Shadowrun 42 - Poison Agendas Read online

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  Silver Max expertly guided the tilt-rotor along the edge of the metroplex downtown and east toward the Redmond Barrens. Years ago, before the Awakening, the Barrens had been a prosperous area. But the chaos of the past fifty-plus years had taken their toll on some places more than others. Economic and political upheavals had transformed Redmond from an affluent tech-rich community to a depressed and hellish district of the Seattle Metropolitan Complex, under the administration of greater Seattle. Silver Max expertly guided the tilt-rotor along the edge of the metroplex downtown and east toward the Redmond Barrens. Years ago, before the Awakening, the Barrens had been a prosperous area. But the chaos of the past fifty-plus years had taken their toll on some places more than others. Economic and political upheavals had transformed Redmond from an affluent tech-rich community to a depressed and hellish district of the Seattle Metropolitan Complex, under the administration of greater Seattle.

  That meant a life of neglect for the inhabitants of the Barrens, mostly nonentities so far as the metroplex government was concerned. People without SINs, System Identification Numbers, didn't exist in the government's databases. That meant the government wasn't obligated to provide them with anything, including basic services and legal rights, and could ignore them as long as they didn't cause trouble for "real" citizens. So Redmond was filled with condemned and abandoned buildings, and condemned and abandoned people who were carefully watched from the outside by the security forces working for the government and corporations. Redmond was left to quietly rot.

  That arrangement suited shadowrunners just fine. They took advantage of existing outside the government system to sell their services to the highest bidders. They did the dirty work—the jobs no corporation or government could publicly acknowledge needing done but that were so very necessary in the cutthroat world of modern business. Places like the Redmond Barrens represented hell to many, but served as havens for shadowrunners, places where they could go about their business undisturbed, so long as they were discreet.

  Max set the VTOL down in an abandoned lot well inside the borders of Redmond. The dwarf rigger killed the landing lights on his approach, bringing the aircraft in using nothing but instruments. It would have been difficult for an ordinary pilot, but not for Max, since he was plugged directly into the aircraft's systems through his vehicle control rig. The VTOL's sensors were like his own eyes and ears, its wings like his limbs, its engines like his muscles; so Max guided them down safely in the pitch-black night, moving as surely as a man walking through a familiar room by dim moonlight.

  As soon as they touched the ground, the team 16

  sprang into motion. Espinosa was still deeply unconscious, so G-Dogg hefted him again while Orion slid open the hatch and hopped out. He covered the area with a flat-profile pistol, alert for any signs of trouble, his superior metahuman vision easily piercing the gloom. Kellan, G-Dogg and Lothan followed close behind.

  "Jackie," the troll mage announced, "we're on the ground. Status?"

  "No signs of pursuit," the decker's disembodied voice replied. "At least, nothing you're going to have to worry about. I've made sure air-traffic control doesn't have a lock on your location. It's a good bet the Azzies are putting out feelers, though, so don't linger."

  "We have no intention of doing so," Lothan said. "Max, clear out and meet us at the rendezvous when you've taken care of our ride."

  "Roger that," the dwarf replied. Kellan could just see Max through the tinted windows of the aircraft, lying back in the pilot's seat, cables trailing from the jack behind his ear. He looked like he was asleep.

  Orion slid the hatch closed and the engines began to whine as the team backed away, then the tilt-rotor lifted off with a wash of air, dust and loose paper and plastic from the parking lot. In a few moments, it cleared the tops of the nearby buildings, then the wings rotated forward and it headed off into the dark, its running lights coming on once it was a short distance away.

  A van awaited them in the alley running along the back of the lot. The local gang had been paid to ensure that nothing happened to it. A few moments later, the shadowrunners were on their way through the streets of Redmond with G-Dogg at the wheel, Orion riding shotgun and Kellan and Lothan squeezed in back with their "guest."

  "That must have been quite the stun spell you used," the troll commented, observing Espinosa's condition.

  "Well, I wanted to make sure I took down the guards." Kellan knew she sounded defensive. "I knew it wouldn't hurt Espinosa. He'll come around eventually."

  "It wasn't a criticism, my dear. I think it was rather well done, all things considered."

  "Thanks." Kellan was taken aback; Lothan so rarely handed out compliments. She had been learning magic from the old troll mage since shortly after she'd arrived in Seattle, just a few months ago. When she got involved in a fight outside a club where G-Dogg occasionally worked, her survival instinct forced a powerful, unsuspected magical talent to the surface. G-Dogg introduced her to Lothan, who volunteered to take her on as his apprentice in the mystic arts. Magicians were valuable in the twenty-first century, both in and out of the shadows, which gave Kellan an edge in finding work. Before coming to Seattle she had been strictly a small-timer, pulling just enough runs in Kansas City to make ends meet.

  With her newfound talent and a couple of month's worth of big-time runs under her belt, she felt she was ready for something more challenging.

  "Did you see any sign that Espinosa was being watched?" Lothan asked. Kellan shook her head.

  "I don't think so. I mean, he didn't know we were going to fake an attack so we could 'evacuate' him with the DocWagon chopper, and he did seem kind of nervous—but that's no big surprise for an exec looking to jump ship to a rival company."

  Lothan nodded. "True. Did you assess his emotional state?"

  "No, it all happened too fast, and I stuck with the plan, which meant limiting the magic I did inside the pyramid."

  "Well, I think we should avail ourselves of the opportunity to do so now, don't you? Just in case." He waved one band toward the unconscious suit in invitation for Kellan to proceed.

  "Okay," she said. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, willing herself to relax. Kellan was finding it difficult to learn astral perception, what Lothan and many other magicians simply called the Sight. It took concentration, practice and, most of all, focus, to open oneself up to the images and impressions of the magical world. At first, Kellan only managed it spontaneously. Now, she felt she was getting the hang of it.

  As she willed her perceptions to shift, Kellan's vision went slightly out of focus and she became aware

  of softly glowing haloes of light around each person in the van. Their auras, their life energy, were now visible to her magical senses. Orion's aura was particularly bright in her peripheral vision; he was an adept, gifted with magical physical abilities of his own. Because he was a powerful magician, Lothan's aura should have been blindingly brilliant, but Kellan knew the old mage deliberately concealed much of his magical power beneath a facade she had yet to learn to penetrate. Lothan's staff and amulet, however, shimmered with power.

  Kellan turned her attention to Espinosa, examining the unconscious man's aura. It was strong and healthy, indicating he'd suffered no serious harm in their escape from the Aztechnology Pyramid. There were some dark spots here and there, particularly around Espinosa's head. Kellan knew these dark spots were signs of cyberware implants, alterations to the body that put it out of synch with the aura. Espinosa had a datajack behind his right ear, and a few other head ware augmentations; fairly common equipment for a man of his position and income.

  The emotional surface of the aura was placid— little surprise, since he was deeply unconscious. Were Espinosa awake, Kellan could have read impressions of what he was feeling from studying his aura. It was an inexact science that she was still learning, but she could already pick up more than surface emotions. Lothan was able to read an amazing amount of detail from observi
ng someone's aura, though he combined it with a talent for reading people in general.

  Rather than looking at the company man's emotions, Kellan focused on finding telltale signs that Espinosa was under the influence of any sort of spell, or that his soon-to-be-former employers might be using magical means to track him. She saw no lingering spells in his aura, no threads connecting him to distant rituals and no spirits hovering about.

  "He looks clean," she said.

  "I agree," Lothan replied. "How long until our meeting with the Johnson?" he asked the runners in the front seat.

  "About two hours." G-Dogg answered without taking his eyes off the road.

  "Good. That should give us some time to make sure our guest is awake and in good condition when we make the exchange, and perhaps ask a few questions before our principal arrives to take possession."

  "You think he sold us out?" Orion asked, lifting his chin toward Espinosa.

  "I don't know yet," Lothan rumbled. "But I intend to before our business is concluded."

  Espinosa regained consciousness soon after the shadowrunners reached their destination, one of Redmond's many abandoned strip malls, its storefronts covered with sheets of construction plastic and layers of gang graffiti. He seemed quite surprised to find himself alive, and to be tied to a chair in the middle of an otherwise empty room.

  "What is this?" he asked, tugging at the bonds securing his hands and feet.

  "This," Lothan replied, rising to his full height of three meters, his horns nearly brushing the ceiling, "is payback for the trouble you've caused us, Mr. Espinosa."

  "What trouble? What are you talking about?" Despite the cool temperature of the dimly lit room, Espinosa began to sweat.

  "I mean the fact that Aztechnology security knew about your imminent departure, that they were ready and waiting for us, and that someone must have agreed to cooperate with them. To act as bait."

  "I—I don't know what you're talking about," the exec replied, glancing nervously around the room. "My new employers hired you to get me out of Aztechnology, not to attack me. . . ." He struggled weakly against his bonds.

  "That was part of the plan," Lothan said. "We chose to make it look as if you needed medical attention so that we could whisk you away in a purloined DocWagon VTOL. We didn't fill you in on that part of the plan because we wanted it to look real, and to avoid any potential security leaks. . . ." The troll's voice trailed off and his eyes narrowed, making him look very dangerous.

  "You're looking very warm, Mr. Espinosa," he

  purred sympathetically. "And your aura is quite turbulent. Fascinating thing, the aura. You can learn so much from it." He took a step closer to the company man. "For example, you can see when someone is telling the truth or when they are lying. You can even reach into the aura and twist. . . ." He extended one massive hand toward Espinosa's sweat-sheened brow.

  "They didn't give me any choice!" Espinosa blurted out, squeezing his eyes shut and flinching away from Lothan. "They said if I didn't cooperate, they would . . . Oh, Madre de Dios. . . ." He lapsed into muttering fearfully in a mix of Spanish and Na-huatl as Lothan approached.

  "Well?" the troll asked.

  "He's telling the truth," Kellan said, "and is scared out of his fraggin' mind."

  "Very good—though I'd say it's rather obvious." He looked down at the whimpering company man with an expression of disgust. "Contain yourself, Mr. Espinosa. We're not going to hurt you." At that, Espinosa dared to raise his eyes to look at Lothan, his pitiful sounds stilled.

  "You—you're not?"

  "Of course not. You're still a valuable commodity, after all. You're going to get your wish and find yourself placed with a new employer as soon as they arrive to collect you, which should be quite soon. However. .. ." The troll paused for emphasis, turning away from Espinosa slightly.

  "However, I want you to keep in mind that it's a small world out there, Mr. Espinosa, and getting smaller all the time. Memories in the shadows are quite long, indeed. Should you find yourself in need of professional shadowrunning services in the future, you'll find that the price has gone up considerably."

  The meet went smoothly. Juan Espinosa was soon in the hands of his new employers, who were pleased with the shadowrunners' performance and promptly paid the agreed-upon fee for delivery of the goods.

  Later, in a dark corner booth at a local drinking establishment, Lothan divided the spoils. Kellan was disappointed with her payout. As always, Lothan had deducted a percentage of her share as his fee for teaching her magic. Kellan acknowledged that it was what she had agreed to, but still felt it wasn't entirely fair that she did some of the most dangerous work while Lothan got to sit back and enjoy the profits.

  "Maybe I should start working some jobs on the side," Kellan said somewhat glumly, looking at the balance on her credstick.

  "Dante's Inferno is looking for bouncers," G-Dogg offered helpfully. The ork occasionally moonlighted as a bouncer for various nightclubs, primarily for the opportunity to see and be seen, and to conduct some business. G-Dogg also claimed the work helped to keep him sharp and gave him the opportunity to roughhouse when he was in the mood.

  "Thanks," Kellan said dryly, "but I don't think I'm

  cut out for being a bouncer. I meant some shadow work."

  "Don't get ahead of yourself, kid," Silver Max advised, taking a swig from his tall glass of beer. "You haven't been in town that long, and you've got a pretty sweet deal going with us."

  Lothan gave an expressive shrug. "I certainly have no objections if Kellan wants to strike out on her own," he said. "Her business is her own. Though I agree such a decision would be ill-advised."

  "Why?" Kellan asked. "You don't think I can handle it?"

  Lothan raised one bushy eyebrow. "Frankly, no," he said bluntly. "You have talent, my dear, and real potential, but don't let a few successes go to your head."

  Yeah, Lothan is a fine one to be giving people advice on not getting a swelled head, Kellan thought. If Lothan's ego were any larger, he would need someone else to help him carry it around. But hey, that's one of the things he has me for.

  "I've done pretty well for myself," Kellan said in her own defense, and Lothan nodded.

  "Yes, for a novice, but—"

  "But nothing!" she interrupted. She suddenly found she really wasn't in the mood to hear the troll mage expound yet again on how she had a lot to learn. "I handled things just fine on this run, and on every other run I've been on. If I hadn't taken down those Aztechnology guards, then G-Dogg and Orion

  would have been fragged, Espinosa would still be working for Aztech, and they probably would have blown the VTOL out of the fragging sky!"

  Kellan had jumped to her feet during her tirade and was leaning forward into Lothan's face, hands braced on the table in front of her. The troll mage didn't flinch as Kellan vented her frustration.

  "I was the one who took care of that mess with the Ancients and the Spikes, too," Kellan continued. That caused a slight glimmer in Lothan's eye. He and Kellan were the only ones who knew for sure that Lothan had been working his own deal during that run—something he had not felt it necessary to tell the others, and something Kellan had kept to herself. She wasn't about to blurt it out now, but she didn't mind letting Lothan sweat a little. If he was concerned, however, he didn't show it.

  "Are you quite finished?" Lothan asked in a low voice, and Kellan suddenly realized she was causing a scene. She abruptly sat down and slumped in the booth, trying to make herself as invisible as possible to the other patrons of the establishment.

  "You were fortunate," the troll continued evenly. "Very fortunate. But don't confuse luck with experience and skill, my dear, because they are what wins out every time."

  "I'm not your 'dear' anything, Lothan, so stop treating me like a child."

  "Gladly, when you decide to stop acting like one. If you want to be treated like an adult, then here are some adult realities for you, Kellan. You are quite right. You are not a child,
and I am certainly not your parent. You are my apprentice and I am your teacher, and I would be remiss if I did not try to teach you certain things that will keep you alive in the life you have chosen. Ours is a professional relationship. If you are unhappy with it, or if you want to seek other opportunities, then you are free to do so. I feel it is fair to warn you, however," he raised a finger for emphasis, "you will have to seek those opportunities on your own."

  Kellan stood up again. "Maybe I'll do that." She punched the payment button on the screen at the edge of the table to cover the cost of her drink, pulled her credstick from the slot and turned on her heel to stalk away from the table and the rest of the team.

  Lothan wanted her to stop acting like a child? Fine. She would show him just what she was capable of doing. Then the arrogant fragger would give her a little respect.

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  Kellan thrust her sword at her opponent's heart, but his blade came up in a graceful arc, swatting aside the point of hers. She quickly brought it up to block the follow-up slash at her shoulder, and then flailed a stroke at her foe's neck. He again blocked the strike easily, spinning his sword to whirl Kellan's own blade out of the way. Then came a lightning-quick thrust, jabbing the blunt tip of the practice blade right into her stomach, just below the ribs. Kellan thrust her sword at her opponent's heart, but his blade came up in a graceful arc, swatting aside the point of hers. She quickly brought it up to block the follow-up slash at her shoulder, and then flailed a stroke at her foe's neck. He again blocked the strike easily, spinning his sword to whirl Kellan's own blade out of the way. Then came a lightning-quick thrust, jabbing the blunt tip of the practice blade right into her stomach, just below the ribs.

  "Ow!" Kellan exclaimed, taking a step back and rubbing the sore spot.

  Orion saluted her with his practice sword before dropping back into an en garde position.

  "Again," he said curtly, and Kellan gathered her wits to return the elf's salute and regain a ready stance, sword arm extended, free hand out behind her for balance.