Chapter 9

A thick African accent broke the relative silence.

Pilot: "Passengers, please put on your safety belts"

No intercom needed, the pilot simply turned around and spoke. It had taken 5 connecting flights and 17 hours in the air, but they neared their destination. Each time they changed planes the plane grew smaller and smaller. They went from a Boeing 737, to an EJR 175, to a SAAB 340, to an L-410, and finally to Cessna 208. A plane so small that every seat is a window and an aisle seat. The pilot, a young black man, looked as nervous as a child on their first day of school. Seated beside him, was a much older, much plumper, much more Ukrainian man. He sat with his arms crossed, not saying or touching anything.

Barry leaned forward from the row behind and said

Barry: "I am pretty sure I have t-shirts older than our pilot, and antique firearms that are younger than his instructor"

Leon: "Hey, when I was his age I was knee deep in BOWs (Raccoon City)"

Barry: "And? I wouldn't have wanted you landing my plane back then either"

Chris: "That is how it works in Africa, the only way males live long enough to develop skills is by leaving the continent. That leaves us with pilots who've never shaved" *he gestures towards the young man*

Chris: "And imported pilots from the Eastern Block that spent the majority of their formidable years training to drop nukes on US cities" *he gestures towards the gray pilot*

Ada: "Would you both stop? I am sure the young man is more than capable"

Chris: "Hey, I wanted a DOD Bird with pilots that do this every week. This 'pilot' is on you guys"

Ada didn't bother to acknowledge Chris before turning away, but she did tighten her seatbelt….. Just in case.

The brown and green of the savanna rushed by below them, growing ever closer as they descend. The apparent calm of the tree speckled grassland seemed to perfectly juxtapose the chaos that the region was known for. The "runway" was nothing more than a straight section of road, built by an American oil company to transport equipment and workers to an oil field. The cracks and potholes gave clues about its hasty construction.

In spite of everything working against him, the young pilot managed to set her down on the road, only bouncing twice. He pulled off the road, making a large dut cloud as he brought them to a halt. A figure walked towards them, undeterred by the cloud. This disembarked as the figure reached them.

Sheva: "Smooth flight?"

Chris: "About as smooth as the last flight I was on with you"

Barry: "The stewardess was pretty rude too" *he gently nudged Ada*

Ada: "If you touch me again, you will end up with more metal in your body than Chris"

Barry: "..."

Chris: "..."

Leon: "The explosives, where you able to narrow down where they came from?"

Sheva: "Yes, as a matter of fact, I know which arms merchant sent them to the states."

Leon: "Great, we'll talk on the way" Leon walked towards the only car he could see that didn't have mismatched body panels and missing doors, Shevas Landcruiser.

They piled into the vehicle, and set out towards the horizon. !980s rock and roll played softly over the radio, slowly fading the farther they went.

Ada: "So, who sold C4 to the daughter of the former US president?"

Sheva: "A foreigner, goes by the alias 'Napoleon'. Everyone thought it was strange when started doing business in the area 7 years ago. But, much like his name sake, he has conquered the illegal goods trade in this region."

Leon: "'Illegal goods'? So he peddles more than weapons?"

Sheva: "That's right. Drugs, alcohol…. Humans, if you need something, he is the man to see."

Chris: "I know this area isn't exactly the most stable, but are you telling me the government can't track one guy who is doing that much business? What about the BSAA? I know they've maintained a facility out here ever since the Uroboros incident."

Sheva: "The BSAA can't him, he may sell guns and bombs but he is smart enough to stay out of the bioweapons game, international treaties leave their hands tied. And the local government can't afford to lose him. He may sell heroin and kalashnikovs, but he is also the only person who can get medical supplies into the area. They are willing to look the other way as long as he keeps the local clinic stocked with syringes and penicillin".

Chris: "A smuggler AND a pillar of the community. I am sure the locals will just love us."

Leon: "Sell them the bullets and the bandages. Get em coming and going " .

Ada: "So they won't be rolling out the red carpet for us, do we even have a place to stage?"

Sheva: "You're riding in our staging area" .

Ada: "Lovely".

As the miles dragged on, a distant city grew ever closer. Black smoke could be seen rising from various locations across the city. The stench of improper sewage disposal wafted on the breeze for miles. Sheva pulled over at the last cluster of trees before town, and the team suited up.

Leon: "So do we have a description of our target?".

Sheva: "Male, 4 foot 8, known to wear a tricorn hat".

Chris: "A tricorn hat? I guess there is a reason he goes by Napoleon".

Ada and Leon exchanged an uncomfortable look, that description matches a mutual acquaintance of theirs.

Barry: "So what is our plan?" .

Sheva: "I managed to set up a meeting with him, told him I have some women from the next town over who are all packaged up and ready for wholesale"

Leon: "Disgusting" .

Sheva: "Agreed, but I had to offer him something pretty valuable to get a face to face meeting. He usually travels with 4 armed guards, locals, neutralizing them won't be a problem…. But….." .

Chris: "Oh here we go".

Sheva: "The meeting place is less than 500 meters from his warehouse, meaning reinforcements would be less than 5 minutes away.".

Leon: "So, if we screw up this snatch and grab, we might end up dealing with his entire garrison of guards?".

Ada: "Then I guess you boys had better get this right" .