Chapter 3: This Red Train
The morning was slow at the Auror Office. Ron was stuck in a cubicle as he waited for any assignments to come along. Not that he was alone, for some reason beyond his understanding the criminals of magical Britain had been quiet for the last few days. This usually meant one of two things, either something big happened in the underworld that left everyone tired, or something big was about to happen that would make Ron tired. Either way, it was an excuse to get caught up on Quidditch.
"Good morning!" Neville Longbottom said. Ron and Harry's former schoolmate and fellow Auror was walking around the bullpen with a cart. Sat on top was a pot of hot water, mugs, teabags, and instant coffee packets. Below was a carboard box with several envelopes and packages.
"Mail time already?" Ron asked, usually the mail came by around the end of the day, not first thing in the morning.
"Why do you think I have drinks?" Neville said candidly as he bent down to the box. Ron meanwhile fixed himself a cup of tea.
Neville emerged, holding two envelopes. "This one's from Gringotts." he said, handing one over. "I didn't see Albie at his desk, are you going to his Loose Cannon briefing later?"
"Yeah, I should be." Ron said.
"Great, could you get this to him? It's from Harry." Neville said, handing Ron the other envelope, which was quite thick.
Ron nodded, an interesting expression on his face. "Wish I could go to the briefing but I'm heading out soon to Hogwarts." Neville said as he organized his cart.
"Really, what're you up to there, mate?" Ron asked.
"Well, with this school year wrapping up soon the Governors want more staff for next year now that the reconstruction is almost done. Professor McGonagall wants to interview me to be the new Herbology teacher!" Neville said, his expression gleeful at the words.
Ron smiled, "That's great!" he said. Ron patted his old friend on the back, "Say, tell Nearly Headless Nick I said hi!" Ron said as he went towards the conference room, Neville waved him away.
Ron entered the room and found Albie sitting at the head of the table reading a report, he was the first to arrive. "Mr. Weasley." the old man said, not looking up from his paper.
"Good morning, sir. Neville is on mail duty today, he asked me to give this to you." Ron said, handing the old Auror Harry's letter. Albie nodded sternly and opened it.
Dear Mr. Stanley,
I have arrived in Roanapur and have been making steady progress in the investigation of the target. I started my search at the bar that Ms. Kirk suggested based on the Thai Ministry's reports. I made contact and built rapport with some locals, namely the bartender, who is a source of surface level information.
Along with this source I have also met two of the people in the photograph with Rico. The Japanese businessman goes by the pseudonym 'Rock' and the woman with the black tank-top and pistols is named 'Revy'. They both work for 'Lagoon Traders', who specialize in courier services. Although if I know this town as I've seen it, they likely smuggle illicit materials and do piracy work for the local Muggle crime syndicates. I have yet to conclusively identify the nun in the photograph, although I can speculate that she is a superior to Rico, who goes by the name 'Sister Eda'.
After making initial contact I proceeded to a local church which is owned and operated by a gunrunning organization, at which our contact, Rico, works as a junior member. He took my offer to give information and turned me on to a potential lead. He said that the bodies of the Thai Ministry officials who attacked Thucrit initially were being held at the local morgue. I chose to infiltrate the morgue at night to try and find any leads.
Additionally, Rico said that he had not been "bought out", rather, he speculated the Hit Wizards were using Thucrit to make an example out of people using magic in ways that help Muggle crime syndicates. He said that the Thais ignored much of his advice and rushed into their take-down ill-prepared and were killed for it. He also cast doubt on Thucrit's status as a Death Eater, speculating that the Thai Ministry made up this excuse to justify extrajudicial action.
While I do not have any reason to trust Rico, I do think it worthwhile to investigate the Thai Ministry's claims with more scrutiny. Given the focus I need to place on finding Thucrit myself, I ask that another person be appointed to investigate this angle if the manpower can be spared. A full report of Rico's intelligence is included with this letter.
During my infiltration of the morgue the boss of the local Triad branch came by to meet with a contact, a cleaner named Sawyer, who he had hired to perform autopsies. This boss goes by the name of 'Mr. Chang' and is related to a British witch who I went to school with, Ms. Cho Chang. I request that the Ministry place Ms. Chang under surveillance and prevent her from leaving the country for her own safety and for the sake of this investigation as Mr. Chang wants to bring her to Roanapur. I believe that he is aware of the magical world and is actively hunting our target as well, with a more lethal intent than our own.
I would otherwise have attempted to make a partnership with this man. However, he detected me during my infiltration of the morgue, and we had an altercation. He shot at me, and I was forced to stun him out of self-defense, although I do not believe he knows my identity. I am unsure what this altercation's repercussions will be, although there are heightened tensions between the Triads and the local Russian mafia, and the latter might get blamed for my indiscretion.
While at the morgue I managed to gather two vital pieces of intelligence. First, I obtained the report completed by the cleaner who was hired to do the autopsies. In this report, a copy of which I have also sent, they determined that the Thai officials all died of sudden hemorrhages in the brain, not dissimilar to aneurysms. While the Killing Curse doesn't specifically harm the target physically (as I can personally attest to), this inference made by this cleaner should hopefully go a long way in upholding the Statute of Secrecy.
The second item that I obtained was the wands of the Thai officials which were gathered as evidence. I performed Priori Incantatem on these wands. In my analysis I conclude that the spell history of these wands, when looked at holistically, tells that these wizards were fighting against a singular enemy rather than a group before they were killed. This speculation leads me to believe that Malee Thucrit is operating alone, having lost the favor of the Triads who had previously protected her. A report of my findings is also included with this letter, and I will return with the actual wands as soon as my investigation is completed.
While it is possible that she could be hiding out under the protection of another organization, this could be unlikely due to the Triad's influence and already high tensions with the Russians, who might not wish to raise the temperature anymore by harboring a Triad fugitive.
My next move is to return to Rico and find out what he might know about Thucrit's contacts, or if there are any third-party organizations which might harbor a Triad fugitive. I am currently staying in a nondescript hotel that caters to foreign tourists to abate suspicions. I hope that my next letter will bring more news.
But as for what I need the Ministry to do at home, restrict travel to this place wholesale, investigate and verify Rico's intelligence, and ensure that Ms. Cho Chang does not leave the country under any circumstance. Additionally, prepare our liaison with Gringotts to arrange for Rico's payments to be made in American dollars, as he will not accept our own currency.
Best regards,
-Harry Potter
Albie refolded the letter, by the time he had finished reading it, the conference room had filled up with a little less than a dozen other Aurors and support staff, who were waiting for him to start the weekly meeting.
"Well, good morning, everyone. I have been reading a dispatch from Mr. Potter, who as you all know is in Thailand on field work. Needless to say, this meeting won't take the usual five minutes, we have work to do." Albie said, the other Aurors looked at each other, a hungry look in their eyes.
Albie stood up at the head of the table and recited Harry's letter before delegating tasks, "Mr. Weasley, are you familiar with Ms. Chang?" he asked.
"Distantly, she was a year ahead of me at Hogwarts, a member of Dumbledore's Army too. I might be able to contact some other people who will know her better." Ron said.
"I need you to place her under protection, if she isn't cooperative with Aurors following her around, move her to a Ministry safehouse." Albie said.
"Sir, if I may." Ron said, "If these Triads are Muggle-run, then shouldn't we work with our liaison at Scotland Yard and get Cho a more obvious protection detail?" Albie pondered for a second.
"That might be a good idea. Go and talk with the liaison, but I give the final say." he said, Ron nodded.
"Meanwhile I want the rest of you to get on these other things. I will handle the intelligence claims myself by going through the ICW. You all should investigate ways in which people go to Thailand, specifically Roanapur. I want someone on every Muggle flight to Bangkok as well. We can't ignore Muggle travel." Albie said. With their orders given, the Aurors and their senior staff all went to work.
"Are you stupid?" Rico asked simply.
"No, I don't think I am." Harry said.
"Did you perhaps fall down and hit your head?"
"What?"
"Did you fall down and hit your head on the fucking floor!" Rico said, his voice on the verge of shouting. Harry had just sent off a letter back to the Ministry, it was the afternoon after Harry's infiltration. Rico had come to the hotel where Harry was at and forced himself in.
Rico breathed in heavily and looked away, thinking about what came next. "Have you any idea what your little stunt is going to do to this city?" he asked.
"Not exactly, that's what I'm paying you for." Harry said. Rico thought, his fingers squeezing the bridge of his nose.
"Did Chang see your face?" he asked.
"He might have. My Invisibility Cloak slipped off during the commotion, but the morgue was dimly lit." Harry admitted.
Rico wasn't any less concerned, "That man has one hell of a memory. If he saw that scar on your forehead, you're fucked." he said seriously.
Harry looked down and thought, "Well, I can take some measures, I was trained in disguise extensively." Harry said.
"Well, you better get it right because your clock is ticking a whole lot faster." Rico said. The two men were silent after that, a tension filled the room.
"Okay, so, what's next?" Harry asked.
"What's next is you skip the hell out of town!" Rico snapped back.
"We both know that isn't an option." Harry said, "And Rico, from my perspective, if they find out who I am, they won't have to look very far to find out who pointed me in the direction of the morgue." Rico pursed his lips.
"The way I see it." Harry said, "The sooner that I can get out of here with my target, the better this will end for you and for everyone else in this city." Harry let his point hang, "So, what's next?"
Rico paced around the room for a moment. "Chang won't take your misstep lightly, he's gonna want as much blood in the water as he can get to show the other gangs that he can't be trifled with." Harry nodded along, "I suspect that the Russians know already as well, Balalaika is going to milk this for all its worth, she's been itching for a war." Rico said.
"But I doubt that either one of them is going to fight each other over something this sudden. Neither will get what they want I'd bet." Rico said, the hamster wheels in his head running at full speed.
"So, let me get this straight." Harry said, "The Triads are going to want to turn Roanapur upside down looking for me. The Russians meanwhile want to exploit this so that the Triads attack them first. So, wouldn't the logical solution for both parties be to get an outside mediator to handle this?" Harry said.
"I doubt it." Rico said, "The criminals here aren't exactly the classiest type around. If there is even an implication that a higher power has authority over them, it would undermine their position. If they did go for a mediator, they would have to be discreet about it, and there's only one guy I know who can pull something like that off." Rico said. Harry looked at him quizzically.
"You've already met him." Rico said.
The neat thing about Mr. Chang's penthouse was that Rock got to feel nostalgic. The elevators in the building turned out to have been installed by the same company that installed them in the Asahi Industries building Rock used to work in ages ago. Thus, the hydraulics and cables sounded the same on a primal level. While he did his best to forget the past and his old identity of Rokuro Okajima, it was nice to think back to those simpler times occasionally.
Rock breathed deeply and thought through what this might be about. He had tried to pry the information from the driver/escort/guard that was accompanying him to Mr. Chang's penthouse. But the goon didn't speak much English, nor any other language Rock knew.
The ride slowed to a halt after several minutes and the doors slid open. Rock was greeted by a tasteful and Orientally-decorated foyer where two guards in suits were standing at either side of an open door. Rock went to walk through, but one of the guards stuck out his hand. Rock paused as the other pulled out a handheld metal detector.
"Zhēn de ma?" Rock asked, his fingernail's worth of Mandarin coming out broken.
"Really." one of the guards said in British-tinted English. Rock swallowed and extended his arms, making sure to hold the contents of his pockets in his outstretched hands. The guard first patted down the salaryman and then waved his metal detector over his body. The guard gave Rock a nod and led him inside.
The guard walked in front of Rock through Mr. Chang's living room and past his rooftop pool. Rock looked out over the port. The setting tangerine sun hidden by the Buddha sat in the harbor. The guard cleared his throat and Rock went along once more, leading him towards another room, Mr. Chang's kitchen. The man himself was alone, a knife in his hands, vegetables and meat piled around him.
"Hello Rock." Mr. Chang said, he nodded to his guard and the man departed. The kitchen was incredibly modern, the appliances alone probably cost more than the entire Yellow Flag, mineral rights included. The room was rectangular, along one long side was the sink, dishwasher, ovens, and a fridge. Parallel to that was a long island with black marble counters and a range top gas stove, a wok was sitting on one of the burners.
The opposite side of the room was sunken down a few steps, a large round oak table was set for four people. Rock looked at the table, the wine having been delivered and the bread set out accordingly. "Are we dining alone?" Rock asked as Mr. Chang diced an onion.
"The plan was to hold a joint conversation between us two," Mr. Chang said, waving the knife between himself and Rock, "and Fry Face. But she dropped out at the last minute for God-knows what reason. I also was expecting Two Hand to be with you, but alas." Mr. Chang said. Rock couldn't tell if he did it intentionally, but Mr. Chang had revealed one of his signature pistols to be sitting in an appendix holster, barely hidden from view. With that and the extra guards, Rock thought Mr. Chang was more paranoid than usual.
Rock tried to read Mr. Chang. It wasn't very often that he caught one of the rulers of Roanapur in such a laid-back situation. Mr. Chang's suit jacket was nowhere to be seen, his collar was tieless, and his sleeves rolled up. If there was one thing that he didn't change however, it was the perennial presence of his sunglasses.
"That's unfortunate, about Ms. Balalaika." Rock said as he across from Mr. Chang.
"It really is, she was going to bring the food. Now I gotta improvise."
"Seems like you know what you're doing."
"My mom would've gutted me if I didn't pay attention to her cooking." Mr. Chang said. Rock nodded sympathetically and slipped out his pack of cigarettes.
"Not here." Mr. Chang said as Rock stuck a death stick in his mouth. Rock looked at him oddly. "Doctor says that I can't smoke for a while, so you can't either." he said. Rock hummed in amusement.
"Mr. Chang, if you don't mind me asking, what are you cooking?" Rock asked.
"A simple stir fry of whatever works together. I got veggies, spices, and beef. What else can a man ask for?" Mr. Chang said candidly. Rock hummed in agreement again, he was thrown way off by the politeness on display. Mr. Chang was often one to be in-and-out when it came to business.
"So," Rock said. "what exactly am I here for?"
"You know Rock, if there is one thing that stir frying taught me, it's that once you put down the first ingredient, you have to be fast with how you cook. Therefore, everything must be in place beforehand. Any hesitation is going to result in a burnt meal and a slap from a wooden spoon." Mr. Chang said.
"I see, so you're taking your time with whatever this is." Rock said.
"Exactly, and that's why I'd like for you to track someone down for me. But first, I have to make this." Mr. Chang said.
Rock nodded and rubbed his chin. Mr. Chang had finished cutting up a bell pepper and was making a move on the wok, the oil inside of it starting to smoke. Rock took the hint and wandered off towards the table. He picked up one of the bottles of wine and benignly read one of the labels. Semi-sweet, California red, no discernable type of grape. Cheap, yet somewhat classy, perfect for such an occasion.
Rock placed the bottle down again and looked towards the bread, he heard the wok behind him sizzle away and he felt a surprising pang of hunger hit his stomach. Rock pulled out a chair and sat down. He picked up a different bottle of wine as Mr. Chang cooked away.
To Rock's pleasure, the cooking process didn't take very long, and it didn't take long for Mr. Chang to approach the table with two bowls piled high with lo mein noodles mixed with vegetables and thin strips of beef. He placed a bowl in front of Rock, chopsticks already in place. Rock smiled at his host as Mr. Chang took a seat across from his guest.
"You're being awfully nice this evening." Rock said before grabbing a few noodles and slurping them up. The former salaryman was well travelled, but his palate was lacking. He couldn't tell what all was going on in Mr. Chang's dish, but it tasted good, nonetheless.
"Well, I'm proposing that you do something for me that's going to be quite taxing I predict. How's the food?" Mr. Chang asked.
"Quite good, I think your mother would be proud." Rock said, recalling Mr. Chang's earlier comment.
"Ha! She would've found something to complain about. That's just how she is."
"I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit."
"Really? Look around you, I have to humble myself in some places."
"If you say so." Rock said, surprised at the maturity Mr. Chang displayed given his position.
The two sat in silence for a time, eating their food. Neither of them realized how hungry they had been. But after their bowls became lighter, and the corks on the wine looser, Mr. Chang finally opened up about why he called Rock to his home.
"So, as you've figured out by now, a situation has come up." Mr. Chang said.
"What kind of situation?" Rock asked, a sip of wine following.
"There was an incident involving one of my subordinates that ended in a fight."
"I did hear, it's being said the ones who died had no clear cause of death."
"That's true, I had Sawyer perform autopsies on those who did die, and I have specialists from Honk Kong flying in soon as well. But that's not the point." Mr. Chang said.
"When I went to the morgue to meet with Sawyer and collect her final report, I was attacked." Mr. Chang said.
"Attacked?" Rock responded, "And, given that you won't let me smoke, you lost?"
"Don't push your luck with my courtesy Rock." Mr. Chang said ominously.
"Of course, my apologies."
"Your assumption isn't wrong though. After Sawyer left, I was alone in the examination room where they keep the bodies, and I was attacked. Myself and two of my men who were guarding the back door were knocked out."
"I'm sorry you went through such an ordeal." Rock said.
"Don't be. My theory is that the Russians were behind this, and Balalaika, so you can surmise, is denying any involvement." Mr. Chang said.
"But you aren't giving up?"
"No."
"So, why am I here?" Rock asked, his gaze hardened. He didn't want to get in the middle of a scrap between the Triads and the Russians. For all his brains and all of Revy's bullets, Rock wasn't 100% on his odds of survival in a gang war.
"Balalaika has it in her mind to make a game out of all this, in my own view at least. She suggested that you conduct an independent investigation into the attack and bring the perpetrator to me for justice." Mr. Chang said, his more businesslike tone creeping back into his demeanor.
Rock pursed his lips, "I see. She isn't wrong that I would be interesting in something like this." he said, Mr. Chang looked relieved, but not for long, "However, I need to know some things before I start."
"Fire away." Mr. Chang said.
"First, what's in it for me?" Rock asked.
"Whatever you want. If you want money, I can pay you. If you want the Triads to give the Lagoon Company more work, I can arrange that too." Mr. Chang said casually.
"Oh, I'll take a fee and I'll put expenses incurred on your tab, but I want more." Rock said. Mr. Chang's eyes narrowed, "I want a favor." Rock said.
"What do you need done?"
"Not that kind of favor."
"Then what?"
"I want a favor for the future. If I do this for you and turn in the target, I want support from you in the future, whenever that may be." Rock said. His voice and posture were calm and synergetic, as if he were negotiating the price of rare earth metals at his old job, and not trying to subjugate one of the most terrifying men in Asia.
"What else do you have to say?" Mr. Chang asked.
"Pardon?" Rock said.
"You said you needed to know some things. I'm not about to commit to this deal until I see the full ask."
Rock leaned back at Mr. Chang's words, it was a fair point, and Rock's negotiating senses told him that this was an opportunity worth taking.
"If I do get myself involved in this, I'll need access. I'll need access to the morgue, the men who were also knocked out, et cetera." Rock said.
"Sure." Mr. Chang said.
"I also will need to know more about what happened that caused those men to die."
"Not happening." Mr. Chang responded quickly.
"Mr. Chang, the way I see it with the information I have now, this attack might have been a retaliatory strike. I need to know the details if I'm going to piece this all together." Rock said with authority. Mr. Chang paused and looked at the ceiling. Rock tried to decipher his face for any indication of his thoughts, but the sunglasses and experienced poker face weren't helping.
"Fine." Mr. Chang said after a while of thinking, "But your questions go through me, and no one else."
"Very well." Rock said. The man sipped his wine a little more and looked at his host.
"Do you think this is going to get bloody?" Rock asked.
"More likely than not."
"Do you think there is a way for whoever did this to live, even if I turn them in to you?"
"No, absolutely not."
"So, if in the course of my investigation, were this person to die in a fight, you wouldn't object?" Rock asked.
Mr. Chang leaned forward and looked his guest in the eye. "I won't deny Revy's right to defend herself, but I'd rather choke the air out of this bastard myself." the boss said. Rock could tell he was serious, and he took a moment to think some more.
"Okay." Rock said, "I'm in."
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