Operation Freya (Attn: Scandinvans)

[Kahanistan]

New Masada, capital of Kahanistan

Main Intelligence Directorate Headquarters

Director Yusuf ad-Din Mansur sat in the conference room surrounded by MID agents. He held a remote control in his hand, which he used for the overhead projector on which was displayed an outline of a project to insert spies into Valdra, capital of the Scandinvan Empire, to foment discord among the nobles.

"About three years ago, Military Intelligence inserted a spy into the Emperor's harem, Lt. Siobhan O'Hara. Her mission was to gather compromising information about then-Crown Prince Harald, now Emperor Harald II. We have not heard from her since, so we assume she was either executed or imprisoned until they can exchange her for a captured Scandinvan spy... or her radical feminist tendencies were uncovered and she was sold to some other slaver. She was known to be very opinionated and even General Kaselev had concerns about her temperamental suitability for such an operation. We will, therefore, be much more cautious about who we insert into the Imperial Harem than General Kaselev and Military Intelligence."

The old, battle-scarred man pressed a button to display another slide. "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Nobles have almost absolute power in the Empire and eagerly seek more. They will enthusiastically accept anything that increases their power above other nobles. Therefore, if we can find a noble who is very highly placed, equivalent to a duke or marquis or earl, who is also unstable and unscrupulous, MID can easily manipulate such a noble."

"How so?" asked Section Chief Suleiman Hassan.

Mansur pulled on his cigar, and pungent cannabis fumes wafted through the room. "Section Chief Hassan makes a good point. How will we manipulate a noble?" He pressed the button again and a list of names of Scandinvan nobles appeared on the screen, with whatever personal information, often very scant, that was available to Kahanistanian Intelligence. "Those who are already rich and powerful compared to other nobles, more corruptible, preferably with some form of mental illness that makes them more suggestible. They may even adopt an agent as one of their own, they are known to keep their offspring hidden... paranoia runs deep in the Empire."

"How would we get our agent adopted?" asked Division Chief Shlomo Avrahami. "How do we get a paranoid noble to take in a guy... or girl, with little knowledge of how the nobility works, to take them into their family?"

Mansur took another hit of his cigar and pressed the button again. "Easy. We give the noble something of value... inside information on another house, technology, even information about our government as a last resort. They will not ask where it came from."

Special Agent in Charge Q. Spencer Morrison asked the obvious question. "How do we even get the agents there, with whatever they're going to use to get inducted into the noble family? And how do we get them out of there when they've gathered up the information?"

Mansur smiled. "Getting out isn't hard when you're a 'noble.' Getting in, however... we will use a private plane with an overlarge fuel tank. It will give the Scandinvans the impression that the agents are simply rich travellers. There will be no markings to identify the plane's origin."

---

Remote airfield north of Highwood, Kahanistan

A twin-engine Cessna, modified with hybrid engines and an extremely large fuel tank to make the flight from Kahanistan to the Scandinvan Empire, prepared for takeoff with four MID agents and two officers of the Kahanistanian Defence Forces General Reconnaissance and Special Operations Command. Special Agent in Charge Q. Spencer Morrison piloted, and had two female Special Agents, Annalise Hobart and Fatimah Azari, and one male Special Agent, Norman Grayson. The two KDF GRSO officers were Lt. Colonel Mark Donaldson and Colonel Olivia Harrison.

During the flight, Special Agent Morrison explained in greater detail the operation. Each agent had expertly forged Scandinvan ID's, to make getting through security that much easier. Morrison himself would be unable to infiltrate a noble house because he was black. Grayson would be the man to approach the estate of the richest, corruptest and craziest motherfucker in the capital with the blueprints of the Republic Navy's Sviatogor class bulk cruiser, a large, heavily armed and armoured anti-slaver transport, designed specifically for transporting large numbers of freed slaves to new homes, including its weaknesses. He would introduce Morrison as his personal slave, who also served as his bodyguard while he traveled abroad. Special Agent Hobart would pass as Grayson's sister. A curvy, attractive blonde in her early 20's, she would be sought after by young noble men.

Harrison and Donaldson would obtain a safe house in Valdra, posing as husband and wife, with their Arab slave played by Agent Azari. The MID would use this safe house later. The GRSO officers' mission was to discover the fate of Lt. O'Hara, who had disappeared in the Empire three years earlier. They knew she had been sent to become part of the Emperor's harem, but she had either been executed or sold elsewhere and it was their intention to locate her and bring her back home if she was still alive.

The plane entered Gothic airspace headed for Valdra...

[The Scandinvans]

Lord Richard av Berdahl avo Berdahl jaklan avt eri Berdahl (roughly translated as Richard born to house Berdahl, member of Berdahl, and high lord of the Empire for Berdahl) already had, due to stresses of thoroughky participating in the politics of the Scandinvan nobility, the appearance of an eighty year old despite being only in his early sixties. For decades now he had for years played the ceaseless game of politics within the Empire. He had, during that time, struggled to protect the existing power of his house against the decline it had experienced over the last few generations due to the excesses of the patriarchs of the house and the collapse of the traditional alliances which had at one time ensured that the power of his house would be ensured. Thus, due to his pride and fear of losing rank, Richard had resorted to utilizing more covert means to ensure the survival of house's prestige and power. To this end, he resorted to subvert measures which would normally be considered dishonorable and unfit for a noble of his rank. Yet, he was willing to do whatever was necessary to achieve glory and power.

The years of taking part in campaigns of subterfuge had however seen the lord become more erratic over the years and become increasingly self-centered to the point of no longer taking heed of the need to not offend certain people, namely the highest echelons of the nobility whom were closely related to the Imperial House Erid. This only continued to fuel his descent.

As a part of his attempts to bolster his own power base within the Empire he had set up a wide spread network of informants he used to gain sensitive information and to ensure that none of his foes were plotting against him which was centered on Valdra. This was due to Valdra being the heart of the Scandinvan economy, the entry port for nearly all outside influences into the Empire, it was the seat of the Council of Lords, and it was where the secrets of the nobility were most readily available to whomever was willing to pay the appropriate price for them...

Within the last week a portion of the Council of Lords, namely those whom had an interest in the international slave trade, had been called to convene to discuss matters related to the escalating threat that recent conflicts posed to the supply of slaves from Ralkovia and other sources. Since Lord Richard was a significant stakeholder in the International Slave Market of Valdra, he had summoned to attend the meeting as a mere formality though.

Many of the various lords whom would be present at the meeting had seen their interests assailed by the devices of Lord Richard and would have preferred for him to simply be forgotten. For though they disliked him, he had never done anything harmful enough to warrant Richard being labelled a true threat and had not offended anyone to the point where he had effectively sullied their honor, though there were a few close calls in that regard.

Due to those very reasons, Lord Richard had activated his agents in Valdra and had them disperse across the city. They were to keep there eyes and years open for anything that might pose a potential threat to their lord. They were also ordered to keep a lookout for anything that might be of use to the long term plots of their lord.

Thus when the Kahanistanian had arrived many of the the bars within the city had some sort of feeler within acting on directly on behalf of Lord Richard or feeding information to one of his agents. However, there was always the threat of someone's eyes or ears taking note of anything suspicious.

[Kahanistan]

While Donaldson, Harrison and Azari went to find a safe house, preferably one in a relatively upscale area of the city, Grayson, Hobart and Morrison went to a seedy bar in the slums. Such places would naturally be crawling with Imperial agents of all manner of description, from those looking to unmask plots against the Emperor or domestic opposition to his new slave policy to operatives of certain easily manipulated nobles of the type the MID agents were looking for. They would keep their eyes and ears open.

[The Scandinvans]

The situation in the slums of the city had only become more suppressed as of late as the recent declaration from the Emperor had been issued by him in an attempt to marginalize a group of people, those descended from slaves who had been manumitted directly by non-noble persons, that compromised only about one percent of the total population and to to give him license to more thoroughly control those who might challenge the status quo in the Empire. Even among the population that were directly subject to the law there was little real change in their day to day lives. For though persons of freed descent were now legally slaves of the Emperor, Harald did not have any desire to alter the economic climate of the cities by taking away a fairly notable portion of the population and instead planned to make the change in their condition be gradual process over the next generation. However, those whom refused to comply with the decree of the Emperor were considered a direct challenge as a threat to the Emperor's authority and thus were directly targeted by programs and pogroms directed by the Emperor's Shadows.

The pawns of Lord Richard though, unlike the Emperor's Shadows, were known to actively seek out new people that they believed might their lord. As, unlike the Emperor's Shadows, they had to maintain fairly open ranks in order to even maintain a steady level of membership for many agents of Lord Richard were prone to resign after a while due to his often excessive demands imposed upon them. Though those whom resigned became more sleeper agents then purely inactive ones due to the fact that membership int he ring was generally lifelong, though choosing to remain or even become an active agent was purely an individual one unless if a person was on a sensitive mission. The center of their operations in Valdra was a bar near the port called Sea's Grace.

At Sea's Grace there always was a room reserved for the agents of Lord Richard and, despite their supposed nature, made it fairly obvious whenever the room was occupied. They, in effect, used the room to advertise their presence and hopefully wold be able to draw in potentially useful individuals by bringing in the curious at the least.

The city's real estate generally was expensive yet due to the ever growing nature of the city a fairly easy thing to acquire as there was always some new development entering the market and was also unregulated by anything save the city's inspection programs. The average prices for buying a home in areas closer to the city would equate to roughly 600,000 dollars in the more upscale areas, as those areas were in the greatest demand, and to buy a condominium in a higher end complex would average around 900,000. The cost of renting an apartment though would be anywhere, in the heart of the downtown and close to the seats of power that is, from 4100 for a single bedroom to 12,500 for a four bedroom.

[Kahanistan]

Colonel Harrison decided the spies needed an actual safe house, preferably one in the rich areas where fewer people were likely to take notice of them. This was meant to be a place that future teams of Kahanistanian spies could use after the completion of the present objectives, and a place to flee to if in danger of capture. Rentals were out of the question, considered much more likely to be bugged or in areas infested with law enforcement. The operatives, however, had split among them tens of millions of dollars; the life of a spy is not cheap, especially when one spies on the nobility.

Special Agent in Charge Morrison and his team, however, sat in the slummy bar for four hours and didn't see much interesting. They did hear someone talking about the bar near Sea's Grace and decided to head there. Maybe there were actually nobles there, they thought.

[The Scandinvans]

One of the more prominent communities, though not one which was carefully designed to exclude people whom were not members of a particular caste, was Bryne. It was generally an area where one would could find either members of the nouveau riche or fairly low ranking nobles whom lacked the financial capacity, or influence, to acquire property in areas more geared towards suiting the demands of the aristocracy. Due to the comparative wealth of Bryne it was host to a large number of activities for men ranging from swordsmanship schools, hunting clubs, philosopher circles, falconering centers, car centered pastimes, and other types of things. Then for woman there were golf courses (one of the few foreign pastimes to gain traction within any social circle in the Scandinvan Empire), boating, painting groups, various equestrian activities, badminton, book clubs, and a number of other pursuits. All of which could be readily accessed by a new number of the community so long as they would fill out an application and maintain whatever resources where required to support their associated pursuits. These various past times also served as a way to network for many people within the community.

While Lord Richard did not often go to Sea's Grace, his agents though would be able to arrange a meeting with him fairly easily if the need would arise or if they felt that they had found a potentially useful new agent. However, the circumstances of the meeting would be heavily regulated so as to ensure the protection of his lordship and to prevent anyone from slipping in some sort of wire.

At the bar there always sat an agent of Lord Richard whom could be identified by the dark crimson overcoat they wore, by the fact they would always have their eyes on the crowd, and had a hand hidden away ready to draw a handgun in the event that things took a turn for the worst.

[Kahanistan]

Special Agents Grayson, Hobart and Morrison sat in Sea's Grace. Hobart noticed the man in the crimson overcoat watching the crowd, hand constantly in his coat (he probably had some sort of weapon) and thought he might be one of the Emperor's Shadows. Thinking the team was being watched, she nodded to Morrison and Grayson to enter the men's room while she approached the man. If he was a Shadow, she wanted to take him off task, figure out his intentions and possibly take information from him. If he was not, she wanted to make sure he wasn't some other sort of operative who might be ferreting out Kahanistanian spies.

The pretty blonde sat next to the man in the overcoat and crossed her legs. "Nervous about something?" she asked.

[The Scandinvans]

The man, whilst having noted the fact that the trio had suddenly divided, decided to play along for the time being. His face hidden underneath a hood for the most part only show his dour grin and pale skin. Upon a few seconds of silence the man replied," No. Nothing is really giving me any particular trouble. I am merely trying to keep myself steady. I have already had a few drinks after all."

He, after taking a sip from a shot glass, continued," What makes you ask?'

[Kahanistan]

Special Agent Hobart lowered her voice. "Well... you seemed to be watching the room... as if the Shadows might burst through here at any moment. I'm Annalise, by the way." She smiled widely, trying to appear friendly but maintaining a healthy suspicion.

[The Scandinvans]

The man in a cold voice replied in Scandinvan," The Shadows would not be so obvious in their intentions."

Taking a swig from his glass again the man then continued in English," I am Leonard. I merely am sort of watchmen for a particular patron of this establishment to ensure that his interests here are not threatened by any sort of riffraff."

[Kahanistan]

Annalise nodded and ordered a vodka tonic, laying down a five Darvian note. She wasn't particularly familiar with Imperial currency, nor did she trust the exchange office not to have ripped her off, figuring that a million or so dollars wouldn't be so easily noticed until it was too late.

"What sort of riffraff?" she asked casually, letting her long blonde hair fall around her shoulders.

[The Scandinvans]

The bartender, whom was quite a small man with a deeply tanned complexion wearing plain clothes and had a black iron neckband, merely saw took the order, all the while looking down at the ground so as not to make eye contact, and quickly returned with the appropriate drink. At which point the small man took the bill and simply laid three bronze coins that each had a prominent 1 stamped into them and various phrases in runes inscribed onto them.

Leonard retorted in a professional manner," The various dredges of society whom occasionally become curious about the affairs of their betters. Or those whom represent the designs of those individuals opposed to plans of my own lord."

[Kahanistan]

Annalise's smile widened. "So mysterious. And secretive," she said, taking a swig of her drink. "You sound like a spy." It wasn't an accusation, more like an observation. "Well, as long as nobody knows who your lord is, I don't think you'll have any problems with people opposing his interests."

[The Scandinvans]

Leonard, still hidden by his hood, blandly answered," I only serve my lord as he commands and nothing more or less. Whatever persons that intend to infringe upon his will are above my right to note. However, if you wish to know of my lord, you merely have to understand that he is a suspicious man."

[Kahanistan]

Annalise nodded. "I've come to regard that as a common trait among people with power. There are always those who will strive to take it from them, those above whom they have offended and those below who strive for more power." This line of conversation may be getting risky. I must be careful not to seem too critical of slavery in these parts. Best to switch topics. "What do you like to drink here?"

At the end of the bar, Special Agent Grayson and Special Agent in Charge Morrison watched her converse with the suspicious man. They couldn't hear the conversation between the female agent and the other man, but Morrison was acutely aware of being the only black man in the entire bar. He had been growing progressively more anxious, wondering why the notorious racists he expected hadn't already jumped him, and if they would if he got himself separated from Grayson. He whispered discreetly to the agent, to not leave him behind.

Grayson shook his head. "Stick with me, and you should be safe. Let me do the talking here." He waited for a bartender to ask for two rum and Cokes.

[The Scandinvans]

Leonard became a bit disconnected by the sudden leap in the conservation and suggested that while she was not a threat she still held thoughts beyond those normally accompanying a female member of the burgher classes of the Empire, something that he had assumed her to be, whom usually merely accepted the status quo so long as the situation in the Empire. This caused him to conclude that she was most likely a more interesting person whom possessed a fresh point of view.

He then stated," I prefer brandy or mead."

After drinking what was left in his glass he asked," Just out of curiosity what caste are you?"

The bartender, seeing the two new figures at the bar, approached them with his eyes upon the black man whilst directing his comment at Grayson said," Please excuse me for troubling you good sir, but I am afraid that this facility does not allow servile persons to sit at the counter or drink alcoholic beverages."

[Kahanistan]

Hobart smiled. "I'm free," she said. "I work for my living. But I notice those above me generally aspire to even higher positions."

On the other end of the table, Grayson nodded to the man. "Is there anywhere I can take him, that will let him drink? He is properly trained and will not start trouble." He didn't want to get separated from his superior and have him beaten up. Nor did he need to attract the attention of the authorities.

[The Scandinvans]

Leonard retorted," I am a member of the warrior caste myself. We each have a place ordained by God and affirmed by tradition."

The bartender responded," Nearly all bars will deny alcoholic beverages to non-free persons sir. It is a general policy to keep us slaves in a more compliant state. I can however offer him any other form of beverage sir."

[Kahanistan]

Grayson frowned. "He is compliant because he is treated well, and he knows his obedience to me benefits him as well as me, for another master might not allow him the personal liberties he currently enjoys. But I will not try to start trouble here." He turned to his dark-skinned comrade. "Let's go drink somewhere else." The two men turned and began to leave.

Annalise was still talking to Leonard, and she did not notice her comrades turning around. "A warrior. Certainly you aspire to attain higher rank in the military, with the increased pay and benefits and power that entails?"

[The Scandinvans]

The bartender simply bowed his head further," I apologize for the trouble sir. I merely do as I am ordered to do so. I hope you have a nice day and please consider this bar in the future sir."

The veritable bouncer of the bar, a large slave of some sort of mixed race descent, after taking note of the exchange got up and watched as the two left the bar. He would, after they left, take a position at the door and prevent them from returning the rest of the night so as to prevent any trouble once the bar became busier and filled with people whom would not tolerate the presence of a slave in the bar at all.

Leonard answered in a manner befitting a recording," Duty to one's lord, land, and God requires that they set aside personal desires. Least they be tempted away from the truly righteous path and their minds become riddled with foul temptations which can bend low even the noblest of individuals."

Switching to a more organic tone he continued though he continued to speak from the perspective of someone who knew only of a generally exclusive view of the world," We warriors are taught from a young age to live a different sort of life from you burghers. Whilst you pursue careers in commerce and science, we warriors uphold the ancient designs of Erid and affirm the sovereignty of the Empire against any powers that would seek to humble or challenge us. Advancement within our ranks is given only to those whom prove our value to our lords and any among us who seek a different manner of growth only dishonor themselves ultimately.

As for our pay, a fact that you burghers never seem to comprehend, is that we are provided for by our lords. Our homes, education, health, and livelihoods derive from those whom we pledged our services to. In return for these things we give our very beings to our lords regardless of our own passions."

[Kahanistan]

Outside the bar, Morrison and Grayson stepped out and Grayson lit a cigarette. "I feel like I traveled a hundred years back in time," he said crossly. "Back home, a bar that did that would be trashed by angry mobs."

"I feel lucky they didn't lynch my black ass," Morrison replied. "They assumed that I was a slave just because I'm black." They walked briskly down the street, as far from Sea's Grace as they could get. "Maybe we should check on Donaldson, Harrison and Azari when we get out of this neighbourhood."

"I feel weird having to act like I'm pushing around my superior," Grayson snorted.

---

Inside the bar, Annalise was getting an idea of just how closed minded people could be. She felt that showing an open mind was just going to get her looked at more strangely. At this point she was starting to think of Leonard as being just an extremely well-treated slave to his lord. Looking around the bar, she noticed that Morrison and Grayson were gone... and a huge bouncer was at the door now.

"You watch out for your lord, you said? Does he show up around here?"

[The Scandinvans]

Throughout the ocean front there were normal Scandinvans just going about their day to day business. Freemen worked as skilled laborers, in white collar positions, or as overseers in the quays. The slaves worked in roles which were considered beneath proper Scandinvans. As such, they worked as porters, welders, parts of construction crews, menial laborers, runners, and any task which did not warrant a freeman filling. At the same time though, a fairly noticeable minority of slaves worked alongside skill laborers, as clerical staff, and a variety of other positions generally held by free persons. This was a byproduct of the increasing tendency within Scandinvan society over the last few decades to adapt a more adaptive approach to slavery. As with the increasing focus upon the services sector within the burgher ranks there had arisen a propensity on their part to start to properly fill all sectors of the labor force as they used. Thus over time slaves were assigned to fill these roles.

These changes though did not bring any real change in the relative social position of the slaves within the greater scheme of Scandinvan society. However, it did create divisions within the slave populations. For slaves with valuable skills or in trusted positions were given better conditions and increased freedoms when compared to other slaves. These differences in turn caused an increasing lack of common identity within the slave population. This was further enhanced by the general practice of promoting people of either European, eastern Asian, or partial Scandinvan descent much more often than those of darker or Arabic backgrounds. These groups were simply viewed as more productive and intelligent by Scandinvans due to the racial theories which held sway in the Empire. Such distinctions also served to more readily divide the slave community and prevent greater levels of cohesion from developing.

In some ways these differences in the population in the Empire could be seen thoroughly displayed along the seafront and namely in the ways in which people interacted with each other.

-----------------------------------------------------------

The community of Bryne was, due to the competitive nature of business there, divided between a dozen or so different home vendors. Many of whom were known for their willingness to be desecrate when dealing with clients as many of the homes they dealt in were explicitly designed to be fairly private....

-----------------------------------------------------------

The bartender had gone back to dealing a myriad of different tasks as he went about ensuring the bar area was ready for the night rush and the bouncer merely took a seat on a stool so that he could monitor the entrance.

Leonard though found the question a bit forthright considering the affairs of the nobility where usually something that most people left alone. Though he suspected that the influence of alcohol had simply made her more willing to explore subjects usually left alone.

Thinking for a few seconds he thought his lord might take interest in new agent, after of course making sure that she was not in the employ of some other lord. He then stated," His lordship will come here from time to time. When he does so he usually is here on business related to his various interests."

[Kahanistan]

Annalise nodded and asked the bartender for two pitchers of mead, dropping a ten Darvian note. She thought back to what Leonard had said about 'riffraff' who got too curious about the affairs of their 'betters' and realised she was squarely in that category. But her curiosity had gotten the better of her much earlier. "What sort of interests... would bring a lord here?" she asked discreetly.

Grayson and Morrison walked the streets of Byrne, disturbed by just how many slaves there were around there. In Kahanistan, these jobs would be held by paid workers, many of them in unions, which made efforts to prevent working conditions from getting so bad that nobody would take jobs in certain sectors, and people worked to better their lives, not those of people who held them as chattel. But Morrison was a Special Agent in Charge, and didn't get to be one by letting his outrage at slavery and injustice get the better of him. Grayson, on the other hand, realised that if they were to infiltrate the nobility he would be needed, simply because he was the only white male MID agent in the crew. He wasn't about to run crazy risks in the Imperial capital... well, any crazier than this damn fool mission Mansur had sent him on. He wondered if the GRSO officers who'd come with his crew had managed to find their agent or what had happened to her.

[The Scandinvans]

Leonard sighed. This woman had prodded to the point that she was now seeking an audience with a person whom hardily even noted the existence of those whom served in his household and whose mind cared not for the affairs of people whom were effectively ants in his opinion. However, Lord Richard, despite his somewhat distant relationship with the greater part of the Empire's subjects, till found hearing the desires of low born persons interesting enough on occasion to warrant him meeting with them personally.

He was however avoiding taking any of the mead as it was poor manners to simply take something without the prior consent of his own. Thinking for a few seconds he then decided to play her game a bit.

He then chuckled a bit and retorted," Well judging from your implied intent, you yourself wish to meet him regarding some design of your own."

Then, in a blander tone, went on," Namely his lordship is more prone to dealing in things like information when he attends to things her."

-----------------------------------------------

Though there was a rather apparent inequality between the roles of free persons and slaves, there was no ready abuse of the slaves on the part of the majority of people due to the fact that they were valuable pieces of property whose productivity and value could rapidly go down if they were abused or beaten extensively. This did not alleviate the oppression of the slaves though and it was not unusual for a slave to be lynched by a anger mob or tortured publicly due to some real or perceived threat they posed to the status quo in the Empire.

[Kahanistan]

Annalise smiled. It was her comrade Grayson who had the blueprints to the Sviatogor class anti-slaver bulk cruiser, but the other agents had the relevant specifications committed to memory. With them, Lord Richard could construct his own ships if he had the funds and make raids on his competitors while disguising the attacks as the work of the Republic Navy or its allies... or even damage the reputation of the KDF by making it look like rogue officers were stealing slaves to sell them themselves, which would likely provoke a destructive witch hunt in the Navy's top brass. She could give basic information on how to construct them if necessary. She even had a cover story ready as to how she came across the information.

"I think you've read me quite well," she said softly. She sipped one of the pitchers and pushed the other to Leonard. "I thought you liked mead."

Morrison called Lt. Colonel Donaldson on his cell. "Mark, this is Spencer. Norman and I are up the road about three klicks from Sea's Grace. Do you have that safe house?"

"Yeah, Olivia's taken care of everything there. Come meet us. What about Annalise?"

"She's talking to some weird guy, or she was when we left. Should still be at the bar, but I'm afraid to go back. They don't serve black people there. Racists."

"Well, you're not at home any more. That kind of shit is fucked up, but to be expected here. If you don't hear from her in a few hours, let me know."

"Any leads on O'Hara?"

"None so far. We really don't know where to begin looking yet. Valdra is huge, probably bigger than New Masada. Olivia's been making a few calls to slaver companies, asking if they have a Kahanistanian woman about 24 of Irish background. She wouldn't be easily missed, she's 185 centimetres tall and she'd stand out in a crowd. But I don't expect them to give us the full facts if they do have her. And I'm afraid to just call home and ask for more people."

"OK, Norman and I will meet up with you at your safe house. Text me the address."

"Will do, Spencer. Soon as I get off."