He sat down.
“That’s better. A drink?”
“I’m fine.”
“Of course you are.”
“So?”
“I’ll talk. But I want you to know why first.”
It was the last thing Grant wanted, but he nodded assent.
“Things are changing here,” Protus explained. “Very small at the moment, like ripples, but I know they are changing, going to become waves.”
Despite himself Grant was interested.
“Such as?”
“Crime. Or criminals. As you know there is no point running any crime on this backwater as Earthen money can’t be exchanged for space pounds. Anything earned is useless, but there is interest now. Little inroads.”
“Doesn’t make sense.”
“No,” Protus pointed a finger. “No, it doesn’t. Unless. Unless there are bigger things at work.”
“And why does that make you want to talk to me?”
“I like it here, I don’t want to see it ruined by Universals.”
Grant did his best to ignore the terrible irony and fight the urge to clench his fingers into a nose-breaking fist.
“So?” he asked instead.
“Yes, yes. I’ve heard of a meeting. No. I should say I have heard of Shen Mi activity. I’d tell you a little story about them, but I don’t think you want to be in my presence.”
He was right, but Grant wanted to hear anything about the Shen Mi.
“Go on.”
“Really?” eyebrows raised.
“Go on.”
“It was a good few years ago now; I had more hair.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“No, I didn’t,” he frowned. “Nasty type, the fella I met. At the time I thought the Shen Mi didn’t exist, like so many still do. So I’m doing a job, routine I thought. But this guy turns up, we’re told he is on our team. Asian descent, but we don’t think he’s Shen Mi, we…”
“Didn’t think they existed, I get it.”
“Right. So it’s a heist and it’s not going to plan, someone messed up so suddenly this guy takes over. We’re not getting what we came for and he wants to torture this woman. The manager or some such. We say it’s not part of the job, we have people on it, but he takes her into another room.
“Anyway, our guys on computers get the mess sorted and we’re back on. We all talk about telling this guy, never got a name, but that room is deathly silent and that’s worse than screams. Still we can’t not tell him so I go and knock on the door. He opens it a crack and just looks at me. I tell him we’re moving on and he nods and opens the door just enough to get out. It was enough for me to see though and I won’t describe the horror I saw. He was somehow clean except one little spot of blood on his chin.
“We got through the job and never saw him again, but you know what?”
“He never gave you any extra information,” Grant said.
“Right, never told us anything that he had gained from torturing that woman. I don’t think he even asked her anything. I know what you think of me, Grant.”
“You’re scum.”
“Right,” he nodded. “We all are, but you’ll hear stories about how people got sucked in, or born into it. Whatever. Most people get into crime because it already exists; people like the Shen Mi start crime.”
Grant just looked at him. It was a surprisingly eloquent piece; an understanding of the Underworld that few criminals had. He had to agree; hadn’t he said similar to Kaskey? At what point though do you stop feeling sorry for them as victims and start hating them as criminals?
“So?” he asked.
“It seems big, a lot of set up, but I don’t know what for. Lăobăn is here.”
Grant merely raised his eyebrows.
“Shen Mi high up, I mean not real power, but high enough to make this important.”
“So how do you know about him?”
Protus shrugged. “I shouldn’t really and I certainly shouldn’t be telling anyone I do.”
“Where?”
“MBK. The food court on the sixth floor.”
“Good,” Grant said and stood. He couldn’t quite bring himself to say thank you.
“There’re more ripples,” Protus said.
Grant raised an eyebrow at him.
“Too small for the Shen Mi to see, or being hidden. Other Universals here. Something’s up, Grant, I tell you. Something’s up.”
“Thank you,” Grant finally managed to be polite and left.
CHAPTER 33
Rainsford Tsyrker was in a little bar at the very end of Silom Soi 4. Silom being the major road and a soi being the Thai word for a smaller road. This one ended in the gates to the house of the people who owned the land and was full of bars and restaurants. It was also a ‘gay’ soi and was famous for its whole-street-closing red carpet drag queen acts. Not that all the bars were gay, this one at the end wasn’t, it was more of a simple bar and it was empty except for three men in their late twenties playing music just for the hell of it. A singer on guitar, a guy on harmonica and one on the drum kit. There were posters up advertising actual music nights there, but this wasn’t it. The three of them seemed to do more drinking and laughing than playing seriously, but they seemed to be having a good time and were actually pretty good. Or at least entertaining. It was a good place for her, the music was loud, but there wasn’t anyone to overhear her conversation either.
She was joined at her table by a man after he had bought a drink from the bar.
“This bar will never last,” the man said.
“I noticed,” she replied.
When she had first arrived she had sat outside and she had seen a number of straight couples walk down and turn around before they reached this bar. It was obvious that they hadn’t meant to wander into a gay street and had only fully realised and turned back just before they reached here. It was a shame as it was a nice and quiet little place that young couples would enjoy. Both gay and straight. It was also a shame that some people would be put off just because something was different. It was one of the things that kept the UTN from approaching Earth. If they couldn’t accept some of their own race due to simple things like skin colour then how would they accept a Petruthsian or Oncolutian?
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Meeting you.”
“On Earth.”
“Scouting mission.”
“And how did you know I was here?” she asked taking a sip of her cocktail.
“Isn’t that our job?” he smiled.
“Of course,” she twisted a smile. She was annoyed that he seemed more clued in than her.
She didn’t like that. There was no reason to have agents on Earth. Unless there was more to it that she didn’t know and she didn’t like to think there were things happening in the Universe that she didn’t know about.
“But we’re meeting because of why you are here,” he said.
“What can you tell me?”
“Can we swap?”
She took another drink and he followed suit. She didn’t want to share, she worried it would screw Grant over unnecessarily. Shabbus, it could screw her over. She wanted this and Grant’s paid job was over. Then again she wanted to know what was happening to have an agent stationed on Earth. How many were?
“OK,” she said finally.
They both looked at each other, both waiting for the other to share. Eventually he laughed.
“We don’t even trust our own, do we?”
“No,” she shook her head. “It’s the training.”
“It’s the need to get ahead,” he said seriously.
“I’m sidelining.”
He nodded. She was working for someone else as a way to gather information and, it seemed, she didn’t want to endanger this ‘other’s’ job. Well, in a way, that made it easier; that meant she wasn’t going to be jumping on his mission. At least not yet.
“There are things happening. We’re not sure yet; little t
hings. Interest in Earth from criminal organisations. Could be nothing,” he said.
“I’m working on the Desards,” she said and he nodded.
“Not heard of them here.”
“No. Shen Mi.”
“Now that is something I’ve heard. Recent influx, nothing to do with my job. At least not as far as we can see.”
We. He said we; this scouting mission was bigger than just him. What did the ‘we’ mean though, she wondered. Higher up or just the people working Earth? How many were there? She thought it would be both. He’d be reporting back regularly. It was interesting.
“Koey V’s been here, just landed again was my last intel,” the man said.
Well that was a turn up for the books.
“I’m interested.”
“Tit for tat,” he said.
“Someone is allegedly defecting to the Shen Mi.”
“From?”
“Someone called Gothra. Heard of her?”
He shook his head.
“Owns a lot of bars and the like throughout the Universe, but nothing to attract our attention,” Tsyrker said.
“But it’s got something to do with the Desards.”
“Yes,” was all she said.
“Interesting,” the man nodded to himself before taking a drink.
She knew he was doing it to buy himself some thinking time and that was also interesting.
“Back to Koey,” she said.
“You think he’s here for this?”
“You’re wondering how much to tell me. Just tell me.”
He smiled.
“I’m trying to get a feel for what you know and want to know what to give you.”
“Don’t patronise me,” she warned. “You’re not working on anything that important.”
“Don’t think you know what’s going on here.”
“A couple of gangs have moved in on Earth; not only that, but links have been traced to certain businesses. It doesn’t make sense unless Earth is going to join the UTN. But we’re a long way from that. The real question is: if the Councils have machinations, how does the Underworld know of them? Good enough? I’d be more specific, but I don’t know how much you actually know,” she sat back and took a drink.
He made a face. He shouldn’t have, he was trained to be expressionless, but she had him. Of course she did, he had been egotistical and foolish to think he could play her. Oh, yes, he knew who she was. There were agents and then there were agents. She was also, supposedly, a Typan and that scared even a guy like him. A little.
“I’m sorry.”
“Shut up.”
“Right.”
“Tell me.”
“It’s Cross, by the way, my name.”
“I know,” she nodded. She didn’t, but hey.
“OK. Well, there is movement, I was prying because we weren’t sure about Koey.”
“And you’re also trying to put stuff together,” Tsyrker said.
“Yes. We didn’t know about this defector so it threw out some of our data, but it makes sense. Up to a point.”
She raised an eyebrow at him.
“I said I hadn’t seen any Desard influence here; that may not be strictly true. I couldn’t tell you it’s the Desards, but there has been another little blip,” he paused in thought. “Sorry, what you’re telling me solves a lot of issues for us.”
“This blip?”
“Yeah. This whole Shem Mi stuff has been a blip, we couldn’t work out where it fitted. I mean they already have people here, but why bolster now? Well, there was this other little blip, not so obvious; even to us and we’re looking for such things.”
“The crims, they’re all aware of the others?”
“The one’s we’re interested in? Yeah, seems so. It’s been fairly peaceful while there’s enough to share and I don’t think anyone wants to too fully commit.”
“So this blip…?”
“No,” he shook his head emphatically. “Look maybe it’s better I show you.”
“Sounds good,” she smiled and finished her drink.
***
As they walked she asked him about Koey V.
“Rocked up in Germany maybe a month ago; obviously a known shifter lights us up, but nothing came of it. He met with some people who weren’t on our radar and then left. Well, we’d lost interest by that time, the last I heard was that he’d left.”
“You lost interest?”
“We have a very specific brief. Someone may have followed him up, but he wasn’t moving in the in-groups we’re watching.”
She was still annoyed. Yes, she knew of things happening on Earth; knew more after talking to her boss at the illegal fight, but she didn’t know that they were committing people to it, didn’t know why they would be. There was more to it and she wanted to know. This brief? What was it? It burned in her.
“I’d like to talk to your Germany contacts,” she said.
“Of course.”
“And now he’s here?”
“Yes, so I’ve heard.”
So Koey was currently working with the Desards on the Gothra take over and not only was he here just as one of Gothra’s people was about to defect, but had already been here previously. The most obvious reason was that Gothra knew and was going to take Koleermeer out, but you don’t send Koey V to do something like that and you wouldn’t wait until he was on his way to defecting, just take him out at home. The fact that Koey had been to Earth a month ago, but not to this city was interesting. She would need to find out who he met with. Maybe Koey was more involved with Earth than her colleague here thought, but she wasn’t going to argue with him. She didn’t know the full brief on this Earth mission and he did, if he said Koey wasn’t involved then he wasn’t.
“Where’re we going?” she asked.
“Two places. First a bar; it’s Shen Mi run if that’s OK.”
“Shouldn’t be an issue.”
“Cool.”
They turned up Patpong Soi 2, a much seedier version of the more tourist friendly Patpong Soi 1. There was no market stalls here and it was quite narrow. Where Patpong was filled with neon, here there were quiet bars, most with curtains covering their doors. They turned right down a short alley and walked into a bar on the right.
It wasn’t a large bar and it was quite full, but no one gave them so much as a second glance. If the people in there knew who Cross was they were happy to have him in their midst. It was obvious that this was a place to swap information rather than plan or partake in criminal activity. It was interesting to her just how in the dark everyone seemed as to what they were doing on Earth, or how they might proceed. She decided after this mission with Grant was finished that she’d look further into it.
They didn’t do much in the bar, just had a drink and talked quietly about Earth and the Universe. The agent seemed genuinely interested to find out what was happening in a popular long-running drama that he couldn’t get on Earth. She supposed even people in their position had to have some form of relaxation and she wondered what hers was. Oh, yeah, working for Grant.
They talked through another beer about various places they’d been in the Universe.
“I feel like I’ve done something wrong,” he frowned.
“Why?”
“Being stuck here.”
“It doesn’t work like that.”
“Doesn’t it?”
“No,” she smiled. “If anything you’re a favourite. You’ll outlive all of us living on Earth so long.”
He smiled at that.
“Put your nose to the ground,” Tsyrker continued seriously. “Others might treat this like a backwater mission, but I think something important’s happening and you could be right at the centre of it here.”
He looked at her as he thought and then nodded his head slightly.
“Come on, let’s go.”
They got up and left. Out on the street again she asked him why they had gone in there.
“A fairly usual crew in ther
e. Bangkok is centrally located in Asia and has the best food…”
“Mostly of Chinese origin.”
“…so a lot of the Asian focus is here,” he continued. “But that group in the corner?”
She knew the one he meant. She had taken in and studied every man and woman in the bar.
“New. You see how they stuck together? Not mingling, not sharing information. Cagey.”
“And different,” she added. “Still got the smell of space on them.”
He nodded.
“We call them ‘shinys’ as in they still have all that wondrous technology while we use the primitive stuff Earth has to offer. Remember everything in the UTN is still futuristic to Earthens.”
“It has it’s charms,” she shrugged.
“Try living here,” he frowned. “You noted the woman with the scar on her face?”
“Yes. She didn’t seem so shiny.”
“No. That’s Lóng, she’s running the Shen Mi here.”
“Know who she was talking to?”
“No, but he looked important,” Cross admitted.
“Right, she seemed a little deferential.”
“Agreed.”
“Interesting,” she mused.
They walked up the steps to the Skytrain station and jumped into one just before it left. It took them just two stops to Surasak. This was Sathorn, a major road that ran parallel to Silom. Where Silom was more about leisure, shopping and tourists; Sathorn was part of the business district. From the station was a walkway that led to a four star hotel. They walked through.
“You’re set up here?” she said with surprise.
“Why not? It’s not like Earth money is worth anything,” he shrugged.
It was a better gig than he let on.
***
They had a hotel room set up as an office and Rainsford was currently looking at a map of Earth. She’d already talked to the agents in Germany and it was looking like Cross’ blip was blips plural. All over the world there were groups of criminals coming in who weren’t linking up with those already here. Too small to be noticed, but too many to suggest pleasure rather than business. It had thrown their work out, trying to work out what was going on; surely these groups had to be linked somehow, but how?
And then there was Koey. That had been a bigger spanner in the works and someone in Germany had followed it up. It wasn’t clear who he had met, but the level of secrecy told them something. One of the Germany operatives theorised that it was Shen Mi as they had the presence and capability to setup a covert meeting, but others shot it down. Why would they go all the way to Germany for a meet? It was a massive step up in operations to have someone of his level on Earth, but he didn’t seem to be interested. Now with her information things were falling into place for all of them.