“Sure,” Black Dog moaned. “So they can haul us in themselves.”

“No plan’s perfect,” Roe observed. “Do it, Kurt.” The flight became a roller coaster ride as Kurt took the Commuter through a series of maneuvers not intended by the craft’s designers. Through it all, he always managed to keep some valuable piece of real estate between them and their pursuers, preventing the latter from opening fire. The people clinging to stanchions and seats in the passenger compartment could do nothing but rely on the pilot. Sam prayed, but he knew that their luck, or their fuel, would run out sooner or later.

Hanae huddled against Sam, clinging to him rather than her seat. He felt her shaking and smelled the sweat of her fear. Suddenly she gripped him tighter. He looked down to see her staring out the window into the darkness.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know,” she replied. “I thought I saw… There! There it is again.”

At first all he saw was darkness and the lights of the metroplex. Then he saw the shadowy, serpentine shape briefly eclipsing the neon demon shapes adorning the Aztechnology pyramid. Sam didn’t want to credit his eyes.

The winged form flashed through the lights of the Commuter and cut back behind it. As the VTOL banked again, Sam saw the creature breathe a short burst of flame. The backflash shone on the beast, highlighting its rainbow feathers, scaly snout, and ivory dagger teeth, He could deny his eyes no longer. That was a Dragon in the skies of Seattle.

The beast was not much longer than the aircraft, but the breadth of its wings made it seem much larger. But then any Dragon was too large. Was it here to destroy them? Renraku used black ice against computer intruders. Did it unleash Dragons against those who ran from the company?

Sam watched in fascination as the Dragon cut around the Commuter and rushed toward their pursuers. The Renraku pilot reacted instantly, skittering his jet sideways in a burst of directed thrust before banking up and away.

“They’re running,” Kurt screeched triumphantly from the cockpit. “Something spooked them.”

“A Dragon,” Sam said in a voice suddenly hoarse. He looked directly at Roe.

“Tessien,” she said. “We work together.”

Sam waited for her to say more, but she merely stood up and made her way forward to the cockpit. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

Lord, you send strange salvations.

Once again, Sam was flying off into the Seattle night, involved in somebody else’s plots. The first time was bad enough, but now there was a Dragon involved. What else had Roe neglected to tell them? What had he and Hanae gotten into?

— PART 2 -

14

All night long they were shunted from place to place in an assortment of vehicles. Roe told him that all the shuffling was supposed to throw off any pursuit, but Sam realized it was also to confuse him and Hanae so that they could never expose any facilities or people that were part of the runners’ network. Despite it all, Sam knew they were somewhere in the Redmond Barrens. He could smell the infamous “Tacoma aroma.” Not even the best shadowrunner trick could hide that.

The Redmond Barrens was not a nice place. Covering most of the old city of Tacoma, the Redmond District was officially part of the Seattle metroplex, but it was a slum mostly neglected by the government. That was even more true for Lone Star Security Services, who held the police contract for the plex. From what Sam had glimpsed during the transfers between vehicles, some parts of the district looked as though they had been through a war. The rest looked like the war was still going on.

The building where the van finally stopped was an old automobile sales facility, full of hollow echoes and old grease. The vehicle sat in a repair bay. When the bleary-eyed passengers rolled up the back door to debark, they found the feathered serpent coiled and waiting for them.

Hanae shrank back at the sight, gripping Sam as though he could protect her should the beast attack. Even the hardened runners seemed reluctant to exit the van near the serpent. Shouldering past them all, Roe walked up to the beast and ruffled the feathered mane at the back of its head.

To Sam’s amazement, he felt a hint of the dracoform’s pleasure from Roe’s caress. In some uncanny fashion, it was broadcasting its emotional state. He wondered if the others were feeling it too, then decided they must be. Everyone in the group had visibly relaxed. Even Hanae looked less tense. It was as though the Dragon had reassured them that it meant no harm.

“Hey, Roe,” Chin Lee called out. “This mean we gonna be here for a while?”

“Till dark anyway. Make yourself at home,” she answered without looking at them. “Sack if you want to.”

Sloan and Black Dog jostled past Sam and Hanae. Digging into a pile of sleeping pads heaped among some crates near the van, each appropriated a prize and dragged it to a separate corner. The rivalry that had flared occasionally during the ride continued as the two men watched each other warily through sleepy eyes. Kurt, who had spent the night in a variety of driving seats, never left the vehicle. He simply put his bead back against the rest and started snoring.

“Well, I’m hungry,” Chin Lee announced to no one in particular. Ever since emerging from the Commuter’s cockpit with Kurt, the Ork had been stuffing things into his mouth-krill wafers, soycakes, and a seemingly endless supply of Krak-L-Snaps. Now he rummaged around in a crate next to the one that had yielded the sleeping pads until he found a zip-heat package meal. Pulling the tab, he tossed it on a nearby oil drum to heat and rummaged some more. By the time his meal was hot, he had restocked the satchel at his side and tossed a half-dozen more meal packs on the drum, He opened his packet, breaking out the eating utensil on his way back to the vehicle. Flopping down on the van’s tail, he stirred the contents of the packet and began shoveling the gooey mess into his mouth.

“You two help yerselfs,” he mumbled around a mouth-full.

Hanae looked a little green, but Sam thanked the Ork. He led Hanae around to the side of the van, careful to stay between her and the dracoform. The runners were ignoring them, though Sam felt sure someone would get plenty interested if they attempted to leave.

After settling Hanae in a relatively clean spot between the boxes, he fetched a pad and blanket from those the other runners had rejected, He made another trip to gather a pair of the least awful looking food packs and a six-pack of Fizzygoo; the jugged water looked even less drinkable than the Fizzygoo. As expected, Hanae wouldn’t even look at the stuff, but she would be hungry later. He lay down next to her and held her until she fell into a fitful, exhausted sleep.