Shadowrun 01 - Never Deal With A Dragon (43 page)

"Bad night to work late, Mr. Suit," he said.

The man glared at him.

"You want to get hurt, make a move. Cooperate and everybody will be happy. You, me, even United Oil. After all, they won't have an expensive rug cleaning bill or employee replacement search."

The man said nothing, but he spread wide the fingers of his trapped hand and relaxed the muscles of his arm. Ghost let him straighten and back away from the desk.

Sam entered the room, closing the door before crossing to look at the terminal screen. "You've got a pretty high clearance." Sam tapped the I.D. recall and read their captive's name. "Mr. Fuhito. You will pardon us if we take advantage of your position in the system."

Fuhito found his voice. "You will not get away with this. Do you know who is director of our company's security forces?"

Ghost grinned and stepped close to Fuhito again, placing the muzzle of his right-hand Ingram smartgun level with the man's eye. "Great big Dragon by the name of Haesslich. And we'd be very impressed if he were here. But he's not. It's just you and us, so maybe you'll think about your future and cooperate."

"I will not compromise my employer."

"You don't have to, Mr. Fuhito." Sam looked into the lens of the room's security camera. "Dodger, can you slip through into this access port?"

The monitor under the camera had been displaying a peaceful view of the vehicle park, but suddenly blanked. Words formed on the darkened screen. "Nay. Locked too tight. Grab what you can from there."

"Right." Sam retrieved the chair and sat down at the keyboard. Fuhito had not been jacked in, which was just as well. A manual access to the Matrix was acceptable; it was slower, but less painful than decking. If the trip out was as tense as the trip in, he would need all his wits about him. The headache he would get from jacking in would be a liability.

He was about to trash the file Fuhito had been working on when he noticed a familiar name, Andrew A. Wilson. Scanning the file with sudden interest, Sam's surprise grew as he read. The document was a plan for a hostile extraction of Wilson by special operatives of United Oil. The source of the extraction order was not listed, but Sam knew that only higher authorities could approve such actions. Those same authorities would know if Wilson was already working for United Oil's interests. And if he were, any extraction would not be hostile. If Drake was with United Oil, his arrangement with Wilson was unknown to his superiors. Was Drake a rogue, then? Or was he unconnected to United Oil, and their trip here useless?

The answer might lie in the database. Sam closed the file and ran a search for references to Drake, Hart, or Tessien. He came up empty. Fingers poised on the keys, he tried to think what to do next.

"You are searching for information on Katherine Hart," Fuhito said. He must have been able to see the screen from where he stood. Sam swiveled the chair to face him.

"That's right. We want to know who she works for, among other things. She's involved in something we want stop. Can you help us?"

Fuhito drew himself up, obviously having made a hard decision. "I will tell you who they work for."

"I thought you wouldn't compromise your company," Ghost said.

"I will not. The Elf bitch and her worm work for Haesslich directly. They are under his personal contract."

"By the worm, you mean Tessien?"

Fuhito nodded.

"Why are telling us this?" Sam asked.

"Hart is a worse threat to United Oil security than you two. The Dragon gives secrets to her, a money-grubbing mercenary of flickering loyalty. Her presence is an affront to our security organization, an insult to the company."

"Why don't you tell your bosses?" Sam asked. Fuhito maintained a sullen silence. Either he had done so and been ignored, or he was afraid to. "All right, then. What about Jarlath Drake?"

"I know nothing about any Jarlath Drake. Is he another of Haesslich's adventurers?"

"We ask the questions, chummer," Ghost warned.

Fuhito turned on him with sudden heat. "I must know about this Drake. You will tell me if he is a threat to United Oil security."

Ghost laughed softly, "Take it easy, Tiger. The only threat you have to worry about right now is us."

Snorting, Fuhito replied, "You are no threat. You will not leave the grounds alive."

Ghost holstered one of his guns and stepped up to Fuhito, passing an open hand across the man's face. Locks of hair drifted toward the floor. The Indian's fingertips came to rest lightly on the man's neck, marking the course of his jugular vein. Sam could see Fuhito pale and his eyes go wide with fear. Ghost's smile was tight and hard; not a tooth showed.

"Ever try to kill a ghost?"

The tableau broke as the security monitor beeped, and the words "Time, time, time," marched across the screen. Ghost stepped away from the shaking Fuhito and moved to the door. Sam stood up, took out his gun, and pointed the Lethe at the United Oil man.

"It's been enlightening, Mr. Fuhito, but it's past your bedtime." he said, pulling slowly on the trigger. The dart struck home and Fuhito jerked, his expression flickering from surprise to contempt as he slumped. Ghost caught him before he hit the floor. The two runners arranged Fuhito at the desk, draped to appear as though he had fallen asleep. By the time they closed the door, the knowbot monitoring the length of inactivity on secure files had blanked the screen, logging Fuhito out.

As they hurried down the corridor back to the pens, Ghost whispered, "I think you've lost your invisibility. He'll spill to Haesslich in the morning."

"I disagree. I saw enough of his kind in Japan when I as with Renraku. They're loyal to the company, but also concerned about personal honor." They were into the vehicle park before Sam had a chance to say more. "Mr. Fuhito is actually Major Fuhito, Haesslich's second-in-command of security," he said. "Being caught by a couple runners who slipped in and out of his domain without setting off a single alarm will shame him deeply. I called him mister instead of by rank, so he'd think we didn't know who he was. He may take that to mean we won't say anything about who we caught. If none of us talks, tonight never happened. His kind find it real easy to take that line.

"Fuhito must be ambitious, which is why he works late at night. He wants to move up in the world, but he wants his world orderly. Haesslich and his personal agents are a troublesome headache to him, too random and unpredictable. Such wild cards are disturbing to a man like Fuhito. He wants them gone from his world, and that's a service we might provide in a number of ways. Whether we eliminate Haesslich's agents, expose them, or simply foul up their plans, we embarrass Haesslich.

"The Major will be looking for a way to use the Dragon's embarrassment to his own advantage. If Drake is involved Wilson and Haesslich and the big boys of United Oil know nothing about that, I think the Major may get what he's hoping for. If Haesslich's private operatives mess up a United Oil operation by compromising a lucrative acquisition like Wilson, the Dragon will not earn points with United Oil executives. With Haesslich's stock going down, Fuhito's goes up. We, working to expose Drake's operation, will do some of the Major's work for him, making it easier for him to take Haesslich's job. No, Mister Fuhito will be very quiet at his night visitors.

"At least now we know that we can hunt down Drake without worrying about getting on the wrong side of United Oil." Sam looked around. "Now, how do we get out of here?"

"Null perspiration, paleface. Just follow me."

Hart stood by the cockatrice pen. The animals seemed sluggish, but it was still early and the day overcast. She felt a bit sluggish herself and would have liked to go back to bed. It was a good day for sleeping. Business rarely allowed one to indulge slothful habits, and today business by the name of Haesslich had called her and Tessien to check security at the dockyard. He hadn't said why exactly, but he wanted things locked up. She suspected some sort of special shipment coming or going within the next few days.

Tessien arrived in its usual flurry of dust. It radiated its own irritability in response to her greeting.
Yes, indeed
, she thought,
a wonderful morning
.

Tessien was too large to enter the security building, so they'd hold the meeting out here. She wondered how long Major Fuhito's struggle to balance Japanese politeness, company honor, and personal annoyance at outsiders would keep them waiting. The dockyard was still gearing up for the day and there was not much activity. She watched the cockatrices scratch about at the ground in the enclosure.

"
They are drugged
,"

"What?"

"
The
(unintelligible sense)
have had their senses artificially dulled
." Tessien broadcast its annoyance at Hart. The serpent didn't like explaining itself.

There was no reason she could think of for United Oil to drug its entire flock of guard beasts. Something had happened, and Haesslich would want to know what. If she could solve the problem before bringing it to the Dragon, she might earn a bonus. At the very least, it might put their working relationship back on a better course. She wouldn't expect real gratitude from the beast, but he might learn to appreciate her professionalism a bit more.

And it was time to be professional. Major Fuhito and a trio of security personnel were coming down the front steps. In contrast to his crisply uniformed aides, Fuhito's clothes looked slept in. He was heavy-eyed and his movement slow. As they approached her and the serpent, she noted that the major's gait was unusual. In the tight burst of speech that passed for a whisper among dracoforms, Tessien confirmed what she had concluded.

"
He has been drugged, also
."

After the formal greeting, she took Fuhito by the arm and led him around Tessien, putting the bulk of the dracoform between them and his aides. Tessien's tail warded off their attempts to follow.

"Well, Major," she said with a smile, "would you like to tell me about it or do you want to talk to Haesslich directly?"

Fuhito blinked like an Eyekiller suddenly dragged into the light. "What are you talking about?"

"Last night's penetration, of course."

Fuhito's face froze. "How did you know about that?"

"It's my job to know about such things," she said sweetly and watched him calculate his answer. Had he not been so muzzy from whatever the intruders had used on him, he would have hidden it better.

"I have done nothing to compromise United Oil," he said.

"I haven't accused you of anything, Major. What did they I want?"

His slowness in answering warned her that he was about to tell her either a lie or a half-truth.

"They were looking for Jarlath Drake."

Drake. But the Major was holding something back. A sudden awful suspicion flared. "And just who were they?"

"Two men. An Indian, enhanced, and a Caucasian with a datajack. There was also a decker whom they called Dodger."

Dodger, too. She felt her own suspicion echoed from Tessien.

"Was this Caucasian a blond with hazel eyes? Average height and build, datajack on his right temple, four small scars on his right hand, and a corporate's spare tire?"

"Yes to all but the weight. He was slim." Fuhito's voice was less slurred now and his eyes sparkled with calculation.

"Your suspect has a beard?"

Not when she had last seen him. But the description and details were close enough. Too close. The trials he had been through could easily have cost him weight, and he'd had enough time to grow a natural beard. There might be other men who matched the description, but how many would come here looking for Drake? The intruder had to be Verner. This was a most unfortunate turn of events, but she had only herself to blame for not checking the dracoform's kill in person.

Verner had enjoyed two too many escapes from death. That had to be something more than good luck. Somehow Verner had gulled her. He was slicker than she had thought.

Or had Tessien lied to her? There didn't seem to be any reason for it to do so. Their four years of partnership had been more than satisfactory to both. Or so she thought. She was certain Tessien hadn't betrayed her back in the Tir, but perhaps it had lied then as well. If their partnership was no longer important to it, the serpent might be using this opportunity to get rid of her. The lack of further attempts was not a good indicator that she could still trust her back to it. Perhaps it was only waiting for a good opportunity. Though Tessian had never betrayed her before, she decided, with regret, that she could never trust the serpent's word again.

"
He must not find out
," Tessien announced as soon as it had worked out the implications.

The serpent's thought was twin to her own. Whatever her problems with Tessien, they both had a problem named Samuel Verner. Even if he wasn't as slick as she was beginning to suspect, Verner was a loose end that could get her and Tessien aced. Loose ends had to be tied off, finally, permanently. This time she wouldn't underestimate him.

Knowing that Fuhito had observed her silence, she hid her concerns and smiled at him. "Major," she said, keeping her tone light, "we don't have to work at cross-purposes here. I won't tell Haesslich about last night if you tell me all you know about your visitors. Your embarrassing little secret will be safe."

Fuhito's smile seemed a little too predatory to be one of relief. She would have to be careful of what he told her.

It was mid-morning by the time they returned to Sam's new neighborhood. Traffic was light on the streets, but the walks were moderately crowded. Kids scurried through the pedestrians, playing games that seemed to have mutating rules. Vendors hawked from their stalls and parked vehicles. A few shops were still in the process of running back their bars before opening. Groups of locals gathered around the tardy merchants and exchanged gossip as they waited. The crowd was varied enough that an Elf, an Indian, and a Caucasian walking together did not seem out of place.

Ghost grabbed Sam's arm and pulled him under the awning of a noodle stall. Dazed with exhaustion, Sam couldn't think of a suitable complaint as Ghost and Dodger appropriated two of the stools by the counter. Not understanding, Sam took the empty stool between them.