shadowrun 40 The Burning Time Read Free Page A

giving Boom’s massive arm a reassuring pat. "What’s done is done. What matters is what are we going to do about it?"
    Boom glanced down at Trouble, and his anger seemed to deflate. He gave a heavy sigh and scratched behind one horn with a blunt finger. He turned back to Talon. "Sorry I blew up at you, chummer. I guess the stress of this run is getting to me."
    "To all of us," Talon said, smiling wanly. His eyes held the same haunted look Trouble had noticed earlier, but he got down to business in spite of it. "I think we can still salvage something from this mess. It’s just going to take a little more work."
    "Well, the cred’s good," Hammer said from his seat near the door of Boom’s office. The big ork casually cradled a submachine gun across his lap, ready for anything.
    A knock at the door froze the conversation in its tracks. Boom glanced at the monitors built into the surface of his broad desk. He looked up and nodded slightly at Hammer, who went to open the door to Valkyrie, the team’s remaining member.
    She was dressed as usual: a T-shirt, worn jeans tucked into a pair of heavy leather boots, and a battered leather jacket layered with ballistic armor. Her dark hair was clipped "short and simple," as she put it, revealing the chrome of the datajack behind her left ear. She carried a slim, flat control deck under one arm and a flat-profile pistol in a holster at her waist. Val sauntered in and flopped down on the couch against one wall.
    "What’s the word?" Boom asked.
    "I tracked our boy by remote," she said. "He took the T, so I lost him when he went underground, but I staked out his apartment. He showed up there a few minutes ago. He couldn’t have gotten home that fast if he’d made any stops along the way.
    "So he didn’t talk to anyone else or try to make another score," Talon said.
    Val shook her head. "Not unless he met somebody on the train. ‘Sides, we’ve checked this guy out. He doesn’t have any street connections. He’s a lily- white, sheltered corp-baby. We’re the only connections he’s got."
    "Which is something we can turn to our advantage," Boom rumbled. "We just need to turn up the heat a little, so he’ll have to come back for the bait. And I think I know how we can do that."
    Boom looked at Talon, who seemed lost in thought. "Tal, what’s this about Jase? What did you see?"
    "I don’t know." Talon gave a baffled shake of his head. "I’m not sure any more. Maybe it was just a trick of the light or the smoke or something. But I could have sworn . . . " He trailed off and threw up his hands in a gesture of helplessness. It hurt Trouble to see Talon, always so sure of himself, look so lost and confused.
    "Are you sure you’re up to handling this?" Boom said. "’Cause if not. . ."
    "No, no, I’m fine," Talon said. "I’ll deal. Let’s figure out what we’re going to do and get down to it, okay?"
    Boom nodded curtly. "Okay, here’s what I’m thinking." He laid out the plan, and they discussed it, working through potential problems. When everyone had their assignments, the team broke up to get some rest. It was already quite late.
    The club was closing for the night as they emerged from Boom’s office. The Avalon belonged to Boom, and it was a good front for his shadow business. The last of the club-goers were trickling out the door onto the streets of Boston, and the clean-up crews had already begun repairing the mess their festivities had left behind.
    Talon was down the stairs and almost out the door as Trouble hurried to catch up. He had that lost look again, walking with his head down and one hand jammed into the pocket of his jacket. His motorcycle helmet dangled by its chin-strap from his other hand.
    "Hey," she said, "Want to grab a cup of soykaf before calling it a night? I mean, if you want to talk. . ."
    Talon gave her a sorrowful smile that made Trouble’s heart ache. He shook his head. "No, thanks. I think I need to be alone for awhile."
    "Okay, chummer," she