Searching for the Spirit, Part #3[
Part #1,
Part #2 ]
Wasn't this run to locate a missing free spirit? Which run? The one that precipitated the need to find
Rita. Not the one to save
Calista and her kid from
Nick Fitopolus, which not only doesn't pay anything but also makes him want to kill me. Not the one for
Lenny in
Stuvesant.
We blew forty minutes at
Donny's waiting for our window to get into
Stuvesant.
Lenny had said that our ID's would clear between seven and eight. After a choice to simply milk my drink, rather than get loaded (which I would later regret), we jumped into a cab and made our way into the gated, patrolled high-brow neighborhood of
Stuvesant.
The
Johnson is an older gentleman in condo.
Jason stayed with the cab while I get the details. He starts with an offer of old scotch. Knowing that this run would never get completed if I started, I decline. Another decision I will later regret. The old man has a delicate rep. His son has gone missing, no contact for three days. The son needs to be located without word that he'd gone missing. Then begins the question and answer part of the game:
- Porvides a list of friends, pictures, com code.
- Kid has a permit for Mind Bender drugs
- Misc trouble: fights, vandalism, etc.
- Last seen 3 nights ago
- Not disappeared before. Most time gone previously is two days, 1 night. At a friends. No friends claim him presently.
- Nothing out of ordinary before disappearance. No arguments of merit, etc.
- Cred withdrawal just prior to disappearance, but not of extra ordinary amount.
- Do not contact father. Work updates through Lenny.
As the cab leads us towards the
Village, I confirm with Lenny (Who knew before Johnson did that he needed us) that the run is straight up. During the ride, the cab is rerouted around the north edge of the Pit due to police activity. We see a pair of city masters rolling south. After being dropped off in the
Village, we retrace to the crossing point and return to
The Pit.
Arrival at Den of Vice is just after 9:30. In short order, I determine that
Rita is there. Costs 100 nuyen to 'get time' with
Rita, who is 'working off a debt'. A quick call to
Vagabond sets everything in motion; Of course he'll come crashing in to get his sister. Working our way down from the 6th floor, passed out nearly-naked
Rita in a fireman's carry, I start by knocking out the guard that floor. By the fifth, gunfire can be heard and junkies are everywhere. Using this to my advantage, yelling fire and whatever, I start a junky stampede that lasts until the troll guard on the 2nd floor; The guards are holed up there (2 trolls, 3 orks).
Hesitation is a bitch. While trying to figure an angle past the fire-fight on the stairs, the ork from the sixth arrives. Hauling ass across the second, chased by gunfire I hit the end of the line: A boarded up window. Seems I'm not the only one eying this window as the security forces in city masters out front blow out that wall of the building. Somehow I manged to get through the mess, my vest and form fit absorbing the impact.
Running, running, shots all around. Duck between the city masters... and right into rifle barrel. Scooped up and tossed into the back by three goons. Yes, I'm faster than that; Some days fate is a bitch...
And here I am.... Back in another damn box....