I'd give it two days. I'll try and secure us flights to La Paz... unless of course the Federation's paying for it, which very well may be true." he chuckled here, trying to lighten the mood. "Uh... about the fear of heights... let's not worry too much about that. I'll be driving... and you know I'm a good driver. We'll try and keep you on the side away from the cliff. And Lily's coming? Really? Well... great!" Tony was happy for the morale boost this would be for Axel, and would help to keep both of them going in fact.
"Her son... is with Kalis? Really?" the ferret was stunned by this news. Of all the forces to join when you run away from home... he picked Kalis's empire? "Hey... we'll find him then. Something tells me our quest for the waypoints isn't going to remain secret for long so... I expect to see some appearances put in by Kalis's forces at some point along the way. Anyway... I think we'll leave in two days; give everyone a chance to pack and prepare and get the households in order. I'll let you know when our flight is. I'll take some cash so we can equip ourselves down there... it's pretty much dominated by mining conglomerates, including our friend Zaloga having a presence down there as well. So yeah... we're gonna need some hardware. I'll keep in touch, OK?" he asked. "We'll accomplish both our objectives and try and find Eljert. Talk to ya soon." The ferret hung up, looking at the phone after he did, unsure about this new information, but knowing that before long, they'd be face to face with Kalis. He had no doubts about that...
On the bridge of the Red Castle, Kalis saw a black-scaled monitor with yellow underbelly approaching now. He too was clad in robes similar to Kalis's, but these were pure black instead of the red Kalis wore. Bowing his head respectfully to Kalis, he stood before his lord serenely, though with an intensity in his eyes. He was a killer, plain and simple, and looked as if he had no respect for life. He was a Nile monitor, and a fierce looking one at that.
"Lord Kalis, you summoned me?" the monitor asked.
"Yes, Varanus." Kalis responded. "It seems Agent Acyle is accessing the waypoints to Torment's Cataract. This is perfect... we can use this to plot her movements and take her. Remember... she must be taken alive. She is traveling with companions however... companions you may terminate. I have no use for any of them except her. And... should you fail to seize her here... we can simply use this to locate the Cataract as well."
Varanus smiled here in a deathly fashion, grinning as he bowed again. "Yes, my lord. Such a task will be... simple, I think."
"Do NOT grow overconfident!" Kalis chided him. "She's a strong opponent, and we know at least one of her companions is worthy of respect as well. Don't blindly rush into this!"
"Of course not, Lord Kalis." Varanus apologized, bowing his head again and closing his eyes.
"Good... now... assemble your team... they're going to Bolivia... I want you there." Kalis ordered, narrowing his eyes.
"As you wish... my lord." Varanus nodded, and turned to depart. from the bridge. Kalis watched him go, his eyes still narrowed. Varanus had to learn to curb his enthusiasm in some regards, as impatience would be his death if he wasn't careful. Still... he was fiery and ruthless, and was most of what Kalis looked for in a subordinate. Time would tell if he would live up to the expectations Kalis had placed on him or not.
La Paz's El Alto International Airport was a bit crowded to start the week, but as summer was right around the corner, vacationers were coming down to Bolivia to get a taste of the Amazon and enjoy the start of their breaks, as well as escape the heat. Escape the heat? La Paz was up in the mountains, making it cooler than one might expect for June in Bolivia. Heading downhill on the North Yungas Road would be another story, as they'd be getting closer and closer to the sweltering jungle the further down that road they traveled, but for now, Tony wasn't going to knock on the pleasant weather here in the capital. Temperatures stood at an almost chilly 60 degrees, but Tony knew that would go up the further downhill they went.
Vergil found he rather liked the climate of La Paz, and thought that South America was nothing but a hellhole of a jungle before this, so he was pleasantly surprised to find he was wrong. "Well... this isn't half bad." Vergil commented with a smile as he picked up his bag from baggage claim.
"Not half bad at all!" Tony responded. "Hey Axel, want to go rent a vehicle with me? I think we'll be needing something all-terrain and big enough to hold everyone. Just a shame I couldn't import one of my cars down here." the ferret joked. "Still, we might even need to make it two vehicles since we have uh..." Tony did a mental count real quick, "Nine with us now. Probably WILL need two vehicles in fact."
Vergil unzipped his bag and retrieved the GPS out of it. He'd programmed it before they'd left with the coordinates of the waypoint, and he powered it on again to make sure the thing was working. "Hmm.... so it's about an hour's drive down the highway towards the North Yungas Road and from there... another hour and a half to two hours to the waypoint... depending on how fast we go... which I doubt will be very fast given that road's... layout." the gecko stated, tapping his chin with a big bulbous finger.
