I'm not a fan of mornings. I'm not a fan of cold showers. I really begin to hate waking up alone and feeling like beaten up by a wrecking ball.
And I really hate coffee. But what can I do about all of these things? Swallow them down and just move through it. Like I always do.
"Hey again, boss. Something on your mind?" Dietrich welcomed me from the sofa, coffee table in front of him filled with his gear, making me for the first time see the shaman inspecting and sharpening his razors.
"I was thinking about what you've told me earlier, about your idol making you pick a fight you couldn't win."
"What about it? It happens when it happens. I ain't goin' down without fighting to the last drop of blood and mana in me." Dietrich shrugged, unbothered by his philosophy.
"Isn't there a way to turn this logic around a bit? Make it so an end like that won't happen?"
"Well I could just refuse Dragonslayer's wishes, theoretically, but if I'll turn on him then I'll lose all his blessings. Not a smartest idea since I'd lose my magic and probably solid portion of my strength. I'd rather go down fighting than become some old pitiful excuse for a man."
"I wasn't talking about giving up, D. Quite the opposite." My smile made Dietrich look at me with sudden interest. "Dragonslayer wants you to fight the biggest, meanest bastards out there? Well I got a few for ya: Ares, Aztechnology, Renraku, Saeder-Krupp...Do you want me to keep going or do you get it already?"
"...That's an idea I've never bothered with. It's...It's something only you'd think of, Rai." Shaman grinned at me. "I can see the logic in this, since what's the point of standing up to a wyrm in person and just die, if I can bite where I do can make it hurt: Hit their golden balls they're sitting on..."
"Exactly, mate. Corporations are what made dragons overlords these days. Keep chipping off their trasure and one day, someone, will notice it can be done. And Dragonslayer will have a whole lot more people to goad into fighting, if they'll be able to stand against threat they can beat down with brass knuckles and clubs."
"Never thought I'll dare to try it but...I guess I can question Dragonslayer this one time about little shift of paradigm in my mission." Dietrich smiled at me, certain fatalism gone from his eyes. "Thanks Rai. I'll think about it."
"You do that, D. I don't want to lose a friend when I can help him wreck some more corporate shite instead."
Dietrich's booming laughter followed me as I've made my stride across the safehouse.
A package from Mallit. On today's episode of 'Vauclair brothers' show'...
Green Winters and his multiple chins were disgusting as ever, Adrian Vauclair on some old interview already looked manic, seemed like nothing new-Hold on.
This one track had Winters going on about Vauclair's research, about his wunderwaffe. It said something about a special weapon that was able to split astral form of a dragon away from it's body. Jesus, it sounds like some old ghost film about people staring at their own dead corpse and spending next ninety minutes trying to connect with the living...
And Firewing wasn't killed. Was separated from her body. Body that fell into SOX. Body that Vauclair's expedition was trying to find and kill for good.
That explains why Vauclair disappeared one day. He either found the body and set off to kill it, or Firewing found him first.
Next track was a nice load of irony, Vauclair correctly predicitng that goverments and corporations will fall into dragon hands and we all be just pawns...Man had some serious clairvoyance about that. Vauclair wasn't beating around the bush, actively wanting to kill off every wyrm that awakened in our world, as he knew what kind of danger they are. Agreed, but if there's one thing that life taught me, is the bigger you aim, the bigger loss if you miss.
Monika wanted big picture, meddled with one too many dirty secrets and...
And I'm no hero nor saviour of the world. Dragons didn't screwed up this world, they just learned how to play it for their gain.
I'll take small picture. Small steps. One dragon at a time.
Walking past the bunks, I stop mid-step and then turn ninety degrees, approaching Eiger out of her usual self.
"Talk to me, love." When I've spoken, she looked up on me but not with the usual rocksteady stare. "Something put you on edge, what is it, Eiger?"
"...This." She turned PDA in her hands and shown me a picture of rail-thin ork with black hair.
"Who am I looking at?"
"Yuli Kozlov, better known as 'The Engineer'...Mercenary. Ex-Spetsnaz. One of the best field operatives. I uh...I ran up against him in my KSK days."
"So how did you two crossed paths?" I ask, taking a seat on the chair in front of the bunk, facing the sniper.
"His specialties are social engineering and wetwork. Basically, he paves the way for crime syndicates to seize new territory. Bribes, intimidation, torture...forcing alliance and submission. All of the groundwork needed for bosses to just walk in and take over the area. This guy is a menace. And one of my contacts have spotted him in Shattennest."
"Even if we would't care about dump like Schattennest, that's too close to Krezubasar. If we won't act now, some bastards may think they can take over our little home too."
"Exactly. I've seen that schwein work, I've had him in my sights but was ordered to hold fire..." Eiger taken a deep breath and uttered one of the most surprising sentence I've heard from her. "I regret obeying that order. I *saw* what happened to the town softened up by Kozlov after the syndicate moved in...Rai, I can't let it happen again. I have to stop him."
"Can't argue with that. Got any leads on Kozlov?"
"Probably russians but his client list is mile-long. But to cut the story short...I'm gonna have to step out for a mission or two, I have to take care of it."
"Are you joking, Eiger? Stepping out and going on your own against a master mercenary working for syndicate? You're bloody damn wrong if you think I'll let you play hero like that."
"I wasn't asking-"
"Which is precisely why I'm going with you." My words made her mouth close with a snap. "This is personal for you, a friend of mine, that's number one reason. Number two, if some fuckin' mobsters think they can stir shite up right next to my turf, they're in for a bloody wake up call. Get your gear ready and we're moving out in two hours. Chop chop, we're burning daylight here, love!"
"...Did I ever told you how much I hate your guts, Rai?" Eiger spoken after long moment, trying to keep stone face.
"Never with words but I know how much you love me." I've retorted to her and managed to catch a glimpse of smirk on Eiger's face before she turned away. "We'll get it done, nice and quiet, military style."
"No other way, Rai. We go in alone, just two of us. I'll be waiting for you in Winekeller, my contact will join us and give us some intel." Blonde finished by getting off the bunk and allocating gear on the table.
"Good enough, I'll see you there then. Punctually."
"Rai." The same tone Glory used after destroying Azzie building. It was question and demand in one word, making me approach her. The way she sat, leaning forward and with hands closped together, she looked...small. At this point I wasn't noticing her metal arms, making me see slim, young girl that looked like hasn't slept in thousand years.
"Hey Glory, penny for your thoughts?" I ask, leaning against the wall.
"I've been dreading this, not gonna lie..." Glory rubbed her neck, brushing against steel-cased conduits and hard-set ports there. "Now that you know what I've done. What I am...Will you tell me off?"
"No." I simply state and see her face creasing with questions bubbling up inside her. "But tell me, you've finished your story on getting away from Feuerstelle and coming here...But Harrow and his Adversary are still out there, no? Wouldn't getting rid of both of them take the weight off your shoulders? Let you find some closure I think you could use after all that time?"
"...I've been thinking about it often. And every time I've ran away." Glory bit her lip and then suddenly got up from the chair. "I don't want to run away anymore. I don't want to carry all of this chained to my leg...But I can't do it alone."
"You're not alone, Glory." I reply and without thinking, I've grabbed her hand. "You're my friend, and I want you to get better. So I'll go to the Feuerstelle with you and help you tie up all of the loose ends holding you down."
"Okay...But we need to decide it all first before setting off." Glory reluctantly slipped her hand out of mine and brushed off mane of raven locks falling onto her face. "Our priority should be ending Harrow. Because as long as he lives, he'll start up the same schtick somwhere else and all of the kids we'd save in Feuerstelle will be for nothing."
"We're ending this bastard and making him pay for all he done. If we'll get any chance at saving people in there, we will." I assure her. "We'll make this right, Glory."
"...I know." Glory suddenly breaks and hugs me for a second. "Thank you, for doing this."
"Always. Now, when do we go?"
"Tommorrow at dusk, I have to prepare a few things...Make sure we'll leave no loose end again." Glory decided and spared me problem of priotizing whose personal problems are more important to me and why it's Glory's.
"Then tommorrow night, Take care love, and stay safe." I've nodded at her and get a weak, pained smile in reply.
Der Weinkeller turned out to be a bar set up in a basement just beyond my usual place of interests. Eiger doesn't seemed to arrive yet, so I've treated myself with a small drink at the bar.
"Cute ink, trying to pass as a shaman?" Feminine voice made me look to the side where peculiar woman was seating. The moment I saw katana strapped to her back and glowing circuitry runing across her face, I've recognised who she was.
"Same as you trying to pass for a cyborg, Lucky." I reply smugly, probably surprisng Lucky Strike, one of 'additional' shadowrunners actively hiring themselves out to any group needing extra pair of hands. Only reason I knew about it, was because of Monika's fat file of all available runners in Krezubasar, alongside assesment of their abilities and usefulness.
Lucky was labeled as 'cynical, down-to-earth gal whos in it for the money, at least as long as it's not her own crew'.
"You know, few people already tried that joke and they weren't able to talk again." Lucky replies to my casually, blowing out cigarette smoke through her nose.
"Yeah well, last guy laughing at my arm have lost his own. Terrible accident, I've heard." I retort, not backing down from her. "You wanna continue the pissing contest or we settle on not being afraid of each other and have a chat in peace?"
Lucky grinned at me and raised her own glass of whisky on rocks and made a litle toast to me.
"Never worked too closely with Schafer or her guys but I knew they were colorful lot. But you, I hear you've made a lot of waves since stepping up to the plate after Schafer kicked the bucket...Not my thing to say it, but at least you're moving things forward. Some silver lining after your boss' death."
"She wasn't a boss, she was a friend."
"And your girlfriend." Lucky followed up quickly, without batting an eyelash. "A lot of people knew she had someone overseas, she came back changed after trip to America, I've heard. Seeing you, and hearing you? I've just put two and two together" Lucky dropped the smile and went grim for a moment. "That hurts like motherfucker...which is exactly why most runners don't date."
"Personal experience, love?" I ask, leaning against the bar. "Monika and I weren't together anymore for years, she brought me in from UCAS because she needed my skills and I was in a tight spot."
"Sad. But that's life to you." Lucky downed her drink and waved at barman for a refill. "You seem to have taken over her rule quite nicely, a lot of people knowing your name and willing to beg for help from you."
"It happens when you help people, they come back when they need it again."
"Hell of a drag, don't you think?"
"Not for me. But I've taken too much of your time anyway...Toodles." I leave the antipathic blonde the moment I saw Eiger striding through the bar.
If I'll ever find myself in unique opportunity to name an icebreaker ship, I'll name it 'Eiger'. No argument here.
"You're early, good. Follow me." Sniper welcomes me and brings around the corner, to a secluded booth offering at least some privacy. Eurasian dwarf with bald head sits in there, his eyes shot up the moment he spotted Eiger. "Bannik." Troll spoken to the dwarf in greeting.
"Hoi, Eiger. Been a while..." Bannik replied before chugging down soykaf. "Let's skip the drek and get down to business."
"Let's. We need intel on The Engineer. Where he is, what he's doing, where...when. All you have." Eiger isn't beating around the bush, explaining why she's so coarse all the time if she talks to friends and acquintaces like that.
"I don't have info about how many times he shakes after piss but I can put you in the right direction of where he is. That's all I have and that's all honestly is out there about Engineer." Dwarf did not semed to be fazed one bit, keeping his cool between bites of pie he was wolfing down.
Damn, it's been a while since I've had me some pie...
"Give us what you have, we'll do all the heavy lifting." Eiger's voice brings me back from daydreaming about apples, cinnamon and pie crust.
"Well, it looks about like this..." Bannik pulls out slightly weathered, paperback map and spread it over table, not minding the crumbs underneath it. My military OCD cried at that moment. "Northwestern quadrant of Schattennest, ran by Rammbock gang entirely."
"We've dealt with some Rammbock already, these cunts are no problem for us." I finally speak up, recalling the crazy gunfight along the way to Humanis Policlub compound. Funny, it seems so long ago, despite being barely a week or less.
"For your sake, better you can back up that talk. New leader of the gang is far worse than Crazy Edna who got cacked few days ago." Bannik replied calmly, drawing a circle on the map with his finger. "That's Rammbock's HQ, in that warehouse Engineer is staying."
"Arranging some deal with the Ramms, no doubt." Eiger muses, leaning over the map.
"That's a safe bet. No guns out yet so the negotiations must be going on well...I don't have to tell you that the last thing we need around here is alliance between scumbags like Rammbock and some foreign syndicate. Whole kiez will turn into inferno if that happens."
"Can't argue with that, mate." I agree. "Let's see if this new Rammbock leader will get to meet Edgar Friendly just like Crazy Edna did, ay?" I ask coyly to Eiger, making her crack tiniest smirk.
"Hold on...You're the ones who took that bitch down?" Bannik's eyes suddenly lose the calm and he seemed in awe.
"She was in our way, shouldn't be trying to shake us down for money, we were on the clock." I explain.
"Well, if you'll suvive this one too, I'll buy you both a drink." Dwarf chuckled and pulled out a small bag from under the table. "A little souvenir that'll help you make Engineer more chatty once you get to him. But don't open it now, there are people here that'll kill you for what's in that bag."
"Well then don't keep me in the suspense, what's in there?" I ask, accepting the small package.
"A gadget the size of a water pistol. Fels good in hand and has a hair trigger. Good for one shot."
"So a stun gun."
"Not really. You can think of it this way but don't think it's that harmless...This is a cyberware deactivator. I got it shipped to me all the way from super-max slam in UCAS."
Eiger lets out a long whistle, her ear movement betraying she was impressed. "Very nice, Bannik. That should make this easy."
"Not easy. Possible at best." Bannik shook his head at troll. "The Engineer is rocking delta-grade move-by-wire system. Unless you can shut it down, there's no way you can catch that son of a bitch."
"Good enough for me...Let's go hunting, Eiger." I decide to wrap this up and get cracking.
"We gotta do this tactical. To go through wartorn streets with just two of us, we gotta swing." I speak up to Eiger, making her move stare away from inspecting sniper bullets she held in her palm while we rode on the train.
"Swing? This is some english joke?"
"Not really. We'll move long distance-short distance, with you covering with sniper rifle and me moving with shotgun. Once I'll cross a block, I'll keep horizon clean for you to catch up. We'll move like a pendulum swing."
"Ah, I get it. Nothing revolutionary you've came up with though."
"Never said I did. If it works, I'll even throw sticks of dynamite on people and call it martial arts." I chuckle but stop, seeing Eiger's blank expression. "It's a popculture thing. Live a bit, Eiger or you'll die without even knowing it happening."
Sniper did not grace me with answer as we've stepped out of the train and stalked onto the street.
It looked as empty and deserted as last time I was there, only this time the older lady selling soup and snadwiches on the corner was absent and there was this...aura hanging in the air.
The moment I've heard distant gunfire of some smaller gangs fighting over streets, I've felt it all coming back to me, old memories from actual open combat flooding me.
"Let's go, Eiger." I only speak and move with shotgun drawn, barrel following my sightline all the time. Old Remington back on duty, my automatic toy did not withstanding abuse I put her through on the last job. I guess I will be demanding a refund from Mettbach...
"You again?! Well you did survived last time..." Same old gatekeper seemed very much shocked to see me alive and coming into this kiez again. "Sergej, it's the tough bunch again, let them through!"
Aging troll gasps as he pulls piece of the blockade away, letting us through the barricade.
We pass them without a word, focused and tense like real soldiers should be. Because this time it was different, it wasn't a run. We were hunters, stalking a dangerous prey.
It wasn't concrete jungle of UCAS metropolies or old-world architecture of England, but burned wreckages of cars, overturned dumpsters and bullet-ridden walls with old marks of blood were a breath of Grim Reaper I've felt on my neck. The place just reeked with death. Violent, warring death only battlefields have.
Looking at Eiger, all I had to do is gesture to move forward. Soldiers do not talk, we read each other minds when going into the fray.
And so we move. From car to car, bus stop to metal dumpster, corner to corner. When I moved, I knew Eiger was surveing the street through her scope; when she was moving I was ready to blast holes in anyone that could approach and spot her. We had no differences then, nothing personal existed. We were a team and we worked flawlessly. We were soldiers.
"Hold up." Eiger's voice flows through the commlink set up to highest volume, allowing us to talk in faintest whispers. "Rammbock ahead. Three tangos."
"Too many, let's flank 'em. They're not our target." I reply and instead of crossing the market, I slide into dark alleyway that probably used to be full of life one way or another.
We stay in the shadows, observing few Ramms roaming the area. As two gangers move past us, too busy slipping out into dilapidated building for a quick tryst, we make a break for it.
As I sprint through the open space, I barely notice details like gangers busy with things gangers normally do - doing drugs in the corners, talking in group huddled around burning barrel or just loitering around parking lot. All of them so bored and distracted, they did not even noticed two figures moving past them.
I did not wasted time or words for it, but I commended Eiger for using aftermarket, high-quality combat boots that did not made you sound like a galloping horse. At least we shared taste in footwear apparently.
"Warehouse, this is it." I point at tall, industrial building as we rounded corner and hidden in dark corner. "Reinforced doors. We blow it up or hack in?" I ask.
"I'll cover you, hack it." Eiger decides and rests rifle on the shoulder, getting wide view of the alley and giving me time and space to connect to the keypad. Easy job for a nut like me, always fascinated with tricks I've seen in movies. A lot of tuth in television here, by scanning which buttons are used most, my algorithm quickly deduced correct combination on seven digit screen.
"Ready, on your go." I call to Eiger, stacking up on one side of the cargo doors. Eiger quickly positions herself on the other, switching sniper rifle to her own shotgun. She nods and I punch the controls, forcing doors to open quickly.
Running inside, we simultaneously open fire at two completely distracted guards, load of pellets and solid slug making quick work of mutilating humans with cheap pistols. Unison of pump-action shotguns reloading marked our entry into the rusting warehouse, with me engaging another guard leaning over the catwalk, while Eiger quickly fired twice at orc who couldn't decide either to raise gun or his pants from around ankles. Buckshot threw unlucky man back onto shitter he sat on seconds ago.
"That's him!" Eiger roars, pointing at the orc behind glass window, staring at us from cozy living space arranged deeper in the warehouse, entourage of gangers surrounding him.
Not replying to her, I've broken into run towards the entry leading to the quarters, my hands moving subconciously from loading pouch towards the breech of my gun.
An elf came out at me, yelling some trash talk and waving cleaver at me. When hellfire engulfed her, turning enforcer into living torch, I found these Dragon's Breath shells to be my new favourite.
Without slowing down, I intended to ram through the doors in front of me when my troll friend had the same idea apparently, making us both crash through the plaster and keep our footing, catching The Engineer and his two pals still surprised enough to stay there.
I fire at the isolated Rammbock, making his dreadlocks catch on fire while phosphorous was melting his face away; at the same time Eiger throwing scarred human onto the wall with her custom-made heavy buckshot.
That left only Engineer to deal with.
"Oi!" I cry to the orc, making him turn to me, while jamming the special taser into his throat. "Quite the shocker, ay?" I grin seeing cyborg spasming like he was connected to an outlet via fork.
"Clear!" Eiger calls out and immediately cock her gun one last time and fire through one of the windows, smashing the glass and scalping sneaky bastard aiming at us from the side. "Correction: Now it's clear."
I give her thumbs up and kick the orc onto his back, knowing we don't have infinity to work on the guy as the effects of cyberware deactivator will wear off sooner than later.
Eiger does a quick work of waking up the Engineer by sitting on his chest and giving a hearty slap to the bruised face, making fancy shades fall off his face.
"F-f-f-fuck you, t-t-t-troll..." Orc wheezes out, stuttering through the seizures.
"See? He's talking to us already." Eiger announces to me, and honestly I got scared hearing her suddenly almost cheerful.
"And it's shit." I reply and give Kozlov a stomp onto exposed stomach, making him shake under weight of Eiger. "Feeling better, Yuli? Ready to chat with us?"
"Bastard!" Yuli cries in response.
"Ah! Language, there's a woman in your presence, mate." I reply and give him another hit, only this time lower. That had to hurt, been there myself once. "You better start cooperating fast or my little petting will end and my friend sitting on you will go to town on ya. And you don't want that, she has a real bone to pick with you."
Eiger does not wait for Engineer to decide, grabbing the man by the hair and pulling his head up, stopping inches away from her own face.
Oh that made the guy break, being this close to Eiger when she's pissed. Honestly, if I was in his shoes, I'd probably break too.
"Tamanous! Tamanous sent me here! They want to use Schattennest as base for whole Berlin...My contact is a ghoul named Beetle." Engineer finally squeaks out.
"Yuli." Eiger's thoughtful voice made me feel an invisble hand squeezing certain parts of my body. "You wouldn't roll over on an employer this easily. Your rep tell me this much" Troll ran gloved hand down the Engineer's scalp. "Start talking."
"But I-" He did not fininshed when armored fist hit him in the temple.
"Start talking you little pig or I'll carve strips off you!" Sniper roared and hit again, making Kozlov's head bounce off the concrete floor.
"I can give you a hundred names of people who want a piece of Schattennest! How will you figure out which one sent me?!" Engineer cried out. "Go ahead and try whatever you want. No matter what I'll say, that she-troll drekface will kill me. I will not make it easier for you."
"Let me worry about that." I assure him. "Eiger, tie the bastard up while I look around. Keep him entertained." I finish and leave the room before I even begun to hear screaming.
These two must've had some history. One way or another.
The warehouse is crawling with intel, all I need is to look for it. The ledger resting on the crates was written in scandinavian or estonian maybe, but arrangement of it told me it was adress book with attention to details, each name had numbers and notes under it.
Cargo drone sitting in corner catchers my attention. Cheap thing really, plain as day and looking unassuming. I used to make things like that as a kid and sell them to other teenagers for a nice quid, the small camera attached to each allowed them to spy on hot neighbours or sisters. Perverts were always the weeds of the world, but it bought me my first real Deck.
Drone had something in the compartment but to open it required password. Plot thickened since nobody in the right mind would attach high-tech security to tiny thing like courier drone unless...
Yup, there was anti-tampering failsafe attached in, ready to fry whatever valuable cargo was stored in the drone only masked to look plain and unworthy anyone's attention. Usually, a decker does not venture into expertise of a Rigger but I happened to be a jack of all trades kinda guy...
Not gonna lie, for a second I thought I screw it up but thankfully, I was around patchy systems my whole childhood and better part of younger years, all of the hours wasted in front of the screen now returning to me in form of a...simsense chip? A homemade simsense chip but locked in secure custom-made plastic case.
What the actual fuck?
The moment I've taken the chip from the storage, loud hissing erupted and I've barely managed to duck behind old forklift, before drone exploded in ball of thermite hellfire. Woah, a self-destruct mode built in?
Plot's thick as baby's arm.
My nose catches whiff of acrid stench that leads me like a dog over a trail, all the way to one of the back storages. Opening the doors, I double down and cough for a long minute, on the verge of throwing up.
There was a dead guy laying in there, in the pool of fluids that were a lot of things but not blood. No, the blood was somwhere else - on the doors. The guy bashed his head open against the doors like trying to get out, and even after dying he still had a creepy smile on his face.
This guy had to be livid and completely lost it. There were some drugs that turned people berserk but I've never even heard a name of it, not to mention seeing the effects. And now I did.
This was some messed up shit and I've been to 4chan...
Forcing my stomach to stay where it should be and not take a walk through my throat, I check over the guy and find blob of plastic sticking out from damaged skull. It was a simsense chip or something similar but now the whole port was burned and silicone device beyond recognition, not to mention recovery.
Coming back with handful of morbid evidence, I've seen the orc neatly tied up into a ball, his face resembling poorly grounded hamburger. Eiger's been busy while I was out.
"Found anything?" She asked me, flustered and strained.
"Wasn't sitting with thumb up my arse. But neither were you I see...That's little extreme, Eiger." I point at the barely breathing mess in front of me.
"You have no idea how much shit he done, what he just told me-"
"And he wants you to snap and kill him. He works on minds, doesn't he?" I remind Eiger who suddenly loses stokes of fire in her eyes. "He got under your skin, made you beat the shit out of prisoner. Made you go against your rules." I approach and look at Kozlov while still talking to Eiger. "He's The Engineer afterall, ay?"
Loud, heavy sigh behind me told me that Eiger deflated and reason was back the primary force in her mind.
"...So what did you found?" She finally asked.
"Let's start with the ledger." I pull out the book. "It's in scandinavian dialect"
"Norwegian. Bokmal dialect" Eiger replies seconds after taking the ledger in her blood-stained palms. "Shipping manifest but very vague, if you're not in on the code there isn't much here."
Hold on, she knows norwegian? Damn.
"Well, there is this neat treat of simsense chip hidden in courier drone. Custom-made, really odd piece." I shake little device in my hand. The moment chip saw light, Engineer snapped his blood-streaken eyes to it and seemed to have a choking attack.
"Something interesting, Yuli?" Eiger turned to the orc, her fluster and angry tones nearly amiss from her person. "There are no markings on it to indentifiy the producer. But I've seen enough BTL chips to know one that was thoroughly customised."
"Go ahead and slot it, bitch. It'll take you on a ride of your life." Engineer laughed, spitting bloody saliva everywhere.
"Oh Yuli...You got yourself a little habit, aren't you?" Eiger taken the chip from my hand and moved it, making me notice how Kozlov's eyes were following the Better-Than-Life chip constantly. "I can see you sweating already."
"You don't know what you're holding, slag!" Kozlov spat at Eiger and then licked his lips quickly, a quirk I've seen in many addicts. "You don't even *deserve* that chip"
"And here I thought this guy was the real deal but he's just a cunt running for his fix." I shrug to Eiger who replied with another sadistic smirk.
"He is smart enough to not get hooked on shitty simulations pulling you off reality. So that means this chip must have something far, far more addictive than standard BTL." Eiger ignores more ranting from Engineer and turns the chip in her fingers. "Found anything else, Rai?"
"A body in the storage. Something made the guy so mad, he caved in his own skull by smahing it against the doors. And his face told me he loved every second of it. I don't know what could have caused shite like that..." I trail off suddenly hit with a revelation. "Could a simsense chip cock up your head so bad? The guy had his brain all over the floor out there."
"I don't see why not...Have you looked over that guy's chip?"
"I got it but it's completely melted." I hand over the sticky piece of silicone. "This is not any BTL stuff. That's something else, way off grid."
"You don't know a damn thing, drekhead!" Kozlov suddenly snapped.
"I know you got an antfarm in your pants the moment you saw that chip. So enlighten us, what is it?"
That was he moment where Engineer completely lost it, rambling about becoming a god, gaining unlimited power and few seconds more he'd told us he was the Senate too if I wouldn't stop him.
"Tell us who you're working for and the chip is yours." My voice made both Kozlov and Eiger stare at me.
"...Winternight." orc spat the word out painfully. "NOW GIVE ME THE CHIP! YOU PROMISED!"
"Winternight promised you. Not me." Eiger replied and reached to her belt, pulling out combat knife. Before she could use that carbon steel razor to slit orc's throat, I've stopped her arm mid-motion.
"Let him have the chip, Eiger." I speak and lock my stare with the troll. She stares at me with hatred for a second but then, her eyes soften and small smile spreads across her face.
"Not without sweetening up the deal." Sniper pulls knife away and turns to Engineer. "Give me something good Yuli, and the chip is yours."
"I-I have a stash in this warehouse. A custom rifle! Top notch gear, all yours if you give me what is mine."
"Huh...I could use a new rifle." Eiger muses, weighing chip in one hand and knife in the other. "What do you think, Rai?"
"I think it's a deal and we all will get what we want." I reply, seeing flash of understanding in Eiger's eyes.
"The stash is in the corner..." Kozlov replies, shaking already. Eiger nods and forcibly plugs the chip into Engineer's temple. Second ticked out, then another...
"WHY IT ISN'T WORKING?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!" Engineer cried, reminding me he was still under influence of the cyberware deactivator. Deactivator that picked this exact moment to stop working apparently as the orc suddenly tried to get up, snapping the steel rope that was tying him up with ease. Before I could do anything about it, chemical fire engulfed head of Engineer, quickly spreading all over whole body.
"Thermite reaction...same as on the drone that caried the damn thing. That Winternight...him or they must've put same failsafe into the chip. Bastard strapped a bloody bomb into his head." I conclude. "I think at least we know for sure that this Winternight name is some big player we should keep our eyes peeled for."
"Jawohl, we'll warn Flux State about them." Eiger agreed and kicked open vent hatch in the corner, pulling out a waterproof bag and producing sleek, military rifle from it. "That's a piece worth enduring this orc drek so much. Steyr AUG-CSL multiweapon system. Very expensive, deadshot accurate rifle. It's great on it's own but with all these acessories Yuli bolted onto it...I don't even recognize some of them."
"All the more reasons for you to have it, Eiger." I observe Eiger finally looking content. "Let's go back home."
"Yeah, let's." She replied, lighter and brighter than usually.
"It went down far differently than I expected." Eiger spoken up once we boarded train back to Kreuzbasar.
"Yeah, I did not expected that bastard to get immolated by chip stuffed into his head."
"That too but I meant how we worked together...You'd fit into KSK just right." Eiger confessed, making me realize it was the first time she straight up complimented me.
"This was military op, Eiger. Not a run in shadows. So we deal it out like soldiers. Up to standards of special forces."
"...Felt good to do it this way. Everything went right in the end, I felt like I haven't left the unit at all, for a few moments." Eiger continues and shuts up, realising she opened up way too much she wanted to.
"It felt good to me too." I reply in consolation that shouldn't make her angry. "But these cunts had nothing on Tir na nÓg forces."
"You fought elven army?" Eiger turned to me with raised eyebrow, internally glad she could switch topics, I think.
"I've killed a ghost. The Ghost." I share a secret that most would never believe anyway. "Nearly died, taken a blade right through the bone." I've pointed at nasty scar on my forearm. "But his knife stopped here and mine on his windpipe."
"...Anyone else telling me this, I'd punch for lying." Sniper replied after a minute. "You should have told me that from the start."
"You wouldn't believed then."
"...Probably not." Troll agreed and rest of the ride we spent in silence. Comfortable silence, no words needlessly spoken between two of us.
We are soldiers afterall.