Deadly
Game
Chapter
Three
By
Fade
Upon waking, Hammer did a complete circuit of the safe house to insure that the residence hadn’t been compromised. When he left Japan, the big troll was force to leave behind his collection of electronic security equipment, and was consequently limited in his security options, but he nevertheless tried to insure that nobody had left the group any nasty surprises during the night.
Massaging his shoulder, which had cramped up during the night, Hammer reflected on the extraction that had just occurred. The troll was still astonished with how smoothly the operation had run. After getting to the car, the team was swiftly moved out of the area. Drones had run interference for the cars, making sure no one was following on the mundane plane, while Silk had reported no less than three mages protecting the cars on the astral plane.
The team had switched cars four times under overpasses, in parking garages, and other such areas that were protected from high altitude observation. When the team, pulled up to the safe house, Silk had reported that it was protected by a very powerful ward that should serve to discourage even the high level of magical activity that their hunters had displayed.
Within five minutes of the team’s arrival, the fixer who had arranged the extraction had called to make sure there had been no problems with the extraction. Hammer had been astonished to learn that the safe house was paid up for the next month, and had immediately started totaling the amount of money that had been spent on the operation. With his experience working the shadows in Asia, the big troll had a pretty good idea what putting together such an operation would have cost. Hammer figured that when all was said and done, Shadow’s benefactor had probably paid out somewhere around half a million nuyen to have a fixer arrange the extraction.
Hammer decided to talk to Shadow in the morning about the person who had just footed the bill for their rescue. For all that the big troll was grateful for the assistance, he was nervous about all the unknowns in this situation. Ironically, he was worried about the same thing that Silk had been earlier. When the big players locked horns, there was a disturbing tendency for the small players to get crushed. Hammer had been considered among the top talent in all of Asia, but he didn’t relish the idea of trying to survive in any arena where hundreds of thousands of nuyen were dropped on such short notice.
* * *
The morning brought no real enlightenment for Hammer. Although Shadow reluctantly agreed to discuss what he knew, it soon became apparent that the big shape shifter had no real information that could be used to identify the mysterious elf that had been responsible for the extraction.
“I was never told his name,” stated the phys-ad. “All of the monks were simply instructed to address him as ‘Honorable Patron’. Only the head of the monastery knew the elf very well. They spent large amounts of time together on the rare occasions that the patron visited. Something Master Chin once said left me with the impression that he practiced swordplay with the patron, and one of the mages let slip that the elf was an incredibly old and powerful mage. It is possible, that both statements were meant more to show respect than to convey factual information, neither person would expound on their comment.”
Silk frowned slightly when Shadow mentioned Master Chin. “Isn’t that the elf phys ad that has been magically active longer than you and I have been alive?”
When the shape shifter nodded, the mage’s frown became more pronounced. “From what you’ve told me this Chin guy is faster then Shaky over there, and he would be able to mop the floor with top razors, let alone your typical mage.”
Shadow had been subtly shifting his weight in preparation to dodge the projectiles he expected to come hurtling through the air as the mage worked herself up. Shiver had picked up on Shadow’s unease, and likewise tensed up slightly, but now both he and Shadow frowned. Hearing his teacher treated so casually caused the shape shifter’s lips to rise in what would have been a threatening display of fangs on a tiger. Upon catching sight of his reflection in the mirror, the phys ad realized that such a display looked foolish when executed with human features, and he reminded himself not to let the flighty elf get to him.
Silk had indeed been trying to get under Shadow’s skin, and she was amused by his actions, while being disappointed that yet again she hadn’t managed to ruffle his feathers more than slightly. Shiver however was an entirely different matter-Silk wasn’t sure what she had been thinking in insulting him because quite frankly he scared her.
Realizing that she had probably gone too far, Silk ineptly tried to divert any hard feelings. “I mean as amazing as your speed is, Master Chin is supposed to be even faster. It boggles the imagination to believe that any mage, even one with a high-level weapon focus could beat an individual like that.”
Luckily, although Silk’s attempt at diplomacy didn’t seem like it was going to avoid problems, Hammer placed a big hand on the elf’s shoulder, and Shiver relaxed. The elf did however choose that moment to enter the conversation. “To summarize, we have male elf who can throw nuyen around at the drop of a hat, maybe a very powerful mage able to give sword master a run for his money. Alternatively, maybe elf just highly respected, but only minimal power and skill.”
Hammer restrained a small smile at the way his student had summed the situation up, and pointed out a slight flaw in the other’s logic. “Actually, there is no real proof that this individual is an elf, or that he is male-both of those attributes can be easily faked by a powerful mage. Additionally, the proof we do have is not that the individual can throw large amounts of money around, but that he is linked somehow to an organization which can throw money around.”
Shiver frowned for a moment, and started shaking slightly as his forehead wrinkled in thought. Silk realized that the other elf only started shivering when his concentration wavered. Before Shiver could respond to his teacher’s statement, Hammer continued. “You are correct about the things we suspect. If any new information comes our way, we can match it against the points you’ve brought out.”
Silk chose that moment to turn to Hammer, “There is something that Shadow hasn’t told you. I know the elf too, that is actually how Shadow and I became acquainted. The elf called me up and asked me to take care of Shadow while he was in Seattle.”
Taking a deep breath, the mage continued. “I was doing a rescue on my first High Threat team. The zone was so hot that we had to land three blocks away and fight our way in through some of the heaviest action I’ve ever seen.
* * *
Silk, known to her team as Sandman for her fondness of sleep spells, exited the helicopter and followed her team towards the target, only to find incredibly heavy gunfire erupting around her. Hunkering down behind a variety of cover, the team began picking off the perimeter guards.
Silk’s
radio clicked twice and her team leader’s voice came over the com. “Sandman, heavy pocket
Bullets continued to impact around the team, gradually lessening as the team’s muscle eliminated the shooters. Icy, the big troll who served as the team’s second in command, came on the com and requested instructions, and a status report.
“No respect, hot bounce in, getting thicker,” signaled Quicksilver to indicate that the opposing security force refused to let the team extract their client without opposition, that the team would proceed by short hops with covering fire, and that they could expect resistance to continue to increase as time went on.
At that moment Princess dropped the last active guard, and the team started moving out. Breaking into three units of two people each, the HTR group covered the first block and a half quickly. The unit however became bogged down again as they hit resistance upon getting within a block of the target.
Two clicks sounded and Quicksilver gave the team a status report, “drones on site, second team en route, ETA 2 minutes, TSE 1 minute.” Target Survival Estimate 1 minute, Silk’s blood ran cold, there wasn’t time to wait for the drones to clear the area, or the second team to arrive. Looking at the rest of the team, Silk realized that they no longer had the firepower to take the opposition. Everyone but Icy was down to pistols, and the big troll had to be running low on ammunition as well, in another thirty seconds, the team would be force to pull back and wait for re-enforcements.
In a split second, Silk decided that she wasn’t going to let another client die while she retreated away. Jumping up, Silk screamed, “Cover me,” as she started sprinting across the industrial yard towards the target.
The unexpectedness of her action combined with the suppressive fire from her team got her five steps out before bullets started coming her way. Silk was amazed that she got that far considering the fact that so much of the opposition must be heavily cybered. Unfortunately, she was still way too far from cover, and it was only a matter of time until bullets started hitting her instead of ricocheting away.
Another step and bullets started impacting on Silk’s spell lock-powered bullet barrier. As an elf, the mage was naturally faster than humans or other meta-types. Because of this, Silk had been a sprinter before entering college. Consequently, she was fast-faster than any of her teammates would have guessed, but it still took valuable seconds to cover the kind of distance she had remaining, and she had a pretty good idea that she wasn’t going to make it.
Two more steps, and five impacts on her barrier later, it came down. Out of the corner of her eye, Silk saw a figure fall from a window, and realized that her team must be taking advantage of the distraction she was providing to eliminate shooters. The volume of fire was dropping, but having lost her barrier, Silk knew it was only a matter of time until she started taking hits.
Another step and it happened. The first bullet hit her flack jacket, with interesting consequences. Running all out as she was, the kinetic energy of the bullet was almost enough to knock the slender elf over. Silk felt her stomach drop as she stumbled, and realized that falling would mean her death--the security force would have no problem hitting a still target. With an additional effort the mage managed not to fall as bullets streaked through the space she would have been occupying had she not stumbled.
Silk made one more step before the samurai managed to correct their aim, and pain exploded through her. Five bullets impacted before Silk lost count. Some of them got stopped by her armor, leaving massive bruises, but several got through. White-hot lances of agony speared the mage, and she started falling.
It’s over, she thought, trying to roll like she had been taught in the Doc Wagon mandatory defense course. Amazingly enough, Silk did manage to roll, which brought her within a few yards of the target’s cover. An attempt to stand informed the mage that one of the bullets had broken her lower leg, and she started trying to crawl towards shelter.
Then it happened, the biggest human Silk had ever seen came running out from behind the target’s cover. The rapidly moving gillette scooped the elf up and carried her to shelter, taking several bullet hits along the way.
Upon being deposited next to the target, Silk found herself looking around trying to figure out what had happened. The big human that had brought her in was standing there looking at her, and remarkably he wasn’t bleeding. Upon interpreting her confused look, the human gave her a frustrated sigh.
“I’ve got skin weave and bone lacing, makes me harder to kill than a troll, speaking of which are you going to heal Austin, or did I just waste my time saving you from those fraggers?”
Silk blinked a couple of times and nodded as she turned to the bloody mess next to her. Austin was still breathing if only barely. Summoning all the energies she could through her pain and weariness, the mage weaved the mana into light strands and cast her treat spell on the dying person next to her. The elf had about two seconds to watch the flesh begin to knit together before the effort of casting the spell caught up with her, and she passed out from the condition mages call drain.
* * *
Shivering slightly from the memory of how close she had come to death, Silk continued. “I woke up a day later to an even more incredible story. Apparently I had successfully saved the client, but had missed out on some pretty incredible developments. Fifteen seconds after I blacked out, a fairly powerful force arrived on-site. The force cut its way in and extracted my team’s target and me, and then left. The whole action took about forty seconds. I guess they brought in riot control vehicles, helicopters, and enough drones to waste a small army.
Smiling slightly, the mage continued. “They were in and out so fast that both my team, the backup team, and all the Doc Wagon drones were left with their mouths hanging open. My team leader, Quicksilver, was upset that an unknown force had left with one of his team members. The Doc Wagon corporate execs were mad because they were afraid that the client was going to refuse to pay on the grounds that Doc Wagon hadn’t actually managed to extract the target, and the owner of the facility that we had extracted Austin from was mad that they hadn‘t managed to kill him.”
“Five minutes after I came to, a very handsome elf knocked on my door and entered the room followed by the client that I had helped extract. We had a short conversation in which the both of them thanked me for my efforts to save Austin. When asked why I put myself at such risk, I was unable to give a satisfactory answer.”
* * *
The handsome elf looked at Silk for several seconds. “You mean that you choose a course of action which was almost certain to result in you death, simply because you were tired of seeing people die?”
Silk shifted slightly in her seat, wishing she could avoid trying to explain something she didn’t really understand herself. “I know it is something of a contradiction, I am member of a team that kills people to make sure that their rich clients don’t get killed. Not only that, but usually those clients are hurt while doing things that are highly illegal. I can’t really explain it, but I just didn’t want this client to die after we had done so much trying to save him. I guess if he had died, then all the killing that had occurred to get my team to him would have been in vain.”
Nodding slowly the well-dressed elf turned to the human who was standing slightly behind him. “I, for one, am glad that she saved you, my friend. Your comrades indicated that you might have died in the additional seconds it took for our people to arrive and extract you.” Turning back to Silk, the elf continued. “If I am reading your character correctly, I believe that it would make you feel better to know that by saving my friend you have done something very good. He is very much not just a wealthy client whose money allows him to get away with doing various illegal things. Rather, he is a good person much like you, and is simply trying to make the world a better place. Putting all that aside, I would like to express my gratitude to you, is there anything you desire?”
For a brief second, thoughts of designer outfits and a sporty new car flew through Silk’s mind. After a moment the mage realized that to accept payment would in some way cheapen the only heroic thing she had ever done. Instead, Silk returned to trying to understand the implications of what the other elf had finished saying. “No, thank you. I don’t think I could accept anything for doing something of this nature. I have a question though-how can you claim that this man is making the world a better place-I fail to see how breaking the law and killing people results in benefits for metahumanity.”
The elven gentleman smiled sadly, and Silk momentarily got the impression that the youthful looking man before her was older than she could possibly imagine. “In a different world, I couldn’t agree more with you. Unfortunately, the world we live in is filled with evil men who have such immense power that they are able to trample the rights of others without answering for their misdeeds. I believe, as do many others, that when someone perpetrates a great evil, that their life should be forfeit so that they can’t perform further evil.”
With a sigh, the elf continued. “There are few organizations which can enforce justice upon those who do the most harm to meta-humanity. Our organization is able to make some efforts in this direction, so I feel that it is our duty to do so. Consequently a few of our members undertake dangerous missions to right wrongs, and sometimes die in the effort. Again I ask you if I can recompense you in some manner for the life of my friend.”
Feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the implications of the ideas which had just been expressed, Silk slowly shook her head.
Seeming to somehow know that her hesitancy was due to thought rather than a reluctance to refuse the reward a second time, the elf smiled again and handed Silk an old fashioned business card. “I have a feeling that you are of such character that you will not remain satisfied working for Doc Wagon for much longer. Even a relatively benign corporation as Doc Wagon still has enough corruption that I think you will find yourself wishing for employment in which you can correct some of the ills you see around you.” Pointing at the card the elf continued. “If you get to the point where you want to turn your talents to tasks which have a chance of alleviating some of the injustices in the world please contact me.”
* * *
Silk continued with the smile of one remembering better times. “The elf then concentrated for a moment and seemed to cast a spell. The next thing I knew the room was fading from around me, and I was in my team’s ready room. I gave Doc Wagon only the barest outline of what had happened, and told them nothing of our conversation. My team sensed something was different, but never pressured me to tell them what exactly had happened. We still worked well together, but things just never really clicked like they needed to, so people gradually transferred out to other teams. I started living below my means and saving money, and had just about decided to leave Doc Wagon when I got a call from that mysterious elf. He told me that a friend of his was coming to Seattle for a while and asked if I would be willing to put the friend up and show him the ropes of normal life.
Smiling at the shape shifter Silk continued, “That is how I met Shadow. I decided to stay with Doc Wagon until he left, he brought you two home, and the rest is history.”
After a few minutes of thought Hammer nodded. “It appears that this individual is indeed a very powerful mage. I am not an expert with regards to things magical, but I have never heard of a spell able to teleport an individual over any kind of substantial distance. I can only assume that this is due to the fact that the spell would require immense power.”
Silk nodded hesitantly wondering if she was betraying her benefactor in some manner. “That is correct. After realizing that the elf had indeed teleported me, I started studying magic theory quite heavily. I think that I’ve finally designed a spell that will do what he did, but it would require amazing levels of power to cast-even assuming that he passed out from drain as soon as he cast it, the elf would still be much more powerful than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Pausing for a moment Silk continued. “My story both substantiates and undermines the one told by the monks in Shadow’s monastery. This elf, we’ll call him Grandpa, seems to be indeed a very powerful mage, but that basically excludes him being an expert enough swordsman to give Master Chin a challenge. You don’t get the kind of magical power to teleport people without dedicating your life to the pursuit of your art. That wouldn’t leave Grandpa enough time to become a master swordsman.”
Shiver digested that information, and then shrugged. “Very highly placed in organization, probably head. Have name, Austin.”
Hammer nodded, still pensive. “Excellent, both very good points. Although I’m at as much of a loss as Silk in explaining how this individual could be such a powerful mage, and an expert swordsman.”
Turning to Silk and Shadow, Hammer continued. “Given all this, what are the two of you planning on doing?”
Silk turned to the phys ad who signaled that he would follow her lead. “What are our options,” questioned the mage. “From what I know of how these things work, I can’t go back to my normal life. Whoever these people are, they will know my name and SIN by now, and if I show up at work I have no doubt that they will kill me. It looks to me like we are stuck in the shadows now.”
Hammer shook his head, “You can’t go back to your old life, but you could go to one of the mega corps and ask them for protection. You both have skills that are sufficiently valuable to insure that a corp, or a government agency is sure to pick you up. This would give you a fairly respectable life-you would probably end up dealing with the shadows in some manner, but the difference is quite substantial. If you work for a corp, or especially a government agency, the times when you aren’t on a mission can be almost the same as your old life. As a shadowrunner, you will find that you always have to worry, at least a little, that an old run will come back to haunt you. Alternatively, it sounds like you have a common benefactor in this powerful ‘elf.’”
Silk shook her head, “Running to a corp or a government isn’t necessarily any safer than going back to my old job. Either of those types of organizations is going to create extensive files on their employees. Files like that can be found and hacked if our enemies want to find us badly enough.”
Shadow also indicated dislike of the idea, “I do not wish to sell myself to an outside agency of questionable integrity. Where one is given great power, it is important that the power is used to better lives, not destroy them for monetary gain. Our abilities give us a form of power, I will not do this.”
Silk bit back a comment about excessive nobility getting people killed that was mostly meant to irritate Shadow, and turned back to Hammer. “I don’t really want to get any more involved with this elf than I have too. Anyone who wants to play with the big boys deserves the inconsequential death they will earn. The question is whether or not you are kicking us out. I know that we are a potential liability, especially me.”
Hammer nodded turning to Shadow. “After hearing your concerns regarding working for a corporation, I would welcome you as a partner in whatever endeavor I should embark on.” Although I was trained as an assassin, I have only killed those whose death would remove a great evil from the world. Shiver was being trained to replace me, and feels the same way.”
Turning to Silk the big troll continued, “You don’t seem to be quite as principled, but you do exhibit a strong loyalty to your friend, and I believe that you can respect our desire to be a force for good. Should you desire to join us, we would be willing to have you, as long as you realize that there is no guarantee at this point that we can avoid ‘playing with the big boys.’”
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