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[knasser]

23/06/09 Enter Violin by knasser
23/06/09 Michelle (tentative title) by ravensmuse.
23/06/09 Liverpool (tentative title) by Wesley Street.
23/06/09 Raven (tentative title) by Mirilion
23/06/09 The Trap by paws2sky
24/06/09 King (tentative title) by Mirilion
24/06/09 Bongo Slade (tentative title) by pbangarth
24/06/09 Freedom of the Hunt by knasser
24/06/09 Daughter by Mirilion
25/06/09 Bar Fight by Kerenshara
25/06/09 First Kill by martindv
25/06/09 Union Blues by paws2sky
26/06/09 Wiggy by knasser
26/06/09 And they say killing is hard by Kerenshara
26/06/09 Tempo-tation by Prime Mover
26/06/09 Serve and Protect by Mirilion
26/06/09 The Case of the Missing Niece: Prologue by SincereAgape
27/06/09 Hell Money by Abschalten
28/06/09 Last Play by Critias
28/06/09 Chowder's Drone Shop by Shard
29/06/09 New Dog, Old Tricks by Crash2029
01/07/09 Dark Revival by 006
01/07/09 Never, Ever by knasser
02/07/09 Cool White by The Jake
02/07/09 Running (tentative title) by Chrysalis
02/07/09 Revenge Is Best Served by Prime Mover
03/07/09 Horror Story by kanislatrans
03/07/09 Treadmill by Naysayer
04/07/09 NSFW by knasser
14/07/09 Stormcrow by knasser
15/07/09 A Question Answered... by kanislatrans
16/07/09 Into the Shadows: Deep Twilight by TeknoDragon
17/07/09 Rockin' Runners by Crash2029
18/07/09 Interrogation by knasser
18/07/09 Food Fight by kerenshara
22/07/09 Street Cred by Prime Mover
28/07/09 Home Coming by Critias
28/07/09 Booming Business by AzureusJake
29/07/09 Wired by IceKatze
29/07/09 You wonder why I'm here? by DWC
30/07/09 Better running thru chemistry by Crash2029
30/07/09 Lesson Learned by Prime Mover
30/07/09 Episodes by Critias
31/07/09 When Angels Fall by The Dragon Girl
31/07/09 You lucked out by Kerenshara
31/07/09 Fallacious Romance by Prime Mover
03/08/09 Taken by TeknoDragon
03/08/09 Svartálfheimr by Kerenshara
05/08/09 Baptized In Fire by The Dragon Girl
06/08/09 Harvest Mood by Chrysalis
09/08/09 Sunday Shooters by tisoz
09/08/09 Food Fight by tisoz
09/08/09 Aftermath by tosoz
09/08/09 Vera (tentative title)
09/08/09 Payment by The Monk
09/08/09 A Rough Conversation by The Monk
10/08/09 My Summer by Chrysalis
11/08/09 Through the Looking Glass by Kerenshara
11/08/09 Idiot by Kerenshara
13/08/09 Who knew? by Warlordtheft
15/08/09 Nightmare by Kerenshara
15/08/09 Family by Tachi

Vignette Comments thread

[ravensmuse]

Gimme Sympathy

The first thing you ever learn from a fellow runner is that the phrase, “it’s just a simple job,� is bumpkiss. Dross. Shit Johnson’s say to wet-behind-the-ears newbies to give them a false sense of security before sending them off to get shot. But when the job ain’t through some sussied up corp Johnson but one of your best war buddies, you tend to let your guard down.

Second thing you’ll ever learn from a fellow runner: never let your guard down.

But Hawk caught me in-between jobs and in-between rent, so it was like a perfect storm of coincidence. I signed right up. Guard some two-bit spider while he worked security and lighting for the newest pop star to roll through Seattle? Easy money. Hawk said he’d been given a slot by a respectable client and he had no one similarly as respectable to fill it, and hey, you like music, so…

I do like music. Concrete Dreams. The Banshees. Ivan and the Verdammten Orchestra. Not teen sensation Alexa Orion. Thank god for commlinks filled with music and cyber-ears with a mute function.

So there I was backstage, watching as Alexa wound down her act with a cacophony of light and sounds (thank you cyber-eyes with flash compensation) while Mute, the spider, did his thing. Mute got his name, I’m guessing, because he’s not one for words. Or expressions. Or emotions. You’d almost think he was an Otomo.

Alexa comes off-stage, this petite little blonde thing with blonde hair down past her butt, blue eyes, freckles across the bridge of her nose, and the body of a twenty-something athlete. I ponder briefly over how much of her is sculpted and how much is real. Usually it’s the former over the latter.

She smiles at me as she goes by, a brief flash of white teeth. I return the favor, but mine are replaced – the Yucatan was hell – and we part as she goes out the backstage door.

I’m hooked to the security cameras for, well, security, so I watch as she walks down the hallway, waiting at any moment for her bodyguards to show up and escort her to her room to get ready to go. Only, they never come, and Alexa, after a moment, starts looking confused.

There’s the click of a gun getting readied. And I don’t hear that over the cams.

Mute’s good at rigs, I’ll give him that. Guns in the meat world? Not so much. He’s down on the ground with a chest wound before he even gets a chance to think about firing. I pick myself up from the ground and approach his splayed body.

“Fucker,� the pasty dwarf spits at me. “Deegan was supposed to be here. Not you.�

I give him a grim smile while I aim my Predator at his head. “When I see him, I’ll apologize.� He gets one through the forehead. Nice kid. Too bad he tried to kill me.

Out of my peripheral vision I’ve been watching the cameras on Alexa, trying to figure out the deal. Assassination? Why? Kidnapping? High profile, but possible. Mute didn’t strike me as the professional type though. But where were her bodyguards?

An elf walks into view and pops a spur out of his arm. Shit.

I throw open the door, just as Alexa falls to the ground, clutching at an abdomen gushing blood. Razorboy is licking his sharpened teeth. They are definitely not a professional level team, my mind decides to decide at that moment.

His eyes catch mine and they widen in surprise. “Mute didn’t –“ he gets out before he takes two to the chest. No body armor, imagine. Didn’t even go for subdermal. Idiot.

Alexa is sputtering as I get to her side. Her pretty face is white as a sheet – her blue eyes meet mine and they’re full of water and panicked. I give her as reassuring a smile as I can manage as I dig stimpatches out of a pocket and start slapping them on. “It’s okay honey, it’ll be fine. I’m sure they have someone coming for you, right?�

She shakily nods her head and lifts her wrist for me to see the Docwagon bracelet, but something seems wrong. I snatch it away and give it a good look over. “They gave me a new one today,� she says weakly, before passing out in my arms.

Fake. That gives me the final piece of the puzzle. “Fuckers,� I mutter.

Time to make a decision.

***
“So you brought her to me,� Doc Ghost said as he shut off his trideo player. Colby disconnected the wire from the jack in the back of his neck and it snaps back to console.

“Where else could I bring a mostly dead teen pop star to that wouldn’t get noticed?� He said, standing up and giving the good doctor a hard look. “I bet they’ve got bloodhounds all over the local hospital records watching for her to show up.�

Ghost laughs. “Well, you’re right on that. I’ve had a few alerts on my legal systems tonight.� He stretched out. “This is costing you a favor though.�

“Yeah yeah,� Colby said brushing him off. He walked away from the doctor and approached the clear tube that held, suspended, Alexa’s crooked body. He examined her, rubbing his gristled chin. Decision time indeed.

“I’m calling in another favor.�

“Oh?� the street doc said, looking up from the vitals being displayed over his comm..

“New hair. New eyes. Keep the freckles, the body, and her nationality,� Colby said, nodding. “I don’t want to freak her out too badly. And get a new ID, fake SIN, the works. She needs to hide in the shadows for awhile.�

“Because?�

Colby turned around. “Her corp tried to kill her. I want to know why.�