Siren Song
Chapter 5: Contact
By: Dark-Elk
Mackenzie stepped lightly off of the Dropship and took a deep breath, savoring the country air. The city in which the target lived was bordered by farmlands, and the scent of wildflowers and fruits were a stark contrast from the noxious odors of most cities. The sun was just setting, giving Mackenzie a good view of the colors created by the extensive pollution. Mackenzie sighed again and trudged further away from the Dropship. Once he reached a safe distance he turned and raised his arm. The Dropship pilot briskly saluted him before engaging the repulsorlifts, smoothly rising from the ground. Hovering for only a moment, the Dropship's engines were quickly engaged, and the craft shot off through the sky.
The walk to the city wasn't overly long, and with the surroundings as they were, Mackenzie didn't mind much at all. His Ghost training had been strenuous; he could survive conditions and exertions that would kill even the most hardened of UED Marines. A walk through the countryside, however long, barely rated any sort of complaint from his body.
Mackenzie was able to tell how far he was from the city merely by the increasing stench; manufacturing plants weren't regulated as well in Asia as they were in Europe and North America, and were only marginally better than those in South America and Africa. He shook his head at the hypocrisy of the UED; on the one hand they publicly prided themselves on their commitment to preserving the environment, but on the other UED sponsored factories were visible in every city churning out a steady stream of pollutants.
It wasn't too long before he entered the city limits in the red light sector; even UED Marines were wary over entering these sectors without overwhelming force and reinforcements. Mackenzie didn't think that anyone would bother him though. Unlike the Marines, he wasn't conspicuous, and street gangs wouldn't gain prestige by beating him senseless like they would a Marine. Also, Mackenzie seemed to have an aura about him, an aura of fear, of hidden power. . .in short, someone the street gangs didn't want to interfere with.
The building Mackenzie was looking for wasn't too far, and he made good time. He entered quietly, searching for the inhabitant. This part of his mission wasn't strictly related, but he knew that Raymas and the UED would be interested in any leads he could turn up. He paused at a doorway, and knocked quietly. A shuffling sound could be heard inside, and then a small slit opened in the door. The person behind started to say something, but caught the glint of light off of Mackenzie's eyepiece, the distinctive eyepiece of a Ghost. The man recoiled and stepped back from the door. Locks were slid out of place, seven in all, before the door finally opened and Mackenzie was greeted by the man.
"Whatcha want? I ain't seen nothin', I don't know nothin'" said the Asian man behind the door, the smell of alcohol on his breath.
"Is that so? I know all about you Khan, or "Monarch" if you prefer your slicer alias. I know what you can do, what you have done, what you want to do. It is in your best interest to help me, or I will be forced to do something unpleasant. Have I said enough?" said Mackenzie, a dark tone coloring his last words.
"How do you. . . you pulled that out of my mind, didn't you?"
"There isn't much in there. It wasn't hard" said Mackenzie, an amused smirk crossing his face before disappearing behind a mask of impassivity.
"Fine. Seeing as how I can't read minds, how 'bout you tell me what you want, and I'll see what I can do" said Khan, obviously displeased at the thought of Mackenzie rooting through his mind.
"I know you're a part of the slicer circle "Daemon" that has a certain. . . dislike, shall we say, of a politician. You know of whom I speak?"
"The nutjob who thinks that DuGalle bought it in the Koprulu sector? We wouldn't mind if something happened to him; he made some laws that make it a little more difficult for us to operate. Why you askin'? The UED want to take him out or something?" asked Khan suspiciously.
Mackenzie laughed. "Let's just say my superiors seem to want him out of the picture. If you do too, I want some payment from you as well. What do you have that's worth this man's life?"
Khan grinned. "I got enough dirt on every major UED politician to put them all away in their own damned prisons, but somehow I guess that's not what you're after. Could you be a bit more specific 'bout what you need?"
"I want to know if there's any truth behind the politicians words. Who do you think would have the sort of intel the politician says he got?"
Khan turned around and walked to a bookshelf, one of the few pieces of furniture that resided in his room. Searching among the books, he selected a copy of "The Prince".
"Good book," said Khan as he flipped the cover open, revealing the compartment inside, "but it's a good hiding place too."
Khan flipped through the disks that were secreted inside the book before finally smiling and selecting a pitch-black disk from the compartment. He walked over to Mackenzie and handed it to him. "This has what you want; personnel files of the highest ranks of the UED. If there is some guy feeding the nutjob information, you'll probably find him here."
"Thanks. You've been very helpful," said Macenzie as he turned to leave.
"What, you're not going to pay me or anything? That disk is worth millions in the right hands, billions in the wrong ones. Don't I get anything?"
Maczenzie spun around and swung his canister rifle up from where it hung on his back. "You have your life. That's more than some Ghost's would be leaving you with. You are a UED outlaw; killing you now would be just and the UED would be most pleased," said Mackenzie before he lowered his rifle. "But that's not the kind of person I am."
Khan's eyes grew wide as he remembered something. "You're that Ghost the news is always talking about, aren't you? The "Noble Assassin"?"
Mackenzie nodded. "Yes, I suppose that is what the news calls me, only because they don't know the truth of what I really have to do. Unless you wish to find out the sort of things I'm forced to do in the service of the Dominion, you would do well to forget that I was here."
Khan gulped before nodding, and then he closed his door, sliding all seven locks back into place.
Mackenzie turned back, stepping lightly down the stairs, and walked out of the building, blending seamlessly into the darkness.
Chapter 5: Contact
By: Dark-Elk
Mackenzie stepped lightly off of the Dropship and took a deep breath, savoring the country air. The city in which the target lived was bordered by farmlands, and the scent of wildflowers and fruits were a stark contrast from the noxious odors of most cities. The sun was just setting, giving Mackenzie a good view of the colors created by the extensive pollution. Mackenzie sighed again and trudged further away from the Dropship. Once he reached a safe distance he turned and raised his arm. The Dropship pilot briskly saluted him before engaging the repulsorlifts, smoothly rising from the ground. Hovering for only a moment, the Dropship's engines were quickly engaged, and the craft shot off through the sky.
The walk to the city wasn't overly long, and with the surroundings as they were, Mackenzie didn't mind much at all. His Ghost training had been strenuous; he could survive conditions and exertions that would kill even the most hardened of UED Marines. A walk through the countryside, however long, barely rated any sort of complaint from his body.
Mackenzie was able to tell how far he was from the city merely by the increasing stench; manufacturing plants weren't regulated as well in Asia as they were in Europe and North America, and were only marginally better than those in South America and Africa. He shook his head at the hypocrisy of the UED; on the one hand they publicly prided themselves on their commitment to preserving the environment, but on the other UED sponsored factories were visible in every city churning out a steady stream of pollutants.
It wasn't too long before he entered the city limits in the red light sector; even UED Marines were wary over entering these sectors without overwhelming force and reinforcements. Mackenzie didn't think that anyone would bother him though. Unlike the Marines, he wasn't conspicuous, and street gangs wouldn't gain prestige by beating him senseless like they would a Marine. Also, Mackenzie seemed to have an aura about him, an aura of fear, of hidden power. . .in short, someone the street gangs didn't want to interfere with.
The building Mackenzie was looking for wasn't too far, and he made good time. He entered quietly, searching for the inhabitant. This part of his mission wasn't strictly related, but he knew that Raymas and the UED would be interested in any leads he could turn up. He paused at a doorway, and knocked quietly. A shuffling sound could be heard inside, and then a small slit opened in the door. The person behind started to say something, but caught the glint of light off of Mackenzie's eyepiece, the distinctive eyepiece of a Ghost. The man recoiled and stepped back from the door. Locks were slid out of place, seven in all, before the door finally opened and Mackenzie was greeted by the man.
"Whatcha want? I ain't seen nothin', I don't know nothin'" said the Asian man behind the door, the smell of alcohol on his breath.
"Is that so? I know all about you Khan, or "Monarch" if you prefer your slicer alias. I know what you can do, what you have done, what you want to do. It is in your best interest to help me, or I will be forced to do something unpleasant. Have I said enough?" said Mackenzie, a dark tone coloring his last words.
"How do you. . . you pulled that out of my mind, didn't you?"
"There isn't much in there. It wasn't hard" said Mackenzie, an amused smirk crossing his face before disappearing behind a mask of impassivity.
"Fine. Seeing as how I can't read minds, how 'bout you tell me what you want, and I'll see what I can do" said Khan, obviously displeased at the thought of Mackenzie rooting through his mind.
"I know you're a part of the slicer circle "Daemon" that has a certain. . . dislike, shall we say, of a politician. You know of whom I speak?"
"The nutjob who thinks that DuGalle bought it in the Koprulu sector? We wouldn't mind if something happened to him; he made some laws that make it a little more difficult for us to operate. Why you askin'? The UED want to take him out or something?" asked Khan suspiciously.
Mackenzie laughed. "Let's just say my superiors seem to want him out of the picture. If you do too, I want some payment from you as well. What do you have that's worth this man's life?"
Khan grinned. "I got enough dirt on every major UED politician to put them all away in their own damned prisons, but somehow I guess that's not what you're after. Could you be a bit more specific 'bout what you need?"
"I want to know if there's any truth behind the politicians words. Who do you think would have the sort of intel the politician says he got?"
Khan turned around and walked to a bookshelf, one of the few pieces of furniture that resided in his room. Searching among the books, he selected a copy of "The Prince".
"Good book," said Khan as he flipped the cover open, revealing the compartment inside, "but it's a good hiding place too."
Khan flipped through the disks that were secreted inside the book before finally smiling and selecting a pitch-black disk from the compartment. He walked over to Mackenzie and handed it to him. "This has what you want; personnel files of the highest ranks of the UED. If there is some guy feeding the nutjob information, you'll probably find him here."
"Thanks. You've been very helpful," said Macenzie as he turned to leave.
"What, you're not going to pay me or anything? That disk is worth millions in the right hands, billions in the wrong ones. Don't I get anything?"
Maczenzie spun around and swung his canister rifle up from where it hung on his back. "You have your life. That's more than some Ghost's would be leaving you with. You are a UED outlaw; killing you now would be just and the UED would be most pleased," said Mackenzie before he lowered his rifle. "But that's not the kind of person I am."
Khan's eyes grew wide as he remembered something. "You're that Ghost the news is always talking about, aren't you? The "Noble Assassin"?"
Mackenzie nodded. "Yes, I suppose that is what the news calls me, only because they don't know the truth of what I really have to do. Unless you wish to find out the sort of things I'm forced to do in the service of the Dominion, you would do well to forget that I was here."
Khan gulped before nodding, and then he closed his door, sliding all seven locks back into place.
Mackenzie turned back, stepping lightly down the stairs, and walked out of the building, blending seamlessly into the darkness.