Sigma/Star

Chapter 112: Return to Beijing Part 2

"They're friends of mine, Ling, all of them." Porter could only nod towards his companions, his hands still trapped behind his body. "They're all trustworthy, believe me."

"Porter," Ling replied, rolling his eyes and setting the glass back down on the tray, dismissing his assistant, "if I like you but I don't trust you, how is you telling me that your friends are all nice people really helping the situation?"

There was a lengthy pause among the group, one that Ling Shi seemed to enjoy far too much as he tortured his captives. "That Enian general from before," Porter answered, "the one I went to the library about?" Ling raised an eyebrow, his curiosity clearly piqued. "He didn't just disappear off the record. He was traded to the Jahari for...for something." Porter glanced towards Ardwen, hoping he had kept enough information to himself about who the Enian general was. He needed Ling to know he had the knowledge, but Ardwen had to stay in the dark for now, at least until he could secure the final answers.

"What kind of something?" The Jade Fang commander sauntered up to Porter, circling around him. He suddenly withdrew a knife from his boot, flipping it in the air before holding it over the rope holding Porter's hands together.

"I don't know; that's all I've got so far. That's all I can find and then there's nothing else. But I know other things too, about other governments."

The only answer was the sound of the blade slicing through the bonds. Porter rubbed his wrists to get his blood flowing properly again before he began attending his friends. Ling Shi put the dagger away, resuming his position against the wall. "What is other things Porter? You've got to be more specific."

"You'll need some chairs," Porter responded, suddenly feeling a position of power as he had something the Jade Fang wanted.

* * * * *

Ling Shi rocked back and forth in his seat for some time. The group had been moved to a different room, all a part of the old weapons-production factory the Jade Fang occupied, and were seated around a table, their reflections visible in the metallic sheen of the furniture. Porter had finished explaining nearly everything he knew about what was going on: the war in the north, the trades with the Jahari, the Enigma Project, the Emperor Christian, and anything else he could think of. Ling Shi seemed well aware of the Jahari as a threat, as did the rest of the world, but when the other information had poured out, he had begun his process of thinking that involved his motions on his chair.

"And so these Enigma Soldiers are the big weapons we have against the Jahari...and each other?" Ling Shi seemed to struggle to finish the question, all of this only just now coming together in his head.

"Yes, more or less." The entire group nodded with Porter's response.

"So whomever controls them, controls quite a lot of power." Ling Shi appeared to be finishing his initial thought that had started with his question, his mouth continuing to move for a period after he was done with the sentence.

"Well, see Syn is a rogue agent at this point." Porter kicked himself mentally for neglecting to mention some of these details in his first explanation. "He wants chaos and panic and fighting. He doesn't care about any allegiance to anywhere. As for Sigma, he's with us, but he's not really with us."

"What does that mean?" Ling Shi sprung up out of his seat, one foot placed on the table and the other on his chair. He stared across the table at Porter, his excitement starting to bubble over.

"It's kind of...uhm Sigma doesn't really...you see..."

"Sigma is Porter's brother," Nami interjected, ending Porter's rambling. She didn't seem to understand the implications of her statement for some time, and it took a group stare from almost everyone else before she finally clued in. "Oops." She poked her two index fingers together, pulling out her best innocent cuteness look, but the damage was done.