Ten in the morning.

Hattori Mei dialled up Thompson’s number.

“It’s me, Mister Thompson, what time are you getting off from work?” She was straight to the point.

Thompson’s voice resonated through the opposite end. “Why would you ask?”

“I need a safe location to proceed with our deal. My place is without a doubt the most secure spot there is. I have your money ready. Once you bring the things that I need, our deal is done.”

“Hahaha...” Thompson burst into laughter.

“What are you laughing at, Mister Thompson?”

Thompson replied, “Look, Miss Hattori, I understand your perspective. But there’s no way I’d agree on your place. I mean sure, it’s the safest place for you. But it could very well be a trap for me. I want to be within the vicinity of my control if we were to proceed with the deal.”

“You can trust me completely, Mister Thompson. A few million dollars isn’t a big deal for our family.”

“Of course it’s not, but if the Pentagon and the White House know about the deal it wouldn’t fare well for you Japanese. And what about me? You don’t sound convincing enough for me to hand it over to you and leave scotch free.”

“Mister Thompson...”

“A new buyer has contacted me, so here’s the updated deal. You can either go ahead and wait, or you can accept my offer. This is your one and only chance, and I’m giving you one last hour to think about it. Once the hour is up, I assume we both agree on moving on. Goodbye.”

“Mister Thompson, wait... hello..?” Hattori Mei wanted to cling onto their deal, but Thompson had already hung up. She flung the phone angrily on the desk.

She was certain that Thompson would be blinded by the money offered and would agree to dismiss moving ahead with the deal in Area 51, but her plans were botched by a sudden appearance of a second buyer.

If she fails to enter Area 51 and force his hand to complete the deal within his radius, then there is no reason to stop Thompson from believing that they had set a trap waiting for him on home turf. With the fear of not being able to spend his hard-earned money alive, a secondary buyer seemed like a better prospect.

An hour offered to her by Thompson was more than sufficient, yet something felt off. A lingering animosity befell her with no actual evidence of distress.

“Go ahead, Mei,” Yagyu Yuichi urged her. “I’m confident that Xia Lei is unaware of the deal, and he wouldn’t risk it to ambush you from there.”

A huge crowd of Japanese samurais encircled Hattori Mei. This time, however, neither opposed her decision but instead awaited her orders.

Just then, a series of knocks were heard from the door, with someone even raising their voice. “President! Miss President!”

Hattori Mei tapped her finger on the remote button, the door opened and in came the Hattori family samurai. Panicking, he reported, “Ma’am, terrible news!”

The family samurai came in at just the right time as the perfect outlet for her vents. “You idiot! Speak, what the hell happened?”

“My apologies ma’am!” The samurai timidly hung his head low as he added, “Miss President, your mother, she is in America!”

“What? How is that possible?!” Hattori Mei hurled herself into an upright position, her face terrified, unable to comprehend what she had just heard.

The samurai continued, “Ma’am, this is true. The older madam has been on the grid a hundred kilometres from Las Vegas. The killer brought her to America and made a henchman deliver some videotapes and photos to us.”

“Hand them to me!” Hattori Mei howled.

The samurai then passed an envelope to Hattori Mei.

Inside was a letter and a USB.

In English, the letter note wrote. Bring me a hundred million as ransom in exchange for your mother, otherwise, I will chop her head off and deliver it to your doorstep.”

The note ended with a wrench symbol.

It symbolized the mechanic’s presence. All the ransom documents were a recurrence of the same symbol.

Hattori Mei crumpled the letter note and began playing the video.

On the screen was an undisclosed basement location, dull and dim with no ventilation at sight. Hattori Wendy was dressed in nothing but her undergarments, covered in dirt and soot, her limbs tied rigidly by ropes as she was tossed to a corner.

A man donning an Anonymous mask stood motionlessly just behind her with a fire axe in one of his hands, exhibiting the chilling effect he very much set out to achieve.

He then lifted the axe and slammed it down to the ground just inches from her head, clearly intended to miss.

Hattori Mei was furious.

“It must be that cunt Xia Lei again, he must be in that little town, personally requesting the assassin to bring your mother to him! He must have a trap in place waiting for us to fall right through!” Sanada Saruo blurted.

Hatano Naoka added, “Doesn’t matter where and how heavily compromised the town is, we should go ahead anyway and cut that bastard’s head off his neck! We’ve waited long enough for this opportunity!”

“She's right! This is America, not China, so his enemies aren’t just us. There’s also the American army and the members of the CIA. Now that he’s not on home turf anymore, once they find out that Xia Lei is in that town, that worthless little town would be his graveyard!” Fuma Kotaro’s voice was deafening.

The samurais were riled up as the entire office felt like an army tent.

Just when everyone was vexed by the blackmailing, Hattori Mei, however, was unusually quiet. She was solemn, her voice was just as firm, her gaze unwavered.

“When did it arrive, the envelope?”

“About four minutes ago, once I got it and noticed the contents of the letter I rushed here to you, ma’am. I tried to give chase to whoever delivered the letter, but there wasn’t anyone in sight,” the family samurai replied.

Hattori Mei once again kept her silence. She appeared absolutely unfazed.

“Mei, what are you still brooding about for?” Yagyu Yuichi lamented. “This is the exact moment that desperately requires your decision, so please offer us one!”

Hattori Mei responded with a break of her prolonged silence, “Hand the letter and the USB to the CIA. Let them deal with the town, we’re going to Area 51.”

Just when everyone was certain that she would rally the clansmen to destroy Xia Lei at the town, she decisively chose against it.

“Mei, your mother…” Yagyu Yuichi bit on his words, but its meaning was clear. Are you abandoning your mother?

Hattori Mei replied, “Master, I am aware of what you have in mind.

If given the chance, I would die in her stead without a second thought. But have you considered the reason Xia Lei chose to deliver this message about my mother right at this moment? I know that man inside and out, and more so what he is capable of. If he was not unwaveringly confident of his odds, he would never expose his location in such an amateur way.”

“What you’re saying...is that Xia Lei isn’t even in the town?” Sanada Saruo asked.

Hattori Mei solemnly replied, “Yes, and I can assure you with this head of mine that he will definitely not be in the town. I’m certain he would’ve set traps and planned ambushes along its entire radius. If a sizable search team appears within the perimeter he will sneak off without a fight. But if it’s us he will come straight at us.”

“That’s just nice, I would like to get my hands through his ribs and personally rip his heart out!” Fuma Kotaro boastfully cut in.

“Fuma Kotaro, all can I say to you now, is that you’re not alone. It’s fair to say, however, that none of them lived to tell the tale.

Xia Lei, he’s the greatest sniper the world has ever seen. He could bring down any target in a three-kilometre radius. Look, if you go searching for his head, I can guarantee that he’d be lurking in some dark corner waiting to split your head open.”

Fuma Kotaro fell back to silence, albeit begrudgingly.

Hattori Mei scanned through her samurai henchmen, “Alright. I’ve made up my mind, we’ll head to Area 51 to complete the deal with Thompson. Hand this letter to the CIA, let them rescue my mother.”

She then turned towards the news breaker. “Remember, I want you to swear to the clan that you will tell the CIA what I’m telling you right now, word for word. They should avoid an army march and keep the Asian faces upfront if they even want a shot to get close to him.

Tell them to keep the special ops close and ready. Get a military chopper running close by. Once the crossfire begins, steer it over to the scene, and at the same time tell the Nevadan police to lockdown a hundred-kilometre perimeter from the area. That’ll get to him!”

“Yes ma’am!” The samurai abided and hurriedly went off.

“Mei, if you do this, your mother, she would most likely not make it out of here alive,” Yagyu Yuichi replied.

Hattori Mei empathetically let out two streaks of tears, her voice rustling ever so slightly as she declared, “I know what’s bound to happen. And if my mother dies, I wouldn’t yearn for her forgiveness, but I know the entire Japanese nation will mourn for her. She will become the saviour of our great nation.

With her sacrifice, she brought about the end of Xia Lei’s reign of terror on our people, while simultaneously presenting us with the X Alloy project. Our nation will once again rise to become a military superpower once again!”

If this had all happened, Hattori Wendy’s sacrifice would outweigh even the most precious of jewellery and riches. She will be buried in the Yasukuni Shrine, her story will be told in history books for generations to come. She will be one of history’s greats amongst the Japanese people.

Yagyu Yuichi abruptly took a formal bow towards Hattori Mei.

All the other samurais promptly followed suit, all taking a bow in unison to their leader.

“Let’s go, if we move quick enough, we might witness the demise of Xia Lei,” Hattori Mei announced.

“Yes ma’am!” The venue erupted with a roar of agreement.

Minutes later, ten vehicles formed a parade as they departed from V Science Corp Headquarters and in almost perfect harmony steered left and headed northwest.

As the scenery whirled as they passed, Hattori Mei stared aimlessly to a distance. Her eyes were watery but her thoughts were resolute. Mother, please forgive me for the decision I’ve made, for I am unable to save you from the hands of that monster Xia Lei. From the moment you were caught in his grasp, I knew this would be the outcome. Do forgive me, your daughter.

Tears began flowing down her cheeks.

And along came a flash of unbearing hatred- Xia Lei, your assumption that I wouldn’t barge into the CIA shall be the biggest mistake you have ever made in your scum-filled life!