Chapter 3: Interpol Headquarters, Hong Kong

The conference room was filled with Interpol agents discussing the latest issues plaguing war-infested Eastern Europe and the newest fashions from Paris as they awaited the arrival of their briefing officer. The table was already stacked high with agents’ reports in their respective field assignments around the world. Some of the agents started to doze off but everyone immediately came to attention the moment the large mahogany door of the conference room opened.

In came the Interpol director with a large briefcase in his hand. He was followed by another person whom everyone in the room knew quite well and respected as one of the top agents in the department. Both were attired in the formal uniform of Interpol and took their seats at the head of the table so as to signal for the day’s briefing to begin.

The director began, "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I trust you all had a pleasant flight from your field assignments. But as of present, we are faced with a new problem… we have had our hands full with the threat posed by Shadowloo in the past. With it’s neutralization, there has been a dramatic decrease in the activities of terrorists around the world."

At this, the agents nodded their heads in agreement. Most of them knew of what Shadowloo was capable of doing and many had seen a colleague killed in action while conducting investigations. It had taken years before Shadowloo was finally destroyed and everyone had breathed a sigh of relief at the news of its demise.

The director continued, "However, there is a new organization that is picking up the pieces that Shadowloo left and although we don’t have any detailed intelligence at the moment, we can assume that if left unchecked it would cause a major threat to the peace and stability of society in general."

"Furthermore, it is imperative that we find out who is leading them and what they plan to do in the days to come. Miss Zhang will brief you on your respective areas of responsibility and will be heading the investigation team on this particular assignment."

Chun-li stood up and promptly began passing around memos to the various agents before proceeding.

"What we plan to do", started Chun-li. "Is to be on the lookout for a certain individual named Necro. He was last seen in the area around downtown New York City and we believe that he may have connections with our target. Since he has been known to frequent the underground fighting tournaments, our best chance of getting close is to observe him and be prepared to move in once everything has been cleared. However, remember that we’ll have to exercise caution as he has the reputation of being a dangerous fighter. Each of you will have specific responsibilities that are indicated in the memos you’ve received. Try to update everyone on the current situation and avoid getting into tight spots at all costs. It would be disastrous if we are discovered too early

in the investigation. Until then, try to get yourselves acquainted with your orders as we’ll be leaving for our destination in two days time. Is that understood?"

Heads around the room nodded in acknowledgement and the director called the meeting to an end.

As Chun-li prepared to exit the room, the director approached and called her aside for a private conversation.

The director said, "It’s been quite some time since you’ve had another assignment as important as this. Are you sure that you’re well-prepared to take on this? Not that I don’t have much faith in you. I have full confidence in your abilities of getting the job done. The fact that you were able to get Commander Guile to give us his full cooperation and survive a serious fight with the Spaniard Balrog is certainly worth commendable."

Chun-li answered, "Don’t worry, sir. It may have taken me months to recover from that fight but rest assured that I’ll get this mission done just like the others. But I have to get my gear ready for the flight and I’ll be spending some time with my students downtown this afternoon. Please excuse me, sir."

"Very well then", the director replied. "Good luck and be careful."

"Yes, sir!", said Chun-li.