Friday, October 25, 2013

Requiem's Run: Chapter Seven

Gentle Messenger

Betty had suggested they all meet at her place. The Gate said he felt more comfortable in a public setting, but the rest of the group agreed with Betty. They decided, because of Popular’s face being plastered all over the Trid, that a non-public meeting place was best. So, the group sat, reviewing all that had happened. In one day the group had managed to get three of their members, either arrested, or on the news. It wasn’t much to celebrate that while only one fell into prison; they still managed to partially blow their cover with the news.
To Betty’s discomfort and comfort, she wasn’t in any of the reports, despite being at the scene of a messy argument. Something still didn’t sit right with her. She had searched the Matrix, and found nothing linking her to the scene of stupidity. How did I manage to end up with this group? Me a decker, I’m smarter than this. Her thoughts continued through the discussion. At least not all of them are racist.
The Gate was in disbelief as to what had happened. He had been off investigating his sources for information, and checking in on Mickey. Then all hell breaks loose: Mickey, Entertainment, and Popular were all over the trid. His demeanor matched the seriousness of their situation. Mickey was now incarcerated, and although The Gate’s lone ability to free him at any time gave him satisfaction, but the others didn’t know that, especially Mickey. The thought was ever present in his mind, as it was with the others. Mickey was paranoid and cocky, he would be smart enough to keep quiet, or so they all hoped. The Gate had to believe it, or was it hope? For his sake, and theirs, they were all tied to him now. 
Entertainment still fumed over Popular’s arrogant display. Even though now he was much more subdued, she still saw his pride, his arrogant pride. Damn those Japs, she cursed him in her mind. Or at least she thought, as Popular glanced at her. Still it seemed that her comment was held to her thoughts as the rest of the group sat conversing amongst themselves.
Popular had been quiet over the past day, his thoughts ran back to the Panda. What am I to do? Shikkon has vanished, I have dishonored myself with the Yakuza, and I have lost my business and home. He felt the situation starting to overwhelm him. And on top of it all, Entertainment has cost me so much, yet I must continue working with this gaijin-kitanai. Such a dishonorable cur, I can barely stand to look at her. Needless, our paths are intertwined for the moment. She shall prove useful yet, even if I have to force her to prove it. Anger burned deep within him, and had re-focused him. Takeuchi Jozu now realized what he must do. He was prepared to finish the job at hand. No matter if the rest of them got in his way, he would finish the job.
The Gate was the first to speak, “I think first things first; Mickey needs to be freed. Hanging out with LoneStar is no place for someone like him, or for that matter any of you.” His voice betrayed his size and age. It was strong, confident, and mature. He spoke with authority to all these older more ‘experienced’ runners. Ignoring any looks of disbelief.
Entertainment broke in, “Don’t you think, I mean Mickey, whatever,” She rolled her eyes at the thought of Mickey, ”but don’t you think we should wait for Falchion? I mean he seems to be the most professional of all of us.” Her voice hid no malice, as she shot daggers at Jozu, with the professional comment. The Gate nearly ignored her and continued, “Yes Falchion is a veteran to the game, but we haven’t heard anything from him in days. What troubles me is that two of our best combatants have practically vanished without a trace. Not a word to any of us, save Shikkon’s message to Mr. Popular. This provides us with distraction and borderline unprofessional behavior.”
His words hit Jozu, and Entertainment like a ton of bricks, and they felt guilt at this. They both realized The Gate was at least partially right, and this was disheartening. “Falchion will come back soon, he’s just doing recon work for us…” Entertainment’s voice trailed and slightly betrayed her. “You have news from Falchion?” It was Betty who asked, surprising the rest of the group. All attention turned to Entertainment awaiting anything that might help unravel the mess. “Yes, he called me last night, and told me that he was doing recon on matters involving our job.” She paused, as if thinking of something to say, “…He wouldn’t say anything else. He was too quick to hang up.”
No matter how young they say he was, The Gate’s eyes pierced her. Studying her, or so Entertainment felt. This kid might be a bit too professional, she noted to herself, and thought it might be pertinent to keep an eye on him.  “I feel that it is important for us to continue on with our mission. We’re going to need Mickey, for better or worse.” The Gate led the discussion back to the Run. “I will go and get Mickey out. I think for now, it’s best if Entertainment and Betty go investigate one of the targets, this T-Funk character. I want to know a little more about him, and see if we can get any info from him. Subtly is important here.” The Gate felt that emphasis was important on subtly. So far the group had proven less than subtle, save maybe for Falchion, but Falchion was neither here nor there. “Yeah I’ve got a wig or two that I can use to blend in.” Entertainment chimed in. Betty was the only one to give Entertainment a look. A slightly doe eyed look, but then most of them didn’t expect less from the silent decking biker ork.


After sixteen hours of waiting, Mickey finally heard footsteps. They approached his cell slowly. Mickey paranoid as ever waited holding his breath. He had expected to meet his end in this jail cell. Surely “they” could get to me in here. It’s so simple!  His thoughts raced as the footsteps came to his jail cell. A simple beat cop stood at the bars. Mickey looked frantically at him. “Got a message for ya,” The beat cop said plainly. “Just came in ‘anonymously’.” The cop slid a simple envelope through the bars, and walked away. Mickey knew without even opening it. It was from him.
Mickey sat staring at the white envelope, noticing its shadowed protrusion. The simple cell was dim, cold, and hard. The envelope sat taunting him. Mickey was used to such places, but being held by LoneStar unnerved him more so than usual. He felt more out in the open, exposed and vulnerable. He had worked hard to create this new persona, to remove himself from his past. Six years had passed since that fateful day. The day he became Mickey the Quail. Now in the course of two months everything, including sanity, was unraveling. The Mafia had returned to his life, and no one was to be trusted. For whatever “they” had planned for him, he was going to try and meet it from behind his rifle. Mickey sat and waited his fate. He would have preferred to meet his end in his own apartment, but luck, as it were, was not on his side.
      

The Gate left the apartment informing the group to meet back there in three hours. He figured to give them enough time to do any needed preparations. Perhaps it would give Jozu some time to cool off, and regain his composure. Hopefully they would gain enough information to finish this first task. If they were lucky the troll would give up the information needed, or hand the box over without any trouble. The latter seemed unlikely to him, but he could still hope.
     The group went their separate ways; Jozu vanished into the shadows to hide, until called upon. Betty and Entertainment headed to T-Funk’s dojo, to investigate their mark. The Gate sped away on his Rapier. He always loved how his Rapier handled, just like its namesake; even amidst the rain and traffic he enjoyed the ride.  Reaching the Lone Star station, he parked in a nearby alley and found a small amount of shelter from the rain.
     The Gate reached into his inner jacket and pulled at his cell phone. Plugging in the ear device, he dialed his contact to Lone Star. The phone rang three times, and finally the lieutenant answered. “I’m a busy man, what can I do for you today?” Was how he always answered, The Gate assumed it was his just business greeting. “John, it’s me,” He was always short and to the point with his contacts. No need for idle chat when doing business. “Have you delivered the message, to the prisoner for me?”
     “Yes, of course, and I’ve got his belongings waiting for you in a storage locker. Anything else you need?” John had always been polite to him, and The Gate felt that John had a soft spot for him being so young. “I’m going to need to get him out,” The Gate spoke simply. “Sure thing kid, another thousand and he’s yours,” John had never been a greedy type, and The Gate usually was reciprocating to him. “It’s already in your account, and I tacked on another thousand for all your help,” The Gate only paused for a moment, “and John, thank you.”
    

An hour had passed since the group left Betty’s apartment. Betty and Entertainment found themselves outside of this T-Funk’s dojo. They took in the building with a feeling of days gone by, to a different time filled with “Mom and Pop” stores. It was a simple two-story brick building, a quaint and stark contrast to the bustling city around it. A simple green, “oriental” looking double door was the gateway. They noticed three large windows on the second floor peering onto the street. There was a basic window to the right. ‘T-Funk’s Dojo’ was displayed, with the paint chipping only slightly.
     “I’m slightly impressed, that this place has managed to stay in business, and intact. I mean yeah it’s owned by a troll, but still that’s saying something with the gangs, and corporations,” Entertainment commented almost to herself.
“Why don’t you see what you can find out inside, E, I’m going to check around the building. See if I can’t find a way into the apartment or something.” Betty chimed in cheerfully.
“Sure, I kind of want to see what this guy has to offer. If anything.” Entertainment said with a slight disdain. She had been training for quite some time, and had the experience, and magic, to back her up. She felt confident strolling into this dojo.
      As Entertainment walked into the humble dojo, she noticed a slight smell of incense burning. The smell was a pleasant addition to the old décor. The immediate interior was a white room with a few oriental themed designed pictures, to her left stood a small wooden counter with random fliers sitting atop, able to greet customers as they arrived. There was enough space behind the counter for five people to lie down, but there was only one chair. The wall to her right made her feel slightly bunched in, with its distance being less than an arm’s length away. The oddest thing about the entrance was the picture of an older gentleman smiling off into the distance. It seemed an ancient picture something from the twentieth century. He had long frayed and brightly colored hair. His beard was a sign of his age, mostly gray in appearance. His eyes covered by late twentieth century yellow colored sunglasses. An odd decoration, for an peculiar little building, she mused to herself.
     A practice session was taking place in the next room. Entertainment moved slowly towards the opening. That led into the adjacent room. She paused at the archway and found a refreshing sight. There were about fifteen students all dressed in various street clothes practicing kung fu. Most were humans, but she noted a few metahumans amidst the group.
     A large troll with pulled back dreads, made a gesture to the shrine in the front of the practice area. He stepped off the raised floor and made his way smiling towards Entertainment. “Greetings my friend, and welcome.” His gentle demeanor almost threw her off. He was softly spoken and was fairly easy to understand. She easily recognized him, from the picture, as T-Funk.
     “Yes, hello, my name is Becky and I was curious about taking a class here?” Entertainment spoke in a fairly polite manner. “Well, hello Becky, my name is George, and you’re in luck”, spoke the troll, “you can watch to see how we do things in this humble little dojo.” Entertainment found a row of chairs immediately to her left, about half a meter from the raised practice floor, and sat down to observe.
     The motions were pretty standard to Entertainment, and she just sat observing for about half an hour, giving Betty plenty of time. T-Funk wandered around the dojo offering advice to his twenty something students. Finally she got bored of the demonstrations in front of her, and wanted something a little more substantial. T-Funk made his way back to Entertainment to check on her, turning to bow to the front of the dojo, before disembarking off the practice floor.
     He stood smiling to her, “well our practice is almost over, do you have any questions I might be able to answer?” Asked the troll patiently. “Yes, I was curious what you can show me?” Entertainment looked directly into his eyes. The troll looked slightly confused, “I’m not sure what you mean.” He said soundly. “I mean I’d like a little demonstration from you,” her voice was confident. “Very well, why don’t we see what you can do,” the troll sensed her meaning and was happy to oblige.
     They walked to the middle of the floor, and paced about two meters from each other. Entertainment turned to face the troll, his size daunting despite the gentle smile on his face. He made a simple bow to her, and said “Pay attention class, Becky here is going to show us some maneuvers by sparring with me,” his voice reached all the dojo.
     A small smirk danced across Entertainment’s face as she bowed. She was curious as to how skilled this man was. She broke down into a stance and studied him. He was erect, his arms folded behind his back, just smiling at her. She thought for a moment that he was showing arrogance, and the smirk left her face.
     She flew across the floor with swift grace preparing to strike him with an elbow strike. He acted as her shadow and the massive figure just turned, like a door, away from her. Still he remained in the standing position with his arms behind him. She had anticipated this, and jumping upward she flew a backhand towards his face. Her fist connected with his hand, just in front of his face. His massive paw engulfed her fist to her wrist. In one motion he gently grabbed onto her arm and used her momentum to throw her back to the starting position.
Entertainment twisted as she flew through the air, amazed at his skill and speed. Her feet landed with a light thud, and she braced herself with her hand in front of her. It was a graceful ballet to those watching; their movements seem too fluid to be natural.
Entertainment stood towards the troll in the facing position. Again moved into an attacking stance, this time an ounce of respect was given as the troll moved into a relaxed boxing stance. She sprinted across the floor at the troll easily covering the distance between them. Within arm’s reach she made a light twist of her lithe body and dropped to the floor. In one quick movement she slid between the troll’s massive legs with such speed that he was unable to catch her between them. She used her strangely advantageous position to kick the troll in the back. Somehow he managed to block her with his right shin. Using his leg she hooked her leg over his. Using the leg to launch herself into the air twisting as she rose. She brought her other leg spinning around towards the troll’s head. Entertainment’s speed was such that “George” barely managed to get his hand between her shin and his neck. Despite his skill and size he stumbled a little from the force of her kick. Entertainment followed her kick onto her hands, allowing a spring flip onto her feet, only glancing over her shoulder at T-Funk.
An audible gasp escaped from the room of students. They had watched, stunned, this ballet of lucid opponents danced as if in their imaginations. It was over before it even began to them, yet their mentor, their sifu, in the end had stumbled ever so slightly.
A chuckle was heard from T-Funk, and a smile showing small tusks broke out. “Well done Becky”, he said, “I hope I can convince you to study here. I think I have a thing or two we could show you, although you’re no novice that I can see.” He bowed with his hands in front of him, in a sign of respect. She now turned to him and returned the bow. “Thank you, I would be honored to learn from someone of your skill”, she spoke with honesty and respect, “sifu.”
Entertainment turned to leave the practice floor, and saw Betty standing by the double doors. She gave her the slightest nod, turned and bowed to the front of the dojo, as T-Funk had done. T-Funk motioned to his students and followed Entertainment off the floor. T-Funk started making his way towards Betty as he had done with Entertainment. “Welcome, my name is George,” he said with same gentle manner as he had addressed Entertainment with.
Entertainment took the lead, and introduced Betty, “Yes, Julie I’m very excited, I found the perfect place to study,” she exclaimed. Betty thought Entertainment was only playing a part to fool the troll. “Oh?” Betty chimed in, trying to match Entertainment’s enthusiasm. “That’s fantastic sweetie, but we really must go,” Betty ended with an eye at Entertainment. “Do you think, you might be joining, Becky, here at our dojo, Julie?” Asked T-Funk, with sincere interest. “No, I’m into more subdued activities, I’m just “Becky’s” ride,” Betty had to restrain a smile at the name.
“Oh,” T-Funk’s enthusiasm seemed to deflate a small amount, “Well, just make sure she makes it to next week’s class at the same time so we can sign her up.” He smiled, and nodded, to each of them. “Don’t worry, sifu, I’ll be here,” Entertainment’s excitement hadn’t lost any of it’s zeal. She bowed to him, and turned to leave, with Betty glancing at her strangely as they left the humble little dojo. The two women left, hearing T-Funk re-addressing his class.
Once outside, Betty turned to Entertainment, “Are you serious E?” She said a tone of sarcasm lingered in her voice. “We’re on the job, and you’re making “friends” with the target?” Entertainment without flinching, “I just wanted to see what he was capable of, and after the job I thought it would be good to get lessons, so yes, I am serious.” Betty started heading around back of the dojo, to T-Funk’s apartment. “Just remember, that we’ve got a job to do,” she said with a condemning tone. Entertainment just followed her, and scoffed at the scolding. “Don’t be mad at me, because of the Jap,” a faint hurt resided in Entertainment’s voice. Betty sensing the offense she had caused, softened her tone, “Well, I’m just saying eye on the ball, sweets.” Betty turned just enough to give her new friend a playful jab in the ribs. They both let out a chuckle, remembering the ridiculousness of the past several hours.
Betty led Entertainment to the back door, and pushed it open. “I haven’t really found anything, but I’ve been trying to keep the place in-tact,” Betty narrated as she walked up the simple stairwell, Entertainment closing the door behind them, and locking it. Betty heard the click, and turned, “Don’t bother locking it, it was unlocked when I got here, it’s the top one that gave me a little trouble.” Entertainment was a little surprised that he didn’t lock his front door. Then again who would really want to mess with a troll, especially one that was so adept, she mused to herself. Betty reached the top of the stairwell, and pushed open the door, gently. She stepped into the modest apartment, allowing Entertainment to proceed into the living room that immediately greeted them.
They moved around the apartment searching quickly from room to room. Each wondering, where he was keeping this damn box that had already caused them so much trouble without even trying. They were careful to not turn over too much, so they felt restricted in searching the apartment for any special box. Entertainment was searching through the couch in the living room when she heard the downstairs door open. She felt a rush of excitement pass through her veins. “B, we’ve gotta move!” she whispered harshly to the kitchen which was adjacent to, and partially visible from the, living room. Quickly Entertainment unlocked a window. The double windows were “glass” windows with a latch across the middle sill. She climbed out and hung onto the side of the building and braced herself against the brick of the wall. She made a simple planting jump off the wall flipping backwards onto the sidewalk below, and looked up to make sure Betty was behind her.
Betty had rushed to put back together the drawers in the kitchen at Entertainment’s warning. She made her way into the living room and saw the window open from where Entertainment had climbed out. Betty hastily climbed out and jumped to the pavement below. From Entertainment’s point of view, although Betty was an ork and a small one at that, she wasn’t very graceful. Entertainment was surprised that Betty had landed the “fall” out of the window at all. The two of them took off down the street, not noticing that T-Funk had peered out the window.


An unlikely pair found themselves staring at the unassuming building of T-Funk’s dojo. According to Black Betty the entrance to his apartment stood around back. A straightforward building, only three exits. The building was smaller and slightly out of contrast compared to its surroundings. This architecture from the past slipping in its recognition of the world around it, although it stood on the outer edge of the downtown area, the buildings around it were at least four stories or higher.
     The rain had given everything an even greater gloom. Despite the time, there were little cars on the street. The dimmed streetlights, that were there, gave this neighborhood an eerie peace. If anyone had taken notice of Mickey, or The Gate, no one seemed to care. They easily slipped into the alleyway and made their way to the back of the building. The muck and grime of Seattle seemed to melt away from the street in this alley.
Mickey slowly peered around the corner of the building, checking the back. It was his nature to be cautious, Mickey deeming it safe slowly moved forward. More and more in this run Mickey found himself out of place. This wasn’t his arena; he would be more preferred perched atop some rooftop, huddled over his rifle, peering into the beautifully streamlined scope, waiting for the perfect moment to squeeze the trigger.
Yet here he was, with this punk kid, doing recon work. Out in the open, at least it was dark back here. The Gate tapped him on the shoulder, “Are we going to do this or not?” It seemed that Mickey had paused in his thoughts, almost lost in them. Mickey only signaled for silence as they crept towards the door.
Standing in front of the door, he tested the door, locked. In a low voice, Mickey spoke to his co-worker, “Any ideas?  I’d rather not face a troll, in the proverbial dark alley as it were.” The Gate just blankly stared at the building as if lost in a trance. Mickey annoyed, waved his hand in front of the kid’s face. Amateur, Mickey thought. Mickey turned back to the door, and knocked. The Gate seemingly came to and moved to the right side of the door.
A thunderous, but gentle, voice resonated from inside the doorway, “Who’s there?” Mickey quickly replied, “We are simple couriers, here to pick up the package for Ares.” It was those final words that The Gate looked at Mickey with disbelief. Before The Gate could respond, a mighty fist with blinding speed, burst through the door. The Gate dove back towards the alley drawing his gun, and murmuring to himself. Mickey, with the door, went sprawling backwards into the back alley wall. The Gate finished an incantation, just in time for him to vanish from sight.
A large man stepped from the archway into the alley, quickly surveying all around him. “Strange, you speak of being couriers, yet I only see one.” The man spoke, his voice confident, and calm. “Perhaps you being of Ares, you find yourself confused, and conflicted. You will not take what does not belong to you.” The man took one giant step towards Mickey and lifted the door off of him. To The Gate’s surprise, Mickey sprang from his slumped position firing off two rounds at the man. With the reflexes, and agility, of a cat the man dodged Mickey’s shots. Swiftly and accurate were his punches, they appeared only as a blur.
Before The Gate had managed to take stock of the situation Mickey lay slumped on the ground. Without thinking of his own regard he flicked his wrist, becoming visible, and aimed his pistol at the large troll. His left hand was free not far from the Colt Manhunter gripped in his right hand. The left hand barely moved, and seemed, to an untrained eye, that he was merely balancing the heavy pistol.
The man loomed over his fallen opponent with door in hand. This was the first time that The Gate had gotten a good look at the man known as T-Funk. He had seen him in the pictures, but in person it was slightly more intimidating. His stature was enormous; T-Funk stood almost a full 2 meters over him, and was probably as wide as The Gate was long. The lofty dreads that hanged from his head, only added to his size. The shadows covered any discernable feature, but he appeared to be wearing nothing but sweat pants.
 “That’ll be enough of that,” said the Gate, his voice grabbed the attention of the man. The man seemed caught off guard by the child facing him. A child dressed as a man, a fire burned in his eyes, and his pistol aimed at the troll. “What madness is this, will Ares stop at nothing?” The man’s voice was still calm, and gentle. “Just hand us the box, and we’ll leave.” The Gate demanded. The man let out a laugh, “My how the shadows have changed, but take note boy, things are not always as they seem.” A shot grazed the man’s head, shimmering off his hardened flesh. He gave the slightest of grunts, as if the bullet had wounded him. The Gate took the minor opportunity of distraction and fired two rounds at the troll. Hitting him square in the chest, he growled in pain.
Mickey had gotten to his knees when the massive shadow seemed to engulf him. At first it seemed as though the world was getting darker. Then a searing pain coursed through his head, and then he was surrounded by silence. The Gate watched in horror as the man, danced through the air holding a large wooden door effortlessly. Only a thud was heard as Mickey fell back to the ground. The door then blocked any view of Mickey or their opponent.
Any second now, thought The Gate, any second now he should ignite into a ball of flame, please let it work. The Gate’s thoughts were pierced by the voice of the man, this time a strain in his voice was present, “Your friend is unconscious, I will give him back to you if you leave, and never return. He needs medical attention, this fight can’t continue.” Before another word could escape his lips, a massive flame erupted from the man. He shot up clutching his head screaming in agony. It was a matter of seconds, and then, as quickly as it had began. The fight was over. The large troll stopped screaming and fell hard into the pavement. A massive charred body lay on its back unmoving.
The Gate ran over to the smoking troll and unloaded his clip into the motionless man. The Gate without another thought ran up the stairs of the apartment in a panic. I’ve got to do this quickly he thought. He was in the apartment, tearing through anything and everything he could find. Where is that damn box?, he frantically searched the entire apartment. Every nook and cranny had been searched, all the cabinets opened. The bedroom torn asunder, not one single room was left untouched.
“Come on, if I were a giant troll where would I hide a box,” he muttered to himself. Nothing came to him, and he felt overwhelmed by the whole scenario. He thought of his sister, and fell to his knees and wept. Angered by his display of weakness, he slammed the floor with his gloved fist. “Damnit!” He breathed, “Where is that fraggin’ box.” His world slowed into perspective. This was no time, for him to fall apart. The group would be in jail without him.

Slowly recollecting himself, he went over everything that he had searched. Then slowly it dawned on him, the refrigerator. He had yet to check it. Running back to the kitchen over the mess, he opened the bottom door, and tore apart the fridge. The Gate felt time running out, as the fridge revealed nothing, but he continued his search into the freezer. There, sitting in the back of the freezer, was a black, lumpy bag. Bingo, he thought, I’ve found the damn box. He opened the bag, and found not one box, but multiple boxes. He counted five in all, a mystery for another time, he thought. He flew down the staircase and was back in the alleyway. Only glancing at Mickey, he ran to his bike and hid the bag in the back of his bike. Quickly starting the sports bike and backed it into the alleyway. When he was close enough to the bloodied crumpled form of Mickey, The Gate dragged him up onto the bike. Managing to get a strap around his unconscious companion and The Gate straddled the bike and rode off into the darkness of night. Caring little for the mess they had made, of T-Funk and his dojo. Only feeling lucky to be alive and somehow still on point on this mess of a mission.

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-BIO-
Name: Abbey Elizabeth “Black Betty” Miller
Height: 6’2 ft. (187.96 cm)
Weight: 200 lb. (90.9 kg)
Age: 28
Likes: Harleys, Horses, and a cold beer
Dislikes: Techno music, most meats, and soycaf
Archtype: Combat Decker

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Note: "Black Betty" was originally created by Chanel Compare. With edits and revisions by this blog's author Benjamin Weisman. 

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