Ranma 1/2: Shadowrunner
By: James "Phoenix" Jones
Chapter 3: Nothing is what it seems
This story takes place in the year 2053.
< > Indicates thoughts.
**** Indicates Scene changes
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Replacing her communicator, Nabiki continued down the stairs as Kinnosuke followed. Halfway to their destination, the trio began to hear people moving up the lower stairs. Swearing in unison, they increased their pace.
"Eighth floor!" Jasper shouted, again kicking the door open. "Lets move."
"Far end of the hallway, Emergency Exit, Jasper!" Nabiki shouted.
Checking the hallway, no one entered the trio's field of vision and they moved out quickly.
"We're gonna make it!" Jasper said triumphantly. Not ten seconds later, her regretted the exclamation.
As they began to cross a T-intersection, bullets rang out from the end of the branch. Jasper, being in the forward position, stopped suddenly and leapt backwards, toppling, Nabiki and Kinnosuke in the process. As the bullets rang out again, they pressed themselves tightly to the wall.
"Guess what, Nabs," Jasper said comically. "They _know_ we're here."
"No drek, Jasper!" Nabiki retorted, drawing her hold-out pistol. "Now what?"
Kinnosuke was about to answer, but instead, dropped his weapons and leapt to the stairwell door. Looking around frantically, he finally spied what he was looking for. Set into the wall, partially hidden by a careful paint scheme, was an emergency fire extinguisher panel. Shattering the glass with his jacketed elbow, Kinnosuke reached inside.
"What are you doing!?" Shouted Nabiki.
In answer, Kinnosuke pulled out a fire-ax and slammed it into place in the door handle. A second later, he heard someone pull sharply on the door. Returning to Nabiki and Jasper, he retrieved his Uzi and Warhawk.
"That'll hold 'em for a minute or two."
"Now what?" Jasper asked.
Nabiki looked back and forth frantically. She had been in fire-fights before, but it was never this bad and there was always a way out. The still unfamiliar feeling of fear welled up inside her.
After a few seconds, the spray of bullets stopped and Jasper risked a look around the corner, a moment later, the hail of fire resumed. The ork missed losing his head by less than a second.
"How many?" Kinnosuke asked.
"Don't know, fifteen or twenty probably."
Cursing, Kinnosuke turned back to look at the door. It wouldn't hold much longer. Swallowing hard, he reached into his belt pouch and withdrew three vials. Turning to Nabiki, he handed one of them to her and tossed the third to Jasper.
"This what I think it is?" Jasper asked.
"Adrenalinizer," Kinnosuke answered. "Break the seal and inhale."
"It thought you where off this stuff," Nabiki deadpanned, bringing the vial up under her nose. It had been two years since she had needed the potent drug, but its effects were unforgettable. Once inhaled, the drug would make you move so fast the world would look like it had gone into slow motion.
As she contemplated the vial, a streak of red passed dangerously close to her face. Jerking her head around, Nabiki could just make out a tiny hole in the steel frame of the door.
"Oh drek!" She screamed. "They got some MP-lasers!"
Almost in reaction, the remaining portion of the hallway began to fill with guards. "Surrender!" Shouted the lead man.
"Now or never," said Jasper as he broke the seal on his vial.
"Split and meet at the usual," Kinnosuke added.
"I'm not going without you!" Nabiki retorted.
Turning to face her, Kinnosuke smiled grimly. "I'll be fine, I just want to make sure you get out okay."
Nabiki prepared to argue, but the look in Kinnosuke's eyes told her it would waste precious seconds. Bringing the vial under her nose, Nabiki broke the seal. As a fine mist of powder wafted upward, she inhaled deeply. Immediately, her vision blurred and her head snapped back. For a moment, the world seemed to black out. Her heart began to pound rapidly in her ears as the drug worked its magic. Seconds later, her vision returned and she sprang to her feet. Kinnosuke's scream, barely discernible through the pounding in her ears rang out and she moved.
Crossing the hallway, she spun and fired off her hold-out pistol widely, not caring if she hit anything as bullets flew her way in return. At the other side of the crossfire, guards raise their weapons and began to fire. Nabiki, with the drug coursing through her bloodstream, felt as though she could see each bullet streak toward her.
Moving faster than she thought possible, Nabiki danced around the projectiles, ignoring the few that made contact with her armored clothing and charged into the guards. Her mind whirled as she recalled long forgotten martial arts ability and she lashed out accordingly. Somehow, during her movements, she found her mono-whip in her hand and lashed out with it at the nearest guard, tearing off his arm. Seconds later, she rounded the corner and headed for the emergency door. Behind her, she could hear the guards try to fire at her while pinning down the others.
Kinnosuke, seeing Nabiki charge into the guards, broke the seal on his own vial and inhaled. Jasper did likewise. Seconds later, the man and ork team charged forward, firing wildly with their weapons. Through the pounding in his ears, Kinnosuke heard guards scream in pain as the bullets impaled them. Reaching the guards, Jasper raised both shotguns and sent all four barrels into the nearest guard, sending him flying into the wall. Discarding the empty weapons, he drew out an enormous combat knife, which looked more like a meat cleaver, and attacked.
The guards, unprepared for the assault, tried to recover, but the drugged shadowrunners where to quick for them. Kinnosuke slashed one of the guard's throat while spraying another with his Uzi. Jasper swung wide with his meat cleaver, decapitating another guard. Suddenly, the ork fell to the ground as a spray of bullets shredded his leg at mid calf. Under the effects of the drug however, he was able to ignore the pain and continue to crawl while slashing at the legs of the guards.
Kinnosuke, hearing his friend fall, turned just in time to see the guards dog pile the ork. Raising his weapon, he fired wildly, finally emptying the last bullet from the double-wide clip. Cursing, he attacked with his knife.
****
Nabiki ran through the streets of Tokyo at breakneck speed. The drug still coursed through her system, but the effects where beginning to wear thin. Thinking through the haze of pain that accompanied the after effects, Nabiki could just barely recall seeing the smoking remains of the team's van as she descended the stairs of the fire escape. Unbidden, tears began to stream down her face.
Several minutes later, Nabiki reached her destination. A small apartment building over
half a mile from Jusenkyo. Silently, she thanked the inventor of the drug; its effects gave her all the stamina she normally did not possess. Quickly ascending the steps, Nabiki found the safe-room the group had used on numerous occasions. Fumbling with her key, she unlocked the door and moved inside, slamming the door behind her.
Finally, the effects of the drug died and Nabiki felt her body go numb from the strain her muscles had been put under. Leaning heavily against the door, she slowly slid down the artificial wood to collapse in a heap at its base. A cold chill ran through her body as she began to sweet profusely, her body's natural reactions no longer suppressed by the adrenalinizer. Immediately, her head began to pound and her muscles cramped painfully. Drawing her knees up to her chest, Nabiki hugged herself tightly.
In her mind, she wondered why Kinnosuke and Jasper where not right behind her. The obvious answer was that they where no longer alive, but she refused to believe it. They had to be okay.
<But what if they aren't?> She asked herself. As she contemplated her own question, the reality of her situation finally struck home. Nabiki had known what the Adrenalinizer would do to her, and she had expected it. However, she had gone berserk at its effects, lashing out at anything and everything. She hadn't cared what happened.
"I... I left them," she stammered.
Realizing what she had done, Nabiki hugged her knees even more tightly. Tears began to form under her eyes but she didn't care. The feelings of pain and regret ran rampant through her mind. Not even bothering to make excuses for herself, she let the tears flow unhindered.
****
Taro strode, impassively through the carnage that had once been the eighth floor of Jusenkyo Cybernetics Development. Bullet holes covered all the drywall paneling and what was not riddled with holes, sat covered in blood. Silently, he cursed the incompetence of his subordinates.
As he walked, he counted twenty six members of his security team among the wounded and fifteen more among the dead. Taro was not unaccustomed to seeing such sights, he had been a soldier for too long to let it go to his stomach, but he was still surprised. Normally, such closed quarters as the hallway would give the advantage to the larger numbers, but this had not been the case. This time, the runners had done the most damage.
"Herb is gonna be pissed," Taro quietly deadpanned.
"You are quite correct, _Mr._ Taro."
At the sound of the rasping, serpent like voice, Taro's entire body went numb. He knew that tone and quickly braced himself for the inevitable haze of pain that would follow. Surprisingly, it did not arrive. Hesitantly, Taro turned to face his employer.
"G-Good evening, Director," he said. "As you can see... um... everything is..."
"Gone to hell," Herb finished, cutting Taro off.
Gulping audibly, Taro said nothing. Casually, Herb skirted around the dead bodies that littered the hallway, quietly taking in the carnage. "I thought my orders were not to eliminate them outright, Taro."
"Sir..." Taro began, "I can... explain!"
"I asked you a question."
Gulping, Taro answered, "Yes, sir, those were you orders."
Herb smiled crookedly and nodded. A second later, he spun round, catching a surprised Taro across the face with a backhand. Unable to rebalance in time, the security chief fell hard against the wall.
"Can you not even follow a simple order, Taro!?"
"Sir, I..."
"Three members of the shadowrunner team where quickly eliminated! Too quickly! I observed their progress with the security cameras, you fool! We could have used them!"
"But, I..." Taro began.
"I was not finished!" Herb retorted, again cutting Taro off. "Even if we could not have bought them off, we could have used them for the project. But now, one is completely unusable thanks to an overzealous fool with an assault cannon!"
"Sir!?"
Breaking from his ranting, Herb turned to face Taro. The security chief stood up slowly and tried to press himself into the wall at Herb's demonic glare. "One of them... got away," Taro said slowly.
"What?" Herb asked, his voice dangerously low.
"I...one of them got away."
"Taro, the girl who one of your men so graciously killed by shoving her own combat knife through her chest, was not Nabiki Tendo. For your sake, I hope the one you are referring to as having 'got away' is Nabiki."
Taro was about to retort as one of his guards motioned to him. Immediately, Taro smiled thankfully and said, "We have a live one."
"Bring him!"
Turning, Taro motioned to the two security guards who turned around the corner. A moment later, several guards dragged a very bedraggled ork around the corner. From the vantage, both Herb and Taro could see the ork's leg was hanging onto his body by only a few tendons.
"What is your name?" Taro asked.
"Rakk you!"
Sneering, Taro backhanded the ork and repeated himself. When the ork again refused to answer, Taro grabbed a knife and moved the blade across the ork's remaining tendons painfully. The ork screamed in pain.
"Jasper!" He shouted. "Name's Jasper!"
"See... that was not so difficult, was it?" Asked Herb. Smiling, he walked to Jasper and said, "So, you managed to live a while."
Jasper didn't answer.
"There were six members of your team." Said Herb, impassively. "One took a point blank from an assault cannon, one was stabbed, the one took a hollow point behind his ear, and the other had his throat slit. You, my dear Jasper, do not seem to be in very good shape either. So tell me, where
is number six?"
"Screw you." Said Jasper.
Herb smirked. "You look like an intelligent ork, Jasper." Herb commented. "In lieu of this fact, I'll make you a deal."
"A deal?" asked Jasper.
Herb nodded. "Yes." he said. "You see, you have a wound in your leg that I am sure is quite painfully. Increasing that amount of pain would be quite simple, I'd really rather not do that though, bullets are expensive and time is of the essence. The deal is this; you tell me the name of your other teammate, were to find him or her and I'll let you live."
Jasper considered this for a second. He was young enough to start running again in a few days and Nabiki _had_ been giving him grief lately. "Anything else in it for me?" he asked.
"I should think your life would be payment enough," Herb replied, "but I'll throw in some medical attention for you leg as well."
"Nabiki." Said Jasper.
Although his face remained impassive, Herb was mentally laughing at the ork's stupidity. The actual prey was still alive. "Are you certain?"
"Yeah, her name's Nabiki Tendo."
"Where does she live?"
"We've got a safe house at twenty-one Koku ." Said Jasper. "Apartment fifteen."
Smiling evilly, Herb nodded. "Thank you for your cooperation, Jasper," he said. Turning to one of the guards, he ordered, "Kill him."
"What!?" shouted Jasper. "We had a deal, you bastard!"
Herb smiled sadistically and, with a lunge, grabbed Jasper by the throat. "The operative word in that sentence was 'had,' my young fool," Herb retorted.
Jasper struggled against the man's grip, but even his augmented strength couldn't budge the hand. "We had a deal!" Jasper gasped.
"I know." said Herb. "But you broke one of the cardinal rules of your profession." With that, Herb's image began to shift.
As he watched, Jasper felt his heart leap into his throat at the sight before him. "You're a..." The sentence was stopped short as Herb's hand crushed Jasper's throat.
Herb held on to Jasper for several moments as the guards wisely backed away. A sadistic air of joy seemed to emanate from the director as he watched Jasper's body writhe in its death throes. As the ork's body finally went limp, Herb let it drop to the ground. Raising his blood covered fingers to his mouth, Herb silently licked one clean.
Turing to Taro, he said, "Get rid of this garbage and get me Mint and Lime."
****
<I can't believe I just left them.> Nabiki thought. Shaking badly, Nabiki tried to calm herself as her mind raced with images of the members of her runner team. They'd been together for almost two years and the prospect that they may all be dead chilled her to the bone.
Even worse was the prospect of loosing Kinnosuke. Sure, they had started out as friends, but now they were more than that. After all the hardships Nabiki had had to endure through her life, Kinnosuke was the one thing she had always counted on. To her, he had always been a stable, albeit slightly hardheaded voice of reason. Something she'd grown very accustomed to over the last few years. The thought of never seeing him again nearly made her heart stop.
<Get a hold of yourself, Girl!> she thought angrily. Without thinking, she slapped herself hard across the face. Shaking her head, she reminded herself that her datajack was still full of the file she'd hacked. Steeling herself, doing the best to keep the dark thoughts as far away as possible, she made her way to her computer. Fortunately, she had another cyberdeck that she could use. Suddenly, she realized something. <If they took the team out that easy, they probably can find me.>
Nabiki continued to shake somewhat as she considered her options. She had not had time to see what the data file had contained, her thoughts had been on defending herself from the black IC. Thinking back, she remembered Akiko had said she should probably just erase the data, but that was no longer an option. Nabiki knew the information in her headgear was important and, if her team had died for it, she would be damned before she would erase it. Using it to get revenge against Jusenkyo was a much better option.
But where to send it? She knew several people she could send the data to. Unfortunately, most of them were her contacts and she knew that the data could easily be bribed or threatened out of them. She needed someone she could trust. Someone who could figure out what to do if push came to shove. Even though she hated it, Nabiki knew what she had to do.
Moving away from her computer, she picked up her phone and dialed in a number. After a few minutes, the screen lit up and a young girl appeared on it. She was in her late teens with long black-blue hair and appeared to be rubbing sleep out of her eyes.
"Yes, Tendo residence." She said groggily.
"Akane."
At the name, the girl stopped rubbing her eyes and said, "Nabiki?"
Nabiki nodded, from her appearance, Akane had obviously been asleep and Nabiki was thankful of that. Maybe, if she was lucky, Akane would not notice she had been crying.
"Akane, I don't have time for small talk right now," Nabiki said shakily. "Tell me something, did you ever get that datajack you were talking about getting?"
"Yeah, I did." Said Akane. "Why?"
"No time." Said Nabiki. "Meet me in the Matrix. Here's my code, I'll be there in five minutes."
"But..." the sentence died as Nabiki hung up.
****
For the second time that day, Nabiki found herself in the Matrix, albeit this time in friendlier surroundings. Her personal connection was set up like a hot spring and she found it almost as relaxing as being at a hot spring in real life. Looking to the SAN that marked the entrance to her system, she sat on a liquid red stone and waited for her sister. A few minutes later, Akane walked in.
Nabiki looked at her little sister's persona and felt herself smile. Like herself, her sister had made her persona a metallic gray version of herself. In contrast to her own persona, however, Akane's matrix alter-ego resembled a legendary samurai maiden. A bright blue headband covered her forehead and silver-black, bamboo-like armor covered her chest. An evil looking war maul could be seen strapped to her shoulders.
"Long time no see, Akane." Said Nabiki. She watched as the words printed themselves in front of her.
The gray Akane nodded and replied likewise. "Nabiki?" She asked. "What was so important that we couldn't talk over the phone."
Nabiki pondered that for a moment. Since her sister had gone in as a corporate intern, the two had lost a lot of contact and to the best of her knowledge, Akane still believed that Nabiki still had a legal job. "Well..." she said at length. "I just wanted to see what you looked like her, after all, have to make sure you're learning to program right."
"Nabiki!" Akane yelled. "You really had me worried. I thought you might be in trouble."
The gray Nabiki laughed even as she felt her real body grimace. <I am in trouble.> she thought. Suddenly, she moved her persona forward to hug Akane's persona. Even through the sim-senses, Nabiki feel the pressure of her sisters body under the glowing persona. It was not like real life, but it was the best she could do at the moment. It seemed that Akane hesitated a moment and then hugged Nabiki back.
"Nabiki, are you okay?"
<Now or never.> thought Nabiki. "Actually, Akane, no I'm not." Said Nabiki.
"What's wrong?"
Nabiki's mind suddenly went into overdrive as she tried to invent a plausible excuse. With her mind still clouded from pain, however, it wasn't easy. After a moment, she finally came up with something.
"Well, I think I might be coming down with something," Nabiki said, praying Akane was still a little bit gullible.
"Nabiki!" Akane yelled. "You should be in bed, not in the matrix!"
"I know," Nabiki retorted. "But...I was wondering if you could hold on to some files for me for a little while?"
"Of course." Said Akane. "But why do you need me to hold them? Don't you have IC on your computer?"
"Yeah." Said Nabiki. "But I'm upgrading my system and I really don't want to keep this stuff in my jack while I'm sick. Who knows what would happen to it." Nabiki felt guilty about the lie, but she reasoned it couldn't be avoided.
"Sure I'll hold it." Said Akane. "I'm upgrading my own computer tomorrow, but I'll hold it in my jack until I can transfer it."
Nabiki felt her real world body exhale deeply. Reaching into her kimono, she withdrew a glowing sphere and handed it to the gray Akane. Taking it, Akane placed the sphere in her mouth and swallowed it. Several seconds later she said, "Okay, I've got it all. Jeez, Nabiki, what's on that thing? You almost cleaned out my memory."
"You have any left?" asked Nabiki.
"Yeah, but only about fifty bytes." Said Akane.
"Oh that's plenty." Nabiki countered as she with drew another sphere. The gray Akane took the sphere and swallowed it as well. Nabiki exhaled again. She knew it was a dirty trick to encode the data in Akane's jack so that it couldn't be removed without a password, but security procedures were security procedures. She'd lost too much data over the years to take the risk.
<Better make some small talk or she'll know something's _really_ wrong.> thought Nabiki. "So, Akane." She said. "How are you and Toma doing?"
The gray Akane grimaced and said, "He and I broke up last week. But, its been going down hill for a while now and I should have seen it coming."
"Sorry to hear that." said Nabiki. "I liked him, even though he was kinda young for my tastes."
"What about you and Kinnosuke." Asked Akane.
Nabiki fought hard to keep a smile, she knew she'd probably never see Kinnosuke again. "He's out right now." She lied.
"Getting some medicine for you, huh?"
"Uh... yeah," Nabiki replied.
The gray Akane nodded. "By the way." Said Akane. "Some of the girls here at work are going to throw me a party next week for my birthday. You think you can make it?"
<Damn it!> Nabiki thought. <I forgot all about that!> "Um... well, Akane. I've been kinda busy and all and now I come down with this... whatever it is," Nabiki answered. "I'll see what I can do if I'm feeling better, but no promises!"
"I know." Said Akane. "I honestly don't know what I'd do without you looking out for me all the time."
"Oh, you'd find somebody to look out for you." Said Nabiki. "And don't worry about Toma. A girl that's as cute as you will find somebody sometime soon. I'll bet every guy in your office is practicing pick-up lines now that you're on the market again."
The gray Akane giggled and was about to speak when Nabiki's Will-O' the Wisp flashed green.
"Damn." Said Nabiki. "I gotta go, Akane. That means I've got somebody at the door, Kin-chan probably forgot his keys again."
"Okay, Sis." Said Akane. "See you next week I hope."
"Later." Said Nabiki. A moment later, she felt her real world body unhook her data connector and the world of the Matrix was quickly replaced by the sight of the real world.
****
Nabiki unplugged the connection and leaned back in her chair. She felt guilty about sending the file to her little sister, but it was a safe bet that they couldn't find Akane and that the file would be safe. Even if Kinnosuke and Jasper came back, Nabiki wanted revenge for Remote, Wolf and Indigo. With a scowl, Nabiki realized that she was reverting to her old habits and she silently berated herself for it.
Suddenly, her alarm sounded and she spun. A second later, the door to the apartment was bashed in by a large wolf. Nabiki screamed and leapt for her pistol. Halfway there, she felt something slam into her chest that sent her flying into the wall.
As she lay there, gasping for breath, she watch in awe as the Wolf grew in size and took on a human shape. <Shape-Shifters> she thought.
Looking up groggily, she saw another man walked into her view.
The wolf man turned on the other and said, "Damn you, Lime!" he said, "Herb wants her alive!"
The man identified as Lime turned and grinned, "They're gel rounds, Mint, no worries."
Nabiki took in the features of the two men quickly. Mint was a dirty looking young man with a gray-black hair and bushy eyebrows. He wore a fur shirt and held a large pistol at Nabiki. The one called Lime had dark brown hair with black highlights and wore a tiger-striped shirt. From the way his eyes seemed to reflect the light, Nabiki guess he was also a shapeshifter.
The two argued for another minute as Nabiki considered making a break for it. The thought died however when they turned toward her. Quickly, she jumped to her feet and ran to the computer. Before the men could get to her, she punched the keypad hard. The computer sizzled for a moment and smoke began pouring out of the exhaust ports.
A moment later, Mint and Lime each grabbed one of Nabiki's arms and dragged her out. She struggled in vain against the grips of the two men. After a moment, Lime slammed the butt of his weapon into Nabiki's Temple, knocking her unconscious.
****
Nabiki fought hard against the blackness that seemed to encircle her. The feeling was like being drugged and drunk at the same time, however, she somehow knew neither condition was the cause. Her head ached badly, and her body did not feel much better.
With a groan of pain, Nabiki, managed to crack her eyes open a fraction. For a moment, she saw only a vague source of light, and began to think the entire run was nothing more than a dream. It was then she realized that something was not right. The surface upon which she lay was soft, but far softer than her bed. Also, she was sitting upright instead of laying down.
Suddenly, all her memories came crashing down on top of her and she opened her eyes quickly. To her surprise, she was not in a holding cell as she first thought. As her vision came into focus, she found herself in a extremely large office. Turning her head, she could see the office was more space than any one person could ever need and seemed to be made of real wood paneling. Looking down, she found herself sitting a luxuriously padded chair.
"Well, I see you are finally awake."
At the words, Nabiki's head snapped up reflexively to face the voice. Across from her, seated behind large desk sat the speaker, a handsome man Nabiki guessed to be in his mid thirties. As she looked on, Nabiki could not help but marvel at the man. His face seemed to be completely smooth and looked like it had been carved from stone. Deep blue eyes stared back at her as long white hair fell down around his face, framing it.
Moving her gaze from the man's face, Nabiki gazed at the desk. It was elegantly carved and, like the office, seemed to be made of real wood. On the man's right, set a beautifully carved chessboard, the only object to interrupt the beauty of the desk. Although Nabiki knew very little about the game, she could tell he had been playing a game; over half the pieces where no longer on the board.
As the man watched her scrutinize him, he leaned back casually, letting the light of the office reflect off the red silk kimono that covered his form. Propping his head up on one hand, he waited patiently for Nabiki to finish her inspection. "Are you quite finished?" He asked, pleasantly.
"Who are you?" Nabiki asked.
Smiling, the Man stood and walked around the desk, his kimono blown by some unseen wind. As he came to stand before Nabiki's chair, he crossed his arms across his chest and regarded her coldly.
"Forgive me, I've been such a rude host, my name is Herb, owner and CEO of Jusenkyo Cybernetics Development."
Nabiki's eyes widened in fear. This was the owner of the corporation her team had just raided. From his manner, Nabiki guessed he was being cordial simply as a tool; she could sense the power radiating off of him. If he had wanted to, Nabiki was sure he could have killed her in an instant.
"What do you want?"
Herb smiled and leaned against his desk. "Intelligent, beautiful and too the point. I like that. However, you have me at a disadvantage. I do not know your name."
Nabiki stared at Herb coldly. In her mind, it was not like the man was looking at her; it was like he was looking through her. Even though she hated mages, Nabiki knew one when she saw one.
"Nabiki Tendo," she answered, not in the mood to have the truth pulled out by the mage.
"Very good," Herb replied. "Now, as to why I had you brought here... well... I wish to hire you."
Nabiki blinked twice in rapid succession as the words sank in. "You... you what?!"
"I said, I wish to hire you as a member of my corporation, Miss Tendo." Nabiki watched as Herb stood and returned to his desk. Once there, he continued, "You are a decker of exceptional skill, Nabiki; may I call you Nabiki? Good. You showed great prowess in entering my systems, and even greater prowess in getting out of them. That dragon construct was designed by one of my best programmers."
"That was a job my team and I were hired to do, chummer," Nabiki retorted, her voice growing cold. "The team you killed!"
Leaning back, Herb laughed maniacally. "I did not kill your team, Nabiki," He said. "My guards took care of that for me. However, I did kill the ork called Jasper."
"You killed Jasper!?"
"Yes, but I hardly think you should be concerned for that particular metahuman. After all, he is the one who told me where to find you."
Again, Nabiki's eyes widened in surprise, but she bit her tongue to keep from speaking. Mentally, she cursed Jasper and vowed that if he weren't already dead, she would kill him. "I don't give drek about Jasper, you bastard!" She screamed. "You killed Kinnosuke!"
"Oh... yes," Herb said thoughtfully. "Your boyfriend."
Nabiki's eyes narrowed. "How did you know that?" she asked, her voice dripping acid.
Herb laughed again. "Nabiki, you are obviously very smart and very observant," he said. "However, you don't seem to be thinking clearly. You and your team have performed numerous runs against me and my organizations for nearly a year now. Oh... don't look so surprised, after all, informants can be paid by either side. Did it never occur to you that maybe, just maybe, you and your team were never supposed to come back from this run?"
Nabiki leaned deeply into the padded chair as the office began to spin. Realization sank into her conscious mind a few seconds later. "The whole run was a setup, wasn't it?"
Herb nodded.
"But... but the client said that... that..." She left the sentence hanging as another door opened. Through the door walked a women in a black Ninja outfit. As the woman removed her mask, Nabiki gasped. The woman was young, probably in her early twenties with long black hair done in a ponytail.
"Akiko?" Nabiki asked.
The woman shook her head in amusement. "Guess again."
"Nabiki Tendo." Said Herb. "Allow me to introduce Konatsu Kenjo, one of my most accomplished assassins. I believe you know her as Akiko Shinjo, the woman who hired you for this assignment."
Konatsu smiled and mock bowed. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Tendo." She said sarcastically.
Nabiki stood shaking, her mind still torn between fear and berserk rage. "You bitch." She said coldly.
Konatsu laughed and Herb dismissed her. Once she was gone, he turned back to Nabiki and said, "As you see, I never intended for you to succeed in this run, however, since you did, I think you are more than adequately qualified for employment in Jusenkyo Cybernetics Development."
"You aren't serious." Said Nabiki, her mind working overtime trying to figure a way out of her current situation.
"Oh, I'm quite serious." Said Herb. "You see, I have numerous shadowrunners in my employment; street samurai, bodyguards, mages and the like. However, the one thing I have a shortage of is experienced deckers. Granted I have a few, but not many. A decker of your skill would find herself working for a _very_ high wage in my Corp. What do you say?"
"Not in a million years, you bastard."
With a sigh, Herb shook his head and grinned slightly. "Do you play chess, Nabiki?"
"I know a little about it." Nabiki answered.
"Very good," Herb replied. "I myself find it fascinating and, as you can see, I have been playing recently."
Nabiki regarded the board coldly and nodded. She wasn't really paying attentions, however. She was much to busy trying to find a way to escape.
Pointing the board, Herb said, "This game has been going on since Konatsu was sent out to hire you. At first, I had you pegged as a pawn. Now, however, I believe you would be worthy of being a ruler, so I think of you as more of a queen."
"Gee... I'm flattered," Nabiki deadpanned.
"I am only going to make this offer once, Nabiki," Herb answered, the calmness slowly exiting his voice. "Look closely at the board."
Standing, Nabiki moved to the side of the desk, looking at the board. On it, she could see the white king was in severe danger of a checkmate from several black pieces. From what little she knew of the old game, Nabiki identified two pieces that could save the king. A queen, and a knight.
"Look closely at the board, Nabiki," Herb said softly. "If you move the king, you will have nothing to prevent me from taking it. If you move the knight, you save both the king and queen. If you move the queen, however, you will loss in two moves. Do you understand?"
"No."
"No matter," Herb retorted. "Move one piece, anyone you like. Either way, you will lose one of them. Lose the king and you lose the game. Lose the queen, and you lose the game. Lose the knight, and you may yet win. Think hard about the offer I have made to you concerning your skills. If you accept, I will move for you. If you do not, I will let you move."
Nabiki studied the board intently. Chess was foreign to her and she only bothered to learn the absolute basics. Go and Shogi where much more her speed. However, the analogous nature of what Herb was telling her was clear a crystal.
Shaking her head, Nabiki picked up the piece depicting a young woman seated on a small throne. Sliding it forward, she blocked the path to the king. Raising her head to face Herb, she smiled calmly.
"I don't deal with dragons," she said.
"Dragons?" Herb asked, realizing the Nabiki was speaking metaphorically.
"Oldest rule of the run, chummer," Nabiki answered. "If a dragon says he will offer you something, it just means his claws aren't sharp enough yet."
Herb looked at her coldly and said, "I'm tired of this charade. You have something that belongs to me and I want it back. Immediately!"
"I don't have it," Nabiki countered.
"My techs found what was left of a cyberdeck; the memory was erased," Said Herb. "However, I doubt a professional decker such as yourself would copy a file on the deck alone. You've got a copy inside your skull don't you?"
"So what if I do?"
"_If_ you do you are fortunate," Said Herb. "Because if you hand it over, I'll let you walk out of here under your own power."
"And if I don't?"
Without answering, Herb pressed a button on his intercom. A second later, Mint and Lime entered the office and took up positions on either side of Nabiki.
"If you don't," said Herb. "You won't be able to walk out of here at all."
"I don't have it anymore," Said Nabiki, as she cast nervous glances at Mint and Lime.
"Where is it then?" asked Herb.
Nabiki didn't answer. Before Herb could repeat the question, Mint spoke up.
"She'd just jacked out of her computer when we caught her, but she blew the thing up with a data-bomb. Safe bet she sent your data to someone."
Herb's eyes narrowed into slits and began to glow. "Who did you send it to?" He asked.
<Can't let them find Akane.> Nabiki thought. "Screw you." She said.
"If I were human, I might take you up on that offer." Said Herb sarcastically. "Mint, Lime, take her down to Hinako. If anybody can get the information out of her, she can."
"You've got to catch me first!" Said Nabiki confidently. Spinning on her heel, Nabiki sent a sidekick into Lime's face, knocking him backwards. Mint moved to attack her, but she switched legs and caught him in the stomach with a side kick. As the two shapeshifters fought to hold their balance, Nabiki ran for the only door she could see.
Herb raised his arm, said a few words and watched in satisfaction as Nabiki hit his barrier spell. Nabiki immediately jumped to her feet and spun round , however, a bright flash entered her
peripheral vision and caused her to turn slightly. A second later, a flaming ball of energy slammed into her. She screamed as her arm cybernetic exploded, sending her back into the barrier.
"Pick her up," She heard Herb say.
Nabiki shook her head groggily and checked her situation. She could just barely make out the shapes of Mint and Lime walking slowly toward her. Thinking back to her early days on the run, she remembered the horror stories she'd heard about what the Corps did to captured runners and she immediately decided she didn't want that particular fate.
<This is it.> she thought. Reaching back with her left arm, she felt along the back of her neck until she felt the vertebra at its base. Pushing down hard, she began to count. As she reached ten, she felt something click. <Sorry I can't make your birthday party, Sis.> she thought. <But at least this way you'll get to live to enjoy another one.>
Mint grabbed her roughly by her remaining arm and dragged her back in front of Herb. "I see the fight has gone out of you," Said Herb, noticing the defeated look in Nabiki's eyes. "Good that'll make it easier for Hinako."
"You want me to take her down there now?" asked Mint.
"No time like the present," Herb replied. "By the way, Mint, Lime, if there's anything left once Hinako is finished, you're welcome to it."
Mint and Lime both grinned moronically and began to escort Nabiki to the elevator. Halfway there, Nabiki spun to one side and wrapped her arm around Mint. The act was so surprising, he didn't even bother to push her away.
<Goodbye, Akane.> she though. <I'll say hello to our Parents and Kasumi for you.> With that thought, the world went white. The last thing Nabiki heard was Mint's scream.
Herb watched coldly as Nabiki latched onto Mint. <Begging won't help you now.> he thought.
Suddenly, a sound echoed in the office and a burst of red shot up in front of Mint. Herb watched in shock as Mint screamed and fell backwards, holding his chest tightly. Standing quickly, Herb ran to them.
Lime was already checking Mint when Herb got to them and the room was quickly filling with security guards and medics. Herb looked at Nabiki's body coldly. "What was that?" he asked to no one in particular.
"A cortex bomb." Said Lime. "Deckers use 'em sometimes to keep people from gettin' in their heads."
Without turning, Herb asked, "What about Mint, will he live?"
"Don't worry about him," Lime answered. "Use shifters are tougher than we look."
"Excellent," Said Herb. Kneeling, he flipped Nabiki's body onto its stomach. The lower part of her neck had been blown open as the bomb took her head off and Herb couldn't help but shake his head. If he hand not been use to such sights, it may have made him sick. Running his hands down the bloody bodysuit, Nabiki wore, he found a pocket and reached inside. A second later, he removed her wallet and, standing, began to thumb through it.
Herb immediately found what he was looking for. In the wallet were several pictures of Nabiki with various people and several fake identification cards. However, one of them was not fake. Looking at the body, Herb said, "You broke two of the most important rules of the run, Nabiki. Never carry pictures, and never use your real ID."
Suddenly, Herb felt someone beside him, looking up, he saw Pantyhose Taro, his chief of security, standing before him. "What is it, Taro?" he asked.
"Are you safe, Sir?" asked Taro.
"Quite," Said Herb. "I have a job for you Taro."
"Yes, Sir."
Herb handed him the wallet and said, "Inside you'll find several pictures and an Identification for Nabiki Tendo. According to the Identification she is twenty-three years old which means she would have been born in Thirty. I want you to do a check on her."
"Am I looking for anything particular, Sir?"
"You are looking for _everything_, Taro!" Said Herb. "I want a full records check. I want to know where she was born, where she went to school, what her favorite food is... _everything_!"
Taro bowed and said, "I'll get on it right away, Sir. However, such a wide search could take several days."
"Taro."
"Yes, Sir?" Taro asked.
"You have twenty-four hours," Herb said, his voice filled with disdain.
Taro looked around nervously for a moment and said, "Um..., sir... I'm afraid that that is an impossibility."
Herb turned slowly to face him. "Then I suggest, Taro, that you find a way to make it possible, and if you cannot, I suggest you shoot yourself."
"W-why?"
Herb grinned coldly, revealing he teeth. "Because," he said, his voice suddenly deep and rumbling. "If you don't succeed, and you're still alive, I won't be in _this_ form the next time you see me."
Taro swallowed nervously, he knew exactly what his employer was hinting at. "I'll get to it immediately."
"Excellent and, Taro."
"Yes?"
"Get someone up here to clean up that mess," Herb commented, gesturing to Nabiki's body.
"Immediately, Sir," Said Mr. Taro, who ran to carry out his orders.
A few moments later, the room was cleared and Herb resumed his seat. Once there, he laid the picture of Nabiki he'd removed from the wallet on his desk. Resting his chin on his hands, he said, "You were very clever Nabiki Tendo. I would have enjoyed killing you. However, I think I'll enjoy hunting down the one you sent the data too. And I shall enjoy sending them to meet you."
Looking over the chessboard, he realized the game would provide him no enjoyment for some time. Carefully, he removed each of the pieces and placed them in their proper space in the box. Once finished, he returned his gaze to Nabiki's picture. Placing his hand over the photo, Herb let part of his shapeshift fade. He watched as his fingers elongated, his nails turning to claws. A moment later, he raked the claws over the picture, shredding it.
*******************************************End of Part 3
A big thanks to the James Palmer, Joseph "Ashira" Kohle, Francis Gilbert, PXDN and Will Kotas for being my pre-readers on this. If it wasn't for their help and prodding, I may have never gotten this finished.
I'm sorry if I'm keeping anybody in suspense waiting for the next part, but... well... Something about the way I write won't let me work on a new part until I get all the kinks ironed out of a previous part.
***BEGIN DISCLAIMER***
--All Ranma 1/2 characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi and the company that published them.
--Shadowrun (an excellent game BTW) and all of its related, slang, equipment, races, etc. are the property of the FASA Corporation
--All of the above are used _WITHOUT_ permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
--Any other names that appear in this fanfic are made up and belong to no one in particular.
***END DISCLAIMER***
Well, for all of you who read the original copy of this, you'll notice that it panned out basically the same, but that this revision is much more in depth. The reason? Well... unlike my first Ranma story, I wanted to do a story with a lot of character development and some fairly good characterization. Upon numerous re-readings of my original part 1, I realized that my characterization amounted to almost nothing. That, and my description of the world and the city wasn't all that great. Thus, this re-write came into being.
Mostly, the stuff that changed in this was little bits of characterization, a revamp on the characters Nabiki and Herb, as well as some extensions on the supporting cast.
Thank you for reading and I hope you're enjoying the story thus far. C&C will be GREATLY appreciated, but please limit it to story content or the story itself. Please do _not_ comment on grammar or spelling. Also, if you feel the need to comment on anyone being OOC, you may do so, but please bare in mind this qualifies as an "Elseworlds."
Flames, will be read, thought over, laughed at and promptly discarded. ^_^
Thanks again.
James C. Jones (AKA: Blood Phoenix)
Phoenix@citynet.net or jace@utkux.utcc.utk.edu
.