Withdrawal
From Goggleheadarchive
The loud roar of an engine filled the ears of John Marshall as he uncomfortably rode on the back of a motorbike. No, it wasn’t the loudest bike he’s ever heard in his life, but in that respect, it wasn’t so loud it was deafeningly annoying. His hands held onto the bike tightly as his duster flapped violently in the wind behind him, a testament to the speed that her motorbike was travelling. His body throbbed in pain, but pain was nothing new to the sniper. The last run wasn’t the first time that a mission had turned sour for him, nor was it the second time that he needed to be carried off of the battlefield, it was the third. It was the first time however, that John asked for assistance from an almost complete stranger. He had intended on walking to his apartment by himself, but his body dictated the severity of his still fresh wounds. Thus, he swallowed what pride he had and requested a ride home.
John glanced to his left now and he just watched the buildings and other alleyways as they passed him by. They looked more like dull steel coloured blurs than anything else to him, but that didn’t matter. He had a general idea of where they were in Blacot. He was exhausted from all the blood loss, but his senses weren’t too hindered. From the looks of it, there was still at least a little bit to go before they made it to his apartment. The driver, Red weaved the bike slightly every little bit to keep in line with the ever shifting route.
He shifted his gaze over toward Red and noted she was focused and silent. Or maybe she just enjoyed the rush of a speeding vehicle, the sound of the engine’s roar, and the feeling of the wind that rushed by her. He didn’t know for sure, and for the time being at least, it didn’t matter much to him. She was a professional at driving her chopper, and John knew that all he had to worry about for the moment was passing out and falling off. He had already cheated death once tonight with a bit of help, and he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to do it a second time. So, he bit down on his tongue and continued to hold on.
The woman motioned back to the sniper and he glanced around. He then carefully brought his weaker arm up and pointed two fingers forward, then shifted them to a hard right. Red nodded and John knew to hold on. She eased up on the gas slightly as she started the turn, but sped up even faster as she exited the turn. He saw his apartment ahead and just wanted to lie down on his couch. He could check for lodged bullets in the morning, once his body stopped throbbing so much.
Once the complex came into view, he tapped her shoulder twice and she nodded as she slowed the bike down to a stop. The former roar of the engine silenced as she put out the kickstand. The sniper pushed himself off of the back of the motorbike and stumbled to stand upright. It was fairly obvious that John was not used to motorbikes. “Thank you for the ride, Red.” John answered her as he moved to face her properly. “That makes three I owe you.”
Red removed the helmet from her head for a moment and placed it in front of her and then looked to the brown haired sniper. “No problem, just don’t go getting yourself killed before the next run” Red answered the sniper in a rather laid back tone.
“Affirmative, I don’t intend on dying in the next run either.” John answered her calmly and kept a stone like expression, aside from the exhaustion that was clear on his face.
“You okay to make it to your apartment?” Red asked and motioned to the building behind him. The sniper glanced back for a moment. The building was really low class and drab. It had no decoration and didn’t really stand out from any of the other buildings in the area. To John, it represented his lifestyle well. Simple, quiet, didn’t need much beyond the basic necessities, and enough places to hide his equipment if need be. He looked back to Red and nodded. “Good, now give me your commlink” she requested, although it almost sounded like a laid back demand to the sniper.
“Excuse me?” John asked and raised an eyebrow, obviously confused and a bit hesitant about handing over his headset.
“You heard me, give me your commlink. You were having trouble with it, yes?” She asked and sighed lightly. “Listen, we’re something of a team now, and teams help one another. Like I said earlier, ‘I’m a proponent of teamwork, believe it or not.’ Now, I’m not a technomancer, but I know that smoke coming out of a headset is not in the design specs.” She almost scolded and held out her hand.
John sighed and handed over his headset to the woman on the motorbike. She took out the actual device from the headset and looked it over carefully. “The hell is this? It looks like the plastic has been melted.” She commented as she turned it over and sighed as it looked similar. “Seriously, it looks as if it’s been put into a microwave or something. What did you do to this thing?” She murmured before she found the clasp to open it up.
John kept silent at her question and Red was left uncertain that she actually wanted to know what the sniper had done to his commlink. She instead turned her attention to the device itself and noticed there was only one small broken wire in the device. She took something from her motorbike and got to work on the device, and all John could do was watch in amazement. Soon enough she re-clasped the melted casing and inserted it back into the headset. “If you can, get a new casing for the base commlink, or you risk breaking it often.” She commented as she turned the headset to the side and pressed a few buttons. The device lit up momentarily and it audibly switched on.
At Red’s easy accomplishment, John folded his arms and murmured the words “God damned wizardry, that’s all technology is.”
“Some things were just not meant for people to understand.” Red answered his cursing and pressed more buttons to work the device.
A small bit of static broke through the headset followed with a muffled voice. Red pressed the button again and the voice became clearer. “Marshall, do you read? Answer me, you god damned bastard.” It yelled angrily and John sighed lightly. “If you’re dead, I’m going to kick your ass!” the voice continued.
“Friend of yours?” Red asked him with a small smirk.
“Something like that.” John answered and reached over. He pressed one of the few buttons he knew about and switched on the auto two way communication mode. “Moirae 2, this is Moirae 1, I read you too loud and clear, over.”
“Marshall, what the hell happened? Not only were you late for a check in, but your commlink went completely AWOL.” The person addressed to as Moirae 2 questioned as his voice quietened down slightly.
“The meeting turned out to be a full test with a group of new associates. The operation tested various military tactics from routing the enemy, to dealing with a skirmish though a textbook killing field. Last but not least, we were dealing with heavy fire during a withdrawal to an extraction point. During the last part of the operation, I was hors de combat after being shot down by a hostile, not that the rules of engagement ever apply in this line of work. I was recovered by friendlies and extracted from the battle field.” John answered simply and let a small yawn escape his throat.
“Okay, switching channels.” Red said after John spoke and changed the channel to the frequency on the business card. She pressed a few more buttons and looked up to John. “Alright John, you’re all set up and linked into the group frequency.” She started and offered the device to the sniper. “I’ve set the addresses of both your most frequently used channels and the group private line to quick link commands on the device right here.” She motioned to the three lower buttons on the headset.
John took the headset from the woman and just stared at it. He wasn’t sure if he understood what she meant. “She means that there are three buttons. One to us, one local, one to your new associates” a new voice answered for him. “Speaking of your new associates, are you going to introduce us to your lady friend?” the second voice continued.
“Maybe another time” John answered and put the headset back over his ears. He switched off transmissions and looked toward Red. “That’s four I owe you now.” Although he looked tired, his tone hadn’t lost its stone edge. “Normally, I don’t let my debts get past two.” John continued calmly.
“They say a soldier’s debt is loyal one.” Red quipped as she picked up her helmet.
“I’m not a soldier. I’m just a Shadowrunner.” John answered her simply.
“You have the demeanour of one.” Red said in a laid back tone before she picked up her helmet again. “We’ll talk about paying off those debts another time. See you in a week.” She slid the helmet over her head and started up the bike again. It sounded quieter now that John was not riding on the back. Without another passing glance, Red revved the engine, released the brakes and peeled away from the apartment complex. Dust kicked up behind the bike, but John didn’t care.
He slowly walked toward the apartment complex and switched on the communication once more. His body was sorer than ever and all he wanted right now was to lay on his couch and rest. “No.” he instinctively commented before the two Murphy’s had a chance to even question. “She was nice enough to drive me home because I was wounded.” He pulled a key card from under one of his gloves and slid it through the card reader. The device audibly clicked and the door slid open in response. “Whatever you’re thinking is wrong and I suggest you stop thinking it.” Marshall answered and slowly clambered up the stairs. “I know you’re in my apartment.”
“We weren’t thinking anything wrong, John.”Cole answered and John sighed. “We were just worried you got kidnapped or killed after you never sent a check-in signal, after all, you’re getting kind of old. The fact you were with a woman is intriguing, though. Never thought...” Cole’s words were interrupted as John pounded on his door, the sniper’s last silent warning to the pair. “Okay, done teasing you.”
John brought his key card to the reader and swiped it. The door stayed closed. John swiped the card again and again, nothing happened. “Third time’s a charm.” He murmured and swiped the card a third time. This time, the card got stuck half way through and refused to budge. The red light that told John that his room was locked shut off completely, and so did the lights above his head. The sniper sighed and rested his head against the door. At that same moment, he had a mental image of that annoying cleric as he said ‘Karma, John~’.
John just hit the door a second time and murmured “God damn god loving freak. This is somehow his fault, and his god damn divine karma crap!” John just smacked the door with his forehead repeatedly. Yes, he had some respect for the cleric who seemed to be in way over his head, but to the anti-religious John Marshall, he was still an annoying kid.
By now, his head pounded almost as much as his body throbbed. He stopped beating his head into the door and just rested it against the unmoving door. He shut his eyes and by the time the Murphy’s got the door open, the sniper was crumpled on the floor, unconscious or fast asleep. They just picked him up and carried him into the apartment. Anything John needed to do, could wait until he was rested.
