18 - Chapter 17
Tasha called herself a taxi to take her to the airport. While she waited to be picked up, she let Sunny, James and Ingrid know that she was leaving the company in their capable hands and that she would be away for a few days.
Then she met with Hanna. “I am not happy that you are going off by yourself,” said Hanna. “I don't like that you will be without any backup. We don’t even have any assets in place.”
“I know you don’t Hanna” replied Tasha, whispering. “I don't want to put anyone I take in danger. I have told you about the increase in strength, and the training with the sword I have spent the last week doing. I think whatever this danger is Hanna, it will be tough for me, but lethal for a normal human.”
Hanna let out a disgruntled sigh. “Fine, I don't have to like it though,” she replied, “Make sure you keep in touch. And enable tracking for me on your phone. At least I will know where you are. Don’t take risks you don't have to, and make sure to properly scout. Don’t forget that you are going in with no support structure.”
“I am fully aware,” replied Tasha, “I will make sure to take care. I will be careful.”
“It’s just, anything to do with your family and your judgement can become compromised.” replied Hanna. “This situation is too dangerous for you to let your emotions get the better of your common sense.”
“I am just as apprehensive as you are,” replied Tasha. “There is just too much we don't know. I will be as careful as I can.”
With that Tasha boarded her waiting taxi. She thought about Hanna’s parting words. It was true, she couldn't lie to herself, when it came to her family her judgement had become compromised. She had pushed herself to the ragged edge. The better option would have been to step back, get more resources, and then continue the hunt for answers, it would have given her a better chance to find out more. Instead, she had burnt all her resources in her blinkered hunt for answers. If she didn't maintain objectivity this time, she could end up dead. She would need to think through her decisions to ensure she was not falling into the same destructive patterns.
The taxi dropped her off at Heathrow airport terminal 5. Terminal 5 was predominantly used by British Airways, and the first class check in was a breeze. She spent a few minutes explaining that the katanas were for a potential customer. As they were properly secured in a locked box and declared, and her destination didn't have any issue with her bringing in the weapons, she was able to check them in for her flight.
After spending a few more minutes going through airport security, she ended up directly in the Concord Lounge. She had a few hours before boarding for her flight began. She decided to take the time to relax. First she availed herself of the complimentary massage followed by a mani pedi. Once that was done, she had a quick shower and went to the lounge restaurant for a quick snack. While she was trying to relax, her flight finally started to board, so she made her way to the departure gates.
It wasn't long until she was settling into her private seat on the plane. It would be a long 13 hour flight to Kuala Lumpur and she wanted to arrive fully rested. She knew she would not be able to spend the whole time asleep, so she elected to pass the time looking up travel routes from the city to the Gunung Stong State Park. It was only possible as first class offered full wifi connectivity. It would take around 5 to 6 hours driving to reach the tourist spot. Then she would be on foot.
She would also need to go shopping to get a large backpack, and other necessities that she would require to travel into the state park. It’s not like she would be able to get anything out in the wilderness. Tasha started to make a list of items that she would need. The list included calorie dense food, water, water purification tablets, a hunting knife, a sleeping bag, and rope. She was much stronger now, so carrying weight was not a problem, but she would still need to be careful as a large bag would not only stand out, but also make it much harder if she was ambushed.
After she was sure she had planned out her purchases and checked where she could get the items she needed. She also decided to withdraw a bunch of cash once she landed to give her the ability to cover up her purchases. She emailed Anita the details and told her to put a marker on the account. She also identified where there was a branch of her bank. Once she was confident she had completed her planning, she spent a few hours watching random movies before falling asleep.
She was woken up by the flight attendant about an hour before the flight was due to land. She had a light bite on the plane, and prepared herself for landing. She was well rested, and raring to go.
Once the flight landed, she disembarked, and headed off to passport control. The immigration entry was straightforward, though she did have to explain her sword case to customs after recovering her checked in baggage.
She decided to take the taxi from the airport to the hotel rather than the train. After arriving at the Mandarin oriental, she checked in and decided to get some proper lunch before starting with her plans.
Stolen story; please report.
As she enjoyed the hotel restaurant, she looked up the details on her map ability. The map not only provided a location in Gunung Stong State Park, but also provided a date and time for when she was expected to be at that location. She wanted time to set up a base camp and scout the area. She would need 6 hours to drive to state park, then probably 3 hours on foot. Given the time for setting up a base camp and scouting the area, she would need to leave around 15 hours before the time.
She checked the current time. It gave her a day in the city before she would need to leave. It was more than long enough for her to complete her purchases and get a good night’s sleep. After lunch, she asked the concierge to call her a taxi. She told the taxi driver that she had several errands to complete and asked him to wait for her at each stop.
Tasha’s first stop was the bank. Once she arrived at the bank, and spoke to an advisor, she was taken to see the branch manager due to her account being marked as high profile. She decided to withdraw 100,000 Malaysian Ringgits, around £20,000, not sure how much she would need. The bank manager was surprised at the large amount she wanted to withdraw but ultimately acquiesced to the request and went off to arrange it.
Once her work at the bank was complete, the rest of the day was spent going from shop to shop to pick up everything that Tasha would need. It took time for her to check all the items off on her purchase list. There were a few eyebrows raised at the purchases, but ultimately no one actually stopped or questioned her purchases.
After a long day of running around, she returned back to the hotel with all her purchases. She decided to go out for dinner and took a taxi to Dewakan, the only 2 Michelin starred restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. She spent the evening sampling some of the best Malaysian food in the city.
After dinner, Tasha wandered around the city for a while, just taking in the sites and thinking about what she would discover the next day. Finally she returned to the hotel.
She spent the evening packing her bag for the trip the next day. She packed only one of her katanas, but she did pack extra knives. Once she was comfortable that she was prepared, she called Hanna to update her on her flight and the day.
Hanna thoroughly questioned Tasha about her preparations, still unhappy that Tasha was going into a potentially dangerous situation with no backup.”You really are out of practice,” chided Hanna. “Go and buy several baby monitoring cameras and long cable ties. You can surveil the area without being so close.”
Tasha berated herself mentally for missing something so straight forward. Luckily she didn't have to leave first thing in the morning. She spent a little more time talking with Hanna before going off to sleep.
Tasha woke early and spent a little time in the hotel gym then showered and went down for breakfast. The anticipation was building, and she knew it would get harder and harder for her to control it as the day progressed.
After breakfast, she went out shopping again, this time for remote cameras, as well as some charged power banks. Thankfully the tech stores carried charged power banks and a good selection of cameras that didn’t need a wifi network to operate. She also purchased a small tablet that would work with the cameras. Her shopping complete she returned back to the hotel to repack her bag.
Once she was happy with everything, she asked the concierge to arrange a car for her to Gunung Stong State Park. While a normal taxi was fine for going around the city, she wanted something bigger for the longer trip. It took some time for her car to be organised. The driver would wait for her call in a nearby town for her to return. It was better than nothing in terms of logistical support.
Finally they were off on their way to Gunung Stong State Park. As the scenery flashed past on the long drive, Tasha was lost in her thoughts. She wasn't sure what to expect, and what she would find, but it was definitely a positive step into unraveling the secret behind her family's accident.
On route they stopped in a small town for lunch and a comfort break, Tasha going through the motions, but her mind lost in anticipation of what she would face in a few hours. The unknown upcoming dangers making her think through her plans again and again. She wondered why the timing for whatever she needed to see was after dark and whether that would make it easier or harder for her. The cameras had a thermal mode, so they should still be able to help her, but she would need to be more cautious in an unknown area.
It was mid afternoon when they finally arrived at the parking spot closest to the tourist point. It was easier to blend in with the other tourists then stand out. She told the driver to wait for her, and gave him 1000 ringgits as spending money. She took her backpack, settled it and went off towards the tourist point. No point letting lots of people see which direction she was heading in.
She made some small talk with a few other tourists, and allowed herself to fall behind the group slowly. Once the group ahead of her were out of sight, and the group behind had not yet caught up, Tasha stepped off the trail into the thickets. She had already plotted her point, and checked her compass and map to ensure she was going in the right direction.
Tasha brought up her system map, and checked the location details again. She estimated she had around a 3 hour walk in front of her. She picked up the pace and set off towards the pin on her map. She spent the trek familiarising herself with the forest she found herself in, while also staying off any trails she found. She didn't want to have to explain to any officials what she was doing trekking by herself in the state park.
After just over 3 and a half hours, her map informed her she was approaching her destination. Her speed was slower than she had anticipated. When she was around 10 minutes from her destination, she started to look around for a suitable base camp. She decided to pick a high tree and a suitably strong branch. Once she had identified one, she quickly climbed up the tree and behind the thankfully full foliage. She tied her backpack to the branch only removing her katana and knives. She had a quick meal of a protein bar and a bottle of water and pulled out another bottle of water, the cameras, spare rope and cable ties.
She climbed down with her chosen items, and headed towards the location on her quest map. It was time to see where it led.