Part One

The gun was against my temple, so I felt the click when the elf pulled the hammer back.

"I don't mean anything by this," he told me. "I'm just doing my job, chummer."

"Then do your job," I told him. "Put two flechettes in my head and be done with it."

And the elf did just that.

I have been killed before, and it's the same every time. There is cold blackness at first, so cold and so black that each time it happens, I get scared it's really the end. One final run to the giant megacorp in the sky. But before I doze off for the big sleep, I hear the warm hum of machinery pulsing in the distance. I remember the incantation and I whisper it even though I have no mouth. Soon, the electric motors grumble until they sound exactly like the growl of a dog. I see the spirit totem and he sends me back. Every time, it's the exact same thing.

When I came to, Buzz had lifted me up under the armpits. The ork pulled my newly revived body out of the cold pock-marked street and into the warm embrace of a shadowed alley. By the time I was able to breathe regularly and move my legs, Buzz had shoved a hot pack down my shirt. Once the artificial heat hit my chest I felt better instantly. I tried to stand up but I wavered and shook like a downed power line. Buzz offered me a hand and I refused. After a moment, I steadied myself and stood with a dusty sigh that reminded me of wind blowing through an empty automart lot. I cast a sidelong glance at the dour-looking ork.

"How long was I lying out there?"

Buzz gave a small shrug, "Maybe five minutes."

I nodded, "Did you ice the elf that shot me?"

"Nope," the ork answered in an irritating, nonchalant tone. "I didn't." Buzz saw the anger flash in my eyes and he held out his meaty palms in front of him. "Easy there, boss. In case you forgot he had five other runners with him, and they were all mages."

I smirked, "One of these days you need to learn a few spells, Buzz. Fists and bullets only get you so far in this world."

He inspected his chipped black fingernails and mumbled, "Wise words."

"And you're a wise-ass." I dug in my shirt pocket for a pack of smokes, but there was nothing there. "I need a drink. Let's get the hell out of here."

Buzz made a silent gesture which meant, "After you."

I walked past him without even a glance of acknowledgement and he followed at my heels like the good dog that he was.

The Jagged Nails is the perfect bar for a former dead man to unwind in. It is dark, loud, and full of strange looking characters who all value secrecy. I came in through the little-known back entrance, which only a handful of runners have the clout to do. The first thing I saw was the dancing silhouette of Kitsune. She was tall for a woman and she had long thick thighs like twin pillars of alabaster. The proto-music thumped and she moved with it in slow, rhythmic pulsations as if she were making love to a phantom only she could see. I felt a pleasurable pain in my groin and had a clear vision of Kitsune straddling me with those thighs while she planted soft kisses on my cheek. I roughly cast those thoughts aside and turned away. Later I would seek the pleasures of a female companion, but at that moment I needed a drink. I also needed to see Spatter. I pushed through a writhing mass of zoned-out body dancers and into a cloud of sweet-smelling smoke.

The tables of the Jagged Nails were against the far walls, and they were filled with every sort of shadowrunner you could imagine. At one booth sat a stunted dwarf whose over-sized trench coat bulged with hidden weaponry. At another was a pale elven decker who was jacked into a Fuchi Cyber-7. I knew who he was. He was called Steelflight and though I'd never run with him, I knew good runners who had. A group of red-robbed mages huddled in a corner table, all of them sipped absinthe and shared a hookah of opium. Those were members of The Dark Blade Society, a rather dumb group of occultists who knew very little about the occult. I kept scanning the bar. Finally, I saw him at one of the corner tables - a youngish looking blonde kid in a neon jean jacket. This was exactly who I was looking to find. I walked over and sat next to him. The cushions of the booth felt oddly warm against my skin.

"Hey, Spatter," I said.

The kid looked up with eyes that were way too old for that teenage body. A small smile flickered at the corners of his mouth and he bowed his head. "Hello, Panther-In-The-Sky. Would you like a drink?"

"Very much so. It's been a long evening." I chuckled, but Spatter just looked at me with the same half-happy expression. He raised his right hand and made a gesture of beckoning, a few seconds later a pretty waitress materialized out of the smoke. She had a black star tattooed on her left eye and a red skirt so short it was measured in centimeters.

Spatter reached out and touched the girl's exposed leg, "My dear, I want another Scotch straight up. And my friend would like…"

"Double shot of Old Crow with ice, and give me a beer too." Then, I remembered to add, "Anything but shithauser."

Spatter actually smiled at that last part, "You are classy as always, Panther-In-The-Sky." He patted the girl's ass. "Did you get all that, dearie?" She nodded. I could tell she was smart because she looked scared of Spatter. Most smart people were. The girl vanished as quickly as she had appeared.

I folded my hands on the table. They were still dirty with street scum. Normally I would have at least showered after being resurrected, but not this time. "Spatter, I want to get straight to the point here. I was killed by an elf named Lander about an hour ago. Buzz couldn't ice him because he had five magic users at his back."

"Where is your ork?" Spatter asked.

"He's jawing at the bar. Buzz saw Jake as soon as he walked in and Jake owes him for a gun."

The waitress reappeared with our drinks. She subtly hovered close to me as she sat the glasses down, keeping herself just out of reach of Spatter. As soon as the drinks were placed, she was gone. A very smart girl.

Spatter sipped his Scotch, I downed my Old Crow. I coughed twice, hard.

"Are you okay there, partner? Too much drink for you?" The teenager laughed, which was a rarity for him. I figured he must be in a good mood tonight for some reason which I did not want to guess.

"I'm fine," I said. "Now, like I was saying…"

Spatter held up a small hand, "I know what you're saying, Panther-In-The-Sky. How long have we known each other? You need to find this elf named Lander and ice him double-quick." He took another sip of the Scotch. "You need to kill him sooner rather than later because if word gets out that someone iced the famous Panther-In-The-Sky and lived, your reputation suffers."

I started on my beer. It smelled like meta-cow urine but it didn't taste half-bad. "Reputation is everything to a shadowrunner. I didn't come this far to let mine get soured by some bush-leaguer who had a case of beginner's luck. That elf needs to die messy tonight, by my hand."

"Of course," Spatter tilted his blonde head and regarded me with a look of curiosity, "But, how did this elf - who no one's ever heard of - get the drop on you anyway?"

I leaned back in the booth. "That's one of the things I plan to ask him before I make him gone." I was starting to feel a little drunk. I must have dipped into the Old Crow before the bar had a chance to properly water it down. It made me a little more talkative than usual. "What was that elf thinking? He had to know who I was."

Spatter finished his Scotch and his almond-shaped eyes narrowed, "The run you made was against Aneki. I hear they're mixed up with Drake. That means this elf you're looking for is just a one-way ticket straight to some real heavy-hitters. You want to get into that kind of war for a reputation?"

"Spare me the bullshit, Spatter." Apparently the Old Crow was also making me bolder than I was normally apt to be. "Just tell me where he is and what it's going to cost me."

Spatter looked as if he wanted to say something else, but he thought better of it. "How long have we known each other? I will give you this for free, Panther-In-The-Sky, if you promise to go on my next run with me. It's in three weeks, Kosaka United."

"Done. Now give me his location."

Spatter snapped his fingers and a ball of flame flashed on the table in front of me. When it was gone, a small white business card had taken its place. I picked the card up; it was blank save for an address. After I read it, the card disintegrated into dust. I polished off the rest of my beer and bowed my head to the young teenager. He returned the bow. I stood up from the booth and walked back into the cloud of opium smoke.

From over my shoulder I heard Spatter's soft voice carry just loud enough to reach my ears, "I'll see you in three weeks."

I found Buzz at the end of the bar. He was still talking to Jake. I liked Jake; in fact I liked him so much that I had taught him a few things over the years. When he saw me his face lit up, so I knew he had to be pretty well oiled. Most people aren't so happy to see me come around. "Panther-In-The-Sky, Buzz was just telling me how you underpaid him on your last run."

I patted Jake on the shoulder. "That's Buzz's favorite topic." Jake was small, but solid, and he had a crazy mess of bright orange hair. His specialty was as an information carrier, which was the most dangerous game on the street in my humble opinion. Only daredevils and death wishers were carriers, and I always got the feeling from Jake that he was a bit of both. Still, I liked him. He was trustworthy, and trust is the only thing more valuable than nuyen to shadowrunners. Plus he could sling spells and bullets with the best of them.

Jake laughed, "You guys need to let me know the next time you're going to hit the clubs, I miss partying with you and the big fella."

"Will do," I told him. "Are you running any time soon?"

Jake drunkenly nodded, "Yep, as a matter of fact I am. Next week I'm doing some work for Matrix Systems. It's nothing big though, just a forty minute job at best."

That was good. "I've got something lined up with Spatter in three weeks," I told him. "You come along and you'll get your share plus a quarter of mine."

He knew what that meant without having to be told. When you ran with Spatter, it was high risk and high payout. For those jobs, you needed to have your back watched. "I'll be there, for my share and a quarter of yours."

Buzz slammed his beer onto the bar and jabbed a finger into Jake's shoulder. "Boy, with all these runs you got going, I want my money next time I see you! You don't have it and I'm gonna plug up your asshole with your arm!"

Jake reached into one of the pockets of his white trench coat and withdrew a roll of nuyen. "I was just kidding around earlier, Buzz. I have your money. Ease up; I've always paid you in a timely fashion."

The ork ripped the cash out of Jake's hand with a snarl, "You don't know me well enough to pull that drek, boy."

I rolled my eyes at Jake, who just silently grinned. Then, I jerked my thumb toward the exit. "Let's go, Buzz. We have somewhere to be. Take it easy, Jake."

Jake waved at us with one hand while he ordered a drink with the other. Buzz and I walked back out into the night and rejoined the shadows. If I had known how messy this whole affair was about to get, I would have got a double shot of Old Crow for the road.