10:24:15 Monday 08 January 2063 – Redmond - Touristville - The Respite Soup Kitchen – Roof

Gradually, Max is able to shake Trancer awake. As the kid groggily comes to, he suddenly sits upright and yells, "Look out!" Frantically Max whirls, ready to fight, when he realizes that the poor kid was just disoriented. There was no one on the roof but the three of them. "Oh my head..." suddenly slouching back, Trancer puts his hands to his head. Slowly raising it again, he looks at Max . " Max !!! They took her! They took Keira!!! How come I'm not dead? How come you aren't dead? Is my...is my mom dead?"

The barrage of questions comes rapid fire, and a quick glance at the other form on the roof reveals that Trancer's mom is alive as well, probably unconscious. Grabbing a hold of his arms, Trancer shakes Max hard. "What are we going to do Max ? Keira needs our help!"

1002 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Kaiser's shop, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Marquis keeps himself occupied by playing with random things on the counter, while Kaiser has spent the past 10 minutes poking around the top shelf looking for some acid etch. "Dammit, know there is some up here!"

1300 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop

What name will I call the new store? Andie thinks to himself as he watches Solomon leave and lock up the store. Hmm…..

He turns back to check on the circulation to make sure it’s progressing as planned. Andie then returns to the workbench and his floor plan sketch. He looks around the room to notice all the little things that Sara implemented in her shop and reflects on this information. Then it occurs to him. Hmm… How about the Reflection Pool magic shop? Water has always been a symbol for reflection and thoughts within its deeps and I do want the shop to be a haven for knowledge, both new and old; where people can come to exchange ideas and collaborate on magical works together.

Andie looks around the room again and considers this idea for awhile.

15:04:15 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Apartment 875, Parkewood Village Apartments, Tacoma

After nearly an hour of poking around at the cyberarm/deck, Todd's work is interupted by the red LED glowing in the corner of his vision, letting him know he has a waiting message.

Pulling it up, he gives the file Tony sent him a quick scan and shots back a quick reply.

1950 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop

-- He peruses the aisles a little to see if there is anything new or on sale, bargain hunter extraordinaire, and makes his way to the back counter looking for Sara. "Hello ... Sara ..." Andie calls out towards the back of the store.

Sara Lansing, human owner of the Land's End magic shop, was in her late thirties, about 6 ft tall, and mind like a steel trap. She didn't miss much. From the store room in the back she calls out, "Come on back, Andie."

Andie heads to back of the shop to the material preparation area and looks around. Sara turns back to Andie and says, "Time we settled this debt and talked about your future. To help pay for the magic training we have been doing over the years I have a proposal for you, a test of sorts. I feel you are ready for this test. I know it would help you, me, and your parents; a win-win situation for everyone. You've been talking about starting your own business. This will earn you the seeds of one."

Andie replies, "OK. I'm game. What did you have in mind?"

"Call it a graduation thesis. Over this lunar cycle you would be creating Orichalcum units. It's a long, tedious process and if you choose to do this, you will be here most the time monitoring the batch, so don't expect to do much of anything else until it's finished. I've had to set up the initial enchantments already -- new moon was yesterday -- but after this, if you're still interested, it's all yours: the responsibility, and the profits. You'll invest in the initial costs, and you'll reap the net rewards. The first unit you produce, ah, that will be a unique and precious thing, and you should build it into a focus equally unique as soon as you can. The second will cover the cost of your tuition. The third -- you were talking to me about acquiring your own libraries. Because you can't keep using mine, not after you graduate." She smiles wrily. "But what we can do: I can swap you a copy of what I have on chip in exchange for the third unit of orichalcum you create out of this batch. But getting the computer to run it: that's up to you." The smile becomes a teasing grin. "Think you're up for it?"

Andie replies, "Well, I'll have to let my folks know I will not be able to help them out at the bar for a month, but they should be OK with that once I explain why. Let's do it."

"That's responsible," says Sara. "That makes a good start. Call them now and explain everything while I finish getting together the rest of the components. The phone is on the wall over there" --


// Andie startles fully awake to the soft sound of the bells and a low voice in the shop and to a warm, close dimness lit only by the flickering flame of the Bunsen burner. It takes a moment to register that the electricity must be out. Good day to stay inside. That storm must have been worse than I thought. Untangling himself from the sweater he'd at some point pulled around himself, he checks the circulation carefully, but it seems not to have suffered from the lack of light and electrical heat.

1950 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop

Andie shakes himself awake. Woolgathering again. He gets up and checks the circulation again; stoking the fire in the furnace and adjusting the pressure of the crucible a little. I can't remember if Sara has a backup generator in the shop or not in case I need one.

Andie checks the shop and its security system to see if it's affected and takes precautions. He looks out the window to see if other buildings electric was out as well or if it's just Sara's shop.

1955 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop

Before Andie opens the curtain separating storefront from the back area, he hears Solomon's voice, replying to the other person, too low for him to make out the words.

15:08:48 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Capitol Hill Terrace, Capitol Hill, Seattle, UCAS

Tony wakes up, after a vivid dream of hamburgers, coolers of beer, disembodied diners, and, finally, a loud beeping sound that penetrated the racket of the dream. Waking, he realized that he didn't turn off his psec's sound notification. Upon waking, he realizies that the rest of the apartment doesn't have power; his trideo/computer setup would have been a lot louder than the simple beeping emitting from his psec. Looking out the window at the howling snow and wind outside, Tony thinks to himself It's the fragging North Pole out there. Power's out as well.

Replying to the email

19:47:02 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Schrodinger's Chess and Coffee Shop, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Peter scratched his head in confusion. "Wait a minute, how does that actually help? Wouldn't it just add a lot of random noise to have things cross over like that?" He moved a pawn forward in a brilliant flanking maneuver, but noone at the table was actually paying much attention to the chessboard.

Eyes tapped at a piece of the arcane-looking scrawl. "Normally you'd be right; this would be a terrible source of error. Remember, though, that we're trying to create as 'human' an intelligence as possible. People can't actually concentrate on two things at once; 'multi-tasking' for a person is really just switching your focus rapidly from one thing to another." He moved a knight in a lame-duck gambit, trying to draw attention away from his vulnerable queen. "It was determined early this century that one of the main sources of 'inspiration' in the biological mind is this cross-over between 'simultaneus' thoughts, memories, etc. If you control your interferences correctly you can simulate this effect to a small degree, with small crossovers between parallel thoughts. You'll see this again when it gets applied to semi-evocative memory too; same general principle but the equations end up all different."

Carlie looked over the equations, muttering to herself. Meanwhile Peter took the bait, but in an unexpected way that didn't actually open him up to attack at all: he moved a rook to cut the knight off from the rest of Eyes's pieces. "Huh. The prof never really went into the theory like this," Carlie said, "All our test questions are stuff like, 'What is the quantum adjustment factor for a 5-tiered MPCP with 50Mp of secondary tunneling?'"

"The practical type? I'm sure he at least assigned Sussman & Holtz at an optional book; it's pretty much the definitive work on the frame programming these days. Or you can go back to the first real publication on the subject: Machine Mind: Go and the game of Intelligence by Casimir. The examples there are actually better than Sussman; her writing tends to be a bit dense, sorta by tradition." Eyes glanced at the board, realized that it was mate in three moves, and tipped his king over, conceding defeat. "Not that any of this 'inspiration' seems to be coming to me," he said with an ironic smile.

Katie interjected, "You just forgot to multiply by 2 pi." Everyone chuckled at the bit of nerd humor. Peter started resetting the pieces. "If I promise not to beat you too badly next game, you promise to stick around a bit longer and help us out with process overlap manifolds?" Peter asked with a smirk.

Eyes grinned, remembering his own days struggling in the same class. "You're on, brother."

1955 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop

Odd. He has been been rather secretive as of late. Andie peeks through the side of the curtain to see who Solomon is talking with.

1956 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop

It's three someones, and they're all dripping snow from their longcoats and scarves and balaclavas. One of them blows on his? her? gloved hands, visibly shivering. "Not yet?" Andie hears one of the others ask, and Solomon answers without any sharpness, "She already agreed, and I am here. What more do you need?"

1956 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop

Great. What has Sara gotten herself into this time? Andie will continue to eavesdrop on the conversation in the store front for more details about what Sara or Solomon may be involved in.

1956 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop

"Someone's listening," suddenly says one of the men --

1022 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Kaiser's shop, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Kaiser has now dissappeared somewhere into the deep confines of the store. Now that Kaiser's counter is reorganized, cleaned and degreased, Marquis drags his feet along the small building, looking for something else to keep his mind occupied, while Kaiser continues his quest for the holy acid etch.

10:25:08 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Kaiser's shop, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

"Aha!" Kaiser holds a can of Enumerol Acid Etch aloft in victory. "I knew it was around here somewhere."

He sets the liter cylinder down on the counter next to Marquis. "Anything else you need?"

1025.12 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Kaiser's shop, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

"Great! That will be it today. Next time I will call ahead," Marquis gives him a friendly, but sarcastic smile. He pays the man and heads back out.

deleted

10:26:32 Monday 08 January 2063 – Redmond - Touristville - The Respite Soup Kitchen – Roof

Max steadied the boy and gently removed his arm from Trancer’s hand.

“Your mother is ok, she will probably wake up feeling as bad as we do, but I don’t sense that she is in any immediate danger. Lets get her awake and get off this roof and then you can tell me what happened.” Trancer bit is lip, holding back the jumble of questions he wants to ask and just nods. Max understood Trancer’s urgency. Every ounce of him wants to go searching for Keira, but without a place to start Max knew it would be a waste of time and energy. Two things he had little of at the moment, besides these people needed him.

“Melina…” Max gently attempts to rouse the young mother, while Trancer kneels on the other side of her holding her hand. Her eyelids flutter once before she groans and looks around.

“James!” she looks around frantically, her vision still a bit blurry.

“I’m right her ma.” Trancer says clutching his mother’s hand.
“Oh thank God.” She grabs the young boy and holds him tight. Tears streaming down her face. “I thought I had lost you.”

“Um, no ma...could you loosen up, I can barely breath.” He sputters, just a little bit embarrassed.

Max moves away for a moment to give them a little privacy and looks down the roof access into the Respite's Kitchen. A few minutes later he hears Melina’s footsteps approach him from behind. He turns to look at the young woman still holding her son tight.

“Max…they took Keira. Why would anyone want to do this? Why would anyone want to hurt her?”

“I don’t know Melina, but I am going to find out. Lets get off this roof and then I want you to tell me everything that happened after you got up here.” Max leads the way down the ladder. It is slow going and Max’s body still screams at him with each movement, but eventually they make it down into the kitchen. He clears a place for them to sit and retrieves 3 glasses from one of the large dishwashers and fills them with water before handing them to Melina and Trancer.

“Ok, now tell me what you remember.”

15:14:25 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Apartment 875, Parkewood Village Apartments, Tacoma

Todd sits at his workbench, just looking at the cyberarm before him. Screw it. I'll get the search done now and deal with this later.

Minutes later he is seated in his favorite chair with a dataline jacked into his skull.

20:10:03 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Schrodinger's Chess and Coffee Shop, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

"...which is the great thing about HoloLISP and a few other modern languages; since there are no types and functions are easily made with lambda you can actually have your frame write its own code. You are a bit limited in improvisational ability, though, until you get up to SK-level territory." Eyes glances at the clock in surprise. "Oh, hey, I should be getting outta here. Peter, thanks for a good set of games; sorry I couldn't be more of a challenge. Nice to meet you guys."

Katie smiled. "Yeah, thanks for all the help, Chris," she said; Eyes nodded at the name, almost as innate to him after a year as his real one. "Hey, come back next week okay; some of us have a cyberterm architecture test and noone knows what the drek the prof is slotting most of the time."

Eyes laughed. "Oh you don't want my help with hardware. I know how to make most of it work, all right, but I got a D in the actual class." Finishing his goodbyes, Eyes makes his way out the door, much less nervous and jumpy than he was an hour ago.

A measure of that nervousness came back when he remembered the gypsy woman's warning. 'You're a smart kid, but you're all alone in this.' Eyes shivered inwardly. The last time he had been spooked this badly he had joined a corp and moved to another country; now he just didn't have that option. His resources were much less than they were back in those days; he wasn't some bright-eyed naive little revolutionary anymore (though the naive part probably still applied). He just didn't have the ability to build an entirely new life for himself anymore.

More than that, though, this whole situation just screamed intrigue and importance, much more than that stupid half-botched supply run years ago. This whole setup may well turn into something worth the danger. Worth it how he couldn't tell yet; the whole thing just seemed bigger.

Shaking his head, Eyes got on his bike and programmed the route home. It's too bad this place is so far from my apartment, he thought, It'd be a neat place to spend some time; probably one reason why Casimir hung around here. At least I'll have plenty of time to think over my next moves.

1032 Tuesday 09 January 2063 -Streets of Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Marquis rolls out of the parking lot, through the alleyway, and into midmorning traffic. He slowly moves across downtown, relaxing to the comedy talk radio show of Earnie and the Troll.

Normally Marquis hates traffic, but when the E&T show are on, he wants to delay having to exit his car. His trip across Downtown, well around Downtown, takes him much longer than it should, even with the hellish traffic of the megaplex.

1956 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop

Almost, even off-balance as he is, Andie manages to hold off most of the sheer force of that casting -- more than one spell! -- but some of it still slips past him.

Solomon reaches a hand just in front of him, breaking the locked gaze, deflecting the last of the spell away from the young mage.

He's only now realising that he's beginning to hurt. His knees are skinned. His shoulder's being twisted so hard it feels like it's about to break. And his heart is hammering a mile a minute.

"He's not family," says the man with the gray eyes who'd spoken earlier -- the mage, Andie realises blurrily -- in a voice that offers no compromise. None of them have removed their balaclavas. Unlike Solomon's, their coats are dripping snow and water onto Sara's wooden floor.

"He is Sara's apprentice," says Solomon, not looking at Andie.

"Orders --"

"Your orders were to bring him here to recuperate. If you have done that, nothing else need concern you."

"Really," says a woman from just behind Andie, in a light, dead voice.

Solomon nods, acknowledging the naked threat in that voice, and turns to Andie. "Tell them that you will not speak of what passes here to anyone," he says levelly, urgently. "Tell them, and mean it."

1956 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop


Andie takes stock of himself and the situation and slowly his thoughts begin to stream back to normal. His injuries start to register as he slowly gets to his feet; slowly shaking off the stun and fatigue.

"Fine. It will be our little secret." Andie pops several vertebra in his neck back into place. "No one will know what transpired here today from me." which wont be hard since I don't know what's going on in the first place other being attacked for no reason....

1957 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop

The fixer nods acknowledgement, his attention fully on the third, who has not spoken yet. After several seconds, a short, reluctant nod; and at once the pressure eases up on Andie, allowing him to get up onto his feet, this time. When he'd tried, before, the fingers had tightened perceptably until he was certain the bone couldn't be far from snapping.

It's a debatable benefit. The floor had felt rather more reliable.

"Now that you have vetted out this place" -- and something in Solomon's voice cautions against any further exploration by the trio should they disagree with his assessment -- "were you planning to bring him inside any time soon? Or will you be leaving him alone in the car all night?"

"Not alone," says the woman. "The kid's staying with him."

"Excuse me?" asks the fixer, his voice tinged with warning.

"Orders," says the mage. "She holds classes here, he can teach."

The woman had moved to cover the door while the third goes outside, opening the door to a bone-numbing blast of winter. She seems not to feel it. Solomon removes his spectacles, begins cleaning them. Finishing, he places them back on. "Sara --"

"You are currently in contact with her, yes?" The cold smile shows in the mage's voice, as if he already knows the answer. "Ask her. Or make the decision yourself."

Some decision, thinks Andie. It's not like the guy's going to accept any decision that isn't 'yes'. I don't know what's going on here, but I'm not sure how I feel about one of these guys staying here ...

"Yes," says Solomon, after an interval just long enough for the cold to settle into the room. The young mage shivers, partly because of the cold. Was Sara's heating electric or gas? Hopefully these guys stop leaving the door open. I'm freezing.

17:00:02 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 The Unbottled Spirit, Capitol Hill, Seattle, UCAS

Tony awoke groggily to his psec’s beeping. That goddamn, incessant beeping. I should learn not to take naps. Thank God for good old gas heating. he thinks to himself as he pads across his apartment toward the bathroom.

A long, hot shower and an old, cold cup of coffee later, Tony decides to head down to the Spirit for something real to drink, and to check on Todd’s email. Looking down from his window on his quarter-meter-of-snow covered car, Tony decides to walk. I might as well dig it out, though. Sam sure as hell wouldn’t if I need him to pick me up. Pulling on his securitech clothing, including the scratched coat he had on earlier, Tony trudges out into the cold.

18:40:47 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 The Unbottled Spirit, Capitol Hill, Seattle, UCAS

Tony walks into the sparsely populated bar out of the freezing cold. “Evenin’, Tony,” Rebecca says from her usual perch behind the bar. The ‘Spirit didn’t have many patrons in it at the moment; either from the weather or the earliness of the evening. The power and heat were on here, apparently. Must be brownouts Tony thought to himself as he walked toward the bar.

“What’s up ‘Becca? Pour me a big glass of the good stuff. I’m freezing my cajones off. When did it turn into the Ice Age outside?” Settling into a stool at the bar a place down from another patron that was drinking some clear iced drink while watching the news. Tony took his drink, downed a good measure of the smoky sweet amber liquid, and settled in for a couple of hours of relaxation. “How much damage did Sam do to me last night?” In answer, Rebecca held up an empty liter of aged Wild Turkey rye, smiling. Shaking his head, Tony hands over the credstick Radian handed him last night.

“Check this one for me. Tell me what’s on it, and I’ll pay the tab” Tony says, finishing his drink and motioning for another.

10:30:42 Monday 08 January 2063 – Redmond - Touristville - The Respite Soup Kitchen – Kitchen

Sipping the water, Melina answers, her hands trembling slightly, "They didn't say anything. We were waiting for you to come up when the first of the men came up. They just saw us and started shooting. We never had a chance to talk or do anything."

"Yeah," kicks in Trancer. "I think they wanted Keira, cause they shot at us first and ignored her, even though we were standing right next to her. What do you think they want with her Max? Why would anyone be interested in her?"

Holding up a hand, Max stops the boy and clarifies, "Wait, that's all you know? There's nothing more you can tell me?"

Softly, Melina interrupts, "That's it. There isn't much too tell. We thought you were dead, and we thought we were too. There wasn't even a chance to think." Sipping the water again, hands still trembling, she asks, "What are you going to do Max? Should we call the police?"

20:52:14 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Unit 303, Winlock Apartment Complex, Tacoma, Seattle, UCAS

Eyes trudged up the stairs to his apartment, the only light in the stairwell coming from his own eyes. Drekking power's out again. I wish I had my old apartment back. He pondered the last couple hours. Or maybe an apartment in Boston or Alaska or something.

Upon opening his apartment door, Eyes was immediately struck by the silence. The lack of a dozen cooling fans was very noticable, as they've been in the background of his mind for months. Sitting in his chair, Eyes reached for a nearby keyboard and started typing. This would be nothing unusual if the computer, on closer inspection, wasn't actually plugged into anything and if the keyboard hadn't been impossibly balanced on top of a second keyboard.

10:35:13 Monday 08 January 2063 – Redmond - Touristville - The Respite Soup Kitchen – Kitchen

Melina and Trancer’s auras shifted back and forth with confusion and worry and still ebbed with the undercurrent of fear.

“Yes we should call the police, but I want to look around Keira’s office first. You two stay here for a minute while I check on a few things. When I get back, you can call the police.”

Wearily Max stood and moved back out to the main room. It was a mess, probably more do to the flight of the SINless when the soup kitchen was raided than to weapons damage. Hoping to find something that would give him a clue to who kidnapped Keira or at least find something that he could use as a ritual link to help find her, Max gingerly climbs the stairway to Keira’s living space/office upstairs and pushes open the door. The room was intact, which was somewhat surprising. Max searches the room. It was the first time he was thankful to be wearing gloves. When the police finally do show up his fingerprints wouldn’t be everywhere. His first order of business was to find something he could use as a ritual link.

‘Some hair from a brush should do it.‘ Moving to the small bathroom Max pulls a hairbrush from the drawer and shoves it into his pocket. An idea occurs to him as he re-enters the main living area.

“The Dress!”

When they had first met Keira had been wearing a stunning emerald green gown that her mother had made. When he had asked about it Keira had told him about how much the dress ment to her and how she had spent a month modifying and altering it so that she could ware it for the fundraiser. Keira is an amazing designer, though she doesn’t have a lot of time to practice, running the soup kitchen takes most of it.

It didn’t take long to find, the dress was wrapped in a protective cover on the far side of her closet.

‘That should be enough to use for a ritual. Now to find anything that could point me in the direction of who her kidnappers were.’ Max sits down at her desk and sets to work looking through every scrap of paper and datafile he can find.

1957 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop

Andie keeps vigilant and his attention on three people in the shop and does nothing to provoke them again. I hope that spell didn't disrupt anything in the shop... Andie shifts his perception to the Astral Plane to see if any damage was done to the store.

"I have those revisions you asked for, Solomon."

10:45:38 Monday 08 January 2063 – Redmond - Touristville - The Respite Soup Kitchen – Kitchen

After searching for nearly ten minutes and coming up blank, Max reluctantly concedes that there’s nothing for him to find there. Whatever clues he was going to find, they weren’t going to be here. No leads or anything that might tell him who was after Keira , or why. He’s going to have to do this the hard way, it seems. Returning to Trancer and Melina , he finds them looking at him expectantly. “Well, did you find anything?” Trancer asks expectantly?

1958 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop

The fixer's spread hand unobtrusively signals Andie to hold back: Later. Not now. The young mage nods, automatically shifting into the astral to assess the disruption to the shop and the circulation. It could best be described as ... uneasy. He spends a few moments settling it down, recognising now why there had been a separate set of wards on the workshop and woven into the store walls.

Guess I've got my next two projects cut out for me. First, to restore the wards around the workroom. Second, to strengthen the ones around the store proper. After all, Sara did ask me to do it myself.

The sharp bark of a dog somewhere outside and the restored blast of cold informs him that the front door's been opened again -- and that the curtain's been moved aside: the man having moved casually to a position from which he could monitor both front and back rooms. It's a very uncomfortable feeling, having the man standing right there, but it doesn't look like he's likely to move based on anything Andie could say. His perception still in the astral, the younger mage is startled to discover the man doesn't even register as Awakened. What does show up is cyber. The details are blurred, but it seems like more than he'd ever seen even in Durin.

He realises he's been staring when those cold blue eyes turn in his direction; and Andie hastily turns his attention back to the crucible. Mustn't provoke him again, especially not here. Another blast of mana like that and I could lose everything, but it doesn't look like he's likely to move as long as he knows I'm here. Circulation's stable enough now: maybe I could start upgrading the store's wards? That way they could see what I'm doing, and he'd be away from my circulation, at least.

Finishing up the stabilisation and having gathered the materials for a more particular warding of the store, Andie's perception is still in the astral when he goes back into the main room. And stops. And stares -- he can't not stare.

Cyber. Darkness, swallowing up life force and living and everything but a powerful sense of focus and duty that was all that remained of a human being. He'd never seen a person so dark. He'd never imagined a person so dark. Mundane, of course -- how could she be other than mundane? Locked to the physical. Scarcely anything of her touched the astral any longer at all. After a long time Andie takes in a ragged breath, realising only then he'd forgotten to breathe -- or maybe couldn't have: seeing her, that way, had felt almost like a physical blow.

So unnerved is Andie, seeing the reality of her, that the sudden drenching spray of snow and water as the dog shakes itself comes as a complete surprise.

Dog? What --

Having released the moisture from its coat, the dog finds its way instantly tight to the heels of one already disappearing into the teaching room, vigorous tail upsetting a few of the items on the lower shelves as it passed. Andie leaps to catch them; skidding almost into the woman who was already replacing them, so fast she hadn't really seemed to move. Like watching a strobe light. Stimulus. Reaction. The partly overheard scrap of conversation while he'd been in the workshop comes back to him: "Upstairs?" "No," Solomon had said, "here." And "here" it was, apparently.

Two had disappeared into the back teaching room, making five in total. The mage still stands behind the counter. The door guard had been taken over by that third who still hadn't spoken, mundane, least cybered of any of the three (for whatever that was worth). "You'll find the dog likes to run," he says now, a dry note of amusement in his voice. "They're somewhat inseparable, but he'll need more exercise than he can give him. The rest, you already know."

"What I need to know," replies Solomon, in almost exactly the same tone of voice.

The unspoken of course comes through clearly even to Andie, even through all the winter clothing. "You won't be seeing us again," adds the mage, last to leave -- and suddenly it connects in Andie what their pattern is. How many trids and simgames had he seen it in? They're securing territory. One goes ahead and when all is clear, calls in the other two. One of those always holds the back so nothing can catch them by surprise. What kind of stuff do these guys deal in, anyway? What have they brought to my place?

A subtle tension goes out of Solomon as the door closes behind the last of them and he relocks it. "Well," he says, "shall we go and greet our guests?"

18:41:20 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 The Unbottled Spirit, Capitol Hill, Seattle, UCAS

Rebecca passes the credstick and a fresh tumbler of bourbon over to Tony. The cocktail napkin under the bourbon has some writing on it. ¥1500 was written just under the glass. I’ll be damned. Radian didn’t screw me after all Tony thought to himself as he sipped the liquor. Catching some talking head on the news, Tony turns toward the trideo set up over the end of the bar. “…periodic brownouts over the metropolitan Seattle area continue into this evening, due to increased electrical usage. Officials are advising people in affected areas to dress warmly and to avoid prolonged use of space heaters…”

“So, I’m supposed to take our favorite rye whisky drinker to dinner tomorrow night. Got any suggestions?” Tony said, turning back toward Rebecca and taking another sip of his drink.

“Yeah, taking me along as well, with that credstick,” Rebecca replied jovially. “Seriously, though, I’d take him over to that new rib joint over in the public part of the Underground. Gunter’s, thats the name of the place. Supposed to have some wiz beer too. I’ve been trying to get them to ship a keg or two over here, but they barely make enough for themselves.”

“The Underground? I dunno, I don’t want to get into a fight down there just for being human” Tony said.

“Don’t sweat it,” Rebecca replied. “You’re taking Sam, you won’t have any trouble. Unless you break out that white hood they issue you paleskins down south at birth”

“Very fragging funny, kemosabe.” Tony said, laughing.


21:30:15 Tuesday, January 9, 2063, Capitol Hill, Seattle, UCAS

If you ever want to sober up quickly after some quality time with a bottle, just walk out of a warm, cozy bar into a freezing, windy night. Tony, decently buzzed even with drinking a few glasses of water in addition to the soywings he had, became instantly wide awake in the face of the bone-chilling cold and wind outside. Freezing cold and still wishing for a flask by the time he got back to his still dark apartment building, he walked up the stairs and got his gear together, having to clean and reload his pistol by the dome light in his car. Leaving the assault rifle in the apartment, he pulled away and drove toward Sea-Tac.

22:15:15 Tuesday, January 9, 2063, Sea-Tac International Airport Long Term Parking Terminal, Seattle, UCAS

Pulling up to the long term parking terminal, Tony slotted Radian’s credstick for a spot, selecting something close to where the truck was parked. The trip out to Sea Tac was again uneventful, except for a few icy patches on the road. Gotta remember to watch out for those in the truck Tony thought to himself on the drive down to space 17 Alpha. Pulling into a spot about 50 meters from the Workhorse, Tony gets out and takes his duffel bag toward the truck. Getting in, he pulls out toward the exit of the garage. Hopefully, that Americar won't be here long term.

2000 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Kaiser's shop, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

After a couple more hours at the autoshop, checking on the "barrel rings", and cleaning up the gunshop, Marquis heads for home. The barrel is probably destroyed, but it would hurt it to stay in there longer, so there they stayed.

1958 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop


"It would be the polite and civil thing to do, I suppose." Andie follows Solomon's lead.

20:02:34 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Cooper's Automotive shop, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Sitting in the bath of acid etch for six hours or so has started to seriously degrade the structural integrity of the cut-up barrel. Dark spots of corrosion are clearly visible both on the outside and inside of each. Also, the etch has begun to heavily damage the untreated metal of the rings exposed when Marquis sliced the barrel crosswise. By the time morning rolls around, they'll be all but unrecognizable for what they are.

23:04:20 Tuesday 9 January 2063 - Everett Dockyard, Seattle, UCAS

Not as massive nor as busy as the corporate docks of Downtown Seattle, the Everett shipyards are still an impressive sight. Rising above the concrete-faced berm surrounding the installation are the ten-story tall drone cargo cranes, active even at this late hour. Heavy duty cargo haulers shuttle transport containers back and forth across the expansive concrete apron, the delicate dance of machinery controlled from the central control complex sited in the center of the dockyard.

Warehouse 414B, though, lies outside of the installation, another in a collection of a thousand anonymous prefab structures laid out in orderly ranks in the blocks around the dockyard. The parking lot surrounding the warehouse is empty, illuminated by a pair of halogen arc streetlights.

2000 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop

"I doubt there is all that much polite or civil about the what and the why of what happened," responds the fixer, pulling out a flashlight from beneath the counter and snapping it on to puddle a pool of soft light at Andie's feet. The young mage tails him into the teaching room.

At some point since Andie had been there last, a cot had arrived and is now occupying a place just outside the "conjuring" space. The cot itself is occupied, by a man already heavily asleep. Even through the network of half-healed recent scars and bruising picked out by the vague shadows of light, the resemblance to Sara is plain to see: same dark, curling hair; same build; same cast of features (even if these facial bones had clearly been broken more than once).

The young man who'd just settled into a chair beside him comes to his feet as if drawn up by strings; accompanied by a soft rhythmic thumping somewhere in the background. Roughly his own age, Andie's guessing, maybe even a bit younger. Mundane. Cybered, probably much the same kind as the mage and that unknown third -- and only then does Andie catch the anomaly: the man on the cot is not cybered in the slightest.

"I'm Sam," says the young man. He has a light, difficult to identify accent. After an awkward moment he sticks out his hand. Solomon just smiles, not taking it, and the young man quickly continues, "I know you didn't plan for this. I can be useful, if you need me for things." Looking from one to the other: "I don't want to get in your way ..."

23:05:00 Tuesday 9 January 2063 - Everett Dockyard, Seattle, UCAS

Tony looked down the row of warehouses on this block, trying to find a place that was out of the lights and in the line of sight of 414B. Just have to sit on this thing for another checks his psec 56 or so minutes. Driving down the row, Tony looks for a good spot to chill.

0930 Wednesday 10 January 2063 - Cooper's Condo, Hidden Oaks, Downtown-UCAS

Marquis usually tries to get a lot of sleep, just in case his shadowrunner career suddenly picks up. You dont want to show up to a potential "break" falling asleep. You never know when your fixer is going to call, or some strange guy is going to show up asking you to destroy a high powered rifle.

Today though, Marq slept in. Not that he was extremely tired, just didn't have too much to do today. He loves repairing machinery, but building it is even more stimulating. Still he is looking for more challenge and excitement in the shadows of Seattle.

At the kitchen table, he eats his french toast. Of course made from real wheat bread, not that soy drek. Not only for the much better taste, but to avoid severe allergic reaction. The breakfast is delicious, smothered in 100% soy free maple syrup.

After finishing his morning meal, Marquis gets ready for another day. Chavy has another car coming into the shop today, so Marq might swing by to offer some assistance, if needed.

2000 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop


As Solomon looks for a flashlight behind the counter Andie says, "I was being sarcastic about our uninvited guest, Solomon. When I get knocked to the floor for no apparent reason it tends to bring out that side of my personality." He then follows Solomon into the Teaching Room to meet with their guests.

Andie continues to astrally perceive to make sure the stores wards were not disrupted within the room and notices the man on the cot's condition. He then scans Sam for anything unusual.

05:12:13 Wednesday 10 January 2063 - Unit 303, Winlock Apartment Complex, Tacoma, Seattle, UCAS

With a groan, Eyes groggily rolled out of bed, rubbing his temples lightly. After spending the past seven hours being chased through his dreams by a giant red chess-piece holding a sniper rifle, he was once again entertaining the notion of just skipping town and forgetting the whole thing. The notion quickly passed though, firstly because he had nowhere to go, but more importantly because he really wanted to know what the frag was going on. Of course, curiosity did kill the cat--a somewhat ironic statement considering he had been at a place called Schrodinger's yesterday afternoon....

Eyes sighed and walked sleepily through the apartment, listening to the drone of cooling fans compete with the sound of the morning rain hitting the balcony outside. It was a truly beautiful day... for staying inside. And he had an hour-long drive to look forward to later this morning. Terrific.


11:52:14 Wednesday 10 January 2063 - Miner's Landing, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Pulling up to a parking spot near the restaurant, Eyes parks and flips up the visor on his helmet. Today was a terrible day to be riding a motorcycle; he was a bit later than he expected to be and had little time to clean up before the meet. He hoped that his limited results and somewhat disheveled appearance don't make the client--no, wait, it's Mr. Johnson now, isn't it?--reconsider hiring him. At least the place shouldn't be quite as busy as it was the other day; looking like a spooked chicken probably wouldn't do wonders for his position either.

23:52:38 Tuesday 9 January 2063 - Everett Dockyard, Seattle, UCAS

Having spent the past forty five minutes idling curbside in an alleyway a block from his target destination, Tony watches in some surprise as the main garage door scrolls up. A figure steps out into the orange-lit night, scanning up and down the street. Through the open garage door, Tony can see a pair of SUVs, possibly Land Rovers, as well as three other individuals.

12:03:27 Wednesday 10 January 2063 - Miner's Landing, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Eyes stares at the line leading from the front door to the maitre d' stand, fear coiling at the base of his spine. Beyond the hall, the dining room is packed with lunchtime diners. Taking a deep breath, putting his head down, he bulls his way to the stairs and climbs as rapidly as possible.

Luckily, the bar is definitely less crowded, few businessmen indulging in a liquid lunch. Zeyda sat at his usual table, along with a young woman dressed in plain black slacks and a turtleneck. The fixer nods to Eyes, making a slight gesture to one of the open chairs. He stands to make the introductions.

"Hannah, this is Eyes, the individual who you hired to find the information for you. Eyes, Hannah." The fixer puts his hand on the young woman's arm. "I'll be at the bar if you need me."

12:05:15 Wednesday 10 January 2063 - Miner's Landing, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

Eyes nodded hello to Zeyda and shook hands with Hannah. Since it seemed that she was going to let Eyes start things off, he did. Pulling a small OMC from his pocket, he slid it across the table to Hannah. Leaning slightly forward, he spoke in a low voice, one that hopefully wouldn't carry over the low ambient noise level but also wouldn't sound like he has anything in particular to hide.

"This has most of the information on what happenned, when and where it happenned, and, at least on the surface, how," he started off, indicating the chip with an open hand. "The questions of who did it and why--the most important questions, really--aren't quite so easy."

He paused. The next part was going to be delicate, and could possibly be more so after the connection he just made in his head. "Hannah... Are we talking about the Hannah mentioned in the file? If so, I guess I don't need to ask if you know about Dr. Casimir's freelancing work." After all, the file lists Hannah Elizabeth Casimir as deceased back in 2059, so we're talking either an imposter or someone faking her death... either way, someone in the shadows. "It would be helpful, though, if you could tell me how much you already know, if only to save you the money it would cost for me to reinvent the wheel."

Eyes grimaced inwardly. That wasn't nearly as delicate as he wanted to be, but it did get his point across. Any information he could get out of "Hannah" right now would be a very good idea, as she was the only one connected to this whole thing likely to not kill him or have hi killed before this investigation was over. Wow, what a depressing thought, but I guess that's what you get when you've had your life threatened more in two days than in the previous two years.

23:53:11 Tuesday 9 January 2063 - Everett Dockyard, Seattle, UCAS

Tony, checking his psec and seeing that it's close enough to time, pulls out of the alleyway, taking his pistol out and placing it in his holster. Turning left out of the alley and toward the warehouse, Tony mentally calms and centers himself. Hopefully, this won't be anything like last night.

12:06:02 Wednesday 10 January 2063 - Miner's Landing, Downtown Seattle, UCAS

"Hannah was my aunt's name. I suppose it was foolish of me to think I could conceal information from someone who's job is to find out the truth. My name is Jennifer." She drums her fingers briefly on the tabletop, staring at the chip. After a moment, she looks up at Eyes.

"I know that my father was killed by someone because of work that he was doing. I know that however long it takes, I will find my father's killer."

23:58:46 Tuesday 9 January 2063 - Everett Dockyard, Seattle, UCAS


The figure standing outside the warehouse motions Tony towards the door as he pulls up. In the dim light, it seems as though the man is unarmed, but as he turns to the open garage door, his long coat flares enough to reveal a combat harness with a submachinegun slung muzzle down along his right side.

Inside, the warehouse is slightly better lit, half of the overhead floods being on. The two Land Rovers are parked far enough that Tony can pull the Workhorse all the way inside with plenty of room. The three men inside appear to be carbon copies of the guard outside, all wearing plain gray long coats. One of them moves to join his compatriot standing watch outside, while another opens the rear door of the second Land Rover.

A pair of children, twelve or thirteen at the oldest, step out from the back of the SUV. Each is dressed in an unmarked khaki jumpsuit. The taller of the two, a boy with black hair and bright blue eyes, holds a small black plastic case as well.

23:59:17 Tuesday 9 January 2063 - Everett Dockyard, Seattle, UCAS

The scene before him, with the knowledge of the truck's contents, unnerves Tony somewhat. Blinking hard to get back to reality, he zips up the duffel bag, picks it up off the floorboard of the Workhorse, and gets out of the truck.

"Delivery as scheduled," Tony says with a slight smile on his face to mask the creepiness he feels. Looking at both the guard and the kids he let out of the Rover, he asks "Who want's to sign for it?"

00:01:31 Wednesday 10 January 2063 - Everett Dockyard, Seattle, UCAS

The black haired boy holds out the plastic case to Tony, waiting until he takes it before moving around to the rear of the truck. The shorter, brown haired boy is already there waiting. One of the guards opens the rear doors, revealing the pair of oversized coolers. The taller child gestures, and the guard undoes the straps holding the coolers down before climbing into the bed and pushing them out of the truck. Both coolers crash to the floor, shockingly loud in the empty warehouse. Half-frozen burger patties spill across the floor along with ice and water. The bodies sprawl lifeless amidst the wreckage, patchy and discolored. The shorter child kneels by one of the bodies, turning the man's head to the side to reveal a datajack. He withdraws a cable from the pocket of his jumpsuit, plugging into his own temple and then into that of the corpse.

"Is the code present?" The black haired child stares intently at the brown haired boy, who slowly shakes his head.

"They still possess it then. Inform Red Queen that we must shift to contingency operation plans."