Chapter Twenty-One
Shard of Light
Boise Safehouse
Auburn, Seattle
April 21, 2059
2:48 pm
Shard kicked the empty chair. It made a sharp screech as it scooted across the floor. The Pad, which had long served as a gathering point for the shadowrunners, was deserted. Shard's code had gotten her in the front door. Unfortunately there was nobody home to greet her. The safehouse was empty. Not just void of people either. The building had been cleaned out. Even the microwave was gone. Furniture was still scattered about, but the refrigerator was empty. The sleeping bags in the upstairs bedrooms were missing as well. There was the sound of dripping water in the garage. There a hasty repair job had been made on a broken water pipe. A trickle still flowed from the welding point.
"Lenny?" Shard sighed. "Where are you guys?"
The meeting room as at the end of the hall on the first floor. Shard pushed the door open to this barren room. Several shadowruns had been planned within these walls. Now the only thing on these walls was dust.
"Meet at the Pad." Shard closed the door. "That is what we always do, Lenny. We always meet at the Pad."
She walked into the living room. The small tridscreen was gone. The depression it left in the thick carpet was clearly visible.
"Well, I'm here, Lenny." Shard said to herself. "So where are you?"
There was a creak at the door which was followed by the sound of ancient floorboards bulking underfoot. A fainter sound followed. Something like shoes scuffing on the floor.
"Lenny?" Shard murmured.
A clicking sound came from the doorway behind Shard. Shard had been in the shadows long enough to recognize the sound as coming from a weapon.
"Not hardly." The crisp voice replied. "Hands on your head, woman."
Shard slowly did as she was told. She folded her fingers behind her head. "Who are you?" She demanded. "Where's Lenny?"
"I was hoping you could tell me that." The pistol pressed against Shard's lower back. "Turn around."
Shard gracefully turned. She keep her movements slow and her hands in view. The last thing she wanted was to be shot by this lunatic. Fear was not overwhelming her. However, Shard can not caste her barrier to block bullets without the aid of a fetish. With her hands up she could not reach the small ruby that was stowed in her pocket. There was another thought that reinforced her will. If she could see her captor she could cast a spell on him, one that only required a line of sight.
The man she turned to face was an elf. He was tall and handsome, though his ears were partially hidden by his long hair. He held a Browning Ultra-Power in his hand.
"I don't recognize you." He admitted. "Still, there were several of Lenny's rabble that I did not see at the Pier. You sons of bitches costed me some good men." He pointed the handgun at Shard's head. "I had to pay a lot of money to get the location of this safehouse. I expected to find Lenny here for that much money." He patted her down, searching for any hidden weapons. He did not find any.
She tried to smile, but the attempted failed miserably. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Too bad, I know." He undid the safety on the Browning. "It is not a total loss. You are here." He grinned ghoulishly. "You will tell me where Lenny is."
"Why ask her?" Lenny's voice boomed from behind Gabriel Frost. "I know exactly where I am."
Gabriel arched his neck to see Lenny holding a Predator II on him. The mean looking automatic was sighted on his chest. Two other shadowrunners were with Lenny. One was the ork, Gideon. He held a M-22 assault rifle in his metal hand. The other was the demented samurai, Smiley. Smiley was pointed a pair of Predator's at Gabriel's head. There was a slim movement to Gabriel's left. The elf barely caught the motion out of the corner of his eye. When he looked he saw another shadowrunner. This one he did not recognize. It was a small human wearing a deep red long coat. There was a HK227 submachine gun in his hand. The runner had come through the kitchen and was using the doorframe as cover.
"Fancy meeting you here." Gideon grumbled, his smartlink selecting burst-fire on his assault rifle. The explosive rounds that Gideon packed ensured that there would be little left of Gabriel Frost. "You owe us nuyen."
Shard gave a relieved sigh. "I thought you were going to pick me up, Lenny?"
"Sorry, girl." Lenny grinned. "Had to make a call."
Gabriel looked around nervously. A dozen guns were pointed in his direction. His reflex modifications could not outrun them all. At the least Gabriel would be able to get off a couple of shots before he was cut down. He did drop his aim from Shard's head, but held the pistol steady at her abdomen.
"Why don't you put that gun down, Gabriel, before something bad happens to you." Lenny warned.
Gabriel weighed his options. "I have a better idea. Why don't you lower your weapons. If you don't I'll put a bullet in your girlfriend. A bullet that I was saving for you."
Lenny and Shard exchanged glances. Shard gave a slight nod while Gabriel's eye were focused away from her. Shard lowered her hands, slipping one into her jacket pocket.
"Smiley." Lenny said.
"Yes, fearless leader?" Smiley hissed.
Lenny waited as Shard muttered silent words. There was a flicker of green light around her as she finished the chant. "Be so kind as to remove Gabriel's weapon."
Smiley grinned like a rabid dog. He put his pistols away. "Consider it done!"
"Bad choice, Lenny!" Gabriel triggered his pistol. The bullet sailed out of the barrel. It flew straight at Shard, but struck the bullet barrier before it ever touched her flesh. The barrier absorbed much of the bullet's kinetic energy, but it was not enough. The barrier was penetrated with a flicker of green light. Shard grunted as the bullet flattened out against her stomach. The impact forced her to double over. Kevler weaves in her clothes stopped the slug cold.
Smiley was in motion before the bullet left the barrel. Reinforced bones put a dent in Gabriel's head. He crumpled under the blow. Razors snapped out of their housing. Blood gushed from open wounds as Smiley tore away at the elf's flesh. The Browning clattered onto the floor as tendons and muscle were cut. A knee in the gut stole Gabriel's breath away. Another fist in the face hit him with the force of a steel pipe. Teeth were knocked out of place, filling Gabriel's mouth with crimson red. Gabriel managed to bring a forearm up to block a blow, but was rewarded when the blow nearly broke his arm. Smiley's reinforced bones made blocking his attacks like blocking a baseball bat. State of the art Wired Reflexes made the samurai's limbs a blur of frantic motion.
Gabriel sank to the floor. He was broken and bloodied. Smiley was ready to finish the job. He pulled his Predator out and leveled it at the back of Gabriel's head. Just before Smiley pulled the trigger Lenny interrupted him.
"That's enough, Smiley." Lenny ordered.
Smiley froze in position. His gun still aimed at Gabriel.
"Shard?" Lenny rushed up to held her. She was holding her stomach with one hand while holding onto Lenny's shoulder with the other. An awful thought crossed Lenny's mind. The way that she was holding her stomach made him think that she had been shot.
"I'm okay." She assured. "But my barrier doesn't work very well at point blank range." She sighed, feeling the bruise form beneath her flesh. "I'm glad I wore this SecuraTech special." She sighed, feeling the ballistic weave in her clothes. Shard often layered two or more patterns of armor. It did restrict her movements. However, Shard was a full hermetic magician. All that added armor did not impede her spellcasting.
"What do we do with him?" Nightsky asked, holding his submachine gun on Gabriel.
"A few things leap to mind." Gideon cursed. He swung his assault rifle over his shoulder. Then took Gabriel's shirt in his fists and hoisted him to his feet. Gideon slammed the elf against the wall with considerable force. It was enough to break the skin and cause blood to leak onto the wall. "Nightsky, check him."
Nightsky ran up beneath Gideon and checked over Gabriel. He found a second pistol in an ankle holster. A cellphone that the adept immediately destroyed for the fear that it was bugged. The last of Gabriel's possessions was credstick with a balance smaller than Nightsky's own as well as a few coins in his pocket.
"That's it?" Gideon cursed. Then screamed into Gabriel's bloody face. "Where's our money?!" Gideon held up his metal arm. A spur snapped into place. "Spill it or I spill you!"
"Gideon, stand down." Lenny suggested.
Gabriel harked up something nasty on Gideon's nose. Then spat words in his face. "Go to hell, tusker! We were never going to pay you! You were to bring the girl in and that's it."
"What did you call me?" Gideon rumbled.
"Tusker!"
"That's what I thought you said." Gideon gave a broken-toothed grin as he rammed the spur into Gabriel's gut.
Gabriel let out a horrible scream as the blade punched though his flesh and into the wall. A scream that Gideon quickly silenced by placing his rough hand over Gabriel's mouth. Nightsky winched away as blood splattered on the floor. Shard found herself turning away as well. Smiley giggled insanely.
"That wasn't necessary, Gideon." Lenny shouted.
"Was in my book." Gideon retracted his razor. The body slumped to the ground.
"He could have had some information that we needed."
"He's got nothing that we need." Gideon spat on Gabriel's head before turning for the door. "You coming? We still got that breeder in the van to take care of."
Lenny watched the ork leave. Smiley gave a shrug and followed him out.
Shard look at Lenny with questionable eyes. "So, Lenny, do you want to tell me what's going on or do you want me to guess?"
Lenny sighed and wrapped an arm around her. He lead her towards the door. "This way, Shard. It's a long story."
Gabriel's body was left on the floor. A pool of blood slowly formed around him. Little did any of the shadowrunners know that the body still breathed. With all his strength, Gabriel broke the seal on his DocWagon bracelet. It sent a distress call that would hopefully save his life.
Nukit Burger
Auburn, Seattle
3:52 pm
"That's the whole story?" Shard wondered as Lenny sipped at the contents of a plastic cup.
"From beginning to end." Lenny said.
At Lenny's side Abigail was enjoying her lunch. A packet of chicken nuggets was slowly being devoured. Lenny made sure that Abigail was seated next to the window. This way he could block her from getting out of the booth. Shard sat across form Lenny. There was a cup of soycaf in front of her. Though the cup had hardly been touched. Gideon was inside the fast food restaurant too. The ork was sitting by himself near the door. Nightsky was sitting at a table behind Lenny and Abigail. He was also having lunch while reading the part of the paper. Riggs and Smiley were across the street filling the Bison with gas.
"Well, young lady, it seems you have been through quite an adventure." Shard smiled warmly at Abigail.
Abigail returned the smile with a wide eyes and a full mouth. "You can tell your boyfriend that he didn't make things any easier." She scorned, nearly losing the contents of her mouth.
Her words produced a grin out of Shard. The elvish mage exchanged glances with Lenny.
"We've been able to hold our own." Lenny said with some confidence.
"I'm sure you have." Shard said before whispering in his ear. "I'm proud of the choice you made."
Lenny shrugged. "Might as well try to do something right for a change."
Shard took her first sip from her cup. She wrinkled her nose at the taste. "So what are you hoping for now?"
Lenny's phone started to beep before he had a chance to answer. He flipped open the device and found that the beeping was not for an incoming call. Instead someone had sent a text message to him.
"A friend of yours?" Shard wondered.
"No." Lenny answered as he displayed the message. He forced a smile at its content. Apparently it was a smart idea to get the pirate broadcasters attention by posting a message on Shadowland. The idea was given to him when Hector mentioned that Free Air used deckers that were former shadowrunners. "But someone I was hoping to hear from." Lenny keyed his commlink, tapping it to a general channel that all the other commlinks were tied to. "Open link, everybody copy?"
Nightsky did not have to reply to the communication check. He simply told Lenny that he was listening without turning around.
"Gid checking in." Gideon grumbled from the door.
There was the sound of a cash machine clicking as Riggs came over the commlink. "Smiley and Riggs here, bossman." Riggs replied as he removed his credstick from the gas pump. "What's up?"
"I've got a message from Free Air. They want a meeting."
"This better not go like the last two meets we've had." Gideon cursed. "It's getting fragging old."
Lenny glanced at the message. "I hope so too." He admitted while checking his watch. "But we don't have much time."
"How much time we got?" Riggs asked.
"They want us at five o'clock." Lenny said.
"Where?" Gideon wondered.
"The Lost Unicorn Bar in Ft. Lewis." Lenny said before addressing the rigger. "Riggs, you know where that is."
"Just a second bossman." Riggs said as he plugged a jack into his head. With a push of the mind Riggs accessed the Bison's GPS tracking system with a map of Seattle. It did not take him long to find what he was looking for. "I've got it. It's over on Woodbrook Road and A Street."
"We'd better hurry." Lenny said. "That's on the other side of the sprawl."
"I'm with that, bossman." Riggs cranked up the Bison. "Be there in a few to pick you guys up."
The Lost Unicorn
Ft. Lewis, Seattle
5:05 pm
"I'm not so sure about this, bossman." Riggs complained as he edged the Bison into a parking lot across from the bar. The big machine rumbled to a halt as Riggs removed the datacords from his jacks. "The Lost Unicorn has got some bad karma hanging around it."
"Riggs," Nightsky sighed as he placed his Sai into its scabbard. "What are you talking about?"
"Have you ever wondered how this place got its name?" Riggs shrieked.
"Can't say that the thought crossed my mind." Nightsky replied.
"Well I'll tell you anyway." Riggs huffed and crossed him arms. "Story has it that years ago a Unicorn was run over by a car on this very street. Ever since then the ghost of that Unicorn has been haunting this place. Unicorn's don't mix well with the sprawl, chummer, so you can bet that critter was not to happy with its fate."
"If a Unicorn hates the sprawl so much then what the hell was it doing here in the first place?" Smiley questioned the logic of the story Riggs told.
"I swear to you its true!" Riggs maintained. "Ask any of the employees and I'll bet a nuyen to a chunk of gold that they've seen the ghost."
"If you say so, Riggs." Lenny said calmly as he checked his pistol and placed it in a holster at his shoulder. "I'm not interested in ghost talk right now. We've got more pressing matters to take care of."
"Namely me!" Abigail interrupted.
Lenny observed her, letting his mood settle in before nodding. "Yes, that means you, Abigail."
"Let's get this over with." Gideon rumbled as he stood up. The ork's thick combat boots made a clanking sound against the floor of the Bison.
"How do you want to approach this one?" Nightsky asked Lenny.
"Directly." Lenny replied. "Riggs, Tart." He said to the two shadowrunners. His words immediately drew their attention. "You two stay here with Abigail. I don't expect anything to go wrong, but be alert. For all we know one of Gabriel's henchmen could have set up this meeting."
Gideon grunted. "I doubt Gabriel will be setting up anything from now on."
Lenny ignored the orks comment. "The rest of us are going in." He turned his attention towards Shard. "Shard, I'd like to see if you could keep an eye on things from a distance. Do you have any tricks up your sleeve that can give us some advanced warning of trouble?"
"I might have a few surprises, Lenny." Shard gave a sneaky look. "I did not spend all the time in the hospital doing nothing."
"So the rest of us are taking the direct approach?" Nightsky wondered while exchanging glances with Gideon and Smiley.
"That's the idea, Nightsky." Lenny checked his watch. "Let's get moving. We are already running late."
"Check." Nightsky replied as he and Smiley hopped out of the Bison.
Gideon was about to step out before Lenny reached out and held him back. The ork looked slightly annoyed at Lenny. However, there was no hate in Gideon's eyes.
"I need to know something, Gideon." Lenny said, the ork nodded. "Are you still in it for the money?"
Gideon dropped an eyebrow at Lenny. Was this for money or fame? Perhaps not. Maybe it was for something else entirely. Whatever it was that Lenny kept preaching about. "This dance is getting old." Gideon said without really giving Lenny the answer he was looking for. "I say we change the music or leave the party." With that he stepped out.
Lenny frowned. That was not what he wanted to hear from Gideon. He expected a solid yes or no. Instead he got a riddle. It was annoying to say that least. Lenny hoped that the ork did not make a habit of it. It was hard enough dealing with his own trouble for Lenny to set down and figure out what Gideon had meant.
5:15 pm
"Those guys are running late." Glitch complained as he emptied his fourth beer of the night. He was drinking more out of nervousness than for the enjoyment. A silver case rested next to his chair. The case contained his cyberdeck, a hand-built model that was a true work of art to him.
Glitch was a dwarf by birth. He stood a little over a meter tall with hazel eyes and short greasy hair. There was a datajack implanted just behind his ear. There was also a good chunk of headware memory occupying space in his cranium. Those were tools of his trade. Microprocessors added to his mind's ability to process information to a degree that surpassed some corporate networks.
Lens sat to Glitch's right. She as a tall ork who had fine tusks jutting from her lower lip and an unusual kind smile. Her face, though marred with bumps of diverts, was humble to behold. Lens had not been with the pirate trid broadcasters for long, only a few months. She had found her nitch within Free Air. She was best with cameras. She even had a datajack to aid her in accessing any type of recording device. Though she was best with small, handled cameras and some of the newer smartcams that Fuchi had been putting on the market.
"I don't know why you are complaining." Lens said. "You are the one that wanted to meet this guy. I should be the one complaining. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here right now."
"I know I wanted to meet with him. What do you think I am? Stupid?" Glitch spat in a flurry of words. "I just didn't expect him to bet late. That's all. It's no reason to worry."
Lens looked at him with doubtful eyes.
"Trust me for once." Glitch said as he called for the waitress to bring him another beer.
Lens stiffened a smile at her partner on the air waves. Glitch was the type of person who would go to great lengths to get the hottest dirt on someone. That's what she liked about him. It was that blind commitment that gave Glitch his motivation. Her attention was shifted from Glitch when she noticed a tall man making his way through the crowd.
The man stood easily over six feet tall with reddish brown hair and a distinct air of confidence about him. His movements were smooth and graceful. It suggested reflex modification to Lens. The man's eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses. That made Lens suspicious. It was too dark inside the club to where sunglasses. This made Lens believe that he had cybernetic replacements that did not appear entirely human. That was why the man chose to hide them.
The man was not alone. This unnerved Lens, but Glitch did not seem to mind. The man was accompanied by three others. One was an ork with a menacing look on his rough features. The ork wore a tattered armored jacket. The right sleeve had been ripped off. The ork's right arm was nothing, but the gleaming metal of a cyberarm. The second individual with the man looked to be the most disturbed. He wore a dark long coat that had a "Smiley Face" button on the collar. He wore a sinister looking smile as if it were a compliment to the button. This man's movements where even more crisp than the first, hinting at reflex modification. The smiling man gave off dangerous vibes. The kind of vibes that got people killed. The third person with the man was a sharp contrast with the other two. This one was short, a little over five feet tall. This one wore a dark red long coat that flapped as he walked. He watched the crowd with nervous eyes. Almost like he was expecting something to go wrong.
None of them appeared to be carrying any weapons. However, their demeanor suggest that they were shadowrunners. That made it a safe guess that the group was armed with some type of defense. Just nothing that was easily visible. Lens believed that the smiling man and the ork would be a weapon all in themselves.
The man with shades stopped at the table. He regarded Glitch and Lens with an interrogating gaze.
"Glitch I presume?" The man questioned in a calm voice.
"That's me." Glitch said with a cheerful smile. He offered his hand for a handshake. "Lenny, isn't it?"
"That's right." Lenny took a seat across from Glitch. The ork and smaller norm followed suit. The smiling man stood quietly behind the three.
Glitch motioned towards Lens. "This is Lens." He explained. "A friend in the business if you know what I mean."
Lenny gave a nod of recognition at Lens. Lens returned the slight nod, but did not say anything.
"These are my companions." Lenny explained. "Gideon, Nightsky." He motioned at the two sitting next to him. "And that happy chap behind me is Smiley."
"Nice name." Lens could not help put giggle a little. The smiling man's name was a perfect fit for him. Smiley did not say anything in response. He regarded Lens with wild eyes, though.
Glitch cleared his throat in an attempt to get everyone's attention. "Okay, that's enough of playing sociable for one night. I can't stand all this pretense." Glitch pointed a stubby finger at Lenny. "You posted a message on Shadowland that you wanted to get in touch with Free Air. You said that you had some kind of killer information that would bring a high muck-a-muck down."
"I do, Glitch." Lenny pulled a small recorder from his pocket. "I do indeed." He pressed the play button.
Glitch flinched when the recorder started playing. He watched a full minute of the video clip before it shut itself off. Though the footage contained some horrific scenes, Glitch seemed to be ecstatic about the whole thing. He looked like a kid in a candy store.
"The man in the video is James Wesson, a congressional candidate who is campaigning for Seattle's seat in Congress." Lenny explained.
"Oh, yeah." Glitch clapped his hands together. "I know that guy. He's big in the news right now. Family values and all that crap. This stuff is going to be a dent in his speeches." Glitch gave an unexpected frown. "But this is just footage, you see. Everybody knows it can be faked. All he has to do is deny it."
"I have nearly half an hour on the full version." Lenny said. "I also have the girl in the picture. Her name is Abigail Starlight. She is more than willing to go on the air and tell her story."
"Is she now?" Glitch sounded impressed. Obviously this was something he was interested in. He did look disappointed when Lenny tucked the recorder back into his pocket.
"That is what I have to offer." Lenny said. "The girl and the footage."
Glitch grinned much like Smiley. "I like the sound of that."
Those words brought a nudge from Lens.
"Oh." Glitch complained as Lens put her elbow into his ribs. The effect seemed to shake off the lusty look that Glitch was getting. He straightened himself. "I'm not a fool, Lenny. I know you want something for this information. So what is it?"
Lenny exchanged glances with Gideon. Gideon did not say a thing. He only gave a slight grunt and crossed his arms. It was like he did not care what Lenny asked for. Even if he asked for nothing.
"Getting this out in the open is payment enough." Lenny said. His words brought a quick glare from Gideon, but the ork quickly suppressed it. Nightsky remained indifferent.
"What?" Glitch stuck his finger in his ear and rooted around. "I must not have heard you right. Did you say that you don't want anything for this prime footage?"
"That's right." Lenny repeated. "I want this out in the open. That's compensation enough."
"Sorry, but I'm just having a hard time believing this one. You got to understand, Lenny, my man. Even when I was in the shadows I always wanted some kind of reward for the drek I got into. It's not charity work for crying out loud."
Lenny leaned forward, folding his hands together. "Let's just say that seeing Wesson squirm on national television is more than enough for me."
"Ah!" Glitch nodded his head enthusiastically. "So it's personal?"
"You could say that." Lenny was careful not to reveal too much. He did not mention his reasons nor did he mention Gabriel Frost's involvement.
"That I can understand. Frag, that's the best reason to screw someone over. If they get to close-" Glitch pounded his fist on the table top. "-wack 'em!"
"So you're interested?" Lenny questioned calmly.
"Oh, we're in. You can count on Free Air to give you the air you need free." Glitch grinned happily at his pitch. "But," He hesitated as if he were searching for the right words. "There's a bit of a problem."
Lenny looked disappointed. He leaned back and crossed his arms. "What sort of problem?"
"Well, I don't know how much you keep up with street rumor." Glitch picked at his ear as he spoke. "But Lone Star has been cracking down on us friendly broadcasters. They're interfering with the freedom of the press if you ask me."
"Get to the point." The ork, Gideon, rumbled.
The ork's words seemed to jolt Glitch. He scurried to his point. Lenny could not help but notice that Glitch's companion, Lens, was watching Gideon. Every so often she would spare Gideon a long stare, then break it just before Gideon would return it.
"Two days ago Lone Star raided one of our transmitters." Glitch explained. "We were able to get most of the equipment out, but not all of it." Lenny looked unhappy with this, but he did not interrupt. Glitch took that as a good sign. "Don't worry. I won't get to technical with you. To put it simply, we can't broadcast. Lone Star impounded some of the broadcasting gear. We can't get a signal out without it."
"So you're telling us that a pirate broadcaster can't broadcast?" Nightsky, the shorter norm, blurted out.
"In a nutshell." Glitch shrugged. "Yes."
Gideon cursed at that.
"Oh, but it's not all bad." Glitch waved his hands. "We know where the stuff is being held. Frag, I even downloaded an inventory of the warehouse. I know exactly where it is."
"Then why don't you go get it?" Lenny said.
"Hey, were broadcasters, not samurai." Glitch gripped. "We can't get past their security." He gave a devilish grin. "But you can."
Like this chapter? Then go on to the NEXT CHAPTER. Had enough of this story? Try going back to the Fiction Index and find something else. Thoughts, rants, comments? Email me and tell what you thought about it.