Crossroads (13 page)

“I didn’t see any hovering around Garnoff.” I said.

“Doesn’t mean there isn’t any.” Boom replied softly, snagging a drink from a passing waiter. “Of course, Garnoff might not be important enough to rate his own bodyguard. Manadyne must have security keeping an eye on the whole place to make sure there aren’t any problems. Besides, Garnoff is supposed to be a mage, which means he could have
other
protection.”

That was quite true. Mundanes needed bodyguards and weapons, but magicians had spirits and spells for protection. Garnoff might have an elemental bodyguard and some protective spells on his person. In fact, the lapel pin he wore might even be a focus for such a spell. I resolved to examine him more closely when circumstances permitted.

“Looks like Garnoff found who he was looking for.” I said.

Across the ballroom, two men approached Garnoff and bowed. Both were Japanese and, from the way they walked, one was clearly a subordinate or bodyguard to the other. Garnoff returned the bow and began speaking with them.

“Recognize them?” I asked Boom and Trouble.

“You could say that.” the troll said in a low voice. “That’s Tomo Isogi, kobun to Hiramatsu
-sama
, oyabun of the Hiramatsu
-gumi
of the East Coast yakuza. It’s the biggest yak clan in Boston.”

“The yakuza.” Trouble said grimly. “I wonder just what exactly is their connection with Garnoff?”

I watched as Garnoff politely waved the two men toward one of the side-exits from the ballroom, and they quietly left the room.

“That’s what we need to find out.” I said

I made my way over to one of the food tables and pretended to examine the selection. Trouble hovered nearby, playing the part of my companion for the evening perfectly.

“I’m going to do some magic to find out what Garnoff and Isogi have to talk about.” I said. “Just keep an eye out and nudge me if someone says something to me, because I won’t be able to hear what’s going on around me, okay? I might set off some magical security, in which case we may have to cover things.”

Trouble nodded and smiled like I had just told her a clever joke.

“I'll work the room a bit and give you some breathing space.” Boom said. “I might be able to pick up a little more about Garnoff while I’m at it.” The big troll strolled off and began greeting guests like old friends.

I cleared my mind and focused, feeling the mana flow all around me. The intention of the spell came to mind, and I poured my will and energy into it to make it a reality, sending it out. I was right, there was some magical security. The wards around the ballroom weren’t strong enough to keep out any determined astral intruder, only enough to provide an alert if an astral form tried to get into the place without permission. They made the spell a bit more difficult, but I’d worked my way around tougher wards before.

Mv hearing passed through the ballroom, picking up snatches of conversation, then passed through the wall following the faint sound of conversation coming down what sounded like a long hallway.

I closed my eyes for a moment to focus on the sound and moved my awareness toward it, hearing the hushed voices get louder and more distinct. Clairaudience was not my best spell, by any means, but Garnoff and Isogi weren’t very far away, and projecting my hearing was far easier than sending out my astral body, leaving my physical form lying in a senseless heap on the floor. That would have been a great deal more difficult to explain. My astral form also wouldn’t be able to get past the wards without alerting security six ways to Sunday.

I opened my eyes and glanced around the ballroom a bit, but the music and drone of conversation were silent. I kept my hearing focused on the conversation in the room a short distance away.

“. . . is not acceptable.” someone, probably Isogi, was saying.

“Hiramatsu
-sama
must be patient.” Garnoff replied in an even tone. “All is going as planned. The benefits of his support of Manadyne’s research . . .”

“Are barely enough to justify the risks.” Isogi interrupted. “And they will not continue to justify them for long. There are those who do not favor the support of magical research and experimentation, no matter how potentially profitable.”

“That is because, Isogi
-san
, other factions are not as visionary as the New Way. Following the wisdom of Honjowara
-sama
in New Jersey, you understand that the Awakening has changed the old ways. Magic is part of our future. It is a power that must be harnessed, or else others will harness it and use it against you. If it can be mastered, it can be a weapon to use against your enemies. Look at the success you and your people have gained so far from such vision.”

“We understand the value of your work, Garnoff
-san
, but we must see progress for the amount of money being put into this venture.” Isogi replied. “Hiramatsu-
sama
requests you turn your research information thus far over to us for study, so we may determine how we will proceed.”
There was a moment of silence before Garnoff spoke again. “It will take some time to gather my notes and present them to you. May I at least have a few more days?”
In the pause that followed I could almost hear Isogi mulling over the idea. “Very well. You have a week in which to show progress to us. Otherwise, the oyabun will decide if we can continue to support you.”

“I assure you, Isogi
-san,
a week is all I will need to prove the value of my work to you. You will see just how much of an advantage it will bring us all.”

At the sound of a door opening, I dropped my spell. The noise of the ballroom resumed, and I waited a moment for my senses to reorient themselves before turning toward Trouble.

“So?” she asked, leaning on my arm.

“I’ll tell you later.” I said, “but I heard a few interesting things. Now I think it’s time to take a closer look at Garnoff.”

When Garnoff and the yakuza re-entered the ballroom, they quickly parted company. Garnoff moved along the outside of the ballroom, and I made my way toward him. I focused on my breathing and willed my awareness to expand, to take in the unseen astral plane mundanes were entirely unaware of, but that magicians like me could perceive.

The music and conversation of the party seemed to fade into the background a bit as the astral opened up to my awareness. I could see the glowing auras surrounding all the guests. They showed their emotions, their feelings, and the power of their individual life force. Dark patches and bands revealed the presence of cyberware, places where living flesh had been replaced with metal and plastic. The astral space in the room was a sea of emotions, mostly greed, self-interest, fear, and pleasure, all mixing in a heady current. The wards, faintly glowing walls that followed the contours of the room’s physical walls, seemed to contain and amplify the energy in the room.

Garnoff’s aura was smooth and bland, showing only mild interest and simple contentment. There was a distinctive glow of magic to it, showing his magic nature. I was fairly certain he was masking his true aura. The words I heard from the other room suggested that Garnoff was either hiding his true feelings now or he had ice-water for blood. He didn’t bother to hide his magical nature, since so many people here knew he was a mage, but I couldn’t be certain if the power I saw reflected in his aura was any true measure of his ability.

A shimmering aura around his lapel pin confirmed my suspicions regarding its magical nature. It was clearly some kind of focus, but it lay dormant at the moment, waiting for its owner’s will to bring it to life and draw on its power. I wanted to examine it a bit closer, but something else caught my attention first.

Above Garnoff’s right shoulder hovered a disembodied eye about the size of a fist. It was a watcher spirit, invisible in the physical world, but present on the astral plane. Before I could do anything to hide my astral presence or slip back into the physical world, it spotted me.

Garnoff lifted his head like he was listening to a voice I couldn’t hear and then he gave a tight-lipped smile. The pale image of his physical self, as seen from the astral, began to take on more color and substance as his own astral form appeared and looked at me. He studied me for a second or two, and I was fairly sure my own masking held against his scrutiny. He would learn from my aura only what I let him learn. Point one to me. I hoped.

“Talon, I presume.” Garnoff’s mouth never moved, but his spirit lips shaped the words. Although his voice was low and quiet, the sound carried clearly to me over the faint background noise of the material world.

“You presume a great deal, Dr. Garnoff.” I responded in kind. I kept my anger and my true feelings from showing in my aura, but the tone of my voice left little mistaking my intent.

If he noticed, Garnoff didn’t show it. “I hadn't expected to meet you in quite this way.” he said, idly plucking a ripe strawberry from the nearby table and biting into it “I’m sure you didn
’
t. Exactly how were you planning on meeting me?”

“Let’s just say under other circumstances, for now.” Garnoff said as he chewed and swallowed. “You’re more resourceful than I thought.”

“I’m just full of surprises, all right.”

“Indeed. Your Talent has developed a great deal over the years."

I was taken aback for a moment. Was Garnoff bluffing? How did he know anything about my magical development? His aura betrayed no hint. It was an impenetrable facade, but my own masking wavered a bit.

“I’m sure Jason Vale did a good job of showing you the ropes.” Garnoff continued.

I very nearly surged out of my body to seize his astral form and throttle it. I wanted nothing more than to wipe the arrogant expression from his face and his aura, but I held myself back. It was stupid to go up against an opponent I knew nothing about in a setting like this. Even if I could take Garnoff, which was by no means certain, I’d never get out of the ballroom before Manadyne’s own magical security came down on me like a ton of bricks.

“I’ll tell you this just once, Garnoff.” I said in a flat and controlled voice. “You made a mistake coming after me, and you made a mistake bringing Jason Vale into this. By my count, you’ve got one more mistake coming to you. Three strikes and you’re out. After that, I’m taking you down.”

I turned and walked slowly away, allowing my astral awareness to fade. Just as the astral plane slipped from my sight, I could hear Garnoff’s spirit-voice, speaking as if from very far away.

“Let the game begin.”

I walked back to Trouble and we found Boom chatting in Japanese with some local Renraku suits eager to build bridges and garner allies after all the trouble their company had been through recently. I snagged Boom’s attention and pulled him aside.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Let’s blow this pop-stand, chummer. We’ve got a shadowrun to plan.”

10

I let Trouble arrange the meeting at the Avalon for the following afternoon. We took one of the tables tucked into a corner with a view of the dance floor. The club wasn’t open yet, and the place was quiet. A few employees went about their business, pointedly ignoring our little gathering as Boom, Trouble, and I sat and waited.

“They’ll be here.” Trouble said. “Don’t worry.”

I realized I was drumming my fingers on the table and stopped. “I’m not worried. It’s just odd, being on this side of the table.”

Boom chuckled. “You don’t know the half of it. term. It’s like being a kid playing dress-up sometimes.”

“Yeah. Makes me wonder what was going on in everyone else’s head during all of those meets I went to as a shadowrunner.”

Just then, muffled footsteps sounded and I looked up to see two men approaching the table; a burly ork and a tall, well-muscled human with close-cropped blond hair. Both of them walked with the moves I’d come to associate with street samurai: barely restrained energy, ready to burst into action at any moment. Both also wore street clothes and carried no obvious weapons, but I was sure they had them nonetheless, just the same as I did. It was expected.

“Hoi, Trouble.” the burly ork said with a grim smile and a nod. Then he turned to me. “Mr Johnson.” His voice was low and gravelly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

For a moment, I almost looked around to see who he was walking to. Then I realized it was me. All of a sudden, I was Mr. Johnson, the anonymous face-man hiring shadowrunners. Like playing grown-up, indeed.

“Likewise, Mr. Hammarand.” I said, returning his slight nod.

“You can call me Hammer. Everyone else does.”

“You can call me Talon." I gestured toward the empty seats on the other side of the table. Hammer took one while his companion stood behind his chair like a bodyguard. When the second guy made no move to sit, I figured Hammer was in charge of the negotiations, just as Trouble had said he would be.

“Trouble told you about the run?” I asked.

Hammer glanced over at Trouble. “She told me you could be trusted, which is why I’m here. I’ll be honest. I don’t know you, Talon, but I do know Mr. Pembrenton, and I've known and worked with Trouble for years. I trust both of them not to frag around with me or my team. I just want you to know where I stand.”

“I appreciate your honesty.” I said. “Let me be equally blunt. I need some runners for a job and I’m willing to pay well for it. But this isn’t a run where the Johnson hires you and you report back when it’s all done. I’ll be going along and you’ll have to work with me directly. I know what I’m doing, and Trouble assures me you and your team are professionals. Can you handle those terms?” Hammer regarded me with his dark eyes, taking my measure. It wasn’t astral perception, but something almost as magical, that sixth sense shadowrunners develop about who is and isn’t worthy of their trust. It’s a necessary survival instinct in the shadows.