So totally unrelated to the upcoming chapter, began reading a light novel, it's that classic normal high school boy gets summoned to a fantasy world and has to fight whatever happens to be threatening that world to return home. And the guy usually ends up gaining a harem in the process.
However all that happened before the story begins. He defeated the demon king and went home. However he's being called back and willingly goes because he has no attachment to his world anymore. He's been gone a year but in the other world ten years have pass. But given that most of his party was ageless goddesses it's not as awkward as you would think. But there is a few human friends who are now in their twenties and former little sister character who is the same age as him.
Yes the rumors are true Havoc team has been tasked to guard Ichika Orimura during the Kuromochi hosted Christmas ball. The programs funders wants to show that these two aren't insane, as far as I can tell they aren't.
-The colonel regarding the effectiveness of Havoc.
Gray and Mike were in the back of a Limo with Ichika who was once again under their protection. One might argue that he was in more danger around them considering the stunts the two pulled saving him. But in the entire world these two have proven themselves a more effective unit than an a security team with an I.S..
That particular team setup is part of the reason these two are famed as I.S. killers. Being that if that security team with I.S.'s could do their jobs and protect the frames and cores. Then Havoc team wouldn't have even encountered one.
But as luck would have it the chance of a hostile I.S. encounter is extremely low. They are bodyguards, they are not assaulting a base nor are they snowmobiling from an avalanche. It's a simple guard job at a party in an already extremely secure building.
At least they hoped it was going to be a simple job.
Nothing ever went as planned for these two. Their notable I.S. encounters and the couple of raids between those two incidents were anything to go by.
While the time they took down an I.S. is made more notable due to countries expressing a desire to find out exactly how it's possible aside from Havoc teams simplistic plan of 'keep shooting until it dies' routine.
As it stands Havoc Team averages about two operations a week.
Missions include ship seizing and safe house raiding with only a few people in those locations. Minor jobs with only at most 5-7 hostiles involved. And it wasn't just Phantom Task, terrorist cells, and pirate/smugglers that countries just didn't want to waste resources on
Now they were about take on their hardest mission yet.
What was basically a PR stunt, to show they weren't actually a couple teenage lunatics handed weapons and explosives. By guarding the world's most valuable male.
First step was to cross the red carpet flanked by the paparazzi. It beats gun fire, by how much they didn't know. Also Ichika's sister requested limited exposure. So they grabbed him and dragged him from the car to the door in under a minute.
The press only caught small glimpses of the sole male I.S. pilot. Though they did see the boys of Havoc acting like lunatics…again.
"Made it!" exclaimed Gray as the doors shut behind them.
"I am not going through that again!" declared Mike.
"I don't think I'll ever get use to that." Said Ichika having to deal with things like this several times.
"So we're here." Said Gray "What floor was the party on again?"
"Thirty-sixth floor." Said Mike "You really need to pay attention to the briefings."
"That's what I have you for." Quipped Gray. As they entered the elevator.
Despite looking slightly off since they were wearing the tactical equipment from their last mission now with dark grey color scheme and looking a bit slimmer since it didn't have the cold weather add-ons. They also were both armed with five-sevens and around three clips each since no trouble was expected. The elevator stopped and opened into a large ball room.
Most of the guest were wearing fancy dresses and suits, even Ichika who they were guarding had a tuxedo. This made the two stand out from their attire. Even the other body guards were dressed up.
"So I, have no idea what to do at parties." Said Gray. "Especially these ones for the fancy pants of society."
"I'm from the country side of Ireland where my family had a bar." Said Mike "If my town did have a party I was too busy helping serve."
"Sound like your family's place is popular." Commented Gray.
"Well it was the only bar in the town." Explained Mike
"Really?" asked Gray in false surprise "I thought Ireland had a bar at every street corner."
"Really playing into the ignorant American stereotype aren't you." Shot back Mike.
"Someone has too." said Gray with a shrug. "How about you high roller?"
He was referring to Ichika as he was the guest of honor at the party and the only one of the three in a tuxedo.
"I have never actually been to a party like this before." Said Ichika.
The three went silent.
"Well… I got nothing." Said Gray.
"Just pick a corner and see what happens?" put out Mike.
"That sounds good." Said Gray. They both looked at Ichika.
"That's probably for the best, I get enough attention at school anyways." Said Ichika while the other two just eyed him with pity. He explained to them on the drive back to the safe house after they rescued him how being stuck on an island full of women isn't actually the dream every hormonal boy thought it be.
Considering how some of them also have a personalized version the world's most advanced weapon this is understandable... but largely overlooked especially (by his friend Dan) when hearing the words 'island full of women' beforehand.
"Okay let's walk like we're not trying to attract attention, but don't look like we aren't trying draw attention to ourselves." Said Gray.
"How the hell are we suppose to do that?" asked Mike.
"I don't know…walk casual." Said Gray as they entered the ballroom. Though they tried their best to act casual the anxiousness was just barely contained. Though fortunately no one seemed to notice.
"Alright corner acquired." Said Gray "Operation: wallflower is a go."
"Is that going to be the missions name?" asked Mike wryly.
"Maybe" said Gray "let's see how the night goes."
It was starting off to be quiet for the three boys, which suited them just fine however.
"Oh my, Ichika dear is that you?" Came a voice Ichika recognized instantly, but before he could locate it the room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
All eyes on the trio, with a dangerous gleam in them.
'God damn it.' Thought the Havoc duo simultaneously.
As if an unspoken order was given the entire room began move towards them. Many of these people were either I.S. designers creating add-ons to enhance suits or designing new ones. Others were senior pilots who graduated the academy and were very much interested in the sole male pilot. And some wanted Ichika for a sponsorship.
"Shit we've been compromised…" said Gray in an uneasy voice.
"What do we do?" asked Ichika slightly panicked.
"Our exit root is being cut off, we need a distraction." Analyzed Mike trying to keep calm but was also nervous.
"On it." Said Gray before pointing off in a random direction "Oh is that a brand new fifth generation I.S. I see over there."
Mike face palmed
However the horde of wealthy party goes didn't even register the poor distraction attempt instead were focusing on Ichika.
Mike slapped Gray upside the head.
"Are you kidding me!" he said "I would ask you why you thought that was going to work but I know well enough by now to know why!"
"I didn't see you coming up with anything!" shouted Gray pointing an accusatory finger.
"That's because you're the one who pulls the crazy ideas out his arse!" said Mike with sigh "Anyways our exit's been cut off."
"Looks like Operation: wallflower just got changed to crowd control." Said Gray "Looks like we'll have to tough it out…just like physics class in middle school." they resigned themselves to doing their best so their HVI won't get swarmed.
Luckily the horde eased up when they recognized the boys of Havoc, seeing them as unstable lunatics and not wanting to potentially set them off but it was still chaotic as each person wanted a personal conversation with Ichika. But they got through it.
"You know…" said Gray as he took a breather after the horde dispersed "I think I prefer fighting an I.S. to this, at least were getting the hang of that."
"I totally agree." Said Mike also mentally tired from the ordeal. He then turned to Ichika. "How are you holding up?"
"Still better than the academy." Said Ichika with a sheepish smile.
"Jesus…" said Gray as both he and Mike were stunned wondering just what his guy had to go through there.
"Ichika dear, finally I've been trying to get to you." Said a new voice and with a British accent. She had long blonde hair with blue eyes and was wearing an ocean blue dress, giving her an elegance befitting a noble woman
"Here comes trouble…" muttered Gray to Mike as she approached.
"And make it double." Said Mike noting another girl in short dress that unlike the British girl only went down to her knees. She had long black tied into a pony tail. She also seemed intent on making her way over.
"Cecilia, you're here too?" asked Ichika somewhat surprised. It was one of his classmates and one of the seven central girls vying for his affection.
"But of course." Said Cecilia "As heir to the Alcott family it is important for me to make an appearance at these sort of events in absence of my father. It just so happens that you are here too."
"I see." Said Ichika understanding.
"She isn't the only one here." Said a new voice, they turned to it.
"Houki?" said Ichika surprised "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, am I not allowed here?" she asked with a sharp tone.
'So hostile.' Thought Mike and Gray dryly.
"No…no, I was just surprised is all." Defended Ichika a bit nervous.
"I would also like to know why you are here." Said Cecilia taking a confrontational tone "I wasn't expecting anyone else from school."
"I got the invite from a Kuromochi representative, I'm sure it was because of my I.S. being a 4th gen from my sister." She replied with sigh "I was going to refuse but I learned someone I knew was also going." Her eyes were directed towards Ichika.
"I see, how fortunate." Replied Cecilia, with smile that hid malice.
"Catfight…?" whispered Gray.
"Catfight." Confirmed Mike
"Do you think we should save him?"
"Probably…go with the upset stomach routine." Said Mike. While they could just leave him, these two follow an unwritten code of honor passed from man to man, that allowed them conduct themselves as to not be seen as total douches to their peers. This was known as the Bro Code.
"Right." Said Gray as he went to Ichika's side, the girls seemed more focused on each other and not aware of their surroundings "Alright we're going to get you out of here just play along."
"What?" asked Ichika and without warning Gray punched him in the gut. Causing him to bend over clenching his stomach.
"Uh oh, you feeling okay there, boss man?" asked Gray as if he wasn't the cause of it, Ichika just groaned in response however the girls instantly looked over in concern.
"Looks like he got a sudden upset stomach." Said Mike "We call it the 'gut puncher' back home."
"Very fitting." Nodded Gray.
"It usually caused by light food poisoning and stress." Continued Mike "We'll take him to the restroom to recover."
"Excuse me, but who are you?" asked Cecilia not really bothering to pay attention to the identity of the two other guys that were hanging around Ichika. But they did seem familiar.
"I'm Mike, he's Gray." Explained Mike "We're Havoc team."
"Currently assigned as this guys bodyguards." Said Gray. "Speaking of which..." the two ran off dragging the hunched over Ichika to the door. Leaving to shocked girls there. They did not know that Havoc team would be there.
The currently worlds only designated Anti-I.S. unit if only unofficially named by higher ups of several countries.
It wasn't because of secrecy they didn't know of their attendance, rather it was a well advertised one. These two just stopped pay attention to the guest list when they saw Ichika's name, so they missed the two names written under add-ons next to him.
As the boys left to the two girls noted a sharp increase in servers in the party. And a lot of them looking a little too rough to be the server type.
Men's restroom.
"Wow if that was any indication of your school life I do not envy you." Said Gray while Ichika was hunched over still recovering from the surprise jab at his stomach.
"Yeah…" agreed Ichika "But could you have gotten me out of there without needing to punch me?"
"Probably, but it made more convincing." Said Gray with a shrug.
"It seemed like they were more against each other than wanting any interaction from you." Said Mike analyzing the interaction.
"Yeah they're usually like that, they are my friends but still it gets to me a bit." Admitted Ichika.
"No shit, probably would have blown my brains out if I had to deal with that on daily basis." Said Gray.
"Well with any luck those two will be biggest problem we have tonight." Said Mike with the hope that tonight would be quiet.
*RATATATATATAATATA *
A loud muffled noises were heard followed by the screams of a crowd of people
"Well that sounded ominous…" Said Gray as the three looked up in alarm.
An Hour later.
The sound of automatic weapon fire were reported fired inside the Kuromochi tower where the companies Christmas party is taking place. Custodians from the adjacent buildings reported seeing several dozen armed men enter the ball room and take the guests hostage. Among the guest list are several IS Academy student. Including the sole male pilot Ichika Orimura.
Police swarmed to the scene as soon as they were notified locking out on any access to or from the building. SAT squads are making plans to breach the building in case negotiations fail. As of yet there have been no demands from the captors, but Kuromochi being Japans number one I.S. developer one can only guess at their intents.
As of now the authorities have considered this a terrorist attack.
-Reporter originally there to cover the event.
Kuromochi Tower, upper level security room.
"Well that went to shit." Said Gray as he kept security through the door that was opened just a crack. To get a view of the hall.
"Yeah…I jinxed it, this is my fault." Said Mike in a resigned manner with a hint of humor. He was busy hacking in to the towers security system.
After the boys heard the weapons fire they went to go check on the ballroom. While they didn't see the situation inside. Armed men who didn't look like corporate security standing outside the doors were a pretty good indicator.
Mike decided they should find the nearest security station to get a better grasp on the situation also why the terrorists made it to the thirty-sixth floor unhindered. What they found was dead security guards and two more of the terrorists operating the equipment.
A quick breach of the room took out the two and made room for three boys who were now busy deciding there next move. They also discovered that these two put a lock on the security that froze its current settings which put the entire building lockdown disabling all land lines polarizing the windows and locking all exits.
Mike suspected these two infiltrated before the rest of the armed men and compromised the security system.
"Alright got it." Said Mike as he cracked the lock, he transferred command ability to his PDA which he'd like to say he brought for just such an occasion…but in truth it was to play the games he downloaded onto it earlier when he got bored.
Being a technical internationally recognized special forces unit with no direct ties to any country gives them a great deal of liberty on what they do with their equipment.
"Alright we have around fifteen guys in the ball room the guests are gathered into separate groups probably to make them more manageable and guarded by two people, each armed with a USAS-12 with drum mags."
"Ouch…" said Gray.
"What's a USAS-12?" asked Ichika, not being as inclined to firearms as the other two.
"An automatic shotgun made in Korea." Said Gray "and since they have drum mags if any of the guests decide they want to be a hero there entire group get wasted."
"We have to do something!" said Ichika especially worried since Houki and Cecilia are down there.
"No shit." Said Mike sharply "But they aren't going to do anything unless it's a last resort. The moment a hostage dies is the moment that large police contingent outside bum rushes the building and these guys escape plans get complicated."
"How do you know so much about this?" asked Ichika surprised at the sound logic given to him.
"It's part of our training." Explained Mike "Unlike this idiot I stayed awake when they explained it to us, he just shot people during the practical part."
"I'm very good at shooting people." Defended Gray.
"Anyways we should probably deal with the guys outside the ballroom first and give us some breathing space." Said Mike "Preferably we take them all out as fast as possible. It will lessen the chance of them using the hostages against us. But how do we do that from what I see their patrols are to spread out for any quick and easy way to do this. They are also probably looking for us."
"I got an idea." Said Gray, he un screwed his suppressor kicked open the door and fired repeatedly at two of the armed men probably coming to investigate why the security room went quiet.
They then heard frantic shouting over the radio about gun shots, location and all available groups get to the security room.
"There." Said Gray looking pleased with himself "We now have a bunch if bad guys coming right at us."
"Okay I see where you were going with this but that was still stupid." Said Mike "We are severely outgunned right now with a couple dozen armed men coming at us."
Gray went and collected the weapons from the now dead terrorists.
"Ho ho ho." He said holding up two P90's.
And now they have machine guns.
"Okay better." Said Mike catching one of the machine guns as it was tossed to him.
"Wait what about me?" asked Ichika. He hates feeling useless especially when his friends are in danger.
"Stay here and out of the line of fire." Said Gray checking his ammo count in the magazine. "We are still under orders to protect you."
"I have a plan for that." Said Mike "I've locked down access to the fire escape which means the only way to this level his the elevator."
Gray got what he was getting at. They moved out of the security station and towards the elevators.
The Ballroom.
The leader of the so called terrorist sat comfortably in the middle of the room. This was the easiest job he was paid to do. Just go into the ballroom and take them hostage, then wait while a pre planted cyber worm transferred data to a device he had on his person.
Once he got that, drop the data off at the disclosed location.
First part plan went off without a hitch. Their client even managed to sneak a couple of his more trusted men into the building beforehand so they could plant the worm. The only problem is that a few guests managed to escape before they seized the room.
He lost those men because of that. Including his infiltrators. The rest of these guys were basically guys handed bit of cash and gun with the promise of more if they take part in the operation. So basically morons with a gun.
"Hey boss, we've reached the floor of the security station." Case in point these idiots didn't remember the call signs he gave them.
"Alright." Replied the now named boss. "Be careful, these guys may have escaped by dumb luck but they've manage to avoid us up till now."
"Right boss." He heard the elevator door open "OH SHIT!"
The surprised remark was followed by the sound of excessive automatic gunfire. That seemed to gather the attention of both the captives and the rest of his crew.
"Hey...you guys still there?"
"…"
A disturbing amount of silence came over the radio. He felt a cold sweat come over him. He turned to look at the captives. And he noticed something.
While he didn't bother to get the exact amount of guests here he instantly realized one was missing. A very notable guess. Ichika Orimura. The sole male I.S. pilot.
More notably his security detail was also absent. It was Havoc Team.
People on his side of the world regarded them as only a couple of kids.
However kids or not. These two have taken down at least one I.S.. sheer amount of skill and/or stupid luck needed to survive an encounter with one of those things was jaw dropping.
However to take one down not mention how much of lunatic you had to be to end up in that situation in the first place…
Things were beginning to go very…very sideways.
Havoc Team
"Well that was easy." Said Gray as he and Mike stood in front of two open elevator cars.
"Yeah amazing how easy combat it is when they can't fight back." Said Mike dryly giving his partner a 'yeah no shit' look. They ambushed the terrorists before they got of the elevator, and weren't able to react when Havoc team dumped their entire magazines into their teams
"Still the janitor is going to be pissed when he comes into work tomorrow." Said Gray "Because we made a hell of mess on this floor alone."
"You know I've been meaning to ask but how can guys kill so easily?" Asked Ichika, this wasn't the first time he's witnessed their handiwork. Being the center point of their last major mission, he didn't have much of a choice.
"How do you mean?" asked Mike while Gray took to scavenging any ammo off the bodies.
"Well when I was younger my sister had me hold a real sword, to demonstrate the weight of a human life." Explained Ichika "But you guys just take lives by the dozen."
"Well if you think we are monsters then you just insulted every soldier and police officer on the planet." Said Mike. "Me and Gray… well mainly me, might not be grizzled veterans, but I do understand what we do is to save lives."
"What about Gray?" asked Ichika.
"Gray is American." Said Mike "He grew up in the country that was the go to military force on the planet before the I.S. came along. This was probably a natural choice for him."
"America fuck yeah!" said Gray from inside the elevator "And the way my uncle told me, he was special forces by the way, was pretty much what Mike said before I signed up for this. And I took those words to heart. Also I don't' really think about it."
"You don't really think about anything." Shot back Mike.
"Hey, it's worked out so far."
Ichika thought about what they said. Killing was bad, or so he was led to believe. These two were taught differently. Not to that killing was there goal or purpose. But that it was necessary.
It just meant that they were soldiers.
"Oh yeah Mike quick question" said Gray with devious tone "Speaking of national military How does it feel to have more combat experience than your countries entire army put together?"
"Up yours." Replied Mike. "Anyways we need to think of a way to breach the ballroom."
"That's easy." Said Gray walking out with spare ammo, the two looked at him expectantly. "We use the vents."
Ichika looking at him confused. While Mike gave him a flat expression.
Gray up to this point has been drawing parallels of their situation and the first Die Hard film. Start out with pistols, upgrade to SMG's then run around and cause trouble. The only thing missing is vent crawling.
Mike knowing this sighed. But checked the blueprints of the floor anyways. That's when he saw that the vent crawling idea might actually work.
"Just so you know I did spend a few minutes looking at the ceiling." Said Gray. Also knowing what Mike saw.
"Why?"
"I was bored and so I began counting lights for the hell of it."
"…I can actually believe you'd d something stupid like that."
"What are you guys talking about?" asked Ichika.
"Well as usual this idiot got a stupid idea that might actually work." Said Mike. "Now we need to find some rope and we'll be good to go."
"What?" Ichika was clueless
"Ooh nice." Said Gray knowing where he was going with this.
"Now if only we could get them all grouped together." Said Mike.
"I have an idea." Said Gray getting a grin, that Mike has come to recognized as signaling him getting one of his ideas "We use explosions!"
The other two stared at him blankly slightly worried about what he might be planning.
Later
The trio was crawling through the vents as planned. Rope tied around their mid section as a form harness.
This is called a swing seat. It is taught at the 101st airborne division air assault school, for a makeshift harness so soldiers can repel down walls when in lack of better equipment. They had it tied to the entrance of the event
It wasn't long before they got to the to the vent grate they looked down and saw where they wanted to be.
The terrorists didn't just huddle the guests into groups randomly. But had them strategically placed in front of the entrances so anyone trying to breech would think twice about firing.
However no one ever thought of the events since it only used as last resort in action movies. And not something used by professional military or special police units.
Havoc team is neither of the two, they are both teenagers one of which has seen a lot of action movies. They have long since given up on standard procedure when carrying out operations. Now their only main SOP is improvisation.
Which has kept them alive on many occasions.
"Alright we are here." Said Mike in a hushed down moving across the vent so Gray who was behind him could see. "Hit it."
"Oh by the way I figured out a name for this operation." Said Gray.
"Really?" asked Mike plainly.
"Operation: Die Hard." Said Gray with a wide grin as pulled up what seemed to be a makeshift trigger connected to a wire.
"Really…?" asked Mike with a deadpan expression. Not that it didn't make sense but still naming a life and death situation after a movie seems kind of odd.
"Well it's either this or Operation: Yippie kai Yay motherfucker." retorted Gray.
Mike just sighed at that.
"Glad you agree!" Gray said happily.
Ichika on the other hand was amazed at the how the two were having a conversation at such a time. He figured it was coping mechanism for them but still.
He wondered if he could be like that if had a guy friend at the I.S. academy. He has to watch what he says around his current group of friends due to the gender difference and their hair trigger tempers.
"Anyways… just blow the doors." Said Mike tired of dealing with this topic.
"Fire in the hole!" Gray was all too happy to carry out the request and pressed the trigger. Three simultaneous explosions happened and a white smoke filled the entrances.
Part of their plan involved making improvised explosives to blow the door. Gray learned how to make them during the specialized training part of their child soldier study program. He used supplies from a janitors closet to make an explosive and a copper wire to connect the detonator.
This was a distraction so the bad guys would focus on the doors and cause them to huddle in closer to each other.
Normally this would be a tactically bad thing to do. But they brought ballistic(riot) shields with them and created a roman styled shield wall. The ones with SMG's began firing over the groups of hostages heads making them duck down lower. They didn't use the shotguns because a dead hostage means the breachers wouldn't hesitate.
If there were any in the first place.
Due to the smoke screen they couldn't tell that no one was actually there.
Exactly what the Havoc duo wanted.
On that note they kicked the grate down. Which somewhat humorously hit one of the terrorists who seemed better dressed then the rest on the head which notably knocked him out. That was probably the leader.
Since he was to the back of their shield wall no one noticed.
Until Havoc team began repelling in guns blazing. The fire from their P90's managed to kill or injure most of the terrorist while the outer most were able to get away from the kill zone.
However that number only amounted to five.
When Havoc team got onto the ground they dropped their sent P90's and switched to the five sevens instead of opting to reload and began taking out the survivors. Who were still reeling from the surprise attack from above.
Back to back they fired at the remaining hostiles aiming a bit higher than normal so as to not accidentally hit a hostage.
The whole thing was over in seconds
"Secured?" asked Mike.
"Secured." Confirmed Gray. They lowered their weapons.
That's when they heard the cheering and applause which surprised them.
They turned to the hostages who saw them in action and were cheering them on as the heroes they proved themselves to be. Any sort of prejudice thoughts against them from earlier in the night were forgotten.
Ichika slid down the rope himself because he figured it was safe to come down. He wanted to help out too, his friends were in danger not mention the rest of the guests but the Havoc duo rather forcibly convinced him to stay back. Houki and Cecilia immediately came up to him to ensure he was okay. And to gain his attention.
"We should probably get the cops up here." Said Gray when the applause die down and now freed hostages were thanking them personally. Some of the younger woman were making some suggestive passes on them.
"We could signal them once we get the windows get de-polarized." Said Mike. "They probably have snipers in the building across the street that can relay the message."
Conveniently the guests decided to take it upon themselves to do that part.
As they waited the guests decided to take pictures with their saviors. Some of the younger and single women gave them kisses on the cheek.
It made being a hero feel good.
About thirty minutes SAT units were entering the room and shuffling out the guests save for Havoc team they were treated as part of the rescue operation and were allowed to leave on their own.
A few hours Later.
Mike, Gray, and Ichika were sitting in the middle of command post for the police being a several tents in a circular pattern each one serving an administrative purpose.
Being the heroes of the night they were allowed be debriefed first and let go as the other guests shuffled through to give their story.
Now the three were outside eating a pizza they ordered in almost casual manner. Ichika decided it was easier to get caught up in their pace instead of trying to figure out a meaning in anything they do.
"I've heard what happened." Said the Colonel over mikes PDA device. "You boys managed neutralize several dozen hostiles, and not lose a single hostage. This is an outstanding outcome by any standard."
"Do you know what they were after?" asked Mike.
"From analysis on their equipment and worm that was found in the Kuromochi network. This seemed to be an attempt to gain information on their new I.S. a 4th generation prototype in response to the one Tabane Shinonono gave to her sister." Explained the Colonel he knows this because he was getting a live update from the police who were all to happy to hand over considering Havoc teams hand in the crisis.
This information made Ichika perk up at that.
"It's not much more than a blueprint now but it's still very sensitive information which is deadly in the wrong hands. We're speculating the group was hired by Phantom Task though we have no conclusive proof."
Ichika sighed, of course those guys we're involved.
"Yeah that figures." Said Gray.
"They have been quiet for awhile." Said Mike.
"Agreed." Said the Colonel "You boys better get plenty of rest because you're raiding a recently uncovered base two days from now. Pending a change to your contracts."
"Can't one of the other teams take care of it?" asked Gray "I mean not that I'm not happy were taking a fight to the bad guys but it seems like were shoveling all of the crap."
"We should have at least a dozen other teams in the program." Said Mike agreeing with Gray's sentiment.
"…As of twenty four hours ago all support personnel were called back to their countries. And the operation teams were taken out of the program before any of them were cleared for solo operations by their families."
"…"
"…"
"Wait What!?" shouted Gray
"Why?" asked Mike.
Ichika was stunned too but also a little lost.
"The operation teams were beginning to be called back by their parents after you boys took out that first I.S., it only increased after that covert ops you rescued Mr. Orimura. The last team was disbanded yesterday. Your families require your consent to be pulled out since you've already completed the training." Said the Colonel gravely. "As for the support personnel they were pulled by their home governments this morning and have just finished packing up after helping analyze this situation. I'm guessing some Phantom Task elements in their governments pulled some strings..."
The Colonel sighed.
"As of right now this program consists of me and you two." Said the Colonel "And that is only if you want to stay after you see the changes to your contracts. As an overview your missions will become more dangerous and I can guarantee more hostile I.S. encounters. Mr. Orimura I request you keep quiet about this."
Ichika had no problem keeping his mouth shut. He didn't even know who he would tell about this.
The boys went silent at that. They knew better than anyone how dangerous it was going against an I.S.. Not to mention a shadow organization with some considerable pull in the worlds governments.
However as it stands they were the only ones who could do something about it.
Earlier that night they enjoyed the perk of being the heroes getting praised by those they saved.
Now they face hard part of it being the only ones to be able to answer the call.
They didn't have super powers. Nor did they have that much resources.
However real heroes didn't need that, real heroes were the ones who answered that call.
And despite or rather in spite all set against them…they did.
A Photo-journalists later took a picture of the boys eating the pizza. It made the front page of the newspapers worldwide showing the heroes of the Kuromochi christmas cirsis. Only years later would he know the true significance of that moment.
When the decision of those two boys was made.
Cry havoc and let loose the hounds of war…
And done.
I wanted this out all the way back at Christmas but had to deal with several training events which had me out in field a week at a time. Writers block and computer crashes.
But it's here and this where you get to see where Havoc team will get more independent. And things really kick up.