Author's notes:

Tis a wonderful feeling to be back in uni after a year break.


The bets had all been cashed in, the Sun fighter and Jeevan had been circling one another and testing each other's defences for the last five minutes.

Pagan bet a wealthy sum as did Ajay on Jeevan, Pagan too believed that the boy would help him fill his coffers. Not because Ajay told him the odds but rather his own belief that he might succeed. He had a glint in his eyes filled with determination that caught Pagan's interests.

Ajay was thinking about how it might cover the cost for Pagan's hell of an expensive present where even Maya would have told him not to squander money away. But he already made the purchase, at least it came with a ten-year warranty.

"Come on! Drop him!" Some of the men that beat him shouted for the fighter to triumph over Jeevan.

But so far, he'd been dishing out at Jeevan without receiving any returns. The crowd watched with losing interest. They thought he was incompetent and appeared pitiful as the Duke forced him to participate against a trained fighter.

Jeevan had long endured the beat down the other fighter launched, he occasionally lured him in to attack him but seeming to be in the midst of launching an attack then backing out. So as to seem as if he was unsure of himself.

The mature fighter initially had a grin on his face but now fatigue was setting in on him. He knew he had to finish this fast or he'll run out of energy. After gathering a few breaths for a chain of assaults he was to deliver, the fighter lunged forward to strike him with a a jab. Jeevan's eyes glittered with anticipation for him to try that as he pulled away at the last possible moment and twisted his body to add momentum to an uppercut to the solarplex. The fighter coughed but didn't have time to react to Jeevan's next move now that he had gained the initiative from him. He launched hook punches to the fighter's lowered head, knocking him from side to side. Jeevan then grabbed his wrist and like what Ajay showed him in his one on ten fight he threw another uppercut to his jaw. The fighter launched back and fell to the ground with a rather loud thump.

Instantly, the crowds' attention returned back to the fight. Some who had previously bet on Jeevan out of pure gut feeling cheered him on for the sake of their winnings.

"Five…Four…Three…Two-." Ajay counted with a decently slow speed so that everyone thought it was fair.

"Get the fuck up or I will have your head!" Han Feng screamed.

The fighter got up with a vigilant stare at Jeevan. The one he previously thought a rookie was not. It was an opponent on equal ground. He'd take this fight seriously now, especially with the difficulty in breathing from the first strike Jeevan purposefully delivered to weaken him further. If he didn't do anything now he'll be this kid's punching bag later.

He made quicker steps to try to throw Jeevan off course, the latter chose to withhold his attacks wisely and his eyes surprisingly tracked where the fighter went like an eagle locked on to its prey. The fighter now knew the graveness of the situation that could lose his favour with the Sun family.

The fighter fired a few quick succession jabs, not caring if he hit Jeevan in a critical spot, the idea was to get his opponent on a rigid cover-up defense for him to deliver a hook to his unprotected sides.

He took the beating like the fighter foresore and the the fighter placed his preplanned line of attack into action. Except, he didn't account for Jeevan already anticipating he would launch this line of attack. And just as the hook came, Jeevan bobbed his headout of the way and threw a powerful cross punch to the fighters bare face. (Crunch) His nose received the full force of the impact of the fist that had not yet released all of its potential energy into kinetic.

The fighter threw up a knee to Jeevan's face, however the latter had maintained his footing so it allowed him to back away from the sudden change of style.

Some of the spectators booed when they saw him use his legs in their little boxing match.

"I already said, all limbs are allowed." Ajay reminded the crowd to which the quickly picked on the humor he last dropped in his rule setting, quietening down to watch.

Blood gushed from the fighter's crooked nose, but his eyes showed a light of defiance to go down. Whatever he was being paid to fight, his patron had gotten his money's worth from some previous fights.

He began unleashing a barrage of punches and roundhouse kicks at Jeevan's already sore body. Although, this time it was to wrench his defense out of order and create a gap which he could strike at. Seeing his opponent restoring to aggressive moves, Jeevan employed an elbow block to counter the attacks. Thereby wearing his opponent's strikes and protecting himself from the beating.

The relentless attacks continued for some time, until Jeevan could sense it weakening and slowing down. It was at this point which he waited for the fighter to throw a punch in his estimation. But he didn't block this attack, instead he counter attacked with his elbow. But it wasn't aimed for the fighter's head or body. (Crack) "ARrrghh!"

Jeevan's elbow struck home on the wrist of his opponent and completely rendered his right hand in capable of delivering anymore hits.

The fighter chose not to surrender still, which impressed the crowd and the Canton families with his determination.

"What an idiot! Getting your hand disabled!" Ranted a delirious Han Feng.

"Son, shut up!" Growled his father to silence his ill behaviour. He too was impressed with not just the fighter's tenacity but Jeevan's actual prowess one on one. No wonder the Duke mentioned it as 'play fighting' before. No doubt, the duke was more skilled than either of them.

With one hand rendered inoperable the fighter switched to legs to do his work. Performing mid-height kicks to weaken Jeevan who refused to let his gut or body be hit by the strikes, but it was costing him the feeling of his hands. Soon, he would not feel the force of his punches.

Ajay watched this calmly, there were moments that Jeevan had hesitated before. It was often how he lost to Ajay very quickly, but his opponent was someone else this time. And Ajay knew that this person wouldn't be as indulging as him in withholding his attacks. Jeevan knew this as well. It was what Ajay wanted out of this whole organised fighting match, for him to gain experience in fighting a real pro. Even if he lost, it was trivial to the experience that Jeevan had gained from this. Although he'd have to find another way of cancelling Kanaan's engagement to the little shit.

But Jeevan did not intend to let this opportunity slide from him. He had achieved his aim in this match. His opponent, the fighter now abandoned his defense of his upperbody entirely with the redundancy of his hand although the other worked fine but his defence options were limited. So he went for legs instead. The fighter approached with lightning speed and performed a low kick to where the back of his knee was in an attempted to ground Jeevan. Unfortunately, it was the end of the road for him as he kicked thin air. Jeevan had leaped from his spot in a turn with his leg extended and performed an in air 360 roundhouse kick to the face of the fighter. The fighter flew for the last time and skit along the circle on the ground. Knocked out cold.

"Five… Four… Three…. Two….One and a half…. One and a quarter…One…..Zero. We have a winner!" Ajay reached out and held Jeevan's hand and raised it for the crowd. Cheers and applause rattled out from the crowd who were thoroughly entertained by the performance. The Canton families were no exception, they had forgotten their initial grudged feelings they had for Ajay and his intern when he approached them on that matter.

"Well I guess that's that. Since they've put us on such I high note today, I think I'll just forget about this incident as well."

"Hahahaha! Indeed you really are generous, your grace. I too am a man of my word! Come, what is it you wish of me? Preferably something within my ability, young man." Sun Kwan already knew Ajay would hand his favour to Jeevan so he asked him directly.

"If you'll keep to your word then I'd like for you to cancel my sister's engagement to your son, respectfully Lord Kwan." Jeevan didn't forget to be humble towards the head of the Sun family I n that respect. Well, I wasn't really inclined to go with it to begin with, it was my madam's idea to begin with. But since I have no choice but to oblige to this favour I owe you then I shall cancel it."

"And Sir Hamal, while our arrangement has been cancelled we will still honor our agreement to an alliance." Sun Kwan told old Raghu whom was initially showing an unsightly face but quickly changed it to attend to Sun Kwan's words.

"Many thanks, Lord Kwan." He bowed respectfully.

From the distance, Han Feng glared hatefully at Jeevan and left without saying another word. His presence was ruining his mood further.

"I'll forever remember this humiliation you've bestowed upon me, Jeevan Hamal! And I WILL return it a hundredfold! Just you wait….."

Jeevan was oblivious to his future intentions, he was currently estatic that he had allowed his sister to remain free and maintained the status quo between House Hamal and the Sun family. Although he was fairly certain his father's mood was low despite him saving him his step-daughter. Kanaan came over from beside Maya to give Jeevan an embrace in tears, her brother had done so much for her in this one night. Even resolving to flee with her out of the country, but it didn't need to be so. For he had a powerful backer.

"There, there." He stroked her back while consoling her.

Sun Kwan's relationship with Ajay had improved slightly better than anticipated. Ajay had foiled Raghu's extended plans of revenge, albeit unintentionally. The old man too had left the scene as he couldn't stomach the events about to take place.

Ajay patted his bag full of his winnings, although it wasn't nearly enough to cover the cost of Pagan's gift it was better than losing money.

Sun Kwan had made a side bet in the midst of the fight and covered the cost of his initial bet for the fighter who was now receiving medical attention. So he lost nothing. Pagan on the otherhand was still receiving his earnings thricefold from his original bet, Gary was helping him to collect on his behalf while he approached Sun Kwan and Ajay.

"I see you've both had a bit of acquaintance but allow me to introduce you to one another. Little brother Kwan, I'd like you to meet Badala, my adopted son."

"….." Ajay sort of expected him to say that now.

"My boy, this is Sun Kwan of the Sun Family at the echelon estates. Though he might not look it, Ah Kwan is a fighter himself, both old Raghu and Arjun are more than acquainted with him as they fought alongside him in the days of quelling the Nationalists."

"Pleasure to get acquainted, Lord Kwan. It seems I was wrong about your son, I wasn't aware he had such expectations resting upon him." Ajay raised his hand for a handshake.

"The pleasure is all mine, Badala, Duke of Lakshman. And don't bother about that little shit, whatever I told him he clearly threw it out of the other ear when I told him not to offend the Duke." Sun Kwan returned him a firm grip.

"You've trained quite the apprentice there, Badala." He said as he looked to Jeevan having a quiet moment with his sister.

"Yes, do tell us how the Kyrati Demon gained an 'intern'?" Pagan was quite curious of this as he didn't expect someone to be able to match up to Ajay in terms of prowess.

"He's a bright kid, hotheaded I'd give you that. But earnest and willing, he was already capable of doing these things before I met him. He just didn't know it yet."

"A truly rare find then." Sun Kwan nodded in approval.

"Why did you pick him up in the first place?" Pagan asked.

"Um-….. is Lord Kwan privileged to know class 4 files?" Ajay asked sheepishly.

"Well not with his retirement from service but I'll just grace him with this knowledge, think of it as my trust in Ah Kwan." Pagan confirmed.

"Very well, your highness. That kid is to be the commander of a classified brigade." Sun Kwan took a moment and gazed in Jeevan's direction, matching him with his own interpretation of a brigade commander.

"And what is the function of this brigade then?" Sun Kwan was rather straightforward, it was almost reminiscent of Er Hu. He was sure those two would get along fine one day.

"It operates independently of the army, deep strike insertions, reconnaissance, raiding, infiltration, and a whole lot of other stuff I won't say yet." Ajay gave a short summary of what they were without indulging too much.

"Since you've told me a bit about yours, I'll tell you of mine." He said with a smile.

"Yours?" Ajay feint ignorance.

"Come now, friend. You certainly know about 2nd Battalion, led by our charming young officer Samuel."

"So you had a hand in sponsoring them too. You'll have my thanks for lightening what's already a heavy load in modernizing the army."

"Mn. Nearly every member of the Canton families have provided funds in…. improving the army's capabilities."

"That's great and all, how each and everyone of us chip in to help each other. Soon, Kyrat will finally have its era of peace and prosperity!" Pagan declared jubilantly.

"Well, that would be the idea Pagan. Your present opening starts in one and a half hours. I think I'd like to take this time to get to say hello to the rest."

"Alright, be sure to tell Kailee she still owes me for pulling strings to get her girl into that Vancouver University, the UBC." Sun Kwan waved his hand in a friendly way and went off.

"So what do you think about him?" Pagan immediately asked Ajay.

"What I think?" Pagan nodded.

"Either that was a very dodgey conversation with no real meaning or Sun Kwan is by far the best actor I've ever seen here." Hearing this, Pagan let out a very satisfying grin.

It was even better than Raghu who lost his cool when things almost turned sour for his relation with the Sun Family. But for the public image sake Sun Kwan openly announced his continued good relations to House Hamal. He had probably gone to console his idiot son under the pretext of meeting up with family members.

-Like two peas in a pod.-

There was an undeniable similarity between the two families. Cunning Heads, Raghu and Sun Kwan. Conceit and spoilt brats like Sugun and Han Feng. Birds of a feather, they inevitably stick to the same kind of crowd.

"What gave it away?"

"His eyes, perhaps all of their eyes. Is flattery a common aspect in Chinese culture?" Pagan chuckled as it was quite true.

"If you lived in Hong Kong, you would be amazed at the levels of complexity in status, formalities and playing of cards is like. The Kyratis are too honest and naïve to function in the same kind of world as us."

"….." It was that same earnesty that led to the twenty year long civil war. And why thousands died very battle. It was how a overly trusting last bloodline member of the Devi Dynasty go stabbed in the back by Pagan after his function was served.

But this did explain why Pagan had a common habit of expressive showmanship and high-handed means, like a peacock. It was to prove a point to his fellow Hong Kongers to stay in line, the moment he didn't show anything it was taken as signs of weakness. And they would rise up and take advantage of the time and overthrow him. But so far that hadn't happened yet, it was all about the timing. The Civil war had entered a peak era when Ajay showed up. But now that it seemed like the embers were dying with the apparent major victory over the Golden Path. They were taking this opportunity while government forces were licking their wounds from the prolonged fights. While their possible 'revolution army' was at top strength and ready to act… well, almost. Perhaps after they practive their craft with the 1st battalion.

"This should be fun." Ajay answered after a long pause.

"That's the spirit! Meet up to the challenge and take the glory from them by beating them at their own game!" Pagan happily patted Ajay on his back.

In the end, it was all about feats of glory. The more complicated and dire the odds, the more its legend would pass around and become history. So Ajay would let them fatten up till they were ready for slaughter. Unfortunately, there was still an annoying variable that he might not be able to fully handle. And that was the Golden Path, though silent recovering from their losses. One would think that from significant losses like that their faith in Mohan's ability would crumble and there would be strands of mutiny to preserve as many lives as possible through a truce.

"I'll leave them in your capable hands, it should be good reference for what you might have to go through in future when you support Kyrat on your shoulders."

"…"

"Now…. I will be busier than I ever was with the household getting bigger. You were right, Ajay. It was always about Karma." He said smiling before leaving Ajay to himself.

Ajay noticed that his mood had changed dramatically since the battle of Lanka. Almost as if he was finally out of his twenty-year long rehab and back as Pagavel. The man that played the national authorities of Hong Kong against the triads while he sat on a balcony drinking chardonnay with Yuma.

And what was this about his household getting bigger? Did he decide he wanted to adopt someone? Bhadra or Maya. He'll probably indulge everyone at the climax of his party.

Ajay arrived before Maya and the Hamal siblings. Noticing his arrival Jeevan got on his knees in front of him.

"I'm sorry, teacher. For everything I did, I forced your hand-."

"Don't, Jeevan. My promise to be your teacher wasn't to your father or to your family, but you alone. Your welfare is my first and only priority, but if you commit a mistake I'll punish you harder than others."

"Then punish me!" He said whilst on his knees in front of Ajay.

"For what?"

"When I came with between the choice of maintaining your dignity and family, I chose to forsake yo-." (Slap) Ajay threw the back of his hand across his face.

"I was glad you did that, I really was.- But for you to doubt your own actions right now!-….." Ajay grit his teeth hard. He tightened his hand as if wanting to hit him again. But the hand never came.

"Do you remember what was the reason I picked you up?" Ajay's words were soft as if his anger previously wasn't even present.

"… So that I could make a choice…. For myself." Jeevan picked himself up as he recalled their first meeting as apprentice and master.

"That wasn't the only reason." Ajay chose to tell him.

"I chose to guide you, because you represented something that even I could never achieve, Jeevan. It's a quality that's been lost to Kyrat for far too long. There is naivety, there's foolishness, and then there's bravery. The difference the last has with the others is the ability to know from here…." Ajay pointed to his forehead. "And here." Moving down to where his heart was.

"And I have hope that you would represent the future of what a person can be if he solely believes in himself to do good. I'm not training you to be me, Jeevan. Kyrat has enough demons, fanatics and bandits as it is. I want to make a world with a few good men." It was not just Jeevan that felt empowered by Ajay's words, the same could be said for both Maya and Kanaan that stood their with widened eyes.

"Kyrat deserves better. And today, you've proven to me that my hunch was right."


There was much merry making, dancing and music. Ajay skipped out many of these events to have a good meal with the group. He also got the chance to have a seat with Samuel who joined them at the table to sit. While Samuel in retrospect represented the Canton factions in all their shrouded interests. Ajay had this weird feeling about him, like he'd seen something familiar before. His mannerisms and movement of simply walking seemed very motorised like every step was carefully judged before taking.

Samuel was hiding something. And perhaps, it was also from his own family members.

Samuel shared his story of how him and Bipin met in the Royal Academy. They were unfortunately blacksheeps in their respective areas. But they had better grades and evaluations than most of their peers, which was why he could take the route of officer training. Sadly, Bipin's dubious lineage cost him his chance. And the instructors weren't going to fight his case with the evaluators even if he was exceptional. Perhaps he could make it to Sergeant Major of the Royal Guard, there he could truly make a difference for the Guards. Of course, with his proposal and support from Arjun and a vice-lord, he was granted a commission. His intended goal was to become the Chief of Armor at Brigadier rank. But that would be in a few decades time.

"Quite the story, and where will you aim to go then if I may be so bold?" Ajay asked Samuel before taking a bit out of the crab Rangoon that he picked on his plate from the buffet line.

"Where I hope to go…. I've not really thought much about that. Truth be told."

"Huh? Wasn't it to- murrh!" Samuel covered Bipin's mouth to muffle the last words.

"So why did you join the guards?"

"It was to get out of that stifling atmosphere that my family was in and I was subject to that for too long. The Guards was my way out and a way to be independent."

"Mmm…."

"So what about yourself, your grace. What was the inspiration behind the mask?"

"What do you think?"

"Terrifying, yet may of the younger generation canton members still don't believe the stories that come from the broadcasts. They still think it's a propaganda machine effort you invested heavily in."

"Perhaps if they got out more that wouldn't have been a problem." Samuel chuckled as what he said was kind of true. Even those in the army, guard and police force were all in the rear echelon troops or away from frontline duty guarding some installation that barely needed that many guards to watch over.

"What was the reason….." Ajay thought a bit about it as it was nearly lost to him of all people.

"The mask…. Was an expression of my hatred for Mohan's legacy." Both the Kadayat siblings' expressions darkened, did he mean the Golden Path….. or himself?

"What could you possibly hate the Golden Path for?" Samuel seemed to have the idea it was the former since he was unaware of Ajay's identity.

"Do you know the difference between Nationalism and Patriotism?"

"Um-…." Samuel was unsure of how to answer, weren't they both the same? It was a question that ran through everyone's minds.

"I believe Charles de Gaulle, the French statesman had once said something like it. "Patriotism comes out of prioritizing the happiness of the people. Nationalism comes out of prioritizing the happiness of your people."."

"…." Samuel became a bit stiff with his actions.

"I'm not going to ask which are you, so relax. But you might be able to already picture the Golden Path as which. They sure as hell do not see the northern kin as their own and especially the Canton minority." Samuel looked to Ajay in wonder. Did he just call the Canton's part of Kyrat?

"A rule by Theocracy. When god looks down on all that stand under his charge. Could you imagine what kind of place Kyrat would be? "I go to war, because my supreme lord tells me to." Or "It shall be done, God wills it!"."

"That sounds like a paradise to some and a hell for others." Samuel gave a neutral view.

"It's all a matter of perspective. Like how Golden Path saw it fit to herald me as the demon of the north. Hoping it would rouse some sort of holy crusade against me." Ajay snorted at that naivety.

"Well, I think I've had enough to sustain me for the rest of the evening. Thank you for gracing me with this chance to get to know your grace better."

"We'll meet again the next time when 2nd Battalion gets called to the field. It won't be long so get ready, Bipin will help you along the way so use him."

"I'll utilize him to the fullest, your grace. Have a good-(crash)." As Samuel stood up, a waiter had not noticed him and passed closeby and Samuel knocked his shoulder against the platter. He fell back down upon Ajay's lap.

"I- I'm terribly sorry, sir!" The waiter declared as he reached out to help him up.

"No no- that's ok. Ow."

"Here, let me-." Ajay was in the midst of raising him up and as Samuel's head passed him, he caught whiff of something. Which caused a delay in his actions for a split second before he proceeded to help him.

Samuel said his farewells and apology for landing on Ajay. But he was alright with it, accidents happened all the time, but he was glad it happened this time.

Bipin followed after his superior, Ajay was wondering why he was always so close to Samuel, if that was even his real name. Perhaps, he genuinely didn't know like the rest.

"What was that all about?" Maya asked as she could see a change in his eyes.

"Nothing. Just a surprising discovery just landed itself in front of me."


The courtyards which had previously been filled with some of the guests watching the fist fight between the apprentice of Badala and a professional boxer was now filled with every of the guests. Young and old. Because it was the favorite part of the birthday party for Pagan. It was present unwrapping time.

It was not just a big thing in being generous to the earn the king's favour but how it compared with other gifts from the others. It symbolized the amount which the person had the liberty to spend, a statement of his/her current wealth and influence. This event with dual meanings also established the perceived power arrangement of factions. Mainly among the Kyrati nobles and of theCanton Families. The Kyratis had high hopes due to a rumor the Canton Families had spent a considerable amount, almost emptying their wallets into funding an armored battalion with state of the art equipment.

Ajay had no doubt, they had more money where that came from and they could very well have maintained the upkeep of the army on their own for twenty years. But they weren't required to by the King who was the sole provider for the army's budget.

Already, the many subjects had presented their gifts to him. Now it was onto the main part, the canton families and the Main Kyrati houses.

One of the Canton Lords passed him one of the most iconic pieces a self-proclaimed dictator needed since Saddam made it trendy.

"What I always wanted!" Pagan wielded the gold-plated AKMS rifle and took aim through it a few times while striking a pose, earning him a round of applause from his loyal subjects. It made the boxes of rare Chinese tonics given by the previous Lord look less appealing for some reason.

Another weird and fascinating gift was a burnt-out piece of a tail fuselage encased in a glass box, said to have been from the 'stealth helicopter' during the CIA operation Neptune Spear sourced from the black market. Another was a rare Cuban cigar no longer manufacture which Pagan helped himself to one immediately.

By far, the most impressive in Ajay's opinion was what Sun Kwan drove into the courtyard.

"Aston Martin DB4, 1962. Heard from someone you were missing that one and my buyers happen to find one sitting in a garage of an old retiring gentlemen in Edinburgh."

Said car was in mint condition, as if it had just come out of the Aston Martin assembly line. Ajay was quite fascinated with the car and he didn't hide that when he took a look with glittering eyes.

"Does it intrigue you, your grace?" Sun Kwan called out to Ajay for everyone to hear.

"I've always had a thing for beautifully crafted works of art. It is as you said, a rare unicorn that not many get the privilege of seeing." Ajay said with an honest smile. He knew what Sun Kwan was planning when he called Ajay out. It was to humiliate him with his poor upbringing and lifestyle that only changed with his promotion to Marquis then Duke. That was common knowledge among many of the nobles, that Ajay was of common background before Pagan picked him up.

"Well, I hope that you do have more opportunities to see many things that can be afforded with your modest wealth." He said as if their was no ill intentions.

"Thanks, but I'd rather spend it on meaningful things." He replied. Ajay caught sight of Sun Kwan's eye twitch ever so slightly that no one else noticed.

"Speaking of gifts, everyone else has given there's. Since your grace has yet to show his, it must be a really 'best for last' no doubt."

-Knew it.-

It was as Ajay guessed, they wanted to have a dick measuring competition with their expenditure on the King's birthday. Sadly, he was about to disappoint them. It almost relieved him slightly of the guilt in spending for Pagan's birthday gift from him. Millions of dollars now belonged to that Italian company now, he had to waste so much and it wasn't even for him. But he had no choice, it was supposed to cover up for one of the most pressing issues within the Army and thank god he had the wallet full of unused cash in surplus to buy it.

"It's nothing as fancy as you said, Lord Kwan." Ajay waved his hands in denial while still wearing his smile. He heard light snickering amongst the crowd from behind the group of Canton families.

"Might I ask what is it?" Sun Kwan pressed on.

"Oh, just something to make the King's life a little safer and more enjoyable. I got him a new taxi." It was at this moment that some of the nobles couldn't control their laughter and burst out despite their rudeness. But if everyone else was doing it then they were not guilty. But Ajay didn't mind the rudeness and laughed together with them, not showing any signs of humiliation. And it ticked off Han Feng who was seated in the back.

"Hang on, I don't have a-."

"Your Highness, with your permission. May I bring out your present for this year?" Ajay asked as he stepped forward with a bow.

At first Pagan was a little sceptical as to whether to allow this to go on, they were trying to bully his boy in front of him. But seeing the confidence in Ajay, he figured he had something planned up.

"Very well, please do."

"Fantastic! Now I'd like the group over there to move back as it won't fit this humble courtyard." Ajay waved to where the Canton Families were seated. Some looked up in disbelief, while others were infuriated within by what Ajay had just told them, was to move aside.

"How about asking someone else to move?" One of the canton family members declared loudly in retaliation.

"That's not going to happen, you see I organised with Kamran to deliver it exactly where you ladies and gentlemen are standing and seated at. It's night now, and he won't be able to see anything but the flare."

"What flare?" (Pop)

Ajay immediately lit up a flare and threw it in their direction. It landed at the centre of their group.

"Right there. It needs flat ground, thank you for your tolerance and patience my good sirs and madams!"

Pagan sniggered inwardly. For every insult, Ajay handed it back with interest. Many of the canton members glared at him with daggers, including Sun Kwan, who's face had now degraded into an ugly expression.

"I'm gonna ask my friends and family to step back for your own safety, trust my boy. He knows what he is doing." Now it was different when it was a command from Pagan. Allowing them to restore even the slightest bit of dignity. But to the Kyratis, it was a turning point in the power balance within the court. Ajay had made the ever unreasonable and unyielding canton families step back.

Ajay ignored their further displaces of defiance and reluctance. At this point, they would more or that thing would flatten them. He pulled out a radio from his pocket.

"Party clown to falcon. Do you read? Over."

*Party clown this is falcon. I read you loud and clear. Over.* Kamran replies over the humming and beat of his helicopter.

"Party clown to falcon. Time to return to the nest. Over."

*Party clown, Ten-four. Over.*

Ajay was as humourous as ever, with his silly callsigns that entertained the crowd when he said it.

Soon, the sound of heavy chopping of blades could be heard from the distance. Pagan, who was used to hearing Kamran fly in to pick him found something off about the usual beat of the rotors. It was less prominent and more like droning. The flashing strobes of the helicopter was seen by everyone.

Because of the night, only the lights were there to tell them it was there, that and the sound. The helicopter finally appeared over their heads directly below where the canton families used to sit. Ajay had been true to his word that it would land there, but the fact remained that he pushed their hands.

The light that lit the courtyard presented the helicopters silhouette for all to see as the helicopter landed perfectly and began to wind down the rotors and shut the power off.

It was here that Pagan stood up walking towards the helicopter with surprise, but pleasant surprise.

The present was what was on everybodies minds, but none of them knew what it was till Ajay told them. Except for Pagan.

"Unbelievable…." Was the only words that came out of Pagan's mouth. He was too shocked that Ajay of all people had spent this kind of money on something as trivial as his birthday. Someone so practical and cost-conscious he never expected him to do this for him.

It wasn't on the helicopter, and neither was it in the helicopter.

It was the helicopter.


But it wasn't like the usual sikorsky Blackhawk he frequented Kyrat in under which was virtually identical to the rest of the combat S-70 blackhawks in their small fleet.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you…. The NH90 Tactical Transport Helicopter. And it's sole pilot, Flight Lieutenant Kamran Aidi." Ajay announced. A wide applause intentionally came from the kyratis, initialled by Jeevan and Maya whom were among the group.

"Now, there's no point in showing it to you. So let's take you in it for a test ride shall we?"

"Let's!" Pagan contently stepped on board the helicopter without help.

"I'd also like to invite a few who would be willing to have a joy ride with the King this one time only. I'll allow for eight, so are their any volunteers?"

The crowd burst into a frenzy, to sit with the King. A rare opportunity for him to notice them. There were shouts and calls for Ajay to pick them. Sun Kwan had lost the mood and was about to turn in when-.

"Lord Kwan, where are you going? You obviously get first priority, the King awaits you in his new ride!" Ajay called out to Sun Kwan. Hearing this, he crunched his knuckles hard but turned around with a smile and said.

"But of course, if your grace would let me."

"Your son can come along too, it'll be a wonderful change from sitting in the confines of armored vehicles all day."

"I thank you for your graces, kindness and consideration. We'll take you up on that offer." Though reluctant, Sun Kwan motioned for his son, Han Feng to follow him onto the helicopter.

Five minutes later, Ajay, Pagan, Sun Kwan and his son, Arjun and five lucky others were seated in the highly spacious compartment that was technically for twenty in its original configuration. They were afforded leather seats that ran the length of the walls on both sides. It was tailored for Pagan's comfort in long flights after all. Ajay remained standing by the door with a harness slung to him and latched to the door.

They donned their microphones to hear one another when I flight.

"First of all, I'd like to welcome you all to Min express travels. Please remain seated at all times while the helicopter is in transit, buckle your safety beats at the optimal tightness and please refrain from smoking." Said acting Attendant Ajay.

"All good? Right, Kamran. Send her off."

"Aye aye. Commencing take off." Kamran powered the bird with relative ease.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm your gracious host Badala. Today, I will be giving you and exclusive preview of the latest in monarchy escort vehicles from its long line of reliable legacy systems."

Kamran took off from the air without much movement than it would have been on the Blackhawk variant.

"What your sitting in is a variant of NATOs newest combat helicopters. Designation NH90, this one was built by AgustaWestland of Rome. Specific to requirements. Holds a maximum of twenty people on board as you can tell by the room we have left. But it's not the interior that makes this a fine replacement for the faithful Blackhawk helicopters of our beloved Royal Armed forces. But the performance. Oh hey, look at that." Ajay pointed out of the window to where a searchlight in the ground was pointing to them. A man was standing in the visibility of the spotlight with what appeared to be a rocket launcher in his possession.

"Uh- RPG! RPG!"Someone shouted. A puff of smoke from the rocket igniting was seen visibly by the passengers. The faces of Sun Kwan and Han Feng dropped considerably. Pagan was a little concerned but not that concerned. He knew Kamran was more than capable of handling something of that difficulty.

"Yeah, I saw it." Kamran called out coolly from the cockpit.

The chopper turned responsively and quickly to avoid the rocket that zipped harmlessly pass them.

"As you can see, something like this does not phase our pilot. Although he's had considerable training and is a talented individual when concerning helicopters. The glass cockpit reduces the load while Kamran often deals with in his flights. Especially when he often flies without a co-pilot. The responsiveness is owed to a fly-by-wire system that makes fluid transfer of controls to the aircrafts control surfaces." Ajay continued with the demonstration as if the RPG was nothing. Although they had arranged for someone to intentionally fire one at them when they passed a checkpoint in the demo flight.

"But often, there are different types of threats that may be of greated lethality than mere cheap RPGs. For example, say infrared and laser guided missiles like perhaps a stinger missile, the chopper has a variety of protective features in its defensive suites."

(Pi Pi Pi Pi) An alarm blinked a red colour that dominated the cabin area.

"What is that?" One of the passengers asked Ajay.

"Oh, that? That's the laser warning system, it detects and informs if someone is getting a missile lock on the chopper." Ajay said with equal calm as the first time.

"Wha- Yo- Your insan-.." Han Feng barely got the time to speak what was on everyone's minds as Kamran performed evasive manuevers with extra precision.

While the helicopter was twirling in the air Ajay proceeded on.

(Pop) A stream of flares burst out from the doors.

"That was the automatic Infrared chaff releasing. One of the countermeasures against heat-seeking missiles like the one following us right now." Everyone was on the edge of their seats, except for Pagan who was laughing wildly with joy.

An explosion from a distance was felt as the helicopter rumbled.

"That would be the missile getting confused at the last moment and detonating." Hearing him say that, they sighed in relief, but they didn't know for how long. Ajay had taken them prisoner on this rollercoaster of certain death.

"While there might not be instances where someone would fire a heatseeker at this chopper, mostly because of cost. So what's the next best threat to a helicopter? Large calibre heavy machine guns." The crowd turned pale. He had been doing this for the last few times already, would tracers start spitting out from below with intentions to down them?

"Unfortunately, Kamran is not going to fly so low as to let someone shoot at him. And at this speed he's going, 162 knots. They'll have trouble leading the aircraft while they have a window." Ajay was now placing them at the edge of their seats from what was once a comforting ride, was now a game of life and death at the whims of this duke. All the anger and enmity Sun Kwan and Han Feng felt for Ajay disappeared instantly. It could be seen clearly, he meant for them to come along. Sun Kwan's initial thoughts about returning to neutrality with the Duke of Lakshman were his utmost concern. This man was crazy, more so than Pagan. A maniac not held down by rules. If that was how he felt about Ajay, then his son was shivering with clattering teeth. They both equally hoped to be on the ground soon enough.

"Well, is not like anything below .50 caliber could get through the special lightweight composite armor sandwiched between the superstructure of the chopper and around the compartment. But then, why take the hits from those insects down below. I say, give them back some of their own medicine."

Ajay depressed his foot on a paddle, pulling out a mount which held a previously unnoticed 12.7x108mm three-barrel gatling gun.

"Courtesy of the Royal Armorer, his gift to his highness. Oh, it looks like we're arriving at the turkey shoot."

Immediately Pagan got out of his seat at the mention of that familiar word.

"If your highness would please take the gun."

"I'd be delighted!"

"Twenty seconds to blasting staging area, prepare for gun run." Kamran informed them.

"Right, let's see what you've set up for me." Pagan said eagerly behind the gun that Ajay had powered and spun for him.

Arjun, though tense at first because of the demonstration of the helicopters full potential was the most danger ridden ride he'd ever participated in. He sighed as he gave a look to Ajay but nodded in appreciation.

And why was this so?

The Army was facing a jeopardy in their logistics. One that affected their ability to respond to QRF instances. Because the supplies for the S-70 blackhawks were completely dry, they were no longer serviceable. And procurement for new parts was no longer possible because of their estranged position with the nation that the factory was located. The US.

Currently, the reduced fleet of Blackhawks were cannibalising on some of the other less operationally ready airframes. It was onto heli shopping from there, from a previous deal in Singapore, they procured some aged AS332 super pumas from the Singapore Air force's puma fleet to supplement. Thanks to their connections with Tel Aviv. While there were a few other secondhand military helicopters that were under procurement to supplement the blackhawks. It remained that Pagan's chopper too was in dire need to replace parts from its extended use.

So the purchase of this hell of an expensive helicopter was to cover up this fact for Arjun and High Command. Even though it was Ajay who paid for it, he knew Pagan's mood best. And having him downgrade from his usual ride in performance and aesthetics was something inacceptable. On the bright side, he made Pagan extremely happy with the present he gave so Ajay complained less about the gap in the rubies and diamonds he'd hoarded from his monthly adventures into the caves and mountains, Kyrat was a treasure trove to the daring. He needed Pagan's continued support of the army and of the S-program if they was to crush Golden Path and enforce Kyrats place as a dominant power over the Himalayas.

They reached the shooting area, where similar spotlights were set up with visible figures painted in red.

"Red, are they friendly?" Ajay teased.

"That's easy, I'll just fire a warning shot." His expression contradicated his words as Pagan grinned deviously at the helpless Red targets and spun the barrels.

(Brrrrrrrrr) The minigun fired a salvo of Armored piercing incendiary the destroyed the target.

Ajay pointed out where all the targets were as Kamran zipped by at fast manuever speed. Pagan gunned them down was skill as a potential heli door gunner.

"Happy birthday, pagan." Ajay murmured softly that no one heard.

His face could not hide the excitement and joy he felt that very moment. While expensive for someone like Ajay, it had a primary purpose. Which was to serve as an improved transportation for Pagan in protection, comfort, speed and enjoyment despite its more practical reasons. Rarely did he receive gifts that came from the heart.

Every time he depressed the trigger and let fly a salvo of lead, his grin grew wider. Pagan shouted his true thoughts without care or responsibility. Because it was what came from the heart.

"This is the best birthday present, EVER!"


Author's notes:

I have no idea how many blackhawks the Royal Guard had in inventory in FC4. But judging from the frequent use in the loud assaults on the fortresses and that one attack on Banapur and a few other places. I'd say it was at least under a seventy.

Finished at late night, will wake up and correct any grammar in the morning. Night. (Edited)