Season 1, Episode 3 - The Ring Dings VI - "The Ring"

The Day Before (Wednesday)

Isaac felt something jostling his arm, and he slowly awoke. He had been sleeping on the couch in the Naxtube club room for the past couple of hours. When the interrogation ended, Mr. Shokahu told him to wait there for further orders. Isaac wondered if he had done a good job with the interrogation, but as he left Alfie's cell, there was such a flurry of activity that nobody seemed to have the time to debrief him at that moment.

Maybe the debriefing's now, Isaac thought groggily as he opened his eyes. He looked out a window and saw that it was already night. He rubbed his eyes and saw Mr. Shokahu standing in front of him, his face expressionless.

"Let's go," he simply said.

Isaac immediately rose to attention and followed Shokahu out the door.

"Is something going down?" Isaac asked.

"If that's what you kids are calling it nowadays, then you could say that," Shokahu answered.

"Has anything happened with Alfie?"

"You can see for yourself when we get to the conference room in the Support basement. I have to commend you, Isaac. Alfie's been a lot more cooperative since you talked to him."

Isaac thought about what Alfie had told him about his life in New York - the prejudice and discrimination that came with being born in the wrong place and time.

"Do you think he's telling the truth?" Isaac asked.

"We had a truth-detecting user with us," Shokahu explained. "But I didn't need her to know he was telling the truth."

"Why's that?"

"The way he talks, the way his eyes look. He's been through hell. I could tell."

"Have you been through hell?"

Mr. Shokahu remained quiet for a moment. "I've had my moments," he simply said, looking straight ahead.

After a silent walk through the tunnels that connected the Academy's buildings, the pair arrived in the conference room. It was large room, decorated in a sharp contrast with the concrete, empty training rooms and jail cells below the school. The conference room sported a blue coat of paint on the walls, lined with pieces of art and the occasional potted plant. One end of the room featured a large map of the city of Narragansett, the Academy clearly marked on the western end of the city; the other end of the room displayed a map of the former United States, emphasizing New England's lonely spot in the corner of the continent, surrounded by enemies.

In the middle of the conference room, there was a long, wooden table, freshly polished. A number of the higher-ups sat along its edges, talking, conversing. Isaac recognized Ms. Mogami, the school nurse, who chatted amiably with the blonde-haired woman that ran tests on him and his fellow Rddhi users, a scientist named Ms. Essex. At the far end of the table, below the map of the United States, sat the Chairman himself, Mr. Stockham. He wore a dark blue suit, his grey hair neat, his frame imposing. At the other end, along the side of the table, sat Alfie, the metallic anti-Rddhi containment device still on his hand. Behind him stood two stone-faced Technical Servicemen – the elite guard of the Academy, Stockham's own personal officers.

Stockham smiled at the new arrivals. "Shokahu, Isaac, nice of you to join us."

Isaac felt a little anxious. The Chairman – the highest official in the entire Academy – was addressing him directly!

"Sit down," Stockham said, gesturing to some open seats. "Now that you're here, we can begin."

Stockham's words carried with them enough gravity and weight for the entire contingent at the table to go silent. Shokahu and Isaac took their seats at the end of the table, across from Alfie. Isaac noticed Clayton and Hanai were in attendance as well; Hanai gave him a polite nod while Clayton seemed to be staring into space.

"Gentlemen, now that we're assembled, it's time to discuss tomorrow's operation."

Operation? Tomorrow?

"Esther, if you will."

That's when Isaac realized that the resident school genius was also in attendance; she seemed to have sunk into her seat to avoid being noticed. But now that attention was called to her, she cleared her throat and looked down at the stack of papers in front of her.

"Um...based on our own intelligence activities and the cooperation of the Military Police and Dog Company of 14th Division, 2nd Army, our suspicions regarding local criminal activity has been confirmed by the information given to us by Alfie Coonan. Operating within Elizabeth Pond is a smuggling ring with known connections to New York. These smugglers had been using the infiltration tunnels below the city to bring illegal items into Elizabeth Pond. These items include, but are not limited to, a number of outlawed New York products, including firearms, handheld weaponry, household goods, and illicit drugs such as Dopamine Rushers."

Damn New Yorkers, Isaac thought. Can't they just leave us alone?

"We have concluded that those operating the ring inside the Elizabeth, that is to say, those people receiving the goods, are New Englanders, rather than foreign operatives. However, um, we have not been able to confirm their identities. We do suspect that they belong to a larger New England ring, with hideouts and bases across Narragansett. For the Elizabeth Pond cell, we have concluded that their main base of smuggling is roughly located about a ten minute walk away from Tsukishima Station."

Wait, that's my station!

Isaac cursed himself for letting the enemy get the drop on him, right under his nose.

Esther gently flicked a switch on the table, and a projector connected to the ceiling suddenly illuminated a screen on one of the long walls. She stood and used a pointer to tap on specific locations on the screen. "Um, as you can see, this is a local map of the neighborhood. We believe the ring is operating out of the Hayman Office Supplies store, which is also connected to a Bay Mart convenience store. We are unsure if the Bay Mart is directly involved in the smuggling operation, or if there connection is just a coincidence."

Isaac realized the whole room was polite and rapt with attention. Isaac wondered what that was all about; Esther wasn't exactly a charismatic figure. Her hands sometimes trembled as she pointed out the key locations on the map, and her voice occasionally sounded uneven with anxiety. But then he saw Stockham's face, the pride in it as Esther spoke, and Isaac supposed nobody was going to interrupt someone Stockham thought so highly of.

"Um, due to...previous security issues regarding internal matters, we believe its best to immediately strike the smuggling operation, before our knowledge of it could potentially, um...leak out."

Isaac noticed a number of eyes dart over towards a man sitting near Stockham, dressed in a military uniform with imposing eyes and his black hair in a crew cut.

"I can assure the Chairman and the attendees of this meeting that the Technical Service is carrying out a full investigation on the leakage of internal information," the man declared confidently, his eyes warning everyone to stay away from this sensitive manner.

"Iyeguda, nobody is accusing you of anything," Stockham said in gentle reassurance.

Iyeguda crossed his arms. "I never said nobody was accusing me of anything. I'm just wondering why the military is here when this is clearly an internal Elizabeth Pond matter. The Special Autonomy Act clearly states that the Academy has full jurisdiction over criminal matters within the district-"

"Iyeguda, I understand your concern. But this is an opportunity." Stockham gestured toward the Army and Military Police representatives. "This is the first major criminal operation to appear in the Pond during my tenure as Chairman. This is a golden opportunity to build better relationships with our dear friends in the military. After all, they have already worked with us in clearing out the infiltration routes last month, and they have recently provided us with much of the information necessary to perform this operation. It's in the spirit of cross-branch cooperation that I invited them here."

Iyeguda relented with a surrendering nod. Isaac wondered if he was fully convinced.

Isaac looked back over at Esther, meeting her eyes which were already on him. She quickly looked away and her face flushed with red as she pointed back at the map.

"Um, does anyone have any issues with the operation on a conceptual basis before Mr. Stockham explains the tactical side?"

No one raised any questions, so Esther dutifully – and with a noticeable amount of relief – bowed her head and returned to her seat.

"Thank you, Esther," Stockham said jovially as he prepared the stack of papers in front of him. "Due to the time sensitivity of the operation, we will strike tomorrow night. We have previously planned some contingency plans for internal operations within our district; this will finally give us a chance to activate some of them. I spoke with Presidential General Headquarters earlier today. Tomorrow, based on reports of the Mystic Killer, a curfew and lockdown will be imposed upon Elizabeth Pond, giving us cover and a wide berth for our operation.

"We will engage the Hayman store in three layers. The outermost layer, blocking off the entire neighborhood, will consist of the 18th Platoon of the 14th Military District, led by Lieutenant Carl Colombo. Thanks to the extraordinary cooperation of the 14th Military District, his forces will be under the command of Second Lieutenant Clayton Wesley, who will be assisted by Sergeant Major Hanai Hanzaki."

The three friends gave nods to each other. Judging by their appearances, Colombo himself didn't look that much older than the two high schoolers.

A man with short brown hair Isaac recognized as Captain Kelb of the Military Police cleared his throat.

"Sir, with all due respect...is it a really wise decision to place the Army contingent under the command of two schoolboys?"

Stockham smiled easily. "I understand your concern, Jacob. But as I've said, I believe this operation presents us with many opportunities. I would like to see how these young men perform in an actual mission. It will also provide them with ample experience with what I consider to be a relatively low-stakes operation."

"Low-stakes?" Kelb questioned. "The lives of our men could be on the line here. Do we even know the number of enemy we're facing?"

"We believe there will be, at most, eight to ten smugglers when we strike," Esther explained. "Um, this is based on reconnaissance performed by Technical Servicemen over the previous month and a half."

Iyeguda, arms still crossed, nodded in confirmation.

Stockham spoke reassuringly. "And, if it makes you rest easier, Jacob, you will be in command of the entire operation on the ground level."

Kelb blinked. "Where will the Military Police be deployed?"

"You will take the twenty-man Shock Squadron as the second layer in our assault. While the army's primary role will be blocking the enemy escape and providing reinforcements should you need it, your main goal will be the actual storming of the facility."

Kelb thought about it. "Will there be any Rddhi users there? I don't want my men wandering blindly into a trap."

"Um..." Esther looked down at her hands. "Based on the efforts of the Rddhi Detection Network, we believe there will be a single user there. Therefore, the first and foremost layer in the assault will consist of..."

Her face went red.

"Isaac Spallacio...and Alfie Coonan."

Conversation engulfed the table at the mention of the two names. Isaac felt a wave of pride wash over him...until he realized the conversation, both about him and Alfie, was largely negative.

Wait, I have to work with Alfie?

Isaac looked over at his counterpart. His arms were crossed and he muttered a simple, "Tch."

"The boy is a New York spy!" Kelb protested. "And that's not even starting on the Class 1. You expect them to lead the vanguard?"

"Sir, we could walking straight into a catastrophe with those two!" Iyeguda complained.

Stockham let the conversation go on for a moment before raising his hand. The table grew silent in a moment's notice.

"Opportunities, gentlemen, opportunities. The New Yorker gave us the information necessary to bring the operation to the execution stage. Now, let him prove his loyalty by leading the charge. If he acts up, by all means Jacob, feel free to shoot him on sight."

Alfie chuckled in amusement.

"And as for Isaac Spallacio...Class 1 he may be, but I have high expectations for him. He served admirably in clearing out the sewers below the Pond last month. He took down an estimated Class 2 illusionist. Let's see if he can do even better now that he has some experience under his belt."

As if that Stockham's speech wasn't enough, Esther's little nod toward Isaac afterwards made him look confidently at the table.

"I won't let you guys down," Isaac declared proudly.

"I know he won't," Hanai suddenly proclaimed, "and neither will I, Hanai Hanzaki, let you down either! You shall bear witness to the torrent of my soul!"

Clayton nodded. "What he said."

"You got a loyal little bunch, sir," Kelb supposed. "Let's see what we can do."

The table grew animated in conversation, confidence washing over the table in an escalating cascade. Isaac looked around in wonder. This is what leadership is like, he realized, seeing the eager smiles or determined looks on everyone's faces. Inspiring confidence and diligence and perseverance and the desire to win.

Stockham lit up a cigar, his fingers tented with ambition in front of him.