Robert stood in front of a man who had been provoking him about his gelato. Beside him, is Valerie who is eating her gelato quietly while he’s stuck watching this man play with it.

He didn’t want to, but Robert took the gelato from the man. He leans on the wall while almost swearing at the heat of the sun. Valerie’s eyes were on the smartphone.

“Never asked. But why not buy a smart glass?”

“Don’t like it. Can’t play mobile games on it.”

“A surprisingly normal reason.”

She gives a look before turning her mind back on the screen. Robert kept his focus on the gelato while looking at the kebab that is being turned and sliced by.

“You know, they said that I’ll be over by the end of the year. And here I am at the center of the world.”

“You don’t complain much.”

“I do get paid. Life’s better when you get paid. I didn’t expect that I’d become a businessman who is always on his toes.”

“Did you complain too much already?”

Robert slides his back on the wall, looking apprehensive. The two’s quite a pair and yet at the same time didn’t stand out because of the nature of the city.

Istanbul, Turkey. The crossroads of the world, not far from the entrance of the Spice Bazaar where Robert got himself a gelato in a store with a sign written ‘Hazerbaba’ on it. They were not far from the Eminonu Bazaar and were avoiding the large crowd that moved on opposite sides.

How Robert got into Istanbul was quite simple. They weren’t always with Romila Bout as usual, and since some of the people who are in-contact with Miss Bout were in different countries. He and Valerie were in contact with other businessmen, informants, and officials who are quite talkative.

They were just done talking to an informant that had a hand in the korium trade.  The meet was on the Spice Bazaar, and they entered this basement where they were able to get information from the informant that a large shipment of korium was being handled by the LORES Consortium. What was interesting was the large number of forces that have recently clashed with the security forces associated with the Consortium because of certain movements that led to breaking a Pact. Someone managed to get information and now every corpsec in the planet, who has heard of it, were trying to squeeze something out of the Consortium, and get something out it.

Just hearing about this talk of korium made Robert wonder if it really was going to become a problem in the future. Those who are informed are eager to get their hands on it.

Fortunately, other than the time with the raid. He encountered no problems, no gunfights, and he had little to no use of his skillset that wasn’t related to his oratory skills. Although he did go back to Lux City after the new year, and spent a week just trying to relax, annoy Julie, who seems to have got her broken again by a Korean who she thought was really cute and dated for two weeks before breaking up.

And all she did was post and send pictures to him. It came to him that as a lady's woman, she was quite pitiful when a broad doesn’t reply to her messages anymore.

Valerie had met Julie. And the two oddly hit off. Valerie’s a mercenary, a professional woman, but somehow Julie managed to work her magic and got her mouth opened up when she visited the bar. Julie’s a professional bartender, and in a way it was a masterful gift of her to pry someone’s mouth like that. The woman was rather smug about it.

“Went silent there. Texting Julie?”

“She’s being an idiot.”

“Nice girl. She can be quite… flirty, isn’t she?”

“That she is. How this woman can flirt with any cute girls without shame is a mystery to me. She dares to complain when it’s mostly her fault that she fails.”

Valerie was thinking of something as she took a bite out of the gelato.

“You told me Julie’s a chemist, right?”

“I think so.”

“She’s probably a licensure examination passer. No wonder she mixes drinks well. Odd, you’d think that she’d be working a high-paying job and not a bartender.”

Robert takes a huge bite out of his gelato before munching on the cone. He wiped his mouth with a tissue and threw it on the bin not far from them. Valerie finished hers.

The two start strolling on the bazaar while keeping their eyes on everyone passing. The crowd was thick. Mixed with people smoking, browsing, and using their phones. Robert stopped and turned his eyes on this stall selling a smoothie and this kebab pit.

He wasn’t particularly hungry so he continued moving his legs until they were in this slope heading to the right. They came across an old thrift store selling clothes.

The sign said that he was in Cinar Street. Their destination was the Hamidiye Street that was still far. They decided on taking the long walk. The street was still like a bazaar, with stalls selling bags and clothes.

The architecture of the city was somewhat maintained, though he could clearly tell that some of them were modernized to accept the current standards of technology.

He had noticed that there was a large disparity between the augmented and the non-augmented. Valerie has an artificial eye and some modifications so most of the time she isn’t told to get scanned by the authorities. Implants and Cyberware are dangerous. They are living weapons that have turned their body to steel. It was for public security that they were inspected, and some even had their features disabled to make sure that they aren’t used criminally.

Of course, there are many ways to disguise the features. Though Robert had to walk around with his gauntlet smaller than ever after improving it further with the materials he was able to procure through Strato. 

 

The street was wider than the narrow roads of the bazaar. Not far from this shop called Safa was this tram that had people waiting.

The two sat on the second floor while waiting for the person they were meeting up with. Robert got himself a sandwich while Valerie’s looking at him as if he’s a glutton.

“I need sustenance.”

“And you need to tell me how  you can still retain a body like that despite eating a lot of unhealthy foods. Your metabolism is something.”

Robert bit on his sandwich. Valerie snorted, and glanced at the balding man in his forties carrying a briefcase. He placed the briefcase on the table and then sent a beacon on them that told them that it was him.

“Safa’s sandwiches are fine. I do not recommend it though. I have heard that they mix authentic and synthetic meat to claim that they have real meat.”

Robert chewed on the sandwich, looking at the man calmly.

“It’s still food to me.”

Ben Hanzo.

The European Contact, and the broker that had been moving around, trying to get good deals for the Viator Company. He was quite independent and worked for anyone that could pay him good money.

“It has been a while since I made deals with the Viator Company. I was expecting only Miss Valerie, but it’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Oswald.”

“I’d shake your hand, but my hands are occupied.”

“Haha, I understand. Well, let’s get to the point shall we?”

Valerie affirmed quietly. Ben Hanzo opened the briefcase and allowed them to slot into it. Valerie’s watching the visuals with her eye while Robert’s viewing the rather bland presentation. He can tell that the presentation was done to convey information, not to impress.

On the visuals were ships, transports, and carries that were marked with a label that said it was extremely volatile. Most of these ships were heading to a certain island owned by the LORES Consortium and was expected to be a year's worth of harvested korium for unknown purposes.

“As you can see, korium, which has been mined for the past years, has been going to this island. Tons upon tons of korium that has been identified as superconductors and material that could possibly contain enough energy to power an entire street.

“One kilo of korium is priced fifty thousand dollars. A shipping container full of korium is priced for twenty million dollars. That’s a maximum of thirty metric tons of korium. The transportation of this material requires safety measures and recent regulations have been laid out to handle.”

The visual changed to the regulations, treaties, and handling of the volatile material.

“Korium, if improperly handled, could detonate. Leaving a tragic aftermath.”

It was the Port of San Lorenzo located in ecuador. After receiving two shipping containers of korium, had their port blown to pieces because of the improper handling of korium.

The ban of korium was placed and it could be said that after this incident that korium became a topic to the nations who saw how dangerous and how profitable it was. 

It was a volatile material whose values couldn’t be underestimated.

And now tons of it are going to this island that was called Haven. A micronation that was founded by the LORES Consortium. A nation independent from international laws and was made from the lands they brought from the middle east. It was a small island that was enlarged artificially to create a state that was slightly bigger than Rhode Island.

“It isn’t that strange, considering who discovered korium.”

The one who discovered korium in this era was Gia Silva, founder of the LORES Consortium and Madam of the infamous Hellrunners.

Robert, who had been educated by the politics of this era, was quite surprised that Silva had a lot in her time here. She has become quite a figure, that it was hard to believe that gloomy lady he had guarded back then became such a coldhearted queen that retained her youth.

Her achievement for the past hundred years was quite baffling. From the improvements of cybernetic and bionic implants. To introduce a lot of improvements in the field. A prodigy that doesn’t appear in generations.

Other than owning the LORES Consortium. What made her dangerous was the Hellrunners that were under her. She was also a fanatic according to Strato’s information. A fanatic obsessed with destroying anything magical while being hypocritical enough to use magic as her own tool. No one can remain the same after a hundred years. It wasn’t impossible for someone to change, but recalling what she read on her dossier. She’s a warlord that was untouched because of her neutrality.

A megacorp owner, with a standing army and military assets that could match up to a country.

And this woman was gathering enough resources that could be potentially dangerous.

But the visuals didn’t stop there.

He didn’t know where Ben Hanzo got the information. But the footage that was being presented to them made their expressions harden.

BRAVE Industries and a group that seemed to be part of a military outfit was confronting a group that were the Knights of the Hellrunners. Behind these Knights was a force that could stop anyone or anything. It was a force that could stop an invasion if it had to.

“It seems that around December, the Consortium landed a expeditionary force on the cold continent, and was able to discover a piece of land full of korium deposits and are now transporting them to their Haven.”

“Just be straight with us,” Valerie demanded. “Can we purchase korium at all?”

“Nope. You need to understand that most of the deposits of korium at the moment are held by the Consortium and are protected by outfits that are willing to ally with the Consortium. They employ mercenary outfits, arm them, and keep them in check. Stealing them means you'll have these mercs hunting you down. There are korium, but at best you can buy only five hundred kilos worth.”

Ben Hanzo leaned back. “As much as I’d like to help you. Unless you get permission from the Consortium, which I doubt at the moment, buying the desired amount of korium is impossible.”