The Art of War

Classification of Terrain

The few announced minutes passed by much too fast for Yukine's liking. It felt like only seconds before they entered a parking deck, from which they should be able to watch the hideout of their assassin.

From the third level they looked down at an abandoned factory. The walls of the building were brittle and littered with graffiti. Alone the size of the building, which consisted of several buildings connected with each other, worried Yukine.

And he wasn't alone with his opinion. "With this size we have no other choice than to split up," he heard Yato whisper next to him. Yukine nodded in agreement, he didn't saw another possibility. If they set out together it will give the assassin too much time to flee.

"How do we proceed? What is our tactic?" Yukine asked. A few days ago his pride would have forbidden him to ask Yato this question. In the meantime Yukine knew that he had to trust Yato's guidance in such a situation.

Ignoring the fact that Yukine was probably breaking every police regulation he knows with this unauthorized action, it was still his first real operation. Experience or not, they had to deal with a dangerous assassin. Even for his colleagues with many years in service this would be a new situation. Without backup. Without official permission. Without a weapon.

Only now Yukine realized how badly prepared they had moved out. He shouldn't had allowed Yato to talk him into it. This action could end his carrier before it even started. If something went wrong there will be no one backing them up.

"It is good to know that you realize how bad our position is. We aren't allowed to be too overwhelmed by it. The terrain is accessible and we can start the search from both sides. If we are lucky we can manage to trap the assassin between us."

"If we are lucky," Yukine muttered not convinced. With only two persons this possibility was close to impossible to archive. It was too simply to find a gap and sneak past them.

"Don't be a pessimist. If you believe something won't work out, it won't work out!" Yato warned jestingly, but this time Yukine didn't believed the grin to be real.

Yukine focused back on the building in front of them. "And how exactly does you plan work out?"

"You will entered the building from the front entrance, I go in from the back. Looking at the composition of the ground our objective will probably be in one of the buildings in the middle, to enable am escape route in both directions. We will thus restrict our search to the two buildings in the middle and only move through the others."

Yukine followed the gestures of Yato's hand that pointed at the two buildings in the middle sector. The question of asking which of those two building he will search he didn't utter. Looking at the connection points between the buildings made the division clear, with both of them taking the building they will reach first.

"So far, so good. But how do we advance when one of us finds the assassin? Even though he had only used poison the kill until now it appears reckless to approach him without a weapon." Yukine looked at Yato anxiously, with every passing minute this plan appeared more insane.

For a short moment it seemed as if Yato had only waited for this objection. He jumped up from their crouched observation position and marched determined to the rear area of the parking deck. Hesitantly Yukine followed, but stopped when Yato disappeared into a dark corner that wasn't reached by the daylight.

A few seconds passed before Yato reappeared out of the darkness with a triumphant grin. "I present: The solution to our problems," he declared and swung around a sports bag. Without waiting for Yukine's reaction Yato grabbed his hand and pulled him into an abandoned and halfway bright corner of the parking deck.