Just as Rafael was about to leave the pub, he heard footsteps and saw two men in formal suits wearing black leather gloves. Rafael quickly checked his pockets and motorcycle, realizing he had no guns.
"Fuck," he muttered, his hand finding only a Gerber Mark II knife on his belt.
The two men pounced on him before he could call for help, trying to restrain him. A second later, two more arrived, attempting to overpower him. One of them held a taser.
Rafael grunted through the electric charge, having been hit by higher voltages before. He grabbed the taser, which had been aimed at his back, and thrust it into the man's neck, letting out a scream.
Feeling their grip loosen, he drew his knife, pulled the taser-struck man closer, and broke free from the others. He plunged his knife into the man's chest twice.
For the next second, he stabbed and cut his kidnappers, but it wasn't enough to subdue them.
"What the fuck? He's like a monster in a kid's body!" a middle-aged man exclaimed clearly in Japanese, identifying them as Yakuza.
Rafael fought back, kicking, stabbing, and breaking a few bones, but more men arrived. Two more Yakuza aimed and fired their taser guns. Rafael shuddered from the electric shock but remained on his feet, pulling the metal probes from his chest.
Woosh!
He threw his knife at the man who had fired the taser, impaling him in the head and killing him instantly. The man next to him, shocked and scared, tried to run, but Rafael was already behind him, holding him by the neck. The other Yakuza, struggling to stand, watched in shock.
Swoosh!
Rafael felt a sting in his neck. He reached back and pulled out something long – a tranquilizer dart. Before he could comment, he looked to the source and saw a sniper in a good position to fire upon him without cover. Multiple darts hit his body.
He spotted a pistol near a dead Yakuza corpse and grabbed it before another dart hit him. This time, he felt drowsy. Before he was knocked out, he fired a few shots, killing and hitting several Yakuza in his line of sight.
'I hope to hell they heard the gunshot,' Rafael thought, praying the people inside the pub had heard the commotion.
A few minutes later, another group of armed people in body armor carried Rafael away from the site while the Yakuza were assisted out. Soon, gunshots erupted. Two waiters, armed with Glock pistols, fired, and a second later, more people emerged. Since it was after lunchtime, there were a few armed Atlas troopers present, and the situation quickly devolved into an intense shootout.
"Come on, let's fall back!" the man holding Rafael shouted to his group. Their comrades at the hallway's exit appeared and returned fire, but the difference in firepower and numbers inside the pub became clear.
Rafael was carried out onto the streets, where a black van awaited him. He was thrown inside. From a bird's-eye view, the entire road was a war zone as Atlas soldiers from a nearby military base, alerted to the situation, responded and sent their men. SAF units nearby were also dispatched.
Blocking their advance was a wall of SUVs, covering the black van. Behind the SUVs, Japanese men in corporate suits fired back with submachine guns and pistols. They wore body armor, these being the weapons they had managed to smuggle.
However, the difference in training and firepower proved advantageous for Atlas. They advanced and were able to resupply. At the vanguard was Graves, the Red Right Hand, who had been alerted by the people inside the pub. He fired his rifle fiercely, killing two people, but they were quickly reinforced. For the civilians, the police handled their evacuation.
"Fucking hell, they are going to escape with him! Someone drive the MRAP and ram those SUVs!" Graves shouted. A nearby soldier dashed to the MRAP, stomped on the gas, and it shot towards the wall of SUVs.
BOOOOOM!
A loud crash echoed. The people behind the SUVs were thrown backward, suffering broken bones, and others were knocked unconscious.
"Sir, we need to fall back, or else we get pinned down!" the Japanese man shouted to his leader, who was speaking through a radio. That small gap in response was exploited as both SAF and Atlas soldiers poured in and began eliminating them.
"[As of now, all I can say is fall back. The target objective has been boarded to the extraction point, so for any survivor, you can evacuate. Thank you for your service,]" the person on the other end said in an emotionless voice. The leader threw the radio to the ground in anger, destroying it. Before he could order a last stand, he was hit in the head by the butt of Graves' rifle.
"Cuff him and bring him back to base to torture him for any answers," Graves said in a cold voice as the remnants of the enemies ran in different directions, chased by the SAF and police.
A few hours later, after the battle, Rafael's location.
Rafael opened his eyes and looked around, seeing an unfamiliar room. When he turned his back, he saw two bulky Japanese men with cold eyes, as if waiting to hold him down. Both were heavily armed.
"I see you're awake," an unfamiliar voice spoke. Rafael couldn't identify the source, but he could tell it was from a speaker and was speaking English with a slight Japanese accent.
"Yes, I'm awake. And before you explain why you kidnapped me, I'll tell you that sooner or later, your people will die by my own hands," Rafael said. He felt multiple chains, almost three layers, around his wrists and two layers around his legs.
"Yes, I know. At least we have a few hours before they come and save you. So, for all the trouble we went through, I want you to answer a few questions," the voice added, confirming Rafael's guess that it was a team effort.
"Okay, I will play along," Rafael said, omitting 'for now.' A plan began to form. Soon, the questions started, mostly about his life, likes, and dislikes. A minute later, they delved into his personal story, which triggered him. He forcibly broke the chains and instantly charged at one of the bulky Japanese personnel.
He grabbed the holstered pistol, pulled it out, and fired at the man next to him. While pinning down the first man, he fired the pistol, hitting him in the head. He then aimed the pistol at the man's forehead.
Seeing the speaker in the corner of the room with a camera on top of it, he fired a few more shots, destroying it. He knew those questions were white lies.
'Let's get out of here,' he muttered internally, hearing multiple footsteps. Checking for more weapons, he grabbed a few magazines for the pistol and picked up an MP5 with its magazines, equipping one of the vests.
Before picking it up, he inspected the logo and recognized it as a different company, which gave him an idea of who was supporting the kidnappers. When he exited the room, he saw 10-20 men, all armed, heading towards his room, all shouting for him to stop.
In response, Rafael burst fired into their group, killing the ones at the front. Dashing the other way, he saw a staircase and began climbing it, replacing the magazine. The staircase led to a flat, plain rooftop with no railings. Looking around, he realized he was far from any city, and seeing the signs, he knew he was in Japan.
"Fuck," he said, frustrated, and heard a helicopter approaching nearby. Now, he heard people coming up the staircase. He dashed to the edge and saw the ground below – he was on the rooftop of a three-story building. Seeing a pile of rubble, he thought it might break his fall.
"Ah, fuck it, I've survived worse," Rafael said and jumped off the edge. When he landed, he grunted but stood up, seeing a few parked cars. He sprinted to one of them. Finding the keys, he saw the men on the rooftop firing upon him. When he started the car, he stomped on the gas and drove out of the area.
"Shit, I'm in the countryside," Rafael said, looking at his surroundings. He saw no one chasing him. Continuing to drive, he thought about his next steps.
"Next step now is to find an Atlas outpost," he muttered. Seeing the road signs, he knew one wasn't far—an Atlas-controlled city. He continued to drive for the next few hours until he entered the city, avoiding any public areas, and drove to the military base.
When Rafael entered through the entrance, he was stopped by soldiers, as a vehicle riddled with bullets was suspicious. Rafael was allowed inside after speaking a password that identified him, and his injuries alerted the soldiers.
"Someone get a corpsman!" the soldiers shouted, running to the infirmary. Rafael was still bleeding and struggled to stay conscious.
In a private room, several armed soldiers and Military Police were deployed, guarding the hallway, and the military base was on high alert. Doctors and nurses treated him with care and focus. Two soldiers guarded inside the room. The commander arrived, looking at Rafael, who had woken up after two hours of sleep.
"Sir, may I know what happened to you?" the commander asked, looking at Rafael's state.
"Kidnapped and interrogated, lastly escaped. So, my orders are to call the branch in the Philippines and tell my chief of security, Graves, that I'm here in Japan, and to have a plane ready to leave for the Philippines," Rafael said with a no-nonsense tone.
"It shall be done, sir," he nodded and left while the doctors and nurses tended to Rafael. During the treatment, Rafael recalled the logo; it belonged to the Arima Corporation, the leading corporation in Japan. He theorized they might be the company behind this.
'It's possible that they are one of the groups, but I can't just act on it yet,' Rafael thought. Outside the military base, strange cars passed every few minutes. The soldiers, noticing this, decided to alert the Military Police and local police, who began pulling them over.
They arrested them due to their identities being tied to the Yakuza. The police's body cameras instantly scanned each person's face and searched their database, identifying and arresting them.
An hour later.
Graves and 10 Alpha-1 operatives strode into the room and saw Rafael sitting in a wheelchair, covered in a few bandages, his clothes changed to hospital attire. Seeing his state, Graves noticed the aura Rafael was exuding, and he was not pleased. He knelt down, and the operatives followed suit.
"I'm terribly sorry, sir. I will take full responsibility for the security mistake," Graves said, unwilling to look him in the eye.
"Don't say that nonsense, Graves. Stand up and face me. You know as well that they planned it very well, and it's not just one group who planned the kidnapping; it was two groups," Rafael said, given that the building where he was held was far from any major cities.
"But sir, we failed to protect you," Graves said, wanting to protest, but Rafael wasn't in the mood.
"Silence, soldier. They were after me as Rafael Villanueva, not the Administrator of Atlas. So listen now to my orders as the Administrator: there's an abandoned building 100km away from the city, and I want to know its origin and who it belongs to. And there's a body vest and the car; I want to know it all and everything. And I want you to mobilize the resources of Glory and High Table to begin a wide investigation into everything," Rafael said in a stern but controlled tone.
Michael strode in, wearing combat gear, and behind him was a unit of Wardens, who were officially the Administrator's security detail but were not allowed by Rafael as it would raise suspicions. That's why he only used them as a QRF.
"Captain Graves, by the decision of the Overseer Council, you are hereby promoted to the position of Chief of Security in his identity as Rafael Villanueva, not in his identity as the Administrator of Atlas. You are to follow him everywhere, whether covert or in public. You must protect him with your life and the unit under your command," Michael said in a tone that announced his faith; going against it would put one under the muzzle of a rifle.
To be continued.