CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE: PLANS IN MOTION
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Gabriel and Minoko left the offices of Westwood & Westwood, exiting at the lobby, Gabriel saw a black sedan parked out front with a Japanese man in a tailored suit holding the passenger side door open. Gabriel came up short and gave the clean-shaven man a deep look, ‘Definitely ex-military' Gabriel thought after a quick observation.
“It’s okay, he works for my father. Let’s go you do not want to keep a man like Akira waiting.” Minoko warned as she entered the car first.
Gabriel thanked the driver with a nod and moved behind Minoko. When the driver noticed Gabriel seated himself in the car, he seemed to say something in Japanese into his right hand cuff. He got into the driver's seat after walking around to the front and merged with the lunchtime traffic.
“Alright Minoko. Details. Where are we going? Why didn’t your father want to meet at Lucy’s office?” Gabriel questioned, once he saw them heading out of the city towards what he guessed would be the Queensboro bridge.
“In answer to your first question we are heading to Hunter’s Point, there is a large building near Gotham’s point by the river that is for sale. I believe it is a suitable place for our base of operations. It was an old apartment complex that was only half renovated before the developers lost their funding and the project has been on ice for a year now. With so many industries, including construction becoming automated, the unemployment rate is so high that majority of people can’t afford to buy these all including type of apartments. The developers are looking to offload it quickly. It already has a number of amenities like a gym, pool, function area and such; they built those before building the actual apartments, so we can use them for training new members. We'll have to do some remodelling, but it won't be as expensive as starting from scratch. You did say that you wanted to eventually house guild members and IRL teams at the same place, right?” Minoko explained, passing Gabriel a stack of papers that held photos, blueprints and cost projections for remodeling.
Gabriel looked through each of them, the total cost would be around 4 million to begin with.
“These all look good and I do want all guild members to eventually be living on site, at least the upper members. I also like that it is close to the water, we can hopefully stash a boat of some kind near the area for ops or emergencies. What is surrounding the complex?” Gabriel asked, after looking through the documents.
“It is on the corner of Gotham’s point, there is only a park behind us and a couple of holiday houses on either side. I already checked them out and they are only lived in once or twice a year. They are large blocks of land though, so if we need to expand at some point, we can buy them out as no one cares much about selling a holiday home if offered enough money.” Minoko explained, she took the papers back off Gabriel and put them away.
“In terms of my father, all I can say is that when I told him about you and your plans, he seemed interested. My father, unlike me, is emotionless and does not express himself verbally. It's difficult to figure out what he's thinking or feeling.” Minoko said in her almost robotic voice.
Gabriel gave her a small smile, thinking she was joking, but he was mistaken; her stone slate face simply stared back at him.
“Yes, I can see how that would be difficult to deal with. If we consider that he wants to meet me, I believe he is at least somewhat interested. All I need is a quick chat with him, and I'm confident he'll join us." Gabriel stated confidently.
“Mr. Draganov, even if my father does not want to work for you, I want you to know that I am willing to work for you. I haven't changed my mind. After what happened to our family, my father may have finally put the past behind him, but it still feels like a fresh cut wound to me, and if I don't get some sort of closure, it will only fester until it consumes me." Minoko promised, her monotoned voice becoming agitated near the end.
“I completely understand Mino.” Gabriel sympathized, letting her have a few minutes to calm down. “Mino, I have also talked to Wayne about running the team. He has agreed and will be building a small team to begin with over the next coming days, You will need to work with him directly. Although Wayne has stated that he will only take on people he knows are trustworthy, I still want them to be vetted. Can you do that?” Gabriel asked.
“That depends on whether or not my father agrees to assist us; if he does, I can use some of his contacts to conduct some background checks; if he doesn't, I'll have to wait until I set up my own network." Mino replied after taking a moment to think.
They spent the rest of the car ride sorting out details and exchanging newly acquired information. After getting Wayne's permission, Gabriel also gave Minoko his contact information. As their handlers, Minoko and the team she assembles will have to work closely with Wayne and his crew, which included Gabriel.
The car approached a large white apartment complex. One side appeared to be under construction, as it rose to about 8 stories in height. It was arranged in a L shape, resembling an old hospital. They entered an underground parking garage and drove past an empty security booth. Parking next to the only other car in the lot and a set of sliding doors leading to a pair of elevators.
The driver exited first and opened the door for Minoko, while Gabriel got out of his side himself. Talking into his cuff again, the driver spoke to Minoko in Japanese after apparently receiving an answer.
"Dad’s at the gym; follow me; I'll show you where he is." While the driver remained next to the car, Minoko motioned to Gabriel.
Gabriel followed Minoko onto the elevator and up to the first floor. The pair walked down a bare bones corridor, towards a set of double doors. Gabriel pushed open the doors to reveal a spacious gymnasium set up like an indoor basketball court, with a weight lifting mirror and soft mats on one side and courts with different outlines on the other. An older Japanese man was standing in front of one of the mirrors, his eyes closed as the sun coming from the skylights cascaded down on his figure. He was wearing a salmon coloured shirt, with a black vest. The clean shaven look and slicked back salt and pepper hair, along with his upright posture, spoke of a clearly meticulous man in all things.
Minoko approached the man with Gabriel in tow. Arriving in front, she greeted him first in Japanese with a bow before turning to Gabriel and returning to English.
“Father, this is Gabriel Draganov. Son of one of your former students and the man I have accepted to be employed by. Gabriel this is my father Akira Tyaji.” Minoko introduced both men to each other, keeping it short and sweet.
Akira opened his eyes and gazed at Gabriel, who had just given a bow in greeting.
“Leave us for a moment Mino.” Akira spoke out, his English masked by a heavy Japanese accent. “I will call you when I am done.”
“Mr. Tyajii, I fir...” Gabriel was interrupted with Akira raising his hand.
“I'll stop you from wasting your breath, Mr. Draganov. Only for two reasons have I consented to meet with you. I wish I could have done something following Kristof's accident, but anyone close to me at the time would have been in risk, which has left me feeling extremely remorseful. Second, I know my daughter, and even if I advised her not to get involved with your plans, she would. If I pursued the matter, Mino would continue along this path, and our already difficult relationship would be more damaged. I'll tell you right now that I have no intention of assisting you in your idiotic crusade, but I will be keeping a close eye on you." With a no-nonsense expression on his face, Akira explained.
“I appreciate you being forth right. I can't guarantee Minoko won't be in danger, but I'll do everything I can to keep her as safe as possible. But I'll tell you right now that our initial mission will be primarily intelligence collecting. Right now, I have no intention of engaging in any kind of frontal confrontation. I'll also be looking at the activities of Pier 114, which is located near Hell's Kitchen." Gabriel responded, emphasizing Pier 114.
Akira didn’t have any changes of expression after the name drop, which Gabriel had honestly expected.
“And why would you focus your effort on Pier 114?” Akira questioned.
“Apart from the fact that the excessive security for what should be a routine shipping pier and warehouse has raised many eyes, no one seems to want to discuss it. I'm also aware that the Braxen Co owns the property, but it has a significant presence of La Familia members moving in and out at all hours of the day, with Natalie being the only Braxen member recorded entering. It makes one wonder what's on the inside." Gabriel explained, leaving out many details intentionally.
“I agree that it merits a second look, but it doesn't explain why you would particularly mention that location to me." Akira replied flatly.
Gabriel didn't respond to the leading statement, as the two entered a silent staring match for a moment. Akira appeared to receive something from Gabriel’s silence and gave him a small smile.
“At least you aren’t trying to walk in the dark, I recommend you look more into the people Natalie Braxen takes with her into the place and how many actually leave once she does. I still stand by my first choice though and will not be directly lending you a hand. That is all for now, I may want to talk to you again in the future. Please wait here for a moment while I have Minoko escort me out.” Akira explained, leaving Gabriel by himself as he made his way to Minoko standing next to the door.
Minoko saw her father coming and followed behind him after he gave a curt gesture towards to door, she trailed him out with head slightly bowed. As the father and daughter walked away, Gabriel's gaze followed them. 'He hasn't changed much, and I constantly feel that explaining something to Akira is futile because he already knows everything.' Gabriel pondered to himself as he was left alone inside the gymnasium. He decided to take a quick tour around the area. On the other side of the gym, directly across from the entrance, was a door leading to a large rectangular swimming pool, Gabriel only stuck his head into the room for a moment before he heard the sound of doors opening behind him. Minoko returned by herself, with her brow furrowed she walked towards Gabriel, looking to be deep in thought.
“Everything okay Mino?” Gabriel asked, bringing her attention back to him.
“As he walked away, my father appeared almost... at ease. He stated that he has already informed you that he will not be assisting us, but he has provided me with a list of persons who can assist us. I believe we can count on him to provide us with some indirect assistance in the future. Even if he doesn't give us all of his contacts, it's a big help with just a couple, and it's more than I expected from that man." Minoko responded, although she seemed to be speaking to herself rather than Gabriel.
Gabriel gave a genuine smile at Minoko’s words, it was honestly a long shot to earn any semblance of trust from a man like Akira after the first meeting. Gabriel was surprised that Akira didn't question him more extensively, but he assumed that, like in his previous life, his father Kristof's name had something to do with it.
“Well, it’s a start at least, let’s get going. So, how long do you think it will take you to get things initially set up? I will try to offer you as much aid and time as I can afford of course but I need to spend majority of my time for now in D.O. I can’t fall to far behind, a lot of the serious gamers are doing some major grinding right now for levels, leaving only a couple hours a day for sleep and such. With Guilds coming into presence, a lot of the dungeons and hunting spots will start being taken over by them.” Gabriel asked, as they made their way out of the gymnasium.
“It is certainly a start, I will also be able to do the background checks now on Wayne’s team, I will run it by him first though, as I imagine he wouldn't be too happy if we start going over his head when he has just joined. In regards to getting everything in full operation, I will start construction straight away after the sale closes for this place. I will begin with a small team working on general security and information gathering. It shouldn’t take long to get this place to where we want either, there are a lot of construction companies in dire need of some work and I will use a couple of different ones so no one has the complete blueprints.” Minoko answered.
“Excellent, I’ve already had majority of the money transferred from the sale of the Guild Token to the Mendax account. Spend it as you see fit but make sure to keep track of where the money is going for me, please. Also, I am looking to buy a company soon. Once you set everything, I will need some people to look into the employees and the books for me.” Gabriel instructed, giving Minoko the specifics as they entered the underground carpark.
The driver was still waiting for them next to the car and got into the passenger seat once they entered. Gabriel gave him the directions to his parents new house and they headed out of the carp park.
“Mino, Lucy has also told me that you plan to take care of purchasing my future place for me, where do you have in mind?” Gabriel asked.
“I believe the most logical place will be the compound we are building; it will be more secure and we can keep track of each other. As you will be in your capsule a lot of the time, you need a safe location, so you can proceed without fear of being ambushed, it will also cut down on the commute. Your original idea of an apartment only a couple of blocks from the headquarters of Braxen Co was idiotic and dangerous.” Minoko reasoned.
“That makes sense; I suppose it was more of a childhood fantasy of mine to own a penthouse in a high-rise building; I felt it meant something, but it wasn't entirely sensible. Oh, yes! Did you get a capsule for yourself, as I requested? I'm looking for your assistance with my new lands in D.O. If we develop them correctly, they may be a reliable source of income for us. You won't have to participate in guild raids or anything like that, but I do need a steward who can assist with things; is this too much for you to handle though?" Gabriel inquired, quickly changing the subject after Minoko's remark about him being an idiot for wanting a penthouse cut like a knife, especially because it was true.
“No, it will be fine, I have already planned to assist you with the guild in D.O. I am guessing you will be basing your guild building on your lands, so it will tie in together. The capsule arrived yesterday morning too, I had to use one of my dad’s contacts to get it early though as they are backordered for at least a month. I imagine I will be leaving the Novice village soon, with the help from the tips you gave me, I progressed quite quickly. Will you be on this evening?” Minoko questioned.
“Yeah, I am having dinner with the family first and will hopefully be on around 7pm. Once you get out of the Novice Village and reach Roma, let me know and I will come pick you up. Player Killers are starting in full swing right now, their favourite targets are the new players once they leave the city.” Gabriel explained.
They continued to chat about a few things until the car pulled up to Gabriel’s family’s new home.
“I will get the ball rolling on the construction as quick as I can, I will also make sure one for the first things built is your apartment. Send me an email of a couple of things you want it have and be furnished with.” Minoko asked, as Gabriel got out of the car and was holding the door.
“Will do. Thanks, Minoko, I will hopefully see you later tonight, although it will be in day time in D.O. Thanks for the comfortable drive too, sir.” Gabriel said, as he gave a small bow to the driver who was looking at him through the rear-view mirror.
Gabriel walked up to his family’s new house and could hear the laughter and lively atmosphere from the front steps. Knocking on the door, he heard Max shout followed by the pitter patter of someone running towards the front door. Max swung the door wide open.
“Gab! Your home. Come check out my new room!” Max exclaimed, basically dragging Gabriel by the arm towards his room. Gabriel just let himself be pulled and laughed along the way.
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