So, I've been reading a lot of shadowrun forums for the last couple months, and I thought I'd try my hand at a 'runner fanfic. For all the chummers out there, I do NOT possess the books, and as a result cannot possibly know the stats of any of the equipment/races/skills. If something seems unrealistic, it's not me being overlord and god of all I type (even though I am). It's me being unaware that that gun/skill/'ware/ect. doesn't work that way.
"So let me get this straight. You want me to find this rogue runner Ghostlight, give him a good beat down, and then bring him to a location I will not be told until I have said runner in custody. And somebody is paying me 25k nuyen for it?" Sarah 'Flamefist' Tenchiigami looked at the Johnson over her cup of extra hot synth-coffee. The Johnson just smiled at her, as he had been the throughout the introduction, and took a drink of his own, not so hot, synth-coffee. He somehow managed to smile around the cup without spilling. "What's the catch?" As the saying goes, if it's too good to be true…
"You'll find Ghostlight is a lot harder to find than most. He has a habit of disappearing. Unfortunately for him, he chose to do some things while he disappeared that weren't good for his continued health. My client wishes him to understand that." The Johnson just kept on smiling. Sarah put the empty cup down and stared at it disappointedly. It sounded like a setup, but money was tight right now. Sarah laughed to herself at that. Money was always tight. Being a runner paid the bills, but that was about it. Most of your money went right back towards more ammunition or medical bills, neither of which were cheap when your guns weren't entirely legal and the bio- and cyberware in your system were equally so.
"What's so special about this guy? One of the tricks of the trade is to disappear, so what is it that makes this Ghostlight tougher to track down than the rest?" The Johnson's smile faltered a bit at this, and that was the first time it had since Sarah had walked into her favorite coffee joint in all of Seattle to find a this guy had been waiting for her so he could offer her this job. And that was the thing that made the least sense of it all. Johnsons don't wait for you at some random spot. They call you and say be in such-a-such place at such-a-such time, then wait for you there with a couple buddies hiding in the shadows carrying various guns.
"He's called Ghostlight for a reason. He's a hacker of incredible skill. I've seen him at work before, and there are few better. Some call him a sevant, but I won't believe that until I see some kind of miracle. I'm not holding my breath." The Johnson's smile was back to its unnatural cheeriness again. "He specializes in information collection, and he's known to frequent the Underground Markets. His skill in erasing his data trail is too good, though. We can't find any video of him."
"…And that's why you've come to me." It was not a question. Sarah was relatively fresh to the shadows, but she had already began developing a reputation as an astral investigator, her handle 'flamefist' more a reference to her appearance than to any real combat ability. With her neon red hair at shoulder length and her elven skin more golden tan than would be expected of a resident of the city of eternal rain, she looked like some kind of fire spirit. That's what some said, anyway. Sarah knew a couple fire spirits, and if she very much doubted she looked like that. "Because I don't need to follow his data trail." The barista brought over another cup of extra hot coffee, and winked at Sarah. He must have been new here, because any of the older employees knew that she wasn't interested in a relationship or in a one night stand.
"Exactly. You would be paid one third upfront, one third upon his capture (please note I said capture. the client wants him alive), and one third upon handing him over. You will, of course, have to prove that you have him in custody before the second third is transferred." The Johnson, Sarah was getting tired of thinking of him like that and tried to remember if she recognized this particular one, adjusted his mirrored shades as he finished the explanation. Money. That was his handle, Money. He had given her a few of her first jobs. He wasn't pleasant to be around, but he hadn't stabbed her in the back yet, so he was pretty cool.
"All right. I'll do it." Money's smile got even bigger, if that was even possible. Sarah's commlink gave her a heads up that a deposit had been made in her account. The first third of the nuyen.
"Good. I'm sending you a file that has all the information on him that hasn't disappeared with him." Before Money had finished talking the file had arrived, and Sarah mentally opened it began reading. Apparently this Ghostlight had appeared in the shadows the same week she had gotten her first job. A new one like me. Sarah finished her second cup, this one practically still boiling.
"And how should I contact you when I have Ghostlight in custody?" Sarah sent an ARO to the barista for no more coffee, even though if she was honest she would have ordered three more venti cups of the delicious brown liquid. The barista caught the Altered Reality Object and sent her an ARO with the tab, how much she'd given him upfront and how much was still left after the 12 cups she drank while discussing her impending work with Money. She picked up the change and left a tip in the ARO and sent it back. Meanwhile Money was doing something similar for the one cup of synth-coffee he had nursed throughout the conversation.
"Send a PM to the account I'm sending you now. You'll be given the location of the person who will verify that it's the actual Ghostlight, and then he will tell you where to drop him off." Money just smiled as Sarah stood up and prepared to leave. "And don't forget; Ghostlight may be a hacker, but that doesn't mean he's defenseless. You're not the first runner to be hired to track him down." Money got up and turned around to leave, and smiled back at her. "But I've got a feeling you'll do just fine." He turned and walked out the door, and stepped up to a blue Mitsubishi with a bored looking elf in the driver's seat. "Step on it, Nas. I know I said we could be late, but I didn't think it would take that long." The elf grinned out the window as he pulled out of the parking lot and accelerated too fast, leaving slight skid marks on the edge of the asphalt.
"Well, guess I'd better get started." Sarah mused to herself and got into her own Nisan Cirrus. Sarah set the autopilot for the entrance to the Underground Market and then leaned back and made a call for one of her hacker chummers…
Disclamer: I do NOT own shadowrun and do not pretend to. It is a paper and pencil RPG almost as old as DND. The Johnson Money and his driver Nas are not my creations. They belong to CanRay of deviant art and ar used without permission. CanRay, please do not sue me, and if ur reading this, finish 'A Debt of Non-Blood' and 'A Simple Run'! If I'm not playing Money right, PM me and I'll fix it to the best of my abilities. I don't plan on having him in future chapters, I just thought he made the perfect intro to a shadowrun fanfic.
