"At least we have his phone that has to be worth something." Vana pointed out while Jace was brooding over their failure. He should have immediately searched the objective's body as soon as they had him in hand.
Jace shook his head, "no, Devan is too careful to leave a digital trail we can follow."
"So this mission is a failure?" Vana asked.
"Not necessarily, smugglers like Devan like to keep a black book. A record of all their crimes and others crimes. It is a way to prevent being betrayed. We just need to find that. But I am guessing Devan was the only one who could tell us the location of the black book." Jace explained with a growl.
Vana sighed as they pulled up to the mansion behind the other car with the others inside it. "Well it is a shame we can't just easily get the information. I mean who would willingly hand out that information?"
Jace stepped out of the vehicle and froze halfway to the mansion as he realized something. "Except there is someone we can ask. Get cleaned up, we are going out again." Jace told her as he quickly walked inside and then moved upstairs to one of the many rooms with a shower.
An hour later he was standing downstairs in his tropical shirt with a white shirt underneath and a pair of cargo pants. He had switched out to black jeans and a shirt earlier when they went to capture Devan.
Vana came down in her jeans and a gray tank top with a leather jacket. "So where are we going?"
Jace tossed her the keys to the sports car. "We are going to Chen's to get some information from one of Devan's competitors. Hopefully he will just give us the information. But I might have to end up buying the information."
"Smugglers gather at Chen's?" Vana asked as he climbed into the driver's seat while Jace climbed into the passenger's seat. "How have I never noticed that before? I knew it was a hub for Nymph based merchants and soldiers stationed here but I do not remember ever meeting any smugglers before."
Jace smiled and shook his head, "well that is amusing." He then took a deep breath before sighing, "I do not think I will spoil the surprise."
They rode in silence the rest of the way with Jace being the more amused of the two now. While Vana was frowning and contemplating Jace's words now. When they arrived she had to park far down the street in order to not be in the way.
As usual Chen's was packed with people who came to party off their stress. The drinking and merrymaking had already reached the beach. Which was not unusual for Chen's bar. It really was the local place that acted as a gathering place for people from Nymph.
They walked past several drunks as Jace led the way. He walked right up to the bar where Chen was flipping a bottle and pouring some booze. Vana stepped up behind him with a look of confusion on her face.
"Chen, when you have a minute I need some info." Jace told him while sitting on a barstool.
"Info? Well that will cost you a pretty good amount of coin unless I am willing to just seperate for an alternate form of payment." Chen told him as he finished making the drink and handed it off to a drunk merchant who clearly did not need anymore drinks.
"Devan's black book, any clue where it is?" Jace asked as Chen stepped over to them. He began making a drink, Jace recognized it as the type Vana usually drank.
"Hmm… you asking about Devan's black book must mean he is dead. Because with a reputation like yours you could have gotten the information out of him if he was alive. You were right to come to his biggest competitor, I do in fact know about Devan's black book. I can tell you about it but it will cost you." Chen answered and seemed to think as he placed Vana's favorite drink in front of her. "I am thinking one mil bc?"
Jace reeled back while making a face of disgust, "please. It is not worth that much. If you know my reputation, You know I am no fool. Now tell me what it will really cost."
"Ah, but your reputation is kinda the problem. For all I know you could take that black book and become my biggest competitor. But if you tell me why you need it I might be able to bring down the price a bit." Chen explained while he began making another drink for someone further down the bar who called out to him the order.
Jace frowned and tapped his fingers against the bar. He contemplated what to do for a few minutes before he nodded, "okay." Jace grabbed a napkin and pointed at a pen that was behind the bar. Chen handed Jace the pen and Jace wrote something on the napkin while making sure to hide what he was writing. Then Jace handed him the folded napkin, "this is who we are chasing."
Chen stopped mid motion as he read it. Then he handed it back folded up again., "in that case this will be pretty cheap."
Jace nodded in understanding as he held the napkin in his hand and it caught fire. Chen brought over a small empty metal bucket that was usually used for nuts or other snacks and Jace dropped the burning napkin inside. "What is the price?"
"Well, you have to pay this beautiful lady's tab at my bar. I then want you to make me a new shell, this one is getting a bit too up there in the years. I am going to need a replacement and make it easy to bartend with the body." Chen declared, "that will be the cost of the intel, but after you are done with the black book I also want it for my own purposes."
Jace looked over Chen for a moment and Vana chimed in for the first time, "aren't AI shell's extremely expensive? Not to mention you make it sound like Jace can just custom order you a body."
Chen made a mechanical chuckle, "little lady, you have no idea who you are running around with do you. Jace here is quite well known in the AI community. For one when he was fresh out of the academy he managed to create a new AI. Then he discovered another ancient AI. Then he freed an AI from the clutches of AI slavers that are in the Victorium. Finally he and his group have been up to some pretty wild technology development, as far as we could tell he has helped develop at least two AI shells."
Vana blinked and looked at Jace who shrugged, "what? It is a hobby."
"A 'hobby' he says. Then do not even get me started on his presence in the underworld. I mean this kid was competent enough to barter a truce between a bunch of different gangs with different ethnic backgrounds all to make sure his orphanage was not caught in the crossfire." Chen went on and Jace glared at the AI.
"Moving on," Jace sighed. "I suppose I can work that out. I can get a body down in the next few days. But since it is at the drop of the hat you will have to do the transfer and work out any kinks with the design that pops up. Will that be okay?"
Chen raised a hand and Jace shook Chen's robotic hand. "That sounds just fine. Now about the Devan's Black Book. I will drop off the info in your room in the morning. I need to make a few calls to verify what you told me."
"Verify, you do not trust him?" Vana asked, still honestly reeling from the shock that Chen was a smuggler that competed with the likes of Devan.
"Oh, I do. But I would be a fool not to verify the information. I hope you are not offended." Chen responded before making Jace a drink. "Now go on up to your room. I will send up some food, it's on the house since I am in such a good mood."
Jace smiled and accepted the drink then nodded his head to the side, indicating for Vana to follow him. They then walked up to the second floor where Jace's room was. He walked inside and they went to the balcony where there was a table and two chairs set up with a view of the ocean.
"Is it normal for them to verify information like that?" Vana asked, wondering what exactly Jace wrote on the note to cause him to change the price so drastically. Because if Chen was right, the price went from ridiculous to almost free within a second.
Jace nodded, "in the underworld getting cheaper information because of a common enemy is normal. But they would also not want to get played, so the standard is to verify what I told him before we get the information at the cheaper price."