Chapter Five
Eve of Fate
Lakewood Center
Tacoma, Seattle
April 17, 2059
8:00 pm
Tart merrily skipped past her apartment door. It had been the perfect day. Things went better
than she ever hoped they would.
Her mother didn't shut her out. Instead she embraced her in one of the warmest receptions that
Tart had ever had. Even Samantha was happy to see her. After running a few errands Tart had
gone back to her mothers and stayed with her till after dinner. The experience had left her
feeling wonderful. Happy and wonderful thoughts filled her mind like butterflies in a garden.
Tart closed the door and made her way to the kitchen. She put a sack of groceries on the
tabletop. Idly she put contents of the sack into the refrigerator. All the while she hummed
happily to herself. Once everything was put away she danced into the bedroom. There she
fished around for a large t-shirt and a pair of jogging pants. She tossed both of them through her
bathroom door and went back to find a fresh pair of panties. It was then that she noticed that her
telecom was blinking.
"What's this?" Tart said to herself as she displayed the messages. "Three messages from
Lenny? I wonder what's wrong." She opened all the messages at once. They displayed in as
cascaded windows on the telecom's screen. Before she could finish reading the first one her
doorbell rang.
"Just a minute." Tart called as she hit a few keys on the telecom that told it to print the
messages out.
While the printer was working Tart answered the door. She didn't bother to look out her
peephole.
"Yes?" She had time to say before someone kicked the rest of the door open. The impact sent
Tart to the ground in a huddled mass. The back of her head hit the floor which caused her vision
to spin.
"Not to bright are you?" A man's voice said as he closed the door.
"Who?!" Tart half screamed. As she stumbled to her feet the man planted a knee firmly in her
stomach. It doubled her over. She lay coughing on the floor.
"Not what I expected." The man circled her. "I would have thought that a girl who eluded
Fuchi for six months would have been tougher. Then again, Fuchi has had its own problems as
of late."
Tart gasped as the man grabbed a fistful of her hair. He yanked her head back with such force
that Tart thought that her neck would pop.
"But you? You are nothing." The man cursed. "And Fuchi is having trouble with you?" He
dropped his fistful of hair. Tart sank to the floor. "No wonder Fuchi's not the best it's been."
"What do you want from me?" Tart gasped. If she could get to the bedroom she
might be okay. There was a pistol under the bed.
"What do I want?" He kicked Tart in the side, forcing her over. He placed his boot at her throat.
"I've been watching that sister of yours for five solid months. Do you have any idea how much
of a drek filled job that was? Five months of observation on a assignment that wasn't fit for an
underdog."
"I'll give you anything you want." Tart pleaded. "Just let me go."
"Nah, I don't think so." The man wagged his finger at her. "I've been on this job too long to
just walk away. Those high muck-a-mucks at Fuchi thought you were a lost caused. I'm here to
prove them different. You don't know just how much trouble you caused when you sold those
access codes, do you?"
Tart was about to say something, but the man pressed down with his foot.
"No, I didn't think so." The man pulled out a pair of handcuffs. He locked them on Tart's
hands and hauled her up. "This is payday for more and there's no way I'm going to let a little
slitch like you ruin it for me."
Tart held her breath.
"You get me?"
Tart nodded.
"Good, then we won't have any disagreements." He slugged Tart right in the face. The impact
dazed her. The man through her over his shoulder. He opened up the door and started down the
hallway.
Tart's senses were swimming in pain. She was conscious, but she hurt so much she couldn't do
anything. The pain was nearly unbearable.
Just as the man was about to hit the elevator button someone whistled at him. He turned around
with a mean look on his face. He was prepared to give whoever was watching a nasty cussing or
put a bullet in their head. Behind him stood a short human wearing a deep red long coat. His
right hand was held slightly behind him. The man snorted at him.
"What the fragging hell do--" The man cursed as the human flung something at him. The
movement was too fast for the man to react to. A metallic ring filled the air. "--urk!" The
needle-tipped end of the Sai pierced his eye, burying itself halfway into the man's skull. The
body convulsed violently for a few seconds before falling to the floor like a limp sack.
Tart fell too. The man landed on top of her, but she was able to scamper away. She nearly
screamed when she saw the Sai sticking out of the man's head. Nightsky put a hand over her
mouth to keep her quiet.
"Quiet now." He instructed.
"Michael!" Tart said. "What? Where?"
"Lenny thought that you might be in trouble." Nightsky picked up the man by the arms. "Open
up your apartment door and be quick about it."
Tart did as she was told even though she felt wobbly on her feet. Nightsky dragged the corpse
inside with the Sai still sticking out of his head. He dragged the body all the way to the
bathroom where he left it in the tub. The Sai made a sick, crunching sound as it was pulled out.
"What's going to happen now?" Tart asked. She had to brace herself against the doorway. She
still felt dizzy and her stomach hurt where she had been kicked.
"Pack anything that's valuable and smash your telecom." Nightsky instructed. "We've got to
get out of here before one of your neighbors gets curious and calls Lone Star."
"Smash my telecom?"
"That's right." Nightsky replied as he rifled through the man's pockets. He found a Browning
Ultra-Power in a shoulder holster as well as a credstick. There was also a set of keys in his
pocket. Unfortunately there was no ID on the body. "Take any messages or numbers that you
might have and put them in a garbage can. Make sure the can's not plastic." He took the keys
he had found and fumbled to the right one that would unlock Tart's handcuffs.
"Okay, I'll do it." She went off.
It only took her a moment to collect all the printouts she had laying around. She did not read the
messages that Lenny had sent. Instead she put them in a garbage can that she found in the
bedroom. Nightsky went into the kitchen. There were a number of cleaners under the sink
marked as flammable. He took the bottles and poured one in the garbage can where Tart had put
all the papers. The rest were poured over the body in the tub. Next Nightsky overturned Tart's
telecom. It smashed onto the floor. The sound made Tart jump. She was busy packing all of
her valuables to pay attention to what the adept was doing. Nightsky used his Sai to pry open the
back of the telecom. Once he had it open he removed all the memory chips and tossed them into
the garbage can. Then he took the husk of the telecom and tossed it into the bathtub. The chunk
of plastic and wires landed on top of the corpse.
"Where are we going to go?" Tart was scared out of her wits. A man had suddenly appeared in
her home and threatened her life. What's more he was babbling about Fuchi and codes. It
frightened her to know that her past was catching up with her. If Nightsky wasn't here she
would probably be on her way to Fuchi's corporate offices.
"I'll tell you when we get there." Nightsky came out of the bathroom. He picked out a wade of
printing paper from a stack on the desk. "Have you got everything?"
Tart swung an oversized gym back around her shoulder. The weight nearly made her fall over.
Her muscles were already sore from the encounter she had with the man. "I think so."
"Do you have the keys to you car?"
Tart pulled the Jackrabbit's keys out of her pocket. "Right here."
"I'll drive." Nightsky plucked the keys from her hand.
A lighter appeared from his pocket. He used the lighter to set the wade of paper in his hand on
fire. He touched the fire to the garbage can and it immediately burst into an inferno. Then he
tossed the wade of burning paper into the tub. Flames jumped to life and bathed the bathroom
in a orange glow. The body and the telecom started to burn.
"Okay, let's get out of here before Lone Star shows."
Boise Safehouse
Tacoma Seattle
8:30 pm
"She couldn't have." Hector blurted into Lenny's cellphone. The aged Fixer sounded like he
was about to bust a gut. Lenny had just finished explaining to him the situation involving Tart.
Needless to say, Hector wasn't too happy with the development. "I can't believe that she went
to her mother even though it would probably expose her. I don't know how she expects me to
get her out of this mess."
"That's just it, Hector." Lenny said. "I don't think she realizes what she has done."
Hector frowned at that. "She's naive that's for sure. Have you heard from her?"
"No, I sent Nightsky over to her place earlier. If she shows up he'll take care of her."
"I just hope that another faction doesn't decide to take care of her."
Lenny shook his head. "There's not that much that can be done. I left several messages for her,
but she hasn't replied to any of them. I can't get in touch with her. I found her mother in the
hospital earlier today, but by the time I got there she was already gone."
"Maybe nobody will pick up on her this soon." Hector said. "It's the best thing we got at the
moment."
"Yes, but Nightsky will call me if he finds her. She'll have to come home sooner or later."
Lenny leaned back in the recliner that he was sitting in. He held his cellphone next to his ear.
"Did you find anything on Mr. Johnson? Or should I call him Gabriel Frost now."
"Changing the subject, Lenny?" Hector shrugged. "I did manage to dig up a few things on your
friend Gabriel. I found business records that say that he is a private security contractor. I can't
really say who he's working for right now, though. Don't worry because I've got some of my
best people own it. By this time tomorrow we'll know that Gabriel's dog's name is."
"Any family?"
"He has a sister in New Orleans. There's also an uncle who works with MIT&T in Boston. His
father died of a heart attack five years ago. It took me a while to track down some information
about his mother. She lives in the S-S Council lands. I've got an exact address if you want it."
Hector explained. "None of them seem to have any major shadow connections. Just your
average folks."
"What about that Eatery?"
"Lo Chang's Chinese Eatery? Nothing special. It's a little restaurant in downtown Seattle.
Privately owned by a fellow named Lo Chang. No known connections to any of the Yakuza or
groups like that."
"So it looks good?"
"From the general profile of everything." Hector nodded. "Yeah. It looks good, very good."
Lenny frowned. "Too good?"
"That sounds like something that Riggs would say."
"He also said that it can be healthy to be paranoid." Lenny replied. "Thanks for the info,
Hector."
"No problem."
"And listen, I'll find Tart. When I do I'll make sure that she stays out of trouble."
"Let me know when you know something."
"I'll keep you informed. Goodbye, Hector."
"Take care, Lenny."
Lenny closed the call and put his phone up. He braced his head against his hand as he stared
blankly at the trideo. He was thinking more than he was watching the show on the trid.
"Anything?" Gideon rumbled form the doorway.
Lenny shook his head. "Nothing on Tart, yet. On the other hand the meet looks good for
tomorrow." Lenny watched the ork cross to the window and peak out. For the first time he
noticed that the ork's cyberarm looked different. It seemed to have more hydraulic motors and
servos. The arm had been damaged a few weeks ago, but it looked like the ork had put more
into it than a simple repair.
Quietly Lenny dismissed his thoughts. Instead he turned up the volume on the trid to clear his
mind. The trid was showing a news broadcast at this hour. It was an interview where the
reporter was an attractive woman with luscious red hair and a perfect smile. The reporters guest
was an older man of forty to fifty. He had thin, graying hair and looked to be out of shape. Yet
he for a tailored suit that fit well on him. It made him look more striking and confident.
"Good evening." The reporter said into the camera. "I'm Katie Florence for TWNBC Channel
223 news at eight. With me tonight is our special guest, Congressional candidate for Seattle,
Mr. James Wesson."
Mr. Wesson nodded. "Thank you, Katie, always a pleasure to be here."
"A pleasure to have you with us tonight, Mr. Wesson. I understand that you will be giving a
speech with the support of the Moral Majority Foundation at the Seattle University tomorrow
night."
"Yes, Katie, that is correct. It's just of way for me to say how important my family is to me. I
want my children to be brought up with the right moral standards that they so richly deserve. I
know other parents in your listening audience have similar concerns about the rising crime rate
and the terrible disease that is youth violence. I'm here to say that I too face the problems that
hundreds of parents face. It's all of our responsibility to watch out for our kids. After all, it
takes a whole village to raise one baby."
Lenny sighed and shut out the rest of the conversation. To him all Wesson was doing was
making empty promises. Wesson talked about how important family was to him and how he
valued his beautiful daughters. There was some more talk about Wesson making a speech for a
local organization. Lenny found the whole thing dull beyond measurements. It wasn't like he
could vote anyway, so the whole interview was a moot point to him.
The channels got switched to ESPN which was showing some of the latest Urban Brawl games.
The Urban Brawl was nothing more than a glorified gang war with automatic weapons and a
volley ball. The contestants chased each other across the playing field trying to get the ball into
the goal area while hot lead was flying through the air. It was a very barbaric sport and not for
the weak of heart. Lenny found this countlessly more amusing than the interview with James
Wesson.
Kent
Tacoma, Seattle
9:20 pm
Nightsky leaned into the telecom so that he blocked the entire screen. He slotted his credstick
and punched in a number. At the same time he tried to keep Tart within view. She was sitting at
the bar of the "Cyber Cafe" nursing a cup of hot chocolate. Not that it was real chocolate. Real
chocolate was too expensive for the chain store to buy in bulk. The Cyber Cafe wasn't much in
the way of food. It offered a few drinks and sandwiches, but nothing extravagant. The real
attraction to the Cafe was that it offered free access to the Matrix. There were telecoms for use
and jack points for those who used Cyberdeck. This was convenient to Nightsky because it
offered the luxury of animosity. The only downside to the Cafe was that the jack points often
drew in a crowd of deckers and computer types. Nightsky tried to focus on his call and ignore
the general noise that was created by all the customers.
The phone rang only once before it was answered.
"Lenny here." Lenny answered the call.
"Hey, Lenny." Nightsky turned to where he could see the cafe. "Its me."
"Nightsky? Where are you?"
"Safe and sound at the moment. I've got Tart."
"Anything happen?"
"Ran into a few unwanted friends at her place, but nothing major. That place has been labeled
hot if you catch my meaning." Nightsky explained. Every so often he would check on Tart to
make sure she hadn't moved. "What do you want me to do with her? I had her pack some of
her things and clean out her apartment. She can't go home. Not right now."
"She needs to get off the street for a couple of hours."
"Good idea, Lenny."
"If she stays out of sight for tonight things might die down by the morning. Can you keep her at
your place tonight? It's closer so you won't have to spend much time in the open."
"Not a problem."
"One other thing." Lenny said. "You remember how when I first called you I said that there
was something else I wanted to talk to you about?"
"What was it?"
"We've got a meeting tomorrow. I didn't know if you were interested or not, so I'm going to
keep the offer open."
"Where are you guys at now?"
"The pad." Lenny was referring to the Boise Safehouse. It was the location that the runners
normally used for gatherings.
"Okay. I'll keep Tart at my place for tonight. Tomorrow we'll come by the pad and put this all
behind us."
"Okay, good luck. See you then."
"Later, Lenny." Nightsky removed his credstick and cut off the call.
Something bumped into him just as Nightsky was putting the credstick away. The person who
hit him didn't stop with a casually bump, but actually pushed Nightsky into the open telecom
booth. It was a large person when compared to the shadowrunner. Nightsky stood only five-foot-five. The person that bumped into him was a chunky five-foot-ten.
"Watch it." Nightsky warned. He placed his forearm vertically in line the man's spine.
The man spun around and glared into Nightsky's face. He wasn't really a man. In fact he wasn't
much older than Nightsky himself. However, he was bigger. He had to stoop in order to face
Nightsky eye to eye. "Why don't you watch where you're going!" He rumbled. The most
unusual thing about him was the big red clown nose he wore and the painted smile over his lips.
The clownish decorations were by no means jolly.
"Move." Nightsky tried to sound as polite as he good and gentle pushed against the clown-man's chest. The man had completely blocked Nightsky in the little booth.
"Why don't you make me!" One of the man's friends, apparently the one that had accidently
pushed the him into Nightsky, pointed at the duo and giggled. The clown-man pushed his friend
aside without turning his head. "Well? Are you going to make me move you techno-weenie?"
Nightsky's eyes narrowed, but he tried to remain polite. "Please, move." He said as he put his
fingers at the base of the man's throat.
"Please move?" The clown chuckled. "That's rich, trash-code. Just what are you doing in my
bar anyway?" The man forcefully ran his hand through Nightsky's temples. "You don't even
have a jack. What are you?"
The man's friend, a tall, gangly boy, giggled. "Yeah, what are you?" He said in a screechy
voice.
"I know what he is." The clown grinned. "He's a tortoise."
The clown was becoming irritating. Even more so after he searched Nightsky's head for a
datajack. The adept felt that he was insulted. The idea of having cyberware was repulsive to
him. On the other hand, Nightsky did notice that the clown had a datajack sticking out of his left
temple.
Tart seemed to notice the confrontation that Nightsky was having. Her eyes had the look of
concern. As her hand went into her bag Nightsky nodded at her. She was probably going for her
pistol. Gunplay was the last thing that Nightsky wanted. It was best not to draw attention to
themselves. Tart wasn't the best person in the world with a handgun either.
"So what are you going to do, weenie?" The clown roared.
Nightsky tried to slip by the man and escape the booth, but the clown-man moved to block his
path. The clown went as far as to push Nightsky back into the booth.
"Looks like your stuck!" The clown's friend screeched through teeth that were stained yellow.
There was a datajack right in the middle of his forehead.
Nightsky faced the clown, but turned sideways. "Move now or I will have to move you myself."
His left hand was still at the base of the clown's throat while his right was blocked from view by
his long coat. Fingers hung above the handle of a Sai and the butt of a Manhunter heavy pistol.
Either one was more than sufficient to move the fat clown out of Nightsky's way.
"You move me? What a joke!" The clown burst out laughing. Before he could gloat long
Nightsky shot out with his hand and stabbed two fingers into the base of the clown's throat. The
action temporarily closed off the windpipe and jerked it out of place "-ack!" The clown
managed as he dropped to his knees gasping for air.
"Why you!" The gangly man squeaked as he reached out for Nightsky.
The adept grabbed the outstretched band and twisted it violently, locking the wrist. At the same
time he put a knee into the clown's face and walked the clown down. The gained momentum
was used to swing the gangly fellow into the telecom. His head met the telecom screen with a
satisfying crunch. All of it happened in less time than it took to blink. Nightsky couldn't help,
but to feel flushed with himself. Those lessons with Gideon were finally paying off.
"Stupid drek head!" The clown stumbled to his feet. By now a lot of the customers had gotten
out of the way. This left a lot of room for the clown to maneuver his chunky frame. He was
about to charge Nightsky, but he stopped suddenly as Nightsky pull his Sai and held it at the
man's throat. The expression on the clown's face was one of instant fear. Nightsky's expression
and his eyes told of someone who would stop the clown's heart without a second thought.
Personally, Nightsky was more than ready to do it if the clown didn't dead stop in his tracks.
"Back off." Nightsky said firmly.
The other customers looked on in shock. The clown apparently had some kind of reputation
here. The datajack in his temple probably meant that he had some skill with computers. A
programmer or a decker of some sort. This was the meat world, though. It didn't matter how
fast a decker was in the Matrix or what kind of programs he had. In the meat world there were
much more dangerous predators about.
Tart was standing know. She was afraid what would happen and was clenching her bag with
both hands.
Slowly the clown-man stepped back. Though he was boastful and irritating, the clown was also
smart. This techno-weenie that was so unimposing had just dropped both him and his friend.
His movements were as fast as any ICE. The hand-to-hand tactics that he employed were
practiced and refined. The clown also knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the tip of that
knife was real and the wielder knew how to use it. The glimmer of a pistol stuffed into a belt
didn't make the clown feel much better.
"Smart man." Nightsky said as the clown moved away.
Nightsky put the Sai away and motioned for Tart. Together the two of them slide out of the bar.
They calmly walked to Tart's car and got in. As they were pulling away the clown stepped onto
the street. He watched the two of them drive down the street. The clown also felt the eyes of
the customers in the Cafe on them. With his pride hurt and embarrassment rolling in, the clown
let out one last defiant cry in an attempt to reconcile his damaged ego.
"The Killer Klown is going to remember for you!"
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