| From: | Lorna Buck <lorna@******.FR> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Armed Robbery |
| Date: | Sat, 26 Sep 1998 14:03:28 +0200 |
>>>>>[File footage for IAD, if you need it. I'll cover the meet when you
get it set up.
+++++begin video
The office door flies open, revealing a Red Samurai who quivers with
righteous indignation.
"Damn you, Detective, is this how you handle a serious case?"
Marlowe shakes his head. "Is this how they teach you to knock? Asshole."
"You! You have no business-"
"Mr Kryzdanovich's business is no concern of yours, Lieutenant Uenara. And
you're wasting my time. Now what do you want?" Hart takes over.
"I want to hear you've made some arrests. I want to hear you've found our
shipment of processor chips. I want to hear you've done your fragging
jobs!" The Samurai gesticulates furiously.
"Fine. We caught and executed the criminals. We found and returned the
chips. Your business with us is done. 'Bye." Hart turns back to her desk.
"But…" The Red Samurai's face is a picture. "But you haven't… that's not
true!"
"Truth! Oh, he wants truth now!" Marlowe snorts. "What a novel concept from
a corporate citizen!"
"Well, you've heard what you want to hear, Lieutenant, so are you going to
leave or can I have you thrown out?" Hart asks.
"Perhaps I may be of assistance?" Uenara falls silent at once, looks
alarmed, as a suited Japanese woman enters the office. "Lieutenant, leave.
At once. You have duties to attend to."
"But… yes, sir." The Red Samurai leaves at once. That, alone, shows the
importance of this visitor.
"I don't believe we've met." Hart rises, offers her hand. The woman -
slightly built, moving with delicate grace - takes it, shakes it politely,
accepts the seat.
"Midori Yoshida. Senior security advisor, Renraku - Seattle." She offers
her name in Western fashion, rather than Japanese. "I must apologise for
the unforgivable manners of Lieutenant Uenara. He is most dismayed by his
failure and wishes to make amends to us as rapidly as possible. In his
crass inexperience, he did not consider that your assistance might be of
value. Please accept my regrets and the apologies of the Renraku
Corporation for our servant's inexcusable rudeness."
"Of course." Hart replies. "He was merely attempting to do his duty. I am
Detective-Sergeant Julianne Hart-Kryzdanovich, and this is my husband,
Andrew. He is a private investigator assisting me on this case."
"I see. Might I know your progress to date?"
"Of course." Hart flicks on her holodisplay, brings up maps and routes.
"Your cargo was unloaded at the docks. Those containers requiring immediate
dispatch were loaded onto trucks and sent out on their way. The container
in question took this route…" The blue trail runs from the Tacoma docks
through the city. "We had not been warned about a shipment of any value,
and the truck was escorted by only two guards in a single car."
"As per our usual routine." the Japanese woman nods. "Nothing out of the
ordinary so far."
"It stopped for three minutes here, at these traffic signals. It's likely
the signals were attacked through the Matrix, to turn red and delay the
truck and its escort." Hart continues. "Allowing time for this to happen."
From the holomap, the view flicks to a traffic camera: the wide-angle lens
allowing the container truck and its escorting car to be seen, slowing to
stop at a red light while no traffic flows. It's night, and the roads are
quiet and sheeted with rain.
Two black-clad figures seem to coalesce out of the shadows either side of
the road, both carrying submachineguns: HK227Cs, special-forces models, the
forestock bulked out bv the suppressor, flashlights under the muzzle,
scoped, folding-stocked. Right off the set of Fire Team Cherokee, or out of
the Delta Force armouries. One aims through the windscreen of the escort
car, the tactical light bright, and fires a single shot that appears to
penetrate the glass cleanly: though there's no sound, the gestures with the
weapon are unmistakeable, as the driver gets out, lies in the road, then
the passenger likewise. The raider - indistinct in a black duster, black
fedora and what might be a hockey mask - cuffs their hands behind their
backs and strips them of their sidearms and radios.
Meanwhile, the other attacker, moving with an unearthly grace not unlike
that of Ms. Yoshida, has held something up for the truck's occupants to
see, then attached it to the passenger side door: both occupants make a
precipitate exit, to be likewise disarmed and restrained. A few more
moments, as one of the highwaymen strips the escort car of its portable
equipment, and the other covers from the driver's door of the truck: then
both pile into the cab and the truck pulls away through the suddenly-green
light.
"Fascinating. Your conclusions?" Yoshida stops the tape.
"Two attackers plus likely Matrix support. Maybe a third there, a sniper to
cover the heist, maybe not, we only saw two." Hart sounds confident.
"Weapons were excellent. Top-flight, looked brand new, we might get a lead
from those. One round fired, 10mm APDS. Case not recovered, no surprise,
most models of the HK227C have case catchers fitted as standard. Round not
recovered either, it went through front and back windows like they weren't
there. I'm not surprised those guys didn't fight, they'd have been dead in
under a second."
"Though why not just kill them at once?" Yoshida asks. "Why take the chance
of leaving them alive?"
"Because armed robbery's a bad rap, but murder's a worse one. This isn't a
high priority case for us. Firearms offences and theft of corporate
property, well, it's a bunch of felonies, but we've got murderers to chase.
These guys are smart enough to know that they'll get less heat as thieves
than as killers."
"Of course. Whereas in Renraku…"
"Yeah. Different rules. For a corp the theft's the big deal, a couple of
rentacops and a driver's not such an issue. They threatened the truckers
with a beehive charge, persuaded them discretion was the better part of
valour, same deal there. Also avoids messing up the truck. Right now, even
if any of your guys had gotten the word out to us, we'd have needed ten,
twelve minutes to get a unit on scene that could cope with these guys. I
think you'll agree that sending a standard patrol unit against these two
would have been a pointless waste of life?"
"Hard to conclude otherwise." Yoshida rewinds the tape, runs the
five-frames-a-second images back again. "They're good friends, or have
served together, or trained in the same unit. They cover each other without
wasted effort. And they are both highly trained soldiers. See the way they
handle their weapons, "
"Doesn't surprise me." Hart nods. "They don't fit any known operators, I
think they've just got into the business. I do have an idea who this one -"
she points to the most graceful of the pair - "might be, but that's just a
hunch. Nothing to go on, yet."
"I would be interested in your conclusions. I take it, then, that they made
off with the truck?"
"Down I-5 and into Redmond. The alarm was raised four minutes after they
set off. By the time we'd found the truck they were too close to the
Barrens for a roadblock, and they left the highway and disappeared into
Bargain Basement before air units arrived."
"Highly disciplined professionals who knew your responses and had you timed
to the second." pronounces Yoshida. "They would have delivered the
container to a pre-arranged buyer and walked away. Other than your hunch,
our chances of locating them are minimal, and the danger of doing so
considerable."
"You've got more leeway in response than we do…" Marlowe offers.
"That container had a book value of five point three million nuyen, Mr
Kryzdanovich. If those two gentlemen were to kill or cripple only two of
our Red Samurai while being brought down, we would have nearly doubled that
loss." Yoshida shakes her head. "Vengeance is rarely cost-effective. On the
other hand… Sergeant, may I speak frankly?"
"Of course." With that, the understanding that what follows is likely
illegal, even if mutually beneficial.
"Our chance of recovering the container is almost negligible. However, we
would like to know who purchased our goods for resale. Naturally, we will
make enquiries of our own, but we would appreciate your contacting the
individual you suspect of being involved." Yoshida cocks her head, either
thinking or communicating. "Suggest to him or her that, while Renraku is
concerned that they stole our property, we appreciate their discretion and
efficiency. Might this individual contract for assassination at all?"
"Oh, yeah. I've got him tabbed for a run of hits on Seoulpa in Puyallup.
Slick operator. Clean, tidy, no legit cits hurt, low priority."
"Then perhaps you could suggest he contacts me. I might have work for
such." Yoshida rises. "Of course, I intend to proceed with the utmost
discretion."
"I should hope so, Midori-san." Hart and her husband also rise. "I would
hate for us to be in conflict."
"As would I. It is… useful to me, to find someone who understands these
complex issues."
After the Japanese woman has left, Marlowe drops back into his seat,
refills his coffee mug. "Well, well, well. I think you made a friend."
"Unofficial co-operation. One of the greases that the world's axles turn
on." Hart sighs. "I'll tip off IAD. As usual. I figure I make up half their
referrals…"
"As long as they thank you and don't bust you, fair enough."
"Well… come on, Andy. I'm going to set up a meet with a professional killer
turned armed robber, in order to allow Renraku to contract for the murder
of a fence who stole their property. What part of that comes under the
heading of 'serve and protect'?"
Marlowe lights two cigarettes, passes her one. "What's the alternative?
Send SWAT after your hitman - this guy Serpent? - and get some killed, for
a very small chance of a conviction. Go after the fence? Who? We got no
idea. Sit back and see Renraku's black-ops squads rampage about? Yeah,
right. I actually don't have a problem with this. Joe Blow at home's still
safe. That's what they pay us for."
"I just hope IAD see it the same way." Hart blows smoke, sips her coffee.
"Okay. Into the lion's den goes Daniel."
+++++end video]<<<<<
-- Marlowe <14:03:45/09-26-59>
