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Message no. 1
From: Rand Ratinac docwagon101@*****.com
Subject: Reunion - Part 4
Date: Mon, 10 May 1999 20:48:05 -0700 (PDT)
And awaaay we go!

Again.

8-)

=========REUNION - Part 4

It was a couple of days before I could arrange another meeting with
Big Jimmy D. During that time I hid Micky with a couple of old pals
from our gang days who I could trust to protect him, or to call me and
the other members of the Service in, if things got too hot and heavy
for them to handle. I had my people out combing the streets, listening
for any talk about Jimmy, Micky or the little fracas that had gone down
at the bar the other night. If we could manage it, I wanted to keep it
all hushed up. The fewer people asking questions about trouble in
Paradise – well, in the RAD, anyway – the better. After all, we were
only five people. There wasn’t a whole lot even we could do if every
punk in the sprawl heard that Big Jimmy was offering a half-mil bounty
on Micky’s head. Hell, I’m good, but even I know I have my limits. Not
many, but I do have them. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I’m also
devilishly handsome and the most modest guy you’ll ever meet. Can you
tell?
I found Jimmy D holed up in his downtown office. Nice place; GREAT
view. I have to admit there are some things that corp lowlifes have
over even the best shadowrunners. No way I could ever afford a place
like this, even if I sold off every ounce of chrome in my body.
First things first. If I was going to get this to go the way I wanted
it to, I’d have to put him on the defensive from the start. So I
stomped on up to his office and planted a kick right in the middle of
his door. Now this was a BIG door – thick, heavy oak. Lovely carving,
fine texture, the kind of thing that made even an urban monster like
myself pine for an earlier, more natural day. Not for long, though. I’d
miss my soydogs too much.
My kick split the door right down the middle – gotta love that muscle
augmentation – and I barged into Jimmy’s office. Now, you may be
thinking that a stunt like that was rather unnecessary and just showed
how much of a thug I really am. Well, maybe you’re right in part, but
the heart of the matter is that I knew Big Jimmy had surveillance
cameras mounted throughout the hallways leading into his office and I
knew he’d be watching me. The combination of simultaneously watching me
smash his door to splinters on the camera, hearing all that noise and
then seeing me come storming in towards him should have been enough to
give a paranoid slot like him a heart attack. Nearly did, matter of
fact. I don’t like to boast – much – but I’m really a rather
intimidating sight when I get into full swing.
"Are you fragging INSANE?" I roared before Jimmy-boy could even stand.
I stomped across the office and slammed my knuckles into his desk. Left
dents there, too. I really have to learn to control my anger. "What the
FRAG possessed you to send another crew after Donovan?"
Jimmy D almost disappeared as he shrank back into his overstuffed
chair. "What are you talking about, Blood?" he asked rather
pathetically. I could see that the hand he wasn’t waving around
distractingly was frantically punching the silent alarm button hidden
under the edge of his desk. I smiled tightly. My plan was working.
"I am talking, little man, of the hit team that attacked one Michael
Donovan in a Tacoma bar not two nights ago," I hissed dangerously. "I
can’t BELIEVE you sent a bunch of frag-ups like that after him. I don’t
know who they were, but not only did they miss Donovan, they nearly
started a fragging riot!" I straightened up and glared down at him.
"Count your lucky stars that they missed their mark, Jimmy. If they
hadn’t, then I’d have to kill you for fragging around with us."
Big Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief as he realised that, despite my
fearsome demeanour (ain’t that a good phrase?), I had no intention of
rendering him down to fertiliser at that point in time. Of course, the
Fuchi security guards chose that moment to rock up, heavy weaponry
aimed my way. Jimmy D waved them away testily, having no further use
for them now that he knew his life wasn’t in danger and not really
wanting anyone within the corp to know what his current business with
me involved. In typical fashion, I just ignored them, although I could
feel the flesh at the back of my neck creeping from the sensation of
having all those guns pointed at me.
Once it was just the two of us again, Big Jimmy stood and looked at me
imperiously. "I really have no idea what you’re talking about, Blood.
Yours was the only group that I approached about this matter. Do you
really think I’m going to go around telling just anyone about this? I
came to you because I know you’re the best. I’m not going to settle for
anything less than the best when my life is on the line."
I stared at him for a long moment before grunting. "All right. If you
say so. But someone’s been blabbing about it and it sure as hell wasn’t
my people. Donovan’s holed up somewhere in the Redmond Barrens now and
he’s looking for people to take you down. Seems he figured out who was
behind his current difficulties." I frowned. "This is going to be even
harder than I originally thought."
Jimmy looked at me suspiciously. "What are you saying, Blood?"
"I’m saying the cost just went up, Jimmy-boy. Did you know that
Donovan’s apparently developed some friends in the gang scene? Huh?
Seems he’s got some buddies from the Ancients watching out for him."
That was rich, but then, I’ve always enjoyed lying through my teeth. No
way the Ancients would touch us after our history with the Cutters. Not
even with a ten-foot troll. It wasn’t like Big Jimmy would ever find
out, though, so I went on tweaking his nose. "Did you hear that, Mr.
Darcy-Rutherford, sir? The Ancients!" I shook my head. "We’ll have to
put an assault force together if we want to get through that lot."
Jimmy frowned petulantly. "How much more?"
I smiled tightly. It’s always nice when you have the upper hand in a
negotiation. "It’s not just a question of more money, Jimmy. I need
more time, too. Donovan’s going to be on his guard now and his Ancient
buddies will be champing at the bit. We need to let things cool off a
bit longer, or we’ll never even get close to him."
Jimmy D sighed. "How long, Blood?"
I shrugged. Big Jimmy probably thought I was wondering how long I
could milk this for. He was right, but not exactly in the way he
thought. The longer I could put off a confrontation, the better the
chances were I could convince them to give this up. "Another week or
two at least."
"And what am I supposed to do while you’re sitting on your hoops,
waiting for Donovan and his friends to relax their guard? He’s going to
have people out gunning for me, isn’t he?"
"You sit tight, too. Hole up somewhere secure. Doesn’t matter where.
Just get away from here. Don’t let anyone know where you’re going,
either." I grinned. "Except me, of course. The Service will watch out
for you. I’ll have at least one of us on station with you at all times.
We’ll get to Donovan. You just have to give us time to work."
Big Jimmy grimaced sourly. "And money."
"Yes, bossman, and money. What do you think we do, sit around on our
hoops all day just waiting for your call? Constant guard duty for weeks
on end is going to cost you. AND we’ll be out, watching Donovan,
putting the squeeze on people, buying equipment for an infiltration or
an assault. It all costs."
"How much?"
I paused for consideration. I already knew what I was going to ask
for, but I thought I’d better make it look good. At the very least it
might have made Jimmy D feel a bit better about it all. A bit. "Double
it. 200K each."
"What?!"
"Oh, and I’ll need another 50K each up front. Expenses, you know."
Jimmy scowled and reached for his telecom. "Seems to me a better
option is just to put out a general reward. What do you think, 50,000
nuyen for Donovan’s head? I believe I might get some takers for that
and it’s only one twentieth of what you’re charging me."
I shrugged again. "Fine, Jimmy, you do that. No skin off my nose." I
grinned. "Hell, it’s not like I’m gonna give you back the 250K you’ve
already paid us." Jimmy’s scowl deepened, but he still picked up the
telecom handset. Okay. Time for Big Gun Number One. "Just make sure you
can trust them."
"What?"
"Well, just think about it, Jimmy. You’re going to be dealing with
punks you don’t know from drek. They ain’t never met you before and
they don’t have the deep, abiding affection I have for you." Heh. I
kill me. "So where does that leave you? You’re gonna have to trust
thugs who’d probably geek YOU for a tenth of what you’re offering. And
what do you do if someone comes along to claim your bounty and he’s
really someone hired by Donovan. You think you’re gonna figure it out
in time to stop him blowing your head off?"
There, I’d said it. The ‘T’ word. Our Jimmy D nearly had a fit
whenever he even THOUGHT of trusting someone besides his own good self.
The closest he ever came to it was when he was paying that someone more
than his enemy was. Now that’s trust.
Still, he only paused for a moment before lifting the handset to his
ear. "Maybe you’re right, Blood. But I can always hire someone to guard
me and to make the meet. Your street thugs will never even see me."
I nodded. "Might work. I hope you have some guards you can trust."
Still nothing. Big Jimmy was starting to punch in a number. Time for
Big Gun Number Two. If this one didn’t work I was in big trouble. "I
guess if you’re going public with this it doesn’t matter if your bosses
in Fuchi hear about this."
Jimmy ground to a halt and his face froze. Bingo. "What?"
"Well, isn’t it obvious, Jimmy? You know as well as I do that if you
put out a price on Donovan’s head, SOMEONE here is going to hear about
it. If your bosses in the RAD are anything like you and Donovan,
they’ll have their ears to the ground and they’ll hear about this. So,
like I said, I guess it doesn’t matter anymore if they hear about it."
I nodded thoughtfully. "That’s pretty good from my perspective,
actually. If I can spread the word that the Service commands half a
million for less than a week of work…well, we’ve hit the big time,
haven’t we?"
Jimmy D’s hands were shaking now. I guess the fact that his superiors
at Fuchi might object to the unauthorised termination of one of their
employees by another had slipped his mind. Very slowly, very carefully,
he replaced the handset. "On second thought, Blood," he commented in an
offhand fashion, "you may have a point there. Very well. If I agree to
pay you a full million, will you guarantee to complete the assignment
before two weeks are out?"
I shook my head in disbelief. "Oh, come ON, Jimmy. You KNOW I can’t
make a guarantee like that. I’ll tell you what, though. I promise to do
my level best to complete the job on schedule."
Jimmy stared at me bitterly. "That’s a cop out, Blood, and you know
it."
I gave him my best impish grin. "Hell yes, Jimmy D, but what can you
do about it?"
Big Jimmy’s expression became even more sour, if that were possible.
"I think I’m starting to dislike you intensely, Blood."
I doffed an imaginary cap to him. "The feeling is oh so mutual,
babycakes. Catch you ‘round, Jimmy."
I could his feel his eyes boring into my back as I sauntered from his
office and let me tell you, it felt great. These corp suits, they think
they’re so high and mighty. Believe me, you’ll never know what true
satisfaction feels like until you experience total and absolute control
over one of the scumbags. Hey, there’s a thought. Maybe I’ll make a
simsense the next time I rub my Johnson’s nose in the drek, and market
it. Something tells me that’s one item that’d sell like hotcakes to the
oppressed masses.
By that stage there wasn’t a lot I could do except wait. Sit and wait.
If you knew anything about me, you’d know that patience isn’t really
one of my virtues. But then, I have so many, who’d miss one or two?
Told you I’m modest, didn’t I?
==Doc'
(aka Mr. Freaky Big, Super-Dynamic Troll of Tomorrow)

.sig Sauer
_________________________________________________________
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Message no. 2
From: Rand Ratinac docwagon101@*****.com
Subject: Reunion - Part 4
Date: Mon, 10 May 1999 20:48:05 -0700 (PDT)
And awaaay we go!

Again.

8-)

=========REUNION - Part 4

It was a couple of days before I could arrange another meeting with
Big Jimmy D. During that time I hid Micky with a couple of old pals
from our gang days who I could trust to protect him, or to call me and
the other members of the Service in, if things got too hot and heavy
for them to handle. I had my people out combing the streets, listening
for any talk about Jimmy, Micky or the little fracas that had gone down
at the bar the other night. If we could manage it, I wanted to keep it
all hushed up. The fewer people asking questions about trouble in
Paradise – well, in the RAD, anyway – the better. After all, we were
only five people. There wasn’t a whole lot even we could do if every
punk in the sprawl heard that Big Jimmy was offering a half-mil bounty
on Micky’s head. Hell, I’m good, but even I know I have my limits. Not
many, but I do have them. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I’m also
devilishly handsome and the most modest guy you’ll ever meet. Can you
tell?
I found Jimmy D holed up in his downtown office. Nice place; GREAT
view. I have to admit there are some things that corp lowlifes have
over even the best shadowrunners. No way I could ever afford a place
like this, even if I sold off every ounce of chrome in my body.
First things first. If I was going to get this to go the way I wanted
it to, I’d have to put him on the defensive from the start. So I
stomped on up to his office and planted a kick right in the middle of
his door. Now this was a BIG door – thick, heavy oak. Lovely carving,
fine texture, the kind of thing that made even an urban monster like
myself pine for an earlier, more natural day. Not for long, though. I’d
miss my soydogs too much.
My kick split the door right down the middle – gotta love that muscle
augmentation – and I barged into Jimmy’s office. Now, you may be
thinking that a stunt like that was rather unnecessary and just showed
how much of a thug I really am. Well, maybe you’re right in part, but
the heart of the matter is that I knew Big Jimmy had surveillance
cameras mounted throughout the hallways leading into his office and I
knew he’d be watching me. The combination of simultaneously watching me
smash his door to splinters on the camera, hearing all that noise and
then seeing me come storming in towards him should have been enough to
give a paranoid slot like him a heart attack. Nearly did, matter of
fact. I don’t like to boast – much – but I’m really a rather
intimidating sight when I get into full swing.
"Are you fragging INSANE?" I roared before Jimmy-boy could even stand.
I stomped across the office and slammed my knuckles into his desk. Left
dents there, too. I really have to learn to control my anger. "What the
FRAG possessed you to send another crew after Donovan?"
Jimmy D almost disappeared as he shrank back into his overstuffed
chair. "What are you talking about, Blood?" he asked rather
pathetically. I could see that the hand he wasn’t waving around
distractingly was frantically punching the silent alarm button hidden
under the edge of his desk. I smiled tightly. My plan was working.
"I am talking, little man, of the hit team that attacked one Michael
Donovan in a Tacoma bar not two nights ago," I hissed dangerously. "I
can’t BELIEVE you sent a bunch of frag-ups like that after him. I don’t
know who they were, but not only did they miss Donovan, they nearly
started a fragging riot!" I straightened up and glared down at him.
"Count your lucky stars that they missed their mark, Jimmy. If they
hadn’t, then I’d have to kill you for fragging around with us."
Big Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief as he realised that, despite my
fearsome demeanour (ain’t that a good phrase?), I had no intention of
rendering him down to fertiliser at that point in time. Of course, the
Fuchi security guards chose that moment to rock up, heavy weaponry
aimed my way. Jimmy D waved them away testily, having no further use
for them now that he knew his life wasn’t in danger and not really
wanting anyone within the corp to know what his current business with
me involved. In typical fashion, I just ignored them, although I could
feel the flesh at the back of my neck creeping from the sensation of
having all those guns pointed at me.
Once it was just the two of us again, Big Jimmy stood and looked at me
imperiously. "I really have no idea what you’re talking about, Blood.
Yours was the only group that I approached about this matter. Do you
really think I’m going to go around telling just anyone about this? I
came to you because I know you’re the best. I’m not going to settle for
anything less than the best when my life is on the line."
I stared at him for a long moment before grunting. "All right. If you
say so. But someone’s been blabbing about it and it sure as hell wasn’t
my people. Donovan’s holed up somewhere in the Redmond Barrens now and
he’s looking for people to take you down. Seems he figured out who was
behind his current difficulties." I frowned. "This is going to be even
harder than I originally thought."
Jimmy looked at me suspiciously. "What are you saying, Blood?"
"I’m saying the cost just went up, Jimmy-boy. Did you know that
Donovan’s apparently developed some friends in the gang scene? Huh?
Seems he’s got some buddies from the Ancients watching out for him."
That was rich, but then, I’ve always enjoyed lying through my teeth. No
way the Ancients would touch us after our history with the Cutters. Not
even with a ten-foot troll. It wasn’t like Big Jimmy would ever find
out, though, so I went on tweaking his nose. "Did you hear that, Mr.
Darcy-Rutherford, sir? The Ancients!" I shook my head. "We’ll have to
put an assault force together if we want to get through that lot."
Jimmy frowned petulantly. "How much more?"
I smiled tightly. It’s always nice when you have the upper hand in a
negotiation. "It’s not just a question of more money, Jimmy. I need
more time, too. Donovan’s going to be on his guard now and his Ancient
buddies will be champing at the bit. We need to let things cool off a
bit longer, or we’ll never even get close to him."
Jimmy D sighed. "How long, Blood?"
I shrugged. Big Jimmy probably thought I was wondering how long I
could milk this for. He was right, but not exactly in the way he
thought. The longer I could put off a confrontation, the better the
chances were I could convince them to give this up. "Another week or
two at least."
"And what am I supposed to do while you’re sitting on your hoops,
waiting for Donovan and his friends to relax their guard? He’s going to
have people out gunning for me, isn’t he?"
"You sit tight, too. Hole up somewhere secure. Doesn’t matter where.
Just get away from here. Don’t let anyone know where you’re going,
either." I grinned. "Except me, of course. The Service will watch out
for you. I’ll have at least one of us on station with you at all times.
We’ll get to Donovan. You just have to give us time to work."
Big Jimmy grimaced sourly. "And money."
"Yes, bossman, and money. What do you think we do, sit around on our
hoops all day just waiting for your call? Constant guard duty for weeks
on end is going to cost you. AND we’ll be out, watching Donovan,
putting the squeeze on people, buying equipment for an infiltration or
an assault. It all costs."
"How much?"
I paused for consideration. I already knew what I was going to ask
for, but I thought I’d better make it look good. At the very least it
might have made Jimmy D feel a bit better about it all. A bit. "Double
it. 200K each."
"What?!"
"Oh, and I’ll need another 50K each up front. Expenses, you know."
Jimmy scowled and reached for his telecom. "Seems to me a better
option is just to put out a general reward. What do you think, 50,000
nuyen for Donovan’s head? I believe I might get some takers for that
and it’s only one twentieth of what you’re charging me."
I shrugged again. "Fine, Jimmy, you do that. No skin off my nose." I
grinned. "Hell, it’s not like I’m gonna give you back the 250K you’ve
already paid us." Jimmy’s scowl deepened, but he still picked up the
telecom handset. Okay. Time for Big Gun Number One. "Just make sure you
can trust them."
"What?"
"Well, just think about it, Jimmy. You’re going to be dealing with
punks you don’t know from drek. They ain’t never met you before and
they don’t have the deep, abiding affection I have for you." Heh. I
kill me. "So where does that leave you? You’re gonna have to trust
thugs who’d probably geek YOU for a tenth of what you’re offering. And
what do you do if someone comes along to claim your bounty and he’s
really someone hired by Donovan. You think you’re gonna figure it out
in time to stop him blowing your head off?"
There, I’d said it. The ‘T’ word. Our Jimmy D nearly had a fit
whenever he even THOUGHT of trusting someone besides his own good self.
The closest he ever came to it was when he was paying that someone more
than his enemy was. Now that’s trust.
Still, he only paused for a moment before lifting the handset to his
ear. "Maybe you’re right, Blood. But I can always hire someone to guard
me and to make the meet. Your street thugs will never even see me."
I nodded. "Might work. I hope you have some guards you can trust."
Still nothing. Big Jimmy was starting to punch in a number. Time for
Big Gun Number Two. If this one didn’t work I was in big trouble. "I
guess if you’re going public with this it doesn’t matter if your bosses
in Fuchi hear about this."
Jimmy ground to a halt and his face froze. Bingo. "What?"
"Well, isn’t it obvious, Jimmy? You know as well as I do that if you
put out a price on Donovan’s head, SOMEONE here is going to hear about
it. If your bosses in the RAD are anything like you and Donovan,
they’ll have their ears to the ground and they’ll hear about this. So,
like I said, I guess it doesn’t matter anymore if they hear about it."
I nodded thoughtfully. "That’s pretty good from my perspective,
actually. If I can spread the word that the Service commands half a
million for less than a week of work…well, we’ve hit the big time,
haven’t we?"
Jimmy D’s hands were shaking now. I guess the fact that his superiors
at Fuchi might object to the unauthorised termination of one of their
employees by another had slipped his mind. Very slowly, very carefully,
he replaced the handset. "On second thought, Blood," he commented in an
offhand fashion, "you may have a point there. Very well. If I agree to
pay you a full million, will you guarantee to complete the assignment
before two weeks are out?"
I shook my head in disbelief. "Oh, come ON, Jimmy. You KNOW I can’t
make a guarantee like that. I’ll tell you what, though. I promise to do
my level best to complete the job on schedule."
Jimmy stared at me bitterly. "That’s a cop out, Blood, and you know
it."
I gave him my best impish grin. "Hell yes, Jimmy D, but what can you
do about it?"
Big Jimmy’s expression became even more sour, if that were possible.
"I think I’m starting to dislike you intensely, Blood."
I doffed an imaginary cap to him. "The feeling is oh so mutual,
babycakes. Catch you ‘round, Jimmy."
I could his feel his eyes boring into my back as I sauntered from his
office and let me tell you, it felt great. These corp suits, they think
they’re so high and mighty. Believe me, you’ll never know what true
satisfaction feels like until you experience total and absolute control
over one of the scumbags. Hey, there’s a thought. Maybe I’ll make a
simsense the next time I rub my Johnson’s nose in the drek, and market
it. Something tells me that’s one item that’d sell like hotcakes to the
oppressed masses.
By that stage there wasn’t a lot I could do except wait. Sit and wait.
If you knew anything about me, you’d know that patience isn’t really
one of my virtues. But then, I have so many, who’d miss one or two?
Told you I’m modest, didn’t I?
==Doc'
(aka Mr. Freaky Big, Super-Dynamic Troll of Tomorrow)

.sig Sauer
_________________________________________________________
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Disclaimer

These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.