MYSTERIES AND CONSPIRACIES ABOUND
Terrorists claim to have possession of a girl who was kidnapped sixteen years ago. Section 9 are called in to rescue her; however, they soon realise there is something very wrong - the girl is the same age she was when she was kidnapped all those years ago!
Section 9 are assigned to guard a very wealthy and reclusive businessman who has been targeted for assassination by an international crime syndicate. But they seem to have lost him? Back at the headquarters, the Major has become disturbed by the behaviour of the Tachikomas; their artificial intelligence is developing too fast, leading them to act erratically. Kusanagi’s reservations about their future usefulness is about to come to a head, and will have moral implications for certain members of Section 9.
Meanwhile, Batou has other concerns as he goes undercover to spy on Pavlo Zaitsev, a former Olympic silver medalist and a personal hero of his. Zaitsev is suspected of leaking sensitive information to an unknown party. The assignment calls into question Batou´s attitudes towards his Section 9 duties and forces him to make a decision..