I don't do it for free, y'know. She went back to a neutral face Favors, or credits are my preferred currencies. And considering I haven't done business with you before, credits are a lot more attractive at the moment. And large parts of the tech I'm offering isn't magical, either. Military standard for most of the time. It's way better anyonce in the civilian or corporate sector could get, but that's about it.
She slowly reached into her pocket, pulled out a vial with some thick dark liquid in it, and placed it on the desk. And ofcourse, there's the intel stuff I've acquired.
She looked at the vial warily. "And what exactly is that supposed to be?". Before she could say any more her wristpad beeped. She knew it had to be serious because she turned off all notifications except for messages from Kelsen. She made a gesture that roughly meant "give me a second" towards Gabbi and opened the file. All it said was:
It has begun.
She quickly switched to the NeuralNet and several articles having words such as "Coup", "Civil war", "Rheinland" in their title popped up. So it is actually happening. Goosebumps have flooded her back. Scheiße.
She gazed at Gabbi and said "You might want to read the news."
She checked her padd, and the news flash went on more and more terminals across the bar.
Well... Shit. Alright, I've gotta step up my timetable now. That's a hull coating compound. It's sensor absorving, all passive, and most active scanners cannot detect it. It's basically one step from active cloaking, and I've got two barrels of this stuff ready to be delivered. Got some additional tech to it, namely actively cooled hull plating. and I may have acquired a few SIS recon probes that already have them equipped.
Gabbie looked around, and more than one disreputably looking group has began to leave. She had a pretty good guess what this civil war would bring, if it didn't finished quickly. Also, information. I may know someone who knows someone in the büro.
Charlemagne finished her cigarette and abandoned the remains of it in the ashtray. "I guess there is no reason to pretend now is there. With the Büro being criminals and traitors to the Empire. You would actually be working for the good guys now." she said with a hint of irony but also smiled lightly, becoming more relaxed. She was now citizen of the Empire of Rheinland and the Republic was no more. Daumann just got a whole lot of new enemies but it could now openly defend itself as well.
She look at Gabbi and studied her face. "Say we are interested. What do you expect in return?" she said and gestured towards the waiter to order something.
Well, I don't suppose you've brought a large case full of unmarked credit cards, did you? She replied sarcastically. For the vial, nothing. For the rest, ask your boss whether he'd like to pay with favors, or the aforementioned credits. He knows my address, within 2-3 days, a freighter full of "components" will dock at a location of your choosing.
She ordered a tonic water. Oddly specific for this place and she wondered if perhaps one of the local suppliers pirated a gin transport and this was a leftover cargo. The chances she was going to get poisoned from should hopefully be low though. When the waitress left she turned her focus back to the person sitting in front of her.
Unfortunately for you no, I don't tend to drag a cash full of credit cards with me. It's going to be credits not favors though, I can already tell you that. Favors are a double-edged sword. Credits are... simple.
She searched her pocket again for a pack of cigarettes and proceeded to light one up, placing the box on the table this time. "You smoke?" she gestured towards the pack.
No, thank you. I'm in the middle of dropping that habit. And yes, favors are a dangerous currency, but if you can wield it properly, you can find them to be the most useful tools in the box.
She ordered another drink, before continuing. As for the info, I can guarantee it's firsthand nature. My contacts told me she's been volunteered, and is not too content about the situation. And would happily share plans and low-level access codes for a favor.
"Good for you! And cola as well. Seems you are a paragon of all the virtues." she chuckled.
The waitress brought back the bottle of tonic water. And no glass. Probably for the better, Charlemagne sipped from her bottle. The tonic was surprisingly solid.
"Are you telling me you have a mole in the BDM?" she said after the waitress was far enough. "Now that would indeed pique an interest of my boss."
Only a low-level access, though. But, it should be enough to give your boss a general layout of the scenery. Now, the hard thing is, I'll need to extract her from a federalist stronghold.
She swirled the cola with the straw, as she tried to come up with a plan, but most of them were rubbish, or risky. That will be a fun task She remarked sarcastically.Right now, the Büro are more paranoid than an LSF agent in a room full of Kempeitai
"Any access is a good access. Having a source in the Buro is a no small feat. " she said studying her tonic bottle and pondering the idea.
"I mean, money is not an issue. The mercenaries and some of the high-level security personnel we employ are well-skilled but I cannot imagine them being able to take the Buro head on. So it is either brute force or trying to find someone with the right skill-set doing it for the right amount of cash."
She thought about the possibilities for a while and then looked at Gabbi.