Seattle, day three (cont'd)
The boys have obviously been drinking. It was their regular poker night after all. They tell us they are going to try and get into the party anyway. I point out that it's an elf-only party and in any case they don't have invites. Doesn't stop them trying though. I stop answering their calls and Zero gets all french on the padre when he asks us for the names we used to get in.
Not surprising, they don't get in. But fortunately they don't into trouble either. Sandie drops Zero and myself off close to the appartment and we walk home. I am glad I didn't wear heels. The boys arrive home later, still drunk and loud. I tell them to keep it quiet. Finlay seems to realise he is making an ass of himself and shuts up, but the padre just tries to give me a hug. I fend him off and retreat to bed, locking the door.
Seattle, day four
Zero and I are up before the boys. We need to do this run tonight and need the men along. Zero ropes me into balancing a plastic pitcher of water on their bedroom door. It works a treat but the resulting water fight leaves half the appartment and all of us dripping wet.
Zero is still pissed at the guys and giving them the silent. I need to get out of there. I change into my cowboy gear and tell Zero I am gonna do a drive by of the firehouse to see if there are any other ways in. Zero says she will check for satellite photos and brief the men when they 'come to their senses'.
As I head out the door, our new neighbour is also just leaving her appartment. She is wearing a smart business suit.
I tip my hat and mumble a howdy. She says hello and we get into the elevator together. On the way down, she tells me that the guys woke her up last night. I roll my eyes behind my shades. I offer an apology, explaining that they only play once a month and saying I'll have a word with them so it won't happen again. She politely thanks me, saying she doesn't want to have to report us to building security. I sure as hell don't want her doing that either.
Puyallup Barrens
By day, the Puyallup barrens looks even worse. Rubbish and burnt out cars litter the streets. The locals here are poorest of the poor, squatting in condemned buildings and scavenging for power and food. Just being on the Harley makes me stand out as most of them are on foot or at most driving a beat up scooter.
I swing past the firehouse, driving slow but not stopping. It's closed up pretty tight. Only ways in or out are the main door at the front and what looks a fire exit at the back. All the windows are boarded over. As I drive away I catch a reflection in my mirror from the roof. Some sort of skylight up there? Maybe Zero has had better luck with the satellite images.
Back at the appartment, things have eased. Zero is talking to the guys again and they seem to be suitably abashed. I tell them about the neighbour and they promise to go and apologise. Zero has also managed to get some satellite images and good ones too. We can clearly see the building and that there is what looks like a roof access as well as the large skylight over the garden area of the club.
I take a powernap then around ten at night, we suit up. I take my new toy, a Colt Cobra SMG. I am still not totally confident with firing it, but it is fitted with a sound suppressor so if things do get out of hand, we can still keep it quiet as long as possible. We load the gear into sports bags and carry them down to the car.
Seattle, day five
We arrive at the firehouse just after midnight. We park the car in a nearby alley and the padre casts invisibility on us all. He complains that maintaining all four spells is giving him a headache, although I suspect it is just his hangover kicking in. Then, we hustle the the rest of the way on foot.
Finlay unpacks the grapple gun and quickly climbs up the wall onto the roof. Once he has secured the rope, he helps the rest of us up one by one. He then starts working on the skylight with a glass cutter while I check the door to the roof access. It's an old manual lock and although it takes a few minutes, I manage to open before Finlay has made any significant progres with the skylight.
We slip invisibly down the stairs. Father O'Reilly says he will stay on the roof as the strain of maintaining the spells is beginning to take it's toll on him. I lead with Finlay following close behind, one hand on my shoulder. I have to resist an urge to shake it off but it's the only way he knows where I am. Zero brings up the rear, holding onto Finlay's other arm.
We enter the top floor above the garden. A concrete corridor runs around the walls with two metal walkways spanning the garden. I spot the blinking lights of cameras in each corner. To our left is a wall and a doorway. We slip silenty over. A long coridor leads off, three doors on either side and one at the end. That one is the suite where we have to drop of the data package and the letter that Sandie gave to Zero last night.
I swipe our maglock passkey in the first door on the left. Nothing happens. I ask if I should try again and Zero says no. Seems I could alert security if we use it too much. I don't ask how much is too much. Finlay says we should go down, pointing out that the stairs seem to go down to a basement. If anything funny is going on here, it will likely be down there. We go down.
A blank door opens onto a long dogleg corrider. Directly across the hall is a mirrored glass wall that screams security office. Leaving it slightly ajar so Finlay can cover me, I slip through and edge down the corridor to the door. This time the passkey works. I breath out a silent sigh then slip in. A single guard is paying more attention to the urban brawl on his PDA than the monitors. I sneak up behind him and club him with the butt of the Cobra, knocking him out. I take his stun baton and the ammo clips from his belt and gun.
I give the all clear and Finlay and Zero join me. There are two other doors in this room, one heavily armoured. We try the other one. A guard is sitting on a sofa watching the same game as his colleague, while another dozes in a cot in the corner. The first one looks over to the door and calls out something about not being allowed to leave the monitoring station unattended. Then he cries out as the invisible Finlay knocks him out. This wakes the sleeping guard, but a couple of not so gentle taps from the stun baton put him back out.
The other room is a treasure chest for gun lovers with several LMGs in addition to the rack of HK-97 assault rifles, Ares SMGs and a dozen or so heavy pistols. There are also some armor jackets, including a couple sized for trolls. Zero finds one that almost fits and puts it on. If we have time, we will take some of this stuff with us when we leave.
We move out and further down the corridor. There are large double doors to the right and several normal doors further on. We decide to leave the double doors for now. The doors on the right have no locks and lead into a large conference room that can be split into two with folding walls. The maglock passkey fails to open the first door on the left, but works on the second which turns out be an office. There is a computer here so Zero gets to work. The last room on the right also turns out to be an office so we guess the first one is too.
The padre interrupts us with a message that a couple of vans are coming our way. He only just noticed them now because they are driving without lights. Not good news. He tells us he is going to drop our invisibility spells in case he needs to do something.
Zero is now jacked in but is taking a long time. Occassional bursts of French over our comms indicate that things are not going well. She tells us that this node is a red seven, which is apparently pretty serious. What the hell are they doing here in the barrens with a system like that.
While waiting I decide to try the double doors. A corridor leads down to what looks like an office space. Just then Zero curses. She has been running an analysis routine and has just spotted that there are about six active deckers in the system with her. I report that I may have found them and suggest she gets out until I have dealt with them. She tells me to jack them out as that will disorient them. Finlay and Zero join me and we unjack and whack them all into unconsciousness. This leaves Zero a free run at the mainframe. Which is good, because the padre comes over the comms saying, "Jaysus wept I tink I just killed them all.'
I ask what the hell he means and he says he cast a powerball on the lot of them because a whole bunch of guys wearing masks had got out of the vans and had started unloading rather suspicious looking sports bags. He says he is going to check them out and get the van.
We wait in silence while Zero works on the mainframe. Even with direct access, she still seems to be struggling as I can still here her cursing over our comms. Then she gives a short cry of pain and a second later her eyes flicker open. I don't understand French so it takes a minute before she calms down and tell us what happened. She had found the files but they were encrypted. As she was trying to hack them she got jumped by some serious IC that shredded her icon. She rubs her temples as she explains, trying to soothe her feedback headache.
I wake up one of the deckers with some smelling salts in my medkit. Mages react badly to stim, so kits usually have something like this just in case. I jam the Colt's suppressor into her face and demand the passcodes, telling her I will shoot her if she doesn't cooperate. She goes pale and mumbles, 'Cuddly Bunny'.
My eyes go wide at that but Zero tries it and it works. She now has legit access to the system. She bats her eyes at me and asks, "And does she have ze decryption key for ze protected files?"
The woman pales even more when I ask that claiming that only some guy called Ehran has the codes for those files. The name rings a bell. Some elf chief I think. Zero curses about having to do it the hard way, while I put the decker back to sleep.
We let the padre know we have the codes as we head back up the stairs. He tells us he is on his way to the van and will be there asap. I am still leading and as I turn the corner onto the top floor I almost run straight into a troll coming down.
I open up almost without thinking and the burst takes him in the chest. He's a big fella but is not wearing any armor. The APDS rounds rip right through him but must have hit something vital as he tumbles down the stairs almost landing on top of me. There is another troll behind him, this one bringing up a shotgun.
"Drop it," I shriek but he ignores my demand. Enhanced reflexes kick in and the Cobra swings up, the smartlink tracking towards him. I squeeze of a burst but the recoil kicks the gun left and the rounds impact harmlessly in the concrete bannister.
There is a boom and I am lifted off my feet. My long coat and plastic bones absorb much of the impact but it still hurts like hell. The force slams me into the wall behind me and I see stars as my head hits the concrete.
Finlay and Zero open up on the troll, giving me a second to roll out of his line of fire. I gasp for breath and taste blood in my mouth as I get back to my feet.
"Cover me," commands Finlay as he bounds up the stairs, his magic spear extending to it's full length as he goes. He thrusts once, twice at the troll who tries to block with his shotgun, but the spear strikes true both times and the troll falls back.
I am thinking we might make when Finlay stumbles, swinging his spear widely around him and starts yelling gibberish. "Padre, I think they got a mage. Get here now" I cry as I feel a breeze of air past my cheek. There is a shimmer in the air around Zero and she cries out as something invisible lifts her off her feet and tumbles her upside down.
Another loud report and Finlay tumbles to the ground unmoving in a tangle of limbs.
The spirit pauses for a second, letting Zero drop unconscious from its grasp. Finlay is too heavy for me to lift but maybe I can still get her out. I grap at her arm while unloading a burst into the spirit. It has no affect but seems to get the spirit's attention. Before I can react, it is on me. I try to fight but it is squeezing the air out of my injured lungs. I scream.
As it all goes dark, my last thought is that this Ehran guy is supposed to be a powerful mage.
July 4, 2010
June 21, 2010
The Great British Camping Experience
It happens in every Brit’s life. A sudden uncontrollable urge to pack the wife, kids and dog into a camper van, preferably an unreliable old VW camper or a white transit van, and head off to the wilds over the holiday weekend for a spot of camping. Perhaps it is a form of madness brought on by the first rays of sun following the misery of a cold, wet winter and equally cold and wet spring. However, having lived all your life in Britain, surely you are aware that the summer is just as likely to be cold and miserable?
Apparently not. There seems to some eternal optimism that this holiday weekend will be the one where it stays dry, despite forecasts and statistical evidence. This is further exacerbated by the fact that last weekend it was hot and dry. It’s just a pity you picked this weekend instead of that one.
With GPS commonplace these days, at least the first hurdle of actually getting there is usually relatively stress- free unless of course getting there involves Britain’s largest outdoor car park, the M25. The next challenge is getting the tent set up.
Hold on a minute, the first challenge is actually finding a good spot to set up the tent. Because just like you, everyone else thought this would be a good weekend to go camping and the campsite looks more like a refugee camp than a campground. Well, a refugee camp for pale, overweight Brits at least.
Having managed to find a spot between the couple with six kids and a crying baby and the dozen lager-swilling students, you can now proceed to set up the tent. Possibly in the dark if the TomTom directions were a bit off, and almost certainly in the rain. And then you find that the batteries in the torch are dead and you are short three pegs. Luckily the couple with the kids have a hammer and the drunken students won’t miss a couple of pegs from their tent.
With the tent set up and the van unpacked, next thing is food. If you are lucky there is a café nearby or even onsite. If not it’s time to fire up the barbie. Normally, even the least outdoorsy type enjoys cooking under the stars. Except you have been on the road for four hours and then had to set up the tent in the rain. Oh, and it’s still raining. Never mind, fortunately you have that British camping staple: a tin of beans with those little hot dogs in them. They would be a lot nicer warm but your kids are getting rebellious and so is the missus. Better luck tomorrow.
For now to bed. Assuming that you managed to keep everything dry in the van, you can tuck into bed. But better go to the toilet first. Initial impressions of the toilet block are promising. Separate men’s and woman’s loos and shower facilities and a place for doing the dishes. It’s even pretty clean and there’s loo roll in the toilets unlike that place you went to the other year.
Curled up in your sleeping bag you realise that it gets pretty cold under canvas. Freezing cold in fact. The only solution is to put on pretty much every article of dry clothing you have with you. Two t-shirts, a fleece, jogging pants and a pair of woolly socks. If it gets much colder you’ll be going to bed with your hat and gloves on.
The students pass out about four in the morning and you finally nod off despite the cold only to be woken by the baby on the other side. And then it gets light. With dawn comes the full horror of your situation. There are tents as far as the eye can see in every direction. Where the hell are the loos from here and how are you going to get the car out to go sightseeing.
Coffee and a warm breakfast takes the edge of the drizzle and the forecast is looking up along with your mood. But the first signs of trouble can be seen at the loos. Most campsites seem to be set up to handle roughly one-third to one-half of the number of campers currently staying there. Today, it just means a wait to use the bathroom and showers. Tomorrow will be a different story.
The rest of the day is spent sightseeing, having successfully negotiated the car out of the campsite without running over any tents, dogs or children. Weather permitting some of this may even be in the open air, although most likely most of the day will be spent keeping out of the rain in the nearest café.
Six lagers or a bottle of wine, or both, and an extra jumper help you stay warm and get a decent nights sleep. But disaster has struck. Either the toilets have backed up, the hot water is cold or there is no water at all. Possibly all three, and the toilet paper is out too. So that means no shower and while the boys can go in the bushes, the ladies in your party are less than happy.
Even worse, the wood is damp from all the rain so even when you get a fire started all you get is smoke. And although you were smart and brought the little camping stove, you forgot the spare gas canister so soon even that has run out. Along with your patience.
Next morning, wet, cold and smelly you finish the last of beans and start packing. Of course, the wind has now picked up and you have to wrestle a tent that thinks it’s a kite while struggling to get that last peg out of the ground. Hell, it should be easy. You are practically up to you knees in mud, so why won’t this last one come out. Finally someone helps you, making it look easy, while the kids and wife glare angrily at you from the comfort of the van.
Your first attempt to get the tent back into the bag fails miserably. It came out of that bag so why wont it go back in. It takes another two attempts to get the damn thing back in the back. Without the tent poles or groundsheet. You are sure these things must be packed by industrial robot in a vacuum.
Only an hour after you are supposed to leave the campsite, you are finally on your way. Well almost. There is still one final ordeal to undergo. Getting the van started again. If you are in VW this is guaranteed not to happen, but at least you might be prepared for it. After all you had the heater and radio on most of the weekend while sheltering from the rain. But you never ran the engine. A friendly neighbour who had the same problem last year finally offers to help you out and you are on your way home to a warm shower and bed.
At least until next time.
Apparently not. There seems to some eternal optimism that this holiday weekend will be the one where it stays dry, despite forecasts and statistical evidence. This is further exacerbated by the fact that last weekend it was hot and dry. It’s just a pity you picked this weekend instead of that one.
With GPS commonplace these days, at least the first hurdle of actually getting there is usually relatively stress- free unless of course getting there involves Britain’s largest outdoor car park, the M25. The next challenge is getting the tent set up.
Hold on a minute, the first challenge is actually finding a good spot to set up the tent. Because just like you, everyone else thought this would be a good weekend to go camping and the campsite looks more like a refugee camp than a campground. Well, a refugee camp for pale, overweight Brits at least.
Having managed to find a spot between the couple with six kids and a crying baby and the dozen lager-swilling students, you can now proceed to set up the tent. Possibly in the dark if the TomTom directions were a bit off, and almost certainly in the rain. And then you find that the batteries in the torch are dead and you are short three pegs. Luckily the couple with the kids have a hammer and the drunken students won’t miss a couple of pegs from their tent.
With the tent set up and the van unpacked, next thing is food. If you are lucky there is a café nearby or even onsite. If not it’s time to fire up the barbie. Normally, even the least outdoorsy type enjoys cooking under the stars. Except you have been on the road for four hours and then had to set up the tent in the rain. Oh, and it’s still raining. Never mind, fortunately you have that British camping staple: a tin of beans with those little hot dogs in them. They would be a lot nicer warm but your kids are getting rebellious and so is the missus. Better luck tomorrow.
For now to bed. Assuming that you managed to keep everything dry in the van, you can tuck into bed. But better go to the toilet first. Initial impressions of the toilet block are promising. Separate men’s and woman’s loos and shower facilities and a place for doing the dishes. It’s even pretty clean and there’s loo roll in the toilets unlike that place you went to the other year.
Curled up in your sleeping bag you realise that it gets pretty cold under canvas. Freezing cold in fact. The only solution is to put on pretty much every article of dry clothing you have with you. Two t-shirts, a fleece, jogging pants and a pair of woolly socks. If it gets much colder you’ll be going to bed with your hat and gloves on.
The students pass out about four in the morning and you finally nod off despite the cold only to be woken by the baby on the other side. And then it gets light. With dawn comes the full horror of your situation. There are tents as far as the eye can see in every direction. Where the hell are the loos from here and how are you going to get the car out to go sightseeing.
Coffee and a warm breakfast takes the edge of the drizzle and the forecast is looking up along with your mood. But the first signs of trouble can be seen at the loos. Most campsites seem to be set up to handle roughly one-third to one-half of the number of campers currently staying there. Today, it just means a wait to use the bathroom and showers. Tomorrow will be a different story.
The rest of the day is spent sightseeing, having successfully negotiated the car out of the campsite without running over any tents, dogs or children. Weather permitting some of this may even be in the open air, although most likely most of the day will be spent keeping out of the rain in the nearest café.
Six lagers or a bottle of wine, or both, and an extra jumper help you stay warm and get a decent nights sleep. But disaster has struck. Either the toilets have backed up, the hot water is cold or there is no water at all. Possibly all three, and the toilet paper is out too. So that means no shower and while the boys can go in the bushes, the ladies in your party are less than happy.
Even worse, the wood is damp from all the rain so even when you get a fire started all you get is smoke. And although you were smart and brought the little camping stove, you forgot the spare gas canister so soon even that has run out. Along with your patience.
Next morning, wet, cold and smelly you finish the last of beans and start packing. Of course, the wind has now picked up and you have to wrestle a tent that thinks it’s a kite while struggling to get that last peg out of the ground. Hell, it should be easy. You are practically up to you knees in mud, so why won’t this last one come out. Finally someone helps you, making it look easy, while the kids and wife glare angrily at you from the comfort of the van.
Your first attempt to get the tent back into the bag fails miserably. It came out of that bag so why wont it go back in. It takes another two attempts to get the damn thing back in the back. Without the tent poles or groundsheet. You are sure these things must be packed by industrial robot in a vacuum.
Only an hour after you are supposed to leave the campsite, you are finally on your way. Well almost. There is still one final ordeal to undergo. Getting the van started again. If you are in VW this is guaranteed not to happen, but at least you might be prepared for it. After all you had the heater and radio on most of the weekend while sheltering from the rain. But you never ran the engine. A friendly neighbour who had the same problem last year finally offers to help you out and you are on your way home to a warm shower and bed.
At least until next time.
April 25, 2010
Billie's Journal
Seattle, day one
It actually feels good to be back in Seattle, despite the first Autumn rain. I hope our next runs are local as I aint too keen to go back to Europe or other parts foreign.
Aurora, Sharif's decker friend has been doing some digging while we were in Germany and has finally turned up something. I follow her e-mailed directions to a hidden datastore. It's just a couple of low-res images of old newspaper clippings but they are about a car accident in Salish territory. A drunk driver crossed the centre line an hit a car coming in the other direction. Although the driver was able to avoid a head on collision, one of the passengers, a young girl was badly hurt and taken to the Seattle General hospital for treatment. I blink back tears as I realise that the girl might be me and that my family might still be alive.
However, the bad news is that Aurora could find no trace of a girl being admitted to the hospital around the time of the accident. That squares with my memory. I don't think I ever did make it there. Even worse, Aurora mentions that there was some code buried deep in the hospital system that was monitoring for queries on my name. She managed to avoid it and found out a couple of other names that it was looking for, all females. She is prepared to trigger it and see where it leads, but that will cost serious nuyen.
I message her to hold off on following up. Maybe I should ask Zero about it, but I don't want to get the team involved. Not yet.
Seattle, day two
Zero is out at her apartment coding, so I decide to try talking to Sharif's pal Lee Chen again. I take the Harley down to Chinatown and head over to the Golden Pagoda to eat. Lee spots me and comes over to serve me. I ask if we can meet up when he gets off and he nods assent. I pick at the spicy duck and leave quickly, heading over to the Blue Lagoon to wait for him there.
When he arrives, he tells me that he can put me in contact with the someone from the eighty-eights, the local triad, but warns me that they are serious dudes and I should be very careful about dealing with them.
But what if they were the guys that kidnapped me in the first place? Asking them if they know of a kidnapping and prostitution ring might not be the smartest of moves. I tell Lee to hold off for now, while I consider other options. Maybe I need to talk to Sharif's other contact, Billy Bear, before getting involved with the triads.
I return to the flat feeling pretty down. The padre is there, but seems to have something on his mind. I offer him a whiskey and he accepts distractedly. We sit silently at either end of the sofa, watching an old flatscreen western, while nursing our drinks and thoughts.
He leaves shortly after, just as Zero gets back home. She tells me that she and Finlay went for dinner at a local mob restaurant where the padre had a meeting with the local capo. Seems he was made an offer he can't refuse. No wonder he was so quiet.
Seattle, day three
Zero wakes me shortly before noon. She has had a call from Finlay and we have a meet at the Ihop for lunch, like right now. I take a quick shower and get dressed, tucking one of the Kimber pistols into my belt as we head out the door.
The contact is a lady who call herself Sandie. She seems to be a bit put out by my cowboy outfit, but hell, I see a lot weirder outfits on the street every day. And she is hardly the one to be giving other people funny looks. While she looks to be a good looking gal herself, when she smiles I see her teeth are metal. I raise an eyebrow at that but catch Finlay shaking his head vigorously, so don't say anything about them.
Turns out she is just a middleman. Job is a B&E with some computer work. We tell her we can handle it and she says the meet proper will happen tonight at a party in the Puyallup Barrens. We all give her a look, and she tells us not to worry. She claims the location is safe and that in any case, she will be driving us there herself.
Then Gabriel curses and says he can't go tonight and that Finlay won't be able to go either. It's full moon night and the boys need to play poker for their little magic club. Sandie says that the deal is off then, but I say that Zero and I can handle the meet ourselves. She thinks about that for a while, then asks where she can pick us up.
The rest of the afternoon is spent getting ready for the party. Zero digs a couple of light pistols out of the stash at her apartment along with a couple of purses big enough to conceal them. Then, while the boys deal out cards, we head out to meet Sandie.
She picks us up a couple of blocks away, you can't be too careful in this game, and drives us out into the barrens. I am feeling all too vulnerable in the figure hugging, silky top and short skirt that Zero picked out for me to wear. I fuss at the skirt until she puts her hand on mine and tells me to relax and that I look great. I smile back but feel anything but calm.
Firehouse 118
Sandie pulls up outside an old Firehouse that looks long abandoned except for the light show and pumping music coming from inside. She says she will be waiting nearby and that the Johnson will make contact with us. Just mingle and enjoy yourselves till then she laughs. I'm supposed to mingle and enjoy it? Not darn likely.
Two doormen check our guns at the entrance, putting them away next to much more serious ordnance. We head to the bar for drinks, pushing through a crowd of a hundred or so partygoers, most of whom I realise are elves. I order a whisky and some guy next to me says, "That's a serious drink for a pretty lady." I give him a look that could kill and he backs off. Oops, not mingling.
Zero is up dancing, and she is good at it too. While I watch her, a slim elf with short corporate style hair and a datajack comes over to me and introduces himself as Alistair. He says he hasn't seen me here before and asks me how I knew about it. I say a friend of mine Sandie told me about it and I thought it might be fun. He asks me what I do. I shrug and mumble a reply about working out in Salish territory, then ask him what he does. Is he the Johnson?
He tells me he works in computers. I feign interest but most of what he says goes over my head. I tell him I don't really know that much about computers and he offers to introduce me to some of his friends who do some sort of computer training.
Fortunately, just then Zero rescues me. Alistair initially thinks she is Sandie, but she quickly drags me off to the bathroom rather than explaining who she is. In the bathroom, she reapplies my lipstick and tells me to go get him. I protest that I am not interested, but she hussles me back out.
I rejoin Alistair and he introduces me to his friends. He explains that as well as his computer job, he is also working on some project to make the barrens a better place to live, like this club. I don't really get what he is going on about but here I am mingling.
I keep an eye out for Zero and a while later spot her talking to another man. Just as he turns away from her, there is a ruckus at the entrance. The two bouncers are struggling with a scar-faced elf. A troll hustles past with an LMG on a gyro mount. Zero comes over and I tell Alistair that we need to go. He gives me his number so I can contact him about the computer course. Yeah, right.
As we slip past the argument at the door, we get a call from the boys that they have finished their poker game and are on the way over. I tell them not to bother and that it's an elf-only party anyway. We get back into the car with Sandie and she passes an envelope to Zero.
It actually feels good to be back in Seattle, despite the first Autumn rain. I hope our next runs are local as I aint too keen to go back to Europe or other parts foreign.
Aurora, Sharif's decker friend has been doing some digging while we were in Germany and has finally turned up something. I follow her e-mailed directions to a hidden datastore. It's just a couple of low-res images of old newspaper clippings but they are about a car accident in Salish territory. A drunk driver crossed the centre line an hit a car coming in the other direction. Although the driver was able to avoid a head on collision, one of the passengers, a young girl was badly hurt and taken to the Seattle General hospital for treatment. I blink back tears as I realise that the girl might be me and that my family might still be alive.
However, the bad news is that Aurora could find no trace of a girl being admitted to the hospital around the time of the accident. That squares with my memory. I don't think I ever did make it there. Even worse, Aurora mentions that there was some code buried deep in the hospital system that was monitoring for queries on my name. She managed to avoid it and found out a couple of other names that it was looking for, all females. She is prepared to trigger it and see where it leads, but that will cost serious nuyen.
I message her to hold off on following up. Maybe I should ask Zero about it, but I don't want to get the team involved. Not yet.
Seattle, day two
Zero is out at her apartment coding, so I decide to try talking to Sharif's pal Lee Chen again. I take the Harley down to Chinatown and head over to the Golden Pagoda to eat. Lee spots me and comes over to serve me. I ask if we can meet up when he gets off and he nods assent. I pick at the spicy duck and leave quickly, heading over to the Blue Lagoon to wait for him there.
When he arrives, he tells me that he can put me in contact with the someone from the eighty-eights, the local triad, but warns me that they are serious dudes and I should be very careful about dealing with them.
But what if they were the guys that kidnapped me in the first place? Asking them if they know of a kidnapping and prostitution ring might not be the smartest of moves. I tell Lee to hold off for now, while I consider other options. Maybe I need to talk to Sharif's other contact, Billy Bear, before getting involved with the triads.
I return to the flat feeling pretty down. The padre is there, but seems to have something on his mind. I offer him a whiskey and he accepts distractedly. We sit silently at either end of the sofa, watching an old flatscreen western, while nursing our drinks and thoughts.
He leaves shortly after, just as Zero gets back home. She tells me that she and Finlay went for dinner at a local mob restaurant where the padre had a meeting with the local capo. Seems he was made an offer he can't refuse. No wonder he was so quiet.
Seattle, day three
Zero wakes me shortly before noon. She has had a call from Finlay and we have a meet at the Ihop for lunch, like right now. I take a quick shower and get dressed, tucking one of the Kimber pistols into my belt as we head out the door.
The contact is a lady who call herself Sandie. She seems to be a bit put out by my cowboy outfit, but hell, I see a lot weirder outfits on the street every day. And she is hardly the one to be giving other people funny looks. While she looks to be a good looking gal herself, when she smiles I see her teeth are metal. I raise an eyebrow at that but catch Finlay shaking his head vigorously, so don't say anything about them.
Turns out she is just a middleman. Job is a B&E with some computer work. We tell her we can handle it and she says the meet proper will happen tonight at a party in the Puyallup Barrens. We all give her a look, and she tells us not to worry. She claims the location is safe and that in any case, she will be driving us there herself.
Then Gabriel curses and says he can't go tonight and that Finlay won't be able to go either. It's full moon night and the boys need to play poker for their little magic club. Sandie says that the deal is off then, but I say that Zero and I can handle the meet ourselves. She thinks about that for a while, then asks where she can pick us up.
The rest of the afternoon is spent getting ready for the party. Zero digs a couple of light pistols out of the stash at her apartment along with a couple of purses big enough to conceal them. Then, while the boys deal out cards, we head out to meet Sandie.
She picks us up a couple of blocks away, you can't be too careful in this game, and drives us out into the barrens. I am feeling all too vulnerable in the figure hugging, silky top and short skirt that Zero picked out for me to wear. I fuss at the skirt until she puts her hand on mine and tells me to relax and that I look great. I smile back but feel anything but calm.
Firehouse 118
Sandie pulls up outside an old Firehouse that looks long abandoned except for the light show and pumping music coming from inside. She says she will be waiting nearby and that the Johnson will make contact with us. Just mingle and enjoy yourselves till then she laughs. I'm supposed to mingle and enjoy it? Not darn likely.
Two doormen check our guns at the entrance, putting them away next to much more serious ordnance. We head to the bar for drinks, pushing through a crowd of a hundred or so partygoers, most of whom I realise are elves. I order a whisky and some guy next to me says, "That's a serious drink for a pretty lady." I give him a look that could kill and he backs off. Oops, not mingling.
Zero is up dancing, and she is good at it too. While I watch her, a slim elf with short corporate style hair and a datajack comes over to me and introduces himself as Alistair. He says he hasn't seen me here before and asks me how I knew about it. I say a friend of mine Sandie told me about it and I thought it might be fun. He asks me what I do. I shrug and mumble a reply about working out in Salish territory, then ask him what he does. Is he the Johnson?
He tells me he works in computers. I feign interest but most of what he says goes over my head. I tell him I don't really know that much about computers and he offers to introduce me to some of his friends who do some sort of computer training.
Fortunately, just then Zero rescues me. Alistair initially thinks she is Sandie, but she quickly drags me off to the bathroom rather than explaining who she is. In the bathroom, she reapplies my lipstick and tells me to go get him. I protest that I am not interested, but she hussles me back out.
I rejoin Alistair and he introduces me to his friends. He explains that as well as his computer job, he is also working on some project to make the barrens a better place to live, like this club. I don't really get what he is going on about but here I am mingling.
I keep an eye out for Zero and a while later spot her talking to another man. Just as he turns away from her, there is a ruckus at the entrance. The two bouncers are struggling with a scar-faced elf. A troll hustles past with an LMG on a gyro mount. Zero comes over and I tell Alistair that we need to go. He gives me his number so I can contact him about the computer course. Yeah, right.
As we slip past the argument at the door, we get a call from the boys that they have finished their poker game and are on the way over. I tell them not to bother and that it's an elf-only party anyway. We get back into the car with Sandie and she passes an envelope to Zero.
April 22, 2010
Kick Ass
Kick Ass did kick some ass. I was a little worried that it might be a little corny or cheesy, but it was well done. Funny and sad at moments, with plenty of action and lots of bad language.
All the acting was great, particularly Nick Cage's Big Daddy. Some great music as well (was that banana splits?) and what, according to my friend was a tribute to Call of Duty. All you FPS players will recognise the sequence immediately.
I have to admit that although I am a comics fan, I had not read the books, so wasn't expecting anything and maybe that helped. And I certainly don't want to give anything away either, so I won't tell you how it turned out. But I will recommend that you do go and see it. Just not in the UGC Antwerp, which is really looking a bit run down these days, but still charges you silly prices to get in, buy a snack, and go for a pee.
All the acting was great, particularly Nick Cage's Big Daddy. Some great music as well (was that banana splits?) and what, according to my friend was a tribute to Call of Duty. All you FPS players will recognise the sequence immediately.
I have to admit that although I am a comics fan, I had not read the books, so wasn't expecting anything and maybe that helped. And I certainly don't want to give anything away either, so I won't tell you how it turned out. But I will recommend that you do go and see it. Just not in the UGC Antwerp, which is really looking a bit run down these days, but still charges you silly prices to get in, buy a snack, and go for a pee.
April 10, 2010
Billie's Journal
Germany, day four cont'd
Our plan doesn't even survive till dinner, never mind until contact with the enemy. On our way back to town, Gabriel trips over a tree root and smashes his knee. He manages to heal the worst of it but he won't be walking for a while.
Then after dinner, Chad starts complaining about his stomach, just before vomiting the local pork specialty all over the room. We discuss putting off the run for a night but the camera loops are already in place and Zero is worried they will be discovered if we wait too long. What a pile of drek.
Only option left looks to be me and Finlay climbing up to the castle while Zero covers us in the matrix. Zero seems nervous about the plan, but I don't see another option. So at midnight, we suit up in the camo gear and, loaded down with guns and climbing gear, take a long hike around to the north side of the castle.
Finlay has some climbing experience so he takes the lead. The climb is long but fortunately not too difficult. I just don't look down, which means I spend a lot of time looking at Finlay's ass. We make it to the top and Zero does her thing, announcing moments later that the cameras on the wall are looped. We hussle to the wall and once Zero has dealt with more cameras there, I fire the grapple gun and we climb quickly up.
The battlements are clear but the stairs down are in the nearest turret. Which is not only locked with some ancient lock but is also occupied by a couple of guards. We try another door and fortunately this one opens. Zero is beginning to have problems with the local node's security but manages to take out the cameras between us and the keep's main entrance.
Finlay runs one of the maglock passkeys through the lock on the door and swings it open. Zero has already dealt with the cameras inside, but there is also a human guard. We enter quickly. Finlay's magically enhanced reactions are faster even than my cybernetic ones and he gets off the first shot from a narcojet pistol that was amongst the gear. I follow up with a second dart from the narcojet rifle that was in another of the creates and the guard slumps facedown on the desk. I arrange his body to hopefully make it look like he is taking a snooze on the job.
We sneak to the elevator without trouble, but Zero is not so lucky. She is cursing in french over our headsets while fending off attacks from multiple intrusion countermeasures. Her soft french accent is sharp as she tussles with trace and blaster IC at the same time. While we wait nervously at the elevator door, she manages to disable the trace program but the blaster IC is damaging her construct. She manages to avoid it by cloaking and even makes it into the host CPU but is unable to take the system down and eventually has to jack out.
With our decker cover gone, we have to move and fast. I switch from the narcojet rifle to the silenced Predator while Finlay forces the doors of the lift open. I double tap the lift camera and then Finlay boosts me up through the service hatch. We zap the controls with a tazer and climb up the service ladder to the third floor where Gabriel had found what he thought was a library on his astral tour.
Things are looking up as the book is sitting in plain view on a pedestal in the middle of the room. Well, at least until I take a closer look. It's a fake. We search the other rooms quickly. First room is a storage cupboard. I notice some flammable cleaning fluids, but we move quickly on. Next room is locked, another old fashioned lock too. I pull out a hairpin and jimmy it open. There is another door inside and as we approach it, a phone rings inside.
A deep voice, answers in sleepy German. We stop at the door as heavy footsteps approach the door - and then lock it. Finlay curses. Then after focusing his mojo, he kicks the door right off its hinges. We move in. An old troll looks at us in amazement. I hiss at him, demanding the book. He mumbles something in German as his eyes flick to the bedside table where I see a large book. Finlay sedates him with a smack around the head and a couple of shots from the narcojet pistol.
Then dumping the case we were given to deliver, Finlay stashes the book in his backpack and we move out. I make a stop at the storage cupboard, pouring the cleaning fluid into a bucket of rags and tossing in one of the ex-explosive clips before dropping in a lit cigarette. As the flame takes, I run back to the lift where Finlay is heading up instead of down. I ask what he's up to and he winks back at me and whispers, 'Helicopter.' I didn't know he could fly a copter.
As we get to the next floor and Finlay reaches for the door, it is forced open and two gun barrels appear. Quick to react, Finlay tosses a flashpak through the opening and leaps through. Curses in German are followed by cries of pain as Finlay extends his folding staff and lays into the dazzled guards. 'Go right' he subvocalizes as I leap through - just as one of the blinded guards opens up wildy with his assault rifle. Fortunately he is more worried about hitting his buddies and the burst goes high.
Finlay's staff smashes repeatedly into the guards on the left hand side of the hallway and I hear grunts and thuds as bodies fall. I move in close to the guard in front of me so he can't bring his rifle to bear and shoot the one to my left in the head. Mister trigger-happy opens up again and I feel bullets whiz past my head while his buddy, my shield, screams at him in German.
Finlay moves across the hall with lighting speed and smashes his staff into trigger-happy's face with bonesnapping force. That leaves my shield as the only one still standing, so I step back and shoot him point blank in the back of his head, killing him instantly.
At the end of the hall, a security door is sealed with an electronic lock. Our maglock passkey works it's magic and the door pops open. Three security guards are monitoring screens. They all go for their guns, but we are faster. Finlay unloads into them killing the closest instantly and clipping the second before the SMG's recoil pulls his aim off. I follow up with a snap shot that kills the second guard. My second shot clips the third in the shoulder. He falls to ground and throws away his gun holding up his hands in surrender, so I zap him with the tazer.
Finlay goes through to the room with the copter to get it started. I go back to the lift shaft to make sure no-one tries to get to us. Zero comes back online, announcing that she has managed to hotwire a car and that she and our two invalids are on their way to the rendezvous point. It's at this point that Finlay admits that he doesn't actually know how to fly the copter and asks Zero if she can lead him through the startup process for it's dogbrain. Zero curses again in French and I add a couple of choice phrases about Finlay's mother in Salish.
While Finlay and Zero try to work out how to get the copter started, I cover the lift shaft. I can hear the guards muttering in German. They sound like they are up to something so I drop a concussion grenade down the shaft. That keeps them quiet for a minute but they are soon back. I drop a flashpack down next followed by a burst from the SMG. Finlay and Zero are making little progress, so after dropping my last flashpack and emptying a full clip of ex-explosive down the shaft I go to see if I can help.
Dear Lord this thing has a lot of buttons and switches. Just as I am beginning to think we are totally screwed, I stumble across the flight manual stashed under the pilot's seat. Not only is it in English, but it practically falls open at the section on activating the autopilot. With some help from Zero, I manage to program in the coordinates of the rendezvous and with a prayer hit the activate icon. The copter lumbers into the air. I am too scared to touch anything, reliant totally on its ability to fly itself. Finlay shouts down to the guards in the courtyard in bad german about us having the baron onboard. It seems to work as they don't try to shoot us down.
Ten minutes later, the copter makes a smooth landing in the car park at the scenic viewpoint we had picked to meet up. Zero flashes an angry glare at Finlay, although I think she is actually more angry at herself for having to jack out. Gabriel is still limping and Chad is green but has at least stopped being sick.
I order the copter to fly south towards Geneva. It might buy us some time as we pile into the stolen van and head north. After a couple of hours driving, we pull over into the trees. I scout ahead to check out the border crossing. It don't look good. Searchlights are playing across the road, highlighting barbed wire, tire spikes, and a bunker with a couple of large barreled guns sticking out of it. No way we are getting through there in one piece. I creep back to the van and explain the situation to the team. Zero downloads the coordinates for the first town across the border into her headware and taking what gear we can, we head into the woods.
It takes most of the night to make it across the border. Gabriel and Chad hold us up and then Zero takes a tumble too, losing her glasses in the process. It takes best part of an hour moving carefully around to avoid stepping on them, before Finlay finally spots them. Zero takes them with a pout and a wince. Seems she has twisted her ankle in the fall so that slow us down even more. Then Finlay catches whiff of a strange scent and before we can react a huge piasma lumbes out of the woods. It's like a grizzly except twice as big and magically active. We keep calm and edge slowly out of it's way and it moves on into the night.
Germany, day five
As dawn breaks we can hear the town stirring close by. We switch from camo gear to civilian clothing and dump all the weapons and other milspec gear. We slip into town as it is waking up and head to the train station there. Unfortunately one of the local goons takes an interest on us as we are waiting for the first train out.
From what I can make out, he is giving us a hard time about not having some stamp for crossing the border. Finlay tries bluffing him and Zero flashes her best smile, but nothing seems to be working until I suggest that we just pay the fine and he stamps our passes. With a big smile his English suddenly improves and after some negotiation and a trip to the nearest cash machine, we get our stamps.
The rest of the journey is fortunately uneventful and we pass most of the journey on the high-speed train back to Berlin snoozing. Back at the airport, we clear customs smoothly and while waiting for the suborbital to board, I spot an item on CNN about a copter being shot down while attempting to cross the Swiss border.
We arrive in Washington the same evening thanks to the time change. Albrecht is waiting for us at the airport and takes possession of the book in exchange for travel papers back to Seattle and our payment. A smooth run, where no-one got shot. Well, except for a few Bavarian injuns.
Our plan doesn't even survive till dinner, never mind until contact with the enemy. On our way back to town, Gabriel trips over a tree root and smashes his knee. He manages to heal the worst of it but he won't be walking for a while.
Then after dinner, Chad starts complaining about his stomach, just before vomiting the local pork specialty all over the room. We discuss putting off the run for a night but the camera loops are already in place and Zero is worried they will be discovered if we wait too long. What a pile of drek.
Only option left looks to be me and Finlay climbing up to the castle while Zero covers us in the matrix. Zero seems nervous about the plan, but I don't see another option. So at midnight, we suit up in the camo gear and, loaded down with guns and climbing gear, take a long hike around to the north side of the castle.
Finlay has some climbing experience so he takes the lead. The climb is long but fortunately not too difficult. I just don't look down, which means I spend a lot of time looking at Finlay's ass. We make it to the top and Zero does her thing, announcing moments later that the cameras on the wall are looped. We hussle to the wall and once Zero has dealt with more cameras there, I fire the grapple gun and we climb quickly up.
The battlements are clear but the stairs down are in the nearest turret. Which is not only locked with some ancient lock but is also occupied by a couple of guards. We try another door and fortunately this one opens. Zero is beginning to have problems with the local node's security but manages to take out the cameras between us and the keep's main entrance.
Finlay runs one of the maglock passkeys through the lock on the door and swings it open. Zero has already dealt with the cameras inside, but there is also a human guard. We enter quickly. Finlay's magically enhanced reactions are faster even than my cybernetic ones and he gets off the first shot from a narcojet pistol that was amongst the gear. I follow up with a second dart from the narcojet rifle that was in another of the creates and the guard slumps facedown on the desk. I arrange his body to hopefully make it look like he is taking a snooze on the job.
We sneak to the elevator without trouble, but Zero is not so lucky. She is cursing in french over our headsets while fending off attacks from multiple intrusion countermeasures. Her soft french accent is sharp as she tussles with trace and blaster IC at the same time. While we wait nervously at the elevator door, she manages to disable the trace program but the blaster IC is damaging her construct. She manages to avoid it by cloaking and even makes it into the host CPU but is unable to take the system down and eventually has to jack out.
With our decker cover gone, we have to move and fast. I switch from the narcojet rifle to the silenced Predator while Finlay forces the doors of the lift open. I double tap the lift camera and then Finlay boosts me up through the service hatch. We zap the controls with a tazer and climb up the service ladder to the third floor where Gabriel had found what he thought was a library on his astral tour.
Things are looking up as the book is sitting in plain view on a pedestal in the middle of the room. Well, at least until I take a closer look. It's a fake. We search the other rooms quickly. First room is a storage cupboard. I notice some flammable cleaning fluids, but we move quickly on. Next room is locked, another old fashioned lock too. I pull out a hairpin and jimmy it open. There is another door inside and as we approach it, a phone rings inside.
A deep voice, answers in sleepy German. We stop at the door as heavy footsteps approach the door - and then lock it. Finlay curses. Then after focusing his mojo, he kicks the door right off its hinges. We move in. An old troll looks at us in amazement. I hiss at him, demanding the book. He mumbles something in German as his eyes flick to the bedside table where I see a large book. Finlay sedates him with a smack around the head and a couple of shots from the narcojet pistol.
Then dumping the case we were given to deliver, Finlay stashes the book in his backpack and we move out. I make a stop at the storage cupboard, pouring the cleaning fluid into a bucket of rags and tossing in one of the ex-explosive clips before dropping in a lit cigarette. As the flame takes, I run back to the lift where Finlay is heading up instead of down. I ask what he's up to and he winks back at me and whispers, 'Helicopter.' I didn't know he could fly a copter.
As we get to the next floor and Finlay reaches for the door, it is forced open and two gun barrels appear. Quick to react, Finlay tosses a flashpak through the opening and leaps through. Curses in German are followed by cries of pain as Finlay extends his folding staff and lays into the dazzled guards. 'Go right' he subvocalizes as I leap through - just as one of the blinded guards opens up wildy with his assault rifle. Fortunately he is more worried about hitting his buddies and the burst goes high.
Finlay's staff smashes repeatedly into the guards on the left hand side of the hallway and I hear grunts and thuds as bodies fall. I move in close to the guard in front of me so he can't bring his rifle to bear and shoot the one to my left in the head. Mister trigger-happy opens up again and I feel bullets whiz past my head while his buddy, my shield, screams at him in German.
Finlay moves across the hall with lighting speed and smashes his staff into trigger-happy's face with bonesnapping force. That leaves my shield as the only one still standing, so I step back and shoot him point blank in the back of his head, killing him instantly.
At the end of the hall, a security door is sealed with an electronic lock. Our maglock passkey works it's magic and the door pops open. Three security guards are monitoring screens. They all go for their guns, but we are faster. Finlay unloads into them killing the closest instantly and clipping the second before the SMG's recoil pulls his aim off. I follow up with a snap shot that kills the second guard. My second shot clips the third in the shoulder. He falls to ground and throws away his gun holding up his hands in surrender, so I zap him with the tazer.
Finlay goes through to the room with the copter to get it started. I go back to the lift shaft to make sure no-one tries to get to us. Zero comes back online, announcing that she has managed to hotwire a car and that she and our two invalids are on their way to the rendezvous point. It's at this point that Finlay admits that he doesn't actually know how to fly the copter and asks Zero if she can lead him through the startup process for it's dogbrain. Zero curses again in French and I add a couple of choice phrases about Finlay's mother in Salish.
While Finlay and Zero try to work out how to get the copter started, I cover the lift shaft. I can hear the guards muttering in German. They sound like they are up to something so I drop a concussion grenade down the shaft. That keeps them quiet for a minute but they are soon back. I drop a flashpack down next followed by a burst from the SMG. Finlay and Zero are making little progress, so after dropping my last flashpack and emptying a full clip of ex-explosive down the shaft I go to see if I can help.
Dear Lord this thing has a lot of buttons and switches. Just as I am beginning to think we are totally screwed, I stumble across the flight manual stashed under the pilot's seat. Not only is it in English, but it practically falls open at the section on activating the autopilot. With some help from Zero, I manage to program in the coordinates of the rendezvous and with a prayer hit the activate icon. The copter lumbers into the air. I am too scared to touch anything, reliant totally on its ability to fly itself. Finlay shouts down to the guards in the courtyard in bad german about us having the baron onboard. It seems to work as they don't try to shoot us down.
Ten minutes later, the copter makes a smooth landing in the car park at the scenic viewpoint we had picked to meet up. Zero flashes an angry glare at Finlay, although I think she is actually more angry at herself for having to jack out. Gabriel is still limping and Chad is green but has at least stopped being sick.
I order the copter to fly south towards Geneva. It might buy us some time as we pile into the stolen van and head north. After a couple of hours driving, we pull over into the trees. I scout ahead to check out the border crossing. It don't look good. Searchlights are playing across the road, highlighting barbed wire, tire spikes, and a bunker with a couple of large barreled guns sticking out of it. No way we are getting through there in one piece. I creep back to the van and explain the situation to the team. Zero downloads the coordinates for the first town across the border into her headware and taking what gear we can, we head into the woods.
It takes most of the night to make it across the border. Gabriel and Chad hold us up and then Zero takes a tumble too, losing her glasses in the process. It takes best part of an hour moving carefully around to avoid stepping on them, before Finlay finally spots them. Zero takes them with a pout and a wince. Seems she has twisted her ankle in the fall so that slow us down even more. Then Finlay catches whiff of a strange scent and before we can react a huge piasma lumbes out of the woods. It's like a grizzly except twice as big and magically active. We keep calm and edge slowly out of it's way and it moves on into the night.
Germany, day five
As dawn breaks we can hear the town stirring close by. We switch from camo gear to civilian clothing and dump all the weapons and other milspec gear. We slip into town as it is waking up and head to the train station there. Unfortunately one of the local goons takes an interest on us as we are waiting for the first train out.
From what I can make out, he is giving us a hard time about not having some stamp for crossing the border. Finlay tries bluffing him and Zero flashes her best smile, but nothing seems to be working until I suggest that we just pay the fine and he stamps our passes. With a big smile his English suddenly improves and after some negotiation and a trip to the nearest cash machine, we get our stamps.
The rest of the journey is fortunately uneventful and we pass most of the journey on the high-speed train back to Berlin snoozing. Back at the airport, we clear customs smoothly and while waiting for the suborbital to board, I spot an item on CNN about a copter being shot down while attempting to cross the Swiss border.
We arrive in Washington the same evening thanks to the time change. Albrecht is waiting for us at the airport and takes possession of the book in exchange for travel papers back to Seattle and our payment. A smooth run, where no-one got shot. Well, except for a few Bavarian injuns.
March 28, 2010
Billie's Journal
Germany day two
Having travelled all day yesterday, we were all beat and hit the sack early. This morning we rose to sounds of people rattling about in the kitchen area. A couple of locals were preparing a breakfast of cold meats, cheese and dark bread along with some half decent coffee.
A young French couple, about the only other guests at the hostel, tried to make small-talk with us but their English was poor and for some reason Zero wouldn't speak to them in French. Something about them coming from Paris.
Helga, or is it Olga, the bird with the big chest turned up just as our gear arrived in 5 large crates. Chad and Finlay did their best to impress her by carrying them into our rooms, although with little apparent success. Olga gave us some hiking maps and we studied them together, planning out a hike that would take us around the castle.
Once she finally left, we took a look in the crates. One was marked in English to be opened first. Sitting on top of the other gear were a white noise generator and a bug scanner. A quick check indicated multiple bugs and after a bit of surreptitious searching we discovered a couple of concealed mics and cameras.
After a whispered discussion Zero announced she was going to go and 'get changed to go hiking'. Hoping that would keep our watchers distracted for a while, we made a very brief inventory of the crates. In addition to some hiking, climbing and camping gear, including snowshoes of all things, the crates also included night camo outfits and two sets of gun cases. While we unloaded the more mundane items I was able to stash one of each of the cases in two of our backpacks to take with us on our hike later that day.
The hike was pleasant, with the tree all the colours of fall. The sky was clear and although cool, the weather was just right for hiking. Still we had a job to do and kept a close eye on the castle.
Two-men patrols walked the battlements about once an hour. The cable-car ran a couple of trips in the morning and again later in the day as we were returning to the hostel but was not used at all during the day. We spotted no vehicles going into or coming out of the castle, but at one point the high-pitched whine of rotors drew our attention to a small rotordrone flying over the castle. This one did not get shot down so it's pretty safe to assume that it came from the castle.
We opened the gun cases. The smaller one contained an Ares Predator. It was fitted with an external smartlink that interfaced smoothly with mine, and also a silencer. Not my gun of choice, but at least it's not some German crap. The larger case contained a stripped down SMG. It's an H&K277S, the silenced version like the ones used by the Swiss hit team that attacked us in Scotland. German crap, but at least it is also sound suppressed.
My pleasant mood was spoiled by the padre and Zero complaining about sore feet and in Zero's case about being outside in general. Chad is just impressed by the amount of green. We eat a hearty meal at one of the few tourist restaurants in the village. Zero is listening in to the locals and mentions that they never say anything bad about the baron and never seem to talk about politics. Super-happy or scared of being overheard. Based on what we found at the hostel, I'd go with the latter.
Germany day three
Olga seems upset with Finlay this morning but he tells us that she is going to arrange for us to visit the castle tomorrow. We take a walk to the next village and visit some old church. The priest there talks almost as much as the padre, but seems to be a nice enough guy. However, he pretty much just sticks to the history of the church and won't be drawn on any other subjects.
Returning to the hostel in the afternoon, the padre claims he needs to rest. In fact he goes on an astral recon of the castle and main keep and comes back with some more details on the layout but no indication of the location of the book.
At the moment our options are pretty limited. None of us are expert climbers so event though we have plenty of gear, climbing the cliff to the castle is out of the question. The cable car is a possibility but we will wait to see how the visit goes tomorrow before deciding on that option. The current favorite, is for the padre to use his invisibility spell to sneak in, possibly along with one of more of us, and steal the book. It's a long walk up to the castle but it's the best option we have for now.
Germany day four
Up bright and early to visit the castle but it's a bit of a disappointment. First, the ride up in the cable car confirms our suspicions that the controls are only up in the castle. Not an option then, although we could still possilby use the cable as a rope slide if we can rig a braking mechanism at the bottom. This will mean that some of us will need to take control of the cable car station in the village.
Secondly, there are cameras all over the fraggin place. We also only get a brief tour along the battlements and the main courtyard. The baron guy has an interesting collection of limos, plus a couple of riot control vehicles armed with heavy machine guns. Maybe we can steal one of those to make our escape.
After the visit, we take a walk in the woods to discuss options. Zero brings her deck and we find a quiet spot where she can set up her satlink and hack in. Good news is that we are still only flagged as tourists. She sets up a program to loop the cameras after midnight tonight. This will give us time to check out the rest of the gear in the crates and hopefully get in and out without raising an alarm.
We agree to the following plan of action. Gabriel and Finlay will attempt to sneak in under the padre's invisibility spell while Chad and I secure the cable car station in the village and set up a braking rope. Zero will then deck in to provide matrix support to the boys who will use the cable slide to exit the castle once they have the book. Then Zero will hotwire one of the locals vehicles and we all get the hell out of dodge. I just hope it works.
Having travelled all day yesterday, we were all beat and hit the sack early. This morning we rose to sounds of people rattling about in the kitchen area. A couple of locals were preparing a breakfast of cold meats, cheese and dark bread along with some half decent coffee.
A young French couple, about the only other guests at the hostel, tried to make small-talk with us but their English was poor and for some reason Zero wouldn't speak to them in French. Something about them coming from Paris.
Helga, or is it Olga, the bird with the big chest turned up just as our gear arrived in 5 large crates. Chad and Finlay did their best to impress her by carrying them into our rooms, although with little apparent success. Olga gave us some hiking maps and we studied them together, planning out a hike that would take us around the castle.
Once she finally left, we took a look in the crates. One was marked in English to be opened first. Sitting on top of the other gear were a white noise generator and a bug scanner. A quick check indicated multiple bugs and after a bit of surreptitious searching we discovered a couple of concealed mics and cameras.
After a whispered discussion Zero announced she was going to go and 'get changed to go hiking'. Hoping that would keep our watchers distracted for a while, we made a very brief inventory of the crates. In addition to some hiking, climbing and camping gear, including snowshoes of all things, the crates also included night camo outfits and two sets of gun cases. While we unloaded the more mundane items I was able to stash one of each of the cases in two of our backpacks to take with us on our hike later that day.
The hike was pleasant, with the tree all the colours of fall. The sky was clear and although cool, the weather was just right for hiking. Still we had a job to do and kept a close eye on the castle.
Two-men patrols walked the battlements about once an hour. The cable-car ran a couple of trips in the morning and again later in the day as we were returning to the hostel but was not used at all during the day. We spotted no vehicles going into or coming out of the castle, but at one point the high-pitched whine of rotors drew our attention to a small rotordrone flying over the castle. This one did not get shot down so it's pretty safe to assume that it came from the castle.
We opened the gun cases. The smaller one contained an Ares Predator. It was fitted with an external smartlink that interfaced smoothly with mine, and also a silencer. Not my gun of choice, but at least it's not some German crap. The larger case contained a stripped down SMG. It's an H&K277S, the silenced version like the ones used by the Swiss hit team that attacked us in Scotland. German crap, but at least it is also sound suppressed.
My pleasant mood was spoiled by the padre and Zero complaining about sore feet and in Zero's case about being outside in general. Chad is just impressed by the amount of green. We eat a hearty meal at one of the few tourist restaurants in the village. Zero is listening in to the locals and mentions that they never say anything bad about the baron and never seem to talk about politics. Super-happy or scared of being overheard. Based on what we found at the hostel, I'd go with the latter.
Germany day three
Olga seems upset with Finlay this morning but he tells us that she is going to arrange for us to visit the castle tomorrow. We take a walk to the next village and visit some old church. The priest there talks almost as much as the padre, but seems to be a nice enough guy. However, he pretty much just sticks to the history of the church and won't be drawn on any other subjects.
Returning to the hostel in the afternoon, the padre claims he needs to rest. In fact he goes on an astral recon of the castle and main keep and comes back with some more details on the layout but no indication of the location of the book.
At the moment our options are pretty limited. None of us are expert climbers so event though we have plenty of gear, climbing the cliff to the castle is out of the question. The cable car is a possibility but we will wait to see how the visit goes tomorrow before deciding on that option. The current favorite, is for the padre to use his invisibility spell to sneak in, possibly along with one of more of us, and steal the book. It's a long walk up to the castle but it's the best option we have for now.
Germany day four
Up bright and early to visit the castle but it's a bit of a disappointment. First, the ride up in the cable car confirms our suspicions that the controls are only up in the castle. Not an option then, although we could still possilby use the cable as a rope slide if we can rig a braking mechanism at the bottom. This will mean that some of us will need to take control of the cable car station in the village.
Secondly, there are cameras all over the fraggin place. We also only get a brief tour along the battlements and the main courtyard. The baron guy has an interesting collection of limos, plus a couple of riot control vehicles armed with heavy machine guns. Maybe we can steal one of those to make our escape.
After the visit, we take a walk in the woods to discuss options. Zero brings her deck and we find a quiet spot where she can set up her satlink and hack in. Good news is that we are still only flagged as tourists. She sets up a program to loop the cameras after midnight tonight. This will give us time to check out the rest of the gear in the crates and hopefully get in and out without raising an alarm.
We agree to the following plan of action. Gabriel and Finlay will attempt to sneak in under the padre's invisibility spell while Chad and I secure the cable car station in the village and set up a braking rope. Zero will then deck in to provide matrix support to the boys who will use the cable slide to exit the castle once they have the book. Then Zero will hotwire one of the locals vehicles and we all get the hell out of dodge. I just hope it works.
March 21, 2010
Billie's Journal
Seattle, September
I have neglected my journal since getting back to Seattle. My last entry was nearly three months ago, just before we left Scotland. Things have been strangely quiet yet busy since we got back.
Finlay, Chad and Gabriel have been busy setting up a magical group. Mainly they seem to be arguing over what the group should be called. Finlay wants them to choose the 'Black Watch' while Gabriel is in two minds between 'The Templars' and 'The Crusaders'. Chad's suggestions are either hokey kung fu terms he's picked up from the trid or something related to bananas.
Zero has locked herself away in her apartment writing programs for her deck. She has been working on new designs for a while, but her run in with black ice in the Edinburgh police grid seems to have given her the incentive to finally start coding.
I find myself at a bit of a loose end, moping about our shared digs thinking about my past. Finally after a couple of weeks of putting things off, I call the number I have for getting in contact with Sheriff and leave a short message: "I remember."
He gets back to me a couple of days later. His voice is cuatious but he agrees to meet and gives me a time and address. I ride over on the Harley. It's been sitting in the garage for a couple of months, but grumbles into life on the first turn of the ignition. The address takes me to a small apartment block just outside the Barrens. It's salariman central but quiet and relatively safe.
Sheriff answers the door with a hesitant smile. He stands almost a head shorter than me but has a much broader build. Of Indian descent, and that's Indian Indian not Native American, his skin is chocolate brown and his eyes dark. There are few more lines around his eyes than I remember and his slicked back black hair is showing the first streaks of grey at the temples. He invites me in and asks me how I am doing.
Facing him, I can barely speak and can only throw my arms around him in a fierce hug. Tears stream freely down my face as I mumble my thanks for rescuing me over and over. He takes me in a gentle embrace and holds me until I pull myself somewhat together, then sits me down at the kitchen table. His apartment is small and clean, just a small sitting room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. Big enough for just one person.
He offers me tea. I know he doesn't drink but ask if he has anything stronger. He smiles again, a genuine one this time, and pulls out a half-liter bottle of Jack Daniels saying that he picked up a bottle for me just in case.
The whiskey steadies my nerves and I tell him what I remember from the ordeal: the skimpy cowboy outfit, being forced to whip the other girl, him coming to my rescue, getting shot in the arm and finally overhearing him telling the doctors to fix me up.
He seems a little embarrased about the last part and perhaps also a little guilty about not telling me what actually happened. He explains that I was pretty messed up afterwards and that the only thing that seemed to be keeping me straight was the whole cowboy angle. He nods at my hat, sitting on the table between us and it's my turn to blush.
I tell him about my other, earlier memories of being on a ranch in Salish territory, about my family and remembering my first name: Wilhemlina. I also recount the car crash that led to me being sold into sex-slave business. I ask him if any of this information might help me find out who I really am.
He says that they looked hard for who I was at the time, even running my prints through the federal database but nothing came up and that was over four years ago. He offers to contact the decker, a woman called Aurora, to see if the extra info I provided will loosen up a few secrets, but tells me not to get my hopes up. Somewhat embarrased, he asks if I can pay for the data search. Seems his relation with Aurora is strictly business.
I twirl my new ebony datastick before his eyes and tell him cash is currently not a problem. He tells me he'll get back in a couple of days and I give him a friendly peck on the cheek as I leave.
While I am waiting to hear back from Sherrif I stop by Zero's place. She looks like she could use a break, so I ask if she could help me shop for some new clothes. Her eyes light up and she squeals with glee at the prospect. I suddenly feel nervous about asking.
However, the trip turns out be just what the doctor ordered. Zero has a good eye for fashion, steering me away from jeans and checked shirts and towards skirts, blouses and fitted tops. I end up with a complete new wardrobe, from sweats to evening dress, as well as some new lingerie that makes me blush even to think about wearing.
Unfortunately my happy bubble is burst a couple of days later when I meet up with Sherrif again. He tell me that Aurora has been unable to find anything, and that if there had been anything to find, she would have found it. She told him it looks like someone did a real number on my datatrail. He tells me she will keep looking but even he doesn't sound hopeful.
I ask if there is anything he can tell me about the run that might help me. While he can't or won't tell me what his team was doing there, he does give me the names of a couple of his contacts in Chinatown: Billy Bear and Knee Chen. Billy is linked to the Seoulpa ring; Knee is a dwarf waiter at the Golden Pagoda restaurant, one of the biggest tourist places in Chinatown and a suspected triad money laundering operation.
Sherrif warns me about getting involved with the triads and specifically asks me not to get his chummer Knee into any trouble. I thank him for the info and contacts, but the lack of progress is both depressing and frustrating.
Halloween
Returning to the apartment, I find the boys drinking and playing cards. They claim it is a ritual related to their magical group, which still doesn't have a name, but it sounds more like an excuse to get drunk. And hell, right now I could use a drink.
Zero joins in too. None of us have played poker seriously before, so I can't tell if we were even playing it right. As the night goes on and we get slowly hammered, one of the boys suggests that we up the ante and play strip poker. I try to make my excuses but one look from Zero's puppy eyes and I say what the hell.
Pretty soon we are all down to our underwear, except Finlay who still has his kilt on. Fortunately, I am wearing some of the nicer lingerie that Zero picked out for me and not some of my old faded sports bras and panties.
Not that I need to worry about the boys ogling me, as they are all more interested in Zero's chest. It's not that she has huge breasts, she is a 34D, it's just that she is so petite that they are definitely one of her biggest assets. And they do make my modest 32B bosom look rather flat by comparison.
I lose my bra in the next round and then Finlay loses his kilt and yes it's true about what a Scot wears under his kilt: nothing. Fortunately, I am drunk enough that I am feeling no pain or embarassment sitting around half naked with my runner team.
Chad loses his boxers next and Zero finally loses her bra to a cheer from the menfolk. Then I lose my panties, but by now I am beyond caring. Gabriel wins the last round leaving Zero naked rather than himself. Maybe that's for the best. The padre is a nice guy, but is neither the youngest nor the fittest of the team.
With the game finally over, I scoop up my clothes and with what little dignity I can still muster, I make a rather wobbly retreat to the girl's bedroom. Zero follows shorty after leaving the boys to drink late into the night.
With the ritual complete the boys' attention turns to other matters. Finlay contacts Maselhof for some special ammunition and I manage to get some APDS and Explosive rounds for my rifle and pistol added to the order. We have also been in regular contact with Martha for work but things are a bit quiet on that front at the moment. With little else to do, I decide to follow-up on Sherrif's leads.
Chinatown
I spend a few nights getting my bearings around Chinatown, eating at a few restaurants before settling for the Golden Pagoda. I get lucky and my waiter is the dwarf Lee Chen, not Knee, a young chinese dwarf with a carefully trimmed fu manchu beard. While ordering, he recommends the beef fried noodles and the chinese beer, I mention that I am a friend of Sheriff and ask when we can talk.
He tells me that his shift finishes in a couple of hours and that he usually has a couple at the Blue Lagoon across the street before heading home. I take my meal slow, the noodles are good, the beer not, then saunter over to the bar which turns out to have some rather good japanese whiskey.
Lee turns up an hour or so later. I explain my situation without going into too many details. His face pales but he takes me seriously and says he can put me in touch with some people who might be able to help me. He asks for a few hundred cash up front to grease palms. I transfer a couple of thousand to his stick. That gets his attention.
I return to the apartment to find that the fixer Albrecht has been in touch with Finlay about another job. He has scheduled a meet in Club Penumbra for tomorrow night. Time to get out the glad rags.
Club Penumbra
I feel half naked in my little black dress, but Zero claims I look great. She helps me with makeup, I rarely wear any, and even I have to admit that I look good.
The passes provided by Albrect get us in with little problems. I do need to wear a cyberlock on my hand blade and a watcher spirit is assigned to keep an eye on the padre, Finlay and Chad. Albrecht is friendly but all mysterious. He needs a package acquired, i.e. stolen, and another delivered in its place but won't give more details till we agree we are in. After a brief chat amongst ourselves, we agree to go for it. Then Albrecht tells us we are going to Germany. Great, guess that means I get to shoot germans with some crap german guns. I should have listened to Sheriff when he told me I shouldn't focus too much on my 'cowboy' guns.
What's worse is it seems that Germany and most of Europe has devolved back into some sort of medieval feudal state and the item we need to acquire is being kept in a frigging castle owned by the local chief who goes by the name of Baron von Munchausen or something like that anyway. Why did I say yes to this gig? At least the pay is decent and it'll take my mind off my other business for a while.
Germany, day one
With our cover IDs, we take the sub-orbital to Berlin, the only part of the country still vaguely controlled by the German government. Although reading between the lines that means by Saeder-Krupp. We then take a high speed train to Munchen and from there, it's onto a local train that seems to have to stop every three goddamn villages for a border control by the local Baron's militia. By the time we get to Munchausen, I'm about ready to shoot someone in the face. Too bad I ain't got a piece on me.
Arriving at the one-horse town of Munchausen, we are met by the local tourist representative. Tall, blond and blue eyed with a chest as big as Zero's and a low cut dress that shows it off well, she is an instant hit with the boys. Somehow she latches onto the padre, so Finlay takes Zero's arm instead and I just glare "don't even thing about it" at Chad.
Helga escorts us the few minutes walk to the youth hostel and helps us check in. It's all pretty automatic. Apart from the castle, which is a short distance out of town, about the only other amenities in this shithole of a town is one poxy restaurant. At least the menu looks okay, if a little heavy on the pork.
We take a walk to stretch our legs and get our bearings. Near to the foot of the road leading up to the castle, our attention is drawn to a small drone flying overhead. The distintive whoosh of a rocket launch is as surprising as the sudden explosion of the drone. A farmer in a nearby field wearing traditional leather pants looks up and shrugs. In broken English he explains that the Baron does not get on well with his neighbor, who sends spy-drones over on a regular basis only for the Baron to blow them out of the sky. Great, we've officially entered the dark ages.
I have neglected my journal since getting back to Seattle. My last entry was nearly three months ago, just before we left Scotland. Things have been strangely quiet yet busy since we got back.
Finlay, Chad and Gabriel have been busy setting up a magical group. Mainly they seem to be arguing over what the group should be called. Finlay wants them to choose the 'Black Watch' while Gabriel is in two minds between 'The Templars' and 'The Crusaders'. Chad's suggestions are either hokey kung fu terms he's picked up from the trid or something related to bananas.
Zero has locked herself away in her apartment writing programs for her deck. She has been working on new designs for a while, but her run in with black ice in the Edinburgh police grid seems to have given her the incentive to finally start coding.
I find myself at a bit of a loose end, moping about our shared digs thinking about my past. Finally after a couple of weeks of putting things off, I call the number I have for getting in contact with Sheriff and leave a short message: "I remember."
He gets back to me a couple of days later. His voice is cuatious but he agrees to meet and gives me a time and address. I ride over on the Harley. It's been sitting in the garage for a couple of months, but grumbles into life on the first turn of the ignition. The address takes me to a small apartment block just outside the Barrens. It's salariman central but quiet and relatively safe.
Sheriff answers the door with a hesitant smile. He stands almost a head shorter than me but has a much broader build. Of Indian descent, and that's Indian Indian not Native American, his skin is chocolate brown and his eyes dark. There are few more lines around his eyes than I remember and his slicked back black hair is showing the first streaks of grey at the temples. He invites me in and asks me how I am doing.
Facing him, I can barely speak and can only throw my arms around him in a fierce hug. Tears stream freely down my face as I mumble my thanks for rescuing me over and over. He takes me in a gentle embrace and holds me until I pull myself somewhat together, then sits me down at the kitchen table. His apartment is small and clean, just a small sitting room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. Big enough for just one person.
He offers me tea. I know he doesn't drink but ask if he has anything stronger. He smiles again, a genuine one this time, and pulls out a half-liter bottle of Jack Daniels saying that he picked up a bottle for me just in case.
The whiskey steadies my nerves and I tell him what I remember from the ordeal: the skimpy cowboy outfit, being forced to whip the other girl, him coming to my rescue, getting shot in the arm and finally overhearing him telling the doctors to fix me up.
He seems a little embarrased about the last part and perhaps also a little guilty about not telling me what actually happened. He explains that I was pretty messed up afterwards and that the only thing that seemed to be keeping me straight was the whole cowboy angle. He nods at my hat, sitting on the table between us and it's my turn to blush.
I tell him about my other, earlier memories of being on a ranch in Salish territory, about my family and remembering my first name: Wilhemlina. I also recount the car crash that led to me being sold into sex-slave business. I ask him if any of this information might help me find out who I really am.
He says that they looked hard for who I was at the time, even running my prints through the federal database but nothing came up and that was over four years ago. He offers to contact the decker, a woman called Aurora, to see if the extra info I provided will loosen up a few secrets, but tells me not to get my hopes up. Somewhat embarrased, he asks if I can pay for the data search. Seems his relation with Aurora is strictly business.
I twirl my new ebony datastick before his eyes and tell him cash is currently not a problem. He tells me he'll get back in a couple of days and I give him a friendly peck on the cheek as I leave.
While I am waiting to hear back from Sherrif I stop by Zero's place. She looks like she could use a break, so I ask if she could help me shop for some new clothes. Her eyes light up and she squeals with glee at the prospect. I suddenly feel nervous about asking.
However, the trip turns out be just what the doctor ordered. Zero has a good eye for fashion, steering me away from jeans and checked shirts and towards skirts, blouses and fitted tops. I end up with a complete new wardrobe, from sweats to evening dress, as well as some new lingerie that makes me blush even to think about wearing.
Unfortunately my happy bubble is burst a couple of days later when I meet up with Sherrif again. He tell me that Aurora has been unable to find anything, and that if there had been anything to find, she would have found it. She told him it looks like someone did a real number on my datatrail. He tells me she will keep looking but even he doesn't sound hopeful.
I ask if there is anything he can tell me about the run that might help me. While he can't or won't tell me what his team was doing there, he does give me the names of a couple of his contacts in Chinatown: Billy Bear and Knee Chen. Billy is linked to the Seoulpa ring; Knee is a dwarf waiter at the Golden Pagoda restaurant, one of the biggest tourist places in Chinatown and a suspected triad money laundering operation.
Sherrif warns me about getting involved with the triads and specifically asks me not to get his chummer Knee into any trouble. I thank him for the info and contacts, but the lack of progress is both depressing and frustrating.
Halloween
Returning to the apartment, I find the boys drinking and playing cards. They claim it is a ritual related to their magical group, which still doesn't have a name, but it sounds more like an excuse to get drunk. And hell, right now I could use a drink.
Zero joins in too. None of us have played poker seriously before, so I can't tell if we were even playing it right. As the night goes on and we get slowly hammered, one of the boys suggests that we up the ante and play strip poker. I try to make my excuses but one look from Zero's puppy eyes and I say what the hell.
Pretty soon we are all down to our underwear, except Finlay who still has his kilt on. Fortunately, I am wearing some of the nicer lingerie that Zero picked out for me and not some of my old faded sports bras and panties.
Not that I need to worry about the boys ogling me, as they are all more interested in Zero's chest. It's not that she has huge breasts, she is a 34D, it's just that she is so petite that they are definitely one of her biggest assets. And they do make my modest 32B bosom look rather flat by comparison.
I lose my bra in the next round and then Finlay loses his kilt and yes it's true about what a Scot wears under his kilt: nothing. Fortunately, I am drunk enough that I am feeling no pain or embarassment sitting around half naked with my runner team.
Chad loses his boxers next and Zero finally loses her bra to a cheer from the menfolk. Then I lose my panties, but by now I am beyond caring. Gabriel wins the last round leaving Zero naked rather than himself. Maybe that's for the best. The padre is a nice guy, but is neither the youngest nor the fittest of the team.
With the game finally over, I scoop up my clothes and with what little dignity I can still muster, I make a rather wobbly retreat to the girl's bedroom. Zero follows shorty after leaving the boys to drink late into the night.
With the ritual complete the boys' attention turns to other matters. Finlay contacts Maselhof for some special ammunition and I manage to get some APDS and Explosive rounds for my rifle and pistol added to the order. We have also been in regular contact with Martha for work but things are a bit quiet on that front at the moment. With little else to do, I decide to follow-up on Sherrif's leads.
Chinatown
I spend a few nights getting my bearings around Chinatown, eating at a few restaurants before settling for the Golden Pagoda. I get lucky and my waiter is the dwarf Lee Chen, not Knee, a young chinese dwarf with a carefully trimmed fu manchu beard. While ordering, he recommends the beef fried noodles and the chinese beer, I mention that I am a friend of Sheriff and ask when we can talk.
He tells me that his shift finishes in a couple of hours and that he usually has a couple at the Blue Lagoon across the street before heading home. I take my meal slow, the noodles are good, the beer not, then saunter over to the bar which turns out to have some rather good japanese whiskey.
Lee turns up an hour or so later. I explain my situation without going into too many details. His face pales but he takes me seriously and says he can put me in touch with some people who might be able to help me. He asks for a few hundred cash up front to grease palms. I transfer a couple of thousand to his stick. That gets his attention.
I return to the apartment to find that the fixer Albrecht has been in touch with Finlay about another job. He has scheduled a meet in Club Penumbra for tomorrow night. Time to get out the glad rags.
Club Penumbra
I feel half naked in my little black dress, but Zero claims I look great. She helps me with makeup, I rarely wear any, and even I have to admit that I look good.
The passes provided by Albrect get us in with little problems. I do need to wear a cyberlock on my hand blade and a watcher spirit is assigned to keep an eye on the padre, Finlay and Chad. Albrecht is friendly but all mysterious. He needs a package acquired, i.e. stolen, and another delivered in its place but won't give more details till we agree we are in. After a brief chat amongst ourselves, we agree to go for it. Then Albrecht tells us we are going to Germany. Great, guess that means I get to shoot germans with some crap german guns. I should have listened to Sheriff when he told me I shouldn't focus too much on my 'cowboy' guns.
What's worse is it seems that Germany and most of Europe has devolved back into some sort of medieval feudal state and the item we need to acquire is being kept in a frigging castle owned by the local chief who goes by the name of Baron von Munchausen or something like that anyway. Why did I say yes to this gig? At least the pay is decent and it'll take my mind off my other business for a while.
Germany, day one
With our cover IDs, we take the sub-orbital to Berlin, the only part of the country still vaguely controlled by the German government. Although reading between the lines that means by Saeder-Krupp. We then take a high speed train to Munchen and from there, it's onto a local train that seems to have to stop every three goddamn villages for a border control by the local Baron's militia. By the time we get to Munchausen, I'm about ready to shoot someone in the face. Too bad I ain't got a piece on me.
Arriving at the one-horse town of Munchausen, we are met by the local tourist representative. Tall, blond and blue eyed with a chest as big as Zero's and a low cut dress that shows it off well, she is an instant hit with the boys. Somehow she latches onto the padre, so Finlay takes Zero's arm instead and I just glare "don't even thing about it" at Chad.
Helga escorts us the few minutes walk to the youth hostel and helps us check in. It's all pretty automatic. Apart from the castle, which is a short distance out of town, about the only other amenities in this shithole of a town is one poxy restaurant. At least the menu looks okay, if a little heavy on the pork.
We take a walk to stretch our legs and get our bearings. Near to the foot of the road leading up to the castle, our attention is drawn to a small drone flying overhead. The distintive whoosh of a rocket launch is as surprising as the sudden explosion of the drone. A farmer in a nearby field wearing traditional leather pants looks up and shrugs. In broken English he explains that the Baron does not get on well with his neighbor, who sends spy-drones over on a regular basis only for the Baron to blow them out of the sky. Great, we've officially entered the dark ages.
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