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The Company
Time: Wednesday, December 22, 2010 (late afternoon).
Place: Toronto.
Last Event: Going to school.
The Agents stow their Company phones – on Chaturvedi's orders, until he can get to the bottom of what happened in Tokyo – and spend a season in Toronto as visiting students. Their digs are attractive flats not far from downtown, a perk of having fat savings accounts. Anabel, Hamid, JB, Jili, Klas, Paul, and Qoqa take university courses; Ben and Lev are happy enough to be gym bums; and Wen and Zhang attend circus school, of all things! Vinnie spends a lot of time out of town taking flying lessons. When the last of the classes is over, on December 22, Jili e-mails Chaturvedi for an update. The response is brief: "Please call in."
Once everybody has gathered at her upstairs flat, Anabel switches on her Company phone and calls Chaturvedi's number. The voice that answers isn't that of Chaturvedi or his assistant, however. The woman on the other end identifies herself as "Angela Hamermesh," and states, "You'll be dealing with me from now on." Given what Hamermesh knows about the Agents, she seems legitimate . . . and yet Anabel has an uncomfortable feeling about the situation. Chaturvedi has proven himself to be the type who would hand off his team personally, so why isn't he in the picture? Hamermesh's answer is cryptic: "Mr. Chaturvedi has been laterally promoted."
When the subject changes to the team's next assignment, Anabel turns on the speaker so that everyone can hear the briefing. Hamermesh is insistent that the group start its investigation of Omni-Biotech Distribution Southwest in Albuquerque. She explains that the Company has made no attempt to gather physical or electronic intelligence on OBDS, in order to avoid any slipup that could give advance warning, and then goes on to outline a daring plan. The Agents are to get in undetected, grab one of the field cases in which M201 (or a similar drug) is distributed, and get it to the Company. The Company will create exact replicas that contain powerful tracking beacons and ship them to the Agents, who will slip in a second time and swap these doctored cases for the real ones, thereby allowing the Company to track CIA operators using these substances for wet work.
The whole scheme sounds incredibly dangerous and failure-prone to the Agents, who grow more apprehensive about the situation with every word out of Hamermesh's mouth. Hamermesh seems quite willing to supply the team with all the gear it needs, and happy to answer their questions. Anabel tells her that the group will discuss the necessary equipment and arrangements, and then report back to her. With that, the call ends.
As soon as the phone is switched off again, the talk starts: There's something fishy going on. Jili risks checking the group's offshore accounts and discovers that the current holdings total a few hundred thousand dollars – not the tens of millions that the team had after confiscating Grandfather's diamonds and selling the Cephalopod. The majority of the funds were removed back on September 21, but none of the Agents noticed because nobody wanted to log in and leave a digital trail.
That settles matters for the Agents – their new mission isn't a near-suicidal run on a CIA-backed pharmaceuticals interest on U.S. soil, but finding Chaturvedi. Chaturvedi's advice that the Company phones are risky seems newly relevant. Hamid and Jili physically disable the phones and stow them in a drawer in the next room. With one possible means of eavesdropping cut off, talk turns to how to find Chaturvedi and rescue him, need be.
Paul, being an ex-policeman, has the most to say. He explains that a missing-persons search should always start at the location of the subject's last confirmed location. In Chaturvedi's case, this means his hotel in Vancouver back on August 28 – almost four months ago. However, with the team's funds running low and probably being monitored, and no guarantees that there isn't a double-cross going on, getting to Vancouver undetected could be challenging. Vinnie proposes hitting the ATMs one last time to withdraw the daily limit on all 12 accounts, buying an old bus with cash, and driving across Canada during winter. It sounds crazy, but everybody agrees that it isn't likely to leave much of a trail.
As Paul and Vinnie talk, Wen checks Interpol notices online, remembering the notice that Toru's men showed Anabel in Tokyo back when things started to go pear-shaped. Sure enough, she finds listings for all 12 members of Sharkmeat and Röttwalkyr, complete with grainy security-camera photos and disturbingly accurate lists of known associates and activities. All are dated September 21. Realizing that this means that whoever is behind the conspiracy can count on almost any major police force for help, and that the team just advertised its location with telephone calls and electronic banking logins, Wen takes a peek outside.
What Wen sees confirms her fears: Several unmarked SUVs pulling up and disgorging body-armor-clad men equipped with headsets, submachine guns, and stun grenades. This is in all likelihood not the CIA risking a diplomatic incident on Canadian soil, but an entirely legitimate police squad acting on a tip about dangerous criminals in downtown Toronto. The CIA is more likely to pose as American law-enforcement officers when the arresting police hand over the Agents . . .
Wen hisses a warning to the others, and estimates that they have a minute, maybe two, in which to act. She explains that the men she saw outside are almost certainly cops and that battling them would confirm what the Interpol notices have to say about the team being murderous criminals. If possible, the best move would be to flee. Vinnie is the first to leap into action; he dashes to Anabel's bedroom, shoves her dresser under the skylight, and gets to work on the latch. To buy some time, Ben, Paul, and Qoqa start piling furniture in front of the door leading to the stairs down to the street, while Klas, Wen, and Zhang do the same at the kitchen door leading to the fire escape.
Once the exits are barricaded and the skylight is open, the Agents grab their ATM cards and civilian cell phones, and crawl out onto the roof into the early winter evening. The temperature is only -4°C, but there's significant wind chill. The roof has a layer of snow on it, the result of a storm back on December 19, and is rather slippery. Nevertheless, the initial climb up goes quickly and stealthily.
There's a crashing sound from below as the men in the street take a ram to the door of Klas and Lev's flat, one floor down from Anabel's. This is followed shortly by shouts of "Police!" Realizing that the only path out of the situation leads across the rooftops, Vinnie gets moving and signals for the others to follow. The route is treacherous thanks to the snow, the slope, and the wind – even the sure-footed Zhang almost slips! Fortunately, the Agents are all moderately good climbers, and manage to make their way down the block of row houses without showing their heads or dislodging snow.
At the end of the block, Vinnie checks to see whether anybody is keeping watch on the cross street. It doesn't look like it. While checking whether the coast is clear, he spots a small snow bank plowed up below; it's a couple of stories down, but at least it's softer than pavement. He lowers himself over the edge, drops onto the snow, and rolls. The others follow suit. Paul and Wen land lightly, and most of the others come away with little more than bruises, but Anabel lands poorly, twisting an ankle. The Agents waste no time leaving the scene; Ben and Qoqa support Anabel, and the entire group steals off into the dusk.
Once the team is a few blocks from the flat, Klas and Wen go on point, keeping an eye out for the police. The initial plan is to get to the subway, but several policemen seem to be watching St. George station, so Wen waves the group down Bloor St. After a quick conference, they agree that their top priority is to purchase coats, hats, and scarves at some of the friperies in the area – and hopefully, a cane or something for Anabel. These measures would make it a lot easier to get around on foot in the winter weather!
This plan comes off without a hitch. The team has enough cash on hand to buy everybody something warm to wear, and Wen finds a (rather Goth-y) walking stick for Anabel to use. After that, they turn down Spadina and head for Chinatown, where Wen made a few contacts over the autumn. By spreading out and mixing with the crowd, the Agents manage not to draw any police attention.
Eventually, Wen reaches a greengrocer's shop whose proprietor is on good terms with her. In exchange for some cash, he's willing to let her use the basement for whatever she needs it for – he isn't asking any questions. Wen fetches her associates and leads them to the hideout. Then she heads back out to purchase first-aid supplies so that Qoqa can treat the group's scratches and bruises, especially Anabel's ankle.
Vinnie informs the others that he, too, wants to head out, to see what he can do about obtaining a vehicle. He takes JB, and the two of them stroll down the street, find a local used-car rag, and start making payphone calls to people who are offering old buses for sale cheap. There are a lot of unanswered calls on a Wednesday night, and a lot more to people who seem a little too nosy for JB and Vinnie's comfort, but eventually Vinnie finds himself speaking with an elderly woman named "Miriam" who has a school bus for sale and who would be willing to show it to somebody tonight.
JB and Vinnie take a cab over to the address that Miriam gave, which proves to be a small church hall in a residential area. Miriam invites the men in and shows them the bus, explaining that it was formerly used to drive around a gospel choir and to take people to bingo, but these days is just taking up space. Vinnie realizes that the vehicle is probably as old as he is (the plates certainly are!), but he's convinced that he can get it started. He pulls out his ever-present wad of cash and pays Miriam generously . . . and Miriam seems entirely happy to be paid this way: "They shouldn't tax churches anyway."
About two hours after they left, Vinnie and JB return to the hideout with a noisy, rusty bus that's rolling on barely inflated tires. By now, Ben and Qoqa have treated everybody's aches and pains, and Anabel's ankle is bandaged up. Vinnie recommends that the team leave at once – the sooner they're out of Toronto, the better. Wen does a quick trip around the neighborhood to stock up on food, and then the Agents rumble out of town in their rattletrap ride.
At 20:45, Vinnie pulls up to a Canadian Tire on the outskirts of the city. It's a mere 15 minutes before closing time, so everybody goes in and each Agent has a specific task. They shop with purpose, buying antifreeze, brake fluid, oil, snow tires, spray paint, and wiper blades, as well as basic tools. Also on the shopping list are some camping supplies, notably high-energy food and survival blankets. It takes all of the group's remaining cash, but they manage to get what they need.
Once everybody is aboard the bus with their purchases, Vinnie parks it out of sight behind some Dumpsters and a snow bank in order to do a little hasty work. Thanks to Vinnie's masterful knowledge of automobiles and the help of 11 motivated assistants, it takes only a couple of hours to get the bus in adequate shape for highway driving. The Agents keep watch for police cars or other trouble, but nobody pays much attention to the old bus parked in the dark.
It's approaching midnight when the Agents get back on the road. The next stop is just outside a long-term parking facility near Pearson International Airport, where Vinnie quickly clambers over a fence, sneaks up to a snow-encrusted van that looks like it has been parked for a while, and swaps the bus' old license plates for newer ones. This proves trivial, and soon Vinnie is bolting a fresh set of plates onto the bus.
Meanwhile, Jili takes all of the Agents' bank cards, jots down their codes, and dashes across the highway to an all-night truck stop that has fuel pumps, a convenience store, and an ATM. Being near the airport and on a major approach into Toronto, the place is busy even at this hour. Nobody pays special attention to a woman withdrawing some cash. While Jili knows that the transactions will be traced to this ATM, she's careful not to give the police and spooks a free lunch; she keeps her hat and scarf over her face, and covers the cameras in the machine with her backpack. She returns to the others with a pile of money.
After that, it's time to head west. The next few days are spent driving 24 hours a day, stopping only to buy gas and food with cash. Vinnie and Hamid take shifts behind the wheel. Wen alters the bus' registration to match the new plates – hardly a perfect forgery, but good enough to pass casual inspection. The others mostly keep their heads down. (Or in the clouds . . . Jili provides Anabel with some interesting medication to help her cope with her swollen ankle.)
The journey takes the Agents from Toronto, through Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Regina, and Calgary (where Qoqa buys everybody cowboy hats as Christmas gifts), to Vancouver. While this isn't the most efficient route, it stays entirely within Canada. Driving conditions are at times rough, but the roads are passable. Most important, there are no brushes with the law – Hamid and Vinnie are careful to drive safely and responsibly, given that the police in every town are out to catch drivers who've had a little too much holiday cheer.
It's the night of December 25 when the bus rolls into the outskirts of Vancouver. After a little driving around, Vinnie spots a fleabag motel that's open despite it being Christmas. The proprietor is surprised to receive 12 patrons, given the occasion, but more than happy to have business on what's otherwise a slow night. The Agents rent six rooms. Roommates are Anabel and Wen, Ben and Zhang, Hamid and JB, Jili and Qoqa, Klas and Lev, and Paul and Vinnie. Qoqa makes a point of cleaning the rooms, just in case the place really does have fleas – or more likely, bedbugs.
On the morning of December 26, the Agents awaken, feeling refreshed and ready to start their search for Chaturvedi.
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I was wondering if it was going to be mission after unconnected mission, but the plot direction of 'what is the company really up to?' is a cracker. Poor old Chaturvedi!
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