Shadowrun, page 18
Dread coalesced in the pit of my stomach.
Pulling a data file from his desk, he tossed it at me; my commlink automatically downloaded it when I caught it. “It shouldn’t be too difficult to handle. But it’s time sensitive, so you’ll have to leave immediately to make the rendezvous. All the pertinent information is there. I trust you don’t have any scheduling conflicts?”
I felt my heart skip two beats. He knows. Damn him, somehow he’d found out about the plan, and this was his way of re-asserting control. I knew if I didn’t comply, good people would die, as a lesson to me, all because of his ego.
DAMN HIM!!!
“No problem at all. I will attend to this immediately…”
In the complete darkness, the only sound was the gentle lap of waves against the shore. Standing at the water’s edge, she peered out into the darkness. With a new moon and heavy clouds above, there was pure darkness for kilometers—except for the glow of the burning villa behind her, the last remnants of the one who had tried to bind her.
She could still feel it though, somewhere out there. The energies used against her were still present, although faint and fading. But it was enough to follow. Closing her eyes and extending her senses, she concentrated on those faint strands of power.
Moments later, her eyes snapped open. Mystical energies gathered and the wind picked up. With a sudden rush of power, she was away and hunting.
A day later, I raced near-silently through the waves and darkness of the Mediterranean, smelling the salty, dark sea all around me. But there was no spray on my face, only the engine’s hum and vibration as the wind blew past. The effect was soothing, almost hypnotic as I caressed my pendant. Normally I was more focused, but right now, I wanted to feel the wind in my hair and, for a few moments, pretend I was free.
Broadside’s ARO text message invaded my field of vision and snapped me out of my reverie. We’d been at sea for over six hours, almost redlining the English rigger’s Cottonmouth cigarette boat the entire way. Overhead, heavy clouds obscured all natural light from the sky. For this run, I would have preferred Broadside’s custom Aztech Nightrunner and its superior sensors. But to make the meet, which according to the data file was scheduled for midnight tonight, we needed raw speed above all else.
We had less than eleven minutes remaining, and still could not find our rendezvous point.
Damn him again for putting me out here!
Leaning against the Cottonmouth’s rail next to me was Azim, lit cigar held between his cyberhand’s fingers. Having traded his tuxedo for tac-gear, he still sported his Crusader II machine pistols, but had also brought his personal favorites: an AA-16 tactical shotgun and Cougar long blade.
“Do you think this is an ambush?” I asked him, receiving a nonchalant shrug in reply. I then asked, “Are you all right with this? I know how you feel about the Jann and her captain.”
Azim blew smoke from his nose and winked at me.
Before I could say anything else, Broadside suddenly threw the Cottonmouth into a hard starboard turn while yelling “BRACE, BRACE, BRACE!” over our comm.
Instinct took over as I grabbed the handrails. At the same time, I used my astral sight just as the concealment spell dropped.
Bright spotlights flared to life no more than ten meters away. As my smartglasses’ flare compensators engaged, I finally saw her as the Cottonmouth barely avoided the pirate vessel’s bow.
The running lights were bright within the darkness. She watched the two individuals on the vessel’s rear deck for a few minutes. Soon, she realized they were all heading in the same direction. This was not a coincidence.
Anger flared within. They had no idea she was above them. Gripping her blade, it flared to life with a bright flame. The two looked up at the sudden brightness as she descended; fiery blade slashing the night apart.
“My dear Fennec! I am so very sorry! Please believe me, this was all a great misunderstanding.”
To be a successful negotiator, one must learn to handle a variety of situations and individuals, even repugnant ones like Captain Malik Albahr, master of the pirate vessel Goblin King or Jann Almalik in Arabic. The fat, greasy, smelly, egotistical hobgoblin casually smoothed his silk robes while Azim and I boarded the converted cargo freighter.
I knew Azim wanted to put a shotgun slug into Malik’s face for personal reasons, and after this stunt, I was tempted to let him. But that would have been counterproductive. Not only did Murdock and Malik have a profitable business arrangement, Malik had something I needed. And he knew it.
“And my dear friend Azim, so good to see you again! What? No kind words for an old friend? Oh, that’s right, you can’t anymore,” Malik taunted. Two of his crew, both flanking Malik and carrying AK-97 carbines, brought their weapons to low-ready, ready for a fight.
Azim only smiled and rubbed his chin in response, hiding a severely scarred throat.
“Captain Albahr, we are honored to board your fine vessel,” I said diplomatically. “And I hope that we can come to an agreeable price for the item you informed my employer of. So if it pleases you, perhaps we can now attend to that matter?”
Malik chuckled gleefully as he stroked a small wooden box in his hand. “Not yet. We are waiting for the others. Ah, one of them is arriving now.”
I looked out over Jann’s bow, past the open bay loaded with cargo containers and armed small craft, past the crane arms, past the heavy weapon mounts, and saw a small yacht approach from starboard.
Then it dawned on me. I had originally been dispatched to negotiate for the purchase of a “small projection device, grey in color, approximately 5.5 cm long and 3.5 cm wide and tall, made of a single piece of metal with no seams.”
Of late I had heard rumors of such devices and what their purpose was. But this was the first time I knew of one actually being located. This made it extremely valuable, and J. Murdock wanted it. Likely, so did many others.
This was not a private sale—it was an auction.
She could feel it drawing closer. Her commandeered boat crashed ungracefully through the sea, engine pushed to maximum. Soon, it would cease functioning. Small consequence, as she wouldn’t need it much longer.
In the distance were a freighter’s bright lights. That was her destination. And if anyone onboard resisted, that ship would soon hold only the dead.
“Ah, Monsieur Deveaux, bienvenue! I’m so glad you could make it.” Malik beamed as the second party boarded the Jann. Immediately, I recognized Jean-Claude Deveaux, infamous talislegger, grave robber, and professional backstabber. And with him was his usual cadre: Maddox, the troll big-gun bunny; Dagger, the elven blade-slinger; and Hogg, the human mercenary. Each of them was ready for war.
“Capitan Albahr… Do not waste my valuable time. Your communication said you had one of the devices. I’m here to purchase it—” He looked arrogantly in my direction. “—and will not suffer any amateurish games. Name your price, and I will pay it here and now.”
I detected an unusual hint of desperation in Deveaux’s voice, and quickly assensed him. Interesting…he was magically weaker since our last encounter. Interesting. Did he consider this device a new source of power?
“Now, now, Monsieur Deveaux, everyone will have a fair chance to make an offer,” Malik said, opening the box and showing the device as an enticement.
“Crasseaux porc…” Deveaux muttered.
There it was. I stood in awe for a moment. A technological device should not have its own aura, yet this one did. I briefly considered grabbing it, but Azim could not hope to protect me from Malik’s crew or Deveaux’s guards. It was simple numbers.
Closing the box, Malik laughed at Deveaux’s insult. “Yes, someone will pay my price,” he hissed, “And I will finally retire.”
Before Deveaux could respond, someone amidships called out that another boat was approaching from port. I turned and saw a modified Nightrunner barreling toward the Jann.
“Ah, our final guest arrives,” Malik said, then added, “Why are they not slowing down?”
The watercraft’s engine smoked as she dumped the cheap alcohol over the back deck. A touch of her blade ignited the dripping rail. Instantly the fire spread, devouring the cheap materials.
Augmented by her power, the flames grew, smoke billowed, and the boat became a racing fireball. Weapons fire from the freighter lanced out at the speeding inferno, but she ignored it. Watching the freighter’s hull grow larger, she bent her knees. An instant before impact, she leapt into the air.
Soaring up past the freighter’s side, the force from the boat’s impact and explosion billowed her cloak while wreathing her in smoke and fire. Fiery blade poised above her head, her feet found the ship’s outer railing and she landed on it in a crouch. Rising, her sword arced gracefully outward to rest at her side. Looking at the faces of those on deck and below, she reached out with her senses. Already she heard panicked whispers of her name: the one most knew her by, the one that invoked terror in all who heard it.
Quickly she followed the magical traces, and found it in the hands of the fat hobgoblin on the main deck. “YOU!” she bellowed in an otherworldly voice, blade rising to point at him. “Surrender what is in your hands, or taste DEATH!”
The hobgoblin sputtered, then bellowed, “SHOOT HER, YOU FOOLS!”
She smiled as they scrambled to raise their weapons.
Death it was.
Something was definitely wrong. I heard the command “OPEN FIRE!” ring out, and the deafening thunder of heavy weapons responding from Broadside’s boat. But it was too late.
The flaming Nightrunner hit the Jann with more force that I thought possible, shaking her. Azim and I kept our footing, as did most of the others. Then, looking to port, I saw it, or rather her.
She stood on the railing of the ship, wreathed in flame and cloak billowing. Fearful voices reached my ears, whispering a name “Halaat, Halaat…Halo.”
Fear—no, terror—gripped my heart. Halo, the assassin only mentioned in hushed whispers; who most thought only a legend, was here.
Transfixed, I could not hear her words over my pounding heart and blood rushing in my ears. But I saw where her sword was pointing. I came to my senses just in time to hear a panicked Malik order his crew to shoot her.
The fool had doomed us all.
Bright tracers and other rounds ripped through the night, all converging on her. Yet she did not move. Weapon magazines and drums emptied in seconds and then, silence. Her form just stood there, and then exploded into nothingness.
There was complete silence for several moments. Then a cry of victory began as weapons were raised high.
That’s when flames exploded along the rail.
Moving with inhuman speed, Halo’s blade found body after body. Skin, muscle, and sinew quickly, bloodlessly parted, her red-hot blade instantly cauterizing the wounds. Heads and limbs flew as bodies fell into the hold or the sea. She sprinted along the railing and then leaped into the hold. The smell of burned flesh rose, and those still alive desperately tried to reload their weapons. Some succeeded, and even a few managed to take aim, but no shots rang out. Soon the ship was filled with the dead and dying.
Looking up at the hobgoblin on the main deck, her eyes now blazing points of flame, she leaped again.
The deck reverberated as Halo landed twenty meters in front of me. I saw the flame in her eyes and the hatred in her face. In a moment of stupidity, I used my astral vision. What I saw virtually petrified me. My mind refused to believe what I was seeing, and my body refused to move, save my lips, which mouthed, “Allah be merciful…”
Out of the corner of my eye, I barely saw Azim as he body-checked me to the deck. Behind us, Malik’s guards fired their AKs on full-auto, not caring who was in the line of fire. A few ricochets struck my thigh and one bit deep, but most found Azim. His body armor stopped most of the incoming fire, but not all.
Helplessly, I saw my most loyal friend fall into the cargo hold. Fighting back tears and unable to stand, I reached for the Colt 2066 pistol at my back and stared at Halo. I knew I stood little chance, but I would not die cowering. Perhaps I would find freedom in death.
The gunfire had stopped. I saw something flash from Halo’s hand, and then heard what I guessed was Malik’s guards falling dead. Halo and I locked eyes as I drew my pistol. At first she looked at me with contempt, but it changed to something else.
“At least one of you will die well,” she said. “I shall bless you with a swift death.”
She raised her flaming blade, readying the killing stroke, when she suddenly darted toward the outer railing. A Nissan roto-drone mounting an HK-227 swooped in and sprayed the deck with bullets: exactly where Halo had been a moment ago. Again her hand flashed out, and the drone’s blades suddenly stopped. Quickly, it fell into the sea.
I raised my Colt, aiming for her head when I heard heavy machine guns open up. Quickly looking over the ship’s side, I realized Broadside had engineered an ambush: herding Halo to the outer rail so he could get her in the Cottonmouth’s field of fire. Thirty-caliber rounds chewed up the hull and sent me into a protective crouch.
The rigger’s plan almost worked. The assassin leaped into the air as she hurled her flaming sword at the Cottonmouth. The whirling blade cleaved the front catamarans completely off, pitching the cigarette boat on its side as ammunition exploded. A second later, Broadside’s rigger cocoon blasted away into the darkness. I prayed he was still alive.
Turning back, I saw the blade return to her hand just as a gunshot sounded behind me. We both turned to look as a Manabolt struck Halo. Reeling from the spell, she dropped to one knee and her sword extinguished.
Magical energies coalesced around Deveaux’s outstretched hand while Hogg handed him Malik’s box. The pirate captain lay on the deck, a bloody bullet hole between his eyes.
“Another one…another one seeks to enslave me already!”
Halo staggered back to her feet, blades still in hand. The magician’s spell was considerable, but not as powerful as it could have been. It was a lucky strike, nothing more, a coward’s attack. But it did not matter. He had claimed the object she sought, and for her that meant only one thing.
Standing straight, she held her scimitar loosely at her side. “Give that to me, and you may still live.”
The magician sneered. “I think not. You are wounded, I am not. I have allies, you do not. Leave now, and spare yourself great pain.”
Fire ignited along her scimitar again, matched only by the fury blazing in her eyes. “You know NOTHING OF PAIN!”
Siting on the deck, ignoring everything around me, I clamped my hand on my wounded leg. Direct pressure was helping, but I was already feeling faint from blood loss. I was about to remove my shirt and belt to use as an emergency dressing, but then I heard Halo cry out and saw her charge past me. Transfixed, I watched as she engaged Deveaux’s group.
Deveaux’s people were professionals, and were in motion immediately. Maddox with his Nemesis LMG and sheer troll-mass shielded Deveaux, who had another spell ready; both were moving clockwise. Hogg stood pat, but his AS-7 shotgun was already hammering away. Dagger, with hands on sheathed blades, flanked long, waiting for the right opportunity.
Against a regular opponent, the maneuver might have worked.
But Halo was no regular opponent.
Before Hogg could get a bead on her, Halo was on him. With her flaming blade still held high, her cloak engulfed the chubby human, who ironically let out a shrill, porcine squeal as blood spilled over the deck. Maddox checked his fire, not wanting to his comrade. When Halo finally disengaged, blood gushed from Hogg’s left armpit. The fat mercenary was dead before his body hit the deck.
Enraged, Maddox let out a war cry and cut loose with his LMG in full-auto mode. All his rounds did was chew up Hogg’s corpse as Halo pirouetted out of the way and flicked Hogg’s blood from a small, black-metal dagger now visible in her left hand. Using her momentum, she resumed her charge, aiming right for Deveaux.
Maddox continued firing, but soon his LMG barrel was glowing red and he stopped. Halo was about to attack, flaming sword readied for a horizontal slash when Deveaux hit her with another Manabolt. She must have been ready this time because it only slowed her down.
But it was just the opening Dagger had been waiting for. Pulling a combat knife as he ran, he reached out to grab Halo’s cloak as leverage and ram his blade into her side.
Halo thrust her left leg out, bringing her to a skidding halt as she reversed her blade and thrust it under her arm and up, neatly impaling Dagger in the chest. The elf quivered for a moment, then went slack. Pulling her blade free, she straightened up and faced Maddox and Deveaux. The mage looked winded, but the troll bellowed in rage and again leveled his weapon at her. In response, and faster than my eyes could track, I saw her sword suddenly buried in the troll’s skull as fire engulfed his head and then body.
