Hero Commission Building
Tokyo, Japan
The line went dead. For several seconds, nobody in the room spoke. The television continued playing the final moments of the broadcast. The Detnerat logo appeared against the background before the news station returned to its presenters.
Kishi Mizore reached for the remote.
Click.
The screen went black. Mizore placed the remote beside the documents in front of her. On one of the pages read CIVILIAN RELIEF AND SUPPORT PARTNER PROGRAM
The President stared at them. "It would seem they anticipated this."
Nobody answered.
"Food. Water. Medical equipment. Generators. Transportation. Temporary shelters. Security personnel."
She tapped her finger against the table.
"How long?"
An intelligence officer shifted uncomfortably.
"We don't know."
The President's eyes moved toward him.
"Excuse me?"
"We've begun investigating Detnerat's supply network. Currently, we know the company maintains extensive warehouses and distribution centers throughout the country, but the scale of what they announced tonight..." He paused. "It's considerably larger than what we expected."
"How much larger?"
"We don't know."
Mizore's eyes remained on the blank television screen.
"How many facilities does Detnerat actually have?"
A man seated near the far end of the table opened a folder. "Their publicly registered properties number ..."
"That's not what I asked." Mizore cut him off. "How many facilities can be converted into emergency shelters?"
The man hesitated.
"That information isn't available yet."
"How many regional logistics hubs?"
"We're still compiling—"
"How many?"
"... Um ... Well, we don't know that either."
".."
The President slowly looked around the table.
"You're telling me a private corporation has enough emergency supplies distributed across the country to immediately begin supporting civilians displaced by a national crisis..." Her gaze returned to the screen. "...and we didn't know?"
Feeling the gaze of everyone in the room, the newly appointed Intelligence officer couldn't help but shift comfortably in his seat.
"Forgive me. We're still attempting to organise what remains of the files from the destroyed archives after All For One's attack. A lot of information was lost in the process."
It had only been two weeks since Tokyo and the HPSC had barely been rebuilt. That however didn't change the fact that it was barely a skeleton of its former self. "So essentially we know nothing of actual value."
"Besides what is publicly available. I'm afraid so."
Mizore took a deep breath, suppressing the migraine coming on. It was worse than she expected.
"Are we sure of what we are looking at?" One of the newly appointed officials, from the Commission's legal asked. "For all we know, this is a corporate stunt to pump Detnerat's stock."
"That's an awfully generous way to describe a corporation publicly undermining a national emergency measure."
"I doubt that's the case. It's way too bold of a plan if you ask me. A corporate stunt that size to boost stock and reputability is far from worth it."
"Indeed." The Intelligence officer agreed.
"Detnerat's current actions make little to no sense at all. A genuine humanitarian initiative of this size will lead to massive drawbacks. If that's not the case then it's one of two other motives. A calculated political attack against Project Haven, or an attempt to undermine the Commission's authority."
"Trying to force us into a legal battle over local authority? What would that gain him?"
"Perhaps it's a cover for another motive." Someone else proposed. "The company suddenly entered the hero market the day after Ground Zero. Before, that alone was worthy of suspicion. Following which, large amounts of support gear appeared on the black market. Now this happens. If there isn't a fishy motive behind it, I'd be surprised."
"If that's truly the case, then we need to take action and do it fast. If this is an attempt to strike government authority in its weakened state, it can't be tolerated."
"I'm afraid it's not that easy." The intelligence officer shook his head. "Project Haven intends to minimize the area required to guard, while the aid initiative stands in direct opposition. However, the resources required are the same if not more. Detnerat's distribution centers and existing commercial network seems extensive enough to support their normal operations, but we have no reliable estimate of what portion of that infrastructure can be redirected toward emergency relief."
"It would require several hours, as well as close attention as they take action to determine if they truly do attempt to go through with this at the scale we imagine. Nevertheless, public opinion on the initiative is already being well received across the country."
Mizore's attention shifted toward the legal department.
"And our options?"
The legal adviser adjusted his glasses."They're ... Quite limited. If we attempt to prevent Detnerat from distributing relief supplies, we'll need a compelling justification. After all, operating private shelters during a national emergency is not illegal."
"Their security is privately licensed."
"Financial assistance and medical supplies? Also legal. Provided they're properly sourced and distributed through authorized channels. Lastly, we've already received an official address from Detnerat's attempt to coordinate with us. They've made a point of presenting themselves as cooperative. In the case of all this, we do not have the authority to forcibly stop or impede their efforts without risking a catastrophic backlash."
The legal officer sighed. "At the end of it all, our theories are nothing more than speculation. Without solid evidence, they've done nothing wrong."
A quiet curse came from somewhere down the table.
Detnerat were scheming? So what if they were? Suppose Yotsubashi truly was running black market gear under the table while playing savior on TV. What could the commission in its current state possibly do about it? Send a squad of heroes into his distribution hubs to impound food trucks? On what grounds?
With the current state of things, not only would it incur the wrath of the citizens, but it would also lead to complete loss of control. No hero would agree to carry that order out in the first place.
The realization settled over the room like a wet blanket: the Commission was utterly boxed in. Mizore slowly raised her hand, brushing against her temple as she exhaled, wondering how the hell things had gotten so bad in only a matter of weeks. The throbbing behind her eyes wasn't going away.
"So is that it? They have us cornered?"
"I'm afraid so. We can act, or stand aside. Either way, they win."
"Indeed." The president uttered, eyes staring at the document on the table. "This is definitely no publicity stunt. The moment we try to hinder their operations, he goes live and tells fifty million people that the government is confiscating food and medical supplies from starving families. Given our current standing with the public.. they will believe him. I only find it unfortunate how we didn't realise this till now." Her mind drifted back to the catastrophic losses in Kamino that brought this entire situation on them.
Project Haven was the solution she had come to after a week of analyzing the pros and cons. Yet just like before, an unaccounted variable emerged after taking that move.
'Luckily, this isn't like that. There's still a chance to fix it.'
"Then we stand by and watch?" the official from legal asked, his hands fidgeting with his collar. "Madam President, if Project Haven loses compliance in the outer prefectures, the entire defensive grid collapses! We don't have the heroes to cover decentralized pockets of civilians who refuse to evacuate!"
"The only thing we can do is play the only option we have. If we can't stop the trucks, we track where they're coming from."
She turned her gaze.
"How long until you can tell me how many civilians Detnerat can shelter."
The intelligence chief hesitated. "Several hours. Possibly longer."
"Work faster. I want a full, silent audit on every Detnerat subsidiary by morning. Manufacturing plants, transport manifests, private security permits issued over the last six months."
She slapped a palm onto the table "Make sure every available internal agent is assigned to Detnerat's supply lines starting immediately. I want to know where they are storing their supplies, capacity units, and where their private security teams are being staged. If Yotsubashi is using this relief front to move unregistered equipment or consolidate local cells, I want the paper trail. I don't believe this man isn't breaching civilian Quirk restrictions somewhere. Find it."
"Understood, ma'am," the intelligence officer replied, writing rapidly on his slate. "We'll bypass the regional agencies and deploy discreet units directly into Shizuoka and Yamanashi by midnight."
"Do it." Mizore leaned back in her chair. For now, she could only hope and pray that Detnerat wasn't doing something dangerous despite knowing her prayers would most likely be in vain.
"Nothing leaves this room. I don't want regional offices knowing we're investigating Detnerat until we have something concrete. Alert me immediately if you find anything."
The intelligence officer nodded.
"Yes, ma'am."
He had barely finished speaking when the doors opened. Every head in the room turned as a young man in a dark Commission uniform stepped inside.
He looked like he had been moving quickly, his breathing slightly heavier than it should have been.
"Madam President." The man straightened his posture. "Sorry for interrupting."
Mizore's eyes narrowed.
"I assume something important happened."
He swallowed.
"Something like that Mam. I believe it's something you'll want to hear."
The room fell silent.
Mizore gestured toward him.
"Go on." The man glanced briefly at the officials around the table before focusing on her. "We've just received word from our contacts in the international liaison office."
Mizore's expression didn't change.
"The international liaison office," she repeated. "At this hour."
"Yes, ma'am." The young man wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead. "It concerns a visiting foreign national. Dr. David Shield, of I-Island."
Several officials exchanged blank looks. The name meant nothing to most of them. Mizore's brow, however, creased slightly, some distant memory surfacing from beneath everything else currently occupying her attention.
"Refresh me."
"Head researcher at I-Island's development division," the intelligence officer supplied quietly, flipping back a page in his own notes. "Personal contact of the Symbol of Peace. His visit was logged three days ago as a courtesy notification — non-security, personal travel, cleared under existing research-liaison credentials."
"I see."
"Yes mam. It didn't warrant escalation at the time."
"And now it does?" Mizore asked, her already terrible mood plummeting.
"Dr. Shield's charter landed roughly forty minutes ago at a private airstrip outside the Yokohoma. All Might had arranged an informal escort at his personal request. We only found out because one of them managed to get a distress signal out before contact was lost entirely."
"Lost," Mizore repeated in a flat tone, anger barely concealed.
"The airstrip was attacked, ma'am." The officer replied. "As of this moment, Dr. Shield is confirmed missing."