It was time to hunt again; his boss had assaigned him a new objective. He would be running a major operation soon andit was Shedao's responsibility to ensure he had the materials to pull it off. Shedao was a fixer, a scrounger, a procurer. He specialized in finding what was needed when it was needed and in good enough condition that it could be used effectively. Assuming you had the coin, of course. This time he had to find a nuimber of items that wouldn't point immediately to his boss as the user of said items. Discretion was the name of the gamethis time. Luckily, he had a number of contacts that he could call on, but most of them would only speak with him.

He knew of one man, a guy who liked to mix his own explosives. He was currently in town, so he would have to pay him a visit to see what could be had. The firearms and ammunition would be a little tougher. He didn't have the time to spread out the purchases at legitimate outlets, so that meant he'd have to use less than legal sources. That was a problem because arms dealers had the bad habit of killing their buyers and keeping both the guns and the money. Thankfully he knew, and more importantly was known to, a couple of reputable dealers. He'd have to put the word out that he was looking for a meeting. The aquisition of vehicles could be delegated. His knowledge in this area was less than complete, so he'd gotten to know some people who could find what he wanted in the time alloted to them. Using a third party was more expensive but at least they knew how to play the game.

Lastly he was going to have to round up a crew to perform an operation with him. His boss wanted as many police and suport personel distracted as possible so Shedao got the job of setting off a distraction to get their attention. He had a number of targets and methods in mind, but they all boiled down to two facts: first, if you want the cops attention, get an "officer down" call sent out; second, He always had enjoyed a cozy little fire.

It was time to make some calls.

He had sat up a meet with his man at a local diner, one that served breakfast all day. It was the kind of place that you might see families with young children entering after their Sunday morning church services. It was a quiet little place, not somewhere you would expect mayhem and death to be brokered. Personally, he just liked the hash browns.

Shedao took his seat in his customary booth, the back corner of the eatery with his back to the wall, and waited for the waitress to make her way over to him. When she arrived, he placed his order and told her that he was expecting a friend in the near future. He admired the view as she turned and made her way to the kitchen to place his order before bring his back to the subject that had been on his mind the last couple of days. It seemed getting some people together for a "housewarming" party was harder than it used to be, no matter he still had time.

He had just gotten his coffee when his friend arrived. The waitress quickly approached to take his order and left with nothing more than the word "coffee" being spoken. After the beverage was delivered, Shedao decided that it was time to get down to business. He pushed a slip of paper across the table towards the other man.

Okay, this is what I find myself in need of. Can you fullfil the order?

The man peruses the list for a while, obviously taking his time and giving it all due consideration.

It won't be easy, but I can have it ready for you by Wednesday. Is this acceptable?

In response Shedao slid another slip of paper across the table.

Your payment is in this account. It was a pleasure.

The man slipped out of the booth after finishing his coffee, taking both slips of paper with him. Just as he was leaving the waitress arrived with Shedao's hash browns.

The day was looking up.