Anarchy's Rogue Rubikan - Episode 5
Posted Wednesday March 4th, 2009 at 5:56 pm PST by: MindStar9

ROGUE RUBIKAN - EXPOSING TRUTHS

My apologies for less than a full report last week, but times were trying as I mentioned. The meeting went well with the rogue's sister despite the challenges we encountered, and it revealed some truths supported by solid evidence.

Accepting information at face value is one thing, but when it comes with solid supporting evidence, there's an element of excitement that comes over me. It's like putting a puzzle together. No matter how much you want a piece to fit, forcing it only distorts the picture. So, when a piece of the puzzle is firmly in place, it's time to sort out the rest, but let me back up a bit to lead you on this path of discovery.

As an investigative reporter, risk is often an inevitable part of uncovering the truth. Therefore, not using my real name in my news reporting byline affords me a level of anonymity to move about Rubi-Ka and elsewhere without much challenge. One of the main reasons I moved to the luxury apartment at Jobe is the personal grid terminal that allows me easy and quick access into the grid. As such, I don't have to fear being followed should I need to go further under cover in disguise.

However, as I reported last week, the meeting met with some intense interaction, and I am operating at an undisclosed location for now with the rogue's sister for safety reasons. We narrowly escaped what could have produced a most unfortunate outcome.

THE MEETING

Upon arriving at the designated location for the meeting, I initially found myself alone, but it gave me more time to think about the questions I wanted to ask. It was quite the comfortable space however, complete with sofas and over-sized chairs positioned in front of fireplaces; very conducive to a less intense environment perhaps, or so I thought.

It wasn't long before I was joined by what I assumed was the rogue's sister. A female dressed in a long black cloak and hood entered the room.

As she approached me, she asked if I were the Rubi-Ka Times reporter, and if so, to show my credentials. I responded by saying yes, and proceeded to show her my official reporter's pass.

I of course asked for verification in return that she in fact was the rogue's sister. She showed me her Citizen's ID, along with a photo of her and her brother. I recognized him right away from my most recent following of his attacks on vendors in Old Athen, but as time passed during the meeting, she presented me with further evidence that supported specific allegations about unethical activities in a portion of our food industry.

It was somewhat chilly outside, so having a fireside chat was warming despite the anxiousness we both felt. I began the conversation by indicating that I would be asking a series of questions in order to understand the complexity of this unfolding story. She said it was not an issue, and would gladly answer all questions the best she could. Prior to the start of the questioning, I wanted to have a plan in place in case we should run into a problem. I suggested that we choose a location to meet at if we needed to separate for any reason. She agreed, and after a destination was chosen, we proceeded with the interview questions. Real names are not used for obvious reasons.

THE INTERVIEW

StarChaser9: I think a good starting point would be for you to tell me why your brother engages in confrontation and combat with certain vendors in Old Athen.

Sister: Oh, it's not only Old Athen. What I'm about to tell you takes place in other cities as well.

SC: Ok, I'm listening.

S: Our family has been supplying quality meats and other products to vendors within the food industry for over 20 years now, and enjoying a very successful business. However, approximately six months ago, some of the vendors stopped purchasing from our family business, stating only that they decided to go with someone else, yet not revealing who.

SC: It's one thing for one vendor to make a change, but I find it rather curious that several at once stopped purchasing from your family business.

S: We did too, and why we decided to look into it further. My brother is more bold than I am, so he took the lead. We have a good relationship with our known competitors, and have even helped each other out of a jam now and then due to customer demand, as some of the vendors provide a catering service as well. Due to the good relationship status, we felt we would be able to approach them and initiate dialogue that might garner some insight into why there was such a shift in purchasing activities.

SC: That seems reasonable, so I'm assuming that there haven't been any challenges between you and your competitors that would cause less than the harmony you seem to have experienced?

S: None whatsoever, and why it just didn't make sense to us. My brother was quite diligent in his search for answers, and what he uncovered was something we never expected. There is a faction operating out of the Shadowlands who have been distributing inferior grade products through some of the vendor locations. The items contain ingredients certainly not fit for human consumption, and are disguised with flavoring that deceives the palate.

SC: My first inclination is to say OMG, but I'm more curious as to how you know this.

S: As I said, my brother has been diligent in his search for answers, but I'm going to let him explain the details, because he also has evidence that he's been collecting for some time now that will support what he will share.

SC: What kind of evidence, and when will I get to meet with your brother?

S: My brother said that he will contact you via email at the newspaper to set up a meeting. The evidence I refer to is photos and video footage that he has securely locked away. It reveals part of the operation, and some of the players, but our work is far from over, and why we wanted to make contact with you after reading your first report at the newspaper.

SC: Ok, some things are starting to make a bit more sense to me now, but I have more questions. Like, why does your brother constantly confront certain vendors in Old Athen?

S: Again, it extends beyond Old Athen, but to answer your question, there are specific vendors who are actual employees of the Shadowlands faction I mentioned earlier. They bought out some of the previous vendor owners in order to infiltrate the vendor industry. Their main effort is to undermine the remaining legitimate vendors with lower prices, while providing inferior (and disguised) products with an end goal of forcing competitors to sell their businesses. This in turn would create a monopoly with the Shadowlands faction at the helm, which would be incredibly, and potentially harmful to the community.

This is information that we need to not only bring to the attention of the community to protect them, but also the authorities in order to bring down this organized crime operation. However, we want to make sure that we have enough documented evidence in order to do so, and why we feel that you might be able to help us in our efforts.

SC: I can certainly see the urgency and importance in how this should be handled, and I'm certainly willing to do what I can to assist in this respect, but tell me something . . . (conversation ceased).

It was at this point that we were interrupted by someone walking into the room who looked rather suspicious.

His dark demeanor and presence felt rather alarming, and why I openly looked at the sister and said . . . "Thank you for the visit and wonderful chat about your recent vacation. It's always nice when someone gets to travel to other locations to explore. Shall we head out for lunch now?"

As we rose from our seats and headed toward the door, the intruder stepped in front of us and said . . . "You two lovely ladies aren't going anywhere."

There was no hesitation when I made my move to give the intruder a hard shove in the direction of the fireplace, and shouted to the sister to run. She knew exactly where to go. The intruder had hit his head on the stone facing of the fireplace, which initially stunned him and gave me an opportunity to make my own quick exit.

I ran after the sister to see if I could catch up with her, but she had enough of a head start that I lost her. It didn't matter, because we had a meeting place established, and I would join her there.

Upon arriving at the alternate location, I found the sister pacing nervously. "Perhaps I should have picked a better location," she said, "but I wanted a comfortable place that was more relaxing and less of a distraction." I assured her that going forward, we would certainly be more cautious, and the first thing we did was determine a location that would be more suitable and safe to continue efforts in exposing the criminal activities of the Shadowlands faction.

I must file this report to meet my weekly deadline, but there is so much more to bring to light with regard to what is being revealed to this reporter. I never expected that what I had assumed was just a silly dispute between a Rubi-Ka citizen and vendors would turn into something like this, but I am determined to follow through on this investigation in order to help facilitate bringing down the Shadowlands faction, and anyone else who might be involved in this criminal operation. I don't know yet how widespread this is, but I feel a duty to warn the community to at least be cautious when purchasing products from vendors.

I am hoping that with my next report, I will have met with the rogue Rubikan and shown the evidence that the sister was talking about. Direct and substantial evidence is critical if this operation is to be brought down, and depending on the enormity of it, we may have to call in other operatives for assistance, but I'll report on that should the need be required. I'm sure that these reports are being read by those involved in the Shadowlands operation, so it is critical in how the information is imparted to the community.

I'll be back next week, but in the meantime, increase your level of awareness and stay vigilant with regard to protecting each other. Oh, and will the Informant please contact me again if you in fact have information you can share with us.

Thank you!


StarChaser9
Rubi-Ka Times Reporter
Mar 4, 2009



DISCUSSION OF EPISODE 5 HERE
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