*If the story mentions that a character is speaking a different language but the dialogue is in English, the character is speaking in that specific language and I'm just writing the translation so that I'm not cluttering the word count with the dialogue in the original language followed by the translation*
Late March, 2022
Fukuoka, Japan
6:00 PM
It was nearly sundown as Kana was sitting down on a bench, impatiently checking her watch every couple of minutes as she wondered what was taking Yumiko and her team so long to arrive. She knew already that it would take a while for them to arrive, but to postpone any action until the very next day didn't entirely sit well with her. She sighs as she hears footsteps approaching her as she sees her old friend.
"Alright Kana, we're here." Yumiko greets her as she stands up from the bench.
"I didn't think it would've taken this long for you to arrive here, but better late than never I suppose." Kana sighed a little, earning a slight glare from Yumiko. "But I do appreciate you coming here."
"If I didn't agree to help, I know you would've just gone off on your own, Kana. And we both know that would be suicide regardless of how skilled you could possibly be." Yumiko replies as she then turns to her team. "These are a few members of my squad, Viperstrike. You have Jackal, Renegade, Thatcher, and Echo. Viperstrike, this is Kana. She is an old acquaintance of mine from back in the IMPD."
"A pleasure to meet some of the world's finest operators. I look forward to working with all of you, but please just refer to me as Azami." She bows.
"Very well, Azami. My condolences for the loss of Yahata-san." Renegade is the first to respond. "I understand the pain of losing someone important to you."
"I can relate to that as well. And trust me when I say we won't let whoever did this get away with it." Jackal responds determinedly.
"Oh believe me, I will do whatever it takes to ensure those rokudenashi pay." She responds while hiding a devilish smirk. "But let's get down to business. Me and the SAT found this at the place Yahata was murdered. Does this seem familiar to you?"
She tosses a bullet casing towards Hibana, who swiftly catches it. She glanced over the top of the casing and noticed three distinct letters that were engraved into it. She sighs a little in frustration over seeing them.
"QCR…of course." She mutters with an angered expression. "
"So it seems that NIGHTHAVEN is somehow involved in this situation. Honestly Hibana, I'm not too surprised at this sudden revelation." Renegade responds to her.
"I know. I guess I just hoped we wouldn't have to deal with them anytime soon if at all. But that was just my wishful thinking." She states before turning to Azami. "So what else do you know?"
"Simply put, we were attacked at the fruit stalls down on the streets, I went to fend off the assassins and apparently another figure had come while I was distracted and shot Yahata in the chest. I called in the SAT to investigate and that was how we found the casing and footage of another assassin showing up to finish the job." Azami explains as Hibana nods. "So this group you call NIGHTHAVEN…who are they?"
"They are an international PMC run by an Indian woman by the name of Jaimini Shah. They were working under us up until a few months ago when they had suddenly cut ties with us out of the blue." Echo explains to her.
"So…mercenaries? Understood. Still doesn't answer the question of exactly who would place a hit on Yahata…but it's a start at least." Azami ponders the new information for a moment. "But we do have a lead on the assassins."
"What do ya know?" Thatcher questions her.
"The SAT had done some research about the Fukuoka area and had found out where they had been holding up. It's a townhouse in the downtown area. I believe it's worth a look to see if we can scrounge any extra intel that they might've left behind. Or find someone there who we can interrogate." Azami explains as Hibana nods in agreement.
"Right. If NIGHTHAVEN is indeed involved in this whole situation, then we will need to get to the bottom of it."
"Perfect." Azami wrings her hands together. "The SAT had plans to raid the building with a small team, but I convinced them to let us handle it."
"Okay. Jäger took our helo for refueling, so we might want to get started with the mission. So lead the way."
Azami nods as she directs the team to the target location. The building stood about three stories tall with a basement that could be entered through a side door. Hibana takes note of the basement entrance as she turns to her team.
"Okay, I suggest we split off into small groups. That way, we can cover more ground before they realize that we are here." She explains to everyone. "I'll take Azami and cover the basement area. Renegade, you take Echo and enter through the rear yard. That leaves Thatcher and Jackal to cover the front entrance."
"And let's try not to kill all of them. I want to keep at least one still alive for interrogation, especially to confirm our suspicions about NIGHTHAVEN. And there might be noncombatants in the building, so check your target before shooting." Renegade adds as the rest of the team nods in understanding.
"Then let's kick this off, our window is closing fast." Thatcher reminds everyone as the group agrees and splits off to their separate entry points.
Renegade guides Echo, Hibana and Azami towards the rear gate and takes out a pair of bolt cutters. In one swift motion, he breaks open the lock and pushes open the gate. The team turns on their NVGs as both Hibana and Azami break off towards the east alley and step towards the basement door. Renegade and Echo step closer towards the back door as the former reaches his hand out towards the door.
"Viperstrike, this is Renegade. We're ready to enter the back door."
"Solid copy Renegade, Jackal and I are stacked up at the front door. Waiting on your signal." Thatcher responds.
"Copy. We're going in." He responded as he pushed the door open and sweeped the room with his AR-33. "The room is clear. Echo, could you scout the next room with your drone?"
"Of course. Let the Yokai take care of it" Echo responds as he places down his hover drone and directs it toward the next room.
As Renegade covered Echo while he droned, he could hear the sound of a door open next to them. On instinct, Renegade stands to one side and prepares to silence whoever steps out from the door. He could hear the sound of a woman speaking Japanese coming closer towards the door.
"Alright, I'm gonna go grab a few drinks-" The woman manages to say before Renegade puts a hand over her mouth and tries to restrain her movements. She struggles against him a little before he is able to subdue her by hitting her head hard enough to knock her out.
"Bloody hell…" He whispers as he ties her hands together and sits her down on the ground. "Find anything?"
"The room from where that woman came from has a few individuals holding a meeting. I spotted four targets." Echo explained as Renegade turned his com on.
"Viperstrike, this is Renegade again. I've knocked out a potential hostile target and Echo has spotted several holding a meeting on the first floor. Thatcher, move in here with Jackal so we can pincer them."
"Copy that. Breaching the front door." Thatcher responds on the com as he and Jackal enter the front door and stack up in the parlor. "We're inside. I could throw an EMP into the room and we make our move."
"Hmm, tempting. What's your status Hibana?"
"Basement is secure. No hostile targets were down here. Me and Azami will regroup with you, Renegade." Hibana responds.
"Rog'. Did you hear that Thatcher?"
"Copy. Me and Jackal are on standby. Just give us the word"
The group waits as both Hibana and Azami quietly scale up the stairs and towards the back of the house where they find both Renegade and Echo ready to ambush the group. Renegade notices them and motions for them to come over.
"Alright they are through this door. Echo mentioned that he saw about four targets in the room." He explains to her. "Do you want us to execute them all or should we spare one? I knocked one out earlier, but I can't fully confirm they are hostile."
"Hmm, let's keep at least one of them alive. Just to be safe." She responds to him.
"Rog'. Alright Thatcher, on your go. Let's keep one alive."
"Copy." He responds as he takes out one of his EMP grenades and rolls it into the room. "Lights out"
The EMP detonates and the room suddenly goes dark as the individuals in the room are surprised when the six operators move into the room. Hibana was the first to react and guns one down followed by Thatcher who draws his blade and covers the mouth of another target before stabbing them in the abdomen. Echo instantly guns down the third while Jackal tackles the last one down to the ground and subdues them. Azami points her desert eagle towards the one on the ground, ready to pull the trigger as Hibana grabs her arm.
"Azami, no! We need one alive." She reiterates what she said before the ambush.
"Why? I have no sympathy for these people after they killed Yahata." Her voice has a hint of coldness.
"I understand your anger Kana, but we need information if we want to find out who was targeting Yahata. His murderer is still out there and might continue to target people like Yahata if we don't find a lead on the culprit. We need to think rationally about this, Kana." Hibana explains to her, desperate to prevent Kana from doing something that she would regret later.
Azami keeps her pistol aimed at the head of the unconscious assassin, desperately wanting to take his life. However, she found herself faltering as she understood the logic in Hibana's words. Her hand quivers in doubt for a moment as she then lowers her weapon and sighs in frustration.
"I hate it when you're right. Let's just keep going before I change my mind. More of these bastards will soon learn the demon they just released." Azami begins to walk away as Hibana feels concerned.
Seems Yahata's death affected her more than I had anticipated…this just isn't like you Kana. Hibana thought to herself as she turned to Jackal. "Could you round up the two targets we knocked out and get them ready for extraction?"
"Of course, I'll have them ready." Jackal responds as the rest of Viperstrike leaves the room and starts to walk up the stairs. As they reached the top step, they could hear the sound of frantic footsteps and constant murmuring from the walls on the second floor.
"Seems they finally learned of our presence." Renegade whispers to the team. "Let's tread carefully from here on out."
Echo guides the Yokai drone over towards the first door from the stairs and slips through the door crack. He notices several men grabbing guns from a drawer and taking cover behind the bed and a corner formed from a built-in bathroom. Guiding the drone without getting spotted and attaching it to the ceiling, he turns to the others.
"I notice two men inside. One behind the bed and the other is hiding behind a wall. I can disorient them with a sonic wave and allow us to neutralize them." He explains as Azami and Hibana stack against the door. He then pushes a button on his wrist device and a fairly loud sound wave is heard throughout the house and both Hibana and Azami burst through the door and gun down both individuals.
"Both targets are down. The room is secure-" Hibana states as she hears a shotgun shot emerge from the bathroom. The door had a few holes as they could see several more blind shots piercing through the wood. Azami instinctively takes a few shots through the holes in the door until they all hear the sound of a gun falling to the ground.
"Seems we forgot to check the bathroom before we went in." Azami comments as she loads a new magazine into her pistol.
"That's my fault. I was a little too focused on the two in the main room." Echo said sheepishly. "My apologies, Hibana."
"No harm done. We all make mistakes, no matter how simple they might be." She responds to him. "But let's keep going."
The group then exits the room and crosses the hallway. They approach another door as Echo sends in his drone. The sounds of a baby screaming along with both a man and woman bickering could be heard as the Yokai was able to find two adult individuals and a baby in the room.
"What in the bloody hell are they saying'?" Thatcher questions as he leaned against the door.
"Seems like the woman is trying to tell the man to stop what he is doing for the sake of their child. I believe I can confirm the woman is a non-combatant." Echo responds with a translation as he saw on the feed that the man was aiming a shotgun at the door. "Oh crap, Thatcher get back!"
Before he could do anything a shotgun shell was fired through the door and a few pellets had struck Thatcher in the chest. Thatcher is knocked down to the ground from the impact as he holds his chest in pain. Instinctively, Renegade pulls him back and takes a shot as he hears a painful grunt. The man who shot through the door had dropped his shotgun and was on the floor trying to reach for it. Azami then guns down the man and the group bursts into the room.
The woman starts panicking and trying to calm down her baby who was now crying. Hibana carefully approaches the two and the woman starts to shout in her native tongue.
"No! Please don't shoot!" She shouts with traces of panic in her voice.
"It's okay, we aren't going to hurt you. It's not safe here for you and your baby." She says calmly. "Head down to the first floor and stay put. We will come get you and take you to safety."
She hesitantly nods as she walks out while trying to calm her baby down. Hibana then turns to the others.
"How's Thatcher?"
"He'll live, but might need some recovery time once we arrive back at base." Renegade assures her. "I'll take point for the final floor."
"Alright." She responds as she turns her com back on. "Jackal, there will be a young woman and her baby arriving at your location down there. We're traversing up towards the final floor."
"Copy that. Be careful." Jackal says through the com.
The group continues up the stairs and reaches the top floor. Renegade carefully approaches the door as Echo sends a drone through the bottom. His eyes widen as he shows the group the video feed. The feed showed an individual inside the room talking to someone through a laptop. A few moments pass as the individual turns towards the Yokai drone before closing the laptop and taking a shot at the drone. Renegade then went to open the door, but saw that the door was locked. Hibana took out a crowbar from her gear and pried the door open. Renegade was the first one in as he pointed his weapon directly at the individual who was staring each of them down.
"Hmm, I didn't expect the SAT to work this fast. I'm almost impressed." the individual comments in a masculine voice before noticing the two SAS ops. "You two are a long way from home SAS. What stakes do you have in this?"
"That's none of your concern. Now put your hands up!" Renegade orders him as the individual just chuckles.
"And why would I do that?" He responds before glancing over at Azami. "And you must be Kana Fujiwara. I commend your efforts to protect Yahata from my men, but it just made the job all too easy."
"You sonuvabitch!" Azami shouts in anger as she was ready to take a shot on him. "I'm so gonna enjoy putting an end to your miserable life."
"Are you now?" He asks tauntingly. "Unfortunately for you, I have other plans. So I will bid you all farewell."
"Don't you…bloody move!" Thatcher shouts as he is still in pain from the previous encounter. "You…are now under custody…of Rainbow!"
"Rainbow? There's no way…" He seemed almost shocked to hear that as he put his hand against his ear. "Weapons free."
"What?" Hibana questions before everyone heard the sound of loud gunshots as the walls to the top floor were suddenly being pierced by powerful rounds as a helicopter suddenly came into view of everyone. "Get to cover!"
"I've got us covered!" Azami immediately throws out two kunis that release a chemical formula that solidifies into barriers that everyone uses to shield themselves from the gunfire. As the helicopter continues to provide suppressing fire, the individual uses this opening to rappel up into the helicopter.
"Renegade! Can you hack into their guns!?" Hibana shouts over the sound of gunfire.
"I'm on it!" He replies as he then activates his visor and hacks the guns that are firing upon them. "I'm in! I'll force them to overheat!"
A few seconds pass as the suppressing fire begins to cease as Renegade causes the weapons to overheat and stop firing. Realizing that they picked up what they came here for, the helicopter then begins to make its escape into the sky. As the sound of the rotors fades into the distance, the team lets out a sigh of relief.
"Fuckin' hell…I can't believe that bastard got away." Thatcher comments.
"Just who was that guy? He seemed a little spooked when you mentioned us being Rainbow, dad." Renegade adds as he walks up to the table with the laptop.
"Whoever that was…if they are working for NIGHTHAVEN, then they just declared war with this act of aggression." Hibana sighs a little. "Seems this is only the beginning."
"I don't care who they work for, they will all pay just like the ones we killed here today." Azami replies with determination.
"Then fight with us, Kana. Join Rainbow and we will get to the bottom of this together." Hibana says to her as Azami gives a slight nod.
As Renegade searched the table that was torn to shreds by the gunfire, he noticed that through one of the holes in the table was a thumb-drive. He takes it out and places it in a pocket.
"Found a thumb-drive that could prove to be useful. I believe we are done here."
"Jäger, we're done here. We are ready for extraction." Hibana says into her com.
"Ja, I hear you. I'll be there in ten minutes." Everyone hears as the group heads down to regroup with Jackal.