Koko Hekmatyar's embrace was a psychological warfare attack more effective than any ambush. It left me stripped of my inner command center, a general without a map. I struggled to regain my composure as I led her on a tour of FOB Janus, with Ghost trailing us like a six-foot panther, his silent presence an anchor of lethality in the sea of Koko's cunning.
She evaluated my creation with the eye of an art connoisseur judging the work of a new, promising master.
"You've built an impressive machine, Kage," she said, watching my Shadow instructors turn local recruits into disciplined soldiers. "Efficient. Clean. Almost... soulless. Every man in his place, every bullet accounted for. It's the perfect application of logic to carnage."
"War is a business of logistics," I replied, my voice through the modulator sounding more monotone than I felt. I was desperately trying to cling to the manual, to professionalism. "Emotion is a liability."
"Oh, I don't disagree," she smiled, her gaze lingering on me. "But isn't it exhausting? To be pure logic all the time? Even machines need maintenance, my ghost."
Every word was a probe, seeking a crack in my armor. Ghost subtly moved closer, a gesture only I noticed. He, too, saw her for what she was: a threat of a different caliber.
Finally, we reached my command center, the FOB's functional heart. It wasn't as grandiose as Base Echo's, but it was efficient. Koko swept her gaze around it, nodding to herself before focusing on the large digital map of Africa on the wall.
"I've come on business, of course," she said, her tone turning more serious, though her eyes still danced with amusement. "Business that I believe will benefit us both immensely."
She pointed to the eastern coast of Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Aden. "HCLI is finalizing the largest infrastructure and defense deal in its history with a coalition of East African nations. Ports, railways, communication systems... and, of course, the military hardware to protect them. It's a deal that will redefine the balance of power in the region."
"And where do we fit into that?" I asked cautiously.
"The deal has enemies," she explained. "A cabal of our competitors, the same Sovereign Path cowards who tried to kill me in the Khyber Pass, are funding Somali pirates and Al-Shabaab affiliated terrorist groups to destabilize the region. They want the deal to fail so they can swoop in and pick up the pieces."
She turned to me, her expression intense. "I don't need an escort team. I don't need a single-mission contract. I need a partner. I need HCLI's military arm in East Africa. I need a force that can project power, secure sea lanes, hunt pirates on the high seas, and conduct surgical strikes against terrorist training camps from the Somali desert to the Kenyan coast."
The sheer magnitude of her proposal took my breath away. She wasn't offering a job. She was offering a kingdom. The combination of HCLI's global intelligence and logistical network with Shadow Company's unparalleled military might... it would make us a true private superpower, capable of dictating policy across entire continents.
"To discuss the details of such a partnership, I need privacy," I said, gesturing for my men, and hers, to leave the room. Ghost shot me a warning glance before exiting, closing the door behind him, leaving Koko and me alone.
"This sounds less like a partnership and more like an acquisition, Koko," I said, crossing my arms. It was a defensive posture, and we both knew it.
She chuckled, a genuine, charming sound that made me even more uneasy. "An acquisition, a merger... those are such boring, corporate words. I prefer to think of it in a much more... traditional way."
She leaned across the strategy table, her face now barely a meter from mine, her smile turning mischievous.
"Think of it, Kage. Think of it as a marriage."
My mental processor stalled. ERROR 404: CONCEPT NOT FOUND. Of all the tactics, all the manipulations I expected, this one was not in any of my simulations.
"A... marriage?" I managed, my modulated voice sounding almost comical in its perplexity.
"Exactly!" she exclaimed, her eyes gleaming. "The union of our two great 'families.' The House of HCLI and the House of Shadow. Together, we would be a dynasty. Unstoppable. We would rule the global war and reconstruction market. It would be the talk of the century!"
She straightened, gesturing enthusiastically as she paced the room. "I bring the dowry: a transport network that can move anything anywhere, and I have the personal phone number of almost every world leader. You bring... well, you bring the most lethal, technologically advanced ghost army in history. It's a perfect prenuptial agreement!"
I was completely lost. Alex's logic tried to analyze it as a strange negotiation tactic. Kenji's wounded self didn't know how to process this level of personal and bizarre attention.
"We could have a small ceremony right here, at your base," she continued, clearly enjoying my confusion. "We'd invite some warlords, a couple of CIA directors... General Vance could officiate. Valmet would make a terrifying bridesmaid, though she'd probably try to stab the organist. And you, my mysterious, melancholic groom, could finally take off that mask at the altar to kiss the bride."
The mental image was so absurd, so surreal, it jolted me out of my stupor. "Koko, this is a multi-billion dollar business negotiation..." I began, desperately trying to regain control.
"Is it?" she interrupted, her voice suddenly softer, more serious. She stopped and turned to face me, and the playful smile vanished, replaced by a naked intensity. "Or is it something more? You are the only person in this world who still surprises me, Kage. Everyone else wants something from me. Money, weapons, power, access. They look at me and they see a tool, a bank account, or an enemy. You... you told me no. And then you went out and built this," she gestured encompassing the base, "on your own. That's far more interesting than any contract."
She stepped closer again, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I don't want to buy your company, Kage. I want to partner with the man who was bold enough to build it. The rest... the rest is just a fun way to phrase it."
She saw in my eyes, or the body language behind my mask, that she had pushed me to my limit. As quickly as she had advanced, she retreated, her playful CEO mask sliding back into place.
"Think about it," she said, walking towards the door. "The offer is on the table. My empire and yours, intertwined. A force the world has never seen. I'll give you a week to give me an answer."
She paused at the door, her hand on the knob. She turned, and for a split second, I saw something else on her face. It wasn't a smile, it wasn't a taunt. It was something closer to concern, a vulnerability so rare in her that it was like seeing snow in the desert.
"By the way, Kage," she said, her voice now devoid of all cheer. "The reason Valmet and Lehm are so tense today isn't because of your soldiers. It's because the detective calling himself 'L' has put out an unofficial international hundred-million-dollar bounty for any information leading to the revelation of your true identity."
My blood ran cold.
"My rivals, enemy governments, even some of our 'allies' are desperately trying to cash in on it. The world is becoming very dangerous for lone ghosts, no matter how lethal they are. Being alone makes you a target."
And with that bombshell, she opened the door and left, leaving a deafening silence in her wake.
The proposal, the "marriage," the business offer... everything recontextualized. It wasn't just a power play. It was an offer of protection. An invitation into the shelter of her own empire, where HCLI's network could shield me from the eyes of L and the rest of the world. It was a gilded cage, yes, but the outside world was rapidly becoming a slaughterhouse.
I stood alone in my command center for a long time. Finally, I walked over to a small locker and removed my mask, staring at my own face, Kenji Tanaka's face, in the polished metal.
Koko Hekmatyar was a master manipulator. I had won a war against a Russian-backed army. I had built a military company from nothing. But in the span of an hour, with a joke about marriage and a deadly warning, that woman had completely cornered me.
The game was no longer about contracts or battles. It had become about survival. And Koko had offered me an ark in the middle of a deluge she herself had helped create. The question was whether I preferred to drown free or live as the serpent queen's consort.