- Ok guys. Squeeze it out of yourselves if you have to because it's becoming kinda ridiculous - I finally said after a neverending moment o silence between us.
- The two of us didn't discuss it, although we tried few times, so it's hard to decide who should start - said Hatta, looking at Will.
- Yes - he agreed.
- Do you need a moment then? Should I step out?
- No. There is no need - he sighed heavily. - I'll start then. There is something we found out by accident during our trip. There was a moment after long talks with Uhm's when they treated us to an alcoholic beverage made out of a plant kinda similar to bamboo. The difference is that's actually a type of flower. They call it a tall flower - then he said the name in the language of Uhm's.
- Hatta. Get to the point.
- Yes. Sorry. So some of us got a bit tipsy, cause it tasted really good. The elder, Naalaa, really kept feeding it to Aisha. I believe she actually enjoyed her time there. To put it in simple words, she got kinda wasted. Me and Will helped her to go back to her tent. We had a pretty awkward conversation with her, and she told us something.
- What did she tell you? Can you guys stop with this ridiculous suspense, and just fucking tell me?
- She contacted Blue behind our backs, and she helped him before the trial, to assure people won't vote against him - Will dropped the bomb.
- What?!
- Calm down Peter. Please. That's not exactly what she said, but yes, you could summarize it in such a way - Hatta continued. - She basically told us that we can't use her, and if we try, she will come back at us. Just as she did with Blue before trial. After that, we kinda put the pieces together. Although we couldn't talk, because there was not enough privacy, and we were afraid of letting the information out.
I drunk my glass of wine. To process this whole thing, I needed some time. Suddenly I became suspicious about so many things involving not only Aisha but the rest of her crew. How much of what they keep telling me was a lie? Or maybe she was alone in this? Was my relationship with Nadia a lie? Was Hailwic story just an act?
- Take it slowly Peter. And please, for god's sake do not do anything stupid, like confronting her - said Will.
- I agree. Having this information is an advantage for us as long as they don't know that we know. We should keep it this way - Hatta joined on this attempt to subside my anger.
I'm not gonna lie. I was pissed beyond the point of logical thinking. The only reason w just didn't burst out of that room, was that I got confused. I never, even for a single moment, thought that Hailwic was, or could be, a good actress. There was no way she was faking her struggle during our time in the canyon.
The same was with Nadia. I believed her story. I believed those moments we shared together. She could just be a spy placed by Aisha, or leverage for her to use when needed. All of this was stupid, which led me to the conclusion that they couldn't just all be in this together. But I was not, by any means, sure, and that was the problem.
Because my brain wouldn't just stop drilling this possibility over and over. What if? What if?
- Peter? - Hatta was looking at me curiously. - You fine?
I sighed.
- No. I'm definitely not fine, but I won't do anything stupid either. At least not for now. We should find out if she is alone in this, or if the whole Velvet Lotus stands behind her.
- That will be hard - said Will. - We can't just go and ask them. We also can't just go and ask Blue. If we agitate them with silly questions, they will connect the dots.
- We could set up a trap. For example, we could feed them with information about us attempting to assassinate Blue, and just change little details. Like who is gonna do it, how or when. Then we will know who said what - proposed Hatta.
- They all are gonna run with this to Aisha. Doesn't matter if she told them about whatever deal she made with the guy - was Will's response.
- Yeah. He is right - I agreed. - We can't do shit. We should sit on our asses and wait. Feed them with filtered information. Nothing that would ruin our next moves towards Blue.
- I don't like that option - said Hatta.
- Me neither, but that's all we can do. We either confront them right now or wait, and I prefer the second option. I don't want to lose... I don't want to lose Nadia.
- What if she's lying to you?
- And what if she is not? I fucked up with Aisha, and now we have this problem. I'm not gonna do the same thing twice.
- I agree. We should wait - Will backed me up.
- Because of Vesa? You guys are ridiculous.
- Look Hatta... We found a bit of happiness here, what's wrong with trying to protect it?
- You and Vessa arent even really together!
- So what? I like her, and I want to protect our relationship in whatever form it is right now. It doesn't matter. I'm not gonna just go and accuse her of lying. She didn't give me any reason to do it.
-Aisha didn't give us any reason to suspect he is doing something with Blue behind our backs!
- We know only about one situation. That could be it. Nothing more.
- Do you even hear yourself?! You are ridiculous Will! Are you gonna let Blue go, just because of some girl?! How old are you?! Fifteen?!
- Fuck you Hatta! Just because you have an obsession over that motherfucker doesn't mean we should do whatever you say!
Will stood up, pointing his index finger at Hatta, still holding on an empty glass.
- I have obsession?! I have obsession?! Then what should I call your behavior right now, huh?! You want a murdered plot behind our backs! That's plain stupidity!
Hatta jumped on his feet. For a moment I thought they are gonna fight.
- Ok, ok! Calm down both of you! Let's sit, and fucking talk it over without yelling!
They looked at me and slowly sat back. There was a moment of silence. The tension was still in the air, but we at least did something to lower its intensity.
- I'm with Will on this. I don't want to risk my relationship with Nadia just because Aisha did something stupid or suddenly got crazy. On the other hand, I'm also not ok with just leaving Blue alone. So... We either wait for an opportunity to find out what's going on, and who is on which side or just simply assassinate Blue.
- He needs to be brought to justice in front of everybody, and pay for what he did. He killed a great man, and all os people in this city should recognize that - was Hatta's answer.
- Then we go with the first option - I said while taking a peek at William.
He gave me a nod. Hatta snorted and grabbed his own head.
- I don't like it. I don't like it at all... But, I didn't like a lot of the things you made me agree to, and they kinda worked, so I'll say ok. Even though, I think we shouldn't just sit idle. We need to know if we can trust information from Velvet Lotus.
- In this, I agree. Velvet Lotus is a very important information hub, we can not lose it if we want to know what's really going on in the city - said Will.
- If it feeds us fake information, then it's useless. We need something. At least one person there we can trust. You guys should really consider talking with Nadia or Vesa.
- Ok. I'll do it. I'll talk with somebody, but it won't be Nadia.
They both looked at me.
- Then who? - Hatta asked straight away.
- I know for a fact, that Nadia can lie. I'm not saying she is, but she for sure can. Many of them there can lie. But there is one, that I would be really impressed if I ever found out she lied to me.
- Hailwic - said Will.
- Yes. Hailwic.
- But is she gonna tell you anything? I know you hunted together when Will was busy with us, but is she gonna chose you over Aisha?
- I don't fucking know, but if we want to fish somewhere, we should be aiming at her. Maybe she knows something. Maybe... I don't fucking know... - I hid my face in my own hands. - I'm too tired to think properly.
- You are complaining to us about being tired, Peter? Seriously. We both barely slept for who knows how long - said Hatta.
- Then let's put this away for now, and discuss later. With fresh minds. It's not like we need to rush anywhere - was Will's response.
- How about we meet tomorrow? - I proposed.
- I'm gonna be busy with the Wuxia. My men will want to know all the details. Maybe I don't need to tell them personally, but I for sure should be there.
- We will wait for you. Just send somebody for us when you will be finally free. We will hand around Ve... Around the city center - said Will.
Hatta looked at me for confirmation, and I have him a nod. Then we parted our ways. He stayed in his office, and we headed outside.
- What a mess...
- You don't need to tell me, Peter. I fucking hate this... Why did she have to do something this stupid?
- It's my fault. Probably...
- This much I guessed myself, but why is shi overreacting so much? Did she go crazy because of what happened to her?
- I don't know. I really don't...
- Me too. Ok, maybe it's not the right timing for this, since it's barely past midday, but good night.
- Sleep tight.
- Oh, you have no idea.
I chuckled a bit, swung by the device to get some food, then also headed to a place I called home now. Empty building with only a bed inside. I felt incredibly tired. Not because of travel, and lack of sleep, but rather because of the situation.
Day ended with 1 124 461 points remaining on my account.
- Ok guys. Squeeze it out of yourselves if you have to because it's becoming kinda ridiculous - I finally said after a neverending moment o silence between us.
- The two of us didn't discuss it, although we tried few times, so it's hard to decide who should start - said Hatta, looking at Will.
- Yes - he agreed.
- Do you need a moment then? Should I step out?
- No. There is no need - he sighed heavily. - I'll start then. There is something we found out by accident during our trip. There was a moment after long talks with Uhm's when they treated us to an alcoholic beverage made out of a plant kinda similar to bamboo. The difference is that's actually a type of flower. They call it a tall flower - then he said the name in the language of Uhm's.
- Hatta. Get to the point.
- Yes. Sorry. So some of us got a bit tipsy, cause it tasted really good. The elder, Naalaa, really kept feeding it to Aisha. I believe she actually enjoyed her time there. To put it in simple words, she got kinda wasted. Me and Will helped her to go back to her tent. We had a pretty awkward conversation with her, and she told us something.
- What did she tell you? Can you guys stop with this ridiculous suspense, and just fucking tell me?
- She contacted Blue behind our backs, and she helped him before the trial, to assure people won't vote against him - Will dropped the bomb.
- What?!
- Calm down Peter. Please. That's not exactly what she said, but yes, you could summarize it in such a way - Hatta continued. - She basically told us that we can't use her, and if we try, she will come back at us. Just as she did with Blue before trial. After that, we kinda put the pieces together. Although we couldn't talk, because there was not enough privacy, and we were afraid of letting the information out.
I drunk my glass of wine. To process this whole thing, I needed some time. Suddenly I became suspicious about so many things involving not only Aisha but the rest of her crew. How much of what they keep telling me was a lie? Or maybe she was alone in this? Was my relationship with Nadia a lie? Was Hailwic story just an act?
- Take it slowly Peter. And please, for god's sake do not do anything stupid, like confronting her - said Will.
- I agree. Having this information is an advantage for us as long as they don't know that we know. We should keep it this way - Hatta joined on this attempt to subside my anger.
I'm not gonna lie. I was pissed beyond the point of logical thinking. The only reason w just didn't burst out of that room, was that I got confused. I never, even for a single moment, thought that Hailwic was, or could be, a good actress. There was no way she was faking her struggle during our time in the canyon.
The same was with Nadia. I believed her story. I believed those moments we shared together. She could just be a spy placed by Aisha, or leverage for her to use when needed. All of this was stupid, which led me to the conclusion that they couldn't just all be in this together. But I was not, by any means, sure, and that was the problem.
Because my brain wouldn't just stop drilling this possibility over and over. What if? What if?
- Peter? - Hatta was looking at me curiously. - You fine?
I sighed.
- No. I'm definitely not fine, but I won't do anything stupid either. At least not for now. We should find out if she is alone in this, or if the whole Velvet Lotus stands behind her.
- That will be hard - said Will. - We can't just go and ask them. We also can't just go and ask Blue. If we agitate them with silly questions, they will connect the dots.
- We could set up a trap. For example, we could feed them with information about us attempting to assassinate Blue, and just change little details. Like who is gonna do it, how or when. Then we will know who said what - proposed Hatta.
- They all are gonna run with this to Aisha. Doesn't matter if she told them about whatever deal she made with the guy - was Will's response.
- Yeah. He is right - I agreed. - We can't do shit. We should sit on our asses and wait. Feed them with filtered information. Nothing that would ruin our next moves towards Blue.
- I don't like that option - said Hatta.
- Me neither, but that's all we can do. We either confront them right now or wait, and I prefer the second option. I don't want to lose... I don't want to lose Nadia.
- What if she's lying to you?
- And what if she is not? I fucked up with Aisha, and now we have this problem. I'm not gonna do the same thing twice.
- I agree. We should wait - Will backed me up.
- Because of Vesa? You guys are ridiculous.
- Look Hatta... We found a bit of happiness here, what's wrong with trying to protect it?
- You and Vessa arent even really together!
- So what? I like her, and I want to protect our relationship in whatever form it is right now. It doesn't matter. I'm not gonna just go and accuse her of lying. She didn't give me any reason to do it.
-Aisha didn't give us any reason to suspect he is doing something with Blue behind our backs!
- We know only about one situation. That could be it. Nothing more.
- Do you even hear yourself?! You are ridiculous Will! Are you gonna let Blue go, just because of some girl?! How old are you?! Fifteen?!
- Fuck you Hatta! Just because you have an obsession over that motherfucker doesn't mean we should do whatever you say!
Will stood up, pointing his index finger at Hatta, still holding on an empty glass.
- I have obsession?! I have obsession?! Then what should I call your behavior right now, huh?! You want a murdered plot behind our backs! That's plain stupidity!
Hatta jumped on his feet. For a moment I thought they are gonna fight.
- Ok, ok! Calm down both of you! Let's sit, and fucking talk it over without yelling!
They looked at me and slowly sat back. There was a moment of silence. The tension was still in the air, but we at least did something to lower its intensity.
- I'm with Will on this. I don't want to risk my relationship with Nadia just because Aisha did something stupid or suddenly got crazy. On the other hand, I'm also not ok with just leaving Blue alone. So... We either wait for an opportunity to find out what's going on, and who is on which side or just simply assassinate Blue.
- He needs to be brought to justice in front of everybody, and pay for what he did. He killed a great man, and all os people in this city should recognize that - was Hatta's answer.
- Then we go with the first option - I said while taking a peek at William.
He gave me a nod. Hatta snorted and grabbed his own head.
- I don't like it. I don't like it at all... But, I didn't like a lot of the things you made me agree to, and they kinda worked, so I'll say ok. Even though, I think we shouldn't just sit idle. We need to know if we can trust information from Velvet Lotus.
- In this, I agree. Velvet Lotus is a very important information hub, we can not lose it if we want to know what's really going on in the city - said Will.
- If it feeds us fake information, then it's useless. We need something. At least one person there we can trust. You guys should really consider talking with Nadia or Vesa.
- Ok. I'll do it. I'll talk with somebody, but it won't be Nadia.
They both looked at me.
- Then who? - Hatta asked straight away.
- I know for a fact, that Nadia can lie. I'm not saying she is, but she for sure can. Many of them there can lie. But there is one, that I would be really impressed if I ever found out she lied to me.
- Hailwic - said Will.
- Yes. Hailwic.
- But is she gonna tell you anything? I know you hunted together when Will was busy with us, but is she gonna chose you over Aisha?
- I don't fucking know, but if we want to fish somewhere, we should be aiming at her. Maybe she knows something. Maybe... I don't fucking know... - I hid my face in my own hands. - I'm too tired to think properly.
- You are complaining to us about being tired, Peter? Seriously. We both barely slept for who knows how long - said Hatta.
- Then let's put this away for now, and discuss later. With fresh minds. It's not like we need to rush anywhere - was Will's response.
- How about we meet tomorrow? - I proposed.
- I'm gonna be busy with the Wuxia. My men will want to know all the details. Maybe I don't need to tell them personally, but I for sure should be there.
- We will wait for you. Just send somebody for us when you will be finally free. We will hand around Ve... Around the city center - said Will.
Hatta looked at me for confirmation, and I have him a nod. Then we parted our ways. He stayed in his office, and we headed outside.
- What a mess...
- You don't need to tell me, Peter. I fucking hate this... Why did she have to do something this stupid?
- It's my fault. Probably...
- This much I guessed myself, but why is shi overreacting so much? Did she go crazy because of what happened to her?
- I don't know. I really don't...
- Me too. Ok, maybe it's not the right timing for this, since it's barely past midday, but good night.
- Sleep tight.
- Oh, you have no idea.
I chuckled a bit, swung by the device to get some food, then also headed to a place I called home now. Empty building with only a bed inside. I felt incredibly tired. Not because of travel, and lack of sleep, but rather because of the situation.
Day ended with 1 124 461 points remaining on my account.
