Chapter 78 - New Home
[Stammheim Prison - Stuttgart, Germany]
(After the operation on Devil's Mountain they had a couple of hours of rest then Gero and his team went to Stammheim to talk with Jonathan Wright)
"Yo Jonathan!"
"S-Sir Gero?"
"The one and only!"
"Somehow..you seem very different compared to our first meeting.."
"Hmm..sorry about that time I was really in a bad mood..but I'm all good now!"
(Jonathan was very surprised at the happy go lucky Gero with a big smile on his face. He never knew that a person could smile like that towards someone that was apart of the mercenaries that almost killed him in the past)
"Since you came for your second visit I'm guessing you found them?" Jonathan asked
"We did..their base was inside Devil's Mountain.."
"Who are they? Are they still there?!"
"Their organization is called Pandora..and no they're not there anymore.."
"What do you mean? They escaped?"
"No..we killed about half of them and captured the rest..we also saved about 150 kids..thanks for the tip about following the crimes..that made it possible for us to find them.."
"Y-You did all of that?"
"Yup..they have no more bases here in Germany..but they have a lot more all over the world.."
"How big of an organization are they?"
"Big enough to take on any country..they have the manpower and firepower.."
(Jonathan's expression suddenly turned sour as he heard what kind of organization they are)
"What's with the long face?"
"S-Sorry..sir Gero.."
"Why are you apologizing?"
"Again because of me..you might've just declared war against an evil organization.."
"What the hell are you saying? War was already declared against me on the day they killed my men..this was not your fault.."
"But still..I am partly responsible for that day as well.."
"You didn't pull the trigger that killed Junpei-san and Touma-san.."
"How did you know?"
"We found out a lot about Pandora when we captured their base.."
"Did you find out what their objective was?"
"We did..we also know why they also kidnapped only kids for the past years.."
"Why? What are they doing?"
"This isn't the place to talk about it so I'll tell you later.."
"Later..? Wait what about our deal? I agreed to tell you about myself if ever you came back here again.." Jonathan said
"Forget about that..right now I have a better deal to offer you.."
"Better deal? What kind?"
"Send them in.."
(The door to the interrogation room opened and two individuals entered. Jonathan recognized who they were the moment they entered because it was his wife Lena and his daughter Monika)
"Monika! Lena!" Jonathan shouted
"Papa!"
"Jonah!"
(The three of them hugged each other immediately after seeing each other)
"Thank God both of you are safe!"
"You too..I'm so happy to be with you again!" Lena said
"Papa! Papa! I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too my little princess..how did you get here?"
"Onii-san found us and protected us!"
"Danke...danke schön sir Gero..how can I ever repay you?" Jonathan asked
"That's the deal I was talking about..would the three of you please come with me somewhere?"
"Come with you? But I'm a prisoner here remember?"
"About that..you were sentenced to fifteen years here ten years ago so meaning you still have five years to go right? I have arranged things so that the remaining five years of your sentence is converted to house arrest.."
"Does that mean we can live with Papa again?!" Monika asked
"Yes Monika-chan, you can.."
"Yay! That's amazing!"
"Isn't that great honey?" Lena said
"Yes..but it sounds too good to be true..is it that even possible? To arrange it that easily?" Jonathan asked
"Don't worry about how I did it cause it'll be a pain to explain..just rest assured that it's true.."
"I see..then I shall trust you sir Gero.."
"Good! Now come on and pack your things..it's time to go home with your family.."
(After packing up Gero left Stammheim Prison together with Jonathan and his family and headed for the private airfield to board a small plane to take them to their destination)
"I don't remember taking a plane to go home.." Jonathan said
"Yeah well your old home is gone..Pandora did try to look for your wife and child but they were able to escape before they got caught..we'll be heading for your new home!"
"New home? Where?" Lena asked
"In a peaceful place called Dortmund.."
(It will take them four hours to Dortmund via plane so Jonathan and his family took a rest and slept during the flight together since it has been a long time since they have been with each other. During the flight Ono was together with Gero and they served as their escorts)
"Why don't you take a nap as well?" Ono asked
"I'll take a nap when we get there.."
"Alright..it feels great seeing them like that..a family together and happy.."
"That's how it's supposed to be..Jonathan earned this.."
"Tell me Gero..what's Jonathan's story and how did he end up the way he is now?" Ono asked
"Jonathan Wright..rank was Master Sergeant..was serving in Afghanistan as a Humvee driver when his commanding officer gave a ridiculous order to kill kids who were accused of helping the Taliban.."
"That's so messed up.." Ono said
"Of course Jonathan refused the direct order and earned himself a court martial and a dishonorable discharge.."
"How did he end up as a mercenary?"
"When he got home he looked for a job as any other would do..then his cousin offered him a driving job.."
"Adrian Wright was the name of his cousin..and he was the leader of the small mercenary group that Pandora hired.."
"Did Jonathan accept the job offer knowing about that?"
"Unfortunately his cousin did not mention what kind of driving job it was until he was driving for their diary work..whenever there's a kidnapping, drug dealing, or any other kind of crime, Jonathan was behind the wheel every time.."
"Meaning he was the one that drove that black car that carried the mercenaries twelve years ago.."
"That's right..and that's why he didn't recognize me the first time we met since he never got a good look on my face.."
"Then if it wasn't him that shot Junpei-san and Touma-san then who had the tattoo on his hand?" Ono asked
"Adrian was the one that took the shot..both of them had the same tattoo with Adrian having his tattoo on his left hand and Jonathan on his right.."
"So that's what happened..then that means his cousin was killed during Operation Odysseus right?"
"Yeah..but it was neither RYOBU or ANBU that killed him..it was a member of Pandora that was ordered to deliver my blood back to Germany..then he set off the bombs onboard the ship to cover his escape..Jonathan barely managed to survive the blast because he was knocked off the ship and landed in the ocean just before the boat sank.."
"Then he went to Germany to run away from it all..but he never knew that it was where Pandora was hiding.."
"It wasn't the only thing he found though..after arriving in Germany he met his wife Lena..then had their beautiful daughter Monika..I'm really glad that we went here and was able to save this family.."
"Me too..not only them but the kids as well.."
"Yeah..I'm hoping they'll love their new home.."
"I'm sure they will.."
[Dortmund, Germany - Four Hours Later]
(After arriving in Dortmund they took a quick drive into the forest until they saw some kind of farmland which had a high fence covering the entire place. They were greeted by security personal by the front gate of the place and as they got inside the place was beautiful and peaceful just as Gero said)
"This place is?" Jonathan asked
"Your new home.."
"Look papa! There are kids!" Monika said
"There's so many of them.." Lena said
"Are those the kids you saved sir Gero?"
"Yeah..aren't they cute?"
(The car now stopped in front of a house made of wood and the kids were waiting for Gero and his team was there as well. The kids were wearing normal clothes and had proper footwear instead of their ragged clothes before. They still had long hair but their eyes regained the light it lost)
"Onii-san's back!" a boy said
"Tadaima everyone...were you all good kids?"
"Yeeeeeees!" the kids responded
"Very good! Ono can you gather the others?"
"Roger!" Ono smiled
"Onii-san who are these people?" Kin asked
"I'd like to introduce to you the Wright Family..this is Jonathan, his wife Lena and their lovely daughter Monika! Greet them properly everyone!"
"Hello Wright Family! Welcome to our home!" the kids greeted
"Hi there! Thank you for having us!" Jonathan greeted
"Oh my we have very good mannered kids here..thank you!" Lena said
"My name is Monika! Nice to meet you!"
"By the way this house is your new house!"
"HA?!" Lena and Jonathan reacted
"As of today the Wright Family is the head of this place and will take care of you all from now on!"
"EH?!" Lena and Jonathan reacted again
"So listen to them always and be respectful alright?"
"Yeeeeeeees!" the kids said again
"Monika-chan! Let's play!" said a girl
"Mama..Papa..can I go with them and play?" Monika asked
"Of course dear..Lena please go with them?"
"Sure darling.."
(Lena now went with Monika and the kids to play while Gero and Jonathan took a walk around the place)
"Surprised huh?"
"Very..you never told me about being the head of this place! What even is this place? It looks like some kind of old military outpost?" Jonathan asked
"This was an old KSK training base back in the day and it was closed due to lack of management..since the base still had its facilities I had this place renovated and changed into a sanctuary.."
"I see..and what did you mean by we'll be handling this place from now on?"
"You'll be the one managing it from now on..making sure the kids are safe..they are able to eat three times a day..sleep in warm beds..and play to their heart's content.."
"Isn't that a little too high of a hurdle for just me and my family?"
"Normally it would but I have arranged that this place will be under the watchful eyes of the KSK..you have a perimeter fence with surveillance cameras..you have a security team guarding the place 24/7.."
"What about the supplies?"
"Don't worry about that..you will receive supplies once a month from my family..food, water, medicine, clothing, toys, etc."
"So all I have to do is be the guy that handles this place?"
"Yup! This will be your way of repenting for whatever you did in the past..and that's to make sure that all these kids have a bright future.."
"Very well sir Gero.."
"Now for a tour of the place! Over there is the dining building where everyone can have a bite to eat together..and over there is the security building so if anything comes up you go straight there.."
"What about that building?"
"That's the school that'll teach these kids all that they need to learn..it has an infirmary in case of small accidents hopefully none..the teachers and staff are all taken care of so it'll be just like having 150 kids go to school every day..of course Monika will also attend there.."
"Thank you..and that must be the barracks then.."
"Don't call it a barracks! Yes that's where they'll sleep after eating dinner..oh and over there is the playground..I don't have to explain that now do I?"
"Yes sir..and what's that awfully big screen?"
"Oh that's my favorite part! It's a movie screen where the kids can watch a movie of their choice on the weekends!"
"Hahaha! You really are an odd one sir Gero.." Jonathan chuckled
"Why?"
"I never thought that I'd get a chance to have a conversation like this with you..who knew you'd like taking care of kids this much.."
"Well..we all owe these kids this much..after what they've been through.."
"Is it alright for me to know now what Pandora did to them?"
(Gero then told what they had discovered during the raid on Devil's Mountain. As Jonathan listened he couldn't prevent himself from feeling discomfort and shock after knowing what evil acts Pandora had done)
"How could they do that to kids? To humans?" Jonathan said
"I just wish we had saved a lot more of them.."
"You did all that you could.."
"It's still not enough.."
"For these kids it is..I'm sure all of them are happy to be here now.."
"Thanks Jonathan..also there's one more thing I want to discuss with you..it's about who killed your cousin twelve years ago.."
(Gero then showed him a picture of a middle aged man with black short hair)
"Who is he?"
"His name is Bryan Williams..he's an ex-navy seal operative that was hired by Pandora to kill your team..he's the same one that killed my foster father a month ago.."
"Do you know where he is?" Jonathan asked
"As of now no..he's basically a phantom..he doesn't leave any traces of his work making him untrackable..but I'll find him..I won't stop until I find him.."
"Will you kill him?"
"Would you want me to?"
"No.."
"Why not?"
"Killing him won't bring back my cousin or your foster father..but I sure want to see him rot in hell for the rest of his life.."
"Same here..well let's leave it at that for now..I'll cross that bridge when I get there.."
"Yes sir.."
(Gero then saw Dr. Emma walking towards them)
"Ah yes almost forgot..Jonathan please say hello to Dr. Emma..she'll be assisting you and your family in handling the place..she's also the doctor in this compound.."
"A pleasure to meet you Mr. Wright.." Dr. Emma said
"Likewise..let's do our best for these children.."
"Certainly.."
"Alright then that's about it for the tour of the place..get to know the people here and the staff..but most important of all..get to know the children..gain their trust and make them feel loved.."
"Will do!"
[Security Building]
(Gero now went to the security building where his team had gathered. They were going to watch an aerial footage of them blowing up Devil's Mountain with the explosives they planted)
"So tell me we're good to go.."
"Say the word young master and Devil's Mountain will now be erased.." PFC Shuns aid
"Good..do we have boots on the ground?"
"Lt. Kurt and Sgt. Frank is there now and has secured the perimeter.." Col. Alonso said
"Alright did you double check the topography and geology of the mountain? I don't want to cause any damage to the surrounding area..the last thing I want is to have Berlin experience earthquakes because of this.."
"We triple checked them and the land is sturdy enough to take the force of the explosion.." Klara said
"There is no risk of causing any external and internal damage to the land since this is an artificial mountain.."
"What about the media?"
"We cooperated with the local demolishing company and had them announce an official announcement regarding Teufelsburg's demolition today so that nobody will ever set foot in this place ever again.." Tsuneo said
"Excellent..give me a live feed from our drone.."
"Setting up drone visuals now.." Alisa said
(The screen now showed an aerial view of Devil's Mountain from their drone. They could see the buildings they parachuted on top of and where they took out the guards of Pandora. Everyone was having mixed feelings seeing those again but they put those feelings aside for now and just awaited for the big bang)
"Shun hand me the trigger.."
"Here you go young master.."
(When Gero received the detonator from Shun he immediately approached Assam. He noticed that she was still a little bit shaken up from the horrid things she saw down at the laboratory of Pandora so he thought that this was a good way of making her feel better)
"Assam-san..would you do the honor?"
"Eh? Why me?" Assam asked
"Everybody agrees with me right?"
"Yup! Go for it Assam-san!" Takashi said
"You were a big help to us! You deserve it!" Kal said
"No argument here.." Naomi smiled
"B-But..I.."
"Then how about we pull the trigger together?"
(The detonator had a switch on the side and two red buttons on top. Gero held the detonator and he'll flip the switch then press the first button while Assam will press the second one to trigger the detonation. Assam was hesitating at first but she mustered her strength and stood up. She grabbed the other side of the detonator making her hand overlap Gero's hand and she could feel the warmth through the bandages on his hand)
"So warm.." Assam said in her head
"Ready?"
"Yes.."
"Lt. Kurt we're about to detonate the explosives..stand by.." Col. Alonso radioed
"Jawohl Colonel!" Lt. Kurt radioed back
(Gero then flipped the switch and pressed the first button. Assam took a big inhale and she held both the detonator and Gero's hand tight and pressed the second red button. Immediately the lights on the C4 explosives back at Devil's Mountain turned on and one by one they exploded with everything it had. They could see from the aerial drone that the buildings on top of the hill started to explode also and was demolished immediately)
"Nice!" Cpl. Kaito said
"Oh that's just the first part.." PFC Shun said
(Suddenly secondary explosions occurred inside the mountain and everything inside was blown to bits. The main computer room, the children's room, then finally the laboratory was blown apart and the ceiling started collapsing on top of everything. The elevator shaft got destroyed sending it down the lower levels of the mountain)
"Woah..that's cool!" Sgt. Sakurai said
"How many explosives did you place?" Lt. Sanada asked
"Everything we brought.." PFC Shun said
"Isn't that a bit overkill?"
"Nothing's overkill with C4!"
"Confirming primary and secondary explosions inside and on top of Devil's Mountain..demolition is a success!" Sgt. Frank radioed
(After seeing the mountain go up in smoke Assam felt a sense of relief that Pandora's base was blown to bits. She couldn't help but smile at the thought that the kids are now truly saved and they will no longer be brought back to that horrible place)
"Finally you smiled.."
"You mean you wanted me to do that so I could smile?" Assam asked
"You are the reason why we are here in Germany now..without you hacking into the CIA and finding out about Jonathan..maybe I wouldn't be here right now.."
"I didn't do much to receive your praise.."
"But you do..thank you Assam for helping me smile again.."
(Seeing Gero's smile up close gave Assam a warm feeling of achievement. She realized that she was able to help out a friend and she was being thanked for it. She gave her best smile back to Gero and said)
"You're welcome Gero.."
"Does this mean our mission is over Taichou?" Naomi asked
"Yeah.."
"So do we go home now?" Alisa asked
"Of course not!"
"Eh?" his team reacted
(Gero then handed each and every one of them small brown envelopes. The only ones that didn't receive was Tsuneo and Alonso)
"What's this?" Klara asked
"You're paycheck!"
"EEEEEEEHHHHHH?!" his team reacted again
"Money?! But why?!" Kal asked
"Of course you get paid..you're working for me right? This was a job well done so here's your paycheck!"
"Thank you young master!" RYOBU said
"For now rest up..go and enjoy yourselves tomorrow..just don't get into trouble! We'll leave for Japan the day before the finals.."
"Where's my paycheck?!" Tsuneo reacted
"Why would I give you? You have your own paycheck..go ask JSF.."
"Ehhh..why are you so mean!"
"After you've enjoyed yourselves tomorrow get back here asap for we will be assisting in putting up the temporary classrooms for the kids and their movie house so they can already watch films this coming weekend..we're going to need all the help we can get.."
(They all took a peek inside the brown envelope and was surprised at the amount they received)
"S-So much..is it really ok for us to spend this?" Ono asked
"It's your money now so you can do whatever you want with it!"
"Alright let's enjoy Germany to the fullest!" Takashi cheered
"Let's go!" Alisa shouted
"My only condition is do not go alone..go in pairs or enjoy as a group..and do not let your guard down..understood?"
"Yes sir!" they saluted
(The rest of RYOBU now left the security room leaving only Gero with Tsuneo and Alonso)
"What's the situation with our friends?"
"All teams all over the world have been informed and should be beginning their own operations on every Pandora facility.." Tsuneo said
"Can you connect me to their main headquarters of Pandora colonel?"
"Yes sir Gero.." Col. Alonso said
"Alright..how about we reply to Pandora's declaration of war?"
[Pandora Headquarters - Location Classified]
(Inside their main base the higher ups of Pandora were receiving multiple reports of their facilities not responding to their regular time check)
"Sir! Our facility in china has stopped responding to our calls!"
"Another one? First it was Germany then Russia..now China!"
"What's happening?"
"Maybe some kind of communication interference? It's happened before.."
(They were all looking at the screen that showed the map of the world. They have icons on every country that marks the location of their facilities and the marks were colored green meaning they were still operational. A man fitting the description of Jonathan was sitting at the middle of the table together with the other Pandora higher ups. He had long gray hair and was wearing a hat that had the logo of Pandora on it. His name was Richard Bronson the founder and leader of Pandora)
"Figure out the problem immediately! Something feels wrong.." said the gray haired man
"Sir Bronson! We're getting a secured transmission from somewhere!"
"Put it through.."
(When the call was connected at first all they could hear was static and it somehow made them nervous)
"Hello?" Bronson called out
"Yo..it took you 12 years to find me..while it took us 12 hours to find you.."
(The voice said over the call stating that Dr. Oliver was now dead. They couldn't recognize the voice but it was none other than Gero's.)
"Who are you?"
"You don't have to worry about who I am..all you need to worry about is who YOU are.."
"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?!"
"Yes I do..nice to meet you..Pandora's High Table..shall I name you all one by one? Or should I name your loved ones one by one?"
"You dare threaten us?! We are the chosen ones to become the future leaders of this world!"
"I know exactly what you are..you tamper with life like it's nothing..you don't care what happens to others as long as you reach your goal..you even went as far as making children lab rats.."
"We are Gods..why should we worry about their puny lives?" Bronson said
"You aren't Gods..you're animals trying to play God..and these are the consequences for your sins.."
(Suddenly the icons of Pandora's facilities started to change color from green to red. One by one their facilities were either being destroyed or taken over by the forces of other countries. Just before Gero had called Pandora he ordered Alonso to leak all the information of their facilities all over the world to the armed forces of other countries)
"Sir! Our facilities! Something is happening to them!"
"This is only the beginning Pandora..you have bitten more than you could chew.."
"How is this possible?!" a Pandora member reacted
"Have you said your prayers already? Because for whatever higher being you believe in..you're going to need his protection from now on..if you think you're God then I'm the Devil that will drag you all back down to hell.."
"Starting today you'll know what it's like to be hunted..you'll know what it's like to be treated like dirt only to be stepped on..if you haven't noticed I already have you all by the neck and I'll be slowly strangling you..and you can't do anything about it..nobody can.."
"Enjoy the remainder of your lives because it's going to be a short one..rest assured I'm merciful unlike you..so when the time comes I'll make it quick and painless.."
"I've always wondered what my true purpose in life was..why was I born in this world? Why did God give me power that I have now? The power that made me the person I am now? The power that made me hate who I was..the power that was the reason why I lost very precious people in my life..I kept asking myself why did they have to die while I'm still alive? After coming here I finally found the answer..my true purpose why I continue to live is so that I can eradicate Pandora from this world..I'll kill every last member of Pandora's High Table..and the only disappointment in that for me is I only get to kill you all once.."
(Gero's words struck fear into the souls of Pandora's High Table. Bronson was very pissed that somebody has started to foil his plans. He never expected that somebody would stand against them and do this much damage to them in such a short time)
"Oh and don't bother looking for me because I'll be seeing you all real soon..looking forward to meeting you face to face..leader of Pandora..Richard Bronson.."
(The call was now dropped by Gero leaving Pandora's High Table speechless. They tried to track the signal of the call but they weren't able to. Back at the security room Tsuneo and Alonso were smiling at how much Gero embarrassed Bronson)
"That was some speech.." Tsuneo said
"I think it was the greatest.." Alonso said
"That should keep them preoccupied for the moment..they'll attempt to move their facilities to try and hide them..and soon they'll be trying to track where our call came from.."
"We have that covered already..we made sure that if ever they traced the call it would lead them to multiple possible locations around the world where there will be an ambush waiting for them.." Tsuneo said
"They'll be bringing someone who can decipher that trick soon..forgive me Colonel but I'm afraid Germany will be getting a lot of visits some time in the near future.."
"No worries sir Gero..we'll make sure to give them a very hospitable welcome.." Alonso smiled
"Awesome..well then if you'll excuse me I have a very important thing I must do.."
"What's that?" Tsuneo asked
"Well dad if you must know...I'm going to take a long nap..I suggest both of you get some rest as well.."
"Sleep is indeed important.." Alonso said
"You too should get some sleep old man..you also Colonel.."
"Will do si Gero.." Alonso saluted
"Stop calling me old! Yes I'll sleep later!" Tsuneo pouted
(After Gero left the room Alonso couldn't help but smile and laugh)
"Your son really is amazing..even after declaring war against a very huge armed organization like Pandora he still finds the time to take a nap.."
"He is my son after all!" Tsuneo smiled
Coming Up Next : Chapter 79 - Day Off
Author's Note:
Hello everyone! How was this chapter? We get to see the brand new home for the kids! Truly a happy moment for them! We now know what really happened twelve years ago and we know who is the one that killed Chief Matsumoto!
Pandora's High Table is now going to be hunted by the White Tiger! Also the leader of Pandora has now been exposed! Stay tuned what will happen next!
Shout out to : "Akmaleeee" thank you for the follow and favorite!
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