The politician

[Hardin]

Mid day in Tir, I was walking from the south gate towards the whompa?s to make my way back to West Athens. Since I was in no hurry I figured I?d take the public transport instead of disintegrate into bits through the grid. People were hurrying as usual between stores, pubs, occasional hunts or plain criminal activities. The sentinel guards littering the city as usual with their bully ways and harsh looks. Now and then I could here shots fired in the distant. Some poor store owner probably lost his place along with his life, I thought. The guards weren?t doing much to prevent the growing criminal problems from the gangs of Tir. Eventually they would have to or people would start to turn to ICC or even, god forbid, Omni-Tek for help to rid the problems.
I hate Tir. Not only because the town has become the home of vicious gangs but also the plain looks of it. The myriad of houses seemingly randomly placed within the city walls making it almost impossible to find your way. No, even though I hate all that Omni-Tek stands for, they can atleast build a town properly. Too bad Athens is in such bad shape with all the ruins. That place is a pearl compared to Tir when one regards the city planning.
My comlink buzzed just as I was about to enter the Athens whompa. The call was made anonymously so I had no idea who it could be. ?Yeah, who is this?? I said.
?Hello?, said the voice. ?Is this Salvor Hardin?? The voice was scrambled and sounded more like a robot than anything organic.
?Who wants to know?? Damn hackers, I thought.
?Lets just say I?d like to be anonymous right now. Listen, I hear you are a man of honor and you have the ear of the people high up in your organisation.?
?That?s not very uncommon in my organisation mister. We are all honorable and our leaders have ears for anyone within our group. What do you want from us??
I was getting more and more annoyed with this person. Who was he, and what did he want from me?
?Nevertheless I contact you, my friend, because I think you can benefit from the information I have. It is somewhat delicate, and of course it is classified.?
Information? Bah, what a cliché. So many times these informers have contacted us, trying to strike a deal for some useless information leading us nowhere. I sighed.
?I see, what kind of information is it you have?? I said
?The dangerous kind, Mr Hardin. Very dangerous both for me and for you. Too dangerous for me to give you over an open comlink.?
?I see, so you want me to meet you somewhere??
?Yes, I will contact you in person very soon? said the voice and disconnected the link.
I sighed once again and stepped into the whompa.

[Flameforge]

Ooh, what info?