HIMENO – PSIA FIELD AGENT, WESTERN EUROPE
A light rain fell over the cobblestone streets of a Western European capital, turning the glow of old street lamps into halos in the mist. Himeno tugged the brim of her black beret lower to keep the drizzle out of her one good eye as she slipped through the late-night crowd. She moved with unhurried elegance, just another fashionable woman leaving a soiree – or so it appeared. Under her stylish charcoal coat, a compact pistol rested against her hip, and in her clutch she carried a dossier of freshly stolen intel. The gentle tap of her heels on wet stone belied the whirlwind in her mind.
From across the narrow street, her target emerged from a grand stone building, oblivious to the ghost trailing him. A former PSIA researcher turned traitor, Dr. Schneider laughed boisterously with two associates under an umbrella as they said their goodnights. Himeno's lips curved into a wry smile around the unlit cigarette she held there. She'd charmed her way into that gala tonight just to brush shoulders with the good doctor and lift files from his briefcase while he was busy admiring her… assets. Men are so easily distracted, she thought with a silent chuckle.
Now she had proof of his connection to the Pokémon lab heist – names of buyers, a list of augmented Pokémon specimens trafficked through Europe – all tucked safely in her purse. The plan was to shadow him to his car, then disappear into the wet night, mission accomplished.
Himeno's breath puffed white in the chilly air as she hung back, watching Schneider under the yellow lamps. For a moment her mind wandered. She pictured Aki – stoic, serious Aki – scolding her if he knew she'd gone alone into this den of vipers. A soft snort escaped her. I can handle myself, Aki. After all, she had taught him a thing or two back in the day. She pressed a finger to the leather patch over her right eye, a habitual gesture. The lost eye no longer hurt, not physically, but it was a reminder of what she'd sacrificed to keep her juniors alive. Aki, Kobeni, Denji... she'd bleed for any of them again without regret.
Dr. Schneider's chauffeur pulled up, a sleek black sedan cutting through puddles. Time to move. Himeno flicked the wheel of her lighter, finally igniting that cigarette between her lips. She took a long drag – a reward for a job well done – and stepped forward to tail the doctor from a safe distance.
Before she could close the gap, a discrete vibration tickled her wrist. Her smartwatch, synced to PSIA's secure network, pulsed with a high-priority alert. Himeno halted in a shadowed doorway, raising her arm to glance at the small screen. Through a veil of rain, the message blazed:
URGENT RECALL ORDER – ALL OPERATIVES RETURN TO TOKYO AT ONCE.
Himeno's heart skipped. "What…?" she whispered to herself. The cigarette nearly slipped from her lips. An all operatives recall? She'd never seen one, never even heard rumors of such an order being issued in her years of service. A thousand questions flooded her mind, but training quickly overrode shock. HQ wouldn't issue this lightly; if they did, it meant Tokyo was ground zero for something catastrophic or vital.
Across the street, Schneider's car door slammed – he was leaving. Himeno allowed herself one small curse under her breath. Every instinct screamed at her to follow that man, to finish the mission she had worked so hard to set up. But Makima's directive was unambiguous. And Himeno trusted Makima with her life.
She took one last drag of her cigarette and flicked it into a gutter, embers hissing out in the rain. With a sharp exhale, she stepped back from the street's edge, letting Schneider's sedan drive off into the foggy night untailed. It stung to let him go, but if things were as dire as she suspected, there wouldn't be a safe corner on earth for traitors like him soon enough.
Himeno tapped a quick response into her watch: "Himeno – Acknowledged. Heading home." The screen confirmed transmission, and she felt a twist of both worry and anticipation in her gut. If every agent was being called in, it meant they'd all be together again – Aki, Kobeni, the whole ragtag family. And Hiroshi… The thought of the legendary "Elusive Fox" back in Tokyo made her stand a little straighter. She'd never met the young man, but she knew what he meant to Makima, and to Japan. His return had to be the reason behind this drastic move. Something big was coming, and Makima wanted her best at her side.
A heavy drop of rain rolled off Himeno's beret as she cast a final glance at the empty street where her target had been moments before. Another mission left incomplete – yet she felt strangely at peace with it. The world was shifting under their feet; priorities were changing. She thought of a night long ago at a ramen shop in Tokyo, laughing with Aki and the others after a rough operation. They'd made a pact, drunk on camaraderie (and maybe a little sake), that when the time came, they'd face the worst of it together, no matter what.
Himeno smiled softly at the memory, eyes bright even in the dreary rain. She turned on her heel and began walking briskly, heels clicking with new purpose. The sooner she got to the extraction point, the sooner she'd be on a flight eastbound.
As she disappeared down an alley toward her safehouse, the rain began to fall harder, drumming on the cobbles like a quickening heartbeat. Himeno didn't mind the cold droplets that soaked through her coat – she found it refreshing. It was washing away the subterfuge and loneliness of the field.
Tokyo was calling her home, calling all of them home. And by God, she would answer.
Himeno took out a fresh cigarette and placed it between her lips, unlit for now. "Just hold on a little longer," she murmured, as if Aki and the rest could hear her across continents. The anticipation and dread coiled in her stomach, but above all she felt resolve.
With a determined stride, she vanished into the night mist, one more shadow among many – a shadow racing home to where she belonged, ready to stand with her comrades for whatever came next.