I attached the Edgar RR across the back of the Streambandit. The makers of the rifle made a sling for it, so operators of the battlesuit could swing the rifle around easily when they wish to use it. I thought I may have a problem as ray weapons were technically a different technology, but it turned out I was worrying for nothing. The Edgar RR was a weapon by itself and did not affect the running of the battlesuit.

For the secondary weapon, I decided to do something a little different. I went into the Dive store of Eastern Armature Inc. again and bought another design of Nam called The Victor Repeater. I assumed the name was a tribute to Victor Sage, the inventor of the Steambot, and I can’t help but wonder if people would name their inventions after me one day. Probably not, but it was a nice dream.

The Victor Repeater was an ugly oversized stream-powered semi-automatic that had a chip that could fire fifty bullets before you need to reload. It came with a magnetic holster that could be attached to any part of the battlesuit, and Nam looks like one of those inventors who valued function over aesthetics. I attached the holster to the hip of my variant.

I decide to run a short simulation on the Victor Repeator. I was confident in my design, but I wanted to make sure my variant was able to draw the gun much like a gunslinger in the Old West with the new hands and weapons. If my variant was to be a sniper that could defend itself with a secondary weapon, it must have the quickdraw function. That way even if the operator was caught by surprise, he could defend himself with the Victor Repeator while using the battlesuit’s speed and thrusters to get away.

Thirty minutes later, the test confirmed that my variant was able to draw the repeator quickly, though the speed of the draw was slower than what I would have liked. I went through the battlesuit again, looking for ways to improve my variant and was still working on it when the call came.

It was Nor.

“That was fast.” I murmured as I picked up the call. In my past dealings with the council, they would take weeks before coming to any decision. Guess things really do move faster when billions of credits were on the line.

“Hello, Mdm Nor. Do you have good news for me?”

“I believed so Mr. Wong, but it’s not so simple.”

“Oh,” to say I was surprised was an understatement. I thought the council would jump all over my proposal. “What’s the problem?”

“Nothing yet. It is just that for a deal of such magnitude, the council believe it would be better if you meet and discuss this in person.”

“The council wants to see me? I thought your membership are secretive by nature.”

“We are, though several members are less secretive than others. One senior member of the council has expressed great interest in meeting you. Are you free for a meeting?”

“Today?” I looked at the time, and at the battlesuit I was currently working on. Well, I wasn’t going anywhere fast, and there are billions on the line. “Sure, I’m free. Where do you want to meet?”

***

A city located in Malaysian state of Johor, Johor Bahru was a favorite getaway location for Singaporeans. As it was just a short ride from Singapore, it was believed that most Singaporeans had been to the city at least once in their life. There’s no reason not to when you could get cheaper food and shopping over there. In fact, since the formation of the SEAL, most Singaporeans and Malaysians considered Singapore and Johor Bahru to be sister cities. I’m not sure if I would go that far but the link between the two cities could not be denied. After all, the Causeway, the bridge linking Singapore to Johor, has been in operation for over a hundred years.

In the past, vehicles would jam the Causeway as it was the sole road and rail link between Singapore and Johor. However, with the introduction of flying cars, the ancient bridge now served as a historic landmark. Still, I made a point of flying within sight of the Causeway as I flew over the Straits of Johor. Like most Singaporeans, I had an emotional attachment to the bridge. It just seems wrong not to view the historic bridge when you passed over to the other country.

By an unsaid agreement, the causeway also served as the lane between the two countries. If you were going from Singapore to Malaysia, you need to be flying to the east of the Causeway. People going from Malaysia to Singapore will be west of the landmark. It’s not illegal to fly the other around, but you would be considered an idiot by the locals and if an accident were to happen, insurance companies would usually come down on the side of the driver going the ‘right’ way.