We reach the campgrounds the next day, abandoning our truck somewhere secluded, able to reach and escape if need be. We're both covered from head to toe in clothing, yet I still wear the woman's face just in case. Antonio, however, not possessing a body to skin, is focusing on mimicking the leader's voice from memory. Idris Babar, the man he needs to—is required to—embody for the sake of us getting through to them and being able to continue our mission.
They spot us as we drive up the sandy hill, staring as I park the car where I had seen it most commonly parked, and hop out, eyes locked on us. Why the fuck are these people always fucking staring? But this time, I know why as Antonio hunches his posture slightly and walks with a limp by my side—they're shocked to see their leader back. The leader who seemingly has a track record for disappearing and never returning, has returned.
Shushi and Leon notice the pause of productivity and exit the warehouse, making their ways towards us with unreadable movements. I speak first, mimicking the now dead woman's voice with absolute precision, "That lousy man had committed suicide, neither of the outsiders had been found."
"Any signs of their tracks?" Shushi asks, his pitchy voice giving me a headache.
I shake my head, "No signs of them or the child."
They grumble and groan, cracking their necks and knuckles, my heart pounds inside my chest, but I remain composed and under control. "Alright then," Leon speaks sourly, nodding his head to Antonio as he turns back around, "Come on, Idris, let's get back to work." We follow them inside, the crowd of people finally minding their own business as we take shelter from the blazing sun.
The warehouse smells like gas, oil, and sweat, a neverending attack against my nostrils and pores. There are six vehicles in this one vast area, four cars, two trucks, all modded to oblivion with pincers, fire, and other weaponry that can kill a person with one good shot. There are six other men here, all seemingly their designated scientists or mechanics as they carry vials of dark liquids or armfuls of steel and titanium. They continue leading us onward, up a hollow spiral staircase that cracks and creaks with every bit of movement. The steps droop below my weight, but never break.
As we reach the top, dark wood paneling begins to overtake my vision, specks of mold visible every few metres. Low beeping and buzzes come from every corner, and the dim blue lighting reaches my eyes. When I turn, thousands of dollars worth of expensive, scientific research equipment blink and flash, eight scientists running about in orange lab coats that make them look like prisoners in their own workplace. We follow Leon to an office built out of wood just past the rushing cloaked beings, where silence and the dim light of a miniscule window ensues. It's more like a relaxed conference room on the inside, eight seats on either side of a long, sandstone table, with another seat on both ends. There's a makeshift projector on the center of the table, a 'coffee station' on the opposite side of the room as the screen where their business plan is burnt into the wall. I find six names encircled with red, marked as their 'top clients.'
Quinn Dax. Naomi Blink. The Smith Company. Penelope Brunoise. Charles Petersborough. The Red Orange Yellow Alliance.
Strange.
Rapard and Qorboon are pretty much never at peace, so how is there possibly an alliance and how does Duthious tie into all of this? I'm aware that Duthious is connected via the drug trade somehow, so there is likely a red and orange alliance, but Qorboon wouldn't connect themselves with these two, especially not Duthious. So perhaps it's a trap? That seems like the most logical explanation anyway.
Antonio softly taps me on the shoulder and I follow him and the others to the self serving 'coffee station' which in reality is a bunch of chipped ceramic cups, room temperature muddy water, and various desert plants such as ephedra, ibupara, and bacci spore that have been dried and or ground up. The snacks are nothing special either, just various dried meats that have been prepackaged and some dried imported fruits and vegetables—likely a gift from one of their clients.
I get an ephedra tea and some jerky while Antonio chooses nothing, knowing he can't take his headscarf off; Leon and Shushi both go for the bacci spore coffee and take handfuls of dried goods. When we finally sit down and three of us take our masks off, I'm immediately overcome with a satiating, relaxing cool breeze. But I don't outwardly react, and instead search for the source whilst keeping my head straight—it's coming from above, an air conditioner.
These motherfuckers. I bet nobody else living in this camp is even aware that there is an escape to the blazing heat just right above their heads.
"We need to discuss the distributor issue, Dima, I trust you took that time off to research them." Leon starts and the pleasurable sensation immediately takes a nose dive. Shit. We don't have enough information to respond to that. They're going to find out that Antonio is an outsider and in turn, I am as well.
Fuck my face is itchy.
"I tried," he starts, and to my surprise, he doesn't sound like he's lying. "However, it was a nightmare to keep an eye on them for long. They would be an amazing option to further our reach."
"Excellent," Shushi nods, taking a sip from his cup which clearly burns his hands as they turn a mild red and fingers tense. Examining them now, I find them to be unique in their own ways, Shushi, even with his darker complexion, his facial features leave me with questions; he's symmetrical with his brown eyes that are thinner and slanted, low cheekbones, delicate nose and thin lips. He possesses no facial hair. Then Leon, lighter than Shushi, yet his eyes are light blue, wide and round face, round and full pink lips with a snub nose.
If I were to get their blood tested, I bet Shushi would come back with some level of Qorboon in his blood while Leon appears to have a mix of both Acnan and Saleansian with something else making him darker than most. How do these people appear so diverse? There are strict rules and protocols between cross-national breeding, what if what their parents had done led to a spread of disease?
"But I've heard some things while we were returning," now Antonio sounds confident, in charge as he perches his head on his folded hands and leans forward. "What happened with these two outsiders I hear about? Were we betrayed? What had occurred while I was away ensuring the well being of our future?"
Quietly, I notice the two of them gulp nervously, Leon ends up being the one to respond, copying his position. "You see, we were tying up some loose ends, and there were two promising individuals, shopkeepers, that we believed would be good runners for us. So, we decided to invite them on a low-level raid to better understand their skills."
Low-level raid? So murdering a family and attempting to rape a little girl because someone accidentally bumped into someone else is considered 'low-level?' What about when they kidnap and torture someone you love? Or better yet, brutally kill your partner?
"I see, and how would you say that went?" Antonio is playing a character that pretty much created this entire operation, meaning that to some extent, he is technically their boss.
"For our returns it was great, we'd gathered plenty of items that the Pips can sell later on and more that can be used for potion making, a lot of information too." Shushi seems almost excited as he speaks, smiling wider with every word.
"But?"
He frowns now, eyes low as he continues, "But they got quite a bit of information on us and escaped with the child which now can't be found."
"I'd also like to add that her aunt is nowhere to be found either, like they just packed up everything and left!" Leon jumps in, seemingly defensive over Shushi. I scan how they sit next to each other, but nothing suspicious about their relationship appears.
"You idiots!" Antonio shouts, slamming his fist hard on the table, his voice booming like it's coming from surround sound speakers. "We needed that child for testing!"
"We understand and we're sorry," They're solemn as they speak, heads bowed low and avoiding eye contact.
"Ridiculous," Antonio crosses his arms, sitting back in his chair, shaking his head at them. "Whatever, forget it, we'll just have to keep a close eye on our surroundings for now on and find a new test subject, and fast."
I'm aware that we're pretty much assuming what's going on and what needs to be said, yet Antonio is somehow managing to get every response correct, and they don't seem to notice the change in voice either.
"Understood." They mumble, ashamed.
"Now, how is production and testing going?"
"Excellent, after TROYA bought out all our supply, it took some time to rebuild, but finally everything is back to running smoothly again, and the herbalists have been tasked with finding new strains of the cacti and seeing what different outcomes they create." Shushi is once again excited as he speaks, now talking with his hands erratically and gesturing to the lab just beyond this conditioned room. "Their deadline is tomorrow morning."
Leon laughs, deep and burly, "I bet they'll be staying up all night to meet it."
I can feel Antonio's sour smile as he chuckles lowly, "Perfect, I expect them to succeed."