Guns
for Hire - Script
Thirty Five
Forlorn
Hope, Night City 9.52pm - 21/07/2016
Vrasten
dropped the half open envelope on the beer stained table, drained the last of
his beer & poured himself another from the ice cold pitcher, whilst Alex
& T-Bird glanced at the photographs from the envelope, Vrasten summarised
the hand written note that had accompanied the images & how he'd gotton'
hold of them'
"So
this Milkor suit just turns up this afternoon with two cops for back up, he
doesn't say much other than Uriel sends his regards, he passes me this envelope
& just fucks off, didn't look to pleased to be here I guess, couldn't wait
to get back to his cozy desk. Anyway, looks like Uriel's got a problem, he's
offering two million dollars"
Uriel's
hand written note read;
MilKor
have, amongst other things, have mining interests in a number of locations around
the Gulf of Aden, one of these is at the coastal town of Damqawt in Yemen, approx
20 miles from the border with Oman.
On
15/07/2016 nine MilKor personnel from the Damqawt facility along with Mutahir
Rashad al-Masri, Minister for the Interior, were seized whilst enjoying brunch
aboard one of MilKor's yacht's anchored offshore. The yacht, Skat, a 70m, was
scuttled during the attack, most of the crew, sixteen in total, were left for
dead by the raiders who made their escape along with their captives in a couple
of RHIB's. From interviews of the one surviving crew member & one MilKor attaché
who hid, the raiders were mainly Somali. Surprisingly the expected contact &
ransom demands weren't forthcoming.
We/Milkor
have however "acquired" information from a CTF-150 source confirming that the
raid was carried out by Yusuf Mohammed Siad Inda'ade, self proclaimed spokesman
for the Marka. The file also goes on however to advise that a CTF informer within
the Marka group has hinted that whilst the raid was indeed carried out by Inda'ade's
Burcad Badeed under the guise of Hizb ut-Tahrir (a pan-Islamic organisation
whose goal is for all Muslim countries to unify as an caliphate under Islamic
law) Recently Milkor have had issues with Hizb ut-Tahrir over their operations
in Damqawt. Incidentally this is in direct contrast to the support given to
MilKor by the Yemini government, the General People's Congress.
Our
sources in the Yemen suggest that Hizb ut-Tahrir are being financially supported
by EXXARO, EXXARO are MilKor's principle competitor in the middle east.
It's
Milkor's opinion therefore that whilst the raid was undoubtedly carried out
by Somali based Burcad Badeed it was ultimately at the behest of EXXARO.
Politically MilKor can't be seen to be directly taking action as this could
potentially muddy the waters in Yemen.
Whilst
CTF are continuing to monitor events in Somali waters CTF parent contributing
nations have also suffered the consequences of flash forward events & currently
have substantially withdrawn the task forces resources however CTF have confirmed
that Inda'ade was responsible for the hijacking some 15 months ago of the container
ship the MV Magellan Star, CTF believe this vessel is being utilised by Inda'ade's
Marka as a floating stronghold in conjunction with the Burcad Badeed training
camp on the Ras Kamboni peninsula in the Jubbada Hoose District of Somalia adjacent
to the Kenyan border.
In
view of this situation Milkor are looking to expedite asset recovery for the
sum of $2,000,000
Give
me a call to discuss
Regards
Uriel
Over
several more beers Vrasten, Alex & T-Bird agreed that it was definitely
worth giving Uriel a call to discuss the contract further, Skinpin on the other
hand, having had one spliff to many, simply watched the pretty lights.
Before
the Hope got to crowded Vrasten put a call through to Uriel's mobile from one
of a number of the disposable mobile's he kept to hand, not wanting to discuss
on line they agreed to meet on neutral ground the following day for lunch.
Cafe
Lalo, Night City 12.47am - 22/07/2016
As
agreed with Uriel the previous evening Vrasten & Alex picked their way across
the piazza towards Cafe Lalo, the current most exclusive place to be seen in
Night City, as they crossed the heavily patrolled Piazza towards the Lalo Vrasten
was glad he parked his wheels out of the way & dressed his best, this was
where the serious money hung out & it was pretty hard to command authority
without looking the part. Alex too was glad she'd taken the time to make the
best of her asset's, the tables outside of the Cafe Lalo positively dripped
designer labels & the latest in fashionable cyberware.
As the
pair approached the tables outside of Cafe Lalo both could feel the penetrating
eyes of the blatantly armed security guards who watched them intently for any
move considered even remotely aggressive, Vrasten feigned indifference to their
presence & sat at the first available table pressing the nearest waitresses
to bring him the wine list, Alex on the other hand reassuringly caressed the
cold steel of Ingram MAC 14 in her handbag & ordered a Flaming Blue Jesus.
As
they waited for Uriel to appear Vrasten ran his eye down the wine list &
swallowed thankful that Uriel had promised to pick up the tab.
Cafe
Lalo, Night City 1.06pm - 22/07/2016
Some
twenty minutes later Vrasten spotted Uriel across the piazza heading their way,
as he sat he made small talk & ordered himself a Bloody Mary, apologising
for being a few minutes later he perused the menu whilst surreptitiously ran
his eye from top to bottom of Alex,
"Pretty
dress, short, but definitely you"
After
the next forty minutes or so Vrasten & Alex gave Uriel the third degree
over the proposed contract, by the time they'd finished it had been agreed that
they'd be provided with a transcript of the surviving MilKor attachés
post event interview, details of the of deceased as well as the Burcad Badeed's
hostages, an interview with the MilKor attaché who's be transferred back
stateside, an upfront payment of $700,000 to cover expenses & access to
MilKor satellite tracking of the Magellan Star, with regard to the activities
of the hostages at Damqawt however Uriel was somewhat more reticent, whilst
he readily confirmed that MilKor had a profitable partnership with the Yemini
congress in respect of copper & zinc mining in & around Damqwat he was
clearly holding back regarding the activities of those taken hostage from the
yacht on the fifteenth July, eventually he was persuaded that such information
was obviously key to EXXARO's involvement & therefore was a definite "need
to know" with many a sideways glance Uriel admitted that MilKor were one
of a number of interested parties carrying out clone research & that whilst
this was nothing new the work being carried out under cover of the mining operation
at Damqwat was unlikely to be sanctioned or permitted to be carried out on American
soil by the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science)
As the
quizzing progressed regarding the extraction of the hostages Uriel almost physically
began to squirm, by the time the conversation was over it had been categorically
made evident without the actual words being spoken that should extraction not
be possible then termination of the assets would be desirable, obviously embarrassed
Uriel quickly wrapped up the meeting & settled, the outrages, bill, red-faced
he promised to be in contact early the next day to arrange delivery of the requested
information as well as the down payment, finally he emphasised that this operation
was most definitely beyond MilKor's public persona & should, whatever happened,
would remain so to the point of complete public denial.
As Uriel
departed Alex & Vrasten scrapped of the last of the oysters & made ready
to leave themselves but not before one of the waitress's offered Alex a glass
of champagne courtesy of two gentlemen sat elsewhere, suspicious of the drink
Alex watched it, smelt & finally tasted it, as the bubbles went up her nose
the waitress confirmed it was Blanc de Noirs Vieilles Vignes Francaises 1997,
at this Vrasten glanced at the menu & gulped, it was listed at just over
a thousand bucks a bottle. Thinking that maybe somebody was taking to piss Alex
slid in between the tables & joined the two suited johns at their table,
both seemed very happy to meet her & after offering another glass of champagne
inquired as to whether Alex would care to join them for drinks later that night,
surprisingly for Alex she politely turned them down & flicked the safety
switch of the Ingram to "ON" however she demurely accepted their business
card for future reference.
Night
City 3.27pm - 22/07/2016
With
little else to occupy them Vrasten & Alex decided to push on with matters
assuming that Uriel wouldn't leave them hanging & headed into Southland
Mall, one of the few malls that littered the city that could still boast glass
in its windows & picked up a number of language chips, French, Modern Standard
Arabic & Somali, accepting that the latter two wouldn't help much beyond
the capitals.
With
plenty of daylight remaining & not wanting to spend the afternoon kicking
their heels Alex & Vrasten they decided to make an unannounced call on the
outfit who they'd enlisted an unregistered flight to & from Puyo in June
2015.
Parking
Vrasten's aging Lexington TS out of the way Alex & Vrasten weaved there
way through & across pier head seven & entered the shiny Moran office,
behind the counter a seemingly busy shipping clerk acknowledged their presence
whilst finishing off a call, a few moments later he smiled at the eye candy
& addressed Vrasten,
"Yes
sir, how can we assist you today"
Cagily
Alex & Vrasten inquired concerning non scheduled flights eventually making
vague reference to a earlier service provided some twelve months earlier, finally
they referred by name, Werner Lorenz, to their former Moran contact, at the
mention of Lorenz, the clerks manner sidestepped immediately, a quick internal
call was made & Vrasten & Alex were asked to take a seat, a couple of
minutes later Librada Shubeck entered the reception area, offered his hand &
smiled,
"If
you nice people would like to follow me perhaps we can discuss your requirements
in private . . . ."
Moran
Shipping Agencies, Inc, Pier Head Seven, East Marina, Night City 3.58pm - 22/07/2016
"As
I said we can do the Yemen but there's no fuckin' way on gods earth I'm putting
a flight into Somalia, they'll cut your fuckin' balls off as soon as look at
ya, so nearest we can put a legit' commercial flight down is at Salalah Airport,
that's only a couple a hundred clicks from the coastal border crossing into
Oman so from what you've said it's in the right neck of the woods. You'll be
importing & exporting expensive "machinery parts" that'll turn
to dust if there exposed to sunlight & you might have a group of guests
returning home with you for a holiday, oh, & you're not sure yet how long
you'll be there so we may have to run a return flight, you don't want much do
you. OK, you'll have to give me a day, maybe two, to make a few calls &
put costs together"
Apartment,
West Beach, Night City 5.23pm - 22/07/2016
Leaving
Shubeck a contact number Alex & Vrasten returned to Vrasten's apartment
where Skinpin & T-Bird were attempting to cook, after one look in the apartments
kitchen they ordered a take out.
Apartment,
West Beach, Night City 10.41am - 23/07/2016
The
following morning Vrasten was awoken by a call from Uriel Sebree, Uriel had
the bulk of the information they'd asked for as well as the down payment, looking
at his watch Vrasten concluded the conversation & when Alex eventually came
out of the shower suggested she dress quickly as they were meeting Uriel in
forty-five minutes.
Ocean
View Boulevard , Night City 11.38am - 23/07/2016
Uriel's
saloon pulled up alongside Vrasten's modest silver Lexington, the drivers window
silently descended & Uriel passed across a buff coloured envelope,
"Sorry
for the cloak & dagger meeting but I don't want this any nearer to the public
eye that it has to be. There's a list of the dead inside the envelope as well
as details of the hostages & a transcript of the interview with the survivor,
Mallory Giebler, if you still wanna' talk to him then let me know, oh, &
there's the current position of the Magellan Star, well, current around two
hours ago, it seems to be heading away from Ras Kamboni, roughly eighty nautical
miles North running up the coast. I've got our comm's guys keeping an eye on
it at the moment, it's pissing people off & I'm taking stick for diverting
our eye in the sky so lets hope you can move soon yeah, gotta' run but keep
me in the picture OK"
Feeling
decidedly richer & contemplating what was to be done Vrasten & Alex
headed back to West Beach.
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