Now it's Gisela's turn to shine.

Wild Card

CHAPTER XII

Three days have passed; nothing colossally worth mentioning happened as far as Planet Zi's chronological history is concerned. Life went on typically… each one going about their affairs and all. And, of course, it's business as usual in the huge town square of Ladratos. Just by standing in front of its gates, one can plainly see its many busy streets spewing with people going in all directions. One group consisted of peddlers pulling on mobile stalls as they go about their rounds, while another group came carrying boxes of merchandise to be transported to their respective establishments… and yet another group of people appeared to be the buyers, all equipped with their trusty shopping bags and trolleys. As some sellers remained sedentary on their designated booths doing their usual advertising, independent streams of townsfolk in the meantime came pouring into alleys just as full of activity as the other.

From the looks of it, it's like Ladratos has got it all. Shops housing clothiers, shops for farm tools, shops for jewelry, shops for rare books… you name it, it's got it. Everywhere you look, there are stores filling every block and blunting every corner. It's a Mecca for bargain hunters of all ages. No wonder it's the undisputed business capital of Delpoi.

Amidst the commotion customary to the locality, no one noticed a scooter pulling over. Taking off her protective helmet, the rider reveals herself to be Cadet Private Gisela Reimers. She parked and secured her vehicle carefully. It wasn't her first time to be in a place such as this, so she'd know better than to leave her means of transportation behind unprotected.

Gisela began walking through the one of the busy streets, letting her shoulder-long hair left unbraided for the first time in public glide against the light and gentle wind, as she took her own calm pace notwithstanding the flow of the human current that looks like it'd effortlessly and mercilessly drag you along with it like an empty carton box when you'd gaze at it from a distance. Wearing a fitting pair of leather pants suitable for traversing long distances on anything with two wheels, and with a rugged travel top to go along with it, she has mingled herself perfectly in the swarm of people. Considering the task she was going to undertake, turning up there in her GF apparel was clearly out of the question.

Ladratos is a large town, but luckily only a quarter of its land area is the actual industrial district, where most the economic activities and the population thickness are very much concentrated. The rest of the conurbation is a charming morph between the rurals and the suburbs. Gisela made sure she was familiar with the details of the vicinity.

As the newbie cadet private walked through the dense cloud of people, she kept her eyes peeled as she scoured the place for any establishment that fitted Thomas' description of it. She couldn't help but feel nostalgic having inserted herself entirely in the scenery; the surroundings she was in looked very much like the main municipality in her own home province. She started remembering everything: the landscape, the farm lands, the people… and of course, the memories of O'Connell, both from then and now. Even though Thomas may have tried to cheer her up by saying that her chances with the major were relatively better than his are with Fiona, the mere reminiscing of the aqua-haired GF official made her heart sink altogether.

"Snap out of it, Gisela," she thought, giving herself a mental slap in the face. "You're not here to think of things like that! Concentrate more on the mission at hand!" With that, she tried to recall what how Thomas described the whereabouts and the façade design of Jon Copper's store.

Thomas: You'll find his establishment along the 127th lane. It isn't that big, but it isn't that hard to find either. It's actually a café with an overhanging balcony. You'll love the ambiance. It's more or less like the one we all ate in when we went out that night.

Gisela: Alright, got that. But how would I know it's him? How does he look like?

Thomas: He usually mans the cash register. He wouldn't immediately look like it, but he actually owns the café too. It's a cover-up for the same reason you already know. He hates having to clandestinely run a business that isn't illegal at all. Oh, by the way, here's the list of things I'll need. And just remember what I said. Good luck.

Finally, Gisela found what she was looking for. In her own opinion, the façade might have looked a hell of a lot better during its halcyon days, but the ambiance is soothing all the same in the interior. It gives an overall rustic ring to it. Stepping inside the café, she noted every table filled with tourists momentarily resting their feet tired from long sightseeing walks. Seeing almost everyone enjoying their sips of freshly brewed coffee, Gisela longed to wish she were in their place, instead of trying to act like the cool girl out to get classified information like some double agent. She honestly felt excited taking on a daring job such as this, but simultaneously, a part of her felt deep down that she wasn't cut out for this. But there was no turning back this time; she agreed to the task even though she had the option of backing out earlier. To her, if it would all come down to her trying to prove something to herself, then so be it.

She scanned the place for the cash register area, where she ultimately spotted a balding white-haired man approximately in his sixties. He was wearing a brick red apron and was joyously in a conversation with one of the customers. His eccentrically infectious laugh somewhat emphasized his protuberant belly, which jiggled a lot with every chuckle. He may be a bit overweight for his height, but then again, what would one expect for someone at his age in the line of work he's in? To Gisela, he looked too carefree for someone to be on the watch-out-for list of the peacekeeping bureau, but he sure didn't look like a dimwit on the other hand. Finding that there wasn't anyone queuing in front of the cash register, she approached the spot with a placid yet confidently elegant walk. Staying up late to rehearse that walk over and over finally paid off.

She remembers she has to say things eloquently. Trying her best to be sagacious at a time like this can be very wearisome, especially for someone who's not used to posing as a totally different person. But she kept telling to herself over and over that it's about time she took a chance at trying her hand out on departing from being this shy wallflower to this confident, free-spirited lady. Sure, she has to be confident to get somewhere with this, but she knew she had to be careful too not to turn out unabashed. Though she's quite reassured that not a single hair on her head will be harmed, it still would be a big letdown for everyone if she bungles up in this, so she had to take this seriously and with every ounce of prevenience nevertheless.

"Anything I can help you with, miss?" came the overweight sexagenarian's ebullient greeting. This was Gisela's moment of truth.

"A cappuccino please," said Gisela, curling her lips up in a calm yet assertive smile… the best she can come up with in that situation. She didn't let her gaze off the older man's eyes. "Make mine a grande, choco-laced."

"A grande choco-laced cappuccino it is," said the man as he turned around to start up the cappuccino machine. "It'll come right up. Anything else you'd like to go along with that?"

"No, just a cappuccino."

Copper eyed her discreetly thereafter; he has been in Ladratos much more than anyone else in the room was, and he knew almost every perennial tourist that comes by his café by heart… almost too well that he was dead sure Gisela didn't come from around there. Somehow he had a feeling she was there for something more than just a cappuccino… something that didn't involve any leisurely sightseeing at all.

"Looks like you've been traveling a long distance," commented Jon, still keeping his jovial temperament untouched. "The conditions on the road hadn't been too friendly to you too," he added as he pertained to the dust coating most of the surface of Gisela's boots.

"Yeah," answered Gisela quite casually. "You look rather busy yourself. Seems like the usual business day for you, am I right?" Jon's subtle suspicions heightened; that was quite an easy giveaway to Gisela's supposed arrangement. But every indication pointed to her not looking like she had anything to hide.

"You bet," replied Jon in a boastful stance no less. "When it rains, it pours."

"Chyeah… can't argue with you on that one."

"So… what brings you here on this sunny day?" recommenced Jon's probing, delicately making it sound like a routinely banal chat, just like the one he cracked up with another customer earlier.

"Sale day," said Gisela. "Who'd want to miss out on that?" She didn't know what else to say. 'As sharp as they come,' just as Thomas had said. She could feel her heart beginning to pick up its speed.

Jon's undeviating gaze, on the other hand, never left Gisela's stare, which on the other hand was starting to veer as if she was looking directly at a bright light. 'As sharp as they come,' came that same phrase resonating in her head. "Sale day won't be 'til next month," said Jon in a baritone voice. It was beginning to creep the cadet private out.

"Really? Damn, I came all this way for nothing," exclaimed Gisela, trying to make her demeanor appear pissed and disappointed. She was doing everything she could to keep her nervousness at bay, but the tide was beginning to grow bigger and harder to control. "Seems like the brochure's got it all wrong. Someone ought to fire the advertising manager."

"You're not from around here, are you?" Jon sounded like he could see right through the cadet private. If he only knew, Gisela was beginning to shiver in her dust-covered boots.

"Is it that obvious?" answered Gisela, this time trying to sound nonchalant. She had to sing a different tune, and she had to do it fast. "I guess you've got me there. Well, what can I say?… Just passing through. I was on my way to the Northeast Stead when I ran short of fuel. So while I'm here, why not look for a place to reload?"

"And you decided to come reload in my café…" interrupted Copper, as if finishing Gisela's sentence for her. "I'm flattered, I should say."

"This café, that café… what's the difference?" said Gisela coolly. "The coffee looks, smells, and tastes all the same to me."

On hearing that icy note, Jon snorted and turned back to the coffee machine annoyed, thinking that maybe Gisela wasn't who he thought she might be. The cappuccino was ready; he packaged the caffeinated beverage gingerly and handed it over to the seemingly undercover cadet private.

"Is this for here or to go?" asked Jon gruffly.

Gisela seemed to have the upper hand now. She smiled cunningly, leaned forward a little over the cash machine to get a closer look at the old man, and answered composedly, "That depends." At the same time, the metal cross Thomas entrusted slipped from under her travel top, and dangled clearly within Jon's field of vision. She closed her turn on the conversational exchange by asking, "You've got a vacant seat I can use?"

The expression on Jon Copper's face changed almost immediately as he saw the familiar pendant hanging around the cadet private's neck. He shifted his gaze back to Gisela's eye level and said, "I believe that can be arranged."

Gisela's heart was pounding furiously in her chest. Luckily, she was used to having palpitations during line formations and inspections that she had the least difficulty not breaking a sweat. 'This is it, Gisela,' she thought. 'Make it or break it.'

"Right this way," said Jon afterwards, with the former joviality of his mien greatly diminished down to a trace. He ushered Gisela to a corner of the room not immediately obvious to the unsuspecting tourists enjoying their coffees brewed to their liking. There, she surprisingly found a table and chair; she was perfectly sure those pieces of furniture weren't there a while ago.

"Please, sit down," came an unfamiliar voice. She was doubly surprised to see as well the same customer the old man was talking to back at the cash register area; he pulled back the chair and gestured in a gentleman way to Gisela as an offer for her to sit comfortably on it. 'Is he in this whole set-up too?' she thought to herself.

She accepted the capriciously gracious offer, but naturally with some reservation. She wasn't quite sure yet what she was getting herself involved with.

Upon settling herself down, Gisela notice that same guy who offered the seat quickly exiting the scene. That corner of the establishment she was in, as far as one can tell, stood as the VIP section of the café; it was relatively much quieter than the main area almost filled with various day-trippers talking nineteen to the dozen. "Finally, we can hear ourselves talk," began Gisela, still not dropping the confident veneer. "You're Jon Copper, right?"

"That's right," answered the balding white-haired man, who apparently stayed behind.

"I've been wanting to have a chat with you," said Gisela, winking flirtatiously at the old man (at the same time wincing inside and silently denigrating herself for doing so; that was absolutely not her style of getting things done). "Can now be a good time?"

"I could arrange for that as well. Just let me get back to my post first."

"Sure. Oh, and can you be a dear and hand me my coffee? I left it there by the cashier." This time, Gisela wasn't sure if she was already overdoing it.

Jon had that seethed look on his face as he left the VIP room for the cash register. While he was there, he gestured something indecipherable to that same man who was together with them in the room earlier; it became more apparent to Gisela that that man could be one of Copper's henchmen, and this worsened her apprehension.

'Ooh, I sure hope I'm not going to turn up dead here, Thomas,' she thought worriedly.

In a matter of seconds, Jon was back with the coffee she ordered. He gently placed a paper under-layer on the table right in front of her before putting down the grande cappuccino. Right beside it, he laid down a couple of paper napkins as well.

"Let me know if you know what to say," he muttered ultimately, moving the paper napkins slightly aside, enough to expose a small note he slipped under it. It wasn't the everyday phrase you'd hear in a café, but Gisela immediately understood what it meant; the word-game starts here.

Gisela opened the note and silently read what was written. It wasn't a threat letter, nor did it contain additional instructions on what to do from here to get where she wanted, or rather needed, to be. What was written absolutely made no sense!

'srwuanjsobnustahhatsunbosfreaeotr'

She was feeling absolutely nervous where she was sitting, and had to assume Jon was sensing her fear at this very moment, like a predator getting a whiff of the blood of its kill from miles away. But in the midst of that, nothing could bizarrely excite Gisela more than a challenging word-game. She scrutinized the confabulation, reading it back and forth, and dissected it using every code pattern she could think of. She did this with incredible speed and precision (and without a pen) that, within 10 minutes, she had the answer. But instead being happy about it, she felt otherwise.

'Ten minutes?' she thought in relatively misplaced awe as she looked at her watch. 'It's all too easy, and I don't like it.'

She downed her coffee edgily. She looked over and over again at the piece of paper Jon left under the napkins he handed to her, thinking of other possible answers to this written gibberish. Finally, she grew tired of the suspense. Catching Jon's eye by raising her hand, she called out, "Check please."

Naturally, Jon came to collect the empty coffee cup, the napkins, the shady note, and Gisela's cash. As he came back from the cash register to hand over her change, he said in the same baritone voice, "Follow me."

'What? Did I pass?' were the only questions the cadet private could think of asking herself. Gisela can ultimately give out a sigh of relief, knowing that she hadn't let the others down, after (and only after) seeing that the deal is actually done. But right now, she had no other choice but to follow Jon to where the pre-agreed transaction might be deemed conducive.

The older man led the way into a dark room. He pulled on the switch of an overhanging incandescent light before closing the door. Situated just below the light is a wooden stool; the overall effect made it look like they were in a dingy interrogation room. No evident displays of mechanical parts could be seen elsewhere within the vicinity. Gisela was not liking this one bit.

The sound of Jon Copper's voice didn't exactly sound comforting either as he said, "Please do take a seat, Miss Reimers."

Gisela froze. Beads of sweat started forming on her forehead as the sound of a lock clicking came cutting through the cold air of the dark room. By the door stood the same man posing to be one of Copper's henchmen… the same man who offered her a seat back at the VIP room. He was tossing and catching the key of the door's lock playfully with one hand, with guile gleaming in his eyes as he stared adversely at her. Things were getting more bloodcurdling by the second.

"How the hell did you…" she asked finally.

"Oh, we know everything about you," interrupted Copper, sounding rather threateningly. "Who sent you… who you work for… those kinds of stuff. So, got the answer to my little seatwork yet?"

Gisela was frightened out of her wits, especially more when Jon's henchman started laughing ominously in the background. She did all she could to keep it together under pressure. "You didn't answer my question. How the hell did you know my name?"

Jon and the henchman began circling around her slowly. "It's really impolite in these parts to answer a question with another question," started the graying man. "But for our purpose, I'll just say I have eyes and ears everywhere in the Central and Western Continents."

'This is great… just great!' thought Gisela to herself derisively. 'Something that'd be worth my while: just what I always wanted. Way to go, Gisela!'

She tried to take advantage of the dim light to reach into her back pocket for her knife. If only she knew in time that something would go very wrong, she would have brought something that'd do more damage than just a switchblade, instead of listening to Thomas' reassurance and taking his word for it. She never killed anyone before, and always wished she'd never have to. She was quite average in performance when it comes to hand-to-hand combat… but that was with protective pads and cushions. This, on the other hand, was a few minutes short from being the real thing. Losing her life this way by any chance wasn't going to be part of her life's plans.

"Anyone I know in particular?" she asked while buying herself more time. She prayed her best that the answer to her question would come out to be 'no.'

"A-A-aah," said Copper sardonically as he shook both an index finger and his head sideways slowly at her. "That wouldn't be smart now, would it?" The henchman came laughing again following the wisecrack, but he sounded a little more stupidly at that.

"Is there anything else you can do besides laughing, dickwad?" snapped Gisela at the henchman, who still remained nameless to her. Luckily for her, she finally grasped the handle of her knife and flicked it open. Still with the hand holding the blade strategically camouflaged behind her, she prepared herself for an all-out attack. Lashing out that vulgar slang term at someone with a torso as big as that of the henchman's didn't seem to be the brightest of ideas, but Gisela was too into the heat of the moment to be tackling on ethics.

"Yeah. Now that you ask, I can also do this…" said the henchman as he started to lunge toward the cadet private in an attempt to hurl something at her… something presumably hard and metallic. Gisela was about to release the most primeval of screams of fear as the henchman started advancing a couple of steps. But before the both of them could do anything else, Copper suddenly intervened, stopping everything altogether.

"Whoa, hang on there for a sec," said Copper as he extended his arm to block the henchman's path towards Gisela. "We still don't know if our little rose here's got the riddle. I hope she'd say something… well… not like she has any other choice…"

"Sure looks that way, doesn't it?" sneered Gisela, trying her best to ignore the raging palpitation of her heart. She could feel the muscular organ beat violently against her bronchi, making her voice come out rather shaky. "By the way, that riddle or yours… if you could call it that… it's the most pathetic excuse for a word-game if ever laid my brain on. A child of three can answer it. Anything better you could come up with?"

"It you're so smart, what's the answer to it then?" asked Copper, almost like a growl.

"I'd say 'the sea' but the answer can also be…"

All of a sudden, battlecries from all around resounded, chanting the word 'WATER.' In a split-second, Gisela was soaked in that same substance the name of which everyone was shouting out loud. In her peripheral vision, she could see water balloons being hurled at her one after the other. Simultaneously, the room became much brighter as more fluorescent bulbs started burning to give off its light. One of the walls of the dark room slid wide open, revealing more people throwing the same neutral liquid ammunition at her. Shrills of frivolous laughter can be heard undoubtedly all over.

"W-what… what the," cough Gisela, intermittently stunned by water balloons hitting her face. When the perpetrators used up all their 'ammo' in the end, the cadet private briskly wiped her face and shouted from the top of her lungs, "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?"

Cheers eventually accompanied the laughter. Clapping and applause followed. Seeing more clearly after wiping her face, Gisela noticed three more people entering the scene… a male and a female appearing to be in their early thirties, and a woman more or less the same age as Jon Copper.

"Relax, Miss Reimers," laughed Copper, this time with the malevolent bearing completely shed off from his personality. "We're just letting you have the tangential version of your answer to my little quiz."

Still dripping wet, Gisela didn't know what to make of it. It felt like she was in the middle of a surprise party, only it wasn't her birthday, and it was a shower of water balloons that came down instead of confetti. It all became so absurd all of a sudden, but she was absolutely glad on the other hand that it wasn't with her blood that she's totally soaked in.

"I'd like you to meet my family," began Copper proudly, in between chuckles, as he called the rest of the people into the room together.

"Can you kindly enlighten me of these goings-on?" asked an annoyed Gisela, slightly pouting at that.

"Ha ha ha! This isn't an underground syndicate we're running, Miss Reimers," said Jon Copper, the loose skin hanging around his neck waving rhythmically as he chortled. "No one's going to die over some failed transaction in a legitimate business. And don't worry… we're nowhere near being cutthroat barbarians."

"Still you didn't answer my question…" said Gisela acerbically, still apprehensive and chagrined, as she guardedly put away her switchblade.

"This is all Thomas' idea," answered Copper in guarantee. "He phoned in yesterday to tell me that you were coming. Again, don't worry: only your name and the fact that you're one of Thomas' friends are pretty much what we know about you."

"W-what? Thomas? Are you meaning to tell me that…" started Gisela, stumbling over her words.

"Yup… GOTCHA!" said Copper as he flashed a toothy grin with two thumbs up at the flummoxed cadet private; he imitated the same winking gesture she did earlier at the VIP room just to tease her.

"Thomas was in this all along?" exclaimed Gisela, breathing deeply with exasperation.

"Sorry for putting up this rather spine-tingling charade," spoke the woman appearing the same age as Jon for the first time, stepping forward and handing Gisela a towel. "It's kinda like our thing; we do this as some sort of initiation into our little 'circle of trustees.' Besides, it was more for sizing up how far you've come and how much you need to improve with your self-confidence. Thomas did mention you're rather shy for someone from the Guardian Force with a Ph.D. under her wing."

"This is my wife, Julia," said Jon as he introduced the soft-spoken woman formally. "Ha ha ha! I can't wait to call Thomas. That gangly boy's been nagging me all morning, asking me again and again if you've already arrived, and… um… how this little lark turned out. Finally, he's going to get his answer."

"Oh, he'll get his 'answer' alright when I get back to the Red River Base," Gisela said heatedly while raising a clutched fist. She had to admit, however… she was trying her best to suppress her laughter.

Taking some moments to think back at how she carried herself all that time, she could feel the warm blood filling up her face in a furious blush. "This is SOOO embarrassing!" she whined, burying her face in her hands.

"I didn't realize right away that it was you we were supposed to be watching out for," confessed Jon. "How you moved and talked was way off how Thomas described."

That little piece of critique was indication enough for Gisela that those late nights' rehearsals absolutely paid off. At any rate, that was a plus sign for her. But she had to ask too… "And what about the cross? That's gotta count for something at least."

"The cross served its purpose, like you thought it would," said Julia.

"And yes… everything Thomas said about this cross is true… from its history down to how I distribute them to members like him, although he may have stretched it a bit on that Unum Supervivere thing," added Jon. "You know how he tends to exaggerate things a bit."

Gisela could just imagine an impish-looking Thomas snickering while sticking his tongue out at her, saying 'Nyah, nyah!' 'Ooooh, Thomas, you big nut! Wait 'til I get my hands on you!' she thought groaningly while playing that mental picture in her mind.

"Now, now, kid… don't make things hard on yourself," said Jon in reassurance, albeit still trying his best to hide his mischievous smile. "Everything but the water balloon-throwing part has been part of the test. Well… that last part was our idea… y'know… purely for climactic fun. Without the cross, I might have not recognized you. I gotta hand it to you, you hid your personality well. You'll pass by me."

The cadet private finally gave in to the complement. "Thanks. Now I know I'll be good for at least something."

"That's not what I've heard from Thomas and your friends," came a smooth and rather handsomely sounding voice from where Copper's henchman stood previously. "I heard you're a physicist too."

Gisela turned around expecting to see the henchman's somewhat squalid appearance, but instead discovered a totally different looking guy holding a prosthetic nose, false skin, and a wig in one hand. She didn't have to take a second look to appreciate the stunning attractiveness fairing to be in league with O'Connell's. That goony henchman appearance from earlier had been a disguise all along!

"As for your fighting skills, you're gonna need some work on that, though," the guy continued with a sparkle in his grin. "Maybe my sister and I can help you out on that." Gisela melted in his captivating smile; she was absolutely tantalized by the scene unraveling before her.

"Uh… r-right," stammered an apparently entranced Gisela, trying to regain her composure.

"Oh, where are my manners?" said the guy after become conscious of the obvious lack of preliminary introductions. "My name's Matthias, but you can call me Matt. That one over there's my sister Vera and her husband Kai."

Both Vera and Kai waved gently at Gisela on the preamble. The cadet private smiled unconsciously and waved back without difficulty. Despite being wet from the water cannons, the atmosphere seemed to be strangely cozy around these people. She felt she was beginning to like being in their little 'circle of trustees,' and in just this short a time at that.

"By the way, some nice choice of words you've got back there," said Matt, pulling Gisela suddenly out of her musing.

Gisela's face again reddened vehemently in mortification. The sight would have been more amusing if steam actually cannoned out her ears. "Thanks a lot for reminding me," she muttered derisorily.

"No problem," answered Matt. "That was feisty. Just what I like in a girl."

Gisela could just faint in utter loss of composure. "I'm so, so sorry. It's so not my style to say things like that. Guess I got carried away there…"

"Well, now that everyone knows each other, let's get down to business shall we?" came Jon Copper's cheerful interruptive booming; he had to somehow prevent Gisela from further making a total dork out of herself from the discomfiture.

"Yes, let's," agreed Julia as she took Gisela by the hand. "Come, dear. Let's get you out of those wet clothes." The older lady then led her into another room beyond the retractable wall of earlier. After a while, Gisela came out wearing a rather comfortable piece of attire common in the Ladratos locality.

"Now don't we look lovely," commented Julia in innocent adoration. "I'll have your original clothes cleaned and readied in no time." The coziness was hard to resist, but Gisela still made it a point, nonetheless, not to get too attached to them. Every now and then, though, she would steal glances at the features of the unsuspecting Matt. He looked a good deal similar to O'Connell and wondered if this family was actually related to the major.

"Now… for what you actually came for," started Jon, rubbing his hands briskly together with gusto, seemingly excited to show off his collection of used parts. "Got the list?"

"Oh, you mean this, dear?" queried Julia as she carefully pulled a soggy piece of paper out from Gisela's wet clothes she was still holding. The ink had clearly smudged through, leaving unintelligible blotches.

"Mm-hmm, I see… our bad," said Jon crisply. "Well, never mind that. Thomas phoned it in too all the same."

"What the…? After letting me go through all this trouble…" said Gisela, returning the exasperated tone into her voice, though meaning it half-jokingly as well. "Oh, I'm really going to kill him this time." Everyone had a laugh after that.

"After you, ma'am," then came Matt's voice from a corner of the room. Beside where he stood was another doorway leading into a long and just-as-dimly-lit tunnel-like pathway. They could clearly see the bright exit a good number of meters away through the wormhole. He, Jon, and Julia went along with the cadet private, while Vera and Kai stayed behind to man the café.

While the remaining four of them treaded along the dark conduit, Gisela thought it best then to try to know the people she was with. "Just out of curiosity," she began. "'Jon Copper' isn't your real name, isn't it?"

"That's as far as familiarity goes with you, half-pint," said Jon inoffensively. "I've made quite a lot of enemies back in my day during the war, and I've no intention of making any new ones here in Ladratos."

"I'm using my real name, though," pointed out Matt. "And so is mom. We're the unknowns backing dad up in his business."

"I've done a lot of daring, and even dangerous things back in my day," continued Jon. "I got involved a lot in underground vigilante groups during the war in the hopes of ending it soon. I would still be at it, fighting for another cause if it weren't for Julia here. She helped me changed the way I looked at things in life… and thankfully because of her, I abandoned the precarious life entirely.

"This venture was something Julia and I both dreamed of starting. Just so you know, we didn't build this whole thing up overnight, and the whole process wasn't at all easy. There was the emergence of the underground smugglers' syndicate for one thing. And thinking that we had a lot to do with them, both the military and the peacekeeping bureaus were all over us. Almost got imprisoned too because of that. What hurt more was to have some of our collaborators turning against me and leaving for the underground smugglers, thinking they'll get a lot more out of that. I can't say I blame them. Their families needed feeding, but still…

"That was the time when Vera was about two years old, and Julia was still pregnant with Matt. There had been some attempts on my life by the smugglers, thinking I'd lead the military right to them. So I had no other choice but to flee, lest I get my whole family killed. That's when I had to assume business names for our protection. I couldn't just leave this line of work. It wasn't at all lucrative back then, but we had the best chances with it."

"So how did Thomas know about you?" asked Gisela right after, moving on to much less melancholic recollections.

"Yeah… Thomas," started Julia. "I hope that boy's getting enough to eat. Last time I saw him, he looked like he'd be easily blown over by the breeze. When was that again, dear?"

"Hmm, y'got me there," pondered Jon. "Right… that was about a year ago. First met him when he was this college student. Just another one of those gangly adolescents that come and go in the beginning back when we had our shop in Europa. Always turned up to ask for or look at what new arrivals there are, yet wouldn't buy a single thing. But he came by ever so often that I started to get a liking for that lanky kid."

"Yeah, kinda like having a younger brother hanging around," said Matt. "Hey Dad, I think he even worked for you in your shop for a few months to help get himself through university."

"Yeah, that's right," said Jon in recollection. "He sure did change over the years. First time I saw him, he always acted clumsy and absentminded. He moved like he didn't know when to put one foot ahead of the other. But he sure helped increase the sales when he started working for me… that's for sure. Seemed to know a hell of a lot more about zoid parts than I do. Had to let him go after a few months, though. Those from the peacekeeping bureau had been breathing down my neck again, and I didn't want to get him involved. Those military thugs kept rambling about some contraptions they call 'hybrids.' I don't know what kind of stuff these underground bastards are cooking up, but they sure ain't like ours."

Gisela may have to agree with Jon on that. What was shown to her back at the briefing they had at the main conference room of the Red River Base was basically what she knew about the weapons smugglers and the hybrids. But she can always ask Thomas anytime if she needed any more details regarding the smugglers. This probably may have been one of the reasons why Thomas took this whole quixotic quest personally. He may not have a lot of friends, but he highly appreciates the value of having one.

"Just don't take things wrongly when Thomas made you come all this way to be ambushed by a bunch of water balloons," said Matt, interrupting Gisela's thoughts. "Let's just say I know how Thomas feels sometimes… y'know, being left out and all. If improving one's lot means starting with building one's self-confidence, he'd do it in a heartbeat. I guess that's what he wanted to happen with you. It looked like you needed help in building up yours."

"Yeah, maybe so…" said Gisela at last, as she finally realized Thomas' motives. "But I'm still going to kill him, though," she added jokingly.

As they reached the other end of the passageway, they entered right into a big well-lighted warehouse. One could use the same cliché words over and over to describe the spectacle… but it all comes down to it being absolutely every surplus shopper's dream come true.

"Behold my masterpiece," said Jon as he majestically showed off his vast inventory. All Gisela could do was to give out an awestruck whistle of appreciation.

(Chapter XIII coming soon)