Chapter 11: Four Months Later...

Agent 17-3G8, codenamed "Albatross", stood on the only balcony overlooking the estate of the Internet Cafe. The ground level was being prepared for the New Year Party that dignitaries from all over Victoria Island would attend. The second floor was being used for deluxe suites for that night. The third floor and above housed a small detachment of party personnel and many, many security personnel, including Albatross. The balcony - her balcony since she had been assigned the apartment it was attached to - was on the fourth floor. Her Red Viper was held loosely in her hand.

The board members of all the great corporations of Victoria, such as Sleepywoodnet and Perionchi, were expected to show up, as were the leaders of great guilds such as the Knights of Maple. With this many famous and infamous persons all mixing together in one building, the Royal Victorian Maple Police was taking no chances and all precautions with security.

Albatross was put in charge of the Assault Squad. Its role was to counter any major armed attack against the Internet Cafe during the N.Y.P., as the event was nicknamed by those preparing for it. Internal security was to be led by the fast-rising star of the RVMP, Major Tess.

While the internal security people checked the inflow of goods into Internet Cafe, Albatross kept watch over the bigger scene. Some people might try to smuggle weapons into the Cafe, but stopping them wasn't her job. Her job was to stop anyone trying to use weapons on the Cafe, and if someone was foolish enough to attempt to demolish the building before any VIPs were in it, he still had to be stopped.

In truth, the NYP was a setup to arrest several board members of Sleepywoodnet suspected to be dabbling with the cult of Haxor. But that information was divulged to only a select few, and because of her position Albatross was one of them. For she was not any regular RVMP officer.

3G-65HJ4, a secret and probably illegal group codenamed "Mariner", was formed as a loosely associated division of the RVMP under the philosophy "just get the job done". Its members had many connections and informants in the Haxor-Boter underworld, and it had ways to ensure indictment, arrest, and conviction that would not seem ethical to some. And of course, Albatross was a member of Mariner.

Ant put his gloves on, then clasped his claw over his right hand. A cape over his armour completed his outfit, and he leaped along the rooftops of Kerning City to visit his wife.

As he neared the Internet Cafe, a voice called out: "Halt! Identify yourself!" Few things escaped the notice of Albatross.

"Ant," he grinned and dropped down lightly to ground level. A squeal from Tess confirmed that it was indeed Ant.

"Why're you here? Shouldn't you be at work?" The joy in her voice was evident though.

"We whupped the cargos so good yesterday they're finally staying behind the 24-hour store now. Thought I'd visit my beautiful wife on this day I get off," he replied with a charming smile. There was silence from the two of them for a moment, from which Albatross supposed they were kissing.

A sudden bout of dizzyness struck her, and she leaned on the railing for a moment to recover. For about a month now, random fits of vertigo had threatened had ability to operate as a Mariner agent, but things were slowly improving and she figured she would fully recover by the new year. The doctor had recommended rest as the best course of option, something that Albatross had followed by lessening the workload she took on. Hence here she was on the balcony on a passive duty rather than a more active one...

But the part of it all that frightened her most was the foreign piece of her mind that surfaced whenever these bouts struck. It was a consciousness that was not part of her yet at the same time more herself than her herself - she had tried in vain to explain this but the only diagnosis the doctor could provide was "stress". This strange phenomenon was slowly disappearing too, and by the new year she told herself she would be ready for her task.

The K.o.M. headquarters of 19 Free Market, Heneseys, was bustling with activity. Trunks and several of the most important members of the guild were to attend the NYP, and nobody was foolish enough to rely on somebody else's security. Already bodyguards were being selected and trained for this occasion.

Elsewhere in the building, Ashrey and Lordblitz were heading an active trade and management of assets. Ever since the Grosjager's funds were crippled by these two newly-titled financial geniuses, consumer preference for K.o.M. had shot up and an informal sub-company of the organization was starting to gain modest sway in Victoria Island's economy.

Yet at the same time there was a ill-omened dark cloud that pervaded the atmosphere. Two valiant members of the guild, Killme and Alterwolfie, had fallen in battles against followers of the Boter and Haxor cults. At the same time, the K.o.M.'s new-found fame brought many previously uninterested applicants to the guild, and the resulting influx of newcomers caused inevitable tension that threatened to force some of the senior members to leave.

It was in this situation that Trunks prepared to attend the NYP, where interaction with the senior management of Sleepywoodnet, suspected of association with Haxor, would be unavoidable. The only possible outcome would be a further stirring of a pot that was already threatening to boil over...

"Just like old days," Halire sighed over a disgusting glass of lukewarm water at some unamed eatery in Perion. Ydoc picked at his overdone boar steak with something akin to indifference. They were both feeling the pinch that came with a lack of easily available funds.

"At least we are surviving, so we know that we still know our old tricks," Ydoc commented. Unlike assets, personal contacts could only be destroyed by death and despite appearances to the contrary it was harder to kill someone than to kill someone's bank account.

"Surviving," Halire grunted, feeling the recent scar on his left arm courtesy of a Mariner operation against the Grosjager only a month ago. "We used to be the eagle stalking our prey. Now we in turn are being hunted."

"Look on the bright side," Ydoc said without much enthusiasm. That was him - his poker face was always there even when he was not playing poker. Halire knew his fellow sniper better than mere superficiality though; underneath that blank exterior there existed a soul despite exterior appearances to the contrary. "You survived whereas four others didn't," Ydoc finished.

"True," Halire muttered, not cheered at all.

"Come on, Commander, you're the leader now. The past is past, we must look to the present and future and see what we must do now," Ydoc said.

Halire looked up. "No, there is no Commander of the Grosjager anymore. A power hierachy creates jealousy, and this is what leads to where we're at today."

"Still thinking about... Naimee?" The question was soft and tentative.

A sigh of despair. "Yes..."

There was a pause. Finally, Ydoc spoke. "I know how important this is to you, friend. I scrounged up enough information from my contacts on the Mariner agent who killed her. Execute the justice in the tradition of the Grosjager."

A burst of fire ignited in Halire's eyes. The life returned to them. "T-thank you..."

"Anything for a fellow sniper."

"Fellow snipers," they said in unison as their glasses clinked.