Akihito didn't know if he had ever been as nervous as he was right now. Sion was pulling out all the stops to rescue Asami and Kirishima but it still involved a lot of time just waiting for everyone else to do their part. Most of Team Takaba and a number of Asami's personal guards were gathered in the building next to Umeji's headquarters. Two of Asami's men were dangling off the side of the other building as they cut into the windows with some crazy tiny lasers. It was so quiet, he honestly couldn't believe they were slicing through the glass so easily, they made it look like cheap plastic.
He watched through the window as the first section was removed effortlessly attached to two supporting suction cups. The last thing they wanted was for it to fall to the ground and shatter, alerting the building security to possible intruders. Shifting in place, he readjusted his gear again. They would be ziplining from a large open window to the other building once the cable was in place then the men cutting the windows would gather up their harnesses and make their way to the evacuation team. Three teams would then continue inside unimpeded by the bulky gear, although the bullet proof vests were still pretty bulky on their own.
One team would sweep the middle of the building aiming for where Sugita explained the control room should be, another would venture up the building to see if any intel could be gained and disable any security up there. Akihito's team would be making their way down to the basement level to hopefully rescue Asami and Kirishima. If he had one more warning about staying back, he was going to tear his hair out. But… He glanced down at the small pistol sticking out of his shoulder holster. He had had a rough lesson on how to use it but he still hoped he wouldn't have to.
For Asami though, he would. If it came to that.
It was one of Asami's personal guns actually. Ueda had told him where to look and he had located a case of weapons in a hidden compartment in the secret room. It was a rather alarming find but he felt a little more confident going into this mission armed, especially because it was Asami's. It gave him an extra sense of comfort, somehow. Only a few select members of Asami's staff knew about the hidden stash in case of emergencies, Ueda being the only one currently at Sion.
Quiet commands rapped out and he realised the second piece of glass had been removed and the zipline installed while he was lost in thought. A hand squeezed his shoulder as Kamiya walked past to attach himself to the cable and enter the other building first. As each team member walked past they would pat his shoulder or ruffle his hair. He wasn't sure if it was for his reassurance or them reminding themselves why they were there.
Perhaps both.
By the time it was his turn to cross into the other building, only three team members remained in the building with him. They had all done drills on this during the afternoon so it came to him almost automatically, his brain hadn't had time to forget the actions yet as he clipped himself to the cable and moved to stand in the window. The cold night air buffeted at him gently and he looked down. How many floors up were they again? The street lights seemed so far away and made the distance between the buildings seem like a yawning abyss.
He paused, taking a deep breath, then kicked himself off. He wasn't going to dither around while Asami was being held captive. The wind rushed in his ears and his heart leapt as adrenalin rushed through him. The harness under his thighs and around his waist kept him steady and secure. Oshiro met him at the other end and helped him through the cut window. He removed his harness without thought and placed it in the pile with the others. On any other night, he might have enjoyed the thrill of flying between buildings while everyone down below remained unaware.
The other two teams were quietly making their way out towards their respective goals when the last of his team flew through the window. The zipline was disconnected for their side and one of the evac team members hauled it up into the other building then closed the window with a small salute. He would be helping the two window cutters remove their gear then help to coordinate their escape.
Or provide back up if it all went to hell.
The plan had been hammered out down to the finest detail and each of the men accompanying him were the best of the best. Sion's elite. If anyone was going to be able to pull this mission off without a hitch, it was them. Akihito was incredibly grateful that these guys were on their side. He honestly didn't know what he would have done without them.
They began to move down to the lower floors of the building. He had pulled his pistol out and held it low as he had been taught. The head torches cast an eerie light about the building. It was so dark but for the odd flashes of their muted lights. They couldn't be too bright, least they give themselves away. There was six to a team except for theirs and Akihito walked slowly behind the four men in front of him. Two more brought up the rear.
The trek was quiet but for the odd report of rooms being cleared buzzing in his earpiece. It felt like an agonising amount of time to go down a level, sweep the floor to confirm the all clear then head down one more to do it again. It was necessary but the time taken grated on Akihito. They didn't know exactly where they were being held and they couldn't afford to take a chance. Still, he itched to see his soulmate and make sure he was okay. His mind was buzzing with the adrenalin that wouldn't leave him and his hands trembled around the warm metal in his grip.
He was the only one without a silencer, under the assumption that if Akihito was firing then their cover was well and truly blown, but it made him feel a little inadequate with his tiny gun. It was only slightly larger than the size of his hand. The others carried heavy duty things with long silencer barrels and it felt so surreal. Like something out of a movie. The movies never showed how much work went into a mission like this, nor could they convey the mass of feelings writhing inside.
Akihito quickly lost track of how many floors they cleared when the first report of hostiles came over the channel. Two down and the middle team where converging on the control room. They moved in strained silence until the report came that three more had been taken out and they were securing the security panels.
"All right, I'm plugged in. Give me a minute and I should be able to give you all more info." Nakahara's voice came over the line. He was back at the Sion control room with Sugita watching their progress on the map with their GPS tags and coordinating the teams. A small USB had been carried by the middle team to give him a way to try and hack into their systems.
"We are getting nothing but empty floors, would love some intel ASAP," Ueda replied.
"Give me a moment," was the distracted reply.
Akihito remembered what Nakahara had said when he asked what was on the USB. "Hacking isn't like in the movies. It would require hours of patience and monitoring but I'm going old school because we don't have that kind of time. I'm brute forcing it with a program I modified that was used in an old mission. You know what a DDOS attack is? It's kinda like that. Going to take them out then sneak in on the system restart."
"There's a lot of monitors here but it's hard to tell what floor everything is on, they use a code for the different areas," Oshiro chipped in. "Wait! Here, I see them! Asami-sama and Kirishima-san." Akihito's heart stopped and it felt like his entire world tilted in that moment. They were here. "The camera is labelled as location B4. They are tied to chairs with some kind of medical drip stand next to them but otherwise they appear unharmed. Camera B5 looks like it's just outside the door, at least two hostiles on screen."
"B4, basement level?" Ueda muttered.
"Okay, I'm in. Bringing up the camera feeds on Sion's end and tracing the camera locations," Nakahara interrupted.
Akihito's team reached the stairwell and headed down to the next level. How many more floors to go? It wasn't one of the massive stairwells from the movies where you could see straight down the middle to know how many to go, each floor had a landing area before the staircases so the furthest they could see ahead was only one floor. If he was learning anything from this experience, it was that TV and movies really made things rather convenient. If only it could be as easy as for the hero's in stories swooping in to save the day.
"My estimate based on the location readings would put B4 underground, well below the surface. I recommend going to the very bottom of the stairs and poking around. This looks like six or seven floors below but it's possible it's hidden from the rest of the building. It may have a different entrance. I'll keep running scans on these files, see what I can find."
Ueda lead the way while Nakahara conferred with the team at the top of the building. There were a few areas with cameras that seemed a little odd and they were going to investigate for anything of interest. Akihito found his heart rate spiking and he shook as they descended closer and closer to where his soulmate might be. He desperately needed to know if he was okay. It had only been four days since he had been taken but it felt like a lifetime.
"We're at the bottom floor now," Ueda reported while the others spread out, checking the area.
"Your GPS puts you at ground floor. I have a camera facing a door on the ground floor but I can't pinpoint an exact location. It appears to require a security code to unlock. Their security is pretty tight, I'm having trouble accessing any files, you made need to blow it open."
"Good a time as any to test those portable explosive strips," Ueda replied with a menacing grin. The flashing of their lights cast deep shadows across his face and it made his smile seem almost demonic. Akihito shuddered at the look. They moved through room after room before they finally found the door and appeared on the security cam. "You got us access?"
"Nope." Nakahara gave a frustrated sigh. "The security on their data system is pretty high-tech, not like what they used for the monitoring stations which is super basic. I'll keep working on it but you're going to have to blow it. I already turned off all the alarms available to this monitoring station but if you trip anything that's accessed remotely, I won't know."
"Right everyone back," Ueda ordered as one of the guards stepped up with something he pulled from his pouch. "Takaba-sama, back into the other room. Guns ready people, we don't know what to expect but there are at least two armed guards down there. I want notification if anyone moves on the security feeds."
"Roger that."
Akihito let himself be ushered back into the previous room along with three others. Putting his hands to ears to block the bang, he waited, holding his breath. Even expecting it, he still jumped when the explosion went off. Everyone froze, waiting, straining to hear any movement.
"No movement from the two hostiles on screen. Asami-sama and Kirishima-san appear to be awake though, they have started talking. Asami-sama looks awfully relaxed all of a sudden."
"He's knows I'm here," Akihito whispered, suddenly realising what was going on. "We must be close if he can tell. Sometimes I can feel roughly where he is and if it moves direction a lot in a short space of time then I know he's close by, he must be able to do the same thing. Fuck, I wish I could feel it right now."
He fought off frustrated tears as his emotions swirled. They were close, so close. He just desperately wanted to see him again, feel his skin against his own. To know he was real and make the past few days feel like nothing more than a bad dream. Teiji squeezed his shoulder in silent support.
"Don't worry, Takaba-sama. We got this."
He nodded and squared his shoulders even as he continued to fight off the urge to run down the stairs without thought. Waiting for the four to go in front and clear the landing area was the hardest thing he had ever done. They skipped the elevator and instead opted for the massive winding staircase. He put one measured step in front of the other as he made his own way down into the depths of the building. Faint music could be heard growing louder the further down he went.
"Hostiles ahead. I count three, maybe more. Not all the room is visible from here. It appears to be a staff room, they are sitting at a table playing cards."
"Music would be why they didn't hear us," Ueda whispered. "They expect a call from the control room if anyone goes near the door, I bet. Their guns are all holstered so we have a chance to take them out before they can respond. Teiji swap out, I want you up front." The man moved out from behind Akihito and swapped with one of the others out of his line of sight. Akihito stayed perched on the stairs, waiting. "We go in take out all hostiles and clear the room. Expect more. Hit them hard and fast."
Agreement whispered out down his earpiece and he was left waiting with his heart in his throat as others moved forward to put their lives on the line for him. He didn't know how Asami could bare the weight of that, he honestly didn't know how he would handle the guilt if of these men died during this mission tonight. But they were so close now, so hopefully the worst would never come into play. They also had the bullet proof vests.
Muted shots rang out followed by dull thuds. He held his breath in the silence then jumped as someone yelled out only to be cut off by a strangled gurgle.
"Fourth hostile down, proceeding to sweep the room."
"Watch out, the two from the B5 camera are moving to investigate the noise," Nakahara cautioned over their channel. "They have drawn weapons."
The sound of a door then more gunfire and yelling. It was quickly silenced. The quiet was suddenly heavy and the two men standing with him looked grim. His hands still trembled around the weapon in his grip and his heart was pounding. People were now dead in the other room. It tore at him but fuck, they had captured Asami. He couldn't let them steal his soulmate away.
Whatever it took. That's what he had told the team. Too late for regrets now.
"Room is clear, moving forward."
Akihito took that as clearance to descend the last of the stairs. He paused at one of the guard's signals and they waited until the next room was cleared before hurrying through, past the bodies of the guards. He hadn't thought about that but was grateful for the consideration. He kept his gaze averted from the limp forms and the blood splattered walls.
"You're on B5 camera," Nakahara's voice was tight and Akihito ran forward, uncaring now.
He just needed to see Asami.
Ueda forced him back as another explosive strip was adhered to the locked door. He used his bulk to bar him from rushing forward but also to shield him from the light and sound. Only once it had blown did he move. Two people moved in first, weapons drawn, but Akihito was hot on their heels, hands steady for the first time that evening. The heightened adrenalin rushing through him saw to that.
"Target's confirmed. We have them."
There he was. Dirty, ragged, but grinning like the smug bastard he was. All the feelings of anger, desperation, and loss came rushing forward. Akihito stalked forward, each step sounding loud in his ears as the anger built. Everything was coming pouring out and it funnelling into a rage. Umeji wasn't here to take his anger out on and all that was left was white hot rage.
"You!" Akihito hissed as he reached his soulmate while another moved around to cut him free. "I believe you have something to say to me along with an apology for being so busy protecting me that you didn't protect yourself!"
Silence descended the room and from the corner of his eye he could see Ueda regarding him with surprise. Clearly this was not the reaction anyone expected upon being reunited with his soulmate.
A deep baritone laugh met his words. Asami laughed and laughed. Akihito reached out to cup his face in his hands as his drunk in the sound he wasn't sure he would ever hear again. Once the laughter subsided, Asami leaned forward and bumped their foreheads together, golden eyes swirling with untold emotion. Akihito's breath caught as his chest constricted. Their chests lit up and the light began to beat in time, one shared heartbeat between soulmates. The proof of their bond.
"Aishiteru, Akihito."
"You fucking bastard," Akihito whispered as his anger collapsed and tears streaked down his face at the words and the proof of the feelings behind them. "That's cheating."