Chapter Nine – Tying Loose Ends
"Shuffle over shuffle over!" Pagan happily directed everyone with his hand as he adjusted his camera on one of the signal corps tripods. "Perfect! Hold it!"
Pressing down the shutter button Pagan jumped in front of the camera and moved to the spot in the centre of the mass of men.
Almost all the soldiers who had taken part were lined up in three rows like a school class photo.
Ajay, Paul, Gary, Pagan, the tank crew, the members of the signal corps, the infantry, the officers and even the state reporter attached to the outfit, each smiled heartily as they stood still for the photo.
The camera flashed and then they all cheered as they broke formation.
Turning to face his group Pagan laughed and smiled, "Men… I cannot stress it enough just how proud you have made me… I salute you all."
The soldiers cheered and clapped and hugged one another.
Ajay walked up to his host and smiled, "So, what now?"
Pagan looked up at the sky; the sun was beginning to go down over the mountains.
"Now we head back to the palace and begin our party!"
Paul swiped through his phone before looking up at the king, "Yuma texted me that her men have located Prosper, and that they're close to getting Hurk."
Pagan smiled and sighed, "Oh… divine…"
Paul looked back down, he'd received another text.
"She also says that her agent has responded to her message and that Bhadra is in fact still alive…"
Paul stepped closer and showed Pagan the screen. Looking back up at Ajay Pagan smacked his adopted son's shoulder and laughed.
"It's all coming together Ajay!"
The young man nodded. He couldn't help but feel excited, he really felt in it now.
He was immersed. He was growing attached to everything around him.
Kyrat, he felt, was enchanting him.
"So, at this party…" He eagerly asked. "We're going to get shitfaced right?"
Pagan looked at Paul and then back at the kid.
"Ha! Did you hear that Paul?"
Paul put his phone away and folded his arms, "Kid, you think you can take me?"
Pagan leaned forwards, "Paul is the resident drinking champion of Kyrat."
He sniggered, "he's put us Asians to shame so far Ajay. You're going to have to show him up I swear."
Ajay smirked, "Well I don't know, but none of my friends could keep up with me back home."
Pagan comically made his lips round and exclaimed a loud 'Ooo' sound.
"Alright kid! You're on." Paul held out his hand and Ajay quickly shook it.
"It's decided then!" Pagan announced.
Walking to one of the lightly armoured trucks the king mounted and continued speaking, "Fireworks, booze, girls," he coughed comically and spoke in a hushed voice, "cocaine."
Ajay and Paul followed him into the vehicle and the engine started up as they took their seats.
"We are going to get fucked up my friends…"
Pagan stretched out and unbuttoned his now dirty jacket.
Ajay nodded along and looked at Paul who was sitting opposite him.
"We're not driving back to the palace are we?"
Pagan furrowed his brow and immediately responded, "Oh god no… We'll drive to the nearest fort, Paul's, it's just north of Tirtha."
Paul nodded, "Then we'll get on my helicopter there and fly north."
Ajay looked at Pagan quizzically.
"I know what I said about helicopters… but I swear if I have to drive across the length and breadth of the whole country again, we'll never get to that bloody party."
Ajay laughed.
Pagan raised his eyebrows and Ajay put up his hands in defense; "I'm sorry, but that's just funny."
Pagan leaned back and smiled quietly. Sitting down and shifting in his seat, Paul chuckled as well.
Outside they heard a 'pang' against the metal side of the truck and then they each looked over and watched as Gary attempted to lift himself into the truck. The small, tanned, aid-de-camp acknowledged the trucks' passengers with an out of breath "Hello" before continuing, "Majesty most of the soldiers have loaded the captured equipment and they have finished sweeping the town."
Pagan nodded.
"Several squads will stay and begin repairs while garrisoning the town. The rest of our men will be redeployed at various nearby outposts while we rotate our active servicemen."
Paul interjected, "The civilians who have been evacuated, are they getting what they need? I've got a stockpile of some Red Cross shit in Tirtha.
Gary stuttered, "I, I don't really know what they need but I'm sure the people would be appreciative to see the foreign aid."
Paul looked at Pagan and the king nodded.
"Send it," he cleared his throat, "if we want to coast off this victory we're going to need to win the hearts and minds of the people at every turn."
Paul turned back to Gary, "I'll make a couple calls."
"That'll certainly help sway the people, I think."
Ajay leaned backwards and sighed as the truck became quiet. Except for Paul clicking on his phone and the yelling of the men outside it was kind of peaceful.
But Gary was awkwardly hanging in-between the opening of the truck and the covered back.
Pagan opened his eyes and broke the uncomfortable silence, "What is it Gary?"
The aid's face looked momentarily flustered and he then shook his head "N-nothing your Majesty!"
Pagan narrowed his eyes and tried to read Gary's face, silently the two communicated to each other with wordless expressions. At the end Pagan's brow raised in surprise and he slowly smiled.
After having seemingly delivered his cryptic message Gary nodded and looked out of the truck, "We'll be on our way shortly gentlemen."
Dropping down from the back of the truck Gary loudly patted the side of the armour while he made his way to the cab of the vehicle. Opening the passenger door he lifted himself up and sat inside the armoured cabin.
-1-
In his small mobile camp Longinus sat and was finishing a prayer when his phone went off. Under his breath he began to mumble an apology as his concentration was broken. "Oh! No, no I am so sorry Lord… I thought I had it on silent…"
He cringed and quickly crossed himself three times before standing and picking his phone off the nearby table.
Looking at the cracked glass screen he saw that the number was unlisted and the contact id was blocked.
There was only one person he knew that contacted him like this…
'Now? Of all times?' he thought.
Unlocking the phone he brought it to his ear and confidently greeted the only person who it could have been; "Hello Mr. Huntley."
The American on the other end made a hollow false laugh, "I didn't know guardian angels provided caller id."
Longinus smirked and sighed. "What is it you want to sell me this time Mr. Huntley?"
"Short and to the point I like that… No superfluous questions, Goddamn I would have loved to work with you when you were operating in Africa, would have made some of those proxy wars much easier let me tell you."
Longinus huffed and took a few steps out of his camp.
"Mr. Huntley please, I am no mood for your stories."
The line went quiet.
Willis Huntley was very rarely given attitude, but he swallowed his pride and continued.
"We're pulling out of Kyrat… It looks like it's over for the Golden Path and Pagan's forces are going to secure the country."
Longinus furrowed his brow in disbelief.
"No… No, that is not possible! I saw the return of Ghale!"
Willis mumbled in agreement, "Yeah… Well it looks like Ajay Ghale joined the other side this time around."
Longinus sunk lowly and sat onto the wet grass.
"I've been ordered by my section chief to get rid of our involvement, so as a courtesy I've been told to offer you a generous severance pack."
Longinus shook with laughter. "Mr. Huntley where are you right now? I doubt I will ever see you again to receive this pack."
"Where I am isn't important, but, you are right about never seeing me again…"
He sighed, "The pack is a large suitcase of dollars and a special transit visa backed by the US government… I can get it to you but…"
Longinus raised an eyebrow, willingly taking the bait. "But?" he repeated.
"I've recently received intel from a source in the Royal Guard that Yuma has personally ordered her boys to find you and capture you."
Longinus jumped to his feet.
"If you are captured well… we never worked together, I was never in Kyrat, and we never met. Understand? Actually, I feel kind of bad for screwing over a holy man, but hey that's politics!"
Willis laughed and there was a loud electronic tone which beeped twice on the call.
Longinus ran into his camp and began moving things around. "What was that?" he asked futilely.
A woman's voice then came on the line, "I'd thank you Huntley but… I do despise you to the core."
Huntley smiled quietly before speaking back up, "Longinus I'm sorry but Yuma's been listening in the whole time. She's got a message for you and I'd get off the hook if I arranged this, so as the romantics say: ciao!"
The CIA agent departed the call and now Longinus was speaking with the Dragon of Durgesh herself: Yuma Lau.
After a tense second of silent disbelief Longinus heard her voice again.
"Prosper Kouassi; I am prepared to offer you a golden opportunity."
Longinus stood frozen and silent; she even knew his previous identity?
He was in disbelief that his otherwise beautiful day had so swiftly been ruined by just a simple phone call.
Yuma huffed audibly, "Are you there?"
Finally the holy man got the courage necessary to speak, "Y-you are the devil…"
The Cantonese woman laughed and spoke off the line in her native tongue, "I've been called many things Prosper; you're not all that original you know."
Before she could continue he interrupted and loudly yelled down the phone, "I will die before I make a deal with you, or Pagan, or anyone else like you!"
Yuma paused and waited till he was finished.
"You and your ilk are the evil associates of Lucifer! Polluting the world merely with your sinful presence…"
Longinus began breathing rapidly as he paced his small home.
"Be careful making statements like that." Her tone changed and she noticeably revealed her annoyance, "We can very easily have it arranged."
Longinus threw the phone onto his table and he quickly began arming himself.
Strapping belts of ammunition across his chest, stuffing loaded pistol magazines into his trousers' pockets, he prepared himself for battle.
Then he picked the phone back up.
"Listen to me you Dragon from hell… You will never take me alive. I will kill all your men you send to me!"
Yuma let out a frustrated breath, "Prosper, all we want is information. Then we will let you go, and you can go wherever you want in the world."
Longinus shook his head, "This is my calling. My mission is to spread the word here in Kyrat."
He laughed, "I am to fight against you and injustice and evil wherever I first find it!"
Yuma was quiet for several seconds.
"Are you quite sure you want to go down this road?"
Longinus stood up straight and held the phone away from his ear, "I am!"
"I will personally send you to-"
His voice was cut off by a single bullet.
-2-
A 7.62 by 54 millimetres round, rather ironically, passed through Longinus' temple. The force of the impact blew the frontal plate of bone open and caused the top of Longinus' face to come off.
Though he'd been shot in the head before, when it comes to injuries like that the second one usually finishes the job…
His body reacted to the shot and flew to the side spastically.
Though he'd prepared for combat after hearing the force in his voice, the zealous belief he had in his abilities… Yuma had no intention of putting her men in harm's way for potential information.
While she spoke with him and he confirmed his willingness to fight no matter what, Yuma radioed her men with the signal to take him out.
Huntley, reacting from the news that Pagan was actually finishing off the remainder of the Golden Path, reached out to Yuma and offered giving up Longinus' location, the locations of additional caches across the lowlands of the country, and the names of potential Golden Path agents in the highlands, in return for his own life…
Though she'd wanted Huntley dead for a while, the promise of getting rid of Longinus and the remainder of the arms and ammunition in the southern half of the country was just too good a deal to pass up.
The call allowed Yuma's soldiers to position in a spot with a view of Longinus' camp, and it also confirmed that Huntley had been telling the truth.
The shot loudly echoed through Longinus' phone and Yuma smiled satisfactorily when she heard the loud commotion of Prosper falling.
She listened silently for a few moments before the radio beside her desk crackled with a transmission from one of her two fire teams in the field.
"Target neutralised, we scored a direct hit, over."
Yuma hung up the cream landline phone; placing it back into its small station on her desk.
Reaching beside her she took hold of the radio transmitter, she kept her plain even tone, but she couldn't help but feel pleased with her men.
"Excellent work boys… Move up the hill, secure his stockpile, burn everything else. Over and out"
After returning the receiver to the top of the olive green military radio she sat back in her chair.
Her officer in the field responded "Roger will-co." and she knew that yet another thing had been taken care of.
Yuma smiled and allowed herself a loud laugh. She bore her teeth and closed her eyes. Extending her arms above her head she couldn't help but feel triumph.
'It's all coming together big brother!' She thought.
She sighed satisfactorily and continued to stretch. Standing up she unbuttoned her jacket and threw it on the shoulders of her chair.
Twisting her arms she did small circles in the air and began to exercise.
She centred herself and took deep steady breaths, but just before she could actually relax, her plain black cell phone began to ring.
Keeping her eyes closed and beginning to do slow half squats she instinctually found the phone on the edge of the desk. Picking it up Yuma slid her thumb across the glass; inputting her passcode.
After unlocking it she brought it to her ear.
Other than her occasional breath she remained silent. Yuma had an obscure philosophy and personal policy regarding phones; if somebody called her then they spoke first.
No matter what or who it was that was calling her. She never said the first word in a phone conversation.
At first it irritated Pagan but he'd gotten used to it over the years.
Yuma could handle the silence; she was a master of keeping her cool when others would be squirming.
Years of dedicated work and desensitisation had conditioned Yuma Lau to become a cold, calculating, and ruthlessly efficient woman. To the point that the only people she cared about were those in her organisation, and the lengths she'd go to for her side were boundless.
A few awkward seconds passed and finally a voice came through.
"Yuma? Ms. Lau?"
"What is it Huntley." She smirked and scoffed, "I was wondering if you were going to call, or if you'd simply buggered off."
Huntley huffed uncomfortably.
"I held up my end, I told you where he was. I assume you killed him?"
Yuma opened her eyes and finished her twelfth squat. Standing upright she walked to her office's open door.
Moving the phone off her cheek she called to a nearby soldier in Cantonese, "Corporal, could you bring me a bottle of water?"
The soldier nodded and immediately moved away from his post.
Walking back into her office she shook her head and returned to English. "That's not your concern Huntley. Now what do you want?"
Huntley shuffled, and sounded flustered, "Okay, I get it; you don't like me, but there's no reason that your government and mine can't –"
Yuma cut him off, "Huntley if I ever find out you set foot in Kyrat again I'll have you killed and fed to Yang-Ye."
Huntley furrowed his brow and gruffly asked the obvious, nervously laughing, "Who's Yang-Ye?"
Without missing a beat Yuma responded nonchalantly, "My tiger… Now you have ten seconds to keep my attention before I hang up."
"Alright!" he almost yelled, "Alright… here's the pitch: my people can move some things around and see about getting more international aid to your government. In exchange we-"
"Huntley you're going to have to do better than that. What do you really want?"
He remained quiet for a second. "My section chief as well as the South East Asia division doesn't consider Kyrat or the Min regime a threat."
Yuma scoffed and walked to the cork board on her wall. It was filled with photos of key Golden Path members and associates; some had been crossed out with thick red marker and a few had black question marks drawn beside them.
The various surveillance and stock photos remained mutely staring in various directions, Darpan, Amita, Sabal, Mohan, Longinus, Hurk, Willis, and a few others… They looked like deer or prey that Yuma had been stalking.
"You do though?" she replied.
Huntley's tone turned serious, "I do…"
Yuma smiled and stared at the grainy photo of Huntley in front of her.
"Mr. Huntley…" her tone changed, her voice now sounded like she was a saleswoman, or someone in a service position, "Or, Willis? May I call you Willis?"
The agent paused uncomfortably, "what?" was all he managed.
"Well, Willis, I know you're currently in an illegal listening station in northern India. I know this because your informants in the Royal Guard…"
Her tone changed to one darkly serious.
"…are actually my informants." She furrowed her brow and she began to channel her hostility, "did you honestly think they'd jump ship and work for you?"
Willis moved uncomfortably and brushed the phone with his stubble, tensely listening as Yuma continued.
"My men are loyal until death, and they each told me when you approached them of their own accord."
Huntley tried to laugh and interject to defuse Yuma's growing displeasure, "Let's just back up here…"
Yuma shook her head and her hair loosened in its bun, "No I don't think so Willis."
There was a knock at Yuma's door and her Corporal leaned through the doorway with a perspiring canteen of water.
She turned and walked to receive the drink. Her face nodded appreciatively and she closed the door before continuing.
"We had made you as soon as you took over from the previous agent."
Huntley cleared his throat, and attempted to jump in again.
"Can I just say something?"
Yuma raised an eye brow as she took a drink of water, "Go ahead."
"Hurk Drubman is an American citizen… You touch him in anyway and we'll respond officially."
Swallowing the cold water Yuma began to laugh, "The man is a murderer, and we can prove it. We'd immediately take it to the international court in The Hague and what do you think public opinion would be?"
She sat down in her chair and continued, "The big US beating up a small developing country? Yet another American cowboy captured abroad for breaking laws?"
Bringing a hand above her head she removed her hair tie and pulled the sharp hairstick from the centre of her pink bun. The tightly coiled locks loosened and she let out a sigh of relief as she ran her fingers through and shook the hair out.
"What about extradition? We can send you several Kyrati who've fled to the US."
Yuma smiled in disbelief, "We're negotiating over this deadbeat now?"
A flustered Huntley scattered whatever was in front of him and tried to form his next sentence, he struggled uncomfortably, and for the first time in a while he'd been stumped.
Stuttering and trying to come up with anything useful he failed to keep the woman's interest.
Sighing Yuma leaned back in her chair and brought her boots up to rest on her desk, with finality and satisfaction in her voice she ended the call, "Goodbye Willis."
"Whoa! Wait!"
The line clicked dead and Yuma cackled as she put the phone back on her desk.
-3-
Sitting in disappointment Willis stared at his phone for a few tense moments.
He was currently in an unused office of a small listening station in northern India and cool air was blowing into his room through the small vent above the desk.
There was a knock at his door and he gruffly cleared his throat before he spoke, "Yeah?"
The door hesitantly opened and a lightly tanned agent poked his head into the room. "Huntley, sir?" he asked quietly.
Irritated Willis nodded and motioned him into the room, repeating his earlier statement, "Yeah?"
"I've got a director on the line asking for you? He says it's something about Montana?"
Willis jumped out of his chair and brushed past the agent in the doorway, "Where? Which phone?"
The agent nodded and hurriedly led Willis towards his desk, "Just here sir…"
Immediately holding the receiver to his ear Willis' voice changed to a surprisingly courteous tone; "Agent Willis Huntley here."
A familiar voice came over the line and Willis continued with his subservient tone.
"Is the Kyrat operation pulled? Is everything scrubbed?"
"Yes sir… Every thing's been taken care over here director."
The voice sounded distracted as it made mumbled noises of affirmation, "Good good…"
"Well Willis we need you to take over for another assignment back stateside. We've got an interesting development brewing in Montana. I'm sure you're familiar with it."
"Vaguely sir…"
The man huffed, "Well no matter, we're going to have you on the next plane for Washington for your debrief okay?"
Huntley became slightly flustered, "Yeah? I mean, yes of course. No problem."
"Well the President's doing a bit of a shuffle here and a couple of the directors are concerned Huntley… So we need you as soon as possible. You'll have enough time in the air to get the story straight."
Willis knew what his director meant.
The shuffling was going to be adversely affecting some elements of the CIA and by extension meant that Huntley's current superior; the guy in charge of South East Asian operations was expecting a stellar report.
It wasn't the first time Willis Huntley was going to have lied in a report.
But it wasn't exactly comforting that he was going to be immediately reassigned to the interior…
"I can safely say it's not been the same since old BO took office…" The director sighed. "Christ I miss Bush…"
Huntley chuckled. He couldn't say that he shared his director's nostalgia. But his place wasn't to think about that.
Willis was to do what he was told, and what was in the interests of his country.
If that meant that a report needed to be doctored, then so be it.
"Anyway Huntley, I'll see you when you touch down."
"Understood, Sir"
-4-
