Chapter Twelve
Flinch
Puyallup Proper
Puyallup, Seattle
April 19, 2059
1:00 am
"I'm definitely not getting paid enough for this." Nightsky wrapped up in his coat. The frigid night air was enough to cause frostbite. Cold ocean wind was constantly being blown into Seattle. It made the late winter nights almost unbearable. Being on a rooftop made it worse.
"You're being paid to observe, not to complain." Gideon spoke into the commlink. "What do you see?"
Nightsky adjusted the goggles on his face. The goggles were a custom job. They held thermographic imaging components as well as a start of the art Smartlink. Nightsky used the Smartlink in conjunctin with a large rifle that was slung over his shoulder. "I can pick up a few heat traces in the lower windows. It might be from a body, but there's no way to be sure."
"How many traces?"
"One or two." Nightsky replied.
"Stand by." Gideon said. "Riggs is moving a drone into position."
Nightsky shivered. "I'm not going anywhere."
Lenny had sprouted a huge smile when he found out how close Kray's place was. The address that Tart had sent over was less than half an hour from Loveland. Right on the edge of Puyallup Proper. Now Lenny sat impatiently as the team scouted the building that Kray occupied. Nightsky held an observational post on the roof of the building across from Kray's. Riggs was sending in a new mini-drone to investigate closer. That left Gideon and Smiley to load their weapons and wait for the order to go.
The Bison was parked at the other end of the block. It stood silently at the mouth of the deserted street. Nightsky could see the Bison from his perch. Though he couldn't see the drone that Riggs was running.
"See anything, Riggs?" Lenny asked out of curiosity.
"No, but it would be a whole lot easier to see if you would stop distracting me." The dwarf spat. The datajacks on the dwarf's temple were linked with multiple connections. At least one of the datacords ran to a Remote Control Deck. The rest linked the rigger with the Bison.
Outside a little insect-like drone scampered up the wall of a building. The drone looked like an oversized cockroach with a bulging head. The head held a sophisticated array of electronics that allowed a vast amount of information to be relayed to the Remote Deck.
Riggs subconsciously tapped into the Bison's communication's system, switching over to Nightsky's frequency and instantly encrypted the transmission.
"See any open windows?" Riggs's disembodied voice called over Nightsky's headset.
"Nope."
"Fraggit, how am I suppose to get in?" Riggs complained. "Walk up to the front door and knock?"
"The front door has something on it." Nightsky reported. "Looks like an old fashioned mail slot."
"How big?"
"Maybe an inch or two tall." Nightsky adjusted the goggles. "Say five inches wide."
"I can fit through that. Give me a second."
With the patience of a surgeon, Riggs directed the drone down the sidewalk. Then he sent it scampering for the front door. The legs of the little drone had been modified. They contained hooks for gripping, allowing it to scale walls.
"Anything, Riggs?" Lenny asked again.
"One moment, bossman." Riggs squinted as the drone scampered through the mail slot. "I'm almost in."
1:15 am
Abigail couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes thoughts of what she had been through forced her awake. It got to the point where she was afraid to sleep. She had to make sure that there was no one sneaking up behind her. A habit of looking over her shoulder was developing.
"You're still awake?" Kray called from the doorway. He held a newspaper in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
"I can't sleep." Abby kicked at the blanket she had wrapped herself in. She twisted it around her legs and sat up on the couch. "Have another one of those?" She pointed at Kray's cigarette.
"You can have this one." Kray coughed. "I need to quit. Those things will kill you."
Abby took a long drag and let the smoke out slowly. It served to calm her battered nerves.
Kray sat in a futon across from her. He unfolded his paper in his lap. The paper was a day old, but Kray did not seem to care.
"I'll be out of here by in the morning."
Kray nodded, like he was expecting her to say something like that. He didn't seem to be paying much attention. His eyes were transfixed on a page of the paper. "There were some people who came by earlier. They were wondering where you were. One of them was an elf. Looked like he meant business. You want to talk about it? "
Abby eyed Kray for a moment. His attention never wavered from his place on the page. Like he was offering her somebody to talk to, but let her know that he wouldn't hold it against her. Kray would not reply or give criticism. With him it was like talking to a painting. It was a fulfilling experience, but it would not solve anything.
Abigail sighed at the thought. It wouldn't solve anything, but it might make her feel better. Perhaps better enough to fall asleep.
"You remember when I asked to borrow that camera from you?"
Kray nodded.
"I never told you what I needed it for. I didn't want to, and I didn't want to admit it in front of you." Abigail cringed, pulling her legs beneath her. "But I've been seeing this guy. He's an important fellow, Kray. He's in the limelight."
Kray nodded again, but he didn't say anything.
"I don't mind that part. It's just something that goes with the territory." Abigail admitted. "I've been seeing him for months now, but things have changed. He started to get, well...." Abigail searched for the right words. "Abusive. I got scared."
Kray flipped the pages of the paper. He seemed to be paying attention, but it was hard to tell. Abigail did not complain. It made her feel like she was explaining her problems, but at the same time her problems could remain her little secret.
"That's why I asked for your camera. I took that camera and recorded one of the visits he gave me." Abigail said quietly, thinking she heard something scamper across the floor. "I thought I could use it against him. I could offer to sell him the tape in return for a chance to buy myself out of Loveland." She shook her head. What a foolish idea that was. "But it didn't work out that way."
Kray closed his paper up. Just as he was leaning back in the futon he sat upright. He held a finger out to Abigail. "Dear heaven, that's got to be the biggest roach I've ever seen!"
Abigail followed Kray's finger to a chunky little figure on the floor. It sat right next to the couch's leg. It was big and in the shape of a big cockroach. Abigail had to agree. That was the biggest cockroach that she had ever seen.
"Spirits, Kray!" She blurted as she stood straight up on the couch. "Find something to mush it with."
Kray looked around for a second, but he didn't find anything suitable to kill the giant bug with. Finally he settled on pulling off his shoe. He brought it down right on the crawling critter, but it scampered away just as the shoe struck the floor.
"Kill it, Kray!" Abigail screeched. "It's huge!"
"Don't worry." Kray hurled himself over Abby's coach as the roach darted out from beneath it. "I've got it."
This time Kray brought the shoe down right on target. However the sound that followed the impact was not a satisfying squish. It had a distinctive metal ring to it. Though Kray hit the bug with enough force to feel the jolt in his teeth, the roach sped out from beneath the shoe and disappeared underneath a larger dresser.
"What the?" Kray said as he picked himself up.
"Uhm, Kray?"
"Yes?"
Abby chewed her lower lip. "Bugs don't go Clank when you hit them, do they?"
At that moment the deafening sound of a shotgun blasted the lock off the front door. Abigail was visible shaken at the sound. She watched in terror as three black-clad figures stormed into the main room. One was fairly average size, one had the flowing tail of a lined coat fluttering behind him, and the third was bulky with a flash of metal on the right arm.
Abigail immediately thought about screaming, but her survival instincts kicked in. She ran for the back door.
1:20 am
"So how do you want to handle the door?" Gideon asked as the three shadowrunners approached the front door at a brisk jog. "Nightsky's covering the rear, no way for him to come up front and do it."
"Don't worry, Gid." Lenny motioned at Smiley.
"Yeah, Gid." Smiley pulled his new Franchi shotgun from the folds of his lined coat. "I got a key right here."
The runners sized up the door. Gideon and Lenny flanked the entrance as Smile lined up a shot. Lenny took a moment to give brief instructions on how to handle this situation. Firing had to be kept to a minimum The last thing that Lenny wanted was to injure Abigail Starlight. He wasn't being paid to bring back a corpse.
A blast from Smiley's shotgun blew the lock right off it's moorings. A quick kick from Gideon sent the door crashing down. The three shadowrunners immediately filed in ready to rumble.
There were two people in the room. Just like Riggs had said. Of course Riggs had become incoherent since the drone had been hit with the shoe. A man and a woman. Lenny's cybereyes pulled the woman's face out of the shadows. It was Abigail, the girl they had been hired to find. What luck to find her here. Lenny concluded that this must be her boyfriends place. It would make sense with some of the things that Gabriel Frost had mentioned at the meeting. The man must be Kray. His named was mentioned on the card that was found back in Loveland.
"Abby, what's going on?" Kray cried.
Abigail made a break for it. She tore through the room with lightning speed, running like the devil himself was on her heels.
Lenny motioned at Kray. "He's yours, Gideon. Make sure he stays quiet."
Gideon nodded his reply. He reached out and nabbed Kray by the collar. Then he flung the little man to the ground. Kray struck the floor with enough force to put a bruise on his head. No sooner had he landed than Gideon applied restraints to keep him immobile.
Lenny and Smiley went after Abigail. They were hot on her trail as they tore through the kitchen and out the back door.
1:22 am
Nightsky darted across the roof as fast as he dared. At the edge he fired off a grapple gun. He used the line to swing himself to the alley below. He touched down just in time to see the back door burst open. There was barely enough time to disconnect the grapple before a girl came out the door. She stood dumbfounded in the middle of the alley. Nightsky thought that she didn't see him at first.
With that in mind he pulled out a nacroject pistol.
"Hold it right there!" Nightsky screamed a warning.
The girl locked eyes with him, then immediately ran away.
Nightsky cursed. "That means stop!"
There was a flush of compressed air and a nacroject dart flew out of the pistol. The dart bounced off a ally wall. A second dart pinged against a dumpster.
Lenny and Smiley came out the door. Both of them looked like they were running on a wire high. Smiley looked like he was ready to take on the world.
"Which way?" Lenny asked Nightsky. Nightsky pointed in the direction. The girl could still be seen running away. She wasn't moving fast, but she was moving. Lenny clicked his commlink. "Riggs, I need you at the east end of the alley in three seconds."
"You got it, bossman." Riggs replied through the link.
The three runners came together. Abigail had a good twenty meters lead over them. However, Abby did not have the speed the shadowrunners had. Each of them were in peak physical condition. Her only hope of escape was to find a way to lose them. It was like before when she was being chased in Loveland. Then she had managed to lose Gabriel by jumping onto a subway. It was only sheer luck that the train was there.
Abigail's heart sank. Up ahead a large van moved to block the alley. The three shadowrunners were moving up behind her. She was cornered, but she would not admit defeat. Quickly she looked for a way out. The buildings were too high to climb. There were no ground floor windows either. Abigail pulled at a few of the doors, but found them to be locked. Finally she noticed a manhole. She managed to pull the cover off with less than five meters separating her and the shadowrunners. She dropped to the gooey sewers below.
"She went down." Lenny said. "Smiley?"
"Yes, fearless leader?"
Lenny pointed at the Bison. "There should be another manhole in the street. Go in down there and let's see if we can corner her."
"Yes, fearless leader." Smiley took off.
"Nightsky, you're with me." Lenny said as he leaped into the open manhole. There was an audible slosh as Lenny landed.
Nightsky curled his nose. "Oh, lucky me."
Nightsky landed in something smelled worse than a dead troll. Water sloshed underfoot as he walked. Squeaking sounds came from all around. No doubt it was Seattle population of Devil Rats that were making the sound.
"Which way?" Nightsky lowered the goggles over his eyes. There was no light in the sewer. Not even enough for Nightsky's natural vision.
Lenny tilted his head. For the briefest of moments he wished that he had Gideon's enhanced hearing. He made a mental note to pick up that modification sometime. He stood still for a moment, motioning for Nightsky to do the same. Finally he heard the faint echo of footfalls on water.
"This way." Nightsky motioned as he ran off towards the east.
"No harm is to come to her." Lenny reminded, moving just behind the adept.
Faint gasps for air could be heard now. Not from Nightsky or Lenny, but from Abigail. The shadowrunners had closed the distance to visual range. Abigail could be seen as a multi-colored shape moving through the tunnels. She stumbled often. Apparently she couldn't see in the pitch black tunnel.
"There she is." Nightsky said. He lifted his nacroject and took another shot. If the dart hit Abigail it would render her unconscious. Unfortunately the dart missed and splashed into the filthy water.
"Get away from me!" Abigail screamed. She was running as fast as she could, but she couldn't see where was going. She had to feel her way along the walls.
Which would explain the shock she got when she ran into the arms of Smiley. Smiley clasped her by the shoulders and spun her around. The samurai's iron grip held her steady. No matter how much she squirmed she could not free herself. Reinforced bones made hitting Smiley like hitting a wall.
"Let me go!" She pleaded.
"I don't think so." Smiley sneered at her before keying in his commlink. "Lenny, I got her. She's none to smart if you ask me, though. She waltzed right into my arms."
Abigail managed to get herself turned around and knee Smiley in the groin. Smiley didn't hear Lenny's reply. The only thing he could hear was his own moaning. Abigail managed to slip out of his grip and dart down a side tunnel.
"Frag it!" Smiley cursed into the commlink. The pain made him wobbly on his feet. He dropped to his knee sprouting profanities.
"What happened?" Lenny asked.
Smiley leaned against the wall for support. At the same time he pulled a Ares Predator from its holster and leveled it in Abigail's direction. "Slitch kicked me in the nuts!" Smiley's words were followed by the boom of his gun. Bullets splattered against the water and tore chunks from the walls.
"Hold your fire, Smiley!" Lenny ordered as he came up on the samurai.
"She kicked me!" Smiley whined.
"I'm sure she's not the first one." Lenny answered, leading the way after the girl. It was then that Lenny noticed that Nightsky wasn't with him. The adept had gone off on his own during the chase.
1:30 am
Abigail felt her heart pounding in her ears. She was so tired, but she had to keep moving. That man had almost gotten her. That man was too fast and too strong to be one of Gabriel's regular henchmen.
She was running blind down the tunnel. Unable to see anything in front of her. Twice she had fallen, but she picked herself back up. The gooey water now stained her inside and out. For a moment she thought that she had lost her pursuers. She allowed herself to slow down and catch her breath.
She leaned against the wall and breathed heavily. Almost instantly her thoughts turned to Kray. There was no telling what would happen to him now. It was a mistake to stay with him tonight. Now look what her presence had brought him.
Abigail tried to shake the guilt out of her head, but it didn't work. It didn't matter either. Something cold pressed against her neck. Just as she reached for it there was a sound of compressed air being released. The cold thing at her neck changed to a sharp sting. It lasted for only a moment, then her senses blurred. She collapsed into the water. Right at the feet of a shadowrunner.
The runner keyed his commlink.
"Lenny, you copy?"
"Lenny here."
"It's Nightsky, I've got her."
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