Spiraling Down
The elevator reached the desired floor, and
alerted its sole passenger with a simple ding. Entertainment stepped onto the
47th floor and pressed her dress down. It always had a habit of
riding up a bit, and Entertainment no longer desired the days of revealing
clothes.
She marveled at the layout of this floor as
it had been catered to the wants of its almost sole host. Granted, she
thought, it was a subsidiary building for Ares, but still an entire floor
for one person? It seemed extravagant for a business to Entertainment, but
it must serve its purposes.
She walked around the corner and spotted
the empty secretary’s desk. As she got closer to Requiem’s office she saw that
the ominous double doors. She was surprised to see a simply dressed human was
standing watch over the doors. Such a humble sentry for such an elaborate
place, she noted to herself.
“I’m here for the meeting,” Entertainment
said whimsically to the man in front of the doors. She wasn’t that tall, but
this guy barely stood over her. She had to hold back a laugh at his rough,
almost cowboy demeanor as he spoke, “The meetin’s already started ma’am. You’ll
have to wait.”
Her face easily gave her inner feelings
away, but she wasn’t trying to hide them. “Wait..?” Her voice matching her
face, “Do you know who I am? How dare you tell me to wait.” She folded her arms
and stood as arrogantly as possible. She enjoyed playing with people’s emotions
and a door sentry was an easy target for her. He quickly retreated from his
hard acting exterior and apologized to her. “If you can just wait a moment,
I’ll check with Mr. Sudanabo.” Sudanabo? An obvious cover name, Requiem was
too smart for that, Entertainment commented to herself.
The guard had walked over to the secretary’s
desk and pressed a button on what Entertainment assumed as an intercom. Seeing
the guard’s momentary distraction she preceded to walk into Requiem’s office. She
wasn’t that late, maybe five minutes, she told herself. She could hear the
guard asking about a woman to someone on the other end as she walked past the
doors. With the doors closing behind her she could hear the doorman chasing
after her, almost yelling to her. It was too late for him, as she was already
inside, and it seemed the guard dared not enter.
Entertainment immediately knew why they had
posted such a person at the door. Requiem’s real guards were inside, and the
doorman was just a distraction. She had to look up at the monster that stood
before her, to fully register his appearance. Entertainment wasn’t easily
intimidated, but this man could be one to do it. Just on sheer physical
presence alone; this monster of a man, this troll stood over two meters above
her, and seemed to be as wide as she was tall. What surprised her even more,
besides his size, is that he seemed to be natural. Other than a couple of
warts, he seemed to be a mundane without any cybernetic enhancements.
Entertainment thought she could hear him
growling, which did less to actually intimidate her than his size was. “Jimmy,
please show our tardy guest to her seat.” The eerily calm voice of Requiem came
from behind the monster. “Let her walk though.” Requiem spoke just as the
monster was reaching to grab her. She looked up at Jimmy quizzically as he
turned like a massive door and allowed her to pass. His facial expression never
seemed to change, and he grunted as she passed him. Despite Jimmy’s clothing
choice, which Entertainment was beginning to wonder if someone else picked it
out for him, he seemed to be the epitome of stereotypes and racial slurs
towards his race.
Entertainment was getting an afternoon full
of surprises. Instead of seeing three other people sitting in chairs in front
of Requiem’s desk, she saw five people waiting. The newcomers were a young man
in a custom tailored suit standing in between an empty chair and a disheveled man
with a very peculiar haircut. The only available chair for her it seemed was
one to the far right placed next to an ork woman sitting next to Shikkon Shin.
Who, when Entertainment came around to take a seat, shyly smiled at her and
removed the side satchel that had been sitting in the chair Entertainment now
occupied.
“Now that everyone is here, we can begin
with the meeting.” Requiem glanced around not making true eye contact with any
of them. “For Entertainment’s benefit, I shall do a quick introduction of
everyone and explain any absences that she might inquire about.”
Entertainment
slid into a more comfortable sitting position, and the young woman next to her
seemed to shift in her seat. Requiem looked over in their direction gesturing
to the young ork woman, “The woman next to you, Entertainment, is named Black
Betty. Falchion felt her presence could be of use in the upcoming job that I have
for you.” He paused for a moment allowing the information to sink in and
started looking down the line. Entertainment nodded to Betty and took note of
her appearance, at closer inspection Betty didn’t seem the part. There was
something sheepish about her that was trying to offset the group’s garishness. Entertainment
felt slightly relieved to have another female presence, even if it was a
subdued one. Betty’s outfit did present a curious question: it looked like the
hide of some long dead animal and had fringes. If Entertainment was going to
guess solely on appearance, Betty looked like the stereotypical Shaman, and her
current demeanor lent itself to that stereotype. On the otherhand,
Entertainment noticed a barely visible datajack so as usual appearances aren’t
everything.
“Next
to her, you obviously already know those two: Shikkon Shin, and Mr. Popular.”
His eyes shifted down the line with his hand continuing to point each person
out. “Next to them, however, is a respectable young man called The Gate, and to
round out your delightful little group is Mickey the Quail.” Entertainment now
understood his haircut, that it vaguely resembled a quail feather. She still
thought this Mickey the Quail looked ridiculous, even for a Shadowrunner and despite
now knowing his street name.
“Now
that everyone knows each other’s names it is safe to assume I can get down to
the details?” His eyes lingered over to Entertainment, who gave a small nod.
She still wondered why Falchion wasn’t there since he had brought them all
together but she figured she could ask one of the Japs.
“Without
giving away too many details, as is the nature of this business. This run that
requires so many of you, deals with three different objectives.” Requiem paused
to slowly glance at the different people sitting in front of him. His elbows rested
on the large desk in front of him with his fingertips touching outward.
Lightly
tapping a manila envelope on the desk, he continued, “This company recently
lost an item of great value, and we want your group to retrieve it for us. The
details are in this envelope, and the general risk of the situation is low. The
other two objectives are of slight more risk, but I’m sure this group is more
than capable.” Some of the group thought they spotted a barely visible grin on
Requiem’s face.
“The
other two objectives are of lower importance, but time is still of the essence.
“The other objectives are a simple relocation job. Two individuals have been
causing problems for us, and we think they may be responsible for the item
going wayward.” Requiem’s face was once again serious, collected and cold.
Before
anyone could say anything Requiem continued on, “Falchion negotiated a decent
price for the group. Plus I will throw in a bonus if the objectives are
completed in a swift quiet manner.” It was Mr. Popular who took it upon himself
to question the asking price, “So, how much is it this time, Requiem, Twenty
thousand?” Mr. Popular’s voice was full of sarcasm and confidence.
Requiem
shot him a look, his eyes piercing and unfeeling, “Twenty? No, Mr. Popular like
I said Falchion has procured a hefty fee your services. Seventy seven thousand,
and you will receive an upfront payment of ten percent. I trust this is more
than sufficient.” Requiem wasn’t asking, he was merely stating, and the others
seemed to understand by the silent nods. However, Mr. Popular let out a soft
scoff, and put his arm over the back of his chair.
“Are
you kidding me? Seventy-seven, for three jobs? Please I do my laundry for more
money than that.” Mr. Popular continued his arrogance without abandon. “Oh? Is
that so, Mr. Popular?” Requiem’s voice had the ever so slightest hint of
annoyance in it. “Then perhaps, another amount would be to your liking? Or
should I call up our mutual friend, Mr. Takeuchi?” Requiem’s voice was removed
and his entire focus and attention barred down on Mr. Popular. The same man who
now looked like he had seen a ghost, his outward expression almost childlike
and beaten.
Standing
up with anger and disgust, “Fine, have it your way.” Mr. Popular said
angrily as he started walking towards the door. Shikkon swiftly rose, bowing
lightly to Requiem, and then turned to follow closely behind Mr. Popular.
“I’m
down,” Entertainment said almost gleefully as she quickly grabbed the envelope.
She started heading towards the door, and heard something strange. “Wait a
minute,” a young voice said behind her. She turned to see The Gate. She hadn’t
realized how young he really had been, and felt strange to be now working with
him. “Before you go, I would like to look at our objectives, ma’am.” His
mannerisms were very polite and gentile, not something Entertainment expected
from a kid. She cautiously handed him the envelope, giving him a strange look
as she did.
Ignoring
her look, The Gate opened the envelope and looked inside. He saw a few papers,
and a small disk. Knowing instantly, the disk was for a pocket secretary he
inserted the disk into his pocket sec.
“Entertainment,
right?” He asked directly as the information downloaded onto his pocket
secretary. She nodded to him, without more of a response. Entertainment could only
curiously watch this over-the-top professional, child. He couldn’t have been
much older than sixteen, she thought.
The
Gate then ignored her and went back to the envelope. He quickly, but
methodically studied the papers taking a mental note of the information on
them. The papers didn’t’ really delve much information other than basic info on
their targets, and it stated it was an addition to the more detailed disk.
Both
Mickey and Betty were now making their way to the door, leaving Entertainment
and The Gate the only ones still standing near Requiem’s desk. “One more thing
before the lot of you go,” Requiem spoke again as an afterthought. Mickey
halted in front of the double doors, with Betty standing closely behind him.
“Mr. Popular and Shikkon already know, and hopefully they will remember,” Entertainment
thought Requiem’s concern seemed overwhelming,
“To receive payment my secretary will pay you. And please destroy the
information once you’ve completed your objectives, it’s just polite.” Requiem
looked at The Gate as he said this. The Gate nodded respectfully to him, and
turned back to Entertainment.
Removing
the small disk from his pocket sec, he returned it to Entertainment with the
papers gently tucked back into the envelope. Handing it to her he added, “Be
careful, please, ma’am. While I’ve committed the information to memory, the
others haven’t seen it yet. So it’s safe to assume, that you, Mr. Popular, and
Shikkon have a meeting place to discuss such matters?”
Entertainment
was surprised by his professional and direct manner. “Uh, yeah, we do. We can
meet at Popular’s place, it’s public enough and no one will trouble us.”
The
Gate didn’t smile, but his voice seemed pleased, “Good, well then the group
should meet there later today, and go over the information.” He gave her a nod,
and she felt strangely compelled to follow his lead. Walking to the door she
turned to him and said, “I’ll let the others know.” Outside of the office she
felt as if she had just woken from a dream, and stared blankly over at the
secretary’s desk.
The
doorman from earlier was sitting in the secretary’s chair helping Mickey the
Quail and Black Betty with their payments. Entertainment walked over, and began
the payment process. She had yet to be paid for the previous job and now had the
new job. She felt content and happy despite the oddity of The Gate’s
personality.
The
Gate turned on his heel at the doors before walking out, and headed back towards
Requiem’s desk. “I would like to discuss my additional payment, Requiem.” His
voice and demeanor were polite, but had a similar undertone to Requiem’s.
Requiem
was pleasantly surprised by the young man’s initiative, but slightly surprised
by the brashness of the situation. “Additional
payment? I thought we had reached a fair amount.” Negotiations were always an enjoyable
fencing match for Requiem. Especially when it was against an opponent with a
cunning mindset, and The Gate seemed to be head and shoulders above most of the
group. Or he assumed this young man wouldn’t have approached him without some
sort of trick card up his sleeve.
“Yes
the payment for the job is acceptable; but I have interests in Mickey, and I’m
willing to negotiate his usefulness to the completion of the job.” This child
standing confidently in front of Requiem again surprised him. He had definitely
played a trump card, and Requiem knew Mickey’s talents did indeed deem him
useful for the later objectives.
“I
see,” Requiem sat back in his chair and decided to test the young man’s
resolve, “You surprise me Gate, what makes you so sure I’ll pay and not just have
you killed.” As if on cue, the two massive statuesque trolls lurched forward. The
Gate had taken notice of each of them, independently intimidating by their physical
presence; one was magically active, and the other a demon whose soul had been
tarnished by the completely obvious cybernetic enhancements he was sporting.
The
Gate continued completely unfazed by the trolls, “I have no doubt of that, but
I also have a feeling that the group will need my unique talents or else I
wouldn’t be here. With that being said, I was thinking an extra fifty thousand.
Twenty-five up front and twenty-five after the job is completed.”
Requiem
chuckled lightly and waved to the trolls who moved back to their silent
perches. “Well played, I’m feeling generous and you are a worthy addition to
this group. My secretary will assist you on your way out.” As The Gate walked
out of Requiem’s office he strode with confidence and a smirk.
Mr.
Popular stood next to a new luxury sedan, and Shikkon stood at the driver side
door waiting for his boss to climb in. This was more relaxed for them as
usually Shikkon opened the door Mr. Popular, but Mr. Popular was in a hurry.
They waited for other members of their new group to appear outside, so they
could converse with them. Despite Mr. Popular’s anger with Requiem and the
general situation, he still wanted to hold the mantle of team leader. To him,
he was the obvious and most logical choice.
When
the others made their way out of the building, they were already conversing
about trivial topics. Mr. Popular wanted to charge up to them impatient with
waiting. He held his composure standing by the car, although his agitation was
clearly visible in his stance.
Mickey,
Betty, and Entertainment in tow, walked up to Mr. Popular’s car and stood for a
moment. Entertainment opened her mouth to speak, but was cut short by Mr.
Popular. “I’m thinking we should get a start on this as soon as possible. So we
will meet at Shikkon’s place, The Diamond.” Shikkon had long since given up
protesting his business being used in such a flippant manner by Mr. Popular.
“Actually,”
Entertainment broke in slightly irritated with Popular for interrupting her. “I
think we should meet at your place, Popular.” Entertainment looked around the
group ignoring Mr. Popular’s anger. “It would be a change of pace, and
especially with the new group. We can’t keep going back to the same place.”
Mr.
Popular’s temper continued to rise and he was practically glaring at
Entertainment, but managing to collect himself. The displeasure was barely
present in his voice, “Very well, we shall meet at my place. It is called the Gendaiteki
Panda. We can discuss things right in the front, I will make sure no one will
bother us.” Shikkon silently felt relieved that Entertainment had suggested
somewhere beside his place, and the others simply nodded in agreement.
“I’ll
meet you guys there, I’ve got business to attend too.” The Gate’s voice
appeared out of nowhere and startled everyone but Mickey. “I should probably
get someone’s number, besides Mickey’s. Not that I don’t trust our good friend
here,” The Gate said as he gave a Mickey a light slap on the back. The Gate
looked around the group, and Betty was the first one to offer her number. They
quickly exchanged numbers and The Gate bid them farewell as he walked around
the corner and was gone as quickly as he had appeared.
“I’ll
follow you guys on my hog,” Betty spoke lightly to Shikkon and Mr. Popular.
Shikkon nodded back to her, seeing this she moved to get her bike. Mr. Popular
looked at the other two, “How’re you two getting there, in my car I assume.” His voice continued his annoyance at his
perception of people’s ineptitude and disrespect towards him. Mickey nodded,
but Entertainment said flippantly, “I’ll walk. I’ve got some stuff I want to run
through.”
Mr.
Popular looked at her suspiciously, “Don’t you have the information?” She looked
at him feeling offended and responded defiantly, “What does that matter?”
He
ignored her feelings and continued, “Because we can’t have that information
disappearing.” Mickey climbed into the car to avoid being involved in this
developing quarrel. “I’m good for it, I won’t lose it. I’m not dealing with
this right now,” Entertainment said angrily and started sprinting down the
street away from Mr. Popular.
Mr.
Popular ignored polite formalities as his anger took over completely. “Frag it,
Entertainment, give me the envelope!” He yelled anger clouding his judgment,
but not so much as to divulge anything important in broad daylight. By the time Mr. Popular climbed into the car,
and Shikkon in the driver’s seat, Entertainment had gone out of sight around
the opposite corner from The Gate.
Mr.
Popular began cursing at Entertainment in Japanese as Shikkon chased after her
with the car. Mickey just sat silent, and uncomfortably still in the passenger
seat half hoping Mr. Popular and Shikkon would continue focusing on
Entertainment.
Everyone
seemed surprised at how far Entertainment had made it running down the street,
and found her looking into the envelope. She was sitting cross-legged in an
indent in the building and completely absorbed in the envelope. The crowd had
picked up on this street and they had nearly missed her because she was
sitting. It was Mickey who had noticed her.
Mr.
Popular had Shikkon stop the car as he got out. Shikkon parked the car to the
right of the street barely out of the way of the minimal traffic in the area. Mr.
Popular nearly hell bent on acquiring the envelope from Entertainment walked
through traffic completely ignoring the cars and people. Shikkon watched with a
small lump of terror in his throat, and Mickey just tried to blend into the
car. Betty pulled to a slow behind them, watching the events unfold with a mild
curiousity.
Entertainment
looked up from the object of desire, and saw Mr. Popular storming towards her.
She stood up slowly and as Mr. Popular neared she spoke with surprising
calmness, “Let’s go, Popular.” He stopped in his tracks with a confused look on
his face. “What?” Mr. Popular said even more confused as the thoughts began to
form in his mind.
Entertainment
continued with blissful ignorance, “Yeah, you’re here to pick me up, right?”
Mr. Popular began to think she was playing some sick joke on him. His anger
started to return, but he kept his voice stern instead of angry, “Yes, let’s go.” With that, the two of
them climbed into Mr. Popular’s car and drove to the Gendaiteki
Panda with Black Betty following closely behind them.
The
remainder of the ride was quiet, with each person deep in their own thoughts.
Mickey was running over recent events, which to him was signaling the end.
Shikkon focused mainly on driving through the traffic and making it to the Gendaiteki
Panda as quickly as possible. Mr. Popular stared at Entertainment completely
perplexed. All the while Entertainment was completely in her own world, somehow
ignoring the gaze of Mr. Popular.
The confusion
that Mr. Popular felt did not help his mood and he continued to stew over the rampant
misbehavior in his team. Entertainment was obviously trying to ruin his reputation.
Trying to put on display any weakness he might have as a leader, testing his
resolve at every turn, but he wasn’t going to let her. Popular’s jaw clenched
and he nearly punched her in the back of the head, but thought better of it.
Mr. Popular continued his speculation of Entertainment’s obvious ulterior
motives for the remainder of the ride. By the time they reached the Gendaiteki
Panda Mr. Popular was ready to strangle her. If the others could have heard his
thoughts, they would have known it was a good sign of things to come.
Shikkon
parked the luxury sedan in the parking garage next to the Gendaiteki
Panda and all four of the passengers climbed out and began their short walk to
the front. Mr. Popular took the lead, to show his dominance, while Entertainment
followed behind him with Shikkon at her side. Mickey straggled behind and Betty
caught up to him to round out their group.
“Make
yourselves at home I’ve got some business to attend to upstairs.” Mr. Popular
said as they walked into the Panda. The others had never seen Popular’s
business, but had expected something completely different than the coffee house
bookstore that surrounding them. An elegance they had seen only one other time
from Mr. Popular, his apartment.
Black
Betty and Entertainment began conversing to themselves as they made their way
to a small and contained round table that was available. Business was slow, but
had a steady pace as various people wandered around the bookstore. Mickey’s
thoughts continued on from the car as he stood just to the right of the door in
his own world. He didn’t like having his back to a door for any length of time,
and the recent events of his life made his thoughts darker and darker by the
minute. He decided to order a drink to help take his mind of the chaos.
Mickey
couldn’t decide what annoyed him more: the young pimply-faced employee, or the
overly polite attitude. How could anyone be polite in these dark times?
Mickey’s eye twitched as the stress and agitation racked his brain. “Coffee,
make it black,” Mickey ordered, his thoughts distracting and he in his mind wanted
cream and sugar. After a moment’s wait Mickey being the only one getting anything,
received his coffee just as ordered.
Mickey
the Quail took one sip of his black coffee and repulsed at the taste. He didn’t
mind black coffee, in fact at times blacker the better, but he was expecting
cream and sugar. His taste buds were thrown into a spiral, and the frustrations
and anger finally got the better of him.
“What is this drek?!” He angrily spoke at the
now timid employee. The employee looked confused and frightened by Mickey’s
sudden outburst. “It’s just as you ordered, sir,” his voice mimicked his face.
“No, frag that! I ordered cream and sugar!” Mickey’s voice was attracting
attention from the other customers, and the young employee continued feebly to
try to appease Mickey’s now impulsive temper.
“Here’s
your coffee back,” Mickey said with disgust and anger as he tossed the cup of
steaming hot coffee onto the young man. The shock of the situation did not last
long for the coffee attendant who now fell to the floor holding his face and
screaming. Mickey walked around to where the counter opened and leaning over
spit onto the teen writhing on the floor. “You disgust me, clean yourself up,
fragger.”
With
his final act of rude and flagrant attraction, Mickey stormed out of the Gendaiteki
Panda. He caught a cab back to his apartment to await a phone call from his
teammates alerting him to when it was time to move. Mickey went about his
business with silent disregard for his actions in the Panda and began preparing
his rifle. Nor had he noticed the car parked not too far from his apartment,
and its sole occupant paying extra attention to Mickey.
Back
at the Gendaiteki
Panda, Mr. Popular came back downstairs to commotion he was unfamiliar with in
his business, disorder. One of his employees was being paid and not working. He
did notice some burns on his face, and coffee stains on his shirt, but still
Mr. Popular was curious as to why he wasn’t working. Upon interrogating the
boy, who didn’t seem much older in age than The Gate and was relatively new to
the Panda, he learned what had transpired. Mr. Popular’s response was nearly
heartless, “Well let this be a lesson to you, young man. The customer is always
right.” Tears started streaming down the young employee’s face at Mr. Popular’s
callousness to his painful plight.
Mr.
Popular seeing the boy’s anxiety spoke more gently to him, “take the rest of
the day off, but be ready to work the next day.” To Mr. Popular a strict and
honorable Japanese businessman this was a large offer of generosity to his
underling. To everyone else around him, they just stared in silent amazement at
Mr. Popular’s “resolve”. The young man gathered his things and made his way out
of the store, confused and hurt. Mr. Popular just stood next to the counter his
arms folded, his demeanor stoic, and statuesque.
Entertainment found herself nearly laughing at
Mr. Popular, but when he spun around sharply she guessed she must’ve been
actually laughing and continued despite his disapproving stares. He walked
towards her and Betty with, what Entertainment thought was even more hilarious,
a look that said he was infuriated.
Upon
reaching their table his voice was full of anger, but he kept it hushed so as
not to attract more attention, “What is so funny, Entertainment?” His eyes
focused in on Entertainment with fury. To make matters worse Entertainment
didn’t bother to cover up her laughter, “You; you’re crazier and worse than I
thought.”
Mr.
Popular blinked with disbelief, “Excuse me? What did you,” but he was cut short
by Entertainment. “You just bashed that kid after Mickey did a number on him.
You’re drawing a little too much attention to us.” Entertainment was no longer
laughing and was now becoming serious.
“How
dare you tell me what to do, why don’t you hand over that information before
you lose track of it.” Mr. Popular’s thoughts ran back to earlier and it served
to compound his anger and resentment. “No,” Entertainment just looked up
straight-faced from her chair. They stared at each other for a moment locked in
a battle of wills. Each of them resolved to not back down from their individual
stances no matter the cost to honor, reputation, or job security.
“Just
do as I say, I am the leader after all, and this will be a whole lot easier.”
Mr. Popular’s voice was strained and demanding. “Get off the power trip,
Popular, you’re not the boss of me.” Entertainment fired back with a serious
and confident tone. With each passing moment things seemed to be going down
hill, the tension surrounding Entertainment and Popular was immense.
Mr.
Popular was the first to draw a gun and aimed his Predator at Entertainment
hoping to end any further disobedience. “I don’t appreciate having guns in my
face by supposed co-workers.” Entertainment growled and before Mr. Popular could
move, Entertainment had drawn an unseen pistol on him. Mr. Popular continued
ignoring the gun, “And I don’t like having subordinates betray me.” His eyes
narrowed in on Entertainment.
Shikkon
sensing a duty to uphold, to protect Mr. Popular, moved with blinding speed and
grabbed both pistols moving them slightly off course from each target. “With
all due respect, sir, this is not the
best place to be acting in such a manner. Perhaps Entertainment had,” Before
Shikkon could finish Mr. Popular was glaring at him. “Let go of my gun. You of
all people, question me?” Mr. Popular’s voice was beyond rage. His trusted
“brother”, and bodyguard was betraying their honor and relationship. Shikkon
realizing Mr. Popular wasn’t to be convinced otherwise, let go of the guns,
sighed, and apologized with a deep bow to his superior.
Black
Betty who had been quietly watching the whole ordeal slid her chair back and
spoke quietly, “You people are insane. The entire time you two and your egos
have been battling it out, everyone in the store has run out, and LoneStar is
no doubt on their way here. I assume this place has a back exit we can use?”
Betty’s demeanor was no longer timid, but confident. She grabbed her satchel
and moved towards the front door. Betty cracked the door only slightly to
listen for sirens, but heard none. She let the door close, and locked it.
Turning back to the group Shikkon was the only one paying attention to her,
while Mr. Popular and Entertainment had gone back to each other’s throats.
“Look!
Do what you guys want to do, but I’m getting out of here. I think we’ve got
another couple of minutes before LoneStar has the place surrounded.
Entertainment I’ve got a place that we can hide out in, until things cool over,
and I assume that, you, Popular has a place you and Shikkon can hide.” Betty
was looking rather impatient as she spoke, and with Mr. Popular and
Entertainment barely paying attention to her was even more irritating.
She
started clapping her hands to wake them up, “Hey! I don’t care if you guys kill
each other, but right now is not the best time. Popular, where is the back
entrance?” She was now starting to move towards the backside of the store.
Betty breathed a sigh of relief when Entertainment rose from her chair and put
her small elaborate pistol away.
“Betty’s
right. We’ve got to get out of here. I don’t want to play with the boys in
blue. Perhaps another time though?” Entertainment said through a grin as the
group now waited for Mr. Popular it seemed. He was the last to put his gun away
and now took lead of the group. Something he was more than happy to do, it was
what he wanted from the beginning.
They
moved through various doorways, but shortly were standing in the back alleyway,
that Entertainment easily recognized. Shikkon paused at the door, and spoke to
them quickly before running back inside, “Continue on ahead, I’ll catch up in a
minute.” The others looked back questioningly, but continued towards the
street, with Betty now in the lead.
Entertainment
took the opportunity to grab Mr. Popular’s arm and head. Without a word, she
moved with speed and anger slamming his face into the nearby wall. He stumbled
backwards after meeting the solid brick with his face blood pouring out his
nose. Looking dazed and dumbfounded, Mr. Popular fell limp to the pavement. Betty
hearing a small commotion behind her turned, “What was that for? We could’ve,”
but Entertainment interrupted her, “Shikkon will be back in a moment, and that
was for pulling a gun on me.” Entertainment looked at Betty with a very serious
look that quieted any further objection.
“You
said you had a place for us to hideout in?” Entertainment spoke up to Betty, as
she was kneeling sifting through Mr. Popular’s personal belongings. Grabbing
Mr. Popular’s pocket secretary, and credstick, Entertainment smiled and chased
after Betty. The two of them made their way to Betty’s chopper and rode away to
the hideout, hearing sirens in the distance.
Shikkon came back
out into the alley, to find it empty except for an unconscious Mr. Popular whose
face was blackened and bloodied. Not taking any time to examine the scene,
Shikkon gathered up Mr. Popular and ran into the available shadows. He could
hear the sirens closing in, on the Gendaiteki Panda, and moved with haste. It
was slightly more work to move unseen with an unconscious body in tow, but he
managed to get to his safehouse. He was sure he had done it so that no one had
spotted them.
The Gate was sitting in one of his small
apartments when his phone rang. When he was on the job he rented several small
apartments to hide in if need be. Some people could be strict about following
the rules, but if you waved enough money in their face they tended to forget
who’s occupying the apartment.
Answering the phone he was slightly
surprised to find out the woman know as Black Betty was calling him. “Can you
check the news?” Her voice was full of worry and stress. “Just give me the run
down, Betty.” The Gate had assumptions, but figured this was a part of her specialty.
“I’d rather you see it for yourself, than
hear it over the phone.” The Gate understood her completely and turned on his
simple television display. The newscaster was generic and was reporting about
something bland, it wasn’t until a location appeared on the screen that he paid
full attention to the report.
“A man was arrested at his home in Redmond today. After
assaulting a coffee shop employee earlier today, the man attempted to escape to
his home, but was recovered by authorities shortly after. The man’s identity
and name are being withheld at this time to protect an ongoing investigation.”
The reporter continued into something mundane.
“When
are we meeting?” The Gate’s voice snapped to its formal business manner.
“Tomorrow at my place, noon-time.” Betty responded dully. “Your place? Wouldn’t
it be better if we-“ but his words were cut short by the new report taking
place.
“In other news: the owner of the coffee
shop, the Gendaiteki
Panda, could not be reached and LoneStar officials are looking into an incident
that erupted shortly after his employee had been assaulted. Apparently from
various eyewitness sources Jozu Takeuchi got into an altercation with a
customer and drew a weapon on the woman. It is revealed that Mr. Takeuchi is
also under investigation for having dealings with a Shadowrunner that is wanted
for multiple crimes.” As the news reporter finished with their segment and The
Gate’s jaw just held agape. It wasn’t until Betty said something on the other
end of the phone that The Gate snapped back from his thoughts.
“Gate? Are you there?” Betty sounded
worried again. “Yes,” He stumbled for a moment trying to find the words, but
quickly regained his composure. “You’re place? Okay. I’ve got some business to
attend to beforehand, but just send the directions to me. I’m assuming that’s
something that shouldn’t be a problem for someone with your skills?”
Betty responded confidently and quickly,
“Yeah I can do that, how’d you know?” The Gate smiled a bit, but kept his voice
even. “Lucky guess, I’ll see you tomorrow.” They hung up the phone. Following
the call to The Gate, Black Betty followed similar suit by informing Shikkon
and Mr. Popular of the new situation.
As the night wore on Betty and
Entertainment renewed their conversations from earlier and formed a closer
relationship beyond business. By the time they had fallen asleep the worries of
the day had drained away; instead they enjoyed the warmth of each other’s arms
as sleep took them.
The
Gate made call after call, and got in touch with the man who had been watching
Mickey in his stead. The Gate sighed relief to know that Mickey was in his
custody, and would be available for The Gate tomorrow. As he prepared for a
light slumber The Gate made preparations for tomorrow.
For Shikkon it was a night of mixed feelings.
In one respect he was no longer Mr. Popular’s underling, but in another his
cover had been blown. He had managed to get into Popular’s apartment with
little trouble, but already found a paper letter addressed to Mr. Popular
waiting for them. It was surprising to see, but Shikkon could guess who it was
from and it did not bode well for Mr. Popular. Especially with the events at
the coffee shop.
For
Mickey and Mr. Popular the two of them had similar nights filled with dread and
anxiety. Mickey was being held in jail and was waiting for his end. Mr. Popular
awoke with a pounding headache and had received a letter from his Yakuza boss
informing him of his displeasure. The letter also explained for Mr. Popular to
finish the job, he had so rudely taken, with the upmost honor and to fulfill
his debt to the family by performing suicide.
In
one-way or another the night proved something to each person within the group.
Their lives as they knew it were over, things were going exactly as they could,
new friendships were being built, and abilities were being put to the test.
--------------
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-BIO-
Name: Trent "The Gate" Tesoro
Height: 5’7 ft. (170.18 cm)
Weight: 145 lb. (65.9 kg)
Age: 16
Likes: His family (including those that are
close to him), video games, and Elvish fine dining
Dislikes: Mega-Corps, tardiness, and gangland groups
Archtype: Ex-Wage “Wiz” Mage
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Note: Trent "The Gate" Tesoro was originally created by Sean Lum. With edits and revisions by this blog's author Benjamin Weisman.
Additional Notes: To take into account non-Shadowrun loving folks. Some of the vocabulary used in this story isn't common knowledge. Thus I will try to clarify any questions you might have:
Ares (Ares Macrotechnology) - is a major corporation in the world of Shadowrun, and they serve as the corporate element in my story. There are plenty of hidden intrigues whenever you deal with a "corp." in Shadowrun as they often operate with their own set of laws.
Chummer - Is Shadowrun slang for "bub", "pal", other similar slang, it can be seen as kind of disrespectful.
Drek - Shadowrun slang for "shit".
Frag - Similar to slang now, but can also be used to replace "fuck".
Predator - A heavy pistol manufactured by Ares Macrotechnology, also known as an Ares Predator. There are two models in production with a third on its way during the setting of my story.
Run - Shadowrun slang for a job that is more off the books than not.
Shadowrunner - Shadowrun slang for someone who "runs the shadows", or a criminal who does the jobs others won't, can't, or don't want to do. Sometimes they're vigilantes, other times they're Robin Hood types, all in all the setting and stories generally paint them as "good guys" who are on the wrong side of the law. It is also pointed out that the law and the righteous side as the public sees it is often extremely corrupt. Being controlled by dirty politicians and monolithic mega-corporations who bow to no one except the whims of their elite masters.
I believe that is all for now. I will detail more notes and vocabulary in the coming chapters. Keep your eyes peeled and thanks for reading!
