Chapter 2 - A Negotiation for Vengeance

An Oath of Vengeance

Atsushi could not sleep that whole night. Burden by grief, anger, and a lust for revenge, he never once stopped thinking about the video. "Damn those bastards. They screwed over my entire life. Everything I ever loved. The pain in sorrow I felt for all of my teenage years is because of those bastards. Yet I have been blind to it this who time. Stupid stupid me. If only I were more smart, more mature, more aware. Ugh." Atsushi thought to himself. He looked at his clock and realized that it was 6 o'clock in the morning. He got up and got dressed for the day. His meeting wasn't until the night, so he had a whole day to kill. Atsushi went to the store to go and pick up some food for the future. He really didn't need to, but it beat sitting inside and being trapped in a room with only his thoughts alone in a room. Yoichi was still out of town visiting family and Martin was on a date, so Atsushi had the whole day for himself.

When he went to store, he saw his boss, Oshito Fumio. Fumio was the head master of the Japanese sector of GAIPA, which is one of the biggest sectors of all the agency. He kept in contact with most of his employees and monitored their performance. He was relatively new, after the resignation of the former sector boss, Iha Raiden. "Hey there Atsushi. I see your doing some shopping on your day off. I think that's a great way to spend your time off." Fumio said.

"Yep, always want to prepare myself before work," Atsushi responded frantically.

"No doubt about it. Hey Atsushi, you know you can talk to me about anything right." Atsushi froze for a minute and starting freaking out. "Crap, why did he say that out of nowhere. Is it that obvious I have something on my mind? Just act natural. If you can do that, we'll be good. Shit, I'm freezing. Say something"

"I appreciate the concern Mr. Oshito. You've always been a great boss that cares for his employees. I'm doing fine though. I'm probably the happiest I can be," Atsushi responded quickly. 

"Well that's great to here. After all, it is my job to ensure my employees well being. So please, call me about anything. Yoichi was telling me how reserved you are, and that's not all that healthy."

"Damnit Yoichi, can you mind your own business for once," Atsushi thought." Ahh good to know. Yea Yoichi is a great friend."

"Indeed. You have a great friend in him. Well I better get going, you have a splendid day now. See you in a few days!" Fumio left the check out aisle with his bags in hand giving a grin on his face. Atsushi waved back, "I have to be more prepared to face co-workers. Especially now that I have plan to take vengeance. If I slip up like that with someone else, I'm toast," Atsushi thought to himself. Atsushi walked home and decided to play games until his meeting. He still couldn't stop thinking about the meeting and everything that went on that day. "If I choose this path, I'll be abandoning my friends, and I'll even have to kill them. Is that the risk I'd want? No, stop being stupid! I'm committing to take revenge on these murders and keep on my parents legacy by serving justice. GAIPA is corrupt, and they need to stop. If I keep being this emotionally clouded, I'll never get anywhere. Think for myself for once, and not for others." Atsushi received a note from the mail regarding the meeting. It stated to request to see Mike Inmenez at Suite 10C. The note stated the clerk would allow to go up once he verifies permission to go up from the boss.

Atsushi walked to the location with a gun in his pocket. He didn't need a gun, but it made him feel safe when he was walking to a place he'd never seen with people he didn't know. "So much for stranger danger." Atsushi thought to himself. "Running around meeting random people I've never met or seen. Boy oh boy my mom went wrong there." Atsushi arrived at an apartment that seemed rundown. He requested Mike Inmenez at Suite 10C and was accepted. The clerk escorted him to the elevator. Atsushi hated the elevator ride. He was trapped in his own thoughts with no escape. Every what if scenario was played out in his head as paced around the elevator waiting for the doors to open. When the opened, he saw the arrow that pointed to the suite. When he arrived at the suite, he knocked on the door. Someone screamed from the inside to come in. He pushed to door open and the first he saw was tall man with a ski mask on and a hood over his head. There were two bigger males guarding the tall man standing. On the couch there was a female sitting on a singular couch with black hair. She had revealing clothes with short short jeans. Then there was a big couch with 3 other guys right across from the singular couch. One was a tan male with a tank top and glasses on. Despite that, he was wearing green cargo pants. The 2 other males were dressed the same but dressed completely different. To the right, there was a wall where a man with black hair and a white suit was standing. He was smoking a cigarette and stared in awe. "So, he came," the man in the suite said. The tall man standing in front stood up, "Welcome Atsushi to our rebell..." Atsushi cut off his speech by loading a gun and pointing it at the man. The man laughed as the two men guarding him drew their weapons at him. These weapons were massive compared to Atsushi's tiny pistol. Atsushi stood in shock. "I think it's in our best interest to not have firearms get involved." the man laughed.

"I want to know some information about you. Just who the fuck are you and how did you know my address and who my parents were." Atsushi yelled. 

"You are feisty, but are strategic. I shall tell you the information I know, but you must promise me that you stick around for the whole meeting. If you decide not to join, that's fine. But we will probably have to kill you since you work with our enemy."

"Fine. I'll join your group. But tell me how you got this information."

"Well then we have a deal. Put your guns away and let me talk to the boy." The guards put their guns and Atsushi lowered his. "Revealing my true name would get me wanted. I only let a select few people see my face and know my name. Frankily, you haven't garnered my trust yet. But believe me when I say I had no malice. In fact, I knew you had a weapon the whole time. The guards could've shot you if I gave them no orders, but I chose not to. For now, call me Leader A."

"Ok, Leader A, tell me more information," Atsushi replied.

"Our group is AAIM. We are bigger than you think we are. Many people are disproving of A.I. and will find anyway to take it down. I got the footage through means of some police officers that work in the area who have that security footage. That man on the wall is the reason that video exist." Atsushi turned to the man with the suit on the wall.

"The name is Daichi. Daichi Goya. I'm the head recruit officer for Tokyo's 9th district. I essentially look for trainees to hire. If the core found out I was involved in this and betrayed our governments orders, I'd be in big trouble," Daichi exclaimed in a calm tone.

"Why didn't you ever release the video when it came out then if you cared so much about stopping A.I," Atsushi replied in haste.

"Because I didn't have enough power in my field yet. I saw everything happen with my own eyes, but the government bribed us to never let this information go public or else we would be tried. However, I was recently promoted to a higher rank where I could access that footage. So I copied the footage on an old hard drive and sent it to the boss to mail. You do know I have everyone's address in the city? It's called the information book. We work with city government so we know everyone's address. That was the easy part. We send the video to you and the rest is history"

"Ok, that answers one question, but that leaves another to be asked. Why did you choose me?"

"I needed people who worked inside GAIPA in order to further my plans in destruction. When I looked at your resume online, it seems you weren't involved a lot in your companies community events at all despite the fact you were ranked #1 in the entire Tokyo division. When I searched your name, I saw your parents and realized you were there son. From there, I already had Mr. Goya on my side, so I asked him to get the footage," Leader A responded. 

"So you essentially stalked me? Do you have any sort of morals or even boundaries?"

"I did what I need to do to benefit myself. But we both get a benefit out of this. It's not an one way street. I get someone who can destroy GAIPA from the inside and infect them like a parasite. And what do you get in return? To honor your family, to avenge their death, and to live your life knowing you served justice and carried on your families legacy. If you can work hard and score as the top student and ambassador for GAIPA  Japan, I have no doubt you can help me as well."

"My life suffering isn't something you use for selfish gain!"

"It isn't? Because I look into your eyes and I see someone longing for something. A longing for an answer to a problem. This is your opportunity to solve a problem you have had your whole life up to this point. And think, do you really support GAIPA? Outsourcing the lives of humans for a cheap profit? They've made billions off of others inventions and claim them as their own. For what? Greed. You see, GAIPA cares so very little about your existence, and the workers there are slaves to society. Do you truly want to be a slave, or did you feel you had to be a slave ever since your mom died? Is GAIPA truly what you want to support, or do you care more about your family? If I were in your shoes, I'd weigh my options carefully. After all, your life is on the line"

Atsushi thought long about this decision. "My life is going to change forever. I have to work against my friends that I met at GAIPA. I know they cared for my well being. But I now have something to be passionate about; something to care about! I dreamt this my whole life up to now. I won't be able to get a shot at this again. But Yoichi, Martin, all them may have to die. They gave me light even in times of darkness. Do I really want to betray that for a selfish cause."

"Those who are weak in morality start to question the decisions they make. I understand why you must ponder this decision beforehand, as it is a huge risk to take, but you have come to a negotiations of joining our group already from our agreement earlier? Have you forgotten. You now know more information than most people and letting you live would only cause us paranoia. You essentially have no choice," Leader A responded. "Join us or die."

"How dare you call me weak when you have no idea what I've been through in my life."

"And there are others who persevere despite never having any loved ones. Antonio Santioni, the head of GAIPA Italy came from nothing but loved technology. Look at him now. It doesn't matter what you go through in your life, it's about your desire to do something. People who have weak desires never succeed. I know you are second guessing yourself, but I don't believe you are a person with a weak desire to carry through. You came here knowing the risks of coming, remained confident and calm, and managed to spill all my info. If you bail for honor or all that bullshit so you can fit the societal standard is just a sign of weaknesses."