“Too much metal. He won’t taste good.”
“You won’t get the others if the razorguy slices you. I’ll cover the mage while you’re doing that. With the artillery and armor down, the infantry will be easy meat.”
“True.” Anticipation. “You have a discerning eye for tactics, little one.”
She slid a hand under the ruff of feathers and scratched at the joint of Tessien’s head and neck. “You really know how to flatter a girl, my friend. Now go get ‘em.”
Tessien broadcast its eagerness as it rose into the air with a rustle, then a roar, to challenge the runners. They skidded to a stop, motionless for a second before recovering and launching their own attack as though having planned for such a contingency. They probably had, she realized. It was common knowledge that United Oil’s head of security in Seattle was the Western Dragon Haesslich.
Hart felt the power gather around the mage. The runners were relying on his spells for their first strike against the dracoform. Just as she had expected.
Lavender flames streamed from the mage’s outstretched hands, lighting the sky as they washed across the feathered serpent. Hart caught a glimpse of UniOil security diving for cover behind the runners.
Tessien’s coils arched straight for a second and Hart saw the mage begin to smile. The grin faded as his spell fractured and his flames flickered and died, leaving the serpent unharmed. The Dragon soared higher. Emboldened by how little she had needed to bolster Tessien’s magic defense, Hart stepped out to confront the mage.
“Having trouble?”
His eyes narrowed and he nodded as though he understood what had happened. He reached toward one of his amulets.
She pumped three slugs from her Atchison riot gun into his belly. He flew backward, spraying blood, entrails, and shreds of ineffective flak vest.
The sour stench that filled the air was swirled away by super-heated air as Tessien unleashed its flaming breath on the street samurai, flesh cooked as the water in the man’s tissue boiled. He collapsed to the concrete, a pile of charred bones, fused steel, and melted plastic.
Tessien circled the suddenly timid survivors as Hart called for their surrender.
“Drop your weapons and you won’t be hurt.”
A metallic clatter was her answer.
Tessien swooped behind her to settle. Its head arched up on a serpentine neck into a protective overwatch position as the United Oil security guards emerged from hiding and rushed to surround them. Nervous guards watched Tessien and Hart more closely than the shadowrunners. All around the circle, fingers rested on triggers.
“Who are you,” demanded their leader.
Hart read his name tag. Major Fuhito. So ka, Haesslich’s second-in-command. “We’re your backup, Major.”
“I wasn’t informed of any special operatives on this case. I think you are opportunistic trespassers. I also think you’re in a lot of trouble.”
Wings thundered in the night, Dragon wings. Hart glanced up to see a familiar shape. She relaxed. There would be no problems with over-eager trigger fingers now.
“What is the problem?” the Western Dragon bellowed as he landed.
Fuhito bowed to the Dragon. “Haesslich-sama, we caught these two shadowrunners in conflict with the team that invaded the facility. They claim to be some kind of support for my team, but there were no specifications for back-up in the orders you left. They are probably just desperate runners who have turned on their own kind to save their own necks. The scum.”
“Fuhito, you make me wonder why I keep you on the payroll. Send your men back and take the real trespassers with you.”
“Then the serpent and the woman are working for you,” Fuhito said stiffly.
“Of course. I knew about the runners who invaded us tonight. I also knew that they were quite accomplished for their breed, and that they might slip through your fingers. They had to be stopped, and I couldn’t be sure I’d be available to do the job myself.”
“You could have told me.”
Contempt emanated from the Dragon.
“I obey your orders, Haesslich-sama,” Fuhito bowed, crisply and quickly. He then turned and stopped at the decker who was smirking at him. He slapped the woman, knocking her to the pavement. “You are a trespasser and a criminal. I think that you will find that you have little cause for amusement.”
“Yours is just too big for me,” the woman mumbled through a bloody lip. “You’re gonna be in real drek with your corp bosses, Mr. Tin Plate. I’ll file a brutality suit.”
“You forfeited your rights when you entered United Oil territory,” Fuhito sneered. He slammed his boot into her head, and she sagged unconscious. Her partner’s sudden lunge was arrested by a pair of bulky guards. “Take them both to the interrogation facilities.”
As the guards left, Haesslich sniffed at the corpses. “Admirable efficiency, Hart.”
“You’ll get the bill. This kind of stuff wasn’t in the contract.”
“Add a surcharge,” Haesslich, suggested, amusement tinging his words. “United Oil Will pay.”
“Done,” Hart agreed. She had intended to do that anyway; her contract was very specific about compensation for “additional services.”
The Dragon settled onto his haunches. “Now, what about the operation you were hired for? Everything is arranged?”
“Looks that way. The pigeon is still waffling, but I’m sure he’ll fall our way.”
“He’d better. I do not want this schedule disrupted.” Determination barely masked the promise of violence in the beast’s statement.
Tessien hissed, but Hart reached out swiftly to touch it. This was no time for a fight.
“All out work is satisfaction guaranteed,” she assured Haesslich.
10
Sam fretted, toying with his food. The lunchtime crowd at Garrelsen’s Mall Cafe was its usual boisterous self. Even though his table was against the wall and away from the passersby outside the roping, their noise added to the clamor. Periodically, his waitress stopped by to ask after the quality of the meal, trying to hurry him along to clear the way for another paying customer. He paid no attention to all the bustle.
Roe was late.
Had she abandoned him? Been caught by Renraku security? Were the Red Samurai moving into position to arrest him for conspiracy to break his employment contract? Or was it all a test by Roe to see how nervous he was?
It really didn’t matter. He was committed to this course now. If Roe didn’t show, he would have to figure his own way out of the arcology. That would be hard, but staying was harder. It had become all too clear that he would never get his answers about Janice while he was under Renraku’s thumb, and he could no longer sit idle.
If he was caught… well, that would solve his problem, too.
He had left few loose ends, putting in extra hours that almost cleared away his work load. No one would be able to accuse Samuel Verner of shirking his responsibilities no matter how trivial. The dogs were a problem because they could hardly be part of the extraction. They wouldn’t survive in the arcology without an owner, but Ms. Haramoto in Corridor B seemed fond of them and had agreed readily to care for them if Sam had to take a business trip. Since this “business trip” would likely never end, he hoped she would come to love them as much as he had. He had never been much for possessions, so not much problem there.