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norcumiHey Lyn, did you get my e-mail?
Anyway, Friday stuff literally following the last entry.
Favors
“We're frosty,” Toby declared, ignoring Brian completely to talk to the orderly. “He's family; gotta righta be pissed.”
Of course, the orderly was ignoring him too, though more pointedly. “Pissed or not, chummer, the docs want you to keep it down.” He glared at Brian, but stepped back out of the room.
The ork snorted, then shrugged. “Family?”
Not surprisingly, Toby wouldn't meet his eyes. “Family, beneficiary, what's the diff?”
Brian just gave him a look, letting it linger until the point was well made. “Well, I dunno, but you up to a sit rep?” A single, relieved grunt was the reply, leaving him to stand back. No matter what else had happened over the years, he still couldn't quite manage to get himself to stop standing at parade rest when summing up a situation. “Johnson's dealt with – he obviously wanted the slitch dead, but we didn't have time to figure out why. Lenore's guess is someone higher up set Johnson on it, but with the extra links in the chain, we're probably golden. Draga - ” He couldn't help the slight hitch in his throat. “Is dead. We're getting Matrix intel from Lenore's decker, goes by Lady Luck. We also got some muscle from a friend of hers, one Dani Shadowstar.” A shrug indicated Toby didn't know either name. “Fragger that tagged you was the guy who was bangin' the slitch when we nabbed her. He's a corper who plays in the shadows, cyber sammie who goes by Simon Templar-”
“What?”
Toby's voice was frigid enough to make the ork blink and take a step back. “You run into him before?” he asked cautiously.
“Hell, I've run with him before!” Toby snarled, tusks bared as his face twisted with a ferocious combination of rage and hate. “Always a multi-group op, never met th' fragger face ta face, hell, I saved his stinkin' hoop once, we wuz at th' docks an' I wuz playin' sniper an' the fragger wuz so decked out in kevlar nobody coulda known whut he looked like, and - ” He growled deep in his throat, a near guttural roar that had Brian taking another careful step back. Toby snarled again, shutting his eyes and grinding his teeth as his hands clenched into fists and veins throbbed around his face. A dozen deep snarls later, the troll opened his eyes. “That. Fragger. OWES me. Chummer.” He looked over at Brian, who swallowed. “I need your help.”
“Taking him down?”
“No. Th' fragger whut set us ALL up.” He growled again, but a bit softer this time. “Even Templar. Draga's dead cause'a some bastard. You, me, Lenore's chummers – and Templar. We're gonna take th' fragger down.”
It was the rage that made Brian hesitate. He'd never seen the normally frosty troll look more than faintly irritated before, and to see naked fury was... vastly unsettling. In the end, though, three facts reigned.
Toby was his chummer.
Draga had been a good friend.
Someone needed to pay for her death.
Anyway, Friday stuff literally following the last entry.
Favors
“We're frosty,” Toby declared, ignoring Brian completely to talk to the orderly. “He's family; gotta righta be pissed.”
Of course, the orderly was ignoring him too, though more pointedly. “Pissed or not, chummer, the docs want you to keep it down.” He glared at Brian, but stepped back out of the room.
The ork snorted, then shrugged. “Family?”
Not surprisingly, Toby wouldn't meet his eyes. “Family, beneficiary, what's the diff?”
Brian just gave him a look, letting it linger until the point was well made. “Well, I dunno, but you up to a sit rep?” A single, relieved grunt was the reply, leaving him to stand back. No matter what else had happened over the years, he still couldn't quite manage to get himself to stop standing at parade rest when summing up a situation. “Johnson's dealt with – he obviously wanted the slitch dead, but we didn't have time to figure out why. Lenore's guess is someone higher up set Johnson on it, but with the extra links in the chain, we're probably golden. Draga - ” He couldn't help the slight hitch in his throat. “Is dead. We're getting Matrix intel from Lenore's decker, goes by Lady Luck. We also got some muscle from a friend of hers, one Dani Shadowstar.” A shrug indicated Toby didn't know either name. “Fragger that tagged you was the guy who was bangin' the slitch when we nabbed her. He's a corper who plays in the shadows, cyber sammie who goes by Simon Templar-”
“What?”
Toby's voice was frigid enough to make the ork blink and take a step back. “You run into him before?” he asked cautiously.
“Hell, I've run with him before!” Toby snarled, tusks bared as his face twisted with a ferocious combination of rage and hate. “Always a multi-group op, never met th' fragger face ta face, hell, I saved his stinkin' hoop once, we wuz at th' docks an' I wuz playin' sniper an' the fragger wuz so decked out in kevlar nobody coulda known whut he looked like, and - ” He growled deep in his throat, a near guttural roar that had Brian taking another careful step back. Toby snarled again, shutting his eyes and grinding his teeth as his hands clenched into fists and veins throbbed around his face. A dozen deep snarls later, the troll opened his eyes. “That. Fragger. OWES me. Chummer.” He looked over at Brian, who swallowed. “I need your help.”
“Taking him down?”
“No. Th' fragger whut set us ALL up.” He growled again, but a bit softer this time. “Even Templar. Draga's dead cause'a some bastard. You, me, Lenore's chummers – and Templar. We're gonna take th' fragger down.”
It was the rage that made Brian hesitate. He'd never seen the normally frosty troll look more than faintly irritated before, and to see naked fury was... vastly unsettling. In the end, though, three facts reigned.
Toby was his chummer.
Draga had been a good friend.
Someone needed to pay for her death.
