The Setup: Part 4
Sawiz left the meeting spot, and began making his way home. He constantly checked for tails and dodged into side-alleys, paranoid that he was being followed. Upon arrival at his home, he was fairly certain that he hadn’t been followed but he still took the stairs rather than the elevator up to his floor, just to be sure. He entered his apartment with one more glance over each shoulder before slipping inside and taking a deep breath, which he exhaled with a small shudder.
The first thing he did was check his wall safe to make sure the contents of the package he’d extracted were still there. They were, but the wall safe would clearly not be enough if someone came looking for them. He stashed the notes and slap patch in his coat, figuring they were safer on his person.
Sawiz hopped onto his bed and turned on the Trid while he waited for his commlink to buzz with information from O’Rien. He decided to watch the latest news, which had a feature on Renraku. A company representative was telling the program’s hostess all about how they had plans to expand outside of technology, and would acquire several new holdings by 2070. Sawiz reached into his coat pocket and fingered the slap patch there. Perhaps illegal pharmaceuticals was the direction Renraku planned on taking.
Still though, Sawiz knew nothing about the patch, from what it contained to how it work. He may have had the research notes, but he didn’t understand them at all. He loaded the file on his terminal, and began reading;
“The inhibition of monoamine uptake is a key component in the product’s pharmacodynamics, as well as its ability to block communication at SLC6A3…”
Sawiz closed the datafile and gave up. He had no idea what he was looking at and would need to acquire the services of a pharmacist, street or otherwise. Of course, the most important factor was trust, and Sawiz, as a dragon who never got into the drug trade, didn’t know any trustworthy suppliers. As a mage he didn’t even know any street docs he could talk to, having not even opted to get a datajack installed unlike most runners these days. His Predator V wasn’t even datajack enabled.
Deciphering these notes would be the first clue in identifying the source of the conspiracy that had almost resulted in his death. Finally, his commlink beeped just in time to distract him from the spiral of hopelessness he was on the verge of diving down into. He checked the message and found an extensive list of independent runners looking for a more long-term contact. Sawiz would browse that soon, and be on the lookout for someone with skill in biotechnology.
Much smaller was the file with notes on the Johnson that had commissioned the job. There was a physical profile, which described him as a human of medium build and height, average appearance, eye color unknown, hair color unknown, medium skin tone, and that was it. There was also security footage of O’Rien’s meeting with the Johnson attached that was slightly more helpful. His head was either bald or clean-shaven, and he wore sunglasses, thus the lack of detail there. The Johnson also wore a standard, store-bought suit, nothing custom tailored that might work as a clue. The meeting place was a crowded bar, so there was no chance of retrieving or even identifying his fingerprints. There were no leads to be had here, at all.
Sawiz closed out the file, and began browsing the list of out-of-work runners. He already had specific profiles in mind. He wanted a street samurai versed in biotechnology to operate as a field medic, combat expert, and decipher the files on the drug he’d procured. He wanted an ace decker that didn’t waste their time studying anything but decking. He was confident that he and the street samurai would be able to protect him or her, especially if he or she was good enough to avoid tripping alarms while jacked into the matrix. Finally, he wanted a rigger to cover their escape and take control of drone systems should the need arise. For this final task, there was nobody else to choose except for Circuitbreaker. They’d worked together numerous times before, and while Sawiz found drones and riggers creepy, he had an odd sort of trust for Circuitbreaker that he wasn’t likely to develop with any other.
Within the file O’Rien had sent, there were several street samurai who fit the bill, so Sawiz chose one somewhat at random; her street name was Felicity. She was the most skilled in biotechnology according to her profile, having actually been a chrome slinger before getting cyberware herself and moving to run the streets. Her motives weren’t listed, but the promise of a steady income of nuyen could buy most runners’ loyalty.
As for the decker, there was only one. She knew nothing about firearms, melee weapons, or thrown weapons, and was physically weak. On the other hand, she used to be a corporate decker, and had designed numerous custom Expert System Programs, as well as viruses, Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics, and ICE Breakers. She’d also apparently built her own deck, which was ages ahead of the current bleeding edge. Her street name was Jerikha, and she was the clear winner.
Sawiz sent messages over to each of his chosen team members’ commlinks, giving them the down low on the position, and getting a response immediately from all 3 confirming that they would join his team, though the street samurai specified “after I take care of some urgent business.” As long as she survived, that was as good as a yes to Sawiz. With a satisfied swish of his tail, Sawiz flopped onto his bed and sprawled out, stretching his vestigial wings. Things were finally starting to look up for him. One more job, and he could finally get out. Plus, now he had a team, all his own.
