Checking his watch, Ash and Brendan heard a door opposite them open and they looked up to see the excited faces of Zack Arron, Damien Hammond and Jewell enter the room. They were the three he had selected and personally had the highest hopes for. If he could, he would have likely taken all of them.
This unique looking building was going to serve as the headquarters for the new unit designated as the Specialized Urban Warfare Tactics Group or the Jets, due to their swiftness. It would be located on the west side of Petalburg, just off the ramp of the roundabout highway that circled the city.
It was a two story building that had a standard concrete look and polarized windows with the logo of a embroidered and dramatized black colored Latios spread out with its wings. Underneath it was a folded banner reading "First to respond, last to stand"
Inside was a small security office that checked visitors as they entered before a double set of glass doors that had the same emblem on the marble floor underneath.
They immediately had shocked expressions at its contemporary appearance, plenty of stainless steel, solid walls and overall warm atmosphere. It looked as if it was designed for an intelligence headquarters.
Their main office had good sized rooms with two on one side and three on the other. At the end of the hallway was a large set of screens and a computer terminal that must've been worth a half million. The locking screen displayed the group's logo with a silver backdrop.
"Welcome to your new office,"
"How in the world did this happen?" Zack was still in question.
"Two words, blank check." Ash stepped forward, holding a black box with the name Jewell on it. Next to him, Brendan Decker followed suit with one for Damien and Zack.
"Are you all ready to get started?" They all nodded, "Good. Place your left hand on the box with your name on it, raise your right hand and repeat after me."
"I, state your name solemnly swear ."
"I Jewell/Zack Arron/Damien Hammond solemnly swear,"
"To uphold the principles of the constitution of the Republic of Hoenn's armed forces."
"And to protect all of Hoenn's people and interests both at home and abroad. I will treat my fellow operatives as equals and always have their backs, even if it means giving my life for them."
"As a member of the Specialized Urban Warfare Tactics Group, I will put myself in harm's way for the sake of the safety of the defenseless. To this I pledge my sacred honor."
"So by the power invested in me on the behalf of the Island Republic of Hoenn," Ash replied, "I deem you all to be active members of the Specialized Urban Warfare Tactics Group. Please open the box."
They each gently unfolded it to reveal a shiny silver emblem symbolizing their ranking on the top left. Next to it was a shiny silver pistol.
"This is the FNP pistol," Decker explained, "Chambered in the forty five caliber. Mint condition and the Urban Warfare Group's new standard sidearm."
"Well done," Ash shook each of their hands, "We start tomorrow. How about drinks on me tonight?"
There was nobody there to disagree on that mark.
May could hardly wait for this night. She was going to finally see an idol that she had admired for years ever since Lisia had made her debut in singing. A lot of her inspiration came from the fact that the stage was a place where she could just be herself. It didn't help that she and Dawn were as giddy as they were when they had been high schoolers ogling cute boys.
After paying a ridiculous amount of money for parking outside Petalburg's event center, a massive silver dome in the metropolis' downtown, they made their way towards the entrance.
Much of the crowd was close to her age, in their early to mid-twenties. Lisia was quite the sensation with the group, producing multiple albums that consistently ranked in the top ten. An upbeat style typically was used at dancing parties with seemingly inexhaustible energy. Flashing their tickets through the booth, they were cleared and made their way into the seats. A crowd of seven thousand was expected today.
She was in the midst of getting the camera on her cell phone ready for her to come out when she accidentally bumped into someone much larger than her. The impact knocked the phone from her hands and it skittered across the floor.
"I'm so sorry!" She gave him a once over, noticing that he looked kind of out of place. He was a bit burly, with a full starting beard and wore a dark pair of jeans along with suspenders over a tan shirt, in his ear there was a wire . She could easily see the black metallic of a pistol on his left hip and a wave of fear washed over her. There was scant attention paid to the long black case he carried in his right hand. Behind him was a slightly shorter man of a similar build with the same outfit.
He was definitely a standout since the dull colors heavily contrasted with the vibrant, stylish outfits most of the attendees had. However, since he was with a partner, she had deduced that they were merely security.
"It's alright miss," He bent down and handed her phone back to her, "Just watch where you're going next time." To ease the awkwardness a little, he flashed a small smile.
"Ok thanks," May slipped the phone back into her pocket and they moved on. Neither herself or Dawn looked back, as if they had done so, the man was giving them an intrigued stare. His partner got the message and they silently agreed together.
"Creepy." Dawn remarked when they were out of earshot. May herself couldn't help but have a strange feeling in her gut. There was nothing to show that they were part of security, but they seemed like they were nonetheless.
May and Dawn's seats were at the far left end of the stage, a smaller section closer to where she would be performing. Several others had already taken their seats as the show was about five minutes from starting.
Everything went from completely calm to chaotic in less than half a second.
A dozen masked men had walked into their section, all carrying duffel bags. At first, They opened them in plain sight, pulled out a short assault rifle each and fired into the ceiling. For the next few moments, everyone was completely confused in what was going on before the thoughts of terror began to sink in and panicked screams began to come from the entire place.
"Nobody move!" A voice came over the loudspeakers. May turned around to see the same man that she had bumped into. The case that he once carried was now gone and its content, an railed SA58 assault rifle was now pointed in their direction.
Panic began to settle into her, this was a real life attack. She had grown accustomed to watching them on television in the more dangerous parts of north Hoenn and thought that they would never affect her. It was very real now that this event center could very well be the place where she would die.
"You all in those sections!" The man pointed across to the several thousand people, "You all want to live? Stop screaming! Get the hell out of here! Tell the police that the Cacturne Syndicate have hostages and we will kill them if they come inside!"
As they shuffled out with terrified cries, he turned back to his men, "Round em up and get them to center stage!"
"You got it boss," The other man with the one that May bumped into complied and fired his gun into the air three times. The shots echoed through the nearly-empty stage and startled everyone.
"Everybody move now!"
With panicked whispers, May and Dawn moved with the group. If she could make just a subtle note to her father or Drew, maybe they could send help.
"Hey you with the bandanna." The leader looked straight at May, "Don't even think about calling mommy or daddy. Hand it over."
The idea had just crossed her mind, but in a sense, she would be dead if she had gotten caught trying to call for help. She took it out and casually tossed it over to him. He caught it with his free hand before dropping it on the floor and stomping on it with his heel.
May gasped; that phone was one of the few things that she always kept on hand and the case protecting it was one that she had searched for hours online before buying it at a jacked up price. Now it was gone.
"Anybody else with a cell phone, hand it to me now." The leader demanded, "I'm sure all of you did because you would have expected a show tonight. So give it up; otherwise I will be asking my men here to do so for you and they are not as keen on personal space. Especially with you ladies."
There was some shuffling around as the eighteen or so hostages began to reach for their phones and placed them in a pile in one of the seats out of their reach.
"Good. Now, do exactly as we say and you'll be getting out alive. No heroics."
Ash shut down his laptop on his desk and closed the monitor. The time was now seven in the evening and their first day had been rather uneventful. So far, the only assignments had been trying to get leads on where the Cacturne Syndicate might strike next. That and conducting an exercise on a stakeout had him bored to death.
Zack had gone home for the day to be with his girlfriend and Damien Hammond had approached his door. A bag was slung over his shoulder and he looked kind of tired. He was waved in.
"Hey, Jewell and I were planning on going for some soup and salad at the Petalburg Bakery and Café, wanna join us?"
"Sure, I'll be right there." He looked outside and didn't see Brendan. "Where's Decker?"
"Just left for home to break the news to his family."
"I see."
"Hey," Damien stopped him before they both exited, "I just wanted to say thanks for letting me onto this team. It's been a real honor in being chosen and I won't disappoint you."
Ash smiled back at him, "You will not. At all."
"Hey Lieutenant," Jewell called out just as they were about to leave, "You need to see this."
The tone in her voice was quite urgent, so both men walked briskly into the main room.
Jewell had already familiarized herself with the computers and monitors even when all the boys still had their heads scratching on some of its functions. She had what seemed to be a video feed on one screen.
"This came in about fifteen minutes ago. A group of members claiming to be affiliated with the Cacturne had just stormed the Petalburg Events Center downtown just minutes before a performance by pop star Lisia. They let most of the crowd go but have roughly twenty hostages still inside. Police are onsite and have already been told by patrons and the perpetrators to stay out unless instructed otherwise."
"How did they get past security with all those arms?"
"No idea. Witnesses saw some members of the group acting as augmented security for the event, traveling in pairs, but also seeming to make sure everyone was behaving."
Damien approached the screen, "They're trying to send a message. Asking police to stay away means they're biding their time for something or they have a bomb."
Ash's eyes hardened, "Call Brendan and Zack. Tell them to get back here. This workday is not over yet."
Time to see how these guys do up against the most dangerous criminal group in Hoenn. Think they can come out on top?
Thanks for reading and reviewing, you give my writing purpose.