Yeah now chiz is screwing shit up. tldr at bottom
*Static.*
The encryption dialed up, then whirred. The connection was secure. 16:55:01 EST
*Click*
"What do you want, Kagura. I don't have time for your meddling."
The man's voice was annoyed, but even so - still exuded a certain amount of professionalism. After all, Geese Howard, even under duress, was still a businessman.
*...Ah, Mr. Howard. Meddling? Oh, No. Of course not.*
There was a pause over the line before a woman's voice responded. Her tone was icy - yet it was clear she was aggressively attempting to forge a friendship. Geese had no trouble seeing the motivation behind her call. The 10 million dollar 'opinion' wire had whetted her (famously ravenous) appetite, and greed was now driving her back to him. She had likely figured if he could throw such large sums of money about so frivolously, there was more to come.
Unfortunately for her, Howard Connection was all but cash-strapped. Kain Heinlein knew exactly how Howard Connection worked and his terrorist campaign had been extremely effective against the organization. That meant HCon was bringing in no cash, their liabilities were piling up, and their assets were being seized. It was a damn good thing Geese had packaged 'apology' funds into his deal with the Fourth Elder otherwise they'd be in a real bind, but even that sum would only cover operating costs for another few weeks.
Of course, Chizuru Kagura didn't need to know that. In this time of trial, Geese needed powerful friends. Friends were expensive, and powerful friends - exorbitantly so. Luckily, Chizuru Kagura was putting herself up for sale on credit - and she was just as eager to be bought as Geese was to buy her.
So although Chizuru was famously deceptive, Geese knew he could trust her. He could smell the stench of rampant avarice from a mile away. Greed was the only motivation she had - and Geese Howard trusted Greed. Whatever information Chizuru Kagura was about to feed him was good as gold - and right now, Geese wanted all the information he could get.
She put on a salesperson's voice as she continued. She was really trying to butter him up.
*I'm merely calling you as a service, Mr. Howard. After all, since I'm the middleman for this CIA business, I have some information you'd find most interesting.*
"You're the middleman? Nonsense."
That was unexpected. Geese Howard had no idea Chizuru Kagura was also wrapped up in his legal troubles. Perhaps his business wasn't as private as he thought it to be. SouthTown's Overlord decided to gather more information and allowed her to explain.
*I think you'll find that I'm a very well connected person, Mr. Howard. I called the CIA director this afternoon. He's been very excited to speak to me as of late. Orders have gone down through his network to your benefit, and your police issue has been dealt with from the highest levels of bureaucracy… by me, of course. Starting tomorrow morning, that cowboy who's been causing you so much trouble will be aiding your with your -other- little problem.*
A long pause. Geese Howard narrowed his eyes. It was obvious to almost everyone embroiled in this case who the 'other problem' was… but Chizuru Kagura lived on the other side of the globe. It was safe to assume that whatever she knew might as well be public knowledge. Geese needed to know what the opinion of him was amongst his outside business contacts.
He put on an incredulous voice. Fake, of course.
"My other problem?"
Chizuru opened with the corporate laugh.
*Come now Mr. Howard. I watch the news. Rock Howard and Kain Heinlein have been running around blowing up your operations. It's likely they're coming after Geese Tower next. I've called to give you a word of advice about how to deal with them. A symbol of goodwill, if you would. A recommended course of action… and my contact. I deal with this sort of thing all the time, you see.*
Geese frowned. Rock Howard, huh? Interesting. Although Kain was obviously the mastermind of the operation, it seemed that Rock Howard had also become a rather public figure. For what purpose? It didn't matter. Chizuru was offering a lot of information upfront in an attempt to solidify this business relationship. Geese would be a fool to stop her.
"Well, get on with it then."
She very enthusiastically did so.
*Now that the feds are out of your hair, the only thing you need to handle is Rock Howard and your old underboss - who, according to my sources - is a flame user. Rock likely isn't an issue. But Kain will prove problematic. I've heard from the Fourth that the Yagami clan will be handling it for you - which is all well and good. Flames against Flames. But believe me - they have no real motivation to do a good job. In fact, if Howard Connection crumbles, Yagami would be very happy indeed. If you truly decide to use them - you are putting yourself in prime position for a glorious betrayal.*
Geese paused, then grunted acknowledgement. The issue had been at the forefront of his mind for a while - and the fact that Chizuru Kagura could predict his thoughts from half a world away spoke volumes of her perceptiveness. She really was a valuable ally… One who was willing to play both sides of the game for a little bit of coin - since she was obviously also working with the Fourth.
What she said about Kain Heinlein was also true. Although Kain hadn't trained as extensively in Martial Arts as Geese had - but he was still a dangerous fighter. He had possessed the power of flames since young, and had trained himself in the art of manipulating them for the sole purpose of setting off explosions and burning bits off of people during interrogations.
As a result, there weren't many people who could take him on. Flames we're very difficult to deal with because of their hyper-offensive nature, and in most cases, they were more effective than bullets. Of course, Geese could manage him easily, but he couldn't afford to. SouthTown's Overlord wasn't about to start fighting in the street in broad daylight. He'd be arrested for assault charges in a heartbeat, then charged for everything else under the sun. It also just so happened that Hein and all his back alley legal connections had been blown up and incinerated courtesy of the very same man.
So the only solution was either to send Billy and possibly sacrifice some of HCon's best troops (the average flame user could easily go toe to toe with an expert martial artist, simply because of fire's problematic nature) - or find someone who could also control flames to fight on his behalf.
The Yagami clan were available, but - especially considering Geese's latest stunt - were surely itching to see him fail. Geese Howard would be a fool to put his safety in their hands. Perhaps… the Kusanagi family? Surely not…
Chizuru continued. She had begun speaking more quickly out of excitement. Geese had to focus to understand her.
*I know somebody who is both ready and willing to do this job for you. He hasn't gotten much work lately, and is probably sitting at home itching to kill some people. IKARI hasn't used him either, so I promise you he'd leap at the opportunity… my very own Hellhound. Iori Yagami.*
Geese was about to protest, then realized that Chizuru had just revealed she didn't know what the deal was between himself and the Fourth Elder. Of course, the Yagami clan wouldn't broadcast the fact their heir had just been kidnapped and ransomed for some Two Hundred Million dollars. It worked in Geese's favor, since Chizuru didn't know he was scrambling for cash - but it also worked against him, because Chizuru's genius plan was not going to work.
He let her continue regardless.
*Now I know that you and that boy have a bit of a bad history - all of those shootouts and all, but I assure you, for the sake of Rock Howard, Iori Yagami will happily do whatever you tell him. He has that sort of obsessive nature. If you can find a way to leverage the boy - then Yagami will hang up his grudges and fight for you.*
Geese pondered and grimaced.
Perhaps Iori could hang up old grudges, but something so recent? Probably not. Secondly - Iori's condition was terrible - according to Billy's reports anyways. He had gone stir-crazy, then nearly died from dehydration afterwards. He was hardly battle ready… but then again, if Iori Yagami died trying to kill Kain Heinlein - the Yagami family's power disappeared with him. Better yet, they killed each other. Two birds with one stone. Perhaps it was worth a try after all.
Geese pushed for clearer instruction. Everyone who knew Chizuru, knew how well she manipulated people. Yet her crowning achievement was her ability to twist the Yagami heir around her finger. The boy's destructive talents were clearly being used for the benefit of Kagura Pharmaceuticals, but for some reason, he either refused to acknowledge it, or was too stupid to. In any case, if anybody knew how to make Iori Yagami do what you wanted - it was Chizuru Kagura.
And she was giving classes.
*I'll give you Yagami's personal phone number. You could contact him through the family, but the Fourth is too cautious to let the boy do anything. Instead, call his phone directly. If he doesn't pick up, call again in three hours. Never leave a message. When you finally get him on the phone, this is what you want to say… *
Geese jotted notes as Chizuru rattled off closely held secrets for the promise of future cash flows. She was truly a brilliant woman, but not brilliant enough to realize she was working off of incomplete information. Of course, somebody who wasn't trying to strike a deal might have been more patient and do their due diligence, but alas - sometimes you needed to play fast and loose with business, then cross your fingers and pray.
And Chizuru Kagura had better start praying.
Because if this deal went the way Geese wanted it to, she was going to lose a hell of a lot more than a business contact.
So Chiz is trying to play the Street Game for some moolah, unfortunately she's missing a lot of info.
Yag's gonna get yanked back into this gg. I just can't leave him alone.