- Ghost in the Shell -
"Blood for Blood"
Chapter 2 – Chaos
"Major, can you give me an update on the surveillance mission your team is currently engaged in? Where are you?" Chief Aramaki, head of Section 9, sat at his desk in his office as he monitored the progress of the teams his unit had out on field assignments. Behind him the windows dominating the exterior wall gave him a panoramic vista of the city below him that he seldom had time to enjoy.
"I'm roughly halfway through the second storage section of their warehouse." A soft but confident feminine voice entered the Chief's mind supplying him with an answer. The voice belonged to Major Motoko Kusanagi, his second in command and also the team's leader.
"Chief, I find it very strange how lightly the security measures seem to be for this facility. And that's not all."
"What do you mean Major?"
"Well, Chief, so far we haven't seen anything in here that's out of place. I mean nothing at all."
"The internal security seems too light you say? That doesn't seem right considering the type of weapons these people are supposed to be smuggling into Japan. We expected it to be closely guarded with considerable surveillance and externally guarded as well."
"I realize that Chief. Something here just doesn't seem to be right."
"Very well, Major. Be careful." Chief Aramaki terminated the connection and tried to consider the ramifications of what he had just heard.
"Always Chief." Major Kusanagi crept along the aisleway behind a line of shelves containig packing crates. She was wearing a sneak suit of optical camoflage over her normal body armor of ballistic cloth.
Although she appeared to be a very attractive young woman, her body was full cyborg which gave her the tremendous speed, power and co-ordination she possessed. And right now she was using everything she had to accomplish her mission of searching this warehouse for any traces of illegal weaponry without being detected by any of the guards or surveillance systems.
Taking long quick strides, she moved from one section of crates to another checking them as swiftly as she could. As she reached the end of one section she crouched down holding her weapon out in front of her as she scanned her surroundings with her eyes.
As she moved to her next point of concealment between two crates she crouched down and froze briefly allowing her eyes to track the lighting and access ways for any infra red sensors, laser detection systems or motion detectors.
Coming to the end of a line of crates, she leapt upwards landing on top of one of the crates using the I-beam it was next to as a shield.
The Major mentally opened a circuit to her team members. "Batou, Togusa, is anything going on out there? Any activity or reaction at all?"
The two men in question were outside the warehouse concealed in two strategic spots allowing them to provide support, detection surveillance and guarding their exit route should everything go to hell and they needed to escape quickly.
"No Major, a couple of bored looking guards sitting in their little boxes at the access points, that's all." Batou looked up and down the roadway which linked the warehouses to the main roadway as he spoke. He was crouching down at the edge of a copse of trees almost at the front entrance.
Batou was also a full cyborg although his body type exemplified what an android body built for combat would look like. Tall, broad and powerfully built, he looked every bit human except for his eyes which had been replaced by a pair of special optical cameras.
"Well, is there anything down at your end?" he snarled at his young partner, Togusa.
"No Boss, it's dead quiet down this way as well and out to the end of the alleyway also. No rovers, no patrol, nothing." Togusa, Batou's partner was the youngest member of Section 9 and the member with the least amount of cyborg implants as well.
Togusa was stationed at the end of the warehouse roadway also concealed in a tree line with their car.
The Major frowned silently for a second before speaking. "Chief, are you monitoring all this?"
"I can hear you Major."
"Sir, this isn't making any sense. There aren't any weapons so far nor does there seem to be anyone here to guard them if there were." Kusanagi stayed crouched and continually swiveled her head in all directions as she spoke.
"I understand that, Major."
"What do you make of it, then? This was supposed to be the storage point for the anti-air missile packs being smuggled in according to the people at Intel."
"I'm just as surprised as you, Major. All I can think is that there has been some error in the timing of the delivery."
Batou's voice broke into the circuit. "Hey all this is telling me so far is that it's time to get the hell out of here before someone comes along to brighten our day, which up till now has been a complete waste of time."
Chief Aramaki closed his eyes and shook his head slightly at Batou's outburst. "All right, let's keep calm everyone. Major. As soon as you can tell me that there is nothing to find get your team out of there and return to base."
Major Kusanagi tilted her head, listening to something she thought she had heard. "Okay Chief, that won't very long at all. I'm about…" Kusanagi stopped talking suddenly as she heard the noise growing louder from the other end of the warehouse.
She listened carefully turning her head trying to identify the sound's direction and what was making it. She realized it was getting louder fast.
"Chief we've got company coming. I can hear something coming towards me, but I can't see it or tell what it is yet."
The Major snapped out orders to her people. "Batou, you and Togusa get ready to get us the hell out of here now."
Still crouched down in the tree line but now clearly agitated, Batou replied. "Roger that, Major We'll be ready." Batou Looked back towards his partner's position. "Togusa, get the car read, we're about to blow this dump fast."
"Okay, Boss. I'm ready." Togusa, hearing what was going on was already in the car with its engine running.
Inside the warehouse, the Major could now easily hear what was coming her way and she knew it was going to be bad.
Jumping down from her perch on the crates and sprinting to the line of shadow cast by the crates, she was just starting to make her way back towards the far entrance when a large, fast moving nightmare turned the corner not that far from her present position.
Although it obviously was a machine, it resembled nothing quite so much as a gigantic, black spider. This spider though was much deadlier. Instead of fangs it sported a pair of three barreled mini-guns low in front built into a rotating turret.
Its head area sported what was obviously an array of sensor and tracking devices for acquiring its prey.
The Major froze as it turned her way hoping that her sneak suit combined with her concealed position might shield her enough to escape detection.
Her heart skipped a beat as the thing's turreted head snapped over towards her direction. Kusanagi immediately turned and her long legs powered her into flight as she sprinted away from the thing that started forward in pursuit.
"Togusa, Batou, get that car over here. I've got some company and it's definitely hostile. Be at the entrance ASAP."
As the Major sprinted for all she was worth towards freedom she heard a rough tearing noise behind her and she threw herself to the right, dodging behind a line of crates just as a stream of shells from the warehouses guardian barely missed her, flying over her back to rip into the crates she had just been running in front of.
Matoko was now running back towards the entranceway she had entered but she now had a line of crates between her and the main aisle way where the doorway was. The same aisle way where the monster chasing her was. The only good thing she could see was that she was definitely faster.
With some desperation creeping into her voice she called out a warning, "Batou, are you two in position? I'm almost out and you better be ready, this thing is right on my tail."
Batou sprang forward out of concealment to scream to his patner,'Togusa!" He never got to finish as Togusa lit the tires up in smoke as he accelerated out onto the blacktop and raced over to Batou.
Batou ripped the door open before the car had even stopped and threw himself in. "Go, Go you idiot! Move it!" Togusa already had the car flying towards the entrance and their leader who was still running for her life.
As Matoko neared the end of the warehouse she desperately tried to think of a way to get over to the main aisle way and the door without being torn to shreds. She remembered a mind's eye view of the crates positions when she first entered and it came into her mind swift as a lightning bolt.
Just as she came close to the end of the line, she pushed herself even harder and raced at her full velocity before turning left towards the crates between her and freedom. She only had a split second to time her approach towards one set of crates that were only stacked two high.
Just as she got to the gap in the line Kusanagi jumped up and slammed both feet onto the top crate launching herself high into the air and above the killing machines line of fire.
She hit the ground on her feet still running with everything she had just at the entrance to the door with enough speed to take her outside just as another stream of shells ripped into the doorway shreading it.
As she literally flew out into the darkness she slammed into the side of their car stunning her momentarily. Before she could regain her sense of balance a huge arm and hand wrapped around her waist propelling her inside the car a second before Togusa again lit the tires up in a frenzied effort to escape being killed.
"Chief?"
"Yes Major?"
"Chief, there were no weapons that I had time to detect, but it turned out to be better guarded than I thought."
"Very well Major , return to base then and make your report. Nice job."
"Yeah Chief, sure."