Tension hung thick in the frozen air outside the mall.
The flashing lights of police cars and emergency vehicles painted the snow in strokes of red and blue, the swirling storm casting everything in an eerie haze. Armed officers had established a perimeter around the mall, taking defensive positions behind barricades, their weapons trained at the entrances. Negotiators crouched behind cars, radioing into the mall's emergency system to try to establish contact.
Inside, Yumi watched closely as one of the masked men — the loud, reckless one — was pulled aside by the taller, sharper man.
A brief, whispered conversation passed between them. The fake leader nodded eagerly, chest puffing up as if he'd just been entrusted with a sacred mission. He strutted toward the stolen mall microphone once more, grabbing it with a dramatic flair.
The system screeched before his voice rang out through the mall's speakers and spilled into the radios outside.
"My name is Wolf!" the fake leader bellowed. "I'm part of the Section 9 Mercenary Group!"
The words slammed into Yumi like a bullet.
Her breath caught, her eyes widening despite herself. Section 9.
Every detective, every cop who'd worked major cases in the last decade knew that name.
Section 9 — the most notorious mercenary unit to ever operate within the country's borders.They had been professionals beyond anything the authorities could handle: assassinations, black ops, high-stakes robberies, bodyguarding criminal elites. They were ghosts, legends... until they weren't.
Yumi remembered the reports vividly. About six years ago, Section 9 had been systematically dismantled — not by police forces, but by an unknown party. All nine members, captured one by one, arrested under varying circumstances. No consistent pattern, no clues. The official story called it coincidence.
The real story, whispered among officers in dark meeting rooms, suggested something else — a hunter, someone who stalked them down, alone, without backup. A ghost hunting other ghosts.
She tightened her grip on Emi's stroller instinctively.
Even after the group's arrest, Section 9's reputation still inspired fear. They weren't the best — they had been second-best. The true top group or individual had remained hidden, and somehow, that had stung their pride.
Still, even "second-best" meant deadly.
If this man was really from Section 9 — and worse, if their leader, Wolf himself, was here — this hostage situation wasn't going to end with simple negotiations.
Yumi's gaze sharpened as she looked at the fake leader, the one screaming into the microphone.
No. He was too brash. Too stupid. Wolf would never behave like that.
Her eyes slid back to the taller man standing nearby, arms loosely folded, eyes half-lidded like he was already bored of the show.
Yumi's gut twisted in certainty.
That's him. That's the real Wolf. He's letting that fool play the front to buy time... to confuse us.
Outside, the negotiator's voice crackled back into the mall's speaker system, strained but calm. "This is the police. We hear your name, Wolf. We're prepared to listen. Please tell us your demands."
The fake leader grinned beneath his mask, thrilled at the attention, and leaned back into the mic.
"We demand the immediate release of the rest of Section 9 from prison!" he shouted.
Silence fell across the mall.
Even the frightened hostages, who didn't understand the full weight of the name, could feel the tension spike.
Yumi's mind worked furiously, replaying all the known facts.The rest of Section 9... All still alive. All locked up in different facilities. Dangerous, trained, capable.
If the authorities gave in and released them, it would be chaos.If they refused... well, Section 9 wasn't known for playing fair.
Yumi glanced at Raika and Akemi out of the corner of her eye. Raika clutched the stroller's handle so tightly her knuckles were white, while Akemi tried to shrink further into her hoodie and mask, pretending to be a nobody.
Good.For now, they were still hidden. Still safe.
But for how long?
Yumi shifted slightly, positioning herself between the hostages and the armed men.If the situation escalates...If they decide to use hostages as leverage...
Her jaw tightened.
She had to think of something.
Fast.