The Red Hand

Chapter 11 – Did I Ever Mention How Much I Hate Politics?

It had been over a month since those trapped in FWO awoke and threw law enforcement across the country into chaos. Detectives were working overtime to interview each victim and collect information to discern who had orchestrated this whole disaster. Each of the 1,047 survivors had been interviewed and questioned, but none had been able to shed light on the perpetrator's identity. At this point, it was looking like they might never know who caused such a tragedy.

The "FWO Incident," as it was dubbed, caused a great shock to Japan. The government's competency was called into question, and Japanese politics became increasingly volatile. Over the last four years, there were three separate governments, each promising to bring the culprit to justice. However, no matter how much funding or manpower was allocated; law enforcement failed to make any progress. As a result, confidence in Japanese law enforcement was at an all-time low. One might have expected some of the turmoil to die down once the survivors awoke, but this only added fuel to the fire. News of the awakening had only served to reignite the outrage. This was only compounded when a press outlet published classified material that confirmed that some of the players had retained their game abilities in the real world. The panic that erupted put further pressure on the government to act and forestall any possibility of these players becoming a threat to society.

In Kyoto, things had been slightly less chaotic. Of the thirteen people in the city that were trapped in FWO, only one actually survived. Unfortunately, what local police quickly discovered was that their survivor was the most dangerous of all.

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Kyoto Police Headquarters. 7:15 am, July 30th, 2058. Briefing Room A-3.

It wasn't uncommon for law enforcement to start their day early and morning briefings were quite common. However, it was the contents of this meeting and the members present that made it truly unique. Todoroki Nakagumo had been Kyoto's chief of police for nearly fifteen years. He was nearly sixty six years old and had seen just about everything ranging from serial killers to terrorists. But none of that prepared him for last night's surprise phone call from the Prime Minister and the fallout of what was to come.

"Good Morning Chief Nakagumo, I apologize for suddenly calling you last night, but we don't have the luxury of time at the moment. Every minute that passes the general public becomes more restless." Prime Minister Hideki Nakamura spoke through the video call.” If things continue like this, I fear the political situation in the country will only deteriorate further.

"It's no trouble at all Mr. Prime Minister." Chief Nakagumo replied.

{I knew that there was some unrest and rioting in Tokyo last week, but have things really gotten that bad?} (Chief Nakagumo)

Facing him was a series of monitors, all containing various important government figures from the cabinet, and the military as well as the speaker of the diet. While he was alone in the conference room with only his Assistant Chief at his side.

{Why the hell didn't I retire last year when I had the chance? I have feeling I won't be going home tonight.}

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Nakagumo sighed internally.

"Let's make this quick, I would rather not keep all these busy men and women here any longer than they need to be.” He adjusted himself. “Chief Nakagumo, are you aware that some of the survivors of the FWO Incident have retained the abilities they acquired in the game?" The Prime Minister asked glaring at him.

"Of course, I was briefed on this issue as soon as we found out." Chief Nakagumo. "My officers have been working with Doctors David Amherst and Yusei Ishihara in assessing security threats." He continued. "Although I cannot say we've learned much, as the only subject in Kyoto has been uncooperative." (Chief Nakagumo)

{Not only has she been unwilling to talk to us, she disappears constantly; half the time we can't even find her!} (Chief Nakagumo)

"It's that very subject that has made this meeting necessary Chief Nakagumo." The Prime Minister said with a glare. "Tell me, what do you know about this Rishia Tomogawa, the one some have called Akagi? What have you learned?"

{Is this a test? There's no way the Prime Minister doesn't have this information. I hate these games they're why I stay away from politics.} (Chief Nakagumo)

"Of course sir." He replied. "We learned that during her time in FWO she killed a total of 104 of the trapped players. She made a living as an assassin and used her skills to that effect. The other players we interviewed expressed fear or disgust towards her of varying degrees." (Chief Nakagumo)

"When we learned that some of the survivors had retained their in-game abilities, I had my officers question her again. She confirmed that she could use her abilities, but was unwilling to provide further details." Chief Nakagumo continued. "Since she was discharged from the hospital we have been unable to make any further contact with her. I did order surveillance but......"

"She was able to completely avoid your officers." the Prime Minister finished.

"Yes Mr. Prime Minster, I apologize for my and my officer's incompetence." He said while bowing his head.

"Yes well, I'm not here to admonish you or your men. That serves no purpose. I convened this meeting because it is obvious that civilian law enforcement is not qualified to handle this." (Prime Minister)

The Prime minister looked at another participant of the meeting. "General Iseyama if you would." (Prime Minister)

An older man looking to be in his seventies began to speak.

"Chief Nakagumo, from now until the threat from this woman can be eliminated, you and your officers will be under my command. Your men will be folded, partially, into the Military Police of the 1st Rapid Deployment Brigade. Do you understand?" (General Iseyama)

"Yes sir, but does this mean the government intends to enter into conflict with Ms. Akagi? Based on what I've been told that seems like a....." Chief Nakagumo stopped himself. "My apologies; such things are above my station."

"As long as you understand that, we'll have no problems." General Iseyama gave an unpleasant smile.

"Additionally, I would like to add that you may not share any information about those with these abilities with any foreign agents or the media. Especially those of the United States. Nor is the contents of this operation to be shared with any unauthorized personnel, civilian or military. Disclosure will be conducted on a strictly need to know basis." (Prime Minister.)

{Yeah, I can imagine the Americans are already breathing down your neck. But, is it really appropriate to keep most of the government in the dark? People really aren't going to like that.} (Chief Nakagumo)

"Right now, we are trying to put together a team of these "returnees" as we are calling them. We can't afford to allow people to run around with such power without any oversight. If possible, we want to put an end to this "Assassin" before she has the chance to cause any damage. Our analysis shows that there is a minimal chance she would be willing to work for us and a high chance of conflict if she is allowed to roam freely.” The Prime Mister continued. “Thus, we have concluded that eliminating her to ease public anxiety is a matter of grave national importance.”

“Currently, the public is simultaneously furious that we were unable to rescue these people and fearful about the potential damage they may cause. Unfortunately, despite our information quarantine it has been impossible to prevent news of these individuals with “superpowers” from leaking to the public. This has resulted in calls for government action, calls that grow louder with each passing day." (Prime Minister.)

{Yeah I recall that press conference, you got destroyed by the media when they asked just what you were doing to combat this potential threat. I guess this means that your half-assed responses didn't cut it and now you're desperate.} (Chief Nakagumo)

"General Iseyama, I want you to put together a threat assessment of the one called Akagi. I want you working with army intelligence and the Secretary of Defense Nagumo Mitsuhide." The Prime Minister continued. "You are authorized to use whatever means necessary to bring her down. We need this win and I don't care how you do it." (Prime Minister)

"Of course Sir." (General Iseyama)

"Chief Nakagumo, I want you to work with Speaker Miyori Mitsuhide. You are to assist in keeping the Select Committee on State Defense informed of all developments related to this operation." (Prime Minister)

"It will be a pleasure working with you." The voice of the older woman could be heard through the video call.

"Likewise madam speaker." (Chief Nakagumo)

{Great, I try my whole like to stay away from politics and now I'm being thrust right into the middle of the lions den.} (Chief Nakagumo)

"That was everything I had to discuss. Those whom I did not specifically mention will receive a separate briefing at a later date." The Prime Minister continued. "Thank you for sharing your time Chief Nakagumo. I will be in touch if I have anything else and have a nice day." The Prime Minister and the other members began to disconnect.

"Chief Nakagumo, could I trouble you for a moment?" Speaker Miyori had stayed behind.

"How could I be of help Madam Speaker." (Chief Nakagumo)

"There are some people who've been seen around this Akagi. People that my family has some interest in. Naturally, this is also for the good of Japan, but I would like you to place some surveillance on them as well." Miyori said. “We might just be able to use them to help bring this Akagi woman down.”

"Of course, if you believe it to be important to national security, then I will have my men on it immediately." (Chief Nakagumo)

{Did I ever mention how much I fucking hate politics.} (Chief Nakagumo)

"Good, I look forward to working with you. Goodbye." Miyori closed the connection.

Chief Nakagumo was now left with just him and his Assistant Chief in the conference room.

"Our officers are not gonna like working with the military. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a whole lot quit over this." (Assistant Chief)

"It can't be helped, we're in no position to deny them and the public already believes us to be worthless. Besides, if we're going to be dealing with super-powered teens, we're way out of our league. "Chief Nakagumo said completely exhausted. “I'm really too old for this you know. I knew I shoulda taken my retirement last year.”

"I can imagine you do, I certainly didn't sign on to conduction operations with the military when I went to the police academy.” The Assistance Chief said with a chuckle before continuing.

“Do you really think the government intends to go to war over this Akagi girl? I've read her file, she most certainly has a dangerous track record in the game, but isn't all this effort overkill for one person? Especially when said person hasn't actually done anything yet.” The Assistant Chief was clearly confused.

Nakagumo thought for a moment while he pulled a cigarette carton from his jacket pocket.

"Son, let me tell you this. In my forty plus years in law enforcement, there have only been two times I've seen the government take such rash actions." he lit a cigarette.

"The first was during the series of terror bombings in the wake of the 2022 Tokyo Olympics." He takes a puff. "And the second was during the Fourth Taiwan Strait Crisis in 2033. Do you know what the common thread between those two incidents is?" Nakagumo asked.

The Assistant Chief thought for a moment.

"Was it the general public's fear? I don't remember the bombings, but I remember everyone being terrified thinking we would be drug into a war with China," he answered.

Chief Nakagumo held his cigarette in his hand and continued.

"That was part of it, but no. While its true that the public is afraid of these “returnees” and what they could do with their abilities, it's not the primary reason the government is acting this way. You see, both those aforementioned incidents occurred when the government was destabilized due to pre-existing internal issues. In 2022 the Prime Minister's cabinet was already dealing with scandals and internal unrest due to economic disruption." (Chief Nakagumo)

"So, to try and boost polling numbers, the government implemented a harsh crackdown to find the ones behind the bombing. The responses were heavy-handed but ultimately were nothing more than a show of force." Nakagumo said taking another puff. "Funny enough, that Prime Minister went on to lose his seat in the next General election. So much for his big plan.” Nakagumo chuckled. “They were hoping the public would see the government taking some big decisive action and forget about some of the other troubles. At least long enough for the next election to come and go.” Chief Nakagumo said while smoking.

"In 2033, the government was in a similar state of dysfunction leading up to the crisis. Once again, the ruling coalition feared losing power and tried to distract people from the troubles at home by directly supporting the American task force in the South China Sea." (Chief Nakagumo)

"This time is no different. Ever since those people became trapped in that game, the public has been outraged, and now that some of them are running around with crazy powers, people are scared too. If you couple that with some of the economic issues its no wonder they're feeling the heat. The bigwigs in the government are terrified at the thought of being ousted over this whole debacle; none of them want to be left with the bag." Nakagumo laughed. "That's why they're throwing down the gauntlet like this. It doesn't matter that this woman Akagi hasn't actually done anything yet. The government is going to use the fact that she could be a threat to try and drum up popular support when they take action against her." (Chief Nakagumo)

"They might genuinely fear her power, but right now they see her more as a ticket to saving their political careers. Being in power when such a "dangerous" individual is brought to justice tends to help polling numbers. I bet they intend to fully release all their information on her time in FWO once she's dealt with. They'll play it up in the media as the government getting justice for all those people she killed and stopping her from killing more in the future." (Chief Nakagumo)

"But, aren't they taking a massive risk? If this woman is truly as dangerous as the stories say-" The Assistant Chief is interrupted.

"Then their political career is the last thing they should be worried about." Chief Nakagumo said with a serious voice.