ShadowRun Message Game (BDB)
\nIntroduction\/Situation file
\nfor Noriko Ariushi aka “Zero”; cross-referenced New Orleans<\/p>\n
“Zero.”<\/p>\n
Noriko “Zero” Ariushi glided down into the stool, taking the contoured,
\nmagenta temperfoam with a neat slew. Gloved hands hung a hair-width from the
\nminute puddles on the bar, opaqued against the shifting hues inside The Metro.
\nHe rode the foot rails, pivoting smartly, perfectly.<\/p>\n
“Dirk. Sumasen,” he replied, an imperceptible nod shifting his square
\nframe ever so slightly. Cuplinks twinkled. “You are in time. As always.”<\/p>\n
“Of course,” the elf replied. “As you are. I believe this is yours.”
\nThe elf opened a pale, slender hand. A cylinder, the size of a cigarette, laid
\non his cupped palm, its smooth, dull chrome finish was seamless, diffused
\nlightning from the strobe projection above skirting its translucent reflection
\nacross its curved surface.<\/p>\n
Zero smiled, the perfect white teeth a neat ivory cut that shot a chic
\nslash below the cold, pale-blue diamonds of his eurasian eyes. “Excellent. As
\nis yours.” He reached delicately into his buttoned jacket and withdrew a flat,
\nsquarish softcase, the leatherette contours as sharp as the creases of his
\nGinza suit. He handed it to the elf and took the cylinder, his casual
\nefficiency in time to the percussions running the Metro.<\/p>\n
The elf opened the case on his lap. Flush in rigid, charcoal-gray foam
\nlaid four parallel credit sticks. The elf eyed their flawless, black mirrored
\nsurfaces, a slender finger brushing the gold trim that ran from top to bottom.
\nThey were clean accounts, four keys to access four pigeonholes in a Swiss
\naccount cluster somewhere, discretely maintained by the Lancaster Corporation
\njust outside of official networks for covert payrolls such as the elf’s. His
\nturn to smile. He snapped the case close abruptly. Regrouping composure.<\/p>\n
“Everything is in order.”<\/p>\n
“Of course,” the elf acknowledged matter-of-factly. “Saraya was an easy
\none, I must admit. Ares is to be commended for their security precautions. But
\nreally,” –the elf grinned– “to depend on these barbaric city samurai who
\nknow nothing of honor. The success of the infiltration was but inevitable.”<\/p>\n
“So.” Zero smiled thinly. “Taylor arrives in Seattle in five days.
\nKazumi security will be another matter entirely.”<\/p>\n
“To err?” The elf asked. He shook his head, grinning. “Unspeakable.”<\/p>\n
“Make sure,” Zero replied curtly. “We do not speak of UCAS heimin now,
\nTanto. Kazumi is kuge, their men trained in the ways of Ninja. You will not
\nfind them so easily fooled. Indeed, they may fool you.”<\/p>\n
“You do not trust me, Ariushi-san?” The elf asked sternly.<\/p>\n
“I trust no one until the task is complete.”<\/p>\n
“I have brought you the first key,” the elf replied angrily, his
\nmalevolence lost in the Metro’s assault of lights and steady strings of long,
\nhard guitar licks. “One more, Noriko, and your ‘UCAS heimin’ corporation can
\nobtain the prototype cultures they seek for!”<\/p>\n
“And that is the reason why trust is irrelevant, Tanto,” Zero replied
\ncoldly. “Emotion seizes you at the most trivial of times. An invitation to
\nfailure.” He pivoted slightly on his stool and faced the elf.<\/p>\n
The elf stared at him, jaws clenching and unclenching. But Zero had the
\nangle now, years of training shifting his posture into an Octagonal Fighting
\nStance that offered no offensive opportunity. The elf knew this, albeit no
\nconsolation; at least one concealed weapon was already aimed at him. That he
\nknew as well. He turned away.<\/p>\n
“Taylor in five days. Kazumi will get a good fight.”<\/p>\n
“Of course.” Zero stood up, cuff-links hitting a pinch of cyan light,
\nhis well-tailored frame a dark emptiness in the kaleidoscopic display of
\npulsating light. The elf followed suit. Zero smiled sardonically. “A hard
\nbourbon will do you well. You look pale.”<\/p>\n
The elf smiled emptily and bowed slightly. He said, “The key provides a
\nreference to a single identity. A Melissa Saraya.”<\/p>\n
“That is all?”<\/p>\n
“Yes.”<\/p>\n
“I will verify. In the meantime, where?”<\/p>\n
“New Orleans, UCAS.”<\/p>\n
Zero smiled. “We journey to opposite sides of the continent, then.” He
\nbowed smartly. “Arigato.”<\/p>\n
“You are welcome.”<\/p>\n
“Good bye.”<\/p>\n
*****<\/p>\n
An hour at 40,000 feet on SST Lane 35 out of LAX. Noriko landed
\ntwenty-seven past midnight, renting an Elite with his own credit. Being
\nofficial business, Lancaster had opened Level 2 credit lines for him out of a
\nlocal Wells Fargo branch that was only too happy to welcome the exhorbinant
\nbusiness. But it would be much more dangerous that way, Noriko thought. Ares
\nwould be feeling out the networks now, running through transaction records in
\nthe hope of finding the telltale pattern of intensive corporate activity as
\nreflected in the heavy, conspicious flow of resources to and from the
\nsuspected area. The key Dirk had “obtained” from Ares R&D personnel Bernadette
\nSaraya pointed to New Orleans. Ares Macrotechnology Incorporated will be
\nwatching here.<\/p>\n
A second-floor room registered at the Hyatt Regency, and Noriko’s base
\nof operation was complete. He was starving, too, he thought, as he closed the
\ndoor behind him, keying the security pad for a 10-hour full-level lock. His
\ngloved index finger hung over the ENTER overlay for a second before he thumbed
\nfor ABORT, grabbed his coat, and went out the door.<\/p>\n
After hours in New Orleans, he thought as he started the Toyota. Let us
\nsee what New Orleans has to offer for Zero.<\/p>\n
Press !<\/p>\n
