Something was going to happen and it was going to happen soon.
Tank had counted a total of seventeen suspicious bodies, all of which appeared to be armed. He couldn’t be certain of the exact number or what kind of weaponry they were sporting as any more obvious attempts to gather this information would have caused suspicion. Tank was not cut out for subtle reconnaissance work, he knew that. His massive body frame alone made him stand out. Even more so in a room filled with people three heads shorter than him
The suspects were blocking the only exit Tank knew about and refused to let anyone leave the party, not taking any notice of the curses and protests produced by the partygoers. But it would come to blows soon enough, Tank was convinced of that.
His options were limited. He could not call in for help and a communications terminal in the lobby had also refused to establish any outside line.
He could have attempted a preemptive strike and try to take out these people before they had a chance to bring their plan “ whatever it was “ to fruition. The idea appealed to Tank. But from a practical standpoint it was not a good option. Seventeen or more armed suspects against him were not particularly favorable odds even if Tank tended to like a challenge. If he was free to utilize deadly force he could see a chance of pulling it off. But he also had to consider the collateral damage that would ensue from such actions. By his estimates there were about 40 to 50 partygoers, entertainers and caterers in the lobby and he could imagine no scenario in which they could possibly all survive if Tank would resort to drastic measures.
The CCiD agent decided on a tactical withdrawal. A generally sickening concept but one very necessary if he wanted any chance at finding a way to bring an end to this potential crisis with a minimum amount of casualties.
He managed to climb the large staircase undetected, the streamers hanging from the ceiling, hiding his ascent. Upstairs he found the corridors empty, the partygoers were steering clear of their offices on a day that was all about celebrating and forgetting the daily work routines.
Tank found what he was looking for quickly. The digital display next to the door read: 234A. Kara Katanagi. Nyuchiba Liaison Officer.
The CCiD agent looked over his shoulder one more time to ensure he was alone in the corridor and then slid open the fusuma sliding door. He slipped inside without taking any notice of the office, instead focusing on closing the door with as little noise as possible.
Tank could hear Kara’s unmistakable giggle behind him. “I was beginning to think you stood me up,” she said softly. “I just want you to know that I don’t usually do this,” she continued and giggled again. “There ought to be a law against saki.”
“Listen,” began Tank and turned around, “is there another way to get out …“ he stopped abruptly, his voice failing him the moment he noticed her standing in the middle of the room wearing nothing but her underwear.
“I take it you like what you see,” she said seductively.
Tank would have lied if he had said no. Her modesty was preserved only by matching bra and panties which he took some pleasure in noticing also matched the color of her red lipstick. Kara Katanagi seemed very color coordinated.
She approached him slowly. “Is it what you expected?”
“No.”
She froze a moment and gave him a puzzled look.
Tank rubbed his eyes. “I’m not here for this,” he said.
She looked very uncomfortable with her semi nakedness all of a sudden. Her face began to also turn the color of her lipstick. Then she scrambled to find her dress. “You are a terrible man,” she said with sudden anger. “I can’t believe you led me on like this you … you,” she had apparently decided to turn to anger now and her voice was rising with every word.
“Will you be quiet, woman,” he said with a harsh hiss and followed her across the room.
“I took you for a gentleman but you are nothing more than a common ““
The not so distant sounds of weapons fire immediately followed by screams and panicked shouts cut her short.
Tank too froze and turned towards the door.
“What is happening?” she asked, sounding terrified now.
The agent moved noiselessly towards the door and parted it just enough to spy outside. The corridor was still empty but the shouts and screams had not abided. There was chaos ensuing in the lobby and it took all his will power not to leap out of the office and rush to the scene.
He felt Kara Katanagi now pressing herself against him. “What … what is happening down there?” she asked again, her voice so shaky it was threatening to fail her entirely.
The firing had stopped and so had most of the screams. In their stead there were moans and soft cries coming from the reception lobby now. Then a dominant but flat voice issued instructions. Tank didn’t get all of it but the gist was clear: Everybody remain calm and cooperate and nobody gets hurt. Hostage taking 101.
He had been afraid of something like this happening. He had hoped it wouldn’t until he had come up with a plan or had a chance to speak to the outside but the bad guys never seemed to operate on his schedule. He slid the door shut quietly and turned to look at Katanagi.
She had heard some of it and had drawn her own conclusions. She stood shivering with the back to the window now, having tried to put as much distance between herself and the horrible things that were taking place in the lobby. She held her dress in front of her, too scared apparently to even put it back on.
Tank regarded her for a moment before he spoke. “Is there another way off this floor?”
But Kara Katanagi didn’t say anything.
He sighed and took a step towards her. She was scared and needed somebody to reassure her that everything was going to be alright. Unfortunately Tank was not very good at that. “I’m with MSD, alright? I’m going to take care of this but I need to know if there is another way out of here.”
“Are we … are we going to die?”
“Don’t be silly, woman,” he said harshly.
It did not have the intended effect as it only caused her to shiver again. He took a deep breath before he tried once more. “No,” he said firmly.
That seemed to relax her a little bit.
“I’ll make sure nothing happens to you. Now why don’t you put your clothes back on and tell me ““
There where footsteps out in the corridor.
Kara looked all but ready to yell out in fear.
Tank grabbed her, his massive hand clasping over her small mouth and then dragged her under her wide desk near the window. There wasn’t much room there for Tank but he managed to squeeze himself into the small space somehow. He had to move the diminutive woman on top of him however. It was uncomfortable to say the least but he didn’t mind her sweet scent and soft skin. Katanagi seemed too scared to pay attention to their compromised position.
Not a moment after they had found refugee under the desk, Tank heard the door being slid open. As he couldn’t see who had entered, he closed his eyes to focus on the sounds. His firm clasp over Katanagi’s mouth made sure she remained completely silent.
Two persons had stepped into the room. He was surprised that they didn’t seem to talk to each other. He could hear the faint metallic noise of weapons sweeping the room.
One of them remained at the door while the other walked deeper in the room.
Tank’s second hand found the handle of his Seburo but he dared not to draw it in the confined space. If he was discovered he would have to act quickly, probably smashing the solid desk with pure force and engage the enemy while keeping the woman pushed to the ground for cover.
The person walked towards the adjacent washroom and opened the door. Then a moment later he walked back the way he had come from. Relieved Tank heard the office door being slid shut again.
He remained in place even when he was sure the footsteps were moving away and down the corridor. He felt Katanagi squirm in his grip, when she noticed for the first time how uncomfortable she was. Now she desperately tried to free herself.
He smiled at her. “I wonder, when you talked about a fun filled evening earlier if this was what you had in mind,” he whispered in her ear.
She mumbled something in return which was unintelligible with the hand over her mouth. Her eyes were words enough though, they were burning with resentment.
Tank forced himself not to laugh and then slipped out from under the desk, letting her go.
Her flash of anger had dispelled her fear for the time being and she quickly slipped back into her dress. “You should be ashamed of yourself to draw pleasure from such a situation,” she said, wisely keeping her voice down.
“Sure, honey, thank me later,” he said and walked back to the door, he found the corridor behind it empty again.
Moments later Katanagi joined him, now fully dressed. “What do you intend to do to get me and the others out of here?” she asked.
Tank regarded her with apparent surprise. “Now that’s an impressive turnaround.”
She frowned at him questionably.
“Not a minute ago you were scared for your life and now you are making demands.”
“You are a peace officer, aren’t you? You should go out there and convince these people to surrender themselves.”
“Is that what I should be doing?”
She nodded firmly. “These … these individuals whoever they may be are clearly not thinking straight. They have barged into a Federation building firing weapons and putting people in danger. You must do something before this escalates.”
“And you’ve come to this conclusion how, exactly?”
She regarded him as if he was a child unable to grasp the most elementary concepts. “It is obvious. Who has ever heard of something like this happening on Earth? I wouldn’t be surprised if this had occurred on Nyuchiba but it shouldn’t happen here.”
“I’ll tell you what I’ve seen, lady. I’ve seen a dozen or so well organized, heavily armed men and women infiltrating this party fully prepared and without causing any suspicions, blocking off all obvious exits and taking control of an entire room filled with hostages within seconds. Now this sounds to me like a very carefully planned and executed operation. And you suggest that I go in there with my little 25-rounds handgun and force them to surrender to me? Lady, you are quite easy on the eyes and you make for some halfway decent conversation but why don’t you leave the police work to me, okay?”
Kara Katanagi crossed her arms in front of her chest and assumed a facial expression which to Tank looked very much like pouting.
Undisturbed with offending the young woman Tank continued. “Now, I ask again, is there another way off this floor? A prompt response would help me out immensely in trying to get this situation resolved.”
She decided to remain stubborn for just a few seconds more. “I think there is a maintenance access in the washroom. I’m not sure where it leads.”
“Well, let’s find out,” he said and headed towards the washroom. He noticed that she wasn’t following. And then he noticed something else. Her face had turned white again.
He was just about to ask what the matter was when he heard the soft footfalls in the corridor. These were different than the ones before, less determined, but they were coming closer.
Katanagi was petrified, unable to move away from the door, fearing that the slightest noise would draw attention to her.
Tank tried to motion her to move towards him and away from the door but she couldn’t do it.
He reached for his Seburo and slowly approached her. The footfalls had reached the door and stopped. He could see the shadow of a figure just beyond it. Tank carefully pushed Katanagi against the wall and then slid the door open two inches.
The man had his back turned to Tank and was apparently looking down the corridor. He had not heard the door being opened.
Tank decided to act. He opened the door further, reached out for the man, his hand once again clasping over his mouth to muffle any noise and dragged him inside with one swift motion.
The man tried to fight but it was entirely useless, like a fish caught in the net, he had no choice in the matter.
Tank held him firm long enough to ensure the corridor was clear before he pulled the man onto the ground. “Get the door,” he whispered to Kara.
She obliged reluctantly.
The man now lying flat on his back with Tank hovering above him continued to struggle and tried to scream unsuccessfully until he noticed the gun pushing into his forehead. His eyes widened.
“I think we understand each other,” said Tank. “I’ll remove my hand now. You make so much as a peep and you’ll get far more acquainted with this little firecracker than you’d like,” he said good-naturedly. Of course he had no intention of shooting the man. Besides, the gunshot would have been too loud and alerted everyone of his presence. But a good whack with it would do the job equally well.
He removed the hand from the man’s face and recognition dawned on him immediately. “I’ll be damned,” he said and looked at Kara. “It’s Jack.”
“Who?” she asked confused and walked around Tank to get a better look at the man. “Oshii?” she said and quickly helped him up. “What are you doing here?”
Oshii was still trying to catch his breath. He looked confused and his eyes darted back and forth between her and Tank.
Kara noticed and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright Oshii,” she said softly. “He’s here to help,” she said and then with a scowling look at Tank she added, “I think.”
The MSD officer rolled his eyes.
“What happened in the lobby?” she asked.
“These people,” he said out of breath, “they just showed up and began waiving these huge guns around. I don’t know who they are they just … they just … it’s insane.”
“Alright, Jack, calm down and tell us exactly what happened,” Tank said.
Oshii took another breath and relaxed a little when he noticed Kara’s sympathetic smile. “All of a sudden they started to shoot at some of us. Then they said that if we cooperate and remain still we won’t be harmed. But … but I think they’re lying. They took four people on the elevator and they’re going to the roof. I don’t know why.”
“The roof?” Tanks asked more to himself.
“Did they say who they are or what they want?” Kara asked.
“Their leader“I think it’s their leader, he’s the only one who has talked“send a message to the outside. I think he said he was from Nyuchiba but I couldn’t make out the rest.”
Kara looked at Tank. “Nyuchiba. That explains it,” she said as if she had been right all along.
“It explains nothing, lady,” Tank shot back and then gave Oshii a suspicious look. “How did you get away, Jack?”
“I … I crawled up the staircase. There was a moment when nobody was looking my way and I crawled up. I took me ages but I got to the top. I thought I could hide somewhere up here and wait until it’s all over.”
“You’re a regular hero, Jack.”
“Would you stop calling him Jack,” Kara said annoyed. “His name is Oshii.”
Tank didn’t pay her any attention. “You said they took them to the roof? When?”
“Only a few minutes ago, I noticed it when I reached the top of the stairs.”
Tank nodded and walked towards the washroom.
“It’s alright, Oshii, Tank will take care of us. I’m sure he’s coming up with a plan to get us out of here right now.”
The young man seemed relieved to hear this.
In the washroom Tank found the access hatch Kara had mentioned. Behind it was a shaft which led upwards and Tank speculated that it might lead to the elevator shafts, or at least he hoped so. The shaft was narrow, just large enough to accommodate his massive frame, but not a millimeter wider than that. It would be a most uncomfortable journey.
“What are you going to do?” Kara asked who had followed him.
“I’m heading for the roof.”
“And leave us here?”
Tank turned to face her. She was turning pale again. “You’ll be safe if you stay in this room. They’ve already searched it so they have no reason to come here again. Just keep quiet and don’t do anything stupid.”
“You can’t be serious about leaving us here.”
“A minute ago you wanted me to get out and take action and now that I do you don’t want me to leave. Make up your mind.”
Tank noticed the anger subside and the fear winning her over again. “I … I don’t want you to leave.”
He nodded understandingly. “I have to. They’re taking hostages to the roof, that can’t be a good sign. But I’m convinced it’s going to be safe for you here. I promise I’ll come back for you.”
She didn’t seem convinced.
Tank reached into a pocket and produced a matchbox-sized device. “This is a class-I phaser,” he said and rotated it with his fingers to show it to her. “It’s quite effective on short range. Take off the safety here and then press this large button to fire. But don’t use it unless you absolutely have to, don’t take foolish risks,” he said and handed the small device over.
She took it awkwardly, like somebody who had never held a weapon before.
“If you have to use it make sure you point it away from yourself,” he said when he noticed that she was holding it the wrong way.
“You promise you will come back?”
“Yes,” said Tank. Then when he noticed her beginning to shiver again he stepped up to her and held her. “You’ll be alright. Just sit tight until I come back.” He let go of her even while she tried to hang on to him.
Then Tank slipped into the maintenance shaft and disappeared.