4

Roanapur, The Indian Quarter

The city of Roanapur has a surprisingly large number of Indian immigrants, mostly Sikhs and Punjabis that migrated from mainland India to find their fortunes in Thailand. There are many Indian-owned businesses around the city but the biggest congregation of Indians is found on the east side, around a Sikh temple. Commercial and apartment buildings filled the streets, as well as shanties of squatters and beggars.

Benny expertly steered his 1965 Pontiac GTO on the narrow streets and alleyways of the Indian quarter. The muscle car is a tight squeeze between the piles of trash, shanties, and people but Benny already knew this place like the back of his hand. He came to love this place because of a special someone living in one of the hundreds of hole-in-a-wall apartments around the quarter.

Revy Two Hands like the Indian quarter too, but for an entirely different reason. The food here is excellent, especially the warm, spicy chicken curry and chapatti bread. There is also the shisha, the traditional hookah that Revy considers as one of the greatest pleasures in life.

But Revy knew they didn't came here to enjoy Indian food and culture, they are here for serious business. As Benny parked the car on a curb, she immediately dismounted and looked around the surroundings. The Lagoon warrior is dressed in her usual shorts and tank tops, but she is also wearing a thin windbreaker to hide the two Beretta 92FS Inox pistols on her shoulder holsters.

Benny hired a couple of kids to watch his ride. After paying them a few Thai bahts, he and Revy walked several blocks deeper into the maze of poverty-riddled alleyways and proceeded to a derelict apartment building. They climbed the dirty staircases, passing several beggars and unidentified foul smelling liquid on the floor. As they reached the sixth floor, Benny smiled on the CCTV camera mounted in the corner.

The door of unit 604-C opened and a petite, dark-skinned woman stumbled out. "Hey Benny, Revy," she said. "Welcome to my humble abode."

Benny walked closer and gave the woman a kiss on the lips. "I missed you, Jane," Benny said.

"I missed you too, Benny-dear," Janet Bhai, known as Greenback Jane, replied, kissing Benny torridly.

Revy was disgusted. "Oh for fucks sakes get a room!"

"Later," Jane said, winking at Benny. "Come inside. I supposed you have something to show me."

The three entered Jane's flat. It was surprisingly spacious and very clean, with ornate decorations from all over India. Jane opened another door and they entered a room that is full of computer servers, LCD screens, and cables.

"Nice equipment you got here," Revy commented. It was true; Jane has top-of-the-line computers and massive air-conditioned servers. She noticed a printer with several sheets of 100-dollar bills stacked on top. Revy knew they were fakes but she could not help but admire the quality of the forgeries. "I though you left the counterfeiting business, Jane."

"Old habits die hard," Jane replied. "You guys want coffee? Tea?"

"Beer," Revy said as she sat on a worn leather sofa.

Jane took two bottles of San Miguel Light beer from the fridge and gave them to the two. "Where's Dutch and Rocky?" she asked.

"They stayed on the Lagoon to do some business," Benny said. "Jane, I want you to take a look at this." He opened his bag and gave Jane a small, metallic object the size of a chewing gum.

Jane's eyes lit up as she took the object. "Wow, I haven't seen one for a very long time."

"What is it?"

"Benny-dear, this is a special storage chip issued to CIA and NSA agents. See the plug? It is very different from a standard USB port so you can only access this using a special device."

"Can you access it?" Revy asked.

Jane opened a drawer and took out a small card reader. "I think I am the only one in Thailand with a card reader for this chip," she said beamingly.

"Where on earth did you get that?" Benny asked incredulously.

"You don't want to know," answered Jane with a smile. She inserted the chip in the card reader and plugged it on her server computer. On her large monitor, rows and rows of binary numbers appeared.

"Ah, just as I thought," Jane remarked. "This is encrypted with a sophisticated firewall. If you try to access this without the proper decryption software the data would be purged and it will never be recovered again."

"Can you crack it?" Benny asked.

"I don't know. This is national security stuff, you know, things that could send a Reaper drone shoving a Hellfire missile up my ass."

Benny caresses Jane's shoulder. "Come on, Jane-dear. Do it for me. Please?"

Jane sighed. "You know I can't say no to you, Benny-dear. Give me a few minutes."

While Jane's fingers are busy dancing on her keyboard, a convoy of several unmarked vehicles arrived at the Indian quarter. Several dozen men dismounted, dressed in mixed civilian clothing. The locals scampered in fear when they saw most of the men are brandishing firearms.

Ping got off from his SUV, smoking a cigar and holding an Uzi submachine gun. "I want all of you to search the whole quarter if necessary," he ordered his men. "I want the chip found. Kill anyone who tries to stop us, especially the Lagoon gang. I want the head of Revy Two Hands in my freezer."

The 24K gangsters quickly entered the quarter to search for their prey.

On the other side of the city, another convoy roared into the quarter, two huge gray Ford Expedition SUV's escorted above by a single MH-6 Little Bird chopper. Mikasa Ackerman and her Titan team didn't waste any time. As soon as they landed on Roanapur Airport, they quickly stocked up on weapons, mounted their vehicles, and drove straight to the center of the town. They found out from their contacts on the ground that two Lagoon members are heading towards the Indian quarter. Mikasa preferred to get all four members at the same time but this is something that she cannot afford to miss.

Mikasa is on the lead Expedition, riding shotgun with Nac Tius on the wheel. Thomas is sitting behind them. On the follow-up car, Franz is driving while Samuel is on the passenger seat. Mylius is stationed on the back, ready to give heavy fire support with the Gatling gun.

"Sitrep, Mina," Mikasa asked on her radio.

Mina is piloting the Little Bird circling above the Indian quarter, providing the team with a bird's eye view of the area. Her chopper is equipped with state of the art surveillance equipment and heavily armed with a single M134 Minigun on the right pylon and a Hydra 70 rocket pod on the left. "I spotted at least six vehicles and at least thirty men entering the quarter from the west. It could be trouble, so be ready for anything," she reported.

"Roger that," Mikasa replied. "Be ready to support us if necessary."

Nac stopped the SUV in front of the Sikh temple. Mikasa and her men dismounted, wearing full combat gear and carrying their long arms. Mikasa decided to leave her SCAR-H rifle on the car and only carried her sidearms.

"Franz, Mylius, stay on your vehicle and be ready to support us with Old Painless," Mikasa ordered. "Nac, Thomas, Samuel, secure the perimeter and coordinate with Mina."

"What about you, boss?" Thomas asked.

Mikasa drew her Desert Eagle. "I'm going in."