The chrome armor receded to become a simple breastplate and gauntlets over her silver-white clothes, while her gleaming sword slashed through the restraining tentacles. Several of them dropped away, and Jackie’s persona was free. She could have used this chance to log off the system before the ice could entrap her again, but if she left now, there was no chance of getting the same level of access in time to accomplish her goal. The system was on alert, and there was no time to waste. It was now or never.
Jackie’s sword morphed, becoming a silvery recurve bow, shot through with circuitry. She drew back the string, and a gleaming arrow appeared across it. As her persona took careful aim, Jackie was adjusting the program, tweaking its parameters on the fly, synching it up with the target. The black tentacles drew back, writhing, then launched themselves en masse at her as she let fly.
The shot went straight and true into their midst, disappearing into the black void from where the ice issued forth, swallowed up by the darkness. The tendrils slammed into Jackie like a dark wave, causing her to drop her bow, surrounding her in a crushing mass as they wrapped and squeezed. She saw black spots across her vision as she gasped for breath, fighting the urge to jack out of the system. She couldn’t run, couldn’t use all her defenses, otherwise it would all be for nothing. She had to hang in there. Just a little longer.
Come on, she thought, her vision starting to darken, c’mon! Then there was a crackling sound like glass splintering. From the depths of the void, a silver-white coating of circuitry spread out along the tendrils, from their bases to their tips, covering them completely and freezing them in place. They stopping moving as they were covered, and Jackie exerted the full strength of her deck’s processor against them.
The tentacles shattered, gleaming shards raining down before dissolving into random pixels and then nothingness. It’d worked: she’d been able to use the IC’s own self-repairing subroutine against it, introducing a flaw, like electronic cancer, disabling the program from the inside out. Where the ice once was, Jackie could now see a set of stairs leading down, the inside of the virtual desk now lit from within, rather than pitch dark. Cautiously, her persona slipped down the stairs to find out what lay beyond.
* * *
The VTOL landing did not go unnoticed. Some distance away, a man lowered a compact pair of electronic binoculars after the aircraft dropped down below the tree line.
"Crash?" a dark-clad figure at his side asked, and he shook his head.
"Unlikely. No smoke, so it’s a safe bet they managed to put down."
"Who are they?"
He shook his head. "I don’t know, but this party is starting to get crowded." He keyed the subdermal microphone implanted in his throat, transmitting on a scrambled frequency. "Gabriel to all points," he said, "we’ve got more company—a tilt-rotor with Telestrian Industries markings, put down a couple klicks from my position. Keep sharp and report in as needed, but do not, repeat, do not engage unless absolutely necessary. We wait until we get the go order, people." Gabriel waited to get confirmation from the members of his team, and then signaled again.
"What’s the status of our visitors?"
A voice replied through his subdermal induction speakers. "Headed up the mountain. I’m keeping them in sight."
Gabriel nodded. "It’s a good bet the newcomers are headed the same way. We’ll join up with you. Keep them in view, and give me regular updates on their progress, but stay out of sight." He closed the channel, than spoke over his shoulder to the other member of his team close at hand. "Let’s move out."
Gabriel glanced back in the direction where the
VTOL landed. This was hardly the first mission he’d carried out for Cross Applied Technologies where he didn’t have all the information, but he was starting to get a bad feeling about it. This mission was looking anything but routine, and Gabriel didn’t like unexpected complications. He stowed his binoculars, grabbed his gear and headed for the rendezvous. He hoped orders from HQ came through soon. The faster they got this over with, the better.
Chapter 19
If you intend to kill me, why don’t you just get it over with?" Kellan asked.
"Kellan," Midnight replied in a tone of mock concern, "I told you, if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it by now."
Which means you need me alive for something, but what? She still didn’t know what Midnight wanted with her amulet, or what they were doing out here in the middle of nowhere.
Kellan wanted to kick herself. How could she have trusted Midnight so completely? Dammit, how could she still trust anybody in this business? Lothan already had taught her, quite graphically, that no shadowrunner could be trusted, not even those closest to you.
Except maybe Orion. As Kellan thought about him, about the way they’d left him behind to suffer an unknown fate, she felt a cold fury welling up.
"You set it up, didn’t you?" she accused Midnight, stopping to turn and face her. "You sent the Telestrian security to the safe house to take out Orion, didn’t you? You set up this whole thing!"
"Keep moving," came Midnight’s curt reply, emphasized with a wave of her gun.
"Or what? You’ll shoot me? I don’t think so. You need me for something."
"Not so much that I won’t shoot you the minute you become more trouble than you’re worth, Kellan," Midnight said coldly. "Don’t overestimate your value. I’m perfectly willing to leave you here and take my chances. So don’t be foolish, and keep walking."
Kellan looked Midnight in the eyes, and, this time, she was absolutely sure that she was telling the truth. So she slowly turned and began heading back up the incline ahead of them.
"You set up this whole thing, didn’t you?" Kellan repeated. "I mean, it’s no coincidence that we ended up here," she waved her hand, taking in the whole of the dark woods and mountainside.
"Perhaps I just saw a good opportunity," Midnight replied coyly.
"No," Kellan shook her head. "It’s more than that. It’s something about this place, about Tir Tairngire. Was the run for Telestrian even real?"
"In a manner of speaking," Midnight said. "Timothy Telestrian thinks it was real. I convinced him I could get information to blackmail or embarrass his father, and he wanted that badly enough to make certain arrangements and not ask too many questions."
"But what we took from the Telestrian system couldn’t have embarrassed anyone."
"It certainly wasn’t what Timothy thought I was going for, though I suppose the file could be embarrassing to the senior Telestrian if put into the right hands."
"Except you never meant to turn it over to him. Did you even set up a meeting with him to deliver the chip?"
Midnight’s silence was all the answer Kellan needed.
"You wanted us to get out of there because you sold out Orion to Telestrian and knew they were on their way."
"I didn’t particularly want him to come in the first place," Midnight said. "But it did prove useful to have some meat to throw to the dogs."
"You . . ." Kellan spun back toward Midnight.
She wasn’t sure which stopped her faster, the sound of the gunshot or the swift kick that followed it, hitting Kellan in her midsection and doubling her over on the rocky ground. She heard the hammer draw back on Midnight’s gun as she coughed and tried to catch her breath. Reflexively, she felt for blood, for any sign of a wound.
"Don’t worry," Midnight said with a tone of contempt. "That was a warning shot. But that’s your only one, Kellan. I’m not some fragging little girl playing shadowrunner. If you do as you’re told, you might get to walk away from this. If not . . ." she shrugged, keeping the gun leveled at Kellan. "Now get up and keep walking."
Kellan struggled back to her feet, and they continued up the slope of the mountain.
* * *
"How far are we from this cave?" Orion asked as they hiked up the mountain.
"Not too far. We should be there pretty soon," Akimura replied, consulting a portable GPS. "Assuming the weather hol
ds out," he added, glancing up at the dark clouds gathered overhead.
"I think it will," Lothan replied, breathing heavily. "I suspect it has accomplished what it was supposed to do. It’s more a question of whether or not I’ll hold out." The old troll was physically powerful, but not exactly built for climbing. He leaned heavily on his staff as they clambered along. Orion had taken point, and had to resist the urge to rush ahead. Only Akimura knew exactly where they were going—plus, there was no telling what other surprises might be waiting for them on the way.
"Do you know what Midnight is planning to do?" Lothan asked Akimura, and he shrugged.
"Something involving the spirit Marc bound in the cave. You’re the expert, but I would guess that with Marc’s research notes and the amulet he used as part of the ritual, she should be able to accomplish something, even though she doesn’t have the Talent."
"Possibly," Lothan muttered. "It depends on a great many factors. I knew there was something nagging at me about that blasted amulet! I had never seen a focus quite like it before. Because it wasn’t exactly a focus, merely invested with spiritual energy—and a considerable amount of it, at that. The ritual also is like nothing I’ve seen before. It’s quite daring— shouldn’t even be possible without the kind of interface between the astral and physical planes Dr. Thierault discusses. Under the right circumstances, it’s just possible that Midnight might be able to use these components to some end. Assuming she hasn’t also been concealing magical talents from me all this time."
"I don’t think so," Akimura said with a bitter smile. "Midnight has her secrets, but I don’t think she includes magic among them."
"Which suggests she’ll leave Kellan unharmed for the moment."
Orion’s heart leapt at that conclusion, and he turned back to glance at Lothan.
"Ya think?" G-Dogg asked, and Lothan nodded heavily.
"Midnight may be many things, but she’s not stupid. If she needs a magician for whatever she intends to accomplish, she’ll have Kellan along, and she’ll try to convince her to do it, one way or another."
"And if she doesn’t?" Orion asked. Lothan’s look told him all he needed to know, and he turned and began heading up the incline again.
‘'And what’s our plan when we catch up with them?" G-Dogg asked.
"We persuade Midnight to let Kellan go," Lothan replied.
"Forcefully, if necessary," Akimura added.
G-Dogg grinned. "Hey, fine by me."
Orion scanned the mountain slope ahead. The trees were still heavy enough to make it difficult to see very far, though the darkness posed little problem for him. Elven eyes could see a considerable distance, even by the light of only the moon and stars.
He paused and slowed his progress, allowing the others to catch up. As Akimura approached, Orion dropped his voice so no one could overhear them.
"I think I saw someone watching us from higher ground, around two o’clock," he said, careful not to look in that direction.
Akimura glanced down, as if consulting the GPS unit, then up ahead of them, eyes flicking in the direction Orion indicated.
"You sure?" he asked quietly, and Orion nodded.
"As sure as I can be."
Akimura called a halt, making it look as if he was showing the others something on the GPS readout as he spoke quietly.
"Orion says he thinks he saw somebody watching us from ahead near the tree line. I think we should head north-northwest to get out of sight, and try to circle back around."
"What about Kellan?" Orion asked. "We can’t waste time playing games."
"We’re not going to do her any good if we walk into an ambush," Lothan replied. "I may be able to do us one better once we get out of sight."
"All right." Akimura pointed off in their new direction. Hopefully, whoever was watching would assume they were making a correction in their course, still following their map or positioning system.
Orion fought the urge to look again at the place where he had spotted the watcher. He waited until they had moved off a ways before allowing his gaze to drift back in that direction, scanning slowly across. A few minutes later, he again spoke quietly to the rest of the team.
"I don’t see anyone," he said, "and we’re out of sight of the place where I spotted our watcher."
"A bit further, to be on the safe side," Lothan said. In a few minutes, they stopped near a large tree, the mage leaning on his staff.
"Now then," he said, "let’s see what sort of company we have." He held out a hand, palm up, closing his eyes and whispering magic words just under his breath. Orion saw the crystal on the Staff of Candor-Brie glow faintly, and a similar glow appeared cupped in Lothan’s palm. It grew into a faint, misty ball of light, shimmering in the darkness, before Lothan opened his eyes.
"Now we’ll see what there is to be seen."
"Won’t whoever it is notice?" Orion asked, and Lothan shook his head.
"Fear not," he replied. Then he gently blew the glowing light off his hand and it zipped off among the trees, fading as it moved until it vanished altogether. "It shall be unseen and unheard to mundane senses," Lothan pronounced. Orion watched it vanish from sight.
"Now what?"
"We wait," Lothan said.
"We should keep moving . . ." Orion began, but Akimura shook his head.
"Not until we have a better idea what we’re dealing with. We could be walking right into trouble."
"How long is this going to take?" G-Dogg asked.
"Not long," Lothan said over his shoulder. "The watcher will do a quick recon and then report back to me."
"In the meantime, we should keep a lookout," Akimura said.
"An admirable idea," a voice said, "if a little late."
Everyone reached for a weapon, but paused at the same instant as dark-clad figures emerged from the shadows, their weapons trained on the shadowrunners. The faint red traceries of laser sights glimmered in the darkness around them, and Orion slowly removed his hand from the grip of his pistol, keeping it out where they could see it. The others did likewise.
"It’s getting a little crowded around here," said the same voice. "So I agreed it was time to do something about it. Lay that staff down on the ground and step away from it, if you please," he said to Lothan.
The troll mage glowered, but did as he was instructed, setting his staff down and taking a step back as he straightened up. A moment later, the faintly glowing ball of light zoomed back toward him from the trees, bobbing excitedly near Lothan’s homed head.
"Do ya think it found them?" G-Dogg asked in an acid tone, and Lothan’s frown deepened. He dismissed the tiny spirit with a flick of his hand, making the light vanish with a barely audible popping sound.
"Who are you?" Orion asked.
Akimura, standing near the elf warrior, silently regarded the black-clad figure apparently leading this team. His voice was familiar, and it was a moment before Akimura was sure the man didn’t recognize him. After all, I’ve changed quite a bit since then. Considering the reconstructive surgery and facial alterations he’d undergone, he didn’t think he would be recognized as long as he kept quiet. It was vital that Gabriel not recognize him. In this place, even after so long, being recognized by a fellow Seraphim operative could easily be fatal.
"I think it’s better for you not to ask too many questions," replied Gabriel, emphasizing his point by indicating his weapon. Orion ignored the man’s advice.
"Are you working with Midnight?" he asked.
"I don’t think so," Lothan answered thoughtfully, looking them over. "They’re corporate shadow ops."
Akimura’s face didn’t betray his thoughts, but his mind was racing. How had Cross found out about what was going on in Tir Tairngire tonight? He considered and discarded possibilities at a rapid-fire pace, and wondered what he might be able to do about the situation.
"What are you going to do with us?" Orion asked. The elf was tense with barely pent-up energy, and Akimura wondered what the chances were
that he would make a move. If he did, the whole team was dead.
"That’s not my decision," Gabriel said. "But if you cooperate, then you have a chance to survive this. If not . . ." He shrugged slightly, his weapon remaining steady on its target.
"Surely it’s not a coincidence that a corporate team is here in Tir Tairngire tonight," Lothan observed.
"We have our sources and our reasons," Gabriel said. "I could say the same about you. In fact, why don’t you tell me what you’re doing here?" The shadowrunners exchanged silent glances. "Remember what I said about being cooperative?" Gabriel added, emphasizing his words by inclining his head toward the other shadow ops.
* * *
The dark-suited executive assistant squinted against the backwash of the turbofans as the company VTOL landed on the pad atop the Cross Applied Technologies headquarters in Montreal, in the independent nation of Quebec. The gold-circled cross logo gleamed from the craft’s side in the reflected illumination of the same logo on the side of the building, shining out over the city skyline. He scampered toward the craft as the fans slowed, the wind started to die down, and the side hatch opened to allow the woman wearing fashionably conservative business attire to step out onto the landing pad.
"Ms. Henshaw!" he called. "I’m Carter LaValle, assistant to Monsieur Cross. Welcome to Quebec." He spoke slightly accented English.
"Thank you," she replied with a nod.
"Arrangements for the meeting have been made," LaValle said. "If you’ll come with me, I’ll take you straight to the conference room."
Eve allowed LaValle to lead the way inside the building and to the bank of executive elevators that would take them to the conference room, where she would make her presentation. She allowed herself to savor the experience of passing through the uppermost executive levels of the corporate headquarters, guided by one of the CEO’s personal assistants. If all went well, she could look forward to this sort of treatment as her due. She still hadn’t decided whether she should ask to take over all covert operations in western North America, or focus on the more active eastern half, where Cross’ primary rival, Ares Macrotechnology, was headquartered. Seattle offered opportunities, but beyond the UCAS enclave, Cross interests tended to taper off.
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