Chapter 40:
Plans in Motion
The thing most people didn't understand about arms dealing was that it wasn't really the kind of thing that happened in dark alleys with large sums of cash and six different armed men standing lookout. Most of the time it happened from a smart phone or from a computer keyboard. Social media and web forums were the easiest and most common way of setting up meetings.
And it was all perfectly legal and above board.
Hollywood had this way of giving most people the impression that buying guns out of the trunk of a car for cash was the realm of murderers or vigilantes, rather than an astonishingly common occurrence every day in rural America.
The best way to run procurement for our little adventure would be completely above board, at least for as much of it as we could. Suzu had given me some stuff that I could barter with, something that nobody else in the civilian world had anyway.
It was amazing what people were willing to pay for cans of Mk 211 Mod 0. In terms of small arms, four or five cans would cover basically all of our needs. I'd have to turn a little more of it into cash for fuel, and then make sure I had enough left to actually use, but it wouldn't be too much of a problem to do that. Worst came to worst I could add ball into the belts to make up for the missing 211.
I pushed myself back away from the keyboard so I could stand up. I'd set up a deal for later in the day, not too far away either so that was a bonus. In the meantime, a bottle of hair dye demanded my attention and would not be denied.
My spine cracked as I stretched out upon standing. A quick keystroke locked the screen and I grabbed the plastic bag off the corner of the desk. I was fortunate enough to have a bathroom attached to my bedroom; it would serve my purposes just fine.
Little blue hair girl was making a comeback.
xxx
I had never been a fan of pants but the weather required it. Victoria had never had an aversion to such garments, but as was more apparent with every day of my life: we were not the same person. Just as well, my feelings for Misato didn't make me feel guilty about Rae; I just didn't think of her like that. Not anymore, anyway.
It was funny, when I finally met her and the spark I was expecting just wasn't there. It was for the best.
The reason I needed pants was the forty degree temperatures made my bones cold. The Corvair didn't have heating, but it provided some shelter from the cold. Standing around in the middle of a parking lot waiting for the guy to show up didn't afford the same insulation.
Having three hundred-twenty round cases of Raufoss Mk 211 sitting in the front of my car made me feel a bit like a guard next to a broken down armored car. Of course, my saving grace was that even if somebody did pry the trunk lid open they wouldn't know how valuable that ammo actually was.
I caught myself cracking my knuckles and shook my hands to get the blood flowing. After spending my entire life in a world where the mercury rarely dropped under eighty, this was almost like a frozen hell. It wasn't even the coldest it was going to get either.
After the small eternity of fifteen minutes a three-quarter ton Ford came rolling up to my car. Having a distinctive vehicle always made these deals easier to work out, you were easier to pick out. It also meant you could develop a reputation as a reliable trader as well. 'Oh, the girl with the Corvair? Yeah she's alright.'
I'd left my contacts at home, and with my hair back to it's 'original' cornflower blue I would definitely stand out, but that was the point. I wanted the attention.
"Wow! That's a hell of a hair color you got there kid!"
I laughed and looked over at the now-stopped truck and the man climbing down out of it. "Yeah I suppose it is! So, you're Cotton, right? Rei Ikari." I said, extending my hand towards him as he approached.
"Nice to metcha. So, you've actually got some of that Raufoss huh? I gotta admit I half expected this to be a prank, but I need some for my collection so I figured I'd give it a chance." He was an older guy, probably mid to late fifties, jovial enough though. His handshake was firm without being aggressive and accent made me think of an old-school country boy who tripped and fell into a college education by accident.
I nodded, "Yeah, it's a bit hard to come by, but if you're a collector then you're going to love the seals on the cans. Check it out." I said as I popped the release and lifted the trunk lid on the front of the car. The three cans of Mk 211 sat, held in place by the telescoping brace I'd stuck behind them to keep them from rolling around.
"Willy?" He sounded out. Close enough to WILLE I supposed. "Those are the guys from that big knock down drag out in New Orleans, right? Where the hell did you get this stuff?" He asked as he leaned in to inspect the merchandise. "You know what, never mind. I know we made a deal for two cans, but I'll throw in the M95 and the glass I got on it if you give me all three."
That would be two fifty caliber rifles. I only needed one, but two was definitely better, and I had enough ammo to justify the trade. "Cotton, you got yourself a deal."
I reached down into the trunk and released the brace, then grabbed a can in each hand and hefted them out. It would have been a problem for me before, but red eyes and AT fields weren't the only benefit to my new biology.
"Hell kid, you're stronger than you look. I coulda got them. Aw oh well. Let me grab the rifles and you can have a look at em." He said with a laugh and a shake of his head. I kinda liked this guy.
I followed him back to his truck and set the two cans down in the bed while he fetched two hard cases from his back seat. We met back at the front of my car where he pulled the third can out and laid both cases down and popped them open.
On the left was a real beauty of a rifle, a Barret M82A3 .50BMG rifle. That's what I'd been after, because being able to drill a hole through an engine block with enough punch left to take out a horse could always be useful.
On the right, a M95 .50BMG rifle. The bolt action counterpart to the semi automatic M82. It wasn't what I had originally bargained for, but two was always better than one. I was sure we'd find a use for it. The glass sitting on top of it looked like it cost more than my car.
I turned to Cotton and stuck my hand out. "Looks good to me, you happy with the deal?"
He took my hand and shook it, a little more animatedly than before. "Yes Ma'am. Tell you what, if you get any more of that you wanna get rid of let me know first. I'll make you a real good deal."
"Sure thing, might have some more in a week or two, I'll let you know how it goes." I said as he turned to walk back to his truck, when a thought hit me. "Say, Cotton, what do you do for a living?"
I was curious about his demeanor, accent, apparent wealth. I wanted to know what a man like that did for a living.
"Oh, mechanical engineer. How about yourself?"
I tilted my head and thought about it for a minute, then let the smile creep onto my face. "Fighter pilot."
Cotton nodded his head and then his mouth worked up and down a couple of times as he tried to think of how to say what he was going to say next. "Pardon my askin, but, for who?"
I shrugged, "For me."
"Well I guess that's fair enough." He said with a shrug and pulled the door of his truck closed.
I closed the rifle cases and then the trunk lid and climbed back into my own car. On the passenger seat was the package that Asuka had given me the other day. I'd opened it before, but I'd left it in the car. I wasn't quite sure what she'd meant by it, but I chose to believe it was something good.
Leather jacket and a pilot's cap and goggles. Either she was telling me she knew what I was going to do, or she was telling me she knew what I was going to do and supported my doing it. Maybe she felt like she owed me something, but I felt more like I owed her. She'd given me a reason for everything.
I pushed in the clutch and turned the key and the still-warm engine purred to life. Cotton's truck had already pulled away by the time I slid into first gear and eased the clutch out. Off to the airfield to see what luck Suzu had with her own procurement efforts.
xxx
The airstrip was a simple affair, a grass strip with a few tie-downs alone the perimeter and no control tower. Exactly what I needed it to be. I could see another car sitting down at the far end by a plane sitting under a tarp.
It might have been unusual to keep a plane under a tarp, especially that one, but if anyone who knew what they were looking at saw the propellers they would have more questions than I'd be able to answer.
The best case was that they assumed I was with the same group that had six Iowa-class battleships when only four had ever been built. They wouldn't be entirely wrong.
I drove down the dirt access road towards that final aircraft in the row and pulled up alongside the other car, and then turned off the engine. The tink-tink sound of the manifolds cooling was actually somewhat calming for me. I reached down to pop the trunk and then opened the door.
Suzu was already on her way over as I walked around the front of the car to lift the trunk lid. She noticed my hair color, at least I assumed that's why she was shaking her head and giving me that look while I pulled the cases out.
"I see you're back to old habits, Ikari." She chided me as she took the first case from me. "Given up on the contact lenses as well?"
I shrugged and hefted the second case up on top of my shoulder and closed the trunk lid with my other hand. "I talked to Asuka the other day. She said Misato didn't want me to act too mercenary. I figured that might get her attention, so I didn't want there to be any confusion as to my choice."
"Back to old habits? The Americans aren't going to like this." She reminded me with a tilted head and a knowing tone of voice.
"This feels more right anyway. The contacts were getting itchy and Rei Ikari was always meant to have blue hair. I'm certain of it." I answered with a laugh, then set the case down on the trunk lid.
"There are two cases, I only asked for one rifle." Suzu observed.
I popped the catch and opened the case still on the trunk lid, the M95 with scope lay out on the soft packing foam. "He threw in a second rifle for a third can of 211, I figured we'd either find a use for it or sell it for cash. You guys are doing the ground portion of this mission so it's up to you what you do with it."
"Unit Zero had a weapon very similar to this. I am sure I will find a use for it." She reached out and touched the bolt handle of the weapon and nodded her head. "Yes, this will do."
"So, how was your end of procurement?" I probed and jerked my head towards the other car.
She looked up from the case and then looked back to the car, and then to me, and the hint of a smile graced her lips. "You spoke to Shikinami, I spoke to Makinami."
