XXXII

Brooding Tears

Scrambling for cover as quickly as he could Sakai pulled next to Bando. "Just who the hell is that guy?! Friends of yours! Do you know him?! Don't tell me he's just another one in a long line of people you screwed over and wants revenge?! I had better not be in this mess because of what you did in the past, Bando!"

With his focus lying more on keeping the enemy at bay Bando almost didn't catch those remarks and even if he did it was not like he could care any less about it. If Sakai wanted to worry about that instead of the fact that his own men had betrayed him than he deserved to die here. Though to be honest Bando couldn't entirely deny that last part, he sure as hell had caused plenty of trouble the last time he had crossed paths with that psychopath.

"So tell me, Sakai did you even fucking noticed that your missing men were standing right next to that fuck?! Or are you fucking blind?!" he cursed as he pressed off a short burst, catching two of the enemy as they darted towards cover, their bodies dropped to the floor.

Sakai bit back his anger, he popped up and opened fire as well, nearly expending an entire magazine but he did catch one more of the enemy. "Oh I can assure you I'm fully aware of that and when we catch them I'll personally wring their traitorous necks myself! But first, we need to get out of here! We're cornered, you think you can keep them busy long enough?!"

As the hammer struck down Bando ducked back into cover. At hearing Sakai's request he nodded, slammed a fresh magazine into his gun and said. "Like hell, I can. I'll provide you with more than enough time to get out of here, now go. You've got work to do." Before jumping back up and pouring more fire at the ever increasing body of enemy troops.

Sakai didn't need to be told twice, rolling over he carefully made his way towards the last man remaining on his team. He needed to instruct him and make it clear that when Bando gave the signal they would need to move as fast as possible, any hesitation could see them get killed, or possibly even worse. Falling in the hands of their enemy.

To Bando, however, it wasn't going to make a difference. Like he needed an actual excuse to take down as many of these bastards as he could but they were not the ones he was after, no he wanted the Seventh, that was the target he had set his eyes on. That was the person he was going after, the one that he would hunt down personally.

"Count your days, doesn't matter how many men you throw at me, it won't stop me from coming after you," he hissed underneath his breath as he released short accurate burst. "You're mine you sick twisted psychopath, my mark is on you. I won't rest till I get you, and then I'll pummel the truth out of you."

Resting behind the cover afforded he began to wonder how many other kids they had stored onboard this ship, he doubted that it was just the one they had found. Likely the other rooms held more of them but again the question arose why comatose kids were labeled as weapon components. Something was going on here, something that went far deeper than mere human trafficking. Somebody on this damn ship had an answer to that question, he just needed to find that person, then he was going to make them sing.

"I'll just beat the answers out of you then, right before I take your damn life!" He rolled back as he heard the clatter of a grenade rolling across the floor. Kicking it away he scrambled to get behind cover, barely had he reached it or the grenade exploded, hot fragments embedding themselves in his shoulder. Gripping it he cursed and promised himself to make whoever had thrown it pay. "I should've reconsidered in going along with this shit."

Casting a glance over his shoulder he saw to his satisfaction that Saki and his last man, whose name was still eluding him, were to move when given the signal.

Good, he was going to give them one hell of a signal alright. Slinging the submachine around his shoulder he reached out and pulled the other heavy weapon he had brought with him just as a precaution; an M4A1 assault rifle fully equipped with an underslung M203 grenade launcher, just what he needed to get the job done. From where he was sitting he noticed the look that Sakai that giving him. He saw his lips moving but he couldn't make out the words. Ah, it was probably something irrelevant anyway, likely something about where the hell he had managed to get that it and how had managed to smuggle it onboard. It was likely for the best if the man was to never find out the answer to that question.

Raking the arming slide on his assault rifle Bando raised it and braced himself as he opened fire. Squeezing the trigger slightly he fired off a short but controlled burst in the direction of his enemies. Leaning from his cover he fired off several more burst at the body of enemy troops. As they scurried in order to get themselves into cover he seized the opportunity and fired a salvo from the underslung grenade launcher, a quick reload saw a second and third grenade being fired in their direction as well.

Aiming for behind the crates they were cowering behind he ducked behind his own cover and changed the clip on his assault rifle, he had but seconds to spare before the grenades would detonate. Barely had he finished reloading the rifle or the grenades detonated, showering the wooden crates and those using them for cover with red hot pieces of shrapnel, tearing both to shreds. The screams of the wounded and the dying greeted him and Bando grinned as he could imagine the carnage he had inflicted, still, there was likely a few left that he would need to finish off. Darting from the cover he sprinted forward, firing off a quick burst whenever something dared to move or rear its head, it was over in a matter of seconds.

By the time his little one-man assault had ended the only things left were torn bodies and splintered crates littering the junction, all that was left now was the go further and hope that he could link up with his other compatriots provided of course they hadn't managed to get themselves killed already. In all of the confusion and the absolute massacre he had created, it seemed that Sakai and his goon had managed to make to most of it and gotten themselves out of it. "Try not to die too fast Sakai, it would reflect badly on you," he chuckled.

The same seemed to apply to the Seventh as Bando couldn't find his carcass amongst the bodies that were scattered throughout the room. Well, he had done what they had asked of him. For now, he had a moment to catch some rest and prepare himself for the next clash.

Going back he noticed that the containment unit holding the girl had been pierced by gunfire, no doubt it must have happened in the opening barrage when those men had stormed the room. Examining her more closely he saw that she was dead, two exit holes visible on the side of her head, blood dripping from the white casing.

He couldn't say that he felt sorry for her, he had never known the girl but he certainly felt angry in the way she had been discarded just like that, dying without anybody noticing. The only decent thing about this was that she hadn't suffered though that thought did little to alleviate his growing ire.

There was little that could be done for her anymore, little save making sure that the same fate wasn't going to befall others and to make sure that those who were responsible for this were going to pay. He would see to it that the latter was going to be carried out to the letter.

"Don't mind me taking this do you?" he asked a corpse as he bent down to retrieve the weapon, the man still seemed to be holding tight to it. Yanking it from his cold grasp Bando inspected it, noting with great satisfaction that it had been unscathed and even better yet still fully loaded.

"Well, this should certainly come in handy at some point," he said as he closely inspected his newfound toy. A Saiga-12 fully automatic firing shotgun though it had been heavily modified, well that was something worth trying out. "Now bring it on your fucks!" he grinned as he set off into the distance. This night was far from over.

Leaning against a bulkhead Seventh grimaced as he gripped the piece of shrapnel that had embedded itself in his leg. "Hahaha, I can't believe you actually managed to get me with that one mate, you glorious bastard, you actually managed to hurt me," he chuckled as he yanked the shard out of his leg, he couldn't suppress the need to smile as the thought of facing a competent opponent had at least arrived. Things had grown rather dull after their last encounter leaving him with a burning desire for wanting more, he needed that person to stay alive.

"Mate, you and I are going to have such wonderful fun together. Just me and you, and of course an endless struggle for survival. I can't let you die until you have fulfilled that for me." The shard was dropped to the floor, clanging of the metal though he didn't bother with it anymore. Reaching for his pocket he pulled out a syringe and rammed it into his arm. Pumping himself full of adrenaline he ignored the pain. That was until a sharp click coming from behind him pulled him from his thoughts.

"Well mon chéri, it would appear that somebody managed to land shall we say a good blow on you. Honestly, one would think that even a bâtard odieux such as you should be able to handle a couple of intruders. Such a disappointment," A woman said, her tone full of scorn, as she stopped next to him, inspecting the minor cuts.

Seventh's jawline straightened as he saw her standing there, her left eye obscured by her flaming red hair despite its rather short trim. Ignoring the, rather handsome, features of her face, he found his gaze drifting slightly down towards her chest before he corrected himself. Even then he had more than enough reasons to have an intense dislike for the woman and felt a sense of disgust wash over him at her presence. "Oh Ninth, I'm sorry but I hadn't heard you coming," he remarked sarcastically, "something to do with the-."

"Listen to me you L'imbecile, you failed miserably during your last assignment which resulted in a considerable loss of assets. I don't need to inform you that First and our employer were not happy with the outcome, even with you managing to secure the investment."

"Geez, well then we must be so blessed than to have you in charge of this operation, lass. Why don't I just step aside and allow you to handle the intruders?" Seventh laughed, mocking her even if she had been the one who was currently in charge to oversee this operation run smoothly.

"Mock all you want bâtard but if I have to clean up your mess then you will be the one to shall we say, dropped in the shit. Do you understand that?" The bile nearly dripped from her words and Seventh struggled to fight back the urge to yell at her. He couldn't afford that, he wouldn't grant her the satisfaction of provoking an outburst from him, he really loathed this woman.

"Fine, have it your way then. Just let me tell you one thing in advance. There's this one guy amongst them, he's real good, don't underestimate him or he'll be the one doing a number on you instead. Would be a damn shame if something were to happen to that pretty face of yours now, wouldn't it?"

"We will see who will be doing a number on who, now get out of my sight you bâtard, I have to take care of your stupid mistake. Have the men block all exits on the ship, they will not get to leave alive. We will corner them and then kill them at our leisure, d'accord," She told him, it was going to be his task to go and contact the men and have them set up.

"Also have them sort out the issues we are having with the radio's, establishing back communication with the other units will be critical if we want to coordinate our forces."

"Agreed, well I'll be taking my leave then. Just remember Ninth, that guy is mine to kill, you can do to the others whatever you want but that guy is mine."

As she looked at him he could tell from the glint in her eye that she had no desire to grant him that, unless he wanted to get the fight he was so anxious towards then he was going to need to make sure that he would find him before she would.

"L'imbecile, I have no time for your petty childish games. It is simply a paycheck, nothing more than that. Now get out of here, I have no time to be wasted with your naïve ideals."

"Fine," he sneered, grabbed his stuff and left. As if he was going to let her get the kill that he desired, no it was going to be his. He would make sure that Ninth wasn't going to get the glory for this and if somebody was going to be held responsible for the blame then it certainly wasn't going to be him. Now it seemed like the right idea to go and ask a bit more about the men that had informed him earlier about the team that was infiltrating the ship, perhaps they could provide him with a little more additional information with regards to his prey.

They had better because otherwise, their usefulness would already be at an end and at that point he would have no reservations about killing them both, they were a loose end anyway and countless others would be glad to take their place. "Let's see what you've got to offer me."

Using their confusion as he vaunted over a stack of crates with guns blazing he seized the opportunity, they had been caught largely unaware and Bando wasn't planning to offer any quarter to the unready foe. Large chunks of flesh were blasted from the men's bodies as Bando kept on pumping volley after volley with the automatic shotgun, at this short range it was nearly impossible for him to miss, each shot drawing blood whether he aimed for it or not. The group he had managed to ambush tried to mount an ineffective defensive, trying to shoot back, but their disorientation coupled with the sheer savagery of his assault made it a vain attempt.

Bando finished them off with ease, emptying an entire clip as he killed them to a man. By the time the hammer struck down, his magazine spent and empty, he was standing knee deep in dismembered bodies, blood simply dripped from the walls. Well, this little beauty had certainly done the job alright but unless he could find another clip of ammunition it was just going to be more dead weight that he needed to carry around with him.

This was already the second group of soldiers that he had run into ever since he had left the storage room, while Sakai and his man had turned left after leaving he had decided to go right and take care of any group that would try give chase.

His instinct had been spot on and without a doubt he was going to run into a heck of a lot more men who by now should have become aware that there were people in their midst that didn't belong here, they would likely shoot him on the spot and with their numbers it was going to be easier for them to simply overwhelm him.

He couldn't afford to get stuck in a protracted battle as on his own he was never going to match the number of bodies that they could throw at him, didn't matter how good or skilled he was, at some point, he would lose that fight.

Going back and link up with Sakai and his man again was certainly a viable option but doing so was going to leave their backs exposed not to mention allow their opponents to goad them, no it was going to be better for either group is they kept separate. If he drew enough attention to him then the fewer men would be going after Sakai giving the man a better chance of getting off this ship and call in help.

"You picked a great time to finally grow a backbone Hirano, I certainly could have used you right now, you bastard," he coughed as he leaned against a bulkhead, an extra set of hands or a gun would certainly come in handy given his situation. "When I get back we're going to have a little word about this Hirano, I won't let you say no the next one, I mean it."

Chuckling about it, he wondered what Dai would be doing at the moment but the answer came just as easy, likely at home, sleeping in his bed with his wife and perhaps even the horned brats as well. Yeah, that was a little too obvious but nothing that could be done about the situation.

He could use his phone and give him a call though it was likely that with the radio's being jammed that the phone would be unable to reach him, even then there was a big chance that Dai was just going to ignore the call or even turn off his phone once he saw that it was his number being displayed.

Even so, it likely wasn't a bad idea if he was going to send him a message by text, that way at least he would have been informed and should things go horribly wrong then there would be somebody that was aware of it. Pulling out his phone he typed a short message, just the info that Dai would need if he wanted to show up. "I really hope you get this in time, bastard."

With that done there wasn't much left for him at this point, the only thing left was to go ahead and caused as much mayhem and distraction as he possibly could. Well, he was Bando after all, if anyone was going to be able to do just that then it was going to be him.

By the time Sakai stopped running in orer to catch his breath, his lungs felt like they were on fire, every muscle in his body ached after what he had been through. Checking over his shoulder it seemed that his remaining man wasn't in any better shape than he was. "How are you feeling?"

The man, who went by the name Kanzaki, was out of breath but otherwise fine, maybe a few bruises but nothing serious. "I'm fine sir, just a little shaky. Honestly, sir, I hadn't expected to make it out of that one alive. Damn, to think we already lost Gasai, Kato, and Watanabe, I can't believe they're gone."

The man could very well be in a state of shock and Sakai wouldn't be surprised if that was the case, seeing a man getting his brains blown out was certainly not something he relished to see again but right now he couldn't afford to mourn the loss of three good men.

"Their loss will be dearly felt by the department," he said in an attempt to offer some form of comfort, his hand resting on the man's shoulder. "But right now we have an obligation to them to make it out of here alive and bring these people to justice for the crimes they have committed, we also cannot allow this betrayal to go unanswered. Those men are going to pay dearly for it, now pull yourself together Kanzaki or neither of us will make it out of here." Words of encouragement and an attempt to offer some consolation though Sakai didn't really believe them himself, chances were high that both of them were going to die and with them would also be the chance to bring these people to justice. "Let's go, we can't stay here any longer."

Their only hope was to rely on Bando to buy them as much time as possible, hopefully, he wasn't going to die as even though Sakai hated his gut he did find the man to be admirable in his determination. "Right, the first thing we need to do is to find out where exactly we are on this damn ship and to find out how to get off it asap."

The man nodded in agreement, "Any idea where we should look first, sir? This is a rather large ship so we should be cautious not to get lost on it. Perhaps we should look for an info bulletin, a place where information is given to the ship's crew"

Sakai turned and looked at the man, that wasn't such a bad suggestion at all. What they needed right now was a map that displayed their whereabouts. "Do you have any idea where we could find such a bulletin?" The quicker they would find it the better, he didn't want to have to rely on Bando for buying them time, they could not afford to waste precious seconds, God knew how long he was going to be able to hold out by how own.

The man shook his head. "I don't know sir, I think that such bulletins are usually kept on each level in order to help crews get where they need to be but I have no idea as for where they might be placed exactly. My apologies, sir."

"No need for you to apologize, we just need to focus first on locating one of those bulletins. Tell me, would it make sense to first check any major crossing or crew quarters first? Would those be logical locations for that kind of information to be posted?" Sakai asked him, unsure about it himself but still, they needed somewhere to start and those were likely the best.

"It is possible, sir. But I can't say for certain, these types of ships are more like mazes."

Sakai had to give him that, this ship indeed feel like a maze and likely most members of its crew wouldn't even know where to go without consulting those bulletins, the ship was simply that large. Hopefully, its vast size was going to be of more benefit to them than a hindrance. He just hoped they weren't going to get the misfortune of running into a group of enemies. "Alright then, let's do a quick ammo count and see what we still have."

Going through what they had left the result was rather disappointing; Kanzaki only had his pistol left with just three clips of extra ammo, as for Sakai he only had a submachine gun with half a clip and his pistol with two clips. That certainly wasn't going to cut it if they wanted to make it out of here alive, they were going to need to conserve their meager stock and see if they could scavenge any weaponry from their opponents.

"Don't expend any ammo unless you have to but make sure to make your shots count, aim for their heads if you have to." Not an order he fancied to give but it was their best chance at making the most of what they had left. They could go for the chest and try hit to the heart but it was possible that these people were wearing body armor against which the small caliber ammo of their pistols and submachine gun simply weren't going to cut it.

Keeping himself to the shadows Bando noticed how one lone guard stumbled passed him, even though the guy was keeping his guard up he could tell from the expression on his face that combat fatigue, as well as nervousness and anxiety, was already taking a toll on the man.

'Guess some of their men aren't exactly the best they had on hand, this guy looks far more like a rookie to me. Then again I did just kill the other guys he likely was with.' Ran through his mind, the others had displayed a rather callous disregard for caution as they had made far too much noise during their approach. Setting up an ambush for them had been far too easy even with the limited time and space he had to work with but like a bunch of green rookies, they had just bungled into it.

The first guy never even saw it coming, the second fared little better while the third in his shock and confusion simply gunned down the fourth man. 'Bunch of fucking amateurs.'

It had been far too easy, he didn't feel like being granted a sense of satisfaction by taking them out, well they were enemies as far as he was concerned and that simply meant that he would kill them in they got in his way; it was that simple. 'Now what am I going to do with you?' Gently raising his pistol he carefully tracked the man's movement. Until it was time.

Squeezing the trigger gently his led off a single shot, the target never saw it coming. Bando's aim was true, the bullet found its mark, the man spun on his axis as the sheer force of the .50 slug tore right through his belly. Swept off his feet the unfortunate man landed a meter or two back, already a pool of his own blood forming from the gaping wound.

Gazing in disbelief at his assailant the man could barely utter words. "… T-This...g-g-gotta be a … joke…" Was all he could say before the cold muzzle of an assault rifle was pressed against the side of his face. A few more garbled words left his lips but they were fell on deaf ears.

Leaning on the rifle a little Bando watched him lying there, a cold gaze in his eyes. "A joke?" he remarked as his curiosity was caught for just a moment though it did little to take away the contempt he felt for these people.

"Yes, it is. You won't die, will you?" He mentioned as he pressed the trigger, blood splattering his face and glasses. Seeing the now lifeless body he shoved it over the edge of the platform but not before he had searched for any valuables that he could use. "My bad, who do you think you're making your enemy?"

With this guy now taken out, Bando was, as far as he could tell, finished for now, this floor was likely not entirely clear of enemies but for now, he had more breathing space. How fortunate that was for him but he never expected this to have been an easy assignment, taking a moment as he leaned against a bulkhead to take some of the weight off his leg he let out a deep sigh as he was starting to feel exhausted, "Guess I'm not in much of shape today…"

It was fine with him, no matter the enemy's numbers or strength he would best them, their little illusion of stopping him, well he was going to tear that one asunder. Though at the moment he also reminded himself that he was going to need to catch some rest, already he had been putting far too much of a strain on his injured leg that he should have.

"As if any of you have the strength to stop me, the only ones I'm seeing are nothing more than fucking cowards and weaklings. Nobody here seems to be able to offer me a challenge," he growled, sounding almost disappointed, as he kicked against some of the debris that littered this passage.

Then again he knew that the man who called himself Seventh was also somewhere aboard this ship, oh how he relished the opportunity to make the bastard pay. First, he was planning on making his way towards the remaining cold storage rooms and see if there were any kids left.

He still kept scratching his head at why they were labeled as weapon components, just how exactly could a kid be used in such a way? He was aware of child soldiers but even that did not feel to match with what his instinct telling him. No, there was something else, something far more sinister at work here. But right now it kept eluding him, he couldn't just put the finger on it and that irritated him. All the more reason for him to find Seventh, beat him up real good, and then make him spew forth all the answers.

"I wonder where you are hiding Seventh, for your sake you'd better not be hiding somewhere. If I have to sink this ship to flush you out you'll be sorry," he coughed, no his opponent didn't seem like that kind of person who would go and hide while others were to throw their lives away. The best way to catch his attention was to make as much noise as possible, after that the trail of dead bodies would eventually lead the Seventh to him.

With a look at his watch, Bando felt that he had rested for long enough already, pushing himself back up on his feet he turned to his left and continued making his way towards the end of the passage. Moving towards one of the staircases he made a rapid mental note of his remaining armaments and ammunition; two grenades, less than half a clip worth for the Saiga-12, the two .50 pistols were fully loaded and he carried no less than four magazines for them, one of which carried the special tungsten rounds but he wanted to preserve those for when he really needed them He had about two clips left of ammo for the assault rifle and as he reloaded it he crossed one off from the list. Lastly, he still had the submachine gun tough it had less than a full clip but it did carry the silencer.

It was enough to keep him in the fight for now but unless he started to conserve what precious ammo he had left he would run out soon enough. Taking all the ammo he could carry with him there had been little time to loot the remainder of the dead, a shame as he didn't expect to have enough weapons or ammo to last him for the remainder of the fight, not against what he was expecting that was yet to come. "Let's see then what you guys have hidden for me, what else do you people have stuffed in those fucking freezers of yours?"

"What the hell do you mean with you don't know?! The guy came with you right?! Then how is it even possible that you fucking idiots know nothing about him?!" Seventh yelled and ranted, irritated not to say disappointed by the absolute lack of any useful information being offered by the men that had defected from Sakai. Tapping his fingers on the desk impatiently while he pinched the bridge of his nose with his other hand he was becoming a little frustrated as their usefulness quickly dwindled away as did his calm.

The only thing they had been able to tell him was that the man's name was Bando and that he had been brought in independently by Sakai moments before they had arrived here. Up until that point, neither of them had even seen or heard from the man before.

"Gentlemen, you two are just worthless, I sure as hell know that he isn't some kind of nobody. I faced him before and already then it was clear to me that he is well above the level of a mere policeman or a special agent. So again, I have one very simple question and I'd immensely appreciated it if either of you two idiots could answer it for me, alright? Now, who the fuck is this Bando character?!"

Seeing that the men still bore the same clueless expression they had before Seventh could do little but let out an exasperated sigh and turn away from them in disgust, honestly, it was becoming harder not to just point a damn gun at them and pull the trigger. "God, you two are just fucking useless," he growled in barely restrained anger, as he reached out and lit a cigarette. Taking a deep inhale he blew out a puff of smoke before turning back at the men once more.

"Now let's go over this one more time and there had better be some answers for me," he pointed out as he began to go through each step at how and when Bando was brought into the group, in doing he also went had took a seat on the desk that was present in the room. "Your boss, this Sakai, right? Brought him in independently from you guys or his department? Then where exactly did your boss knew him from? You said yourselves that he wasn't mentioned in your own records so that can only mean that he is well above the level of clearance that your department possesses. We are clear on that?"

He kept pacing from one side of the room to the other like a caged animal waiting to pounce, not stopping as he kept going through what they had told him, everything was starting to paint the picture that for some reason this man was off the grid for a reason which in Seventh's experience could mean only one of two things; either the man's existing record was a fake, created solely to hide his past or it had always had been kept hiding because of his line of work.

It was at that point that one of the men stood up, attracting his immediate attention.

"I may actually know something, sir, it's only vague but I did hear our boss mention it briefly before he left. I think that this man could possibly be a member of SAT."

Seventh's raised one of his eyebrows in response and asked, "What exactly is this SAT you just mentioned? Who are they and what exactly is their modus operandi? To what degree are they involved in this? Now is a really good time to start talking, mate."

The men kept staring at each other, neither of them sure on how to answer or explain to a man who was obviously not all that familiar with the variety of special forces their country employed, or that they are a counter-terrorism unit operating under the Japanese National Police Agency. To any federal agent in Japan, they were rather well known but it seemed to be less to foreigners. "A special organization, they're meant for situations the police can't handle it. They specialize in counter-terrorism operations and incidents involving firearms or criminals which require an armed response beyond the capabilities of local law enforcement in Japan."

It caught the immediate attention of Seventh to the point of him becoming fascinated by it, his opponent was apparently a member of a counter-terrorism organization, it sounded almost too good to be true but it was. "So that means we have a big player amongst us, well that certainly poses its own threat to us. Tell me mate, do you know if he is still affiliated with them? Sure didn't look like he did when I came across him."

Neither could answer him. "That is all I know sir, it might be better if you were to interrogate Sakai, he likely has the answer to that."

Seventh grinned with sadistic delight, "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I'll take that advice and with that, our business deal comes to an end. I bid you both farewell!" And with that, he pushed himself off from the desk and was about to make his way towards the exit.

One of the men got up. "Hey wait a moment, what about the payment you promised us. We supplied you with the information and even informed you on this infiltration as fast as we could."

"Of course, you're right," Seventh remarked casually as he came to a halt, "My mistake here, you two fine gentlemen do deserve a fitting reward for your efforts today." In a burst of movement, the dagger was in his hand, moving in a vicious arc he slashed open their throats.

As both men dropped to the floor, gurgling and gasping for air everybody in the room remained where they stood, just watching as the two men died in a pool of their own blood.

Walking towards one of the men present here, cleaning the blood from his dagger, Seventh remarked in a callous tone, "People such as you who would betray their own comrades for a bit of money deserve to die, there's no loyalty amongst your kind of vermin." He never had any intent on paying these men, they were, after all, a dispensable asset, to be discarded as they saw fit.

"Somebody clean up this mess and be certain to dispose of their bodies. Make sure they aren't going to be found, I have somebody to hunt down," he grinned as he finished cleaning the dagger and placed it back in its sheath. This night was holding the promise of a glorious battle for him and he didn't want to keep it waiting any longer. He just hoped that Ninth didn't get to him before he would. He grinned, a vicious smile apparent on his face. "Perhaps I have to see if I can delay you first, bitch."

Rounding the next corner Sakai signaled for Kanzaki to stop, it seemed like there was a larger area up ahead and he could just vaguely make out what appeared to him as a bulletin board. If they were lucky then it might also contain a layout of the ship.

"Alright, you move forward while keeping low. I'll remain here and provide covering fire, should something happen then drop down. Now go," Sakai explained to the man as he himself took up a position in order to provide covering fire, he just hoped that it wasn't going to be needed. Tense moments went past as Kanzaki crept closer, thus far it was going alright for them.

"I hope that I won't have to use this yet, just stay away you bastards," Sakai kept on repeating underneath his breath as he struggled to calm his nerves, he needed a steady hand.

It was with a sense of relief as he saw his remaining operative getting there and signaling back to him that the coast was clear. That was good, leaving his current position he quickly ran towards the man. Crossing the distances in mere seconds Sakai was glad to have made it.

"It's here sir, they seem to have a complete map of the ship. Pardon me saying this sir but I think it might be best if we take a few quick pictures of it and then get away from this place. Studying it somewhere more secure might be a better idea."

Sakai did consider that option but dismissed it after some careful consideration, if they missed anything from the map or the picture wasn't clear enough then they would need to come back and he would rather not have to do that.

"No, we stay here and study that map. Once we leave there is going to be no coming back, right now this place is secure but we have no guarantee that it will remain so should we come back. Takes pictures of it if you want but they had better be good as we won't be coming back here," he said clearly, pointing out that they could only go forward.

The man still objected but finally gave in, he did follow the orders from Sakai and made sure to take plenty of pictures of the map with his cellphone. Kanzaki was confident that it was going to help them get off this ship faster.

"Alright, now let's find out where exactly we are on this damn ship," Sakai said to nobody in particular as his finger went across the board. It took him a few moments as he wasn't used to this but eventually, he did manage to find their location on the map. "Ah, there we are. You see this, right? Dammit, it seems that we're nowhere near any exit point. That isn't good."

Kanzaki nodded as he listened closely, if what his boss was saying was right then it appeared that they still had around three more decks to climb up and then to traverse roughly half the length of this ship in order to reach a point from which they could disembark and make their escape. It was going to be a long and likely perilous trip to reach the nearest exit and then the chances of them getting caught were high, it didn't bode all that well for them.

"Sir, I do have my doubts about taking the most direct route. Wouldn't the enemy be expecting us to follow that route and plan accordingly? They likely have already sealed off all exit points, sir. We'd be walking into a dead end."

Sakai had to give it to the man, he definitely had a good point there and one he himself had nearly overlooked. They couldn't afford to become overconfident or to not give the proper respect to their opponents, a disregard for your foe would quickly lead to a feeling complacency and that would eventually lead to one's downfall. "Can't let that happen."

The man looked at him. "Excuse me, sir? Is there something wrong?" he asked.

Sakai merely shook his head. "Nothing wrong here, we just need to remain cautious and not allow ourselves to become complacent. We can make this but we need to stay vigilant."

They further discussed what might be the best route for them to take and also what to do in case Kanzaki was right and the exits were already blocked. Studying the map for a moment he found a good alternative route but it was also meant having to take a detour.

"We just need to take care when we reach that point, we get past that safely then we're safe."

The man looked at the point that Sakai was referring, they were going to get awfully close again to the crew quarters and the main loading bays. They were certainly going to cut it awfully close there but chances were high that most of the crew were somewhere else.

"You honestly believe that this route gives us the best chance of making it out of here alive sir? Permission to speak freely, sir?"

Sakai nodded, signaling that it was alright for Kanzaki to voice his concerns, he was aware that the younger man was likely going to address his objections to the plan. If Sakai was being honest with himself then he admitted to having his own doubts about the viability of taking such a detour, with that in mind it wouldn't be so bad to have another person to speak for the both of them. To him hearing about the dangers involved with what he had suggested.

He would much rather take the most direct route and waste as little time as possible to get off this damned ship but that was likely also going to get the both of them killed. He still had an obligation to the men who had lost their lives to bring those responsible to justice.

"Now what is it that you want to say? I won't hold it against you if you have any objections to this. I'm all ears if you have a better plan that will help us get out of here."

The man didn't say another word. "No sir, it's nothing. I'm just not feeling that well you know? Maybe it's the shock but nothing about this place feels right. You know what I mean?"

Sakai's finger tapped against the map, yeah he knew what the man meant with that but he couldn't let that get to him. If he were to lose his confidence as well then both of them were as good as death, he needed to keep those things to himself. He wasn't even able to tell the man about the blood trail he and Bando had found earlier at one of the air ducts even though it seemed so trivial, this ship was giving him the creeps as well though he wasn't so sure as to why it did.

"Alright then," Sakai mentioned. "Let's go over this one more time and then we'll go. Now I'll be fast, so keep up, and if I have a question you'd better answer me quickly. But if you have any questions, wait until I'm done." That was until he noticed something else on the map and he started to grin as an idea stirred in his head. "We've taken a hit and a damn bad one at that. But if we act now, I think we've got a good chance of kicking the enemy right in the teeth." He then gave a rundown of what they could do to get back at their foe and exact a measure of revenge for the dead men. "Alright then let's go."

They set off again but they had barely made it past the corner when a searing pain ripped through Sakai's shoulder, taken aback by the sudden force of the impact he spun before toppling over. Gripping his injured shoulder he barely had time to look down the corridor before a second shot streaked past him, grazing his temple. Dammit, it had to be that sniper again from before, the one who had managed to ambush them in the cold storage room.

Kanzaki stood there frozen in terror as he watched, seeing in the distance a woman bearing a long barreled rifle walking towards them. A malevolent smile apparent on her face as she blew him a kiss. "Now come, mon gars." The rifle was dropped as she sprang forward, hitting the floor with a loud clang, a dagger plucked from her leg. A murderous look in her eyes as she closed the distance rapidly, the blade raised high as she lunged forward. The frightened man could do little but stand there, paralyzed by fear, until she was almost on top of him.

Tampering with the lock it finally opened and Bando quickly stepped inside, once he was inside he checked his immediate surroundings but found that for now, he was alone. Making sure that nobody was going to come up with the stupid idea of trying to sneak up on him, he used one of his remaining grenades to create a makeshift booby-trap.

He wasn't concerned any longer about keeping his location a secret from these people, no it was going to serve him better to have them know where he was but only when he was going to be able to notice them first. This little trap was going to ensure that alright.

"Now, who's going to be the first one to get inside?" He asked himself as he stepped away from the door and made his way further into the storage room. "Time to get some answers, hopefully." Going further he could tell that the room was massive, even bigger than the previous one he had been in. He couldn't begin to imagine how many units might be installed in here, even trying to make a rudimentary guess was already enough to make his blood run cold. He was getting a really bad feeling about this place, there was something cold and inhumane to all of this, it reminded him again of what he had witnessed in that truck.

Furthermore, he noticed that this room was different from the one before, it looked far more modern with an array of unfamiliar equipment being stored here, this really looked more like the kind of medical equipment that wouldn't look out of place in some state of the art hospital or laboratory.

Somehow he was left with the impression that this room was a newer, possibly more advanced one, while the first storage room might have been an older or possibly even just a backup. If that was the case then it stood to good reason that most of the subjects were going to be kept here. Approaching a desk with a PC on top of it, he decided to first go and see if he could find any records being kept in there, it was likely going to a lot easier for him than having to go and check out each and every single containment unit one at a time.

Taking place behind it, he looked over his shoulder, when that grenade would go off he would need to react fast. "Might as well start here and see what you people have stored."

Pleasantly surprised that he didn't need to enter a password or provide a means to identify in order to gain access to the files he went straight at it, offering a token of gratitude for the likely fact that this kind of equipment likely needed to be kept on running constantly in order to avoid problems. He placed the assault rifle next to him.

Looking at the corner of the screen it seemed his hunch had been right as a program, which was kept on running even now, seemed to be regulating the status of each containment unit. Studying it for a moment he noticed that it was only in effect for a mere seven units; one of which was reporting that the status of the subject inside had deceased, all of its vitals He already knew which one that was but what really caught his attention was the total amount of units that were linked to the program, well over two hundred units that were on this ship.

With such a capacity and with only seven remaining he could only come to the conclusion that they were likely waiting for new stock to be brought in or perhaps they had just returned from delivering the cargo. "Dammit!" he cursed as he slammed his fist on the desk, if that was true then they were already too late, the horrible reality of what had happened here sank in with him. God knew how many kids they had already dragged off to God knew where.

"But if they came back from unloading, then why are those seven still on this ship?" He asked himself, it didn't make sense to keep stock within the storage units and risk them being discovered like they had. There had to be a reason as for why these seven had stayed on the ship and not had been delivered.

Going to another folder he found the answer to it, reading the file it made him scratch his head in confusion. "Just what the hell does incompatible stock mean?" He didn't understand what was meant with that, how could a person be declared incompatible stock? That didn't make any sense to him but he sure as Hell felt the urge again to pound the face of Seventh into oblivion after he was done with him. 'Fucking bastard!' His fists tightened, mimicking his thoughts.

Leaving the PC for what it was he picked up the rifle again and went towards the containment units that were placed here, it felt strange though that six of the seven rejected subjects were to be kept here. Was there a particular reason for that? Why had one been kept isolated from the rest? Difficult to say given he had no idea what these people wanted with the kids they had already gathered, no matter how hard he tried to come up with a satisfiable answer he just couldn't. There wasn't enough information for him to make an educated guess.

About to set foot he stopped as heard a faint voice coming from somewhere in the back, dammit he hadn't considered that there might have been somebody inside here with him.

Grabbing the submachine he quickly flipped off the safety, if he could sneak up on the bastard then this was going to be enough to handle the job, a single shot to the back of the head would silence him. Moving as silently as he could he approached the source of the noise that had been getting clearer, it was definitely a person who was in here with him.

Risking a glance from where he was standing he saw that it was a woman standing next to a pair of containment units, judging by her lab coat and the way she acted it seemed likely that this woman was the one in charge of overseeing that the kids inside were kept alive.

He grinned, knowing that this person was likely able to tell him a bit more. Alas, that also meant that he couldn't just shoot her on the spot and had to risk in subduing the woman fast enough.

He would need to go in fast, take her by surprise and keep her at gunpoint to make it clear that if she were to make one wrong move then her brain was going to be splattered over the walls.

Moving from cover to cover it seemed that the woman paid little to no attention to her immediate surroundings as the woman just kept on what she was doing, she would pose no threat to Bando.

Slamming against a large cooling unit Bando froze as he heard the woman yell, shaking the radio that she was holding in her hand. "This thing must be broken again, I contacted the disposal unit well over an hour ago. What is keeping them so long? These bodies need to be disposed of."

"I think otherwise asshole!" Bando sneered as he leaped out from where he stood and with a well-aimed shot took out the radio the woman had been holding. "The disposal is being delayed for now but while we wait let's have a little talk, shall we?" he grinned as he walked over towards the woman, cracking his knuckles as he did, a look of malevolent glee in his eyes. "And if I don't like your answer or you pull any stunt you will wish I had killed you."

Author's note: There we are folks, the first chapter of the New Year, I hope you all had a good time and I can guess that for most of you, much like me, the year is already in full swing with either work or for some of you, school.

So have any of you already been making plans for this year? Or have some of you made any good resolutions for this year that you want to achieve? For myself, I've got a tripped planned to visit the Bovington Tank museum again later this year and a couple of other events. Also thinking about visiting my first anime convention this year, kind of surprised I didn't do that sooner.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, looking forward to your thoughts and opinions, if there's anything you want to point out please let me.

For the rest that's about all I have to say, have a good weekend and until the next time. Take care.