Ultima Ratio

Chapter 38: Improvised Act

They were going to Intermarium. At least, that was the most logical explanation.

It's not like it was impossible for UN countries to participate in black markets and shady dealings, but it would be difficult for a seller to garner the same success that monster of a leader was flaunting. But the real giveaway was his tech, namely whatever shielding he wore to be completely unaffected by Akira's gunfire, and apparently Navin's as well.

During their quiet caravan ride, Navin had confirmed it: the man was able to absorb their shots. Unless that man was another Danya, a theory Danya adamantly refused ("Please, I'm one of a kind!"), then he must have access to Concordian technology. And the closest Concordian affiliate was Slovakia's neighbor, Intermarium.

But even with that knowledge, there were too many uncertainties. They didn't even know where they were going within the country, a place whose borders stretched from the Baltic to the Black and Adriatic Seas. And even though they still had Danya's wristband and earpiece, their connectivity still wasn't functioning.

Only when they paused about fifteen minutes into the ride did they have any clue about their destination. At the time, they had no semblance of a plan, and they simply went with their best bet: play dead, or rather, paralyzed.

But by the time the caravans began to move again, this time faster than ever, no one had bothered to check what they were transporting.

"It has to be that road Navin and I saw," Jivan said once they were in the clear. "The one into Intermarium, guarded by drones. At the speed we were going and the distance we must have traveled, that's the only explanation."

"And drones would only need to scan the cargo from the outside," Elodie added. "They wouldn't need to physically check."

"Well, you wanted your way into the country," Danya said chipperly, nudging Akira's left arm with her elbow. "Here it is."

Akira grimaced. This wasn't the type of success she had in mind.

"She's right," Quyen said, her voluntary agreement to Danya surprising the entire team, Danya especially. If she noticed, she didn't care, and she continued to tinker with Elodie's stun gun with odds and ends she gathered from the others. "Maybe this is the opportunity we've been waiting for."

In the silence that followed, Danya broke it by quickly closing the gap between her and Quyen and placing her palm against Quyen's forehead. Quyen responded by yanking her head back and jabbing the stun gun towards Danya's retracting hand.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Quyen hissed as warning sparks jumped from the stun gun.

Danya raised her hands in surrender. "I'm just making sure you're feeling okay. I mean...you just agreed with me."

"So what?" Quyen snapped, ignoring Elodie's urgent shushings beside her. "You made a good point! I'm not allowed to agree with you?"

Danya grimaced, then slowly turned her head to Akira, cupping one hand around her mouth as if she was telling a secret. "I think she's feeling okay."

It was another three hours before they slowed down again. While they managed to return mobility to the civilians by then, their haphazard plan was built upon a heap of assumptions. Basically, according to Jivan, they were simply going to improvise.

The first moments of their act went according to plan. When the caravans came to a complete stop, everyone feigned paralysis, trying not to cringe as each of them was dragged out of the transport and manhandled by an assembly line of goons before being tossed onto the ground. Akira had been face-down throughout the entire process, and she forced herself to remain so even after she heard the caravans drive off and a metal shutter door drop behind them.