Chapter Three
Message
Boxer caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and shuddered. He looked like shit warmed over. The image didn't last for long as he opened the medicine cabinet in search of an Aspirin. Of course he didn't have any. Either that or his new roommates had beaten him to it. Dee, Kino, and he spent most of the night experimenting with new exciting drinking games, bowling, and pinball. Dee got into an argument with a drunk at the bar in which she broke the man's jaw. They decided to leave shortly before being thrown out. The tires on his car were flat thanks to some rowdy neighborhood kids. He also bowled a 200, quite a feat for his below average skill. The highlight of the night came when Kino lost her game at a pinball machine, then promptly lost her supper on a pinball machine.
They found their way to Boxer's apartment sometime during the early morning hours where, after takeout and several colorful bottles, they called it a night. Now it was just after noon. Dee was asleep on the couch. An ashtray, overflowing with her cigarettes, next to her. Kino had curled up on a troll-sized recliner with one of Boxer's better blankets. The recliner had a gigantic burn in the armrest now, thanks to Dee's cigarettes and 151 proof rum. The coffee table between them was littered with pizza boxes, wadded paper towels, and empty bottles. The trideo, now muted, played a popular children's show called "Fluffy Buddies."
Boxer considered taking a holopic of the scene and posting it on Shadowland. Then he could show all his chummers there the horrors of house guests. He chuckled, that would be worth a good laugh.
He found himself comparing Dee and Kino. Dee, with her muscular physique, stood head and shoulder over Kino. Her well developed assets and full figure were striking. That explained how she was doing so well in her torrid profession. On the other hand, Kino could stand behind her and never be seen. She was plain and almost rail thin with short red hair that hid the datajack at her ear, but not the rigger jacks at the base of her neck. Indeed Kino and Dee were complete opposite without one being human and the other an ork. Despite their differences they got along like two old school buddies.
The apartment's only bedroom was Boxer's private corner of the world. There a shabby twin bed sporting a mattress that was as comfortable as broken glass. On the other hand there was an oversized beanbag chair surrounded by computer equipment. boxer spent more time in the beanbag than in the bed. The small tables he had arrayed around it held everything. Multiple datajack links, a telecom, a mini-trideo, printer, scanner, even a small fridge. It ensured he didn't have to more than half a meter to get what he wanted. Now if he could just figure out a way to get a toilet in here he'd never have to leave.
A black and gold Renraku Kraftwerk sat neatly in the beanbag. The cyberdeck's smooth, round edges were akin to those of a finely craft piece of art. As far as cyberdeck's go it wasn't the best. There were other axes used by drekhot deckers that put the Kraftwerk to shame, but it wasn't exactly bottom rung either.
Boxer settled himself into the beanbag. His rump found its familiar place, worn well over countless hours jaunting around in the Matrix. The cyberdeck felt comforting in his hands. Half a dozen datacords sprouted from its streamlined features. A power cord which ran to a battery adapter somewhere behind the beanbag. A few others connected to the various pieces of equipment scattered on the surrounding tables. One is not connected to anything.
That's the one Boxer plugged into his temple. Normally he would plug a scanner, radio, and telecom into his other jacks, giving him access to other aspects of the physical world without opening his eyes. That didn't matter right now. He wasn't going to do any serious decking.
He flicked the power button. The deck hummed slightly as it booted up. To Boxer, the humming was like a classical symphony. Within ten seconds he wasn't sitting in his apartment anymore. He wasn't feeling the slow aches and pains of cramped muscles nor the numbness in his butt. He wasn't feeling any of his body at all. This is because he's no longer in the real world anymore.
Boxer the decker stood on the virtual landscape of the Greater Seattle Matrix. An electronic horizon, always in permanent early morning, glared at him in the never ending distance. Distance is a strange concept here. It's just a matter of perspective. There is no physical distance between two points. That is one thing he likes about this world. A single person isn't really as small as they appear to be. Take the Renraku Acrology, for example. In the real world it is a intimidating structure bristling with the latest technology has to often. The average person is dwarfed by its awe-inspiring structure. In the Matrix the Acrology is ten times as big, but that doesn't matter to Boxer. He knows that it would take nothing short of a tactical nuke to level the real Acrology. The Acrology in the Matrix is made of billions and billions of lines of code. Infinitely complicated, yes, but just ones and zeros when one got down to the raw basics. What made it inspiring was that all those ones and zeros could make something like this.
In the real world Boxer's fingers were flying across the cyberdeck's keys. In the Matrix he accessed a chain of dropboxes and email accounts. A series of protocols funneled all of his messages to a single, roaming host.
Seven new messages. Two were from his Mother which he saved to his deck. Three were assort junk mail ranging from 'You may be a Winner!' to 'Bad Credit? No problem!'. Boxer took a look at them anyway. Sometimes people sent him messages disguised as spam.
The last two caught his attention. The first was from a shadowrunner he had supported over the weekend.
Boxer, my teammates and I would like to thank you for the help on the weekend project. We couldn't have done it without your help. Mr. Johnson thought our performance was exceptional and provided a bonus upon completion. I passed cut of it to your account. I hope we can do biz again in the future. -CC
Nice. At least they appreciated his help. Cape Carnival was a good team. Too bad they never invested much in the logistics. Then again, corporate espionage had never been their style.
The last message was from an unidentifiable source. Such messages were usually from anonymous employers. Work was just what he needed to keep his mind off things. There's nothing like focusing on a task than dwelling on the miserable excuse your life has become to make a person feel better.
It's Grubber here. Wait, how do you know it's me? Don't worry, it is me. Really. How can I prove it? You and I use to argue about who would wind between Boxing legend Vance Bertcillia and a Nature Spirit. Happy now? Good. Cause I'm a nervous wreck! Enough of waltzing down memory lane already!
I know we haven't spoken in a while. Okay, we haven't spoken in a year. I just thought I'd hang out here and listen to the birds and all. You know? Get away from it all after the drek we stepped into. But I can't keep doing this.
He's back, Boxer. Trevor's back. Don't ask me how I know. I can't tell you. Not over a Matrix line. We've got to meet face-to-face tomorrow, the 8th, in Auburn. There's a Stuffer Shack on 278th Avenue. Meet me in the parking lot across the street. I'll be there at 1:00 pm. I know you're a 'trix junkie, so you'll get this message in time.
Boxer's face went slack. He re-read the message again. It didn't make sense. It was a lie! It had to be! There was no possible way that Trevor was back.
Grubber wasn't a fool. In fact he was a very paranoid little shaman who hated anything electronic including the Matrix. Anything that resulting him trying to get him a message through the Matrix was enough to scare the little shaman out of his hermit-like ways.
Boxer logged off and pulled the datacords from his 'jacks. He was back in the real world again. The faint buzzing in his head was a reminder of that fact. It would pass soon enough. The clock showed that he didn't have any time to lose. He snatched his keys from the table he and was halfway down the stairs when he realized something.
His car still had flat tires and he sure as hell wasn't walking to Auburn. There were always cabs, but Boxer liked having his own vehicle. MCTFox Channel 28 had a popular show called 'Taxicab Rides' where they wired a cab with tiny cameras and earphones then sent them out on the sprawl to tape real passengers. The show's producers seem to favor Redmond for recruiting passengers. Probably due to all the interesting people here. To most people it is just another cheesy reality show, but it is a real hassle for someone like Boxer.
Kino's light snoring drew his attention.
The next thing Kino know is that someone is shaking her. Shaking her hard enough to drag her consciousness out of the blissful slumber she had been enjoying so much. Opening her eyes didn't help much as blinding sunlight stabbed at them through an open window. It sent needles of pain through her head. She slapped at the hand shaking her shoulder and, for the briefest of moments, wondered where she was. It came back to her in flashes. Cramped muscles and a sore neck confirmed it. This was definitely Boxer's apartment and that uncomfortable recliner in the main room.
"Kino, wake up."
Boxer half expected for her to tell him to go to hell. Instead she merely stretched like a cat after a brief nap. Instead of a sharp flare of profanity she greeted him with a cheerful grin. Though, as she stretched over the armrest, the smile looked like a frown.
"Good morning, Box." There must have been something in his eyes that betrayed his concern because the next thing out of her mouth was, "What's wrong?"
"I need to meet someone in Auburn this morning. Can I borrow your car for a few hours? Mine still has flats."
Stiff muscles expressed their distaste of the hard recliner. She stretched again, arching her back which complained even louder about last night's sleeping arrangements. "Give me a moment and I'll come with you."
"That's okay. I won't be gone long."
"I don't mind. I'll drive you."
Boxer did his best to hide his frown. Most people might consider Kino's offer an attempt to be polite or even a thank you for putting up with her last night. That might be true on some level, but he knew there was more to it. She probably didn't want him to take her car off alone. "Are you sure? You look like you could use some more sleep." He knew that excuse wouldn't work. Kino rarely got hangovers or felt ill after a night like last night.
"I'm fine, just give me a moment."
Boxer grudgingly nodded. It would only make a scene if he continued to disagree. Their talking had caused Dee to stir. Kino dropped a blanket on her head just to be silly before disappearing into the bathroom.
"Morning, sis."
Dee mumbled something before folding the blanket into something resembling a pillow. Boxer made a weak attempt conversation. It was more to hide the noise he made when he pulled a metal briefcase from a cabinet. There were two pistols in the case. One was a sinister looking Predator with a bulky smartlink attached beneath the barrel. The other was a slim Colt with a matching hoslter. Boxer took the Colt and quietly replaced the case, trying to get it out of sight before Kino came back.
"Where are you going?" Dee asked. Her head was still buried in the blanket.
"I'm meeting an old chummer in Auburn. I'll be back sometime this evening. Do you want us to drop you anywhere?" Boxer was hoping she would say yes. That way he could have Kino drop him off in Auburn, then take Dee wherever she wanted to go.
Alas, that wasn't to be the case. There was no where she wanted to go besides back to sleep.
The bathroom door opened. Kino looked more awake than before. Though her hair seemed to be at a permanent angle on one side and she was wearing the same black sleaveless top and cargo pants as yesterday. She asked if he was ready, to which he nodded 'yes'. It took her a moment to put the shoulder holster for her Ultra-Power on and snatch the rest of her belongings from the tabletop.
"Sis, are you sure we can't drop you anywhere?" Boxer hoped she had thought of something by no.
"No, I'm fine."
Kino grabbed her vest from the back of the recliner. "See you, Dee." She said as she preceded Boxer out the door. Dee waved briefly as she left.
Boxer frowned. He didn't want any company on this trip, but it looks like that was what he was going to get. He could always tell Kino not to come and take his chances with the cabs, but Boxer valued having his own vehicle at his disposal instead of flagging down a ride. He also valued the acuteness of his ears and how they would be after Kino was finished yelling at him.
So, with some reluctance, Boxer headed out the door.
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