“Crack!”
Detective Sato stepped out of the black sedan, his boot crunching on shattered glass as he took in the chaos around the police station. and into the chaos unfolding around the police station. The air was thick with smoke, shards littered the pavement, and the wail of distant sirens echoed in the background. Officers ran back and forth, some dragging wounded colleagues, others barking orders into their radios. It was as if a war zone had erupted in the heart of the city, not the place that was supposed to be the most secure.
Sato, his usual calm demeanor slipping, pushed through the crowd and found Sergeant Aoki, a uniformed officer who had been on duty during the attack. The man looked shaken, his uniform singed and blood staining his sleeves. Despite the chaos, Aoki snapped to attention when he saw Sato approaching.
“Sergeant,” Sato said, his voice tight. “What the hell happened here?”
Aoki swallowed hard, struggling to gather himself. “It was… a well-thought operation, sir. They knew exactly where to hit, exactly when. It started just after you left for your meeting.”
Sato’s mind raced. “Tell me everything.”
“First, the power cut. Knocked out everything except the lights — radios, phones — we were blind.”
“A coordinated hit?”
Aoki nodded. “Then the flash bombs. Hit us from all sides. SWAT didn’t stand a chance.”
Sato clenched his fists. “How did they know our layouts?”
“They knew, sir,” Aoki continued, voice wavering slightly. “They had schematics of the station. They bypassed our security measures like they’d done it a hundred times before. It wasn’t a random attack. They had an inside man, or at least someone feeding them information.”
Sato felt a chill creep down his spine. “How many casualties?”
Aoki grimaced. “Six dead, at least. Twelve injured. They aimed for our response teams first, took out the ones who could mobilize fastest. We’re still trying to account for everyone.”
“And the attackers?” Sato pressed. “You sure they’re Tanaka-kai?”
“We’re not sure,” Aoki admitted. “But… it should be no surprise it’s them. We just didn’t expect they would be this brazen. This wasn’t a robbery or a gang skirmish. It was an execution of some kind. They came in, they hit us, and they left without taking anything.”
Sato’s mind reeled as he processed the information. It wasn’t just a show of force — it was precise, deliberate, like the gang was sending a message. This was no ordinary criminal operation. It had the hallmarks of something larger, something orchestrated and executed with chilling efficiency.
He locked eyes with Aoki. “And Ethan?”
The sergeant hesitated. “He… is missing, sir. They took him back.”
As Sato stepped into the station, the atmosphere grew heavier, a palpable sense of dread hanging in the air.
The detective’s stomach twisted into a knot. “Damn it. I shouldn’t have left.”
Detective Sato knelt beside a body, his knee pressing into the cold, cracked tile floor. The blood pooling around Detective Takahashi’s lifeless form glistened in the dim light of the ruined hallway. Takahashi's eyes were partially opened, his distorted face a testament to the violence that had taken him. Sato felt the weight of the world pressing down on his shoulders as he reached out, his fingers brushing the badge still clipped to Takahashi's belt.
For a moment, everything around him faded — the sounds of distant sirens, the faint crackle of damaged radios, the footsteps of officers rushing past him. All of it dissolved as Sato drifted into the past.
“You know he’s a magnet for trouble,” Sato had said with a soft chuckle, leaning back in his chair at the station. The two of them had been sitting in his office, the light dim, the smell of old coffee lingering in the air. Detective Takahashi stood across from him, his arms folded, wearing that familiar smirk.
“I know, I’ve worked with him before.” Takahashi replied, amused. “He’s not as tough as he thinks. But I’ll watch him.”
Sato gave a small nod, though his expression turned serious. “He’s going to need protection, especially now. He’s tied up in something big, and I don’t know how much longer we can keep him safe. If something happens to me, Takahashi, I want you to watch over him. You know these streets better than anyone. You know how they think.”
Takahashi’s smirk softened into something more sincere. “I’ve got your back, Sir. I’ll look after him. You don’t have to worry.”
Sato had placed his trust in Takahashi then, confident in his friend’s ability to keep Ethan safe. He didn’t know how quickly everything would spiral out of control.
Now, back in the present, Sato’s throat tightened as he looked down at Takahashi’s body. The promise they’d made weighed heavily on him, now broken, shattered like the station around them. Takahashi had fought, had likely died trying to protect Ethan just as Sato had asked, but it hadn’t been enough. The Yakuza’s reach had been too deep, their plan too calculated.
The detective swallowed the bitter lump of grief in his throat, his hand forming into a fist.
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“I'm sorry,” he whispered, voice rough. “I should've been here. This is on me.”
The sharp sound of shattered glass underfoot broke the stillness, snapping Sato back to the present. His heart jolted, and he blinked hard, the haze of grief dissolving in an instant. Someone was coming.
"Detective!" A junior officer rushed toward him, the urgency in his voice cutting through the heavy air. "We need you at the command center!”
Sato rose from his kneeling position, his muscles aching from tension. His heart ached worse. He gave Takahashi one last glance, his jaw tightening.
“I’ll mourn you later,” Sato whispered, the weight of his duty sliding back into place, suffocating the grief still lingering in his chest.
He turned, eyes narrowing as he looked over the remnants of his station. The Yakuza weren’t playing games anymore. Whatever Ethan knew — or had access to — was worth more than anyone realized. The next move wasn’t just about surviving. It was about striking back, before they lost everything. He always had the belief that they were always one step ahead of the game. Now the game had changed, and the Yakuza were playing it far better.
Sato stepped into the makeshift command center, the remnants of the police station flickering under emergency lights. Officers clustered around tables strewn with maps, notes, and the remnants of coffee cups, the air thick with tension. As he entered, conversations hushed, eyes turning toward him, their faces a mix of fatigue and determination.
“Listen up!” Sato’s voice cut through the heavy silence. “I know everyone’s shaken, and we’ve lost brothers today. These fallen men were not just colleagues — they were our friends! But this isn’t the time for mourning. The Yakuza have declared war on us, and we can’t afford to lose focus.”
He paused, letting his words sink in, feeling the collective weight of grief and anger settle over the room.
“These Yaks are sending a message, and we need to respond — quickly and decisively.”
As he glanced around the room, he saw nods of agreement, though the tension lingered in the air like smoke. “Aoki,” he called, turning to the sergeant, who had been coming up with plans intently. “Give them the details.”
A few hours after the attack, Sato convened a detailed strategy meeting with his team, outlining the next steps in their coordinated effort against the Tanaka-kai. Detective Sato stood at the head of a large table, his expression steely and focused. Around him were his top officers, each seated, flipping through files or tapping notes into tablets. A large whiteboard stood behind him, scrawled with diagrams and lines connecting names, businesses, and organizations. In bold, underlined letters, one name stands out: TANAKA-KAI. Police Superintendent Hayashi had granted Sato full command for the briefing and now stood beside him, offering a firm nod of approval before Sato began addressing the room.
Sato cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention.
“Alright, listen up. The first step is to tighten our surveillance on the Tanaka-kai and their associates. I want full monitoring on all known business fronts — pachinko parlors, massage shops, laundromats, everything. I want eyes on every move. Check who’s coming and going, and make sure we’re running constant background checks.”
A grizzled officer, Detective Moriyama, leaned forward, his brow furrowed.
“Boss, we’ve got those places under light surveillance, but ramping up on all of them could alert them. You sure it’s worth the risk?”
Sato didn't hesitate.
“It is. The Tanaka-kai is operating like they own the city. They need to know they’re being watched. But don’t spook them too much — keep it subtle. We’re not pulling them in yet. We’re just showing them we’re there.”
Another officer, younger and eager raised his hand slightly.
“What about our C.I.s, sir? Should we start gathering intel from them?”
Sato nodded.
“Absolutely. I want every piece of information we can get from them. If any of our C.I.s have anything useful, tell them we’ll pay handsomely for it. We need to know where Ethan is, and any lead, even a rumor, could be the break we need.”
The young uniform scribbled the order down quickly. Another officer, Takagi, leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.
“Rewards might get them talking, but those guys are flaky. You sure they won’t just feed us garbage for a quick payday?”
Sato’s eyes narrowed, his voice lowering with intent.
“We'll sift through the garbage. But make it clear — accurate intel gets rewarded, nothing else.”
Takagi gave out a grunt in agreement. Sato stepped to the side, pointing at a section of the whiteboard that highlights the financial structure of the Tanaka-kai.
“Now, the next part — hit them where it hurts. I want you all to dig into their finances. I don’t care if it’s the smallest infraction, if they’re evading taxes or violating zoning laws. Scrutinize the legalities. Anything that we can use to rattle them and cut off their funding, we use.”
“Sounds like you’re trying to make them squirm,” Moriyama commented.
Sato smirked.
“Exactly. We’re going to squeeze them until they panic. The goal isn’t to break them with the first punch. It’s to make them feel like the ground beneath their feet is cracking.”
“And the biggest step, sir?” chimed another officer.
Sato walked back to the center of the room, pacing slightly as he spoke.
“Public pressure. In areas where the Tanaka-kai and other factions seem to co-exist, I want our officers to openly harass the Tanaka-kai members. Only them. We’ll make sure every minor arrest, every violation gets plastered in the media. I want the public to see that we’re cracking down on them specifically.”
The room was quiet for a moment. Then, Moriyama broke the silence.
“You think that'll stir up the other factions?”
Sato stopped pacing, his gaze hard.
“It might. But the Tanaka-kai will be the ones under the spotlight, not the others. If we make them look weak, vulnerable, they’ll either start slipping up or their rivals will move in. Either way, it puts us in control.”
Takagi leaned forward again, this time with a nod of approval.
“Smart play, boss. Public humiliation works every time.”
Sato turned to the room, scanning their faces.
“We move fast, but we move smart. The more pressure we apply, the more desperate they get. And when they’re desperate, they make mistakes. And that’s when we strike.”
There’s a murmur of agreement around the table.
“This time’s different. We don’t have any breadcrumbs to follow. No hints in a novel to guide us. We’re going in blind, and every second we waste gives the other factions more time to realize just how valuable Ethan really is. If they do…” Sato paused, letting the weight of the situation sink in. “They’ll grab him too, and then we’ll have a bigger problem on our hands.”
Moriyama shook his head, jaw tight.
“That’s why we need to rely on what we do best. Real police work. We need eyes on the ground. Surveillance. Pressure. Whatever it takes.”
The room grew more focused, officers straightening in their chairs, some taking additional notes.
Superintendent Hayashi finally moved forward, placing a hand on Sato’s shoulder in quiet approval, before addressing the team. “Detective Sato’s in command for this operation. You have your orders. Make no mistake — we find Ethan before the streets do.”
Sato’s gaze hardened as he stepped forward again.
“We bring him home before they can take him.”
The officers exchanged looks, the tension in the room thickening as they grasp the severity of the operation.
“Everyone knows their assignments. Get to work.”
The room emptied out, officers moving with purpose, their roles clear. Sato lingered by the whiteboard, staring at the Tanaka-kai's name one last time before exiting the room.
Right now, there's a war to finish.