Zaire Calabrasas was an intelligence agency’s worst nightmare. For starters - he was ex-NIC - serving as a top-ranking intelligence officer for well over a decade. In the midst of the Ghibli wars, Zaire went missing. He was deemed missing in action for over a year - to the point where everyone had presumed he was dead. His family executed a funeral service and colleagues mourned his death. As the years passed, the world eventually forgot about him.

Or at least that was the case, until three years ago. While conducting a reconnaissance mission to capture intelligence on the Mison collective, our team captured photographs of a familiar face. While it had been years since his last confirmed sighting, the resemblance was uncanny - this was him.

Zaire was a hard man to miss - he was 6’4 with an athletic physique and a scar in the shape of a V on his right cheek. Despite losing his hair over a decade ago, Zaire was still conventionally handsome in many senses: tall and muscular with broad commanding shoulders and a chiseled and defined jawline. He was also fluent in many languages - including Modern and Old Nekonian, Akashi, and Rhumen - the language native to the Rhumenberg province, a mountainous and isolated Nekonian province where Zaire had spent his childhood.

Despite never meeting the man, Kai was quick to recognize Zaire. His presence was unmistakeable. Beyond the physical traits, Zaire held an aura of conviction and a steely determiniation that would intimidate most men.

Kai however, wasn’t most men.

Zaire looked over at the group:

So the NIC didn’t even think the knights were worth sending huh? Frankly, I’m insulted. I would have figured I’d gotten the A-team. Instead, I have has-beens like Laiser over here.”

Zaire then glanced over at Kai:

And oh look at this one. So young, looks like you just got out of college. Did your balls drop yet kid? What’re you doing here with the big boys”

Kai smirked and responded:

Bigger they are, the harder they fall. I’m not afraid of you or any of the rest of these Mison collective scumbags.”

Zaire laughed and began to pace around the room as he spoke:

Foolish boy. You should be afraid, very afraid. But not of us.. no no no. We’re simply a coalition of men willing to do what is right against the overreaches of the powerful. No, what you should really be afraid of is the NIC and all of the power-brokers in Chivo. They come across as high and mighty - protectors of democracy, they say. But dig a little deeper boy and you’ll see what I see - what we see - underneath all of the posturing and pretenses lie a group of people willing to do whatever it takes to protect their interests.

Typical. None of what Zaire was saying surprised him. Of course one of the leaders of a terrorist organization would think that he was the good guy. Plus corrupt politicians in Chivo? The town was full of them. It would take more than that to sway Kai’s mind.

A chill entered the room as one of Zaire’s henchmen opened the window and the cold mountain air seeped through. Kai looked around: first at Lee’s dead body and Laiser crouched in front of him, then to the left at Zaire, and then to his right at Roberts, who also had a gunmen behind him. As Zaire began to chat with his henchmen, Kai began to think about a way to get out. With his hands tied behind his back, there was no way to reach for his knife, nor try and retrieve his gun. His hands were tied with a nylon rope that likely couldn’t be opened without a tool of external support.

The one thing Kai could use was his watch. And lucky for Kai, this was no ordinary watch. For in addition to helping with coordinates, the watch was also a secret third weapon and Swiss Army knife for Kai to use. He recalled that, by pressing the dial a certain way, the watch could emit a laser designed for cutting rope. The laser would take a few seconds to use. However, doing so could attract the attention of Zaire’s henchmen and he needed to find a way to distract the group.

He briefly made eye contact with Roberts and whispered:

Hey - remember the mermaid on land trick from back at the academy? I need you to be the mermaid, distract the room.”