Chapter 26: Persona Non Grata

That morning, at a rest area on the highway, the tourist bus carrying the students of Shogun Academy was neatly parked. Arata stood near the bus door, watching over his laughing students. Their cheerful faces were a constant reminder to Arata of the true mission he had undertaken—to protect innocent lives. In his heart, he knew: this tranquility was just an illusion. The war had already begun.

Deep in the heart of Tokyo, the atmosphere was far from peaceful. Inside a hidden tactical van, Pierson Howalt and Natasha Dimtrikov were leading a joint team. In Pierson's hand, an intelligence photo showed two suspicious cargo trucks parked at a cargo terminal in an industrial area.

"These trucks have been parked for six hours," Pierson reported. "Our intel confirms these trucks have no shipping permits. This must be the place."

Natasha nodded, her eyes narrowing. "This is a decoy, Pierson. A way for them to split our focus. They know we would find this."

"Maybe," Pierson replied, "but we can't ignore the risk. Our team will be divided. I will lead Alpha team to breach the warehouse and secure the trucks. You will lead Beta team for perimeter security and provide support."

"Understood," Natasha agreed. "Let's move."

With perfect coordination, the two special forces teams moved into the dark and silent cargo terminal. They moved like ghosts, taking cover behind massive containers, their weapons at the ready.

Pierson gave a hand signal. "Alpha team, stand by."

As they approached the first truck, an alarm suddenly blared deafeningly. Searchlights from the watchtower lit up the area. From every corner, dozens of armed men appeared, opening fire. The ambush was perfectly coordinated.

"We're ambushed! Return fire!" Pierson shouted.

The sound of assault rifles shattered the night's silence. Pierson knew instantly: these were no ordinary terrorists. Their movements and tactics were lethally efficient and far beyond the capabilities of ARAAF.

In the midst of the chaos, Pierson saw several men in black uniforms, far better trained than the others. They moved faster and used unconventional tactics. They were The Serpent.

"Focus on the men in black!" Pierson commanded. "They are The Serpent!"

Suddenly, a flashbang grenade exploded, disorienting Pierson. For a moment, his vision was blurry, and a masked man appeared from behind the smoke, moving at lightning speed. The man shot down two of Pierson's team members with cold accuracy, then lunged directly at Pierson.

Pierson threw his rifle aside. The masked man met him with a gleaming tactical knife. Close-quarters combat erupted. Pierson felt every punch and kick from his opponent, and every strike felt incredibly familiar. The same movements, the same speed, even the same breathing pattern from the intensive training he once had with one person.

The man parried Pierson's attack and responded with a quick thrust. Pierson managed to dodge it, but the man's mask shifted slightly as they faced each other. A glimpse of his face was revealed. Pierson's heart pounded; he saw a scar on the jawline that he knew so well from the past.

"Collins?!" Pierson exclaimed, his voice a mix of shock and disbelief.

The man removed the rest of his mask, revealing cold eyes that Pierson no longer recognized. "It took you long enough, Pierson," he replied, his voice hoarse and full of hatred. "I thought you would be quicker."

Pierson parried another attack. "Why are you doing this? We all thought you were dead, Collins! We held a funeral for you!"

Collins gave a cynical laugh. "Death? Death is an unjust sacrifice, Pierson. Death is what you get when you serve a weak and rotten system."

They continued to attack each other brutally, parrying every punch and knife swipe.

"That system is what killed my son in Afghanistan," Collins continued, his voice filled with fury. "They are responsible. And I, I will make sure they pay the price."

Pierson felt his own anger ignite, mixed with the pain of betrayal. "So you're also the one who leaked information to the ARAAF terrorists?!"

Collins attacked more fiercely, pushing Pierson back. "Do you think they were precious pawns? They were just pawns that could be sacrificed to win the game."

Collins managed to wound Pierson's arm with his tactical knife, drawing a stream of blood. With Pierson off guard, he kicked Pierson's knee, sending him to the ground. Collins leaned down, raising his knife.

"You're too weak, Pierson. You always believed in justice, in the system... Look at yourself now." He stared at Pierson with empty eyes. "This is no longer about good or evil. It's about power."

Collins raised the knife high, ready to end it all, while a badly wounded Pierson could only stare up at him in despair.

"Welcome back," Collins whispered, his voice cutting deeper than the knife itself.

Just as the knife plunged down, a single shot broke the darkness. A flash of fire from a rifle barrel was heard from a distance, and the knife in Collins's hand was thrown violently, spinning in the air and embedding itself in the ground. Natasha Dimtrikov, who had been observing from her sniper position, had taken a perfect shot.

Collins flinched in shock. His cold gaze shifted from Pierson to Natasha, who was now moving forward with her team. He knew he couldn't fight them all. Without a word, Collins turned and disappeared into the labyrinth of containers in Tokyo Bay.

Natasha immediately ran to Pierson, pressing a dirty cloth against his shoulder wound. "Pierson, hold on!"

"Collins," Pierson gasped, staring blankly in the direction where his mentor had just disappeared. "He's still alive..."

Suddenly, Pierson's earpiece crackled to life. "Report from Alpha Team! We have secured one truck. There is a nuclear warhead and an IED inside!"

A massive sense of relief washed over Pierson and Natasha. One nuclear bomb had been found. The operation was not in vain.

However, Pierson and Natasha looked at each other. Behind this small victory, they knew exactly what that report meant. There were still two more nuclear bombs out there, their whereabouts a complete mystery.

Their mission was not over. The hunt had just begun.