Where the Wild Geese Fly

Ch. 3

You can go anywhere you want if you look serious and carry a clipboard. -Street proverb

Vixen sat in a booth watching the swirl of people in Dirty Ricky’s.  She drummed her fingers on the scarred table and scanned the room once more. There was a large crowd in the bar for a weeknight. A trid in the corner blared out the latest Maria Mercurial music vid.  Sighing, she looked at her watch. Turner was late. She decided to give her a few more minutes before she left. She glanced over at the door again just as it swung open to admit two women. One was a red-haired elf, dressed in jeans, green sweatshirt, and a battered armored jacket. The other was also an elf with short dark hair and a wicked smile. She wore leather pants, a black sweater and a jacket identical to the one the red head was wearing. Vixen grinned as she recognized Turner and waved her over to the table. "G’day mate. Yer late." She said.
 Turner sat down and scooted over to make room for Karina. She leaned over and flipped the switch on a small white noise generator installed in the wall. Karina winced. She could feel the pulse of the generator in the small bones behind her ears and it felt as if she had suddenly gone deaf.
  "Yeah sorry, we got stuck in traffic. This is Mist," Turner said to Vixen.
 "G’day Mist." she nodded to Karina.
 "Hoi Vixen," Karina said. She sat back, letting Turner carry the conversation.
 "So what’ve ya got for me? Ya said ya needed me to track down some info for ya?" Vixen asked. She waved the barmaid away before she could overhear the conversation.
 Turner waited until she left before replying. "Yeah, we need to I.D. two murder victims and  their killers. The victims died a week ago over near Berrington Street. One of the perps is an ork named Lank. He runs with a troll. Think you can get all that for us?" Turner asked.
 "Sure," Vixen answered with a shrug.  "Shouldn’t be to much of a problem. Probably be able to get that for ya tonight. Though the perps might take longer.  What’s the pay?"
 "There you get a choice. Five thousand up front or you can wait and take a share of the prize," Turner replied. She felt Karina twitch a bit and patted her knee reassuringly.
 "What’s the prize?" Vixen asked. She sat forward and placed her elbows on the table.
 "A necklace valuable enough to murder for," Turner stated smoothly.
 "Really? Sounds … intriguing, " Vixen said with a raised eyebrow. She indicated Karina. "And yer mate here, what’s her part in this?"
 Turner smiled. "It’s her prize. She called me in to help her find it, and  now we need a decker. So are you in?"
 Vixen sat back and thought about it for a few moments before answering. "Ok, I’m in. Let’s go someplace a little more private and I’ll see what I can come up with." She stood up and led the way to the parking lot. "I’ll meet ya at my place."
 "All right, but  I may be awhile," Turner replied. "I have to drop Mist off first. She has another meet to go to.  Don’t start without me."
 "Will do. Nice meeting ya, Mist," Vixen said.
 "It’s nice meeting you too, Vixen. Thank you for your help," Karina said.
 "No worries, mate. I was in-between jobs anyway." Vixen grinned.
 

 Karina waved to Turner as she turned the corner, then she climbed the steps of the brownstone and scanned a list of names posted beside the door until she found Mask’s.  She punched a small button beside the name, and looked around as she waited for an answer. The brownstone stood on a quiet residential street. A small park took up the other side of the block giving the residents a nice view. She noticed that the street was fairly clean with no abandoned cars. ‘Nice neighborhood.’  It was a cold, clear night. She shivered in her new jacket, hoping Mask would hurry and let her in.  She jumped when a mechanical sounding voice behind her spoke. "Yes? May I help you?"
 She spun around looking for the source. Seeing a small speaker she leaned forward and said. "Umm, My name is Mist. I’m here to see Mask." She licked her lips, waiting for a response. Then she heard a buzz and a quiet click.
 "Come on up. Up the stairs , turn left, Apartment C," The voice said.
 Karina pushed the door open and stepped inside. She stood in an open foyer. To her left was a long hallway and to her right a stairway led up. She climbed the stairs and walked down the hall until she found the correct apartment. When she knocked a voice called "Come on in, it’s unlocked." She opened the door and stared in awe. The elegant apartment shone in the soft light cast by a pair of lamps. Midnight blue velvet drapes lined with sheer white lace curtains  framed a bank of windows opposite her. Silver ribbons  tied the drapes back and small suncatchers and crystals, hung on the curtain rods, sparkled in the light from the streetlight outside. A bookcase filled with books, kick knacks and a trid unit stood against one wall. The carpet was a pale blue and a white leather couch sat against the wall opposite the bookcase. A glass coffee table stood in front of the couch. Matching end tables sat on either end of the couch. Cattycornered to the couch a pretty blonde elf, dressed in a crimson silk kimono, sat curled up in a deep sapphire blue easy chair. She looked up from her book and smiled at Karina. "Hi, I’m Mask. And you must be Mist. Poss described you well." Her deep blue eyes sparkled with welcome.
 "Hi, Mask. You have a beautiful apartment," Karina said as she shut the door behind her and came forward.
 "Thank you," Mask said. "Have a seat. Poss tells me that your a fox shaman." She waited until Karina made herself comfortable on the couch. "Would you like some hot tea?"
 "That would be whiz," Karina said. "It gets cold riding a bike in this weather."
 Mask uncurled from her chair and set her book down on the coffee table. Her waist length ponytail swung over her shoulder and Karina noticed Mask had dyed subtle rings of a darker blonde in her hair, like a raccoon’s tail.  Mask walked gracefully into the kitchen. She puttered around for a minute pouring boiling water over tea bags and sweetening the brew with honey. Then she brought the cups over and handed one to Karina. Curling back up in her chair, she tucked her feet under the hem of her kimono and took a sip of her tea. She smiled at Karina and said, "Why don’t you tell me what magical skills you have already?  That will help us determine a course of study for you."
 "I really don’t know much," Karina replied. She curled her fingers around the warm cup and tasted her tea. The scent of chamomile wafted up and bathed her face in fragrant steam. "Mmmm, this is good." she said. Mask nodded. "Chamomile is one of my favorites. It is very helpful in calming the central nervous system." She waved to Karina to continue.
 "Getting back to your question, Poss taught me how to perceive and center, but then Fox came along and chose me and Poss said he couldn’t teach me any more," she said, disappointment written on her face.
 "He’s absolutely right. I can tell you like Poss but believe me, you need another shaman to teach you. Mages approach magic much differently than shamans," Mask told her. ‘With them magic is broken down into formulas and equations. With us it is more a matter of intuition. Oh, don’t get me wrong, we have formulas and rituals, but unlike mages, what works for one shaman, may not work for you. You have to sort of…. feel your way through it. Sometimes your totem will help you and sometimes it won’t. The path of a shaman isn’t easy, but I think you’ll find the rewards are worth the sacrifices you’ll make."

 The two shamans sat in companionable silence for several minutes while Karina contemplated what Mask had said. Finally she asked, "Why couldn’t Poss tell right away that I am a shaman?"
 "Because Fox hadn’t chosen you yet. You see, apart from traditions and mind set, there is very little difference between a mage and a shaman. Before your totem chooses you there is nothing to show a magician which you are. After you're chosen however, a bond between you are your totem develops that makes it obvious to other magic users that you are a shaman. By studying someone’s aura you can tell if they’re a shaman, what their emotional state is, whether they have cyberware etc," Mask answered.
 "Ahh, that makes sense. So the bond is something you can see?" Karina snuggled deeper into the couch and sipped at her tea.
 "Not exactly see, it’s more like you can sense the bond," Mask said. "You said Poss taught you to perceive?"
 Karina nodded. "Yes, this afternoon."
 "Fine , I want you to asense me." Mask waited quietly while Karina set her tea down and sifted to astral sight. Karina’s eyes widened . Mask was glowing with power. Her aura slowly pulsed in time to her heartbeat. Then suddenly, as if she had pulled a plug, she stopped glowing except for a faint tinge close to her body. Karina jerked back in surprise.
 "Whoa! What did you do?" she asked.
 "It’s called masking. It’s something you learn to do as an initiate," Mask told her. "Concentrate now. I am going to slowly unmask. Reach out with your mind and just feel. Don’t worry about what you see, just concentrate on what you feel."
 Karina sat up and concentrated carefully. After a few moments she started to get a sense of what Mask had been talking about. It was if Mask had a connection to …. someplace else. Looking down at herself she realized that she too had a connection she had never noticed before. She glanced back up at Mask. The raccoon shaman sat bonelessly in her chair, her head tilted back and her mouth slack. A movement by the window caught her attention. A ghostly image stood there looking out the window. It turned and looked at her. Startled, she realized it was Mask. She looked back at the chair. Mask’s body was still there. "What the….?"
 "I’m astrally projecting," the figure said. "Sit back and get comfortable. Relax all your muscles and concentrate on breathing deeply. Then I want you to step out of your body."
 "Step out of my body? How can I do that?" Karina asked with a confused look.
 "Your spirit is what leaves your body. Just try it. I promise you, you can do this." Mask said. She waited until Karina had done as she asked. She carefully watched her aura for the signs of relaxation. When Karina’s breathing slowed down to an even pulse, she was ready. Mask whispered softly, "Now, come here."  Karina sat up and looked at Mask.
 The spirit shook her head. "No, don’t move your body. You move your spirit. Trance down and try again. And this time use your perception. When you have that, reach out and stand up. Spiritually speaking that is," she said with a mischievous grin. Once again she waited for Karina to prepare herself. This time when she called her, Karina didn’t move. Slowly she opened her eyes. Than with a jerk her spirit stood up and moved to join Mask at the window. "Wow," she said.
 "Ready to go for a walk?" Mask asked her. Karina nodded.
 "Then let’s go." Mask walked through the window and floated down to the sidewalk in front of the building.  She waited until Karina had joined her before walking across the street to the park. "We won’t go far," she said.
 The park was vivid with color.  The trees, bushes and grass all glowed with a soft ambient light. Karina bumped into a tree, surprised that she couldn’t go through it. She hadn’t had any problem walking through the window. She turned to Mask with a questioning look on her face.
 Mask laughed. "You can’t go through living things or the earth itself. Anything organic is solid even in astral space. Some corps use that to their advantage and erect ‘living walls’. The walls are planted with moss or lichen. It proves a very effective barrier to mages. Manmade things, however, are another story.  Those you can go right through unless they’re warded. "
 Together they wandered around the park for awhile. Finally, Karina felt a tug back toward the building. She followed it until she was back in Mask’s apartment. Her body was still sitting on the couch and obviously hadn’t so much as twitched.  With a snap she fell back into her body and opened her eyes. Mask had returned to her body as well and was quietly watching her.
 "Wow, that was incredible," Karina said.
 "It certainly is," Mask replied. " Now, if you’re not to tired let’s go into my lodge and we’ll work up some spells for you. It will take you some time to learn them, but we should be able to get your formulas done tonight."
 Karina jumped up from her seat. "O.K. Let’s go," she said eagerly.
 Mask  gave a mock sigh. "Kids. You know, if they could bottle that energy they could make a billion nuyen. Oh by the way, here." She handed Karina a pocket secretary. Karina looked down at her jacket pocket and then at the small machine. When she looked up at Mask, she saw that Mask had a mischievous grin on her face. "Got ya." Mask said. Shaking her head, Karina followed Mask down the hall.
 The lodge occupied the large corner room. Shutters covered the windows on the outside while inside strings of colorful beads were arranged like blinds. The floor was soft golden wood with an inlaid circle of lighter wood.  A table stood against one of the inside walls and was framed by a round Indian shield on one side and a wooden mask on the other. Hanging on the wall above the table was a staff decorated with fur and feathers and topped with a crystal spear head. The other wall was covered with sheets of vellum that were brightly painted with peculiar symbols and inscriptions.  Crystals, hung in the corners, cast rainbows around the room as they caught the light. Mask stopped just inside the door and made a few gestures before letting Karina enter.
 The two shamans worked into the early hours of the morning developing several spells for Karina. At last Mask declared that she had to get some sleep. She showed Karina to her spare bedroom and left her to get ready for bed. Karina sat down for a moment and fell back into the soft embrace of the bed. It felt so good just to lie there. Finally she struggled up and undressed before climbing under the covers. She reached over and switched off the bedside lamp and was sound asleep before her head hit the pillow.

 "What do you mean you lost her?"
  Lank shivered at the tone of quiet menace in the voice. Not much scared the burly ork but this man was dangerous. One word from him and Lank knew his days would be numbered. "I’m sorry Mr. Johnson. We was ambushed and somehow in da firefight she disappeared."
 "Find her. And find that necklace. I paid you good money and so far all you have delivered me is publicity and one dead thief."
 "I’m sorry Mr. Johnson ," Lank repeated. " But dat was Turk, not me."
 "You two are a team, or so you told me," Mr. Johnson purred. "What one does, both are responsible for. Are you telling me you can’t do your jobs properly?"
 "No sir." Lank said quickly
 "I am glad to hear that. Now go find my property and get rid of that witness. And do not contact me again until the job is done or I will be most unhappy. "
 "Yes, sir." Lank said. He cut the connection quickly and yelled. "Turk! Johnson says if we don’t find da girl and da necklace soon, he’s gonna take it out of our hides. Let’s roll!"

 Karina awoke to the smell of fresh brewed soykaf and bacon. Grey light filled the small room and she could hear the patter of raindrops on the roof.  She stretched as she got dressed and then padded down the hall to the kitchen. "Good morning, Mask." She yawned.
 "Good morning," Mask said. "Turner called. She has some information for you. She said she and Vixen will drop by later to talk to you." She filled two plates and placed them on the table.
 "Whiz. I hope she got what we need," Karina said. She pored herself a cup of soykaf from the pot Mask indicated , then joined her at the table for a late breakfast. She took a sip and looked startled. "There’s something wrong with your soykaf, Mask. It tastes funny."
 Mask laughed. "That’s because it’s not soykaf. It’s real coffee. Expensive as hell but well worth it in my humble opinion."
 Karina took another cautious sip. "I guess so. I still think it tastes strange."
  "You’ll get use to it." Mask smiled. Then she changed the subject. "Umm. Mist," she said delicately. "Poss told me that you have been staying at the shelter lately.  I don’t mean to pry but have you got someplace else to stay? If not, I have the spare room and it would be more convenient to have you here until you finish your training.  It’s up to you, but if you would like to stay you will be more than welcome."
 Karina stared at Mask . "You mean you trust me here, with all your lovely things? Not that I would, but what makes you think I won’t rip you off?" she asked.
 "Two things actually. Number one, Poss trusts you and he is an excellent judge of character. And two, my totem told me to help you." Mask smiled.
 "Well, Turner told me I could stay with her but it would probably be better if I stay here." Karina thought for a second. "At least until I learn what I need to know," she finished quickly.
 "It’s settled then. Here is the code for the maglock and  I will let the watchers know not to come screaming to me whenever you come in." Mask grinned. "Watchers aren’t real well known for smarts, but they sure make great watch dogs. Speaking of watchers, we will go over the basics of conjuring today and you can start learning those spells. If we have time we will also work up a few illusion spells for you as well."
 "Sounds good to me," Karina stated. "What time did Turner says they were going to be over?"
 "Sometime around 20:00. We have plenty of time. Now eat your breakfast. You’re gonna need the strength." Mask said with an evil grin. Karina gave her a dubious look and tucked into her meal.
 

 By 20:00 Karina was more than ready to call a break. She sat cross-legged on the wooden floor of the medicine lodge. Her back ached from hunching over her formulas and her mind and backside felt numb. She sat up slowing, arching her back until she heard the vertebra  pop.
 Mask winced and gave her a sympathetic look from her chair by the window. "A bit sore? Don’t worry, you’ll soon get use to it. Tomorrow, be sure to go to your Tai Chi class. It will help you stay in shape and will work out the cramps." She advised Karina.
 "I will. I usually don’t sleep so late but for some reason I was exhausted," Karina replied.
 "That’s from using magic. I should have warned you about that. You’ll find that you’ll need to eat more and you’ll probably need more sleep as well. Especially when you do a lot of spell casting. Using magic drains you, some spells more than others." Mask told her. "Remember, you're using your will and your energy to direct the mana flow. And that can be extremely fatiguing."
 "Ahh, that explains it. I wondered why I felt so tired. I usually lie awake for awhile, thinking about the day, but last night I fell asleep as soon as I crawled under the covers," Karina said.
 A buzzer sounded interrupting their conversation. "That must be your chummers," Mask said as she rose to answer it. "Let’s go see what they have for you."

 Once Mask met Turner and Vixen, she laughingly referred to the three girls as The Three Musketeers. Then she graciously excused herself back to her lodge, leaving the living room to the trio. Karina settled back in her chair and waited for them to report on their findings.
 "We got more than we thought we would, Mist," Turner told her. "Seems that one of your victims was a man of some importance. We’re still working on his girlfriend. She’s a bit mysterious. Not much is known about her. The perps were a little easier. Lank and his partner Turk are known wet workers. Whoever hired them screwed up if he expected any subtlety from those two. But I’ll let Vixen make this report since she did all the work and all I did was guard her meat." She grinned at Vixen.
 "Thank you, Turner," Turning to Mist she said, "Victim one: Name: Michael Bradley. Streetname : none. Norm male, Caucasian,  37 years old. Public Relations manager at Mitsuhama  Computer Technologies. Lives in the MCT arcology.  Seattle native, Born : July 12th,2021. Height: 5’ 11. Weight: 194 lbs. Hair: Brown, Eyes, Blue.  Cyberware: Data jack.
  Victim two: Name: Victoria Nighthawk. Street name: unknown.  Norm female, Caucasian .Age unknown. No know job, no know address, Born: unknown, Height 5’10. Weight : 130 lbs. Hair: Blonde, Eyes: Blue. No cyberware. Has been dating Michael for the last 8 months.
 Prep one:  Name: Oscar Brooks.  Streetname: Lank . Ork male, Amerindian, Tribe unknown , Possibly Salish. 17 years old. No known address. Known wetworker. Born: 2041.  Seattle native.  Height: 6’5"  Weight: approximately 255 lbs.  Hair: Black,  Eyes: Brown. Cyberware: Smart link.
 Prep Two: Name: Craig Reaves   Streetname: Turk. Troll male, Caucasian. 22 years old.  Born: April 1, 2036.  Seattle native. No known address.  Known wetworker. Partner’s with Lank on a regular basis but has been known to solo on occasion.  Height: 7’10" Weight: approximately 475 lbs.  Cyberware: unknown."  She paused to organize her thoughts before continuing her report.  "Lone Star was able to identify the victims but so far they have no leads on the perps. The Star wants to write it off as random street violence.  MCT, however, is most put out by their boy getting whacked and is putting a lot of pressure on the Star to find out who did it and why. From the report MCT security has put together, Michael had a date with Victoria that night. They went to The Mogul in Bellevue for dinner. Then they went to The Skeleton, in Redmond for a drink. After they left there, no one is sure where they went until they ended up in that alley. That’s all we could find out on the matrix. Our various street contacts may tell us more. So footwork is the next step."
  "Wow, you got all that on the matrix?" Karina asked.
 "Yep,"  Vixen replied.
"I’ll check with my fixer next to see what else I can find out about Lank and Turk. What we really need is their employer. And we need to find out more about Victoria. She’s the real mystery here. We thought at first she was just some joygirl Michael had picked up, but Vixen did a little more digging and found a holopic of the two of them at some Mitsu party a few months ago," Turner said.
 "Ok, if you can give me a ride over to Berrington street I can  ask around and see if anybody else saw anything that night. Maybe if we can backtrack their movements that night after they left The Skeleton, we can figure out where they ran into Lank and Turk. That might tell us something about their relationship, if any, with Victoria," Karina stated.
 "Now you're starting to think like a shadowrunner," Turner said with a grin.
 "You two have anything else set up for tonight?" Karina asked.
 "Nope, we’re free. Just gotta contact Turner’s fixer," Vixen said, with a glance at Turner.
 "Ok, let me check with Mask and see if she needs me for anything else. If not, we can head over there now," Karina said.

  After saying goodbye to Mask, Karina shrugged on her jacket. She checked her pistol, holstered it and headed out the door with Vixen and Turner. The rain had slowed down to a drizzle but it was a miserable night for riding. They headed for Redmond by the most direct route they could find while still avoiding any go gangs.  Once they reached the Barrens they stopped first at The Skeleton.  After seeing how a couple of  other elves were treated, they decided not to approach the club .  None of them wanted any trouble, so they headed instead for Karina’s old turf.
 "Some of my contacts won’t talk to me with anyone else around, so why don’t you guys wait for me somewhere?" Karina shouted over the wind.
 Turner nodded. Then Karina heard over her micro transceiver, "Where?"
 Feeling stupid for forgetting she had it on, she subvocalized. " How about at the Banshee? It’s just a couple of blocks from Berrington Street."
 "Sounds good. Ok with you Vixen?" Turner said.
 "No worries mate. Mist is the local around here. I trust her judgment," Vixen said.

****************************************************************************

A special Thank you to my beta readers,Norcumi , "Incognito" and Maven.

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