by Mel Odom
I continued walking only because I knew that if I stopped, I’d die.
Ahead, a silhouette stepped out into the street. In the flickering lightning, I could barely make it out—tall and slender, like something stitched together from a fever dream and assembled wrong—and I got the strong impression it was female.
A crowd of emaciated people crawled and stumbled from the shadows, all of them hollow-eyed and slow-moving, like they were reduced to skin and bones and fired by whatever past desires they’d once had. Dirty rags barely covered them, revealing ravaged flesh and running sores.
One of the nearest men kneeling in the street looked back at me. I didn’t know if he could see me or not, because rancid fluid filled both his eye sockets. He opened his mouth as if to say something, and I saw only bloody gums there, no teeth. His tongue slid out languorously, like it had a mind of its own, like it had become some diseased parasite, swollen and twisted as it gloried in the flowing blood.
The man’s mouth twitched up in an obscene smile.
I started walking again, drawn to the figure in the distance.
To her.
Suddenly the chill was gone from the air. Tropical heat surrounded me, parching me, threatening to leave me desiccated and powerless. My stomach clenched, but there was nothing there for it to void.
I stared above her, at the building behind her, where I could hear the gears steadily grinding away, surely destroying something. A hatch stood out in the darkness, and I remembered it from the nightmares I’d been having. I could see the markings on the door now, inscribed in faded yellow paint. Another step and I could read the characters.
Prosperity.
A chill thrilled through me. I blinked, and she stood before me, towering over me. The sprawl changed around me, becoming an enormous gaping maw and the tenement buildings became crooked teeth.
The Walled City was going to devour me.
She reached into my mouth, using both powerful hands to break my jaw apart and splinter my teeth. I tried to scream—
—and found myself falling backward, pulled by a powerful hand. A foot swept my feet out from under me, and I hit the ground hard just as a train rumbled by in front of me, its thunder echoing inside the station.
“What’s wrong with you?” a familiar voice demanded.
Trembling, gasping for breath, I looked up.
Strangler Bao, clad in armor and weapons, stood there. The other people on the platform drew back from us, but the way they were watching, I knew they were more afraid of me than of him.
I shook my head.
“Auntie Cheng’s lost too many runners already,” Bao said. “Besides, there are cleaner ways to end your life than jumping in front of a train.”
“I was just in the Walled City,” I told him in a weak voice. “There was this…thing—”
Bao held up a hand, cutting me off. “You were hallucinating. And you almost just got yourself killed. Now get up and get back to that floating wreck that you sleep in. You don’t get to die here unless Mrs. Cheng says you do.”
I pushed myself to my feet and looked around. “Where are the others?”
“We found them.” Bao shook his head. “I sent them on to your ship. All of you were wandering around like you’d been brain-fried.”
“No,” I said. “We were—attacked.” I didn’t like the way that sounded when I said it, and I knew the big killer standing in front of me wasn’t buying it.
Bao laughed. “Bet you guys got whacked on something while taking out the Plastic-Faced Man. It happens. Probably hit you with a low dose of some suicide-inducing narcotic. You’re lucky Mrs. Cheng had us come looking for you.”
I ignored him and started walking. I wanted to return the Bolthole and make sure the others were okay.
“Tell Kindly Cheng I’ll be by to talk to her tomorrow.”
Back at the ship, I wandered to the other berths, checking on Duncan, Gobbet, and Is0bel. All of them were asleep, like they’d been put out.
I watched them for a moment, making sure I was seeing what I thought I was seeing, and I went to bed fully armed. I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow.
The nightmares were waiting for me.
Chapter 81
“How Do We Make Our Approach?”
Kindly Cheng called several times before we got up to see her. None of us felt especially social. Duncan and I went out for breakfast and brought it back for the others. We ate in silence, then armored up, restocked our weapons, and when we were as ready as we were going to get, went heavy to the mahjong parlor.
Our reception there was less than optimum. Kindly Cheng glowered at us, smoke curling up into her right eye. Bao stood at her side, and I wondered why she hadn’t sent him and his troops after us. Or maybe she’d known if anyone had tried that, whoever it was would have been shot.
Or maybe she wanted to make sure our heads were clear when we talked.
“There you are,” she snarled when we joined her. “Is0bel texted me that you were able to locate and interrogate the Plastic-Faced Man.”
The dwarf shot me a guilty look and shrugged.
“She hasn’t,” Kindly Cheng went on, “told me his current disposition, however. I assume everything went as instructed.”
I returned her hard gaze full measure. “After we questioned him, I let him walk away.”
The possibility that she might order Bao to kill me on the spot crossed my mind. I had a pistol in my pocket just in case it turned out that way, because I wasn’t going to go easy. Duncan took a step away, spreading us out so we wouldn’t be taken together. Bao noticed that, and didn’t move. He’d be the first one we killed.
I wanted to send Kindly Cheng a message. We were the ones risking our lives out there, and we were going to decide how we did that.
For a long moment, Kindly Cheng didn’t say anything. She just stared through her cigar smoke. Then she spoke in a surprisingly calm voice.
“I thought I was clear that I wanted him dead.”
“You were clear, Auntie,” I said. “But he was accommodating, and I chose to reward him for it.”
“Your actions don’t send a strong message to Josephine Tsang,” she accused.
“We’re not done with Josephine Tsang yet,” I told her.
Her right eyebrow shot up and she reconsidered what she’d been about to say. “When I tell you I want somebody dead, I prefer that they become dead. I do the strategy. You execute the strategy.” She ran her gaze over the team. “Shadowrunners who wish to remain under my protection must remember their places.”
We also knew that we were doing a lot of work she couldn’t do on her own now. We had the tie to the old man, and we knew more about what was going on than she did.
Still, to keep the peace, we didn’t say anything.
“That said,” she continued, “you succeeded in removing one of Tsang’s pieces from the board. So let’s move on.” She picked up an egg pastry and popped it into her mouth, chewed and swallowed. “I trust you got something useful out of the Plastic-Faced Man before you—let him go?”
“We got plenty,” Duncan said. “He gave us a data dump on everything he knew about Prosperity Tower.”
Surprise smoothed Kindly Cheng’s glare. “Josephine’s headquarters? That could be useful, I suppose. What do you intend to do with it?”
“We’re gonna rescue Raymond,” Duncan told her. “He’s alive, Auntie, just like I said he was. Josephine’s holding him in there. She’s doing something to his brain.”
“Something to his brain?” Keen interest lighted Kindly Cheng’s eyes. “What is that old bitch up to now?”
“Based on the memory Mr. Plastic showed us,” Is0bel said, “it looks like she’s trying to rewrite her son’s memories, using something called ASIST.” She glanced at me. “I researched it this morning. It’s an acronym for Artificial Sensory Induction Systems Technology. It allows the user to record, process, and feed synthetic sensory input to the brain.”
&nbs
p; Kindly Cheng nodded. “Like a simsense chip?”
“Yes, Auntie,” Is0bel said. “It’s the technology that led to simsense. It’s also what allows deckers to enter the Matrix, and grants riggers a neural connection to their drones. An expert ASIST technician could alter someone’s personality, memory…even their identity.”
“I’m guessing experts like that don’t grow on trees,” I said.
She smiled. “Definitely not. Changing someone’s memories requires a world-class expert in ASIST and a massive amount of computing power. I’m not sure exactly what they’re doing to him, but I’m guessing his mom wants him to forget something…or to remember it differently, maybe.”
“And we have no idea what that memory is?” Duncan asked. He sounded colder than he had before, more distant from his concern over the old man.
“Not really. Sorry.”
“That means a run on Prosperity Tower,” Duncan said. “I’ve studied the data the Plastic-Faced Man gave us about the layout. Lots of good intel there.”
“Do you know where the old man is?” I asked.
“All I’ve been able to find out is that an ASIST device is located in ‘Lab Twelve.’ It’s the only one in the building. Now I doubt Grandma will just hand over the passcodes to her system, even if we asked nicely.” Duncan smiled coldly. “So we’re going to have to ask in a way they can’t refuse.”
I nodded, in total agreement with him now. We wouldn’t get another chance at this. “How do we make our approach?”
“Fortunately, Prosperity Tower is one of Tsang’s lower security locations. It’s mostly administrative, marketing, that sort of thing. Those places are always open to people cycling through there.”
“That’s good.” Kindly Cheng nodded happily. “Mr. Bao, give the runners those old Tsang security passes you used on that hijacking last year.”
“Yes, Mrs. Cheng,” Bao said. “They’ll get them.”
“Old?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Old ones will be better than anything you can get in less than a week. Do you want to wait a week?”
“No.”
She smiled. “I thought not. This is the best I can do at the moment, and you should be thankful I still have them.”
“We are, Auntie,” Gobbet said.
“Those passes should get you through the lobby,” Kindly Cheng said. “You’ll still have to explain your presence, so don’t expect to just walk on through.”
“The key to this operation are the three security stations located on different floors,” Duncan said. “The Matrix systems in these security stations are the command and control hubs for the entire building’s security. As such, they’re the best place to find out where Raymond is being held, and to hide us while we’re there. The problem is that the only way into a security station is with a keycard. Guards on each floor carry a keycard to the computer station on that floor.”
“It’s going to be difficult,” I said, “but doable.”
No one argued with me, but I knew no one was happy about the situation. However, we were all committed in our own way to striking back at Josephine Tsang.
“I do have something that may help.” Kindly Cheng smiled and looked a little hesitant. “A way for you to get some inside help. There is a man I’ve been cultivating inside Tsang Mechanical Services. A Mr. Jiang. He is not particularly enamored of the way the corporation is being run. He has put the word out for a team of shadowrunners, but he’s not willing to help infiltrate building security. Once you’re inside, though, he will be able to provide assistance.”
“You’re just mentioning this now?” I asked.
“Jobs like these are very dangerous,” Kindly Cheng said. “Normally, I would turn them down. In fact, I have turned this one down. Twice. But we find ourselves in dire straits.” She grimaced. “And Mr. Jiang wants this done cheaply. Very cheaply. He’s not a man who inspires trust.”
“We don’t have to trust him,” Duncan said. “We just need to use him for a little while.”
“Agreed.”
I took down the information she provided.
“One more thing,” Kindly Cheng said. “While you’re in that bitch’s headquarters, make sure you look for anything we can use to incriminate or embarrass her. I want dirt. Something I can feed to…an acquaintance…on the Executive Council. Someone who stands to gain from it.”
Duncan gave her a hard look. “Right after I rescue my father.”
Kindly Cheng blinked and held a hand up to hold Bao back. She looked innocent and understanding—for the moment. “Of course, my sweet. Of course.”
Bao got us the passes, and we left to recon Prosperity Tower.
Chapter 82
Special Delivery for Mr. Jiang
After hours of watching the shift changes at Prosperity Tower, finding out that everything Duncan had sussed out about the setup was correct—and trying not to think of what was going on with the old man while we were sitting outside—we waited till nightfall and entered the building. The corp, like all the other big ones, ran 24/7.
The interior, like the exterior, advertised the presence of wealth. The architecture was similar to all the other high-rises around it. Everybody who had real estate on Ap Lei Chau Island was rich and powerful.
The passes Bao had given us got us through the door without a problem. The receptionist at the big desk in front of two elevators guarded by sec men was a little more tricky. But I’d gotten good at social engineering even before I’d been locked down, and like I said earlier, prison is a school and world with rules and codes all its own. Finally, of course, the refresher I’d undergone since arriving in Hong Kong had only sharpened my skills even further.
Casual sitting areas arranged around the main desk sat empty, but the furnishings were expensive, designed to be intimidating. The scent of burning lavender filled the lobby, but I felt more naked and defenseless walking into that building than I did in the alleys of the Walled City.
The receptionist kept her attention on her computer, but the guards at the elevators kept close watch on us. I stopped in front of her, tapped my fingers on the desk, and—when she looked up—gave her my most brilliant smile.
“Welcome to Tsang Mechanical Services,” she said, eyeing me from head to toe. She didn’t look exactly overwhelmed by me. “How can I be of service?”
“I’m here to make a delivery.” I held up the large box of what Is0bel told me was bleeding-edge tech gear that would fool everybody but an expert. Since this was sales and acquisition, I figured we were safe until we hit the lab guys.
“Who is the delivery for?”
I flashed the Tsang security pass. “I’m afraid that’s confidential. You know how it is—there’s a rule for everything these days. Is it all right with you if I make my delivery and come right back?” Orders were not to give up Jiang’s name unless we were unable to get into the building.
She scanned the security passes, waited for the system to accept it while I tried to not hold my breath, and waved us on. “Please proceed to the elevators.”
I kept a punching dagger concealed in my fist, blade upturned along my wrist as I passed the guards. They looked us over, but didn’t say anything. When the elevator doors closed behind us, I let out a tense breath.
The elevator buttons didn’t have any labeling on them, but I knew from the Plastic-Faced Man’s info which floors held the security stations. I punched Floor 26: Sales and Acquisitions, figuring that one would go easiest.
As the cage jumped into motion, Duncan opened up about what had been bothering him since we’d left the mahjong parlor. “You know it might already be too late to save Raymond.”
I knew that, but I didn’t want to say anything.
“Hell, he’s not even who we thought he was.”
No. The old man was a guy like me—a guy who ran because he didn’t trust the system.
“So, if that’s the case, if Raymond’s already gone, what are we gonna do?” he asked, and he sounded exactly l
ike that little boy I’d found and taken in all those years ago.
“We wait and see, Duncan,” I told him in a tight voice. “Just like always. We wait and see. And if there’s anything left of the old man, we save him.” I gritted my teeth and sucked in a breath. “And if nothing’s left, we burn Josephine Tsang’s house down.”
On the twenty-sixth floor, we stepped out into a small lobby where another receptionist waited behind a small desk. She smiled at us while the guard at the large, open doorway behind her came to attention.
“Excuse me, sir,” she said. “The Tsang employees on this floor may only be seen through a pre-approved appointment. Do you have an appointment?”
“I’m making a delivery.” I held up the box to show her. “For Mr. Jiang.”
She checked my security pass against a list on her computer, and her eyes went wide. “Y-you’d better leave right now, or…or I’m calling security!” She glanced over her shoulder at the man, who looked like he was about to come at us.
I started to bring out the trank gun from my pocket, figuring things were going to get ugly quickly.
When she reached up to her headset, I almost shot her. She listened to somebody at the other end of the connection and I held up, thinking I needed to know more about what we were about to face. Then she relaxed and smiled at me.
“Mr. Jiang said he is expecting a delivery today after all. He just forgot to note it. That’s why your security passes bounced for this floor. I’ve updated them.” She returned the passes to me.
“Thanks.” I nodded to the guard and turned left, heading for Jiang’s office, wondering what he had in mind for us. Kindly Cheng hadn’t even known that, other than it was an inside job. For all we knew, Jiang intended to double-cross us. There could be a small army of sec men waiting in his office, with the corp man overseeing the betrayal and cashing in on the bounty being offered for us.
