BANG! BANG! BANG!
The echoes ricocheted from wall to wall in the large, cold firing range within the MEI Special Operations facility. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, tinted in a cold white hue. The grey concrete floor did very little to bring warmth to the ambiance of the large steel box.
The firing range stunk of burnt metal, and there I stood at lane 6, my lucky number, gripping firmly on a Glock with two hands, breathing slowly through my nose in a syncopated rhythm. 15 meters in front of me, a paper target stared back. There were a few bullet holes within the outline of the head and torso rings, but that was very little in comparison to the rest of the bullet holes.
I steadied myself: legs strong, core solid, grip tight. I inhaled and exhaled deeply, then squeezed the trigger.
It flew wide, hitting the shoulder of the paper silhouette.
"You're supposed to hit the target, you know."
The familiar, stern voice echoed throughout the room. I looked to my right. Mrs Isamu was standing in front of the door, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
"You're thinking too much. Come with me, let's take a break."
Boots echoing, she marched past me, arms still crossed. As soon as I saw her back, I wiped the sweat from my brow and followed without question.
We moved through a short corridor, and I saw Jen through the window of the door leading into the armoury. She was sitting at her desk, head down, with her tongue out like a toddler doodling on a piece of paper, which was probably exactly what she was doing. But that's not where we were going. We made a turn and headed towards a small training hall.
She flicked a switch, and dim lights flickered on. The room was small with padded floors and a rack of numerous, close-combat weaponry, all wooden, of course.
Mrs Isamu grabbed a wooden bokken from the rack and tossed it underhand. I caught it reflexively.
"Looks like we've got a badass over here."
She called, mockingly, before grabbing a wooden sword for herself.
"Let's have a bit of fun, no worries, no guns, just you and me."
"Whoa, whoa, wait, I'm not-"
But she didn't wait, as she flew herself towards me, blade arcing down in a clean, diagonal, cutting motion.
I parried on instinct—the wood clattered, echoing in the hall. She pressed on relentlessly, strikes flowing like water. I blocked, stepped back, and countered with a precise thrust to her shoulder. Mrs Isamu smiled.
We traded blows for fifteen minutes, no words, just the clattering of wooden swords, feet sliding on mats and the sharp hisses of our breath, blowing with every strike. I was moving without a thought in my mind – no overcomplicating things, no worrying. Mrs Isamu continued to press me, but I matched them all with fluidity.
Mrs Isamu stepped back, and suddenly the sound of our panting became deafening. She looked down, eyes closed, hands on her knees to support her; her practice sword lay on the mat beside her feet. She let out a small giggle.
"Wow, I feel alive."
There was glee in her panting voice, thin from exhaustion.
"You're a natural with a sword, Himiko. Where did you get it?"
"My dad. I used to watch him swing his sword, and eventually I joined in. He started teaching me, and we'd occasionally spar."
"And you think the police force is the only thing that will make him proud. Honestly, you wield it like a natural, you become a different person, running on pure instinct."
She crouched down, picking up the wooden sword at her feet and stared at it in her two hands.
"Kendo was my escape, a way to release the pent-up frustration. It also reminded me of home. I've been training for almost 30 years, and you've matched me."
She held out her sword towards Himiko.
"From now on, this is your weapon. Of course, in the field you'll have a real one. I'd recommend also keeping a handgun on you as well, just in case."
I looked down at the sword in my own hand and swallowed.
"Anyway, it's time for your squad's scenario training. Come, we need to get to the briefing room."
We walked back through the same corridor to the briefing room. On the opposite side of the door we entered from, there was a whiteboard with pictures of a building, a woman and what looked like soldiers in lightweight armour. There were four folding chairs in front of the whiteboard, with three of them occupied by two men and one woman. They were looking at the two of us; I'd met them already. Mrs Isamu introduced them as my squad, the one I was going to lead.
The nearest man was sitting with one foot resting on his leg, with his arm resting on the back of the seat. Putting one hand on his thick, black, curly hair, parted in the middle. He pushed his thin-rimmed, round glasses up to his crystal blue eyes, and as he moved his hand out of the way of his face, you could see his beard; it was a disconnected black goatee, styled in the way of a van dyke. The lack of sideburns made his sharp, angular face more prominent. This was Kaoru Nakamura, 22, the tech whizz from Tokihama. His main strength is his engineering ability; apparently, he's been building drones since he was a kid. He'd definitely be great for scouting and support. He nodded nonchalantly at me to greet my arrival.
Sitting to the left of him was Aiko Tanaka, 21, looking at me with her green eyes, giving a very disinterested look; she brushed a piece of hair from her face. The rest of her brown locks were tied in a neat ponytail. The light reflected from the silver stud on the left of her nose, contrasting with the light freckles sprinkled on her cheeks. She was our marksman – markswoman – never misses a shot, supposedly, even on moving targets. She was born and raised in Wansaka, way down south. She moved over to her university. She started taking shooting lessons at sixteen and got pretty good at it.
And last, but not least, was another man on the far left, the medic, Nozomi Hayasaki, 23, who was from Kizoto, not quite as south as Miss Tanaka, more like the centre of the country. He swept his brown hair to the side; his sides had shaved in a mid-fade. He had a small beard that looked like a strap on the bottom of his jaw as well as a thin moustache. He was about as top of the grade as you could get, aced school and medical school with flying colours. He's even studying a master's in medicine that MEI agreed to fund. I'm guessing they see potential in him. He shouldn't even really be in spec ops, but each group needs a field surgeon, and he wanted to do it.
"Good morning, Mrs Isamu, Miss Suzuki."
Hayasaki greeted us, stepping up to bow and shake our hands, his brown eyes warm and inviting.
"It's good to see you again, Miss Suzuki. I hope you're well this morning."
Mrs Isamu interjected, putting her arm around my shoulder.
"We just got out of some sword sparring, would you believe me if I told you this girl is a natural with a sword?"
I looked down at my feet, trying to avoid the eyes, firing at me with a barrage of intrigued stares.
"It's nothing, my dad just taught me a little kendo growing up."
"I thought you two looked sweaty."
Nakamura took the foot off his leg just to switch sides.
Mrs Isamu gestured me to the empty seat beside Nakamura. I placed myself down in the seat gently, legs bound together, with my hands placed on my lap. Each one of our postures attested to who we were. Nakamura is sitting relaxed with one leg crossed. Tanaka was almost lying on the seat as she slouched back with her arms crossed, not fond of listening to long-winded briefings. And finally, Hayasaki sits up with his arms crossed, giving Mrs Isamu his full attention.
Mrs Isami grabbed a small, thin wooden stick for emphasis in her presentation.
"Good morning, all of you. I hope you're well. As you know, you will be undergoing your squad scenario training to get you to understand each other's strengths and weaknesses. The scenario you will be undertaking is a hostage situation."
She pointed at the photo of the woman stuck on the whiteboard.
"This is your hostage. Who she is doesn't matter; you four just need to get her out, safely."
She then pointed to the photo of the building.
"The building is a simulation of a three-story, small apartment building. The hostage is on the top floor, so as you could probably guess, the most guarded of the three floors. Your extraction point is the rooftop. Get in, get the hostage to the roof, and you're done. Behind the building, there's a tower. Aiko, that's where you'll be posted, give the ground team cover fire and alert them to enemy positions."
Tanaka nodded in affirmation, barely holding back her glee.
Next, she pointed to the picture of the soldier.
"The enemies you're facing aren't just actors, they're trained professionals, here to act the same way they would on the field – Shoot to kill. You underestimate them, you die. Now for the rules."
Underneath the pictures were a few written rules; she pointed to each one as she read them.
"Number 1. You can only get shot twice, the specialised suit we'll be equipping you with beeps when you've been shot, a low one for the first shot, A high one for when you're 'dead'."
"Number 2. The field surgeon, Nozomi Hayasaki here, can heal anyone three times. There's only a limited number of supplies you can bring to a mission, so this is our way of simulating that. Once someone is healed, it resets your... Life counter, let's say. To heal someone, just alert us, and we'll reset the counter."
"Number 3. If the hostage is harmed in any way, we will be alerted in the observation deck, and you will be failed and forced to restart."
"You can bring whatever tools you want, just talk to our wonderful Jen and tell her what you want."
She moved her eyes, meeting mine and looked back to the rest of the squad.
"As for your squad leader, that will be Himiko."
"What?"
I heard to my left. Tanaka shot up in confusion.
"She's the youngest here, and she just joined. How is that fair? We should pick someone with more experience."
"As far as experience goes, she's got the most out of all of you combined. She was on the streets when the aliens attacked. She saw a lot more of the enemy than you."
I looked down at my hands placed on my lap. I could feel them looking at me, with intrigue, confusion and anger.
"But regardless, that's not why I picked her. She'll learn herself why I chose her."
I was lost for words; my brain was pulling up straws. What did she see in me that I didn't? I'm not a leader.
"Now get ready, be back in 15."
We went into the changing rooms; each handed a specialist suit. The suit was a black, skintight overall, padded in a lightweight, grey material in as much surface area as possible without affecting our movement. The skintight material was thick, but lightweight.
The change was awkward; Tanaka and I had to help each other slip into the suits, but there was a palpable tension in the air as we were doing so. What is it that Tanaka sees in me that she seems to distrust me?
The building was larger than I thought, and there were open windows, meaning that they could be jumped straight through. There were doors – assumedly for breaching.
Nakamura, Hayasaki and I were standing in front of the main entrance. Nakamura wielded an M16, Hayasaki a submachine gun, which looked like a UMP, and I had a katana and a Glock, just like Mrs Isamu suggested. We stood awaiting the beep signalling our entry.
BEEEP!
But before we even stepped towards the door.
BANG!... BANG!... BANG!...
The three of us looked between each other as our advance was intercepts all the while, the gunshots continued. As soon as I realised I nodded to the other two and charged in.
It was Tanaka; she couldn't wait and decided to start firing, thinking she was a hero. We rushed our way through, hoping to get there before they killed the hostage. We went one room at a time, taking out anyone we saw.
BEEP! BEEP!
The beeps came from behind me. I heard gunshots as well, but there was no beep following them.
"Nozomi Hayasaki is down."
A loud intercom rang out. I looked back, and Hayasaki raised his hands in the air and walked towards the entrance, Nakamura and I continuing our advance. I walked up the first set of stairs and, without checking, turned the corner.
KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA-KA!
I tried to quickly duck around the corner.
BEEP!
This time it was from me.
There was no chance we were getting through this; I was on one life, and our medic was out instantly. Nakamura still had two left, but there's no way he can save the hostage on his own; we've just about lost the two of us on the first floor, and that was lightly guarded. But we didn't have to worry about that for much longer as I heard a sigh, followed by Mrs Isamu's voice through the intercom again.
"The hostage is dead. Mission failed. Everyone, return to your positions. Aiko Tanaka, Kaoru Nakamura, Nozomi Hayasaki and Himiko Suzuki. Please can you four return to the debriefing room.
The four of us stood in the briefing room, hands behind our backs, with our heads drooped. Tanaka was looking especially glum. Mrs Isamu stared at each of us, arms crossed with a disappointed look on her face.
"I expected better from the lot of you; that was disgraceful. You're a team, act like it. Aiko, in what world would opening fire in a hostage situation do Anyone good?"
"I thought I could-"
"You think that just because this is a simulation, it's okay to throw away others' lives in the chance that you might end up a hero? If this were a real situation, which you all need to think of as, you're gonna get people killed."
She paused for a moment. The silence was excruciating. Before stepping towards me.
"Get a hold of your team, Himiko. Don't just storm in guns blazing because of one mishap, communicate, use the comms device we gave you, all of you."
"And Nozomi, check your surroundings for gods sake, you went down like a sack of potatoes."
She let out a little smile. We all giggled silently, still looking down with smiles on our faces.
"Kaoru, that was some good shooting, I'll give you that. But a combined effort needs to be made on your communication. Go get some food; the cafeterias are open. Talk, get to know each other. You're dismissed."
We returned to the changing room, distraught, silently getting changed back into our uniforms before reconvening in the cafeteria. There was a gloominess in the air; we all wanted to say something, but no one was willing to step up. So I did.
"Tanaka, what is it you don't like about me?"
The two men looked at me, surprised at why I would say that, then looked at her, waiting for a response. Tanaka looked at the two of them staring at her, swallowed, then opened her mouth.
"I don't understand why you get special treatment. She always seems to act like you're her daughter. Even when you walked in, you'd just come back from sparring, then she makes you the leader even though you've just been introduced to the squad. I mean... Do you see what I'm coming from here, Himiko?"
Honestly, I was just as confused as she was. What was it she saw in me, even from the very beginning?
"You remind me of how I used to be when I was a young woman."
"We're the same; you're one of the most dependable people I've worked with."
"I see you made the right choice, Himiko. We're two peas in a pod, you and I. I'm proud of you."
"If there's not a specific thing you want, then ask yourself to do what your heart desires, follow what feels right to you."
I'm doing it again, pandering to others. Worrying about what Mrs Isamu thinks of me. I should be following my gut and doing things my way.
"Aiko, you're a great marksman – markswoman – all you need to do is focus on doing because it's what you're best at. The fact that it took so long to kill the hostage was because you were clearly picking too many of them off."
Aiko let out a sly smile.
"So, what, you're trying to say that you're some great leader?"
Kaoru jumped in; it seems it wasn't just Aiko who was confused about my appointment as leader.
"Honestly, I don't know. But if she thinks so, that makes me sort of believe I am. But it's not about what she thinks, because at the end of the day, you will be the ones who choose whether or not you accept my orders. Therefore, I need you to believe that I'm capable of being your leader. So will you all be willing to give me a chance and prove what I can do?"
They all looked at each other, puzzled, each one looking for someone else to make a choice for them. They dropped their heads, realizing that they had to make the choice for themselves. Eventually, they all looked up at each other and nodded, before looking at me with a smile of confidence.
"Miss Suzuki, mam. What's your first call?"
I closed my eyes. Honestly, this power felt great. I could definitely get used to this.
"Let's kick these guys' asses and show Mrs Isamu that we're the most efficient special operations squad MEI has. We're gonna be so good that they're gonna need to create a whole new division for us. So good that they're gonna make movies about us."
"How about we do the mission first. Then think about the movies they're gonna make."
Aiko cut my dream short. But she was right, no ones going to make a movie about four losers who failed group training. With a new sense of resolve, I slammed my hand on the table and threw myself up. The other three looking at each other, supportingly, before following suit.
We marched our way back to the debriefing room. Where Mrs Isamu and Jen were awaiting. Jen was caught off guard when we just about knocked the door off its hinges. But Mrs Isamu knew. She was confident.
"Get ready and get to your positions."
We got changed as soon as possible, no more tension, no more disappointment, just a burning conviction that we were going to pass this test.
"Aiko, you ready?"
"Ready on your command."
I nodded to the two beside me, signalling them to go either side of the door frame.
I slowly opened the door, using a mirror I asked Jen for to scope the scene. It was clear.
"I'll take point, Nozomi. You stay in the middle. Kaoru, watch our six."
The two nodded in affirmation.
This time, without rushing, we made our way through the complex, clearing each room, making sure we checked the enemies' positions. We made it through the first floor, this time without losing anyone. We came to the top of the first set of stairs, the same one I had been shot on. I raised my mirror, scanning the scene.
It was a long L-shaped hallway, with a window on the far side of the hallway opposite us, and a door on the other side to the left of us. There were two men in front, one against the window. Behind them, I saw another building. I grinned.
"Aiko."
"Yes?"
"On the second-floor window, your furthest left. Do you see two men standing at the window?"
"Got them dead in my sight."
"On my mark, you take out the closest one to you, Kaoru will take the other."
Kaoru looked at me in confusion. But he's a better shot than me and I want to make sure we don't miss.
"Affirmative."
I could hear the smile in her voice.
I waited until Kaoru was in position and gave me a signal. When he was ready, and his aim was steady on the closest guy to him, he signalled me with his hand.
"Fire."
Within an instant, the two men dropped to the floor. They were damn good actors.
We continued our advance, going room by room, clearing out everyone on the floor. We made use of each of our strengths and eventually. We made our way to the top floor.
Here we were standing in front of the door to the main room. The entrance to the room was directly opposite the tower that Aiko was in. Furthermore, the hallway we were in was a similar L-shape to the second floor, one that winds around the room. I wanted to utilize these things.
"Aiko. What's the inside looking like?"
"I see six guys in the room surrounding the hostage."
"Aiko, don't open fire until on my signal."
They have a numerical advantage here, so we need to disorient them. I told Kaoru to stand at the other door and wait for my signal – breach. Nozomi was standing at the door frame opposite me with a flash grenade in his hands. I slowly opened the door and gave him a nod. We waited until we heard the sound.
BANG!
"Breach!"
Aiko instantly began to open fire, which drew their already depleted attention away from us and towards the sound. The three of us charged through our respective doors and cleared the room. With how disoriented they were, they stood no chance, and we made quick work of them. We stood in the room, victory stretched on all our faces. I grabbed the hostage.
"Wait, in the room over there-"
BANG!
"The hostage has been killed. Everyone returns to your positions."
What...
But... How?
What the hell happened?
I turned to the left, where I heard the gunshot come from. There was a tall man at the door frame of a room we failed to spot. It was in Aiko's blind spot; the door was closed, so he obviously didn't see the flash, thus it had no effect on him. He had a smirk on his face.
"Unlucky kid, better luck next time."
In the room behind him, I noticed a window. It made me think...
We returned to the debrief room. The same feeling of disappointment befell us. Mrs. Isamu remained quiet – I assume she wants us to figure this out ourselves. Dammit, what were we missing? We need a way we can scout Aiko's blind spots. I stood with my arms crossed, with one hand grasping my chin as I came to my conclusion.
We need to utilise each other's strengths. That's it...
"We need a way to scout Aiko's blind spots, Kaoru. Do you have a small drone that we can use?"
"I see what you're saying, yeah, I've got just the thing."
"Great, go get it."
Kaoru gave an affirmative nod with an accompanying grin, similar to the one Aiko gives when you let her utilize her marksmanship. These three are all nerds who just want to play with their toys. I looked to Mrs Isamu, remembering the window I saw in the room the man came out of.
"Can we breach through the roof?"
"You can go about the mission in any way you see fit."
She started to mould her face into a proud smile but was trying to hide it. I gave her a proud smile back and gestured the other two to follow me to our positions, after stocking up with Jen; we needed flash grenades, smoke as well – just in case, three rappels and a drone.
We made our way back to the testing area, this time with me, Kaoru and Nozomi all on the roof of the building. Yet I was already starting to regret it now after seeing the height.
The beep, officially announcing 'go,' rang. Kaoru placed his drone down and began to control it from his phone. On the phone screen was the drone's camera feed. It was perfect. The drone whizzed off towards the door that led downstairs into the main hallway.
"There are now two men in the main hallway, leading into the room, on either side of the building. There are now only five men in the main room, and of course, still one man in the secret room from before."
Kaoru reeled off all the info we needed. I tapped his shoulder twice in gratitude.
"We'll set up rappels in the three corners, excluding Aiko's side. I'll take the bastard in the secret room, you two take the hallway. Make sure you coordinate your moves, taking them down together. Tell me when you've got them and secured your positions. I'll then take my guy out and get into position. We clear?"
The two nodded.
We each set up our rappels and attached the harnesses. As soon as I stepped foot on the side of the building, I felt even more regret. We made our way down and whispered our confirmation.
Stood in position over the window, just seeing the man's shoes as he stared out at the window, I awaited their signal...
"All clear, ready on your mark."
I felt like such a badass right now. I leaped through the window right onto the guy, sealing his mouth with my hand. I heard a little chuckle before he closed his eyes and pretended to be dead. I then meandered to the entrance of the room.
"Tossing a flash grenade."
Once again, I awaited the sound.
BANG!
"Breach!"
We once again made lightwork of them before grabbing the hostage. I heard footsteps coming up from downstairs. We hadn't cleared the other rooms, so they were making their way up. But I was prepared, as this was the exact reason why I made sure to pack some smoke grenades. I told Kaoru and Nozomi to take the hostage upstairs before tossing some smoke grenades into the room to secure our escape.
We made our way to the rooftop with the hostage, not quite relieved yet until we heard that sound...
"Mission accomplished, return to base for debriefing."
We jumped together in celebration, but quickly stopped when we realized how high off the ground we were. The 'hostage' congratulated us and even told us we looked badass. We took the compliment and returned to base for debriefing.
Let's go make a movie.