The San Juan Unit

Diablo de Hierro

From out of the parked bus, a young girl gently trod down on the slippery steps. The rain softly spat down on the girl's umbrella she had in her hand while attempting to pull out a piece of paper from her pocket. Thunder roared in the distance; cars splashed through the puddles on the road, and cries of laughter and music erupted from the building in front of the girl. She looked at the paper from her pocket before glancing at the building. With one deep breath she marched into the building.

The girl immediately stood out with her grey coat and dark blue trousers compared to the horde of men with unshaven faces and camouflaged jackets. Rifles were slung over their shoulders or placed on tables along with their food. The girl made no eye contact as she made her way to the counter.

"How can I help you miss?" asked the bartender.

"I'm uh, looking for this guy?" she asked holding the picture to the man.

The bartender leaned forward to get a better look. "Oh him? Yeah, he's upstairs. You can't miss him."

"Thank you."

The girl dodged the eyes of the onlooking inhabitants of the bar and made her way upstairs. Upon reaching the second floor she immediately recognized the man she was looking for. Far in the corner of the room, his head looking down at his half empty bottle. The girl took another deep, but quiet breath and approached the man.

"Um, excuse me?" she announced.

The man's eyes looked up, but his head did not move.

"Yes?" he grumpily said.

"A-Are you Colt?" she stuttered.

The man finally looked up. "Who's asking?"

"My name is Emma, I'm a second-year students at Saunders University High School in Japan."

"Oh God, she's finally sent you to kill me, hasn't she?"

Emma looked shocked and shook her head. "Oh no no nothing like that! Wait, who's she?"

"You know damn well woman. Ol' haughty Kay, right? My continued presence has finally driven her off the edge."

"You know the commander?" she asked.

"Commander," Colt scoffed. "Yeah, I know her. But let's forget about her and instead focus on you, what the hell do you want?"

"I come with a message from Kay."

"Oh goody." Colt groaned.

Colt took a swig from his bottle as Emma finally sat down opposite the man. From her jacket she pulled out a letter and handed it to a reluctant Colt. He read the letter in his head while Emma waited patiently.

"Goddamnit," he cursed under his breath. "You know about this?"

"Yeah," Emma said softly.

Colt read over the letter again before sighing and rubbing his eyes. He folded the letter back up and handed it to Emma.

"No," he said.

"Mr. Colt sir please," Emma begged. "We're in a bad situation and nothing we're doing is helping."

"And who's fault is that?" he asked.

Emma hesitated but knew the answer.

"Exactly," said Colt. "I say let her pay for her stupid mistakes."

Colt stood up, grabbed his bottle and looked down at Emma. "Sorry kid, as much as I like your school there ain't no being in heaven or hell that can bring me back there."

Emma sat for a few seconds thinking. She eventually made her way past the grizzled men and their weapons and followed Colt outside. The tapping of footsteps and splashes of puddles approached Colt who eventually noticed and looked back at her.

"You following me woman?" he barked.

Emma rushed to the side of the still walking Colt. "I hate to ask but, do you think you could tell me about your time with Saunders and the unit you lead?"

Colt halted. "Why?"

"Because... because I'm a big fan," Emma hesitated. "I remember watching your match against Blue Division, you guys were so cool, and I think it would be even more cool if I got to know your backstory a little more."

The two stood apart from each other under a streetlamp. Colt thought for a while before taking a step forward.

"Well, since you came all this way to the States, and braved a room full of mountain hicks by yourself, I suppose I could tell you a few things. But don't expect my decision to change."

Emma smiled. "Oh, thank you sir!"

"I'll pick you up outside your hotel at about 8:00am tomorrow."

"I'll be there," Emma said gleefully.  

The two went their separate ways, Colt chuckled as he watched Emma skip away towards the nearby hotel. He took another swig from his bottle and continued walking. He approached a lonely man, sitting on the footpath with a hat filled with money at his feet. Colt stopped and looked at the man before taking one look at his bottle and without saying a word, Colt chucked the bottle to the man who caught it.

"Thank you, sir," the man said.

Colt simply nodded and carried on. 

Meanwhile inside Emma's room she made a phone call to an associate.

"How's America?" asked the girl.

"A bit scary not gonna lie," replied Emma. "But I found him."

"And?" 

Emma sighed. "No, I'm afraid."

The girl on the other end also sighed. "I thought as much, I'm sorry for wasting your time Emma."

"No no it's alright, we're meeting again tomorrow, I might have another chance."

"Are you sure?"

"This is our school we're talking about. I'll get him back I promise."

The girl on the other end chuckled. "Okay, I'll speak again to you soon."  

"Goodnight, Commander."

-The Next Day-

Emma fumbled with her clothes upon looking at the time on her watch. The morning sun gleamed through the closed curtains and the ambience of traffic and conversating civilians funneled through the walls. Emma eventually burst through the door as Colt leaned against a wall next to the door.

"Rise and shine kid," Colt greeted.

"Oh my God I'm so sorry sir, I hope I didn't keep you waiting?" Emma exclaimed.

"Not at all," replied Colt. "Now come on, we got quite a ride ahead of us."

"Alright, where's your car?" asked Emma.

Colt laughed. "Where we're going, you don't go with a vehicle. You go with one of those."

Colt pointed to his chestnut coated steed and smiled. As did Emma but larger.

"Don't worry, she doesn't bite."