Ergon V

A dazzling light hurt the eyes of the terrorist who was inside one of the cubicles on the fifth floor's bathroom. He jerked his head to one side, the remnant of flashlight's glow still glimmering in his pupils for sure. And that was a good thing. After all, he would see nothing but a shadow crouched in front of him, and with some luck, he would realize there was another one standing right next to him. However, this second shadow was holding the rifle the terrorist had before in his possession, aiming the weapon at his head. As soon as he realized this, perhaps even before discerning he was sitting on a toilet with his hands and feet tied, the man swallowed hard. His eyes darted all over the place, but they only would come across a flash in the darkness. And Hayato was to ensure that it was so.

"Iesada-five," said a filtered voice that came from within the enclosed space, "I need your status report now, over."

The first thing the terrorist did in response was to turn his face towards Saori. But Hayato was not going to allow him that much.

"Don't even think about it."

No sooner had he finish spoken than Hayato lowered his flashlight, letting the terrorist gaze at the silhouette of his head without allowing him to distinguish his own facets. He could see the fear in his small honey eyes, his youthful face framed by a three-day beard. It seemed he was a short wiry man barely over twenty years old. That led the young Yoshimura to assume he had not participated in Korea, which meant he should have met someone from Amaterasu either at college or home. It could have been a friend or a relative, perhaps a brother. Hell, maybe he had done something so foolish simply because of a woman. After all, Hayato had seen many times how some of his classmates did anything to be next to one, sometimes even ignoring their own common sense or well being.

His next words were spoken with a menacing tone, hoping to shake him a little. "The only thing in your mind right now should be how carefully you will choose your next words." He was not fond of such kind of interrogation procedure, but the situation demanded that he resorted to that kind of methods.

The man in front of him began to shake his head nervously. "I'm not going to lie to my comrades. I'd rather be dead!"

Somehow, Hayato avoided chuckling at his response. Did the man believe for a moment that he could fool him? Even if he had managed to complete military service in time and he might have participated during the last few months of the conflict, it was unlikely he had experienced any actual combat. Yet even so, what led him to draw this conclusion was his face. One could simply guess by it if the man was a faithful believer or a half-convinced wannabee. Hayato himself would never forget the expression in the eyes of the one-armed man, the conviction and commitment he showed before he took his own life. And he saw no such thing on this young man.

Since Hayato had no more time for these games, he went straight to the point. "Before you say something stupid again, I want to tell you I'm not seeing before me a veteran soldier fully committed to the cause. What I see is a young man who was taken out of the college and has no idea about the true horrors of war to be asking for something like that!"

For once, his sister knew how to interpret his intentions. Saori pressed the tip of the rifle hard against one of the terrorist's cheeks. The deluded young man closed his eyes, drops of sweat soaking his face as he grimaced in fear. "All right, all right!" he yelled, desperate.

While Saori pulled the gun away from her head, Hayato picked the radio up from the floor and placed it near his mouth. The terrorist opened his eyes wide in panic given the position in which he was at the time. Yet Hayato knew he was not going to do something rash. He had had the chance to scream in the hope that some comrade of his would hear his voice, but he had not done such a thing. It was evident he was too scared for that.

"Tsunayoshi-five here..." said the terrorist at once, then hesitated for a few moments. "It was nothing. I was taking care of some business here. I'll return to my previous position shortly, over."

"Understood..." replied the voice in the radio. "Remember we still need to find the missing students."

Once Hayato pulled the radio away from his face, the terrorist sighed in relief as he took a quick sideglance at Saori, her weapon now resting on her c.h.e.s.t.

"I see we started with the wrong foot," said Hayato with a relaxed voice. "How about giving me your name so we know each other better? There's no harm in that, right?"

The terrorist swallowed, not knowing if he could trust the menacing shadow in front of him. "Hiroshi..."

This time, Hatayo chuckled. As if he were going to fall for the most common name in all of Japan. "Sure. If I find something on your equipment that tells me otherwise, I'm going to start hurting you."

"Okay. My name is Ren. Sato Ren."

Unbeknownst to the man, Hatayo frowned. The second name he gave was also quite common, and it was better not to think about his surname. Yet the young man detected some honesty in the edge of his voice this time. While he was not as brilliant or analytical as his sister, Hayato was sharp-witted when it came to such affairs. "Good. Now, Ren-san, you'll tell me how many of your friends are hanging around the building and what the hell do they hope to achieve with all this fuzz."

The bastard shook his head, stubborn. "I won't give you anything else! You are the Yoshimura twins, right? Your father works for the Sentinels. You won't kill me."

Hayato grimaced at his response. It was evident his sister had hit the nail on the head in the matter right from the start.

"That doesn't mean we can't hurt you," came her voice without notice. She sounded aggravated.

What happened next was something that Hayato never imagined his sister would do. In less than a heartbeat, she let go of the rifle and grabbed hold of Ren-san's head. Then, she slammed his skull against the side wall of the cabin. While he was momentarily stunned, his twin sister lifted the lid of the toilet and forced the terrorist's face against the stagnant water at the bottom, the sound of the bubbling produced by his effort to breathe echoing across the small cubicle.

Hayato reacted later than he would have liked to, but that was how shocked he was by his sister's actions. "What the hell are you doing?" he shouted at her.

It took him a few moments, but he eventually managed to force his sister to let go of him and remove his head away from the toilet. Once free, Ren-san coughed as he worked to expel the water from his lungs. His skin was a bit pale and bluish as a result of what happened. As his slightly reddened eyes blinked in relief, a thin smile began to take shape on his face. It was possible he had thought the worst part was over. Maybe he even expected Hayato to leave him free so that he could go to inform his comrades so that he could win their favor to compensate for his ineptitude.

He was a young and naive terrorist, for sure.

Just as Ren-san seemed relaxed, his breathing once again regular, Hayato knocked him down with a punch that left him unconscious, his body collapsing backward into the wall. He felt the effect the blow had in his own knuckles, grimacing at the feeble sensation of pain. Then, he faced his sister, outraged by her little civilized actions. "That's no way to treat a prisoner!"

Saori did not bother to hide the sarcasm in her voice. "Oh, sorry. It's just that you seemed about to make him speak."

Hayato once again had to accommodate the unconscious body of the terrorist on the toilet while his sister did nothing but watch. How considerate of her. And to think she believed that by resorting to such brutal methods she would acquire some information in return. Apart from being an inhuman and degrading treatment, torture was an unnecessary and even useless a form of violence. How many times had information obtained through these procedures led intelligence agencies on wild goose chases? The media and television series, however, made it seem as something effective outside of pointing out its immorality. Yet another reason for Hayato to avoid those forms of information and entertainment.

Once he was done with his laborious task, he left the bath stall after his sister did the same. With his mind away from the physical effort he had just undergone, his thoughts drifted back to his sister's behavior. "As if you were going to get more with your methods," he spat at her. "That boy would have said anything as long as you didn't drown him again."

Saori folded her arms over her waist, seemly infuriated at his claims. He sighed as if she were trying to cool her temper. "You always worrying about doing the right thing."

But Hayato was not going to leave the matter there. He placed his hands on his h.i.p.s, emboldened by the fervor of the conversation. "While for you it's all about results. What if that's why you can't pull the damn trigger when you have to?"

His twin sister now gazed at him with fierce eyes, a look that would have inspired terror in the bravest of wild beasts. She took a step forward, the distance between the two brothers reduced to mere centimeters. He then felt the pressure of the tip of her index finger against his torso, her eyes filled with anger and resentment. "If the situation were different and you were not my brother, I would beat you up for that."

Hayato knew he had gone a bit too far, but that did not alter the fact he was right. More than six months had passed since the Sugiyama brothers had worn their state-of-the-art military suits for the first time. Many lives had been lost at the embassy bombing, but not necessarily because of their own actions. Many factors triggered that tragedy. He had done everything he could, and so had Saori. Yet, it was noticeable her sister had been unable to overcome what had occurred. She was determined to carry out her mission without realizing she had to first conquer her own fears and insecurities to achieve it. Worse, it seemed she was willing to put aside what she was feeling just to achieve her goal. And thus, she had accomplished nothing at all so far.

What she did do was to keep herself at bay. Once she regained her composure, she moved her right arm over her bust one more time, her left arm now bent upright in a reflective and a rather elegant stance. Even after a brief burst of animosity, she still found a way to do everything prettily. No wonder the men in his class kept trying to win her favor despite her arrogant mindset. "Now," she began, "we need to contact Father and find a way to better assess the situation as we wait for orders."

As usual, she had to call their father first. Did she even go to the bathroom without consulting him beforehand? Yet, her statement could only mean one thing. "Wait... You planning on activating your suit? What we need to know now is how many men we are facing and where the hostages are located." Hayato bobbed his head in rejection. There had to be a better alternative. "Our best chance is to camouflage ourselves among them. The guy we met was new, so there should be no problems with our voices in communications."

"We won't be able to move freely through the building," she answered back. "We were lucky they didn't detect us before. Weren't you the one who didn't want to put the hostages in danger?"

"If they took hostages, it was to buy time or use them as insurance—"

"Again, you can't know that for sure."

Her sister now started to massage her temples, seemly losing her patience at the argument. It was not as if Hayato was in a different state. Could not they find a way to agree on something?

"If you want intel, a complete tactical scan is our best alternative here," Saori said finally, "so we have no choice but to activate the suit."

Hayato had forgotten about that. He had failed to take into account the brand-new function their suits had. This time, it looked like Saori was right, which meant there was no point in arguing any further. Yet Hayato could not help thinking there was something else he could do, his face conveying such a feeling.

In the end, his sister took his silence as approval. She then proceeded to stand up straight, gathering confidence while timing her breathing and looking for concentration altogether. She hesitated for a second, then took a deep breath. It was the first time she was going to activate her suit since her recent failure. Nevertheless, she managed to her right wrist near her mouth, to then speak a few words right into her watch. "Three-three-five, execute," she commanded at it, all serious.

A female computerized voice that came from the watch replied her back, "Command and voice pattern confirmed."

Hayato became aware of a low, throbbing sound as a series of bright white swirls began to surround her sister's body. Not before long, she herself became a near blinding glare amidst the gloom. The young man blocked the flash away from his eyes with the palm of his hand...

And when he opened them, he came across a dark silhouette, a white V-shaped light where her eyes once were along with another whitish and luminous circle over her c.h.e.s.t. The stage one prototype of the fifth phase of the Ergon project had materialized over Saori's body, its distinctive features and segments barely visible before such poor lighting. Needless to say, none of those details were unknown to Hayato. Both brothers had performed hundreds of simulations prior to the only two official operations they had carried out. They were so accustomed to the whole process that it was for them just like tying the laces of their shoes, albeit they needed to devote more attention to their movements. It was necessary for their minds to be solely focused on the matter to prevent any und.e.s.i.r.ed outcome.

Thereupon, Saori spread her legs as she made a fist with her right hand, flashes of electricity flickering all around it. The principle behind the phenomenon was similar to that explained by the woman who had posed as a guide for his classmates in the visit to the facilities. However, what Saori was about to do was miles beyond what an ordinary pair of stand-alone phalanges could achieve on their own. Her sister now moved her left foot forward, bent her right arm while urging her elbow backward, and slammed her fist on the floor with fury, both legs ending up flexed, her right knee kissing the ground. She looked like a superheroine out of the pages of some comic book, striking one of their characteristic poses. Of course, there was something of greater significance behind her stance.

Hayato had tested its functionality just once, which is why he had probably forgotten to take it into account in the first place. The electromagnetic tactical scan allowed to look at a specific environment in such a way it could not be compared with any existing technology developed so far. Once her fist had made contact with the ground, a series of sparse and almost undetectable electric shocks had stretched throughout Cytek Headquarters. In a matter of seconds, the discharges were interpreted by the armor's quantum processor, forging a three-dimensional blueprint of the environment. This projection would be subsequently dissected into several transparent layers according to a pre-established setting. Saori ought to have chosen a configuration that would allow her to make a distinction between the core structure of the building and the human beings inside it. That way, she world discern those who were armed from those who were not, and she would even identify their particular types of weapons and body armor. Independent segments such as foundations, floors, ceilings, windows, elevators, exterior walls and interior walls would also be extrapolated. She would even have access to all the data on wiring, power sources, water pipes, gas, etc. Other things of lesser importance like furniture and electronic equipment would be categorized in more rudimentary ways.

Yet, in the end, all Hayato could do was to imagine what it would be like according to his sister's words. "There must be about fifty soldiers across several floors, with tactical equipment and assault rifles" she announced, her voice filtered by her helmet. "They have hostages grouped in six floors, locked in isolated rooms, both students and employees. Finally, there appear to be armed guards with machine guns traveling through some corridors."

Armed guards with machine guns? Hayato could scarcely believe what her sister had just said, let alone find a reasonable explanation. "What?" he said, gaping at Saori in disbelief and wishing she had misinterpreted what she just saw.

"They must be with the terrorists," his sister concluded.

"I guess this 'infiltration' thing is serious," Hayato deduced himself. "But these suits... To employ the electromagnetic spectrum, interpret reflections in solid objects, generate three-dimensional images with detailed mappings. We're talking about next-gen field radars."

There was a brief moment of silence afterward. It was possible her sister was thinking of how useful that tool would have been six months ago. By then, the simulations that had been carried out took place in smaller environments with less information to process. Hayato himself had only used it in live action both with the woman who had been wounded by the one-handed man and in the fugitive itself during the chase.

"Big Boss, this is White Leopard," his sister said out of the blue. "Come in, over?"

It seemed there was not a response from the other end.

"Come in, Big Boss," she insisted one more time.

"What's going on?" Hayato asked.

"I can't contact our father, there's some static in the comms. I guess we'll do this your way, then. Have fun with your terrorist uniform."

Hayato gave her sister a look, his shoulders lowering as he realized he would have to move the terrorist's body yet again to then leave it in a fixed position. The prospect of repeating such a feat left a bitter taste in his mouth as he glanced at the closed door of the cubicle where his body was.

He then removed the pants from his school uniform, ready to put on Ren-san's clothes. And before he realized, he was already putting on the uncomfortable mask the terrorists wore, ready to leave the bathroom for good while his sister beckoned to him that the hallways of the floor were clear.

If only they had bothered to make sure the stall's door was, in fact, closed before they left...