So, if you know a good rigger . . He left the rest unsaid.
Val straightened up, looked Talon in the eye, and smiled a bit. "I don't know anyone better than me."
Talon smiled. "Neither do I. I'll settle for second best."
"You don't have to." Val said. "I'm in."
"You don't—"
"Yes I do." she said. "You need me for this one. Besides, it's been a long time since I've been back home."
Talon nodded. "All right then. Let's do this." He put his arm around Val's shoulders and they walked back to Boom's office, where the rest of the team was discussing how to spend their expense account for the run. Mr. Brackhaus had been quite generous on that score, which told Talon this run was serious business as far as Saeder-Krupp was concerned. He just hoped that, when all was said and done, none of them would regret taking on the job.
5
Talon wasn't overly fond of airports. They were too exposed, too open, and there were too many people. Not that he expected trouble at this one, quite the contrary. Modern airports like Logan International in Boston were sterling examples of modern twenty-first-century security measures. Since they were also a favorite target of terrorists of all stripes, government and corporate security was tightest at the various ports of entry and exit, especially international airports. That was what worried Talon.
Technically, he and his four "traveling companions" were "terrorists" by a lot of definitions. As much as corporations found them useful, shadowrunners were criminals. Not only non-persons, but the very "dangerous elements" that security forces watched out for. Even with a top-grade fake ID in his pocket, Talon always felt exposed whenever he walked into an airport. He sensed numerous eyes on him, checking him over from a distance, and he focused on using his training and experience to look like just another corporate suit heading out on a business trip.
"Is it me," Trouble said quietly, "or have they increased security around here lately?"
"Not you." Talon replied. "Ever since Novatech set up shop in Boston, things have gotten tighter. It's brought in a lot more corporate competition, and that attracts plenty of wackos."
"You mean, like us?" Trouble said with an impish smile.
"Exactly."
Talon and Trouble walked together through the terminal toward their flight. They looked like any other couple, or perhaps a corporate exec and an assistant (Talon wondered who people would think was which). He had a soft-sided nylon bag slung over his shoulder, while Trouble carried a hard-sided briefcase. Both wore conservative, corporate-style clothing. Talon was in a gray suit over a burgundy shirt with a Mandarin collar and no tie, as was fashionable among many younger corporate employees. Trouble looked sharp in a gray skirt, short jacket, and dark green blouse. With the chrome hints of datajacks on both of them, they presented the perfect image of corporate conformity.
Talon could hear Boom and Hammer somewhere behind them. The troll and the ork walked together, talking and joking loudly, drawing occasional stares from the people around them. It wasn't that trolls or orks were an unusual sight in a large airport, but the fact that Boom insisted on wearing the loudest shirt he could find and talking with Hammer in deep tones that carried considerably. For all the world, the two appeared to be two metahuman chummers gabbing about a wild vacation they were embarking on.
While Talon preferred to blend in, the big troll hid in plain sight. "When you look like me," Boom said, "subtlety isn't your best choice." Talon supposed that it worked. People would recall the outrageously clad, loud-mouthed troll, but they would be hard-pressed to remember any significant details. The whole thing would be out of their minds once Boom passed, leaving people shaking their heads and wondering about "those wacky metahumans."
Val walked by herself, nondescript in jeans and leather jacket, keeping quiet and blending with the
Val straightened up, looked Talon in the eye, and smiled a bit. "I don't know anyone better than me."
Talon smiled. "Neither do I. I'll settle for second best."
"You don't have to." Val said. "I'm in."
"You don't—"
"Yes I do." she said. "You need me for this one. Besides, it's been a long time since I've been back home."
Talon nodded. "All right then. Let's do this." He put his arm around Val's shoulders and they walked back to Boom's office, where the rest of the team was discussing how to spend their expense account for the run. Mr. Brackhaus had been quite generous on that score, which told Talon this run was serious business as far as Saeder-Krupp was concerned. He just hoped that, when all was said and done, none of them would regret taking on the job.
5
Talon wasn't overly fond of airports. They were too exposed, too open, and there were too many people. Not that he expected trouble at this one, quite the contrary. Modern airports like Logan International in Boston were sterling examples of modern twenty-first-century security measures. Since they were also a favorite target of terrorists of all stripes, government and corporate security was tightest at the various ports of entry and exit, especially international airports. That was what worried Talon.
Technically, he and his four "traveling companions" were "terrorists" by a lot of definitions. As much as corporations found them useful, shadowrunners were criminals. Not only non-persons, but the very "dangerous elements" that security forces watched out for. Even with a top-grade fake ID in his pocket, Talon always felt exposed whenever he walked into an airport. He sensed numerous eyes on him, checking him over from a distance, and he focused on using his training and experience to look like just another corporate suit heading out on a business trip.
"Is it me," Trouble said quietly, "or have they increased security around here lately?"
"Not you." Talon replied. "Ever since Novatech set up shop in Boston, things have gotten tighter. It's brought in a lot more corporate competition, and that attracts plenty of wackos."
"You mean, like us?" Trouble said with an impish smile.
"Exactly."
Talon and Trouble walked together through the terminal toward their flight. They looked like any other couple, or perhaps a corporate exec and an assistant (Talon wondered who people would think was which). He had a soft-sided nylon bag slung over his shoulder, while Trouble carried a hard-sided briefcase. Both wore conservative, corporate-style clothing. Talon was in a gray suit over a burgundy shirt with a Mandarin collar and no tie, as was fashionable among many younger corporate employees. Trouble looked sharp in a gray skirt, short jacket, and dark green blouse. With the chrome hints of datajacks on both of them, they presented the perfect image of corporate conformity.
Talon could hear Boom and Hammer somewhere behind them. The troll and the ork walked together, talking and joking loudly, drawing occasional stares from the people around them. It wasn't that trolls or orks were an unusual sight in a large airport, but the fact that Boom insisted on wearing the loudest shirt he could find and talking with Hammer in deep tones that carried considerably. For all the world, the two appeared to be two metahuman chummers gabbing about a wild vacation they were embarking on.
While Talon preferred to blend in, the big troll hid in plain sight. "When you look like me," Boom said, "subtlety isn't your best choice." Talon supposed that it worked. People would recall the outrageously clad, loud-mouthed troll, but they would be hard-pressed to remember any significant details. The whole thing would be out of their minds once Boom passed, leaving people shaking their heads and wondering about "those wacky metahumans."
Val walked by herself, nondescript in jeans and leather jacket, keeping quiet and blending with the
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