Ghost In The Shell
Season 02
S02E14 - DI: Beware the Left Eye – POKER FACE
Representatives from the American Empire have arrived in Japan to discuss a new security [[treaty]], and Section 9 plays a part in securing the building where the talks are taking place. In their downtime, members of the different security teams are in the midst of a [[poker]] game, but so far Saito has won every hand. Intrigued by this, the Tachikomas assigned to the security truck shift their discussion from the reason for the new security treaty to the reason that Saito is consistently winning at a game of chance. For a raise in the game, Saito offers to share the story of how he acquired his poker face and why it’s helping him win. In 2020, the American Empire invaded [[Central America]] in an effort to stop the drug trade. Tired of Japan’s lack of involvement in the war, Saito decided to hire himself out as a [[mercenary]], and was picked up by a group fighting to keep [[Mexico]]’s provisional government in place. One day Saito caught wind of a [[Special Forces]] team, which happens to be a force of [[Peacekeeping|UN Peacekeepers]], with a [[tactical nuclear weapon]] that would be passing through the destroyed remains of ([[Monterrey]]), where Saito was stationed. Saito decided to engage the group, and managed to kill a total of three people before the spec ops team determined his location. Headed by Kusanagi, the remaining members of the team stormed the [[hospital]] Saito was camped out in, but not before he managed to kill two more men. Outnumbered and cornered, Saito believed that Kusanagi would likely kill him in a one-on-one shootout, but believed that she lacked the necessary software to snipe him at medium range. Saito tried to engage Kusanagi before she could download the midrange sniping software, only for her to disable him by shooting out his left eye. Kusanagi explained that she already had the software, and had intentionally acted as though she didn’t to lure Saito out and neutralize him. Impressed with his ability, Kusanagi took Saito with her, which was how he ended up working for Section 9. As the episode comes to a close, the possibility arises that the story which Saito just told was completely fabricated, perhaps using the plot of an old movie (the episode’s plot closely resembles the final act of [[Full Metal Jacket]]), but when Saito wins the next round as well, the Tachikomas wonder if he may have been telling the truth after all.
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