<<on line (14:22:22/24-04-32)>>
<<YOU HAVE MAIL>>
--READ MAIL
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<<DISPLAYING>>
*****DATAMAIL*****
TO: RECIPIENT LIST SUPPRESSED (NA/UNA/NY)
FROM: FLASH (NA/UNA/NY—--- --- just try and figure it out)
24-April-2032
Experienced bodyguard needed to provide personal protection to private indivudal. Please reply to this email, in confidence, with personal details and work experience. References required.
<<END MESSAGE>>
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>>QUIT? (Y/N)
--Y
<<off line (14:37:51/24-04-32)>>
<<on line (14:22:22/24-04-32)>>
<<YOU HAVE MAIL>>
--READ MAIL
<<DOWNLOADING>>
<<DISPLAYING>>
*****DATAMAIL*****
TO: FLASH (NA/UNA/NY)
FROM: GEM (NA/UNA/NY)
01-May-2032
Re your offer for bodyguard work. I'm an experienced Sam with previous
corporate work. looking for employment. Was your offer for short- or
long-term protection? Can't meet in 93U for various reasons - try the Pit
on the edge of the wastelands.
<<END MESSAGE>>
>>PRINT? (Y/N)
--Y
>>QUIT? (Y/N)
--Y
<<off line (14:37:51/24-04-32)>>
<<on line (15:27:35/24-04-32)>>
<<YOU HAVE MAIL>>
--READ MAIL
<<DOWNLOADING>>
<<DISPLAYING>>
*****DATAMAIL*****
TO: GEM (NA/UNA/NY)
FROM: FLASH (NA/UNA/NY)
Position is for medium to long term, non-corporate employment. Please
provide references, physical description and contact name, references
to be verified prior to meeting.
Barring complications, meeting to be held at the Pit 25-04-24 19:00.
If this not possible, please advise.
<<END MESSAGE>>
>>PRINT? (Y/N)
--Y
>>QUIT? (Y/N)
--Y
<<off line (15:39:41/24-04-32)>>
<<on line (20:58:13/24-04-32)>>
<<YOU HAVE MAIL>>
--READ MAIL
<<DOWNLOADING>>
<<DISPLAYING>>
*****DATAMAIL*****
TO: FLASH (NA/UNA/NY)
FROM: GEM (NA/UNA/NY)
> Problem with references. I've been around for a while, but my best
> advantage is no-one knows me. Not even former friends/employers. As it
> seems, I can be very discreet. Ask around 93U for capabilities, esp.
> Duke or Sylvie.
Understood. Do you have a call name that can be used to ask Duke and
Sylvie about?
> >Barring complications, meeting to be held at the Pit 25-04-24 19:00.
> >If this not possible, please advise.
> Perfectly fine. How will I know you?
Caucasian female, 5' 10," waist-length curly blonde hair, grey
trenchcoat.
<<END MESSAGE>>
>>PRINT? (Y/N)
--Y
>>QUIT? (Y/N)
--Y
<<off line (21:05:11/24-04-32)>>
<<on line (21:03:49/24-04-32)>>
<<YOU HAVE MAIL>>
--READ MAIL
<<DOWNLOADING>>
<<DISPLAYING>>
*****DATAMAIL*****
TO: FLASH (NA/UNA/NY)
FROM: GEM (NA/UNA/NY)
>Understood. Do you have a call name that can be used to ask Duke and
>Sylvie about?
'Fraid not. Known by actions, not names.
> >Barring complications, meeting to be held at the Pit 25-04-24 19:00.
> >If this not possible, please advise.
>Caucasian female, 5' 10," waist-length curly blonde hair, grey
>trenchcoat.
I'll be there.
<<END MESSAGE>>
>>PRINT? (Y/N)
--Y
>>QUIT? (Y/N)
--Y
<<off line (21:05:11/24-04-32)>>
Zenshou sat back and reread the final message from "Gem" again. Meeting at the Pit. From what she remembered Jack's stories, it was a dive, and a rather bad one. But what choice did she have? Was she showing weakness by allowing this person to choose the location of the meeting? She shrugged. She didn't have much choice, and if the person chose to meet there, then it's either a test or a show of Gem's capabilities.
"I'd better head over to 93 Underground to check this person out before we meet," Zenshou thought to herself. "I've got a couple if hours before the meeting, and I've got no idea how long this will take." She quickly turned off the computer and headed for the bar.
93 Underground was a spacious nightclub/bar/concert hall built into what had once been a large department store. The entrance was down a flight of stairs and through a reinforced door. Once inside, Zenshou had to pass muster from a tall, broad-shouldered man in a ruffled dress shirt that did little to hid the lines of his cyberarms. Next came the gun-check girl, who sat behind a counter and stored firearms in numbered lockers.
Entering 93 Underground proper Zenshou found a long bar to her left, running along the wall that faced the street outside. Opposite that was a line of booths against a divider, and on the other side, small tables ringed what was the dance floor. A stage was along the far wall, and currently a scattering of techs were running cables and checking the sound system.
At 3 in the afternoon the clientele was fairly scare. The half-dozen of so waitresses looked to outnumber the patrons, although come 8:00 pm, Zenshou was fairly sure twice that number wouldn't be sufficent.
She looked around, trying to guess which one of the waitresses might be Sylvie. Zenshou shrugged, then approached the nearest one.
"I'm looking for Sylvie. Is she around?" Zenshou asked politely.
Removing the thin cigarillo from between her lips, the woman released a thin cloud of smoke before answering. Dressed in a short skit, thin blouse, and a faintly-stained apron, the woman looked more bored then sexy, and her black hair hung in ill-manged tangles around her shoulders. "Naw, she don't come in until around seven mostly. You need something from her?"
"Information," Zenshou replied. "How about Duke. Is he here?" She looked around the bar.
With a barely concealed snicker, the women pointed the glowing end of her cigarillo at the front entrance. "You just walked past him."
"I said I was looking for him, not that I knew who he was," Zenshou replied, turned on her heel and walked over to the doorman.
"Duke, do you have a minute," she asked. "I was given your name as a reference for someone I plan to hire."
"Hmm.." Duke rumbled. "I guess so. Whddya need to know?"
"She's a Japanese woman, 23, 5' 7"," short dark hair, usually wears a single pearl stud. Maybe goes by the name of 'Gem'."
"Gem?" the bouncer spat. "The one that gunned down that corpie's synth last week? Christ, what do you need her for?" pausing, Duke regained his compsure and then continued. "Never mind, I'm sure you have a good reason."
Zenshou frowned. "Thanks for the info," she replied and tossed him a fifty dollar bill. "See you around."
She walked out the door and onto the street, having second thoughts about hiring Gem. "I still ought to go meet her," she thought. "Find out her side of the story, but I'm going to change the meeting place. Louie's would probably be best. It's quiet, and she might be less likely to kick up a fuss - and less likely to have friends take exception to my not hiring her if that's the way things go."
Zenshou made her way back to her apartment. She logged into her computer, quickly typed out the message and sent it off.
<<on line (15:15:25/25-04-32)>>
<<YOU HAVE MAIL>>
--READ MAIL
<<DOWNLOADING>>
<<DISPLAYING>>
*****DATAMAIL*****
TO: GEM (NA/UNA/NY)
FROM: FLASH (NA/UNA/NY)
Need to change location of meet to Louie's, same time.
Please confirm.
<<END MESSAGE>>
>>PRINT? (Y/N)
--Y
>>QUIT? (Y/N)
--Y
<<off line <<off line (15:30:11/25-04-32)>>
<<on line (21:50:08/25-04-32)>>
<<YOU HAVE MAIL>>
--READ MAIL
<<DOWNLOADING>>
<<DISPLAYING>>
*****DATAMAIL*****
TO: FLASH (NA/UNA/NY)
FROM: GEM (NA/UNA/NY)
Confirmed. Will meet you there. Expect to see you soon.
<<END MESSAGE>>
>>PRINT? (Y/N)
--Y
>>QUIT? (Y/N)
--Y
<<off line (21:52:00/25-04-32)>>
Zenshou sighed. "Good," she said to herself. "The meeting's been changed. Hopefully the change in venue will make things easier." She stood up, walked over to the small bed in her suite, then flopped down, the stress of the past few days starting to get to her. Zenshou set her alarm and closed her eyes, hoping to get a couple hours sleep before going to the meeting.
Zenshou sipped on her drink as she sat in one of the booths, keeping her eye on the door. She had gotten to Louie's early and wanted to make herself comfortable, and to be able to watch how Gem carried herself when she walked into the bar.
It wasn't too long before she entered. Zenshou spotted a young Japanese woman by the door, dressed in a dark jacket, top and leather pants. She stood at the door with her hands on her hips, her eyes half-closed as if bored or tired, scanning the room. Her eyes met Zenshou's and she raised an eyebrow, as if questioning the blonde woman.
Zenshou nodded and gestured slightly with her head for the young woman to come over.
"Take a load off," she said, indicating the bench across the table.
"I'll cut to the chase. I presume you're Zenshou. Well, I'm Gem, the one who inquired about the bodyguarding job. Just what's it gonna involve?"
"Before I go into that, I have a question for you," Zenshou said calmly, her eyes watching Gem's face carefully. "Why did you try to kill Shion-Hime in front of 93 Underground?"
Gem leaned back, a somewhat surprised look on her face. She thought for asecond, then responded. So that's what he called it?" She scoffed lightly, then leant forwards again. "boy, are you wrong. I was going after the suit, and his Puma tried to stop me. Simple." She shrugged. "Secondly, way I figure it, it's better off dead."
"Why," Zenshou asked. "On both things. Why did you want to kill the suit, and why was the Puma better off dead?"
"If you'd seen them together in 93U, then you'd understand why both. The bastard had her soliciting other girlds for him. No so he could do them," Gem paused as a disgusted look crossed her face, "Oh no, that would be too mundane." She leaned forward, clearly angry and almost yelling at Zenshou. "He wanted to watch while his toy screwed the girl for him."
Gem shook her head, then finally leant back and rubbed her brow. "And yeah, that's why I had to cap him. And that's why she's better off dead; you could tell this wasn't exactly uncommon for the pair. Can you imagine how a sick bastard like that would have treated that Puma?"
Zenshou's face remained carefully neutral. "So, do you think that you'd be able to keep your temper under control while in my employ," she asked. "That kind of behavior draws attention, and I don't want or need that kind of attention. This will be a full time job. I need someone who knows the streets, can stay low key while doing the job unless circumstances dictate otherwise."
The blonde leaned forward slightly. "I can't afford to hire someone who's going to get themselves - and me - killed because they don't like the way someone treats their property."
Gem at least had the decency to look briefly ashamed before replying. "That was a personal matter. There's kinda... a bit more to it." She straightened up, and looked Zenshou in the eye. "But I can be professional when I need to, and I'll keep my temper under control. Okay?"
Zenshou nodded. "I'll hold you to your word, then." She gave a rueful smile. "One final question. Are you a believer in payback and revenge upon those who do you and yours serious harm?"
Gem stared for a second, almost in disbelief. She chuckled a bit, then turned back to Zenshou, smiling for the first time. "You got me there. Why do you want know? Is that what you're after?"
"In a way," Zenshou replied. "It's one of the things that I'd need your help for." She paused, a haunted look momentarily flitted across her face before it was replaced by one of stern resolve. "Someone
murdered my family. I'm going to find out who and I'm going to make them pay. To do that, I need contacts, and I need to stay alive. I can protect myself to some extent, but I have very little experience
when it comes to, shall we say, the more physical aspects of defense. Until now, I've never had the need.
"You job, should you choose accept it," Zenshou smiled slightly. "Would be to watch my back, help me track down the people who killed my family and make them pay if the law can't - or won't - punish
them."
She leaned back against the back support of the bench and watched Gem's face carefully.
"I'll never ask you to do something I wouldn't do - if I had the ability or the skill - and I expect complete loyalty. I can't afford to have the person I'm relying on for protection be open to the highest bidder. And don't worry - that loyalty will be rewarded. My family has always been generous to our friends and employees, and I have no intention of changing that."
"So, what do you say?"
"I say I'm perfect for you," Gem quickly replied. "I've..." she looked around, scanning the crowd briefly, then turned back to Zenshou. "I'm after the same. I've been through the same kind of trouble as you, and I'm
looking for payback of my own." She took a deep breath, and looked Zenshou in the eye. "I was betrayed by someone close to me, and I'll never do that myself. If you'll hire me, I'll be completely loyal. I'm with you," She finished.
Zenshou nodded. "You're hired," she said as she stood. She tossed a couple of bills on the table to pay for her drink. "Let's go someplace that's a bit more private, and I'll fill you in on the details."
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