Several days had elapsed since the Jackels and Rainfall forces last engaged in a fight. This pause in the ongoing war between the two factions was quite surprising.
The last time the two groups fought was in No Man's Land, where they engaged in a brief battle over some weapons that could have turned the tide of the war. Despite their best efforts, neither side could obtain the weapons, as the noise generated by the Jackels and Rainfall was enough to attract a swarm of both GMs and GM Hunters. The ensuing chaos forced both factions to retreat.
As the sun began to set, Harry approached Jack and his team and informed them that they had received an invitation to attend a dinner at the royal palace. Jack, who wasn't aware of the royal family, asked Asuka for more information about them.
Asuka explained, “Since Japan was split into eight districts, district one is home to the royal family, and the key figure of the royal family is Yusuke Takahashi. From there, you have his son Hiro, who is next in line for the throne. Districts two and three are inhabited by rich people. Districts four, five, and six are populated by the working class. And districts seven and eight are covered in poverty.”
“So why doesn't he run District One then?”
Anakin yelled out, “That responsibility falls to Yuki Shinobu.”
Jack had heard that name before: “Didn’t he not advertise for soda drinks?”
Anakin corrected him: "No, you're thinking of Yu Shine... Funnily enough, Yuki did hire him as a body double at one point but people mostly recognized Yu than Yuki so he decided to fire him.”
“It’s exactly like how things work in Britain. You’ve got a royal family who couldn't give a shit about the country, and you’ve got prime ministers who fuck up the country. The only difference here is that we’ve got eight different prime ministers. Each one got a contract on their head.” Troy yelled out.
Troy continued, saying, “You do know what this means?”
The group looked at him, waiting for his response.
“It means that something's going down tonight. Think about it: all eight PMs and all members of the royal family are in the same room. It's the perfect scenario for Stallone and the rest of his gang, so I wouldn’t be surprised that we are only there for projection.”
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As the group separated, Troy stayed behind, opened his locker, and grabbed a small plastic tube that contained blue powder inside. Troy popped open the lid, put it under his right nostril, and proceeded to inhale the powder into his nose. Once the powder was inhaled, it caused Troy to fall back into the lockers. It’s clear that he was in discomfort and pain.
After picking himself up off the ground, he dusted himself off, but before going back to his quarters, Troy made a quick stop at Doctor Lily’s office.
He opened the door, approached Lily, handed her the now-empty container, and asked for more.
Lily was hesitant to hand more of the blue powder to Troy, saying, “You know that this stuff can kill you.”
Troy snapped in anger, “Yeah! And I am dead without it! So, give me the fucking drug!”
Troy knew that he had hurt Lily by yelling right in her face, “I’m sorry... It's just that... You know I... forget it."
The two didn’t say anything as Lily handed over the drug. Before he left, he turned back to Lily, and for a split second, he wanted to say something but struggled to get the words out and decided to leave.
The group had dressed up for the occasion, as Harry had planned a special evening for them. He had ordered a private helicopter to take them to District One, and as they flew over the area, they were greeted with a breathtaking view. The district was filled with massive mansions, each with personal gardeners managing the lawn and hedges and fancy sports cars parked in the driveways.
As the helicopter approached its destination, the group could see a massive palace that was occupied by the royal family. The helicopter landed outside the palace, and they walked inside. The interior of the palace was clean and well-kept, with paintings of the family plastered all over the walls. The floors were spotless, and you could even see your reflection in them.
Everyone who had attended the dinner at the royal palace was dressed in either silk smooth suits or fancy sparkling dresses. Troy was the first one to grab a glass of champagne, but Harry had other plans. He took the glass from Troy and finally revealed to the group why they were given an invitation to the palace.
“I hate to disappoint you, but you're here to protect everyone here,” Harry revealed.
Troy’s earlier suspicion was proven to be correct: “I knew it.”
Jack asked his father if there was any information he could give them to work with. The only information that Harry could give to Jack and the rest of Rainfall was the fact that all prime ministers and the royal family were in the same building.
Harry went to talk to some of the guests, leaving Jack and the rest on their own. Anakin asked what the plan was, but Jack didn’t have any idea what to do as he thought that they were invited for dinner, not for projection. The only one there who had any idea about what they should be doing was Ellie; her idea was to mingle with everyone else, and when the need arose, they could call on their robots and let them do the fighting.
Everyone agreed with Ellie’s plan and began blending in with everyone else at the place. Troy got his hands on a glass of champagne only to spit it out once he tasted it. Asuka and Kairi were interested in the family paintings. Ellie, Jack, and Anakin were having small conversations with some of the guests.