| From: | shadowtk@********.demon.co.uk (Paul J. Adam) |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Recovery Procedure |
| Date: | Mon, 15 Apr 1996 18:07:31 GMT |
>>>>>[Well, Lynch is okay. A gel round in the back, nothing too bad,
he wasn't even hurt much - as you could tell from the way he was swearing.
I put the footage together so you could see how good we all looked.
Tangent says his hit went off well and they grabbed their guy. Lynch
is interrogating him now. I'll keep you informed.
+++++begin video
The drone view pans along a street - you'd guess Renton from the
signs - zooming in and out on cars and individuals, before pulling
back to a longshot of several blocks around, checking the roofs. That
done, it closes onto a blue 3220ZX soft-top, roof down, in a Stuffer
Shack parking lot. Lynch, Lilith and Blade sit inside, eating and
talking: the audio feed cuts in with a slight 'pop'.
"Low profile?"
"Low profile."
"Yeah, right, low profile. This plan is low profile? What, you're
putting silencers on the assault cannon?" Lilith smirks at the two
men.
"Hey, who invited her?"
"You did, Lynch."
"Oh. Enough of the sarcastic remarks, okay?"
"Sure, Jason. Next, one of you is going to say 'easy in, easy out'."
"No, not really. 'Low profile' and 'easy' don't match." replies Lynch.
Blade suddenly grins. "I don't want a match. I want a lighter."
"You'll get a flamethrower up the kazoo if you don't shut up."
"Boys, do I have to throw you out of the car until you behave?
Remember, we want information. Prisoners. Data. "
"We'll do our best. Let's hope they co-operate." Lynch lights a
cigarette, passes it to Lilith, lights another himself, as they sit
and wait and the drone view continues to orbit.
"Do it to plan and it'll work." Lilith draws on her Marlboro. "I hear
he'll be quite glad to talk, but we have to save his face."
"Mani says street's clear. Internal system's cold, he can't touch it,
but no lurkers outside. Drone One shows rooftops clear, confirms no
obvious stakeouts. Meeting's breaking up, the Mafia guys are leaving.
Riku and his men are still inside." Lilith's voice sounds almost
bored. "Two shows Riku inside with eight, count'em, guards. No
shoulder weapons visible, the cafe is neutral turf and lightly
secured. Vittorio's guys are clearing the street. Ready?"
"Ready."
"Ready."
The 3220ZX backs out of its slot, and pulls away down the street -
swerving suddenly as it passes a small coffee shop, scattering the
sidewalk chairs and tables as it crashes through the glass front. The
view abruptly shifts to a low-angle from across the street, zooming
in fast as all three occupants of the car leap into action, the
camera speed slowing to let you see them move at something like normal
pace.
Inside the cafe, a Japanese is the focal point, at a table with four
companions - a second before they had been laughing and drinking
coffee, now two of his friends are dragging him towards the back exit
while the other two draw pistols, the overturned table spilling cups
and saucers. At tables either side of Riku's, two pairs of customers
are likewise turning to fight.
Blade cannons into the left pair, all three spilling to the ground
and out of view: you see smoke and spent brass spray from Lynch's MP-
5K, and the two men between him and Suriga are tossed backwards,
vivid orange splattered over their torsos. Meanwhile Lilith has
launched herself at the pair on the right, one of them trying to
bring up his pistol as she hits him with a flying kick and
knocks him into a corner. The other, an Amerind woman, fires a short
burst from her Ingram, missing; then uses the SMG as a club to lash
at Lilith, who twists under the blow, chopping the woman's wrist so
the Ingram flies away (firing another few rounds as it lands on the
floor).
The Amerind guard punches at Lilith's chest, as Lady steps around
inside it, smashing the huge pistol she holds into the woman's hip.
As the Amerind staggers back, Lilith finishes her with a perfectly-
executed flying roundhouse kick to the side of the head: showy, but
effective.
Meanwhile, Blade is rising and aiming at Riku, as Lynch fires again
- this time at the door Suriga's last two guards are hustling him
towards, the impact of the gel rounds slamming it shut. In Japanese,
he calls "Riku-san! We must talk." as the guards turn to fight -
one pulling his employer behind him, the other bringing out a
Guardian automatic.
"Hold!" snaps Riku, and his guards freeze: there is a long, tense
moment as everyone stares at each other over the sights of various
weapons, then Riku gives a curt hand signal and his men cautiously
holster their guns, one going to check the downed guards.
"Then, let us talk. Lynch-san, Lady-sama, I am honoured by your
attentions. You, I believe, are Blade-san, a warrior of some repute.
I commend you on your skill, and - " he glances sideways, nods almost
imperceptibly - "thank you all for sparing the lives of my men."
"Lynch? Star ETA nine minutes. Street still clear." whispers Lilith
as Riku bows and Lynch returns it.
"And I commend your guards for their dedication and bravery. They
fought well and bravely. Riku-san, time is short and I must apologise
for the discourtesy, but may we speak of business matters?
"Of course, Lynch-san." The oyabun gestures to one of the guards Blade
floored, who is groggily rising: the man quicky sets out chairs, and
the three raiders and the Yakuza sit: a jarring sight, four people
sitting and conversing in the midst of a wrecked coffee shop with a
car parked in the middle of the overturned tables and broken
crockery. With a wave, Riku dismisses his men to help their
comrades.
"Your interest is the torture chips, of course? Of course. I was
approached by a most impolite gaijin who offered me the chips very
cheaply. I refused: I find such matters... distasteful. If a customer
wishes to destroy their brain or body, I gladly profit from their
foolishness, but I disliked the notion of using these devices to inflict
pain on others - but I digress.
"The gaijin was most insistent, and next offered me money - much
money - to sell them. He said that they were experimental, and of
some importance, and threatened me openly that my continued refusal
would have... consequences for my clan and myself. So, I accepted,
and I have sold perhaps a hundred of the chips over the last few
months. However, in recent days the deliveries have stopped, as have
his communications. It appears that the experiment, whatever it may
have been, is over."
"And did you investigate this uncouth person?"
"Naturally, Lady-sama. If you wish, I could arrange for the
information we found to become yours."
"We are in your debt, Riku-san." says Lynch formally, rising and
bowing. "And now we must take our leave of you." Riku also rises
and bows, then the three raiders climb into the battered 3220ZX and
it reverses out of the coffee shop.
As Lilith is turning the car, Lynch is suddenly thrown forward in his
seat and Blade whirls, throwing something that bursts in a dense
cloud of red smoke behind the car. "Sniper four o'clock, no range! GO!
GO! GO!" The convertible's tyres lay rubber as Lilith floors it, she
and Blade hunched down in their seats and Blade continuing to lob
smoke grenades. The view snaps back to the high drone, which is
panning around higher and higher until it locks on two figures at a
roof edge, at least three blocks away: the roofing felt they had
hidden under lying crumpled beside them as the sniper tracks the
smoke cloud. Both wear standard raid jackets, with the word INTERPOL
stencilled in three-inch Day-Glo yellow across the shoulders. The
spotter suddenly gestures and the sniper turns, aiming at the drone
which begins jinking away at high speed, losing the view.
+++++end trideo
Oh, and those gel rounds aren't just gel rounds. But I'm waiting to see
what happens about that one. It might be ...amusing.
Watch your ass, though. Drake now has proof positive that you're an
accomplice and may come gunning for you too. Take care.]<<<<<
-- Lilith <18:17:52/04-15-57>
*****PRIVATE: 1Lt DiAnnio, SIGA
+++++engage encryption: read_this_and_die
>>>>>[Lilith, you were ordered to keep clear on this one, and I see you
didn't. Bad Lilith, naughty Lilith.
You're officially suspended for the duration of the tortureware problem
pending an internal inquiry.
Good luck and good hunting.]<<<<<
+++++disengage encryption: read_this_and_die
-- David Coppinger <18:22:42/04-15-57>
Director
Strategic Intelligence Gathering Agency
*****PRIVATE: D Coppinger, Director SIGA
+++++engage encryption: read_this_and_die
>>>>>[Are you going to come and chastise me, then, sir? Give me some,
ah, 'stiff correction'? <g> "Secret Agent Needs Spanking". I could set
it up on a 'phone line and get some spare cash for our budget.
And, what, this doesn't come out of my vacation allowance? How generous.
Is this paid or unpaid suspension... or is that a silly question?]<<<<<
+++++disengage encryption: read_this_and_die
-- 1Lt DiAnnio <18:24:51/04-15-57>
*****PRIVATE: 1Lt DiAnnio, SIGA
+++++engage encryption: read_this_and_die
>>>>>[What, you're taking on a conspiracy against the UCAS, risking your
life, fighting for your country against impossible odds, working alone
without support, and you want to be *paid* for it?
Unpaid suspension. Looks better for both of us if anything goes wrong.
Backdated salary, once you're officially cleared and reinstated. And no,
you aren't getting interest on it.
I sometimes wonder what it is that Lynch sees in you. Or you in him, for
that matter.
Good luck, both of you.]<<<<<
+++++disengage encryption: read_this_and_die
-- David Coppinger <18:22:42/04-15-57>
Director
Strategic Intelligence Gathering Agency
