8. Aru

8

ARU

T he stark room in the office building across from the keep felt almost too ordinary for such unusual circumstances.

As it turned out, the clan had several such spaces reserved in the various office buildings they owned that were intended just for meetings like this one.

Aru sat behind the desk with Negal and Dagor flanking him, facing the three men Turner had selected and vetted. All were recently retired Special Forces veterans with excellent service records and a thirst for carefree travel after years of service.

Their military bearing was still evident even in their civilian clothing. Time would soften their postures, though, and would make them a little less rigid.

Aru and his teammates had gone through a similar metamorphosis.

"I understand Turner has explained the basics?" he asked.

The oldest of the three, who'd introduced himself as Marcus, nodded. "Minimum of a three-year commitment, extended travel assignments, all expenses paid, and specific locations to visit. He was light on the details."

"That's because some aspects of this assignment are unconventional." Aru chose his words carefully. "We'll need to implant tracking devices to monitor your progress and the locations you visit. You will be provided with an itinerary, but you don't have to follow it strictly. As long as you visit the general vicinity, that's fine with us."

He watched their reactions closely, but none showed alarm. If anything, they seemed curious and somewhat amused.

"Is this some kind of a reality show?" asked the youngest, Jake, his eyes moving between Aru, Negal, and Dagor. "You guys look like actors."

Aru allowed a small smile. It was actually a good idea to let them think that they were taking part in a reality show. "I can't reveal the nature of the project or even hint at it. What I can tell you is that you'll be well compensated for your time and discretion."

"Of course," Marcus said. "That's why we are being paid the big bucks, right?"

Aru nodded. "The procedure of implanting the trackers will be done in a secret facility, and we will use hypnosis to make you forget where it is and that you underwent any procedure at all. I'm telling you this ahead of time to give you an opportunity to change your minds. Nothing will be done to you without your consent."

Marcus exchanged glances with the other two. "We trust you because Turner vouched for you. I wouldn't have agreed to the hypnosis otherwise, even though the three of us have been subjected to it during our service. That and other methods were used to make us forget certain details of our assignments. Naturally, I can't tell you what those other methods were."

"And I wouldn't ask you to reveal them," Aru assured him, even though his curiosity was piqued. "Not now and not under hypnosis. You have my word. We respect your professional discretion as we expect you to respect ours."

The third man, who'd been quiet until now, spoke up. "You mentioned compensation, and Turner said it was going to be generous. I would like to know more."

"Of course." Aru pulled out three folders and slid them across the desk. "Monthly deposits to accounts of your choosing, plus all travel expenses covered. The amount is listed on page three."

The men examined the documents, eyebrows rising at the figures. Aru had expected haggling, but the amounts seemed to meet their expectations.

Diamond prices had been falling over the last two years, so the stash they had brought with them was worth much less than it was when they had first arrived on Earth, but Kian had promised to find the three of them work in the clan so they could afford to finance the fake search. Well, it wasn't entirely fake. They were sending these humans to the places they would have gone to themselves, so these men might get lucky and uncover some of the missing pods.

"That's more than enough," Marcus said. "If you need us beyond the three years, we will happily renew the contracts."

"Don't you want to settle down?" Negal asked. "Start a family?"

The humor bled out of Marcus's expression. "I've seen too much shit to want to bring kids into this world." He looked at his companions. "Right?"

The two nodded but without much enthusiasm.

Aru had a feeling they didn't share Marcus's sentiment. "We will talk again in three years and many times before that, so you don't need to decide anything now."

Jake nodded. "Sounds good."

"Let's talk about passports," Negal said. "Do you want to use your own, or would you prefer alternate identities?"

"Our own," Marcus answered without hesitation. "Keeps things simpler."

"Are you sure?" Aru asked. "As former Special Ops, you are probably restricted as far as where you are allowed to travel. Tibet is part of China, and we might, at some point, send you into China proper. Russia and its former republics are also on the itineraries."

"That's fine. We were not that kind of Special Ops. Strictly military, commando missions."

Aru regarded them for a long moment just to give Negal more time to peek into their heads and check if they were hiding anything that could undermine their mission.

Finally, he nodded. "Very well. We will need your passport information to book flights for you."

"How much contact will we have with you?" Jake asked.

"Minimal," Dagor said. "Emergency protocols will be established, but otherwise, you're on your own."

"That's good," Jake said. "We are all tired of taking orders."

"When do we start?" Marcus asked.

"If you sign the documents today, we will meet here tomorrow and take you to where the medical procedure will be done. After that, you will be given money to purchase what you need to trek through Tibet. We will book flights for you for Thursday. We can also arrange transport to the airport, or you can handle that yourself."

"I'll leave it up to you," Marcus said. "Either way is good."

They spent the next hour going through paperwork, answering questions about emergency protocols, communication methods, and travel arrangements.

The men were thorough but not suspicious, accepting the unusual nature of the assignment with professional detachment.

After the final handshakes, Aru watched them leave, waiting for the door to close before turning to Negal. "Well?"

"Clean," Negal confirmed. "No deception, no hidden agendas. They think it must be a reality show or some kind of government experiment, but they're not particularly concerned either way. They are happy with the pay and the all-expenses-paid travel."

"Dagor?" Aru asked.

"Drones attached and tracking," he reported. "I'll watch what they are saying from now until they return here tomorrow."

"I should thank Turner," Aru said. "These men are perfect. They are experienced enough to handle themselves in any situation, disciplined enough to follow instructions without asking too many questions, and motivated by both money and the promise of traveling the world."

"You should call Kian as well." Dagor opened his laptop. "Tell him that we found hosts for our trackers and are ready to move into his village."