The Ballad of Cairo

Part Fourteen: Rose for the Lady

The Red Rose bar,

Wolcott city, Wolcott,

Draconis Combine

Cairo, Jackson and O'Brien stepped out of the hover car and looked up at the glowing neon sign above the door to The Red Rose bar. "Christ what a dump!" exclaimed Cairo as he examined the worn façade of the building. "O'Brien, I thought you said this guy was rich?"

O'Brien was taken aback, "Hey, I'm just going by what the Intel people gave me". She shot Jackson a sarcastic look. The intelligence officer laughed and led them into the bar.

The inside of the bar was as run-down as the outside. Loud music blared out of speakers at them and group of drunken revellers stumbled about on the dance floor. The three of them walked to the bar and ordered drinks. O'Brien asked the barman if the owner was in. He pointed to a door just to their right that had 'Office' painted on it. Cairo led the way and knocked on the office door. "Who is it?" a voice from the other side enquired.

"The name's Cairo…I'm looking for Jeremiah Rose. It's about Sebastian Cain". Cairo was not surprised when the door opened to reveal a laser pistol.

"And what do you want with that scumbag?" asked a slight woman in worn MechWarrior fatigues, the nametag on the left breast pocket read 'Rose. R'.

Cairo stared down at the gun, his arms crossed casually. "I want to kill him, that's what". He cautiously extended his hand. "I'm Lt. Steven Cairo", he said cordially. Gesturing to the others he added, "And this is Sergeant Sinead O'Brien and Paul Jackson".

The gun was lowered but not put away. "Rhiannon Rose, executive officer of the Black Thorns mercenary unit", said the woman. "My brother is away on Luthien at the moment, so I'll have to do. Have a seat". Rhiannon motioned to a pair of chairs and a sofa on one side of the desk at the far end of the room.

Jackson took the sofa while Cairo and O'Brien sat in the chairs. Rhiannon seemed pained as she sat down. "I had a bad landing while drop training with my company last month. My brother sent me here to rest while my back gets better", she explained, catching the look in Cairo's eyes. "Until then, I'm in charge of what passes for the Mercenary Bonding and Review Board around here".

"Are things that bad?" enquired O'Brien.

"Things have been bad since Operation Bulldog. All the top mercenaries went back to Outreach. All we have left are the ones who aren't good enough or don't want to gain the attention of the real MBRC. In a few years this place will be as bad as Galatea", explained the mercenary sadly.

"Believe me", said Cairo, "We can handle Galatea type trouble". He smiled at O'Brien, who looked away, still shocked by his actions back in the Lyran Alliance. Rhiannon saw the look O'Brien gave Cairo, but decided to ignore it.

"Well, if it's Cain you're after, he's meant to be on Idlewind, preparing for a raid on Constance in the Ghost Bear Domain". She pointed to a map on the wall that Cairo, O'Brien and Jackson stood to inspect. "You may catch him when he returns there afterwards, but the mission is set to launch in six weeks. You'll never get there in time".

Cairo turned to the mercenary, "Thank you for your time and assistance Miss Rose".

Rhiannon smiled at him, "Anything for someone who wants that pirate dead. Good luck, Mr Cairo".

To Be Continued…