[Shadowrun][JDR-ENG].. - Index of - Free

Martin’s words faded out as Atherton noticed one of the projected images. The subject was awoman’s face, obviously cropped from a surveillance pic. The image was blurry, but clear enoughfor Atherton to make out a few key details: long, raven hair, amber eyes, multiple earrings in herpointed ear. Beautiful.The woman from the bar.“Who is this?” Atherton said sharply, pointing.Devil frowned. “Some kind of underworld celebrity. No one seems to know much abouther. I found this image on one of the Yak sites. Her name is Pearl.”“I know this woman,” whispered Atherton. “I mean, I’ve seen her. She was watchingme before the meet with Omata.”Devil closed his eyes. “Running a deep search. Not much on her. Some inquiriesfrom …” A frown crossed Devil’s face. “Slippery. This system is lousy with black ice.But—”Devil’s face contorted in concentration, giving Atherton a moment to think.Shinju, pronounced with a different inflection had a darker meaning. Literally,“Revealing what is inside your heart,” shinju was a form of ritual suicide in which twolovers who couldn’t be together killed each other at the exact same moment so theirspirits would live together forever.The most famous stories of shinju were told through kabuki and jorori theatre,and involved tales of noblemen who fell in love with courtesans.Could the beautiful elf be a prostitute? Did a past run somehow bring Atherton’s teambetween her and her lover?But how was that possible? And how could they do it without knowing?“Location,” Devil whispered, tension tightening his voice. “Almost—”Martin stood up.“There.”A set of directions popped up in one of the windows, a district near Fuji-san.Devil smiled—and then his eyes rolled back in his head as he slumped to the floor.It was a clear day, and Mount Fuji, known to the Japanese as Fuji-san, was visible from Neo-Tokyo. Athertonstood next to Martin Temple, his one remaining friend and ally, and stared at the mystical mountain.Contemplation of Fuji-san drowned out everything around Atherton—the smooth humof maglevs, the push of bodies, the hard concrete beneath his feet.The terrible grief that threatened to pull him deep within himself.Fuji was an active volcano well known for its symmetry. The mountain wasslate gray except for its bright white peak. As befitted such an importantsymbol of Japan, it showed different faces to different people. Somethought the name Fuji meant “without equal.” Others thought it camefrom the Ainu word for “fire.” Still others thought it meant “immortal.”Immortal.The word was a knife in Atherton’s gut.Devil’s body had survived the encounter with black ice.His mind had not.“Someone owes us answers.” Martin’s voice was a low growl.Atherton nodded numbly. They would find those answers in a mansionthat lay between the small city of Fujiyoshida and Lake Kawaguchiko on thegreat mountain’s northern flank. Devil had died to find that location.Atherton would make his death count.A swirl of wind and the shudder of mass announced the coming of the train. It wassleek, silver, and pretty. Atherton barely felt it.Something else caught his attention.A tiny flame, no bigger than the flare of a match, sparkled golden-bright on the bare concrete of theplatform. Atherton blinked.It was growing.“Martin,” he said.Now the size of a human fist.“Martin.”“What?” asked the troll irritably.The little fire erupted into a massive column of flame, shot fifteen meters into the sky.Commuters bolted, panicking like stampeding cattle, running for the concrete stairs that led off the platform, fighting likeanimals to get out, some throwing themselves on the train, some throwing themselves on the tracks.