Milk Run

There is an old saying in the shadows. Well, actually, there are several.  One you should never forget is "Milk money is still money".

October 12th, 2058

I was nineteen years old, but my tribal ID said I was twenty-two.   I didn't look my age, in fact I looked closer to thirty.  In the last few weeks I had experienced a lot of firsts: I didn't get carded walking into Dante's Inferno; I ran into some anti-tribal racism in a store I had formally enjoyed frequenting in Bellevue; and other shadowrunner professionals stopped treating me like a kid.

Funny thing about being dead, you have to make friends all over again. It can be really lonely, if you generally like people.  It can also be really confusing when you run into people you used to know and they don't recognize you.

It was evening and I was in a StufferShack(tm).  I had just picked up a chocolate bar (don't judge me, I was nineteen and still had a teenager metabolism), when I saw a familiar face walk in.  Sandy walked in with her three little squealers in tow.  They were all walking together, holding hands, and being well behaved kiddos. I smiled in spite of myself and reminded myself that I wasn't "me" anymore.

I was at the check out scanner when a pair norms walked in.  They were your garden variety street toughs.  Big, well muscled, and decked out in colors proclaiming themselves members of the "Knights of the Blood".  The KotB were a gang of humanis sympathizers and I felt myself tense up inside a bit. I'll admit, I had a bad feeling when I saw them.  Bigots are usually trouble when they flaunt their prejudice around.

"Oi! Watcher, Nick.  We got us a tusker and her litter.  Wut the world cummin' too when you can't get some chips wit' out runnin' inta tuskers?"  The taller of the two thugs let it roll out his mouth like a funny joke.

Next to the dairy case I saw Sandy pulling out a pair of milk bags.

"Na' Mickie.  That tusker ain't here.  Show her the door son, this our store.  Kick her and her pups to the curb!" The other one, "Nick" I guess, spouted.

I set my chocolate bar down on the scanner and it beeped loudly.

"Oi! Savage! Get moving too. This here is only for people!" 'Nick' again.

I turned to see Nick pull a knife and point it at me, while Mickie walked one aisle down and started toward the dairy case.  Sandy hurried her kids an aisle over and was making her way away from the ganger.   "Come on boys, just like mommy taught you" she said.

I felt a flush of anger and stepped in next to Nick and tapped him on the temple with my fingertip, "Rest now" I said.  The spell hit him like a bat and he fell to the floor limply.

One of Sandy's sons started to cry.

"Nick!" Mickie yelled  and came running back my way.  Mickie rounded the aisle and was about three meters from me when I noticed that Sandy's son wasn't crying anymore.

Suddenly, I was standing in Pepper's shattered living room two years earlier.  I remember my head jerked around and I saw Sandy holding one of the triplets in her arms as she led the other two out the door.  Mickie hit me like I was a lucky number.

I caught Mickie's fist with the back of my favorite cranium.  The spells I had running to make me healthier and tougher probably saved me from instant unconsciousness.  I hit the floor hard, and rolled over to see Mickie picking up Nick's knife.   Mickie had murder in his eyes, but I had magically enhanced speed and just the right tool for the occasion.  Nick took one step toward me, and I shot him in the knee with my trusted Viper Slivergun(tm).  At point blank range it blew Nick's leg off from about an inch above the knee.

I ran out of the StufferShack(tm) and saw Sandy hustling down to the bus stop.  I wove a spell of invisibility around myself and walked down to the stop.  I hung out there, invisible to everyone, until the bus arrived and Sandy and her boys got on.  Lone Star was showing up at the StufferShack(tm) so it was definitely time for me to go.  I made use of bipedal locomotion for the next hour, wrapped in a spell and working very hard not to walk into people.

*****

October 14th, 2058

I received a text on my new line.  Sheila had a job lined up and I needed paying work.

I walked into the Brick Yard shortly after dark.  I found my way to the bar, and took a seat.  Sandy came over and took my order.  She didn't smile at me the way she used to, not since I wasn't "me" anymore.  The food was fantastic, as always, and when she came to check on me I told her to put an order for her on me, and asked her to take a rum to the cook.  She did a double take, said "thank you" and walked off.  I saw her look back at me when she reached the kitchen door.  I made a mental note to watch out about old habits.

The job was an easy one.  A street mage was looking for someone to teach him a snappy spell I happened to know.  Sheila X tapped me and took her thirty percent.  I made a nice bit of nuyen for a little unlicensed instruction, and everyone left happy.

Hey, its not always sneaking, stealing, and killing monsters, you know.  Sometimes you just have a job to do.

I've got to get some shopping done today.  Sandy's grandsons are being born any day now and I need to find a crib the little screamers can sleep in.  You coming?



{Dedicated to David, Happy birthday Chummer}