Shadows of the Elite
Volume 3.5
Chapter 7: The Sin That Tied Us Together...
December 31, 2026.
Just minutes before midnight.
A rented car sat motionless in the darkness.
Inside, Natalie watched.
She had followed Tetsuya, Kenzo, and Ren for nearly twenty minutes before finally arriving at an abandoned facility hidden far from the city.
The building looked forgotten.
Dead.
Yet something about it felt alive.
Like a sleeping beast waiting beneath the surface.
Natalie watched as the three men stepped out of their vehicle.
Before entering, Tetsuya suddenly raised a hand.
Stop.
His head slowly turned toward the road.
Toward her.
Natalie's heart skipped a beat.
She immediately ducked below the dashboard.
For several seconds she didn't move.
When she finally peeked back up, she saw the three figures entering the facility.
Among them, Ren stood out the most.
Even from a distance, there was something dangerous about him.
The FBI files had not exaggerated.
Natalie swallowed.
Then she reached for her phone.
A voice message began recording.
"Hey, Matt."
Her voice was quieter than usual.
"I know it's probably a different time for you in America right now."
She stared through the windshield.
"Maybe it's early. I'm not sure."
A small smile appeared on her face.
"I wish you and Margaret were here."
The smile faded.
"I'm not as fearless as you two."
Silence.
"I just wish our group could reunite one more time. Now that we're all in college, nobody has time anymore. Nobody has time to solve another case together."
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
"Maybe one day—"
Headlights appeared.
A second vehicle approached.
A Tesla.
Natalie immediately stopped recording and sent the message.
Two figures exited the car.
The moment Natalie saw one of them, she froze.
Glasses.
Brown hair.
Composed posture.
She quickly opened her phone and searched a name.
Fushimiya Family.
Images appeared.
Natalie's eyes widened.
Aoi Fushimiya.
It was a match.
There was no doubt.
The second person was younger.
A teenager.
Brown hair.
Mahogany-colored tips.
The two entered the facility without hesitation.
Natalie waited several minutes before taking a different route inside.
Eventually, she found herself standing before a steel door.
She opened it.
A room filled with monitors greeted her.
The camera room.
And someone was already inside.
A foreign man sat before the screens.
The moment he saw her, his expression changed.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Recognition.
Natalie instinctively reached for the fake dagger hidden beneath her jacket.
"Who the hell are you?"
The man stood up.
His eyes remained locked on hers.
Then he spoke.
"You're her."
Natalie frowned.
"What?"
The man's voice trembled.
"You're Subject N."
Confusion crossed Natalie's face.
"What are you talking about?"
The foreigner stepped forward.
Natalie raised the dagger.
The man casually grabbed it from her hand.
He examined it for a moment before setting it on the desk.
"Oh, please."
He laughed softly.
"I know what a real weapon looks like."
He sat back down.
His shoulders relaxed.
As though everything had already been decided.
"No point worrying now."
Natalie narrowed her eyes.
The man looked toward the monitors.
"You aren't a threat to him."
Then he added quietly:
"Not anymore."
Natalie turned toward the screens.
Audio poured through the speakers.
In another room, six people stood facing one another.
The room felt less like a meeting.
And more like a battlefield.
The clock struck midnight.
January 1, 2027.
A new year had begun.
Toshiro Sobu stepped forward.
"Let me ask all of you a question."
Nobody answered.
He continued anyway.
"In the Bible, Adam and Eve ate the fruit of knowledge and became cursed."
His voice remained calm.
"Before that, they were innocent."
He smiled.
"But they were also ignorant."
Silence.
"So tell me."
His eyes moved across the room.
"Would you eat the fruit and accept the curse of knowledge?"
He paused.
"Or remain foolish and pure forever?"
Aoi folded his arms.
"What kind of game are you playing?"
Ren laughed.
"Easy."
His grin widened.
"I'd eat it."
He shrugged.
"You really think I'd choose to be some obedient little idiot?"
Tetsuya interrupted.
"That's enough, Ren."
The room fell silent once more.
Sobu spread his arms.
"It appears we've reached a deadlock."
"No."
Tetsuya's response came immediately.
From behind emotionless eyes.
"From my perspective, you've already been cornered."
Sobu smiled.
"Incorrect."
He walked directly toward Tetsuya.
Neither man backed away.
"Either you remove me here and now."
Another step.
"Or you attempt to do this through legal channels."
Another.
"Either way..."
The smile widened.
"I win."
Ren laughed.
"Oh, don't worry."
A taser appeared in his hand.
"We can fix that right now."
He charged forward.
Then everything stopped.
Aoi.
Kei.
Kenzo.
Tetsuya.
All four restrained him simultaneously.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Ren struggled.
Kei spoke first.
"What you're attempting would qualify as assault."
Aoi adjusted his glasses.
"The court would see him as the victim."
Kenzo laughed.
"And with your record?"
His smile became playful.
"They'll lock you up and throw away the key."
Ren clicked his tongue.
The taser lowered.
Sobu watched.
Amused.
As if observing children argue.
Then he turned toward Tetsuya.
"Tell me."
His voice carried through the room.
"Wouldn't arresting me now violate your precious ideals?"
Tetsuya's expression hardened.
Sobu continued.
"I see right through you."
His gaze sharpened.
"You walk around as though justice itself chose you."
Silence.
"But if you arrest me without evidence..."
The smile returned.
"Wouldn't that prove true justice never existed in the first place?"
Aoi stepped forward.
"You seem to be forgetting we're here."
Sobu barely glanced at him.
"Aoi."
His tone was dismissive.
"You already served your purpose."
Aoi's eyes narrowed.
Sobu continued.
"You helped advance our understanding."
A pause.
"Your existence has little value now."
For the first time, anger flashed across Aoi's face.
Meanwhile, Kei remained silent.
Watching.
Observing.
Measuring.
Aoi turned toward Tetsuya.
"You're FBI."
"Yes."
Ren groaned.
"Enough talking."
Nobody moved.
Nobody attacked.
Nobody surrendered.
It was a perfect stalemate.
Finally, Kenzo broke the silence.
"We're leaving."
Ren looked at him in disbelief.
"What?"
"We can't win here."
Kenzo's usual smile had disappeared.
"Not tonight."
Sobu folded his hands behind his back.
"What will you do now?"
His voice echoed through the room.
"You've already lost your advantage."
Tetsuya ignored the provocation.
Instead, he asked a question.
"How did you know who we were?"
Sobu smiled.
But said nothing.
Tetsuya stared.
Then understanding appeared.
"You sent people to America."
No answer.
Only that same smile.
"I'll leave that to your imagination."
The deadlock was complete.
One by one, they turned away.
Tetsuya's group exited through their entrance.
Aoi and Kei left through theirs.
Outside, engines started.
Headlights illuminated the darkness.
Everyone departed.
Everyone failed.
Back in the camera room, Natalie clenched her fists.
"Those cowards."
Her voice shook.
"They had him."
She looked at the monitors.
"And they just left."
Paul shook his head.
"No."
His gaze remained fixed on the empty room.
"They made the only move they could."
Natalie turned toward him.
Before she could speak, Paul stepped forward.
His hand struck the side of her neck.
Darkness consumed her vision.
The last thing she heard was his voice.
"I'm sorry, Natalie."
Everything faded.
Outside, the night swallowed the facility once again.
The players had retreated.
The game remained unfinished.
And as each group drove away into the darkness, a single realization lingered in all of their minds.
No matter the cost.
No matter who stood in their way.
They had to win.
Or everything would be lost.
END OF VOLUME 3.5