Tokyo, San'ya

In the metropolis of Tokyo, in the notorious San'ya district, which was completely controlled by the Yakuza, lived the Kynaya family. Yorinobu and his daughter Isako lived in this neighborhood. Yorinobu had always dreamed of leaving the neighborhood, moving to the island of Hokkaido, and opening a Japanese cooking restaurant with his daughter, but his dreams were blocked by the yakuza because of the many debts he owed them. Yorinobu had opened a small ramen shop with money borrowed from a yakuza moneylender. He owed so many yen.

The longer he went on, the more the locare could not charge enough to pay the debts. His daughter often asked her father to quit and go away, but he would not hear of it; he wanted to give his daughter a new life and was sure the club was the place to start.                                              One day in January 2001, Isako came home to find her father dead on the floor. She was turned over to social services, but the perpetrators were never found. A few weeks later, Isako went to apply for the K.A.R. project and was accepted in February 2002.                                                                On February 22, she left for the U.S., bound for Phoenix.

Seattle, Belltown

Alex McClaine and his older sister Alice lived in the suburbs of Seattle. She was a hairdresser and he was in high school, albeit public. Alice was engaged to a boy named Dan who was involved in a gunrunning ring. He was often at her house, and despite his "job" was quite nice and friendly, even Alex, who was often skeptical and prescient, liked him. One night Dan took Alice to a restaurant in a nearby neighborhood for their anniversary, but when they sat down at the table, two boys pulled out guns and sprayed the restaurant with bullets, then ran away.

The next day the police came to Alex's house and told him the news: Dan was dead and Alice was in the hospital.                                                                                                                                                                        In January 2001, two months after the tragedy, Alice was placed on the witness protection list in exchange for a diary belonging to Dan that contained all the names and accounts of criminal activity. Alice decided to enroll Alex in the K.A.R. to prevent him from living on the run. He was brought to the orphanage and was accepted in February 2002. He left for Phoenix on February 3, 2002.

February, 2002

The long-awaited day had arrived, the start of the K.A.R. program; all the boys were assembled at Saint Jackson Air Force Base in suburban Phoenix. General Jeremy Sawyer, a multi-decorated Air Force soldier, had been selected to lead the project. His job was to train the boys as efficiently as possible. They were all gathered there so that Sawyer could explain to all the boys what they would be doing for the next two years.                                                                                            Apparently, this program was designed to train an army to fight World War III, if there ever was one. The boys would be divided into teams of six, and they would face each mission together. They would be trained in every discipline: tactical skills, physical training, military training, naval and air training, as well as completing their scheduled eighteen-year education, since many had not even made it halfway through.

In Section B, just south of the military base, there were as many as one hundred and twenty-five sections. One team was assigned to each section. There were about a thousand boys in Section B waiting to be assigned to a team. Sergeant Newman was in charge of this section and announced the teams one by one. At one point it was section twenty-four's turn.

"The team that will occupy section twenty-four consists of: Jackson, Philippe, McClaine, Russo, Kynaya, and Sanchez" Sergeant Newman announced. 

The six boys went to their section, which consisted of three sets of bunk beds, two desks, and a bathroom that was obviously shared. The boys settled in and for the first day, no one spoke to each other; they didn't want to admit it, but they were scared of what was going to happen, even though it was much better than what they would face back home.                                                    The next day, the six of them, along with all the other boys from Sector B, were called to the training grounds; it was six o'clock in the morning, the sun was still rising, and all the boys were so sleepy they couldn't stand; each recruit was given a bag containing a bland sandwich that they had to eat quickly before they started.

They were in a large green area with a running track. The boys, after devouring the sandwich, divided into teams according to their section.                                                                                              Sergeant Newman announced loudly: "This is your first time here, your first training. Last one in will be washing dishes all week" then he blew his whistle and all the recruits started running. This first challenge was the first of many tests: the second was a course that included rock climbing, rope climbing, pull-ups, and beam running; the third was a test of swimming in murky water with weights and backpacks; the fourth was a fast driving test; and then more tests. 

The only one hour break was for lunch, which ended at 7:00 p.m. The boys went back to their rooms; they knew that lights out was at 10:00 p.m. and lunch was at eight.

All the recruits went to the mess hall, which was right next to Section Twenty. There were long tables and a single counter where a hearty, high-calorie meal was served: soup, vegetables, bread, pasta and butter, and white meat.                                                                                                            The boys from section twenty-four sat together at the same table, but no one spoke until young Kenny broke the ice: "Is it just me, or does this chicken taste like cardboard?" he exclaimed to his teammates. They all laughed and nodded. Little did they know that this was the beginning of a friendship that would last a lifetime.

As the weeks went by, and the more they practiced together, the more the six of them seemed to get along, getting along extremely well, perhaps because they were forced to be together, or perhaps because their histories were so similar that each saw the other as a brother. Within a month of starting, the boys were asked to choose which one of them would be the team leader, and the choice for Team Twenty-Four was easy: Lucas Jackson.                                                                During their time at St. Jackson's, the group had formed a special bond with Team Twenty-Two, captained by Andrew Maddox, but the reason they were so close was the friendship between Max and Giulia.                                                                                                                                                                      In addition to Max, Giulia, his best friend, also applied and was accepted into the K.A.R. program. The only meeting place for the boys in Sector B was the cafeteria, the only place where they could talk and rest.

August, 2003

It had been more than a year since the K.A.R. program began, and the boys were nearing the end of the project. They had finished the curriculum months ahead of schedule to catch up with high school, but they were still halfway through on the tactical and physical side. Each team was required to have six members because each component had a specific task.

Team Twenty-Four was now experienced, and all six had military specialties that made them an elite team: Lucas was the leader, an indispensable component in any team, he had the task of handling disputes and making the most difficult decisions; Max was the arms of the team, skilled in fighting and using all kinds of weapons; Kenny was the eyes of the team, he had specialized as a sniper, by now he could hit a target from almost a kilometer away; Mason had used his computer skills and had become a prodigy at logistical support and hacking into enemy terminals, and was also in very good shape now that he had lost all his extra pounds to meet military standards; Isako was the team doctor, as there had to be one member in each team who could heal or repair any wounds and handle health situations; and lastly, Alex had become the tactics expert, skilled at creating plans and strategies to defeat the enemy. Each team had these components, and all were capable of making each team unbeatable.           

It was a scorching August morning, and the boys of Section Twenty-Four had awakened at dawn as was their custom, parachuting into high-risk areas was scheduled for that day, the boys climbed into the Air Force jet, they were ready to jump, they were not afraid, now they were soldiers. They jumped from that dizzying height and landed in the woods near the military station, returning in the early afternoon and passing the survival test with flying colors.

"Good job, Team Twenty-Four" congratulated Sergeant Newman

"It could have been better" Lucas said dejectedly

"What? We did great" Kenny added with satisfaction

"We took too long, we should have taken five hours, not seven" the team leader insisted

"Don't be so hard on yourself" said a voice from behind them: it was General Sawyer, "your team was the best, don't be so picky

"Thank you sir" Lucas said at attention, everyone fell into line as the general arrived.

"Okay, you can get some rest now, there will be another survival test tomorrow" Newman announced.

The boys went to their rooms, Max, as usual, always met Julia outside Sector B at the end of training, while the others went to change and rest before dinner.

"You finished fast" Giulia said to Max as she sat on the wall of the parking lot

"Don't rub it in, even though it took you less time, we are still the best team" Max taunted

"Keep believing that" Giulia replied with a smile, Max sat down next to her and the two were silent for a while.

"What are you thinking about?" the boy asked

"Later" Giulia replied

"What do you mean?" insisted Max

"Don't you ever think about what we're going to do after all this" Julia said

"I think we'll be soldiers, that's what we were chosen for" Max replied

"What if we leave, I mean when the project is over" the girl suggested

"Do you want to run away?" Max asked curiously

"You don't?" the girl replied

"I don't know, I wouldn't know what to do" he answered dejectedly

"Really? You don't have any dreams" Julia insisted

"Well, actually, I'd like to open a gym, where kids can have fun and find a home" Max replied, "What about you?" he asked

"Actually, I just want to travel, see the world" the girl said, looking at the horizon, Max smiled, hugged the girl and said: "We'll go, I promise.