Chapter 2

When he showed up on Thursday the first thing I did was hand Blake a list. A Browning Ultra with three extra magazines, all loaded, a Remington Roomsweeper with a box of single O buckshot shells, two offensive grenades and two smoke grenades and some armor. GOOD armor!

"Man, you don't want much do you." he exclaimed. "This could very well take up all you'll make on the job. 'Course you'll be all set for the next one."

"How soon before the job?" I asked. "There are a couple of other things that I want that will be expensive and will take some time."

"What things are you talking about and just how expensive?" he came back.

"I want smart links on the weapons and I'll need the implants for me and I want eyes. Both low-light and flare comps. Should be between eight and ten grand. You can pay for them and I'll mark it against the deck that I'm building for you. Deal?"

"No. There's not enough time to get that stuff done and for you to be ready before the job. I can get this gear together and make the necessary contacts to take care of the implants and eyes as soon as the job is done but not before. Besides I don't think you'll need eyes for the first job. It's a simple muscle job for you and for us. We escort and watchdog a meet. That's if nothing goes wrong. Also there isn't going to be enough from this job to pay for all that stuff," he complained.

"That's what I want. I'll do your first run with just the gear on that list but before I do a second I want the chrome. That's my deal."

"I can live with that," he said. He then showed me five thousand nuyen in script and put it back in his pocket. "Mark it against my account. This will take care of contacts, making the reservations and down payment on the operations. As soon as we get back from the run you can go in and have it all taken care of."

"Next question, when and where?" I asked.

"Monday night meet us at the same little bar we were in the other afternoon. Be there at eight and we'll go over the thing then." With that he left and I went back to work on a gizmo I had on the bench.

The Shadows had always intrigued me. I guess I'm a romantic at heart but there was just something about a small group taking on the large Corps the made me tingle a bit, something very Robin Hood! I never thought of the so-called "wet" work as that didn't interest me but to take on a Corp and WIN. That did!

Monday morning I received a comp-call telling me about a package that was being held for me at a local shop. When I arrived to pick it up I was taken into the back and shown a nearly new Browning and a new Remington. Both were equipped with smart links and there was extra magazines for the Browning. There was also a shoulder rig set up to carry the Browning under the left arm and the Remington under the right.

I took the two weapons apart and checked them over as carefully as I could. They seemed to be in perfect working order. The Browning had only been fired enough to break it in. We then went into the basement where I was given a set of ear protectors and a pair of shooting glasses. Several targets had been set up at different distances. I tried out both weapons and was satisfied with them.

Eddie grinned. "I reworked the triggers on both of them. As you probably noticed there's no creep and you get a real crisp break at the end of the squeeze. The ramps have been polished and they were slightly throated so the shells will load easier. I also installed Aztech smart links. I didn't really like what came with the weapons. They are a little more expensive but well worth the extra. They stand up well to abuse and don't frets out when they get wet. Remember it does rain once in a while here in Seattle," he laughed.

"Blake said you were going in later for the implants for the smart links so they would work. Do you want that? The reason I ask is I have some Smart Goggles that do the same thing. They've been slightly modified and work even better now. And you don't have to be cut on for them to work."

What he showed me was just what I wanted. The frames were a bit thicker than on the other goggles I had seen as the fiberoptic wire had been replaced with a small sending/receiving unit. The ring he had me put on my right hand matched an input band on the handle of the weapons. With that the goggles worked just like they should. Wearing them I put several more magazines of shells through the Browning and a few more rounds through the RoomSweeper. I wanted to see how the goggles worked and get comfortable with them. They also had an added feature, InfraRed reception.