Darry - What is the meaning of this?
Legion Officer Arnold - Maybe they caught up on our plan?
Darry - That would be a terrible news for all of us. What else do we have?
Sunset put dim orange light on a scene. A graveyard with a church on top of a hill. If there any time to trying find god, it's definitely the worst time right now, but it could be also their last chance at it. A fitting hideout for a doomed people like them, thought Darryl to himself. Injured people were placed all over the interior and medical personal were doing their best, while two peope took over an althar
Legion Officer Arnold - I don't think we will be able to get inside Warsaw like that. They are never going to let us through just like that...
Darry - Someone has to... Remember how I told you that I used to be in "Griffin & Kruger"?
Legion Officer Arnold - You also said that they thrown you down after a few mishaps.
Darry - Yeah... I till have an old friend over there that we can use some help from. But we need to get to Warsaw first. Then we can try to get some of his help.
Legion Officer Arnold - If it's our best shot... And all of that just for a tank on unknow liquid.
Darry - That's not just any liquid and not just any tank.
Legion Officer Arnold - Then what is it?
Darry - I saw something similar once. A pure human DNA gathered out of a fresh human body. But thing is... One human can produce a liquid DNA worth of one short shot glass. And that thing...
Slow on uptake... Arnold turned around to look at the window, behind which parked a car with a crate containing said bottle. After thinking for a short while, Arnold came to realisation.
Legion Officer Arnold - So you want to tell me... that this thing has...
Darry - Somewhere around hundred people... And a "Paradeus" mentioned in the ruins makes for a solid picture of what we are doing here.
Legion Officer Arnold - You should have told me from the begining!
Darry - It's one of thouse things. When the less people knows, the better. And here is another thing I have to ask of you. I don't think we will be able to get through to a Warsaw that easy.
Legion Officer Arnold - Got any dirty ideas?
Darry - Well... For once, I am confident enough to say that we are safe, at least for now. But we are going to do something that neved thought I would ever dared to say... We are going to board a train from Moskow to Paris!
Legion Officer Arnold - We are going what?
== Odessa ==
Kilmure - So it's a Minsk now?
Two man took a seat at the kitchen table. Instead of a dishes, papers with pictures and text place in front of them. Names,
Duval - That's why I ask everything in a adwance, and hate when there is a delay in the information. You used to be the same and always complained about amatures.
Kilmure - And what about thouse two pranksters? What are we going to do about them?
Duval - Falov and Manin? I would like to pull out our assets and get to the Minks one by one. That way we will avoid unnecessary suspicion and get ready to board the train. By the time they realised they were fooled, we will be long gone and doing our best somewhere out there. The only problem we have, is we somehow has to endup on a train filled with elite class. But that problem partly solved by our client. As he kindly provided this!
Moving few papers aside, Duval revealed an envelope containing invitation to a some sort of political conference. Of course, it contained his fake name "James" as well as ticket to a train.
Kilmure - Fine, so what's the plan?
Duval - I am still thinking on it. But here is a first gist of it. The conferece is hold in Berlin, and there is a perfect path of yellow zone between Minks and Warsaw. You can try to get Harry and Sam on a position somewhere in yellow zone. Then board the train and here comes the rest of a heist.
Kilmure - Sounds solid. It's just that we would be running tight on a security like that. Once we start the raid... I would say we will have somewhere around half an hour before military appears. And that doesn't acount for any kind of guards that could be either easy or hard take for us.
A paper with a map of a railway for said train caught Kilmure attention and he picked it out of a pile of similar papers to take a closer look.
Duval - Oh well... There is an idea for me. But I would have to take that weird doll with us. Zed was her name? She will act as my assisstant. Then we will give you a headsup on structure from the insides and try to make some interference on their communication. Maybe they will endup so lost, that no backup will ever appear? Of course, main priority would be to stop the train. It's much more easier to board the train while it's not moving.
Kilmure - Fine... That is indeed sounds solid for once... Alright, I will make the news and organize the Harry and Sam. And you better start getting yourself to Minsk. Because we have little less than a week in advance, or else you are going to skip the train.
Duval - Yeah, I will, but there is one more thing I want to ask you Kilmure. What's the deal with that new doll of yours? She is not a simple doll isn't she?
Kilmure - What do you mean?
With sigh and concern, Kilmure placed papers that he was holding back on a table.
Duval - Few days ago. I was expecting guests to visit me, and they did. I took you doll thinking that she is capeble fighter. But I was so much wrong, that ended up being right! She was shot so much times and with a guns that would have destroyed most of the dolls out there. I almost thought that she took critical damage and would have to deal with everything myself. But then she got up and proceeded to take everyone out and even withstood a grenade that was right in front of her... If I am not mistaken, no ordinary second gen doll is capeble of that. An she doesn't look like a third gen doll to me. What even is she?
Kilmure - I got no idea! Asked few times from my other dolls, but they kept saying that she is a prototype doll. Thought she is just one of thouse "put alot of money, fail and abandon" type of prototypes. But if you are saying that... There has to be something more to that.
Duval - Yeah... Now to the fun part... Her frame made out of crystals?
Kilmure - What?
Duval - Just barely, but I think I was how her damaged parts were regenerating, and while doing that, they were glowing the same way as collapse crystals... Remember that little mischief of hers? She was looking out for some scientist girl named "Maria Valder". Try to dig a little deeper into that.
Kilmure - Ok... But why? I thought you never liked cared or liked that kind of thing.
Duval - Whenever there is something so outrageous... There is a way to earn some money! You just need to fine the right information, the right man and the right context.
Kilmure - Right... Sure... *sigh* I will try to dig a little deeper into that.
When Kilmur sighed, Duval sences some sort of doubt. It took him a moment to realise something.
Duval - Oh! And don't think that I will be forcing you to sell off your doll. No, I would never do that unless you would agree. But keep an eye out for that doll.
That noticeably made Kilmure relieved. But he still feeled a little tence.
Kilmure - Oh, nevermind about that. Let's just deal with what we have at hand first, and care about Nita latter. Unlike the train, we can always get back to the her.
Duval - Yeah, that's sound good enough for me. Well then, I better go and get that weird doll.
Kilmure - Her name is Zed!
Evne though, Duval just barely stood up. Kilmure's remark made Duval sit down again.
Duval - Already learned her name?
Kilmure - It's not that hard. Besides, you'l have to wait a little.Duval - Why is that?
Kilmure - She is running around doing somekind of her own task from another client. She said that they will be coming back later, somewhere in the late morning.
Duval - They?Kilmure - She took Nita with her.
== Streets of Odesa ==
Two dolls walking by an school house turned right at the crossroads and went on futher down the streets. Night time in Odesa were no diffrent from Lviv or any other city that Zed were ever used to. But what she was only starting geting used to, is a enourmously huge doll, walking right beside her.
Zed - Must admit. You are an intimidating. Maybe you used to be a construction worker? Or maybe used to work at the port? Storage unit? I saw some tall dolls over there. Almost as tall as you.
Nita - I cannot know. My earliest recors start somewhere around the summer of twenty seventy three. I have few recors with unknown dates, but it is pretty much impossible to restore. My records constantly gets corrupted, quarantined or deleted. Even right now, I get notifications that some records keep getting corrupted and placed under quarantin.
Zed - That must be damning. So you basiacly forget your own history over time?
Nita - Strangely enough, no. As a matter of fact, the ammount of data corruption is roughly the same all the time. But ammount of records keeps increasing, while some records gets a privilege to be left untouched. Like the records from summer of twenty seventy three. They are somewhat corrupted, but at sertain point, they stopped getting corrupted, I managed to restore them and now they are perfectly alright.
Zed - So over all... The more you have records... Then then less you have data corruption.
Nita - No, it's... It's more like, the more I get to record, the more information get's to be clear in my neural cloud. But I don't want to put too much filler in there.
Zed - Right... Okay, that's sounds resonable.
Just as both dolls were about to walk up on a small bridge over a many railroad, they have stopped and took a look at the city in front of them. Zed checkd on time and saw that they came by almost half of an hour early. Still, it's okay, she liked the view.
Nita - So it's here? | Zed - Yeah. Once we do a little trade, we can go back.
Nita - And how heavy would be that package?
Zed - I would say... Somewhere around a two hundred and thirty five kilograms...
Nita - You could have used your own car for this.
Zed - No... Because that 'something' is for my car in a first place.
Around that momet, grey van caught Zed's attention as it appeared on the other side of a bridge and were driving closer and closer. Then it's stopped nearby.
Zed - I guess that's my package!
While Zed was saying that. A man stepped out of the van, walked arond to open the backdoors. With th a smirk, Zed approached the man and Nita followed Zed.
Man - Are you the one who's going to buy?Zed - I already payed everything!
Man - Oh... Right... Here you go!
The man, opened backdoors of a van, revealing an car engine. Then the man stepped aside to let dolls take a better view. It was pleasantly shining under a dim lights of small lamps inside the van.
Man - I hope you will be pleased with such purchase. Not an easy job to get V'Eight on a hands. Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing system was a rarety to work with, but here we go. Usualy made out of aluminium, but as you asked, we placed some more love to this kid and replaced some parts with a different alloy, tungsten and nickel. So you would never have to worry about a breaking down on you, unless you will be driving without oils and or cooling system broken, but that's another story. I have no idea where did you get that money for everything here, but here you are. That beast of an engine is all yours.
Zed - Thanks!
The man reached out for a handshake with Zed, and she took it. Ater a moment, Zed silently noded and Nita took the engine with relative ease. The man was surprised for a moment, but then relaxed.
Man - Yeah, right. Anyway, pleasure doing business with you!
Wih a little bow, Man closed the van and diven off just as fast as he arrived. Nita was little confused with whole situation, thinking there is something else behind it.
Nita - Wait a moment. So this wan't any request from any clinet at all? You just wanted me to carry around an engine for your car?
Zed - In a way, yes! Just so you know. I had to pull up and pay off on few hands just to get this thing started, then pay off to setup a meeting between a workshop ,a metalworks and find the only freaking manual production of car engines workshop. And across whole europe, it's only here, in Odessa! I have place that order somewhere around a seven months ago. You won't belive how happy I was when I found out that it was ready!
Finaly Zed realized that Nita were listening here sith unusual, barely noticable smile on her face. Somehow, it was unsettling. So Zed quickly calmed down.
Zed - Anyway. Now I need to place it in my garage, I will handle installing it myself.
Nita - Never thought you would have such passion for cars. But why hide everything and made it look like we are doing a shaddy deal?
Zed - The less people know about me, my deals, my anything, the better!
Nita - You are about to lead me to your garage...
Zed - Fair enough... But spare me of your judgment, I am already filled with paranoia!