Bistok stared at the streets that were starting to get quiet.
But Bistok knew exactly the right time.
Not the regular work days like Monday to Saturday, or any normal work day for deliveries.
This was Sunday night or early Monday morning.
The day that almost everyone hated.
All workers, no matter what kind.
From packing to loading goods, including logistics and warehousing areas.
Because on this first day of the week, there was no flow of goods coming in.
Not to mention real cash flow in any area.
That’s what made all workers reluctant, but that also wasn’t something easy or to be taken lightly.
It still required carefulness and even high accuracy.
He was aware of one small mistake tonight.
Small things like a flat tire, a police raid on the road, or an accident were fatal weaknesses, not just about failing to send fish.
Not just losing trust from his customers.
The big reputation he had built could slowly collapse.
It was even possible that his life would be at stake.
He turned the steering wheel, taking the box away from the port, to a temporary hiding place before dawn when he would have to make the most dangerous maneuver of his career: entering the airport tarmac through the technician’s route.
He arrived at the parking lot of a budget hotel near the airport cargo area at 3:00 AM.
He didn’t sleep.
Sat in the car, guarding the box, watching the movements of the cargo people from a distance through the window.
He saw cargo trucks starting to arrive.
Bistok watched as the officers started getting busy unloading goods.
This was his world.
A world where rules didn’t apply to those brave enough to pay, and where the most valuable goods in the world could slip overseas with just fake stickers and a little nerve.
Bistok checked his phone one more time.
No reply from Sarah yet.
He knew Sarah was restless at her office or apartment, waiting for news on whether the goods had been secured.
Bistok smiled slightly.
Now, he was in control.
Purnomo needed him, Sarah needed him, and the money from Singapore would make sure he stayed the most sought-after person in Jakarta.
…
Brigadier General Purnomo’s office in South Jakarta was a pressurized room.
The ceiling was high, the walls covered in old teak wood that absorbed sound, and the air was always cold from the AC set at sixteen degrees.
Sarah stood in the middle of the room, her back straight, her high heels making no sound on the thick carpet.
Purnomo was not sitting behind his big desk.
He was standing in front of the wall aquarium that split the workspace into two parts.
Inside, five Super Red Arowana fingerlings swam calmly.
They were still small, only about 10 centimeters, but the red color starting to show on their fins was proof of top-quality genetics.
These fish were living assets worth enough to buy a luxury apartment unit in the city center.
“Do you know how much one of these costs in the Singapore market, Sarah?” Purnomo’s heavy voice broke the silence of the room without him turning around.
“Over two billion rupiah, sir.
Depending on the certificate and color quality,” Sarah answered flatly.
She didn’t dare guess where this conversation was going.
Purnomo turned around.
His wrinkled and firm face looked expressionless, hiding his intentions behind eyes used to giving orders.
He walked slowly toward the desk, then pointed to a document on top of a pile of official files.
“Singapore is calling.
A big collector there wants these five sent immediately.
The problem is, I can’t take the official route.
Quarantine bureaucracy is being tightly monitored by the inspectorate right now.
I need hands that aren’t recorded in the service.”
Purnomo stared intently at Sarah.
Sarah felt her heart beat faster, a danger signal that always appeared every time the General gave an “off-the-books” assignment.
“You know Bistok, right?” Purnomo asked suddenly.
That name hit Sarah’s memory.
Bistok Sulangit.
That name was synonymous with chaos, recklessness, and everything on the fringes of the law.
Bistok was her former campus associate who always had a way to get what he wanted through unexpected channels.
“I know him, sir,” Sarah answered shortly.
“That naughty troublemaker still has a network in Singapore?” Purnomo sat down in his work chair, folding his fingers on the desk.
“I need someone who has no name on the military list, no record in the service, but knows how to break through the back door at Tanjung Priok or Soekarno-Hatta Airport.
You have access to him; you are the connector.”
Sarah was silent, a little doubt attacking her mind.
Bringing Bistok into Purnomo’s affairs was like triggering double the adrenaline inside her, which she was sure would become a time bomb someday.
But she looked at her position in front of her.
In this office, loyalty was tested through the courage to do dirty things for superiors.
If she refused, Purnomo would easily find someone else, and Sarah would lose her status as a “trusted person” that she had built by sacrificing many things.
…
“He has a network, sir.
But Bistok is the slipperiest one.
He’s also not easy to control.
He always demands a big cut,” Sarah said, trying to be as realistic as possible so Purnomo wouldn’t think she was naive.
“A cut is not a problem.
What matters is that the fish arrives without my name being mentioned anywhere.” Purnomo stared at the files on his desk, signaling that the conversation was over.
“Get it done, Sarah.
Don’t leave any trail leading back to this office.”
…
Sarah left that room with slightly heavier steps.
She walked to the quiet archive room to catch her breath.
She took out her phone from her jacket pocket.
Her hand trembled slightly as she pressed a contact that had been saved for a long time but hadn’t been called in the last two years.
She pressed the call button.
The ringtone sounded long, as if testing her patience.
“Hello?” Bistok’s hoarse voice came from the other end.
Sarah was silent for a moment, thinking about all the risks she would face after the next sentence came out.
But her ambition to stay relevant in Purnomo’s circle of power was stronger than her own fear.
“There’s a shipment, and a big job too, Bistok,” Sarah whispered, her voice flat and almost as cold as ice.
“Something worth quite a bit.
But…
can you keep quiet?”
A short laugh was heard on the other end of the phone.
A laugh full of meaning and the promise of danger.
“For you, Sarah?
I can even go deaf.
Tell me the details of the move.”
Bistok’s eyes started to glisten.
His mind could already estimate how much money would be flowing into his bank account now.
After listening to some explanations from the conversation.
The discussion seemed to be entering its final stages.
A bright smile appeared again on Bistok’s face.
“I’m just asking for the fee earlier than usual, got it?”
Sarah then hung up the phone.