Anthology: SHADOWRUN: Spells and Chrome

›Yeah.

›KILL HIM?

Deke shook his head.›Not yet. We need to find this little girl, get paid. We need more information. He looked down at the ork.›And a better plan.

Lincoln shrugged.›I'LL BACK YOUR PLAY. He disconnected.

Deke looked around, trying to ignore the taint in the air of cooking meat. It wasn't the first time he'd smelled it, not even the first time he'd smelled it in the Barrens. He dropped an overlay and looked around, watching for mesh telltales or odd dots or arrows. Nothing. The shack was right down the road.

"We're leaving now," his mother had said, a couple months after they'd gotten the word about his dad. "We're not coming back here. We're never coming back here."

Yet here I am.

The mage stirred.

"We're going back toward town. The girl has been sold to the Leaf gang, and their harvesting center is ten kilometers that direction." He climbed to his feet and looked between Deke and Lincoln. "This is acceptable?"

"Our contract was for the gangers," Deke said.

"Your contract was to retrieve the oyabun's daughter."

"From the gangers." Deke jerked a thumb over his shoulder. The rain was keeping fire from spreading outside the building, but the smoke was still there, and the smell. And, Deke knew, later that night there'd be a moment where his hand would spasm and he'd see the face of the ganger he'd punched to death. "That's done."

"I said we would renegotiate." The ork returned Deke's gaze evenly.

"Now."

"Very well. I will increase your payment by forty percent for the added labor."

"Sixty."

"You are haggling?"

"We could walk away now."

"You haven't completed your contract," the yak said. Lincoln stepped a step to the side, away from Deke's side, adding some distance between them. The ork looked at him, then back at Deke. "Even if you did, the oyabun would hunt you down."

"Fifty percent over the previous amount," Deke said. His palms were sweating inside his gloves but he kept his voice even. "And you deposit the first amount now, into our numbered accounts. Before we take another step."

The ork smiled. It was not pretty. "Done." He turned and walked back toward the slope they had come down. Their vehicle was waiting there, and as Deke drove at the ork's instructions he had Lincoln check the status of their accounts. They'd barely gone a klick when Lincon sent a message through Deke's mesh.

›MONEY'S THERE. NICE PLAY.

"How do you know it's the Leafs?" Deke asked.

"That was the information I was given," the mage said. He stared out the side window, but his fingers moved every so often in intricate movements and his lips moved as he subvocalized words. Deke watched him out of the corner of his eye.

"Given?"

"By those with the information," he said.

"You know, you could start trusting us," Deke said, after a short period of silence. "We're doing what you want."

The mage turned his head and looked at Deke. "Trust is not necessary, runner. Your skills are needed, and so you are employed. More information would not make it any easier for you to shoot people."

"I need to know about the Leafs."

"There are six people in the facility as of six hours ago. When we get there I'll be able to update that number."

"Update?"

"I can sense it."

"So you can lead me right to the little girl?" Deke smiled. "That'll make it easier. Might even be able to get in and out without killing anyone." He made an indicated turn and slowed. The flashing neon sign of a tree branch was blinking ahead in the distance, and his overlays were starting to pick up more lively dots and arrows-current ones, even. Not leftovers.

"I cannot tell you where people are," the mage said. "Only how many."

"Seems rubbish, to me."

"Everything has limits, runner. Even in the Sixth World."

Deke didn't slow down as he passed the Leaf organ harvesting center that masqueraded as a private care facility. He just rolled past, not even looking. Lincoln would be looking, he knew. He'd cross-load the feed through his mesh later. And the yak was almost glowing as they went past.

"There are twelve people in that building," he said.

Deke drove to the next side street, signaled the turn like a normal driver, and took it. He pulled into the first alley he found and parked the van, then opened his mesh up while Lincoln transmitted what'd he'd seen. Deke watched the replay at double-speed, watching for anything that would indicate he should slow down, but saw only what he expected: a harmless-looking building, unfortified, hiding in plain sight.

"Plan?" Lincoln asked.

"Depends," Deke said.

"On?"

"On whether one of those twelve people is the little girl." He looked to the ork. "You realize we may be too late."

"She is still alive," the mage said. "She must be."

"Then the smart money is some of them being doctors." Deke took a deep breath. "That means fast."

"Fast is more dangerous," Lincoln said. A ping sounded in Deke's head.›WHAT'S PLAN?

"Yes, it is," Deke said.›Insurance.

"The girl must not be harmed." The mage was looking in the direction of the building, but his attention was still on the small team. "Can you extract her?"

Deke smiled. "That's what you're paying me for." He glanced at Lincoln, thought for a second, and then shrugged. "Life's dangerous." He shifted his weight, then directed his attention to the ork. "You and me need to talk."

"We are speaking."

"Tell me about your mojo."

"My what?"

"Your magic. You can sense people. And I know you can kill people. I've seen that bloody well up close." Deke swallowed against his suddenly dry throat. "Can you just knock everyone in there unconscious?"

"Perhaps," the mage said. "If I could see them. But the spell for that is very dangerous to small children. I would not chance it with the oyabun's daughter at stake."

Deke opened his door and climbed out. They were parked behind a small suite of offices-all seemed deserted, and all the arrows were reading closed. He clicked through several overlays, but there didn't appear to be any security related to the Leafs directed at them. The rain hadn't changed, but there was more light. This close to London-or this far from the Barrens-there was the beginnings of a dedicated zone. If he'd been so inclined, Deke could have probably accessed the Matrix.

"When I go in, will you know who I am?"

"Only if I can see you," the mage said.

Deke nodded. This might work. "If I were carrying the little girl, would you be able to tell? Without seeing us, I mean."

"Only if I can see you. Magic is not like a vid camera." The ork climbed out of the other side of the van. He paused a moment, turning his face upward to the rain. When he looked down, Deke saw calculation in his eyes. "What is your plan?"

"I will go in. I will find the little girl. Once I have her, I'll either carry her out or put her on my back." He beckoned at the mage. "Once you see us, you put everyone else down for a nap." He snapped his fingers. "We walk out."

"Seems simple enough," Lincoln said.›HOW DOES THAT HELP ME!?

›Patience.

The ork considered for a moment. Then he climbed back into the seat he'd recently vacated and closed the door. The window rolled down enough to let sound out. "I can do this," he said. He rummaged for a black skullcap and climbed back out. "I must get on the roof. There are skylights."

"Well…" Deke went to the back of the van and rummaged around until he came up with a dingy old peacoat and slipped it on. It was large enough that it hung to below his waist and halfway down the backs of his hands.

"You're going in like that," Lincoln asked.

"That's right."

"Through the front door."

"That's right."

›ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF?