Conversation · Alice

"Yes. It took some convincing, but I got the mercenary's name and a few biographical details. Are you ready?"

The lieutenant leans in to listen, notebook in hand.

"The world will end soon."

"Okay." She's not worried. "Does that mean you're ready?"

"I was born ready, baby!"

"That suit of armour was issued to an Oranjese citizen named Ellis Kortenaer -- that's E-L-L-I-S K-O-R-T-E-N-A-E-R. Exact date of birth unknown. He was signed into the Lelystad County Neonatal Care Unit on 28th of February, ’09."

"Neonatal Care Unit?"

"He was found as a newborn, in a leaf compactor, near an abandoned farm. He spent four months in the neonatal unit -- survived, apparently -- and was assigned to a foster family at two."

According to Klaasje, Lely said his real name wasn't really his -- perhaps that's because he was fostered?

Joyce said the dead man went by Lely. He must have gotten that from Lelystad -- the name of the county.

"This is what the ICP knows about him: He was raised by foster parents, entered the Ijsbrand Military Academy -- in Vredefort -- at 17, then served in the Oranjese forces till he was honourably discharged in '41, just a year before the Semenese conflict."

"Then the armour followed him to Semenine -- or at least I assume it did. And that's it. There are no records of his employment in Krenel. Or any of its other incarnations. Or him even entering Revachol.

"Lelystad is probably where he got the name Lely."

The lieutenant nods -- then jots it down in his notes: "Lelystad -- Lely. I like that."

"If you say so, officer -- of course."

"So all we have to connect him to Krenel is the armour."

"Even that is a small miracle -- these organizations usually double check their inventory." He leans closer and shouts: "Thank you, Alice. Great work!"

"No problem, lieutenant." She sounds pleased.

A compliment from Lieutenant Kitsuragi! Not bad.

"Even that took quite a bit of convincing to retrieve the information from the database, officer."

"Well, we have his name and service record now." (Move on.)

"A name -- this is very good. Ellis Kortenaer..." he says to himself.

This means something to him. To know that name. Like naming a case. It's important.

Sometimes police work is about human dignity -- about giving back names to anonymous victims.

"I'm glad the inquiry was helpful to your investigation, officer. Did you have any other questions?"

"I'm glad the inquiry was helpful to your investigation, officer. Did you have any other questions?"

"Any information on his foster parents?"

"None, officer. Sorry."

"Wait, he was found in a... leaf compactor?"

"It's a garden tool used to press leaves into these... cubes. It's a detail the hospital had -- the only detail in these files. So I thought it would be good for you to know."

"It is! Thank you, Alice!"

"So his name wasn't his because he was fostered?"

"Hah! Yes -- what Klaasje said. Very good. That makes sense to me." He takes a quick note.

"I... don't know what that means. But -- sure."

"Shoot."

"Still no word I'm afraid, sir. I know it must be frustrating. Was there anything else you wanted to ask?"

"Sorry, sir. I still haven't heard back from the database people. Try calling again later. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Not yet -- but I was able to convince the database people to share private sector information. They promised to get back to me by tomorrow morning. Did you have any other questions?"

"Yes. The armour was produced by..." She looks at her notes. "Fairweather in their facilities in Betancourt, Sur-la-Clef, in '42."

"It was part of a special order for Corps de Pharmacie, a security firm contracted to protect the interests of Oranjese pharmaceutical companies. In the Semenine conflict."

She browses pages. "So... it seems the armour went to Semenine. That's where the paper trail ends, though. Even the firm has proven difficult to track. Corps de Pharmacie has been renamed several times over in the years since the armour was issued."

"I'm guessing one of its names is Krenel."

"Yes!" She seems glad you guessed it. "That is the most recent name the ICP has been able to connect to the CdP. And the one before it was Downwell. I also have one called Sediment -- but I think that might be a different contractor..."

You hear her fingers on a keyboard. "No, they were called Sediment. And Somatosensor, it seems. All that during the last nine years."

A suit of armour like this would have been manufactured with a particular person's physique in mind. You should ask for whom this suit was fitted.

"First, has the firm continued to work for pharmaceutical companies through all these name changes?"

"Hard to say. Their client list is rather diverse. And... incomplete. The only constant seems to be that the mercenaries are always deployed in third- and fourth-world countries."

"Is there any way to find out who got this particular suit of armour?"

"Yes, but the ICP tends to be reluctant to share private sector records. I could try to talk them into it, though."

This is a fun challenge for her, an opportunity to contribute beyond doing her job by rote. She'll gladly put in the extra effort for team RCM!

"Yes, please do try. It's imperative that we learn whose armour this was."

"Sure. Call back tomorrow. Hopefully I will have more information for you then."

"Yes, thank you, officer. I really appreciate your efforts in this case."

"Glad to help. Call back tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have more for you then."

"You are my beautiful conquering heroine."

"I'm going to ignore that, officer. Call back tomorrow. Hopefully I will have more information for you then."

"Armour like this isn't mass-produced -- it would have probably been fitted. Perhaps there's a record of who signed for this particular suit of armour."

"Do you know what it's called now?"

"The most recently registered firm that the ICP has been able to connect to the CdP is a military contractor called Krenel. And the one before it was Downwell. I think they might be the same contractor."

"They couldn't find anything on the full code you gave me. However, the first ten characters tracked to a custom-made baby stroller made in Vaasa City ten years ago."