by Sekina Mayu
Trigger Locked: The Mind Control Assassins
By Sekina Mayu
Copyright 2016 Sekina Mayu
Cover illustration by Color-LES
Discover other titles by Sekina Mayu:
The Diary of Modern Cinderella
Twisted Destiny
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Table of Contents
Trigger Locked: A Triggered Past
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue
Author’s Note
Special Gift Just For You
About Sekina Mayu
Trigger Locked: A Triggered Past
A Triggered Past is the prequel to the Trigger Locked series. This is where everything begins for Touka and Yuuto. And what’s the best part? You can get this book for FREE. Yes, you read that right. I’m giving the prequel to the Trigger Locked series for free. Unfortunately, you can’t get this book elsewhere. So, this is the only way for you to get this book.
So, how you can get this book for FREE? The only thing you need to do is to join my mailing list to receive the book. Besides A Triggered Past, you will also receive my other book, Twisted Destiny: The Past for free too. If you’re interested to know what happened to them in the past, you can sign up here to receive the book when it will be released:
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Prologue
There are only a few minutes left before our virtual mock battle begins. Both me and my twin brother, Yuuto are already done with our preparation. This virtual mock battle is important to us. If we don’t win, we won’t be qualified to become Public Security Intelligence Agency agents. It’s known as PSIA for short. We’ve been training for two years for this day to come. I was trained to become a martial art expert while Yuuto was trained to become a sniper.
In this virtual mock battle, we’re going to face Chiaki Squad and Masayoshi Squad. They’re the second and the third rank squad in PSIA Special Activities Division. If we’re able to beat them, it means that we’re worthy enough to become an agent for the top rank squad, Kimizuki Squad. Dad is the leader of this squad. Besides him, dad’s colleague and also his friend, Mr. Azuma Sakakibara is in the same squad as well. He has been helping us when dad wasn’t around.
I have never known that dad and Mr. Sakakibara are operations officers from PSIA. We only knew about it when we were 13. At that time, a group of people was trying to capture us for the government’s top-secret project. It’s known as Transhuman Development Project. Not only that, but we were also surprised to find out that mom was one of the key researchers in this top secret project. Mom resigned from this project because she refused to let us become the test subject for this project.
Whenever I hear about this project, I can’t help but feel anxious about it. Mom died because the people who pursued us killed her. And they also almost killed dad. Even though dad managed to escape death, it was still a terrifying experience for both of us. We didn’t know much about the project other than the project was using gifted children as a test subject. And in our case, they considered us to be the outlier among the children.
Based on what Mr. Sakakibara had told us, these children would have a microchip implant in their body. The microchip implant would be able to increase their intelligence, awareness, strength, and durability. As a result, it would create a transhuman that will help to extend the life of the aging population. Surgery wasn’t necessary as they only needed to inject the microchip implant on their neck. And it would travel all the way to the brain stem.
We were lucky at that time that dad taught us the spy techniques. Not only we were able to shake off the pursuers, but we were able to kill them as well. I admit that it was a nerve wrecking when we killed people for the first time. But we were aware of the consequences of our action. We already expected that the police would convict us, but they couldn’t. It was because this incident was under PSIA’s jurisdiction.
With our ability to kill the pursuers who were a skilled assassin, dad wanted us to work with him. Even though he’s the head of Special Activities Division in PSIA, he still needs to seek approval from PSIA director, Yashiro Kagami. We’re lucky that he already knew about our ability. And he also thinks that we have the potential to become a PSIA agent even though we’re just a middle schooler.
But then again, PSIA never hires agents who are underage. And even with dad endorsing our abilities, it’s still not enough to convince him. Because of this, he thinks that letting us participating in the virtual mock battle is the best way to test us. Both Yuuto and I agree to take part in the virtual mock battle if it helps to convince him.
The rule of the game is simple. The only thing we need to do is to be the only people left in the virtual mock battle. But Yuuto and I are the only one who will be taking part in this battle. Dad and Mr. Sakakibara are not allowed to take part. And they can’t even tell us what to do. The only person who will help us is Ms. Chiyo Shibasaki. She’s the operator for dad’s squad.
The virtual mock battle begins when all agents transported to a random place in the virtual world. As the transportation process for all agents is complete, I start to take a look at my surrounding. I realize that I’m at the rooftop of one of the buildings in Shibuya. The virtual mock battle takes place in Shibuya during the night time. Even in the virtual world, the area is still bustling with people.
I wish I can stand here and admire the night time scenery in Shibuya. But it’s not okay for me to stand here for a long time. The rooftop is an open area, which makes me an easy target for a sniper. I’d better go inside and come up with a plan to defeat the other squads. I also need to know where Yuuto is right now.
“Touka, Yuuto has already made his move. He already eliminated two people from Masayoshi squad. So, the only one left is the leader, Yamato Masayoshi,” Ms. Chiyo says to me through my earpiece. I already expect that Yuuto will be the first person to make a move. After all, it only takes less than 3 seconds for him to shoot his target. “If that’s the case, please send me Yuuto’s current whereabouts. I’ll be heading there,” I say to her.
After our conversation is over, Ms. Chiyo then sends me Yuuto’s current location. Based on his current location, it looks like Yuuto isn’t that far from where I am. I think that he must have noticed me because of my initial location. As I’m about to leave the building, I begin to have a look at the data about them.
Mr. Masayoshi, Tsunayoshi Chiaki and Midori Akiyama. They’re also a martial art expert like me. But I bet that Mr. Masayoshi and Mr. Chiaki are superior since both of them are the squad leader. That means a close combat is a possible way to get rid of them. But I also need to pay attention to Akira Moritaka, the sniper from Chiaki squad. He may attack me when there’s an opening.
Once I reach the exit, Ms. Chiyo contacts me. “Midori isn’t that far from your location. She must be after you. What’s your plan, Touka?” To be honest, I don’t like anyone who comes after me. It somehow reminds me of the same situation I’ve experienced in the past, but there’s nothing much I can do. At the same time, it saves my time from trying to look for them. Ma
ybe it’s not a bad idea to have someone pursuing me. Though, I don’t enjoy that experience much.
“Is there any place that isn’t far from here, within Yuuto’s shooting range and isolated? I think it’s better for me to engage a fight with Ms. Akiyama in an isolated place. With a crowd this big, it won’t be a problem for me to shoot her. I already equip my gun with a silencer. I think that should do it,” I tell Ms. Chiyo. I begin to check my bullet while waiting for Ms. Chiyo to reply back.
Ms. Chiyo replies back to me a few minutes later. “Well, there’s a back alley not far from where you are. The place itself is isolated. So, no one will realize something is happening there.” After I cut my communication with Ms. Chiyo, I then contact Yuuto. “Yuuto, Ms. Akiyama is currently tailing me. I’d like you to switch your location to somewhere near the back alley. I’m pretty sure that Mr. Moritaka is also looking for an opportunity to shoot me there as well.”
Yuuto replies to me after that. “Sis, I’ve already switched my location. You can head to the back alley at any time you want. I don’t see Mr. Moritaka anywhere. But I’m pretty sure that he’s also somewhere nearby where he can shoot you.” After our conversation is over, I leave the building and begin to lure Ms. Akiyama to the back alley.
Even if I know that Ms. Akiyama is nearby, it’s hard to identify where she is. I don’t think she’ll be approaching me without disguising herself. It’s true that we don’t need to disguise ourselves if we want to pursue someone. But then again, it will be much easier if we disguise ourselves and blend in with the crowd. I’m pretty sure this is what she will do in this kind of situation. Dad even told me before that she was good with disguising herself.
Without wasting time, I just keep walking, heading towards the back alley. It’s not that hard to identify which one is Ms. Akiyama. Among the crowd, there’s only one person who is trying to match my pace. And that person is most likely Ms. Akiyama. In a typical situation, no one will ever try to match their pace with our pace. That is unless they’re following someone. This is what Ms. Akiyama is doing right now.
I finally reach the back alley a few minutes later. The back alley is a lot narrower than I thought. Not only that, it’s dark too. Although no one is using the back alley as a shortcut, there is someone else who is coming here besides me. I stop walking and turn around to face her. “I know that you’ve been following me all along, Ms. Akiyama. And that’s the reason why I’m bringing you here. It’s much easier to fight if no one sees us,” I say to her.
She only chuckles when I face her. “As expected from Minoru’s daughter. It seems that you do understand the fundamental about being a spy. And you’re also brave enough to face me all by yourself. But too bad, you’ve made a huge mistake for bringing me here.” She then takes off her cap and starts to pull off the mask, revealing a guy’s face. It’s not Ms. Akiyama who has been following me all along, but it’s Mr. Masayoshi instead.
He laughs when he sees my reaction. “I bet that you don’t expect me to be here. I thought that Chiyo would debunk my real identity. But it seems like she’s also making this grave mistake as well. You may have a high intelligence, but it won’t help you if you don’t know much about the people you’re going to fight. If Minoru is taking part, I’m pretty sure that he’ll tell you in advance that I’m not Midori.”
I feel frustrated when I find out that Mr. Masayoshi has been toying with me all along. “Touka, I’m sorry. It’s my fault that I fail to realize that Yamato is disguising himself as Midori,” Ms. Chiyo says to me. I understand that Mr. Masayoshi can disguise himself as Ms. Akiyama. I just don’t get how come Ms. Chiyo is confident enough that Ms. Akiyama is nearby. Is there a way for Mr. Masayoshi to layer his identity with Ms. Akiyama’s identity?
“It’s alright. You don’t have to blame yourself. It’s my fault too for not checking things through,” I say to her. Mr. Masayoshi chuckles when he sees how calm I am. To be honest, I don’t like if things don’t go according to my plan. But I have to be realistic that things will rarely follow according to what I envision. So there’s no reason for me to be angry about that because I still have to fight him eventually.
“Wow, you’re so calm when you’re responding to something that is beyond your control. I thought that you would yell at Chiyo for her mistake. I guess you’re not just smart, but you also have a high emotional intelligence. Maybe this is another thing that classifies you as an outlier,” he says to me. I’m not sure if I should be proud of the fact that both Yuuto and I are an outlier. But, I’m just going to take this as a compliment.
“Is it possible for you to fake your identity in the virtual world?” I ask him. It’s better for me to divert the conversation elsewhere. Besides, I don’t feel like listening to his blabbering about us being an outlier. “To be honest, it’s impossible,” he says, “But I can do this with the help of our operator, Misaki. We just want to see how good you are with our disguise. It looks like our effort is paying off.”
“What happened to Ms. Akiyama?” I ask him again. “I already get rid of her. By the time your twin brother eliminated my comrades, I was fighting her. I should have prioritized my comrades over my fight with her. But there’s nothing I can do for now other than to win this match,” he says to me.
Just like him, I don’t feel like being critical over my mistake. What I need to do now is to prepare myself for a fight with Mr. Masayoshi. Mr. Masayoshi smiles at me when he sees that I don’t even back away. “That’s great to know that you wish to fight back. Now I understand why Director Kagami has a high expectation on both of you. You may only be 15, but you do have some similarities with us as a PSIA officer. I feel honored to fight someone like you.”
Our fight begins after that. Just like dad, he’s also skillful in close combat. In fact, his strength and speed are at the same par as dad. While dad has been training me all this time, he’s not the only one who trains me in the close combat. Besides dad, Mr. Sakakibara and Hayato also help me with my training. But for the most part, I spend most of my time training with Hayato.
Just like Yuuto and I, Hayato is also one of the test subjects for Transhuman Development Project. He’s also an outlier like us. But his stats are way above than us, making him an ideal benchmark for the project. Hayato stayed with us ever since the day he escaped from the research facility unscathed. He almost got me killed as well when we met for the first time. But somehow, I was fast enough to put the past behind me.
Yuuto and I are hoping that Hayato will become a PSIA agent too. But he declined our invitation politely. It’s understandable that someone like him will never let anyone knows about his existence. Despite the refusal, he’s willing to help us behind the scene. This is to show his gratitude for looking after him and treating him like he’s a part of our family. It’s unfortunate for us, but we respect his decision.
As a result of training with Hayato all along, I become so used to his strength. Now, fighting Mr. Masayoshi feels like a tip of the iceberg to me. After our intense fight, he moves back a little. He’s still smiling, and he doesn’t even look exhausted at all. “I love it when I’m in a fight where I have a zero chance to win. I wonder what the outcome will be if I’m fighting someone like Hayato. I bet that it’s going to be different,” he says to me.
Mr. Masayoshi grins at me. From the look of it, he doesn’t even look threatened at all when he’s fighting me. I guess that he’s just like a typical martial art expert. He enjoys fighting someone who is stronger than him. As much as I enjoy the fight with him as well, I don’t think I can prolong the battle much longer. I have to end this fight as soon as possible because we still need to get rid of Mr. Chiaki and Mr. Moritaka.
When I’m about to move ahead to finish off Mr. Masayoshi, I realize that there’s a bullet coming at my direction. As I turn around, I notice that Mr. Moritaka is the one who shoots me. I’m pretty sure that he’s been waiting for this opportunity all this time. But this will expose his exact location and gives us a chance to get rid o
f him. “Yuuto, shoot him now,” I yell at him. In a split second, Yuuto shoots Mr. Moritaka. With this, Mr. Moritaka is gone, and Yuuto is the only sniper left.
Mr. Masayoshi looks impressed after witnessing everything. “Wow, your reaction is as fast as Minoru. Besides that, I love seeing how cooperative you are with your brother. Now I understand why Minoru wants you to be in his squad so badly. With this kind of teamwork, you’ll be just fine in his squad.”
I smile when I hear his compliment. Nothing makes me feel happier than having someone like him to acknowledge us. “Thanks for the compliment. But then again, I’m sorry, Mr. Masayoshi. I wish I can prolong the fight, but Mr. Chiaki is waiting for me,” I say to him as I begin my counterattack.
Thanks to the narrow back alley, I manage to make a quick jump and attack him from behind. The fight ends with me drawing a gun and shoots him after that. Mr. Masayoshi doesn’t look surprised when he loses the fight. In fact, he looks satisfied instead. “You’re maybe young, but you’re as good as an experienced PSIA officer. I’m looking forward to working together with you someday,” he says to me. He then transported out of the virtual environment.
After the fight is over, I suddenly feel a murderous intent coming near me. Without hesitating, I quickly draw my gun and realize that Mr. Chiaki is here, pointing his gun at me. “I thought that I’m going to shoot you when you’re off-guard. But it looks like you’re still aware enough of your surroundings. I’m impressed with how fast your reaction is,” he says to me.
None of us are pulling the trigger at that moment. The atmosphere feels intense right now as none of us are making a move at all. As I’m about to pull the trigger, Mr. Chiaki is quick enough to kick my hand, making my gun falls off from my hand. He then kicks me, making me to lose my balance. “Not bad,” he says to me, “So, the fact that you’re the outlier among the gifted children is true after all. I bet that your brother is the same as you.”
I only smile at him as I regain my balance. While I’m happy to be labeled as an outlier, I’m not going to let the word sink deeper into my thought. The last thing I want is to be overconfident only because I’m an outlier. Without hesitating, I begin to launch my counterattack and hit him nonstop.
He’s still able to evade my attack even with my quick attack, but my attacks hit him most of the time. As he begins to distant himself from me, Yuuto then takes this opportunity to shoot him. Yuuto’s shot becomes even more accurate in a pinch situation like this, so his shot hits Mr. Chiaki. I can tell that Mr. Chiaki looks frustrated as he’s about to leave the virtual mock battle after he lost to me.
I barely stand after the fight between Mr. Chiaki and me is over. I feel exhausted because of the intense fight. I’m glad that the battle is over. I’ve never imagined that the fight can be this exhausting even if it’s only a virtual battle. I do hope that the real life battle isn’t as intense as this. Both Yuuto and I are back into the real world after the virtual mock battle is over.
As we exit the virtual battle room, Director Kagami is already here, waiting for us. “Congratulations on your winning, kids. You have proved to me with what you’re capable of. We never had someone as young as you to join us, but we’re glad to have you onboard. From now onward, you’re officially a PSIA agent,” Director Kagami says to us.
Both Yuuto and I smile as we give each other a high five. Director Kagami clears his throat when he sees that we’re ignoring him. It looks like he’s not done yet with us. “There’s something important I need to tell you,” he says to us. Both of us remain silent as he begins to talk to us. I have a feeling that there must be conditions attached to our official enlistment with PSIA.
“I admit that the mission that you guys are in is dangerous. This is why the officers in the special activities division usually carry a gun with them. But we can’t permit any agent to carry a gun. After I’ve seen it for myself how you guys handled the gun, I guess it’s alright to let you guys carry a gun as a self-protection. But then again, you can only use it during your mission. Other than that, you’re prohibited from using the gun,” he says to us.
What Director Kagami tells us isn’t surprising to us. We already expect that we won’t be allowed to use the gun other than during the mission. Even though our recruitment as a PSIA agent comes with a caveat, we agree with his conditions. What matters the most is he acknowledges our potentials. With our official recruitment, this will make things easier for us to work together with dad.