Run 02 : Extraction (based on the mission written by A. A. Salati; posted 2018/10/21)

When you work the shadows you frequently have to deal with weirdoes, the strange and unusual. So when Joss called a job meet at the top of a particular building at exactly 7:45pm I didn't exactly bat an eye. Honestly it wasn't the first time I had a job start off like this. Maybe this time I wouldn't be hang gliding off that building.

I was a few minutes early when I got there. Best never to be late when you're expected at a specific time. I wasn't the first one there. Deacon and Deadbolt were already there when I got out onto the roof. Familiar company so far.

"Hey, Bishop!" Deadbolt called out when he noticed me as I walked over to them. We bumped fists. "How's it hangin'?"

"Exhausted." I answered, giving him a wink. Melody seemed to be worse than a cat in heat, and I was honestly glad for the job to get a bit of a break from her energetic bedtime activities. I also knew I was going to have to make it up to her later.

"I hear that." Deadbolt commented, "Though the last few jobs I've had to work with this real nutcase. Good kid, but I think he's been dumpshocked a few too many times."

I sighed and simply nodded. It was a risk with working in virtual reality. Normally leaving VR is safe and painless as your 'link can safely turn off the signals being fed into your brain. Many people use trodes, often like a headband, while some go for a datajack for a direct connection to the brain. If this gets yanked the sudden shift and interruption of those signals cause a very real and physical disruption to your brain. A cold sim has those signals regulated so it's practically guaranteed not fatal if this happens, but it's still painful and disorienting when it does. A hot sim has no filters, so the signal's being sent in loud and clear (and you get a better VR experience, if you ask me), but the risk is that you could suffer very real brain damage. Repeated exposure doesn't necessarily toughen you up, either. More often you'll develop some kind of neurosis.

"Hey Deacon." I said, walking a little closer to the four armed woman.

"Um… Hey." she softly said. Yup, still a bit uncomfortable with face-to-face conversations.

Then her gaze shifted past me, her eyes widened, and what wasn't a green marking on her face went pale. I turned to look where her gaze went. From the same door that I had just come out of came two of the youngest shadowrunners I have ever met or worked with.

"Well, I hope Johnson knows what he or she is getting into tonight." I said as Cypher and Seraphina walked over to us. They had a change of wardrobe, I noticed, sporting a silver-gray aviator's jacket with a patch over their heart. Cypher's looked like the icon of Seraphina's choker, and Seraphina's looked like a phoenix rising from its pyre. They were both wearing a set of goggles over their eyes, probably loaded with vision enhancements.

"I hope so, too." remarked Cypher. "I'm really sick and tired of having to prove myself."

"You're sick of it?" Seraphina asked.

"Well, if it'll help you out some," I said, turning back to the others, "guys, these are…"

"The Fallen Angels." Deacon softly interrupted, though it was enough to leave me dumbfounded.

"You know them?" I asked, turning to face Deacon.

"Have we met?" Seraphina asked.

"Oh, hey!" Cypher exclaimed, snapping his fingers once rather sharply. "Yeah, we have. Barely remember it, though."

"What're you on about?" I asked, stepping aside so I could better see everyone. I saw the kids looking at each other.

Then Cypher said, "Few months ago, when that Renfield kidnapped us." His voice was softer, quite serious sounding. But I understood why. It wasn't common, but whenever someone mentioned 'Renfield' like a thing you knew they were talking about vampires.

"Sounds like you two got lucky." Deadbolt said.

"Y… Yeah, lucky." Deacon agreed, her voice almost inaudible.

"Hey, you alright, Deacon?" I asked.

"I… I…" Deacon stammered.

"I hope so." Cypher said.

"Wasn't for her we might've ended up dead in the woods anyway." Seraphina added.

"Yeah… I… I think so." Deacon managed to say.

"So, you know 'em?" Deadbolt asked me.

"Did a job together some months ago." I said, "Crazy kids but honest to ghost they're good. Better than some we've worked with in the past."

"Deacon?" Deadbolt asked.

"Huh?" Deacon went, startled like she was just yanked from a dream chip. "Oh, yeah. N… Null sheen."

"Well," I said, turning to face the kids, "looks like Johnson's the only one to worry about. But I doubt it'll be that bad."

If they wanted to say anything they didn't get the chance. The little clock in my vision clicked to 7:45 and my commlink chimed with an incoming call. Looked like we all were getting the same call.

A trideo feed icon of Joss Tomes appeared, showing him from about the shoulders up. He was human, in his late forties, with fair skin and balding red hair he kept cut short.

"Evening." Joss said, "Glad you all made it on time. I'm going to conference in Mr. Johnson and drop off. You should make a good team, but just the same, watch your asses." His gaze shifted to something we couldn't see before returning to us. He nodded and his image cut out.

Joss's image was replaced by something completely virtual, something of a cross between an Egyptian Pharaoh and one of those reptilians that conspiracy freaks kept going on about. I was starting to figure he might be more of a hacker type considering the amount of effort he put into his icon.

"I am The Scion." he said, his voice clearly a synthetic reproduction. Okay, so probably not a hacker but someone just trying to conceal his, or maybe her, identity. Happens sometimes in this biz, but a good hacker can still figure out who the person is with enough effort.

Speaking of which, I heard both of the kids groan.

"The foundation wants the Horizon Corporation's new arcanoarcheologist Parker Acson to work for them." The Scion told us, "He is at a banquet for new hires at the Horizon Splendor building across the street." It gestured towards another building, and he waited for us to take a look at it from over the parapet. "See the great balcony on its twenty-eighth floor? The banquet is taking place right now, and the recognition ceremony is set to begin directly after. Our offer to you for Parker Acson is sixteen thousand nuyen each. You may negotiate for more after his acquisition depending on his 'condition.' The job is an extraction, hostile, and you must begin in exactly fifteen minutes."

"And why should we believe you?" asked Cypher.

The rest of us were taken aback. Even The Scion seemed surprised at this question.

"If it's about the money…" The Scion started to say.

"Fuck the money," Cypher interrupted sharply, "this's about you."

"What're you on about?" asked Deadbolt.

Seraphina started to look uneasy. Dissention in the ranks? No, not that. How she glanced at Cypher didn't ring of any fear about him. It was something else.

"We've had… issues with virtual meets like this." Cypher told us, "One of them involved a break-in that nearly killed us…"

"Such are the risks…" The Scion tried to say.

"and was set up by a bug." Cypher finished.

I cocked an eyebrow at that. Then I remembered Seraphina's previous street name, 'Firefly,' and her nearly violent reaction to being called that. Fireflies were also one of the types of insect spirits that had found their way over from whatever deep metaplane they called home.

"Then what are you proposing?" The Scion asked.

"We'll do this job, get you this Park Acson fellow, and when payday comes you're there in person. No lackey or flunky stand in, no hiding in the shadows, and no proxy servers. Face to face."

"And if we don't?"

Cypher's eyes narrowed, and I felt a shiver run down my spine. Drek, scared of a kid like this. I did my best to shake away the feeling.

"Then we air your dirty laundry for the world, and Horizon, to see." Cypher told him.

I took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Hate to add to the drek pile," I said, "but the kids are a pair, and if they're not in then we're down half our hacker and magic support right there."

The Scion turned to regard me, his digital face inscrutable. Yeah, I can sympathize with Cypher on this one about dealing virtually with a Johnson.

"Very well." The Scion finally said. "However, the clock is ticking."

"So we're all in?" I asked.

"Yup, I'm in." Deadbolt said.

Deacon simply nodded.

The Scion's image simply disappeared.

"Ten minutes." I said, "How're we supposed to invade a Horizon building and grab a guy in such short order."

"Found this a little bit ago." Deadbolt said, hefting what looked like an army issue duffle bag. "There's a grapple gun and zip lines in it. Enough for us to cross the intersection."

I looked again at the Horizon Splendor building. The fifty story obelisk-like building was at the northern corner of the intersection of Pine Street and Sixth Avenue, its normally silver paneling turning a fiery orange in the light of the setting sun. Two blocks to the southwest along Pine was Lordstrung's. The Yojirushi building we were standing on was on the other side of Pine Street and relatively between the two.

And it looked like the only way we were going to reliably get into the Horizon Splendor building within the time allotted was to zip line.

"You trust that gear?" I heard Cypher ask.

"Everything seems okay." Deadbolt answered.

"Think you can make the shot?" I asked.

"Shouldn't be too hard." he said, hefting up the now readied grapple gun.

"You see it over there?" Cypher asked. I looked to him and noticed he and Seraphina were at the roof's edge, looking over at the Horizon Splendor building.

"Yeah." Seraphina answered, "Neat trick, making the balcony look like it's water."

"And a dragon bartender." Cypher added. "The suit inside, his magic?"

Seraphina nodded with a grunt.

"What's that mean?" Deacon softly asked.

I focused my attention to the balcony, noticing the bar and the serpentine dragon with blue scales as it served up a tray of drinks for a waiter to take inside. Doors opened up automatically to his approach. Then I could see it, the layer of magic as it covered up reality. With a little effort of will I was able to peel the layer away a bit. Not quite able to eliminate the illusions but I could see the balcony more for what it really was, as well as the man who was really tending the bar.

"At least one magician on site." Cypher answered. "Maybe more, and probably at least a spirit."

"Sharp mind there, kid." I said. The dull witted are often easily fooled by illusions. Unless you're awakened and know how to dispel magic, have a really keen mind, or better yet both, one usually doesn't see through most illusions. After that it was more common sense.

"So… How're we going to do this?" asked Deacon.

"Gotta be fast." Deadbolt said.

"They've gotta have security in there, mixed in." Cypher said, "So we'll have to get in hard and fast."

"And get out fast, too." Seraphina added.

"Best if we're ghosting. Comms off and all that."

"We could, um, steal a van or something from the garage." Deacon suggested.

"And they'll be tracking all their company vehicles. It'll take a few minutes to try and get that angle covered. Might get caught by then." Cypher said.

"Bait and switch. We do steal a rig, but then we switch to another vehicle and let them chase their own tail." I said as I got my commlink's wireless function switched off. I had a few things set with a skinlink, so I could still effectively use the smartgun system in my Predator.

"And what about transport?" Deadbolt asked. "I don't think any of us have something that'll haul everyone here."

"Still got that big Texan?" I asked.

"Yeah."

I pulled out my little Sony commlink and thumbed the code to unlock it. "I can't speak for the others, but…" I tossed Deadbolt the 'link. "You can use that to get my car to follow your truck."

"My Suzuki's next to your truck." Deacon added. "Guess you… could…"

"I can put it in the back, easy." Deadbolt finished for her.

"We'll take care of our own, thank you." Cypher said flatly. Were they going to get their truck to follow them somehow?

"Right, I think we're probably as set as we can get in a few minutes." I said. "You know how to handle one of those things?" I asked Deadbolt.

"Sure do."

When I looked back to the kids I saw they each had pulled out a Predator IV. "What're you doing?" I asked them.

"We don't want to make a mess in there, so we're swapping explosive rounds for gel." Seraphina answered. Considering video games these days it was not too surprising to watch how well she handled her own pistol.

And damn it if I wished I had thought of that first. I even carry a magazine of stick-n-shock for such an occasion. Mostly. So I pulled out my own Predator and swapped out the regular ammo for a load of taser rounds. Hopefully when Horizon sent their people after us they'd remember we used non-lethal ammo.

Yeah, right, and Dunkelzahn's my daddy.

"Ready?" Seraphina asked.

"As I'll ever be." Cypher replied with just a touch of apprehension in his voice.

I was about to ask what they were ready for when I saw them run for the edge. Seraphina looked like she was on fire while Cypher looked like the center of a Tesla coil. I was too shocked to try anything to stop them as they jumped. I knew she was a bit of a pyrotechnic when it came to at least one of her spells, but I never thought she'd set herself on fire.

But then I noticed two things. One, they weren't falling. Maybe that's how she got her previous name of 'Firefly,' by her pyrotechnic and levitation magic. Even as I watched it looked like the flames made a pair of wings to carry her aloft across the intersection. I sighed as everyone on both streets were going to see them. Then again, our insertion into the other building wasn't going to be very subtle to begin with. I hoped the sixteen grand would be worth it.

But Cypher was an oddity. The static electricity that surrounded him mimicked Seraphina's fire, creating wings just the same to carry him across. I honestly had never seen a person's magic do something like that, different visual effects like this. I had seen shamans, and some others, display what was called a totemic mask when they worked their magic, but this was different. Seraphina's spell on him should've shrouded him in flames just as it did her.

"Ready for you." Deadbolt told me, handing me a pair of gloves. I hadn't even noticed that he had already shot the line, the grapple sticking out from somewhere just above the balcony.

The grapple line was microwire, stuff thin enough to slice your hand easily if you tried to grab it. The gloves were part of the set, made explicitly to protect your hands. I was glad for the gloves as I went careening down to the balcony. I managed to drop off and take a few running steps on the balcony to avoid falling over or slamming into the glass doors that went inside.

The kids had beaten me down and were already shaking down the bartender. Guess the man was so nervous that he had dropped his spells. Cypher had his Predator drawn, held in his cybernetic hand, the bartender his hands up, and Seraphina was rummaging around in the man's pockets. Her prize was the man's commlink.

Deacon was the next one down, and not quite so graceful on her dismount. She stumbled and fell over. Even having four hands was not enough to stop herself from kissing the balcony floor. She wasted no time in scrambling back up to her feet.

"Now be a gentleman and open the door for the ladies." Cypher ordered, gesturing with his Predator towards the balcony doors.

All the bartender had to do was walk over to the doors. They opened up automatically for him. He must've had an RFID tag on him somewhere since a motion sensor would've already opened when Cypher had stepped closer. The kids rushed in past him. I felt the tingly sensation of walking through a strong ward as I passed through the doorway. With a thought I activated the innocuous looking ring on my left middle finger. The silver band with a Celtic weave style was a power focus. Best to be prepared.

The place was fairly well packed with people and several tables that seated about half a dozen people each. A quick look around showed me three ways out, though honestly I wish I had a map or something to show which ways would end up in a dead end (hopefully not literally). Off to our relative right was a large stage where a man was speaking, sounded something like a graduation ceremony.

Now I had a spell that could help us out, a little something to help quell any aggressive thoughts that everyone inside might develop. Problem was that we'd also be right in the middle of it all, and while myself and likely Seraphina could shrug off the effects of the magic, I wasn't too sure that Deacon or Cypher would be able to.

Cypher ran for the center of the room, weaving around a few of the servers and jumped up on a table, stomping on plates and kicking glassware as he walked to the center of the table. He aimed his handgun straight up and squeezed off two rounds, shooting slowly enough that everyone could hear the two distinct shots.

"Deacon, try sniffing out the security." I told her, "Bet they'll be running some fortified 'links." Looked like the kids were focusing on getting our target, so we just got volun-told we're backing them up.

"Okay." she softly replied.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Cypher announced very loudly, his Predator now close to his shoulder but still aimed up at no one in particular, "Sorry for the interruption, but one of you has a rather important rendezvous with someone else. Mr. Parker Acson, please come on down!" Damned kid sounded like a game show host.

Now if only it had the effect we wanted. A troll sized vortex appeared close to Seraphina, right in front of her. Drek, I barely had any time to try something.

"Fuck! You!" Seraphina yelled, bringing her hands up like she was going to try and push the air spirit away, her body wreathed in crimson flames that didn't burn anything. I could only guess at how powerful the spirit was, and of the two of us I was the stronger. But as she spoke I noticed her own magic at work, the same spell I had witnessed her using on some toxic spirits that decided to crash Mercurial's backstage after a concert, but it was different this time. She didn't simply slap the spirit once with a bolt of power. No, she didn't simply give it the magical equivalent of a bitch slap, but a much more powerful blow like a boxer's full body haymaker, and she unleashed such a powerful spell for each word she yelled. Delivering such power so quickly was reckless to say the least, and could easily overwhelm a novice spellcaster.

The whirling column of air unraveled wildly, blowing out a gust of air in all directions before vanishing completely, leaving Seraphina standing there, feet shoulder width apart. She didn't look phased in the least from casting those spells, and had a look of absolute defiance on her face that silently screamed she was more than willing and able to put down the next challenger with such effortless ease. Intimidating in the least when it comes from an adult. When it's a little human girl that's just demonstrated her willingness to use that kind of power? Terrifying. There was no way no one in this room didn't know she was a magician.

One man finally stood up. He had white hair that was trimmed very short, and his frost blue clothes were loose and flowing to almost give the illusion of some fantasy wizard's robe. When he turned I saw he was also wearing glasses, which in of itself isn't all that unusual, until I noticed that they were actually corrective lenses. Surgery and cyberware had pretty much made such things obsolete.

"Don't you touch him, you pig suckers!" I heard someone yell from behind me. Close behind me. Trained reflexes took over as I just barely noticed someone rushing up at me, turning a little into my attacker, hands high to catch something that was coming down at my head. I grabbed hold of the person, bent over, and bodily threw him over my shoulder. With a thwump he landed sprawled out on the floor, a green bottle of wine still in his hand.

I knelt down next to the stunned man, softly saying, "Do the smart thing and stay down." as I easily pulled the bottle from his weakened fingers. I also noted the smell of alcohol on his breath before I stood back up. Casually I placed the unopened bottle on a nearby table, glad I didn't get beamed in the head with it. Only in the trids do wine bottles shatter when you hit someone over the head.

"We gotta go! Now!" Deacon yelled.

"Let's move." Cypher sternly said. He had hopped off the table and was next to who I presumed was Parker Acson. The white haired man had slung on a shoulder bag and Cypher held his Predator on him. Seraphina trotted past as she took the lead towards the back of the banquet hall. There were two sets of double doors towards the relative back of the room, and she headed straight for the pair farthest from the stage.

After the banquet hall was a hallway, and straight across from us were another set of double doors with the classic male symbol on them. Seraphina didn't hesitate as she went through the doors and immediately turned off to the right.

When I reached the doors to leave the banquet hall I felt my left hand stop as if I had slammed it into a counter or door or something. Then I remembered the ward, and with a bit of effort and willpower I forcefully pulled my hand, and the active power focus, through. I could still feel the power in my ring, so forcing it hadn't disrupted it.

We had just gotten to a small lounge area, and I guess next was the lady's room, when the other banquet hall doors at the far end opened up. Three men quickly stepped through, two with pistols up and ready, the third a monster revolver.

Seraphina and Cypher were quick to jump into the lounge area. I had to grab Parker and practically throw him with me to get out of the line of fire. There were a few light cracks and a bigger boom when the one guy shot off his monster revolver. They didn't shoot like some gangers, who would've kept on shooting anyway.

I glanced back and saw Deacon had managed to get to cover too. "Keep him covered." I told her. Just as I was turning back I saw the kids sneaking just around the corner. Seraphina was standing, stretched out an arm, was briefly wreathed in flames again, and quickly ducked back. Cypher had been crouching, and I heard him squeeze off two quick shots with his Predator (now in his right hand). Guess someone was quick enough to peg him. He flipped around back into our lounge area too quickly to have moved on his own. I didn't see any blood, so either it was a non-lethal round or his jacket had stopped the bullet.

I was just drawing my Predator when Seraphina popped back out to look down the hall again. Just a peek, but it was enough time to do another spell, obvious by the magical flames that surrounded her each time. Girl was slinging some serious power around tonight. Worse yet, it didn't look like it was slowing her down. Reckless magicians were known to kill themselves channeling too much power repeatedly while not giving their bodies time to recover.

Mentally I put that aside and scooted over to Cypher. "Ya alright kid?" I asked.

"Ouch." he grunted. Well, at least feeling good enough to crack a joke.

"C'mon kid, we need to get going." I grabbed a hand, grunting as I pulled him up to his feet. Once he was vertical I noticed (not for the first time) just how short he was compared to me. "Deacon, you help him walk."

"Um… okay." she softly said, blushing. She was short, just a few centimeters taller than Cypher, so I expected it be easier going, even though she was a bit hesitant at first about being so close to him.

"Behind!" Seraphina yelled. She was fast with another spell.

Just as she had yelled I spun around to face the way we had come, Predator up. My mind registered motion and I shot before checking the target, squeezing off two shots, the only noise coming from the whip-crack of the bullets themselves breaking the sound barrier. The second shot missed completely as the first dropped another man with a pistol in hand.

And like the others, Seraphina had dropped the other with a spell.

I took a breath before saying, "Right, let's get going." We headed off the way we were going before we got interrupted.

This time I took point, heading past the lady's restroom before we came upon another kind of lounge area that was setup right in front of the elevators. Freaky thing was I didn't even have to hit a call button, an elevator chimed and opened for us automatically. Thankfully it was empty. We all crammed into the car, and I allowed myself to relax a little when it started going down.

"This… This is really going to work?" Deacon asked.

"Looks like it." I replied.

"Helps… when I… hijacked…" Cypher panted. He didn't look too good.

I glanced to Deacon, who I thought would've also been in the building's security system. She simply shrugged back. For what I knew they both could've been in the network and not know the other was there too.

I looked back to Cypher. "Easy, easy." I told him. "Seraphina, you seem to know medicine…"

Deacon seemed to stiffen up a little when Seraphina got closer. I stepped back and kept my Predator leveled on Parker. He wisely stayed clear and still.

"Right… side." panted Cypher. I noticed he still had a hold of his own Predator in his right hand as it dangled at his side.

Seraphina stuck her hand inside his jacket, feeling around the right side of his chest. I noticed Deacon watching her intently, holding as still as possible.

Cypher suddenly sucked in a sharp breath. "Yeah… Right there." he hissed.

Seraphina looked relieved. "No blood. Probably just bruised the bone."

"Oh, there's still one more thing." I said.

Seraphina was quick on the uptake. I didn't have to say a thing as she went back over to the blue suited man and started digging into his pockets.

"Hey! What're you… Watch that!" Parker cried out. She stopped when she found his commlink, pulling it out of a front hip pocket.

"Orders." I said.

Seraphina gave the 'link a once over. It was a newer Sony Emperor model. She held it in one hand and took a few steps back from Parker. We watched as it floated up from her hand, hanging in midair above her open hand. This time there was no flicker of sorcerer's fire around her or the 'link.

Then her whole body flashed with fire again, and it rushed to his commlink, engulfing it completely. Parker and I both jumped back, and I heard Deacon gasp.

"So you really took it easy on those guards, didn't you?" I said.

"Yee-up." Seraphina answered sharply, staring Parker down while the burning and melting commlink floated above her outstretched hand.

Cypher chuckled a little, then sucked in a breath in pain.

The elevator chimed when it reached the basement garage level. When the doors opened I was half expecting more guards to be there to greet us.

"They'll be… on us…" Cypher struggled to say.

"I'm trying… scrambling…" Deacon added.

"Right, we find a van and quick." I said.

Again Seraphina took the lead, magically tossing aside the smoldering ruin of Parker's commlink. It made a soft splatter sound when it hit the concrete. She looked around all over the place for something that should be able to accommodate us. She spied something and went off quickly. Parker and myself weren't too far behind. She went straight for an SUV, a dark purple Toyota Coaster.

Keeping Parker covered I glanced back to Cypher. "Deacon, think you can get it for us?" I asked.

"Already…" she started to say, and the door locks clicked.

"Help me get him in the back." Seraphina ordered, opening up the Coaster's back passenger door.

Parker climbed in first, then turned and actually helped take Cypher from Deacon's arms. He pulled the kid towards the middle as he shifted more to the passenger side. Seraphina climbed in after him. Once they were settled Deacon took the front passenger seat while I got behind the wheel. With Deacon's help the SUV started right up. Once the windows were all set to limousine black we were off, driving like everything was normal.


Instant soykaf isn't as good as it sounds. Actually, if you've ever had real coffee, soykaf's actually quite disgusting, being a soy powder derivative with coffee flavoring and caffeine added. Still it's better than nothing, especially if you need that infusion of caffeine. And it's also nice to have something hot with flavor to drink on a chill night.

We hadn't wasted much time getting in touch with Deadbolt, though we didn't go straight to meeting him. We went out to the University Of Washington and left the purple SUV in the middle of the very empty and expansive parking lot. Seraphina told us she'd have a spirit wait ten minutes after we left before it torched the SUV. Deacon and Parker rode in Deadbolt's truck while I had the kids in the back seat of my sedan. At Cypher's insistence (about as much as he was up to doing, still reeling pretty well from having been shot) we still kept most of our wireless stuff off, so I wasn't able to check and see what kind of media coverage the burning SUV caused.

After ditching the SUV we had split up for a short while. The kids came with me, riding in the back seat of my car, while Deacon and Deadbolt took Mr. Acson for a ride.

Now the typical thing to do after a job like this is to either get right to Johnson to drop off the package, or go to ground and hide out for a while. Safe houses are quite common for the later part, especially if you've managed to survive a hit or three. Since we figured it was going to be a good while before Johnson called it was decided that I'd grab a few things to help us hide out while Deadbolt got us a safe house. He said he knew someone that owned a rental out by Green Lake that was currently empty and we could use for a night or two.

Now Parker kinda stood out with his choice of attire, but lucky us I knew a spell that could help adjust things. After we had all gotten caught up at Green Lake I worked a couple of castings of a fashion spell I know, and in a few minutes of time I had his ice blue wardrobe altered to basic black. Then came a hair coloring kit that I had purchased at a Stuffer Shack (they sell quite a variety of things, you know), and after a bit of protesting we got his white hair nearly a matching shade of black. Now at least he wouldn't stand out so easily. For Parker the choice had been simple: we changed his looks and clothes, or we got him a full set of Vending Ware and a wig. At least he made the right choice. Vending Ware is either crap brown or puke green in color and it's made from recycled plastic that's not comfortable at all. Hell, you can even feed a Vending Ware machine plastic bottles and the like instead of nuyen to get a set of clothes.

Right now I was just outside, leaning against the door jamb as I watched the rest of the neighborhood. It was late so there really wasn't a whole lot going on. I took another sip of my soykaf and grimaced against the bitter flavor, mulling in my mind what I had seen on our way over.

For those of you that know magic you might be wondering why we didn't hole up some place, maybe erect a ward or three to help counter some magical tracking considering the amount of power that Seraphina had done. Something most sleepers, and even a few awakened, don't know is that it's rather easy to wipe away the traces that sorcery leaves behind in the astral, and you don't have to do it yourself. She didn't say, and I didn't ask, but I figured that the spirit she had torch the SUV had been called upon earlier, and it could have very easily cleaned up the astral space after her back at the Horizon Splendor.

Oh, and wards take hours to create. The more powerful the longer it takes. They're not something you can just throw up like a pup tent with a memory metal frame.

Not wanting any surprises from our 'package,' I had taken a look at him through the astral once we were all in the cabin. Magically speaking he was also awakened, though not too powerful looking. His was not an example of pristine health, showing damage from some implants I had spotted within his skull, and more that I figured was from some kind of habitual drug use. Probably abused stims a lot to keep up with his studies and everything. Was a bit more common among college students than you might think. So it was easy enough to tell that he was the weakest when compared to Seraphina or myself.

And I knew this because I had given Seraphina a double check. While Parker had shown more calm in his aura than I really expected, Seraphina's was more full of worry than anything else. Still, her aura had taken some damage since that last job we did together. Likely an infusion or two had taken a permanent effect and tweaked her DNA. But I couldn't actually find any evidence of genetic damage. Not surprising, really, since that's actually pretty hard to spot in the first place. No, what I did notice was more of a void inside her head, and it took me a bit to realize that it matched up pretty closely to what I had seen in Cypher's head. Made me figure that they had gotten her some gene therapy and fixed what the infusion had done and then she had taken the advantage to get some headware since her magic had been weakened already.

But the scary part was that her magical potential wasn't any weaker than the last time I had seen her. As powerful as she was already it would've been no small feat for her to recover her lost power.

And just for kicks I had checked out Cypher's aura as well. Wasn't all that hard since he was lying on a couch, using Seraphina's lap for a pillow while he rested. And boy was I in for a surprise.

The kid was awakened too.

Somewhere in the months that I had first met them, finding that he had no magical potential, he had awakened. It was either that or he was really, really good at hiding his potential and I had missed it the first time. But as much pain as I could see he was in when I gave him a read I was favoring the recently awakened theory. One of the bits of supporting evidence was that his potential didn't seem any greater than Parker's right now. Two of the million nuyen questions were just what were Cypher or Parker capable of when it came to magic. Despite I was twice the power of either of them, it was still a bit of a scary prospect to consider.

Now if I had to guess, the reason that Cypher looked like he was electrified earlier was because it was his own levitation spell, and not Seraphina's magic, that had carried him to the Horizon Splendor building. If I was right, then it'd be obvious when he worked a spell again. But then the only reason I could see that electric aura was because he too had taken on a spirit guide or something. Was much more common for a mentor to show up when someone awakened. The only question on that subject now was what was his mentor?

The cabin door creaked open. "Hey… Bishop?" I heard Deacon softly say.

"Everything alright?" I asked her.

"I… I don't know." She looked away, down at the ground at first, then slowly she lifted her head to look back inside and towards the kids, Cypher specifically. When she looked back at me I gently gestured for her to step on outside with me.

"Something happen between you?" I asked when Deacon had closed the door behind her. "Maybe something they don't know about?"

She gave me a look, then looked away. "They don't know this, but… It's about… the price on their heads." Deacon softly confessed.

This wasn't news to me. It had made the rounds in the shadows, and as good as these kids were I seriously doubted they didn't know. Personally I didn't go bounty hunting. The small fry's aren't worth the trouble, and the big ticket ones are probably too much trouble. Just like Cypher and Seraphina, I figured they'd be too much trouble to try and bring in.

"I'm pretty sure they know about it by now." I told her.

"It's not that. It's…" Deacon took a deep breath. "A few months after Cypher awakened I was part of a team that was hired to try and catch them."

My eyes widened at that. Now I'm not saying that shadowrunners won't take jobs like this at all, but still it surprised me that Deacon would've taken that job, especially considering how she felt about kids. Then it hit me that she also knew he was awakened. Likely knew a bit of what he could do, too.

"What happened?" I asked, keeping my voice softly spoken.

Deacon said, "We caught them, and they escaped. We chased them, cornered them, and they fought back. There were six of us to start. They killed three, maybe four of us." She shook her head. "I don't know what happened to the sharpshooter. Two of us were supposed to… tag team Cypher in the matrix. I… I think I got lucky. The other guy… He wasn't the same after that."

"Black Ice?"

Deacon's head nervously twitched before she finally nodded.

Black Ice, taken from the letters for Intrusion Countermeasures (or IC), was used to refer to programs and agents that were made exclusively for dealing with pesky hackers like Deacon and Cypher. The programs themselves were for cyberspace combat, designed to send lethal feedback signals into the user's brain. It was easy to get a psychological disorder from being hit by one, even with the biofeedback filter programs the smart hackers had to protect themselves with.

"Kinda surprised he's got a program like that." I said.

Deacon shook her head. "Not just him."

I mentally cursed at myself. It made sense. If what I just saw meant that Seraphina had a matching commlink in her brain, then odds were outstandingly good that Cypher shared his programs and such with her. Drek, they could've even worked on them together.

"But it seems like they don't know you were there." I said.

"Close, but not too close. We… We were supposed to be just matrix support. We just didn't know how good either of them were." She paused to look back at the door, likely envisioning the kids in her mind. "He's just way better than I am."

"Even with your sprites and… What's it called, threading?"

Again Deacon managed to nod her head. Made me respect her as a hacker all the more. She knew what she could do, and was willing to accept and recognize someone who was better.

"And you know what he can do? His magic?" I asked, trying to prod a little more info out of her.

"First was when they were kidnapped." Deacon told me, "I… didn't see what happened. Just… what was left." She was looking rather uncomfortable, and I think a bit afraid.

"Was it really that bad?" I asked, trying to keep my voice as gentle sounding as possible.

Deacon clamped her eyes shut and nodded rather vigorously. Without opening her eyes she very softly, very quickly, said, "He killed a vampire with his bare hands."

If anyone else had told me that, including Cypher himself, I would've immediately called that person a bald faced liar. Vampires were tough, fast, and regenerated wounds that'd be fatal to most anyone else. Now I didn't know Deacon all that well, but one thing I had picked up on was that she wasn't much of a liar, nor did she seem to exaggerate anything. She was a passionate woman, and though she didn't really wear her heart on her sleeve she did come off as easier to read.

I believed her, as outrageous as that claim she had made was.

Then I noticed the tears that were managing to squeeze out of her eyes. Her chest heaved with every breath now. I put a hand on her shoulder, pulled her close, and just gave her a hug. Honestly I wasn't sure what else to do, and was pretty sure what I might say might make things worse. That night seemed pretty traumatic for her.

It must've been a good thing to do. I could feel how tense she was, and it seemed to melt away with the comforting gesture.

"Hey! What're you doing?" we heard Parker yell.

Well that interrupted the moment. She was quick to step away to give me room to get back into the cabin first.

Cypher was sitting upright and looking better now, but Seraphina had practically climbed onto Parker's lap and was staring intently into one of his eyes. Most decent guys would've been at least trying to talk her off, if not forcefully trying to shove her off, but Parker was pretty much frozen as a girl half his age really pushed too close into his comfort zone. Maybe it was because he had witnessed her magically clobbering the security earlier, or that Cypher had pulled out his Predator again and was aiming it straight at him.

I glanced over to Deadbolt. He was standing in the doorway to the cabin's kitchen, eyeing things carefully and ready to spring into action when it started. He also knew what I saw: move on Cypher and he'd likely shoot Parker.

"Alright," I said with a tired voice as I closed the door, "what's going on here?" I wasn't too worried that Deacon was still outside. I figured if she wanted in she would've been right behind me to come inside.

"His eyes." Seraphina answered, still staring at Parker, "Damned good work there."

"His eyes?" I asked.

"They're fake." Cypher explained. "At least that's what her spirit told her."

"I don't know what they're talking about!" Parker declared.

I sighed and leaned against the door frame. "Tried reading his aura too, I take it?" I asked.

"Something seemed funny, so I asked a spirit to take a better look. Said his eyes weren't real and there was metal and plastic in his head." Seraphina told us.

"We're thinking he's The Scion." Cypher added. "If he's got a 'link in his head it'd all add up."

"Hang on." I told him, opening the door. "We got a problem, I think you'd better come in." I said to Deacon.

Deacon stepped carefully as she came back into the cabin. She said nothing as I closed the door behind her.

I said to Deacon, "Kids think Parker's really The Scion."

"That… would make sense." she softly replied, looking back at me over one shoulder. "The Scion did say he'd call us when Parker was safe."

"Oh yeah." I went as the memory sparked in my head. "Drek, forgot about him saying that."

"Yeah, interesting how he'd know when Parker's safe without us telling him." Cypher said.

"But how'd he manage that since we destroyed his commlink?" asked Deacon.

"Was trying to figure that out, too." Deadbolt added.

"My spirit could've seen a commlink in his head." Seraphina told us. "And there's a way we can find out." She reached for something at her hip and drew a Bowie knife.

Deacon stumbled a few steps back, colliding into me.

To his credit, Parker froze. As close as Seraphina was to him if he tried to fight he could end up stabbed.

"Okay, hold on you two." I said, holding Deacon so she could stay on her feet. "We don't need to get that drastic."

"You sure?" Seraphina asked, cocking her eyes towards me. "This ain't drastic. Shit, last week I did surgery on a girl's back because a chop doc was shoving a puppet system into her spine."

"You did… what?" Deacon asked, sounding quite shocked. Sure, I was a bit surprised at this myself.

"She removed puppet chips from a girl's spine." Cypher repeated, "And last we checked on her she's still walking on her own."

"So you'll do brain surgery on Parker to remove a commlink you think is in there?" Deadbolt asked.

"Sure." Seraphina answered, sounding chipper and just a little bit psychotic for my liking. "And once I pull his 'link out Cypher can dig out what's so valuable."

"Alright! Alright!" Parker yelled, "Alright, yes, I'm The Scion and I've got an implanted commlink."

Seraphina turned her attention back to Parker, still holding her huge knife in one hand. "Wired right to your cybernetic eyes?" she sternly asked.

"Yes." Parker answered, exasperated.

The girl pushed herself off of Parker, much to the man's relief. Like it was nothing she put her knife back from where she pulled it. "At least you're not a bug." she said darkly.

I was briefly reminded of a little con the kids and I did to get into a hotel months ago. I had forgotten how quickly they could switch it on and off.

"Okay, so, about our pay?" Cypher asked.

Parker did not look up and sighed. Already I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"You're broke?" Seraphina asked, her voice pitched way lower than normal. I thought she might reach for her knife again.

"I was… going to pay you with what I could get for…" Parker softly said, "I've got something that the Foundations will pay a lot of money for."

"Figured it couldn't be your skills." muttered Cypher as Seraphina walked back over to the bench seat to sit with him.

"No… I… I got something they'll want." Parker told us.

"And just what is it you've got that'll make Horizon easily consider killing us for?" I asked.

Parker closed his eyes and lowered his face, pulling off his glasses with one hand and pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand. Looked like he was in a mental debate on this subject. Does he tell us or doesn't he? I decided I'd try to help him come to a decision.

"Not quite sure if you're up to speed on the application of magical detection, particularly mind probing," I said to Parker, "but I know a few spells. The girl can probably hit you with a stunbolt that'll send you into next week, and while you're out I'll just dig in your memories to see what's so valuable."

Honest to ghost I don't actually know that kind of spell. The one I do know has a lighter touch, lets me hear a person's surface thoughts. Too much of a mental violation to me, and actually illegal in a lot of places to do any kind of magical mind probing. My mind reading spell's also subtle compared to a true probe, which has an annoying side effect of alerting the victim that their brain's being rooted around in like a filing cabinet.

But the he didn't need to know that.

Parker groaned softly, then finally said, "Horizon has the only copy of a book called the Thaljun Cordex."

"So now it's the only physical copy." I amended.

"And you've got a digital scan of the entire thing in your headware." Seraphina added.

"Right." a defeated looking Parker admitted.

"And do you have any idea of who to call?" Seraphina asked as she stormed back over to Cypher.

Parker looked up. "I…" he started to say, but lowered his head again. "No." he said softly.

Drek, this was not looking good. The typical thing you'd probably be expecting is that we'd toss his hoop out the door and cut our losses.

Deacon stepped up from me, standing more steadily now, and tipped an ear as if she was trying to listen for something very hard to hear.

"There's a few things we wanna go over." Cypher said, finally holstering his Predator. "First, our fee. Thirty thousand nuyen, or we walk. Now."

"And that's for each of us." Seraphina sternly added. "No group discounts or shit like that."

Parker looked over at me, slack jawed. "Seriously?" he asked, "You're not like, babysitting these…"

"Stop." I ordered Parker, putting a little touch of power to the word.

Parker actually froze for a second.

"We're not babysitters, and those two are part of this group." I told Parker, "And they're more than willing to walk if things don't feel right." I paused for a bit to let that sink in then added, "They're also the ones that wanted to make sure you weren't a bug."

Parker looked over at the kids, then back to me.

"Yeah, shocking, I know." I said before he could try to ask something stupid. "Chip truth, they're equals in this. And don't forget, they contributed pretty heavily getting you out. That redhead slung spells with more power than you can muster, and didn't slow down at all."

Parker looked back at me in surprise.

"Yeah, I know your potential, and I'm sure they know too."

"Can we get back to our pay?" Seraphina asked.

"There's an addendum we want to add." Cypher added. "See, we figure if we hook you up with someone for whatever data you've got, Parker, they might be willing to pay us too. A… finder's fee, if you will. You ain't out our pay if they pay us too."

Might sound greedy, and maybe it was, but the way those two were coming off they weren't happy about this situation one bit. I'd never heard of this book or whatever Parker had a scan of, but it didn't mean that either of them hadn't too. If this was some pricey piece of drek then extorting a larger payday just might be well worth it.

And if I didn't know about the possible commlinks in their heads I'd be wondering just how the frag they were talking like they had discussed this.

"I happen to know a few people." I finally announced. "And I've got a feeling it's that, or you're walking from here, Parker."

"Alright, fine." Parker relented.


And so I had made a couple of calls, made a couple of introductions for Parkers, and managed a couple of meetings.

First was the Hotel Nikko, which was quite uncomfortably close to the Horizon Splendor building, but that's where Laurent Nazaire wanted to meet with us. So we took a bit of a wider path around through Downtown before circling back to the Hotel.

Oh, and I did tell the kids who we were going to meet. Considering what almost happened the first time they met I figured they deserved a warning. Hopefully Nazaire also remembered the right name so he wouldn't set her off. He was still stronger than her, but then again she could get very lucky. Or worse.

Now as you might've guessed from the name, the hotel was done in an oriental decor, favoring Japanese styles very heavily. The lobby had Japanese prints and classical art from some period I wouldn't be able to name, though one of a nearly naked human female in profile, casting off a pink kimono while standing between two large sunflowers caught my eye for a second. The rest of the place had a lot of what one would think of as 'traditional' Japanese furniture, too, with low seats and even lower tables. What wasn't quite as obvious in the small lobby was how the original architecture would have made things very uncomfortable for someone of Deadbolt's stature. Bias against orks and trolls was still a pretty hefty thing in Japanese culture, though the Hotel Nikki had underwent some remodeling to at least be less obvious about it. Was kinda hard to do that and keep the going boutique look without tearing down and rebuilding the whole hotel from scratch.

Nazaire already had things arranged for us, so the receptionist knew to tell us his suite number. He greeted us at the door when we got there.

"Please, please, come in." Nazaire said, waving for us to follow him in. Like the lobby, the suite was also done up in more traditional Japanese furnishings, and all richly done. Very worthy of the luxury hotel that had so far survived a change of hands and about thirty years of business, at least.

But compared to the clean smelling lobby downstairs, the suite had a different mix of smells to it, and they reminded me of how light my dinner was before getting called for this job.

"Make yourselves at home." Nazaire told us, "I know it's late but I hope you are hungry. Harukun-san is my favorite chef here, a genius at blending French and Japanese cuisines. Please, sit, and we'll discuss things while we eat. I've asked him to prepare something exquisite for us all."

A dining table had been set up for us, with cushions a plenty for everyone, including an extra large one for Deadbolt at the foot of the table. We all chose our own seats, with Nazaire at the head (obviously) and Parker immediately to one side. I sat down opposite of Parker, and Deacon sat down next to me. The kids took Parker's side.

Once we were all seated Harukun walked over to the table with a sous-chef carrying a platter of plates and food. Starting with Nazaire and working around clockwise he placed small plates with seared strips of beef along with delicate looking little bowls filled with a watery reddish-brown liquid and a pair of chopsticks.

Harukun was Japanese, of average height and build, with neatly short cut black hair and a trimmed moustache. He wore what you'd think of as typical chef's clothes, though these looked to be of red silk with gold embroidery, though he did wear a simple white apron over this. His face had a few lines of age, but his amygdaline eyes were still clear and sharp. I figured he was about in his mid fifties in age, and he really enjoyed cooking from the happy look on his face.

"This kobe beef with ponzu." Harukun told us, placing a larger plate before Deadbolt. Each of us had four pieces of meat, but Deadbolt had ten. Clearly Nazaire had ensured that there would be enough for all of us.

I went ahead and picked up my chopsticks and used them to pick up a piece of beef. I was glad I knew how to use the utensils, and a quick glance around showed that everyone knew how to handle them too.

"What's in this?" Seraphina asked after taking a bite. "The… ponzu's really good."

"Hai, it has sudachi and laésal juice." Harukun told us.

I was just about to take a bite when I noticed the kids' mood suddenly changed. "That the shit they use to make laés and leäl with?" Cypher asked.

Harukun looked mortified. Honestly I felt a little concerned too at the mention of two highly illegal, mind wiping drugs.

"It's… not like that." Deacon softly said. "Yes, if you… eat enough of the fruit… you can forget a day. The drugs are made from the seeds. The fruit… it's safe in small amounts."

It almost surprised me that she knew that. Well, being a technomancer she could've easily done some quick research right there on the spot, but even that seemed a little too quick. If it was matrix research I expected Cypher to be just a bit quicker with the data.

But then considering her past and kids and such, it kinda made sense that she'd also be aware of the date rape drugs, of which leäl was a very popular one. Not that she'd ever use the stuff, but be aware of what it does. Kinda like how the cops know what drugs like K-10 do without actually doing them themselves.

"Hai, just little juice." Harukun said. "Sudachi very tart, so sweet laésal juice help make better."

"I assure you that I'm not trying to undermine our discussions." Nazaire added. Even though he liberally dipped a strip of beef in his own ponzu, it was truly no guarantee that it would be safe.

But what I think really set the kids at ease was when Deacon did the same, though maybe not dunking the piece of meat so deeply as Nazaire did.

I went ahead and ate as well. The kobe beef strips were a little rare for my liking, but I gotta admit that it was really good. By the time we had finished that appetizer a sous-chef was coming around to collect our plates before Harukun gave us a second course. Honestly I wasn't too sure about what I saw: a raw looking, reddish-brown squid lying on some rice with a strip of seaweed wrapped around it.

"What is that?" asked Deadbolt.

"Hotaru ika sushi." Harukun answered as he placed a plate before Deacon. Each one of us had two of these little squids.

Nazaire picked one of the little buggers up and bit it in half, tentacles first.

"So, about my offer?" Parker saked.

Nazaire swallowed before saying, "Oui, oui. I am curious about what you think you have that is so valuable." He gave us a scrutinizing look.

I swallowed my own bite of squid, the texture seemed odd to me but the flavor was alright. "We already know what it is." I told him.

"Yes. The Thaljun Cordex." Parker said.

Nazaire's eyes widened. "Ah, oui, oui, you would be quite resourceful to acquire that. And Horizon would be quite interested to get you back, non?"

"If we could talk more privately…"

"Just go wireless." Cypher said. "We won't listen in."

Parker gave the kid a dubious look.

Looking at Parker I said, "Hey, the kids are professionals. I seriously doubt you could actually stop him from listening in if you don't use a cable."

There's a few advantages of being able to wirelessly talk to someone. For starters the most obvious is usually privacy. A hidden commlink and good encryption software can help, too. But when you're hungry you can also eat and talk at the same time. And apparently Parker and Nazaire decided to go ahead and conduct their business in the privacy of a wireless conversation.

After the squid was a pallet cleanser in a small serving of asparagus ice cream, followed by the main course of what Harukun said was ise ebi. This took a few sous-chefs for help as they wheeled out a cart holding an already hot hotplate. Ise ebi are about the size of your typical lobster but they don't have the giant claws. I think technically they're a giant shrimp. They were cooked live on the hotplate while we ate the ice cream. Deacon winced at first when she heard the whistling cry from the first ise ebi. Harukun must've noticed too, because he took a knife and immediately cut the head off the first one and every other one just before putting it on the hotplate. These were then split down the middle and served in a soup.

Then there was a ginger and shark fin gelatin, an onion soup that had been simmering under a pie crust, and last was a small bowl of rice with foie gras and shiitake mushrooms drizzled with an orange and mint glaze. And chip true the whole meal was delicious.

Finally, when Harukun and his sous-chefs were clearing away the final course, Nazaire said, "I am quite interested, but unfortunately cannot help you at this time. We will need to meet again, soon. If so," he turned to the rest of us, "in addition to Mr. Acson's payment I offer you all sixteen thousand nuyen for your services in keeping Mr. Acson alive and safe until then."

"As long as Mr. Acson remembers his deal with us, sure." Cypher said.

"I do." Parker stated. "And I'll let you know if I accept it."


Now Laurent Nazaire wasn't the only guy I got Parker in touch with, particularly because he insisted he wanted to "shop around" for a good deal. Enter Moreau. The time and location of our meet with him was a little more flexible, and what made us a bit nervous was just how close it also was to the Horizon Splendor building. Actually, if you could take Pike Street all the way into the bay you'd practically drive through the You Should Not Eat So Much! on Pier 60. At least it got us a bit further away from the Horizon building.

So with a little time between meets, especially after one excellent dinner, the kids opted to try sneaking back to where their bikes were. We were all a bit concerned about the risk, especially considering that they could just buy new bicycles after we got paid.

But they were more than insistent about it. They were outright defiant. After telling us several times that they'd meet up with us near Pier 60 they both walked off, quite literally disappearing into the shadows.

So we opted to head on down to Pier 60 to wait for them for a little bit. Deadbolt was a bit vocal about his concerns for the kids, but Deacon was actually quiet about it all. Seemed completely out of character for her, but then I remembered what she had told me. Again, if it were true, I'd actually be more worried about whoever tried any drek on those two.

Some time later I was leaning against my car when I heard the rumble of motorcycle engines. Looking down the street I saw the headlights on a pair of large motorcycles heading our way. I had to squint my eyes a little, but I didn't get a good look at them until they got closer. One of them was artistically done in flames and the other was black with electric blue racing lines. Even their helmets matched their motorcycles. At first I thought it was a pair of dwarves out for a little cruising…

Drek, it was the kids. It was easy to tell as they pulled up beside my Shin-Hyung.

"Now when you said bikes…" I started to say.

"You thought we meant the pedal kind?" Seraphina sourly interrupted as they pulled their helmets off. "Puh-lease."

"Got me by surprise, too." Deacon said.

I turned back towards Deadbolt's truck. "Looks like we're on." I said as he and Parker got out.

"I'm not liking this place." Deadbolt remarked as he closed the truck's door.

"Yeah, a little less private looking and open." I said, looking up and down the street for traffic. We had to wait for an Americar to drive by.

"I've got a few angles covered." Cypher said as we jaywalked across the street, "Should see anyone coming."

"Every little bit helps." I said. I had a guess as to what he was alluding to, considering that some hackers also dabbled with drones.

Now I had only met Moreau once, late last year when I helped rescue his daughter. Since then I had checked up a bit on him. He was a fixer for the Draco Foundation, a company at odds with the Atlantean Foundation when it came to collecting artifacts. He was a bit tall for a human, solidly built, with a Mortimer Greatcoat that looked like worn leather and a hat that made me think of that old flatvid character Indiana Jones (thanks to Jazz and his obsession with outdated media). He had medium brown hair and a long goatee that had a good gray streak on the right side. He was waiting outside with a drink cup from You Should Not Eat So Much! Seriously, they need a shorter name.

"So, you're the one with something special." Moreau said as we walked up.

"Yes, something I think you'll find quite wonderful…" Parker started to say.

Moreau held up a hand. "Just… stop it." he gruffly said. "Get your hoop over here and let's talk, and none of that flowery bulldrek."

At least Parker didn't stand out with the crowd. His white hair and bright blue clothing would've practically been a beacon against the subdued colors everyone else wore. This wasn't the club hopping area where neon and bioluminescence were the craze.

There were still a lot of unknowns going on. We had no idea just how invested Horizon was with Parker, meaning we had no idea how much effort they'd put into greasing him or collecting him. Worst case was they'd pull the stops to get him back. If that happened I figured the kids would be well off on their own in disappearing, and depending on the magical assets I could pretty well vanish too. Deacon and Deadbolt, however, I didn't really know.

Of course I'd try to help them. I'm not the type to just cut and run like that.

I didn't really pay attention to what Parker and Moreau had to say as they talked. Instead I focused more on the people around us, those that came and went from the restaurant and such. It was late, and mostly it was couples or even numbered groups coming for a late night feeding. The only appeal of the place I could see was the cheap factor, the food practically nothing but soy with a liberal addition of fillers and flavors that it was barely food.

And considering just how luxurious of a meal we all just had, the thought of such soy based fare actually seemed rather disgusting. I was glad Moreau didn't ask us in to eat.

After a good while the two men walked back over to us. "I've made him my offer," Moreau said, "and I'll pay you all each an extra twenty thousand for the exchange."

"Sounds like we've got our deal, then." I said. Figuring if Moreau was offering us more than Nazaire, then he also offered Parker more than Nazaire did.

"Just don't forget, Parker." Seraphina said.

"You're not gonna let him forget it, are you?" Deadbolt asked.

"Makin' sure he learns his lesson." Seraphina snipped back. "Make sure you got the cred on hand before ya hire people like us."

"So, is this a deal?" I asked Parker.

"Yes. Mr. Moreau has made a rather generous offer." Parker told us.

"So, when and where?" I asked Moreau.

"Kobe Terrance Park, Washington Street." Moreau answered, stroking his goatee thoughtfully. "Two hours. I'll have your money and support then."

I glanced around at the others. Saw a few nodding heads, and nothing that suggested they didn't like this deal.

"We'll see you then." I told Moreau.


The heart of Downtown is a city that doesn't sleep. Oh, sure, the clubs will wind down after 2am when the law says they can't serve any more alcohol, but the nightlife continued on after that.

Of course we weren't going to anyplace the typical club hopper or wageslave would go to at such a late hour. With plenty of time we went back up to our borrowed pad at Green Lake. This time around Deadbolt was leading the way in his pickup while I followed with Deacon and Parker in my sedan. The kids on their monster motorcycles rode behind me. And so far, so good. In a few hours we'd be rid of Parker and fifty thousand nuyen richer for it.

We were just passing under the I-5 when my car was suddenly rocked from behind and before I knew it we were spinning around. I barely managed to keep enough control as we slid off the road. Somehow I managed to skid between the concrete pilings that held up the freeway and actually slide into the parking lot that existed beneath it. When we finally stopped my car was facing the street as if I was about to drive out of the parking lot.

Tires squealed as a pickup truck backed up. It didn't take much to register that this was no accident. Especially when I got a good look at the truck. It was black, sharp and expensive looking. Like the kind a S.W.A.T. team would drive around in.

Then the passenger doors opened up and two people hopped out. They were wearing nondescript full body armor.

"Get down!" I yelled, doing my best to melt into my seat. The windshield above me shattered as bullets ripped through my car. They didn't shoot much, but then they didn't have to.

Then I heard some shouting, tires squealing, and more gunfire. I reached up to grab the door handle to shove it open, falling rather ungracefully from my car as I tried to stay behind cover getting out. Looking under my car door I saw one of the armored people down on the ground. From the booted feet I saw it looked like the other was carefully walking around my car. Fortunately all I needed was to see part of his body.

A few months ago I had decided it was necessary for me to learn a combat spell after a too close call with some spirits had left me with few other options. So I activated my ring and as quickly as I could drew up a fair amount of power and directed it at the booted figure stalking my car. It was a quick spell, like the double that Seraphina had done to that air spirit, but I didn't have the time to carefully contain the power, and I felt that power burning me as I unleashed that power into the other figure.

I heard more gunfire as I struggled to push myself a little more upright. There might've been an explosion, too. Then the wind really started to pick up. Great, could it get any worse?

The bursts of machinegun fire gave me the answer. Bullets pinged off the ground and into my car. After one shot I heard the whirring noise of helicopter blades, and saw one pulling up and away from us through the gap between the north and south lanes of I-5.

Then it was gone, and everything was eerily quiet.

"Everyone alright?" came Deadbolt's booming voice.

"I'll live." I loudly called out, using my sedan to help keep me upright as I stood. Then I got a good look at my car. "Awe drek." I cussed, looking over the bullet ridden hood and the smoke that trickled out of those holes. The windshield was completely shattered, as was the back window. I did have run flat tires, but honestly those aren't any good when they've been shredded by gunfire.

"We're okay." Deacon added. I glanced over to her and saw her and Parker working their way out of the back seat of my car, bits of glass creaking and clinking as they moved. Parker was almost as pale as his true hair color.

I more heard than saw Deadbolt walk up. When I looked up I saw he had a shotgun in hand. "Drek, they got you good." he said as he looked over my car.

"Yeah." I softly agreed.

"Crap, we need to get to ground." Deadbolt said. Without explanation he hurried off back towards his truck.

"C'mon." Deacon added. She and Parker followed right behind Deadbolt.

It took me a little bit more before I followed them. Then I rushed up when I saw Deadbolt helping Seraphina into the back of his pickup. "What happened?" I asked.

"Asshole… Big gun." Cypher answered, breathing heavily and holding his cybernetic hand tightly to his chest. Drek, he didn't sound too good either. Then I spotted the blood staining his jacket from underneath his hand. Shot twice in one night, his luck wasn't holding that good.

"Are we all really gonna fit?" Parker asked.

"Desperate times." Deadbolt answered, turning to Cypher and helping him in.

"What about their cycles?" I asked.

"Said they'll follow the truck." Deadbolt answered.

I said nothing more. When I glanced at the two monster motorcycles I noticed that they were balancing upright on their own two wheels. Had to be an aftermarket mod they had installed.

It was really cozy in the back seat with Deacon and the kids, the four of us all squished together. Especially when Deacon and I were holding a handful of wadded gauze to where the kids had gotten shot. I was glad that Parker didn't make any comment about having a roomier seat up front with Deadbolt.

Thankfully it wasn't too much farther to the safe house. And true to his word their motorcycles drove themselves behind Deadbolt's truck. Deacon and I wasted no time carrying the kids into the safe house. Hopefully we'd be able to get them patched up before they lost too much blood.

"Put me down." Seraphina softly said once we were inside.

"You've been shot." Deacon told her, "We gotta…"

A roughly humanoid… thing made of rocks appeared before us. Gray like concrete and granite, except for the eyes that glowed with a bright green fire. Then I noticed a few pentagrams that looked like they were carved into the very body of the earth spirit.

"Please… put me… down." Seraphina repeated.

Deacon looked to me. Not quite sure if it was right or not, I simply nodded.

Deacon carefully laid Seraphina out on the floor and stepped away. The earth spirit walked over to the girl and knelt down by her head. Almost reverently it put its hands to her shoulders with one hand covering over where she had been shot.

Seraphina's body was engulfed in ruby flames again, but that fire soon shifted to yellow, then a shade of green to match the spirit's eyes. It didn't take me long to figure it out. That spirit was hers, bound to her, and she had called upon it to aid her magic. The rest of us pretty much just stood there watching like complete idiots. Not like there really was much we could do.

The spell took about half minute before it was complete. Was quite obvious when the green flames simply winked out of existence.

Like she was just getting up from a nap Seraphina hopped back up to her feet. She immediately turned to me and Cypher, the same ruby flames coming to existence once more as she drew more power for her magic, but I also noticed something that looked like an eagle's head over her own like it was a cowl. Those flames moved to envelope Cypher, leaving me untouched. They also didn't change color this time. I guess it was the spirit's influence that adjusted the color, though this second one took just as long as the first.

"I think you can put me down now." groaned Cypher as the flames flickered away. I was glad to put him on his own two feet. Kid was starting to get heavy in my arms.

The earth spirit fell apart, large rocks crumbling to dust before fading away to nothingness.

"Wow." Parker softly said.

Silently I agreed with Parker, but probably for a different reason. Seraphina had quite the fortitude when it came to the sorcery, and though she was looking a little tired now it was probably more from the late hour than anything else.

"So… who were they?" asked Deacon.

"A Horizon strike team." Parker answered, hanging his head.

"Not like you gotta be ashamed of that." I said, walking over to a recliner to sit down. The kids were following my lead and reclaimed the couch they had earlier that night. I opened up a messenger program and started a message to Guy. Hopefully she or Hank could manage to reclaim my car. Worst case scenario I'd probably be trying to steal it back from a Knight Errant impound yard.

"But one of them got away." Parker said, "That helicopter. They'll be back."

"That one got chased away." corrected Seraphina. "If you were flyin' it you'd bug out too once you got a jumbo icicle shoved up your ass."

"Thought your forte was fire." I said.

Seraphina shook her head. "Water spirit." she said.

"Before or after you got shot?" Deadbolt asked as he claimed a chair for himself.

"After."

So she had two bound spirits, at least. Or did. Likely she still had more services she could call upon from either of them. Drek, now I wished I had paid a little more attention to Melody when she rambled on about spirits and summoning and such.

"I think we got some time, so I think we should try and rest up." Deadbolt suggested.

No one disagreed.


We had managed to get some rest, though Parker actually fell asleep. Was lucky that I wasn't exactly asleep when my commlink started chiming with an incoming call. When I checked the screen it said it was Joss. I hit the [Accept] icon.

"Got you on speaker." I told Joss.

"Hey, glad I managed to reach you." Joss said, "Listen, got a request from a real weirdo, lookin' to get in touch with you and the team."

"Could it wait?" I asked him. "Half an hour, tops, and we'll be off the clock."

"He said it's related to your job. Probably is. Have a look." A prompt for a file transfer to me came up. Knowing Joss he wouldn't knowingly send anything that was a virus, and was pretty good about not getting infected files to begin with.

The file was an image of the six of us at the Hotel Nikko.

"What is it?" Deadbolt asked.

"Someone got a scan of us at the hotel." Cypher answered. I noticed Seraphina scowling. Can't really help it, it's the nature of the job, getting spotted like this at times.

Joss chuckled. Guess he knew Cypher well enough. He said, "Told me his name's Simon Andrews. I've heard of him, fixer for Saeder-Krupp. I got his commcode, or you can just go meet him, whichever you want."

"Depends on this Simon. What do you know about him?" I asked.

"British punk. He's a full body changeling that looks almost like a dragon. And yes, he's Lofwyr's eyes and ears in this town. Supposedly took his SURGE well, but supposedly he was already a snake before it happened. Best to let the ladies know to watch out for him."

"Considering one of them, he needs to be warned." I dryly remarked, looking at Seraphina.

"You'll find lizard boy at The Alabaster Maiden." Joss added. "Supposedly a regular there."

"Prob'ly already expecting us. Don't call him, we'll just go." I told Joss.

"He is. Said you're already on the VIP list to get in. All of you." Joss told me before ending the call.

"Hey, wake up." Deadbolt said none too gently, nudging Parker with a booted foot.

"Wha… What?" Parker stammered groggily.

"We might have another potential buyer." I told him. "Get your drek together, we're heading out."


There's no way at all you can go to The Alabaster Maiden and not see the Aztechnology Pyramid. Well, maybe if you're blind, but then you're not seeing much of anything at all.

The Pyramid was one of the largest structures in Seattle, probably second only to the ACHE. The lot that belonged to Aztechnology ran between East Mercer Street to East John Street and Broadway to 15th Avenue, and the footprint of the Pyramid took up most of this. On the corner of 12th and Mercer, across the street from the Pyramid, was The Alabaster Maiden.

The Alabaster Maiden was named for the life-sized statue that was just outside. The story of that was the statue was once a woman named Gabriella Dematto, one of the age's first magicians that managed to turn herself to stone by pushing her magical talents too far. Honestly I didn't believe it, and I had looked at the statue in the astral as well. Best I can tell you is that there was a trace of magic in that statue, but it wasn't anything human. Regardless of what any of us believed about the legend we each gave the statue a touch on the way in. It's tradition.

Now the place was a nightclub, and a high class one at that. They kept up with the technology in holograms and extensively used them for almost as much as possible. Sometimes on the weekends there were real magical acts as well.

Well, there was no magic act when we got there. And true to Joss's word we had all been put on the list so we could get straight into the club. Even the kids got in, no questions asked. Heck, Seraphina had even surprised me earlier in using another spell to fix the bullet holes in their jackets. And yes, she seemed to have an easier time with her fix spell than I did with my fashion spell.

Inside was relatively dark with the lights low, blue-white lasers flashing to the techno-dance beat of very loud music, casting a dizzying display of shadows from the crowded dance floor, and the air starting to reek of sweat and booze.

Now Joss wasn't kidding when he said that this Simon character almost looked like a dragon. In the middle of a U-shaped booth was a lizard man. He had a full on snout and a Mohawk-like frill on his hairless head. He had on a battered black leather vest with some pins and graffiti on it, equally tattered looking jeans, and a shirt that had the British flag on the front. It looked like a waitress with a hairdo made of holographic snakes was with him. He had his hands all over her and she was laughing. That laughter died when Simon saw us coming up to him.

I took a moment to shift my perceptions to the astral so I could get another look at the green lizard man. He was genuinely very happy, healthy, unaugmented, and a mundane… freak. My perception was shifting back to normal just as he noticed us. It looked like he whispered something to the waitress (which would've been impossible because of how loud the music was), who then stood up to go back to work and promptly got a friendly swat on the rump. At least Simon had good taste in women.

"Oy! Lads!" Simon called out to us, practically yelling, gesturing for us to take a seat.

I stepped up first into the booth and sat next to Simon at his right. Parker sat down next to me, and Deacon took the seat at the edge. To Simon's left sat Cypher, Seraphina, then Deadbolt.

"You lads iz in a heap o' trouble." Simon told us, yelling with a British accent to match his getup.

"Tends to happen when we take something someone wants to keep." I replied, trying to speak loudly enough to be heard.

The snake haired waitress came back with about half a dozen bands looped around one arm. She leaned deeply over the table and put one around my head first, and proceeded around the table. Deacon got a crazy holographic hairdo in the appearance of electric blue flames, like an anime character I saw some time ago (not by choice; Jazz insisted). That blue actually changed to green to match her hair.

Parker was next to receive a headband, and a bunch of orbiting stars appeared around his head. They were all changing colors and shapes and sizes, all to the beat of the music. He seemed quite the kid as the rather attractive waitress got really close to him to put it on. Must've been the real chipworm in school.

Then she went to Cypher next, who got a very good look down her shirt as she leaned over. (Yes, I did too; they're very nice.) His headband produced a motley mix of space ships that spun around his head in a holographic free-for-all battle. Bit of a surprise here, he didn't react at all like I expected. More like me it looked like he was thinking something like, "Nice tits. So what?" Considering how much Parker blushed, the kid was all the more mature about it.

Seraphina looked a little more indignant when she received her headband. It was too much a coincidence when hers created a lovely mop of flowing flames for hair with a pair of horns and a blood red halo that was on fire. If I were to guess at what she was thinking it'd be something like the jealous little girl at the big breasted teenager, but with a bit more venom to her gaze.

Last was Deadbolt, and from his horns sprouted a multitude of exhaust pipes that chugged smoke.

"So, guv'na, wot ya got?" asked Simon when the waitress walked off.

"A gent that's looking for a change of scenery." I yelled back. Now I wished Melody was here as she could use a spell to create a sound barrier that'd not only quiet things down for us but could also give us some privacy to talk.

"There's something I wanna know." yelled Cypher, drawing Simon's attention, "Just how the fuck did you manage to get that pic?"

It looked like Simon was clicking is tongue in reprimand, but the noise made that impossible to hear. "Trade secret, lad." he loudly answered.

"I think your scaly ass got lucky." Seraphina countered, glaring at him.

"An' ya got lucky too, lass." Simon added, "A dragon's assassin is no one to tuss with!"

"No shit, Sherlock! Tell us something new!" yelled Cypher.

I waved a hand at the kid to try to get him to settle back down. He glowered a little but did.

"Let's try to get back to business." I said rather loudly, "What're you offering and how much?"

"I'm offerin' to buy whatever you're sellin'." Simon yelled back.

"It's not just what I've got that's valuable." Parker yelled, "I also want out."

This time Simon shook his head. "Sorry gov'na, no can do."

"No can do?" I yelled back. "Drek! You're wanting to meet us, you arranged this, and now you're sayin' you can't help?"

"You can't take me along with?" Parker asked, "Even considering what I've got?"

"Sorry mate, I ain't got that in me." Simon told him.

"No deal!" Parker yelled.

"Oy! You ain't got no idea what kind o' trouble you're in!"

"Do you?" Seraphina yelled back.

"Did the lights just flicker?" I barely heard Parker ask. Made me wonder what he was on about. Sure, the lasers were flickering to the beat of the music, but that was about it.

Cypher must've heard him, too. I saw him glance over at Parker with a questioning look. Then I saw something in kid's eyes. A realization of something. "Headbands!" he yelled, tearing off the band that was projecting the spaceships about his head. Seraphina was almost as quick to yank hers off, just as he yelled the word.

The rest of us were a bit slower to pull them off. Parker seemed still confused so I had to yank the band off his head.

"What's up?" I yelled, looking at Cypher.

"Setup!" he yelled back, "We gotta go! NOW!"

Now most people would probably take exception to being ordered by a twelve year old boy. But then I already knew from the past job alone that Cypher wasn't exactly a normal twelve year old boy. Besides, in this biz you really can't take the chance if it might be a setup.

"Right, we're outta here!" I yelled for everyone. I stood, grabbing Parker by the arm and hauling him to his feet.

"Oy! You're makin' a big mistake, you are!" Simon yelled.

We pretty much ignored him as we made our way to the exit. At the door the kids stopped. Seraphina turned to Parker and asked him, "Do you trust me?"

"I… what?" he asked.

Seraphina sighed. "Look. We figure you gotta disappear for a bit. Not get seen coming out. So unless your college brain's got an invisibility spell or the like, do you trust me?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Parker stammered.

Funny thing about magic and spellcasters. It's kinda a learned reflex to try and push aside spells. More subtle illusions and divinations can fail against us and we won't even know we walked right into the spell at times, and we don't even have to try.

So the reason Seraphina asked Parker about trust was so he wouldn't try to resist the next spell she was going to cast on him. She reached up to one ear, pushing her red hair back to reveal a silver earring with a clip and ruby stud. Her whole body glowed with flames briefly, then Parker looked to be on fire for a moment before he and the flames just vanished, and her own aura seemed to get sucked up into her earring. She closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. Looked like that spell took a little out of her this time.

"Won't it look odd, six come in and five go out?" Deadbolt asked.

"We've got that covered." Cypher said as the two pulled out a pair of gloves to put on.

I had seen this once before when we were trying to catch a smuggler, though honestly they had been wearing different clothing at the time. Colors quickly shifted to become an adaptive camouflage, and holograms flickered into existence around their hands and heads, synchronized to match. At close range like this, and knowing what to look for, I could still see them somewhat.

Deadbolt pushed the door open. "C'mon, let's get going." he said.

I glanced at Deacon. She seemed a little unnerved, but nodded and headed out the door. Just behind her were two small blurs of light.

"Is it always like this with those two?" Deadbolt asked as I stepped through the door.

"I'll let you know after this job."


I held my chin in my hand as I watched buildings and street lights go by. I was in the back seat of Deadbolt's truck with Parker. Not long after we had gotten going Seraphina had let her spell drop. A few minutes later we saw them pass us on their motorcycles. Well, we figured it was them as the riders looked somewhat like the kids and one of them flashed us a 'V' sign, but their attire and bikes were solid black.

"Just what is it with those two?" Parker asked. "I mean…"

"I met them half a year ago. Damsel in distress kind of job." I told them. "Honestly thought Johnson was crazy to hire on a couple of kids. But he apparently knew them, knew something about them."

"How'd the job turn out?" asked Deadbolt.

"Rescued the dame, arrested the kidnapper, delivered an artifact." I quickly recanted. "Turned out to be quite the actors, too." I added, thinking about when we had snuck into the Mulvihill Hotel.

"How did… Johnson know?" Deacon asked.

"Said something about the two Fallen Angels being worth more than what he was paying them." I told her.

"And they didn't bitch about the pay?" Deadbolt asked.

I chuckled. "Cypher actually said commented about that. Said something about them being nobodies in town, and Johnson was expecting them to haggle over the pay. Said they were wanting to build up their rep here first."

"You sure he's… what… eleven?" Deadbolt asked.

I tried to think on that for a bit. "Ya know? No, I'm not sure."

So, now a lot of the major cities have a place like a China Town or such. Seattle has several, in a fashion. Now it's not exactly called China Town, or Elf Town, or what not. It's more of a district in name, but it's about the same otherwise. At the southern tip of Lake Union, for example, is the Elven District. Straight south of that is the old Renraku Archology (which is damned near impossible to miss), and what had sprung up around that were a Japanese and Chinese districts. Or maybe they'd been there since before the Archology was built, I don't know. Not that it really mattered now, I guess.

Anyway, Kobe Terrace Park wasn't too far away from Pier 60 or the ACHE, and was about a century old if the AR history tags were to be believed. It was part garden, part park, and all Japanese.

But this was business, and it was the middle of the night, lit only by street lights. We took the direct approach, getting off the I-5 onto 6th Avenue for a few blocks before taking the Washington Street entrance to Kobe Terrace Park. Just a few blocks west was the ACHE, looming in the sky.

Moreau was not alone. You'd have to be a fool to expect otherwise. Standing next to him was a big, burly, and augmented troll with a duffle bag slung over one shoulder.

I tried to set aside the thought that Guy hadn't yet gotten back to me yet about my car. When we left Green Lake we had taken a completely different route to get back onto the I-5 before going to The Alabaster Maiden.

Now it also wasn't just the six of us when we got to the park. Besides the spirits I had bound myself I had called up a stronger earth spirit for the night. It was a bit stronger than I really should've tried handling, and after a brief mental standoff I had managed to coerce a few services out of it in exchange for a headache. I also wagered that the kids had called up spirits of their own. Well, pretty sure at least Seraphina had, anyway.

"Glad you made it." Moreau said as four of us piled out of Deadbolt's truck. The kids were just to the passenger side on their monster motorcycles.

"Well it's not for a want of people trying." I said.

"We'll be glad when this is all over." Cypher added.

"He's that much trouble?" Moreau asked.

"Maybe that much more valuable." I said. "No, we're not gonna try to ask for more money."

"Good, 'cause I ain't payin' you more." Moreau told us.

"Let's get this over with." Cypher said.

I heard squealing tires from behind us, and already had a sinking feeling in my stomach. Just as I was turning around, hand going into my jacket for my Predator, I thought I heard gunshots ringing out. Instead I grabbed for Parker to pull him with me, moving to put Deadbolt's truck between us and the shooters.

"Mother fuckers!" I heard Seraphina yell as I chanced a look around the pickup. I saw the kids on the ground, having jumped off their motorcycles to avoid the gunfire. From lying in the middle of the street Seraphina had put her hands together in front of her, and I was just in time to see a bolt of ruby red fire lash out at an oncoming pickup truck. The two hit square on, flames washing over the front and hood of the truck.

Then I noticed Cypher, more crouching beside his motorcycle. Crackles of blue energy washed over his body, collecting into his right hand before arcing like a lightning bolt to his left hand, then jumping the gap to strike the pickup. There was a sound like a gunshot, not a real gunshot but those deeper bangs you hear in the trids, and the oncoming truck's engine sputtered as it struggled to keep running.

I called to that earth spirit I had summoned earlier as I watched four armored people hop out of the ruined pickup truck. They didn't advance on us right away, using the truck's doors to try and cover themselves. Chopper boy from earlier tipped them off about our magic.

Well, only what he had seen.

Your orders? the spirit asked.

Normally I am an easy going guy, really I am. But these guys were playing the hardball of hardballs.

Kill those guys.

My spirits aren't always very elegant looking. I take bits and pieces from all over when it comes to magic, spell formulas, spirit binding runes, etc. And tonight's earth spirit looked like a haphazard conglomeration of gray boulders and rocks when it materialized.

Now these guys were smart. They didn't try shooting like mad when my earth spirit came charging at them, built like an ork linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks. No, they scrambled away from the truck so that when my spirit tackled it at full force they didn't get plowed under. The suspension squeaked in protest when the truck got hit, and again when the spirit backed off to let the front end drop back down to the ground.

But one of the guys didn't seem as panicked as the others. He actually went a few steps sideways instead of falling straight back, turned his hand towards my spirit, and unleashed a bolt of raw magical power at it.

My spirit completely ignored it. But that made me nervous. They had themselves a mage this time.

"Cypher!" Seraphina yelled.

"Got him!" Cypher yelled back. Again his body flickered with little blue bolts of power that coalesced into a bolt of lightning. His spell was true, and there was another trideo gunshot sound with it, and the magician was bowled off his feet. Then he fell to his own knees, reaching out for his motorcycle's handlebar to try and keep somewhat upright.

My spirit flipped aside the other pickup as it advanced on the other armored people before stretching out an earthen arm to unleash a torrent of flames at one of them. I noticed another guy had apparently become so disoriented that he had walked right into the building and was now using it to keep himself upright after sliding down to his knees.

I hazarded a glance back, and saw Moreau and the troll were gone, but the van was still sitting there, ignored and forgotten. Looked like the van wasn't really their ride after all.

"We gotta get outta here!" I yelled.

"What about Moreau?" Parker yelled to me.

"Go with him, if you can find him." I answered, jabbing a thumb back at the van.

I popped back around from the covering side of Deadbolt's truck, aimed in the general direction of their magician, and squeezed off two rounds as I hustled for a door. I doubt it would have mattered if they could hear the gunshots, but the noise of hearing bullets hit close to you is often enough to cause some panic. With my free hand I opened up the first door, squeezed off two more shots at the magician as he was regaining his feet, and got into the back seat of the truck.

"What about the kids?" asked Parker as he got in the passenger seat opposite of mine.

"They can take care of themselves. Go!" Deacon answered from the front seat. Had that been about anyone else I might've tried to shoot her right then and there.

Deadbolt pulled a pretty neat bootlegger's turn, just about running over one of the armored men as we raced by. Tires squealed as he turned north onto Sixth Avenue. After a block he turned right again. Once it looked like we were clear I released my spirit from its task. When we got too far away I wouldn't have been able to get my other service out of it anyway, and I didn't think that we really needed to make sure those guys were truly dead.

"I never thought… you guys… abandoned…" panted Parker.

"We don't." Deacon sternly said.

Motorcycle engines tend to be a lot louder than that of a car or truck because of something in how the exhaust system's built. It also leads people to think that you'll always hear one coming a kilometer away, even when you're driving down the road in your own car. The reality of it is that your car has a lot of sound dampening in it, and that's just for starters.

Point is, we didn't hear the sound of their motorcycles until they were practically on us. I could just barely see them through Parker's window as the kids matched our pace in the inside lane. One of them, Cypher if I had to guess, flashed us a 'V' sign just before they sped up ahead of us.

Deadbolt grunted. "There's your answer."

"You know," I said, "if I didn't believe what you told me about those two earlier I just might've shot you for telling us to leave them behind." I could see Deacon lowering her head.

"Care to share?" asked Deadbolt. "I mean, I know… And they're kids, too."

I guess Deacon was beating herself up a bit much now for what she had said. I decided to answer for her.

"Word on the street is that Cypher killed a vampire, by himself with his bare hands." I told them.

Parker stared at me in disbelief.

"You hit your head or somethin'?" Deadbolt asked.

"Honest to ghost, that's the scan." I replied.

"What's that old matrix line, 'trid or it didn't happen?'" Deadbolt asked.

"They are… very… capable." Deacon softly said.

Nothing more was said after that. I also didn't pay that much attention to where Deadbolt was driving until he pulled his truck into a Stuffer Shack, parking next to one of the fuel pumps. The next row over I saw two familiar black motorcycles pulling up just as we were getting out.

"Gassing up?" Cypher asked as he pulled his helmet off.

"Yeah. Tank's runnin' close to 'E.'" Deadbolt answered as he accessed a pump. "Was hoping to do this after the job was done."

"Null sheen, Parker." I said to him, "Not like any of us knew we were going to get raided a second time."

"Best we find a new crash pad." Deadbolt added.

"Yeah." I sighed, "The last place's probably too hot to go to now."

"I… I'm gonna go get a snack." Deacon told us. Without waiting for a reply she started walking towards the store.

"Sounds like a good idea." added Seraphina.

"Sure." Cypher told her. Instead he started tending to their bikes. Looked like he was going to fill up their tanks as well. Not a bad idea, really.

But since my car was probably a lost cause right now I opted to follow Deacon and Seraphina in to grab a few snacks. After using the restroom I grabbed a few things, including a 3L bottle of Buzz Cola and a large sack of ranch flavored Doritos for Deadbolt along with the orange flavored Fanta-Zack and tube of BBQ chips I had for myself.

I wasn't the first one back out. Seraphina had been really quick in and out, and apparently knowing what to grab for Cypher as well it seemed.

Deacon was right behind me at the checkout, and it looked like it was intentional. She had a look on her face that was something like 'we need to talk,' so I waited for her by the exit.

We stepped just outside, then she stopped and asked me, "You've… read their auras, right?"

"Yeah."

She turned to face me, looking up into my eyes with that sad, pleading look. "What did you see?"

"He's got headware, yes." I told her, "And her aura's damaged too. Pretty sure she's got a matching setup. Why'd you ask?"

She looked back down at my chest, more in thought than anything. After a bit of thinking she said, "We're all still ghosting, you know, but it's like they're still connected. I'm sure you'd know if it was magic, but… Honest to ghost I keep thinking I… hear something between them. It feels like when we do a wireless chat, but… I can't quite… describe it. It's like… hearing a ghost."

"Or like trying to look at them when we left the Maiden?"

She looked back up at me and nodded.

"Those two are a pair, a team," I told her, "and they're no fools. Wouldn't surprise me if they've gotten a hold of some kind of military grade encryption for their private chat."

"But that I'd hear, clearly." Deacon told me, "Even if I couldn't understand it."

I sighed. "Honestly I don't know. I know people a lot better than I do tech." Well, not completely true. I figured I had a better understanding of this kind of tech than the average user. I put a hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention again. I told her, "Hey, the kids're solid. Haven't heard of them turning on a team. They're alright."

Deacon nodded as we continued on walking back to the others.

"Grabbed you a few things." I told Deadbolt, handing him the plastic bag that had the snacks I had gotten for him. He grunted his thanks as he took it.

"You are to be commended for your efforts." someone said from behind us. Immediately I turned around to see a pair of men walking up to us. Both had short cut black hair, wore dark clothing, and looked Oriental. One was an elf, the other human that looked rather unremarkable despite the collection of scars running up and down his face. Their hands were empty, and the elf raised his hands in a peaceful gesture as they walked up.

Something felt off to me.

The kids drew their Predators, holding them ready.

The two stopped, though the human didn't put his hands up when the elf did.

"We are only here to talk." the elf told us. Sounded like English was a second language, but he still spoke it quite well.

"And you're still standing." I replied. "Trust me, if we were the trigger happy types you'd already be unconscious on the sidewalk."

"Yes, I suppose so." the elf said, looking us over. Not quite sure if he believed me.

"You're here to talk, so talk." Cypher gruffly told them.

The elf didn't even glance at Cypher. "To the point, then. The offer is simple." he said as he held up a little object that was black and gold. "This credstick containing a quarter of a million nuyen, and you walk away leaving Mr. Acson to me."

"That's your offer?" Cypher asked.

"Gotta do better than that." Seraphina scoffed.

This time the elf did glance at the kids. Briefly. Maybe it was more of a glare. For a moment I actually felt sorry for the two if things went south. But then it would be easy to underestimate a pair of smart mouthed, bratty kids when you have no clue what they're capable of.

"Thing is," I said in a much more civil tone, "if we were to split that evenly it equals what we're currently being offered by someone else." Well, that was half true.

"So it is a matter of money?" the elf asked.

"Hardly." Cypher answered.

"It's a matter of our reputation, of honor." I said. "We wouldn't be worth our word if we suddenly turned on our current employer just because we were offered more money."

"I understand." the elf told us. "You have my respect, but I have my orders." Then he sharply said something in another language and the two sprung into motion. I barely had time to see the two draw handguns, the elf aiming a Predator at me. Before I could even get Deadbolt's truck between us I felt red hot pain erupt in my left shoulder.

A humanoid of raw fire appeared between us and the elf as he started walking up towards us. Already feeling woozy from being shot I stumbled back a few paces and promptly fell on my hoop. I heard some gunshots, and it looked like they were shooting at the elf from how he moved. Seraphina even lit up the night, glowing with ruby flames before sending them out at the elf. It was like trying to nail down the tide the way he evaded everything.

Cypher struck from the side, trailing sparks of little blue lightning bolts as he moved. I had no idea where he came from, and it looked like even the elf was caught off guard. The kid caught the elf in the stomach with his right hand, the lighting jumping down his arm and up into the elf's body as they collided with the side of Deadbolt's truck.

But the elf was far from out. Even despite the close quarters he managed to strike back at Cypher with what looked like a brutal gut punch of his own.

I barely remembered the spirit I had summoned earlier that night, calling out to it as Cypher took another blow to the stomach. Drek, he wasn't looking too good.

But having two spirits present must've turned the tides for us. I had no idea what Seraphina's fire spirit was told to do, but when my earth spirit appeared the elf took a look at it, a second look at the fire spirit, punched Cypher once more before shoving the kid aside, and bolted.

Cypher's voice sounded odd as he simply roared his frustration. He lashed a hand out after the elf, and a bolt of lightning jumped from his outstretched fingers at the fleeing elf, exploding like a gunshot. A neat tuck and roll at an impossible moment cleared the elf from being struck, and he kept on running without even breaking stride as both strangers disappeared into the night.

Feeling rather light headed tends to mean you can't make some decisions on your own. Like when gravity decides that it'd be best if you lie down. So down I went, feeling my head bounce on the concrete, which hurt a lot.

"Bishop!" I heard Deacon cry out. She was the first one to me, kneeling over me as I felt something hot and wet flowing beneath me.

Seraphina was next to appear over me, coming up on my left and nearly shoving Deacon aside before she knelt down. "Shit." she cussed, "Didn't your mama teach you about getting shot?" she asked, looking more at my shoulder than at me directly.

I groaned as she started poking and prodding me. "Yeah, don't." I managed to answer.

"He gonna be alright?" Deadbolt asked.

"Looks like a through and through." Seraphina answered, speaking with a lot more professional calm than I really expected for a ten year old. "Should be easy enough to heal."

Through and through, I thought. Drek. Meant that I was bleeding out, that wet and warm feeling I had was my own blood. I closed my eyes and groaned, more from the pain than anything.

Heedless of what must've been a bloody mess of a wound, Seraphina put both of her hands on my body. When I opened my eyes I saw that crimson flames had enveloped her body, and I could see the bird's head appear like a cowl over her own. This was the first time that the little sorceress had worked any magic on me, and her healing spell felt like liquid fire as it poured into my shoulder, almost unbearably hot as the spell started fixing my body.

"Just who were those guys?" Parker asked.

"Not a clue, but they were serious about wanting you." Deadbolt answered.

"Dead or alive." Cypher added as he leaned against the side of Deadbolt's truck. "Probably prefers you dead. Maybe those other guys earlier, too."

Now the kid also looked weird, and I don't mean because it looked like he was in a fair amount of pain. His skin had darkened and his hair had grown longer and wilder.

Parker, on the other hand, was starting to look rather green. Then he turned away and stumbled a few steps before bending over and vomiting. I was just glad the splash missed me.

Seraphina pushed herself off me and I could feel her healing spell begin to fade. It would be plain for all to see as the flames of her aura also faded with the spell. Carefully I pushed myself upright. "We should get going." I said.

"In a sec." Seraphina said as I noticed Deacon walking back to us.

"I… Not sure why you needed this. Thought you'd just heal him, too." she said, handing her a bottle.

"This'll help save our asses later." Seraphina replied, taking the bottle from him while I pushed myself to my feet. We watched as she opened the bottle and started dumping it on the bloodstain I had left on the concrete. It didn't take long for the distinct odor of bleach to assail my nose. She emptied about half of the half liter bottle on my blood before dumping the rest where Parker had vomited.

"Ritual magic, right?" Cypher asked.

"We really should get going." Deadbolt said.

"Yeah, bet Knight won't be long now." I added.

Since we didn't really need our spirits they were sent back to wherever it is they come from when called. Deadbolt and I also had to haul Parker into the truck before we left while the kids had gotten on their motorcycles and left well ahead of us.

I thought I heard sirens as Deadbolt drove us away.


After a while Moreau had managed to get back in touch with us. Despite what had happened he was still interested in taking Parker with him and paying us for the job. The rest of us were just glad we'd be able to get this over with.

Now he didn't give us much in the way of details, other than an address out in the middle of Redmond, and instructions to buzz turbo there without bringing the Knight or any other heat with us. Honestly I was hoping we'd actually manage that, considering the two armored Horizon strike teams, a pair of assassins, and a freaking lizard man that had tried to kill or take Parker.

So we were now out in the middle of the Redmond Barrens, watching as abandoned buildings and such passed us by in the dark. Lone Star never patrolled much out here, and Knight certainly hadn't picked up the slack any. A lot of Redmond had a post apocalyptic feel, numerous dilapidated homes and such where there was an occasional barrel with a fire in it, the roads were broken because the city wouldn't come out to fix them, there was no electricity unless you had your own generator, and no one walked around in the daylight without openly carrying anything smaller than a 10mm.

And we did our best to blend into the shadows out here, too. Deadbolt drove without your classic headlights on, relying on sensors and an extra set of infrared headlamps that more discretely lit his way. Only the sound of his truck's engine would alert anyone to our passing, and not many would be crazy to brave the dark to come and see.

"You sure we're supposed to be out here?" Parker asked, trying to see whatever might be out there in the faint moonlight. It might've been hours after moonrise, but only now did the waning moon actually provide any worthwhile light to try and see by. Mountains and trees make for good shadows at times.

"We're not supposed to be out here at all." Deadbolt answered.

"But it's where Moreau is going to pick you up." I added. I noticed Deacon shiver in the front seat. We were pretty far out from any good matrix coverage, and that lack of connection made technomancers rather uncomfortable. I leaned forward and patted a hand on her shoulder, softly telling her, "Just hang in there. Shouldn't be too long before we're heading back to civilization."

I saw her bob her head in acknowledgement.

And not for the first time I caught Parker looking back behind us. The kids were tailing us, doing better on the rough roads than I expected the motorcycles to do. Kinda made me wonder what other modifications they had done to them. Like Deadbolt, they also drove without their headlights on, though what they relied on to see was beyond me. I figured they probably were doing the same thing, using infrared and sensors to guide their paths.

"Relax." I told Parker, "Kids're fine. I'd be more worried about what tries to fight them."

"I never imagined…" Parker started to say, settling back down properly into his seat. "Are all children out here like that?"

I grunted. "Hardly. More like they're the exception that breaks the rule."

"To think that there are kids…" Parker started to say.

"Drek! Hang on!" Deadbolt yelled, and suddenly he was turning us violently to the left.

Before I could even ask I felt the truck suddenly jerk even harder, like someone had kicked one of the back tires as hard as they could. When the truck's back end came back down I felt like I was sitting lower than I should.

It didn't help things when I heard what I could only describe as machinegun fire. Still I managed to find the door handle to get out of the truck. Deadbolt was a few steps ahead of me and making for the trees. Down the road behind us I could hear motorcycle engines, higher pitched than the kid's bikes. I thought I heard something flying overhead, too. Kinda hard to tell when there's gunfire a lot closer. And somewhere in the mix was a deeper sounding explosion.

It was turning out to be a typical night in the Barrens.

But with rockets.

Yeah, if this was Horizon, again, they had upped the ante against us and really brought out the heavy artillery. I mean, who else is going to be shooting missiles at a bunch of shadowrunners?

Don't answer that.

Anyway, that missile had overshot Deadbolt's pickup by a few meters before it exploded.

"Damn it." Deadbolt cussed from just behind me. Then he shot off a round from his shotgun. I was just in time to see three bikers in full on body armor coming up at us, and a small fireball exploded center mass on the leading one. He tumbled off his motorcycle.

Flames briefly enveloped one of the other two, and he also fell over. Had to be Seraphina's work. For a moment I wondered if she had that stereotypical temper redheads were given to have.

And maybe whoever kept firing missiles had a thing for Deadbolt's truck. I thought I noticed movement from the passenger side when another missile struck, this time actually hitting the truck. I had a split second to see what damage the first missile had done, which had pretty much tore up the driver side back wheel and such, before the truck exploded.

"Cover me!" I yelled as I actually rushed back toward his truck, moving to try and make sure I had it between me and whoever kept shooting missiles while Deadbolt fired his shotgun a lot of times at our attackers. As I moved I called for my earth spirit to show up. Then I saw Deacon and Parker both lying face down on the road.

Two bright flashes of fire lanced by, one from Seraphina and another from a fire spirit that was next to her. The spirit was laying down some serious firepower, literally.

"Are you alright?" I asked as I heard more gunfire from around us.

Deacon groaned as she tried to push herself upright. Parker didn't look too good and wasn't moving, though I thought I saw him breathing.

"We've got trouble." Deadbolt roared, snapping off a round with a massive pistol.

Protect us, take out our enemies, I sent to my earth spirit as I drew my Predator.

Seraphina rushed over as well, practically falling to her knees at Parker's side to check him over. Cypher wasn't too far behind her. I didn't realize it right away they were on foot, and the only way I knew who was who in their matching black attire and biker helmets was by her grunt when she hit the ground.

"Trouble just crapped a bunch of men." Deadbolt yelled to us, squeezing off another shot. Cypher added a few more gunshots of his own at them from the other side of the truck. Then I noticed some trailing sparks from his body as he moved.

Then someone on the other side of Deadbolt's truck showed us his big gun. Once my mind registered the first bangs of machinegun fire directed our way I reflexively jumped for what meager cover I could find next to the truck. Bullets zipped by like oversized mosquitoes, tearing through metal and asphalt, and adding sour pings and pangs as the truck absorbed some of the barrage.

The only one of us hit, the only one who didn't move, was Parker.

Seraphina froze, apparently mortified as she stared at Parker's body. Actually, more like what remained of his head. Honestly I felt like I was going to be sick.

Amidst the machinegun fire, Deadbolt shot back again. From the other side of the truck Cypher also shot back, his Predator's double retort more of a clack compared to Deadbolt's heavy revolver.

"God damned, cock sucking, mother fucking, ASSHOLES!" Seraphina yelled, so loudly that for a moment her voice seemed to drown out the machinegun.

"She's mad." Cypher commented, his voice sounding oddly distorted again. Did they have voice modulators in their helmets?

"ASTORATH!" Seraphina yelled to the heavens.

"Yup, she's mad." Cypher said again, rather unemotionally compared to his partner.

The fire spirit looked like it was suddenly blown out like a candle on a birthday cake, the sparks and embers of its physical body flowing around the truck and into Seraphina's body. Well, not entirely into her body as it looked like she was now on fire.

But that wasn't all of it, not by a long shot.

A new spirit erupted onto the scene, literally, sounding like the growling roar of a forest fire.

"Holy drek!" Deadbolt yelled, taking a few steps back to get some cover from his truck. I moved around Deadbolt to try and get a better look.

Now I've seen some big spirits in my time, and even my earth spirit tonight wasn't really any slouch. This new fire spirit put that to shame. It stood taller than Deadbolt, and that was before you counted a pair of thick horns of flame that curled slightly as they rose above its head. Its body looked like a nuclear inferno that was barely contained, its horns and claws like blowtorches at its fingers and feet had literally broken through some invisible containment. It was also armored, with bands of gold about its wrists, ankles, neck, and crown, with armor plates at its chest, back, and shoulders.

Fire spirits by themselves are nasty business. Big fire spirits are, naturally, nastier.

Really big, invoked fire spirits are the stuff of nightmares.

What Seraphina did next might be considered crazy by most, and maybe impossible. But considering that it looked like she had absorbed her fire spirit for its power maybe it wasn't too crazy when she hopped up onto the roof of Deadbolt's pickup. "Kill 'em all!" she yelled, jumping higher up again to float above the wrecked truck, and it looked like she was suspended by a pair of wings of fire extending from her body.

The new fire spirit started by slamming a shoulder into the six-wheeled APC that must've been chasing us, jamming its clawed hands into its armored side like it was made of paper. Now it didn't pick it up and toss it like some super strong comic character, but it did flip it over with the ease that a troll could flip over a Chrysler-Nissan Jackrabbit (it's a rather compact car). Several armored people scattered away, but they quickly regrouped, turned, and continued to back away cautiously. I could see their submachine guns, and not shooting was a good idea. The thing to do out of fear would be to try shooting at full auto, but against a spirit like this it's a good way to flatten a lot of bullets very quickly. I wondered if they had a magician in the mix.

And it didn't really matter.

One thing all fire spirits have in common is the ability to literally toss raw fire at people and things. How accurate and lethal this is depends on how powerful the spirit is. But there's a limit, and that is they can only hit one target at a time.

Normally.

This big spirit of Seraphina's dropped a true firebomb on the guys that'd been chasing us. As they tried cautiously withdrawing the fire spirit slammed its massive hands together, and the roadway around those men erupted in flames. And by roadway I mean the roadway behind them, the ditches and sidewalks beside them, and the trees that were just at the edge of the road. The roar of the flames was deafening, but only briefly as the flames died away almost as quickly as they came. It took a bit for my eyes to adjust back to the darkness of the Barrens after that blinding display, lit mostly by Seraphina's spirit. It was rather horrific, and I think I'll just leave it at that.

I turned away from the carnage to look up at Seraphina as she still hovered over Deadbolt's truck, looking like a biker dressed in black leathers with her helmet on, surrounded by flames and held aloft by slowly flapping wings of fire, and in a final act of defiance towards… I don't know who, violently gave an 'up yours' gesture with her middle finger extended. I looked back out to the scene, but couldn't see anyone or anything.

"Drek." muttered Deadbolt. "Girl gets mad she really gets mad."

"Yeah. But what happens when she's really fragged off?" I asked.

The ground crunched as Cypher and Deacon walked over to us. "She sets all of her spirits at everyone." Cypher answered, his voice sounding somewhat out of phase, distorted. "It's gone now." he said over his shoulder, towards Seraphina.

Almost as if it was blown out by a gentle breeze the spirit disappeared. Just as delicately did Seraphina come floating back down, coming to land just beside Cypher. Her wings disappeared but the flames did not as he took her into his arms.

"What'd you mean by 'it's gone now'?" Deadbolt asked.

"There were a few rotodrones with them." Cypher answered, his voice sounding normal now. I also noticed that the sparks and flames had died away from both of the kids.

"So everything got recorded?" I asked.

"Not quite. I managed to edit out most of us from the trid." Cypher told us. "The last part, Astorath frying everyone in a blast and Seraphina flipping off the one drone that left, that's all chip true. And they won't know anything until it gets back to report."

"Right. We're… still too far out." Deacon added.

"Drek, right." I added. "So, how're we gonna get a ride out here, or tell Moreau that the deal's fragged?"

Cypher sighed. "Right. Hang on." After a minute or two he then said, "Out of coverage area. I left a message."

"Wait, how the…" I started to say.

"I could… feel it." Deacon interrupted. "The power… He could reach a satellite."

Now that had to be some serious transmitting power. The average commlink on the street had a range of about four hundred to a thousand meters, and this was offset by a major network of towers and such that connected to a fiber optic grid for light speed and long range communications. Whatever Cypher had was a hundred times as powerful.

"Well, let's see just how screwed we are." Deadbolt said as he walked around his truck.

"It's not lookin' too good." I commented as I looked at the damage.

"Yeah." Deadbolt growled, giving his dead truck a good kick. "Well, at least we're not all fragged." he added as he lifted Deacon's motorcycle out of the back. He handled it quite carefully as he righted it and set it on its wheels.

"At least you three can make good time to get back to Downtown, or wherever." he said.

"But… What about you two?" Deacon asked.

"I can have a spirit help watch out for us, and we'll go the old fashioned way back to town." I told her.

Turned out that actually wasn't an acceptable answer at all, especially to the kids. So we ended up walking back the way we came, leaving the carnage of our last fight behind us.


It shouldn't be surprising that Melody's car was a subcompact. For her it was closer to a normal sized car, but still she had to have some adjustments done to it. On the plus side it did make the passenger seat of the narrow Tsarina longer so I could stretch out more. It was a rather strange design, with the driver sitting behind the passenger seat.

Sunrise had come, cold and gray while we walked, and long before we had managed to get a reliable connection that didn't involve Cypher linking up with some low orbit satellite again. It wasn't the connecting to a satellite that he minded, but the fact that such a powerful transmission went in all directions rather than just up. He told us that he normally had the transceiver power set to something much lower to blend in. That didn't surprise me all that much, really.

So Deadbolt and I had tried calling friends to get a ride. I tried reaching Melody first, and thankfully she answered. Deadbolt's friend arrived first, and we all went our separate ways after Melody found us to give me a ride out of the Barrens.

We'd also managed to get in touch with Moreau. He was rather upset, understandably, but it wasn't directed at us. Guess we all had a solid enough of a reputation to get by on our word. Then he mentioned seeing some evidence of our fight as it happened during the night. I had the sinking suspicion that Seraphina's big fire spirit had made quite an impression. Thankfully Moreau didn't ask whose spirit that was. Probably wouldn't have believed me anyway if I told him.

Melody grunted. "I still can't believe you're giving me the chip truth." she said, "That little girl actually has a giant sized, invoked fire spirit at her beck and call?"

"Believe it." I told her. My eyes felt too heavy to try and watch the passing scenery. I heard her sigh.

I pushed myself upright a little, turning to look behind me so we could see each other clearly. "Still fretting on what you saw?" I asked.

Melody didn't look at me, but nodded. "Yeah." She just kept her attention to the road ahead of us, her gaze passing right over me.

She had given both kids a read when we met them, starting with Cypher because she thought he was cute. Well, at first. We had discussed it a bit after we left, and she had described his aura as being blurry, fuzzy at the edges, like a water painting that had gotten wet again so the colors would run. Yeah, I know, it sounds similar and different than how I described the kid's aura. How Melody and I approach magic is also similar, but different as well. She's a hermetic, one of the two most popular ways of looking at magic. It's very 'by the book' and formulaic in trying to distill, codify, and explain all of magic. My way is generally called chaos; I still take a rational approach to magic and spirits, but it's not exclusively from the dusty old European tomes and such but bits and pieces from just about everything.

But that doesn't mean we don't see the same results in the end.

I turned back around to look ahead of us, my gaze sweeping around once before I closed my eyes again. I tiredly sighed and said, "Guess it's why they're called the Fallen Angels."

"What?!"