Paul Manson, also known as Hawk, watched the big happening from a stall high up in the conference room. Everything seemed to be in order. "Come in, Wheels", he said to his cyber radio.
"Yeah, boss. I'm here", said the team's rigger, Hell-on-Wheels, through the radio.
"Everything in order there?"
"Yup. No break and entry, no unauthorized people, all the cameras are in order, every drone on alert if something happens and the escape route is clear. You worry too much, boss", Wheels said.
"Perhaps, but worrying about these things is my job", Hawk answered. The rigger laughed.
"Wheels out", he said and the radio was quiet. Hawk turned to look at the stand. There was the secretary of foreign affairs of Quebec, Vincent Parente, at the speakers stand holding a speech about some deal, of which Hawk couldn't care less. His job was to make sure he wouldn't get geeked while in UCAS for this tour. On his sides were two suits. One of them was an ork while the other was an elf. They both belonged to Hawk's team.
The elf was Grant. Just Grant. Nothing less, nothing more. In the records he was Grant Johnson, but the Johnson was there just because the bureaucrats needed a surname. Grant was an easy-going person when off of work but when he was on duty you couldn't find a more commited person. Most of his edge came from the bioware he packed, but he had some of the must have cybermods like a smartlink.
The ork was Gary Larkin, also known as Boar. He was a stern man if there ever was one. Gary was chromed to the top and spiced up with some biomods. His arms were clear cyberlimbs so he wasn't used in undercover work, but his hulking form was just right for this kind of work.
Behind Vincent was a human female dressed in a red skirtsuit. She looked like a harmless pr-official working for the city or the government, but actually she was another member of Paul's executive security team. She was Mary Sutherland a.ka Mariah, the group's mage. A high level initiate in the hermetic ways.
"Seen anything suspicious?" Paul asked her through the radio.
"Nothing, Hawk. Just the original crowd of city and state officials and the like. My elementals haven't reported anything and my barriers and wards are still in place", she answered.
"Roger that. Hawk out", he replied. Hawk sat back on his chair and relaxed. "Everything is in order", he said to himself.
A shot rang out. The bullet ricocheted from something invisible in front of Parente. There were screams and the people started running towards the doors leading out of the room. Hawk quickly stood up and observed the scene. Grant grabbed Parente by his hand and started pulling him towards an exit at the left side of the platform. Boar pulled a Savallette Guardian from his jacket and tried to protect Parente with his body. Another shot rang out. It hit Boar in his left leg. It didn't seem to even slow him down.
Mariah had thrown herself down on the platform and scanned the room for the shooter. A third shot rang out at the same time as Mariah spotted him. The shooter looked to be just a teenaged kid. The shot hit Boar in his left shoulder. The ork's hand jerked but he kept moving and covering Grant's and Parente's escape. Mariah telepathically commanded her earth elemental, whom she had kept in reserve, to stun the shooter.
"Sector C4, Hawk. Take him out!" she said into the radio.
Hawk took aim with his Ares Eld-Ar, which was loaded with selfmade bullets filled with Neuro-Stun V. The shooter fired off a fourth round but it ricocheted from the wall. Then he turned to flee. Just as Hawk was about to shoot, a huge humanoid made out of stone manifested in his line of fire.
-----
This kid couldn't have smuggled that pistol through all the security measures all by himself, Mariah thought. He had to have some help. Either that or he is something more than he seems to be. So she decided to jump into astral and check things out.
When the astral world surrounded her, she noticed a mage's astral self flying behind Grant who was checking the rear. Mariah quickly charged at the mage and threw him to the ground.
"What the..?" the mage started when he got up. Mariah's fist caught with his jaw. The mage didn't waste any time. He started uttering arcane words. Mariah panicked. She was ouside the group's astral barriers and wards. A ball of energy coalesced in the mage's hand and he threw it at Mariah. The mage doubled over in pain when the spell drained his life force to fuel itself. Mariah tried to dodge, but the ball caught her in the abdomen and threw her to the ground.
"Damn it! I got a little carried away", he mumbled.
"Yes, perhaps a bit too much", Mariah answered from the ground and pointed at something behind the mage. He turned around and noticed three large fire elementals hovering behind him. Another manaball emerged into the mage's hand.
"Call of your, elementals or you'll get it", the mage threatened.
Mariah grinned. "You're bluffing. Your body can't take another manabolt of that level", she said. Then she quickly returned to her body. The mage cried out in anger, which soon became a cry of fear when one of the fire elementals lashed out at him. He quickly chose the better part of valor and made a hasty retreat.
-----
The earth elemental hit the shooter with its fist of earth. The youngster tried to dodge, but succeeded only partially. He was flung to the ground by the force of the elemental's attack. Mariah stood up and started to gather the magical energy around her. She flinged a stunbolt at the shooter. It hit him squarely in his chest. The shooter fell to the floor unconscious.
"Catch me", Hawk said to her through her headset. He jumped down from the stall and Mariah levitated him on to the ground. He quickly strided to the shooter and cuffed him. Then Hawk janked him up from the floor and looked at his face.
"Such a young kid", he said to Mariah who had walked up to him. "What makes them act like this?" The question wasn't actually pointed out to anyone.
"Promises of quick wealth, power and all that stuff. An experienced agitator can easily manage the minds of teenagers like him", she said and gestured at the shooter.
Hawk sighed. "Wheels, report in", he said to his cyber radio.
"Everything's aokay, boss", Wheels answered. "I've got all four here in my car. Parente's pretty shaken up and Boar took a couple of shots but those minor scratches are easy to fix. You caught the shooter?"
"Yup... I've got him right here. Take Parente you know where. I'll meet you there in an hour or so", Hawk ordered.
"Roger that, boss. Wheels out."
"Let's go, Mariah. We have to explain this to misters Johnson and Thomas", Hawk said. Mariah gritted her teeth.
"I'd really like to skip this one but I guess it's not possbile", she said.
Hawk gave her a tired smile. "You only wish."
"Yeah, boss. I'm here", said the team's rigger, Hell-on-Wheels, through the radio.
"Everything in order there?"
"Yup. No break and entry, no unauthorized people, all the cameras are in order, every drone on alert if something happens and the escape route is clear. You worry too much, boss", Wheels said.
"Perhaps, but worrying about these things is my job", Hawk answered. The rigger laughed.
"Wheels out", he said and the radio was quiet. Hawk turned to look at the stand. There was the secretary of foreign affairs of Quebec, Vincent Parente, at the speakers stand holding a speech about some deal, of which Hawk couldn't care less. His job was to make sure he wouldn't get geeked while in UCAS for this tour. On his sides were two suits. One of them was an ork while the other was an elf. They both belonged to Hawk's team.
The elf was Grant. Just Grant. Nothing less, nothing more. In the records he was Grant Johnson, but the Johnson was there just because the bureaucrats needed a surname. Grant was an easy-going person when off of work but when he was on duty you couldn't find a more commited person. Most of his edge came from the bioware he packed, but he had some of the must have cybermods like a smartlink.
The ork was Gary Larkin, also known as Boar. He was a stern man if there ever was one. Gary was chromed to the top and spiced up with some biomods. His arms were clear cyberlimbs so he wasn't used in undercover work, but his hulking form was just right for this kind of work.
Behind Vincent was a human female dressed in a red skirtsuit. She looked like a harmless pr-official working for the city or the government, but actually she was another member of Paul's executive security team. She was Mary Sutherland a.ka Mariah, the group's mage. A high level initiate in the hermetic ways.
"Seen anything suspicious?" Paul asked her through the radio.
"Nothing, Hawk. Just the original crowd of city and state officials and the like. My elementals haven't reported anything and my barriers and wards are still in place", she answered.
"Roger that. Hawk out", he replied. Hawk sat back on his chair and relaxed. "Everything is in order", he said to himself.
A shot rang out. The bullet ricocheted from something invisible in front of Parente. There were screams and the people started running towards the doors leading out of the room. Hawk quickly stood up and observed the scene. Grant grabbed Parente by his hand and started pulling him towards an exit at the left side of the platform. Boar pulled a Savallette Guardian from his jacket and tried to protect Parente with his body. Another shot rang out. It hit Boar in his left leg. It didn't seem to even slow him down.
Mariah had thrown herself down on the platform and scanned the room for the shooter. A third shot rang out at the same time as Mariah spotted him. The shooter looked to be just a teenaged kid. The shot hit Boar in his left shoulder. The ork's hand jerked but he kept moving and covering Grant's and Parente's escape. Mariah telepathically commanded her earth elemental, whom she had kept in reserve, to stun the shooter.
"Sector C4, Hawk. Take him out!" she said into the radio.
Hawk took aim with his Ares Eld-Ar, which was loaded with selfmade bullets filled with Neuro-Stun V. The shooter fired off a fourth round but it ricocheted from the wall. Then he turned to flee. Just as Hawk was about to shoot, a huge humanoid made out of stone manifested in his line of fire.
This kid couldn't have smuggled that pistol through all the security measures all by himself, Mariah thought. He had to have some help. Either that or he is something more than he seems to be. So she decided to jump into astral and check things out.
When the astral world surrounded her, she noticed a mage's astral self flying behind Grant who was checking the rear. Mariah quickly charged at the mage and threw him to the ground.
"What the..?" the mage started when he got up. Mariah's fist caught with his jaw. The mage didn't waste any time. He started uttering arcane words. Mariah panicked. She was ouside the group's astral barriers and wards. A ball of energy coalesced in the mage's hand and he threw it at Mariah. The mage doubled over in pain when the spell drained his life force to fuel itself. Mariah tried to dodge, but the ball caught her in the abdomen and threw her to the ground.
"Damn it! I got a little carried away", he mumbled.
"Yes, perhaps a bit too much", Mariah answered from the ground and pointed at something behind the mage. He turned around and noticed three large fire elementals hovering behind him. Another manaball emerged into the mage's hand.
"Call of your, elementals or you'll get it", the mage threatened.
Mariah grinned. "You're bluffing. Your body can't take another manabolt of that level", she said. Then she quickly returned to her body. The mage cried out in anger, which soon became a cry of fear when one of the fire elementals lashed out at him. He quickly chose the better part of valor and made a hasty retreat.
The earth elemental hit the shooter with its fist of earth. The youngster tried to dodge, but succeeded only partially. He was flung to the ground by the force of the elemental's attack. Mariah stood up and started to gather the magical energy around her. She flinged a stunbolt at the shooter. It hit him squarely in his chest. The shooter fell to the floor unconscious.
"Catch me", Hawk said to her through her headset. He jumped down from the stall and Mariah levitated him on to the ground. He quickly strided to the shooter and cuffed him. Then Hawk janked him up from the floor and looked at his face.
"Such a young kid", he said to Mariah who had walked up to him. "What makes them act like this?" The question wasn't actually pointed out to anyone.
"Promises of quick wealth, power and all that stuff. An experienced agitator can easily manage the minds of teenagers like him", she said and gestured at the shooter.
Hawk sighed. "Wheels, report in", he said to his cyber radio.
"Everything's aokay, boss", Wheels answered. "I've got all four here in my car. Parente's pretty shaken up and Boar took a couple of shots but those minor scratches are easy to fix. You caught the shooter?"
"Yup... I've got him right here. Take Parente you know where. I'll meet you there in an hour or so", Hawk ordered.
"Roger that, boss. Wheels out."
"Let's go, Mariah. We have to explain this to misters Johnson and Thomas", Hawk said. Mariah gritted her teeth.
"I'd really like to skip this one but I guess it's not possbile", she said.
Hawk gave her a tired smile. "You only wish."