Things are heating up. Ong Kata wants the Ruka to get more "kinetic" in their pursuit of the Elders. Does this means that Mikhail is in for some bad times?
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Ong Kata was angry. He’d given a lot of platinum, iridium, and, rhodium to the Ruka and he hadn’t seen any results. That’s why he was on the phone with their representative.
“I’ve paid a lot to you guys and I expect something in return. Who are the “Old Ones”? And how can I shut down the Climate Trials?”
The voice on the encrypted phone line refused to acknowledge Kata’s anger. “You’ve paid us a lot because we are the best. And we haven’t found out any more than your previous investigators. That’s to be expected, as they were also the best at what they do. But we wouldn’t be the best at what we do if we hadn’t started out doing background research to double check what they did. Moreover, we always need to carefully investigate a situation before we escalate to wet methods. That protects both us and the customer from unforeseen complications.”
“What exactly are you going to do now that you’ve done this research.” Kata was still angry, but he was able to contain his rage when dealing with the Ruka---who obviously didn’t think the enormous sums he was paying them meant they should grovel as his employees did.
“We’ve decided to start out by offering you a range of options. First, if you really do want to learn who the Elders are, we think we are going to have to kidnap and interrogate Bookchin. That, of course would mean we have to eliminate him to cover our tracks. Moreover, a successful kidnapping is a very difficult job---much more complex than a simple assassination. A killing would, however, not get us any closer to learning what is going on. It might, however, damage the Climate Trials process enough to limit market share. On the other hand, it might dramatically increase audience share by creating a meme around his murder.”
“Surely you can make it look like an accident.”
“Of course. But everyone knows that killings can be made to look like an accident or some sort of unknown medical condition. And the timing will always create suspicion. Don’t forget that until we learn more about the “Old Ones” we won’t be able to deal with their manipulation of artificial intelligence to build market share. You don’t kill an octopus by chopping off a tentacle---you have to get the head.”
“It sounds like a kidnapping is the only option. Get on with it!”
“OK Ong. But increased risk increases cost. We will contact you soon with the results.” At that point the Ruka shut down the conversation and the line went deal. Kata was so angry that he smashed his cell phone onto his desk, sending pieces flying across his office.
He barked at his secretary over his intercom. “Barra, get me some coffee and a new cell phone---you know what I use!”
“Right away sir.”
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