The Chronicles of Protan (Book 1): The Shadowed Man

Chapter 16

Twenty four hours after the extraction in Tokyo, the conference room was rife with heated conflict. Exhaustion and frustration from the past day and night had taken a toll on many; from the tragic incident in the Tokyo sewers, to the recovery and assistance of the deceased, and to the tracking of Yung Yakuza and his entourage’s escape, they had been frequently active with no sleep or rest.

Amid the yelling and finger pointing, the strongest of confrontations lead everyone to the same issue: “You can’t blame the lack of intel on Control! It is not our job and you know that! We were given specific orders—“

“Orders!? I spent my life following orders! That’s all everyone ever does, follow orders! Take initiative!” Ibrahim snapped.

“Fuck you Ibrahim! You have no business questioning us when you’re off making bullshit gadgets with Alex!” Katherine had been pushed to her tolerance limit by Ibrahim who had found it in him to speak his mind.

“Calm down ese. We did the best we could!” Taproot’s words cut Ibrahim short of another rant with his head turning to him. Elina pulled on Taproot’s sleeve to keep him out of their argument.

“Is that what you told their families,” Ibrahim spat after he paused in shock at Taproot’s words, “You did your best!? Did you actually have to face them and tell them that?!”

His retort left everyone quiet. It was deafening and heart piercing as the silence loomed, until Katherine said her say, mouthing it out as clearly as she could, “We had nothing to do with the in—“

“He’s right you know,” came Corporal Kwan’s neutral tone from behind her as he interrupted. He sat in a chair, his calf in a leg cast and a crutch resting to his right. Kwan’s argument had been with Taproot originally, so his spark for confrontation still gripped him.

Shell, who sat opposite him on the steps alongside Vixen, raised her head from her hands gradually at the sound of his insinuation. Her eyes were bloodshot from either exhaustion or the never ending tears she had shed for her late team members. She also expressed confusion at his statement: “What do you mean Kwan?”

“Ibrahim’s right,” he responded, his tone harsh. “It’s clear now that nobody took it upon themselves to collect real intel. The Yakuza Clan have known more than they care to admit for years. Who says that they didn’t pick us up when we arrived, or worse, knew we were coming? Either way, Control should have been a step of ahead of them. That is their job.”

Katherine grew more infuriated, “You were sent on a recon mission! Our job is to receive intel before your departure, and upon an emergency, we lock in on info that will assist you. That, my friend, is our job! We followed procedure to the letter! Get your facts straight!”

“Kwan, every procedure was followed. We know that you’re upset—“

“To hell with your sympathies,” he retorted, interrupting Elina’s calmed and soothing manner, “something went wrong, and it was no accident.”

“Kwan please. Laying blame is not going to solve anything,” Shell said on the verge of tears again. Vixen pulled her to her chest to embrace and comfort her as she stroked her hair with one arm, and holding her with the other.

The argument grew even more intense as Ibrahim and Kwan refused to let go, countering every one of Katherine and Taproot’s points. The atmosphere became saturated with verbal abuse and anger.

Sorin, Layla, Enigma, David, Captain Charles Angel of the Portal’s Department, one of the dual heads of the Intelligence department Professor Aafreen Prasad, Doctor Singh and his assisting Security Guard led Captain Shania Brooke and her team as they walked along the elevated steel walkway toward the Conference room.