“Hey, wait a minute — what did I get wrong?”
She sighs again. “I’m thirty-one, I’m right-handed, I’m incredibly well trained, but not in Muay Thai… I’ve had lots of formal military experience, and I have a sister. Happy now?”
“But you are single?”
She rolls her eyes. “Enough. I have no desire to get to know you, or allow you to get to know me. Am I clear?”
I hold my hands up defensively. “Crystal.”
“Now get dressed. There’s much to discuss, and you’re buying me lunch.”
“I am?”
“Yes, to make up for being such an asshole.”
I sigh and shrug. “Fair enough.”
I pad quickly over to the bed. The closet was full of clothes when I arrived here, all my size, so I picked out something to wear earlier and laid it all out, ready.
I glance back at her over my shoulder as I reach for the jeans. “Do you mind?”
She shakes her head. “Not at all.”
She crosses her arms and stands watching me challengingly.
I sigh again. “Whatever.”
We’re sitting on opposite sides of a small table in the middle of a restaurant downtown. It has an open front that leads directly onto the busy street outside, the noise of the traffic making any conversation difficult. The Petronas Towers dominate the skyline to our left, and the sun is high and bright overhead.
This place is… cozy, shall we say. It doesn’t matter which table you’re sitting at, everyone’s sitting next to someone. Plus, I’m twice the size of most folks in here, so I’m feeling a little cramped. I forgot that personal space isn’t that big a deal in Eastern culture.
Lily is staring at me curiously, sipping on an ice-cold bottle of beer, the condensation dripping over her fingers and onto the thin cloth covering the table. We haven’t said much since we sat down. We ordered drinks and a bite to eat, but that’s been it.
I take a sip of my beer. “Okay, I’m sorry about before. Can we start over? You know who I am, and I know you work for The Order. So, lay it on me, Lily.”
She doesn’t do or say anything at first, but after a few moments, she nods and smiles reservedly. “Okay, Adrian. Let’s start over. Vietnam was a test, which you passed. Quite impressively, I might add.”
I shrug. “Thanks.”
“The Order has had its eye on Mr. Way for a while now, monitoring his human trafficking operation and following the money — and the girls — to see who his clients were, to determine if he was actually the top of the food chain.”
“And was he?”
She shrugs. “As far as we could tell, yeah. That’s why the contract on his life was activated.”
“So why wait for me to come along to get it done?”
“We didn’t wait, it was just good timing. Horizon has had his eye on you for a while, too, and after—”
“Okay, hang on — who the hell’s Horizon?”
She smiles, more relaxed and genuine than before. “The man who wears the white suit. You’ve met him a couple times, I believe.”
“Yeah, once or twice…” I frown. “What kind of a name is that?”
“The kind people like him are given.”
“And who hands out the aliases?”
She shakes her head. “One thing at a time, okay? After what you did in Washington a few days ago, we knew we had to make our move if we wanted to recruit you. Once we saved you from your execution, we had to make sure you have what it takes before revealing the full nature of the organization to you, so we used Mr. Way’s contract as a means of testing you.”
“And… Horizon… thought I was impressive?”
“No, I did.” She smiles and takes another swig of her beer.
“Uh-huh… So what happens now? Why bring me here?”
“The Order has a presence in the city, and it’s far enough away from your old life that you’ll be safe here for now. It gives us time to bring you up to speed on everything.”
“Yeah, I do have a few questions…”
“Thought you might.”
A waiter approaches the table carrying our food. He places a bowl in front of us both, and a large dish of rice in the middle. He then puts our individual meals at the side of us, nods, and walks away.
We both spend a few moments preparing our meals. I dig in heartily, doing my best to eat with chopsticks.
“Okay,” Lily says between mouthfuls. “What do you want to know?”
“First of all, what’s happened with North Korea? Did GlobaTech kick their asses?”
She nods. “About six hours after President Cunningham’s assassination was announced to the world, North Korean forces began to retreat. Footage from all over the world showing GlobaTech soldiers repelling the attacks was on every news channel on every television. Your friend did an exceptional job.”
I smile and feel myself zone out, thinking about Josh…
…
…
…I’m back.
“That’s great news. And how is President Schultz doing?”
She shrugs. “Not bad, considering he’s only been in the White House a week. He’s already tried to rebuild the UN, but he’s outsourced the job of the old Peacekeeping Taskforce to GlobaTech, so Josh Winters is now on the National Security Council, albeit in an advisory capacity.”
My eyes go wide. “Holy shit! Really?”
She nods. “The decision’s been met with overwhelming support from almost everyone. GlobaTech single-handedly defended the world against the threat of war. Their security forces can hold their own against any nation’s own military — especially now, when so many countries are on their knees. It makes sense.”
“Way to go, Josh!”
“Yes, your friend has done very well for himself.”
“He always was a smartass. So, North Korea has been put in its place… the U.S. is bouncing back after all the conspiracy… things are looking up. How’s everyone else doing?”
She shrugs. “As you’d expect. There’s no easy fix, but the nations not affected by 4/17 are all playing their part. They’re trying to carry on as normal — like these people…” She gestures around the restaurant. “…but governments all over the world are jumping at the chance to help President Schultz and GlobaTech Industries rebuild. It’ll take some time, but it’s good that everyone’s banding together.”
I smile and shake my head.
She frowns. “What’s funny?”
“Nothing… it’s just… everything that happened — Cunningham’s big plan… ultimately, his goal was to unite everyone. He had an ass-backward way of going about it, granted, but as it turns out, that’s exactly what’s happened. Only difference is, he’s not ruling the world like some wannabe Emperor Palpatine. Kinda ironic though, when you think about it.”
She frowns. “Emperor who?”
“You know… from Star Wars? He was the leader of the Empire, ruling the galaxy with fear and…” I stop talking. The look on her face says it all. “You’ve never seen Star Wars, have you?”
She shakes her head.
I sigh. “Another tragedy our world faces… there are still people who haven’t watched Star Wars.”
“You’re a very… odd man, Adrian.”
I shrug. “I prefer to think of myself as unique, but whatever.”
We both smile and fall silent. We take a few minutes to eat some more.
I wipe my mouth with my napkin and take a sip of my drink. “So what happens now?”
Lily does the same. “Well, The Order is busy creating a new life for you. You’ll have a new identity, a new house, credit cards… everything.”
“Christ… Really?”
She nods. “You’ll have the freedom to live your life however you want, with only three conditions.”
“Hmmm, go on…”