Just Another Night

*** Chapter 3 - The Sinker ***

      The three runners reconvened at Princess's apartment after dinner.  Beck promptly sprawled on the couch while Dancer took a seat on the floor.

      "Slander, you there?" Princess called.

      The trid screen flickered into life with an image of the same blonde woman, this time in a dress that looked like it had been sewn onto her and standing in front of an old microphone stand.

"'Course I'm here.  This sounds like a fun one."

      "Yeah, says the one who never goes in herself," Beck groused.

      "Better sound more appreciative, there, or I won't give you all the stuff I've come up with so far," Slander replied.  "I've got blueprints of the ship - she's the Karato, by the way - and Raku's guard shift schedule."

      Dancer smiled at that.  "Impressive as ever.  What's the damage?"

      "At least a dozen shock troops on duty at all times, rotating shifts in thirds. They've got a hermetic somewhere, because there's always at least two elementals wandering about - water and air, right now, but there's been a fire one spotted as well."

      "In other words," Beck began, "a veritable cake-walk!" the four finished in unison.

"Aren't they all?" Princess mused.  "Dancer, you can handle the elementals, right?"

      "You have a doubt?  I may need Beck to keep one of them busy with his wonderful swordwork, but I should be able to neutralize them both within thirty seconds of spotting them.  You think the two of you can take out a dozen alert guards quietly?"

      "Quietly's no fun," Beck said with a grin. "But, with the bonus on the line, I suppose I can make an exception.  I was looking forward to a chance to try out my new Panther cannon, though.  The mark 4 is supposed to have almost 10% more range."

      Princess shook her head. "Not this time, gunboy. Besides, you don't want to sink the boat with us on it, do you?"

      Beck smirked. "Afraid to get your dainty little pointed ears wet?"

      "Not worried about me, but as much cyberware as you've got in, you'd sink like a stone. Don't suppose you've got a little propeller that pops out your..."

      "Okay folks", Slander interrupted.  "Can we get back to work?"

      "No, I'm curious now," Dancer said, turning to Beck with a smile. "Have you got a propeller that pops out..."

      "No, no, no. We are so not going there." Slander's sultry voice began to turn petulant. "Please?"
      "All right," Princess said, "back to the plan.  Sounds like a pretty standard plan B exercise.  Dancer dispels the elementals before we get onto the boat, with Beck helping defend him using his sword focus.  The Hermetic will know it as soon as his elementals go down, so we'll have to move fast.  Hopefully, I'll be able to pick off some of the guards before that, but we can't count on having them in a good spot.  Slander, you'll have the comms from the ship blocked?"

      "You'll have five, ten minutes, tops, but yes.  Can't stop the mage if he goes astral, though."

      "I'll be ready for him," Dancer replied.

      "I think that's everything, then.  We'll meet back here tomorrow at 6 and head to the docks.  Beck, you've still got the Bulldog, right?"

      "Like I'd ever get rid of my van.  Let's try not to get any holes shot in it this time, all right?"

            *           *           *           *

      The dark grey van coasted to a stop next to a warehouse, DB-94, serving pier 23.  Beck cut the engine; the lights had been turned out two blocks back.

"There she is", he growled.

      Looking out across the dock, he pointed at the long tanker moored at the next pier to the right.  The Karato had the steady green and white running lights of a docked ship at her bow and stern, but was otherwise devoid of any signs of life.  With a thought, Beck clicked his cybereyes into nightscope mode and looked the ship over again.  Now he saw the guards, all in pairs, stationed at various places around the deck.  One set at the bow, another pair at the boarding ramp, two outside the door of the wheelhouse, and finally, four around the mammoth loading doors in the center.

      "Ten guards topside.  No laser based sensors on the ship or the dock", he said, completing his scan.

      Dancer had a look of concentration on his face, and his eyes twitched behind closed lids as he astrally surveyed the area.  "I see two elementals – a hothead hovering over the loading doors, and a water elemental floating just off the bow."

      Princess listened to each in turn, then said, "Okay. Dancer send off your watcher to distract the fire elemental when I give the word, then you and Beck head for the loading ramp.  I'll be on top of the warehouse to cover you and let you know if that water elemental spots you.  Slander, you've got the jamming up?"

      Each heard Slander's sensual voice from their transceivers.  "You're all clear, kids.  Worst case, no transmission's coming off that boat for five minutes."

      Without a further word, Princess slid the side door of the van open and sprinted across the parking lot to the weather-beaten building. A few seconds later, she slipped through the door and into the darkness inside.

      Beck and Dancer looked at each other, then took their own leave of the van, heading towards the boat.  Along the way, Dancer threw up a quick invisibility shield to keep the guards from getting a lucky sight of the intruders.  The two stationed themselves behind a storage shed near the ramp, just in time.  They both heard Princess say "now" in their radios, and Dancer sent a mental command to the Watcher spirit he had standing by.  

It arrived on the physical plane and flew up and over the boat, turning to give the fire elemental a raspberry.  Dancer felt a momentary stab of pity for the watcher; stupid the creature might be, but that was a heavy force fire elemental, and it wouldn't take long for the spirit to be smashed into the nothingness from which he created it.  But, he reflected, it had done its job, for the elemental was giving chase across the bay.

      From atop the warehouse, Princess watched the fire elemental take off with her own astral senses, then let her perceptions slide back into the physical plane, taking careful aim at the first of the two ramp guards through her scope. A brief squeeze of the trigger, a tiny hiss of air from her recoil suppressor, and one of the Renraku goons was on the ground.  Less than a tenth of a second later, thanks to her magically enhanced reflexes, the other half of the pair joined him.

      "Go", she said, switching her sights to the four around the central doors.

      By the time Beck and Dancer had made it to the top of the ramp, all ten guards were down, never to stir again.  The two cautiously made their way to the personnel access doors and crept down into the hold.  Beck strained his enhanced hearing, but could pick up no indication of further guards in the dark bowels of the ship.  Fortunately, neither needed the light - Beck made use of his cybereyes' night-vision capability and Dancer's own magically enhanced senses operated on a different level of reality entirely.

      Suddenly Beck stiffened, hands grasping at his throat and making a choking noise.  Dancer spun around from watching their rear to see an air elemental constricting itself around his companion.  He quickly grabbed at his belt, pulling off the pewter turtle talisman and summoning its power to him.

      As Dancer spread his hands, letting the magical energies build, Beck drew his sword and sliced through the empty space in front of him.  Dancer saw the elemental recoil slightly as the magical focus transcended the physical plane to strike directly at the elemental's spiritual energy.

      "Good job!" Dancer shouted.  "You weakened him!"

      "Gark!" Beck replied.

      "I'm on it, don't worry," Dancer said as he thrust his hands towards the creature.  A pale yellow glow emanated from his hands and spread towards Beck.  As the sphere of light blossomed, the elemental shrank into itself.  Beck's strikes became more forceful as his air supply was restored, and the elemental evaporated under the onslaught, disappearing from Dancer's sight with an inrush of magical energy.

      Beck collapsed to the deck, holding his throat in his hands and gasping for breath.

"Is it, hurh, hurh, gone?"

      "Yep," Dancer replied, putting his hand on Beck's shoulder. "Take a second and then we'll continue."

      "I'm fine," Beck snarled, straightening up. "Let's get this over with."

      Dancer grinned and extended his arm. "After you."

      The two made their way to the end of the hallway and sidled against the wall on either side of the final door.  Beck held out his hand, thumb extended sideways. Dancer replied with a signal of his own - three fingers up, then two, then one...

      Beck spun and kicked the door open, pistol at the ready, as he leapt through the opening.  Dancer stayed outside, watching the hallway, as Beck finished eyeing the room.

      "Mr. Harrison?" Beck addressed the young blonde chained to the desk in front of him.

      "I suspect that I better be," the man replied, warily watching Beck's gun.

      Beck grinned. "Damn skippy. Let's go, you're working for a new employer."  Beck grabbed the handcuffs, snapping the chain with his bare hands.

      Harrison stood, rubbing his wrists. "Oh joy, another one."

      As Beck led the man out of the room, Dancer got on the com.  "We clear out there, Princess?  We've got him and we're on our way out."

      "No sign of anything topside.  Let's get him loaded in the van and get the hell out of here."

© 2003 by Blake Sorensen