Free Zero Sum Game by Cody L. Martin Page A

thing Shimizu noticed after driving through the entrance gate was the number of employees walking around the grounds, gawking at something he couldn't see yet. He parked his car in front of the administration building and got out, watching a group of employees gathered near the factory building. A small space appeared for a few seconds in the group, and Shimizu saw an overturned truck with heavy damage to the passenger side, as if a crane had hit it. A signpost had been knocked over as well. He strode towards the building's main entrance. A small woman approached him.
    "Mr. Amano is in his office, Mr. Shimizu. Please follow me," she said in a rush. She walked back through the doors, glancing over her shoulder every few steps to check if he was following her. She knocked on the door to Amano's office and opened it, sidestepping to let Shimizu pass her.
    Amano's office here was much larger than his other at headquarters. This one had a large window looking into the area behind the building, which only showed the factory lot's wall and the occasional Hiroshima building top. Amano slumped in his chair, watching a small TV sitting on a counter while Fujiya stood at attention. Fujiya's presence here puzzled Shimizu, but he would get to that later.
    "What's going on?"
    Amano pointed a remote control at the TV. "This," he said, and pressed a button.
    Shimizu came around the desk and stood behind Amano. The split-screen played security footage from two cameras, the time-lapse created a jumpy stilted effect. As the scene played out, Shimizu watched Fujiya engage in a battle with an unknown assailant, but he could tell the opponent was no human. He recognized the fighting style as one trained in the Noigel military and knew that the man had to be wearing a battle suit; such feats of physical strength were impossible for a human. The top video showed the man being hurled into the white truck, a few moments later the bottom video showed the man rip a signpost from its concrete foundation and hit Fujiya.
    Amano paused the tape. "And so on and so forth. At least five different cameras caught some little part of the battle." He put the remote on his desk and talked while Shimizu walked to the front of the desk. "We don't have any eyewitness accounts of the actual fight, but several employees at the factory said they saw him," he pointed at Fujiya, "talk to a man in a gray suit. They walked out of the building and Fujiya wasn't seen again for at least an hour."
    Amano glanced over several papers that were scattered on his desktop. "From what I can gather, that was about the time part of Hiroshima lost power when a substation caught on fire." He pointed this comment towards Fujiya.
    Shimizu ran a hand through his hair. "Don't say anything to your employees yet. I'll figure this out. For now, get out."
    Amano sat there, looking at Shimizu and Fujiya, his face expressionless. Shimizu grabbed a corner of the desk, a heavy thing weighing over a hundred kilograms, and casually tossed it aside. It slid across the tile floor like a puck across a frozen pond. One leg caught the TV's power cord and jerked it to the ground. It crashed, and the glass front shattered. The desk hit the wall with a teeth-rattling bang and bounced back a few centimeters. Shimizu stood in place, towering over Amano, who sat in his chair, gripping the arms. Amano stood up and walked out of the office.
    When the door had closed, Shimizu stayed still, trying to calm himself. After a few moments, he faced Fujiya, who hadn't said anything the whole time and stood ramrod straight, like a lieutenant awaiting inspection from his commanding officer. Shimizu let the silence lengthen. He broke it by asking the most obvious, and important, question.
    "What happened?"
    "A man came here today, asking specifically for me," Fujiya said. "He was a Noigel, a member of the Defiant."
    Shimizu spread his arms out, looking around at the room they were in. "And where is he now?"
    "I killed him,"