16:33:57 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

“You wouldn’t want me any other way.”

Mac laughed richly as she watched Tristan walk away from the monitors and shaking his head. As she turned her attention back to them she called out over her shoulder.

“I’ll be here, let me know if you need a hand. Oh and try not to run into any interns along the way, hmmm?”

It felt good to laugh, and she knew Tristan was right. A life without the brighter moments wasn’t really a life at all. Mac knew when she needed to be serious and she also knew how to let go and have a little (or a lot of) fun. She leaned back in the chair and yawned softly, the day already catching up to her. She was used to staying up and out all night and working odd hours, but she had always had the luxury of being able to sleep in her own bed for as long as she needed afterwards. She could feel the past few days catching up with her a little more than she’d like while she watched the near static screens and waited for Drift and Kovacs to return.

If there was one thing Mac learned she could count on was Kovacs’ reliability when it came to being where he said he would and on time if not early. She smiled as Drift’s Roadmaster came into view of the external drones cameras and she turned her chair around when the doors to the warehouse rumbled open and they rolled in looking no worse for wear and Kovacs stepped out of the vehicle.

“Get what you needed?”

17:08:25 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Kovacs nodded, downloading his information to the network with a flick of his wrist. Drift dropped down from the rigger interface, seating himself in the open door of the Roadmaster. He stretched his legs in front of him, massaging his thighs. Tristan took a step back, allowing the taller street sam the center seat in front of the network console. The AR came alive, a digital construct augmented by the video and still surveillance shots gathered by Drift's drones. The areas still in question were marked by a crosshatched dull gray. Everything else appeared as if Mac and the team stood at the street intersection just north of their target building's parking lot.

"Suda," called Kovacs, his voice pitched to summon the Cat shaman from her circle. A deft gesture of his hands sent the visual spinning past until now the view was of a cul-de-sac in an alley seventy meters distant from their target.

"Yes, my fearless leader?" replied the shaman, leaning casually against the rack of electronics.

"How quickly can you move three of us from this location to the southeast corner of the roof?" Kovacs drew a dashed orange line through space indicating their desired landing zone. Suda pulled a string of beads from her pocket, sliding three up and one down.

"Four seconds," she replied, no trace of her usual kittenish tone.

"That'll work. Based on our recon, we confirmed that the building is constructed with a faraday cage in order to prevent wireless transmissions into or out. We've also confirmed that they use the cage as an intrusion detection measure. The charge measured across the cage cannot change by more than two milliohms for five microseconds or the alarm sounds. This gives us a narrow window of opportunity to open a hole in the cage, yet maintain the resistance of the whole structure to prevent detection."

Kovacs highlighted the current position in the AR view. "The Roadmaster will be parked here. At 0255 Tristan, Mac and myself will depart the vehicle and transit to the southeast corner of the roof via magical means. Once there, we will access this service hatch and penetrate the grid using a non-explosive thermal cut."

The view swept across the intervening streets before orienting on the proposed insertion point. False color icons mimed through the process of accessing the hatch and breaching the integrity of the faraday cage.

"We need three: Tristan will immediately insert, Mac will operate the cut, and I'll remain overwatch. Once we breach, Mac you'll return to the Roadmaster while I follow Tristan in. It will require twenty seconds for us to transit from the southeast corner to the central data area indicated by de Medici, and a further fifteen seconds to extract to this fire door on the southern side of the building. Once we report the target in hand, the Roadmaster departs its staging area for the rendezvous at the perimeter fence line adjacent to the fire door. Mac, we'll rely on you to breach the fence line as well. This will be more straightforward, though, a simple U-cut with the monofilament chainsaw will suffice. From there, it will be a direct shot to the freeway and to the rendezvous point indicated by the Johnson."

Once more the AR view shifted as Kovacs spoke, the icons moving effortlessly through their assigned tasks. Mac knew for certain that nothing about what was proposed would actually be that easy in reality.

17:13:01 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

The smile had quickly disappeared from Mac’s lips, her face growing serious as the plan unfolded and the results of the recon trip were shared with the rest of the group. Her face remained almost unreadable as she listened on, save for her jawline tightening as she thought about Tristan and Kovacs going in on their own without communications if everything went sideways, but she held her tongue for the moment.

Her eyes followed the AR construct as it moved the virtual versions of the team though the plans. She chewed lightly on her thumbnail as she watched, the questions and concerns stacking in her head one after the other. She didn’t love the plan, but it didn’t mean she didn’t trust it.

“Any issues with the fenceline outside of the obvious security cameras?”

17:19:43 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

"The fence is electrified, don't touch it with anything other than the chainsaw. It will short during the cutting process so make sure you're wearing your respirator and goggles," replied Kovacs.

"Great," muttered Mac. The samurai's face wore a mirthless smile.

"All right, settle into the network people, we're going to run through the op. Full contact." Kovacs lay back, submerging into full VR. Tristan was right behind him. Suda wore a moue of distaste, carefully settling her set of trades over her hair before reclining and closing her eyes. Mac shifted closer to Kovacs before dropping into VR. A momentary vertigo seized her before she oriented herself, the familiar lines of the Roadmaster filling her vision. Kovacs and Tristan knelt by the closed cargo bay door, each of them wearing a pale white voluminous cloak of unfamiliar design. Drift was ensconced in his command couch. Mac realized that the surveillance feeds he was watching were the realtime feeds from the warehouse.

10 seconds said the rigger over the network. Kovacs held out his arm and Mac knelt next to him, his arm sliding around her waist. She felt Tristan grip opposite side. A pale mist descended into the interior of the van, and all of a sudden the three of them were floating several centimeters above floor of the truck.

Go said the network and the door cammed open. They were through the opening immediately, zipping through the air with dizzying speed. Both Kovacs and Tristan had powered on their cloaks, but the cameras were unable to process the scenery at the speed they were moving, resulting in a shapeless blur being displayed on the OLED polymers. That would change once they reached the rooftop, though.

The four seconds felt like an eternity, but they were across the street and onto the roof without anyone raising the alarm. Kovacs kept his cloak pushed out, covering Mac as she knelt in front of him. Tristan unfolded the square frame of the thermal cut before working open the access hatch. Seconds ticked by as he carefully disassembled the maglock casing before hot-wiring its innards. When at last he pulled the hatch open, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. The copper wire mesh of the Faraday cage was clearly visible, and Mac oriented the frame to fit through the open hatch. Tristan stepped down into the hatch, then gave her the thumbs up. She took a deep breath, then slammed the cut through the cage mesh. The thermal burning bars pierced the copper bars easily, dropping a half meter square section into the building while welding an equivalent amount of material into the mesh. Tristan disappeared into the building in a controlled fall, followed immediately by Kovacs, the tall samurai simply stepping over Mac and into the dark opening. She blinked in surprise, finding herself alone all of a sudden, and then, equally quickly, flying back through the air towards the Roadmaster.

Gunfire sounded, followed closely by alarms, then the simulation went dark.

Again said Kovacs disembodied voice.

They repeated the drill. Alarms. Gunfire.

Again.

Gunfire. Alarms.

Again.

Gunfire.

Again.

17:43:19 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Mac lost track of the number of times they had run through the simulation leading up to the point where Tristan and Kovacs emerged from the building with deMedici in tow with no alarms and only necessary gunfire. And it was a few more times beyond that where they worked through breaching the fence line. It was the moments of uncertainty while the pair were inside the building that nearly killed her each time, the simple seconds that ticked by that felt like an eternity.

Deep down she knew it would be a million times worse on the day of the run, when everything would be real. Everything would be lethal.

By the time Kovacs called it and they all came out of VR, Mac felt like she had run a million marathons. Every inch of her felt leaden and heavy from the spikes of adrenaline and the inevitable crash that came as her reserves were tapped out. A chill ran through her that she couldn't shake and she shivered visibly in her chair.

Mac watched as Suda stripped the headband quickly from her head in the first instant she could and the shaman looked like she wanted to retreat to the safety of her circle. Mac drew her knees up and balanced the balls of her feet on the edge of the chair, her chin resting on her knees as she tried to warm up. She closed her eyes and ran through everything one more time in her head as she waited for the next steps from Kovacs.

18:11:32 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Both Kovacs and Tristan surface from VR like veterans, moving with no sign of the lethargy that Mac felt, nor any of the abhorrence that Suda displayed. The slim shaman glanced once at Kovacs, receiving a nod, then disappeared back to her corner of the warehouse.

"Five minutes?" asked Tristan. Kovacs glanced towards the Roadmaster in a gesture that Mac knew indicated he was communicating silently with the rigger, then nodded. Mac glanced up at him, and he reached down to rub her shoulder.

"Tristan and I are going to do some cardio and then we can clean up and go to dinner. You in the mood for anything in particular tonight?"

Mac successfully resisted the urge to say something carnal, replying instead with just a shrug of her shoulders. "Nothing in particular."

Kovacs nodded. "We'll figure it out when we come to it."

He headed off towards the cots to change, reappearing minutes later wearing just a pair of sweat pants and running shoes. Together, he and the swordsman stretched and warmed up before facing opposite directions against the far wall of the warehouse.

"Ready?" asked Tristan.

"Go," said Kovacs, and they took off running in opposite directions. Although the warehouse was odd-shaped, they used the large central room to outline an oval track, but Mac wondered why they didn't run together. The answer came at the first time they crossed paths, the dull thud of flesh against flesh as they traded a flurry of blows before pushing on in their run. The same happened when they came around to their starting point, this time Tristan went high with a flying knee. Kovacs rolled beneath him, coming up at a dead sprint. The pattern continued unabated, the rhythmic pounding of shoes against pavement broken by the periodic impact of flesh and bone, grunts and curses.

Twenty minutes into it, Mac hears a sharper, more distinct crack, followed by a cessation of running. Glancing up, she sees Tristan cradling his arm while Kovacs holds his left arm protectively against his ribs. The two move past her to where Suda sits, cross-legged on the floor. After a moment the slim shaman looks up.

"You boys playing rough again?"

Tristan grins. "Little help if you don't mind?"

With a sigh and a shake of her head, Suda reaches out and lays her hand on the swordsman's arm, concentrating. A minute passes and then she pulls away, running a hand through her hair and turning to Kovacs.

"You too?"

The tall samurai shrugs. "He hit me first."

"Whatever." She repeats her laying on of hands, brows furrowed in concentration for a minute before she once again relaxes.

"All right, want me to kiss it and make it better?"

Kovacs doesn't reply but Tristan thrusts out his hips. Suda gives him a withering glare.

"We're headed to dinner here in a bit," interjected Kovacs, before the game escalated. "Want to join us? Or would you rather we bring you back something?"

"Where are you thinking of going?" she asked. The samurai glanced aside at Tristan, who shrugged.

"Mongolian BBQ?"

"Sure," said Kovacs.

"Count me in!" smiled Suda, "just let me finish up here."

Kovacs and Tristan turned away, heading towards Mac, and by extension the cots. "After you get ready, see what Drift wants," instructed the tall samurai. Tristan nodded.

18:20:47 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Mac was still perched on the chair with her knees still drawn to her chin, her face turned towards the bank of screens yet her eyes were focused somewhere else as Tristan and Kovacs approached. She cast her eyes in Kovacs' direction for an instant and shot him a look that he answered with a simple slight nod and headed back towards the cots to get cleaned up and leave Mac alone with the flickering screens for company.

Habitually, she reached up and pulled the binder from her hair, shaking it out as it fell. She ran her fingers through it a few times as much for the calming sensation as to smooth it back into waves.

It wasn't long before everyone was ready to go to dinner and Mac realized Drift was staying behind to keep overwatch. She slipped out of her calm and quiet brooding and tried to force a little sunshine into her voice.

"So who picked what for dinner?"

Tristan shot a smile her way and took credit for the choice.

"Mongolian."

She managed a slight smile in acceptance and as the four made their way to the Rover, she gave up her usual front seat to the swordsman, sliding into the back bench behind Kovacs and next to Suda. The conversation in the truck was on anything but work as they left the warehouse and Mac caught about a third of it with little interjection of her own as she spent most of the drive looking out the window. She caught a concerned look from the rear view mirror which she answered with a slight shake of her head and a smile that pulled only at the corners of her mouth.

19:05:35 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - Jasmine Mongolian Grill, 1901 S 72nd St, Tacoma, Seattle

Tristan was headed back to the booth, weaving through the busy restaurant with a second heaping plate of food while Mac was still working on her first plate of veggies and rice which meant mostly pushing it around her plate as she wasn't really hungry. She managed a soft laugh and a smile as he slid back next to Suda who looked at him and shook her head. Mac took the second to gently press her leg against Kovacs' beneath the table.

"So now I understand why you wanted to come here, so you could eat them out of business for one low price."

19:17:57 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - Jasmine Mongolian Grill, 1901 S 72nd St, Tacoma, Seattle

Kovacs gave Mac's thigh a subtle squeeze. "Not my fault they offer an all-you-can-eat option. Besides, it's not like he won't ask to stop for dessert on our way back."

Suda hummed cheerfully to herself, mopping up a bit of sauce with one of the sesame biscuits that came with the meal. "I could go for an espresso or perhaps a digestif."

Tristan slid into the booth, already chewing on the first mouthful of noodles from his plate. Kovacs motioned with his chopsticks to the scattered detritus of the meal.

"Suda recommends drinks after this."

The swordsman cocked an eyebrow, then nodded, mumbling something through his full mouth that sounded like 'frag yeah'. Kovacs chewed thoughtfully.

"Tacoma Style?"

Tristan shook his head. "Overrun with wanna-bes."

He pondered as he munched through his next bite of food, before a slow smile spread across his lips. "I know a place. But we should grab Drift on our way."

Kovacs nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

19:26:19 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - Jasmine Mongolian Grill, 1901 S 72nd St, Tacoma, Seattle

Mac's curiosity was piqued the moment she caught the look in Tristan's eye and the type of smile he flashed and she returned it with one of her own and a raised brow.

"So it's going to be one of those nights is it?"

All things considered the idea of the entire team letting their hair down and grabbing a couple of drinks in the process sounded divine. She could think of a few places she'd enjoy going, but she doubted they'd be anyone's speed outside of her and Kovacs, so she went along for the ride with whatever Tristan had planned.

She finished just enough food that it would take the edge off anything she drank later and casually leaned back in the booth and watched the rest of the group finish up, stealing a few more seconds of contact, sliding her hand beneath Kovacs' where it rested on her thigh.

"Don't suppose we could stop by a convenience store on the way? I could stand to do a tiny bit of refueling before we head anywhere?"

The fingers of her other hand tapped a light rhythm against the table as she needed something to do with her hands not having her cigarettes or gum to occupy them.

20:51:08 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 1038B SW 356th St, Seattle

"Sure, shouldn't be a problem," replied Kovacs. He caught the eye of their waitress, who delivered the check along with four fortune cookies a minute later. Tristan and Kovacs coughed up some certified to cover the bill, with the swordsman passing out the fortune cookies. Mac cracked hers open, munching on one half while reading the slip of paper held inside.

"What's your's say?" asked Tristan.

"You first," she grinned.

"'A new friend will help you overcome a problem'," he read aloud, taking a bite out of the other half of the cookie before quirking a smile at Mac. "Look's like you're my lucky charm."

"I'll bet you say that to all the girls," she chuckled. "Mine says 'you're about to embark on a great adventure'." She looked at Kovacs, who shrugged, his mouth full of cookie.

"Mine was defective. It didn't have a fortune in it."

"Mine says 'An important business venture is about to succeed'," said Suda, sharing a smile around the table. "Seems like our little errand next week is destined to end well."

"Let it be so," said Kovacs, standing and gesturing everyone towards the door.

---

They swung by a Stuffer Shack on the way back to the warehouse. Kovacs sent a message ahead to Drift outlining their plans while Mac and Tristan stocked up. She glanced behind her as he queued, waiting for the clerk to retrieve her cigarettes.

"We just ate," she said, eyeing the mountain of snacks in his arms, "how can you be hungry?"

"A guy's gotta eat," he replied, grinning. "But most of this is for later." Mac shook her head and paid for her purchases.

---

Mac leaned back into Kovacs, curling her leg up into the booth. Tristan's place was a speakeasy, there was no other term that fit. A basement somewhere in Tacoma, they'd parked around back before descending an unmarked staircase to a fire door. The swordsman held a hushed conversation with the man behind the view slit before they were allowed through a narrow hallway and into the club. On stage, a decadently handsome black elf alternately wailed on a tenor sax and dragged from a cigarette held between his ring and pinky fingers. His shaven head bore a golden tattoo of a music clef, who's notes glowed and pulsed in time to the snare in the background.

Suda was at the bar, toying with a cosmopolitan with one hand and a well dressed gentleman with the other. Drift was just coming off the dance floor, a giggling blonde leading him towards the bar. The booth that Mac shared with Kovacs was against the other wall, giving them an excellent view over the stage and dance floor. His left arm lay across her, the fingers of their hands intertwined again.

21:07:35 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 1038B SW 356th St, Seattle

Nestled against Kovacs, Mac's dark eyes moved over the elite crowd in the club, picking out the rest of the team as a smile played on her lips. In this moment, everything felt light years away from their dry run of the plan earlier at the warehouse. The pack of clove cigarettes discarded on the table in the center of their booth, a few gold-banded black filters crushed out filled an ashtray and mixed drinks half-finished sweated in the warmth of the room, leaving pools of water in lazy patterns on the table.

Mac loved the feeling of being in the middle of everything in the room, the music, the patrons, the drinks, all while having this sense of privacy within the booth that extended to just the two of them. She twisted slightly in the booth pulling him to her, her lips brushing against his and leaving her mark. A mix of smoke, spice and something intoxicatingly sweet. Just as quickly as she kissed him she pulled back slightly and locked her gaze with his as a dangerous smirk turned up the corner of her mouth.

"Not quite The Underworld, but right now it'll do."

The desire was readily apparent in her eyes, the hunger in her lurking just below the surface barely kept in check.

21:17:03 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 1038B SW 356th St, Seattle

Kovacs’ hand slipped from around her shoulders to tangle in her hair, pulling her to him so that her lips were just millimeters away from his as he growled against her.

“Incorrigible.”

Mac let him close the distance to her parted lips and a light danced in her eyes as their mouths fused together. She reached up and let her fingers brush against the days old stubble on his cheeks as his grip in her hair tightened and his lips punished hers. When he let go and broke the kiss she sat back slightly an studied his face as she cocked her head slightly and pursed her lips thoughtfully.

“I believe the word you’re looking for is insatiable."

She was about to kiss him again when Tristan flung himself into the booth after a few flirtatious rounds on the dance floor with a leggy redhead.

“Ugh, you two. Get a room.”

22:09:48 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 1038B SW 356th St, Seattle

Kovacs completed the gesture that Mac started, tasting her lips and tongue for a minute before breaking off the embrace.

"Later," he replied, both to her and to Tristan. The swordsman wasn't paying attention any longer, his arms draped over the rear of his half of the booth as he flirted with the redhead and her blonde companion. Music swirled around them, rising and falling in arhythmic pulses as the band jammed through its set, mixing with the raucous voices, laughter, and shouts of the crowd. Mac lit another cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke that joined the haze surrounding the golden lamps above the booths. Tristan climbed out of the booth, disappearing down the short hall that lead to the restrooms with both women, to be replaced by Drift. The ork's face was a little ruddier than Mac remembered, and he silently clinked glasses with Kovacs, a smile on his face.

---

In the end, it was over too soon. When Tristan reappeared, sans company, Kovacs flashed him the high sign and the swordsman nodded, detouring to the bar to collect Suda. Drift was already ambling towards the door, and Mac and Kovacs followed him. It was a quiet ride back to the warehouse, and even quieter once they arrived. Suda disappeared into her usual spot while Drift simply flopped the rigger couch back near horizontal and was snoring in minutes. Tristan rummaged through the supplies he purchased earlier, laying out a late night snack on the plastic counter in front of the network surveillance display. He glanced back at Kovacs and Mac as if to say you're still here?. The tall samurai chuckled, turning and drawing Mac towards the rear of the truck. The thin camping pad with a sleeping bag on top wouldn't be as comfortable as the bed in the safe house, but at least it was private. Kovacs climbed in behind her, closing the doors as he did so.

22:41:02 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Mac wasted no time once the two of them had the privacy of the back of the truck. Her lips found his almost instantly and while her fingers fumbled with his clothes and then her own she pressed herself against him, tangling her legs with his like she did with their tongues.

As she urged Kovacs to lay back, she climbed on top of him, her hands spread out across his chest for leverage as she leaned down over him, her hair falling around them. She felt his hands move to her hips as she moved in circles against him but neither of them went at each other with the same manic energy as in their previous trysts. She took her time, savoring every sensation of his skin against hers, the way his lips felt against hers, the way his hands traveled her body.

The sensation of her knees pressing into the bed of the truck went unnoticed as she raised herself up as much as she could in the cramped space and she held the gaze of his cool gray eyes and in that moment it pushed her over the edge, the connection she felt with Kovacs far deeper than anything she had shared with anyone before. She buried her face in his neck muffling her moans and murmurs or pleasure as she came above him. His arms crushed her against him as she shuddered beneath his strength.

She lost track of how long he held her against him, how long the sensations of her orgasm ebbed and flowed through her. Eventually Kovacs loosened his hold on her just enough so they could shift positions, Mac curled her body up tightly against him, drawing the sleeping bag around them to ward off the chill that seeped into the truck from the warehouse. The comfort and safety of being in his arms was enough to nearly lull her to sleep, but when he moved next to her to get comfortable, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. With a purr she brushed her lips against his neck before she whispered, her breath warm and moist against his ear.

"Uh huh, I'm not done with you yet..."

23:07:49 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Kovacs chuckled, moving his body against hers instead of replying. His mouth found hers, tongues tangling together as his hands slid over the smooth curves of her skin. She moaned into his mouth as his fingers found the soft damp between her thighs, still tender from earlier. He turned her away from him, pulling the curve of her ass back against his hips. She arched her back, shifting her upper leg over his thighs, gasping as he slid into her from behind. His hands found her breasts, and she reached back to tangle her fingers in his hair, pulling his lips down against hers.

They moved slowly against one another, bodies rolling in time, arms curling about one another as they stretched the moment out. Mac's gaze was liquid in the darkness, voiceless energy traveling between them. Having made the decision to let go of her defenses, she found her hunger undeniable. How long had she ached for someone like him, a man who accepted her without question, who cared not for the damage done to her soul, who did nothing but possess her with his own strength, demanding only that she respond to his embrace. She wondered how she had ever lived before.

And, for a moment, she saw behind the armor of his mind, into the dark shadows of a life lived in adherence to the predatory laws of the urban jungle. She could feel the aching emptiness within him as well, and knew that she was one of a rare few to have walked within his walls.

23:19:35 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Desperately she wanted to fill that void, to bring some kind of light no matter how dim or dark cast, back into his life. It was a need that pulled at her even stronger than what physically drew her to him. With every movement of his hips in counterpoint to hers, their connection grew, the moments drawn out and building up to a point of intimacy that held her on the delicious, maddening edge for what felt like an eternity. The brush of his lips against the back of her neck was the soft nudge that pushed her over. It was his name that she called out softly in the silence of the truck as she pressed hips back tight against him, her back arching as she felt them climax together.

His arms wrapped around her, drawing her back against him as their breathing slowed, matching one another with each draw and release. Mac raised up her arms to cover Kovacs’ as they held her with a level of possession and yet she felt a sense of serenity and security as well. It was thrilling and terrifying at the same moment to feel like she had found someone who just fit her, completed her in a way she never thought was possible. She shivered against him despite the warmth that surrounded them.

She felt raw and vulnerable, and instead of operating on auto pilot and throwing up her walls, she forced herself to live in those feelings. Everything she felt, mind, body and soul nearly overwhelmed her as she clung a bit tighter to the arms wrapped around her. She was taking a huge risk as she kept her walls down, but she believed he was worth it.

“Please…” She whispered in counterpoint to his breathing. “Don’t let go.”

23:31:02 Saturday, 13 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Again, she felt the brush of his lips against the nape of her neck, the day long growth of stubble on his chin tickling the sensitive flesh, raising goosebumps along her arms, and her heart thrilled to his quiet words.

"I will never let you go. You belong to me, now."

His arms around her grew momentarily tighter, a strength that seemed to diffuse through her, anchoring her in the moment with him. She listened to the slow, steady thunder of his heartbeat, drifting warmly amidst a cloud of slowly evaporating endorphins. Once more she felt sleep stealing closer, her world shrinking to just the gentle caress of skin against skin. Closing her eyes, she let herself slide into the darkness.

08:21:07 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Mac woke up slowly still wrapped in warmth and as she rubbed the remaining sleep from her eyes and realized she was back on one of the cots. She had a sudden moment of doubt, wondering if she had dreamt the ending to last night. The second she moved beyond rolling over however, her body told her last night was anything but a dream. So did waking up in Kovacs’ t-shirt and a bit of black lace. With a smirk she shimmied out of the sleeping bag with at least some sense of modesty, grabbed her jeans from the neatly folded pile of yesterday’s clothes beside her cot and once she slipped on her boots she headed back towards command central.

Crossing the warehouse floor, she spotted Suda curled up and grabbing a cat nap in her corner, Tristan had been sprawled on a cot with his arm draped over her head and she could have sworn she heard him snoring. Drift was tucked up behind the closed door of the Roadmaster, but his connection to the network was active. She found Kovacs at the network consoles, taking his turn keeping watch and as she approached the scent of Carbon Killer and gun oil filled her nose. She saw the familiar blue mat spread out in front of him, his hands moving with an alacrity borne of countless hours of practice as his eyes watched the screens stretched out before him.

"Impressive."

Mac knew the likelihood if she continued down this path, she’d be able to field strip her weapons with her eyes closed and maybe just as fast. She leaned down over his left shoulder and stole a quick brush of her lips against his cheek before whispering in his ear.

"Thanks for letting me sleep, I feel like a different person."

She smiled softly and parked herself in the chair to his left, stretching her arms overhead and feeling the satisfying pops as her body realigned itself.

"If you toss me your keys I'll go grab breakfast for everyone? Fuel for the rest of the busy day and heavy lifting this afternoon?"

08:29:23 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Kovacs tilted his head to receive her kiss without taking his eyes from the network surveillance screens. Mac guessed/knew that he had a separate feed coming in that covered her, allowing him to react to her presence in an almost subconscious way.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," he replied. The slide of the Colt 2066 snapped forward and back with a slick, sinister sound as he worked the action to ensure the reassembly was correct. Reloading and holstering the weapon, he wiped his hands on a rag before rummaging through his pocket for the keys. He passed them to Mac, along with a certified credstick, then gestured towards one of the display screens. Instead of the remote camera view, this one was a zoomed in map of their location and the surrounding twenty blocks.

"There's a cul-de-sac here about eight blocks down just off the railroad where a half a dozen food trucks usually loiter. Tristan and I are partial to breakfast burritos while Drift likes a soy-chorizo blend. Suda likes danishes, apple or cheese, whichever looks fresher. Juice if they have it, water if not. Either one make sure they're bottled."

Mac eyed the map, orienting herself, before glancing over her shoulder at Kovacs. "It ain't my first rodeo, cowboy. I know how to get street food."

The tall samurai chuckled, letting his hand slide possessively over the curves of her ass.

"Don't be gone long."

08:35:07 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Mac leaned down and whispered into his ear as his hand ran over her curves, her voice salacious and playful.

"Try not to miss me too much."

As she palmed the keys in her left hand, she rolled the credstick back across the counter, tucking it under the corner of the blue mat with nimble fingers.

"I've got this one covered."

Settling her coat on her shoulders she walked to the truck with an extra sway in her hips and an amused smirk. She wasted no time taking the truck out of the garage, and while she had no intentions of being gone long, her need for real coffee warranted a slight detour and she knew just the place that was only a few extra minutes away.

She slipped on her sunglasses and turned up the music as she drive north along the railroad tracks.

08:49:22 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - Corina Bakery + Cafe, 602 Fawsett Ave, Tacoma, Seattle

As she pulled up outside the bakery that was tucked into an array of warehouses, she enjoyed the crisp blue sky even though it brought an extra chill to the air. Stepping inside she was assaulted with the warm moist air that was filled with the aroma of fresh bread and coffee.

This is what heaven must smell like.

Thankfully she didn't have much of a wait before she placed her order for lattes, chai, double espresso affogato and tea, along with a couple of danishes and croissants. She passed her cred to the girl behind the counter and was handed a pastry box with a bow and drink carrier precariously balancing all five drinks.

As she stepped outside, she glanced up and down the street before she headed back to the truck and settled her purchases in the front seat so the drinks wouldn't spill.

09:03:17 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - 1300 - 1380 E Mission Rd, Tacoma, Seattle

Sunday meant that the food trucks opened a little later with a more limited menu, but Mac stood in line with the few blue-collar workers and waited her turn so the guys could get their breakfast burritos. As the line started to fill in behind her, she remained cautious, her eyes constantly moving behind her sunglasses with a new-found hyper vigilance.

09:16:07 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - 1300 - 1380 E Mission Rd, Tacoma, Seattle

As she joined the queue for the food trucks, Mac slipped into a familiar set of skills to get her through the crowd. With a smile and a laugh she brushed aside the compliments and come-ons, deftly slipping away from the embraces, all the while leaving the impression to the contrary. Before, this might have elicited the darkness within her, a righteous fury boiling through her veins, demanding satisfaction through a late night in the back rooms of Underworld. But now, it was different. Perhaps it was the morning sunlight, bright for the first time in a week, or perhaps the full night of rest, or even the unfamiliar but welcome emotions that bubbled through her mind. Even as she fought to suppress her smile, though, at the turn of events, snippets of conversation reached her from the workers standing in line.

"They say what happened?"

"No, just the usual bulldrek about an industrial accident, chemicals leftover, squatters cooking nova coke, or whatever."

"That's fragged up. Stupid corps probably botched the clean-up job themselves."

"Hey, I saw a hazmat crew working on the East Side just yesterday, probably something to do with this."

09:24:42 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - 1300 - 1380 E Mission Rd, Tacoma, Seattle

Mac continued to listen to the bits and pieces of conversation that filtered to her in line. It was at least more interesting than the snail's pace that the line queued ahead of her. When she finally got to the front of the line she made sure to order enough food for the guys, knowing if she picked up a bit extra Tristan would eat it without hesitation later. She added a few drinks, making sure they were bottled, before she paid and slid off to the side of the window and waited for her order.

She pulled her commlink from her pocket first and then her pack of cigarettes, fishing one out and lighting it on the patch on the side of the pack. She feigned interest in a text message conversation on her commlink as she waited and continued to listen to the various slips of the tongue all the local workers continued to indulge her with. Thankfully the guys running the truck were fast and called out her order in a minimal amount of time. Making her way back to the Rover with the bags of breakfast and drinks drew about as much attention as she was used to and she returned the low whistles and lingering stares with an icy gaze of her own before she climbed into the truck and cranked the heat.

09:41:38 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Mac eased the truck into the warehouse after a slightly meandering drive back, watching to make sure no one was following her or the truck in particular. She was glad to see everyone up and around, the doors to the Roadmaster open, Suda up and moving about her corner of the space and Tristan draped over a chair watching the monitors with Kovacs. She made her way around to the passenger side and started to unload her haul, grateful that the drinks were still on the hotter side of lukewarm.

"Hey Suda you hungry? I brought you espresso..." She called back to the shaman before she handed the bag of food truck wares to Tristan and cast a pointed gaze his way.

"Share. That's for everyone."

Mac continued to pass out beverages as Tristan tore into the bag of breakfast burritos, she set the chai beside him, passed a latte to Drift with a smile, left the espresso with cream in the carrier for Suda and placed the tea to the right side of Kovacs. Grabbing the last latte and a fresh croissant from the pastry box she climbed back up to perch on the front of the truck, once again comforted by the warmth that radiated beneath her.

10:09:23 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

The cat shaman perked up at the mention of food.

"Oooo, treats? Twice in a weekend? I could get used to this."

Tristan offered her one of the burritos from the bag as well as her choice of baked goods, returning Mac's gaze pointedly, smiling around a mouthful of food already. Kovacs sipped at his tea, lost in thought, while Drift wolfed down half a burrito, chasing it with most of his drink.

"Man, that's good," he burped appreciatively. Pausing to swallow another bite, he turned towards Kovacs. "Got word from the boys at the docks, they said that there's been more than the usual share of traffic through and security's been beefed up on all transit points."

"I ran some questions past my Ancients contact and he said that there's been a rash of drug house raids recently, lots of hazmat trucks moving in on various locations." Tristan flipped his hand through the AR interface, throwing data tags on half a dozen locations in eastern Tacoma, Puyallup, and southern Downtown. Kovacs added a few more, spread out across the metroplex, three of which he highlighted red.

"Target locations of runs going down over the next seventy two hours. Highlighted ones are targeting infrastructure or security response. I'm confident that those are parallel ops being run by de Medici to either clear the way for the extraction or prevent pursuit and recovery."

"Speaking of," said Drift, "what's our exit strategy?"

"Lake Washington," answered Kovacs. Drift nodded.

"To the Canal?" asked Tristan, who then glanced at the rigger. "You still got the rebreathers?"

"I never throw anything away," replied Drift. "But they're out of inspection."

Tristan shrugged. "You want to live forever?"

10:10:51 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Mac paused mid-sip of her latte when they were discussing updates and the comment about hazmat teams caught her attention, too much of a coincidence with the parallel conversations happening around the food trucks.

"Hazmat teams and drug raids hmm? There were a couple of guys talking about something similar up at the food trucks. Something about hazmat teams at their work, same explanation of their presence. I'd imagine it wasn't far from where we were if they were there for breakfast." She paused to take another sip of her coffee as another thought came into her head.

"You don't think he might be trying to make it more complicated to come back here if necessary?"

10:15:09 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

"Not necessarily complicating things for us, just more pieces he's moving around the playing field. Whatever this event is, however it's going to affect the city, it looks like he's going to take maximum advantage," Tristan munched unhappily on one of the pastries Mac had brought, manipulating the AR with desultory gestures.

"Hold up a sec," Drift frowned, his brow furrowed in concentration as he indicated one of the red data tags, a power substation. "If you're right about this target, then something else is going down. Our building isn't even on the grid linked to this substation. I wouldn't have thought of it if you hadn't mentioned Lake Washington, but this station is upstream of the inter-coastal canal. If it goes down, they lose power to the locks and gates on the canal."

Kovacs was moving ahead of Drift, overlaying a Seattle municipal disaster map onto the AR, showing flood predictions for the canal. A vast swath of Northwest Tacoma ended up under a meter of water. Tristan whistled.

"This is kinda bad."

10:18:33 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Mac shook her head and frowned as the enormity of the situation played itself out on the map.

"Kind of?" She let out a sigh, before she muttered softly. "Jesus, what the hell is he doing?"

Her eyes travelled the AR construct as she brooded, her frown deepening as she wished the answer would just pop out at her. She as looking for the hidden pattern, not looking for the obvious answer but her attention kept being drawn to the spaces between. The areas not touched buy the potential flood, or the immediate vicinity of either the data center or is requested drop off point. She knew whatever move he was going to make was for money or power or both. She wondered if the arrogance of de Medici would be his ultimate downfall and silently questioned if it could be used as an advantage against him.

10:22:19 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

"It's possible that we're looking for a pattern in chaos," said Drift. "His goal might be nothing more than widespread anarchy in order to cover his actual operation."

"There will be a method even to that madness," countered Kovacs. "When we did the dossier workup on him as a Johnson, everything pointed to an organizational plan that bordered on pathological, way beyond the usual requirements for operational security. If these are his ops, then they factor in somehow. I've got to go talk to Isomer about some of this. Drift, poke around a bit and see what kind of movement's been going on across the borders."

The ork rigger nodded, reaching for his commlink as Kovacs turned to Tristan. "Get a hold of List and see if the word from the street sheds any light on our questions. Also, tell him to stay clear downrange of the canal on Wednesday just in case the worst happens."

The chime of Mac's commlink interrupts the swordsman's reply, and as she reads the message, her blood runs cold.

Have you heard from Holly Anne? She was working last night but no one's seen or heard from her since her last date. -Frankie

10:25:22 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

The color drained from Mac's face as she re-read Frankie's message. This was not good, if the girls were reaching out to her for information, things had gone really wrong. She pinched the bridge of her nose to try to stave off the instant tension and concern that flooded through her. Her left hand gripped her latte a bit tighter as it trembled slightly before she set it on the hood of the truck.

"Frag me!"

Mac felt Kovacs turn his gaze towards her, and she held up a finger as she fired off a quick reply to Frankie.

Was she on book or off book? Who talked to her last and when? - M

Glancing up she caught Kovacs gaze for an instant, her concern evident in her face as she tried to explain her sudden outburst as her fingers continued to work her commlink.

"Good friend of mine has gone missing and silent."

She cursed herself for not staying on top of her incoming messages and calls as she looked for anything from Holly Anne in the last 24 hours.

10:29:17 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Kovacs nodded, continuing with his conversation as he waited for Mac to develop the situation more. She drummed her fingers against the hood of the truck for a solid minute before the endless what if scenarios in her mind drove her to action. Hopping down, she stalked across to the warehouse entrance, not even waiting until she was outside before lighting up and taking a deep drag. The hot smoke filled her lungs and the nicotine raced through the stress, hot needles that sewed her back together. Her commlink shivered with an incoming message from Frankie.

Off the books. Drek went south after you left, Wayne gone loco. Girls are on the streets looking for her. Anastasia saw her head out at 9 last night with a stocky guy in a Ford Americar.

10:37:49 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Frustration compressed Mac's lips into a tight line as she learned more about the situation. Off the books meant the client could have been anyone from anywhere, or he could have been a first timer which would mean trying to find him would be a quick dead end. Her thoughts were pulling her in a million directions at once, and she felt helpless as she dragged hard on her cigarette, misdirected anger starting to spark inside her.

Was Ana sober last night? She's been chipping pretty hard lately... Where did she see her get into the car and are calls going through to Holly's 'link or straight to her service?

Her stomach rolled as she thought about Holly Anne in over her head with a client and in trouble. Out of all the girls she was the one that still had a sense of innocence about her, the one who had clients who wanted to spoil her rotten as if she was one of their daughters, the one who couldn't fight her way out of a paper bag during self defense classes.

She didn't wait for Frankie's reply before she tried to put a call through to Holly Anne, breathing a small sigh of relief when the call rang multiple times instead of going straight to her messaging service. That gave her a small glimmer of hope and sparked a thought. She killed the call when she heard Holly Anne's bubbly voice on her outgoing message and fired one more message in Frankie's direction.

Where are you right now? What do you need me to do and what do you mean Wayne went crazy when I left?

Mac flicked the butt of her cigarette across the alley and exhaled a stream of pale blue smoke that swirled about her as it caught the cold wind. Yanking open the door the made her way back into the warehouse and rejoined the group, waiting for a break in the discussion to peel Kovacs away and bring him up to speed.

"I need a couple of hours, I need a favor and I need keys."

10:41:12 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Kovacs looked from Mac to Tristan to Drift, who nodded after a moment. The samurai turned back to Mac.

"Take the Shadow. Keep the network updated. What's the favor?"

Wordlessly, Mac accepted the set of keys from Drift, trying to formulate her reply. A reply on her commlink gave her a few moments to think.

He moved his office to the basement. Won't come out. Says someone's trying to kill him because of you. Ana wasn't chippin but she was flying on X. Said her date was loaded, paying her double for something. We need wheels if you've got 'em to spread the search.

10:48:54 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

Mac chewed on her lip for a moment as she digested the last message. She wondered just what had Wayne so spooked he was hiding out in the basement. She shook her head slightly to clear that train of thought before asking for what she really needed in that moment.

"I need Isomer. If it won't compromise anything you've got him tasking for us already. I need an hours worth of camera footage and to trace a commlink. I don't care the cost, I'll cover it."

Mac's eyes never left Kovacs' face as she sent another message back to Frankie.

Wheels I have. Where can I meet you? Working my network now for more information.

"I promise I'll stay connected, and I'll be back the first moment I can." She inclined her head towards Drift in a silent gratitude for the keys before she turned her back on the rest of the group and kept her voice soft for Kovacs alone.

"Thank you. I can't leave Holly out there with the possibility of some prick doing to her what was almost done to me with no one like you to save her."

10:52:19 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - 1400 Willow Heights Road #4, Tacoma, Seattle

"You have Palatine's code, he'll be there. I don't know his workload so you may have to pay to bump your request to the front of the queue," said Kovacs, his voice as quiet as Mac's. "The commlink trace is going to be expensive since it's an active intrusion."

The tall samurai walked her across the warehouse to where the Shadow was parked, the sleek sports car restive amidst the shadows of the morning sunlight. He brushed back Mac's jacket, checking the ride of her weapon and its associated ammunition. She waited for some comment or instruction, but all he said was: "Be careful out there."

She couldn't resist the urge to reach up and kiss him, to taste his lips again and feel his arms around her.

"I will," she whispered, unwilling to trust herself to say anything more. She slid behind the wheel of the vehicle, firing the engine and accelerating out onto the streets. Her destination was provided moments later.

I'm at the coffeeshop on 6th and Morgan.

11:34:26 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - Nadia's Cafe, 687 Morgan Avenue, Downtown, Seattle

As soon as Mac had her destination, she controlled her urge to really push the Shadow once she hit the I-5 not wanting to get pulled over or delayed any longer than necessary. Once she had her destination loaded into the autonav and let the car take control, she fired off the first of what she expected to be a number of messages throughout the morning updating the network with her starting location, followed by a short and sweet message to Frankie.

I'll be there in 30.

She fidgeted beneath the harness that held her to the front seat of the sports car as the highway rolled on beneath her. A sense of apprehension mixed with dread ran through her when she thought about what it would cost for Isomer's help, and what might happen if they were too late. She gripped the steering wheel tightly as she tried to force the darker thoughts from her head.

As Downtown started to loom large before her, she took control of the Shadow once again, aggressively leaving the highway and heading down into the business district to find the coffee shop Frankie was waiting at. She found a spot a half a block up Morgan from the cafe and once she stepped inside she quickly found Frankie in a booth to the side and in the middle of a call. Mac slid into the booth opposite of her friend and studied the concern that was written all over her face.

She pulled her eyes away from Frankie to look around the cafe, grateful to see matrix access offered in the back corner as it would mean she'd have an easier time accessing Palatine when she played that card. Her attention snapped back to Frankie as the girl ended her call.

"So what more do you know and what's the plan?"

11:39:47 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - Nadia's Cafe, 687 Morgan Avenue, Downtown, Seattle

Frankie blew out a breath, pausing to drink from the venti cup in front of her. Although she looked put together, Mac had known her long enough to read the fatigue in her shoulders and the fear lurking behind her eyes.

"That was Lance, he runs protection for J-Bird's girls, the ones that work University? He's gonna ask around to see if they've seen her or know anything about her plans last night. Words gone out through everyone we know, nothing yet. I got word from Rose that she thinks one of her girls overheard Holly talking about hooking up with an out-of-towner, some Eurotrash throwing around lots of nuyen."

Mac grimaced at the third-hand nature of their best lead. If Frankie noticed, she didn't comment.

"There's a hotel I know, southeast of Bellevue, that caters to less than legal visitors. I want to check that, but I don't have wheels."

11:47:13 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - Nadia's Cafe, 687 Morgan Avenue, Downtown, Seattle

She nodded her acceptance of heading into Bellevue but she hated the idea of nothing having anything more to go on than second and third hand knowledge that could be wildly inaccurate because of the veil of eX. She watched as Frankie tried to find strength in the bottom of her coffee cup and she reached across the table and squeezed her hand.

"Look, I've got wheels so getting to Bellevue isn't an issue, but we can't spend critical time driving all over the 'plex hoping we'll spot her. We need something more solid to go on. I mean I can ask a favor, but it's going to cost, Frankie. Like really cost."

Mac watched as her friend nodded immediately, the statement of "we'll do whatever it takes" went unspoken but understood. Mac sighed softly and resigned herself to taking a trip to Palatine and asking Isomer for the favor.

"I just need to take advantage of their matrix access while I'm here and we can head to that hotel, ok?"

She slid out of the booth and took another look at Frankie and tried to be as positive and reassuring as possible.

"We'll find her. Something has to go our way, it always does remember? I'll try to keep this quick."

She smiled softly and then headed deeper into the cafe, making her way to the bank of dataports and matrix terminals. She found an open spot and slid into the chair, slotting her credstick before she pulled the cables from her commlink and slid into virtual. As the interface took over, she found herself standing in a virtual replica of Nadia's and she wasted no time speeding off towards Palatine.

The Legionnaires at the gates inspected her closely as they verified she had a valid passcode to enter. Once inside she weaved her way carefully through the crowds gathered and paused at a respectable distance from Isomer when she spotted his stunning iconography in the middle of some kind of discussion she didn't dare interrupt. She waited as patiently as she could and when she saw her opportunity, she approached the booth and politely paused at the edge of the table and inclined her head in greeting.

"Isomer."

11:48:39 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - Nadia's Cafe, 687 Morgan Avenue, Downtown, Seattle

If the decker was surprised to see her, nothing in the body language of its exquisitely rendered avatar indicated it. One clawed hand gestured to the open seat at the table, as text blazed to life in front of Mac's eyes.

"Mac. Welcome. How may I be of assistance?"

11:49:38 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - Nadia's Cafe, 687 Morgan Avenue, Downtown, Seattle

Mac slid into the offered seat and took an extra second to admire the avatar seated across from her.

"Thanks, I know you're probably busy, but I need help and it's of a time-sensitive nature."

She paused and wondered just how much Isomer knew about her and decided if Kovacs had dug at all into her background, Isomer would likely have been the one to do it.

"My old roommate has gone missing, everyone's worried and only has third party information to go off of which is spotty at best. I'd like a couple of things, first to grab camera footage outside of 620 Stewart Street, Downtown 30 minutes on either side of 9pm last night. I'm looking specifically for the guy and the car, probably a Ford Americar, that this girl got into with."

She offered Isomer a photo of her and Holly Anne for reference before she continued.

"Secondly, I'd like to try to pin down who the guy is. All I know is he's got money and they called him basic Eurotrash. Anything to help find him would be helpful."

Mac studied the avatar across from her who watched her just as intently in return before she asked for the last request she'd make.

"If it comes to it, I may need to trace her 'link on the off chance it's still with her. We know there's a price attached to all of this, and we're willing to pay to find her."

11:52:08 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - Nadia's Cafe, 687 Morgan Avenue, Downtown, Seattle

Nothing changed in Isomer's posture until Mac mentioned her last request. The jackal head dipped to the side.

"The first is easy, and won't cost you much more than a drink. The second requires narrowing of the search parameters. Without additional data, objectively your target could reside anywhere in the metroplex. The last, if you wish to pursue it, will cost. Tracing a commlink isn't an easy task. I must penetrate PacRim Comm's host and run an active triangulation utilizing their mesh network. It is possible, but there is a greater risk of exposure and compromise. The price is commensurate."

As it explained the details to her, the winged jackal traced an arcane pattern in the table top with its claws. Blue fire glowed to life, building quickly to a large scarab beetle, this one with disturbingly mechanical aspects to it. The beetle stood motionless for a second before shaking itself to life, spreading its wings and flying off into the vast smoky dimness of the ceiling. That task complete, Isomer reached across the table and lifted a copy of the picture, peeling off the duplicate like a translucent layer. After glancing at it for a moment, the jackal head once more lifted to regard Mac with its eyes of flame.

"If surveillance shows the vehicle in question, what then?"

11:54:18 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - Nadia's Cafe, 687 Morgan Avenue, Downtown, Seattle

Mac realized the likelyhood that if something was wrong, Holly wouldn't have her commlink on her if whomever had her was smart. She was about to say she wasn't sure what she wanted to do with next when she had an idea.

"One moment please." She held up a finger as she sent Frankie a message in the background.

What's the address of the hotel in Bellevue that you wanted to check out?

Mac knew it would confuse Frankie at first to get a message from her, but she hoped it wouldn't slow her down in her response and it might save them a pointless drive if she could help it.

It's up on 140th Ave and 40th NE, what are you doing?

She ignored the last part of Frankie's reply for the moment and returned her attention back to the jackal who waited patiently for her next request.

"If you find the car, there is a hotel up in Bellevue, on 140th and 40th, any chance you could pull cameras from their parking lot and see if the car, the guy and my friend arrived sometime last night... And if they leave together or separately?"

12:02:49 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - Nadia's Cafe, 687 Morgan Avenue, Downtown, Seattle

As Mac expands her search requests, the scarab returns, alighting on the table before dissolving into a puddle of glimmering quicksilver. Isomer draws its hands through the puddle, creating a rectangle the flickers with video images. Lifting it up, he turns it so that Mac can see. The image, a quartering view of the street, is muddled and blotchy, average quality for the security cameras in the neighborhood. A figure, who could be Holly Anne, strolls into view from the right hand side of the frame. She stops street side, clearly waiting, impatient. She checks her commlink. Fidgets. Lights a cigarette. A minute later a vehicle pulls up, an Americar by the looks of it but Mac can't discern the color beneath the sodium orange glare of the streetlights. The woman gets in and the vehicle departs.

"Based on the picture you've given me, there's a seventy one point six percent chance that the woman is who you seek. That's the best I can do based on lighting and camera resolution." Isomer's explanation sounds vaguely apologetic. "I won't be able to match any video from the location you specified, though. The address you've specified is known as the Deep Umbra. It has no security cameras. It has little security at all. Part of its appeal is that it's a place you can go where no record will exist of you being there. They only take certified cred. No video evidence will remain. Their matrix host is designed specifically to not log any activity which occurs. It's a place to go when you want absolutely no record to be left."

The words in the text chill Mac to the bone. The decker pauses for a moment before it continues, and Mac catches a hint of dry irony in its tone.

"I am, however, quite good friends with several of the staff there. I believe I know one who might be able to help. His name is Denis Wrathmore and he's the hotel's trouble shooter. You'll have to visit in person, but I'll call ahead to let him know that you're coming."

12:05:19 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - Nadia's Cafe, 687 Morgan Avenue, Downtown, Seattle

Mac was silently grateful at that moment that all of her emotions didn't transfer through her avatar. There was a glimmer of hope in the offer Isomer had made to his contact at the hotel, but it also meant that her concern for Holly's safety as well as Frankie's and her own just ratcheted up on the scale and she didn't want to waste any more time before they headed up there. She also didn't want to make overly impulsive decisions that would lead to no good for any of them.

"Isomer, if I could, I would kiss you right now. I really can’t thank you enough for this, truly. Tell me what we owe you for this and how we can pay it and you can consider it done."

12:07:34 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - Nadia's Cafe, 687 Morgan Avenue, Downtown, Seattle

"For an easy intrusion and an introduction? Five hundred," replied Isomer, "perhaps later I'll collect on that kiss."

Mac grinned, slotting the cred to the decker. "Consider it a rain check."

She dropped out of the matrix with a speed that left her momentarily dizzy. Yanking the cable from its jack, she stuffed her commlink back into her pocket, heading back to Frankie's booth.

"I've got news," she said, dragging her friend from the seat, "but we've got to move."

Frankie let out a startled "hey!", momentarily resisting long enough to grab the rest of her coffee before allowing Mac to hustle her outside. She pulled up short, though, when she realized what Mac was driving.

"Whoa! Where'd you get these cherry wheels?" she whistled. Mac glanced up in surprise, one leg already in the driver's side. She'd forgotten that Frankie knew nothing of what had transpired over the last seventy two hours, and that despite its heavy modifications the Shadow was still a luxury sports car.

"I, uh, I met a guy," started Mac by way of explanation, but the look of no drek, dumbass on Frankie's face held her up. "Just get in the car, I'll explain on the way!"

Frankie shrugged, depositing herself into the passenger seat. "Must be some guy."

12:23:43 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - Eastbound on the 520, Downtown, Seattle

As she settled behind the wheel, a smile played on her lips.

You have no idea.

Mac fastened the restraint harness and fired up the sports car as she waited for Frankie to get settled before she pulled away from the curb. She focused on the light Downtown traffic and tried to ignore Frankie's insistent stare she could feel burning into the side of her face and the myriad of questions she didn't want to have to craft answers to at the moment.

"Jesus Frankie, you know you could have been cop with the way you stare at people like that."

"Yeah well, I ended up an escort. So spill it girl, who is this guy?"

"He's not a client, he's... It's complicated. He kind of saved my life last week, like for real." Mac paused trying to figure out what she could share with her friend that wouldn't open up countless rounds of grilling questions.

"I got in over my head with a real psycho one night, off the books over at Studio Milan. One of those creeps that probably only gets off slotting snuff BTLs and whatnot and decided that night he wanted to act out one of his fantasies." She dismissed her brush with near-death with an airiness to her voice that she might as well have been discussing the weather.

"I don't know what made this guy come check on the situation, but he did. Managed to pull this creep off me before he choked me to death and, I dunno..."

Her thoughts trailed off as she focused on the road ahead of her and pulling onto the I5 and heading north and she tried not to remember the specifics of that night, forcing the memories of the pain and the blood to the background. She masked the ugly thoughts with the memories of the more carnal moments of the past week and the rush of the responsiveness as she put her foot down on the gas and the Shadow sprinted forward onto the highway.

Frankie whistled low and shook her head.

"You are in a world of trouble girl, you've got a thing for him. Don't even try to deny it, I can read it all over your face."

"It's not like that... It's... " Mac hesitated trying to come up with a definition of exactly what she and Kovacs were.

"Complicated." Frankie finished for her with a sigh. "I know."

"Look Frankie there will be plenty of time to do the girl gossip thing once we find Holly Anne and I promise I will fill you in."

Mac sighed as the girl pouted and fumed beside her and she tried to change the subject as artfully as she could because Frankie had information she was curious about.

"So, you said Wayne thinks someone was trying to kill him because of me?"

She couldn't keep all traces of irony and humor out of her voice as she posed her question as the idea seemed outrageous to her on so many levels.

12:31:08 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - Eastbound on the 520, Downtown, Seattle

"Lookit you being all evasive," chided Frankie, checking her lipstick in the mirror on the back of her sunshade. "You know I don't believe half the words that come out of Wayne's mouth, but he was really acting strange this time. Kept talking about this corp suit who had him cut you loose and how things hadn't worked out and he was gonna get blamed for it all. He let everything slide, didn't watch the girls or help out on the street so people started to leave. Half the crew is working for other people now."

"Yeah," Mac agreed, tonelessly "Wayne always was a crazy slitch."

Frankie's words chilled Mac to the bone, though. She already knew that it was no accident that de Medici had been waiting for her, but she never thought that it went beyond simple surveillance. Had Wayne been in collusion? Were those gangers nothing more than pawns sacrificed to drive home a point? Why go through all the trouble anyway? She shook her head, knuckles white on the steering wheel. Frankie snapped a bubble between her lips, glancing over at Mac.

"So this...friend...of yours. He got a brother?"

12:38:41 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - 140th Ave NE, Bellevue, Seattle

Mac didn't have time to dwell on her thoughts of de Medici as Frankie brought the conversation right back around to her. She throttled back the car with a laugh as she started to exit the highway and on to 140th.

"Don't know anything about his family, but he's got a pretty good looking friend..."

She couldn't help but smirk at the thought of Frankie and Tristan hooking up, wondering just who would come out on top of that tryst.

"Want me to put in a good word for you?"

She checked her mirrors as they made their way closer to their destination, watching for any tails or something out of the ordinary. Mac eased the Shadow to the side of the road and parked for a moment before turning a serious gaze to her companion.

"So here's the deal, I've got us someone who works inside the hotel who's willing to meet with us, might be able to let us know if Holly has been there. How do you want to play this if they've seen her?" She shifted in her seat to face Frankie and pulled her commlink from her pocket. "I'm just going to check in, let my friend know where we're headed just in case things go seriously upside down."

She fired off a quick message to Kovacs as she started to plot and hope for the best.

We're up in Bellevue, checking out a possible lead and meeting someone Isomer is putting us in touch with. 140th and 40th, just in case dreck goes sideways.

12:38:41 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - Heart of the City Hotel, 140th Ave and 40th NE, Bellevue, Seattle

"Damn, girl, no love in the sisterhood. Keeping all those fine boys to yourself." Frankie grumbles teasingly. Her face becomes serious, though, when Mac lays out the plan.

"I'll back your play, whatever it is, but we should at least make sure she's all right." She glanced at Mac meaningfully before pulling out a Yamaha Pulsar from her pocket and checking to make sure it was armed. The gesture reminded Mac of the weight of her own weapon. Her commlink chose that moment to flicker with an appropriate reply.

Copy. Be careful.

"Right," said Mac quietly, answering both statements. She put the Shadow in gear and pulled into the parking lot of the hotel. It wasn't very impressive at first glance: a flat expanse of blacktop in front of a blocky concrete structure. At first glance there seemed to be ten or a dozen stories, blank mirrored windows reflecting the edge of the barrens and the distant splendor of the Lake Washington communities. Easing forward, she parked the sports car in the second row, nose facing towards the street in case they had to make a quick exit. Together, she and Frankie headed across the parking lot towards the front door.

Lounging outside, dressed in casual armor from Vashon Island, was an older gentleman. Mac guessed he was around the same age as Kovacs, although he looked a little rougher around the edges. His face was seamed with deep wrinkles as well as a patina of scars on the left side. His eyes were a dull chrome cyber-replacement, shadowed by a full head of hair. As they approached, he pushed off from the wall with his shoulders and stepped towards them. He moved the same way Kovacs did, a sliding purposeful step executed with perfect control and readiness. Mac slowed and touched Frankie's arm, although her sister was equally adroit at picking up the body language of a predator.

"Afternoon, ladies," greeted the man, halting several paces away. His voice had an undertone of authority, the diction of a man used to being obeyed.

"Mr. Wrathmore?" guessed Mac. A brief, wry smile twisted his lips, and he inclined his head towards her.

"At your service. Isomer was kind enough to call ahead and brief me on your situation. I think I can offer additional information, if you'll follow me."

It was a directive and not a request. The two girls trailed Wrathmore across the parking lot towards the hotel, although after a moment something occurred to Mac.

"I thought you guys didn't have security cameras here?" she asked. Wrathmore glanced back at her sharply.

"Just because we don't have cameras doesn't mean we don't have surveillance. My security teams keep a close eye on our guests to ensure the safety of everyone as well as the continued existence of the Deep Umbra."

12:43:08 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - Heart of the City Hotel, 140th Ave NE and 40th NE, Bellevue, Seattle

Mac raised her hands slightly to diffuse the sharp look from Wrathmore and to not offend.

"Of course, sorry. We don't want to do anything to jeopardize it either." She did her best to turn on the charm as they walked into the building. "We really appreciate anything you can tell us about our friend."

She walked in step with Frankie just behind Wrathmore as they entered the lobby and cast a glacé the girl's way before she took in the spartan decor of the anonymous hotel's lobby.

"This way." Wrathmore said gruffly as he led the two girls down a hallway and through a door marked "staff only" that was keyed to his ID. Stopping halfway down the hall, he brushed a key card in front of a sensor and opened the door to what Mac assumed was his office.

"Take a seat."

Mac took that as a command and not a request and settled into one of the chairs on the opposite side of the desk from Wrathmore's cushy office chair and Frankie took the chair to her right, impatient to hear what the old guy had to say.

12:47:26 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - Heart of the City Hotel, 140th Ave NE and 40th NE, Bellevue, Seattle

The office was spartan, with little in the way of personal touches. Most of the shelf space was occupied by binders with official looking labels that Mac didn't bother to read. Several minutes passed in silence, Frankie shifting uncomfortably next to her as Wrathmore sat unmoving in his chair. She was about to say something when a knock at the door preempted her.

"Come!" directed Wrathmore. The door opened, revealing a young man, well dressed in an anonymous suit of Vashon Island armor. He didn't acknowledge either Mac or Frankie, moving instead to the flat panel display the dominated the left hand wall. Unreeling the data cable mounted to the side of the screen, he clipped it to the datajack installed in his temple. A pearlescent gray replaced the segmented multi-view before the familiar jittery feed from an eye recorder filled the screen. With practiced gestures he spun the feed forward, quickly narrowing down the time stamp to what he was looking for. He halted at approximately 22:35 the night prior and played the feed at regular speed.

The view showed him walking down the hallway, conversing with someone. At a T-intersection, he glances down the other hall and his gaze travels over a man and woman standing outside the door to one of the rooms. He freezes the clip and although the resolution isn't the best, Mac can clearly tell that it's Holly Anne.

12:49:17 Sunday, 14 January 2063 - Heart of the City Hotel, 140th Ave NE and 40th NE, Bellevue, Seattle

Mac and Frankie had both spent countless hours in security offices in various hotels across the metroplex that mirrored that of Wrathmore's but they were usually on the receiving end of a stern request to not solicit their patrons, not watching security footage of their guests.

Mac's otherwise impassive face fell as the familiar blonde filled the screen and she read the time stamp and knew they were already at least 12 hours behind when she was seen last.

"It's definitely her."

Her voice was flat and she cast a glance over to the girl beside her before her eyes moved back to the screen and then came to rest on the head of security seated across from her.

"I don't suppose any of your team managed to catch her or her "date" leaving? Or that you're willing to let us go upstairs with a little more guidance as to just where that video was taken?"

Her dark eyes moved towards the younger member of the security team with the slightest tilt of her head as she regarded him.

"We don't want trouble, just to make sure our friend is safe."

Her voice was genuine laced with a slight tone of manipulation as she really didn't want to cause trouble, but god help the person who hurt Holly Anne.