Four hours later
Recess
"Hey, I'm going to the dean's office," Rafael gave a heads-up to Michael, who was talking to a girl and nodded as he saw the back of Rafael exiting the room and blending into the crowd.
Rafael walked towards the administration building and noticed some tinted SUVs moving around. They seemed legitimate, but he could see the faces inside, mostly European and a few Chinese.
'Fuck, seems like they are scouting out the city,' Rafael thought internally as he saw them moving out of the area after an armored Atlas security force passed by. He looked forward and continued towards the admin building, a five-story structure where the dean's office was on the second floor. As he entered, a security guard, knowing the purpose of Rafael's visit, guided him to the dean.
"Sir, Mr. Villanueva is visiting," the secretary announced, opening the door. Rafael saw a middle-aged man with slightly dark skin, semi-bald with a few hair strands remaining. He wore a white long-sleeved shirt and black pants. Despite holding a doctorate, he was made dean due to his extensive field experience.
"Mr. Villanueva, how may I be of service to you?" he asked, placing his glasses down and straightening his back.
"I need the names of the foreigners or anyone who is going to transfer to this school. And if you try to lie your way out of this, an overseer might visit you personally," Rafael said in a serious voice. The dean knew Rafael was a representative of Atlas and wielded considerable power within the corporation.
"I'm sorry, sir, but I can't do that. The only thing I can do is provide their face names, as it's the school's policy to protect students' privacy…" Before he could continue, Rafael slammed his hand on the table, a small audible crack echoing, and his eyes emanated a chilling killing intent. However, the dean remained unfazed.
"Don't play that card, Dean. You already know you're replaceable… If you don't follow my orders or the council's orders… give me their names," Rafael said one last time, his tone betraying that at this moment, he wasn't the heir of the Villanueva family but the founder, president, and administrator of Atlas Corps.
"Sir, my family is being threatened, and they made me swear in front of them," he said in a pleading tone. This time, his professional mask shattered, and Rafael snorted in frustration.
"Fine, give me their fake names and aliases, and don't leave out a single detail. I will bring this up in the meeting and make sure you're on our side. Try to disobey another order, and expect a replacement," Rafael said, leaning back. A deep handprint was left on the hardwood table. After thirty minutes, five files were handed to him. Inside was just general information with no photos. At a glance, he knew it was fake, but he still needed to figure out the individuals.
"See you soon, Dean, but it won't be me you're meeting soon, since the only person who can truly threaten you is Atlas," Rafael said and left the office. He saw the secretary and spoke in a serious tone, "Monitor his movement and make sure his family is included in the surveillance, along with his own security detail." The secretary nodded in response, being a field agent of the internal affairs division.
After school, Rafael looked at the clock. It was already 4 PM, and he was inside his dorm, looking at the small military computer. He was reading through updated reports, something he did in his free time, while also cleaning and preparing his guns for a potential firefight.
Thirty minutes later, VRMMMMMMMM.
He rode his motorcycle through the streets towards a secluded bar, not really visited by the public but frequented by Atlas personnel from the manager and executive levels. Primarily, it served as one of the intel hubs for Atlas's intelligence agency to operate.
As he turned a street, a tinted white van that had been shadowing his movements earlier continued to follow. After a few minutes, Rafael parked his motorcycle.
"Afternoon, sir," one of the waiters outside greeted him. Rafael returned the greeting and whispered something to them before entering the pub. A minute later, two lean men in black corporate suits, armed with knives and a revolver, approached the entrance. The waiter outside stopped them.
"Sorry, sir, it's a full house," he said with a smile. The man pulled out a small stack of cash without saying anything and handed it to the waiter, who nodded and allowed them inside.
As the two men entered the bar, they were greeted by the muzzle of a pistol aimed at their backs, and a bartender aimed a USAS shotgun at them. Other people inside the establishment pulled out pistols and aimed at the two newcomers. Rafael emerged from the kitchen with an HK419, his face expressionless.
"Drop your weapons before this gets ugly," one of the people inside, a field agent with the Atlas logo subtly displayed on his uniform (officially a waiter), said.
"Tsk," one of the men clicked his tongue and began dropping his sashimi knife and revolver. As the agent began inspecting for more weapons, their phones were confiscated.
"Bring them to the interrogation sites. I want a report within 24 hours," Rafael said as another waiter brought zip ties to restrain them and a cloth to gag them, preventing them from biting their tongues off.
Before long, they were brought to a room, and shouts and thuds of punches were heard until the door slammed shut.
"Sir, the room is ready," one of the waiters said, gesturing to a nearby staircase leading to a private pub room.
"I see. Make sure to increase security around the block. They might try to find their missing members," Rafael said before curtly nodding to the waiter and heading upstairs.
Rafael entered a room that appeared to be a conference room. It was quite large, with a 30-inch TV mounted on the wall in front of him displaying the Atlas logo. Not far away was a laptop where he planned to video call the President of the Republic of the Philippines.
A minute later, after ordering some snacks, he initiated the call. Within 20 seconds, the connection was established.
"Gab, it's been a while," Rafael said with a small smile as he sat down and crossed his left leg over his right.
"Well, it has been two years, and after that debacle of me getting married, our contact has lessened. So, what do you need my service for?" a man with short black hair and brown eyes stood straight, wearing a white long-sleeved polo shirt.
"Have you noticed the increase of foreigners entering the country, like Japanese, Europeans, and Americans?" Rafael asked.
"Hmm… reading the reports from the immigration office, yes, there has been an increase. And the foreign affairs reported that most of them are heading to Leyte," he said, noticing something amiss.
"Most of them are smuggled from the eastern sea and in Mindanao," he muttered, loud enough for Rafael to hear.
"Most likely, they are the people under my fiancées' families," Rafael said.
"Wait, your fiancées?" he asked in shock.
"Yes, my father just told me today. And there has been an increased amount of Japanese yakuza activity. A recent incident involving a truck crash was to eliminate some of them, although I have no grudges or qualms with them. Emir has already sent an order to the Atlas branch in Japan to monitor the activities of the yakuza clans and groups."
"That's alarming indeed. It was reported here that they might try to take control of the Atlas-controlled city of Tacloban, which falls under your jurisdiction," he said, continuing to read the reports.
"Then what shall you do?" he asked Rafael.
"I will deploy a battalion of SAF (Special Action Force) and two companies of Scout Rangers from the Philippine Army, along with a mechanized battalion, an infantry battalion, and lastly, a company of the Red Right Hand. This will ensure they can't wage a gang war in my city, and if they do, it will be on my terms," Rafael said as he listed off the orders.
"What if they find out? Unknown consequences might blow up," Gab said, leaning back after putting the paper down.
"Multiple excuses, like sending them to a different country for some jungle warfare exercises to Hawaii and more, since we're just going to hold them down in Leyte as long as we can. We'll use the same methods to smuggle their men using vacation leaves and deliver their equipment through cargo ships. And there is another usable excuse: a joint training camp," Rafael said.
"That's a good enough reason if it's outside of the city limits. I might have to deploy the coast guard and navy to patrol the waters in case something comes up," he said.
"That's good. And lastly, try to clean up your government, since most likely those families might try to enter the ranks. Currently, I don't know their names or faces, as my father is the one gatekeeping the information and will reveal it once we meet them," he informed Gab.
"Then I might have to ask for the agencies' assistance again," Gab said.
"Then send a request to Michael when he comes back," he said as the conversation continued for as long as 30 minutes, and they said their goodbyes as the call ended.
Knock, knock.
"Sir, Mr. Michael has arrived," a waiter said, and Rafael nodded.
First floor
"So, Rafe, what do you need?" Michael said as he sat near the bar and took a sip of whiskey.
"Figure it out," Rafael said, pushing a stack of folders near Michael. Realizing what it was, Michael called the bartender and ordered it to be brought to his home securely.
"Want you to send an order to the AFA (Armed Forces of Atlas) to send the 1st mechanized battalion of the 1st mechanized brigade, the 1st infantry battalion of the 1st infantry division, and a company of Alpha-1. And lastly, order the navy and air force to be on high alert, with a destroyer patrolling near the eastern coast of Leyte, since we might face a war on our own terms," Rafael said in a concerned tone, but his face remained neutral, hiding any emotion.
His words betrayed the underlying frustration that he thought he could finally have peace, but no, he had to marry maybe at least a dozen people.
"I will try to send info by midnight, but I think I will only uncover those who are near their arrival date. The rest might take time, since most of them have no digital footprint, or their families' IT is good at their job, so no promises can be made," Michael said in a professional tone.
"It's okay, but make sure my father has no knowledge of this. And lastly, arm all our bases and locations here in the city to the next level and increase the presence of security in school, but make sure it's not too intimidating for the students."
"Sure, I will send the orders to the council and inform them of the happenings. Might as well see a horde of women around you," Michael chuckled while Rafael scoffed.
"Like that's going to happen. I'd rather go back to my mercenary days than go through with it," Rafael said dramatically and looked at his watch.
"Fuck, it's almost 7 PM," and waved Michael off before leaving the pub, while Michael continued to drink his whiskey.
To be continued…