Author's Note: This one should have been uploaded last week. I got a little too caught up in playing the release of the new Resident Evil 2 and I frankly forgot.

Once again, thank you all for the views along with the fav's and follows. This continues to be an enjoyable hobby.

Chapter 46: New World Order

February 9th 2011 0015 Hours

Singapore, Fullerton Bay Hotel

I couldn't sleep again. Not just because of the insomnia, but it was rather difficult to believe that three years had passed in which seemed like an eternity ago. What was puzzling though was that I didn't feel as jittery and miserable this time. Just bored and annoyed that I couldn't sleep. It was a rather pleasant night and not as humid as it was the previous day. While a refreshing change of pace it was a little stressful on my body jumping from a cold climate to a hot one in a short amount of time. It hadn't gotten acclimated to the temperature change and I was sweating a bit. I wasn't on shift tonight and I don't think anyone would have minded if I just had a few moments to myself. So I decided to take a trip up to the roof and just watch the cityscape and the boats passing by in the bay.

While being one of the global hubs for innovation, technology, tourism, trade and practically damn near anything one can do in the world, I found it a little funny that Singapore's original name wasn't that original. Before the British occupation when it was still a part of the Johor Sultanate it had gone by many names but Pulau Ujong in Malay translates to "Island at the End." So yeah. But despite the simple name, the huge influences of Buddhist, Islamic, and Western cultures turned this little island nation into one of the most diverse, multiethnic, and quite frankly enjoyable looking places in the world. Being one of the Four Asian Tigers it was also the most rapidly developed countries that happened within the span of one generation. Transforming from third world to first world in little more than half a century. But to me what really made it unique, and probably the biggest reason why we were here, was that it is a well-known tax haven. With practically no tax rates from foreign investors a company or an individual can get around a lot of laws and keep every penny they earn. Legitimate and/or otherwise. With having a knack for walking on the grey line, it's natural that Koko liked to move around her money through places like this. Conduit OFC's is the official name for what she was out here for but I'd like to think that this is a good way of making sure that there were no anomalies that were occurring with any type of recent transactions. It was a good way of taking the initiative in making sure you business empire was running smoothly. She was doubling her efforts as of recent. A interesting change of pace as compared to last year where she was just making deals and then moving on.

"Warm out tonight?"

Leaving my status of being lost in thought, I turned around to the familiar voice of the lady with white hair and blue eyes. Ponytail up top and in what appeared to be her sleep ware. And still wearing that shield around her neck. Looks like she really likes it.

"Warmer last night."

Even though three out of five states I've lived in had atrocious humidity and sun you only get used to it if you change along with the seasons. Bouncing around the planet from a place that has seasons to another that doesn't can be bad for the skin. Worse so if a majority of your wardrobe is dark colors and you're in a tropical environment.

"You've been to Malaysia before. Ever take a trip across the bridge to here?" She said walking next to me.

"Nah. I was mostly busy smuggling tobacco, alcohol, stolen goods and lot of other shit between Indonesia and Thailand. The pirates I was working for don't really like to advertise but they're a little more sophisticated than you might think. I'd bet you at least one of those big tankers out there are hauling something that they're not supposed to." I would have pointed out to sea but we were still further inland.

"Guns too I suppose."

"Oh yeah. Apart from your standard Chinese copy of the AK there were a few nice pieces here and there. Sometimes though you get a custom made one with fancy engravings and grips. More than likely a special order for one of the drug kingpins inside the Golden Triangle."

Truth be told I was thinking of stealing one that time and hock it for some quick cash but I doubt I'd be able to get rid of it in that short of a time window.

"Hmpf. For all the knowledge I have in weapons I never saw any positive aspects in modifications of that nature. To me someone who wants to show off that level of wealth is the very definition of what a bloated ego is."

I then looked to her with a raised eyebrow.

"You do realize you own a ship that by itself is at least a hundred million dollars? Spending a couple grand to make a gun shiny is chump change."

"Yes but I use it all the time. And anything else I add to it is keep it maintained or improved."

"So does that mean that I can finally get that extra freezer I want for all the meat I got?

With how often I cook I wanted to stock up so that I wouldn't have to do any extra grocery shopping for a few months. I was doing it every time we made port.

"You just got paid not more than a week ago. Why am I still getting you shit?"

This is the part where we would both playfully start ripping on each other. All in good nature of course.

"That's how you stay financially secure."

"By acting like a damn mooch?"

"By constructing financial success using multiple sources of income to allow your own to grow." I said raising my finger as if I was giving a lecture.

"That's just a smart of saying to get money from other people. Don't try to act smart while sounding like a dick."

"Fuck. I was hoping you wouldn't figure that out."

She won this round. For the next couple of minutes we just stared at the city scape and passing boats in the marina. Horns blaring in the distance several miles out at sea. No moon out tonight, but the warm breeze made me think of the first nights I spent in Greece, the Bahama's, and Egypt. I already knew why she was up here, I ain't that dense. But there were times I wanted to be by myself and I sometimes wished she wasn't so clingy. Sometimes.

"I only needed some time to myself. I don't feel like absolute shit. Just can't keep my eyes closed."

"I'm not even concerned. I only wanted to come up here and ask what you wanted to do today."

I then looked to her confused. "Don't you have to go to the bank this morning?"

"I called and rescheduled for tomorrow. I'm giving the guys the day off to walk around the city. And it's funny that despite our recent conversation, anything you want to do today is on me." She paused. "For-today-only!"

"You don't need to do that." I said simply.

"Yes I do. We've been doing nothing but work out here. It's nice to have one day to relax. And you're not going to be able to do that by staying up all night."

"Yes I can. I'll spend the whole day taking a nap. That's relaxing ain't it?"

She then slapped me across the arm.

"You're going to spend the day having fun even if I have to drag you around all over the city in the process." She said commandingly.

"You'll throw your back out and rip up my clothes dragging me along the ground like that. That's if you don't pass out from heat stroke."

She then got into her pouting stance again. This time the victory goes to me. Then she started hitting my arm as if she was child throwing a tantrum. While somewhat immature it never got old.

"Your going to have a pleasant day with me whether you like it or not! It's not fair that Valmet keeps you all to herself! I can't stand you being around her all the time! I need you too!" She then stopped to breathe. And me pausing to be sure I heard that right. "So stop with the brooding and try to get some sleep. There's a botanical garden that's within walking distance from the hotel. You have to do that first. Then we'll come back and you can sleep on the couch for the rest of the day if that's what you really want to do."

She then left me alone on the roof. Grumbling something about me being energetic and lazy at the same time. Looks like I didn't have much of a choice in this matter. I hated it when that happened. But I wondered how Sophia was gonna react to this. It's not like she's gonna just let me go with Koko. But she was right on one thing, I would at least try to get some sleep. I've finally managed to battle back the insomnia. I can't lose the momentum now. But it was nice out tonight and I decided to wait a little while longer for Sophia to fall deeper into sleep before I went back down to our room.

I doubt she'll be able to convince her though.

0945 Hours

Gardens By The Bay

"THAT HAS GOT TO BE THE MOST RIDICULOUS LOAD OF PIG CRAP I HAVE EVER HEARD OF IN MY LIFE!"

The shout in the middle of a rather nice scenic area of beautiful flowers drew the attention of more people than I wanted. But I could give a damn about what people think about my reaction if I interpreted what Koko said was true.

"Out of everything that we've been through, THAT'S what you find unbelievable?" Koko said.

"Ugh Christ. And she actually told me that she doesn't know me at all."

Sophia is very close to Koko and vice versa. On occasion when I first joined up with Koko maybe a little too close. I know for a fact that they would do anything for each other. But there is that point in which there's a difference between loyalty and being a lapdog. Koko's explanation, go buy all kinds of sweets and expand her wardrobe and when she's done she'll "reward" her.

…

I know that I had already surpassed the point of forgetting to try and make sense of shit. But it never fails to amaze me on how limitless that void is on when baffling crap just happens and it's so goddamn hard to believe. Next thing I'd expect is the Earth is flat, Bigfoot exists, or the Moon Landing was fake.

"Well you can either stand there with that dumb look on your face or we can enjoy ourselves." I was so flabbergasted I didn't know she was already behind me walking away. "Come on, it's a beautiful day."

If I thought about that anymore I would have given myself a migraine. So I'd figure I'd just enjoy my time with her and get back to enjoying the view. Before I asked that specific question on how Koko was gonna get Sophia to allow me to spend the day with her, our walk to the gardens after breakfast it was a pretty sight to look at. The towers that were apparently supposed be some kind of modern art version of trees had vines growing on them and apparently they lit up at night. There were also two domes that we were about to walk into that were like artificial hill sides that you could walk inside. And of course, the flowers. The endless amounts of flowers. I only decided to take a few pictures anyway because from after looking around the place and analyzing it a bit. With seeing all of the different types of people from all around the world. It did seem like another tourist trap only with a lot more open ground to walk around. But it smelled nice, so that's a plus.

"You know, I can't tell whether or not I should be amused or frightened at the sight of a man your size kneeling down and sniffing a flower."

I did some offense to that. Those that assume tend to make an ass out of you and me but her opinion was valid. As always, I do stand out. That don't mean I can't appreciate other things.

"Just because I'm bigger than most guns I hold doesn't mean I can't partake in life's little pleasures. I noticed when I was a boy that smaller flowers not only have a greater scent but the reason for that is what makes certain honey's taste different. Blossoms especially."

We then started making our way up to the second level. Koko had her big straw hat on and a rather simple sun dress today. Combine me with my cargo shorts and black shirt we did kind of look like tourists.

"Build up your culinary knowledge?" She asked.

"Part of it. You'd me amazed at how many different types of sauces and marinades that honey is used in."

"Hmm. How bout we talk about something else other that food? I don't want to get hungry again and start thinking about lunch already."

"Alright then I'll solve that real quick." Best to lighten the mood with a little humor. "Good luck with that. Moment were done I'm heading back to the hotel to take a nap. So you're on your own."

"Oh stop it!" She said while smacking me with her hat.

After chuckling to myself I then looked outside the glass dome. Clouds were coming in and they blocked out the sun. Just normal ones, it wasn't going to rain today.

"There is something I've been meaning to ask you." She said readjusting her hat.

"Sup?"

"You're middle name, Hannibal."

A little bit out of nowhere. But I looked to her with my interest piqued again.

"What about it?"

"One of the greatest military strategists and tacticians in the history of the world. His methods and exploits are still taught in military academies all over world to this day. Leading the army of Carthage he held his ground against the Roman Empire for fifteen years."

"History IS my strong suit Koko. I know all about him, his war elephants, losing his eye, Zama, the whole nine. What's your point?"

"It kind of contradicts your personality of a straight forward approach. I just wanted to know why your parents named you that."

"I thought you knew everything about me." I remembered our first car ride together. It was hard not to when you almost get blown to hell with an anti-tank missile.

"Just what you've done. There's always something new to learn about a person."

It was a bit of an interesting story. At it's basic premise, just two young minds thinking of only what they could at that age.

"The idea for it actually came from my mom."

"Really? How did that happen?"

"She was so convinced that she was going to have a girl that she didn't bother helping my dad pick out boy names. So she chose the name Hannah and you can probably guess of the surprise the doctors told her."

"How upset was she?" Koko said with her smile widening.

"While she was busy trying to figure out why what was in between my legs was different, dad jumped in at the right moment and came up with the name on the spot. Granted he was also just a kid and maybe naming me like that sounded badass or some shit. But he did it to make mom feel a little better. One of his little successes that kept them together until she died."

She then giggled. "Nice story."

"I do have a few that aren't all blood and tears."

After a few more minutes of walking around, we saw all we needed to see. But I figured I keep the conversation going. She wouldn't catch on to this question since as far as I know, she was still in the dark about it.

"What about your mom? What's she like?"

Her smile remained. But her eyes were hidden by her straw hat.

"Koko?"

"I wouldn't really know. Only what my father told me. She died when I was a baby and I doubt Kasper would remember her at all."

Somehow I think I should have expected that answer.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Well what did he tell you?"

She sighed. "Other then she was a big part of why HCLI was so successful and that I look exactly like her. He praised her almost all the time, said some of the happiest moments he ever had in his life." She paused. "Had. And despite him saying all these wonderful things about her, I don't think I've ever seen him truly mourn her. Fact of the matter is I don't think I ever had a mother."

I decided not to press any further then that. Once again this was radically different from what old man Hekmatyar told me. Every story is interpreted differently and there is the possibility that he might have performed a nice guy act in front of me. But he was discreet in the fact that we had met before he talked to Koko and me together. It also seemed that he wanted to try and help her. There were many blurred out spots to get a full detail of the picture and I had no real way to bring them into focus. I was missing something and it could either be under my nose or out of my sight in the distance.

But sometimes though, things aren't my business. And my curiosity has gotten the better of me more than once. At the times when it was necessary though, produced results that were still detrimental to my job. Just because we were out on the town again and we hadn't had as many problems with hitmen or kidnappers in recent months, for Koko of course, didn't mean I'd be lenient in security measures. I swear I thought I saw some woman, the same one, three or four times in the course of two hours. And always at a distance so I couldn't get a clear look at her. A few times I thought she got a little too close but with the big variety of people and of the same hair and skin color I'd lose her in the crowd. I figured we do the same by moving on.

"Hey uhh…why don't we go to that street market you mentioned earlier? I think lunch does sound like a good idea. It'll be that time when we get there too."

"You want to take me on a date? Thought you said I was on my own?" She said looking to me with her head tilted.

"I lied."

She then stared at me with a combination of a deadpan stare and a smile.

"Valmet's right. You can be a real ass sometimes."

"It's what I do." I said in a proud posture.

1632 Hours

Fullerton Bay Hotel, Koko's Suite

"I can't believe you just spent the whole day on this damn couch."

Ok so I'm a little bit lazy on my off days. Didn't mean that Sophia had to ruin a perfectly good slumber. I did over eat at all of the vendors Koko and I had stopped at so I wanted to let it all digest. I'll probably go on another run before dinner.

"I ate too much." I answered her with my eyes still closed.

"Grr. Well while you were playing hooky I had to spend two hours trying not to fall asleep doing bank and finance reports that Koko was supposed to do BY MYSELF on top of doing shopping for her and the damn car almost ran out of gas."

I then formed a bit of shit eating grin with my eyes still closed. "You love her. You'd do anything for her." I said mockingly.

I then heard the sounds of plastic bags shuffling. Then followed by an avalanche of boxes falling all over me. Lastly, frustrated footsteps getting further away from me.

Worth it.

I figured I get up off my ass anyway since we would be busy the next couple of days. The biggest one was that tomorrow, Kasper was going to make the official world-wide announcement for the Hekmatyar Global Grid. Koko and I were talking about it a bit briefly during lunch but she didn't seem interested in it at all. But I could finally get the fully skinny on what the hell this thing really is since it's a big leap for HCLI. Then not long after that we would be heading back to Tokyo. Upon removing the first bag off of my face I saw that maybe Sophia went a little overboard on the shopping. But Koko didn't mention to me that she made her do some of her work for her. I hoped the "reward" wasn't that. After getting on my feet and cracking my neck back into place I saw that the rest of the guys weren't back yet. Probably scouting out places for a good boys night out. Which naturally I will partake in. Karl still thinks he can drink me under the table and he still hasn't won yet. But for now, find Sophia and help her relax.

It was a quick search. I found her sitting on one of the chairs on the balcony. I then made for the fridge grabbed two sodas. The sun was still bright despite how late in the day it was and just as warm.

"I didn't strike too big of a nerve did I?" I said as I handed her a soda.

"I don't know. Is that drink shaken up so that it will explode in my face?"

"You want it or not?"

She took it and started drinking. Sun was still kind of bright out so I put on my shades and sat on the sun chair.

"Don't tell me your just going to change places to sleep?"

Her tone was starting to border on nagging.

"I'm just sitting down and giving you company. God, do you think I'm that lazy?"

"Yes." She said bluntly.

"Ok fine. I wasn't gonna ask if you wanted to go on a run with me later anyway."

Many health nuts will bash you over the head on how bad any form of carbonated drink is. Even if you do exercise after drinking one. But compared to guys like myself who torment the hell out of their bodies on a daily basis you're not going to slow down, you keep getting stronger. Hell you might even do better. Joe Namath himself drank beer and smoked cigarettes on the sidelines when he wasn't on the field and moved just as fast and threw just as far.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Just gonna make a big circle around three or four blocks from the hotel until I get hungry or the sun goes down."

"Can I come?"

The way she asked surprised me a bit. It was if she didn't want to be left out. "Sure."

I then downed the last of the pop and then went back inside to get myself ready. I then heard the door open, some of the guys were back. They were far enough away that they wouldn't hear me.

"Besides you know how much I love gravity."

She didn't use the deeply enraged look she often formed with those types of comments anymore. The best way I could describe her reactions would be; "You're lucky you're the only person in the world that can say things like that to me." It didn't mean that she got annoyed as she stood up to throw the soda can, a still somewhat full soda can, at me.

"Anybody here? We're ba-AHH!" Lutz said as I ducked and the can hit him right between the eyes.

"What a lousy shot." I said.

1900 Hours

South Bridge Hotel

"How the hell did you lose track of them!?"

"I didn't lose them! They weren't doing anything today that was all!"

That was the partial truth that Schokolade was telling Scarecrow on their satellite call. True to her nature she got caught up in all of the food vendors that by the time she was done eating both Koko and Damien had already left the market.

"Damn bimbo. Did you at least get a confirmation on where they're going next?"

The young woman then recomposed herself so as not to scream at her partner over the phone about how much of a jerk he was acting like. She did have a job to do. Koko's sales in weapons have lowered significantly and her purchases in advanced technological products have been on the rise in the last three months. Her superiors at Langley obviously didn't tell her everything but it was weird that Koko had abruptly stopped a majority of her weapons sales. She didn't care as long as she could continuously partake in the local cuisine.

"According to what I've managed to gather so far they still have two more days out here. Then they're taking a flight to Tokyo."

"I knew it wasn't a coincidence. Ok keep an extra distance from them tomorrow."

"Wait what coincidence? You mind giving me some kind of update?" The blonde said confused.

"Koko's gal pal Amalia Tolokhovsky is gonna be dropping by Singapore tomorrow. At that same time, Kasper is gonna be making the announcement for the Grid in Manilia. She'll probably start bargaining with Koko to be let in on whatever she's planning. I'm gonna be watching that thing too so just collect what you find and get back to me within thirty six hours. And try not to stuff your face in the process! Just get me what I need!"

The phone then clicked. With her instructions received she could now vent out her frustration at her partner without him berating her.

"God. What a dick. Then again he has been getting into a progressively worse mood ever since Bookman wrangled him into following Koko around more. Heh heh."

She then let out a hefty sigh and fell back on her bed with her arms spread out. Her current accommodations were no where near as lavish and comfortable as Koko's was. A benefit of working for the United States government was that they always provided on the cheapest expense for their workers.

"Well at least I can have some more of those noodles again. Koko's hopping around Asia has been fun! Oh so much tasty goodness!"

February 10th 2011 2030 Hours

The Pentagon, Washington DC

"Do we really need to stay at the office to watch this sir? We can just record it and watch it tomorrow."

General Andrushko's Chief of Staff Colonel Arron Raiser had to miss out on his twin daughters basketball game tonight. Granted he, like many other officers on the basis of need to know, had already been briefed that what was going to be announced was needed to be watched. He wished it was on a different date as well as a different time zone since the announcement was from a weapons expo in the Philippines.

"I don't wanna stay any later than the rest of us Colonel. But as I was told this Grid gonna affect ALL of us."

SOCOM's chief tactical operations officer sat at the end of the table in the dimmed meeting room with his subordinates and branch representatives on both sides. On the overhead projector was a live feed of various announcements at the expo along with SOCOM's Commander in Chief Admiral Olsen at the bottom left corner going over some other details with his staff waiting for the announcement.

"Sir I've been a little busy with a few "issues" that's come up in the last month of intel coming in and out of Afghanistan. Mind catching me up on what this is really all about?"

The Naval officer asking the question was Commander Joseph Krauser, General Andrushko's link to the SEAL's. A sailor down to the bone he joined the fleet just before the War on Terror began and not long after that, the Navy's Special Warfare Group.

"Shumaker?" He said looking to the pilot to answer for him.

"Yes sir. In the simplified version, a revolutionary new type of logistics, communication, and distribution network."

"What for?"

"I think a lot of us are gonna be out of work."

0942 Hours

Changi Airport, Singapore

I didn't think that we'd be having a visitor from Europe that would fly all the way out here just to discuss a few purchases on some drones. Unless there was something else Koko missed apart from our trip to the bank this morning.

"Damien~."

I did wonder why we were at the airport though. We weren't scheduled to leave until tomorrow. We set up the meeting spot away from where most of the air traffic was happening. Sporting plain clothes and had only our sidearms underneath them. No need to attract attention. Unlike a certain well-dressed clingy girl with blue eyes.

"Da~mien~."

Might as well play hard to get by teasing her a bit by not looking at her with a stone like expression. Even though she was tugging at my shirt a little hard.

"Come on. I wanna talk to you."

"Ugh. I'm trying to work Koko. Can you stop it with the grabbing and pulling?"

"There's the big grumpy goof we all know and love!"

"Umm. I have to admit Koko you're going a little overboard on the grabbing."

I did have a slight feeling that that was the moment in which would trigger Sophia. And I could also just feel Karl's grin even though he wasn't facing us.

"Jemand, der eifersüchtig ist?" He said in his native tongue of German. No damn way he would have said whatever was on his mind that openly.

(Somebody feeling jealous?)

But before this escalated any further our visitors had arrived. Two silver BMW's pulled up and as the first bodyguard exited I knew who would immediately follow. It was her security head Viktor Rudenko.

"My dear Koko! Once again it has been far too long!"

Koko then got off of me and went to make the formal introductions. I just waved at Amalia to say hello.

"Glad to see that you managed to make it out her Amalia. Was the trip pleasant?"

"Quite. Actually I was doing a lot of thinking as well. Maybe merge with your families company so that we could spend more time together."

She smiled. Probably wanting to get to the point. "What brings you out here?"

"I have something that I think you might like. Maybe you could lease them out." She then turned to one of her men with a laptop. And another with a joystick.

"Kanal onlayn?"

(Is the feed online?)

"Da." He said with some typing and pointing at the sky.

"Ok. Look up at the sky and say "Peace!""

"Peace!" She said with holding two fingers on each hand.

I would have like to have photo bombed them by sneaking up behind them and flipping the bird but we were on the clock. No need to be childish. A few seconds later the technician came over with his computer.

"This is the still image it captured." Amalia said.

"Wow. I've never any photo with that kind of resolution from a drone." She was genuinely impress from what I could overhear.

"The optics is what makes this particular model so special. We also have a new lighter craft with solar panels mounted on it's wings. Recharges during the day and runs off of it's batteries at night making it possible to circle a target for days on end. With a little research and development into next generation batteries we can make a drone that could stay up there for years!"

Unless its run by a computer or something. People can't really work that long. And isn't that what satellites are for?

"Pardon me Amalia but Kasper Hekmatyar's speech from the Philippines is about to start."

"I almost forgot would you record it for me please?"

"Yes ma'am."

As he left the two of them to themselves I eased my way over to try and hear what the king of the douchebags was about to announce.

"You sure you can wait?" Koko asked Amalia.

"I am curious, there's no doubt about that. Probably something to do with all of those satellites you've launched. Something that will change global distribution? Change the arms trade? Which would more than likely change the way wars are fought. People will wonder why they would need arms dealers like us. However, something tells me that talking to you will be far more profitable in the long run."

That's the real reason why Amalia was all the way out here. I knew that whatever HCLI was putting together was big but didn't expect that it would get Amalia of all people to jump on board without reading the fine print.

1000 Hours

Manila, Philippines

If there was one thing that truly drove all of mankind's creations and advancements in science and technology, it was war. The International Weapons Expose in Manila was the staging ground for all types of companies and nations to demonstrate and promote their latest products. Miniature recon drones, adaptive camouflage, light attack vehicles, next generation assault rifles, and encrypted communication software. With so many representatives from all over the world any normal man would be frozen in place with announcing his companies crowning achievement. But Kasper Hekmatyar was far from what one would call a normal man. He didn't rehearse his speech didn't take any real time to prepare. Dressed in his favorite blue suit he just strolled out on to stage past his bodyguards by himself. Chiquita motioned to Edgar, Allan, and Poe to cool it and just let him make his announcement. The amount of security in the building was already heavy enough. When his speech came up on the teleprompter he tapped the microphone and began. The echo of the room caught the attention of the various military types from around the world.

"Good morning assembled officers, contractors, and defense employees. My name is Kasper Hekmatyar of Hekmatyar and Chevalier Logistics Incorporated."

The various faces of that were professional, nefarious, veteran, and political all just stared back at the young man on stage that looked barely into his twenties. Some expected more, others just sat and watched.

"Hey! Come on people! I'm worried you all will put me to sleep!"

His attempt at humor didn't change the audiences mood. And for some strange reason he couldn't get the thought out of his head of the frustrated groans of a six and a half foot tall beast of a Green Beret.

"Now I know that many of you have worked with HCLI before or me personally. And because of that you know that when it comes to weapons I'm just a merchant. So for this project consider me a spokesman rather than an engineer."

1004 Hours

Singapore

"If you have any technical questions please take a look at your brochures and abstracts, speak to one of our staff at the end of the presentation, or our home office has a twenty four hour service."

Even though the tension between the two of us had thawed considerably, it didn't mean that I would want to know Kasper any more than I already had. I tend to avoid people I don't like and being Koko's brother only gets him so far.

"Koko's brother is quite the apathetic speaker. I can see how him and Koko are siblings." Viktor said.

"I prefer the term; absolute jackass." I growled. "He's nothing like Koko."

The older Russian then looked to me. "You know him?"

"I wish I didn't."

As Kasper continued, I looked back at Koko and Amalia still talking business. Like they weren't even interested in the speech.

"Now to the reason why we're all here. The Hekmatyar Global Grid is a comprehensive logistics command transmission package outsourced to the private sector. Customers will benefit from HCLI's world wide freight network from our system of one hundred and twenty six satellites provides them with unprecedented real time data.

2109 Hours

Langley, Virginia, CIA Headquarters

Knowing that he had difficulty getting any type of information out of Koko Hekmatyar, Bookman found that sometimes the easiest way find something out was just for someone to become comfortable enough with information and that they will provide it willingly. He already knew about the basic design and function of the grid but he was hoping that HCLI didn't sail their ship so fast that it would blow out the hull. He wanted to make sure that the United States would benefit from this as well and not be caught in a sinking ship.

"Since the time of Rome, armies around the world have been a dog held back by the chain of logistics. It's a chain that limits movement and operational freedom. While at the same time serving as a lifeline."

Bookman was hoping that by finally pulling HCLI and Koko into his flock he'd be able to make the United States take another big step in achieving greatness. But he was playing with a very dangerous and indiscriminate fire. He had to handle it carefully.

2110 Hours

Fort Meade, Maryland, NSA Headquarters

The newest and first head of USCYBERCOM as well as the Director of the NSA, General Alexander honed in on what HCLI's product was supposed to do. So far everyone in the conference room was only waiting to get past the introduction and get to the meat of the speech. Among those were Peter Carlyle and the recent addition to the NSA while also be a veteran, Yoske Hinoki. Who had a bit of a grin on his face, but Carlyle would wonder what he found so funny later.

"We get it already, so what's your point?" Carlyle said to the screen knowing he wouldn't respond.

"Calm down, Peter. Hinoki are you sure that what you've told me this company can pull off?" The Director asked his new agent.

"I'd bet the house on it sir." The old Japanese Ranger said without adverting his gaze.

"Supply distribution, communication, maintenance, base construction, and even the most highly trained and capable soldier will be crippled if you strip away only one of these. Unfortunately, all of these things require a boat load of money. So how do you keep your soldiers alive without killing your finances? Streamlining."

Carlyle knew what his current job entailed and anything that will make it easier will be one less burden off of his shoulders. But he never forgot his duties as a leader of Marines. He knew of HCLI's history in the arms trade and it's shift into the technical aspect of this nature raised a lot of questions. He knew Kasper was only a spokesman for this but he thought of what his company really knew about war, other than profiting from it. War is not just material and capital. Even though that's what a lot of countries fight over.

"The Global Grid provides support tailored to the operation at hand. By removing the one size fits all approach, our system allows you to expand without increasing cost. Hekmatyar Grid has low overhead, no longer will you need to worry about launching your own satellites or maintaining your own transport fleets. Even countries with strong logistics networks can save time and money with grid and force projections."

2113 Hours

The Pentagon

"The word logistics has it's roots in ancient Greek. It literally means "An Expert at Math". Modern military logistics truly exist in a world of numbers and applied math and the people that excel at those things are in the private sector. Not the military. If wars are going to be privatized then let the private sector do what it does best, cost savings and efficiency."

Some that were frustrated of staying late for a simple announcement had traversed into anger at a subject that had growing rather steadily in the last few years, privatizing war. From the way that Kasper Hekmatyar was describing it sounded like that a nations army was no longer useful in protecting it's people. Only a burden that drains it of its resources and a single group or groups think they know wage war while making sure that ones bank account doesn't fall into the red.

"You know sir. I'm half tempted to take this boy out to a real war zone and have him flash his fucking check book and see if that lets him win much less stay alive."

The angry barking outburst came from Andrushko's representative to the US Marine Recon, Captain Stanley Coleman. An African-American man from Chicago that Andrushko found a kindred spirit in as another man who started as enlisted and worked his way up into becoming an officer. Marines did often have a tendency to be a little too direct but Marcus saw the point he was trying to make. Judging from first impressions the General was glad that this Kasper had admitted to everyone that he was just a distributor. It looked like he had absolutely no idea on how war was truly waged.

"At ease Coleman." He simply said as he saw the Admiral's face in the lower screen.

"When it comes to making money, governments don't stand a chance next to businessmen like me."

Andrushko almost never let anything get to him but there was something behind the cold blue eyes of that young man that signified something vicious and dangerous that sent a chill up his spine. Now he saw why Carlyle and General Casey were so high strung about this grid. Contrary to popular opinion, war continues to evolve. But in his own personal feelings, what HCLI was putting out was that they seemed to be only a very, very, very, high technological type of mercenary company. This moment though was one of few in which he was glad he was going to hang up the uniform in a few months. While he still didn't care, it didn't mean he wouldn't go without the feelings of nervousness of the nonsensical way war was heading. To him it was already nonsensical and it does no good to worsen it. The thing that really got under his skin though was that this whole system was focused on saving money, instead of people. He along with so many other grieving parents had lost their children to war, he could give a damn about money.

2116 Hours

Fort Meade

General Alexander's reaction to Kasper Hekmatyar's speech had not been a pleasant one. He took in the fact that he might be the first and only man in command of CYBERCOM. He was not the only high ranking government official to catch wind of this, no doubt the President had as well. There were also a lot of things that Kasper had left unexplained. An example would be when he said to remove the one size fits all approach, he'd hardly heard of any other company coming up with this kind of system. So it appeared that HCLI had a monopoly on it. Not to mention where they would get all the funding for this.

"Hinoki, I'll admit I was skeptical about this. But now it appears that anyone who wears the uniform will no longer be needed."

The former Colonel in the Johohonbu sensed the General's frustration and proceeded to take a neutral stance on the subject.

"I think it's best to wait and see how this plays out. Don't forget you still have the power to strike whenever you want."

Carlyle then looked across the table to Hinoki to see if he was just joking or being serious. The professional way he said it tended to blur out any form of coercive speech. He then saw his superior look to him for his input.

"In my opinion sir when something sounds too good to be true it usually is. I agree with Hinoki about waiting this out. If HCLI can pull off what it's preaching I see no problem, but if they decide to screw us over we screw them even harder. Countries are not like a Paul Vehoven flick where everything is run by businesses and not people."

1020 Hours

Singapore

Just when I thought that man's ego couldn't get anymore fuckin bloated he pulls this crap. Now I can see why Koko is wanting to break away from HCLI. This Grid is just one very big and shiny time bomb.

"Controlling ALL war? What an absolute fraud." The hardened looking Russian then took out a cigarette and lit it. "He sounds like some overconfident villain in one of your American comic books."

"Yeah that's Kasper for ya. I'd describe him in simpler terms but it's better that the damn fool explains it himself."

I had gotten a little to drawn into the speech that I wasn't in my original overwatch position. I couldn't believe that Koko's father wanted her to succeed with this. Logistics can only go so far, people are different. Now I began to see why the tension between her father and her was so thick, it had seemed like he had set her up for failure.

"You know her brother that well Mr. Andrushko?" Viktor asked out of curiosity.

"Unfortunately yes but not in the good way Koko and I have. That little speech now really makes me question his sanity. War's may be fought over and for many things but in its purest and most unbiased form they come from two reasons, survival or advantage. Nowadays, especially during the twentieth century, people will just kill each other just cause they don't like who you are. That's nothing more than murder."

I then heard a soft chuckle come from the Russian.

"No two nations see war with the same definition. Knowing of what the both of us are I think the only thing that we would agree on is how shallow minded Kasper is."

"I'm pretty sure mercenaries fall into the grey area man."

"I wasn't talking about our current employer. That, and I will never go back to fighting for my country after I had to shoot through children in order to stop a massacre."

I froze. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Russia's introduction to it's own War on Terror ironically in September of 2004 at the Siege of Beslan."

My thoughts and my heart literally stopped. It was one of the worst terrorist attacks on a school in history. Chechen terrorists seized a school in North Ossetia and took 1,100 people hostage and four fifths of them were children. They demanded Chechen independence or the worst would happen. But the worst happened anyway. Leading to a massive firefight, a poorly executed breach and rescue by Russian police and military, and three hundred and thirty four people dead. Close to two thirds of them, children.

"You were at Beslan?" I asked carefully.

"They called in everyone to stop that siege. I was once part of Spetsnaz's Alpha Group and my team was sent in along with the FSB to make sure this ended one way or another. On the third day when the explosion happened and portions of the school started to burn I knew that this was going to end today and it wouldn't be painless. Despite the discipline and punishment one goes through to earn the right to be called Spetsnaz, nothing ever prepares you for trying to live with a mistake. The chaos that ensued was maddening. Some screamed 'cease fire' while others said 'attack'. Police panicked and fired in a direction where there was no shooting. Tanks and APC's ripped the school apart and I doubt that they hit anything meaningful. When my team finally got the order to breach we fought almost room by room while under fire and they were even using some of the children as shields. The casualties we took just trying to get near them just kept climbing until I was the one in charge of my team of only four other men that could stand and weren't either dead or bleeding. I had to shoot at someone that was at the beginning of their life just to stop another from adding to the chaos."

When I first met Amalia's head of security I thought he was just another man doing his job or a stereotypical example of a Russian tough guy. I didn't think he would be Spetsnaz. But even though he had emotions and physical description of a machine I could tell he was going through some thoughts he would never forget. I knew that pain all too well, and judging that the cigarette in his hand had now burned down all the way to his fingers and he wasn't reacting, I didn't wanna see what he was seeing in his head.

"Viktor." I took his shoulder seeing how his eyes didn't move. "Your gonna burn your finger man."

He came out of his daze and threw his cigarette away. He then squeezed his fist trying to ignore the pain while taking off his sunglasses.

"Anyway, I left the army soon after that and threw my uniform in the garbage. I never wanted to be near a battlefield again, so I figured I'd be better at protecting people where I could actually see them."

As we were talking, Kasper was finishing up the speech on the still live feed from Manila. I didn't care what he was talking about at this point.

"Prosti, Viktor. Vy mozhete verit' etomu, no ya znayu, chto vy chuvstvuyete."

(I'm sorry Viktor. You can choose to believe this but I know how you feel.)

"Kak ty mozhesh' znat', kak ya sebya chuvstvuyu?" He asked as if he was daring.

(How can you know how I feel?)

"Ya ubival lyudey, kotoryye ne zasluzhivali smerti. Teper' ya ne mogu vernut'sya domoy."

(I killed people that didn't deserve to die. Now I can't go back home.)

I then looked back to the actress and the little lady still talking shop. Upon hearing Kasper's speech myself. It didn't surprise me that Koko didn't want to listen to it. It looked like they were about to wrap things up as well.

"So Koko, I must say I remain very curious to see whatever it is your plotting. Can I please be a part of it?" Amalia asked with her hands together and Koko taken back by seeing that she was serious. "I'll pay if that's what you need. Name your price, money is no object."

"Uhh…I beg your pardon Ms. Tolokhovsky what are you talking about?"

I don't know if it was the sun or how forward Amalia was but Koko was starting to sweat. She really was serious and she knew Koko was putting on a poor performance. After a few moments Koko broke the silence but she spoke like she was reading from a cue card.

"HCLI just announced its new logistics package, The Hekmatyar Global Grid. Which will revolutionize how armies are supplied and how wars are fought and won."

I saw the squint in the beautiful violet colored eyes Amalia had. She didn't believe a word Koko said and it wasn't the answer to the question she was asking. Her smile grew a little more and then she turned to me, she knew I was looking at them both.

"Damien-"

I cut her off and raised both my hands.

"I'm sorry Amalia, she won't even tell me. Whatever it is, it looks like you'll have to wait. And Koko you could have just told her that you can't tell her and it's a secret."

Amalia took the hint.

"Hmm. Forgive me Koko it appears that I was being a little too forward in springing on a request like that. I will give it a rest for today. But…that doesn't mean I'm giving up on this. Please if you need any help at all, any help, please give me a call."

"I really have no idea what you're talking about."

"Koko! What did I just say?"

"Oh shut up! Go do your job like chew on some weeds or something!"

Far different attitude from our date yesterday.

"Are you still mad because of that extra spicy chicken I told you NOT to get?"

"I said shut up!"

"Spicy chicken? I'm confused. Why are you so angry at Damien?"

The rather hysterical reason our little walk around Singapore ended a little too quickly. I didn't tell anyone yet.

"I warned her that these kebabs were a little hotter than the rest and she didn't listen. She jumped over the counter to grab what she thought was a gallon of water but it was a gallon of vinegar!"

There were a lot of restrained laughs from both Amalia's crew and ours. And Koko burning a hole through my head with her twitching eye.

"Grr. Amalia, I'm sorry but I need to knock a giant moron down to size." She said stomping towards me.

"Dazvidania for now Koko. We'll talk again soon. Hope you live through this Damien!"

"I'll be fine for now Amalia! Later!" I said as I started backing away to our cars.

But then I felt pressure on my elbows and not letting me go anywhere. I then turned around to see Sophia holding me in place with a rather evil grin. She didn't want me to escape.

"Thank you Valmet." Koko said pleased and clearly pissed.

Aww fuck. Not again.