Chapter 5
Perishment
Boise Safehouse
Auburn, Seattle
March 12, 2059
12:02 am
"I am...impressed that you've completed your assignment, Lenny-san." Mrs. Johnson's voice sounded about empty, and surprised that Lenny was calling her so soon. Apparently his call had interrupted her with something. "I am impressed at your efficiency, but my resources tell me that you encountered some resistance on your way out."
"That's not important right now, Mrs. Johnson." Lenny said, keeping his voice calm enough to keep Johnson relaxed, yet stern enough to let her know that he wasn't in the mood for small talk. "We've got your package and would like to get it out of our hands. It's time for us to collect our pay and step out of the game. We want a meet."
The plastered expression Mrs. Johnson sported flinched a bit. "You are a most intolerant man, Lenny-san. Are you aware of this?"
"Only when people are depending on me. We want a meet." He repeated.
"I'm sorry, Lenny-san, but your swift actions has caused a bump in my timetable. A meet is not possible right now. The soonest convenient time would be the thirteenth."
"We've completed the assignment within the allowed time. A meet is in order, Mrs. Johnson, to fulfill the contract. Am sure that your timetable is flexible enough to allow us a few precious minutes."
Mrs. Johnson held back. "I'm sorry, Lenny-san, but a meet is not possible at the moment."
"Every moment we hold the package put my people's lives are in danger. The sooner it's in your hands the better off we'll both be." Lenny countered.
"You're people are professionals and should have no problems. A meet is not possible at the moment."
"Our contract, Mrs. Johnson, doesn't contain a clause for babysitting the package. We were hired for penetration and retrieval. We completed out task." Lenny explained. He didn't want to end up holding onto the file for any longer than he had too. Though none of them had been seriously hurt during the datasteal, they couldn't run that luck forever. Shard was still very tired and not up to a fight. He had to think about her safety as well as the others. "It's time to bring up your end of the contract. An exchange for the rest of our payment." Lenny's eyes narrowed. "We want a meet."
"A meet is not possible Lenny-san." Mrs. Johnson spat, switching her speech into Japanese at the end. For a moment she carried on in her native language.
Lenny had a feeling that she might do this. He keyed in his chipjack to access the chip he had slotted earlier. A LinguaSoft in Japanese. The Knowsoft link kicked in a second later. After a few moments, he was able to decipher what she was saying.
"You bastard of a criminal you haven't the right to speak to me in that tone. Stupid, stupid American. You have no honor and your friends are trash." She spat in quick-phrase Japanese.
Lenny smirked. He knew she could see it over the video feed. "My friends my be trash," He said sarcastically, "but I they're the best people I know."
Mrs. Johnson's features flushed.
Lenny tabbed his temple with his finger. "Not so stupid for an American am I?" Mrs. Johnson didn't reply. "We want a meet."
At first she didn't say anything, only looking blankly at something off-screen. "Lenny-san, you will have your meet."
Lenny smiled.
"You know the Omnidome in downtown, yes?"
Lenny nodded, he knew the place. It was a large sports dome located in the center of downtown right next to the Seattle Aquarium. "I know it."
"A representative of mine will meet you there in three hours."
"No." Lenny responded. "We'll only turn the package over to you. We can't risk having someone that wasn't your man run off with the package. Personal, face-to-face, trade off is required."
Mrs. Johnson looked off again. Lenny knew that she was brooding and probably cursing him in her mind. He didn't need to be a mage to figure that out. "Agreed, but the time must be set. Seven in the morning, no sooner. It's the best I can offer. Meet me at the crossroad in front of the dome. I'll be sitting on the bench."
"It's a meet." Lenny said just before his disconnected the call.
"That should've gone better." Gideon remarked, standing in an ominous shadow behind Lenny.
Lenny gave the ork a silent glance, unsure on how to take his words. "You think I was wrong?"
"No, I don't." Gideon said. "The longer we have the chip the more danger we're in. We're better off without it. Sitting on that thing for two days isn't smart no matter how you slice it."
"You don't think I pushed too hard?"
Gideon shook his head. "If you hadn't, she wouldn't have given us any answers. She doesn't give a drek about us. She just wants what she sent us after."
Lenny agreed with that thought. He didn't trust the Johnson. For that matter he made it a point never to trust any employer. Teammates were the only ones he could place his confidence in. They were the ones that were going in right next to him. They took the same risks that he did.
"She doesn't see us as equal to her, Gid. You know that." Lenny said. "She's corporate Japanese."
"The high and mighty type." Gideon rumbled. "I've seen their kind before, in the desert. They hired mercenaries by the thousands to send them off to fight. Only to use biologicals and such drek." The ork crossed his arms. "They don't deserve our trust no more than we deserve theirs. It's a fact of life, no changing life."
Lenny nodded. "How is everyone?" He asked, changing the subject before he felt that he had made the wrong decision.
"Shard is still asleep. Smiley's on front watch and Nightsky is on the roof. Riggs is in the Bison working with his drone, and the decker is asleep."
"I asked you how they were."
The ork grunted. "Some are nervous. Nightsky and the decker for sure. Riggs is quiet for a change." He explained. "Smiley's still happy."
"Okay, keep an eye on everyone. None of us need to doze off. I have a bad feeling about it."
"You want to change flats?"
Lenny shook his head. "No, not just yet. I got another place, but I'm going to save it just incase the meet goes bad. In the meantime, make sure everybody else stays alert." He motioned to the telecom. "I've got to make a call to Hector, so I'll join the watch in a bit."
The ork nodded and let himself out. Once he had gone, Lenny typed in Hector's number. There was a blank beep, after which Lenny stated his name. A moment later the forty year-old fixer picked up the line.
"Lenny? Nice to hear from you so soon. Something wrong?"
"Yes and no, Hector." Lenny admitted. "Secure line?"
Hector's moved to something. A momentary burst of static came over the telecom. "It is now. What's wrong?"
"Nothing and something." Lenny sighed. "Listen, I needs something."
"Name it, but remember everything's got a price in this world. What you need?"
"Some.....insurance."
1:15 am
"Welcome to the late night news on the News Channel 53. All news as it happens." The trid blared, flicking ghostly shadows over the dark room. "The hour's top story: Rumbling in the Fort."
Tart curled her legs up beneath her as she sat on the reclining chair. She didn't know what to do with herself ever since the group got back to the safehouse. Lenny wouldn't let her keep watch like everyone else. Probably because she didn't know what she was doing. On a deeper note, it could be because he didn't trust her. Without anything to do she soon became bored. She was too nervous to sleep. The only thing she could do was watch the trid.
"A terrorists attack in lower Ft. Lewis resulted in the death of four Lone Star officers when their vehicle exploded while responding to a high-threat call made from a research center owned by the company ParaTeck. Lone Star believes that anti-government fanatics rigged the officer's vehicle with car bomb before it left the station. Psychologists say that the terrorists goal was to strike fear into the peacekeeping officers and scare them away from performing their duties. A Lone Star representative issued a statement, declaring that it would take more than a few terrorists threats to make them abandoned Seattle. However, security around all Lone Star facilities has doubled and will likely stay that way until further notice."
Tart flinched, there wasn't a mention about the datasteal. The media completely left out ParaTeck's involvement. Though she wasn't too surprised by the action. ParaTeck probably suppressed the information in order to protect themselves. If it became public knowledge that the company had been the victim of a theft their stock would be the first thing to suffer.
"In other news," The trid continued. "Congressional Candidate James Wesson made an appearance in Washington today to make his plea before majority leaders on the course he plans to take if elected. Wesson claims the need to have more corporations support government programs and a more equal relationship between the mighty corporations and the ruling government. He claims that such a balance of power is the best of both world favoring the stability of a national government with the economic power of the corporations. Wesson's opponent--"
Tart switched channels. She didn't care much for politics. She hunted in vain so something else to watch. However, at one in the morning, the only movies on the trid were slasher flicks and adult films. Neither of which had much appeal to her.
She felt useless. Everyone else was wide awake. The samurai, Smiley, was sitting by the front window just as he was the day before. Still humming himself and sporting that horrible face paint. The ork was with him. The last she checked Nightsky was still on the roof. Lenny stayed with him for a while, but he made periodic patrols through the basement. The mage that had vaporized the security door at the research center was still asleep. Whatever she did must have been a terrible strain. She had barely come awake since they arrived at the safehouse. Riggs was in the basement doing some work on one of his drones.
On top of it all there seemed to be a tense feeling circulating among the runners. Tart was at a lost to it. To her, it was hard to explain or grasp the concept. Everybody seemed to be expecting something to happen. From what she had gathered, Lenny had called their Johnson and asked for a meet, but the conversation didn't go as well as it should have.
Since the call, Lenny had assumed that anything that could go wrong until the meet. He made sure everyone was alert and ready for anything. However, in the two hours since the conversation, nothing had happened. Wether anything would remained to be seen. Lenny didn't trust the Johnson. Tart knew that now. Unfortunately that knowledge didn't make her feel better.
Was this what it was like, She wondered. Waiting anxiously for something go wrong without knowing what it was?
Omnidome, Downtown Seattle
6:55 am
Nothing happened, Lenny kept repeating to himself. All night he had kept the group alert and ready for trouble. He had planned an elaborate getaway and a new flat to crash at. He had arranged protection and first aid incase any of his team got injured. Hell, he had arranged a complex hit and fade plan in case of attack that would never be used.
Now he was pulling up to the Omnidome in his AmeriCar at seven in the morning. His generic looking vehicle blended into the background of hurrying commuters anxious to begin their work day. Shard sat next to him in the passenger seat. She was rested enough from the night before to make use of her natural gift in the Art. Though her appearance wasn't as graceful as it normally was. Her makeup was smudged and she still looked tired. Across the street, Gideon was leaning up against a telecom booth a good fifteen meters from Lenny's car. He acted like he was engaged in a phone conversation as his eyes scanned the area for threats. Riggs' Bison was parked across the street. The rest of the team was piled inside and armed to the teeth, ready for anything.
Lenny didn't like this situation. Ever since last night he had been expecting Mrs. Johnson to pull something at the last minute. He knew that she looked down on him for what he was. Yet Lenny accepted that fact and moved forward.
As he parked the car, he noticed Mrs. Johnson sitting on the bench in front of the Omnidome. Just where she said she would be. The massive bulk of the dome glittered against the rising sun, casting a forbidding shadow across the square. Lenny found the effect unnerving, like a grand titan breathing down on the world.
"I got the J." Gideon said over his internally wired commlink, an expensive piece of cybernetics that he had picked up in the Desert Wars.
"So do I." Lenny replied. "Riggs?"
"All clear from my scans." The dwarf rigger replied as he swept the square with the sensor array of the Bison.
Lenny clicked his micro-transceiver on standby.
Shard looked at him for a long moment, taking in his expression. "You worried?"
Lenny nodded. "I am. I don't like it."
"Your still expecting something."
"More than ever since nothing happened last night."
"Lenny, you getting as paranoid as Riggs." Shard motioned her head at the Johnson. "If she was going to do anything she would've sent someone against us last night. I doubt she would try anything in public like this."
"Maybe your right." Lenny reached into Shard's coat pocket. She held her breath for a second as he removed the credstick verifier and put it inside his coat. "You got the chip?"
She pulled out a small plastic case. In the center of the case was a blue optical chip that Tart had transferred all the information that got from the research site to. "Right here."
Lenny took it from her hand and adjusted his Predator II on it's thigh holster. "Here I go." He said as he opened the door and stepped out.
The street behind him was busy with traffic. Thousands of wage slaves where pushing their way into restaurant to get breakfast. Soon they would be huddling into the gleaming towers of downtown Seattle for their nine to five jobs. Like clockwork, this happened every day. People moving shoulder-to-shoulder along stained sidewalks and breathing polluted air.
Oh, what a piece of work is man, Lenny thought to himself as he crossed the distance to Mrs. Johnson. He knew that Gideon was watching every step he took. It gave him confidence knowing that the ork was slow close, just incase something went wrong. Riggs was monitoring everything closely from the sensor array he had installed in the van and Shard would erect a barrier around himself within an instant. All these safeguards didn't delude the fact that Mrs. Johnson was still a dangerous woman to Lenny. Even after this payoff was over.
"Good morning, Lenny-san." Mrs. Johnson said as Lenny approached.
Lenny sit down on the bench next to her. His eyes never focused on her. Instead he glanced around the crowd, looking for anything out of place. She had to have people near by. The problem was that he couldn't tell where.
"Do you have the data?" She asked him expectantly.
Lenny showed her the chip in his hand. "Of course, Mrs. Johnson." He said politely. "Our money, if you please."
Mrs. Johnson reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a shiny credstick. Lenny handed her the chip and took the stick from her. He snapped it into the reader and watched the green light flash on it. At the same time Mrs. Johnson took the chip out of it's casing and plugged it into a black box she had covered up in her newspaper.
"I got a spook." Gideon said over his link. "Ten meters from Shard, blue overcoat."
"I got him too." Riggs added.
Lenny turned his head slightly to see a man standing just a short distance from his car. He was tall, wearing a blue overcoat and dark sunglasses. There was a cup of coffee in his hands, but something about him looked out of place. Shard gave a short nod back to him and adjusted the rearview mirror so she could see him.
"Everything is in order, Lenny-san." Mrs. Johnson said. "You have completed your goal and have received your award."
"I got spook two." Riggs stated over the link. "Lenny's four o'clock. Short man in white suit."
"Thank you, Mrs. Johnson." Lenny said, looking into Mrs. Johnson's face for the first time. His eyes focused beyond her to pick up a short, stocky man wearing a white suit. There was a tell-tail lump in his coat. "A lovely experience to do business with you." He smiled.
"You are a unique man, Lenny-san." Mrs. Johnson said. Lenny didn't know wether to take her tone as an insult or a compliment. "You have you code and you don't wonder from it."
"I helps, Mrs. Johnson." Lenny stood up and provided a gentleman's kiss on her wrist. Mrs. Johnson's stiff features didn't flinch. "Good day to you." He turned and made his way back to the car.
"You're clear, Lenny." Gideon reported. "The spooks are bodyguards."
"The J is leaving too." Riggs reported. Lenny didn't turn around to confirm it. "Those spooks are leaving with her."
Lenny opened up his door and got inside, cranking the car up. "Pull out." He whispered into his transceiver.
"Buzzing." Gideon reported as he stepped away from the telecom booth and hopped on his Honda Viking parked by the curb.
Shard took the Johnson's credstick away from Lenny and passed it over a bug scanner. "It's okay." She reported.
Lenny smiled to himself. They had pulled it off. It was over.
"Let's head back to Boise, chummers." He said into the link. "And divide this up. It's over."
Lenny was flushed with a sense of accomplishment as he pulled out into traffic. Riggs dropped in the Bison a few cars behind him and followed along. Providing an armed escort all the way home. They had done it.
Now that would head back to the safehouse and divide the money amongst them. At the same time they would remove any evidence that they had ever used the house over the past four days. Taking out garbage and cleaning the place throughly. Then each of the runners would fade back into their lives. Shard would go back to her high-rise condo in Bellevue and dazzle the local clubs with her presence. Gideon would probably return to the Ork Underground where he spent most of his time. Riggs would carry all his equipment back to his musty shop. There he would enjoy countless hours repairing the dents in the Bison's bumper and figuring out new ways to use the money to upgrade his equipment. Tart would go home too, back to working for Hector and pulling odd jobs to keep her occupied. She would also invest in new SOTA programs and mingle with the Matrix for blissful hours. Coming out only to eat and sleep. Nightsky would find himself back in the barrens of Redmond, reunited with his old gang. Spirits only new what he would get into. Smiley would wonder off to wherever it was that he went in between runs. That could either be the forests of Salish to an asylum in Ft. Lewis. It was anybody's guess.
This would leave Lenny on his own. He sometimes found downtime hard to deal with. Yet he always managed. There was always something to come up.......
That's it for this story. Try going back to the Fiction Index and find something else. Thoughts, rants, comments? Email me and tell what you thought about it.