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The Amphitrite Files - Initiation

A story by Croco Chilton

(All characters and storylines, including those based on RP's, artwork and other stories are © of their respected owners)

She ran, a flurry of gunfire trailing her.

She knew why they wanted her, and that was the reason why they were fighting so fiercely to recapture her. And that is why the girl was on the run, with only a gray hoodie and a jumpsuit to protect her from the elements as she looked over her shoulder to see if she had finally shaken her pursuers off. All that she could afford was a moment or two before she could see flashlights mounted on assault rifles in the distance, and the black and red armor-clad grunts that were wielding them.

'Oh, shit...I've come this far,' she thought to herself as she turned and ran, raising her left arm to look at her commlink display. It may not have been the newest top-of-the-line model, but at least it allowed her to use a serviceable AR display in conjunction with the cybernetic vision units installed where her eyes once were. And like her natural eyes, they were a light shade of blue as they scanned the horizon for a possible escape route, the mercs closing in on her. She didn't know this portion of the city as well as Renton, or even the downtown area, so she tapped the display a couple times while taking off in a slow jog along the street she was on. "Activate GPS Cityscape."

At once, her AR lit up and projected a grid of squares one meter by one meter and gave the name of the street she was on...California Avenue._"You are heading...north...on California Avenue Southwest--"_And then it dawned on her.

_'The Sound...I don't think they intended on this turning into an aquatic pursuit.'_She then took off at full sprint, looking over her shoulder as the lead of the pursuit unit barked out. "I have Objective Oliver in my sights! Heading north on California at Admiral Way." The footchase took them through what was once a vibrant neighborhood in West Seattle that had become derelict and rundown, though the shipyards on Puget Sound were still active and the main source of employment for the citizens of the community. Even so, they were used to the sounds of gunfire breaking out after sunset and knew to stay inside, but not on the scale that "Oliver" had brought as the pursuit soon came to a screeching halt as a volley of assault rifle fire scattered the team.

"Shit! To cover!"

"What about the objective, sir?" said the man to the right of the unit lead, "I'd like to, you know...get paid for this fucking pooch-screw of a mission!"

"So do I, Ellis, but I'd like to stay alive!" Ellis nodded as he and his comrade ducked behind a car and returned fire with their XMR-18 assault rifles, each equipped with an integrated scope and heads-up display that showed how much ammunition was left in the current clip, as well as where hostile targets were and the current condition of the weapon. They weren't expecting much of a fight, and it wasn't long before they were back in pursuit. "Did you see where Oliver went?"

"I think it went north, though it could be anywhere now, sir."

"Damn." He called the team together. "Squad, listen up! Oliver was last seen going north...bring up your map displays and tap in." Once everyone did, the commander made a few taps on his commlink to open up a holographic display of the area that everyone could see. "Oliver was last sighted going north along California Avenue. She cannot have gotten far but we need to establish a perimeter until reinforcements arrive."

They could not see the drone that was targeting them from an altitude of roughly one thousand feet. By then, it was too late as it fired, sending a round straight through the officer's head. The display crackled, then disappeared as the panicked men scrambled for cover!

"Haskins is down!" screamed Ellis into his comm as the officer fell, but he was the next to be struck down in a similar manner. It wasn't long before the entire unit was left dead, as three men in similar body armor with a blue and silver livery on it surveyed the scene.

"Sector 1 is clear, permission to establish a perimeter?"

"Permission granted."

"And the girl?"

"She is to be captured alive and in satisfactory condition. Any other result will constitute mission failure."

"Yes. Permission for the Talon to be used for reconnaissance..." There was a brief delay before the computer-generated voice responded.

"Permission granted. The Talon will not engage the objective as part of the mission parameter."

By then, the girl known simply as Oliver was gone. She had slipped away during the firefight and could at least slow herself down to a walk as she moved about the avenue, looking around for a way out. She passed what appeared to be a rundown tenement building, long abandoned since the Doomsday Crash of 2066 and which was only inhabited by squatters seeking refuge from the constant rain Seattle was still famous for. Pausing to think for a split-second, she then decided it wouldn't be worth it and moved on up the road, hoping to find a place of refuge for the night where she could stay safe. Maybe she could figure out a way back to Renton...or to Tacoma where that girl simply known as "Eden" she had met on the Matrix said that she was living. Or even to the docks so she could escape Seattle all together, and see the world outside of what little she saw through the miniscule windows in the armored vehicles that transported her from corporate office to--

Her daydreaming left her guard down, and it wasn't long before the hunters in blue had closed in on her, and she took off in a dead sprint. "There she is! Take her alive!" She made a sudden turn, but then was stopped by the fact that she was overlooking a vista point. A decision had to be made as her pursuers were gaining rapidly, and she made it by vaulting over the railing and tumbling down the steep embankment to the bewilderment and dismay of the men chasing her.

"Shit! Don't let her reach the ferry!" The lead of this unit knew that time was running out as he tapped his commlink. "Bravo unit, come in! Oliver has descended toward California Way and is heading for the harbor! I need you to cut her off at Ferry Avenue--don't let her get down to Harbor!"

"Roger that--hey, there she is!" The girl came tumbling out of the foliage and onto the street, shrieking as she saw rifles raised and shots fired. There was only one way out, and that was another tumble off the edge of an embankment; fortunately, this one wasn't as steep and sharp while also letting her use the apartment buildings overlooking the water as cover. She grunted and grimaced the whole way down, stopping to make sure that she was as unharmed as she could possibly be while dusting herself off. It wasn't long before she could peer out and see the sound right in front of her, taking a deep breath while shedding the hoodie and tossing it aside, the jumpsuit shimmering as it turned a deep shade of blue. She stopped to take off the shoes she was wearing as well, flexing her toes and preparing herself in case she had to get wet; the suit had already changed to reflect this as she was walking southbound along the seaside boulevard.

She had not gotten far when she could hear a vehicle approaching, the girl thinking nothing of it as it passed by. The sudden screeching of tires sent her into a panic, and sent her legs into a full sprint once again as she had to take evasive action, the sounds of shouting letting her know that her adversaries had caught up. "This is Bravo! She's heading south on Harbor Avenue--cut her off before she gets to the water taxi dock!"_She saw another road, which was nothing more than a foot trail and took to that, knowing that the car the unit had surely commandeered could not be driven on it. _"Get in, get in! Don't let Oliver get away!"_A small building just in front of her brought a smile to her face, knowing that it was where the passengers on the water taxi into the Downtown District paid their fare and boarded the boats. She saw that the gate which kept people from going onto the docks was down, but it was merely a roadblock as she hurdled it with relative ease and was on the docks as the commander of the three-man squad growled."Fuck this...sidearms out!"_His subordinates reached for pistols as they watched helplessly while the girl sprinted down the dock as if running a 100-meter dash in the Neo-Olympics, and fired at her.

In the flurry of gunfire, she had reached the end. Yet, she had also reached the beginning. She jumped, and they could see the tail tuck in between her legs to give her a more streamlined figure as she dove into the water, the leader holstering his weapon with a disgusted look on his face.

"This is Bravo," he said in a resigned tone.

"Come in, Bravo."

"Oliver has...has evaded us and is in the water. Permission to continue pursuit over water?"

"Permission denied. We do not have resources for an underwater extrication available in your sector, Lieutenant."

A sharp sigh came from the man, who had dropped to one knee while looking out over the expanse of water that kept him from completing his mission. "Copy. Waiting for further orders." The response was immediate.

_"RTB for debrief and retasking. Unit Alpha is already en route and we will send a vehicle to your location...standby for extrication."_This did not make him happy as he slammed his fist into the ground, startling one of the other men as he looked down at him.

"DAMN IT! We had Oliver and she got away!"

"What now, sir?"

"Back to HQ, I guess..." The lieutenant looked out over the sea and shook his head. "I'll get you, you bitch. . .one way or another."

Not even one hundred meters from where this was playing out, the girl watched as her pursuers simply walked away. She then turned and started to swim northward at a steady pace, her comm being of the waterproof variety as it allowed her to use it while submersed in the harbor. She also had a few tricks up her sleeve as she brought up a menu and took a deep breath. "Activate cybergill apparatus." Almost instantaneously, three small slits on the girl's chest near where her collarbones connected to her sternum opened up and began to waver back and forth, causing her to gasp sharply before lowering herself into the water completely. She also had a set of transparent covers fused over her eyes that simulated the membranes which covered the eyes of a crocodile in the water as she dove into the clouded depths, her suit able to keep her adequately warmed as she swam on. The only other lifeforms that she came into contact with through here was the occasional salmon as they headed out toward open water.

She swam on, relying on the cybernetic gills to keep her in the depths and away from prying eyes...or worse, a prying drone as she saw her AR light up, pointing in a direction to her right. _"Safepoint to your right in...500 meters."_She pressed on, hoping that there wasn't another corporate hit squad waiting for her on the other side as she used her webbed hands and feet to her full advantage. The adrenaline surge made her go even faster, knowing that she was safe for the moment to surface as she disengaged her gills and popped her head up. In front of her, the girl could see a miniature pier for fishing that came out from a rocky wall. This looked good enough for her, and she was able to paddle her way up to the rocks, rightly thinking that she couldn't make the climb up the pier. She started to climb up while breathing heavily, exhausted from the chase and the two-mile swim from the water taxi to the point where she was at.

Relieved to be out of the water, her joy was short-lived as she could feel the barrel of a gun raised to her head.

"Who are you?!?" the voice barked out...a female voice as she stepped around.

"I-I-I...I don't mean to intrude! I was being chased by guys with guns...in body armor...and aerial attack drones--"

Just then, another individual walked up to the two females and stood off to the side. "Oliver, I'm guessing? I've been listening to the radio feeds in West Town. . .and if you are this "Oliver," then you must be pretty popular."

"How do you mean?" The man, clearly human in appearance, looked over the subject and started entering data into his comm, giving a nod when the desired information popped up on his display.

"Yep. . .just as I figured." He held out a hand. "Give me your left hand. . .don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you."

The girl was reluctant, but she did as instructed, to which the bald-headed man took her hand while running a scanner that he had concealed in the pocket of his jacket. It took him a minute, but he was quickly able to find the necessary information. "Subject 04-056124LC...name, Dana Sabrine Balotelli. Given name...Serine Ott; born 23rdof June, 2055--just turned 16, I'm guessing?"

"Uh-huh. Today as a matter of fact."

"Damn..." The female human shot him a steely glare.

"That's never stopped you before--"

"Hey, shut the fuck up, will ya?" He looked back at his comm and stood upright; for a human, he was considered tall at almost two meters, but his lanky frame suggested that he was not the strongest man around. "Metatype, human. . .wait a minute." He looked down at the girl. "Dana? Or is it Serine?"

"Don't use her real name, dipshit."

"Fine...Serine it is...can you look up at me for a moment?" She did just that. . .and what he saw made him take a step back, mouth agape as if he had just seen a spirit. "My God--! Hey Lucy, you're gonna flip drek..." By comparison, Lucy was short in comparison to her compatriot, and was more along the lines of the stranger that had just shown up in terms of height as she took to his side.

"What?" One look and she staggered back in a similar state of disbelief. "Holy shit--! Dude. . .she's--she's a fraggin' _otter!_Like one of the otters that I saw on Bainbridge that one time!"

Once the confirmation took place, and she realized that Lucy and her companion were harmless, Serine started to calm back down just as the man looked at his display and frowned. "Um...slight problem here."

"What now, Hijack?"

"According to this I managed to get off of Serine's datatag, she is the property of Stasis Biocorporation and any attempt to tamper with this tag, or to capture or inflict damaging injury upon this subject shall be met with swift and absolute consequences." Hijack took a moment, then snickered maniacally as he started to walk off. "Yeah...like fuck that's gonna happen!" Serine scoffed at that as she took to Lucy's side, her suit beginning to develop a green and yellow pattern over the top and a smoky gray over her legs to mimic the other girl's outfit as they started to make their way out of a small seaside park, complete with covered shelters for meetings or the occasional picnic.

"So. . .Lucy, I'm guessing?" Serine rubbed her face, covered in a lush lutrine pelt of a full shade of brown that resembled coffee after a cream cup had been stirred into it. "You and your friend...you're not with Stasis or the guys that were after me?"

"Naw, we're...independent." Serine blinked, which drew Lucy's attention as she peeked behind to study how her tail moved in time to her steps. "You'll find out more once we get back to where we're going."

"Where's that?"

"You'll see."

The three walked over a bridge with several rail lines beneath before they made it back onto the main street, turning to walk along the rails as Serine tried to recover from the stressing ordeal. She looked around and tried to gauge where it was that she was walking through, blinking as she rubbed her eyes, still irritated from having to evade her potential captors in the murky, polluted sound. The landscape was vastly different than the rundown tenements and squatter havens of West Town. Rising up were condominium buildings that looked like they would be inhabited by higher corporate-employed workers and medical professionals that have yet to be corrupted. A patrol drone passed overhead on routine surveillance and continued, not sensing anything suspicious about the otter girl or her other companions. A turn to the left onto the next street revealed storefronts for a shopping plaza as well as other businesses, while an ambulance passed by on its way to a hospital just down the road as Serine watched it go by. "Where are we?"

"Queen Anne," replied Hijack, "specifically Lower Queen Anne. Nice part of town, but it's mostly wageslaves and corporate influence. Though I would rather liken them to...yuppies or soccer moms--"

"Speaking of, did Sounders win?"

Hijack let out a soft sigh as he tapped his commlink. "Find NeoNET Premier League scores..." A tone sounded, while the scores flashed across his AR display. "Oh...they tied with Detroit City, 2-2; Blaze Sheridan got the equalizer in stoppage time for Detroit."

"Damn it!" Serine jumped back at the sudden outburst, to which Lucy laughed and placed a hand upon her shoulders. "Sorry about that. . .I've always enjoyed watching soccer on the trid, and of course the Sounders." A thought then came to her mind. "Maybe we should try and get tickets to a game sometime." Then she looked up at Hijack. "So...July 2ndagainst FDC United, July 17thagainst Sporting Kansas City, or the grudge match against Cara'sir on the 23rd?" The man seemed uninterested in the offer.

"You ladies can go ahead. I'm sure Amadeus would wanna join you as well while I scout ahead for where the next Screamers match will be." Both Lucy and Serine rolled their eyes up at Hijack, for the Seattle Screamers were the local Urban Brawl team. The concept behind urban brawl was spawned from a gang war, and was organized by corporations knowing that they could make tons of money off it. It was a contest between two teams of thirteen players held on a playing "field" three city blocks wide by four blocks in length. The object was to get a ball roughly the size of a soccer ball into your opponent's goal, while at the same time preventing the opponent from doing the same, presenting a unique challenge with two balls in play simultaneously. The teams are equipped with armor, heavy melee weapons and firearms, and while it is billed as a non-lethal sport, rarely does a match pass without at least one fatality. Even Serine, who did not have a real interest in sports, knew what he was referring to and huffed.

"Urban brawl? That has to be the most barbaric exhibition that passes as a sport in existence."

"Suit yourself, sweetie..." Hijack then put a hand up, then turned around to see a van coming up from behind. A smile formed on his face as he stopped and waved. "It's them, Lucy."

"Who's them?" asked Serine.

"Them...are the people that will help you get used to your newfound freedom and your new life," Lucy said to her, "That is, of course, if you wanna join us.

Serine took about two seconds to consider the offer Lucy gave to her. Ever since her mother sold her to the megas when she was 12, she was dreaming of the day where she could finally be free...free to do as she wished, without a stuffy, demanding corporate face telling her what to do and how to do it. The only thing that she would be thankful to them for was the extensive combat training, but she longed for the day when she could use the skills that she acquired against them. Knowing that Lucy and Hijack were here to help her, she could only say one thing. "I would love to join you."

The van stopped, and the side door opened to reveal another man sitting on the far side closest to the driver. He was just about as broad as he was tall, with muscular arms bulging a bit as he folded them into his chest. Just another man to help me, Serine thought...until she saw the points on the top of his ears and the fangs protruding from his lower lip, and a smile formed on her face when she made the connotation. She had a slight fascination with orks, as her only friend during her captivity was an ork girl that had just been found before her transformation was completed. But there was little time to reminisce as she took to the very back seat while Lucy moved in and sat next to her, and Hijack in front of them next to the ork.

"You got the girl?" the ork gruffed, giving a tap to the driver seat once the door was closed and everybody had settled in.

"She's, uh...seated right behind ya," said Hijack, nodding back toward Serine. He looked back at her and gave a fang-accented smile. "Was able to hack into her comm and track her via GPS, as well as via the comm chatter from the goon squads that were after her."

"More than one?"

"Yeah. Got her in Schmitz Park and followed her onto Hinds, where she was likely ambushed. Took off onto California and having accessed her files, was hoping that she'd be smart enough to head for the water when the drek hit the fan." He looked at Serine, who scowled back at him.

"You hacked my comm?"

"Had to. It was for your best interest." Serine bristled and glared back, to which Hijack pointed to the device embedded into her left arm. "But now that you're with us, I'll hook you up with a better comm than that two-bit piece you've got there. That and I've got some other wiz toys that I'm sure you'll like..."

The ork couldn't help but to snicker deeply. "You have to be careful with Hijack. For a rigger, he thinks he's some kinda Casanova or something--"

"Man, fuck you! You're just jealous cause I get to slot the hotties!"

"We'll see the next time we head to the Underground who gets to slot the hotties..." The ork gave Hijack a wink, who then flipped him off to Lucy's delight. She giggled softly while Serine watched with a more reserved amusement.

"Are they like that all the time?" she asked.

Lucy just sat back and smiled while the driver made a turn. "Yep. It's actually quite funny to see those two fighting for the attention of the ladies when we all go out to the clubs together." It was then that the ork made a gesture to Lucy, who then gave Serine a nod. "You should introduce yourselves."

"Don't worry about me," said the ork with a chuckle, "I'm not gonna bite." Then he held out his hand, considerably larger than Serine's as he looked her over before gazing upon her through yellow-hued eyes. "Name's Thor." She looked a little hesitant at first, but then she took his hand and held onto it while he gave it a light shake.

"I'm...Serine. But I guess you knew that..."

"Actually, no I did not. But it's still a pleasure to meet you--here, come up front." He gave her a light tug and guided her into his lap, which immediately drew the ire of Hijack as he just looked ahead of him. "Hey, you wanna know something?" She gave an inquisitive nod, which gave Thor the green light. "A lot of men have been looking for you, and some of them have died in the pursuit. But when you look at it from the grand perspective of things, those guys got tapped for nothing. Those suits that created you the way you are, or the suit that you're wearing, or that comm that's on your arm...sure, they made a lot of money and all. But at the end of the day, it all means nothing."

"Oh, there he goes with that nihilistic bullshit again," said Hijack in a mocking tone. Thor did nothing upon the interruption, but waited until he looked straight ahead before speaking again.

"You're probably thinking that no matter what you did, it'll all add up to nothing, right? In a way, it does...but at the same time, you can make your mark on the world in your own unique way. I've learned that everybody is only interested in their own self interests, but when those interests revolve around a common goal, that's what brings us here together. You, me. . .Lucy, Hijack--Patches up front, driving us back to our home base. . .we all have a common goal, and that is why we stick together. This time, our goal was to assure your freedom from those megacorp bastards who used you as some sick little plaything. . .tomorrow? Who knows?"

"Uh, I hate to break up your little philosophy session," said Patches, "but I just got a message from Mr. Johnson. He wants to meet up with us at the Blue Moon on NE 45th."

"At U-Dub?" They would be heading toward the University District from the sound of it.

"Yep. Least we're not going further in from the 5, unless we wanted to take our friend here for a tour of what's pretty much a real-life Hogwarts. You remember the Harry Potter phenomenon from the turn of the century?"

"Unfortunately." It just so happened that they had reached the interstate and Patches made the hard left onto the ramp once the light turned green, staying in the right lane of the three-lane highway so as not to draw any attention before barking out instructions to set the autopilot. Once that was set, he decided to turn around and show himself to the crew in the back. His ears were pointed like Thor's, but his face was more slightly shaped in comparison to the more blockish form of his ork compatriot, giving him away as being of the elven metatype. He was more slender than the other two males in the car, and he wore his hair in an exotic spike pattern dyed neon yellow as he gave a slight wave to Serine when he saw her.

"Serine, is it? I think you're gonna like our little ragtag crew here. We may not always get along at all times..." He glanced between Thor and Hijack and gave them each a wink, "but we're like the dysfunctional family on a trid program that everybody loves because of it." A tone from the vehicle interface sounded, telling Patches that the van was going to be exiting the highway soon. He took the wheel again after disengaging the autopilot, and directed the vehicle off the highway and into a nearby parking lot that was adjacent to the popular bar. Once the van was settled and the engine was cut, Patches turned back and gave specific instructions to everybody. "Okay...I'm sure that Mr. Johnson will want to see Serine, but I'm gonna make sure that he gives us our money first before seeing the girl. Lucy, I need you to come inside with me and if it comes to it, we may need to utilize some of your...talents. Hijack, you're gonna join us...everything checked out with him the first time, didn't it?"

"Yeah. Don't see why it wouldn't, but I'll scan through everything again just to make sure."

The elf nodded and continued. "Excellent. . .as for you Thor, you and Serine are gonna stay in the van for now. We'll give the word for you to come in, but don't step out until we say so." Thor gave a nod, while Hijack looked up from his comm and moved to open the door.

"Yep, Johnson hasn't changed," he said, "C'mon guys. . .time to get paid." Patches nodded and got out, while Hijack and Lucy followed out the rear door on the driver's side, forcing Thor to pick up his feet to his dismay as they followed Patches into the club. Once a popular nightclub, the Blue Moon looked more like a typical gastropub on the inside, with booths lining the walls and an array of tables scattered throughout the middle. At the front near the door was a long bar that served authentic drinks as well as the cheap synthohol that was the only thing many of the college students could afford. Toward the back of the bar was a stage for live music to be played, which the establishment still prided itself on after all these years as being a launching pad for indie acts to go on to success. When they got inside, Hijack set out to look for the one they were to rendezvous with, and it didn't take long to find him. He was a middle-aged human in a three-piece suit, accented with a blue tie as the three made their way over to the table he was seated at.

When they sat down, Mr. Johnson made it clear that this was not a social call.

"You have the girl?" he asked, his tone being straight to the point.

"We do," responded Patches, "but being a man who takes his enterprise seriously, I request that I see the cred that we had agreed upon before the job."

"The girl, first." It was at that point that Hijack sent a neural message to Thor's commlink. <Bring her in. We may need some muscle.> Then he turned to the man seated to his right.

"Okay, she's coming in." He then sent another message, this time to Lucy._<Set up at the bar. You may need to use your skills.>_He let out a soft sigh as he sat back in his chair. "So, shall we order some drinks." The glare that Mr. Johnson gave as he leaned forward was enough of a response, but he felt like he still had to get his point across.

"You think this is some kind of a joke? I put out good money to a bunch of low-lives and all you want is your booze and. . .and...ahh, whatever the hell else you blow your cred on!"

At that point, they were joined by Thor and Serine, taking to either side of Patches in front of the irate Johnson as the ork leaned in slightly. "You said you wanted to see the girl?"

It was then that Lucy decided to make her move. "Y'know what fellas, I'm gonna go over here by the bar. If you still want your drinks, send me some orders." Lucy then excused herself and got up to walk over to the bar, where she promptly ordered a margarita. She sat at the bar and turned herself to face the table she was at just moments earlier as Mr. Johnson looked over Serine from head to toe, inspecting every last inch of her to see if she was the real deal. When he was satisfied with her, he sat back down and folded his arms on the table.

"You've done well," he said, "I'll take the girl now and you will get your cred just as we agreed on...50,000 nuyen to be divided among the four of you still alive." He reached for Serine, who backed away, and was met by an irritated Thor. "Stand back, trog."

"No,you stand back," replied Patches as he stood up and joined the ork, "Cred first, then we'll talk. And since those five runners were killed during the mission, I've decided that a renegotiation is in order. 50,000 to split, and we keep Serine. . .or 50,000 each for the four of us, and you can take her. I find that to be more than reasonable." The man scowled, and tried to force his way between Patches and Thor to grab the girl, who then shoved him back.

"That was a mistake," he said simply, "No money and I take her, plus you rats will be getting a visit from Lone Star in the morning! I have all your files, all your records, and I will bury you with them!" Little did they know that Lucy was focusing on the group and gathering energy; she had a feeling that things would turn hostile and as soon as they did, she started to draw her mana in preparation for when the time to strike came. And that time came as Mr. Johnson reached into his jacket to pull something out, the human chanting quietly to herself while building up the power. When she saw that the object was a stun pistol, she decided to act. _"Spirits of Earth, body and mind. . .allow me the strength to hold back the ones who wish upon us harm!"_She then threw both arms out to the side, then brought them back around so that they crossed over the other before bringing them together so that the pinky finger on each hand were touching. Mr. Johnson opened his mouth to say something, but the spell left him immobile, forcing him to drop the stun pistol as his arms were fused to his side. "What the hell--what's happening?!?"

"We can negotiate in good faith," said Patches with a smile on his face, "or we can do this the hard way. And I would rather negotiate in good faith...got it?" He barely gave him the chance to nod as Lucy began to conjure up another spell. "Since you seem to be either loaded or a corporate toad...or most likely both, I'm gonna up the ante here. 50,000 nuyen for myself and my three associates, and 100,000 nuyen for Serine to get on her feet.

"Yes. . .50,000 for you and your associates. . .and 100,000 for the girl..."

"And you will delete any knowledge of us from all of your records."

"Delete all records..."

"So...let's get to it." Mr. Johnson's eyes were rolled back in his head and he appeared to be in a trance as he brought up his AR display, followed by a banking app. Having been freed from the binding spell, he was able with a couple taps and swipes to complete the transaction, and he sat back down while Patches confirmed that it went through. "All set...and oh, we're keeping the girl as well."

"Yes. . .she's all yours."

"Then I believe our business is done here. Thor, you and Serine can go wait in the van..." With that, Lucy canceled out the spell with a wave of her arms in front of her, then brought one of them around to begin sipping on her margarita as Patches offered a hand to Mr. Johnson to shake. Thor gave a nod, then beckoned the otter-girl to join him outside as it took him a little bit to get his bearings back. But as he did, he looked at the time and straightened his tie out before rising to his feet.

"I believe I must be off for an appointment. If I need to contract a team for any more work, you'll be the first I'll call." With that, the spike-haired elf sat back as the Johnson left, watching him the entire time as he pushed the door open and walked out. Then he turned his attention back to Lucy, who was sipping on her margarita while slouched against the bar, and walked over to where she was.

"What did you do?" he asked, bewildered and amazed at the same time.

Lucy just looked at him and grinned. "Bind spell to keep him from grabbing the girl, but I was wanting to try out this new spell I learned. What it does is it allows me to control his thoughts. . .what he said to you was what I was thinking. Pretty wiz, huh?"

"Fuckin'-A that was!"

"But I'm probably gonna crash in the van...lemme finish my drink here." She took one look at the margarita, then tipped the glass back and let it all go down, setting it back on the bar and tapping into the bar's network to pay for the drink. The bartender saw it come up on a display in front of him and gave Lucy a nod to acknowledge her payment before she and Patches started to make their way toward the exit.

When they got back to the van, they were greeted by Hijack as he sat up in the front seat, with Serine and Thor in the two seats behind the front. Lucy made her way to the back seat and sprawled out on it the best she could while Patches took to the cockpit.

"All right," he said as he pressed the button to start the van, "back to the safe house?"

"Which one?" asked Thor, "I don't think the old Sorrento would be a good idea with this much heat."

"That is out of the question." They had taken refuge at the Sorrento, an abandoned hotel in the heart of downtown Seattle that was designated as a historical site, but had clearly seen its better days. And it was a well-known safehouse in the area as well where runners could spend some time to get out of the limelight and store whatever questionably attained goods they could. But being in the downtown district meant that one had to step lightly to avoid attracting unwanted attention, and with Serine in tow they knew they could not afford to take the risk as Patches tried to think of a good place to take them.

"What about Camden?" Lucy mumbled. She was not expecting to be taken seriously as Camden was a condominium complex in Renton with some abandoned units, but at least it was out of the way enough for them not to worry too much about retaliation.

"Camden? Why didn't I think of that?" Patches brought up the navigation display, which shined on an AR field in front of him as he tapped at the windshield to bring up menus. When he saw the right one come up, he made one final tap and announced his intended destination as the autopilot engaged. "And there we go...twenty minutes and we're home free."

"Twenty minutes?" said Serine, who was impatiently wanting to get to some place where she could rest and not have to worry about looking over her shoulder. "Where exactly are we going?"

"Condo block in Renton. Owner let us have it after taking care of some--we'll call them troublesome neighbors. There's some guidelines that we're gonna have to go over first but I don't think you'll have much trouble." A smile from her, and a nod from Hijack as he watched Thor lean back in his seat was the only other acknowledgment, and it wasn't long before the van turned to exit onto I-405 to continue proceeding to Renton. Once off the expressway, Patches took over manual control of the vehicle to guide it toward the condominium complex, which wasn't too far down Highway 167 before he made a left-hand turn at the next traffic light and pointed out a large building. "Best part about this safehouse is that there's a hospital right across the street, though good luck getting any decent treatment without a DocWagon Gold plan or something similar to that."

Once he made the right turn onto the street leading to the complex, it became clear that the 'hide in plain sight' strategy was a good one in this application. The outside was unassuming, with the buildings painted in beige with white trim and standard roofing with solar panels distributed liberally to provide some form of off-grid power. In front of each building was a garage large enough for one vehicle and appeared as if they could comfortably hold the five of them for an extended period of time. It didn't take long before the van pulled into one of them as the garage door opened once it was within the proximity of the home, connecting to the central home network which regulated and connected all of the devices and their users to each other. Before long, lights were turning on and the sounds of a program playing on the video wall in the living room could be heard as they all piled out of the van as the garage door closed behind them.

Inside, they stepped into a modest kitchen, where a pair of soy processors sat at opposite ends of the counter, while a door was situated on the left. There was the standard appliances aside from those, as well as the sink on the countertop facing into a dining area with a modest table and chairs set up in front of it. They could also see into the living room as well, where the cleaning drone was parked right beside the stairwell that led up to the second level. The lighting was dimmed as it was still on the night settings as Hijack took to the lead and held his arms out.

"Here it is, Serine," he said, turning to the otter-girl, "home sweet home, or at least until someone figures out we're here." He then walked over to the door in the kitchen and opened it. "This is where you'll be staying for now." Serine slowly made her way over, and looked to see a staircase leading down into a basement. Hesitant at first, she made her way down to see that the basement was well done, with a laundry station and bathroom at the end, and a pair of doors in front of her. Hijack went to open the door in front, to which a small room filled with guns and other munitions was revealed and quickly closed off again. "Shit..."

"Damn it, Hijack!" growled Lucy, but it was too late as Serine was making her way toward that door.

"What's inside?"

"Just. . .just some of the wiz toys I told you about in the van. But I think we could all stand to use a little shuteye. Tomorrow we'll set off and get Serine here situated..."

At that point, Thor pointed to the commlink on her left arm and rubbed his chin. "I think before we call it a night, we should get her going on another persona so that we're not woken up by a squad of corporate thugs in the morning."

"What's the matter," Lucy teased, jabbing the ork with her elbow, "I thought you liked a good workout?"

"I'm serious, Lucy."

"Oh...okay. Hijack..." The human was already swiping away at icons on his personal display as he heard his name. But he did not respond as he was occupied with the task at hand in front of him. Lucy was starting to get annoyed by the lack of response, to which he put up a single finger, and then made a couple more swipes in front of him.

"I think this should be good enough for now," he said, "Just log off and we'll get going tomorrow." He then turned to Serine, who was already making herself at home as she was laying on the bed. "Well...good night, Serine. Hell of a way to celebrate your birthday..."

It was then that he got a neural transmission from her before she logged herself off.

<I like Amphitrite better. I'll explain in the morning.> Hijack looked at Serine with a blank stare and shrugged. He could wait, but all they knew is that it was mission accomplished as they left her to fall asleep. Finally, she could drift off to sleep knowing that she was free of the bondage that had made her life a living hell for the better part of four years. And it wasn't long before the others started to file out and make their way to their own beds as well, though Thor gave one last peek at the girl before turning out the lights.

He saw a smile on her face, and could sense that she was finally at peace. And he smiled right back, knowing that she was safe and sound...at least for the time being.

© Croco Chilton - 3/14