I walk over to see Jack standing in front of a hotel called the Grand Carp. It looked high-end, with a valet up front wearing a suit as their uniform, curved glass windows up front, and highly sophisticated lighting designs. “You’re sure we’re not just checking in to compare prices?”

Jack turns to me, chuckling. “I’m absolutely certain our contact’s here. He happens to run a high-class hotel, though several of the rooms are reserved for people with special connections.” We step inside together, the valet briefly greeting us with a hand wave as we step inside.

The outside view only gave a clue as to the wealth of this place, but the interior design flaunted it for all it was worth. There were small ponds with water flowing into them, with rocks put together to form waterfall-like structures, and each pond was surrounded by more rocks and some foliage beyond that. The water bill alone for this place must cost a fortune. Further than that, though, it was the audacity of the inner layout that gripped me the most. I could see all the way up to the 50th floor, each floor having a set of guard-rails made of steel and with the gaps filled in with glass, allowing each floor’s residents to look down and see the waterfalls from high up, with a bird’s-eye view of a small portrait of natural beauty. Further hammering in the point was that there were two elevators that went up and down clear ‘pillars’, allowing those on every floor to watch the elevators go up and down. It honestly felt more like a mall than any hotel I’d have ever known of. The fact that they were willing to use space that could’ve had more rooms for sheer displays of wealth and sophistication like this was something that truly left me astonished. “What architect would waste so much room that could’ve been spent on hotel rooms for something like this? Was this a refitted mall or something?”

Jack let out a short cackle. “Yeah, on some level I wonder that too, but it’s hard to argue with the payoff if what you want to attract is a bunch of rich bastards.”

“I guess you have a point.” I walk along with Jack to the main reception counter. It’s got a wood finish with a granite lip on top, and with lights gently flooding out from underneath the lid, adding to the appeal of the counter as a whole. The person manning it is dressed well, with well-groomed hair.

“Hello, do you have a reservation?”

“I need to talk to Verelich, got something to ask him directly. Tell him it’s Jack.”

“Very well, sir.” He picks up the phone hiding behind the desk-it’s one of those landline-style phones that were rendered next to extinct by the invention of mobile phones, in a light green color. “Jack wants to see you. He’s in the lobby right now.” A pause. “Very well.” He sets the phone back down. “Verelich is a little busy right now, but if you’re willing to wait he can meet with you in approximately 15 minutes.”

We take a seat in the lobby. After some time, an employee makes his way over to us. “Verelich is ready for you. Right this way.” Jack and I nod, and getting up from our seats, we make our way with him over to an elevator. The employee steps in with us, plugging a keycard into the slot just below the button array and pressing a button that had a star on it. The keycard reader blinks before shining a green light as the doors close and we go up. As the doors open, I find what almost feels more like a small office complex, albeit quite modern, and close to empty. The floors are of a nice carpet pattern. We walk across the room ahead of us and find a door and a wood wall. Jack opens it, and we step inside to find a man in a suit with flowing, blond hair sitting at a desk.

“Well, well, well, Jack. What might be the reason for you coming in to take up my time today?” He crosses his arms.

“Verelich. We’re looking to get in contact with a man who we think is a part of the upper class of Halych’s underground. We think he’s named Malkov.” As Jack speaks, I lean against the wall behind us.

“Well, I don’t necessarily remember anything about a man named Malkov.” He puts a hand on his chin. “Tell me more about how he looks, maybe I can remember his face.”

“We didn’t get a hold of his face, but he has black, slicked-back hair and a gray suit… and an affinity for good shades, we think. He’s a middleman for some big players in the Teneb business.” Jack walks all the way up to his side of the desk.

“Oh, I think I vaguely recall someone by that description, but I certainly don’t know him well enough to just call him to come over to be interrogated by a private investigator.” Verelich frowns.

“So, what do you suggest to resolve that problem?”

“Hmmmh,” Verelich mused as he looks to one side, visibly caught up in sheer thought. He then turns back to face us. “Well, I’ll be running a ball fairly soon, and it’s quite likely he’ll end up there, but… I can’t just invite you in for free.”

“So a favor for a favor, then, that’s what you’re asking?” Jack tilts his head. “Well, then, what is it you want out of me?”

“It’s not a problem I’d ask you in particular to resolve, but it is a problem. You see, my friend-they call him the Oil Baron-is in trouble right now, and while I certainly have enough clout to keep him from getting murdered in my own hotel, I think I’ll be stretching both my popularity and my personal security forces too thin escorting him to the Grand Carp.”

Jack tilted his head. “And he can’t recruit his own bodyguards because…?”

Verelich lets out a good-natured chuckle, as if he heard a child ask why banks can’t just give away money for free. “It’s hard to trust soldiers of fortune when you’ve got a sizable bounty on your head.”

“So you’re telling me we’re supposed to be bodyguards for a man that’s got a nice, big target on his back for the criminal underground to see?”

“Yes, that would be your mission, should you choose to accept it.” Verelich smirks, letting out another soft chuckle. “A bounty to the tune of 2 million dollars.”

“Not that 2 mil isn’t sort of chump change as far as international hit bounties go, but what did he do to get a bounty on his head like that?”

“He used to deal in oil, but then he got into dealing weapons as well. He ended up sourcing a bunch of oil and tanks to some dictator, the tanks turned out to be in poor condition, and the rest is history.”

“I’m guessing his return policy isn’t very competitive, then.”

Verelich turns in his chair to face me briefly. “It isn’t, that much is true.” He turns back to Jack. “So, do you think you can get someone to help escort the Baron safely to my hotel? Preferably someone with plenty of bodies to spare?”

Jack smirks. “The woman behind me and her boys are pretty effective when it comes to sacking hideouts. I’ve seen their work first-hand.”

Verelich looks over to me. “Oh, so there’s more to this one than meets the eye?”

“Indeed. She in particular has survived an attack from Barakan Company mercenaries, actually, very interesting incident.”

“Well, if she’s tough enough for that, I think she’d be able to handle escorting the Baron to my hotel. Does she make use of mercenaries in particular?” I could only assume he’d insist on me not using mercenaries since bagging the Baron would bring more money than any mercenary’s wage ever would.

“Not mercenaries. Her recruits are motivated by loyalty, among other things.”

“Even better. Damn, your timing is truly impeccable, Jack. This problem’s been wearing at me over the past several days...” Verelich moves his hands together, leaning back in his chair.

“Alright, when will we be doing this, where, and how far will we have to actually get him?”

“Straight to the details, then… To be honest, he’s busy making sure he can get to an aircraft that won’t be traced or stopped, so it won’t be for at least a few more days. As for the finer details, I could have my vehicle escort him all the way to my hotel, but that would be stretching my clout thin, not to mention asking to get bombed, so we’ll just have to drop him off roughly half a mile from the hotel, and have him work through the buildings in the immediate area on foot.”

“That doesn’t sound too complicated. Do you know for sure where we’ll be going?”

“Once I figure out the details I’ll be sure to have you come over so we can do a little briefing.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about you not having an exact plan yet for escorting a man with a two mil bounty.” I frowned slightly.

Verelich chuckles. “Now, now, dear, I’m just weighing my options at the moment.”

“Alright, and what will we get in turn if we help you out with this?” Jack crosses his arms, shifting his feet slightly.

“When I said your timing was absolutely perfect, Jack, I meant it in more ways than one. I’m planning on holding another ball for the underworld soon, and if you successfully protect the Baron, I will grant you two invites to the ball, where I’m sure you’ll find this Malkov you seek, and you can get what you need out of him from there. Just, don’t try to get the cops involved or anything, alright?”

“We weren’t planning to. Whatever plot this might be part of, I’m most certainly intending to settle it without calling for the goddamn cops for help.” I cross my arms, looking over to Verelich. If the cops were as incompetent as Lenny said they were, I’m not sure why Verelich would bring this up as a point.

“To be honest, I was more concerned about Jack doing so than I was ever worried about you, miss. He has helped out the cops on occasion, even if he can only do so sparingly to avoid exposing himself.”

“Let me guess, against the Teneb industry?”

Jack sighed. “Yes.”

Verelich crossed his arms. “Which also happens to define the largest portion of my clients, at least on the underground side of things.”

“So you have more legitimate clients as well?” I rose a brow.

“Yes, of course, why would I turn down good money?”

Mixing legitimate and criminal business seemed like a dangerous proposition to me, but I’m not sure if there’s actually anything illegal about arranging parties for criminals. “Guess you have a point.” I shrugged. “Is that all we need to talk about here, or…?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“I don’t think so either. We’ll be taking our leave now. Call me when you’ve got a more concrete plan.” Verelich nodded in response as we made our way back to the elevator, under escort of the employee that had seen us up to his office, until we walked out of the elevator back on the first floor. We make our way back to the front door, as I get one last glance at the sheer grandeur of the first floor’s decorations.

“You know what to do once he calls you, right?”

“Yeah.”

We went our separate ways after that.