In his ear, Liam's voice suddenly broke the silence. "Hello, this is Madison speaking."
Ethan snapped back to reality, his hand flying to his earpiece. "What? Where-?!"
"Hahahaha!" Liam's deep laughter erupted through the channel.
"Ethan, we literally called your name five times and you didn't even blink," Allen explained, chuckling from the roof. "That's why Liam had to drop the name to get your attention."
"Yeah, you completely ignored my tactical updates, but the second I mention Madison, you practically jump out of your boots. Interesting," Liam teased.
Ethan felt a flush of heat hit his face, ignoring the banter. "Shut it, both of you. Listen—we have a massive variable. We can't re-enter the facility normally right now, but there's something you need to know immediately."
"What's the situation?" Liam's tone instantly shifted back to sharp military focus.
"Allen, do you remember the third-year student from our school? The girl with the stark white hair?" Ethan asked.
"Himari?" Allen replied, his voice tightening. "Yeah, of course. What about her?"
"I just accidentally collided with her in the lobby," Ethan said grimly.
"What is she doing all the way out in Ottawa?" Allen asked.
"Exactly my point," Ethan said.
"Maybe she's just here on a seasonal trip with her family," Liam suggested.
"No, there's more," Ethan countered, stepping away from the museum. "The museum is actively closing its doors to the public, but she just walked straight past the security barrier and headed deeper inside. The guards didn't even try to stop her. In fact, they bowed."
A heavy silence settled over the comms.
"Okay. That is highly suspicious," Allen admitted.
"We need to run a deep-dive investigation on this girl," Ethan said.
"Agreed," Liam said, his boots crunching on the gravel as he sat on a park bench facing one side of the museum. "Tell me everything you two know about her background."
"Honestly, not much," Ethan admitted. "She's dating my friend Finn. That's the extent of my personal file on her."
"What about you, Allen?" Liam asked.
"I know a decent amount about her profile," Allen explained, putting his binoculars away and leaning his back against the roof's fence. "First off, she belongs to an incredibly powerful, old-money family, back in Japan. She only relocated to Canada for her academic studies because our High School is internationally renowned. It's a common move for overseas rich people."
"Japan's aristocratic landscape is incredibly crowded," Liam mused, rubbing his chin. "Do you know which specific house she belongs to?"
"I don't," Allen replied. "But in traditional Japanese high society, when a family of that caliber sends a young heiress overseas, they never let them travel alone."
"That's correct," Liam agreed, his voice dripping with veteran experience. "Those clans view family honor and public perception as absolute. If a daughter of a prominent house is living abroad, she is accompanied by such details to ensure her lifestyle and security remain completely pristine. It's about maintaining the illusion of absolute power."
"Why go to such extreme lengths?" Ethan asked, slipping into a nearby 24-hour convenience store to buy a drink.
"Because public perception is currency," Liam explained. "If an aristocratic woman is seen living poorly or left unprotected overseas, it signals vulnerability. It tells world that her family lacks is lacking and it isn't the same family from the past. In their world, reputation is life or death."
"You seem to know an awful lot about Japanese clan structures, Liam," Allen noted.
"In our line of work, you learn which shadows not to step on," Liam replied quietly. "But if Himari is wandering into a closing museum unaccompanied, and her family's name is being actively hidden... something is deeply wrong here."
Ethan grabbed a bottle of water, heading toward the automated checkout. "That might be exactly what we're looking for."
Finn... what kind of absolute madness have you gotten yourself entangled in? Ethan thought grimly.
"Liam, can you tell us more about Great Japanese families?" Ethan asked through his comm.
"Well, most of it is restricted intelligence or rumors," Liam said. "But according to them, there are several powerful houses that dictate Japan's underworld. They are called Great or Prestigious Families of Japan. No matter how much power they hold individually, they all answer to a single, absolute powerful family. A shadow empire known as The Yamamoto Family."
"The Yamamoto Family?!" Allen's voice suddenly spiked with a rare, volatile shock.
Ethan halted at the checkout. "You know that name, Allen?"
Allen cleared his throat, his casual tone returning a fraction too late. "No... I've just... heard whispers of them before."
Ethan's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. He paid for the water and stepped back out into the cool Ottawa night.
"I think it's time I give my friend a call," Ethan murmured.