Chapter Twenty-Five
Epilogue
TWNBC News
April 22, 2059
7:00 am
"Good Morning, I'm Katie Florence." A perky woman smiled into the camera.
"And I'm David Harris. Welcome to the morning news report for TWNBC, Network 223 news at seven."
"And what news do we have this morning." Katie smiled. "Seattle weather promises to bring a new flood of deary weather in from the Pacific ocean. Thomas Pennington has all the details coming up and half past."
"The weather may be becoming chilly, but it's heating up on the political scene." David Harris took over. "Congressional Candidate James Wesson gave a winning speech to fellow party members at the Watergate Hotel. Right now Mr. Wesson's future is looking bright."
"And what a success story it is, Katie." David butted in again. "Mr. Wesson's platform of family values and corporate futures has won the support he needs to make his next home in Washington D.C."
"I other news Renraku announced-"
Static filled the transmission. A gargle of words and white noise pushed away all the signs of coherent thought. The images of Katie Florence and David Harris were washed away. The picture remained blank for a few seconds, then an image started to take shape. It was of a found girl, probably in her early twenties. Her eyes revealed the exhausted nature of her body. Lack of sleep had formed deep lines in her otherwise youthful face. Her hair was bound into a ponytail. It was convenient and presentable at the same time. She looked into the screen with a pouting expression.
"Hello." The girl said. She took a deep breath, feeling her footing on broken ground. "My name is Abigail Teller. And I have a story to tell............."
Nightsky's Doss
Tacoma, Seattle
4:20 pm
Nightsky rolled over on the mattress that made up his bed. It felt good to have a full night's sleep. It was something that he had not enjoyed in nearly a week. Even his home, cold and damp as it was, seemed warm and comfortable this morning.
He spared a glance at the clock.
Well, felt warm and comfortable this afternoon. Or evening as the day was sneaking by. It was hard to believe that he had slept most of the day. Nightsky didn't get home until late in the morning. Afterwards he stayed up long enough to see Abigail's story aired on a special edition of Channel 9 news. The wildfire was already starting to spread. Reporters had shown up outside Wesson's hotel room in Washington. They met with an agitated man who refused any comment. The old belief that refusal to comment meant guilt held strong. Rumors spread quicker than wildfire. It wasn't long until all the news networks got a hold of the story. All of them wanted to interview Abigail Teller. The last Nightsky had heard Abigail was on her way to New York for some kind of press conference. Abigail was out of the shadows and into the limelight at last. Wesson wouldn't dare touch her now.
Nightsky rolled on his back, staring up at the ceiling. It was finally over. Though the way the shadowrun ended was nothing how it started. The eight thousand nuyen that was coming his way didn't come at all. Though the run wasn't a total loss. Equipment from Lone Star's warehouse had been divided among the team.
But there was more gained than just material possessions. At least that's what Lenny had said. Nightsky did not see it his way at first, but he understood why Lenny had made the choices he did. It was for the better. Something that didn't always happen in the shadows of society.
Nightsky closed his eyes, thinking about all that had transpired. A lifetime had passed in less than a week. He opened his eyes slightly, staring at the ceiling again. A shadow passed over the ceiling. Nightsky noticed it and became instantly alert. He was not alone. He flipped off the mattress, pulling the Sai out from underneath the pillow in the process. Nightsky came face to face with Gideon standing in his doorway.
"Gideon?" Nightsky sounded surprised. "What are you doing here? How did you get in for that matter?"
"You left your door unlocked." The ork was dressed for business. A studded armored jacket covered his shoulders. A bulge underneath the jacket hinted at the Crusader machine pistol that Gideon often carried with him. The hilt of some kind of knife was visible on the ork's belt.
"Left my door unlocked?" Nightsky doubted that. He always secured his door and often booby-trapped it with a flash grenade. "What're you doing here?" He repeated.
"Thought I'd give my teammate a visit." Gideon paced around the mattress. Something about the ork's body language screamed that he was here for a different reason.
"Pay a visit, eh?" Something told Nightsky not to stand quietly and listen to the ork talk. A sixth sense warned him of danger. Years on the streets had taught Nightsky to listen to that sense. "Didn't have anything else on you mind, did you?"
Gideon glanced at the floor before pulling the sinister looking knife from his belt. It was different from the one he had used before. The knife had a jagged blade that looked like some gigantic beast had chewed on it. The hilt held three smaller blades that looked like they use to be cyberspurs. Gideon probably tore them off some unlucky razorboy and attached them to his knife. All in all it was a menacing weapon. Almost like something the devil would use to torture souls.
"Want to find out?" Gideon leered.
Nightsky was shocked at the way Gid was acting. Yet his surprise didn't conflict with his survival instincts. Lucky for him for in the next moment Gideon lunged at him with the knife. Nightsky bent away from the blade.
"What hell are you doing?" Nightsky questioned.
"Give me a fight, 'Sky!" Gideon gave a backhand that sent the adept wheeling to the door. "Show me what you've got."
The ork launched into a brutal offense. Nightsky countered the ork's blade with minimal effort. Fighting with weapons wasn't anything new to him. It was when Gideon tossed out a fist and a knee that Nightsky was thrown off guard. Gideon employed the very tactics that Nightsky had been trying to learn from him.
"Don't make me kill you, Gideon." Nightsky warned.
"You better hope I don't kill you!" The ork retorted.
Nightsky blocked the blade, then dodged a knee. Then countered with a series of moves designed to bring Gideon's knife vertical. Once it was there Nightsky locked the blade of his Sai in between the razors at the hilt of Gideon's knife. He held it securely in place. A spur snapped out of Gideon's metal arm. Nightsky locked his foot inside the ork's and stepped around him just as the spur clipped at open air. Nightsky brought the knife, along with Gideon's hand, with him. He locked it behind the ork's back, holding it so that Gideon had the absolute minimum of muscle groups to offer resistance.
Nightsky wasn't finished yet. His foot was still locked around Gideon's. He applied a side-step method and brought his elbow in contact with the Gideon's throat. His windpipe closed off. The move brought Gideon crashing down. Nightsky twisted the Sai and Gid's wrist with it. It took only a small jerk to force the knife out of his hand. Gideon hit the concrete floor with a solid thunk. No sooner had he hit than Nightsky held the Sai above Gideon's eye.
"Don't try it with that spur, Gideon." Nightsky warned. "You may get in a shot, but your not fast enough to stop me from ramming this blade into your skull."
Gideon grunted, nodding slowly. "I just had to see." He touched the tip of his Sai with his finger and slowly pushed it away. Nightsky resisted the Gid's motion at first, but he let him proceed once the rage left the ork's eyes. "I just had to see if you could do what it takes. I wanted to know if you had leaned enough to put it all on the line. To choose between friendship and survival. You'll have to do it sooner or later. I wanted to know what you'd choose now."
"What are you talking about?" Nightsky let him up, but didn't lower his guard. "I don't understand?"
Gideon shrugged. "You don't understand yet, but you'll get the point sooner or later."
Nightsky tilted his head. He did not comprehend a word that Gideon was saying. He always felt that he understood the ork up to a certain point. Months of working together had allowed him to get a feel for the man. Now Nightsky felt like he had just passed that point of understanding and wondered into the emptiness.
"Since when did you get so philosophical?" Nightsky said bluntly.
"I got to thinking." Gideon admitted. "I got to thinking about what Lenny did. He said that there was more too it than just the money. I didn't scan it. I figured he'd flipped his top. Hell, I figured I had the breeder pegged pretty good with all the runs we'd been own. Figure now I don't know him at all. You sided with him, and I thought I knew you. Shard is the same way." Gideon paced. "I figured you were all loco, but no. Just because I'm an ork doesn't mean I'm stupid. If everybody thought the same way about something they couldn't all be nuts. Maybe it was me that missed something."
"What did you miss?"
"Don't know, but I'm not going to find the fragger here. Got to go find it somewhere else." Gideon admitted. "Next time you see Lenny, tell him he was right." Gideon walked towards the door. "Tell him he was right about everything." He walked out the door without another word. The odds were that it would be a long time before anyone heard from Gideon again.
Cougar Mountain Hospital
Bellevue, Seattle
6:05 pm
The elevator doors opened with a silent whine. Tart stepped out holding a fruit basket in her hands. She couldn't believe where the time had gone. It had been days since she had heard from her mother or her sister. Guilt had been the true equalizer. Guilt had driven her back to the hospital where her mom had been forced to stay.
Tart made her way towards her mother's room. The hall was nearly deserted. Nurses occasionally popped in and out of neighboring rooms on their daily rounds. There were a few visitors scattered about. Most people were having dinner at this time. Food was something that Tart would enjoy. A growling in her stomach reminded her that she did have much to eat in the past few days. Microwave meals got old after a while.
She reached her mothers room. Tart paused to take a deep breath before she knocked once on the door. She opened it without waiting for a reply from within.
"Mom?" Tart said as she pushed the door open, forcing a smile onto her lips.
Tart did not receive a reply. She opened the door to face an empty room. The bed was neatly made. All of her mother's things were gone from the small sink. It was sterile and clean. Tart was at a loss for words. Surely it had been only a few days ago that her mother was in this room. It still had a feel for her, like she was hiding or had stepped out for a moment.
Tart stopped a nurse that was walking by the door. "Excuse me," She interrupted the nurse. "But where is the lady that was in this room?"
"Oh," The nurse placed a hand to her chest. "You don't know? Mrs. Collins hung herself yesterday. I thought everyone knew?"
Tart's eye snapped open. The fruit basket hit the floor, spreading its contents over the hallway. "She's-" Tart tried to force the words out, but found she didn't have the breath to. "She's gone?"
"Yes, young lady." The nurse confirmed.
Tart didn't know what to do. A sinking feeling settled into her stomach. Like a hole appeared in her and threatened to consume her soul. She didn't know what to do or where to go. Her mother had died she no one had even told her. The idea that her mother had committed suicide only worsened her feelings.
"She's....dead?" Tart repeated in disbelief.
"That's right." The nurse said. "Are you okay."
Tart didn't reply. She leaned against the wall, sliding down after only a second. She pulled her legs up close and remembered all the things her mother use to say. All the times she held her as a child and wiped her tears away. Mother always made everything better. Mother always knew what to do. Now she was gone.
Tart cuddled herself up. Tears began to flow from her eyes. Was this what shadowrunning had done for her? It had taken away the only thing she ever felt connected with. It was gone now.
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