Author's Note: This is for future references in case anyone asks again cause I've gotten a few of them.

Yes, I am expanding the universe. Along with some scenes that would be replaced with real world reactions. I'm really trying to top the one where Damien went berserk on Karen Low. And I'm going to open many doors for this before Act 2 is over and will get to the final act. The reason why it's sometimes sprinkled around and on others more open is because of Damien. You see it through his eyes, it's just one or two things. In third person, it's more open. Psychologically speaking he's anti-social and has anger issues, but he's gradually moving away from that behavior.

The way I wanted to write this is because I wanted to place a man who had nothing and was suffering and then he taken in by the generosity of those that he could relate to and rebuild his humanity. He finds new memories, friends, adventures, and even love. But the price for all of this will be too much to bare and it will all come crumbling down when he realizes he made a deal with the devil.

Finally I will, and already have, include new characters. I already introduced Floyd Hekmatyar and he will make a return, along with new locations and events. But until then I quote Donald Sutherland from one of my favorite war movies: "Have a little faith baby. Have a little faith."

Chapter 34: The Ghosts

October 9th 2010 1030 Hours

Highway 296, Yachiyo, Japan

The ride over there was simple because of the high walls that were raised on the highway but excruciating because the one asshole I wanted to strangle based on principle was right next to me and I couldn't do it. It was only through experience and being on the opposite side that I realized that a man's word literally held their weight in gold. If he went back on it then the word would spread that his trust was worthless and no one would deal with him. Other's would even sell him out, it was a lesson I had learned the hard way when I first descended into the life I wandered into. I couldn't always just do what I pleased. It would later come back to bite me in the ass and that bite every now and then came from the US. It was why I was borderline paranoid until I had joined up with Koko.

As I stared out of the car window I could only make out tall buildings every so often but he said that we were getting close to a residential neighborhood. Kasper kept trying to start a conversation with me the whole trip, he wouldn't get one. At least not a pleasant one.

"You know you could at least have said hello to Chiquita. You'd be amazed on how much she compliments you. Those little scuffles you two have had seem to have given off a real positive impression on her."

I learned a long time ago that trying to impress people made you start walking down the path into becoming a kiss ass. Like I'd even care about what some mentally unstable old broad thought about me. Doing things for myself had less of a chance of putting me in a bad mood but reality tends to be a little harsh. It actually made me feel even more lonely than I wanted. It's probably why I was as distant as I was. I did find it weird however that I opened up and interacted with kids more than I did adults. It happened on a few jobs where I was just, in the literal sense, a babysitter for a single day. They were ignorant and simply didn't know any better to what and who I really was, and to me that felt like a huge weight had been taken on my shoulders. The more they wanted to talk about things and the less they knew about me, the better. When I first came across the four orphan's in Myanmar it was Moka that I met first when I was getting chow in the camp's mess hall. Naturally she was so scared of me that when I approached her she was frozen in place. But all I wanted to do was give back the pear from the plate of fruit that she dropped while she was walking to the others to eat. After I went back to eat by myself, she knew I wasn't like the rest of Colonel Win's mongrels. She walked over to me and asked why I looked so mad, I couldn't tell her the real reason so I just said there was no dessert. She found it very funny and asked if I wanted to eat with them and it grew from there. Besides them looking a bit disheveled, I was a little skeptical if they were under Win's command as child soldiers but thankfully that wasn't the case. Even though I saved the rest I still felt like absolute shit for not saving all of them. If anything, at least she didn't get to see my real side when I burned Win's outpost to the ground and tore his men to pieces. I could only imagine what the rest of the children were thinking when the base turned into a warzone and they were hiding in one of the trucks in the motor pool. At least when Kasper found them he took care of them properly as opposed to just leaving them there. It still didn't change the fact that he almost killed me, but if Koko said that she and her brother weren't the types that sell people short I believed her as opposed to her brother. Since he came up with where he got them put up for adoption I let him drive towards where Maurice, Elizabeth and Aung now lived. I didn't know what to expect so I'd let him explain the moment we got there. Until then, I could give a damn about what he said.

"Come on Damien I know you hate my guts but I'm falling asleep here."

As I continued to look out the window I rolled my eyes and let out a silent annoyed sigh.

Might as well say something to shut him up.

"I just can't think of anything to say right at this very moment." I turned to him. "And even if I did, it's not like I'd talk to a douchebag like you."

He then chuckled. "Now Damien there's no need to be rude. That's Mr. Douchebag."

"Ugh. Just drive." I said while pinching the top part of my nose.

1045 Hours

After we got off the freeway we then drove for a few minutes through a residential area. The tightly packed houses and apartments were befitting of a Japanese suburb. I kept an eye on the surroundings and I we eventually came across a school on a hillside. It looked like your average run of the mill high school, about three floors high, walled off, nothing special except for a few extra trees. There were a lot of kids of different ages from adolescents to teenagers walking along a brick roadway. It wasn't that late in the day and it wasn't lunch time. As I wondered where they were all going, Kasper explained as he turned the car off.

"Well we're here. I take it that you can see that this is where your little friends have their new home. It's a rather nice prep school where students attend here from elementary to high school. Their adoptive mother is a little strict but they've actually done quite a lot for themselves. Today is Saturday so this should be their half day and…huh take a look in center. Behind the seniors."

I focused in where he was pointing and saw three familiar faces, Maurice, Aung, and Elizabeth. A lot cleaner looking and better fed than I remember them from eight months ago. They all had the same uniforms and backpacks but Elizabeth had the most decorated with a bunch of mini figurines. She also had two white ribbons in her hair that held up a pair of pigtails with a beaming smile which made her look adorable. Aung was chomping down on two different candy bars in one hand and reading one of his textbooks in the other. I couldn't make out what he was reading but it looked like he enjoyed his studies. Lastly there was Maurice just taking his time walking with them, looking rather plain. But as I saw another boy run up to him to see what's up I noticed that when he turned his head toward him to say hello I saw that his hair was much longer. I didn't need to guess who he was trying to copy.

"I take it by the look on your face that you see how well they're doing. Why don't we go and say hello?"

While it sounded like a good idea at first I paused as I opened the latch on the car door. They were living a happy, normal life. Something I should not involve myself with and this is the first time in over two years that in which I made a deal and it came out exactly as I had planned.

"What's wrong Damien? Don't you wanna let them know you're ok and catch up on things?"

I then shut the car door. "No, there's no need. They're happy and away from the blood, misery and violence of our world. They deserve far better than to keep wondering what happened to someone like me."

Kasper then shut his door and put the key's back in the ignition. "I understand, you don't need to explain any further. Let's head back to Koko."

He started the car and then we went back the same why we came. As he backed up I saw Elizabeth one last time in the side mirror before the three took a left leading away from the school. She paused as she must have seen our car and for a brief second we made eye contact. She tilted her head slightly wondering who was there but then looked in the direction where Aung and Maurice went and then ran off to catch up with them.

Bye guys.

Hopefully I wouldn't see them again and that would be one chapter in my life that I could close and not have to worry about later on. As we got back on the highway I knew we had to get back to business with whatever the hell he wanted us to clean up. I asked him bluntly.

"Speaking of her, why do you need her and Tojo's help? I overheard Chiquita before we left talking about letting the "ghosts" know what you've done."

"Don't worry I have to explain everything to her, just have a little patience until we get back."

This was figuratively killing me to admit this but I was glad he held up his end of the deal and didn't act like a fucking weasel. He may have earned a few positive points from me but he was still didn't change the fact that he almost killed me. But Koko's lessons on me on being practical were starting to make sense. The world I live in right now doesn't play by the normal rules of a normal society. You have to see the bigger picture, especially when you make a deal. You have to honor it.

"Thank you for making sure that they ended up infinitely better off than they were." I said with sincerity.

"It's no problem, your welcome Damien." He said with equal sincerity.

"I will admit though, even when you said you'd take me to see them by yourself, I was thinking two things. Either you got two big and heavy pieces of adamantium in between your legs or you're so stupid you'd make Ralph Wiggum look like a member of MENSA. Going somewhere alone with a guy you nearly killed? It kinda makes me question your sanity."

He then let out a hearty chuckle. "For the record I never lie to others to get them to win them over and like me."

"Well remember that trust is a two way street. While you didn't INTENTIONALLY try to kill me, you almost did. So were not even just yet, remember that." I said ending with me pointing at him.

"Hmm. In my experience, never trust anybody. But I know you trust Koko a lot more than you let on and I see nothing wrong there. Now I know that you won't be working for Koko forever and despite what you may think I'm not one that has tunnel vision. I don't discriminate of whoever is in my employment. If you ever stop, why don't you come work for me? My door is always open. You may work for the same company but the jobs are a lot less frequent and more profitable."

"Yeah. I'd feel better castrating myself with blunt rocks." I said sarcastically.

"Hey you never know what life might throw your way." He said to me smiling.

Well I will admit, it wasn't until you sent me to Koko that shit actually stopped flying into my face almost EVERY goddamn day.

1123 Hours

Chotoro Tea House, Narita

We arrived at our designated meet up with both of our crews at from first glance a rustic old Japanese place from the outside but inside was reoutfitted to look like a modern lounge on the inside. Everyone was chatting with each other catching up on things and getting their lunches. But what I noticed immediately except for the staff that the only ones here were Koko and Kasper's crews.

"Lord, we can't be any more obvious. It's like we just rented the place for ourselves." He said.

"Yeah no shit." I said annoyed by his observation while looking at Koko waving to us both.

"Glad you two are back, lunch will be out soon. I hope you don't mind but I ordered the same thing for everyone." Koko said addressing us both.

Kasper went towards where Koko was sitting next to Tojo while I made for the circular table and seats next to them where Sophia was chatting with Lehm. As I sat down next to her I then felt a soft pat on my head from behind me. Being the silent killer she literally was, Chiquita had snuck up standing next to me with her welded on smile.

"Well mishka how are your little friends?" She asked as she was gently ruffling my hair. My eyebrow raised high.

Why are you touching me?

She then sat down next to Lehm, looked at him with her lazy smile, and his grin grew a little bit. A sort of silent hello is what they both did. I was a little surprised that they acted somewhat like a still married couple considering the multiple hook ups and break ups. My guess was that while they were working together they probably wanted to scam the benefits of working for HCLI as a married couple. They probably didn't really love each other just tolerated each other. Then again everyone's perception of love, marriage, or love and marriage is different. The same thing was with relationships as well and as far as Sophia and me went, it was rather out there. Chiquita then looked back at me tilting her head slightly, still wanting her answer.

"They're alright and as you can see your boss isn't mangled mess, so it went well." I said thumbing in the direction he was sitting.

Sophia then let out an annoyed sigh. "Just ignore him. He always acts like this when he can't cut loose."

"I do have a right to be pissed at people I don't like." I said looking towards her.

"Oh God did you not listen to anything I said in the last few days?" She said rubbing her forehead.

"Now now you two don't argue." Chiquita then poured two cups of tea and pushed them toward us. "From what the old man here told me you've taken quite a turn around since we last met. But that's for when lunch comes, go ahead and tell them Kasper."

"Of course." He turned to Koko and Tojo. "It seems I have a new rival. HQ couldn't dig anything up on these guys so I did some research on my own. But when I thought about Tojo it hit me, it couldn't have been more obvious. They were formally a part of the Joint Staff and are part of a special branch of Defense Intelligence Headquarters, or the Johohonbu, that work in conjunction with the JSDF as a special response force."

I was looking at Tojo and his face was souring at every word Kasper said. No doubt he was referring to some names and missions he truly wanted to forget while he was with Japanese Intelligence. During one of our card games a few months back that he first came into HCLI through Kasper a couple of years prior. When I asked how that happened in a specific tone the lucky bastard said he was rather social. He told me about a special type of autonomous unit that he was with and from what I could interpret as an evolved type of Japanese Delta Force. Except that they operated on behalf of themselves and not for Japan. It sounded exactly like Kane and his clown posse all over again. Even though I busted his chops more than once, he was another member of the crew I could connect with on a deep level. Except he just up and quit the normal way and I blew the hell out of a CIA black site.

"They're also known as the SR Unit and the man in charge is one Colonel Yosuke Hinoki. That's right Tojo, it's your old crew."

"Terrific." He said clearly upset as he adjusted his glasses.

"The reason I called for you specifically was that Hinoki is just a photograph to me. But since you actually used to work for the Colonel I figure you could give me a hand. Because I'm about 99 percent certain that these are the ghosts that have been haunting me and causing me and HCLI problems in South East Asia. But I need to know for sure since you're the only JSDF officer I know that actually made contact with these guys."

"This is sounding more like a favor than an order Kasper, how about you paint me a clear picture first."

Tojo knew what he wanted and this was sounding more and more like Kasper's problem alone.

"Now I know that you used to work for me but I didn't come to exploit that and honestly I thought you would be more into this kind of stuff. I know you left because you didn't like the way I conducted business, but you bounced around from job to job until you came back and started working for Koko. Think of this as refreshing feeling of old times. We can never escape the chains of our past can we?"

As I was sipping my tea I bit the cup a little harder than I should have and growled. He does know I'm sitting not more than five feet from him and he also knows the memories of MY past aren't what you call refreshing. But before I could bite through the cup, Sophia put her hand on my leg letting me know to relax.

"You know this doesn't feel right in the least." Koko said leaning forward to her brother. "You're taking them kind of likely, that they're an easy win. But knowing you, you already picked a fight with them and now you want ME to clean up the mess. Wipe your own ass Kasper."

It was almost as if she was sensing my feelings. I then bursted out a deep laugh as I took another swig of tea, making a mess of myself in the process. But I didn't care, she burned his ass good and she knew that he could have worded his explanation a little better.

"Hey now hear me out. I didn't pick a fight with anyone or anything, I only accepted a challenge from an invisible man who tried to strangle me in the dark. So naturally I took a swing and kept swinging until I hit something and I wouldn't be coming to you if I was taking this likely. I know you don't like Koko but I know you'll help me."

She then took a lengthy sip of tea as our lunches came in, she must have ordered the same type of ramen for everyone. She didn't want to deal with her brothers shit any more than I did. She looked toward me and Sophia and I shook my head "no" indicating it was his problem but then turned to Lehm and Chiquita who smirked in agreement and then turned back to her brother.

"If you want to discuss business then spare me the hyperbole."

Well at least she's being bottom line up front.

"And if I actually can prove that it IS them, what are you going to do about them?" Tojo asked.

"Crush them of course. I just need you to make them easier to see." He said rather casually.

"And there he is, the man who lives for destruction. You're never gonna change are you?"

Kasper then just answered with his lazy smile and slurped up the noodles from his bowl. Like any other criminal, he had a vicious streak and played it with his own unique charisma. To me it seemed like arrogance, but this type of charisma seems to be hereditary in the Hekmatyar family. Koko at least backs her's up with facts at least. But every now and then she presents herself with a very cold and overbearing dominance and it happens when she knows she's won and her opponent has nothing to counter attack with.

"He won't change either." Tojo looked back to the photo. "Hinoki is about as steadfast a giant rock, I'm letting you know this now this isn't going to run smoothly."

"I remember you telling me that when you left the SR Unit that they wouldn't be hindered in the slightest and you were right. A man can't be changed so easily but a group can. It seems like Hinoki's castle that he's working so hard to maintain might be made out of sand."

Man is never short on metaphors and euphemisms.

I could already tell that our next fun filled shootout was going to happen eventually so I would have to prep for the inevitable later. Since he came to us first, I wanted to be damn sure that he owed us. I downed the next my next bite of noodles and jumped in the conversation by pointing my chopsticks at Kasper.

"Remember that this is still primarily YOUR problem. Don't expect Koko and the rest of us to do all the heavy lifting."

He chuckled. "I know Damien. I already have thought of a two pronged plan we can set into motion. But after lunch first of course. So Koko? Tojo? Do we have a deal?"

She was beginning to drink her broth. "This will cost you, you know?'

"Hmm. I didn't figure it was free."

I then left them to their own conversation and went back to finishing my meal. The tender meat and golden broth of the ramen was hot till the last bite. Lehm wasn't kidding about the food here, no matter where you go it's awesome and they take the time to make it come out properly. As I set down my bowl there was a light tap on my head. Sophia looking at me with her chopstick she hit me with.

"God it's like talking to a brick wall." She said sounding like she was nagging.

"Hey I was just backing up Koko and Tojo's argument what's wrong with that?"

"It's not your problem and Koko can handle something like that herself. Not everything has to include you and your bloated ego."

Ok that's it, time to go there.

"And the difference between me and you swooning over Koko like a fangirl is?" I said as I leaned toward her in a gritted whisper.

She then started to blush and was stammering with trying to say something. But I just smiled in triumph and took a victorious sip of my tea, extended pinky and everything. But as I went to refill it I heard snickering from across us. Chiquita had her hand over her mouth and Lehm was looking off in the distance with a dumb look on his face.

"What?" I asked looking in Chiquita's direction.

"It's nothing, I'm just surprised on how much you've changed Damien."

"Actually he's been like this for a while now. You just kept catching him on his bad days." Lehm spoke up.

"Oh? Well what's he usually like?"

"In a word, 'ass'." Sophia said looking at me while finishing the last of her noodles.

I just rolled my eyes and ignored her.

"He has his faults but he more than makes up for it with his conviction, confidence and determination. He's a hell of a soldier, and a hell of a friend." Lehm said.

"Tell me." Chiquita said looking at him and then back to us. "Is it like looking in a mirror?"

Sophia and I both froze at what she just said. I couldn't believe that they were comparing themselves to us. I would be lying if I had said that this wasn't awkward but the comparison of relationships between us and them was kinda like the distance between the ground and the sky. As we were doing our best not to act embarrassed teens in front of our parents, Lehm looked at both of us and then back to Chiquita.

"Not in the least." He said in his usual bored draw.

Hopefully they would drop this for now. But I will admit, while I do have feelings for Sophia, I don't know if I've reached the "L" word yet. It's only been a few months and we keep our relationship out of sight of the rest of the crew, even though they knew. But we both needed to figure out how to not argue as much. I said to her before that alpha's collide and they don't connect. I need to start connecting and stop colliding. I couldn't ask Lehm for a smoke since that didn't work so I wished this tea had some alcohol in it to calm my nerves.

"So how long have they been screwing each other?" She asked with a curiosity of interest as I spat out my tea all over the table while dropping the cup.

SERIOUSLY! WHAT THE FUCK!?

1300 Hours

Narita International Airport

After a very embarrassing moment for both me and Sophia, Kasper wanted to get the plan into operation immediately. So the moment we were done with lunch we headed right back to the airport and they were immediately on a plane back to Jakarta. As we all stood outside in one of the parking lots that oversaw the runways, watching his plane leave on time, I looked to Tojo. This was his show now and he had to now play detective to see if his old friends had decided to butt into Kasper's business.

"Talks his mouth off and jumps right back on board a plane." Koko said looking at Kasper's flight taking off.

"Well Tojo what's the plan?" I said feeling the slight remaining wetness of tea on my shirt.

"The SR Unit has a HQ that is set up as a dummy corporation in Jakarta. Kasper is gonna distract them there while we work here."

"And by "distract" I take it you mean he's gonna lure them into an ambush?" I asked probably knowing the answer.

"We'll like I said Damien I need to find out if it IS them first."

I then turned to Koko. "You're being kind of generous with him, even if you say that this is a business transaction. Why don't you let him handle his own problems since he doesn't need to be potty trained anymore?" I said ending with a smirk.

"The two of us have always looked after each other. Ever since we were kids we've had to rely on each other to get to where we are today. With Floyd not being around all the time we had to solve whatever problems we had our own way. Despite me sounding like I was gonna blow him off I would never do that to him, he'd do the same thing if I came to him. Besides if we succeed my brother will get his trade routes in Southeast Asia back, and the boat load of cash he WILL give me is a plus."

She then turned to Tojo, her tone turned to concern.

"This is not however without risk. This means you're going to have to fight against your own team and boss. Do you feel torn about that?"

"Nope. Not in the least." He said with a straight face.

The both of us stared at him slightly perplexed that he was that honest in his response. I myself was a little concerned, granted I wasn't the one to lecture him on it, but it kind of sounded as if he was going after his old high school bully and would get back at him without consequence. Except in this scenario it involved the loss of life.

"Hey don't look at me like that, I'm not a heartless bastard. I'm not gonna beat myself up, I know Hinoki was my mentor and he beat so much invaluable knowledge into my head I was truly considering to become a full-fledged spy, I will never forget that. But I'm a pro and I work for you now, and I can't beat my enemies if I let my feelings get involved."

It was an all too true fact in war. Men on opposite sides who've either never met each other or have known that they aren't technically bad people had to fight and kill one another because one side was a threat to the other. It was either one or the other and if you let your emotions get the better of you, you'd be dead.

But speaking of emotions I was wondering why Sophia had an angry look on her face when she approached Tojo from behind and then put him in a sleeper hold.

"Uhh…why are you strangling him?" I asked her dumbfounded.

"I needed an excuse to blow off some steam from earlier."

"Why the hell you taking it out on him?"

"Him putting a sad look on my Koko's face was good enough!" She said tightening her grip.

Oh God, this crap again?

"Damien! Help! Get her off!" Tojo said choking.

We still needed Tojo alive to do this plan so I didn't have much of a choice. I let out an annoyed sigh and casually approached them to break the hold. But I hesitated when I got close because I saw the lack of resistance and slightly pleasured looked on his face. I then realized why based on the position of Sophia's body on Tojo's, those damn things aren't what you would call subtle. What's more pathetic is that that's a real desperate way to try and cop a feel, AND she's my girl.

"Blacking out! Please!" He pleaded.

I counted about another eight or nine seconds but as soon as his eyes started rolling into the back of his head that was enough. I tiled my head to get her attention and gave an innocent look to let him go. She did and Tojo dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes gasping for air. I then gave her a deadpanned look and she looked away embarrassed. I then leaned down and lifted Tojo up by his collar.

"Ok Sherlock time to put your plan into motion, so what's the first step?"

He let out a nasty hack. "I still got the Colonel's number, hopefully he picks up."

He then took out his phone and dialed it in while putting it on speaker, the rest of us gave him some breathing room. Wanting to make sure that the conversation was as private as possible. Wouldn't have mattered anyway since none of us speak Japanese.

"Hinoki Taisa. Kon'nichiwa. Watashi wa kore ga ao kara hazurete iru koto o shitte imasuga, -bun ga arimasu ka? Sore wa Tojo Akhito."

(Colonel Hinoki. Good afternoon. I know that this is out of the blue, but do you have a minute? It's Akihito Tojo.)

"Tojo? Uwa, soreha nenreidesu. De, anata wa genkidesu ka? Anata wa Nihon ni imasu ka? Watashi wa ima uten shite imasu."

(Tojo? Wow it's been ages. So how are you? I take it you're in Japan? Hang on I'm driving right now.)

"Watashi wa benrina toki ni betsu no jikan o yobimodusu koto ga dekimasu."

(I can call back another time when it's convenient.)

"Ie, sore wa daijobudesu. Watashi wa motsu to kiken'na koto o shita. Anata wa dodeshita ka?"

(No that's ok. I've done more dangerous things. So how have you been?)

"Genkidesu. Watashi wa Nihon ni imasu."

(I'm just fine. I'm in Japan right now on business.)

"Anata wa mada HCLI no Kasper de hataraite imasu ka? Saigo ni watshi wa anata ga yameru to kiita. Watashi ga anata ni oshieta sukiru o mada shiyo shite iru koto o negate imasu."

(You still working for Kasper at HCLI? Last I heard you quit. I hope you're still using those skills I taught you.)

"Watashi wa madaesu. Shikashi, watashi wa sukoshi mae ni Kasper de hataraku koto o yamemashita. Watashi wa mada HCLI no tame ni hatarakunode, watashi wa anata to hanashi o shitakatta nodesu. Watashi wa anata ga tonan'ajia no Kasper no boeki ruto kara nukedasu koto o nozomimasu. HCLI wa, yunitto o haijo suru tame no taisaku o kojite imasu."

(I still am. But I quit working for Kasper a while ago. I still work for HCLI and that's why I wanted to talk to you. I want you to pull out of Kasper's trade routes in Southeast Asia. HCLI is taking measures to eliminate the unit.)

"Hontoni? Ma sore wa zan'nendesu. Kasper wa watashitachi o dono yo ni hyogen shite imasu ka?"

(Really? Well that's unfortunate. How has Kasper been describing us?)

"Yurei."

(Ghosts.)

"Kanari seikakuna setsumei. Menimienai nigirikobushi ga mottomo dageki o ataemasu. Anata wa watashi ga kokishin o motte imasu. Kara wa mienai nanika o utsu koto o dono yo ni keikaku shite imasu ka?"

(Pretty accurate description. Having an invisible fist lands the most damaging blow. You have me curious though. How does he plan on beating something he can't see?)

"Watashi wa sorera o miru hoho o shitte imasu. Sore ga watashi no yakuwaridesu."

(I know the way to see them. That's my role.)

He then let out a laugh at the other end. "Anata go doko ni iru no ka wa kanari sawagashidesu. Anata wa kuko ni imasu ka? Kono kaiwa wa owatta yodesu. Sono yakedo denwa ni tsuri kakaru." Then there was a click that he must have hung up.

(It's rather noisy where you're at. Are you at the airport? Looks like this conversation is over. Hang onto that burn phone.)

He then put his phone back in his pocket and ran his hand through his hair. "Phew."

"Wow you seriously said 'Phew'? I thought you would have hauled ass to the nearest exit after being put into such a rather awkward spot." Lehm spoke up from behind him.

"Shut up you old fart. Like I'd ever bolt from a job. Your sense of humor is fucked up."

1530 Hours

Hikarigaoka Park, Nerima

Knowing that his protégé had personally called him to inform him about the incident involving HCLI, Hinoki was well aware of the growing situation that was going on in Jakarta. His contacts in the US National Security Agency had already forwarded some information about Koko Hekmatyar and HCLI conducting business with a certain group of computer science experts but this was not the case. He had to focus on why HCLI was being a little too aggressive in passing through their arms trade routes in Southeast Asia. He was sitting in on a conference call over his phone while his subordinates, one in Jakarta and the other in Tokyo, were ready to follow up their report.

"Kurosaka, you're up next."

"The so called robbery happened during a blackout during the storm. Nualkhair and three others were shot. Twice in the heart and once in the head. Evidence is conclusive that this was a professional hit. Probably done by…"

"Kasper. It was his men that did it. I already know." Hinoki said cutting off the woman on the phone.

"Colonel?"

"What do you mean sir?"

"I didn't hear it from him specifically but it happened as I was driving from DHI headquarters I heard a clear admission of guilt from a rather familiar individual."

"What now sir?"

"The bastards gunning for us!"

"Calm down you two we're in control of this. For Kasper we'll initialize Plan K, though we'll have to alter it significantly though. Now our targets younger sister Koko is in Japan with her team, we'll call this Operation Double K and we're going beyond covert ops. Koko employs some rather dangerous and highly trained mercenaries plus they know how I think. So we'll confuse them, we'll launch a multipronged attack, full combat scenario. It WILL get messy."

"Sounds good to me sir. I'll get the teams ready!" He said enthusiastically as he hung up.

"What about you Kurosaka?" Hinoki asked.

"I'm on board with the plan but this is highly irregular sir. Why the change in tactics?"

"It's nothing your team needs to worry about Kurosaka. From what I've gathered Koko's taken in an individual that the US would very much like to have. I figure if we deliver him dead or alive it will let our friends in Washington allow us to continue our operations in Southeast Asia a little bit easier."

"Very well sir. We won't let you down sir!"

"Alright then, go and cut loose."

He hung up his phone and leaned back on the bench he was sitting on and sighed.

"We'll I gave them the fight that they've been itching for so long. Either way, I'll come out of this unscathed. Koko may be young but her reputation and power speaks for itself. She truly walks along the grey path, though I'm not entirely sure why she's under the eye of the American's more than ever before. It's not like this so called "Nightmare" she has with her sounds more like a faint than a threat. Whoever he is he seems more like a ghost than we are. I can't pull up anything on him, it's like he doesn't exist."

1730 Hours

Rihga Royal Hotel, Koko's Suite

After dinner we all gathered together for a meeting for what Tojo managed to find. He literally spent the entire day on the phone and looking at his computer. His eyes were bloodshot from looking at a computer screen all day and throat somewhat dry from talking to his contacts and a few people who had noticed an increase in Japanese influence in Indonesia.

"Looks like Kasper was right Koko. After doing some digging, the SR Unit has been the ones behind all of this."

"Rather quick work, well done. Why don't you fill the rest of us in on the SR Unit."

"Try and keep it short and sweet, I mean all we really need to know is how to stop these guys." I spoke up.

"Main focus, intel and espionage. During the Cold War when they were still under the Joint Staff they worked primarily with the US Defense Intelligence Agency."

"DIA? Oh this just got a lot better." I said as I leaned back on the couch none too thrilled.

Formed by infamous SECDEF Robert McNamara in the 60's the DIA was formed to inform the US Government of the military intentions and capabilities of foreign governments as well as those that participate on a world stage. The main difference between them and the CIA is that they focus on intelligence that affects the US on a national level while the CIA focuses on more general intelligence needs. In short, if you wanted to find the gaps in the armor of another nations army, these were the guys for the job.

"Historically it's always been difficult for any type of intelligence agency to operate in Japan. The police normally have all the political power and my government has never created a consistent international policy."

"Article 9." Wiley chimed in by highlighting the clause of the Japanese constitution that renounced war.

"Exactly. It's tough to try and do your job in the world of spy's if you don't really have a clear picture of what the rules are. In recent years you couldn't really say that the JSDF's counter or even central intelligence as 'operational'. But when the US was picking up in Vietnam, this was where we started to shine. There were spots the US obviously could not go but Japan could. The original director of the SR Unit stationed himself in Jakarta with about fifty elite operatives from the JSDF. Many of them were trained by the DIA, Delta Force, and the SEALs so they had the training but like all the other agencies that were made before them they did not have the funding to stay afloat."

"Why do I have this feeling that in order for them to keep operating they got their cash from people they shouldn't have?" I asked as I tapped Lutz on the back of the head so that he didn't dose off.

"We'll they didn't dip into the Golden Triangle if that's what you're thinking. They supplemented arms deals between the US and the JSDF."

"And there it is. Cause during this time we had to be the offensive element if war ever broke out in Asia again but we couldn't just leave you guys defenseless."

"Yep. Because of that they began to thrive in weapons deals and fought with information warfare against the growing communist powers in Southeast Asia. But there arms budget became so successful that their SR budget became unnecessary."

"Greed, no surprise there."

"After the Cold War ended the SR Unit underwent a change, and this was when Colonel Hinoki was appointed as its new director. It happened in '97 when there was a reformation of Japan's intelligence community into what it is today, the Johohonbu. Then they slipped even further into the cracks becoming harder to see, only a handful of Japanese officials even know they exist. They don't really have anyone to answer to."

"A totally rouge unit that went into the arms business for themselves. They're kinda starting to sound like Pakistan's ISI or hell let's just call them the bad guys from 'Lethal Weapon' and drop them in Japan."

"Well they're not that charismatic but since Kasper was expanding his routes it was only a matter of time before he bumped into Hinoki so conflict was inevitable. You were there for a while, you know with all the cultural, political and religious ideologies causing so many problems it's a gold mine for the arms trade."

"Yeah and as sick as it sounds, as long as those idiots down there keep throwing people into the grinder and cranking out drugs, gun running is essentially a license to print money." I said as I made the cash gesture with my hand.

"Well that's enough for that. Tell us about Hinoki." Koko said.

"His cover is that he's the senior director of that dummy corporation along with a sham marriage to some Thai woman in order maintain the image of legitimate businessman. Honestly I have no idea how he keeps all of these lies of his straight."

Being on both sides of the playing field I learned a lot during the time when I was constantly on the move. How to launder money to be clean, set up dummy corporations like these guys were doing so I can funnel and spend the money I got from jobs, and make sure that they're set up in tax haven's so that international authorities couldn't trace me. I went by literally a dozen different fake names and have had to change the name of the source in how I use my money from my Swiss account three times until I was put on Koko's books as legit. It's all about patience but Hinoki had more challenges than I did since he ran a group and I only have myself to worry about.

"Man started out young as a JSDF infantry officer, got Ranger qualified too. Then he enrolled in command school and became an officer in the DIA, worked his way into the SR Unit and distinguished himself there. He really caught the DIA's attention when he posed as a businessman and smuggled himself into an Iranian factory where they were in the process of enriching uranium for their nuclear program. Cleaned them out without ever knowing he was there."

Jesus. This guy IS a ghost.

"How's this guy's fighting style?"

"When it comes to handling a secret unit he's old school. Lure a target into the shadows and take them out while they're in the dark. He does like to do things quiet so he won't do this head on."

"Hmm. Seems like he and I have a lot in common, shame that we can't get along and talk things out properly. Oh well, that's life. Can't have everything go smooth and peaceful." Koko said.

Life of a mixture of crime and warfare. Neither of which are smooth, much less peaceful.

2300 Hours

While I was on patrol with Tojo I couldn't shake the feeling in the back of my head that this was gonna get messy. I like to be naturally prepared for anything, and walking around with just my duel .45's made me feel uncomfortable.

"You feel nervous too big guy?" He asked.

"I won't lie this is starting to feel a little bit like when I was first on the run. I had to be aware of everything. But at least this time I'm deliberately walking into the shadows. I just have to wait and see what DOES happen and hope I'm not hitting smoke."

"Isn't this like what happened with Hex?"

"Nah. Hopefully we can squash this without progressing further than we need to. And if you ask me Koko's the craziest one out of all of this. Kasper's still a dickhole, but he could have handled this himself. He didn't need to bring Koko into this and I mean for God's sake she's got enough enemies as it is. But as painful as this is to admit, he kept his promise, so I trust him a little bit more. And that he needed her help."

As I was checking my watch to see that our shift was almost over his phone started to buzz. "Hai? Tashika ni, watashi wa sore o yomudeshou."

"Hinoki?" I asked as I nodded to Lutz and Mao who took over our patrol.

"Yep. Looks like we'll start this sooner rather than later. But that's for tomorrow morning, I'll let Koko know later. Night."

"Later."

We both went our separate ways and I went towards my room. As I opened the door and turned on the lights I heard the TV was on. I saw Sophia lying back on the bed acting casual, flipping through channels. I noticed that her hair was wet, she must have just got out of the shower.

"Aren't you supposed to be with Koko?" I asked as I put my leather jacket on a chair.

"She got drunk again." Not looking at me as she was glued on the TV.

"Nuff said." I then sat on the bed next to her getting shoulder to shoulder. "So?"

"So?"

"Was it really necessary to act the way you did at the airport today? This doesn't have anything to do with the bar fight does it? Cause you know that wasn't my fault."

"No it doesn't. I just like seeing you react the way you do."

So that's how she wants to play it? Time to rev up the charm.

"Well I just like seeing you. Every. Inch. Of. You." I said walking my fingers up her arm.

"Just cause I don't wanna deal with Koko's drunken behavior again doesn't mean you get laid tonight." She said grabbing my hand with her eye's slanted.

"How 'bout tomorrow night?" I asked mischievously.

"Can you please focus that we're preparing for a fight we might not be able to see very well in!?" She said glaring at me.

"Ok ok shit! I was just trying alleviate the tension." I said holding my hands up in defense.

We then looked back toward the TV, I got bored after about five seconds on reading the English subtitles on whatever was on. Just some talk show talking about nothing.

"Hey."

"What?"

"What does this get me?"

I then put my hand on her face and kissed her. I made it a little long but no tongue. But as I pulled back she had the look on her face as if it was just mediocre.

"Still not happening."

"Hmpf. You're no fun." I said looking away and crossing my arms.

"Yet." She simply said and I smiled.