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The Company
Time: Wednesday, January 18, 2012.
Place: In a container to Taiwan.
Last Event: Boom!
Living with 17 other people in a shipping container isn't fun, but the preparations of two professional smugglers make it tolerable. Between creature comforts (notably small bunks and a chemical toilet), plenty of spare batteries for personal gizmos, and a blanket prohibition on anything smelly (from cologne to snacks), the trip isn't too bad. Only Jili and Paul show signs of mental fatigue, while Asuka is the sole victim of seasickness – and Qoqa looks after them as well as she can. Sakata seems downright cheerful about being out of the sights of assassins, and talks incessantly about putting his theories into practice.
On Saturday, January 21, the Agents hear the telltale sounds of their container being unloaded. From the movements and machine noises, Qoqa and Vinnie deduce that their boxy hideout has been hoisted off the ship by crane and deposited on a flatbed. Anabel can make out voices occasionally – thankfully, just the unremarkable chatter of laborers conversing in Mandarin and Taiwanese. Within an hour, all of this is replaced by the monotonous hum of tires on pavement.
The group's phones and watches indicate that it's just past midnight on January 22 when the truck comes to a halt. A moment later, the container doors open to reveal eight people clad in dark clothing and balaclavas, various tools and weapons in hand, standing in what's obviously a warehouse. After a quick look inside, the strangers put away their weapons, remove their hoods, and introduce themselves as "representatives of our mutual employer." The leader is a woman who identifies herself as "Chen." Chen says that Company instructions are to get Sakata, the Artist, their staff (the ninja), and Asuka to the airport at once. There's time for some brief goodbyes, and then four members of the welcoming committee escort the non-Agents to a pair of spotless minivans.
After the minivans depart, the Agents are offered a chance to clean up, grab some food, and get a little rest before catching their own ride out of here. Chen explains that any items that made the trip with the group must go in the crusher or the incinerator. Then a creepy man who goes by "Dr. Farnsworth" adds that the new arrivals have to shower off with something that Qoqa identifies as a phenolic disinfectant. Farnsworth pulls on some rubber gloves and seems all too keen on doing the scrubbing himself, but Qoqa intercepts him and promises that she'll take care of it. Afterward, a woman who identifies herself as "Consuela" hands out victuals and clean jumpsuits.
Qoqa surreptitiously checks the food to make sure that it's safe, but she finds nothing more worrying about it than too much grease and salt. Upon seeing her nod, the group sits down to eat. They're joined by Chen, Consuela, and Farnsworth, along with the chain-smoking truck driver, a Russian who calls himself "Yuri." These four are clearly Agents as well. Over the next hour or so, two teams of Company operators have a rare opportunity to talk shop.
In the course of the conversation, it comes out that Consuela was a pilot for some sort of South American drug-smuggling operation before she grew a conscience, got out, and vowed to make up for her crimes. Farnsworth is a former prison doctor who showed too much interest in challenging the corruption in the system. Yuri is clearly ex-Russian armed forces, although the details are sketchy. Chen plays her cards too close to her chest for anyone to deduce what she did in her former life, although it's obvious that she and Consuela have a more-than-comradely relationship.
When the two teams compare notes on their work to date, it comes out that Chen's crew spends most of its time thwarting international criminals and terrorists operating outside of urban centers, frequently in jungle. They have yet to run afoul of a national power, much less had a run-in with the CIA, FSB, MSS, or similar heavy hitters. But their tales of endless dive hotels and rides stowed away aboard ships confirm that the Company rarely delivers on its promise of five-star hotels and luxurious downtime as a job perk. Another thing that the groups have in common is having worked with Alfred; it seems that the late Latvian was brought in for extra manpower on one of their operations.
Throughout all this, Anabel and Qoqa do their best to "read" their hosts for signs of deception, if only an uneasy sideways glance or a bead of sweat. However, the Taiwan team seems genuinely relaxed and happy to talk with fellow Agents. If there's a deception going on, it's one about which nobody has told Chen and friends. The whole discussion seems sincerely cordial – and these people certainly know more boring, workaday details about the Company than infiltrators would.
Just before everybody stretches out for a few hours of rest, Chen suddenly slaps her forehead and exclaims, "I bet you'd like to know how your cover-up in Kyoto went!" She then proceeds to explain that the bomb did indeed go off on schedule. From the news reports, it seems that it left a huge crater. The Japanese authorities are tentatively calling it an Aum Shinrikyo bomb plot gone horribly wrong at one of the cult's private meeting places in the countryside. After sharing that little tidbit, Chen's people arm up to stand watch so that their guests can sleep in safety.
Nights never seem to be long enough in this business. Dawn comes too soon, and then it's time to get ready to leave. The warehouse stands empty – the container and flatbed are gone – but within minutes of wakeup time, Yuri pulls in with another truck, this one a big rig with a large trailer. The Russian kills the engine and hops out of the cab with a couple of large bags in his hand. From these he pulls breakfast for everyone, including an espresso for Vinnie and some dumplings for Wen. He also hands out cigarettes and vodka to everyone who's interested (which is to say, Qoqa).
With that, it's time to hit the road. Chen and crew hide Anabel, Hamid, Jili, Klas, Lev, Paul, Qoqa, Vinnie, Wen, and Zhang in the back of the truck, behind crates of various consumer electronics. They explain that they'll be driven to the airport, and hopefully smuggled aboard an air-freight plane without inspection . . . if the bribes worked. Chen wishes everyone good luck and slams the door. Moments later, the vehicle lurches into motion. It's hard to hear much from the trailer, but at one point the Agents catch the sound of what sounds like Chen talking her way past an official.
When the trailer door opens again, it's at an airport. Chen and Yuri duck into the back of the truck and tell the Agents hidden there to dash to the nearby cargo plane on their signal. This goes well, and within minutes, the Agents who "died" in Kyoto are stowed out of sight in the belly of a large jet. Before long, they're airborne, flying to wherever the Company is sending them next.
The flight is far too long for cargo netting to be entirely comfortable. At least Yuri thought to provide lunch for everyone. The Agents' best guess is that they're flying over the Pacific – which isn't the direction that they thought the Company would choose. When the plane finally touches down, everybody is itching to get out.
As soon as the loading door drops, Ben strolls aboard. He's dressed as a Canada Border Services Agency officer – it seems that the Company pulled some strings for this operation. Ben greets his former teammates and informs them that his plan is to confiscate the plane's cargo and detain its crew. He then hands out badges that identify the Agents as members of the shipping company that operates the plane, which fasten conveniently with Velcro to the jumpsuits that Consuela provided. Once everybody is ready, he parades them to a nearby hangar, where his doubtless fake CBSA car is parked.
Away from prying eyes and ears, Ben explains that Chaturvedi doesn't think that the team should return to London, now that they're officially dead. More important, they aren't to contact V or Terence West or other past contacts. In short, they're to keep their heads down. To this end, the Company has booked a private ski chalet in the mountains for the next six weeks. All the Agents have to do is show up there and take a vacation! Sometimes, it seems, the Company does come through with the five-star treatment . . .
When asked about the Kyoto operation, Ben elaborates somewhat on what Chen said. Apparently, the bomb blast was absolutely huge. It shattered windows all over the place – in one case, about 3 km away – and was audible in some parts of Kyoto proper. Clods of earth and other debris rained down in several nearby towns. Amazingly, there were no serious injuries, although a piece of highway was mangled by the explosion, causing several vehicles to pile up. Preliminary analysis by the Company shows that the event got the attention of the world's security and intelligence services, whose public statements do indeed mention Aum Shinrikyo.
Then it's time to change, sneak out the back way, and get to the ski chalet. With Ben flashing papers and acting officious, this doesn't prove to be much of a challenge. The Agents make their way to a few rental vehicles parked conveniently nearby, and then simply follow the directions programmed into the GPS units. By evening, they're pulling in at a large, isolated lodge high in the mountains, in prime skiing territory. The place is large enough to sleep 12 – meaning that there's room to spare – and comes with fully stocked bar, gourmet kitchen, Jacuzzi, sauna, and plenty of gear for winter sports. There's only one rule: Stay away from other people on the slopes and play at being a private party of wealthy snobs.
With a scheduled pickup time of Wednesday, February 29, the Agents have well over five weeks to use for nothing but relaxation. This looks a lot like working up a sweat, given the group's predilections: Klas, an avid skier, teaches Anabel and Jili how to conquer the slopes; Lev and Qoqa spend some time together on long snowshoeing treks; Paul and Vinnie take the opportunity to race around on snowmobiles; and Wen and Zhang work on their snowboarding skills. Only Hamid avoids winter sports, preferring instead to take photographs of the amazing vistas, especially the hills and valleys (of the girls using the outdoor Jacuzzi at the chalet just visible down the ridge . . .).