Another week went by quickly where Ajay and friends were occupied with bringing the arsenal up to speed.
After the incident with the elder Aadinath and his group, word seemed to spread around the territory until everyone in the North knew that there was employment for the young and old, men and women. There was also the choice of payment in grains or the ill-fated Kyrati rupees with Pagan's face on it. They could choose a combination of any of the two as well.
Presently, Ajay's arsenal had over three hundred employees currently receiving training on operating the machines and their respective jobs. But like all workers, they needed a break and to be fed so Ajay had an invitation to food caters to come and setup shop within the compound. They setup a mess hall for the employees to grab a bite and rest their sore backs.
Within some of the classes hosted by Samar, the on-the-job training employees were surprised to find Ajay with them learning and studying with them the ropes on cutting the metals, milling steel, rifling barrels, assembling parts and operating the machinery. Nearly everyone had seen and attended their lessons with Ajay as he learnt the trade along with them. This gave them a sense of pride that they were part of something special in Ajay's project.
Ajay had an advantage of being in metal-works before, he worked in a machine shop building automotive parts for cars and bikes before in the States so he was quick to pick up the trait. He needed to understand the working conditions and how well they could do their work in this arsenal. His week of engaging in classes with the employees paid off as he both understood how the machines worked and how quickly the employees could adapt and build certain parts or operate machines by interacting with them.
Maya occupied the desk job which he was supposed to sit in, she had undergone rigorous training in accounting and management studies from Yuma and some private tutors, part and parcel in being Yuma's protégé. She enjoyed sending for Ajay to her desk like his boss to find out what he intended to do on certain aspects. Ajay would come into the office covered in grease and sweat while in a working attire causing her to chuckle softly at him truly playing the part of her subordinate.
Bipin had successfully established a transport line for delivering their goods or bringing in raw materials which Ajay purchased from the steel mill and lumber yards.
"When did they come about?" Ajay stood at the entrance of the compound to find people setting up a whole row of shops for produce or merchandise. Some were building wooden shop houses still in progress, others had simply set up a tent to shade them from the elements.
"Isn't this good? Your industry is creating a market for spending!" Maya who had accompanied him said. Naturally with the employees earning money, there was opportunity to spend and people gathered to the outside of Ajay's compound in the once uninhabited centre in the Valley of Death to make them spend on their wares.
-All according to plan.-
"What are the numbers on the ammunition and rifles?" Maya took out a file as he asked for a report on the progress.
"The employees began working after finishing their training two days ago, so far production is at fifteen thousand rounds a day judging from the amount they've produced recently. As for the weapons production, they're been producing parts but Samar says they're still not up to scratch."
"It can't be helped, we'll have to wait till they can perfect the quality in production before building." Ajay knew it wasn't easy to bring weapons production up so easily. It could take as long as a month to do that.
Samar had made his amendments to the ARP-1 mod. 0 assault rifle and set it for production after Ajay had approved it. He produced samples himself for the employees as reference material, hoping they would quickly get the knack at it. The employees themselves were trying the best they could to improve on their workmanship and the quality of the parts they made, they didn't want to let down their employer who had done much for them.
In the meantime, he needed to free up the Condottieri from guarding the compound so he set up job vacancies for security guards which was instantly filled. The Condottieri gave their replacements a rough course over the layout of the compound and the protocols that needed to be followed in certain situations. The reason he didn't have soldiers guarding the facility was because of spies, although the same could be said for normal civilians. He didn't want to give the spies in the army the chance to sneak in under the guise of a superior officer to which a guard soldier would find it difficult to repel.
Ajay stretched his arms.
"If the Golden Path don't attack now I'm gonna get bored!" He exclaimed.
"After the way you struck them, how would they have the strength or momentum to mount another assault!"
"…."
He guessed Sabal was tearing the hairs off his head and screaming in frustration for the horrific loss the Golden Path suffered weeks ago. But it was not like him to sit around and wait for the next time Sabal launched a pre-emptive strike against one of the Royal Armies important locations. There was also the absence of Willis at the airport which he was sure he would have been there to oversee the shipments of weapons to the Golden Path, but he wasn't.
Willis was the one of the only people with the ability to change the playing field between the Golden Path and Pagan's two armies using external forces. Willis was after all a CIA case officer, he had an enormous authority over certain assets around the Himalayan region he could requisition from his headquarters. The next time they fought, he could very well bring in mercenaries or worse, US special forces specializing in clandestine operations, if he was that good.
Ajay had absolutely no intel on the Golden Path's current activities and it worried him, he didn't know what Sabal or Willis were up to. What happened to Amita? Where was Bhadra in all of this? The thoughts of the girl who was forced into a role she never wanted to be manipulated from behind by Sabal made his heart feel anxious. The group here seemed to be managing well on their own, they just needed time to get things right. He needed to see for himself what has become of the South.
"I'm gonna join the Golden Path…." He murmured.
"What?!"
"Covertly I mean." He tried to ease down a shouting Maya.
"At a time like this?" She was referring to the work he needed to approve for her as the manager of his operation.
"This arsenal just needs time, it's the Golden Paths motives that I'm worried about. They wouldn't just be sitting around to regather their strength hoping we wouldn't attack them. Train someone quickly to take over you, I can't have you working in the arsenal all the time!"
"Who the hell would be able to do what I do?"
"Probably someone you trust." She thought about what he said and snapped her fingers when she thought of a candidate.
The next day, it was Elina that came over with a smile on her face. She thought it was a pleasant surprise to see Ajay again after the things she heard about him recently. She already had the intentions of coming over here to work in the Arsenal to support herself and Alisha. The money that Ajay handed her, she gave to the orphanage instead, leaving some for a contingency only.
"I don't want my daughter to grow up spoilt, it's better she takes the hard road in life to achieve her own greatness." Elina's reasoning brought a smile to Ajay's face because what she said was right.
He coordinated with the Condottieri and Saras on his infiltration into Banapur, how he would establish contact with him on his latest mission and left instructions for Samar and Longinus on the continuation of their work in the Arsenal. Maya was still in the midst of showing the ropes to Elina to take over her temporary job before returning to the field with the hunters. Ajay settled all of this before heading over to Southern Kyrat. In the meantime, Ajay coordinated with Hurk to infiltrate the Golden Path.
Ajay redialed the number Hurk called him with.
*Wassup, brother!*
Despite housing the Golden Path, Banapur still had a majestic sight of looming mountains and lush greenery, Ajay took in a breath of that fresh air and wiggled about in his former outfit to adjust. There was a recruit depot off Banapur looking to replenish the losses they took at Ratu Gadhi and Meh Teh. Ajay and Hurk were just outside Banapur and walking towards the recruitment depot which was almost empty except of a recruiter that was leaning against the desk in front of him.
Before Ajay left, he settled things with the Arsenal, the Condottieri and the Army. He also sent an important message to Pagan concerning his present activities and what Pagan could do since he was there. Pagan always found it fun to play along with Ajay because he hardly disappointed in surprises he had in store for him.
"At this rate, they'll even recruit a chimp!" Hurk laughs confidently.
"I'm counting on the fact they'll be lenient on our background checks to replenish their ranks! I need you to do an intro with me while we enter the Golden Path."
"….Waitwaitwaitwait-…Wait!...Did you just say we? I thought it was just you?!"
"Who else am I gonna coordinate with in their camp!"
"Ohhhh! We so both sneaking like two terminators and slip out into the night-… get booty action! Ok! Ok! So why am I doing the intro?" Ajay sighed, Hurk was exasperating.
"I can't hide my accent, nor can I read or write most of the Hindi characters. So I need to play the part of a mute so I can't talk throughout our period within the Golden Path. I need you to tell that to the recruiter."
"Oh!- Ooooh!... Dude, that's genius! Maybe I should do it too!" Ajay slapped his forehead.
"Then who's gonna introduce us?!"
"I could get Coco IV to do the intro? It'll be tatbros II coming to the kick Royal Army butt!"
"Hurk!" Ajay shouted at him to stop fooling around.
"Ok! Alright, I'll do it. So what was your name again?"
"Soren, my history is being traumatized by a Royal Guard raid on my village resulting in my status as a mute."
Hurk remains quiet for a while.
"It means I can't talk."
"Ah-Yeah! I know what it means, I was just testing you."
Ajay sighed again. He didn't want to rely on Hurk other than tell him the things he wanted to know about the Golden Path but the fella seemed to be preoccupied with collecting the monkey statues than actually doing missions for the Royal Army. He hoped that his status as a foreigner coupled with elements that made him less of a threat and more of a fool would help in getting them recruited. The Banapur recruitment depot was just in front of them.
"Say Bad's?... After this, you'll gimme a chance to join your neat little outfit, right?" Hurk whispers in his ear, Ajay doesn't answer him as he needed to stay in character in the recruitment depot.
"Welcome, brothers. Could you be interested in joining the Golden Path's fight against Pagan?"
"That's right homie! The tatbros at your service! Hurk and uh-!..." Hurk instantly forgot Ajay's alias, he really wanted to punch him hard.
Ajay walked toward the desk and wrote his name.
"Soren, eh? Why do you want to join the Golden Path?" The recruiter asked.
"Yeah- My buddy Soren don't speak much! In fact, he doesn't speak at all, not since that childhood tragedy with the Royal Guard fellas!" Hurk plays his part even if he was slow to start. Either way, he had convinced the recruiter of Ajay's disability.
"I see….. and what is your drive, Mr Hurk?" He turns to Hurk wondering what business a foreigner had in Kyrat's affairs.
"Man! Righteous cause, brother! Saw some Royal Army dudes beating up some civvies and thought, someone better deal with these hussies then I saw your poster and thought hell yeah!" Hurk cooks up a story.
"I- Is that so…."
"Damn right it is!" Hurk winks at Ajay who ignores him.
"Alright come over to the back where the firing range is, I'll test both of your accuracies and weapons proficiency." The Recruiter got up from his seat and escorted them to the backyard where a shooting range was, on the table were a variety of weapons ranging from the weapons purchasable at the gun stores of Kyrat to the weapons brought in by Solomon.
"Take your pick and hit that steel target 150 metres out there." He pointed to a steel gong in the shooting range at the hundred and fifty mark.
"Right, let's get to it!" Hurk walks over to pick up the Remington 700 with a proprietary scope on and aims it down range.
(Click) "Sorry!" He forgets to chamber a round and stumbles with the bolt handle to do so then lines his shot.
(BAAM) His shot kicks up the dirt near the gong.
"First try! Just practicing!" He justifies his miss.
(BAAM) The second shot was just as good as the first.
"Damn! Must have been a passing wind!"
"That's only 150 metres and you're using a high-powered round." The recruiter said.
"Jeez! Relax, I'm just playing you a fool here! This one ain't gonna miss. Promise!"
Hurk says a silent hail Mary and aims his scope at the target.
(BAAM) (GOOONNNGG) "Alright! Hi-five!" He raises his hands to the recruiter who takes it slowly and awkwardly.
Ajay's turn, he looks at the desk and picks up the AK and examines the chamber and rounds in the magazine. He loads the weapon and cocks the gun. Aiming at the same target that Hurk tried three times to hit, he switches the selector from Safe to Fire.
(BANG) (BANG) There's no gong sound, instead the ropes holding the gong up are sliced by his two shots and the iron gong falls face flat on the ground.
The recruiter stares at Ajay with amazement. "That was incredible, where did you learn to shoot-…oh! Right!" The recruiter remembers he couldn't speak for some psychological reason.
"Well I'd have to say that both of you are at least better than the average shooters coming around, your help is especially needed now after those failed expeditions to the North. As it is both Sabal and Amita are contesting for the position as the Golden Path leader again, since both had lost tragically and are roughly evenly matched in support now."
"Are you insane?! What were you thinking, allowing that little American worm join us?!"
"He didn't join us, we merely have coinciding interests…."
As the recruiter was bringing out applications to join there was a loud argument getting louder as whoever was doing so was coming closer. The door flung open with Sabal and Amita walking through it whilst arguing on the move, Amita chases after Sabal. Ajay had his guard up as Sabal turned to watch where he was going and caught sight of Ajay. But he moved pass him instead.
-He doesn't recognize my face?-
Looking back at memory when he first encountered Sabal in De Pleur's compound the man had his pistol aimed at him while asking if he was Ajay Ghale. So Sabal never knew how Ajay looked like, perhaps that was what Darpan was for. To lead him to Sabal until they both got intercepted by Pagan. So Darpan was the only one from the Golden Path who knew what Ajay looked like and he brought it with him to the grave.
-Perfect!-
"Come back here!" Amita shouts at him.
"I'm wasting my time bickering with you, you can keep pointing out my failures. You should look to yourself first before commenting about me. Go and bother someone else, I have things to do!" Sabal says all he wants before ignoring Amita entirely and walking off.
"That, Sabal-….I've just have it with him!... What?" She notices Hurk's gaze on her and glares at him causing him to move back timidly.
"Amita, these are the new recruits, Soren and Hurk." The recruiter introduces them.
"Oh! Well you've come at one of the direst times we've ever faced." She said with little interest and continued on her way.
"Man, she like some sorta Ice queen!...I dig that!" Hurk expresses his appeal for Amita which they were better off not knowing.
"I guess I'd better get you to your units first. Let me contact the local Commander first!" The recruiter dismissed himself and went to the wire phone and dialed a few numbers.
Hurk stuck his thumbs up at Ajay who stared at him deadpan.
"What?...I tried my best! What about you, man? Showing off like that, I thought we were bros!... Whatever! For now, I'm not talking to you." He declared.
-Oh god, finally!- Ajay unconsciously smiled.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean? Answer me!" He caught sight of Ajay's smirk.
Ajay remained quiet like his character demanded causing Hurk to feel deprived of attention much to Ajay's enjoyment. A little while later a lieutenant came by to the depot as the recruiter had called him.
"I've got to good lads for you to consider on the frontline, that fellow over there is an exceptional marksman, Soren's his name I think. Although he's a mute." The recruiter gave his appeal of them to the lieutenant who sized them up.
He came over to them and greeted them, then asked them to follow him. They walked to a parked vehicle and hopped on while he drove them to an unspecified destination.
"Where're we going?" Hurk inquires, Ajay already knew where just from the trail.
"To Chal Jama Monastery, A little something special we do for all our initiates. You'll need to know why we fight for the Golden Path."
"Sounds great!"
The lieutenant took them into the monastery compounds after they had reached. Inside, the underwater stream flowed out from the rocks down into the valley. Monks roamed the grounds consulting with one another and accepting prayers from the visitors.
They went into the monasteries interior which was carved from the mountain, decades of work put into carving the rock into sculptures and rooms. The reward was that it lasted for hundreds of years and endured the elements for many generations to come.
They reached a table with prayer items and the head priest was standing ready to greet them.
"Good afternoon, holy father."
"Hello my child. And these are-…" The head priest looks upon Ajay and Hurk.
"New initiates to our cause, we were wondering if you could guide them through what we most fervently protect, holy father."
"Of course, come front young ones."
"Banashur, god of gods, sang the world into existence. For that, we give him thanks. We thank the gods for giving us life. Please, take an offering basket." The senior staff of the monastery presented the baskets for them and awaited the before proceeding on, he would take them through the process.
The lieutenant motioned for them to pick up the baskets presented to them on the table. Hurk hesitated while Ajay picked up the basket as soon as it was offered to him, they followed the priest's assistant.
They walked through a corridor into the inner sacred grounds of the monastery, before them stood a candle stand for prayers.
"A candle reminds us that growth only comes with a willingness to step beyond our usual boundaries." He chanted.
Ajay took out the match from the basket and showed it to Hurk before he lit his. When it came to religion, Hurk was absolutely respectful. He barely talked since they entered the cave-in monastery, perhaps he was brought up to be religious.
The took the steps to an altar with an incense holder.
"Life is as tenuous and fleeting as a wisp of sweet smelling smoke. The incense represents our mortality."
Ajay and Hurk planted their incense sticks and lit them. And descended another few steps behind where a large bon fire lay.
"Life without emotion is no life at all, but a life controlled by emotion is to be consumed by it. Add the powder."
-Have I been consumed by emotion?-
Ajay thought about the turns in his life, especially his new life. He had been so consumed by hatred for Sabal that he wanted to destroy the Golden Path. In Pagan's words. "as an excuse to do whatever I wanted to do…" He was using Sabal as an excuse to do what he wanted against the Golden Path without empathy for those honest folk within that organization.
-No. My decision stands! The Golden Path will be destroyed, I may do what I want but I'll do it so that there wouldn't be as much suffering as if I leave things as it is.-
"Psss…. Soren." Hurk awoke him from his deep thoughts. "I threw your powder for you."
Ajay smiled and followed the Priest's assistant behind Hurk as they moved on to the next site. A Mani wheel stood just off the steps by the right.
"The gods bless us with wisdom, and we collect them in the prayer wheel to purify ourselves from bad thoughts. Spin the wheel."
Ajay spun it once, Hurk spun it like the wheel of fortune.
They completed the ritual and returned to the entrance where the Lieutenant was waiting for them.
"So how was it?"
"I feel fuzzy, is that alright?" Hurk confesses.
"That's ok, so long as your trip wasn't wasted. And what of you Soren?" The Lieutenant laughed.
Ajay just nodded, the lieutenant just remembered he couldn't speak and felt awkward about it.
"Well with this you are officially brothers to the Golden Path! We should get-." A radio chatter broke his speech as it held grave news.
*Banapur is under attack! We need fighters here now!*
The lieutenant reached for his radio quickly. "Sabal, what's happening?!"
*We're under attack! Stay away. It's-*
"Sabal? Sabal! Shit! Get in the jeep, we're leaving!" The lieutenant ran ahead as the followed close behind. Boarding the jeep on the quickest route to Banapur.
Even from their trail back, smoke was rising from where the Golden Path headquarters was.
"I'm sorry your first day has to be so rough, but we'll need you in the fight brothers. Can I count on you?" The lieutenant asked from his wheel.
"No problemo! That's why we're here! To kick some Royal Army butt!" Hurk psyched himself for the coming fight but was gazing mostly at Ajay hoping he'd protect him. "Dude, I've got your six all the way!" He declared as his bumped Ajay's shoulder with his fist.
-So long as you don't get in my way.- He said it with his eyes.
They were already at the base of the hill where Banapur was located. And they could hear the gun fire and screaming, a few helis flew over head towards the town.
-So they've come.-
Before he left the palace, Ajay left Pagan a message saying to provoke the idiots in his war office like the idle yet arrogant Sugun that they weren't doing enough of the fighting like Badala was. Ajay hoped that he would clear out those stupid fellows that were getting in Arjun's way of properly waging war against the Golden Path. They would die 'heroically' in battle and life would move on.
The attack on Banapur is the answer they had to Pagan's provocation, they so easily bought in to the idea. Either that or Pagan was a master at acting.
A pile of burning wrecks prevented them from advancing further.
"Stay close and follow me!" The lieutenant was the only one sufficiently armed at the time, Ajay only had his kukri he brought with him.
The moved in carefully on the Cliffside path to the town. The Lieutenant pressed his radio.
"We're here, Sabal. How's the situation?"
*Damn it. Keep your head down and save whoever you can. I'm not far, I'll be there soon with help.*
-Wasn't he at Banapur just now? So he ran right when the shooting started.-
It became clear to Ajay what his most hated enemy's personality was like. He would use big boastful words on how his actions were for the righteous cause but fled when he was in danger and regardless of the casualties suffered.
"There, three more!" A voice came over the next row of wrecked vehicles and a stream of bullets followed soon after.
The coordination of whoever was commanding was significantly better than your average Army soldier, because the ones attacking Banapur presently were the Royal Guard.
The burst of rifle fire grazed the shoulder of the lieutenant and he fell against the wreckage of the car. Ajay and Hurk took cover behind the car as well as the Royal Guards pinned them down with suppressive fire.
"Arghhh!" The lieutenant moaned in pain at the injury he sustained, Ajay immediately applied pressure to his wound.
"This isn't good…. Arrghh!... At this rate, Banapur will truly be razed!" The lieutenant tried to get up with the support of his rifle but Ajay pushed him back down and took the rifle from him. The lieutenant was confounded for a moment but realized what Ajay was trying to say, he smile painfully.
"I leave the fate of our people in your hands brother…." The lieutenant faints from the blood loss.
"Keep the pressure to his wound, safe down." Ajay told Hurk who nodded.
"Go get'em!"
Ajay stood out from cover with the rifle aimed and fired single shots at the Royal Guards, hitting one in the head and forcing the rest into immediate cover behind wrecks of their own. He ran forwards while maintaining his stream of fire. He mounted the wreck and landed with him kukri into one of the Royal Guards behind cover.
Quickly turning the impaled guard towards his comrades as a meat shield against their automatic fire. He discarded his rifle and pulled out the handgun holstered on the dead guard's waist and blazed away at the rest. Five Royal Guards were lying each with a bullet in their heads. Ajay did some quick looting of weapons and ammo before proceeding further into the town.
Another few Guards were lining up civilians by the firing range to execute on the spot. He gunned them down in an instant, they barely had time to respond as they're guard had been down. The civilians ran off in the direction of the exit of Banapur.
Ajay moved with guile to sneak up on them and slid their throats thereby not attracting attention to his position. The streets were filled with angry shouts and wailing. The local security forces had all but wiped out leaving the helpless civilians at the mercy of the Royal Guards' interrogations and torture. But there were small pockets of resistance in the town, one such was a young Golden Path fighter who had been cornered as by the Royal Guards, he fought alone because all his allies had died around him. Ajay was just over a wall above them waiting to pounce onto the Royal Guards when he noticed him.
The young fighter fired his rifle until there was a click from his empty chamber, signaling to the Royal Guards he was on an empty gun. They left cover wearing unsightly grins as did the young man who raised his kukri at them, but was hit in the back of the head by a flanking Royal Guard and dropped to the floor losing grip of his knife. They brought him to his feet and began pummeling him with punches and kicks for aftertime fun.
"What's this….?" A royal guard ripped his shirt off revealing bindings holding back a well-endowed bosom. The Royal Guards looked to each other with wolf-like expressions and pushed her back on the floor. They argued on who would have the first taste and sadly none of them ever did.
Ajay jumped off the steps lashing them in the throats and legs to make them lose balance before he stabbed them in the heart and caused them an agonizing last few seconds.
He turns to the girl who hugs her chest while leaning against the wall to her back. Ajay took a moment to remove his jacket which made the girl nervous for a moment but he threw the jacket over her and went on his way to clear the town.
"T-…Thank you….." By the time she said so Ajay had already left the scene.
A few minutes later, Ajay had single handedly cleared out all of the Royal Guard forces in Banapur. The civilians popped their heads out from their barricaded houses to hear the commotion that was happening. They were falling into despair as they knew the local town watchmen had already died and the Royal Guards would be after them next. Instead they found the Royal Guardsmen lying dead on the ground with wide open expressions of horror and disbelief.
The sound of rotor blades was closing in on the town, and a microphone cleared itself.
*Attention citizens of Banapur, for harboring rebels against his royal highness you have all been wanted for treason! Give up your struggle and we may guarantee your safety and fair treatment, hand us the leaders to the Golden Path and we will consider you redeemed! Refusal to do so will be met with death!*
The microphone blared from one of the three helicopters that was loitering around the town in the rice paddies. Ajay recognized that voice, it was Sugun.
The Chief of Royal Guards had come himself to personally take charge of this witless operation to prance straight into Banapur and hope to get the Golden Path leadership in an instant.
-Pagan must have really taunted them into getting to work.-
As far as Ajay knew about Sugun from meeting him personally and Saras's description he was a Pompous fool within the Royal Armed Forces assembly, inheriting his post through nepotism from his Father who was at least more capable. The Royal Guards held sixty percent of the military budget despite being a smaller force and Sugun had been decadent in the way of spending the nation's capital on elaborate parties he hosted with Kyrat's upper class among the warrior caste. Pagan didn't really bother with him because of the influence he had with the majority of his subjects in the warrior clans and families that made up the bulk of the Royal Guard and officers in the Royal Army.
That was at least until Ajay's suggestion. Ajay could get rid of him by natural means, Sugun would die by the Golden Path's hands and someone else under the recommendation of Pagan and Arjun will fill the gap he left, probably a more capable officer no doubt.
-Now all I need to do is ensure he doesn't make it out of here alive.-
