Dawn of the Epoch

Chapter XLIV - Avarice

Hongo opened his eyes. Three faces looked down at him. He felt unfocused. His mind was in a haze. Tiyana held the big man’s hand. As he looked around, she squeezed it in a comforting way.

“Habari gani, Hongo.” Hunter said.

“Nzuri sana.” Hongo weakly replied.

“They gave you heavy painkillers and B12, but you are alright for the most part. The bullet just grazed your clavicle. You lost blood and you needed stitches, but, other than that, you are fine. You’re a real trooper.” Hunter said. On second thought, he added, “and a crack shot. Seriously Hongo. That was impressive shooting.”

“Did he get away?” Hongo asked.

“He did. He flew south and slightly west.” Virgil responded.

“Did you find anything out?” Hongo asked Tiyana.

“No. I dropped some serious coin though. I got us a couple dinner invitations from parliament members. I’m not sure if those will turn out to be rabbit trails or if we could actually learn something. I don’t trust them much to help us. I do trust them to try and extort more money.” Tiyana replied.

“We could always go back to the warehouse and dig around.” Hunter suggested.

Hongo chimed in, “I heard one of them speaking a Bantu language that sounded like Makua. We had a couple Makua on the digsite that I managed in Tanzania.”

“Really? And that means…” Hunter trailed off.

“They could have been from southern Tanzania or northern Mozambique. They most likely came from Mozambique, probably a coastal town since they would have to have known their way around ships to become pirates.” Hongo brainstormed.

“So we look into northern Mozambique ports?” Tiyana asked.

Hongo shrugged.

“Yes, let’s do that.” Hunter answered.

“What exactly are we looking for there?” Tiyana asked.

“Look for missing people.” Virgil responded. “If I know Ghaelvord, he will be building an army.”

Hunter seemed deep in thought. “Some of the gang were feverish. They looked pallid, like they hadn’t slept. They were sweating and moved in jerking motions. Also, their pupils were too small. They had an empty look in their eyes. And, they were incredibly strong.”

“It is the yzorak-al’ghul. It is a combination of Ghaelvord’s kebaac and a forbidden biological weapon saved from the Aldenduenum’s demise. His use of it is base. It is vulgar.” Virgil shook his head in disgust. Then, he added, “We should search for breakouts of it.”

“Northern Mozambique coastal ports and breakouts. Check and check.” Tiyana nodded as she summed up.

“Let us go.” Hongo said.

He sat up in his hospital bed. The motion made him dizzy. His head felt unnaturally heavy and he had trouble balancing it. He fumbled in an attempt to dangle his feet over the edge.

“Hongo, lay back.” Hunter said as he pushed Hongo back against the bed. “You are out of it right now. I am going to stay here with you and keep you company. Tiyana and Virgil are going to find the nearest internet café and start researching. Right?”

He turned to face Virgil and Tiyana. They nodded.

“See you around Hongo. Get some rest big guy. Way to take one for the team.” Tiyana said with a warm smile.

Virgil gripped Hongo’s arm on his good side and gave a look of solidarity. With that, they left.

• • •