Author's Notes:
The time has come! The moment you've all been waiting for. The winner of the poll for Jason's love interest is... (Drum roll)
Daisy! (Applauds)
Winning ratio of 6:2, former is Daisy while latter is Liza. I have to admit, the way i portrayed Liza was kind of whiny i confess. But it was merely my analysis of her character when after the events of FC3 she was to deal with the PTSD ladden Jason who was still fighting killing urges. I wondered to myself, how long would she last in patience with Jason if he took a while. Liza in Reborn a King was my answer to that. But regardless, she's lost that's too bad and partially my fault i guess. At least it wasn't a game like choose your poison featuring Hillary and Trump. (Sigh) I may not be American but I pity the americans for their poor choices to select from this current election.
This story's plot will undergo a phase in the year from 2014 to 2015. Even fictional characters need to celebrate it, you know!
Meeting an acquaintance from the old days was a genuine surprise he would not have expected anytime. Immediately upon confirming his identity as Hurk, he was dragged to a quieter part of the mountaintops of Banapur where Hurk insisted on telling him something. Hurk was rather reliable when it came to the happenings on Rook Island so Jason assumed it was the same for this place.
"Can't you just tell me in the village?"
"Afraid I can't, they ain't my friends any longer after what we've done to them."
"Wha- we?" Who did Hurk work with.
"Me and the Royal Army." Jason stopped in his tracks reluctant to venture any further once he heard he was working on the opposite side.
"Please, just follow me a little longer and I'll explain everything, including where your friends are."
"What, really?!"
"Shhhh! Jas' I already said I'm not supposed to be here." Hurk whispered. But Jason wondered what Hurk was doing right inside Banapur just now.
"I've been workin' out so, they couldn't recognize me from months ago." Hurk explained on the way to the house up top the cliff.
"I can see." Hurk was no longer the burly red neck he used to recall. He'd shed at least sixty pounds and earned some muscular proportions, he was nearer dressed in a uniform under the cloak he wore. The only feature Jason truly recognized him for was that adolescent look on his face and tone of his voice. Other than those he was completely unrecognizable, what's more was that he had this determined look about his face this time, something akin to a hunter.
What the hell kind of transformation did Hurk undergo since the monkey jihadist days?
Not long, they reached their intended destination and stopped.
"Now will you tell me?"
"I need to tell you a few things before I tell you where they are."
Jason crossed his arms. "Alright, I'm listening."
"Badala wants you dead…."
"Uh-huh." This wasn't new to him, he ran twice for his life because of him.
"Let me finish."
"You remember those jarheads back in the forest, they were here to escort Willis out because he was going off track in the mission Langley provided him. In other words he went rogue, Captain Goh took the soft approach and demanded he take the initiative to leave himself. But they Willis pulled out a black card, he threatened his boss with a scandal that would tear his career. So his boss grounded the marines until they could finish whatever he was trying to do here."
"Isn't it to help Golden Path win this rebellion?"
"The last thing the CIA wants is their footprints all over Kyrat like what Willis has been doing. He's here for the same reason Solomon's siding Sabal, Kyrat's vast mining reserves. Destabilizing the country helps companies come and mine the resources in exchange for direly needed aid for impoverished civilians."
"These affairs, I couldn't care less. I'm just here for my friends."
Hurk looked a bit surprised and shocked with the change in Jason's behaviour from the gung-ho righteous lad he knew. He begun to understand why Ajay had chosen to kill Jason instead of convert him.
"(Sigh) So that's why Bad's hates you…"
"Bad's? As in Badala?!" Jason took cautious steps back when he heard Hurk had associated him with the Golden Paths number one nightmare.
"You're too careless, Jason."
"Careless?" Hurk nodded with a solemn expression.
"Yup, careless. Without you realizing you've hurt several people in your quest for your friends. One of them was Badala….. the other was me. You caused the death of one of my friends, but to him you took something more."
Jason suddenly recalled the fighters that threw their lives away to save him, yet all he wanted to do was find his friends and get out. But who was this person Hurk was talking about that he took?
"Her name was Kamala. I admit, I have very few friends, Jas. But that's because I only need a few over many, what's worse is they're now trying to kill each other."
"I'm sorry about that…. Wait- You mean Kamala the Hero? But that was-." He remembered it was Sabal that took the shot that he couldn't say anything about because it saved his life.
"That's not what Bad's sees, to him Sabal had always been that way so he was worse than a dog. But it was your interference that caused her to die. She wasn't just a friend see, she was the very icon he hoped the Golden Path would be, he really wanted to allow them to coexist with the current Kyrat. But now….. now he doesn't want a single trace of the Golden Path left. He can't get over his the Golden Path as a whole incurring his wrath. He holds every Golden Path member responsible for her death, including you or rather especially you."
Jason reflected on it, he now understood why Badala hadn't chase him when they ran from Baghadur. It was to be with the one he love's last remaining seconds. Jason was around when he heard the radio transmission Ajay sent before he razed that temple so he could feel a tremor of pain and angst in his voice. It was like when Keith had told him falsely that Riley had died to get off the island as quick as possible. He no longer held tolerance to his peers and went on a killing spree of Hoyt's men till he infiltrated the main camp and found Riley there. Jason had unwittingly extended the length of the war, feeling the weight of his actions he could only respond with….
"I see…."
"No, Jas'. You still don't see! Bad's commands heavy respect in the Army. If he asks for something they'd gladly do it. Now he asked the Royal Army spec-ops to hunt you in the thousands, they really will! Even if it means they have to waste their lives to just maim you they would."
Hurk was clear on the fanatical behavior Badala's presence could invoke on the Royal Army soldiers. If a hundred soldiers were fighting a thousand fighters alongside Badala, they would readily take on two thousand.
"It doesn't change what I'm here for, Hurk. My friends need to be saved." Hearing Jason say that, he suddenly felt annoyed and angry why Jason still couldn't understand. He wasn't invincible as he was in Rook Island, Hurk could tell the mercs and pirates weren't anything near the current Royal Army.
-So this was why Bad's didn't want to entertain him, they're both just as stubborn!- Hurk sighed internally. Both parties were unwilling to give in for themselves and the people important to them. Whatever he said next to convince Jason to defect or turn on the Golden Path was wasted.
".…. You want to know where your friends have been all this while?"
"Yes! If you have any clue please say it!" Jason had waited long for Hurk to finally tell him the one piece of intel he wanted to hear.
"You should ask Willis and Sabal."
"What? You mean you don't know?!" Why was Hurk wasting his time?
"Your friends were never in the Royal Palace to begin with, they were never taken hostage by Pagan."
Jason's pupils widen in shock.
"Where- Where are they?!" Jason walked up to Hurk and shook him.
"Ask Willis and Sabal." He repeated. And that was when Jason understood what he implied.
"No- They would never-."
"You've not been here long enough to know what they've been doing. Mass executions of soldiers just doing their duty, they've killed fellow fighters just for failing their missions. But what they truly care for is their own interests and not Golden Path nor the states. Its just an excuse, if you saw the condition of the North months ago you'd understand who were the real crooks!"
"How do you know all this?" Jason needed to know.
"I've lived there for a month and the rest concerning your friends likely whereabouts… Badala told me."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" What did he mean by Badala told him?
"It means I trust him enough to know he wouldn't lie, could you entrust your life to someone else hoping they'd help you with your goals and not their own first?"
Jason took in what Hurk said, it meant that what reason did Sabal and Willis have to fulfill his request over their own.
"He's done more for me than he knows. I owe he alot-….. no, too much!"
"Then why are you doing this, Hurk?"
"Simple, we're tatbros! We look out for one another! He's just as important as you are, Jas'. Tatbros for life!" Hurk said with a smile.
Jason still had trouble imagining Sabal and Willis intentionally lied to bring him here, much less to shamelessly say someone else took them while hiding them else where.
"Why is Badala helping me?"
"He's not, I am."
"It can't just be because we're tatbros, Hurk."
"What if it could? I'm trying my best to look out for both of you, but Bad's seems to think of nothing but ending your live, even when he knows your friends are held captive. You took something precious to him and you didn't even intend for it to happen and that's what has Bad's furious. Because you don't seem to accept the responsibility of your actions, like that battalion of fighters that died to get you and Willis out. But I'm not letting him destroy himself over something Kamala wouldn't have wanted."
Kamala this, Kamala that. That was all that Hurk seemed to say in regards to the reason Badala despised him. Also irresponsibility? Jason reflected once more, perhaps he was. He had been too single minded about rescuing Liza and the rest that he ignored the affairs to protect himself from seduction like what happened with Dennis and Citra. Then maybe that's the reason Willis had invited him in the first place, to destabilize Kyrat. Things were starting to get scary as it begun to make sense in his head. He had a feeling he was being used but didn't want to believe it. Trust? He barely knew Willis, much less Sabal. Agent Huntley only helped him once which was to ferry him across to the Southern Islands where Hoyt resided. The rest was a transaction between them, muscle for intel.
Did Hurk intentionally come here to sow seeds of discord upon him?
"I need to leave, if you want your friends to be safe don't let them know you suspect them." Hurk turned to depart.
"Why leave when you've only just arrived, Hurk?" A voice came from the rear where men started to pour out from the forest.
Hurk raised his rifle and adopted a defensive posture, he was seriously outmanned, outgunned. His maverick choice led him here. Sighing, Hurk lowered his weapon. He'd gotten himself into a serious mess without thinking hard enough about it.
"Good choice, we've got a multitude of tortures planned for you, traitor. But then again, you were never really one of us to begin with!" Sabal smiled sinisterly.
Ajay had been called to the Royal Palace along with Noore surprisingly, Bipin had tagged along as he was by appointment Ajay's attendant. The Palace Guards led them to the dining where maps and charts were laid out on the table where Pagan and Gary stood. Eric the Melbournite double of Pagan stood in the back keeping a close eye on the workings in case he was asked to stand in for Pagan at any time, so he would know what to say.
It also represented the seriousness of the situation Pagan had called them in. Arjun came around the corridor and joined them.
"Your Highness." Ajay bowed because they were in the presence of Arjun, the only one who didn't know about Ajay's actual identity.
"Punctual, I like it!" Pagan commended him.
"Is there a reason I'm needed?" Noore asked as she knew little of politics.
"We need your medical advise on this, Noore dear." Pagan responded.
"I…. see?" She still didn't know, but only time would tell what Pagan meant.
Pagan placed the map out for them to see, it was the field that was once the place they grew poppy to ship out as opium among other substances.
"I'm calling all the lords in to manage this problem and I'm not gonna lie we're running into a financial state of ruin soon. There's been plummet in the drug trade recently and it's making financing the Army and domestic affairs difficult."
-So it was this.-
Ajay was clear what it meant, the market for opium was dropping. That drug was one of the main exports that funded Kyrat, the Royal Army, and Pagan's extravagant lifestyle.
"Where's Yuma?" Pagan had mentioned all of the lords but was missing the most important subordinate in his retinue.
"She's dealing with the Golden Path, they've been exhibiting some peculiar activity these past few days." Arjun answered for Pagan.
"She's like a hawk, she can literally sniff trouble before it brews. But that isn't the focus of today, right now the star of this show is Noore."
"Me?!" Noore was completely unprepared, she was simply enjoying freshly brewed coffee by Bhadra with Ajay in the veranda of their homestead when the Palace Guards came to escort them. It was one of those few times she had a break from her job as a General Practitioner in the Polyclinic.
"What are the other additional streams of revenue do we have at the moment?" Noore expressed her cooperation by asking for further details.
"Safari Hunting, the Ruby mines, human trafficking stopped quite some time ago." Pagan stated honestly.
"Exports on Titanium, Aluminium and Coltan. Most of these are exchanged for hardware rather than funds." Ajay took his turn in speaking.
"What can I do?" Noore asked.
"Simple, we're looking for an alternative crop to produce. Something in the pharmaceuticals that's on high demand on the open market but reasonably able to grow. I've made the adequate calculations, that's why you're here too." Pagan looked to Ajay.
"You want me to involve the valley in agriculture?"
"Almost there but not quite, seems you've built yourself a neat vocation school there. I want you to experiment on the various plants Noore has you grow, have some of the students involved as a part of a learning experience."
"So in summary, I'm in charge of this project and Badala reports to me?" Noore raised an eyebrow while smirking.
"Yup!"
"You've got to be kidding me." Ajay said witnessing the farce happening before his very eyes. Noore patted his back in a friendly boss kind of way, she was already acting like one.
"So where do I fit into your grand scheme, your highness?" Arjun asked.
"You'll provide the muscle, I know you're currently on tight manpower now, Arjun. But if this goes as well as I plan there might be some benefits to this, for example the mortality rates of the casualties you sustain will drop because of the new hospital being built."
"New hospital?" Noore couldn't control her thoughts.
"Yep, the one Badala's gonna build." Pagan smiled to Ajay indicating he expected him to cover for that as well. Ajay nodded to acknowledge Pagan, it was a bit to stack on his plate but all for the benefit of Kyrat in the long term. Ajay didn't mind as if was refreshing to see Pagan finally get working which he had never done his entire encounter with him.
Having the first Hospital they would most likely call "Kyrat General Hospital under the sponsorship of his Royal Highness Pagan Min" written on a Plaque outside the lobby, Ajay imagined.
"It can be done, but I'll need authority over a certain unit." Ajay said as he turned to Arjun.
".…."
"Major Roka's unit, the 3rd Company Royal Engineers."
Arjun had sort of guest that was the group he would call upon. It became a renown unit within the Royal army for being the most requested and famous for holding at Meh Teh airport. But all these accomplishments were dwarfed by their amazing building capacity and their loyalty to Saraswati. They finished most of the major work done at the S-Programs site, building the major complexes in under three months, digging the granite tunnels in the mountains.
They were fueled by determination and pride in their skill. They were also quite familiar with Ajay having fought alongside him on a number of occasions and built his town for him through Maya.
"You can have them, but I want to discuss with you after this, agreed?" Arjun said.
"Sure." Ajay agreed.
"Right, now that we've got the workers and infrastructure worked out, any ideas on the crops to cultivate, Noore?" Noore had sent this time to ponder about a suitable plant to cultivate for high demand medicine.
"We should focus on the plants that make basic medicine first, small batches that make opium to process into Morphine as a substance that's always on demand and easier to harvest since you've had outputs that have already produced the crop. Another avenue we can consider isn't just medicine for saving lives or reducing pain but medicine that improves the quality of life, I'm referring to Tonics."
Pagan nodded his head impressed by Noore's impressive analysis.
"Ginseng is a tonic that has appeal in both the West and East markets. Kyrat does have the advantage of high altitude climates that are good for nurturing exotic plants with medicinal properties, perhaps Badala can collect samples for me to test and examine to synthesize into an affordable and easy to produce pill." So it was a gathering mission for him now, using his knowledge he would be able to identify the numerous flora and fauna that grew on the cliff sides and bring back physical samples.
"I'd be happy to help."
"Your Highness, what of the buyers." Pagan raised his hand to Arjun confidently.
"Leave marketing and export to me, I've got to do at least something, right?"
"Yes, your highness!"
"Well, that just about sums up things, I'll let you get sorted out with one another. I've got a client to entertain on a shooting trip then its dinner with Yuma and Bhadra. You won't mind would you, Badala boy?"
"Thanks for taking care of her as usual."
"Hmph! Don't be so modest." Pagan smiled wryly as he left the room with Eric and Gary.
Ajay was left in the dining with Arjun and Noore who looked at one another.
""I'd like to speak-.."" "Oh!" "Uh!-"Arjun and Noore said in unison. Ajay let out a snicker.
"Forgive me, milady. You may go first." Arjun walked out of the room to leave them alone. Noore turned to Ajay.
"It's regarding your blood sample." Ajay brightened up as she seemed to have some sort of breakthrough from her expression.
"So what do you have, Noore?" Noore's expression held a modest amount of concern. Ajay figured it wasn't good news.
"I conducted an experiment regarding the info you shared with me the last time, you said it was initialed with anger, so I tried to replicate it. I added Adrenaline to a petri dish with your blood and….." She stopped mid sentence.
"What do you think happened?" She asked instead.
"What happened?"
"It exploded." The news was shocking for Ajay as it was explaining that his blood had reactive properties to certain chemicals. He'd only studied to highschool but it was sufficient in understanding basic Chemistry. Noore proceeded to show him a picture of the work table where the petri disk was placed or at least was. A blackened part of the table with scorch marks with a radius of a 30cm ruler length appeared on the work table. His was literally a blood bag of explosives.
"You won't explode." Noore affirmed his worry. Ajay sighed in relief.
"But it doesn't change what is fact. I checked the residue from the reaction, but it completely evaporated before I had the chance to test it."
"Was it by chance a yellowish-orange colored smoke?" It was the last clue to confirming the origin of his power.
"It was, do you have some clue to how you came to acquire this ability?"
-So it was that.-
"What's clear is that the yield of energy from whatever hidden protein or enzyme that I was unable to find is enormous. It explains the sudden increase in your abilities of endurance, strength, speed and reaction when your blood feeds this to your body. What's unclear is whether this is produced by your body now or is their a limited amount of it being absorbed from outside places." Noore gave her valid theory.
Ajay didn't expect it to read out scientifically but was glad she had some understanding of what the changes were and where it came from.
And where it came from could only point to one place….
The Relic Shrine of Yalung.
".…"
"Do you want to talk about it?" She offered.
Noore waited for Ajay to give his explanation or account.
"You said if I ever had anything to say to you I shouldn't keep it bottled, no?"
Noore could see he wanted to say but was waiting for assurance from her. "Indeed I did."
"Although you failed the test I gave you last time."
"But back then you said-….You don't mean-…"
"Are you ready to hear the most fictitious story ever?"
The next line of events were the most foreseeable for Hurk. He was taken to the City of Pain where he was delivered into the arms of De Pleur for torture and interrogation. As for Jason who watched as they took him away, he didn't make much noise after protesting on Hurk's treatment as a prisoner. Sabal was especially unrelenting towards the subject, he had heard from the whispers of the Golden Path fighters that Hurk had been in cahoots with Badala in disguise as Golden Path fighters. They had kidnapped the Golden Path's most Religious symbol, the Tarun Matara.
Sabal wanted to know where she was to recover her, so he had De Pleur act upon it.
Jason himself was in a state of confusion to the conflicting views from both sides, he wished he could just pick a side and be content with it. But both had their reasons for fighting one another and both had committed a decent amount of atrocities against each other that made them wrong at the same time. So it wasn't so much about the state of morality he would pick them for.
He knew Hurk wouldn't lie to him, what he was surprised with was that Hurk had ventured all the way behind enemy lines just to inform him this piece of information. From his past encounter with him, Hurk was never this brave. Was it really to warn him of the calamity that awaited him?
An uncomfortable feeling was welling up inside of him that wouldn't go away no matter how he took action to administer it Assuming Hurk was right, then he was the biggest fool of all and whatever he did he had it coming for him. He refused to accept that. Why were things so complicated? He never liked dealing with these things.
-So prideful for a fool.- The other personality laughed at him.
"I thought you'd never come back after that time." Jason was referring to the time he fought with Badala. The other Brody hadn't appeared since then.
-Deep inside you already know the answer to where they truly are, Hermano. The question is, are you willing to accept it?- The other self spoke words that made his stomach turn.
"There's just no way, Willis would go through such a complex method of bringing them here just to bring me here."
-Why not?-
Jason didn't like the way he phrased it, like he was missing the most important point of all.
-Don't deny that for the past two years, government agents have been talent scouting you to join their mickey mouse clubs. But the answer you gave them was the same as angry "farmer John". Knowing this, what difference would it make for Willis to invite you here if you found nothing of value coming over. So he did what most white folk do when they can't get their way.-
Jason grit his teeth, was he really being fooled all this while? But if they weren't in Pagan's hands where were they now?
-That's the golden question. But as things stand right now, you'll never find the answers.-
-.….-
-Feint ignorance, for now they don't know that you are aware of something. Let'em feel safe and secure, start snooping around yourself. With patience, youre bound to find something useful.- He advised, for once Jason found his other self was strangely helpful and insightful. If he said this to him he would reply that they were both sides of the same coin.
-Word of Advice, watch out for Kyrati Jesus.- He was referring to the thought dead but returned Mohan Ghale.
"Why?"
-He's smarter than the average folk here, twice as cunning might I add. Like a superior version of Sabal. There are a lot of things he's hiding from the rest of them. But most of all, there's this stench to him that almost reminds me of someone back in Rook Island. It was one of a kind so I could remember.-
Other Brody always gave disconcerting news that made him reluctant to hear but hear regardless for early warning. Although why was he able to remember things that he himself couldn't, wasn't he part of him?
".…..Who?"
-It reminds me of…-
Who was he referring to in Rook Island Jason wondered.
-.… Citra.-
Ajay took his time to describe the account of which he had encountered that place and its local residence. Whether Noore would believe what he said was entirely up to her, but at least he would have told her. Somehow it felt like a weight had been lifted off Ajay's shoulders as he told her.
"That's everything."
Noore could only wear a face full of disbelief and shock to what Ajay described. It was as Ajay had expected of Noore, the entire concept of the Yeti existing was pure insanity, at least to rationality.
Keeping silent to herself to process this new info granted by Ajay who remained silent.
"The blood is your evidence, whether you want to believe it is up to you. Personally I would have preferred to keep it from you just like I did with Saras."
"No, it's alright. It's just that it broke through my wall of reality. Also, why did you allow Saras to follow you up the mountain if you evidently knew about their existence?" Her friend's safety was her primary concern and query.
"I don't know all that well myself. Perhaps it had to do with the image of her crying reminding me of mom. Or perhaps I wanted someone to confirm that they really were there and I wasn't crazy and just imagining it."
"You're such a momma's boy!" Noore chuckled.
"I might be, she was the only remaining family I had left at the time." Realizing that she had gone too far…..
"I'm sorry… that was insensitive of me."
"As Mumu says, that's ancient history, let's talk about the future."
"True." She chuckles.
"Say Noore, I won't turn into a Yeti will I?"
"Ptttffff! Hahahahaha!" She broke into an uncontrollable hysterical laughter at Ajay mentioning he would become a furry animal.
"It is funny, but I was being serious here."
"Haha… Hah (Sigh)….. Right, but even that is a question I don't know the answer to. Either way, I'd avoid losing control for the time being until I can isolate the condition you're having and study the cause. For the that I'll need more samples of your blood."
"I guess."
"It's better that we address this issue than leave it Ajay. For all we know, what could be awaiting you might be something uncontrollable or even more painful."
"Understood."
"For the time being, let's keep talking like this. It'll help reduce your mental burden and thereby reduce chances of you getting agitated and angry."
".…"
"Mmmm…. Let's start by talking about your group."
"Ok?"
"I've heard from Samson about what happened with Hurk." Ajay sighed, the word was travelling fast.
"See what I mean, there are things that stress you out that need to be shared and addressed."
"There's nothing to address on Jason Brody. He dies, simple as that."
"Really? From Hurk's point of view, one friend wants to kill another of his friends. You expect him to just sit by and watch?"
".….."
"Are you simply hunting Jason Brody because of the danger he poses to everyone and the plans we have for Kyrat? Or is this some vendetta against the person you held dear that you lost."
Ajay remained silent, not answering Noore's question. Instead his expression was sullen which worried Noore. Ajay played with his hands while having deep thoughts.
"There comes a time in your life, you wish you did things you could have, had you just thought of it at the time." Ajay laughed to himself in self-ridicule.
".…." Noore understood the feeling best.
"But instead of you paying for the consequence, it was someone else. Someone who shouldn't have to had paid for it with their life to begin with…. If only. If only. If only. If only!….. If only you hadn't done stupid things."
"Then you start thinking to yourself it would have been better that you never met them, so they wouldn't have to pay for your mistake, so that you'd be spared your sorrow….."
Noore could feel the depth that Ajay was going, it was beginning to feel strangely familiar. A pang of pain gripped around her chest for some reason unknown to her.
".…. You were right…."
"...?" Noore didn't understand what was this disconcerting feeling she was having.
"About me understanding your grief, I mean. To have something so close that gave me strength, gave me hope. Disappear before me. It was cruel fate they never deserved and never should have happened, if only I had put more care into the things I held dear." Shocked by what Ajay was saying to her, Noore raised her hands to muffle her mouth from crying.
"There's..… no word… to describe this agony." Tears poured from his eyes.
".….. Come here." Noore opened her arms to Ajay who embraced her. Ajay took comfort from the maternal instinct of Noore. They stayed in that embrace for a while, satisfied with each others temporary need for physical contact. Then Noore said…..
"You know….. somehow I feel relieved."
Ajay released from her embrace to look at her.
"Like a torrent of emotions have been washed away suddenly and made my shoulders feel lighter than ever."
A smile crept from her mouth as she let out a snicker to her internal thoughts.
"Because you and I are officially accomplices."
"Pfttt!….AhahahHAHAHAHAHA!" "HAHAHAHAHA!" Ajay's laugh echoed through the dining just as it did with Noore who laughed to outmatch him. They laughed until tears trickled from their faces.
Both now knew one another's greatest pains, most well kept burdens and shared them with one another. The ultimate friendship had formed between them. Because they were after all…..
Male accomplice…..
And female accomplice.
There was hardly any change for the five living in the cell they had entered nearly a month ago which was a week before Jason supposedly arrived. Although they were allowed to go out to the yard at times to stretch while the guards brought other prisoners to clean their cells for them. During that time they were emptied of their pockets before they left.
Other than this, they're routine hardly changed. All the while, they absorbed as much of the outside as they possibly could to sketch out a mental map of the surrounding area. There were a few changes during their stay. For starters, Steven had become less cynical and more cooperative much to their surprise, especially Daisy and Riley's. Oliver was cool as always.
In his words, "I think I've gotten sick of complaining, whatcha doing?" He said to them last week. An so their intelligence in escaping increased, for the pass four weeks Steven had lent the most insightful criticism of their plans they could possibly imagine.
"I think we've spent enough time here in this rotten cell. Next week is New Years Day, I heard from the other prisoners De Pleur's hosting a party for the jailers and renegade soldiers here." The rest nodded to Riley's proposal.
"Think I heard that too, disco lights, blaring dance music, fountain of booze, a mountain of cocaine. The ultimate expression of indulgence. All those guards'll be too banged up, to hung over to chase after us when they find out we're missing by morning." Daisy added her account on the rumors and her insight.
"Don't you think this feels all too convenient?" Steven said, but this time the group wasn't mad at him.
"I think we need a backup plan." He proposed.
"Like?" Liza asked.
"Mmmm. It wouldn't do if we just left and navigated through the mountains with just our assumptions. We need provisions, we need guns to protect ourselves, but most importantly we need a map and compass or we're not going anywhere." What Steven got at was understandable. He was simply thinking beyond what they would do upon escaping the place.
"How bout this…" Oliver spoke.
"We breakout, sneak into the armory and take some guns, grab a guard as a hostage and guide to the airport. What about that?" The others thought about it.
"Its plausible but dangerous, Oli. We aren't like Jason here. Someone might get hurt along the way for sure, we've never ventured out on Kyrat on our own before. And what's to say that guard won't lead is to a trap instead."
Oliver laughed in self-pity but Liza patted him on the shoulders. "It's alright, Oliver. You get credit for trying." She encouraged him.
"(Sigh)…. I could reallllly use a joint right now?" He admitted which made the rest laugh.
"When we get out, we'll all spend an entire day getting wasted in a five-star hotel in Vegas, I know a guy that'll give us royalty grade suites in Caesar's Palace. Of course, it'll be my treat." Steven said."
"Awwww. That's so sweet of you." Daisy said.
"What can I say, I'm tired of this fucking shit. I want out as well, no use crying now."
"I can't fault you on that, Steve." Daisy had more a less come to reconcile with Steven's early pessimistic attitude, but she felt it was understandable given their situation and unlike them this was Steven's first kidnapping.
"Though the question still stands, how the hell are we gonna navigate through the roads and forests? I heard from the guards outside the Royal Army evacuated almost everyone in the South where we are. The relatively nearby villages are now ghost towns. Apart from acting as overnight shelter there wouldn't be anyone to tell us directions."
"That's true. Shit, this keeps going around in circles! We're too cautious, we avoid that plan. Too ambitious we risk everything." Daisy felt ashamed of her own weakness despite her usual courage and previous escape from the pirates in Rook Island the last time, although it went south when she cut herself on some venomous vines.
-If only, they had a guid- (Bang)
The sound of the metal door of the entrance slamming open. The guards dragged a heavily beaten man by the arms as his feet dragged along the floor. He was severely tortured with cuts and bruises all over his body, courtesy of their over-friendly neighborhood prison warden, De Pleur. The person was currently unconscious from the inhumane torture he received.
"Fuck! He weights a ton!" One complain.
"Let's just get on with it then we can hit the brothel after this! Oi! You lot, back away from the door!" The other jailer warned them as he arrived with the key to unlock their cell.
The jailer helped the other one throw the person onto the floor in front of them before locking the door and leaving.
"Who the heck is this?" Riley couldn't help but ask.
"Shhh! I'm trying to eavesdrop here!" Steven scolded him.
"Ops. Sorry." Riley said softer.
Steven listened in on the guards that had thrown this burly fellow into their cell with them to get a clue on who this lad was. The guards that threw him were their regular food deliverers and had a habit of passing rumors directly outside the cell assuming the prisoners couldn't hear their conversation.
"You sure it was wise throwing him together with those brats?"
"Relax, what's the worst he could do?"
"I mean, he knew that Snow white guy in Banapur didn't he? What if he-."
"What's he gonna do, eh? He's already here, the place where no one gets out once in!" The other affirmed his colleague.
"Soon, he'll be nothing but a shell of his former self. With every trip to De pleur's office, he'll lose more of his will to live. I almost feel sorry for that poor bastard. Nothing can get pass Paul."
"Except Badala that is!" He laughed but was muffled with hands from his colleague.
"Shhh! You want us to both get in trouble?! De Pleur forbid everyone from mentioning that day."
"Course he did! That demon broke him instead of the other way around as it should have been. Then he actually threw him to that poor woman Noore, wherever that hot piece of meat is now."
"And lost him, now he's been relegated back to tortures instead of being an associate. And we have to deal with his bullshit."
The guards complained endlessly by the time they were out of sight. By then Steve had learnt alot from his careful listening and shared it with the rest.
"He knows Jason?!" Liza couldn't help but utter.
"That's what they said." Steven confirmed.
"Seriously who is this guy?" Daisy was all too curious.
"Urrrgh…..Mmmm." That person began to stir and groan at his injuries. The group watched silently as he got up and found out he was not alone in the cell he was tossed into.
"Tsk!… Arghh!…. Shit. Bad's is gonna kill me!"
Author's Notes:
Just in case there is misconception. Citra is dead and I have no intention of bringing her back. That being said I always found a mystical aspect to Citra aside from the drugs that made her an enigma on her own, specifically what she did to Jason through the tatau she inked upon him. There was clearly something different when she inked it, like she added witchcraft.
