'The Transaction' Pt. 2

Cheung had suffered as much as he could of Ash's pompous preamble after no more than a minute or two and allowed his attention to drift away from the drone of his voice. He scanned the rows of books and wondered if any of the old libraries had really kept books like these.

Must have taken some serious coding to map all the individual covers like that. Particle effects on the dust are pretty cool too, not that I'd give this guy the pleasure of – what the hell?!?
 
Movement behind one of the bookcases; he was sure of it.

'You said this node is secure, right?'

'Correct.'

'So how come we got a lurker?'

'Ah... that is no lurker, Mister Cheung. It would seem the final guest has arrived. Gentlemen, may I present Miss Domino,'

The figure emerging from the shadow of the bookcases seemed immediately incongruous in the context of their surroundings. Where the three men had presented as photo-realistic humans, Domino's avatar was a stylised, cell-shaded animé girl.
As she moved to join them, Cheung noted she wasn't broadcasting sound files for movement; enhancing the grace and efficiency of movement evident in the animation of her oddly alluring online self. He suddenly felt a little embarrassed that he had chosen to present as a Chinese Elvis in a pimp suit.

Way to be classy, Cheung...

She nodded to each of them in turn before sitting in a meditative posture. Her slender hands made a few short gestures in the air before her, causing several glowing data readouts to blossom translucently in front of her face. Her eyes scanned rapid streams of kanji, the flow only occasionally interrupted by IP addresses, one of which Cheung recognised as the anonymous re-mailer they had used to contact Domino's handler. The data-flow came to an end and her focus returned to Cheung and Jeong.

'You wish to employ my services,'

It hadn't been posed as a question, so Cheung just nodded confirmation.

'I need further details.'

Her voice was smooth, confident and hinted at an attractive intelligence. Cheung was looking forward to meeting her.

'What do you want to know?'

'You request protection for both the duration of a transaction and transit to and from the meeting. I need to know the location and nature of this meeting.'

'The meeting is at the Intercontinental in Wanchai. The transaction is a simple sale of goods; desirable goods. Something we worked very hard to obtain. We wish to protect our investment.'

The animé Domino seemed to consider this while Ash shifted uncomfortably.

'My fee is non-negotiable. I require an advance of ten thousand new-yen and a further twenty thousand on completion. You will also send any information you have regarding your buyers to this address.'

'Done,' Jeong said, his fingertips a blur over the Samsung.

Seconds later, a new data stream appeared before Domino. She took a moment to review the files, an exaggerated expression of concentration animating her face. When she looked up, her eyes were drawn as simple black lines of suspicion.

'This is no simple sale of goods. These buyers have been linked to radical groups and terrorist cells. They will be well protected themselves. Considering their trade, you cannot be suggesting that your buyers are the only possible threat.'

Jeong's uncertain glance deferred to Cheung, who smiled ruefully.

'Okay sister, you got us. The product could be considered hot; word is maybe once upon a time it was a Yakuza interest. 'Course that could just be a rumour...'

'Indeed...'

She fell silent then, and Cheung felt fearful she may now turn their contract down. They needed her; she was widely accepted to be the best.

'Contact me through the same channels when you have finalised your meeting; I will be ready.'

Cheung and Jeong let out sighs of relief in unison as Domino's avatar winked from existence.

Now to put the final pieces into play...

Copyright © A. Flood 2010