When the New Gods run rampant on the streets, not even the Feds could turn a blind eye.
The Public Security Bureau led the charge. Its Enhanced Special Weapons and Tactics teams descended on the city, reinforcing Riveria PD. Other federal agencies deployed their own tactical teams as needed. The National Guard stepped up to high alert. Together, they mounted deterrence patrols day and night, concentrating on the borderlands between the three factions that ruled the city.
They promised impartiality and neutrality. Yuri Yamamoto, and the rest of the team, knew how deep the rot ran. Their mission wasn’t justice. Far from it. They sought simply to maintain the balance of power between the New Gods, keeping their struggles from destroying the world. It was a band-aid, one that was barely keeping the wound closed, and everybody knew it. Though the upper echelons had been cleared by the Temple Commission, all it meant was that they were doing business with all of the New Gods.
Nonetheless, their presence calmed the city. Sectarian violence dropped off. The soldiers of the New Gods retreated to their hideouts. Their evangelists stayed within the borders of their factions. The avatars were demolished in place and the remains carted away.
The damage had been done. The carnage had left ugly, blackened scars in the Church District. Entire rows of houses had been obliterated. Decades- and centuries-old shops and homes were lost forever to the fires. The city promised to help rebuild the neighborhood, but for the thousands of people who lived and worked there, they had nowhere to go and nothing to do.
And yet, it could have been worse. By some miracle—or at least, the heroic efforts of the merchants’ committee—the civilians managed to flee before the avatars arrived. There were only a few injuries, lacerations from flying glass or concussions from shock waves, but they were all survivable.
None but the soldiers of the New Gods had died.
The investigators of the PSB got to work. They interviewed the residents of the district, piecing together the events of the night. They examined the aftermath of the multiple firefights. They recovered the forensics evidence left behind. They began the laborious work of compiling their report.
There were many huge gaps in the report. By necessity. Many of the witnesses they needed to speak to were either dead or mysteriously unavailable. The few who did speak to them had high-powered lawyers to do the talking, and every last one of them had no recollection of any critical details.
Nonetheless, the people had to be updated. The bureaucrats in Babylon had to be satisfied. Most importantly, the narrative had to be maintained.
The Babylon Accords had technically guaranteed peace between the New Gods and humanity. It had many provisions to designate, classify, sanction and punish a staggering array of entities. It promised swift retribution to anyone who violated the peace.
Everyone knew that the New Gods had dictated the terms of the Accord. They had inserted every loophole they could think of, and a dozen more just for the hell of it. Within these ungoverned spaces, the New Gods continued to wage war against each other, and the world.
Everyone knew the New Gods hated each other. Everyone liked to believe that the New Gods restricted their inter-factional warfare to each other. Shattering that illusion would shake the very foundations of society. It would set brother against brother, father against son, catalyzing a war of all against all.
The PSB needed to present a narrative to the people. The best narratives were formed from a grain of truth. And so, they began the long and delicate work of reaching out to the players involved.
Federal agents contacted intermediaries. Middlemen communicated the wishes, interests and positions of their clients. Attorneys sprang out the soil, as if grown fully formed from the teeth of dragons. Immunity agreements were negotiated, notarized, signed.
A week after the showdown at the Church District, the players assembled at the Riveria Field Office of the Public Security Bureau.
Guru Nav Chaudhari, Speaker for The Limitless One, representing the Pantheon.
High Priestess Emily Anders, Speaker of Namanah.
Raul Gomez, Speaker of the Court of Shadows.
Yuri Yamamoto, washed-up former operator.
Damien Price, Executive Assistant Director of the Public Security Bureau, personally chaired the meeting, underscoring the importance the PSB had assigned to the event. Attorneys hovered along the walls, ready to jump in. No junior special agents were in attendance. This discussion was too sensitive for anyone still possessed of youthful idealism and a burning sense of justice. Everyone was free to speak freely here.
Whether they spoke the truth was a different matter altogether.
“We’re not here to point to finger at any one party. This is a fact-finding discussion, that’s all,” Price began.
Yuri smirked. The last time he’d seen Chaudhari and Anders in person, they were also part of a ‘fact-finding discussion’. One that had spawned a narrative to smoothen over the previous war in Riveria in a vain attempt at preventing a future conflict.
“We were manipulated into believing that the Court of Shadows sought to make war on us,” Anders began.
“An unknown Dark Power sent werewolves to attack members of the Liberated, inciting fear and suspicions between us,” Gomez added.
“In this aggravated state of tensions, unfortunate misunderstandings broke out between our respective followers, sparking a tragic and entirely avoidable conflict.”
“The assailants, seeking to further escalate the conflict, orchestrated a false flag terrorist attack at the riverfront, in a bid to blacken the reputation of the Court of Shadows.”
“The swift and meticulous work of the PSB and RPD quickly ascertained that the attackers were not from the Court. As a gesture of goodwill, we have ordered our Wardens to stand down.”
“In response to the Liberated’s attempts at de-escalation, we have also withdrawn our forces.”
“You are saying you are both victims,” Price said.
“Correct,” Gomez said.
“Someone intended to pit us against each other, and so he could fish in troubled waters,” Anders said, pointedly glaring at Chaudhari.
Chaudhari sipped at his tea and said nothing.
“I see,” Price said. “Mr. Yamamoto, what say you?”
“I concur,” Yuri replied. “The werewolves my team and I encountered did not possess the characteristics typical of the Court of Shadows. The Court also does not go out of its way to harm innocents. Usually.”
Gomez frowned. Yuri ignored him.
“You led a private security team hired by the Church District merchants’ committee, yes?” Price said.
“Yes,” Yuri said.
“You also responded to the terrorist attack at the riverfront.”
“We evacuated refugees to the church. When the terrorists assaulted the church, we stopped them.”
“I see. Reports state that two of the terrorists were shot at the riverfront from long range by hypervelocity railguns. Do you have any knowledge of this?”
“The riverfront was outside our area of operations. I was busy managing the crowd and the shooters.”
“So you don’t know what happened?”
“Not until the cops told me.”
Price pursed his lips. “Where were you when the avatars rolled into the Church District?”
Yuri raised an eyebrow. “The Pantheon sent avatars and soldiers into Shinsekai, but you’re questioning me?”
“Just answer the question, Mr. Yamamoto.”
“I was off-duty then. I didn’t know what was going on until the avatars began to cross the Shinbashi bridge.” Yuri turned to Chaudhari. “Why _did _you send avatars to the Church District?”
“We had nothing to do with that,” Chaudhari said blandly.
“Are you speaking for the Pantheon or the Limitless One?” Yuri asked.
“Yes.”
“You and I both know we can’t settle for that,” Price said.
Chaudhari smiled daggers into Yuri’s eyes.
“After learning about the conflicts in and around the Church District, we made the decision to send peacekeepers to the area. Mr. Yamamoto pointedly refused us entry. So be it, we decided. We withdrew our troops.
“Later that evening, however, we received time-sensitive intelligence that a Dark Power had been operating in the area. We sent avatars to extinguish it, as is our right and responsibility under the Babylon Accord.”
“Dark Power, you say?” Yuri chuckled. “What is its name?”
Chaudhari sniffed.
“I wasn’t involved in the operation. His name was unknown to me. But I was told he sent the werewolves.”
“That’s why your avatars destroyed half the district? Just because someone ‘told’ you? You’re saying you acted without evidence.”
“The collateral damage was regrettable. We are pleased that no civilians had been injured.”
“Who was the Dark Power?” Yuri pressed.
An attorney stepped out. “That’s quite enough.”
“My team and I were in charge of security in the Church District. It’s within _our _rights to know if a Dark Power were operating in the area,” Yuri said.
Chaudhari shrugged again. “As I said, I do not have access to the operational details.”
“You’re saying that you can’t speak the name,” Yuri said. “None of you can say the name of Yahweh.”
Chaudhari twitched. Gomez frowned. Anders scowled. The attorneys shifted uncomfortably.
“We did not set out to target your god,” Chaudhari said.
“The destruction of the church was just ‘collateral damage’, then?” Yuri said.
“Alas.”
The Church of Our Lady of Sorrows was completely destroyed. Where there was once a centuries-old house of worship, there was now only a smoking crater.
A cold flame burned in Yuri’s heart. He released it on the exhale. A church, no matter how old, was but a building. Buildings could always be rebuilt. So long as the spirit of Christ remained, so too would the faith.
The Church had buried Caesars and dictators. The Church would bury the New Gods as well.
“We would, of course, be quite happy to discuss compensation for collateral damage, including rebuilding any destroyed—”
“No,” Yuri said coldly. “Leave that to the lawyers.”
Yuri had no objections taking money from the New Gods. But allowing them to rebuild the Church District? No. They would rebuild the neighborhood in their image, and exercise even more power over the area than they already did. It would simply be a different form of conquest.
“A force of unknown assailants armed with explosives and high-powered railguns attacked the Pantheon position at Shinbashi. Do you know anything about that?” Price asked.
Yuri shrugged. “Must have been the Dark Power the Pantheon was so eager to eliminate.”
“The hit took place at an apartment complex, didn’t it?” Anders mused. “Don’t you have security cameras? Witnesses?”
“The footage was mysteriously deleted. The sole witness, a security guard, said he fled once the attackers burst through the doors. He couldn’t remember anything about them,” Price said.
“What a pity,” Gomez said dryly.
“Pity indeed,” Yuri said.
“Where were you and your team during the crisis, Mr. Yamamoto?” Price asked.
“Coordinating the evacuation,” Yuri said.
“You disappeared after that. You reappeared only after we reached out. That’s unusual.”
“The Seekers attacked the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. The Pantheon destroyed the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows. I believe the New Gods have made their animosity towards the Church quite clear,” Yuri said.
“That was an unfortunate accident,” Chaudhari said. “No more.”
“How unfortunate, that the avatars’ initial barrage was aimed at the church.”
“We were told that it was the Dark Power’s place of worship. We were misinformed.”
“Which was why you destroyed every other building in the area.”
“Again, our intelligence was faulty. It is most regrettable.”
The cold flame in Yuri’s heart burst into an icy inferno. Yuri closed his eyes and breathed, tamping it down. He knew he could kill everyone in this room with his bare hands. Or at least the Speakers. But what good would that do? That would not serve the will of God. Speakers were replaceable.
He was not.
“That’s the way it’s gotta be, huh?” Yuri said.
The Speakers nodded as one.
“An unknown Dark Power attacked the Liberated in the hopes of driving a wedge between us and the Court,” Anders said.
“Having recognized the plot, we moved to de-escalate,” Gomez continued.
“We received intelligence that the Dark Power was operating in the Church District, and we attempted to eliminate it,” Chaudhari said.
“We are now focusing our investigations on this previously-unknown Dark Power to determine if it’s still active,” Price concluded.
“And you, all of you, are going to leave the Church District alone,” Yuri said.
“You’re in no position to make demands,” Anders said.
“We managed to avoid a war this time. But next time? No. We don’t want to risk that, do we? Leave the Church District alone. All of you.”
“Bold of you to say this, when you’re in a position of weakness,” Gomez said.
Yuri chuckled.
“Weakness? Really? Go ahead, ask the Pantheon what happened when their troops showed up. We were two steps away from unleashing hell. And now that the people know that the New Gods aren’t looking out for them, they’re not going to take kindly to another takeover attempt. Pull another stunt like this again and you’ll find a railgun behind every window.”
Tension crackled in the air. The Speakers flared at Yuri. Yuri steepled his fingers and waited.
Price cleared his throat.
“The RPD and ESWAT will be stepping up patrols in the Church District, and Shinsekai in general. I believe the people will be reassured that they will be protected.”
“They’d better be,” Yuri said.
“In fact, they will be so well protected that they will no longer require the presence of a private security team whose members are persons of interest in a series of high-profile incidents.”
“That’s how you want to play it, huh?”
“Your immunity agreements only extends to recent events, Mr. Yamamoto. They do not cover the events of the past two years. If you and your team were to leave Riveria, we will have no reason to question you further.”
Yuri cocked his head at the Speakers. “But they get a pass? Even after what they’ve done this time and last time?”
“They were unfortunate misunderstandings,” Anders said.
“We have since resolved our differences,” Gomez said.
“We remain at peace with each other,” Chaudhari said.
“Which is why your presence is no longer needed,” Price said.
Fighting this decision was a losing game, Yuri knew. Hard enough to battle the New Gods as is. Throw in the Federal government and there’d be nothing he could do. If he didn’t have Joshua Gregory in his corner, this conversation wouldn’t even have happened at all. There would just be a snatch squad waiting for him and his team to show their faces. Or a death squad.
“That’s the way things have to be,” Yuri said.
For now.
The Speakers and their lawyers departed. As Yuri stood to go, Price tapped him on the shoulder.
“A private word?” Price asked.
“What is it,” Yuri said warily.
“Not all of us support the New Gods. We want to make sure they’re playing by the rules. But we can’t help you if you keep playing cowboy like this.”
“Is that you talking? Or the PSB?”
Price sighed. “Everyone in the PSB who agrees with me.”
“You had over two and a half years to keep the New Gods in check. Instead, the PSB allowed them to go after my team and my family without even a squeak. When the law won’t lift a finger, what’s a man got to do?”
“It doesn’t have to be this way.”
“Then what? Are you going to protect me and mine? Can you?”
“It’s… complicated.”
“When you’re ready to stop protecting the New Gods, you can talk to me again. Otherwise, we gotta do what we gotta do.”
Yuri spun on his heel and walked out.
No one stopped him.
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