You don't live in the CDZ without knowing three things. Blacksburg cops are little more than organized thugs with heavy duty bang-bang and itchy trigger fingers. The Network really DOES know everything you do. And sex is something best done in the open.
The first two really don't apply to me. I'm a private investigator here in what used to be quiet Blacksburg, Virginia. That was until Dunkelzahn died. Ten weeks later, every major mega-corp decided to pull out. Normally, that would have meant the end of Virginia Tech, but the college never even flinched. In fact, it walked in and took over the corp buildings with frightening speed. Spooky drek, chummers. But it gets even better; the megas actually proclaimed that Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and several of the surrounding counties were now totally free of any and all mega-corp influence. That's right, chummer. And the worst part of it is that they all seem to be playing this one straight with the public. Thus we have the Corp Dead Zone, CDZ to the locals.
I won't get into the dirty politics of why and what for. But those three rules? Chip truth, chummer. That's the way things run here. And it is most definitely true about sex. Take my latest case.
I was hired by Mrs. Johnson (not her real name, if ya' haven't guessed) to find out what her darling little daughter was up to. Now if you don't know anything about the Network, you'd assume it was a simple run. Tail daughter and report to mama. If only, chummers. Itβs easier to slit a great dragons throat with a rusted spoon than to avoid the Network. But back to my job...
I started out by listening to the local street gossip. And it wasn't long before I got wind that daughter dearest had been doing the horizontal shuffle with one of the guys from the Corps of Cadets. But I wasn't able to find out who. But I should have figured that something shady was going on; I found out that little tidbit of information in only three days and two nights of walking the streets. I'll tell you one thing; the coffee here is real... and so is the caffeine. I felt like I was running mil-spec boosted reflexes!
So. Next step was to get inside of Virginia Tech and snoop around. Not easy. Virginia Tech has one of the finest security systems in place: blind luck. No drek, chummers; you may well walk onto the campus free as a bird and roam around all night and never once see any of the chrome kings that Tech uses for its police force. Then again, you may find yourself facing one of their roaming teams, and you can bet your hoop that the grunt without any chrome is a full fledged battle tried and proven combat mage. and let's not forget magical security. Being a mundane, I don't have a clue as to what kind of security lies in astral space. But a couple of chummers I know say that if varies between none to hoop kicker squared. So take your chances on going in solo. Or do what I did: get an invite.
I won't say how I got my invite, but I will say that I owe someone. Nothing new to anyone who's even heard about shadowrunning. So I managed to get inside, fairly confident that I wasn't being looked over by electronic eyes of astral eyes. The Cadets stay on Upper Quad. Located right across from Downtown Blacksburg, it's one of the best places to find a few drunken wannabe soldiers sporting whatever mods their parents shelled out the nuyen for, and their street docs upgraded.
My target was Brodie hall. It's home to the Delta Dogs, probably the nicest bunch of soon-to-be Marines you could ever hope to come across. It's also home to the command post where the brass does its thing. I was about to make my way up one of the walkways leading to the building when I heard an all too familiar alarm. Ghost Squadron: Virginia Tech's own high-threat response team. Don't ask how I know that alarm; it's a LONG story and one I don't wanna tell. Besides... I like living.
I kept my pace. Any change would be considered by Ghost Squadron as a threat. And they are very efficient when dealing with threats. But something caught my eye: someone running away from Brodie like there was a flight of great dragons snapping at their hoop. I was about to give chase when two members of Ghost Squadron appeared next to me. One was a dwarf and the other was human. Both carried Ares Predator IIs and looked ready for anything. But they weren't concerned about my presence. The sound of gun play told me why.
Well, it was time for me to leave. I spoke my name, then turned to follow the fleeing figure. Why did I say my name? Wouldn't do to have Ghost Squadron send a mage to "question" me after they had to go through the trouble of finding me. Been there, scanned that. So I beat feet. I managed to catch sight of the figure as it crossed the street. it was heading Downtown. Great. And I was too far away to see if it was male or female. I followed at a safe distance, eventually discovering that it was a woman I was after. And dressed in civilian clothes. The shirt looked as if it had been stretched and almost torn, which gave me a chill. Date rape. great. I didn't need this.
Or maybe I did. I passed her as she stopped to catch her breath, and got a look at her face. it was Mrs. Johnsonβs daughter. Wonder of wonders. Now who was she running from? That's when I noticed that she rose and walked towards Thoughts Consolidated.
Depending on who you ask, the time of day and the phase of the moon, Thoughts Consolidated is either a private investigating firm or a front for a group of shadowrunners. I happen to have had a few dealings with Thoughts, and know a bit about the owner. He has this problem with sex cases: he hates them with a passion. If she went to him and asked for protection, he'd give it. He's all biz, chummers, and one of the few true good guys in this drek soup we call life.
But that left me in a fix. I decided to wait until my tail left the building. When she did, she was followed by two fairly plain looking guys. And if you believe that they were normal, I've got a few shares in Zurich orbital that I'll sell ya dirt fraggin' cheap. As she left, I noticed that Agatha, the secretary of Thoughts Consolidated, was motioning for me to enter. So much for keeping this quiet. I walked in to see what Delvar Steele, the owner, wanted from me.
"Harry."
"Steele. it's been a while."
"Indeed. Too long. Shall we get down to biz?"
Oh joy. When Steele decides to get to biz that fast, it normally spells trouble. And I don't mean small time jazz.