Melissa blinked once, then straightened in her chair.
"I'm coming with you."
David looked up from the glowing monitors. For a moment, his expression softened.
"No."
Melissa frowned. "Dad—"
"Absolutely not." His tone left no room for discussion. "Japan is ... unstable right now. Hero agencies aren't doing well and prison escapes are still being reported, and no one knows how many organized villains are taking advantage of the situation."
She folded her arms. "Uncle Toshinori is there."
"Which is exactly why I'm going." David stood and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You are staying here."
Melissa opened her mouth to argue, but the look in his eyes stopped her.
"This isn't a vacation," he said quietly. "I'm going because my best friend may need help. I don't know how dangerous things will become once I arrive."
Melissa lowered her gaze. David smiled gently. "Be a good girl and wait for me, all right?"
She exhaled through her nose, clearly unhappy, but nodded.
"…Fine."
"Thank you."
Before either could say more, the lab doors slid open with a soft hiss.
"Good afternoon, Dr. Shield."
Samuel entered with his usual polished smile, tablet tucked beneath one arm.
Melissa glanced toward him and offered a small smile.
"Hi, Sam."
"Melissa." She looked once more at her father, then rose from her seat. "I'll let you two work." Melissa had always been a sensible child.
David nodded. "Thank you for lunch."
Melissa paused at the door. "Tell Uncle Toshinori I said to get better."
"I will."
The doors slid shut behind her. For a moment, silence returned to the laboratory.
David turned toward his assistant.
"What's the matter?"
Samuel adjusted his glasses and smiled.
"Good news, sir. The mercenary actors you asked me to contact have all been reached."
David raised an eyebrow. "That was quick."
"They've received the outline of the plan and are awaiting final instructions. We only need to settle the schedule and payment structure."
David let out a long exhale. "Excellent work, Sam. As always."
Samuel inclined his head modestly. "Thank you, sir."
"Unfortunately, we may need to postpone the operation."
Samuel froze. "…What?"
David either didn't notice or chose not to. "I just spoke with Toshinori." He walked to another workstation, bringing up flight schedules and equipment manifests. "He refuses to come to I-Island."
Samuel stared. David continued, his tone thoughtful.
"He insists his condition cannot be reversed. I'm not convinced, but unless I can confirm that the amplifier would actually help him, there may be no reason to proceed with the retrieval."
Samuel's fingers tightened around the tablet.
"But… I've already contacted them."
David waved a hand dismissively. "Yes, that's regrettable. Still, these things happen."
Samuel's jaw tensed.
David glanced back. "Is something wrong?"
For a split second, panic flashed across Samuel's face.
Then he smiled.
"No, sir. I just feel terrible for wasting everyone's time."
David gave him a reassuring look. "Nonsense. We'll compensate them for the inconvenience."
Samuel forced a nod. "Of course." David turned back to the monitors. "It will likely take me a week or two to put my projects in order before I leave for Japan. I'll need to arrange transport for the diagnostic equipment and secure travel clearances."
He began gathering data pads and files. "I'd like your help preparing the cargo list."
"Certainly, sir."
"Excellent." David picked up Melissa's lunch and headed toward the door. "I'm going to begin organizing immediately."
The doors slid open. David paused briefly.
"And Sam?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Thank you. I know how much effort you put into this."
Samuel's smile twitched.
"It's my pleasure."
David nodded and stepped into the corridor. The doors closed. The moment it did, the smile vanished on the fat man's face. For several seconds, Samuel stood motionless in the center of the laboratory.
Then his breathing quickened. His grip tightened around the tablet until his knuckles turned white.
"Damn it."
With a sharp snarl, he hurled the device across the room.
It struck the far wall with a violent crack, shattering into fragments that scattered across the polished floor.
Samuel Abraham stood motionless in the center of the laboratory, chest rising and falling as fragments of shattered glass and circuitry skittered across the floor.
His reflection stared back at him from the black screen of his phone. For several seconds, he did nothing.
Then he clenched the device so tightly his fingers trembled.
Damn it.
Years.
Years of work.
Years spent standing in David Shield's shadow, helping refine concepts that should have changed the world.
The Quirk Amplification Device was not some half-finished experiment scribbled on a napkin. It was the culmination of countless sleepless nights, failed prototypes, and funding battles. He had been there for all of it.
For every setback and breakthrough. Even if David gained the majority of the credit for its creation, he wouldn't have cared. With his name on it, what remained would be enough to make him world renowned, opening new paths and doors for himself.
But then when the sponsors grew nervous and froze the project, David had accepted it. Just like that. Without even putting up a fight. No appeal and no public challenge either. All that effort ...his effort, locked away in a secure vault to gather dust.
The recognition they were supposed to earn vanished overnight. And once again, David Shield had carried on as if idealism could pay for lost years. Samuel's jaw tightened. David was a genius. No one denied that. But genius did not exempt a man from reality. Samuel had given too much to walk away with nothing.
Hence, when he saw the opportunity, he watched onto it without a second thought. The plan had been simple. Convincing David of the plan to retrieve the device, he had David believe they were hiring actors to stage a controlled security breach during the upcoming expo. A dramatic but harmless incident that would allow them to recover the amplifier from storage and place it where it belonged, in All Might's hands. Or at least that was what David believed. He on the other hand, had something else in mind.
While David thought this was just a ruse played by hired actors posing as villain mercenaries, Sam had instead intentionally communicated with actual villains, selling the information and the device handling in the process.
If he couldn't gain fame for it, then he could at least get enough money to live a life of luxury from them henceforth. The upcoming expo was the perfect period to achieve this when security was lax enough to let a few people slip in with some help from the inside.
However, this change was going to ruin everything.
Thinking for several seconds, he pulled out a small personal phone that he used for ... Other purposes.
He opened the encrypted messaging application and typed.
'Situation has changed. Client is postponing the operation indefinitely. He's leaving for Japan to assess the target's condition directly. The expo window may not be the delivery point anymore.'
He sent it and waited. The response came in under three minutes.
'Explain what you mean by 'postponing.''
Samuel typed. 'He needs to confirm whether the device will be useful before proceeding. If the target's condition has progressed beyond what the device can address, the whole operation may be called off.'
A pause. 'Does he suspect anything?'
'No, he doesn't.
A full minute passed before the next reply appeared.
'Then the plan adapts.'
Samuel frowned and typed quickly. 'What does that mean? The arrangement was for the device to be taken during the expo. If Dr. Shield never authorizes the retrieval, then there will be nothing to hand over.'
The response came almost immediately. 'You informed us that Dr. Shield intends to travel to Japan.'
Samuel's fingers hesitated over the keypad.
'Yes. Within one to two weeks.'
Several seconds passed.
Then:
'Provide his itinerary when finalized.'
Samuel stared at the message. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple. He typed carefully.
'Why?'
The typing indicator appeared at once, as if the answer had already been prepared. 'If the device will not come to us, we will go to the man who can build it.'
Samuel's eyes widened. He swallowed.
'You intend to abduct him?' There was no answer for a long moment. When the answer finally arrived, it was ... Pretty reassuring.
'We intend to persuade him to cooperate.'
'Dr. Shield is not a combatant. He is a scientist.'
'Precisely.'
Samuel looked toward the laboratory doors through which David had departed only minutes earlier.
'This was not part of our original agreement.'
'Neither was the cancellation.'
His fingers hovered over the screen.
'He has a daughter.'
The response came without hesitation. 'And we have no interest in harming either of them, provided there is no resistance.'
Samuel clenched his jaw. He wanted to believe that. In truth, he needed to believe it. Because the alternative ... that he had planned to hand his employer and his employer's daughter to genuine criminals, was too monstrous to confront directly.
Sam was a selfish, entitled man. However, he was not a cold blooded monster who would do anything for money with a straight face.
Ultimately, he had a conscience. He typed.
'If he cooperates, he will be released?'
'When our business is concluded.'
Samuel closed his eyes. The offer was logical. David was far more valuable alive than dead. No one knew the Quirk Amplification Device as intimately as he did. Even if the prototype remained locked away on I-Island, David could reproduce the essential work given sufficient time and resources.
And if the villains only wanted the device, then this was merely leverage.
Temporary leverage.
Unpleasant, yes.
But survivable.
The thought settled into his mind with alarming ease.
He had already crossed the line when he made first contact.
This was only one step further.
His fingers moved.
'I will send the itinerary once it is confirmed.'
The reply arrived instantly.
'Excellent.'
A second message followed.
'The remaining payment will be transferred upon successful acquisition.'
Samuel's pulse quickened. The figure displayed beneath the text was enough to make his mouth go dry.
More money than he could have earned in decades.
A final message appeared. 'Continue as planned. Do not arouse suspicion.'
The chat window went dark. Samuel lowered the phone slowly. For several moments, he stood in silence, staring at his reflection in the black screen.
"It's only temporary," he whispered to himself.
David would cooperate. The criminals would get what they wanted. No one would be hurt. And when it was over, Samuel Abraham would never need to worry about money again.
He slipped the phone back into his pocket and bent to gather the shattered remains of his tablet.
His hands were still trembling. Half a world away, in a dimly lit aircraft hangar hidden far from commercial flight paths, a broad-shouldered man lowered his phone.
Wolfram studied the series of messages one final time before locking the device. Around him, armed subordinates waited in silence beside stacks of weapons and support gear.
One of them stepped forward.
"Has the schedule changed?" Wolfram glanced toward a nearby monitor displaying live international news coverage.
Emergency broadcasts.
Collapsed buildings.
Escaped convicts.
The grim headline scrolling across the bottom of the screen:
JAPAN'S HERO SYSTEM UNDER UNPRECEDENTED STRAIN
A slow smile spread across his face.
"Dr. Shield is going to Japan." The subordinate frowned. "And the device?" Wolfram slipped the phone into his coat. "If the scientist won't bring the invention to us…" He turned toward the waiting transport aircraft. "We'll take the scientist instead."
The man nodded. "And if he refuses?"
Wolfram's smile widened.
"He won't."
He began walking toward the boarding ramp, coat billowing behind him.
The rest of his crew moved at once. Wolfram paused at the foot of the aircraft and looked once more at the burning images of Japan.
"Boys. We're going to Japan."
__
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