The Red Hand

Chapter 42 – Meeting the C.I.A. and the Coming Storm.

Agent Callus Underhill has done a lot in his time with the CIA. He's negotiated hostage exchanges with Mexican drug lords, dealt with Afghani warlords, and even endured torture on more than one occasion. So when he was instructed to meet with a 21-year-old girl and conduct negotiations, he was irritated.

Sure, he knew that she wielded mysterious powers, and he was informed about her actions at Camp Katsura, but he still felt his talents were being wasted on such a mundane activity, as he called it. Through some back-channel methods, the C.I.A. was able to schedule a meeting between Agent Underhill and Akagi. They assumed that Akagi would ignore or disregard their attempts at contact. So when she readily agreed to speak with them, they were taken aback.

Scrambling to designate a time and place for the meeting, the CIA quickly ran into a major problem. Any meeting needed to be clandestine, as the United Nations recently banned foreign nations from contacting the returnees pending an investigation. Akagi refused to hold the meeting at her estate, not wanting to give the C.I.A. any intel, which only made things harder. Dipping into their assets, the C.I.A. contacted one of its undercover agents in Kyoto that ran a coffee shop as a front for its operations in Japan. The meeting would take place there while it was closed, and Agent Underhill was dispatched to Japan alongside a translator.

The President's instructions to the C.I.A. called for a measured hand and patience, two things the C.I.A. weren't necessarily known for. Going into this meeting, Underhill's plan was simple, place the real demands on the table immediately, with no niceties, and no tiptoeing around. In his mind, he was meeting with a child high on her own power, and his goal was to put her in her place and remind her just how small she really was. If she refused, he figured the C.I.A. would activate a backup plan, and Akagi wouldn't be a problem anymore. As he entered the cafe, he felt confident that everything would go his way. He would soon find out just how wrong his, and everyone's, assumptions about Akagi really were.

*DING*

The cafe's door chimed as he opened it. The blinds were pulled down, the interior of the shop was dim, and the smell of tobacco smoke and coffee filled the air. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a young woman sitting in one of the booths; she was smoking a long thin pipe and sat with a cup of coffee. The shop's front-man was nowhere to be seen, and Agent Underhill didn't care. He motioned for his translator, a C.I.A. Agent, Tomoya Hisgami, to follow him, and the two took a seat across from Akagi. Her eyes flickered as she exhaled from her pipe, and her face showed an indifference to the two men across from her.

Note: As Akagi does not speak English, this conversation is being had via the translator but will be written as normal. This rule will be followed in any and all future conversations where translation is necessary.

"Good Afternoon," Underhill said as he took his seat.

"Hello," Akagi replied with a distorted voice, the sound of which unnerved the translator.

"I'm sure you know why we're here, so let's cut past the formalities. I never liked the whole diplomatic talking crap. You're coming to work for us, and that's that." Underhill lit a cigarette of his own.

"I see the U.S. is just as foolish as the Japanese Government. What makes you think I'll agree to that?" Akagi answered playfully.

Underhill gave a smirk and a laugh. "Because, unlike these clowns, we know how to put children like you down."

Akagi did not appreciate being called a child. "If you didn't see me as a threat, then why are you here?" This man had already soured Akagi's mood with his arrogance.

"To give you a chance." He replied flatly. "Come work for us. If you do that, then you needn't worry about any accidents that may occur."

The veiled threat at Kana's safety did not go over her head. "You really are stupid, aren't you?" Akagi stood up. "I was a fool for thinking the U.S. had any sense. And here I am trying to play nice. " She let out a small laugh.

[$##@$@@#%%%$%^##$] Akagi let slip the Demonic tongue from her mouth, causing both men to wince in pain.

{What the fuck was that?} Underhill's head felt like it was about to split open.

[#$!@#$!@#$@!$@!#$!#$] Akagi's voice distorted more as she approached Underhill and grabbed him by the shirt.

"I will give you one warning human. If you so much as lay a finger on Kana or any of my friends, I'll turn D.C. into a flaming hellscape that will make Dresden look like a fucking joke." Akagi's eyes began to glow, and her form morphed into a black shadow.

"I don't think you understand just who you're dealing with, so allow me to give you a taste." Akagi's shadow expanded and swallowed Underhill whole. He was only gone for a few moments before he reappeared, but his face looked like it'd aged a decade. The man was stark white, and his face was contorted in terror. The translator had completely panicked, so her last words were not understood by Underhill. But that wasn't a problem; her message got through regardless.

Akagi's body was not a hospitable location. It was a paradoxical place filled with agony, pain, and time seemed to flow strangely within it. If someone remained within it too long, without protection, they would likely go mad and/or die. From the outside, Underhill had only spent a few moments within, but for him, it would have felt like years. Akagi deliberately protected his mind from permanent damage, but the things he saw horrified him beyond imagination.

Akagi moved towards, the translator. "You might want to help him out. I doubt he'll be in any shape to walk on his own." She let out a demonic laugh as her shadow twisted and then vanished.

Tomoya was left alone with the delirious Agent Underhill. He had no idea what just happened, but his stomach told him nothing good could happen by antagonizing that thing. It would take Underhill several days to recover from his time in Akagi's shadow, and the report he sent back to Washington both angered the President and stunned the intelligence community. Akagi was far more dangerous than either believed.

_____________________________________________________________________________

An Undisclosed Location in Tokyo.

*CLANG*

The metal door of the warehouse slammed shut as a blue-haired man entered. He shook off the light rain that accumulated on his jacket before greeting the other people who were waiting inside.

"You're late!" the Elf woman yelled at him. "We told you to be here at 10 pm sharp, and you show up nearly twenty minutes late." She sighed. "I see you're just as lackadaisical in this world too."

"Did you expect any different from him, Elna?" A blonde-haired man with angel wings commented from across the room. "That idiot would be late to his own funeral." His statement elicited a laugh from several of the other people in the room.

"I know, I know," She shook her head. "I was just hoping that, for once, Armalthy would take some initiative, but I guess it's my fault for getting my hopes up." (Elna)

"Come on now Herlex." Armalthy walked over to where the others were standing. "I showed up, didn't I? That's got to count for something." he chuckled.

"Anyway, I presume the guy in the suit is the one who wanted to talk to us?" He turned his attention to the clearly not Japanese man wearing a suit. He looked rather young, and his glasses and short ponytail made him look more like a butler than anything else.

"Indeed, and now that you've arrived, that means everyone is here." the man stepped forward. (Suited Man)

"Ok, so what is this about?" Herlex asked. "You mentioned you wanted to help us, but that's all I was told." The man had only given them basic information before the meeting.

"Well, the answer to that is quite simple." The suited man grinned. "I want you to help me help you." He walked over and sat on one of the crates. "Don't you think this world is unfair to people like you? Ever since you got back, you've been ostracized just because you're all a little different, and the entire world has treated you like freaks and outcasts." He wasn't wrong; even those that were still human were treated as little more than walking bombs.

"I mean, you're not wrong; but what do you want us to do?" Elna asked. "We've got surveillance on us nearly 24/7, and we can't even leave the country. It's infuriating to be treated like a freak but......" Her own family had abandoned her after her awakening and they refused to even acknowledge her as their own daughter, so she was not in a great place at the moment.

"And that's where I come in." the suited man smiled. "I have some backers that would be more than willing to take good people like you in and give you the respect you deserve." he frowned. "It's just that, with the way things are currently, they can't exactly do that at the moment." The returnees were basically forced to stay in Japan due to a UN Resolution.

"So what?" Armalthy interjected. "You want to sneak us out? Have us work for some other government or a shady corporation? I mean. I'm not exactly opposed, especially if I can cause some destruction, but that's going to be difficult. If word gets out, your client is gonna be in it deep." Armalthy was one of the more "loose cannon" members of the assault team and held the record for the most NPCs killed.

(His gamer tag was ProGamer, but everyone called him Armalthy)

"Not exactly, but before I explain. Let me ask this to the rest of you." He looked around the room. "Do you not think that you who have been blessed with such power should be able to use it as you see fit? To act as you wish? To free yourself of the chains that society has shackled you with?" he took a breath. "I know that many of you have had a poor history with society, you're outcasts, loners, or you got sick of the monotony of the daily grind. But you have the power to change all of that." he clapped his hands. "As you saw just recently, your powers are far beyond what any government can handle. And if just one of you can destroy an entire base, think about what ten of you can do, all working together." he lets out a laugh. "I wouldn't think it an exaggeration that you could take over the country if you wanted."

His statement caused the attending players to perk up and he took that as an indication to continue his speech. He went on to tell the players that his client sympathized with their plight and how through them, they could right the wrongs done to them by this corrupt society they lived in. By the end of his speech, the ten of them were practically hanging on every word. He was playing right to his audience, and it was clear that this man was a gifted orator. The players here were all handpicked for their social status, and most were shut-ins or those who ran against the grain of Japanese society. A few, like Elna, were even shown the harsh fate that awaited the survivors upon their return. So being told that they not only could but should take things into their own hands was just what they needed...no... WANTED to hear.

"I mean, I guess you're right." Elna placed her hand over her mouth. "With the power of the ten of us, we could probably cause a lot of damage." the smile on her lips was difficult to hide.

"I'm game, sounds fun to blow stuff up and make those idiots regret treating me so poorly." Armalthy's eyes lit up. "I've always wanted those normie idiots to feel some real pain for once." His mouth contorted into a terrible smile.

One by one, the players voiced their agreement with the man's words until all ten were fired up and ready to cause mayhem.

"So then." Herlex looked at the man. "What do you need us to do?"

Seeing this, the man gave a toothy smile and said.

"How about we start with a little destruction."

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