Chapter Two
Scrubs
Kino Blythe scrubbed the baseboards until her knuckles turned red. She fought back an overwhelming urge to vomit as bits of scalp and gray matter soaked into the bed sheet she was using. Her neatly pressed delivery uniform was stained so much that its dark blue fabric was even darker. It even felt like she was wearing out the knees of the ballistic cloth. Her socks, formerly white, were now red.
Grayson had been nice enough to let the shadowrunners into his small, private clinic on the shadier side of Renton. Since their arrival they had tried feverishly to clean up the van while the good doctor tended to Thess' wound. Everyone except Winger, of course. The shaman didn't seem to care much for the task. Neither did Kino, but that didn't get her out of it. Why was it that a shaman, who lived on the streets, able get out of clean up duty like this?
"Scrub-a-Dub-Dub, all day long. Scrub-a-Dub-Dub while I sing this song. Gonna wax this floor gonna make it shine. Gonna take off the blood with terpentine."
Kino almost lost her lunch for a second time. "Puck, please don't sing."
The dwarf looked up from scrubbing the wall. He still had smudges of blood around his neck and forehead from where the cortex bomb had gone off right in front of his face. "I thought the work would go easier if we did it to a song."
Kino gagged again. "Maybe for you."
Puck scrapped a chunk of scalp off the wall. "You know, for someone who turned two spooks into goo with that turret, you've got a pretty weak stomach."
"That's different."
"Not to me. You'll still turning people inside out."
"Do we really have to talk about this now?!"
"Just making conversation." Puck picked up a chunk of brain tissue. "Hey, Boxer, are we keeping this frag's drek?"
Boxer zipped up the body bag that held the remains of Mr. Tanaka. "Just junk it."
Puck flicked the piece of gray matter into a trashcan. "We going to junk the corpse too?"
"Not yet. We might get some nuyen out of Mr. Johnson for this."
"The frag's missing his fragging head. How's that going to get nuyen out of the Johnson?"
"J hired us to get Tanaka. Technically, that's what we did."
"Yeah, but Tanaka's not going to be saying much. You know, we can chop the body and get some 'yen for it. It's only been an hour or so. That parts will still be good. I bet Grayson would do it."
"Shut up, Puck." Kino snapped.
"I'm just thinking out loud."
"Then think to yourself."
"Sorry, already." Puck sprayed floor cleaner on a particularly sticky mess. "This reminds me of when I was with Lone Star's bomb squad. We were responding to a call at a shelter in Tacoma. Only we got there late and the bomb had already gone off. Now that was a mess to clean up. Not just little things like we've got here. There were human remains scattered all over the place."
Kino slipped at that, sticking her elbows into a coagulated puddle of sticky fluid.
"Not that I had to clean any of it up. I was a professional back then. They paid me to stop it from happening, not to be a janitor."
Boxer frowned slightly. "Puck-"
"No really, it was a mess. The forensic guys really had their work cut out for them. Think about having to identify people after that."
Kino threw her wet rags on Puck's face and stormed out of the van. Her graceful retreat was broken when she nearly slipped on an unsettling puddle, but to his credit Puck managed to keep her from tumbling onto her face. Kino's storming turned into a hurried retreat as she pushed open the garage door. Thess was talking to Grayson on the other side. The door nearly caught Thess on the nose. Kino tried to push her way by, but the samurai was much heavier than she looked. She had to settle for squeezing around.
Boxer looked at Puck. "Why did you have to push it?"
"What?"
"Nothing. I'll go check on her."
Boxer wormed his way pass Thess and Grayson to the bathroom. Thess asked what was going on to which he did not reply as he made his way to the bathroom. The toilet flushed as he approached. He waited a moment before pushing the door open. Kino was there, vainly attempting to straighten her short hair. She looked tired, stressed, and angry all at the same time. Her blood-soaked clothes weren't helping.
"Hey, K, you frosty?" He asked.
Kino turned on the facet. "I'm fine, Box. I just need to wash my hands is all. They got kind of dirty. Just too much blood." She had trouble saying that last word.
Boxer stepped up behind her. The was dwarfed by the ork's size. Boxer stood easily half a meter over her head and nearly twice the weight. Kino didn't seem to notice. "Look," he said, "Puck's just pushing your buttons. He didn't mean anything."
Kino held her hands under the facet. The hot water washed away the dried blood.
"Kino?"
"He's right you know."
"Huh?"
"I couldn't stand cleaning the van, but I didn't have any trouble shooting those two at the hotel. It's just that, well, when I'm jacked into the van it doesn't feel-"
"Real?"
"I know what's real and what's not! And I don't need anyone standing over my shoulder waiting for me to fuck up then tell me what I did wrong. I don't need that kind of help! I'm perfectly capable of handling things on my own!" Kino looked at his reflection in the mirror. It felt like was putting the blame on her. For not driving straight or failing to block the cortex bomb's kill signal. She rubbed her hands with soap. They shook under the running water. Kino scrubbed her fingers, trying to get the red flakes out. She added more soap, but the flakes persisted. "Look, Box, maybe I just want to be alone. I don't need looking after." She scrubbed her fingers vigorously. "Damnit, why can't I get my hands clean?"
"I know." Boxer said solemnly.
Kino looked at her reflection in the mirror. It was distorted by the steam rising from the sink. "I killed him, didn't I?"
Boxer stuck his lip out, protruding his tusks. He put his hand on her shoulder. The fabric was sticky with blood. "No, you didn't."
"You sure?"
"Positive. We just got a problem, that's all. We'll fix it."
"Okay, Box."
"Right now we need to get back to work. This run isn't over yet."
Boxer lead Kino back into the garage. Thess and Grayson were here. Thess was dressed in ER srcubs and had a set of them under each arm. Puck was soaking up the last of the puddles in the van. The trashcan was overflowing with rags and bed sheets that were already coated in a thick layer of crimson. Winger was no where in sight, but that wasn't unusual for him. The shaman had gotten off lucky this time. In fact, he was the only one of them that wasn't soaked in someone else's bodily fluids.
"Thess," Boxer grunted. "How's the leg?"
"Better, Grayson got the bullet out."
Puck tossed the last rag into the trashcan. "The van's about as clean as we are going to get it. I'd recommend an air freshener though, Kino."
"You chummers got yourselves into a real drekstorm." Grayson picked at his orkish tusk. "I do not want to know what the problem is. I sure as frag don't want anyone coming around here asking questions. I've got my own biz to look after."
"I know, Grayson. Don't think we don't appreciate it." Thess pulled out a wad of nuyen notes and pressed them into his hand. "You were the only one we could turn to on short notice."
Grayson thumbed the notes. It took him a moment. No doubt he was counting it. "You can take those rags down to the furnace and burn them. I don't want that body here. No telling who wants it. I don't want them coming here looking for it. If anyone asks I'm going to say that I fixed up some bumps and bruises, but I'm not covering for you. If they want to know about the body I'm going to say you still have it."
"Thanks, Grayson." Thess said.
"Don't thank me yet. I don't want to see any of you here again. At least not until you've cleaned this up. Do you scan me?"
Boxer grunted. "Yeah, we scan."
"Good. I don't want any misunderstanding." He yawned, pausing briefly when Winger walked into the garage. The elf wore a solemn look on his otherwise bland features. The rotting bat on his coat made Grayson's nose twitch. "You chummers can let yourselves out. I'm going to bed."
"Thanks again, Grayson." Kino added meekly. Grayson merely waved as he shut the door behind him.
Puck huffed slightly. "Friendly chap."
"Friendly enough to take us in." Thess said as she grabbed a water hose and twisted a facet. She tossed a set of ER scrubs on a bench and turned to the others. "Strip."
"Huh?" Kino mouthed.
"The van is clean. Now its your turn. Those blood soaked rags you call clothes can still link us with Tanaka. Now strip." Thess pointed the hose at them. Winger stood aside and watched quietly. "Boxer, Puck, make sure the two of you clean your guns thoroughly."
Boxer made a slight nod as he shrugged off his armored jacket. He saw where the bullets had struck him earlier when it hit the floor. Right between the shoulder blades. A few inches higher they would have broken his spinal column at the neck.
"Looks like karma was with Boxer tonight!" Puck joked. He made an even worse joke when he saw that Boxer's shorts had 'Mama's Boy' stenciled across the front. His laughter was short as Thess hit the naked dwarf with a spray of freezing water.
"Heh. Who's laughing now?" Boxer managed before the spray hit him. "Drek, Thess, that's cold!"
"Stand still, Boxer." Thess instructed as she aimed the spray at his head. "You hair still has some of Tanaka in it."
"He knew." Winger said bluntly.
Thess stopped the spray for a moment. Winger wasn't a talkative person most of the time. When he said something it was only because he felt it was important. That's why Thess gave him her immediate attention. "What do you mean?" She asked as she turned the spray onto Kino.
"Tanaka. He knew it was his time to see the Great Wing on the other side. He was not afraid. He anticipated the result of our move." Winger explained, using more words than he normally said in a day. "He was not in fear."
Thess gave Puck's head a concentrated stream of cold water. "You're saying that he knew he was dead the minute we snatched him?"
"Yes."
"That doesn't make sense!" Kino shivered. "If he knew there was a bomb in his head why didn't he tell anyone?"
"I don't know." Thess turned the water off. "You three are clean. Dry yourselves off and put on these scrubs."
"I'll take care of the clothes." Boxer said as he gathered their clothes together and tossed them into the trashcan. He dragged it towards the door. "Be back in a tick."
"Why didn't our Johnson know about this? It's his tag." Puck questioned.
"I don't know, but we'll have a chance to ask soon enough."
Puck smacked his head. "That's right! We've got a meet with him tonight. What are we going to tell him."
"The truth?"
Puck grinned. "Sometimes the truth hurts."
"That's all we have." Kino said.
Thess nodded. That was the sad fact they had to work with.
Half an hour later the group was on the road again. The van had returned to its pre-bomb neatness more or less. There was still a foul smell. Kino had to make a stop at a stuffer shack for air fresheners. Now the van smelled like strawberries and Lysol. The scent made an interesting contrast with the shadowrunners wearing ER scrubs.
It was a little after 10:30 when the van cruised to a smooth stop outside of a nondescript store front. It wasn't really a store. Boxer had leased it out via a dummy corporation earlier in the week. The paperwork wouldn't go through until Monday. Until then it served as the team's safehouse.
They stayed long enough to grab a change of clothes and a quick snack. Boxer had enough time to check Lone Star's public information node on the Matrix. An investigation was already being launched into the Nikko Hotel attack. The report didn't read like it happened. That was no surprise. Lone Star was chalking it up to a drive-by shooting. The report listed two civilians shot and killed in front of the hotel and a third wounded. There was no doubt in Boxer's mind that the two dead bodies were from Kino's use of the van's turret. The third had to be the one he shot. Ironically there was no mention of the three Puck drugged or the one Thess had put down. Nor was there any mention of Mr. Tanaka.
Lone Star did get descriptions of the perpetrators. They were eerily close to Puck, Thess, and Boxer, but not close enough to send them up the river for the next ten years. Nevertheless, Boxer made a note to himself to change the barrel and firing pin on his Predator to keep Lone Star from matching the ballistics.
It was after eleven when the shadowrunners arrived at The Mad Woman. This was where Mr. Johnson had prearranged the meeting three days ago. He had not bothered to give a contact number, supposedly to limit his exposure. Mr. Johnson had picked a good place for that. The nightclub was mostly a sleazy bar with little music and less dancing. It was out on the edge of Touristville in Redmond. Far from the hustle and bustle of downtown Seattle.
Thess and Boxer would go in first. They were the most sociable of the shadowrunners. Thess had excellent negotiation skills while Boxer's talent with a cyberdeck and reputation as a decker would leave the Johnson wondering what the runners knew. The others would scatter themselves around the bar. Puck would probably be closer than Winger or Kino. Kino would be near the door because, for all her talk, she wasn't a very good shot and didn't have the reflex boosting cyberware of the others. As for Winger, he did whatever he wanted.
The bar was pretty subdued for this time of night. There were a few customers drinking their cares away and haggling the waitresses. A truly awful band held the small stage. Only three people were on the dance floor. One was a human who's jumpsuit had enough zippers to hide a small tactical nuke. He thought he was the 6th World's gift to dancing. He's kidding himself.
It was easy to spot Mr. Johnson sitting at one of the tables by the dance floor. He stood out in this crowd. He wore his suit without a tie and his coat over the chair. Any normal person might mistake him for a slumming corporate wageslave, but the mountain of meat and muscle sitting next to him said otherwise. His bodyguard wore a serious expression. The bumps and nodes underneath his skin were marks of dermal plating. This guy was purebred muscle.
Thess noticed the lump under the bodyguard's coat. She subconsciously adjusted the position of her Savalette Guardian. The lump was too small to be a big automatic unless it was a Browning.
"Mr. Johnson." She said as she took a seat across from him. Boxer wordlessly settle into a chair next to her.
Mr. Johnson casually checked his watch. "You're late."
"Couldn't be helped." Boxer replied.
"Do you have my package?"
That was the question Thess had been trying to figure out how to answer ever since Mr. Tanaka's head became a wall decoration.
Boxer answered for her. "Most of it."
Mr. Johnson looked at Boxer oddly, but he didn't show any sign of misunderstanding.
"There was a problem during the pickup."
Mr. Johnson leaned forward. He crossed his fingers on the tabletop. "What sort of problem?"
"The package had a kill switch." Thess explained. "We were unable to remove it in time."
Mr. Johnson leaned back. The bodyguard shifted slightly. "The package's current condition?"
"Terminal."
He was quiet for a moment. The silence was unsettling to Thess. Her eyes shifted to the bodyguard, watching for the slightest movement that would signal danger.
"You were charged with ensuring a safe delivery. This is unacceptable." Mr. Johnson said.
"We had no idea of knowing." Boxer said. "Nothing in the file said anything about the kill switch."
"Then you must have overlooked something."
"Overlooked something?" Boxer sounded insulted.
"It's a moot point. Do you still have the package?"
"Yes."
"Dispose of it." Mr. Johnson said.
"Don't you want it?" Boxer asked.
"What good is it to me now?" Mr. Johnson snapped.
Neither of them we willing to give him an answer.
"You were told to safely deliver the package. You have failed. Our agreement is void. Cover your tracks and do not speak of this to anyone."
"Cover our tracks?" Boxer huffed. "Since we're not getting any nuyen out of this maybe we should give you the mess to clean up."
"Boxer." Thess nudged his elbow. Her look told him that it would better off if they handled the body. That way they can be sure Lone Star doesn't find it.
"Is there something you would like to add?" Mr. Johnson said to her.
"No." She stood, giving the rest of the bar a quick once over. "We are leaving. Let's go, Boxer."
"Yeah, we're leaving." Boxer grudgingly admitted.
Both of them stood and headed for the door. Puck, on the other side of the dance floor, watched the Johnson and his bodyguard. When they didn't move Puck headed out. Once outside in the cool air Thess felt her guard drop a little. She had expected more from Mr. Johnson, but he clearly wasn't going to offer anything else. Their reputations might suffer a little, but that could be fixed in the long run. In a way, she felt they had gotten off easy.
"That was a royal hose." Boxer said once the group was outside.
"In more ways that one." Kino said as Winger oddly walked away from the group. He continued plodding down the street oblivious to the rest of the world. It was like he was living in his own little fantasy. "Winger!" Kino called out. "Where are you going?"
Winger stopped in mid-stride. He faced them, showing his unruly hair and empty expression. "There is bad karma here. Stinks of rot and decay. The Great Wing points me this way. Says I will find it more pleasing for a time." Winger turned and walked away.
"Winger-"
"Let him go." Thess said. "We have our own problems."
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