Chapter 1 The Beginning

the shuttle service transported the recruits to Denver, Colorado. they finished training in New Jersey for three months and they continue for another three months to become official members of a counter-terrorism group Black Berets. each soldier trained in every situation such as urban combat, first aid, hand-to-hand combat, driving, etc. they even welcomed the non-US Citizens and Refugees if willing.

then there's a recruit named Gabriel Kurosawa, a college dropout who decided to join the Black Berets either completing college while paying the debts or kept going as a dropout as his mother did, but he did continue during breaks which his superiors understood why he was yawning during field marches while sporting a black ring over his eyes, making his peers calling him Badger or Night Owl. hence Night Owl was born

although he wasn't prone to bullying or friendly banters, one time Gabe lost his cool, he sends a sledgehammer to the ceiling, it was removed on the next day by the 5th Engineering Corps. everyone was baffled about how did he able to send a sledgehammer to the ceiling. everyone was baffled by the outcome while some are intimidated by Gabriel's raw strength that he was fit for Task Force Scorpion but they have other plans for the recruit

the head of Task Force Alpha, Adrian Roberts, seemed impressed by the potential of Gabriel Kurosawa to join the team, however, they weren't sure if he's going to fit in not because of his anger management issue, he's a clumsy yet soft-spoken person which he deemed to be unfit for combat yet to be positioned in Task Force Hephaestus

the second in command, Mayra Malhotra disagreed, along with the rest of the team. the team medic, Louisa Sidorov, looked through his files.

"what's even more impressive is that he endured military training despite his heart nearly gave out, he does have a fair share of medical history such as near suffocation by a foreign object as a toddler, a fractured arm as a child, sprained ankles from a basketball fiasco in his early teens, and lastly, his weak heart in a brink of failure during three months of military training. this guy is no ordinary recruit, he's a warrior" Louisa said

"a warrior with a dark past, his father abandoned his responsibility as a father while his sister split up to college and never heard again. they were screwed up both mentally, psychologically, and financially, he didn't even bother communicating with him once Mrs. Kurosawa approached the authorities and fled the country, also their finances were enough to pay the bills and rent. I guess his reason to join the Black Berets, he's going to repay his mother with kindness that he received over the years while making up the time where he acts as a burden to his mother"

"damn, that poor sod would do anything to bring his feet back after what happened to him, if I see his father. I'm going to beat the living shit out of him if I had the chance" Emily quietly said

"Em, you're still suspended after our last mission in Bangkok, remember? I'm not going to let you discharge from the agency if you do that, karma might strike to that fat bastard someday" Marina told Emily

"Anyhow, is there anything else that you might have before we decided to recruit Gabriel into our ranks or not?" Maxim asked them

none of them aren't against Gabriel's recruitment to Task Force Alpha while Louisa prepared for extensive surgery on the Filo soldier, not only to make him live longer but to enhance his body to adapt to combat like Bucky Barnes but minus getting brainwashed by HYDRA.

Lynette, the Korean sniper, spends her time defeating Joseph and Nicholas in a round of MMORPG, the Novikova Twins killed their time in volleyball while Carmella and Mayra took Tennis in Singles, and lastly, Adrian puff a smoke with his cigarette while observing the file

"He does have potential though, I don't want to see this kid died right after he stepped into combat, Gabriel isn't a pansy though, I'm afraid he'll never going to have a successful life," he said to himself

Emily and Jacob spend their time in the training room. for Gabriel, he's in his room while his roommate, Marcus Knight, went out to grab some beer. the music he's playing on his phone was a mix of old music and a splash of current music that doesn't suck more than a poorly made water salad

"Gabriel Kurosawa?"

"Yes?"

"It's Marcus, somebody's looking for your ass, and it's urgent!"

"I'm coming!"

Gabriel stood up and put away both his cell phone and headphones in his drawer while stretching his body from fatigue. he went down the hall along with the blonde, Dr. Pepper for the Filo and the other is Budweiser. it's the last drink Gabe ever has before he was strapped to the gurney

"good luck man, a nice meeting with you!" Marcus said

Gabriel was given general anesthesia once he gets in the unmarked heavily armored van to be transported to Japan to meet up with Dr. Hasegawa on the state-of-the-art private-owned hospital and resort in Hokkaido, Japan codenamed Safe Haven or Woodland Medical Center. the blacked-out Sprinter speed through the airfield where a Boeing 747 is fueled up and ready to go.

the aircraft was upgraded and fortified like Air Force One without the signature paint job and the seal of the United States of America, the aircraft was coated with the same paint used by stealth fighters. right before the plane took off, Jacob hurriedly came to the flight crew to hand over the luggage that belongs to Gabriel. from passport to extra clothes, it's all set to Japan.

meanwhile, a dark room with an ominous shade of blue from an aquarium floor filled with red-bellied piranhas while another aquarium (this time on the wall), was filled with fishes that every fish breeder have, a dark figure swivel its seat to the front as the messenger came back with good news

"anything new, Drew?" the mysterious figure said

"the recruit was sent to Hokkaido for extensive surgery, should we launch an attack to the hospital?" Drew replied

"not the time, we'll never know what would hit us. keep him monitored for future reference" his superior added

"sure thing sir, we'll keep him in touch once I send my men to Japan"

"don't fuck this up Drew or I'll feed you to the piranha pit"

"I won't let you down, sir!" Drew saluted

"that's the spirit, also, call me Richard instead, sir is way too formal."

"sure thing, Richard."

Drew left the room as Richard pulled his legs up to the table while lighting a Cuban Cigar. a fresh plate of dry-aged Porterhouse Steak with sides and a glass of aged whiskey on the rocks. he admired the slice of reverse-seared meat, which sadly the leader didn't ask for fine wine like Chianti.

back to Gabriel, the specimen was transported by air ambulance while a private jet landed not too long ago which transport Louisa, Nicholas, and Akane. Akane is a member of the Black Berets Tokyo Branch, she's the heiress to the Nakayama Clan and one of the best soldiers in the ranks of the Tokyo Branch. once they reached the hospital, the staff came out and guide their way to the surgery room with Louisa while Nicholas and Akane discuss something like the extra bag that she brought along to the trip

"what's in the bag, Akane?" the Polish asked the Japanese

"you'll never know what's inside" Akane replied

"I know, you're the heiress to the Nakayama Clan but why do you have a bag that belongs to another clan?"

"Okay, you want to know? that guy is the sole heir to the Kurosawa Clan, his father didn't acknowledge the heirloom that he would be the next owner due to being faithful to his hooker than his real family. they tried to give it to him but his mother cut ties with the clan after his father was arrested for his crimes and deported to Japan."

"can't blame the mother for doing it after being abused for twenty years but damn," Nicholas said

"I know right? kinda sucks that he didn't have to see what they have in mind for him" Akane also said

"Yeah, I'll check on Louisa to see what's up"

Nicholas got up from his seat while Akane also stood up and bought a soda from the nearest vending machine, she cannot smoke as cigarettes and vape pens were considered contraband, so a can of cold caffeinated drink might suppress her craving for nicotine. Louisa and Dr. Hasegawa discussed their plans for the upcoming surgery on the Filo patient, there are some concerns about replacing his failing heart with a heart donor or using an artificial heart. his case was in the mild section, Gabe had a chance to live as the German has finished medical school while studying the anatomy of a human body during her free time.

it was scheduled for tomorrow morning, they were given key cards to their respective rooms while Louisa has another in case she needs access to staff rooms. but this time, she wore her sleepwear and went to bed to recover from jet lag from earlier