[luckace]

Glad about the absence of new threats, Scipio wrote a short message to MB:
We r ok. r u all fine?
This had to do. He focused back onto Ravinder and his question of where to meet the woman. Here? No, she'd never come to a pace like this. He thought about inviting her into a restaurant, but the ragged rats that they were would raise a lot of suspicion there. Plus, he didn't like restaurants. The people, the smalltalk, the sky-high prices for food that you couldn't be sure of whether it's pork as claimed, or infectuous streetdog.
"How about a park or some rather public area?", he suggested, not to the bound an, but to his friends. A park would be intimidate enough to talk in peace, but still too open for a shooting.
"Or do you want to meet this Harka before that?"

[Jack_Spade]

"How about the small Vishnu temple down at the river? I don't like the idea of a wide open field like a park. We already had one hidden gunman. If everything goes to shit, at least we can jump into the river if we have to."
Riker had become silent and almost apathetic. He felt drained and sick.

[Volker]

"The temple it is, then? What do you want me to say? 'Meet me, it's urgend? Come alone?' Something along that line?"

[Jack_Spade]

"The fucking truth: You botched the job and now you need an adult to get you out of this mess. Tell her to come to the temple. No weapons. If we can have a civil conversation and Bikki is restored, no-one else has to die or get hurt. I mean it. I just want to be done with this shit."
Riker pulled himself together - his inborn impatience had overcome the shock for now. As long as there was an aim he could work towards he would be ok. Just don't think about the dead man...

[luckace]

Scipio got a little nervous when Riker suggested to jump into a River. He couldn't swim... But since he knew that all the rivers in Kathmandu were flat enough to walk in at least close to the sides, he didn`t make a comment about it.

He walked up to Ravinder, giving his best not to sound threatening. "Just sound casual. Remember, as long as you don't betray us, you have nothing to fear." He brought up the man's comlink and searched for Manisha's number, only waiting for Lucky's approval before dialing it.

I just assumed that the situation about Kathmandu's rivers won't be so different from how it is now. Right now pretty much all rivers are flat enough to walk through them. If that's a problem, I will change the post asap and humbly apologize.

[luckace]

Scipio was sweating. He got more and more nervous, as he knew that other folks, dangerous folks, might also enter their hideout and cause trouble. Plus, the absence of Man Bahadur's message really troubled him. Don't be stupid, there might be a hundred reasons why he didn't read the message yet..., a voice tried to comfort him. Didn't succeed quite well, though...
Anyways, he wanted to get the hell out of there, so he just dialed Manisha's number and pinned the comlink between Ravinder's shoulder and chin.
"Don't fuck this up, ok?"

[Volker]

What seemed to be minutes, were indeed only seconds. MB didn't respond immediately, but quite soon. Your body tenses as you see the incoming message, but the tension is all gone when you read the news:
evry1s fine Musaas impatient whenll u cum?

Ravinder shakes, but he seems to relax as he smells a way out of the mess. He doesn't appear likely to betray you (again). Swallowing, he answers the phone.

"Manisha, is that you?"
"Hai. What can I do for you, Ravinder?"
"I'm fucked, Manisha didi, I screwed up. Y-You know that youngsters we sent numb-" He corrects himself. "Bikki to. They found me. They killed Big Rohan and beat Guts. They got me, didi, and they're fucking gonna kill me!"
"Relax, Ravinder. If they wanted to kill you, they would have done so. Obviously, there must be a reason for you to call me. Now, please feel free to tell me what you want to."
"You ... You're right. Please, they want to meet you. I think they want to talk. Help the boy, you know, that kind of thing. Please come to the temple at..."
He casts a look at you. "When?"

After your answer he proceeds. "And please come alone. They're doing me, if you bring somebody. Please come!"

I'll stop the post at this point to give you the opportunity to influence the conversation. If nothing comes within 24 hours, I'll proceed.

[Jack_Spade]

Riker nodded along during the conversation. Asked for the specific time he said: "15.00h. Don't even think about betraying us this time. We only want Bikki back the way he was. Play fair, leave us alone afterwards and we'll return the favor.
You may be smarter, richer and more ruthless than we are, but we do have weapons. Any betrayal will cost you more than it could earn you. That's a promise."

Riker shuddered involutarily. As if. When was the last time, that the powerful had wasted one thought on the lifes of their footsoldiers. Still, it was worth a try.

[luckace]

"Hold on!" Scipio raised his hand and waved Ravinder to be silent. "Don't tell her the exact location yet. We'll tell her that as soon as our eyes arein position. Gotta make sure she doesn't install anyone there before we arrive."
That was close..., he thought, glad that the man had only said "the temple" so far. There were dozens, maybe hundreds of temples in the area, so she - hopefully - wouldn't be able to tell where to go or where to send an assassin.

[Volker]

"Please, Ravinder, be serious. I don't think this is funny."
"I'm fucking serious, Manisha! They got me! Please! I'll tell you the location. Be ready at 3pm! I ... I will let you know, where."

He swears some more words few of which are very suitable for a man as fancily dressed as he is. During the argument, Manisha remains calm and cool as a glacier. Then she closes the connection.

Immediately your captive starts pleasing again. "I did what you wanted. I can give you her number. Now, let me go, goddammit! I've done nothing to the boy!"

[luckace]

Scipio's face was sad. "Well, unfortunately we can't let you go just yet. You are our life insurance after all. If the meeting at the temple passes without problems, and after Bikki is restored with your money, then we're even, but not one minute earlier."
His look grew stern as the cruel voice inside his mind awakened, urging him that this was a way too nice treatment for Ravinder. "And you'd better not complain about that. Even if you didn't hurt Bikki, bringing a hidden gunman when fetching a kid is slightly suspicious."
Ange rolled over him again, paired with an undefinable grief as the memories of the shooting rose up in him again. The massive troll, slashing through the air, the Big Rohan exploding in a mess of blood, and the cold, dark eyes of the assassin. The eyes of a predator...

[gilga]

Lucky was silent. He had nothing to add. No interrogation skills and no idea what another chat with a temple representative will achieve... why couldn't it be done on the phone? what the fuck are we trying to achieve here he thought to himself. Are we determined to get killed or to make kidnapping our livelihood?

[Volker]

All in all, the preparations for the meeting went without any further problems. You managed to order Manisha Hatsumoto to your destined location without complications. Well, she is late of course, but some twenty minutes after the pre-arranged time - twenty minutes full of worries, doubts and fears - she arrives at the temple. The first impression you have is neat. Then you think Pashupatinath, but you correct yourself quite quickly. She isn't Nepalese, at least not fully. She definitely has foreign ancestors. Telling from her appearance, her being a half Japanese sounds plausible. She's wearing a clean business suit, a gun openly carried in a holster.

Manisha wouldn't enter though. From a distance, she yells: "I am here. I will answer any three questions. After that, you have to hand out my workmate. Please be informed that I am in a cooperative mood, but this state is very much dependend on your participation."

[Jack_Spade]

Somehow this development seemed to be a lot more promising, Riker thought. Unless they were prepared to level the temple, her reluctance to enter the temple meant probably, that she didn't feel safe and hadn't brought assassins with her - at least not into their immedeate vincinity.

"Fine, so are we.
First Question: How can we reverse the fuck-uped killer you made out of Biki?"

[luckace]

Scipio was relieved. He had imagined Manisha as all forms of wickedness, but she seemed rather rational to him. Fine, we can work with that, he thought about her demands. But first of all, he wanted to make sure there was indeed no hidden trigger in the area. This is going almost too well, he thought suspiciously. I need to get to a high ground, and he looked around the temple for a accessible rooftop or an unsuspicious overlook.