| From: | jaimie.nicholson@********.otago.ac.nz (Jaimie Nicholson) |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Johnie Q |
| Date: | Sun, 4 Aug 1996 13:34:23 +0000 |
>>>>>[ Well, I found him, virtually that is. This happened a couple of days
ago:
+++++Begin playback
The view is of the waiting area of an airport, before the
customs/weapon-check area, but beyond the airlines' check-in desks. A
time/date stamp, 14:35:23/08-01-57, flashes at the top right of the screen,
then disappears. A pulsing man-shaped glow enters the screen, and the
legend "JQ" appears above its head. The flashing stops, revealing a well
built Asian man, and the words disappear. Another man in the crowd starts
to flash the same way. He gets the word "Ronin" before the flashing stops.
The view and sound go fuzzy as an enhancement program is run, and when it
clears the area around "Ronin" is magnified to the point that he is plainly
visible, and most of the noise from out of the enlarged area is filtered
from the footage.
Ronin is dressed in black, wearing a leather coat, and carrying a military
style backpack and a heavy brushed-steel briefcase. He is facing towards
the camera, and a seriously ugly scar is visible across the right side of
his face. As "JQ" enters the area of coverage, carrying a piece of
cardboard with the word "Hernandez" on it, Ronin starts to look around
himself, a nervous cast to his features. Before JQ can reach him, Ronin
moves to meet the Asian.
"Hoi, Johnie" says Ronin, "What..."
"Sit," orders JQ, in a flat voice, "elbows on knees, hands up by
face."
Ronin does as instructed, taking a seat on the uncomfortable row provided
for the great unwashed.
"How the frag... ?" he asks, "and why?"
"How?" replies JQ, "You mean the shotgun? Mage I know put a spell on it.
Put a spell on me too, made me fast. Faster than you maybe? I know you,
read your file, and I think yes.
"Why? That's another story, a long one. I'll cut it short. Was an IntSec
captain, caught you for Renraku, and you got away, so the corp tried to
terminate me. I ran, hoping to find you, sell them your body, get my life
back. Then I kill Virotti's daughter, couple days ago, no way back now. So
I'll punish you all, take the honourable way out. Did Phoenix already, then
you, next is the traitorous Peter. Get some more names from him. Now..."
An unidentifiable noise has been growing louder as he spoke, and as Johnie
Q gets up, it becomes recognisable. A group of people approaches, all
talking in spanish, arguing about something.
"There you are!" says one of them, a woman, in an exasperated tone. She is
talking to JQ.
"Preguntale de donde esta su vehiculo." says another, an old man, in a
querulous voice. The words "Ask him where his vehicle is" run across the
bottom of the screen, presumably a translation.
The woman waves a hand, hissing dismissively, then turns to JQ, ready to
speak again. JQ is now pointing the "Hernandez" sign at her. Judging by his
expression, something in him breaks.
"Frag off!" he screams in her face, appearing to threaten her with the
sign, as if it were a gun... a shotgun perhaps.
The sign blurs, resuming the form of a Defiance T-250, and then Ronin is
moving. JQ is standing to his left where he sits, and Ronin spins his body
to the right, coming off the seat and landing on his back, rolling
backwards, towards JQ, lifting a leg as he does so. The raised limb knocks
the shotgun's barrel up and away as it fires, the blast of pellets
destroying a light fitting and dropping sparks and fragments of glass on a
large area of the crowd. There are screams and shouts, anger mixed with a
healthy dose of fear, and peole start to run from the area.
Ronin completes his roll and comes to his feet to the surprised Asian's
left, throwing a backhand right at his head. JQ ducks under it, and Ronin
attempts an elbow jab that the Asian blocks with the shotgun, shoving Ronin
back. He pulls the shotgun into firing position, but Ronin knocks the
barrel aside with a desperate low roundhouse. JQ spins with the impact,
coming around with a backhand butt-stroke as Ronin recovers from his
uncoordinated defensive kick and moves in. Ronin blocks the strike at the
Asian's forearm, then performs a spinning maneuvre of his own, hitting JQ
in the shoulder with his right elbow. The Asian is knocked back and Ronin
hits him with a side kick that pushes him into the seats. JQ, still moving
fast, loses his balance and goes over the row, but doesn't lose hold of the
shotgun. The Asian rolls backwards, comes to his feet and fires, missing,
as Ronin dives over the end seat in the row. The Hernandez family and most
of the others in the area have fled or taken cover by now, and Ronin
follows suit, ducking down at the end of the row of seats.
"Can't stay there forever!" calls JQ mockingly, "Come out, little
Ronin!"
He fires again, knocking plastic splinters from the seats. "Or should I
come and get you?"
JQ starts moving, silently, towards Ronin's place of concealment. Ronin
looks desperate, there is nowhere to run now. Then there is the sound of
booted feet. _Big_ booted feet.
"Drop the weapon, or you're dead!" booms a huge voice.
JQ spins, looking at something out of the camera's view, away from the
seats and Ronin.
"No!" he screams, then throws himself over the seats, rolling into a
position to fire at Ronin.
Ronin moves even as JQ does, as if anticipating his dive. As the Asian
comes up into firing position, Ronin is there to grab the shotgun's barrel,
and push it away as the shell goes off. JQ slams the side of the weapon
into Ronin's face, driving him back, and prepares to shoot again, but
something knocks him off his feet, throwing the shotgun from him, and he
goes down, blood spraying from his left arm. Ronin staggers up, moving
towards him, as JQ crawls towards his weapon. The Asian grabs the butt of
the shotgun, and Ronin throws himself on JQ's back, also reaching for the
weapon. The Asian rolls, throwing Ronin off and straddling his chest, but
they both still have a grip on the shotgun, one straining to point it at
the other, the other struggling to point it anywhere else. Ronin has poor
leverage, but is obviously stronger, so JQ can't get the weapon pointed at
him long enough to fire the single shell remaining in the five-bullet
magazine. Then Ronin makes a twisting motion with his hips, briefly
unsettling the upper man. While JQ is distracted, Ronin moves one hand off
the shotgun, and hits the Asian in the wounded arm. JQ howls, releasing the
shotgun with the left hand, and Ronin digs a thumb into the bullet hole.
The Asian's grip weakens, and Ronin wrenches the shotgun from JQ's hand,
throwing it away. As Ronin releases the Asian's left arm, JQ rolls off
after the shotgun, crawling now to take avoid making himself a target for
whoever shot at him earlier. Ronin struggles to his knees, pursuing the
Asian as he moves towards his lost weapon, but a large troll enters the
scene, placing one foot over the shotgun and one-handedly pointing an H&K
sub-machine gun at the two.
"Let's settle down a little, shall we?" he asks, then displays a badge,
"Thirstein, Airport Security."
JQ stops moving for a second, then lunges to his feet, throwing himself at
the troll. He gets about halfway before Thurstein opens fire, walking a
short burst up the Asian's torso, and putting him down on the floor again,
this time to stay there.
+++++End playback
That's it then, he's dead.
+++++Include dethcert.txt
I could claim that Thirstein was my hitman, and demand all my money, but I
am fundamentally an honest soul. I'll settle for 10%, for the work that I
did do. Make it cash though, nuyen, not that corp drek. Time isn't much of
a factor, but safety is. Meet me in the ATM vestibule of >>bank name and
address<<. Tell me when though, so you can set up whatever you need to feel
secure, as long as you come alone.]<<<<<
-- Squatter <19:29:30/08-03-57>
