Oh my dear god, I can finally end the hiatus! Terribly sorry to those of you who have been waiting, and thank you for those who follow/favorited this fanfic that has been dead for a while now. Enjoy.

7:30 a.m. came. A sliver of sunlight peeked through the gaps of the closed curtains. The preparations for transferring the two teen agers were set, and the four meant to guard them were at the living room. Kota and Saya were still rubbing their eyes and stifling yawns. Saeko was a little drowsy herself, but was far more at attention than them. The three members of the Wolfpack, however, were different. They had already been awake from the hour prior to their departure, finished a light warmup exercise, and were currently going through the final weapon check.

Aside from knives, Vector and Christine were armed with the pistols and assault rifles they had taken during their escape from Guam, and Ryuji was equipped with the weapons he had stashed on the roof of the school and an additional rifle.

Saeko was wearing some old clothes given to her by the women in the Wolfpack as well as a bulletproof vest. Aside from the wooden sword she owned, Ryuji gave her a machete as a spare weapon, which she wore on her hip with a belt.

"Ryuji, Christine, I'll be leading until this operation is over. Wheels up at 0800. Busujima, I don't mind that you can fight without a gun, but do everyone a favor and stay out of the line of fire. And have Ryuji teach you on how to use one."

"Yes sir." Saeko replied, tensing up.

Vector then motioned with his head to Ryuji to give her a gun. With some reluctance, he pulled the backup pistol hidden in his ankle holster and handed it to her. Out of the many guns that exist in the market, Saeko was given a snub-nose revolver, renowned for its reliability, durability and simplicity in its structure, along with several spare rounds fitted in full moon clips. "This is used by uniformed cops in the Japanese MPD called the Smith & Wesson M37. Hold it."

Saeko took the gun into her hands, and was surprised by its weight despite the size. She knew swords were deceptively heavy, and expected no less from a gun, but holding an actual functioning firearm felt different. She wasn't sure how to explain it, but it was just…different.

"Put your left hand here." He guided her hand to the butt end of the grip. "And tighten your hand's grip a bit. un This'll keep your gun arm steady. When you actually shoot, tighten it even more. It's a lot louder than you think, so just watch out for that. When you run out, use your thumb to push this metal piece forward. That will loosen the cylinder and it'll swing out to the left. tip the bullets out, load it, push the cylinder back, and you're ready to fire again. To aim, line the wedge of up the rear sight with the front sight on the end of the barrel. Finally, when you shoot, cock the hammer. Pulling the trigger is actually easier in that state, and reduces your hands from shaking immediately after firing."

Saeko ruminated and practiced for several minutes to grasp the basics of handling a weapon safely. Ryuji even tested her several times with various questions of gun parts' names, how to operate them, and the stances for properly shooting. "How am I doing?"

"It's a start. Just don't fire haphazardly. It doesn't have too much stopping power but it's loud enough and you only have five rounds. Ask—"

"Before firing. And make it count."

"Good. Vector, we're ready to go."

"Duly noted." Finishing up the last touches of sharpening his knives, he slipped them back into the various sheathes on his vest, thighs and belt buckle. Vector took the lead as they headed out of the safe house. Signaling the others to hold their position, he quickly and quietly climbed over the gate, nimble as a cat. He then moved across the walls surrounding the other houses. Considering he was now in his early forties, this feat came as a surprise to the ones unfamiliar with him. However, there was one problem The walls across from him were closer to the Tahoe, and with or without a running start, it was not a distance that he could make. The only choice was to walk across the road.

Vector counted to three in his mind, took a deep breath, and held his breath as he slowly brought his foot down on the pavement. Cloak and dagger. Quick but steady. Cold and smooth.Vector continued this mantra on and on as he advanced, reminiscing about the days of being under the tutelage of HUNK, walking through hundreds of battlefields with him. There was a time when they were tasked with an assassination of a high profile target at a summer island. The target was properly paranoid, beyond their expectations. The entire island which he purchased was covered with security detail as well as traps consisting of landmines. Rather than planning something elaborate, HUNK took a simple choice: walking through the landmines.

He too had experience walking through landmines and almost wound up dead several times, but now he could sniff out where they are placed about eight times out of ten like a bloodhound.

Soft steps, like the wings of an owl. Heel first, then toes. Keep the pressure minimal and there'll be no problem. Just think of it as a minefield. I have time. Slowly, calmly, and set the pace. I have time. All the time in the world. Without so much as disturbing the gravel, Vector danced around the infected with light unfaltering steps, and slid himself into the driver seat. The engine roared to life as he jammed a screwdriver into the ignition and twisted. "Christine, move. Now." Flooring the gas pedal and mowing down the infected, he stopped in front of the gate which was slightly ajar, enough for all of them to slip through.

"Khorosho, all aboard. Vector, drive in reverse until I tell you otherwise." Once they all were in the car, immediately Vladimir's instructions sounded.

"Copy that." Ignoring the fact that not all of them were actually seated in the car with their seatbelt on, Vector shifted the gear into reverse and slammed down on the gas, throwing half of the passengers forward, face first into windows and backs of seats. Ignoring the complaints from the back, Vector kept driving.

"A few more meters and decelerate. Stop once and take the road on your left. Stay on that road and you should be able to see the riot on the bridge. These comms are only for short distances so in another hundred meters or so and it'll be useless, but Christine has a high power man pack radio with her that I designed with EMP countermeasures, so use that for future communication. The channel is already set, so once these comms go down, switch to that one. I will give you the shortest route. Christine, if you're unclear on how to operate it, have our lucky boy help you."

"Got it."

Now that the car was being driven at a relatively safe speed, those who were thrown around a while ago were able to actually sit down.

Christine made several attempts to turn the radio on and make it function properly, but to no avail. Without turning back, she handed the man pack to Ryuji who was sitting directly behind her. "Sorry….could you…?" She was well versed in operating centrifuges, microscopes and other equipment used in her field of expertise, but mechanics was far from one of her strong suits.

"Sure." Pondering for a bit if Vladimir gave her the radio equipment as a joke, Ryuji took the pack and in a matter of seconds, lights began flickering and the radio was operational. "Testing, testing, one-two. Front desk, this is Transporter. Do you read me? Over."

"Transporter, this is Front desk. Receiving you loud and clear. Another two clicks on the road you're on and there should be a small path on the right near a stream. Get across to the other side and await further instructions."

"Roger that, but can this car go across water?"

"Judging by the shape, that's a second generation Tahoe. A full-size SUV is fairly tall and it should have that ability. But just to make sure, take a shallow route. If the water gets in the engine as you go across would be an even worse situation."

"Alright. Vector, you heard the man." He replied silently with a thumbs up with his eyes still on the road.

"Hang on to something." He warned as he arrived at the small path. Slowing the car down, he gingerly applied and released the pressure on the gas pedal over the rocks. The water was not as deep as they had anticipated and were able to make it across. Vector then motioned to hand over the microphone. "Vladimir, we made it. Currently trying to get the water out. Higashizaka number two, correct? How may infected in the area?"

"Yes. As for the answer to your second question, I can't give you an exact number. I can tell you it's not 10^68."

"Obviously it can't be a hundred unvigintillion." Vector snorted. "We don't even have that many people in the world to begin with."

"My my, you still need to learn how to make a joke every now and then. Do you not enjoy laughing at all, by any chance? Even Christine laughs at Hector's jokes."

"Out of respect for what you did for me while we were in Dubai, I will pretend I didn't hear that. Give me directions. Now."

"Alright, alright. No need to get so huffy, Vector. I'll navigate you where there are the least infected, but if you get closer, there will inevitably be more of them."

"No need to worry. Hector got me some IEDs and claymores. We'll use them if it comes down to that. And some phosphate rock."

"Courtesy of your beloved, no doubt."

Upon hearing that, Christine's ears and neck exposed through her short bobbed hair turned red. "Shut up. Give us the directions."

Following Vladimir's words, the distance between them and Higashizaka number two was decreasing. "Vector, turn whenever you can. Like right now."

Vector was about to ask why, but the reason was clear. About three hundred meters away were several hundred figures coming towards them. Jerking the steering wheel to the right, the Tahoe's tires squealed as the body turned right, but they ran right into another pack of infected, not even a hundred meters away. "Vladimir, we have a problem. What the hell is this?"

"Take a left just before you approach them. Apologies, everyone else is taking watch right now, and I am the only one operating as the eyes, which I do not have enough of right now. It's a single road after that. Ram through them."

Due to jerking the wheel so abruptly, the tires on the right side of the car left the ground, making Ryuji's stomach do a somersault or two, his heartbeat accelerating, his lips widening into a wide grin. Things were about to get exciting.

"Everyone brace for impact. This will get rough." Not really caring if anyone else heard him, Vector slammed his foot down on the gas. The roaring engine and the dull, sporadic din of bodies slamming into the car shook the car violently.

Suddenly, Ryuji felt something was off. It was this ambiguous feeling of dread he always gets when something was about to happen, and more often than not it was bad. Taking care not to get clocked in the face by the infected they were running into and sending high into the air, he peered out of the sunroof. Something was reflecting the sunlight. An alarm blared in his were wires that were placed across the entire street they were on. "VECTOR!" He screamed, pounding on the roof with his fist. "TURN THE CAR SIDEWAYS RIGHT FUCKING NOW!"

Listening to Ryuji, who had the best intuition out of the entire team, was an unspoken rule. Vector spun the steering wheel to the left as much as he could and hit the brakes, but the screeching sound of tire against asphalt didn't stop. The blood and guts of the infected were taking away the traction. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Vector took his foot off the brake and instead stepped on the gas pedal slightly. The wheels stopped screeching but the momentum was still there. Again he slammed on the brakes and even pulled the hand brake lever up. The car's rear wheels left the ground, throwing everyone forward.

"Ah, shit." Ryuji was the only one who had undone his seatbelt to look from the sunroof. The force of the car tipping forward sent him flying through. He felt his body leave the car and fly through the air. Immediately tucking his body into a ball, Ryuji performed a somersault and landed on his feet. "Ah, shit!" He turned only to see the infected converging at their position. The two in the front seats were already in action, knives tearing through the airbags.

The others were very much alive, albeit dazed from the impact. Opening the rear doors, he lightly slapped each of them in the face to get them to come to their senses. "C'mon, people. Time to get off."

"Ryuji, We're using the car to climb over to the other side. You mind providing cover?" Christine asked as she shook several shards of glass from her hair.

"Any time." Ryuji undid the safety on his IMI Tavor AR21 he chose for the mission and opened fire. Tracing the heads of the infected with his iron sights while pulling the trigger, the infected dropped left in right with a single bullet hole in their head. The spent rounds clinked and skittered across the ground as they fell in heaps.

While he kept the infected at bay, Vector and Christine more or less tossed the two "cargo" over to the other side of the wire.

"I can—"

"No," Vector grabbed Saeko by the shoulder in a vice-like grip, stopping her advance to help Ryuji. "Go to other side and watch them. Make sure they're alright. We don't need you in the line of fire. We are the professionals here. Fall in line or fall by the wayside."

Reluctantly, Saeko jumped over the wires and rolled upon landing to break her fall. Vector and Christine soon followed suit. Seeing everyone else was on the other side, Ryuji turned around, took several steps, and jumped up, landing on the car with barely any momentum from the run-up. From there, he did a backflip off the car and landed on the opposite side with the others.

"Are you unhurt?" Saeko hurried over to him looking worried. "My heart stopped when I saw you get thrown out of the sunroof."

"I'm fine," he chuckled as he gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Besides, you saw me make that ten-point landing. This is just another day at the office for me."

"Vector, I saw heat signatures of gunfire from the satellite, are you all alright?" Vladimir's voice crackled through the hand mic. Miraculously. it survived the crash and was perfectly functional.

"We're all alive, if that's what you mean. Package is still secure and undamaged, but our only ride's totaled." He frowned under the mask at the Tahoe. He did like that car, somewhat.

"Going to the safe house and then driving without refills was a bad idea. It may be built strong, it is uh…how do American's put it? Gas-guzzler, I believe? Not the most fuel efficient vehicle."

"As for the gunfire, that was Ryuji providing cover for us. We're going to have more on our asses after that. Give us a short route that we can take on foot to get to the estate ASAP."

"Copy that. Give me two minutes. I would also suggest shutting those things up as much as you can right now. Gunfire is loud, but the sound the infected make is enough to attract more."

"Fine. We'll get on that. Ryuji, you mind working a little more?"

"Not at all. I need the exercise. Saeko, you mind cutting in on the action?" Ryuji asked as he looked at the machete she wore on her waist. He shouldered the Tavor and drew two knives.

"I would be glad to assist you." Her hand flew to the hilt of the machete, which gave a slight ring as she drew it from the scabbard.

"Are you afraid of him? Of Ryuji?" Christine asked Saya, who blankly stared at the two as they gleefully began slaughtering any infected that got too close to the wires.

"I'm fine. I'm used to it now." She asserted, but tightened her hands into fists until her knuckles turned sheet-white lest anyone find out she was actually trembling.

"Just so you know, that is only when he is in a good mood. While he smiles and laughs, we can rest easy, but if he goes into conniptions, stay out of his way. I came close to thinking that he might kill me when our eyes met." The incident took place four to five years ago. The Wolfpack was planning on erasing a certain mob in a country in southeast Asia in order to get their hands on their supplies and capital. Their first plan fell to pieces, and to make matters worse Karena sustained heavy injuries, forcing them to retreat. Seeing her injured sent Ryuji into a murdering spree while his team was coming up with a new plan. He single handedly killed everyone in the mob's compound, from soldier to executive. By the time the Wolfpack was about to execute their second plan, they found Ryuji sitting at the front door drenched in blood, sleeping. In his hands were several empty pistols along with a machete and a knife that were both dulled, chipped, or broken from excessive use. "So I would avoid offending him. Karena is the only one who can stop him without getting hurt. Both of you."

"Thanks for the warning, professor." Saya snorted as she rolled her eyes. "What makes you think I'd put my own life in danger?"

Kota merely nodded in silence, profusely. Seeing Ryuji tear apart the thugs that attacked them made him shiver uncontrollably and stopped words forming in his mouth. No man would be brave or stupid enough to face off against someone like that.

"Bingo. There are blockades made of concrete blocks to stop cars from advancing. Turn left and keep going straight on the third intersection….what the fuck?"

"What? What do you see?"

"There are several cars heading towards you. ETA is six minutes and thirty-two seconds. Trying to put names to faces on the databases…..Aaaand, here we go. Japanese yakuza going by the name of the Takamiya group who's made international connections, known for their violent methods. These are probably what's left of them. I switched to thermal, and they have twice as many people than you."