Approach

Benjamin couldn't help but to laugh at the name he had given for this deal. It was a alias that one of his favorite fictional characters once donned. It was a bit childish in nature but it did well to serve as the architecture that he wished to follow and embody moving forward. If there is to be any hope of reclaiming any of what was stolen, any less dedication and determination would amount to nothing. He couldn't help but to ponder this as he watched the trees roll by through the windows of large command center.

It has been a few hours since they departed from where the ambush had been conducted. Everyone remained on high alert to intercept any further potential trouble that might arise. It was a sight to behold the command center operators deftly switching between the different sensors all the while constantly checking in with the rest of the guard detail. Every few minutes the screens would flash with a new set of details and readings. Nothing was going to get through the web that they have now deployed. He could start to relax a little in preparation for when they would enter the city.

Benjamin rose from his seat and went to stand next to the monitor that showed the geographical data of the region they were currently traversing. The remainder of the trip would be across a wide open plain. A welcome change in comparison to the forest that they have been traversing. There are scant few places that one can set up for an assault in such an open environment. They couldn't afford to completely lower their guard, but at least it would give the team a brief respite to catch their breathe.

The door that connected the control room to the rest of the vehicle opened as Felix passed through. His stride was far more natural and relaxed. It lacked the choppiness and agitation he had been sporting mere hours before. Taking time to confirm the status of all the cargo and personnel had clearly given him the mental break that was needed. He quickly scanned the room then waved Benjamin over.

"We will arrive at Solitude within the hour. Let's discuss the current known situation a bit more before we take any definitive action." Felix moved his seat at the table and placed a thick folder onto it with a slight thud.

Not wasting any time Benjamin walked over and flipped open the folder. It was clear that many different stats of the city had been recorded in painstaking detail. At the top of the list was the current known population. It was a small outlying city with a direct route to the capitol. However only having around eight-hundred thousand residents meant that it lacked major infrastructure in any meaningful amounts. In the modern day even what where considered small cities had well over one million people. This lack of population was either the result of poor economic growth or perhaps even the victim of the recent attrition that many had been facing. Either way it left it as a city with many needs. Needs that many would seek to exploit to their own personal gain.

The next document detailed the nature of the businesses and production of the city. Solitude had many independently run factories that ranged from book making to small scale production of customized P.D.S. and even some basic ammunition plants. Unfortunately for them however, the largest part of the local economy was their food processing facilities. Needless to say these were effectively defunct and doing little more than gathering dust at this time. The document also showed the frequent requests for aid that had been recently made by the governor. These requests were as simple as requests for loans from financial institutions to as complex as requests for humanitarian aid from foreign nations.

While there were other documents besides these Benjamin quickly lost interest in them. He had already seen what he needed to understand the current problem facing them. With a small sigh he took his seat opposite of Felix. A small wave of exhaustion began to creep over him. This was not only going to be an unpleasant job to attend to, but an incredibly tedious one as well.

"I take it that you want to discuss Solitude's recent lack of production." Benjamin decided that it was best to simply get things out of the way rather than beat around the bush. Felix stifled a chuckle at the straightforwardness.

"That is correct. Due to the lack of food the industry here has taken a serious beating. General revenue of the entire city is down by nearly forty percent." Felix slowly sorted through many of the documents from the folder while speaking. It was clear that this was bothering him in multiple ways.

"It's bad enough that food prices are through the roof. Add on top of that nearly one third of the population here is without any solid work. Its a recipe for disaster unlike what even other parts of the country are facing." A new paper sat on top of the rest. It detailed the recent surge in those who could no longer afford to make the payments on their housing.

"We are about to enter a city that has not only seen better days, but might as well have ceased to function on the whole. Homelessness is an issue in any city regardless of the circumstances. But this..." Felix couldn't help but to trail off because of the harsh reality that was staring them in the face. This was a number and scale that would be hard to comprehend.

"This is going to look like a war zone. No city, no matter how successful or prosperous, has the facilities to deal with nearly twenty percent of its population becoming homeless nearly overnight." Felix obviously was struggling to keep a cool head about the situation. It was hard to find any fault in that either. No normal person could see stats like that and not be disturbed. If only that was the end of it though. This meant that the goods that they were transporting would be a major target of these people. No matter how you split it this was this entire caravan walking straight into the lions' den.

"Can't say that we are going to be bored at the very least..." Benjamin couldn't help but to shake his head. They undoubtedly were delivering goods that the people of this city needed dearly. But it was equally true that if this situation isn't handled with the utmost care that this delivery could easily plunge the entirety of Solitude into a complete free for all. If that were to happen the casualties would be unimaginable. If the city wasn't nearly destroyed as it was, it most certainly would be if that came to pass.

"I have to be honest with you Felix. We are walking straight into a mine field with this job of ours." A small grin crept onto his face. It wasn't a grin of joy or amusement. No, it was of pure exasperation. There were simply too many ways for this to go wrong. Felix couldn't help but to nod in agreement.

"That is why we are sending you in solo ahead of us to gauge the full extent of the situation and to get into contact with our local informants. We can't make any movements before knowing exactly what is happening. No pressure or anything, but quite possibly the fate of not only this city but this entire region is resting on your shoulder's right now." Felix said all of this with a completely straight face. Not even for a moment did any of it sound like a joke. Sighing Benjamin could only submit to the plan that they had already agreed upon.

"I swear you owe me extra once I pull this off..."