An Alternate Story of the Knight Sabers
2034 Year of the Tiger
Neo No Armour Against Fate (Section 2 of 5)
Flash Powder (Part 5 of 11)
by Shawn Hagen(1999; 2005)
Based on situations and characters created by Suzuki Toshimichi.
Domino was accosted the instant she entered her office by one of her secretaries, Haruko Tetsu. The young woman was very efficient, she worked hard, was willing to work on a Sunday, and had made advances toward Domino twice.
She held a stack of papers, several computer disks and the determined look on her face said she was going to get Domino to do some of the drudge work if it killed them both.
"Tetsu-kun, it can wait." Domino tried to slide by her.
"But it can't Odotte-san." Without seeming to move she had blocked Domino once again.
"It can't?" She arched an eyebrow and put a slight hint of a threat in her voice.
"If you don't okay these we won't have a budget next month."
Domino wanted to tell her to hang the budget, she could embezzle any funds necessary. Unfortunately the young woman was not privy to the office's real work. And embezzling was not really the best way to do things.
"Is D back yet?"
"Not yet Odotte-san." She smiled slightly, seeing that she had won.
"Let's get this done quickly." Domino slid by her and walked to her private office. She pushed the door open and ushered Haruko in before entering and closing the door behind her.
"You need to okay this, this, and these." She placed two computer disks and a small pile of papers in front of her.
"What else." Domino pushed both disks into her computer, split the screen and looked them over.
"Do you still want to increase the office staff?"
"Yes, the chairman has increased our area of responsibility. D will be handling it." Domino tapped a few keys.
"Then that is it."
"Good. Here." Domino pulled one of the disks out and handed it to Haruko. "This is fine. As for this one." She pulled the second disk out. "Tell finance if they try to cut my funding even by a percentage point I will have to come down there myself and remind them of the privileges of power."
"Yes ma'am."
Domino began to flip through the pages, reading over the document. She looked over the pages at Haruko who was tapping the keys of her palmtop computer.
The young woman had potential. She was intelligent, driven, did not seek too much power and was loyal. Domino wondered if she could be trusted to know more of the truth. She knew that many people preferred not to know the truth. Most of the employees in the Tower would hate to learn what Genom was capable of.
Once she let Haruko see the truth there would be no turning back for her. It was a big decision to make for someone else. Still, she represented a tool. Domino always used tools and opportunities when they presented themselves.
"Tetsu-kun, do you like music?"
"Music?"
"Are you familiar with the works of Vision?"
"I have all of her recordings, and I was at her last concert."
It was an interesting card to play and it would throw Chang off. If Haruko was as intelligent as Domino thought she would realise what was going on. It would be an effective way to introduce her to the power games.
"I'm having a business lunch today, I'd like you to come along. I'll understand of course if you are unable to do so. It is a Sunday after all."
"Me?" She sounded surprised.
"My luncheon companion cancelled and you would help to balance things out," Domino lied.
"I'd be happy to come."
"Good. This is fine." Domino handed Haruko the papers.
"What time..."
"We'll leave about 12:30."
"Thank you Odotte-sama." She got to her feet and bowed.
"Send D-san in as soon as she arrives." Domino did not look away from her computer screen as Haruko left.
Of course in all likelihood Tetsu-kun would see other things in the invitation. She almost wished that Haruko were less capable. The young woman was attractive and her somewhat clumsy and naive advances had some charm. But Domino would not combine more responsibility with a relationship. It set a very bad precedent.
D entered her office nearly an hour later.
"It's done." D told her.
"Good." Domino got up from her seat. "Here." She handed D a computer disk.
"What's this?"
"Notes on Chang-san's band, the Revengers. If possible I would like one of them to have an accident. It will give Chang-san something else to worry about."
"Fatal?"
"That would be best."
"Traceable in any way?"
"No. As far as anyone will be concerned it will be nothing but an accident. I don't care if Chang-san is positive I ordered it as long as she never can prove it.
"I'll get some of our best people on it."
"I'll be having lunch with Chang-san at one. Arrange for some bodyguards, you'll be busy."
"Oh?"
"I want you to check all the locations on this disk by tomorrow." Domino took a disk from her pocket and held it out. "Everything is protected by the Delta 2 encryption protocols."
"Very important?" D took the disk.
"Potentially embarrassing as well."
"I see. I'll start right away." D bowed and walked towards the door.
"Watch your back." Domino returned to her seat behind the desk.
"Pardon?" D asked as she opened the door.
"The way things are these days, certain people within the Tower may be looking to forward their own goals."
"I understand." D left the office and closed the door behind her.
Sylia stood by the windows of her living room, the vertical blinds wide open. Back-lit as she was by the late afternoon sun her blue-black hair seemed to glow.
Priss sat on the bench in front of the grand piano that Sylia had recently moved into the room. In an absent minded way she played the fingers of her left hand over the keys, depressing them so lightly the hammers barely caused the strings to vibrate. Occasionally she would press a key a little too hard and a single, soft note would fill the room.
Nene leaned back on the couch, her closed laptop upon her knees, a china cup and saucer set atop it. She had ended her trip to Sendai a little early after getting Sylia's call. She had not planned to be back in MegaTokyo until later that evening.
Linna was sitting cross-legged on a footstool, her hands grasping her ankles. Sunday was usually a break day for her; Andrea did not have rehearsals on Sunday. She was glad Sylia had not called the meeting until late. She was happy to have been able to sleep in.
Mackie was on the opposite side of the couch from Nene, a laptop on his own lap, though he was working on his.
"So what is the deal?" Priss asked.
"We have been hired by a certain individual to provide various services," Sylia told her.
"That's rather ambiguous," Priss said.
Sylia nodded. She took a small remote from her pocket and pressed a button on it. The curtains closed as the lights in the room came up. A low, almost annoying hum filled the room. The white noise generator. "We have been hired by the Chang Group to help them with an operation within the city."
"Them again? Who do they want to kill this time?"
"Not nice Priss," Linna said.
"There are a number of aspect to this job. What they come down to is that the a number of companies under the Hou Bang umbrella have had certain products stolen from them. Some of these products are weapons, and some of them have, possibly, ended up in MegaTokyo."
"What kind of weapons?" Nene asked.
"Personal arms, armour, mostly small things. The exceptions are a number of GD-42s. You no doubt remember them."
"GD-42, A3s," Mackie said.
"That means?" Priss asked.
"The A3s are designed for urban settings," Mackie told her, not looking up from his laptop. "The armour is lighter than the one you fought, but it is faster, better able to use the buildings around it as cover. It can also jump much higher. More manoeuvrable all around."
"Can my rail gun crack it?"
Mackie looked up from the laptop, lost in thought for a moment. "Maybe, in some places. I can feed that information into your targeting computer."
"Good."
"The GD-42s are something we may have to deal with, but there is something else as well," Sylia told them.
"Which is?" Linna asked. She did not know what Reika had hired them for yet.
"Also stolen from one of their companies was a blood agent called AF-5."
"Blood agent?" Priss asked.
"It's a chemical weapon. Quite destructive," Sylia told her. "Similar to hydrogen cyanide, it prevents transfer of oxygen from the blood to the body tissues."
"Wait, are you saying that someone has brought nerve gas into the city?"
"Not a nerve gas, but, the same idea."
"Well why isn't anyone evacuating the city?" Priss asked Sylia.
"Because the city officials do not know about it."
Priss stared at Sylia. "What am I missing?"
"Are we safe?" Nene asked.
"Safe? I would say we are not in any danger at this point in time. Mackie." Sylia looked over at her brother.
"Okay," Mackie tapped a few keys on the laptop. The liquid crystal screen on the wall began to display what was on his computer. "The chemical is stored in a cylinder, four meters long, with a diameter of fifty centimetres."
On the screen a cylinder was traced out. One end was blank, the other end had what looked like a keyboard, a small screen and a valve.
"Within the main cylinder are two secondary cylinders, each one three hundred and eight centimetres long, with a diameter of fifteen centimetres. These interior cylinders hold the chemicals, that when mixed together, in the right amounts, in the presence of a catalyst, will react to form AF-5."
"Clever," Priss said, sarcasm colouring her tone slightly.
"The main cylinder contains a gas that will react with either of the gasses in the secondary cylinders to render them harmless," Mackie continued.
"What's to keep someone from drilling into the main cylinder and venting the gas?" Linna asked.
"Explosive charges," Mackie told her. "Very difficult to get around. They are shaped, designed to limit the damage of the explosions while at the same time making everything so hot inside that all the chemicals involved undergo a number of reactions, which will again render the gasses harmless. It basically generates a short lived plasma within the cylinder."
"So how would the people who made this get the gas out?" Priss asked.
"The valves are opened by a code," Sylia said, taking over for Mackie. "A very difficult and long code. Over a thousand alphanumeric characters."
"Over a thousand?" Nene asked. "Who would bother to type that in?"
"They had a key device. Hand held, volatile memory, it contained the code. That device is still in the possession of the company."
"How did they generate the code?"
"Randomly," Sylia told Nene.
"That will take a long time to crack."
"That is the hope. Furthermore, every day a different code has to be entered or the computer will pump the same gas that is in the main cylinder into both secondary cylinders."
"How is that code decided?"
"They used an algorithm to generate three years worth of codes for each day. Those codes were then loaded into the computer, as well as the key device."
Nene nodded as she flipped open her computer.
"There is one more safety device," Mackie said. "Within each of the secondary cylinders are small, bubbles I guess you might call them, containing the same gas as is in the main cylinder. If things are handled too roughly, the bubbles pop, and once again the gas is rendered harmless."
"It is very likely that this is not a threat," Sylia said. "That it has already been rendered harmless. Hou Bang is not willing to take that chance."
"So what are we supposed to do?" Priss asked.
"It seems Chang-san believes that we have access to greater information sources than her. In a way she is both right and wrong. We do have access to more personal sources than Hou Bang in this city, and we know who is useful to speak to."
"So do we start talking to people? What do we ask them? It is not as if we can come out directly about this. I'm guessing no one wants a panicked evacuation of the city."
"I'm sure we all know how to ask discreet questions."
"Do we have to worry about the blood agent?" Linna asked.
Nene looked up from her computer. "To get the daily codes would take a lot of time and computer power. My guess is that would be what they would need to concentrate on. If they can get all the codes or more likely, a few days worth, they could turn their attention to breaking the release codes. I would guess that it would take several days before they could be a threat." She kept her tone calm, and tried to seek solace in the information she had just presented. The truth was the entire thing terrified her. A chemical weapon, used in Tokyo? Such a thing had not happened for almost forty years.
Sylia nodded at Nene's words. "I believe we have time. It is also important to remember that we are not alone in this. Hou Bang has dedicated a number of resources to the operation. I hope that all we will really need to do is be an extra combat resource for Chang-san."
"I guess there are a few people I could talk to," Priss said.
Nene nodded. "I have an idea."
"Sorry," Linna said. "I don't know anyone that could be of help, and I've got work to keep me on my toes."
"Is that a ballet reference?" Priss asked.
"Don't let it be a concern," Sylia told her. "I just want to be sure that you will be there when the time comes."
"As much as it will upset Kikuchi-sensei, I'll be there."
"Good. Keep me informed of anything you find out. Take no chances, stick with people you trust. If you need to check out a lead that has even the possibility of being dangerous, contact me first. I'll arrange for back up."
"Right," Priss said.
"I will," Nene said.
Linna nodded.
"Then that is everything," Sylia said, ending the meeting.
Priss and Linna did not stay long, but Nene remained behind. Sylia waited until Mackie had left before turning to Nene. "What is it you wish to speak about?" she asked the young woman.
"I'm worried about what might happen if the AF-5 is released," Nene said quietly.
Sylia nodded. "I don't blame you."
"Isn't there anything you can do?"
"Informing people of this would cause panic. If whoever has control of the gas were to see the sort of mass evacuation this would cause, and if they were able to, they might release the blood agent."
"But..." Nene said, trailing off.
"You're worried about your parents," Sylia stated.
For a moment Nene said nothing, then she nodded. "I feel bad, because they are not the only ones in danger, but I can't worry about everyone, can I?" Unshed tears made Nene's eyes sparkle.
Sylia sighed, but then smiled. "With all the safeguards that are on the device I do not think there is any real worry. Still, I'd like you to have as few concerns as possible. I'll see what I can do."
"Pardon?"
"I'm not without resources," Sylia told her.
Nene looked at Sylia for a moment, then bowed down very low. "Domo Arigato gozaimashita Sylia-san(Thank you very much)."
Sylia laughed softly. "Go."
Nene nodded, thanked Sylia once more, then left.
Prop wash from the large engines gave Reika's hair a life of its own. She squinted her eyes against a hail of stinging grit. The cargo plane was a tilt rotor, Osprey Buffalo, one of five. They had come from a Kyuusei branch in China.
The makeshift landing field, though such a title was still too grandiose for the broken ground, was nearly two hundred kilometres from MegaTokyo. Osprey tilt rotors had been the only way to get the equipment and manpower they needed into the country as fast as required.
"How will they get into the city?" Reika had to shout to make her voice heard.
"We have a few tractor-trailers parked about three kilometres north of this location," Kou told her.
"What is this costing us?"
"Not as much as it might have. The bribes were not as bad as they could have been. And Genom is helping us."
"They should," Reika said, a hint of anger in her tone. Her lunch with Domino had not gone well. "They all have valid and stamped passports?" she asked, referring the men and women around them.
"All of them. When this is over, assuming we are willing to abandon the equipment, we can have everyone out of the country, legally, in about a day."
"We can trickle any of the important gear out of the country over a few months. It is the people I was worried about."
"Getting out of the country will be the least of their problems."
"I know. Let's go." She turned away from the plane and walked to her helicopter, waiting, like a dragonfly, with only a few of its running lights on.
The engine started as soon as she approached and a minute after she and Kou had entered and put on their restraint harnesses the helicopter took to the air.
"What happens if the authorities are forced to take notice of us?" Reika asked Kou several minutes later. "International law is not my speciality."
"No one is in the country illegally, according to any records that matter, though if they dig deep... I don't know how well our forgeries will hold up. Worse case scenario, well, espionage will be one thought on everyone's mind. If Kyuusei or any of the other members of the conglomerate accept responsibility, it will destroy them. Genom will only help us so far, and not to the their own detriment."
"What about the people themselves?"
"Arrested. Perhaps put to death. Depends on the overall atmosphere at the time of the trials. My guess is that if everything goes wrong, people will want blood."
"I hate this." Reika shook her head. "I simply can't stand that Odotte woman!"
"You shouldn't let her get to you."
"That girl with her, she actually asked me for an autograph."
"Yes, it was an interesting ploy on Odotte-san's part."
"You sound like you respect her."
"I do, as should you. Don't let your dislike for the woman colour your reactions."
"That girl, she had no idea what was going on at first did she?"
"No, she didn't."
"But she realised it, I could see it in her eyes, she suddenly realised that she was in deeper than she had ever thought possible. I felt for her Kou," she said softly.
"Odotte is a hard woman. Not the way I would choose to initiate someone into these games."
"She accepted it though, near the end she did. The way she looked at me, Kou, when they left, it said it all. She told me that she loved my music when we first met, that she respected me. That look at the end, I had become her enemy."
Kou said nothing, just looked at Reika, unable to give her the answers she wanted.
"I hate this," Reika said.
The Shinjuku Hard Rock Café had been something of a fixture in the district over the years. Trends had been set in the Cafe, new bands had made their debuts, old ones had made comebacks and launched tours from within its walls.
It had undergone a number of changes, three fires, the quake in 2025, a hostage situation in 2027 and six owners.
The most recent owner had purchased it from the previous one four months before. Priss had taken some interest in the change of ownership. Kano Toda was an old friend. They had ridden together, gang members, once.
She had been thinking about asking him to let her play his club. It would be a good venue for her and the band. She was not there about music though, not that night.
Kano had always had a way of knowing what was going on, a strong sense of self-preservation that had kept him alive. Priss thought she might see what he might know.
They were sitting in his office in the back of the club. He was behind a big desk, covered with papers, computer disks, and a number of other things. "So." He looked at Priss. "Been a while."
Priss noticed that there was something uncomfortable in his tone. He was not sure about seeing her, she realised. Not sure about all the memories it brought up. She remembered what Miako said. "Yeah. Doing well I see."
"I've been lucky. Made some smart moves."
"Like clearing out before everything went bad?"
"Is that what this is about? Some old vendetta? It's not my fault that Mamoru or the others died."
"I never said that," Priss told him.
"Do you think it?" he asked, looking at her intently.
"Maybe."
"I left when it all ended. We could only exist for that for so long. Mamoru knew it when everything began. He just got so caught up in that bushido, samurai crap that he forgot it."
Priss forced herself to relax, not wanting to get angry with Kano. "Maybe it was all he had left to believe in."
Kano dropped his eyes. "Well, that is a mistake."
"Maybe."
"What do you want?" he asked bluntly.
"Strange things are going on in this city. Know anything?"
"Why would you want to know?"
"It's a dangerous place. Every now and then I like to get a feeling for what is going on. You were always good at that," she told him.
"Knowing when to run away?"
"If that is how you want to put it."
He looked at her for a moment, then opened his desk drawer and brought out a bottle of whisky and two glasses. "There are strange things going on in this city," he agreed as he filled the glasses.
"Like what?" she took the glass.
"I never try to find out. That was Mamoru-san's mistake."
Priss suddenly grasped her glass tighter, coming close to breaking it. She forced herself to be calm, relaxing her grip on the glass. "I'm not sure I'd call it a mistake." She took a drink of the whisky. "Perhaps a tragic flaw."
"You're romanticising what happened."
"And maybe you're forgetting he kept us alive." Priss put her glass on the desk hard enough to cause the liquid in it to splash out over her fingers.
"Until he screwed up."
Priss clenched her teeth, her hands clenching into fists. She stared across the desk at Kano. "He did not die just to inconvenience you."
A bit of colour appeared in Kano's cheeks and he dropped his eyes. "I know, but he still died, and there was no need." He looked up at her. "You weren't the only one who cared about him, or the only one who loved him you know."
Priss nodded, relaxing slightly. Miako had been right. There were some people you could not talk about the past with, not when you shared so much. "I know."
"I'm sorry Priss, if you want specific information, I can't give it to you. I just don't know anything like that. I do know that I am thinking of getting out of the city."
Priss nodded and took up her glass, finishing the whisky. "Got any idea where Yuki might be found there days?"
"As of a few months ago he was at a place called 'Jolines', in Roppongi."
"Thanks," Priss said as she got to her feet.
"Be careful."
"Why break a habit now?" Priss turned and started towards the door.
"Hey, Priss," he called.
"What?" She did not turn to face him.
"Next time you visit we'll talk about a couple of nights for your band in the club."
Priss stopped, her hand on the door handle. "I'll think about it," she said, then opened the door and left.
Yoshito knelt on the cracked cement of the basement floor. The building was condemned, no doubt soon to be torn down, but not too soon. It made a good base of operations, reasonably close to the Tower and the docks. Members of Prometheus Bound had cleared the building of the homeless that had used it. The place still smelt of stale urine.
A map of MegaTokyo covered the floor. He, some of his men, and a few of the sharper members of Prometheus Bound were gathered around it.
He tried to visualise the lay of the land in his head, where abandoned buildings like the one he was in could be found. They would make good cover. It would be best to stay in that sort of area whenever possible. Of course that was assuming that the members of Prometheus Bound could follow orders.
There were a number of Genom holdings that they were to hit if possible, the Tower included. It was not a target he would go after. It was possible the terrorists might be stupid enough to do so.
"What about the AD Police?" Shinso Gero asked him. "They may be a threat to us."
"You deal with them as best as possible. I hope that the fact you are obviously not boomers will confuse the matter. If the AD Police gets into an argument with the SDF over who has jurisdiction on this, neither may scramble until too late."
"Yes," he said, nodding.
"A lot to hope for," Lenore said. She was not entirely comfortable with sending people off to die. She would not stop them, but she wanted to at least feel if she was helping a little.
Yoshito stared at her for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. If they show up you should be able to deal with them." He looked at Shinso. "You are going to be using what amounts to a light tank. You will have the advantage."
Shinso smiled. "Yes, we do. We will make Genom listen to us."
"Of course," Yoshito told him. He noticed that Robert was rolling his eyes up and when he saw Yoshito was watching him he mouthed 'idiot'.
Yoshito agreed with him, but was not going to show it. His job was to make sure that the terrorists behaved as ordered.
"When do we go?" Shinso asked, looking excited.
"You go when it is obvious that Genom is not going to agree to your demands."
"They will never agree!"
"They announced that they were closing a factory down. Maybe that is the start?"
"I'm used to Genom treating me, and everyone, as an idiot. You will not do so!"
Yoshito stopped himself from smiling, knowing he could kill this Shinso before he would even know what was happening. "Of course. Still, those supplying you with the party favours are calling some of the shots. You owe them. You go when they want you to."
For a moment Shinso looked as if he was going to throw another tantrum. Yoshito had seen one already and Robert had told him he tended to throw one a day. Then he calmed himself. "Of course."
"I'm glad you understand. We should of course confirm the fall back points your people will use when this is all over."
They spoke for thirty more minutes before Shinso and his people left. Robert made sure that they were gone then told Yoshito that it was safe to talk.
"The gene pool will not miss those people," Yoshito said, taking a pack of cigarettes from his jacket.
"I hate working with people like that." Lenore shook her head. "I hate setting them up to die. It's just not clean."
"The customer is always right, and the more you are paid, the righter the customer is."
"So why aren't you working as a prostitute?"
"Lenore, you know as well as I do that there is no room for honour in this job. You knew the job was distasteful when you took it. That still doesn't keep you from spending the money. So will an extra ten thousand ease your conscience or do you need enough to buy a new car?"
"Fuck you."
"Yeah, fuck me. Let's stop fucking around here. I need these idiots pumped up on a sense of indestructibility if they are going to go out there and make a big stink and get themselves killed. I don't need you making them think they might fail or get killed. Got it?"
She stared at him for a while, her jaw set in a defiant grimace. Then she looked away. "I understand."
"Good," he said. "Keep on your toes people. This will all be over soon and we can get the hell out of this place."
February 13, Monday, 09:00
Nene breezed into the communication room and took a seat behind her desk, immediately setting to work. There were some surprised stares at that, most of the other communications techs were still just settling into the day. Things were still quiet and the AD Police were enjoying something of a rest.
Naoko was walking towards Nene when the phone beside the redhead rang. Nene picked it up, and after a very quick conversation hung it up and turned towards her computer.
"You seem rather chipper this morning," Naoko said.
"Do I?" Nene asked.
Naoko was a little taken aback when she saw how fretful Nene looked. "Well, maybe not. Is something wrong?"
"No. What could be wrong?" Nene asked. Of course she knew what was wrong. A rather deadly blood agent called AF-5.
"Nothing I guess." Naoko was getting a little confused.
Nene made herself calm down a little. "Nothing is wrong, I just have some things on my mind, and yet more work."
"What?"
"Evidence just called me, they want me to help with cataloguing everything down in the vaults."
"Lucky you."
"Tell me about it," Nene tapped a key on her keyboard and the printer beside her began to hum. "Now I have to tell Harrison-san that I won't be around."
"Things are quiet here. I'm sure she won't mind."
"You are more hopeful than I," Nene said, pulling the request that had just printed out from the printer tray.
"Look at it this way, you might get to work with Akamura-san. She's always fun."
Nene nodded. If she really was going to spend the day down in the vaults, cataloguing boomer bodies and parts, then spending that time with the ADP forensics specialist, Kaneko Akamura, might be fun. "We'll see." She walked over to her immediate supervisor's desk.
"What is it Romanova-san?" Madoka Harrison asked.
"They need some help down in evidence," Nene told her as she put the request on the desk.
Madoka took a look at it and shook her head. "Don't they have their own people? Well, get out of here."
"Hai," Nene said, turning to go.
"Wait a second," Madoka suddenly called out.
Nene turned back towards her, wondering if she had realised that the request was a fake. "Hai?"
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
Nene looked at the woman for a moment, wondering what she was talking about.
"Tomorrow is the fourteenth," she prompted.
Nene almost asked her why that was so important, then suddenly remembered. "Oh, right. How much do I owe?" she walked back to the desk.
"Four thousand yen."
"Right." Nene reached into her purse and them removed her wallet. She opened it up and took out four bills that she put on Madoka's desk.
She nodded as she picked them up. "Now go."
Nene nodded and left. Valentines Day tomorrow, she had forgotten, kind of. She was glad it was not her job to buy all the giri choko(obligation chocolate) for all the men in the building. Still, she was going to have to pick up a few things. Later, she told herself, hurrying to the elevators.
She took it down to the lobby, then headed for the motor pool. She knew the chances of anyone checking up on her were pretty slim. She should have the day to herself now. It was a rather brilliant idea she had thought up for skipping work. Of course she would not be able to use it all that often, if ever again.
Getting one of the Honda Today patrol cars from the motor pool was not difficult at all. While the motor pool staff were very picky about who they allowed to drive certain vehicles, the Today was not one of those. Nene knew she would have no chance at signing out something like a Road Chaser, or its less powerful version, which was a little annoying. Why should she not be able to drive a Road Chaser? Why was it only officers like Leon got to?
Probably because they go out and get shot at, Nene thought as she put the car in gear and pulled out of the garage. She'd stick with the dependable Today.
Linna missed her cue and came on a beat too late. She used a little hop-step that brought her in line with the rest of the dancers and did not look too obvious. So she thought.
Andrea got up from her seat, signalled the musicians to stop, and then walked to the stage. "Yamazaki-san, is your mind on something else today?" she asked.
"No Kikuchi-sensei," Linna lied. Of course her mind was on something else, the people of MegaTokyo might be in great danger and she could not say anything.
"Well, it looks as if you are thinking about something else because I know that you are not thinking about the dance."
"I'm sorry Sensei."
"We're going to do it again, and this time I want you to give your full attention to the dance."
"Hai Sensei."
Andrea nodded and went back to her seat. She signalled the musicians who began the opening strain of the music. The dancers took their places, Linna moved off the stage. She forced her attention to the music, listening to it.
That time she came out on the right note, and kept her dancing sharp by concentrating on it. In the back of her mind, she was still worried.
Two passes and already Priss was breathing hard, panting. Her riding leathers had been cut twice, her blade had yet to cut anything.
To either side of her a line of motorcycles were parked, their headlights illuminating the section of overpass that had become a killing ground.
In front of her, breathing as hard as she, a young woman stood. Karen Nagai, member of a rival cycle gang. Karen was taller than Priss and had the advantage of height and reach. The Gerber Mk 2 she fought with gave her yet another advantage. It was a good fighting knife.
Priss' lock blade was shorter, but the slight curve in the blade made it good for slashing. It was also easier to conceal. At that moment she wished she had a longer blade.
Sliding her lead foot forward she shifted her weight onto it, getting ready to move. If she made it work Karen would be facing the lights of the motorcycles; she could then come in on her side.
Karen must have anticipated it though, she shifted her weight slightly. Priss aborted the attack. In a few breaths each of them set up, and then gave up attacks when they saw the other counter them with a slight shift in balance or in the way the blades were held.
Priss feinted, Karen came in, blade leading.
Bending her knees slightly Priss let the blade pass over her left shoulder. She used a backhand slash that should have opened the other woman's abdomen.
Karen sucked her stomach in and threw her butt back. It was an inelegant move but all Priss' knife cut was clothing.
She came in, with a quick overhand strike. Priss could not hope to get out of the way.
Throwing up her arm Priss took the strike, a burning pain running through her arm as the knife slid through the her riding leathers and skin, cutting to the bone. She felt the serrated edge of the weapon saw along her ulna.
Ignoring the pain Priss pushed her arm up, getting Karen's weapon out of the way. She stabbed forward with her knife, burying it in Karen's chest.
Priss slumped back, barely able to keep her feet under her. Karen fell to the asphalt. All in all Priss was happy to be exhausted and bleeding. The alternative was not something she wanted to dwell on.
Her pack mates cheered her, money changed hands, a group of people rushed forward to pick up Karen, putting her into a beat up sedan, probably hoping to get her to medical aid. Stab wounds might attract police attention. They might not. The police were still recovering from the damage the quake had done.
A young man was at her side, shorter than her, slim, almost feminine in appearance. Priss doubted his real name was Yuki, as he always maintained. She did not care though. He was a great medic. He had one of the med kits they had stolen from a Red Cross truck a year before.
She sat on the cracked asphalt of the damaged overpass and let him stitch the cut up. Around her were the sounds of celebration. The challenge of one to one combat had been met. They held their territory for another month. For what it was worth.
Priss sat upright in her bed, much to her regret as her forehead banged against the ceiling of the trailer. She dropped back into her bed, placing the heel of her right hand against her head. That had hurt.
It had been a long time since she had thought about her pack mates, and a long time since she had given any thought to the fights she had been in. Must have come from visiting Kano, and maybe her talks with Miako.
Reaching above her head she unclipped the watch from the headboard and held it above her face. Nearly ten. She almost never woke up that early.
"Damn," Priss muttered, returning the watch to the headboard.
Sliding from her bed she climbed down the short ladder from the bed loft to the trailer floor.
Priss pulled off her night-shirt and let it fall, then walked to her bathtub.
She did not bother to light up the gas heater before turning on the taps. Cupping her hands she let them fill up with cold water then splashed it across her face. She repeated the process several times until cold water was running down her chest, then turned the taps off. Grabbing a towel from the rack close by she dried herself off then wiped up the water that had splashed on the floor.
After hanging the towel back on the rack to dry, she walked back to the raised platform her bed was on. Goose flesh covered her skin and she shivered, feeling the dull ache of many old wounds.
She thought about Nagai, and that fight. She wondered what had happened to the woman. Had she died? Had she been arrested by the police? Was she married, taking care of a kid or two, living a dull, but safe life?
Priss did not know. It was likely that she was dead. That was just the odds. Most of those that had run in the gangs had died. Violence, drugs, disease, other things, they had all had added together to make the chances of surviving in one of those gangs very slight.
Priss was one of those survivors. Yay for me, she thought.
Climbing part way up the ladder she reached across her bed to the clothes rack on the other side. Rifling through the outfits Priss chose one of her better looking pieces of riding gear.
She hung the outfit on the top rung of the ladder and the looked under her bed for some clean underwear.
A few minutes later she was dressed in a pair of new, clean, black jeans, a dove grey blouse and her wine coloured, leather jacket. She pulled on a pair of knee high riding boots then opened the rear door of the trailer.
Grabbing her bike by the handlebars she rocked it off its centre stand then walked it down the ramp onto the street.
Putting it on its kick stand she returned to her trailer, made sure everything was secured then closed and locked the rear door.
She got onto her bike and started it up, revving the engine up high a few times before letting out the clutch and heading out. It was too early, but she wanted to get out, get some fresh air, and enjoy the weak February sunshine while it was there.
Nene liked Akihabara. The electric town was one of her favourite places to go, next to Shinjuku, and Shibuya, and Harajuku on Sundays. She always liked looking at the new pieces of technology that came out, wandering through the showcases and department stores. Sometimes she bought stuff, but never for her computers.
When it came to computers she stuck to the small, back street stores. Tiny, cluttered places that had bits of home cooked gear and items that were in the grey area of legality. Wandering around those places in her ADP uniform might cause problems for her. Fortunately there was only one place she was planning on going, and she was known there.
The shop she walked towards did not look like much. Tucked between a restaurant and a video store, there was nothing to make it stand out. The widows were covered by security bars and the glass was covered by old, yellowing newspaper. There was no name to suggest that the place was currently a business of any sort, and the front door was prone to sticking.
Anyone determined enough to try the door, and give it a hard enough pull to open, might very well turn about and walk out once they saw the interior.
There were boxes stacked on boxes, and various electronic components strewn about in a haphazard way. The walls were covered in posters advertising games three or four years old, most of them pornographic. Nene did not turn around a walk out-as many might-she knew the shop well.
" 'lo Romanova-chan," a man who looked to be in his thirties called out. He had wild, brown hair and brown eyes. He sat behind a counter strewn with the parts of something, his socked feet up on it. He had a keyboard across his lap and was typing away.
"Johnson-san, Ohayo Gozaimasu(good morning)."
"So, the ADP out to bust me?"
"I'm not here on business," she said as she threaded through the boxes. "I'm actually playing hooky."
"I see. You give the ADP the same sort of work quality you gave me." He smiled.
"When did I ever give you less than sterling work?"
"Well, I suppose you are right. So, what is it you want? I still haven't got those Israeli mother boards you wanted."
"Actually, that is not why I'm here, though you did promise you'd have them for me by now."
"Sorry Nene-chan. Sometimes my sources just dry up."
"I'll make do for now. I need some information."
"This official in any way?"
"The ADP never hears about this."
"Okay." He swung his feet off the counter and put the key board aside. "Talk to me."
"Someone will be looking for some serious computing power."
"How serious?"
"My kind of serious."
"That serious?" He gave it some thought. "Could they go legit? You know, buy the computer time off someone legal?"
"Very doubtful."
"And they'd have to build something here?"
"That's what I am thinking."
"Got a time frame?"
"The last week maybe."
He thought about it for a moment, then turned around, opening a drawer behind him. While it all looked easy, Nene knew that cabinet behind him was very secure. She had worked in the shop when she had first come to MegaTokyo. In fact she had built the gear she used to crack Sylia's add in the very shop.
"Look at these," he said, putting a small case on the counter. He flipped it open. Inside, nestled in foam packing, were three boomer AI chips. Nene let out a soft whistle of appreciation as she put her hand on the metal frame of the counter, grounding herself. She then reached for one of the chips, removing it.
Grounding herself had not been necessary. The plasteel casing could protect the chip from much more than a little static charge. The chip was seven centimetres long, three wide, and five millimetres thick, like every boomer AI chip. A single lead came from it.
Nene had no idea what was inside the casing. As far as she knew one could count the people who did know on the fingers of one hand. She was certain that Sylia was one of them. The AI chips were one of the major pieces of Black Box tech that Genom used to maintain control of he boomer market.
She looked at the serial number on it, noting that it had come from a C-class boomer. Hard to get considering Genom designed boomers to short the entire thing out if someone tried to remove it without proper authorisation.
There were ways to get around that, such as destroying the boomer so fast it did not have time to react in such a way. Nene's work with the Knight Sabers had allowed her to pick up three chips in total. Two were in her computer, and one she had tried to dissect to see what made it tick. She had never had a chance.
"So," Nene said, placing the chip back. "Someone wants one of these things?"
"Someone wants two," he told her, closing the box.
"Two? Well, that sounds promising. Who is it?"
"You remember Genjiro right?"
Nene closed her eyes as she tried to remember the name. "No," she finally said.
"Giovanni Genjiro, he came in here when you worked for me."
"Tall guy, dark skin, extremely handsome with dark eyes and curly hair?"
"No. No one like that ever came in here."
"Must have been a dream then," Nene said as she smiled, a far off look in her eyes.
"Nene-chan, pay attention."
"What?"
"Genjiro used to come in here and buy parts. He was bean-pole thin, wore glasses, bad skin at the time, are you sure you don't remember him?"
"No. Should I?"
Johnson laughed, "He was very much in love with you."
"Pardon?"
"Well, love is probably not the right word. He used to come in here and go through entire boxes of stuff, all the while sneaking looks at you."
"I honestly don't remember him."
He laughed again. "Well, don't tell him that if you ever see him. It will probably crush the poor guy."
"Fine. So he wants two. Is that normal?"
"Normal?" He looked at Nene, arching an eyebrow. "Since when is normal an adjective we use around here?"
"Anything special about Giovanni-san?"
"You really did not notice him did you?"
"Again, no."
"Genjiro is the Stradivarius of the hardware set."
"Stradivarius?"
"You kids," Johnson shook his head. "Let's just say Genjiro builds some of the best hardware in the city. You may be the only skater in this city that does not know that."
"When is he coming to pick up the chips?"
"Later on tonight."
"Can you tell me where he lives?"
"This has nothing to do with the ADP?"
"No."
"He's not going to get in any trouble?"
"Not from me."
"Okay Nene-chan, because it is you. Give me a minute," he said, then got up and walked into the back of the store.
Nene, left on her own, began to look around. She did not really need anything, and until she got those motherboards there was not much new she could do with her computer. Still, Johnson's shop was one of her favourite places.
She looked into one of the boxes, moving around the odds and ends there. It was hard to be sure what was what in some cases, everything was wrapped in the blue, anti-static plastic, nothing was labelled.
She left the box and walked over to a cardboard barrel near the counter. On top of it was the severed arm of a boomer. She moved the arm to the side, then shifted the objects on top around a bit so she could get an idea what was there. When she found the dead cat she let out a gasp and jumped back. The boomer arm fell to the floor with a dull clang.
"What's up?" Johnson asked as he came out from the back.
"There's a dead cat here," Nene said.
"It's not dead," Johnson said as he walked towards the barrel.
"Oh, so it just sleeps under a bunch of computer components."
"It's not asleep either," he told her, reaching in and picking the cat up by the scruff of its neck. It hung there limply, looking dead to Nene. "It's a boomer, basically."
"A boomer cat?"
"Yeah. Boomer pets. An idea Genom had a few years back. Never went very far, what with all the boomers going nuts like they were, who'd want to get a pet that might do the same. As I understand it Genom recycled the entire run, except for a few ones like Lucky here."
"Its name is Lucky?" Nene asked, taking a closer look at the cat now that she knew it was not dead. It was black all over, except for then ends of its paws, which were white. It was a fairly small cat, thin boned, looking more like an older kitten than an adult cat.
"Doubtful. But seeing as it was not chopped up and recycled I'd say it was pretty lucky."
"What are you going to do with it?"
"Chop it up. I've heard that the AI chips they put in these things have a sort of feral cunning to them. Probably would make a wild hacking deck."
"You're going to chop it up?"
"Yes."
"That's cruel!" Nene said.
"Come on Nene-chan. The thing is just a collection of parts," he gave it a hard shake. "It's lost its programming, so even if you were to power it up it would not be a cat."
Nene looked as the limp form jerked about. Johnson was right of course, but still... "How much for it?"
"What?"
"How much for it?"
He looked at her for a moment. "You are kidding aren't you?"
"No," Nene said, her jaw set.
"Fine. Four hundred thousand yen."
Nene nodded and reached into her uniform jacket for her wallet.
"Well, it's your money," he said, walking over to the counter and laying the limp form of the cat down. "You know that you'll never get it to function."
"Then it will just be a stuffed animal."
"Pretty expensive toy," he said.
Nene said nothing as she handed him one of her bank cards. Johnson reached under the counter and brought forth a reader that he ran the card through. "Enter your code," he told her, handing her the authorisation keypad.
She took it, put her thumb on the reader, and then entered her PIN code.
The reader beeped happily as the transaction was okayed. Nene handed the keypad back to Johnson. "Well, you are the proud owner of a dead cat," he told her.
"It's not dead," Nene said. "Can you put that in a box or something?"
"I thought you'd just put a collar on it and drag it behind you with a leash," he said as he reached for a box.
"You're terrible!"
Johnson laughed as he put the limp body into a box, then sealed it up. "Here's Genjiro's address, in case you still care about that," he said, holding out a folded slip of paper.
"Thank you," Nene said, taking the paper and putting it into her wallet.
"Just don't get him in trouble."
"I promise." She picked up the box, tucking it under her arm-it was heavier than she had expected.
"Take care of yourself Romanova-chan," he told her.
Nene nodded, then turned around and walked towards the door.
"Elegant Things A white coat worn over a violet waistcoat.
Duck eggs.
Shaved ice mixed with liana syrup and put in a new silver bowl.
A rosary of rock crystal.
Wistaria blossoms. Plum blossoms covered with snow.
A pretty child eating strawberries"
-Sei Shonagon
