Just outside the temple where the man named Shinzo Sakawa was holding a lecture or seminar, a man in a hooded robe that perfectly covered his figure stood to watch.

“I have to report this to the embassy…” he muttered under his breath as he began to walk away to get to his car.

He has been watching one of the people that could potentially harm the Imperial Family of the Ruthenian Empire and after months of investigation and observation, he can now finally conclude that Shinzo Sakawa is indeed a threat to the Tsar and his family.

As soon as he entered the vehicle, the man drove off towards the Ruthenian Embassy, it was not far away from the temple. It took him less than ten minutes to arrive at the Embassy to which he was granted permission to enter by the guard standing outside the gate.

There, he was escorted by the guards towards the office of the ambassador located on the second floor of the building, bringing him to the receptionist who handles the appointment and schedules of the Ambassador.

“How may I help you?” the receptionist asked, smiling pleasingly.

“I have a report to make to the Ruthenian Ambassador. Just tell him that Zero has arrived and he will immediately grant me entry.”

“Zero?” The receptionist repeated but didn’t ask any further questions and simply grabbed the telephone, informing the ambassador of his arrival.

“Hello, Mr. Ambassador. There’s someone here wanting to see you.”

“Really?” the ambassador from the other line said. “Tell him that I’m busy and he can visit me tomorrow.”.

“But Mr. Ambassador, he said that he has a report to make and his name is Zero.”action

When the receptionist mentioned that name, there was a brief silence.

“Zero huh? Why couldn’t you have told me that sooner? Tell him to come inside now,” the ambassador commanded and the receptionist hung up the phone and flickered her gaze to Zero who was waiting patiently.

“The Ambassador will see you now, sir Zero,” the receptionist motioned for him to follow her as she led him to a hallway.

A few moments later they reached a door and the receptionist turned the doorknob and opened it slowly to reveal the interior of the room; sitting comfortably on a black leather couch in front of an old-fashioned mahogany table with two chairs on each side of it were the Ambassador of the Ruthenian Empire to Yamato Empire.

He was dressed in black formal attire, a pair of glasses resting on top of the bridge of his nose and the face of an elderly.Tendrils of smoke billowed from his mouth as he held a cigarette in his mouth. The ambassador removed it and placed it on the ashtray and rose to his feet to welcome the man.

“Zero, the moment I heard your name on the telephone, I was relieved. You can take a seat,”

Zero closed the door behind him and made his way towards the opposite side of the table before taking the seat that the host offered him.

“So, what brings you here that requires you to see me personally?” the ambassador began.

“Well, you know the protocol. When I find something that could threaten the national security of the Ruthenia Empire, I must report to you,” Zero said, interlacing his fingers together on top of the table and gazing steadily back into the eyes of the other man, whose own gazes were locked onto him.

“What kind of threat are we dealing with here?” the ambassador leaned forward in his seat with a serious expression plastered across his face and Zero remained unfazed.

“I’ve been watching one of the influential people in the Yamato Empire,” Zero pulled out a brown envelope and handed it to him.

The ambassador’s eyes narrowed as he opened it and removed three photographs from its pages and held them between his fingertips. One image was the man named Shinzo Sakawa bowing in front of the military generals of the Yamato Army, the second photograph was of an attractive young woman labeled as a “honey trap” and the third one was a group of militia armed to the teeth.

“Okay, what am I looking at here?” the ambassador said as he looked again at the photograph, trying to understand the purpose of the pictures.

“Well, that man present in the three pictures is a millionaire named Shinzo Sakawa. The first photograph was him having a deal with one of the generals of the Yamato Army, Tomejiro Nishiki. The second was the woman he paid to lure the general in the first picture for use. And lastly are the detachment forces of the general over the battalion he has commanded,” Zero fluidly explained the content of the pictures.

He continued. “The honey trap in the second picture had sex with General Tomejiro Nishiki and it was recorded in a film. The negatives are in the hands of Shinzo Sakawa for him to use to blackmail him.”

“So, what did Shinzo force the general to do?”

“Well not only did he blackmail the general but paid him handsomely. His order was to give him 100 troops equipped with the weapons and military vehicles.”

The ambassador glanced at the third picture once more before asking.

“So, he rented 100 soldiers for what?”

When the ambassador asked that, his heart was beating faster as the foreboding sensation of foreknowledge began to settle on his skin.

Zero gulped, even though he was beginning to feel uneasy.

“I have actionable intelligence that Shinzo Sakawa will use those soldiers to harm the very important guests of the Yamato Empire,” Zero confessed.The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere grew tense and the tension almost suffocated the both of them.

“And by very important guests, did you mean the Grand Duchesses of the Ruthenian Empire? The sister of our Emperor?”

Zero nodded his head.

The ambassador’s face sank in revelation as he dropped the photos on his table and leaned back against his seat.

“Shit…” he cursed, his hand shaking slightly as he ran a hand through his hair. He sighed heavily and rested his elbows against the table, closing his eyes for a few seconds to calm himself.

After a couple of seconds, he straightened up and returned his gaze to one of the best agents of the Ruthenian Empire working on the Foreign Intelligence Services.

“I have a recording here from the tools provided by the agency called ‘The Thing’, a type of listening device I planted on Shinzo’s shoes. Though he didn’t explicitly tell his plan…well, you should listen for yourself.”

Zero grabbed the recorder out of his pocket and placed it on the table. He pushed the play button and the conversation and the speech of Shinzo Sakawa played.

The ambassador listened intently and his lips parted ever so slightly in surprise when the voice of Shinzo sounded through the speaker.

“Damn those Ruthenians. Their recent actions in Manchuria are disconcerting. If we want our Empire to survive for the next 100 years, we must do something before it’s too late. Are the ones we hired ready for the operation?”

“Yes, just say the word.”

“Good.”

The recorder ended there and the Ambassador couldn’t be more stunned.

“What operation are they talking about?” the ambassador asked Zero with a concerned look painted all over his features.

“As I mentioned, he didn’t explicitly tell who the target is but I can vouch that it will be the Grand Duchesses of the Ruthenian Empire. I mean where could he possibly use 100 military men? Perform a coup? No. So all the more reason to assume that it will be the Grand Duchesses. They are here on a state visit right?”

“Yes. I am aware of their schedule. They have a luncheon with the members of the Imperial Family of the Yamato Empire in the evening.”

“Well, you better inform the mainland immediately. Tell them there is a threat to the Grand Duchesses’ life. If they were harmed during their visit here and they find out that the military of the Yamato Empire aided them, there will be a war.”

“You’re right!” the ambassador nodded. “I must call them immediately,” he grabbed the telephone, connecting him to the Foreign Intelligence Agency stationed in Manchuria.

Then the moment his call got connected, the ambassador told them about the looming threat.

Zero waited for the exchange to end in silence, his hands crossed over his chest as he watched the ambassador.

“Thank you, I’ll notify him.”

The ambassador hung up the phone and looked at Zero. “The Foreign Intelligence Service said that they will inform the Emperor about the information you’ve collected. Now they want me to inform you about your new mission. Figure out entirely the nature of the operation and identify the location and the date if there will be such an attempt on the Grand Duchesses’s life. Listen, this is a top priority mission. Use any means necessary.

“Tell them I accept the mission.”