"How?" G-Dogg asked.
"Perhaps the Ancients could be persuaded to provide a bit of a . . . distraction?" the troll asked.
Everyone turned to look at Orion. The elf ganger glanced at the shadowrunners and shrugged slightly.
"Maybe. What's in it for us?" he asked.
"That's an interesting question." Lothan relied with a tight smile. "But one that I won't ask if you don't. The real question is: how badly do the Ancients want this to go well?"
Orion failed to hide that he was a bit taken aback by how efficiently Lothan turned the tables on him.
"I can ask." was all the elf said.
"Excellent." Lothan replied. "In either case, it doesn't seem that the local rabble will pose much of a problem."
"Bring it on." the Street Deacon said, flexing one of his skeletal chrome hands with a faint whirring noise. "As it is, it doesn't sound like this will be much of a challenge."
"I prefer to find my challenges elsewhere." Lothan said lightly. "The smoother and faster our business goes, the sooner it will be taken care of and we will all get paid."
"Depriving Ares of a measure of their ill-gotten gains is enough for me." the Deacon said, though he clearly wasn't refusing the nuyen the runners would make.
"Speaking of which," Jackie Ozone interjected, "nothing online to indicate that there's anything unusual about this particular shipment."
“Nothing that I've heard, either." the Street Deacon agreed. "Though my eyes and ears within Ares are not what they once were."
"Jackie, what about the cargo?" G-Dogg asked. “What are we lifting?"
"An interesting question." the decker replied. "The manifest says it's a shipment of electronics: trid-players, cable hardware, drek like that."
"Why would anybody pay to lift a shipment like that?" Kellan asked, speaking up for the first time. "I mean, it can't be worth much more in street value than what the Johnson is paying." A couple of the other shadowrunners smiled knowingly.
"That's the point, kid." G-Dogg replied. "It probably means the manifest is faked and Ares doesn't want Metroplex Customs or the NAN authorities to know what they're moving across the border. They're moving something else with this shipment as a front, but our Mr. Johnson found out about it and wants to nab it. If Ares really is interested in keeping it a secret, then they won't raise a stink if their shipment suddenly goes missing, since it wasn't supposed to be anything all that valuable in the first place. It's not like they can go to Lone Star and complain that somebody stole their contraband."
“Still, it means that we're dealing with an unknown in the form of our cargo." Lothan said. "We'll have to be careful how we handle it. I don't like unknowns." The other shadowrunners only nodded in response.
"All right, then." Lothan said. "Given that information, let's walk through the entire plan. Unless there's anything else . . . ?
"Right, then. Kellan, your part in the plan takes place at the very beginning, and depends entirely on how helpless you can appear."
Kellan didn't like the sound of that one bit.
Chapter 9
How the frag did I let myself get talked into this? Kellan wondered as she sat in the driver's seat of the little electric three-wheeler. She glanced for about the thousandth time down the darkened stretch of highway that ran along the border between Redmond and Renton, heading into Bellevue. Most of the streetlights along that length of I-90 had been blown out over the years as part of target practice for go-gangs, wizzer-kids and other vandals. The few remaining cast a dim blue-white glow over the roadway. The ferrocrete barriers along either side did their best to separate the East Road from the desolation surrounding it, but some of them were badly in need of repair or missing altogether. The lanes of the highway stretched off into the darkness in either direction as far as Kellan could see.
She spotted approaching headlights and tensed, her hand immediately going to the stun baton hidden under her jacket. The glow of the lights flared brightly for a moment, then they zoomed past, the vehicle not even slowing down. As the red glow of the car's taillights receded into the distance, Kellan reminded herself that the car she was in looked like a junker abandoned alongside the road. For all she knew, Silver Max had found it here and just appropriated it for the run. She had to admit that didn't seem likely, though, since the car still had all its interior furnishings, even if it didn't run.
"How you doing, Kellan?" Jackie Ozone's voice sounded in Kellan's ear through the tiny speaker-and-throat-mic device she wore. It sounded like the decker was sitting right next to her when, in fact, Kellan had no idea where Jackie was. She could be somewhere in the plex or hanging out in the Hong Kong or Denver data havens for all Kellan knew.
She put her fingers to her ear for a moment. "Just wizard." she told Jackie in a tone that said she was getting tired of waiting, then glanced out at the road again.
Silver Max's crisp tone broke into the channel. "Target has passed checkpoint one." he said. "They're on their way. It's showtime, people."
Kellan immediately threw the little electric car into neutral and made sure the emergency brake was off as G-Dogg and the Street Deacon emerged from the shadows alongside the road. She opened the driver's side door and hopped out. The ork and the street samurai began pushing the little car out into the road. It rolled smoothly, though Kellan could hear a faint whine of cybernetics from the Deacon, so she knew it was costing them some effort.
"We should have gotten Lothan to do this." the Deacon muttered, just loud enough for G-Dogg and Kellan to hear him.
"Lothan doesn't do the heavy work," G-Dogg replied mirthlessly, "that's why he became a mage." The ork flashed Kellan a tusky grin and she smiled back.
They got the three-wheeler positioned nearly in the middle of the road, just a bit askew and facing west toward downtown Seattle. Kellan could see the bright lights and high towers of the city off in the distance, against the gray-black of a cloudy sky. As G-Dogg and the Deacon stopped the car, Kellan hopped in through the open door and put it into park.
Suddenly, the Street Deacon pulled a heavy blade the length of Kellan's forearm from a sheath strapped to his left thigh. Without warning, he plunged the knife into the front passenger side tire of the car.
There was a pop and a hiss of escaping air as he slashed the tire open, then he went and did the same to the rear tire on that side.
"We should make it look good." he said by way of explanation to Kellan and G-Dogg, sheathing the blade.
"Checkpoint two." Silver Max said over the comm-link, and the Street Deacon immediately headed for the shadows along the side of the road. G-Dogg took a few steps backward, looking at Kellan where she sat with the driver's side door still open.
"All set?" he asked. Kellan nodded. The ork gave her a thumbs-up and then followed the Street Deacon into the shadows, saying into his throat mike, "We're good to go here. Our damsel is in distress."
"Final check." Jackie Ozone said over the link. "If you're not ready to run, speak now or forever hold your peace," There was a moment of silence, then the decker said, "All right, let's do this."
"Kellan." Silver Max said. "You be ready to ditch if it looks like they're not going to stop."
"No problem." Kellan replied. "I'm not planning on getting run down by a cargo rig today."
"I'll give you as much warning as I can." the dwarf rigger replied, with a note of genuine concern in his voice.
"Thanks." she said. Then she spotted headlights in the distance. "Visual contact." she said into the link.
"Okay, people, keep the chatter to a minimum." Jackie said to everyone. The decker was monitoring the team's communications and those of the Ares personnel, along with the emergency channels and Lone Star bands, for any signs of trouble. She would ensure that the team was alerted to potential interference, and that they would be undisturbed for as long as possible.
The bright lights were getting closer. Kellan could see two sets of headlights; it looked like a smaller truck was leading t
he larger cargo hauler by a short distance. Kellan kept the driver's side door open a crack, her hand tensed on the handle. If the driver of the lead truck didn't see her in time to stop . . .
The lights drew closer and the lead truck began to slow. Kellan let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding as both trucks began to brake, their headlights washing over the little electric runabout stalled in the middle of the road. If they decided to simply drive around it, things would get a little more complicated for the runners. When the trucks began to slow down, Kellan hopped out of the car and ran around the front of it, so she was clearly visible in the harsh glow of the halogen lights. She began jumping up and down and waving to get their attention, acting like the stranded motorist she appeared to be.
"Hey!" she yelled. "Help!"
The lead truck banked a bit as it approached, but Kellan quickly realized that the team had planned things out just right. Although the smaller truck could get past her car, the cargo hauler would have to literally push the stalled vehicle out of the way to pass. So the lead truck turned a bit to the side and then came to a stop only a few meters from where Kellan was standing. The cargo hauler's brakes whined as it rolled to a stop a short distance away.
The windows of the lead truck were tinted, and she recalled Lothan's lesson about magicians needing line of sight to affect something with a spell. Smoked, tinted and mirrored windows had become common since the Awakening, primarily in an effort to protect against the threat of criminal magicians. Even if Kellan knew spells to affect the personnel in the truck, she couldn't cast them so long as they were inside.
She waited expectantly, doing her best to look helpless and trying not to think about the stun baton tucked into the inside pocket of her jacket, or the small, snub-nosed pistol G-Dogg had handed her before they left on the rim with the comment, “Hopefully, you won't need this." Kellan hoped if she pretended the weapons weren't there, the corporate personnel wouldn't notice them. If they did, Kellan wasn't looking forward to using them.
The passenger side door of the escort vehicle opened up and a dark-clad figure got out. He came around the front of the truck, moving toward Kellan. She could see he was human, wearing dark coveralls that revealed the bulk of armor padding across his chest and shoulders. He wore a cap with the Ares logo and his eyes gleamed a bit in the light spilling from the trucks' headlights, probably implants automatically adjusting for the light level, since he didn't squint when he looked at her. He wore a pistol in a holster at his waist, and Kellan noticed the flap was open, though he hadn't drawn his weapon . . . yet.
“You all right?" he asked Kellan in a Midwestern drawl that reminded her of Kansas City.
"I—I need some help." Kellan replied. "My car broke down and my phone's dead. Do you have a phone I can use or something?"
"Wait right there, miss." the man said, remaining near the front of the truck and not coming any closer. "I can call to get you a tow."
Kellan took a couple steps forward. "That'd be great! Do you need my credstick or anything?" She began reaching toward her jacket pocket innocently.
"Please stay right there, miss." the man said in a more authoritative tone. "Please remain by your vehicle." Kellan saw the guard's hand stray toward his gun and decided to keep her hands by her side and in plain view.
“Okay," she said, “no problem." and the guard reached up with his left hand to unclip a small mic from the shoulder strap of his uniform.
Kellan focused her gaze on the guard's commlink as Lothan had taught her, and suddenly everything went unnaturally still and quiet. She felt the heat across her skin and narrowed her eyes, focusing, directing the energy outward, and projecting it with all of her concentration. There was a roaring in her ears like a crackling fire and she felt the heat leave her in a rush.
The guard's commlink burst into flames. The man yelled in surprise and shock and immediately dropped the chunk of burning plastic and electronics, forgetting that it was still tethered to his uniform. It slapped against his chest and he tried to beat out the flames with one gloved hand. Kellan was aware of the doors of both trucks flying open.
"Kellan, get down!" a voice in her ear said, and Kellan dropped to the pavement as bullets flew overhead. G-Dogg and the Street Deacon popped up from their hidden positions alongside the road, firing at the surprised Ares guards. The guy Kellan burned didn't even reach his sidearm before a round caught him, spinning him around and dropping him to the ground beside the truck. Another guard came out of the driver's side of the truck, taking cover behind the open door as bullets sparked and ricocheted off the obviously armored vehicle. Men were emerging from the cab of the cargo hauler as well.
Kellan seized the opportunity to make a run for the front of the escort vehicle. She kept low as shots whanged off the pavement nearby. As she rounded the front, she saw that the guard who'd spoken to her was still conscious, fumbling for his sidearm. His armor must have blunted some of the force of the shot that hit him. Kellan was faster, and jammed her stun baton into the man's side. There was an electric sizzle and he cried out, then lay on the ground, twitching slightly.
Kellan looked up just as the rear passenger door of the truck opened up and another man jumped out. She dropped her stun baton and immediately reached for her pistol, moving far too slow, as the Ares guard raised his own gun and Kellan found herself looking down a black barrel that for a moment loomed as large as a train tunnel in her vision. Then there was the sound of tearing cloth and a surprised grunt of pain from the guard as the gun fell from his hands and he crumpled. Orion stood over the fallen body, a bloody sword in his right hand, a matte black pistol in the other.
Before Kellan could even say thanks, a bright flash of light and a boom of thunder jerked her eyes to the cloudy sky. The last fraggin' thing they needed was a sudden rainstorm.
"Dammit." Liada cursed over the commlink. "They've got a fraggin' storm spirit!" There was another flash of light, brighter than before. Kellan saw a streak of lightning come from the direction of the other truck. It struck along the side of the road with a rolling boom of thunder, sending up a cloud of sparks and a shower of debris.
"We're pinned down!" G-Dogg shouted. The lightning bolt had struck very close to his position.
"On it!" Liada replied.
Orion gestured at Kellan with the point of his sword, clearly indicating that he wanted her to stay put, then the elf ganger slipped around to the rear of the truck. He looked carefully around it, then disappeared around the corner.
Fraggit if I'm going to just stand here! Kellan thought. She followed close behind Orion.
The Ares guards with the cargo hauler were hunkered down close to the truck's heavy cab, firing their guns in the direction of G-Dogg and the Street Deacon. Hovering above the truck was a large, roiling mass of black clouds. Blue-white electricity shimmered between the clouds, and Kellan thought she could see a great, black-feathered bird with eyes of burning electric blue in the storm. A harsh, cold wind blew from the clouds. A storm spirit, Kellan remembered Liada saying. She had never seen one before.
She couldn't see Liada or Lothan, though she knew the two mages had to be close at hand and within line of sight of their target. Liada said they were going to handle the storm spirit, although Kellan had no idea exactly how. She heard a cry of pain from the guard on the opposite side of the truck, but no shot, so she assumed Orion had struck again. Then one of the Ares guards beside the cargo hauler fired a few shots toward Orion, which forced Kellan to duck back behind the end of the escort vehicle. She clutched her own pistol in both hands, listening to the sounds of the gunfire and the crackling of thunder on the opposite side.
"Max," Lothan said over the link, "we need a distraction out in front of the main truck."
"Roger." the dwarf rigger replied. There was a high-pitched whine of rotors and Kellan saw a drone swoop out of the darkness toward the cargo hauler. It looked like a small flying garbage can and was about the right size, except with a collar of rotor blades
around the uppermost edge and a chin-mounted machine gun below. Its cylindrical surface was covered in heavy armor plates.
The drone opened up with its machine gun, tracing a chattering arc of fire along the pavement just in front of the cab of the cargo hauler, sending up sparks and ricochets from the road where the high-caliber rounds struck. The security guards scrambled for cover. Then the drone swiveled its gun up toward the hovering storm spirit and ripped off another burst directly into it. Tongues of flame shot from the barrel of the gun, but if the spirit was affected by the gunfire in the slightest, it didn't show it.
It was the distraction Lothan asked for, and Kellan was going to take full advantage of it. Staying low to the ground, she hustled along the side of the road toward the cargo hauler, making her way around to the back of it. Silver Max's drone veered off as the Ares guards opened fire on it. She heard some rounds ricochet off the drone's armor, but it simply withdrew a short distance away, hovering off to the side of the road, the guards still well within the range of its machine gun, but where they would have a difficult time returning fire. Another sustained burst of machine-gun fire roared in the dark, forcing the guards to keep their heads down, though Kellan noticed Max wasn't shooting directly at them. That might disable the truck, which would pretty much frag their whole run.
Kellan reached the back of the truck and crouched there, listening. She could hear a low droning chant coming from the back of the truck, a kind of singsong in a language she didn't recognize, and she felt a tingle along her skin, the hairs on the back of her neck bristling. Magic. She was sure of it.
She glanced up at the side rigging of the truck's cargo area, then grabbed one of the cargo straps and pulled herself up, trying to move silently. Then she dropped the strap from one hand and grabbed her pistol with the other as she swung around into the back of the truck, bringing her gun up to cover the interior.
Born to Run Page 9
