumida Ward began.

The country had been wounded grievously by the attacks, and it had taken several years for the wounds to begin to heal and for people to reconcile with what had happened. The U.N. had stepped in to prevent riots against the JSDF facilities from turning violent. It had been a dark few years for the Japanese people after the attack.

It wasn't a surprise that Arleigh and his Delta Force team had disappeared right after Colonel Nakatani had been captured. As a highly secretive special operations unit, it was their job to disappear. Arleigh did not get a chance to see Miyuki or Natsumi when he landed at the airport. With their covers blown and the last remnants of the terrorist group eliminated, their job was finished and all twelve Deltas returned alive to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. They were welcomed home as heroes by their fellow D-Boys. The team all received promotions to the next rank as well as many medals for their actions. In the two years the mission ran, and including the battle, the Troop never lost a single operator killed in action.

Arleigh was promoted to Captain and received the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during the battle. He completed a seven-year stint with Delta Force, becoming the youngest Delta officer ever to complete his rookie five-year term. But he felt something was still missing from his life.

Officer Hideki Honda, Detective Tokuno, Private Michael McCray, Private, First Class Mark Miller, Lance Corporal Casey Johnson, Corporal Josh Kagiri, Sergeants Dale Adams and Dale Lenox, Staff Sergeant Ken Swiatowski, Sergeants, First Class AJ Carlson, Earl Morris, Al Ryker, Dave Smith, Chris Stevens, and Ty Williams, Master Sergeant Jake Anderson, and Chief Warrant Officers Martin Wilson and Daniel Mills all survived their brushes with death. Tokuno and Honda returned to the police force after a month of medical leave. Anderson retired a Sergeant Major after over twenty-two years in the Army, and Earl Morris took over his job as Troop Senior NCO. The rest of the Americans stayed on to serve out their enlistments and some even re-enlisted, especially the Deltas.

The Americans took a few weeks to return order and civility to the Sumida Ward. They helped rebuild some structures and remove debris from battle. Over one hundred and fifty Americans were killed in the largest urban battle since Mogadishu in 1993. Many soldiers received awards for bravery and gallantry. The attack caused uproar around the world, and Japan and America were at the forefront of the questioning and criticism. It would be years before things were settled amongst the two governments involved and those of the world.

But at least things were returning to normal, ever so slowly. Things changed for people after the attacks. Most people were moving on. It was a new lease on life for people involved in the battle.

A July morning flooded over Tokyo. All was peaceful. In an apartment in the city, an alarm clock blared the arrival of 8:30 AM. Arleigh fumbled around for the clock but a long, slender female arm beat him too it.

"You have to learn the art of the snooze button, dear," whispered Natsumi.

"I'm sorry, but I don't subscribe to Slackers Weekly," retorted Arleigh. Natsumi jabbed him in the stomach under the covers. "Ow, don't be so rough."

The brown haired inspector smirked as she propped her head up more on the pillow. "Sorry. No gentle setting on this woman."

"So I've noticed." Arleigh hugged Natsumi tighter. Husband and wife lied silently together as sunlight crept across the room. Suddenly, Natsumi rolled on top of her spouse and kissed him.

"What was that for?"

Playfully, Natsumi toyed with Arleigh's hair. "Do I need a reason?"

"Well, no…"

She smiled mischievously. "It's Saturday morning, we've got no plans, and I'm hungry."

"Well, we can go out for…"

A scowl killed her smile. "Wrong kind of hunger," she responded, tightening her grip on Arleigh's shoulder and bringing her knee between his legs.

A grin tugged at the corner of Arleigh's mouth. "Oh, well forgive my mistake, love." And with that, he pulled his lover down and the two became one.

The REAL End

Thank you for reading The Siege! Hope you enjoyed this small novel.

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