Second Phase ( part 3: Taunting)

   And here I was thinking that aside from me, everyone had somehow a stable life. Turns out everyone in this squad came from a drama Tv show!

“What’s the matter with that reaction you did earlier, Ai?” I asked as I grabbed an apple to cut it to quarters.

“I see you didn’t die back there!” A manly voice came out of the tablet.

Out of panic, I threw the knife that was in my hand away. I looked at the screen to see only Ai’s avatar.

“What the…” I murmured as I kept staring at the avatar who started writing some notes on a black area of the tablet’s screen.

“I see you’re using Rin’s memories to activate Ai. And here I was wondering all these six years how you created an AI with free will and absolute loyalty. Like a lover!”

A sound of laughter came out the tablet as the avatar kept writing a code.

“Lover… Using the memories of your lover!” He continued talking. “How I didn’t think of that! After Rin’s death you used her memories that were saved in your mind to create Ai’s personality. Nice one!”

“YOU FREAKING BASTARD!!” I shouted out as I stood up quickly looking at the screen. “Who the hell are you?”

“You’re still blaming yourself for her death? I was told that you tried to suicide back then!”

“Who the hell are you!!” I shouted again.

“No wonder she was jealous moments ago! I think Kizuna will really be beneficial for us after all! Do you know that she has chosen the name Rin because of your lover?”

“Aoyama! Is that you?” I started feeling the blood boiling in my veins. My face became red with anger…

“Now that’s a good expression that you have on your face now! I wonder what will happen to you if we kidnap her or kill her...” The man laughed again. “Maybe you will kill yourself this time. That will be a great thing for us. Aaah, I forgot what they call it…”

“Aoyama! Is that you? I swear I will break every bone in your body whoever you’re!”

“Two birds with one stone!” He continued talking. “What will you do if I say I am the one who killed Rin in front of your eyes! Do you know what happened to Rin after her death?”

“…”

“She was thrown in a mass grave and her corpse was covered with dust, dirt and other corpses!”

"AAAAH!" I threw the tablet on the ground trying to break it but instead it bounced away to the door.

Meanwhile, Ai’s avatar finished writing the code then moved away a bit and sat watching me.

The man stopped talking. After a few seconds of wait in silence I walked toward the tablet.

“Master? What happened?” Ai suddenly started talking again.

I run toward the room exit. “Are you okay Ri… Ai!”

“I just felt dizzy for a moment! Did something happen?” She turned slowly toward the code then asked: “What is this?”

“You really don’t remember anything?”

“Like what?”

I walked back to sit on the chair with the unharmed tablet in my hand. “You were hacked just a moment ago!”

“But I can’t find any trail of unknown access!”

“That was my mistake!” I replied as I took a screenshot and went to the settings.

“What do you mean, master?”

“I shouldn’t have used a tablet from the 60s. You weren’t the one who got actually hacked. It was this useless piece of garbage! Poor excuse for a device!”

“Calm down!” Ai ordered me suddenly. “You are too nervous! What happened?”

“They hacked this tablet and cut its connection with you for a minute or two. I have to stop using this. I lowered my guard a bit and that’s what I got.”

I sent the screenshot to Ai then ended the connection immediately. “Have you received the picture that I sent to you?”

“Yes master!” she replied throw the connection device that I already had plugged in my ear. “There is a code on the top left that reads: 35.636451,139.702675”

“I think these are some location’s coordinate… Can you check them on the map?” I asked as I stood and started changing my clothes.

“They point to the location from which the second tracking device sent its final signal.”

“They sent their location…”

“So, they found the second tracking device?” She asked.

“That’s not necessary.” I replied as I opened the locker where my weapons were stored. “The highest possibility is that the area in which they are hiding has some sort of jamming device. We will know when I get there!”

“Are you really going?! This is obviously a trap!”

I equipped myself with all my weapons then walked through the exit to the long corridor. The scene looked a bit familiar to me. I stood there for a second trying to remember where I saw this before to finally remember that I was here six years ago right after the terrorist attack.

[So, this is where the special forces get the treatment after every battle!]

I walked down to the earth floor where I checked out and left. Outside of the hospital there were two members of the first squad waiting for any soldier from the special forces to leave the hospital. From what I remember, their mission was to take whoever leaves the hospital to the location of his squad.

That was definitely something I didn’t want to do yet I was obliged to follow the protocol.

“Leader Shinji! Please follow us to the car! Your squad is on the other side of the city. We will take you there.” One of the two men said as they started walking toward the car.

I looked around me to find that the area was filled with soldiers. Based on the uniforms, there were soldiers from all the squads except the 10th and the 5th. The two men that were walking before me were the only members of the first squad standing in the front gate. Causing any trouble won’t be a good thing here, so I decided to follow them silently and get in the car.

“Shinji!” Rin’s shouting voice came to my ear as we were about to move. She was running toward the car. As soon as she arrived, she got in and sat next to me. "You’re going to the old mansion? Great, I am coming with you!”

“And you’re...” The man asked as he stared at her.

She smiled and replied: “Oh, I am sorry I forgot to introduce myself. Nishikigi Rin! A member of the 10th squad.”

“So, You’re Rin!”

I didn’t like the man’s reaction. Staring at her for a long time then that sudden change of tone and attitude was definitely abnormal.

I kept looking at the hospital as we moved on… The absence of the members of the fifth squad was bothering me. I knew that in normal circumstances there won’t be as many soldiers there from special forces guarding the hospital.

This may have something to do with us, the three leaders that were hospitalized two days ago.

“By the way, how’s Mr. Arashi?” I asked as I kept looking at the road from the window.

“Yeah, he’s fine!” The man answered me with a stressed tone.

His answer was the thing that made everything clear for me. A smile appeared on my face as I asked another question: “How about Aoyama?”

My words fell on everyone's ears like a thunderbolt as they looked at me with surprised expressions on their faces.

“You know, I kind of felt that there was something abnormal about you two from the beginning…” I continued the explanation. “Why the first squad have some members guarding the hospital? You can’t receive simple orders when your leader is absent.”

I pulled my gun immediately after that and pointed it at the driver. The other one turned quickly to attack me but was forced to stay in his place by Rin who didn’t waste time and shot him.

“So, you guys were ordered to capture me?! How cute!” I continued talking as we pulled over the side of a deserted road.

The man next to the driver was unable to move on his own so I made his comrade take him out. As he walked before me, I continued talking: “I can say you’ve tried your best. You’ve chosen the uniform of a squad that its members aren’t there so that you can infiltrate with no problem. But you forgot to check for the name of the leader of the 1st squad.”

The man kept silent as he walked straightforwardly. He simply stopped thinking and decided to surrender thinking that it was the best solution for him to survive. Based on what Karuizawa told me, the members are warned not to fight me 1v1 since they won’t have a chance to win.

I aimed my EMP gun at him then fired a few shots. As a result, the man fell to the ground without any resistance.

“So, what are we going to do now?” Rin took a few steps toward me as she asked.

“You’re going to wait here for the police to arrive!” I replied as I walked back to the car taking the seat of the driver. “Ai informed them already. You will probably have to wait for just two or three minutes...”

“What about you?”

“I will go first. I have some important things to take care of!”

“And… Are you okay?” She asked with a worried tone.

“Yeah! Absolutely! Why are you asking!”

“It’s just. The smile on your face is… a bit… scary!” Up until that moment I didn’t realise that this kidnap attempt I became unable to suppress my feelings… After hearing her words, I realized that I was overflowing with bloodlust.

That bloodlust manifested into the ugly scary smile that was on my face at that time…