| From: | Mike Goldberg <michael.goldberg@*******.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Shadows around Midnight (Denver Saga #5) |
| Date: | Wed, 2 Jul 1997 02:14:37 MST |
>>>>>[ I'm doomed to be the fragging answering machine. Just great.
+++++ continue interrogation transmission
*Whirlwind* We got three minutes before the main guy.
*Midnight* Why so long?
*Whirlwind* Finny Mick should be easy to break. We fed him the truth
serum and we made him think you are a priest. It seems that Finny has
an over healthy respect of religion. It is ironic coming from him,
but it makes our job easier. Make it feel like a confessional. We
had Keys create a special program for him. He is doomed, he knows it.
Through the "church's" guidance he can fight the dooming taint of the
demon. The program we have him on is taking him through a
confessional on his life. When you enter, according to the program
you should be just at the meeting time of Sprinkler.
*Midnight* How did you find that all out?
*Whirlwind* It was Quinn's gem. She found out the info, and managed
to even score a person who pegged the approximate time of day that
good old Finny would have met the kid.
*Midnight* Quinn, if this goes smoothly, I'll have to find some
decent way of repaying you.
*Mighty Quinn* I'll hold you to that, pretty boy.
*Whirlwind* Thirty seconds.
*Midnight* Of course, I still have to repay you for the helping me
get over my snoring, so it may take a while.
*Whirlwind* Fifteen.
*Midnight* Geiger, costume change time.
*Whirlwind* Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Stopping program. Sleep
cycle. Three. Two. One. Good morning.
"Good morning, my son. I trust your rest has been peaceful."
"Not really, father. I can feel the taint. It constrains me, and
haunts my dreams. I can't stop thinking of all my sins."
"Let God's mercy cleanse you. Let God's mercy embrace you and protect
you from this evil taint on your soul. Admit your failings, and you
are closer to God helping you." Midnight pauses for a decent amount
of time. "What do you wish to tell me about?"
"Father, I remember meeting this really strange elven kid one day.
Street had it that he was a decker. You know, a computer genius."
"Go on."
*Midnight* Fuck. You guys really timed this one well.
"The meeting was a hastily arranged one. He had a crisis he needed me
to solve immediately. It seems he wanted to switch employers for
good. He wanted me to sell Shadowfox down the road. The incentive he
gave me was pay plus that I got to take all the money for the reward
on his head."
The sagely 'father' intones, "Greed is one of the many ways, demons
work through. So what did you do?"
"Well, I -- I charged him more than usual, because it was going to
take a lot of credit to nail the one called Shadowfox. He also just
wanted to be spared of the hit. You know, needed to be there and
unknowing, but didn't want to know the details so he wouldn't blow it.
He had another job for me as well."
"What was that?"
"Abduct a woman who goes by the name Colleen Weber in Philadelphia. I
was then to distract any interest in her as long as I could."
*Geiger* Hello!
*Whirlwind* He's telling the truth. This could be a long one. You
will need to grill him further on this one to find out all those
details. But that is for later. Find out current status of the jobs
that Sprinkler requested.
The father says quietly, "Go back a few steps for me. I'm confused,
son. For money and fame of bring down the Shadowfox, whoever that
poor soul is, you go after the person. Why Colleen? What does she
have to do with all this?"
"I didn't ask Sprinkler because I had a feeling, that would cost him
giving me the Shadowfox job. The kid was sharp. He knew how to cut
deals."
*Midnight* Interesting, but I know plenty of elven kids who would fit
that description.
*Whirlwind* Keep focused, you fool.
The father quietly asks, "So that is it? He asked you to get him free
of his employer for all sorts of incentives, and bag some lady in a
different city? Didn't you ever try to find out why?"
"I couldn't. It would tip his hand to Shadowfox if someone was asking
questions about Sprinkler. Shadowfox was very protective of his
talent. He would have heard the questions and been a lot harder to
nail him. So I kept it silent. I hired the best talent I could, a
small elven and human shadowrunning group that had a lot of history of
doing black jobs and doing them well and quietly. Told them to leave
Sprinkler alive but escort Shadowfox to a buyer in Sioux Sector. The
buyer wanted Shadowfox alive, but the bounty was high enough to cover
it."
"The job went smoothly?"
"Incredibly. Sprinkler played his role to a hilt. I was surprised
though because he let his guilt show. I didn't expect that
considering what a player he was. It is a shame though. I heard some
Midnight character got to him, but not before a real street monster
named the Wanderer nailed the decker. I heard all the same that
Midnight sealed his fate because someone else wanted the kid alive and
blamed Midnight for the death."
*Midnight* I thought street rumor was that Sprinkler was alive.
*Quinn* It is.
*Whirlwind* Think, Midnight. The Wanderer could have easily told the
church that info, and if he at any point went to confessional ... The
Wanderer could have told his story.
*Midnight* Which is what Death would have wanted. Gets me in more
trouble with everyone. Great.
The father intoned after a small pause, "May God have mercy on
Sprinkler's soul. How did you handle the Colleen job?"
"I hired talent out of Seattle for an extended job. Told them to
report to a Fixer in Philadelphia. That Fixer coordinated them. They
pulled the hit, and as Sprinkler predicted, there was a complication.
Some joker that had ties to a company. I told them to lure them away
from some hard hitters named the Legion. So I told them to go to
Florida."
*Whirlwind* Mistake on Finny's part.
*Midnight* It is a good thing for our friends, brother. I would hate
to see the level of bloodshed that would happen. It would make Berlin
seem like a party.
*Whirlwind* Point taken, _Father_.
The father asks surprised, "Florida? Why Florida?"
"It was part of the details that was included in the payment. Since
pay kept happening, I kept doing the instructions."
"I don't understand, my son. How could Sprinkler, a mere kid, set
that all up?"
"From what I heard, and from the deckers I know, it is easy, Father.
You just set up people to check that the details are carried out.
I figured that as long as I got paid, it didn't matter whether or not
Sprinkler was still alive."
"So you just condemned a person by a dead person's wishes?"
"I'm afraid so, Father."
"So where is Colleen now?"
"I -- I shouldn't tell even you, Father."
"Jesus Christ, our lord, as witness, I won't tell anyone my son."
"It's that I fear your safety in knowing this information. She ....
she is in London, father."
*Midnight* I don't believe this.
*Geiger* You _are_ cursed, Midnight. Find out who and where she was
shipped and then let us confer on this one.
"Where in London?"
"Why Father? Isn't my word sacred?"
"When you give your word for the sake of greed, even influenced by a
demon, it isn't sacred. I have a chance to save a life. Somehow. I
won't let an innocent person suffer from a dead man's wrath. Jesus,
our lord, expects no less from me."
"I -- "
"You can tell me, my son. If you tell me, my son, you don't have to
worry about the sins of greed haunting your future. Jesus, our
savior, our lord, will save you from the demon if you are willing to
give up the greed to save an innocent woman from certain danger."
"Last I heard, she's at >>address<<. I sent her to James Wadsworth
the Third. He's a player in London."
"What can I expect from this James?"
"He is dirty, but from what I have heard, no one has proven it,
Father. Has connections in the elf land as well as here from what I
have heard. Don't know to much more, as my instructions were specific
on where to send it, and who would receive it."
*Whirlwind* Let's put him to sleep for a little while.
"My son, the sins of your greed run deep. I need some time to
meditate as to how best help you fight off the stains of that sin.
Please reflect on this matter as well, and I will be back in a few
minutes. You're willingness to confess will help us find a path out
from this darkness, my son. Jesus won't abandon you in your time of
need."
*Whirlwind* He hears you leave. He hears monk's chanting. He is a
sleep.
Midnight curses, "Un-fucking-believeable."
Geiger, "I have heard of this James fellow. Couldn't pin a crime on
him in a million years. Fragging politician."
Midnight after a long pause says, "Whirlwind, are their any chances
that Sprinkler asked for more than just Shadowfox and Colleen?"
"Maybe Scourge, but something tells me he would have used a different
fixer for that so it wouldn't all tie together that neatly."
Geiger says, "Easy and Griffyn, what questions do you need to ask
them?"
Easy says calmly "Which Elfland are we discussing here?"
Midnight nods. "Should have asked that when I had the topic at hand.
Sorry about that. Whirlwind, make him feel like he has been
meditating for a real long while. I should interrupt his meditation
just about his time to 'go to sleep.'"
Geiger smirks, "No need. I couldn't prove it, and neither could just
about anyone else, but dear old James has connections in Tir Na Nog.
At least that was word on the street back when I was seriously paying
attention. Knowing James, it hasn't changed in under a year."
Midnight says, "Is that enough information, Easy or do we need to hear
Finny's speculation on the subject?"
Easy responds calmly, "I think is enough information."
+++++ pause interrogation transmission
Sigh. Why doesn't someone else deal with the phone for a change?
]<<<<<
-- Croaker <09:10:52/07-02-58>
