145 Old Friend...
"Viktor!
How have you been?"
"Haha! Old friend!
It is great to see you!
I am doing well as you can see haha!" Viktor Kosenko pointed to his brand-new Mercedes Benz sedan that appeared customised with larger rims and thinner tyre thread.
Esmond didn't expect to be picked up from the airport, especially by a member of the Ukraine Exclusion Zone Management around Chernobyl.
Regardless of finding the situation to be weird, Esmond hoped into the car and sat up front beside Viktor in the passenger seat.
"I wasn't expecting to see you again on this trip, Viktor."
"Don't worry my friend.
When I heard you were coming, I made sure to be the one to pick you up and take you wherever you need to go.
To be fair, I expected someone from your staff to come but seeing you again Old Friend, I'll make sure you get to enjoy this trip to the fullest!" Viktor drove away from the Kiev International airport and drove for the city.
Heading straight for the Government Headquarters, Viktor parked underground before leading Esmond up through an elevator.
"Sorry Old Friend, I suggested to take you through the main doors of the Government Office, but the Boss said no.
Too many eyes and ears for the wrong people.
Here, you will be safe." Esmond politely nodded, even though he couldn't possibly be killed by any human weapon.
Esmond used his opportunity to ask about the 'Boss' but Viktor chose only to smirk, leading them along once the elevator doors opened until two closed doors similar to the Prussian design style came before them.
Viktor opened the door, before gesturing to head in, leaving Esmond to wonder who exactly he was about to meet.
Only after he saw the chair behind the large wooden desk swivel around that Esmond found himself close to laughing from surprise.
"Once named as a member of the most powerful women of 2005 Forbes Club, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko…
While I would like to say it's an honour to meet you, not everything seems to be going well for you, Prime Minister.
It appears bad ties between Russia and Georgia isn't helping with your Administration of the nation." Esmond said while maintaining his half-face mask to keep his charm and appearance from dazzling others.
For a second Esmond thought about removing it, but it appeared Yulia had no issues with his quirky traits, since she believed the real rich who made it from nothing typically had something unique and weird about them.
Even his method of introduction was a little different if not a variation of what she'd heard already.
"Mr Esmond Manston, a young and new entrepreneur with a desire to keep the future alive and well.
Is that the best way to describe you?
From everything I have seen, you appear to be very different from the charming and expressive man from your conference." Yulia smiled back at Esmond as she flicked her light blond hair to the side.
"Not far off, Prime Minister…
But I also understand the importance of human struggles and conflict at my age, which might alarm most but that's life." Esmond couldn't help but laugh as he thought about the reason for flying over to Ukraine.
The new Quests posed by the System freaked him out, especially the optional tasks related to starting political parties within Belarus and Russia.
Ukraine already made it hard enough for Esmond to consolidate his strength because of the pesky Russians, but since the System wanted him involved and he wanted a perfect S Grade evaluation, he had to think about these three nations closely.
Thankfully his first meeting happened to be with someone he quite respected even if she started to sway under pressure and public fear for a moment.
"Then may I ask, Mr Manston, why have you arrived instead of someone from your staff for something as simple as agreeing on a contract?"
Yulia deeply stared at Esmond, trying to figure out what sort of man he was, but she found it hard to discern which category of man would be fall under.
As the Prime Minister of Ukraine, and a woman, Yulia saw more than enough incompetence to know when she met some foolish idiot tying to gain any kind of power or strength to make themselves appear stronger than the rest.
Then there were those who seemed to posses the power to be an alpha at the very top but through hard and brutal work.
They wouldn't be easily removed unless they did something foolish enough to turn the world against them but even then, they could return… maybe.
But Esmond… he seemed like the monster that sat atop them all, even if the world stood against him, they would all perish.
Though it took some time for her to understand this, Yulia wanted to know was it Esmond's own strength or that of someone higher and greater than him.
To her surprise, he was neither but something much worse…
"Well, if the Prime Minister wishes to ask so nicely, then I do not mind one bit at all.
Besides asking for the rights over Pripyat completely, with of course respects to you, your nation, and people, I want to also my bank here to help provide growth to the region in times that might appear dire soon enough.
Of course, I also offer my support to help provide a silent… 'hand' if you wish to call it that, to help… deal with that is to come ahead."
Yulia couldn't help but look over at her personal computer that alarmed her that an email had arrived, even though she'd never made such a setting in the first place.
Not wanting to be rude, she thought about waiting to open the email, but Esmond appeared to gesture she check what had arrived.
After scrolling through enough information Yulia realised Esmond knew much more than she ever expected.
She also found his ambitions and goals to be unrealistic for Ukraine but considering the amount of money Esmond was prepared to invest, helped her understand that he was someone to keep close and friendly.
.
"How does it look, Prime Minister?" Esmond cheekily laughed as Yulia turned to look at him like he was a freak of sorts.
"W-W-Why would do you this…?!
Are you just asking for trouble from our neighbours?!" Yulia wanted to understand what kind of thought process was going through Esmond's pesky mind to even suggest such outlandish proposals.
"At the end of the day, Russia and Belarus are friendly because of their leaders.
The way they see politics is more of a mob boss fight than actual political debate.
That's why I want to be the stable voice of reason here that can stop those two if they ever think about something stupid.
I can say that its already at play and you won't be able to do much with National Bank of Ukraine in ties with certain Ministers.
Eventually you'll fall to the Pro-Russian who'll sway away from the European Union to Russia for dictatorial leadership.
What I am offering you is a moment to work together when that happens and strengthen the foundations of this crumbling rock of a nation.
Once the filth is gone, true work can begin but… I don't like how long it'll take.
That's why I came here to ask if you really want to wait and see your nation at the brink of death that you see it rebuilt from the ashes or start cutting away at the filth now and hope another's help will fix the troubles."
"… What do you honestly want to ask then?"
"Do you want to be the next Prime Minister for the following decade and more as your nation becomes a superpower with some sway in the regime of the world order?"
…
..
.
"How was the meeting, Old Friend?" Viktor asked as two finally entered his Mercedes Benz, not saying a peep earlier when they came down the elevator.
"Insightful…" Esmond replied as Viktor passed him a cigar and the two drove out from the underground parking structure.
Not far behind them, two cars started following Esmond and Victor from a distance.
Esmond became aware of them immediately, but it seemed to him that Viktor either didn't know they were following him, or he couldn't care less.
Regardless of that, Esmond enjoyed the drive over to a bar that Viktor's friend owned, only to find it to be an extravagant place with model like girls hanging around in the middle of the day.
"They are paid to be here.
It isn't much, but they help with the atmosphere of the club.
My dear friend Ivan sees it more as extra publicity when the girls take photos and promote the bar and club." Viktor explained the actions of his friend, yet Esmond's reply left him bright red and embarrassed.
"Or did your friend pay for these girls to be here so you might find me enjoying a little time with them…" Esmond caught the slight worry flash across Viktor's face before his laughing face brightened the mood.
Fortunately for Viktor, someone else made sure to answer Esmond.
"Of course not, Mr Manston.
While I employ them to help my bar and club, the girls aren't merchandise that people can take away.
Not in my place." Ivan's crisp voice clearly held conviction Esmond saw very little of in the majority of men when it came to power, wealth, and connections.
Esmond quickly figured the bald haired man with wide muscular shoulders and a slight goatee would easily floor any fool who would try and lay a hand on the girls.
Viktor quickly introduced Ivan to Esmond before pouring a round of shots, that went down without a problem for all three men, but Esmond's cells put him miles ahead that the alcohol felt like water.
After several more rounds of shots that Esmond poured, Ivan pulled Esmond back when he tried to pour the fifth straight shot.
"Before we party my friend, how about some business?" Ivan suggested, leading Esmond and Viktor to a private room within the rooftop bar and club.
After taking a seat in the plush lounge with no one else besides the three of them, Ivan asked for cooperation with Esmond's Aeternus Curatio Group.
"You might be wondering why a simple club owner is asking to work with you but my friend, this is Ukraine!
Here, you need some other help to get shit done.
Fucken Russians make life hard as it is, but they aren't ballsy enough to fuck with foreigners unless they pay someone else.
If you don't mind… but I did my own research and found that you're willing to help out your government… with some 'slightly' improved 'weaponry' arms." Ivan laughed as did Viktor, causing Esmond to laugh along with them just for the hell of it while his mind burst into hysterics.
Already aware that Ivan supported Yulia and her people, it seemed he was also the person she chose to work through in the shadows rather than face to face.
Ivan and Viktor also happened to be the two people that also dealt with Esmond's Primal Waste Management Pty Ltd that appeared to be in the hands of someone else.
Even then, the company pushed hard to take control over Chernobyl to help with construction of the dome to enclose the nuclear reactor.
Esmond wanted to rebuild the entire region which would take some time as he couldn't push ahead the rebuilding unless he wanted people asking how he did it so quickly and investigations.
.
Just ask Esmond started the negotiation of the weapons on offer and what they could do to provide help to Yulia and the new party, a crisis was unfolding in the Spatial Ark Star World that nobody was prepared for.
"WHAT THE FUCK!?!" Amelia cursed aloud nonstop without no end.
"AHHHHH!!!!!!!" May couldn't help but scream at the thrill of flying through the sky, but also by what she saw and also being able to fly through the sky.
"…" Layla didn't say a word, but her wide eyes could tell everyone she was shocked by everything in sight.
Each of the girls had their own reaction to witnessing the Spatial Ark Star World from the moment they entered through the mind-blowing portal.
Igdra hadn't stopped for a moment to explain what the Spatial Ark Star World was or how it connected to Esmond, other than he controlled it.
Showing the three various alien species, especially the Yautja up close left them wanting to cry for a time.
After a couple more mind-blowing shows of the Spatial Ark Star World's might, like the Starbase and Halo Ringworld, the girls slowly put their minds back together by the time they reached the cabin.
At that point Scarlett walked out of her bedroom and entered the lounge to find the four girls.
Waving at them for a moment, Scarlett walked towards the kitchen before realising the impossible.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE!?!" Scarlett lost her mind after she figured out Amelia, May and Layla were sitting in the family lounge room.
"Oh, I brought them over to show them around.
They are family after all, so I didn't think much of it.
Besides… you won't let me go and bring Mother and Father home, so I went and found the girls!" Igdra felt quite annoyed that Esmond's parents were hiding themselves away from their son, but after she heard the reasoning from Isabelle and Gabriel that she cooled her mind.
That's when she came up with the plan to gather the girls and bring them over to the Space so they could get to understand their future home.
While she still found this to not be enough, Igdra had already started helping without Esmond or anyone else asking her to do anything.
The Stonehill Family Mining company that'd fallen under the control of the Aeternus Curatio Group already saw the quality of the minerals increase within the soil to the point that grassland, trees, and plants could flourish.
While this might seem odd to anyone who saw part of the outback flourishing with greenery, Igdra planned to make it seem like the Aeternus Curatio Group put the effort in to helping the ecosystem of the land around them.
Being connected with the Spatial Ark Star World helped Igdra understand more about Earth, its technology, history, knowledge, cultures, skills and abilities even better than Esmond.
Carter was the only person who could rival her knowledge within the Spatial Ark Star World but even then, it wouldn't be to the extent Igdra could piece together with her affinity for life and death.
Surprisingly the upgrade in species from the Soul-Bond with Esmond had done enough to help her understand everything down to the finer points, especially the various other species within the Spatial Ark Star World.
For instances she started work on creating other fantasy races within the Spatial Ark Star World after reading through the history and cultural books of Earth, including memories from Esmond.
She had only scratched the surface so far because of the restrictions put in place by Esmond and Carter on their memories but Igdra believed one day she would know everything about her loving man.
.
"Igdra… *Sigh* how will you explain this to Esmond?
He never wanted to show them the Space, especially with their relationship not developed to the point that he could explain this place." Scarlett attended to the three girls by giving them water and food to help with the shock.
"Don't worry, I'll handle Esmond.
I already know how he feels about these girls, so he won't be mad but rather glad that it was over and done with." Igdra couldn't care any longer and decided to take the girls away for second to show them the lands of the Septum Aecors of Terra Kingdom.
