BETWEEN A CORP AND A HARD PLACE

By Jennifer Brozek

Hunkered down in their safehouse, Miyuzaki surfed the Matrix while listening to his teammates bicker about the most recent job they’d accepted. 

“What the frak were we thinking, taking this run?” Jannat muttered as she stared at the credstick with 15,000¥ showing in its digital window. The human mage shook her head as she split 10,000¥ equally onto two other credsticks.

Lantana shrugged. “Who thinks with that kind of nuyen on the line?” She was a tall elf, fair as the summer sky and as colorful as her name. Her blond hair was dyed an ombre of sunset colors, from deep blue over blond roots, then fading into purple, then red, orange, and yellow at the tips. Her armored leathers, complete with reinforced panels, were no less colorful, though a more uniform purple, and she wore it with comfortable ease. 

Jannat, more subdued, but no less colorful in green synthleather, held out two of the credsticks. “We should’ve asked for more. He didn’t even twitch when I doubled the fee. That means there’s a lot more to this than we know. Who pays 45,000¥ for an extraction?”

“Should’ve. Would’ve. Could’ve. All past tense. The deal with the Johnson’s done. Once the fixer’s done his job as middleman between us and the client, there’s no renegotiation unless there’s new information.” Lantana grabbed the two credsticks, pocketed one, and offered the other to the small, grey ork in AR glasses. “Miyuzaki? What do you think?”

It was the kind of discussion his teammates had had before. Jannat worried that she didn’t do her job well enough, and Lantana refused to worry about anything. They balanced each other, and his more pragmatic approach rounded out the team. The two women were the closest thing he had to a family in this hard world of 2080; a society of rampant corporate greed, government bribery, and daily upheaval. Despite their different races and ages, the three of them had become more than mere shadowrunners—people who skirted the edges of mainstream society, selling their often illicit skills to anyone who would pay: corp, citizen, authorities, or government—they’d become family by choice.

Miyuzaki drummed his knees with light taps of his fingertips, like he was typing as he traveled the Matrix. He didn’t answer her. Nor did he reach for the money. 

Lantana touched him on the shoulder. “Reality to Miyuzaki. Come in, Miyuzaki.”

“Working,” Miyuzaki said then took the credstick from Lantana’s hand. “Both of you are right. We agreed to the job, but something’s wrong. I’m gonna find out what it is. Check security. Just to be sure. Physical and astral.”

Jannat and Lantana glanced at each other, then turned away. Their base of operations, a small warehouse, was broken up into five basic areas: three of the corners were makeshift rooms for each of them. The fourth was a security station. In the middle, acting as a psychological barrier, was the common area, with a makeshift kitchen and dining table that served as both meeting room and lounge. There was one tiny bathroom next to the security corner. It wasn’t ideal, but it was cheap, dry, and kept them out of the way of prying eyes.

Miyuzaki watched them go. Lantana first walked to the small security setup to give the cameras a look. Later, she would walk the perimeter of the warehouse building they’d taken over as safe haven, runner’s den, and home. Jannat, as heavenly as her name, returned to her home corner of draped Indian fabrics and low cushions to drop into a cross-legged position and prepared to go astral, checking the minor wards she’d put up and giving the area a thorough look-see. 

He didn’t really think they had anything to worry about—at least, not yet. But there was something off about this run. It was the biggest one they’d been involved in to date. Their first extraction…and Mr. Johnson had come looking for them because of their success in their last mission—a paydata run. Nothing too hard, but something the team had had to get him onsite for and protect him while he navigated the corp’s intrusion countermeasures, AKA IC. IC could be deadly if a decker wasn’t careful.

The target was one Theo Haskins. Miyuzaki recognized the surname. A quick search brought him to Haskins Garbage Management Services. “We deal with junk so you don’t have to.” That led to reading about the company and its owner, Dylan Haskins…married to Teena Haskins. Two kids: Theodore and Wanda.

Miyuzaki pursed his lips. Their target was the kid of one of the most successful orks in the city. A rare thing, but not as rare as the smoothies might think. Orks were good at necessary but “distasteful” industries—garbage, construction, landscaping, treatment plants. Industries built on sweat equity. It made them rich. Some of them very rich. It was time to go looking for where the crème de la crème of ork society hung out. At least, within the Matrix. 

He dove into the Matrix’s full virtual reality, forgetting the meat world, trusting Jannat and Lantana had everything under control. Most of his deck was in his head. He had a commlink to allow him to access the Matrix when he didn’t want to go full VR. Sometimes, image enhanced glasses and augmented reality were all you needed to get the job done. It’s why he kept his old-school decks, computers, and monitors set up in his corner of the warehouse. Sometimes, you needed the hardline connection. Sometimes, it was fun to surf the web manually. He liked to keep all his skills sharp.

Inside the Matrix, Miyuzaki’s avatar was a miniature Totoro. A meter tall, he was soft, furry, round, and grey with the white bib. To complete the look, he had a leaf hat—bigger than the one from the anime. Or, rather, bigger on him than it was on the original anime character. It wasn’t just for looks. It was one of many lines of digital protection. 

Traveling to the digital ork underground, he passed, or bypassed, all their security measures. There were more talented ork deckers than most people knew. Of course, most people thought orks weren’t good for much. They never looked past the squat stature, broad jaw, and tusks. It often meant orks were either reviled or ignored. Now, they were going to kidnap the son of one of the richest orks in the city. 

Miyuzaki had to admit he didn’t like it. Shadowrunners, by definition, were skilled people who performed illegal or semi-legal activities when anonymously contracted through a middleman by a corp, military, government, or citizen rich enough to pay for it. Shadowrunners weren’t good guys by society’s standards, but most of them had their own code of honor. Until now, Miyuzaki hadn’t had to consider something like this…going against another ork, or kidnapping a teenager not much younger than himself.  

Extraction, he chided the part of him that protested the run.

It didn’t make him feel any better. 

A quick flash to the research he’d done on the Haskins family said Theo was into football and videogames. He sent out a ping to find out when Theo was usually online and where. 

“Hello. You looking for me?”

Miyuzaki, who’d been waiting in the lobby of one of the videogame Matrix hangouts that catered to orks, whirled around.

Before him was Theo Haskins. His avatar morphed between a silver blob and what he actually looked like: medium tall with moss green skin and dark brown hair—cut in a popular asymmetrical style. The teenager’s clothing was a non-descript afterthought.

“What’s wrong with your avatar?” Miyuzaki asked.

Theo glanced down at himself. “New to this. Haven’t settled on a look yet.”

The wrongness of the job and this kid smacked him hard. In meatspace, Miyuzaki’s hackles rose and he almost said, “That’s not how avatars work.” Instead, he nodded. “Chill. Wasn’t looking for you in particular. I was looking for successful orks in my area. I kinda wanted to see how the other half lived. Uh, you want me to help you settle on an avatar form? I’m pretty good at it.” He ruffled his fur to show how he’d animated it to move as if there were a wind around him.

“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.” Theo peered at him. “I like the fur. Who are you?” 

“I’m Miyuzaki. What do you want your avatar to look like? It seems like you want to be Katkey from Malicious Intent 2.”

“Yes! All silver metal. But not Katkey. Anonymous.”

Miyuzaki quirked a smile. “If you want to be anonymous, you probably don’t want to have your SIN on full display.”

Theo frowned. “Oh—that’s in my AR glasses and my commlink. I didn’t know they came with me. Gotta remember that.” 

In a blink, the corporate system identification number and associated ID disappeared. In its place was just the name “Theobromian.” Miyuzaki walked around Theo’s still morphing avatar, probing at it. All identifying information disappeared. He filed the avatar name away for future research when he was in a much more secure place. Most people tried to keep the same avatar name wherever they went online. 

“Show me how to program my avatar?”

“Sure,” Miyuzaki said, realization growing. He thought he understood why this extraction paid so well. Seeing how the kid coded and compiled programs would confirm his theory. Probably. “Let’s go someplace more private. I’ve got a secured workroom. Follow me.”

Theo nodded, then followed Miyuzaki down the rabbit hole shortcut he had cued up for quick exits.

Miyuzaki came out of his VR session to find Lantana and Jannat watching him. “What?”

“You were sweating. You only do that when things get touch-and-go,” Lantana said. “We were waiting to see if we needed to hit your emergency switch or heal you.”

Jannat handed him a can of Stuffer Shack brand tea. “You found something.”

“Yeah.” He popped the can tab and felt the metal warm in his hands. When he was sure he wouldn’t burn himself, he drank. Warmth poured through him. It felt good. “I found out what’s wrong with the run…and the target found me.”

Neither woman spoke, but both shifted from worried to wary. Lantana glanced over her shoulder at the security screens. Jannat circled her hand in a “get on with it” gesture.

“One,” he held up a finger, “the extraction is for the kid of one of the richest orks in Seattle. Two,” he held up a second finger, “the kid knows about me. He found me when I sent out a ping looking for his Matrix activity. Three,” he held out his thumb, “I’m pretty sure Theo Haskins is a burgeoning technomancer.”

“Oh, drekballs,” Lantana muttered.

Jannat hmphed. “Technomancer. Interesting. I know about them, but I’ve never met one. They don’t need a commlink to access the Matrix. It’s literally all in their heads.”

“Yeah, and I’m pretty sure Mr. Johnson’s client is a corp looking to experiment on him. Only the fact that his dad is the “King of Garbage” in the city, damn rich, and has decent security has kept them from just grabbing him outright. At least, that’s my guess. He’s also homeschooled.”

Jannat grimaced. “Got any good news?”

“Yeah. He’s young, dumb, inexperienced, and a teenager. I’ve got an idea.”

“Let’s hear it.” Lantana stood and began to pace, her steps echoing against the building’s high ceiling.

Miyuzaki shrugged. “I’m gonna invite him out to party.”

“A jabber?”

“Exactly. But first, we gotta figure out where the next one is.”

Jannat stood and patted her pockets. “Not a bad idea. While we’re out I’ll get some slap-patches and such for the run.”

The ork stretched before standing. “And food. Grey decker needs food badly.”

As the three of them converged on the exit, the perimeter alarm sounded three sharp tones indicating someone was at the front door.

Lantana pulled two Ares Predator pistols from the small of her back. Jannat stepped back behind the elf, hands raised and glowing with a spell ready. Miyuzaki pulled an Ares Light Fire pistol from his waist. The trio waited for something else to happen. 

The front door opened and a tall human woman in an expensive business suit walked in. “Good evening, Lantana, Jannat, and Miyuzaki. You may call me Miss Johnson. My client has an offer for the three of you. One I know you’ll want to hear.” The woman kept her hands at her sides and waited. She looked unarmed, but looks often lied.

A quick glance told Miyuzaki that the woman had her AR ID locked down. There was something in her pocket that had the name “Miss Johnson” and a commlink number attached. Between the two was a twisting, writhing Celtic knot. Simple and direct. 

“Who the hell are you?” Lantana didn’t lower her pistols.

The woman arched an elegant eyebrow. “As I already stated, I am Miss Johnson, with an offer for the three of you.”

Jannat dropped her hands and shifted from behind Lantana until she stood between her teammates. “We’re listening.” Her words made Lantana lower one gun and move away. At the same time, Miyuzaki moved in the opposite direction to spread them out—a tactic to keep all of them from being hit by a single area spell. 

Miss Johnson watched until the three of them had settled. Then she focused on Jannat. “My client is aware of the job you’ve been contracted to do. Once you complete the first part—and we have every confidence that you will—we would like you to consider delivering the package to us instead of your original client.”

Miyuzaki caught the woman’s glance at him on the word “confidence.” He made a note to scrub his programs and deck for spyware. Probably not necessary. They probably had Theo under surveillance, and the kid was too new to his own skills to notice. 

Jannat crossed her arms. “That’s a good way to get a bad rep in this business.”

“Lie to them. Tell them someone got to the target before you did. You seem like an eloquent woman. I’m sure you can convince them.”

“What’s the offer?”

“Triple the pay. 45,000¥ for each of you. On delivery.” Miss Johnson glanced at Miyuzaki again. “And the knowledge that the target will be well-taught and not experimented on.”

Lantana scoffed. “What happens to the target after the run is none of our frakkin’ biz.”

Miss Johnson inclined her head to the elf. “So you say.” She raised her voice as she raised her head. “I’m going to put my hand in my pocket for my business card. Don’t shoot me.” The subtext—“you won’t like the results”—was clear. 

Jannat put her hands out to her companions and nodded to the business woman. “Please leave it on the floor in front of you. We will consider your words.”

With slow, careful motions, Miss Johnson slid her hand into her jacket pocket and pulled out a business card with two fingers. She placed it on the cement floor with the single, graceful movement of a dancer. “My number is on the card. Do note that time is of the essence on this request. Have a good evening.” She turned her back on the three of them and straightened her suit jacket before she disappeared out the door, leaving it open behind her.

A moment later, a single sharp beep sounded. Lantana moved to the security screens. “She arrived in a limo. That was subtle.”

“Get the license plate number to Miyu. Then go find out when the next jabber is.” Jannat strode to the business card and looked at it for a long moment before picking it up. “Old fashioned. Holographic and expensive. Caters to an interesting clientele.”

“It’s got an AR component, of course. Fancy pants,” Miyuzaki said as the two women converged on him. He sighed. “Just get me whatever to eat. You know what I like. Looks like I need to do some research.”

Lantana scowled at the open door. “How’d she find us?”

“The kid, probably,” Miyuzaki replied. “Watching him and spotting me. Whoever put the trace on was good. Real good.” 

“45,000¥ each,” Lantana mused. “That’d pay for a lot of upgrades.”

“And tank our rep with our current Mr. Johnson.” Jannat glared at the business card in her hand, turning it over and over.  She gestured her chin to the elf. “Go on. We can’t go with you. I commed you the list of what I need. Pull the funds from the group account.”

Lantana gave her an exaggerated bow. “As you wish, O Heaven of my heart.” 

Jannat rolled her eyes and turned to Miyuzaki. “Traced you to here, huh? Not very secure for a decker.”

“Says the mage whose runner name means her actual name.” The ork plopped to his seat. “I’m going to see if I can figure out who this new client is.” 

This time when he came out of the Matrix, it was only Jannat watching him. Lantana sat by the security center, keeping a wary eye on the screens as she checked over each of her weapons. 

“Well?” Jannat asked as she handed him a bag of soy burgers, fries, and fried cherry pie.

Miyuzaki studied her as he pulled his food out. While they were a democracy by tacit agreement, Jannat was the face and mage of the group. That made her the natural leader. Currently, an agitated one. Something had happened.

“Gordian knot of ownership,” he said. “It dead-ended at a car formerly owned by NeoNET. Someone better than me hid it. What’s wrong?”

She held up the business card. “Pretty, pricy, AR component…spirit attached.”

“You went astral while I was in the Matrix?”

“Lantana was back. The spirit. It’s in the form of a small dragon.”

Miyuzaki’s eyebrows rose, but he didn’t say anything.

“It was touched with dragon magic.”

“Are you sure?”

Jannat nodded. “You know it when you feel it. It’s filled with immense age and power— and a deep rage. I talked to the spirit. It’s fairly simple, but it chose its likeness based on its master.”

“Frak me,” Miyuzaki breathed. “You don’t think…?”

“No. Don’t be foolish. That was a servant. A dragon would never-ever deign to come here.” 

“Which one do you think?”

Lantana broke in, “Celedyr’s my guess. He was head of R&D at NeoNET until it was torn apart.”

Jannat and Miyuzaki stared at her.

Stalking over, Lantana shrugged. “I come from an old elf family. Old enough to have done business with and around dragons. From that alone, I say we take Miss Johnson’s offer.”

Jannat’s answer was quick. “No. We’re just starting to get a rep with the Johnsons around here. I don’t want to mess that up.”

“I’d rather have a corp mad at me than a dragon. Corps are filled with red tape and fiefdoms. Dragons—” Lantana shuddered, “—they remember.”

Miyuzaki interrupted the argument before it could really begin. “There’s not going to be a choice to make if we don’t extract the target. We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it. When and where’s the next jabber?”

Jannat and Lantana gave each other one last challenging glance before Lantana said, “Tomorrow night. Odeline warehouse in Tacoma.”

“Alright. I’ll get him there. You figure out how we’re getting him out.”

<I’m here. Just came in through the door.>

<Booth in the front left corner. I’m with friends, a couple of smoothies. Chill people.> Miyuzaki adjusted his AR glasses. “He’s here. On the clock.”

Lantana stood and looked around. “Like we talked about. He’ll be just another drunk tusker who needs some air.”

Theo was taller than Miyuzaki expected, but not as stout as an ork who played football. He was a good-looking teenager in an upgraded teenager’s uniform: a stylish, real leather bomber jacket, t-shirt, and jeans. After a long look at Jannat, who stood out in her sari, and a longer look at Lantana, who winked at him, Theo smiled at Miyuzaki.

<Come sit down. They won’t bite. Not even if you ask nicely.> Miyuzaki commed and patted the bench next to him. It was easier than trying to shout over the music and the crowd.

Theo did as he was bid and texted back. <So, this is a jabber. I had to look it up. ‘An illegal gathering of people focused on listening and dancing to novahot music, as played by live DJs or in locked down, local VR Matrix servers that require a physical connection to access. Often characterized by mainstream media as a menace and by teenagers, influencers, or counter-culture experts as the place to be.’ It didn’t mention the extensive AR overlays. Homeschooling isn’t the best for something like this.>

Miyuzaki turned on the AR overlays. Right now, it was a dance-off between two groups, one made up of cat-girls, the other of bipedal robots. The overlays covered the entire dancefloor and half the crowd. <You can turn them off, if you want. I did. It’s too much sometimes.> He turned the overlays off again.

“Drink?” Lantana half-shouted to the group.

Miyuzaki nodded and waved his finger in a circle, indicating for her to get drinks for the table. “That’s Lanie.” He pointed to Lantana. “And Jane.” He gestured to Jannat.

Theo ducked a toothy smile at Jannat. She returned it in kind, but commed, <Gonna do a quick astral look to see if anyone’s watching.>

Miyuzaki nodded along to the music, then leaned toward Theo. He smelled the kid’s musk and mixture of high-end grooming products. “Was it hard for you to get out?”

Theo shrugged. “Not really. Never snuck out before. Don’t really like people.” He looked up at Lantana as she returned with four drinks that looked like beer or cider. She put the drinks down in front of them, saluted with her own plastic cup, and drank. She drained the whole thing in a series of gulps, put the cup on the table with a deliberate thunk, and waggled her eyebrows.

Jannat shook her head with a smile then repeated the move. She put her empty cup on the table with a bit more delicacy, then shuddered. “Wiz. Not bad.”

Miyuzaki read her lips more than heard the words. He picked up his cup and nodded to Theo’s. “To the future.”

“Okay. Let’s do this.” Theo picked up his cup and saluted. “To the future. Whatever it may be.” Then he slammed back the drink. When it was done, he commed Miyuzaki. <How long before the drug takes effect?>

<What do you mean?>

<I’m young. Not stupid. I’ve been followed around the Matrix for a couple of days now. I caught one of the sprites and looked at its programming. It was interesting. Logged my movements. Stats about me, bio and ID information. My normal schedule….> Theo held out his hand and showed his companion the captured sprite in AR. 

<Not one of mine.> Miyuzaki felt sweat form under his arms and at the small of his back. <What do you mean about the drug taking effect?>

<I’ve decided to let you do whatever you’re going to do to me. It’s got to be better than my life now. I don’t like my family. I don’t like my dad’s plans for me. I really don’t want to inherit a kingdom of garbage.>

<We didn’t drug you.>

<You’re not kidnapping me?> Theo looked confused. <Drek. I figure we’ve got less than ten minutes before my bodyguards bust in. I know they check on me at regular intervals.>

<You serious?>

<Yeah. They’re good guys for protective jailers.>

<Thanks for the warning.> Miyuzaki smiled too many teeth at the target. <The alcohol was to relax you. This is to get you out of here.> He tapped Jannat’s leg under the table. 

She reached around Miyuzaki’s shoulder to touch Theo, imparting a stun spell as she did so. Theo’s eyes went wide before he slumped over. Lantana, sitting on the edge of the booth, reached over and pressed a sedative slap-patch to Theo’s neck. 

Theo blinked slow and dazed.

As the three of them pressed in around the target, Miyuzaki commed, <He says he’s got bodyguards on the way. Let’s move.>

Lantana stripped Theo of his commlink, glasses, and watch. She left them on the table as she hauled the young man out of the booth. Miyuzaki slid out next to her and threw Theo’s unresisting arm over his shoulder. The group navigated through the crowd with difficulty as they headed for the entrance.

Just as they got within a couple meters of it, two large trolls bulled their way through the door. They both saw the semi-conscious Theo at the same time.

“Hey!” the bigger one shouted as he pulled a Colt Manhunter heavy pistol from its holster and leveled it at the group.

As the two troll bodyguards shoved through the crowd, Miyuzaki pulled Theo from Lantana’s grasp. Jannat moved back with Miyuzaki, willpower already focused with one glowing hand raised. She threw a stunball at the bodyguards. Several partygoers dropped to the floor as the magical explosion hit them. The trolls wobbled, then gathered their wits about them and focused on their ward again.

Lantana commed, “Flash.” It was all the warning they got before the elf drew her pistol with one hand as she pulled a grenade from her coat. She threw the flash-bang at the trolls’ feet.

The loud reports and bright flashes were enough to startle the dancefloor. That, coupled with a second stunball from Jannat, had the entire jabber certain they’d been busted by Knight Errant. The crowd panicked as the music cut off with a screech. People screamed and ran in every direction. It gave Lantana the opening she needed to take on the smaller of the two trolls. 

She fired three quick shots from her Ares Predator at the bodyguard, keeping him off-balanced as she ran at him. One shot struck the troll’s chest, but only dented his armor. Moving faster than he did, she pulled her Victorinox Memory sword from her waist, morphing it from a belt to a blade with the flick of her wrist.

While she was faster, the smaller troll was more heavily armored and combat trained. He pulled a pair of daggers from forearm sheaths and blocked her fast slices with skill and strength. The elf retreated a step, and the two faced off. 

While Lantana distracted one of the bodyguards, the other homed in on Miyuzaki and Theo as the decker pulled the teenager along. It wouldn’t be easy, but he’d planned for something like this. “Theo, help me. Don’t fight.”

Theo struggled to get his head up and blinked. “Walter… Ah…drek.”

“I know. I know. Just move with me.” Miyuzaki kept Theo between him and the troll. Drugged and barely conscious, Theo tried his best, but ended up leaning more on Miyuzaki than not.

Miyuzaki pulled the larger ork backward with him and watched the AR marks on the floor only he could see. If he had it right, Walter the troll had a smartlink. But with the AR show still going on without the music, it would be hard for the troll to see them and get a clear shot. If he turned off his AR overlay, he couldn’t use the smartlink to the gun, and couldn’t be sure of his aim either. It’s why jabbers always pulled the AR components last when they got busted. Most Knight Errant enforcers couldn’t aim for drek without their smartlink.

A bullet crashed into the wall next to his head as Miyuzaki found his back against that same wall.

“Walter, no!” Theo threw out his arms, trying to protect Miyuzaki. He almost pulled free from the smaller ork’s grip.

Miyuzaki put his Ares Light Fire pistol to Theo’s head and shouted, “Stop or I geek the kid!”

The troll stopped where he was, though he didn’t lower his heavy pistol. Miyuzaki didn’t care. Walter had stopped on one of the AR marks. It was part luck and part planning. Warehouse loaders and cranes rarely had decent security on their controls. Miyuzaki looked up and released the overhead hanging hook. Fifty kilograms of iron hook crashed into Walter’s head, followed by many lengths of chain as the troll collapsed without a word.

“Walter?” Theo asked.

“C’mon.”

“Wait…Walter?” Theo pulled against Miyuzaki. Drugged or not, the larger ork was going to win.

<Jannat, stun the target.>

Jannat, who’d been watching while keeping out of the line of fire, flung a stunbolt at Theo from her place by the door.

Theo collapsed against Miyuzaki. <Lantana, evac. And help me.> He sent an “X marks the spot” to her AR glasses. 

Her answer was to drop three more flash-bangs and a couple smoke grenades. She appeared through the smoke—bruised, bloody, triumphant—and grabbed the now-unconscious Theo.

As one, the team hurried out the exit to their van; a beaten-up caravaner. The area was still full of confused partygoers. Since Knight Errant wasn’t there arresting people, a lot of them couldn’t figure out if the jabber was over or not.

Jannat got behind the wheel as Lantana and Miyuzaki wrestled Theo into the back. Lantana grabbed a modified straight-jacket off the floor and helped Miyuzaki get it on the unresisting ork. It was more of a faraday cage than a means to bind and hold the teenager. With a father as rich as his, it was a good bet that the entire Haskins family had some kind of DocWagon implants. 

As soon as the van pulled into traffic and aligned itself with Grid Guide, everyone took a collective breath of relief. The hard part was done. 

Or so they thought.

Next to Jannat, a small spirit in the form of a green dragon popped into existence. Lantana shot at it once before she could control her enhanced reflexes enough to not destroy more of the van’s interior. The dragon flitted around the front of the van, over to Theo, then back to Jannat. 

When it spoke, everyone could hear. “Now that you’ve completed the first part of your task, Miss Johnson, and my master, would like to remind you of their offer. 45,000¥ to you each upon delivery. The address will be sent to you soon.” With that, the small spirit disappeared.

“Frak, frak, frak!” Lantana put her pistol away. “I’d forgotten about them.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Jannat said. “We’re not going to betray the client. That’s gonna nuke our rep.” 

“No-no-no.” The elf shook her head emphatically. “No. You do not want a dragon mad at you. They don’t just get even. They get satisfied. A corp will forget about you eventually. A dragon…never.”

Jannat scowled at that. “We don’t know who Mr. Johnson’s client is. Corp is a guess. Could be someone just as powerful.”

“I doubt it. Also, I’m gonna live a lot longer than you two. I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder for centuries.” Lantana tapped Miyuzaki’s shoulder. “What do you think? Dragon or corp?”

All three of their commlinks lit up with a message; an address on the outskirts of Bellevue, nothing more.

“Bellevue or North Seattle,” Miyuzaki murmured. “Let me think about this. Set the Grid Guide to go in a big circle. Don’t break any laws.” He glanced up. “My decision is final?”

Lantana and Jannat glanced at each other then nodded. 

“Wiz. I need a little time. Gotta weigh the options.” Miyuzaki leaned back, closed his eyes, and dove into AR.

When he opened his eyes, he was only half-surprised to see Theo in his deck’s digital workroom. It was where they’d gone for him to teach the teenager how to reprogram his avatar. “Hello.”

Theo was slumped in a corner of the room, his eyes blinking through his drugged state. “Sorry, I didn’t ask. Knew it was safe.” He waved a silver arm. “Turned off the DocWagon GPS. They can’t find us now.”

Miyuzaki sat at his workbench. “That’s not for me to worry about. The client will deal with it. How’d you get in here?”

Theo didn’t seem to be able to keep his eyes open more than halfway. He compromised by shutting one eye and opening the other wide. “Built a tunnel. Quick escape. Where am I going?”

Morphing from his Totoro form to his realistic avatar, Miyuzaki said, “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. We’ve got two offers for you. One started the run. The other found us after I met you, and offered us more.”

Theo morphed from his anonymous silver avatar into his normal likeness. “Why ask me? Aren’t you the bad guys? You killed Walter.”

While Theo had asked the question with the suggestion of a smile on his face, the question still stung. “I doubt Walter or the other one is dead. Just hurt.”

“That’s good. Means Dad won’t fire them. Maybe.”

“As for why I’m asking you…it’s because you’re special, and we’re pretty sure one of the clients is a corp and the other is a dragon. You walked into our trap because your dad wouldn’t give you a choice about what to do with your life.” He smiled wryly. “Most of us orks don’t get a choice. I wanted to give you one.”

Theo nodded. “Corp or a dragon?”

“The dragon pays us more, and said they wouldn’t experiment on you. It’s lip service, but it’s more than what we’ve got from the other client. Which we can’t be sure is a corp. It could be some other rich guy with an interest in technomancers.”

Theo’s face went through a series of emotions: surprise, pleasure, then cynicism. “What do you think I should do?”

Miyuzaki pressed his lips together and shook his head. “I don’t know. Either way, I’m afraid you’re not going to be your own man for a while.”

“I’ve always wanted to meet a dragon.”

“Miss Johnson did say you’d be well-taught.”

“Alright. Dragon it is.” Theo paused. “Can I come visit you from time to time?”

Against his better judgment, Miyuzaki nodded. “Yeah. You can. When you’re able to. Just…give me some warning first, yeah?”

The limo was already waiting in the parking lot of the closed shop by the time the caravaner rolled up. Miss Johnson and the driver got out of the car when Jannat got out of the van. As soon as she was within comfortable speaking distance, Miss Johnson said, “Congratulations on your successful run. Your fee is being transferred into your individual accounts now.”

Miyuzaki grimaced as a bank alert popped-up in his AR glasses. These people were dangerous. They knew too much about everything. It was time to make the team disappear. Though, if Lantana was right, it wouldn’t matter. The dragon had their number now, and that was that.

Theo was fully awake when Lantana and Miyuzaki escorted him out of the van. The teenager smiled at the human woman. “Hi. When do I get to meet the dragon?”

“Hello, Theo.” Miss Johnson smiled a tight, pleased smile as she glanced sidelong at Jannat. “You’ll meet them soon enough.”

“Do I still need this?” He rustled the modified straight jacket. “I turned off my DocWagon implant’s GPS.”

“For now. Just to be safe.” She gestured to the open limo door. As Theo clambered in, Miss Johnson glanced at Jannat again. “We may contact you soon for another task, if that’s all right with you?”

Jannat glanced at her teammates. Both Miyuzaki and Lantana nodded. “Of course, Miss Johnson. Though, a call or an email would be preferred first, to set up a face-to-face meeting.”

“Of course.” The woman got into the limo. The driver closed the limo door, returned to his place, and drove away.

As soon as the three of them were back in the van, Jannat asked, “Is it a good thing to be in a dragon’s contact list, or a bad thing?”

“Yes,” Lantana answered. 

“Figures. What do we do about Mr. Johnson and his client?”

Miyuzaki shrugged. “I have an idea. It might not be a good one, but it’s an idea nonetheless.” 

Mr. Johnson glanced up from his coffee as his assistant appeared at his booth. “Yes?”

“A package arrived. It’s been scanned and is clean. Do you want it now?”

“Who’s it from?”

The man gave a brief, humorless smile. “Anonymous. At least, on the outside.”

“Fine. Bring it here.”

The assistant disappeared, then reappeared with a small pen-sized box. The man set it on the table before Mr. Johnson then retreated to give his boss privacy, but remained close enough to be available as needed. 

Mr. Johnson eyed the box. The tape binding the lid had been cut. Opening it, he found a credstick and a typed note: Target was extracted before we got to him. Whereabouts unknown. Next time. 

With a laugh, he picked up the credstick and thumbed the small display. 15,000¥ showed. “Amateurs,” he scoffed. “But setting a nice precedent.” 

As soon as he set the empty box aside, his assistant retrieved it. “All is well?”

“Yes. Null sweat. Business as usual. If the courier is waiting for a response, return with ‘Better luck next time.’”

Miyuzaki pulled out of the café’s security camera and audio system. He smiled at his companions. “I think we actually pulled it off. He took the bait. Thinks we’re amateurs for returning the upfront nuyen. Didn’t think twice about the failed run.” 

“Thank frak for that.” Lantana sighed. “We did it.”

“Well,” Jannat mused, “I guess, sometimes you can deal with a dragon.”

“I’d like to not make it a habit,” Miyuzaki said. He knew, though, they didn’t really have a choice in the matter. If the dragon wanted them again, it got them. At least for now. “In the meantime, let’s celebrate. We did it: navigated competing Johnsons, completed a successful mission, got paid extra, and lived to run another day.”

END

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Brozek is a wordslinger and optimist, an author and an editor, and a collector of antique occult literature. She believes the best thing about being a full-time freelance publishing industry professional is the fact that she gets to choose which sixty hours of the week she works. Visit her at jenniferbrozek.com. 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content. 

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