Chapter 11-Options
The sun was setting slowly in the horizon when the group made it back. Mako pulled the car into the driveway and turned the ignition off. Usagi was still sleeping, snoring slightly. She jerked awake when the loud motorcycles pulled up beside the car. Haruka pumped her fists, seemingly happy to have beaten Seiya by a margin.
The front gate opened and everyone came out to meet them. The group was scheduled to be back by noon, Mako wondered if Ami was worried. Sure enough, the blue hair girl dashed through and ran straight to Mako.
"Thank goodness. What happened?" Ami broke from the brief hug and looked at Mako.
"Well, we got side tracked. And yeah...something happened. We will have to talk about it as a group later."
Seiya strutted over to the group and extended her hand, "Hi, I am Seiya."
Rei narrowed her eyes and hissed. "I don't trust men, Haruka, who is he?"
"Oh, I see..." Seiya smirked and start to slowly unbutton her shirt.
Haruka rolled her eyes and continued to walk inside. "She's a woman. Stop stripping, no one wants to see that. Seiya is annoying but she is alright."
Ami arched an eyebrow and looked towards her girlfriend. Mako shrugged. "They've been arguing ever since they first met. For someone so similar to each other, they sure don't get along."
Michiru walked over and joined in on the gossip. "Haruka doesn't like popular "men"." She chuckled as she looked at Seiya up and down. "I am not bored..." With that, Michiru walked back into the house. "Dinner will be ready in five minutes. Come inside..."
Ami was about to follow suit but Mako pulled her in. She leaned down and graze her lips against Ami's. The blue hair girl melted into Mako's arms and returned the kiss. Few seconds later, they reluctantly parted.
"Something happened?" Ami repeated her question.
Mako nodded solemnly. The world just got uglier...
Soon, everyone settled down at the table. Hot dinner was served but Mako felt her appetite waning. She stared at the soup as she mindlessly stirred it. The tofu pieces swam around and around, pulling Mako in in a hypnotic state.
Mako had been lucky. She managed to find a group of friends that she could rely on. They had food, water and electricity. She even managed to find love during an apocalypse. What she learned today had made her feel guilty for having it all. Out there, less fortunate people had to go to certain extremes in order to survive.
When dinner was over, Haruka ushered Hotaru and Chibiusa to go upstairs. Certain adult things needed to be discussed. The girls happily left after receiving a bribe, in the forms of a stuffed animal and a miniature race car.
"Okay, so, we learn something new. In the Juban shopping district, some guys banded together and set up a trading post. Ami, Mako said that you were looking for some new lab equipment, right? Well, Seiya and I went there to see if we could trade for it. We went disguised as men, as suggested by her. Well, they are willing to trade if we give them four young women." Haruka shook her head as she recounted.
"What?!" Rei stood up abruptly, her face red with anger.
Seiya nodded sadly. "Apparently, they have a good escort business going on until their four sex workers wanted out. So, they are in desperate need for a replacement. They claimed that those women willingly accepted the job, in exchange for food and security. From the rumors on the street, they have more than just four workers and they use girls as young as 14."
"What a load of bull." Minako pulled out her gun and started to clean it. "I want them to willingly take a bullet in their heads."
Usagi shook her head violently. "We are not talking about killing people right? You guys can't be serious."
"What about the poor women they are exploiting? Shouldn't we try to save them? Sometimes, killing is justified." Haruka said coldly.
Mako's heart raced as she listened to everyone argue. When she first heard about it, she wanted to just go charging in and kill those bastards. Usagi spent a good amount of time talking her down. Her heart broke when she saw how upset Usagi was by all this.
"...I am not saying we turn a blind eye. We have to save those women too. Bring them here if we have to. I just don't think killing people is the answer. Those four guys that ran the post, they were just normal people like us." Usagi continued to plead.
"So, what is your brilliant plan to save everyone, including the wretched souls of those scumbags?" Rei walked over and stared down at Usagi.
"Well, why don't we throw them into the prison? Or at least have a fair trial for them? Minako is a cop, she can arrest them." Usagi suggested.
Minako let out a roaring laugh. "You are so naive. Okay, let's say we do throw them into jail, then what? I don't want to waste food and resources on them. We also risk the chance that they might get out, hunt us down and kill us in revenge."
Tears welled up in Usagi's eyes. "I just don't believe in killing people. There must be another way..."
Setsuna cleared her throat and the room fell into silence. "So, we have three options. One, we go in, guns blazing and kill them all. Then save the women and take the medical equipment. Two, we capture the guys and hold them captive. Three, we give them what they want. They want four women, we have four women."
Setsuna held up her hand as the group started to react. "Wait, hear me out. We can send four of our strongest fighters in, posing as sex workers. We need to disguise ourselves so that they don't recognize us, hence eliminating the possibility of retaliation. Michiru, your bags of back-up make up will come in handy. Then we free the women and grab what we needed."
"That is very risky," Michiru said, echoing the sentiments of the majority in the room. "But, the third option is probably our best bet. If we go in, guns blazing in a killing rampage, we don't know what kind of weapons we would be facing. With the third option, at least we can get eyes into the camp first. Seiya, how well do you know their layouts?"
"Well, the district is still pretty much the same except a new fence surrounding it. Gates were reinforced. Usually, two guards at the front gate. Inside, I don't know how many exits, or how much firearms they have. Kunzite, the leader, called himself the general. He was part of the army's response team to the zombie crisis back in the day. I imagined he probably stockpiled a whole bunch of guns and rifles." Seiya got up and ripped a page from a nearby sketchpad. She roughly sketched out the layouts. "I went in there twice, to trade for motorcycle parts. Back then, trade price was a tank of fuel."
"Alright, all in favor of option three, don't kill if you don't have to. I am sorry, Usagi, but if it's necessary, I would defend my own life with all I've got," Haruka said as she raised her hand. Usagi nodded, as she raised her hand as well. It was a unanimous decision.
"I will be one of the undercovers." Ami volunteered.
Mako whirled her head around. "No, Ami. It's too dangerous. Plus, you are a doctor, you are unexpendable. I'll go."
"Yeah, Ami, stay. Don't worry, Minako and I will go and make sure Mako is okay. You trust our abilities right?" Rei put a hand on Ami's shoulder.
Mako pleaded with Ami silently in her head. She knew that look. Once Ami's mind was made...
"I am going. I know what the centrifuge looks like and I can get out of there faster. Steal it and then go." Ami tried to give Mako a half smile.
"What if you are caught? If you are forced to defend your own life?" Haruka stood up and walked towards Ami.
"Attack me. Right now." Ami got up from the chair and moved to a more open area.
Haruka's eyes narrowed slightly and then she nodded. "Okay. I won't go easy on you. There is no easy out there, doc." Haruka cracked her knuckles.
Mako widened her eyes in shock. She had been teaching Ami some basic moves, but they were rudimentary. Mako held her breath. Before she knew it, Haruka was running towards Ami.
Mako stared in disbelief when she saw a glint of confidence in Ami's eyes. That almost invisible half-crooked smile. The taller, faster Haruka threw out a punch, as Ami started to crouch down. Simultaneously, Ami withdrew her right fist back, rotating 180 degrees. Then, like a piston, she sent her arm out while rotating the wrist back.
The punch hit center mass and Haruka doubled over in pain. Ami wasn't done yet. She grabbed Haruka's arm near the shoulder and used it as leverage. She flung the taller blonde down to the carpet.
Mako, along with everyone else, stared at Ami with disbelief. Ami bent down, apologized to Haruka and then helped her to her feet. "Sorry, I know physics and anatomy. Now let's go check out your wounds."
"Ami, remind me to never piss you off." Haruka rubbed her sore spots.
"I pulled back my attack. Based on my calculation, if I go faster, I should send enough concentrated force to that one spot and should be enough to break a rib or two. So, really guys, you don't have to worry about me out there." Ami smiled apologetically.
Mako breathed a sigh of relief. Her girlfriend can kick ass. "Alright, so I'll go with Ami, Minako and Rei to this thing."
"I should go too." Usagi raised her hand. The room responded with a resounding "no".
Seiya took Usagi's hand and brought it in for a kiss. "You might want to sit this one out, Odango. I will be the contact and I will bring in these four girls. Haruka, you should stay behind and protect the rest of the people here."
Haruka was about to protest when Michiru put a hand on her shoulder. "You have to stay. We can't have all of our fighters go at the same time."
Ami cleared her throat and opened Michiru's sketchbook to an empty page. "Now, let's get planning. We might need to leave as early as tomorrow morning."
Mako felt her heart swell as she listened to Ami's intricate plan. It was going to be a great fight.
A.N.
For the next few chapters, some dark topics will be discussed (human trafficking, sexual exploitation of women etc). It might be triggering for some, so please be aware.
