They flew eastward, towards the advancing wall of grey clouds, keeping their eyes peeled for any more creatures or unusual occurrences – but the second weather front seemed to be without creatures or unusual effects. As they flew into the dense clouds, once more they were buffeted from side to side, until Tads could summon and bargain with a spirit to try and smooth their journey.
Visibility dropped immediately in the dense cloud, and once more Marius was flying on sensors only, keeping a careful eye on his radar, maps and proximity sensors. In the back, the rest of the team relaxed, most sitting with their eyes closed to cut out external stimuli and help them avoid air sickness.
In the matrix, Hunter's icon flitted from board to board, trawling through the labyrinth of special interest groups and following up on search terms, occasionally breaking out to zip across to public hosts and educational sites to gather some information from there, too. Too often he found that the information he wanted was locked up in a corporate data store somewhere, hidden behind passwords and pay-walls, unavailable to non-corporate citizens. The balkanisation of the world and the rise of corporate power had changed the way that data was viewed. While before the Awakening, the Crash and the various plagues that had ravaged the world it was rumoured that education and information were commonly free, now they were rationed out by the corporations, doled out only to the obedient, and the SINless were left to rot in the giant cesspool of humanity that lived outside of the corporate controlled zones.
Still, Hunter was quickly learning where he could go in the matrix with a little savvy, some determination and a good password breaker, or what common security suites had backdoors or known exploits that he could use to pillage their stores of wealth. About fifteen minutes after they had flown into the weather front, he jacked out and blinked as the neon architecture of the matrix faded away to be replaced by the sullen grey clouds of reality. He stretched, then keyed up his intercom, to pass on the fruits of his labour.
"Heads up folks, found some information about where we're heading. Some of this is from less than reputable sources, so take with a pinch of salt, ok? Right then. Since the formation of the Independent State of New Guinea, the region has constantly been in the news because of ongoing violence and bloodshed. The main problems arise from ethnic and religious differences between the Melanesian Papua and Indonesians living on both sides of the islands, leading to street battles with ascending brutality. Though the UN intervention mission in Jakarta has sent neutral observers and peace squads into the region, they failed to enforce stability and peace in any ongoing fashion, which according to some political commentators has been much to the Security Council's chagrin."
"Because of repeated encroachments on Australian citizens in the area as well as pirate raids on cities and factories owned by Australian megacorps like Tanamyre, the ANZAC coalition held an emergency meeting in Melbourne. There ANZAC members decided that the instability in New Guinea posed a threat to the entire region and must be stopped at all costs. Declaring the state a protectorate of ANZAC under a state of emergency (until such time as the region is stabilized and recovered), they sent in Australian Peace forces in strength, and a large military contingent went to New Guinea. There, they have occupied vital government and rebel strongholds, disarming or absorbing units of the weakened New Guinea defensive force and local militias."
"Port Moresby is the capital, on the southern coast, and only lies about eight hundred clicks north of Cairns, while the narrowest crossing is from Somerset via the Thursday Islands, and that's less than a hundred and fifty kilometres – well within range of coastal vessels. Lae is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River and at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is the main land transport corridor between the Highlands region and the coast. Lae is the largest cargo port of the country and is the industrial hub of Papua New Guinea."
"It's also known as the Garden City and home of the University of Technology, which looks to be the only learning institute on the island worth much of anything, and actually has a reasonable reputation for the sciences. Lae is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire and geologic instability has produced numerous faults, resulting in earthquakes. The Ramu-Markham Fault Zone, which follows the northern edge of the Markham Valley, is the active plate boundary between the South Bismarck Plate and tectonostratigraphic terranes within the New Guinea Highlands Deforming Zone. The Ramu-Markham Fault Zone has generated large thrust earthquakes. I'm not entirely sure what tectonostratigraphic terranes are, but that tells me it's possible we're going to get quakes or tremors, and they shouldn't alarm us too much – but if we see folk running, we shouldn't ignore it!"
"Apparently back before the crash, there was some world war and the Japanese invaded the island and took it, until the Americans took it back – that's the folks that came before the UCAS, of course. After the war it was believed that Mount Lunaman contained the remains of many Japanese soldiers who defended Lae using tunnels. A Japanese tomb believed to contain bodies of hundreds of Lae defenders was bought by two South Australian men for one pound. The tomb lies under Mount Lunaman which was said to house a hospital and when the Japanese in tunnels refused to surrender to the Australian 7th Division and 9th Division troops in 1943 all entrances were sealed. Locals talk about the ghosts of the Japanese soldiers haunting the hill. So Tads – you might wanna watch out when summoning in the city, in case you get funny ghosts or something."
"What else… oh yes - Lae has a good market for fresh goods, where quality taros, bananas, sweet potatoes, yams, fruits and vegetables can be found. So if you want to go shopping, Tads, and learn how to make some different flavour magic food, I'm all down with that."
"There is a regional airport - Nadzab Airport is located fifty-six kilometres outside Lae City, along the Highlands Highway, next to the Markham River. Local buses operate to and from the city, in addition escorted secured transfers are available for transport into the city. That tells me the security situation is far from good, despite the occupation force. From Port Moresby, Lae is accessible only by domestic flights. Air Niugini, Airlines of Papua New Guinea (also known as 'Airlines PNG') and Travel Air 'Mangi lo Ples' services the Port Moresby-Lae route. The international airport is at Port Moresby, though even that doesn't have any long-distance flights – only routes to Anzac, the areas to the west like Malaysia, and just about as far as Taiwan and some of the Chinese states."
"Several things are easy to buy in Indonesia, including people. Besides the giant slave auctions held here there is a great demand for exotic critters for pet shops and pit fight arenas in Japan and Korea. Apparently the man who controls much of the slave trade centres around Port Moresby is some guy or organisation called 'Laot'. According to a post I found from another smuggler team, the man you need to see for things on the north east side in Papa New Guinea is Gwok Phong – but, and I quote here, they say 'watch your valuables and your attitude'…"
"Last of all, I've seen several references to this in different places from different people, so I'm inclined to take this one as genuine. Teams travelling to PNG are advised to watch the female members or any very good-looking team members - the slavers are not choosy about who they target, and boy toys are just as highly valued as fun girls once they've been broken in and are ready for the meat markets. So we may want to make sure we're always in at least pairs. Oh and Tads - Witchcraft is frowned upon and against local laws, so beware overt magical displays. You're likely to find that many of the tribal villages will view you as a demon or the devil, and want to burn you at the stake to appease their gods."
Silence fell over the team as they digested the information that Hunter had found, working through the likely impact on their visit and plans. Kai was the first to speak.
"Ok, thanks Hunter, good brief. I'm sure that's going to come in handy."
"It sounds like we're flying into a warzone of some kind, worse than the Philippines. Do we want to stay there for our day? Would it be worth trying to refuel, then just go find somewhere to hang out for a day and try to stay out of trouble?"
"We could do, Aswon – though I suspect a lot of the places flat and clear enough to land in are the sites of villages or use for agriculture, so we're bound to run into someone. And it would make it harder to get some intel on where we're going to as well."
"Well, perhaps Hunter can find some information on the matrix, or talk to his contact at Ares again?"
"Yes, probably on both. But there's also the fact that the more we reach out and investigate the sites we're going to, the more likely it is that someone will notice – and if they spot a team of people researching volcanoes in a clockwise movement around the ring of fire, working in a steady pattern – it might get a little awkward. I don't think you're wrong mind, Aswon, just saying we need to keep thinking about what impact we're having."
Kai reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out the small bag of tokens given to them in Japan and opened the drawstring at the top. He gently eased thumb and forefinger inside the bag, grasping one of the tokens and then pulling it out to study. The token had a smooth finish, with a black and white swirl forming a yin-yang design, the edges perfectly smooth and straight with flawless curves. He extended his vision into the astral plane to examine it further, but found no trace of magical activity.
"Still doesn't show as magical. I'm not sure I believe that, which just tells me it's considerably more powerful that we are. Unless any of you lot can see through it?" Both Shimazu and Tads also checked out the token, squinting hard at it to no avail, before shaking their heads at him. Kai dropped the token back in the bag and pulled the top closed. "Well, I still don't believe it. So I'm thinking we should put up an extra ward around them – maybe get a small box to put them in – unless anyone disagrees?"
"No – but I wonder if Shimazu might have some luck if he tried to use Psychometry on them?" Tads suggested.
"Worth a go – but I think we should get the box ready first to put them in, just in case we do find something weird and need to defend the stones against that!" Aswon replied.
They got a small plastic container, just big enough for the bag of stones, and Kai, Shimazu, Tads and Aswon started to prepare the container, putting up a ward on the box, while Vadim craned to see how they were doing it and watched the magical energies form.
With the concentrated efforts of the team, the ward was soon formed on the box, the power channelled into it enough to sustain it for months – certainly long past the duration of the mission. When the box was ready, Shimazu reached over for the bag and carefully examined it. Opening his mind, he tried to read the aura of the stones, searching for the psychic echo of their creation and casting his mind out to read the subtle variations of the mana as it flowed around them.
Nothing.
It was as if the stones just weren't there at all.
"I'm getting nothing from these, not even a tiny trace. I think whatever they did to make them, they're far more adept at masking auras than we are…."
"That gives me an idea – certainly for the first drop. Something to help us out, maybe." Aswon reached out for one of the stones, holding it in the palm of his hand for a moment to examine it, then dropping it gently back into the bag. "What if we summoned a spirit, just after dusk right, at the first location. Told it to hold the stone above the spot we selected, and then just wait – it's not to move, put it down or do anything except defend the stone. Then we leave, and head for the next location."
"We could – but why?" Kai asked, a little confused.
"Well, the spirit will last until the coming of dawn, then it will return to the spirit realm. At which point the stone will be dropped in place – but we'll already be about six hours away, possibly already having made the second drop off on the next mountain. And regardless of which time zone we're talking about, or any of that nonsense, it's going to be after midnight when that happens."
"Ahh, I see… so use the spirit as a time delay mechanism?"
"Exactly!"
"I guess that would work, as long as nothing comes along and eats the spirit or takes the stone. Or it doesn't break any weird stricture put on the job. I don't think it does, does it?"
Marius was listening in from the cockpit, and started to think, casting his mind back to the time of the conversation. He slowed a little as he concentrated, not wanting to run into anything while he was distracted.
"They were both sitting at the table playing their game, we were all standing and facing them. Kai was in the middle, we were standing two on each side, in a vee. It was Kuro who spoke. His words were 'You will be given a number of tokens, and a set of locations. Travel to each location, and when you reach the appropriate place, you will place one token. It should be placed within a thousand metres of the exact spot identified, and lie in such a way that it can be found with a cursory search. Perhaps between two rocks, or in the roots of a tree, under some hardy bushes perhaps, or placed in the bottom of a shallow stream'. Then there was a joke about someone called Loo Sung Pan getting wet."
"Ahh, thanks Marius. Well, that sounds fine. I remember Tads asking about planting them magically as well?"
"Ja. And he said 'Ahh, I see. If you wish to use magic to aid you to reach a location, then you may do so. But all of the tokens should be accessible to a searcher using only mundane means. It need not be easy, so long as it is possible' in response. But I remember him sounding a little surprised." Once more Marius' near perfect memory provided the answer they needed.
The chopper suddenly lurched to port, banking at a thirty degree angle. Inside the team were thrown up against the fuselage or strained against the safety harness as they dangled over those sitting on the port side.
"Ach – sorry. Mountains."
"Just how close was that, Marius?"
"Sudden spur, but we were at least a hundred metres clear. But I don't want to risk brushing into an isolated tree or anything. We're flying parallel to the central spine of the island, and some of these peaks are quite substantial."
Hunter frowned and keyed up the map, zooming in on the central mountain range that ran from west to east roughly down the centre of the island.
"Marius, what's the flight ceiling on this?"
"About four thousand five hundred metres or so."
"Oh. Some of the peaks down here are showing as being forty-three hundred metres or more. Just thought you'd want to know." A thought grabbed him, and he quickly looked at the map, checking over the waypoints set in for the other drop locations around the ring of fire. "Um – the maps are a bit lacking in detail. But just so everyone is aware, there's at least some of these peaks that are higher than the flight ceiling for the tilt-wing. That could get interesting…"
They flew on, Marius adjusting his course a few degrees northwards to get some more breathing room to manoeuvre in, until they were flying over the coastal plains. Visibility was still essentially zero, and it appeared that there was no radar or sensors to speak of that could pick them up. About thirty minutes out from Lae he had to start bending his course southwards as he was channelled down a valley between the central mountain range and a smaller set of peaks to the north of the island, some of which also rose up to over four thousand metres.
They followed the course of the Markham River as it wound its way down towards the coastline, gradually growing wider as tributaries joined it from the various hills and mountains to the north and south. Occasionally he caught a flicker of a return on his sensors from tiny villages or isolated farmhouses, but otherwise the area seemed almost undeveloped – or entirely natural. It wasn't until they were about sixty kilometres off Lae that they encountered any kind of high tech signal – Hunter checked the map and informed them they were closing on Lae Nadzab airport, which had a low grade radar setup designed to help the pilots navigate their way to the airfield. It was a small facility though, only designed to handle the internal flights from Port Moresby to the south, and they easily evaded detection.
Finally they felt Marius start to descend as they reached the eastern end of the island, slowly dropping down through the weather until they finally emerged from the cloud and into the rainstorm – visibility improved, but not by much. Kai pulled out his phone and called the number given to him to arrange landing clearance.
"Gwok's."
"The name is Kai. I was told to call on this number to arrange landing. We're free traders, looking to do some business."
"Approach the port from the south east, come in on bearing two-eight-five. The road that runs parallel to the harbour wall has been cleared and should give you room to land."
Kai relayed the message to Marius, who quickly responded.
"Tell them we're a VTOL, and can drop in at the landing spot if required." Kai waited to see if there was anything else, then relayed the response back, awaiting a confirmation from the smuggler base.
"Hey man, it's your fuel. If you wanna drop it straight down, then just land at the end of the road, and taxi towards the buildings to the north." Kai heard the line go dead, and settled for just passing the message back to Marius.
"Tads – we're coming in on final approach. Do you want to drop the spirit concealment in case they have anyone watching for us who'll take offence?" Hunter called to the back. Tads pursed her lips in annoyance, but then extended her presence into the astral realm and thanked the spirit for its assistance and asked it to await her next request. They felt the craft lurch and shudder as the calming and guiding influence of the storm spirit was withdrawn, but Marius steadied them back down quickly and they continued to close on the given coordinates.
Closing on the landing site, they could see the dim lights of the city of Lae spread out over the lowlands and foothills, and the much brighter lights of the industrial areas and port, just across the bay from where they were landing. A mid-sized cargo ship was tied up alongside the quay, and two large container cranes were unloading standard shipping containers onto the harbour side under the floodlights augmenting the dim afternoon light. The team struggled to make out much detail beyond that through the intense rain – but at least they'd be almost impossible to spot visually at this range from the city itself.
They saw an unfortunate individual standing at the landing co-ordinates, holding two torches with light diffusers on the end, and he started to guide them down manually when he heard the dull roar of the engines through the rain. The landing area was no more than a wider area of tarmac near a road junction, with several low long buildings off to one side. Marius put them down with his usual skill, but kept the engines running for a few moments while he carefully scanned around the area, looking for vehicles, drones or troops. Only when he was satisfied did he start to power down the engines.
The individual waiting for them switched off his torches and then started to wander back and forth, looking down the side of first one side of their craft, then the other, before retracing his steps back to the first side. It took a moment for them to realise he was trying to work out which side they were going to emerge from, and Kai started to head towards the starboard door.
"Boss – might want to use the other one!" Aswon called out. "The unwarded door, just in case anyone is looking for signs of obvious magic." Kai nodded and did an about face, and then slid the door open. The heavy rain swirled through the opening, quickly sending a mist of cold rain into the tilt-wing's cargo area that started to spread, soaking the floor quickly and forming a spreading river that wandered across the deck plate. As soon as the man waiting saw the side door open, he started to walk down the side of the fuselage, keeping clear of the rotors that were still spinning through the air.
Tads flicked into astral space again, and quickly gathered up the small spirits from each of the team members, bringing them to her and asking them to return to their home planes and await her call. She'd gotten into the habit of summoning them at dawn and dusk each day, making sure that everyone had a magical guardian to try and keep them safe from any enemies, but the team would have to go without for a while based on the local approach to magic – at least until something kicked off.
"You Kai?" the man peered up at them from under his rain cap, tilting his head carefully to try and keep the water from running down inside his waterproofs.
"That's right, here to see Gwok and get some fuel."
"There's a three hundred landing fee."
"Nuyen or something local?" Kai asked, sarcasm injecting a bit of an edge to his voice.
"Nuyen is good." If the local picked up on the sarcasm, he didn't show it, and he waited for Kai to count out some of the small stash of cash they had and hand it over.
"Now, if you can direct me to the first class lounge please?" His statement was met with a wide grin and a belly laugh, and the man had to take a moment to compose himself.
"Ok, I'll send some men over to fuel you up in a minute. Follow me, I'll take you to the boss." The man turned and moved towards the huts, clearing away from the tilt-wing and then waiting for Kai to catch up.
"Ok, Shimazu and Hunter, with me, please. Rest of you stay here, have a watch, and make sure we get fuelled up and don't get bushwacked." Shimazu jumped down out of the vehicle, ignoring the lashing rain which soaked him in moments. With his hand on his sword, he carefully looked around the area, spotting for threats and checking the environment about. Hunter was a lot more reluctant, taking a moment to grab his rifle and turn his collar up, for all the good it would do him, before joining Kai at the door and staring despondently at the rain.
"It's like being back home. Come on then, Kai, lead on."
They jumped down and headed for their guide, who led the three of them to the central hut of the three. It was perhaps ten metres wide and easily fifty or sixty metres long, slightly curved on the roof and looked to be a pre-fabricated or quick-assembly style of building, rather than a permanent construction. As they closed in, they could see a large plastic sheet had been nailed or fixed on to the outer surface, covering the door to the interior.
"Boss is in there. You go talk to him, I will get some of the workers to bring fuel and start filling." Without waiting for a response, he turned and sploshed off into the darkness, heading for one of the other large huts, each of which had more conventional sliding doors suitable for loading bulk cargo through.
Kai pulled at the edge of the plastic sheet and ducked underneath, wincing slightly as the rain turned the plastic into a drum, pounding out a five hundred beat per minute song of monotony. As he pushed the inside door open, a waft of thick pungent smoke drifted out, and Hunter sniffed at it through habit, sending neural commands to his chemical analyser to begin breaking it down.
"Kai – that smoke is laced with opium or a synthetic derivative, several types of tobacco and a small host of other recreational drugs. Careful how much you breath in!" he warned, and watched as Kai's shoulders tightened slightly in front of him. Shimazu followed him in, and Hunter bought up the rear, pushing the door closed behind him and sealing the unpleasant weather out.
Inside was dark and smoky, pools of light cast by overhead lamps dangling from long cables suspended from the roof. Around each lamp was a small seating area, mismatched furniture drawn up around makeshift tables, made out of cable spools turned on their sides. They could see dim figures lounging around on the furniture, turning to study them as they stood for a moment letting the water run off their faces and drain off their arms to form a puddle around their feet.
They could see several plumes of smoke rising from people toking on pipes or hoses, or smoking cigarettes – the bright orange ends glowing in the darkness as they took a deep breath inwards. There were several dozen people sprawling around the building, and they could see the glint of steel reflecting the dim overhead lights from a variety of weapons, both firearms and large knives as the occupants watched them carefully.
Straight ahead of Kai was a brighter area, slightly raised and with more open space. In the centre of the raised area, slightly separated from all the other furniture was a single leather chair, high backed and broad, containing a small man who slouched to one side and watched them, a cigarette dangling from his left hand while his right hand held a small stick with several feathers attached to the end. The man in the chair gestured to them somewhat imperiously, beckoning them closer, and the trio walked towards him. About halfway over, Hunter peeled off to go lean against a settee, and keep a longer range eye on things, while the others continued. As they reached the edge of the raised area, Shimazu paused, waiting and letting Kai cross the last few metres on his own.
"I'm Gwok, this is my place. Are you buying or selling?"
"Mostly buying, I think"
"Mostly? What are you buying then?"
"Well, information and maps would be a good start for us."
"Information? Really?" Gwok sneered at Kai and adjusted position. He was a short man, slender and wiry, with a mop of black hair on his head. A ridiculously thin wispy moustache clung to his top lip, and his right eye squinted from under a notched eyebrow. "Why not something interesting like beer, or drugs or women?"
"Oh, well, we can go for some beer, I suppose."
"How many crates do you want?"
"Crates? Oh, I'm not sure. Like I said, mostly it's maps I'm after."
"Half a dozen crates then. No problem. I'll get some stock over to your aircraft." He took a long pull on his bottle of beer, finishing it off, then spun the bottle in the air, catching it by the slender neck before yeeting it across the room at some of his minions and bellowing at them. Kai, Hunter and Shimazu watched as a few of them scrambled to their feet and headed to the door, having no idea at all what he had said – the language didn't seem to have anything in common with any of the dialects they spoke.
"So, are you staying long?"
"No, not really. Refuelling and picking up a little cargo here and there, mostly just working to establish new contacts, I suppose. We're heading west for a pre-arranged job."
"And your plane. Is it fast?"
"It's not slow – but mostly it's inconspicuous, I'd say."
"Pah." Gwok spat on the floor between them. "Who are you working for then? I've never heard of you, and that means you have no rep. Nobody will trust you with a cargo down here – not unless you buy the whole thing. So who are you dealing with?"
"It's not a cargo run – its mostly information gathering we're doing, which is why we want the maps." Kai felt that he wasn't making much headway here. "Though we can always try to help out with other little jobs of course?" Kai smiled, knowing that Hunter and Shimazu were almost certainly giving him 'The Look' behind his back, and that Aswon was bound to have something to say when they got back to the chopper. "We're here for maybe half a day, so I'm sure we can help with something useful."
"Maybe. So, what can you do?"
"Well, we're good at deliveries, gathering information, finding things, retrieval missions. That kind of thing?"
"Ok, I have a job for you then. You do this, maybe we can talk more business."
"I'm all ears."
"There's a place in town, Lings Freezers. They don't show me the proper respect. Go deliver a message, and retrieve me some respect. Show me how good you are."
"Errr, ok. How do you want this sorting out? Us to just go have a word with them?"
"You go tell them who sent you, and bring me some respect back. Tell them to do as they're told – and bring me a hand back."
"Are they late in paying for something? Protection money or taxes or something?"
"No? They just don't respect me and my people. We can't let that stand. So you'll go and fuck them up, and take one of their hands as a trophy, and bring it back to me."
"Riiiight. So, what are the details?"
"I already said. Lings Freezers in town. Go sort it. End of discussion." Gwok adjusted his position, turning away from Kai to face the side and waving to someone waiting in the darkness. A young woman in scanty clothing scampered across to him with a fresh cold beer, handing it over with bowed head. Gwok took it without acknowledging her, and then turned back to see Kai still staring at him.
"Are you eyeballing me?" His lips seemed to thin and his body language bristled. A subtle but noticeable ripple of movement around the room made all three of the team take notice, as people sat up and became more alert.
"No no – I was just telling my team over my internal commlink to get ready to do this thing for you. Right, we'll get fuelled up and be on our way soon. Lings Freezer. Hand. Gotcha." Kai backed away, almost falling off the raised dais, then turned and started to stride towards the door, with first Shimazu and then Hunter falling into step behind him. As they opened the door and pushed past the sheet and back into the rain, Shimazu cleared his throat.
"I'll come with you, but I'm not cutting off anyone's hand. Not unless they actively attack us."
"Don't worry, I'm not planning on taking hands or any other body parts if I can help it. Let's get back to see what's going on."
They headed back over to the chopper where they spied two locals, absolutely drenched as they worked the primitive hand pump on the fuel bowser that had been dragged to the side of the tilt-wing. Their original guide was there as well, and perked up as Kai appeared through the rain, swinging up his cred reader. Kia sighed and checked the amount showing on the display, wincing as he saw the bill, which was just over ten thousand Nuyen. He sighed, then slotted his stick, consoling himself that it was hardly surprising when they probably had a near monopoly on the local black-market fuel that they'd be charging exorbitant rates.
Once the cred stick had been processed, their guide spoke to the two crew, and they accelerated their efforts, pumping the fuel faster – though judging by the slow movement of the dial on the old fashioned mechanical gauge, it would still take some time. Once again, the language used sounded alien and unlike anything they had heard before.
With a nod, Kai, Shimazu and Hunter climbed back aboard, sliding the door shoot and then ran hands over their hair to squeeze out the water and stop it running down their faces.
"Ok – the good news, the fuel is paid for and is being pumped into the tanks now, though it was pretty pricy. We've also made contact with the local smuggler boss, and I've asked for maps and information on the local area. The bad news is that he seems a bit blood-thirsty, and wants us to go into town to a place called Lings Freezers, deliver a message that they have to respect him and chop off someone's hand to bring back as a trophy."
"Who's hand? A particular person?" Aswon asked incredulously. "And you agreed to this?"
"No, and no. That's what he wanted. Anyone's hand, not a particular person. Or at least that what he said. And I wasn't planning on following through there. In fact I was wondering about getting into the local morgue maybe – I'm sure we can deliver the message, get a hand – from somewhere – and report back if need be."
"That's a dangerous game to play. I mean, fuck it I suppose. We're already stringing along a Great Dragon. What's adding a crime lord going to do…."
"Come on Aswon – I was talking with him in the middle of his base, surrounded by his men. I think he was just flexing and showing off, and it wouldn't have gone well if I said no. But I tell you, I'm thinking if we fuel up here, we can get to the first drop site and back easily enough, fill up from the tanks and get back to Arkan to refuel. I'm actually thinking of just dropping this guy as a contact, and burning our bridges here. We don't need to deal with people like that."
Aswon stopped talking and studied Kai, checking to see if he was serious. Given the normal chaotic nature that he seemed to channel in day to day life, it seemed eminently sensible and full of forward-planning – and somewhat un-Kai like.
"I was watching his movements, and those of his men while you were talking Kai. I don't like this place at all." Shimazu piped up, speaking quietly and calmly. "Their culture seemed to be quite clan-like – the groups of people scattered around in the different areas were either smaller gangs or family members I think, based on how they interacted. I get the impression that their whole structure or society is based on a feudal modal, with gangs owing allegiances to those above them based on oaths or blood debts. But it's also a structure built on violence and might. I can't see them acting with honour or compassion – in fact both of those would be seen as weakness."
"That's an interesting point of view, Shimazu."
"You cannot show weakness to these people, Kai, but you also need to be careful showing strength. If you challenge them, they are likely to respond with unregulated violence because that's what they will be expecting."
"Well, based on what I've seen so far, I'd actually be ok with gearing up, storming the building and shooting them all. And I don't think any of you would actually be that opposed to it, based on how I think they do business." Tads looked unconvinced, but nobody else seemed to do anything other than agree.
"Hey, I found the place on the map. Lings Freezers, on Mangola Street – looks like the main drag through the city. It's… it's a supermarket by the looks of things. Specialises in frozen goods or all kinds. Unless it's a cover for something, it's not the kind of place I'd expect to be doing major business with a crime boss." Hunter studied the map a few moments more, then cast the data he was looking at to the screens in the back of the chopper so everyone else could see.
The building was dirty and unkempt, green corrugated building sheets starting to rust and decay, warped and bent with the passage of time and the rigours of life forming a two story structure. Battered and ancient heat exchangers were attached to the outside walls with flimsy brackets, while the windows were covered with rusty bars. Some local tourist at some point had taken a few photos of the interior, and they could see large industrial freezers full of bulk boxes of goods. Dirt streaked the floor and sides of the unit, and the goods in the freezers looked to be hand wrapped in some cases. Around the outside walls were shelves stacked with other bulk goods – barrels of cooking oils, sacks of rice, large pots of herbs and spices.
"Reminds me of that supermarket back in Iran. Just looks a bit run down and stale…." Kai murmured as they studied the pictures. "Why the hell would Gwok be interested in this place 'respecting him'. There's got to be more to this story…"
"Are we doing this then?" Marius asked, somewhat incredulously.
"Well, I think we ought to find out a bit more. I'm still thinking once we have the fuel, we can just leave and never come back to this place. But I want to know what's going on, and not get played for fools either way. So I think we ought to gather some intel. After all, we've still got at least a full day before we can drop off the first stone haven't we?"
Further discussion was interrupted by a bang on the side of the chopper as someone pounded on the door with the flat of their hand.
"Ahh, that'll be our cargo I bought?"
"What cargo Kai? And where are we going to put it?"
"I bought some beer, Aswon. Just a few crates. Clear some space, will you?"
"WHERE? We're full Kai, look. Full of drones, and guns, and spare fuel! We have NO room!"
"Well, we've bought it, so we'll have to make some space somewhere. Otherwise I don't think he was going to sell us any information."
Kai moved to the door and slid it open, listening to the grumbles behind him as the team shuffled around, trying to work out what they could possibly stack some cargo on, in or under as the first crates of beer was passed up into the chopper by another pair of locals, as they unloaded their little hand cart.