Chapter Eight
The China Dye-Nasty
Lo Chang's Chinese Eatery
Downtown, Seattle
April 18, 2059
11:45 pm
"At least the eggrolls are worthwhile." Riggs mentioned as he settled into the bucket seat in the front of the Bison. Datacords ran from the jacks in his temple to the dash. At the same time he was stuffing a crisp eggroll into his mouth. His mind was still jacked into the Bison, but the whole system was running in a standby mode. It allowed Riggs to eat and monitor the sensors without getting a splitting headache.
"Still smells funny." Gideon grumbled.
Lenny and Gideon were sitting at a table in the back of the small eatery. They faced the front door with the wall to their backs. They could see anyone entering the Eatery from their position. Gideon liked it that way. It meant that no one could sneak up from behind. Lenny disliked it because there was no place to retreat.
Nightsky sat at a small table by the door. He held a unique position and was able to get the drop off anyone the Johnson brought in. The front door was also in lethal range of the Bison's weaponry. If things went sour, Riggs would be ready for immediate evacuation.
The shadowrunners had arrived and set up their positions thirty minutes before the meeting. It was Lenny's idea to arrive early. That let him decide where to sit. He often felt uneasy about sitting where the Johnson had chosen. The only problem was that a shadowrunner did stick out in the crowd. The Eatery wasn't that crowded to begin with. Aside from an older couple near a window and the odd number of corporate wage slaves grabbing a quick bite, there was a large group of University students. Gideon was the only metahuman present. That alone made him stick out like a swore thumb. Lenny didn't appear too out of place, but his cybereyes gave him away. He tried to cover his eyes by wearing dark sunglasses. However, the inside of the Eatery was very dark. That didn't bother Lenny because he could see with low levels of light or in thermographic. If he wore sunglasses it made him look unusual, though. Nightsky fit in the best of all. His table was curiously out of the way. It was likely that most people coming in wouldn't notice him. Riggs had taken precautions as well. He put a detachable, magnetic sign on the Bison. It advertised a cleaning service. He put on some of the spray polymer that was left over from the last run. Now the Bison was colored brown with white streaks. The windows were also polarized so no one could see in.
"Hey, Lenny."
"Yeah?"
"You remember all that drek that went down last year."
Lenny shook his head. "A lot when down last year. Which piece of drek are you referring to?"
"One about the missing execs'."
"Gid, not all of them are missing." Lenny sipped his tea. "They're dead."
"I know that, but I was thinking about Aztech's big-wig. What wuz' his name?"
"Juan Atzcapotzalco." Lenny supplied.
"Yeah. I don't know whether they still think his missing or not, but Azltan public trid still broadcasts appearances. They must be faking them."
"They are. There's rumor that Juan is gone for good. Did I tell you the rumor?"
"Might have." Gideon grumbled. "I probably forgot it."
"Well, the story goes that after the Big D's death, he had a will. I'm sure you know all about that will because it has been the talk on the airways ever since that limousine blew up. Anyway, back to Jaun. Rumor is that he vanished due to opening a box left to him in President Dunkelzahn's will at the Day of the Dead festival."
"So Dunkelzahn left him a box and he disappeared when he opened it."
Lenny nodded. "Something like that."
Gideon snorted. "Welcome to the Sixth World."
Lenny laughed a bit at that, but he put his humor aside when he noticed a man coming through the front door. The man stood easily over six feet. He had a medium build and didn't look particularly strong. His hair was blonde and in a pony tail. His skin was a pale pink and very smooth to the touch. Lenny also made a note of the man's taste in fashion. The suit he wore probably cost more than Lo Chang's Eatery. A datajack sat just above his ear. Three separate jacks were on his left temple.
"Got a Johnson." Nightsky whispered into his micro-transceiver.
"Look sharp, people. Let's do this by the numbers." Lenny instructed.
Lenny didn't wave to get the man's attention. For one he didn't know if this man was indeed Mr. Frost. Besides, if Mr. Frost could not pick out the runners out of the people in the Eatery then he was too stupid to be a Johnson.
The man's eyes met with Lenny's. They exchanged glances for a moment before the man decided to join them. He pulled up a seat directly across from Lenny. Now that he was closer Lenny noticed his sharp features and slight point to his ears. Ears that were carefully concealed by his hair. The man was an elf.
"Mr. Lenny is it? I'm Gabriel Frost." Gabriel offered his hand to Lenny for a handshake.
Lenny stared at the hand for a moment. His eyes darted around the Eatery and found no one out of place. Nightsky watched the trio from the door without a hint of danger. Satisfied, Lenny took the handshake with a gloved hand. The glove was there for protection as well. There were a vast number of pathogens that could be transferred by contact. The last thing that Lenny wanted was to be poisoned in a Chinese restaurant.
"Lenny, please." Lenny corrected the man's etiquette. After all, Lenny wasn't his real name. He had no right to be called mister because of it.
"Lenny, then." Gabriel looked disappointed.
The presence of Gideon didn't unsettle him at all. Lenny took note of that quirk. That probably meant that Gabriel didn't work for any of the major Japanese megacorps. The elvish features that he possessed did not rule out Tir Tairngire or Saeder-Krupp. Between those two there was a whole mess of trouble.
"Got a spook." Riggs came over the commlink. "Black suit coming through front door."
Lenny followed Riggs directions to a large, black man who was making his way towards the bar. Nightsky gave a slight nod. He would keep an eye on the new arrival.
"Shall we get down to business?" Lenny suggested. "Why have you asked us here?"
Gabriel cleared his throat and started to explain. Something about his mannerisms suggest that Gabriel is augmented by cybernetics in some way. "I've got a job offer that I think you'll like. Interested?" He pauses, waiting for a reply.
"Perhaps. We require more information before we accept anything."
"It's like this, my friends." Mr. Frost slowly reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small holographic picture. "The girl you see in the picture is Abigail Starlight. Or Abby for short. She was last seen in Loveland, beyond that no one knows."
The picture was of a young woman. Probably in her late teens to early twenties. Her face is youthful with green eyes and perky lips. Her hair is a curly blonde. From the picture, it also looks like she is petite. Probably no more than five-foot-five and around one-hundred and fifteen pounds. Maybe less.
"Interesting." Lenny said, sounding like he wasn't concerned. "How much is finding her worth?"
"I am willing to pay you a flat fee of forty-thousand."
That was a lot of money. Especially for one little girl. It was obvious that Gabriel wanted this young woman found.
"What's this little thing doing in Loveland?" Gideon demanded.
"That's difficult to answer without knowing how she got there in the first place." Gabriel didn't falter at the ork's question. Rather, he seemed to expect it. "It is a bit of a personal problem. You see, this young woman ran away from home about two weeks ago. Her parents are very concerned for her. Though just between you and me, they weren't very close. Fact is she's the daughter of a very important official and the news that his daughter is out running amok in Loveland won't help his public image any. The father is a bit of pain anyway. More interested in career. The mother is a different story. She's truly afraid for her daughter. It's mostly on the part her mother that I'm talking with you now. Naturally I can't give you any names. The chance of this coming out in the open would be publically devastating."
"Why did she run away from her loving mother?" Lenny questioned.
"No one really knows. Some of her friends have said that she's angry with her father, others say it's some sort of boyfriend or something like that. Her mother has also found some evidence that Abigail is using drugs. I should warn you that she probably doesn't want to come back peacefully. If she did, your services would not be required. So expect her to come up with any number of outrageous stories to keep from going home. If she's been using drugs, she might be very unpredictable. There's no way to tell exactly how she will act. The most important thing is that she mustn't come to any harm."
"Finding a girl in the middle of Loveland is no easy task." Lenny said. "Even if it is for the girl's own good. That's Yakuza and Mafia territory down there. They each own half of Loveland. Yakuza in particular don't like nobody messing around on their turf."
"Are you saying that you are unable to help me find Abigail?"
"No, I didn't say that. We are more than capable of finding her, but you must understand my position. Loveland has it's own set of laws. Those laws are dictated by the Yaks and the Mob. It takes money and sometimes brute force to get past those laws." Lenny paused for a moment as a flurry of comments came over his commlink. Most of it was from Riggs who wanted to set a few things straight. Lenny could tell what Gideon thought without asking him. He was thinking about money. The more the better. "We will accept the job under certain conditions."
"Oh, really?" Gabriel seemed intrigued.
"One, if we accept the job we will only turn the girl over to you personally. No lacky in your place. Got that?"
"Agreed."
"Second, do not double cross us. If we find out that your trying to pull a number on us then the contract is forfeited. No exceptions."
Gabriel seemed a little hesitant at this restriction. Still, to keep the conversation alive, he nodded his agreement.
"Third, the expense of getting information in Loveland. We require an additional eight-thousand. Fifteen percent of the total fee is payable up front. We don't do anything until we get the fifteen percent."
"Forty-eight thousand?" Gabriel blurted out. "That's highway robbery."
"That's business." Lenny replied. "And business in Loveland doesn't come cheap. Not with the way the Yaks and the Mob play."
Gabriel stiffened his lower lip. "I don't have the fifteen percent with me."
"We don't do anything till we get it. Call it an incentive. You'd be surprised how many Johnson's want to hire for a simple job. Only to disappear when it's time to collect the tab. We end up being out time, equipment, and medical costs."
"I guess medical assistance in the shadows doesn't come cheap?"
"No, but the organlegging business is good." Smiley boomed from behind the Johnson.
Lenny and Smiley exchanged brief glances. At the same time Gabriel nearly jumped out of his seat. Smiley had managed to sneak up on the group without being noticed. He had slipped through the back door where Riggs couldn't see. It was sheer luck that Nightsky hadn't noticed him. That was probably because Nightsky was too busy keeping an eye on the man that Gabriel brought in with him. When Smiley showed himself the man at the bar was openly concerned. He made a move towards the inside of his suit. A move that Nightsky caught. In response he snaked his Manhunter out of its holster. The heavy automatic pistol was held under the table to keep it out of sight. A small, ruby-red dot glowed steadily on the man's stomach.
"Smiley?" Lenny mouthed.
Smiley gave a sinister grin. "Seat taken?" The samurai took a chair next to Lenny.
Gideon grumbled something at Smiley.
"I assume this......." Gabriel stumbled for the most suiting word. "Man? Is with you?"
"Yes." Lenny settled down a little. Secretly he hoped that Smiley had enough sense not to cause any trouble. Smiley normally did not take the front row seat at a meet. Lenny learned early in working with the samurai that he had a habit of making people nervous. "Mr. Frost, this is Smiley. He's with us."
Smiley grinned openly at Gabriel Frost. He also exchanged glances with the man at the bar.
"As I was saying." Lenny broke the eerie silence that was starting to build. "Fifteen percent up front."
"How can I get it to you?" Gabriel still looked a little unnerved at Smiley, but he tried his best not to let it show. "Do you have an account that I can transfer it to?"
"Send the nuyen through Hector. You got in touch with him once, you can do it again. Once I've received conformation that you have sent the fifteen percent we will find Abigail."
"I'll send the money immediately. When you find her, give me a call at this number." Mr. Frost passes over a small business card with his telecom number and a message drop for email. "I'll arrange to have her picked up."
Lenny put the card into his coat and picked up the girl's picture off the counter. "Do you mind if I keep this?"
"Not at all."
Lenny put the picture away and stood up. Gideon and Smiley stood at the same time. "I will call you when we have something. Good day, Mr. Frost." With that Lenny headed out the door. The deal had been made. It was only a matter of getting the paper work done. Once Gabriel sent in that fifteen percent, Lenny would get underway.
Gabriel Frost left shortly after Lenny got out of the Eatery. A small smile made its way across his features.
"Sounds like Mr. Lenny doesn't like your very much." Gabriel's associate said after following him out.
"Like I would care." Gabriel scorned. "If he wants fifteen percent up front I'll give it too him. If he drops Abby in my lap I'll give him the rest of the money."
"You honestly think you can trust him?"
"He's a shadowrunner. They'll trust anyone who can pay them enough money. Nothing more than a bunch of hired robots. They don't have any will of their own. It's not their way to make decisions for themselves."
"You don't think he'll find out the truth, do you?"
"That doesn't matter. If he does then he won't get his money and I'll still make sure to get the girl. After all, what can that little slitch tell him? A blown up story that no one is going to believe."
"And the tape?"
"We find the girl, we can force her to tell us what she did with the tape."
Boise Safehouse
Auburn, Seattle
1:35 pm
Lori felt the warmth and comfort of the bed beneath her. It was so warm and wonderful that she never wanted to leave it. It was like she was sleeping on her own personal cloud in heaven.
"Lori......." The voice called from somewhere in the room.
Lori could hear only a whisper at first. Like the wind passing through a field of wheat.
".....Lori......." Stronger this time. Not the wind blowing at all. The voice resembled a moan or a cry for help.
Lori's eyes shot open. She was in her bedroom. The sheets on her bed were pink with flower designs scattered about. The room swam in a pitch black. Black except by the door. A figure crouched next to it. A hand on the doorknob.
Lori squinted at the figure. Her stomach sank as she made out the shape.
"Dad..." She stuttered. "Daddy?"
The figure shuffled around. The face was still hidden. "...help me...." It pleaded.
"Daddy!" Lori yelped, sitting upright in the bed.
"......help me, child...." The figure pleaded.
"Daddy!" Lori leapt out of bed. She put her arms around the figure and held tight.
The figure turned. Its face came into view. Lori screamed. The side of the face was missing. There was no blood or gore, but a black emptiness. Cold and dark. The other half of the face was still intact. It was her father! At the same time, it wasn't. His hands were ridden with bloody scratches. The clothes he wore were the tattered remains of a suit.
Lori back away, still afraid.
The figure slumped. The hole in the face started to drip blood. Lori screamed again.
"........help me...?"
Tart awoke with a jerk. The sudden flash of reality nearly made her fall off the couch. Opening her eyes revealed that she wasn't in her room. She was in Auburn. Right where she should be. A glance at the nearest door showed no one in sight. In a way it was a relief for Tart. At the same time it felt like she was missing something.
There were voices coming from the kitchen. Tart shook herself awake and trotted in to see what was going on. When she arrived she saw Lenny on his cellular phone. There was a shiny credstick twiddling in his fingers. He was engrossed in conversation with someone. Tart was not sure who he was talking too, but she did hear Hector's name mentioned. Lenny noticed Tart standing in the doorway and nodded at her in acknowledgment. Gideon and Nightsky were in the kitchen at well. The pair were carrying on their own conversation. They were also rifling through the kitchen in search of something to eat. The seer mix of words from the three runners was enough to give anyone a headache. Tart also caught a glimpse of Smiley as he walked down the stairs to the basement garage.
Tart approached Nightsky just as he pulled out a bag from the refrigerator. Gideon was busy heating something in the microwave. True to their profession, both shadowrunners were armed. The end of a Crusader machine pistol could be seen in the shoulder harness that Gideon sported. There was a large knife that the ork kept in his boot. Gideon also wore an armored jacket with studs on the left shoulder. Nightsky wore his Manhunter and his Sai like he had the day before. Both weapons were easier to see because Nightsky didn't have his long coat on. However, the black clothes he wore looked like they were securatech's special.
"So the run was accepted?" Tart asked the door as she slipped into a chair at the table.
"Yeah, but it's taken us to a rough part of the sprawl." Gideon replied. He spoke at rather than to her. "We're going down to Loveland."
"Didn't you guys pay that place a visit a few nights ago?" Nightsky wondered.
"Nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there." Gideon took his food out of the microwave. The steaming plate of instant spam was placed on the table. "Riggs, Smiley, and me went down there a few days ago. Just to cruise around. We stopped at a bar and had some fun. Nothing about business."
"That was after we met with Hector, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, 'Sky. You could have come with us, but you told Riggs to take you home." Gideon sat down to enjoy his spam. He changed the subject abruptly. "Who's on watch?"
"Riggs and Smiley." Nightsky replied. "Riggs is doing most of the work. He's running one of his drones."
"What's the run?" Tart wondered. She put the conversation back on track.
"We got to find a missing girl named Abigail Starlight in Loveland." Nightsky said bluntly as he tossed something in the microwave. "What have you been up to since we've been gone? Have a busy morning?"
Tart shrugged. "Before you guys left Lenny asked me if I could find anything on that guy."
"Which guy?" Gideon boomed.
"I think the one you met today at lunch. Gabriel Frost?"
"Yeah." Gideon nodded. "That's him."
"What did you find out about him?"
"A few things." Tart replied.
Lenny hung up the phone and walked back into the kitchen. "What things?" He asked quietly.
Tart turned to look at Lenny. He had a serious expression on his face. Apparently that call to Hector had set him on track. She tried not to think about it and cleared her throat. "For one, I found out who he works for."
"Who's he with?"
"It took some digging, but I ran into a small organization that provides for personal security services. It's called Mile High Security, based in Denver. Gabriel's not with that group anymore. He left about two years ago." Tart explained. "I came across a link about him from Mile High. That's how I found out where he is now. He works for a guy named James Eli Wesson."
"Wesson?" Lenny repeated. "That name sounds familiar."
"He's been on the news a lot. He's running for Seattle's open Congress seat. He's on the campaign trail right now. His next stop is going to be Washington from the look of the polls."
"So that's what Gabriel meant about it being publically damaging?" Gideon said after remembering what Gabriel Frost had mentioned.
"So what? You think that the Abigail that we're after is his daughter?" Nightsky said.
"Might be. It would make a lot of sense about what Mr. J said at the meet." Gideon replied.
Lenny rolled over the comments that Nightsky and Gideon made. Then he looked at Tart. "Does Wesson have a family?"
Tart gave a blank look. "I think so."
"Any daughters?"
Tart shook her head. "I don't know. I'll have to look."
"See what you can dig up." Lenny instructed. "I want to know everything about Wesson. Where he lives, who his family is, and who he is running against for that seat in Congress."
"No problem."
"Olson." Gideon supplied.
"Olson?"
"That's the suit that's against Wesson, Lenny." Gideon snorted. "I saw him on the news some time last week."
Lenny nodded. "In the meantime, while Tart's digging after Wesson, the rest of us will pop in on Loveland. We'll see if we can find this Abigail Starlight."
"Abigail?" Smiley cringed as he stumbled up the stairs. "Who the frag is that?"
"Abigail Starlight, Smiley. The girl we have been hired to find." Lenny reminded.
"Oh, yeah. That was what that Frost chummer wanted at the Chang's. In all of the excitement I forgot what we went there for. What's Abigail look like?"
Lenny pulled Abby's picture out of his coat pocket and handed it to Smiley.
Smiley took the picture and looked over it. "I've seen her before."
"What?" Lenny looked surprised.
Smiley held the picture towards Gideon. "She probably look familiar to you too."
"Don't think so." Gideon looked at the picture, but he didn't remember the girl from anywhere.
"What about the club a few days ago? This girl look like someone that I saw there."
"The Porter House?" Gideon said as he looked over the picture again. "You sure?"
"Porter House?" Lenny wondered.
"A few days ago me, Riggs, and Smiley over there went down to Loveland. We stopped at a club that Smiley knew called the Porter House." Gideon explained. "I don't remember seeing this face there."
"I do." Smiley said with confidence. "Ask Riggs."
"What was she doing?" Lenny was curious. He didn't know what kind of bar the Porter House was. However, from its location in Loveland, he could make a few guesses.
"Just working the crowd. Not that bad looking, bod-wise. Only reason she stuck in my head." Smiley said. "Nice little eye candy."
Lenny took the picture back.
"I don't remember her." Gideon maintained.
"Maybe, but Loveland can be big when it wants to be." Lenny said. "This gives us a starting place."
"Could I have that picture?" Tart asked as Lenny was about to put it away.
Lenny looked at the picture again, then handed it to Tart. "Sure, what do you need it for?"
"I was going to take the image and run a search with it. If Abigail is Wesson's daughter, I'll turn up in the search."
"Good thinking." Lenny said. "How long do you think it will take?"
Tart shrugged. "Maybe a little while. I honestly need a few things from my apartment, but I forgot to bring them."
"What kind of things."
"Just like a printer and such. With a few things I can make some copies of the picture."
"In other words, nothing that we can't pick up and the friendly neighborhood Radio Shack?"
Tart nodded her head.
"Make a list and we'll go out and pick them up. You still need to stay inside and off the streets for another day or so. I haven't heard anything from Fuchi about last night. No rumors or anything. Just to be safe, stay inside."
"Okay."
"After we've got your things, we'll go down to the Porter House and see what we can dig up." than it's going to hurt me. Hold still."
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