Shadowrun: Imposter by Malik Toms

Author:Malik Toms [Toms, Malik]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Catalyst Game Labs
Published: 2021-11-11T00:00:00+00:00

EnJee

11-16-2081

6:11 P.M. Local Time

The Scuttlebutt pulled into the crowded docklands just as the Sunday sun ducked beneath the horizon, signaling night in Lagos. It hadn’t been the fastest route to get up the coast from Azania, but the open waters under the protection of Fanti pirates was the only reliably safe way out of Azania with live cargo.

Enjee climbed up the stair from below decks. He stretched his arms and back and watched Grim Fox laugh and joke with two of the Fanti women. The three shared war stories as they unlimbered the ropes to tie the ship to the dock. Dozens of locals moved around the docks, some helping bring the boat in, others standing around and shouting useless instructions or joking with the Grim Fox and the others.

Grim Fox melted into cultures in a way EnJee never could. EnJee found himself grateful for his friend’s ability, if not a bit jealous of the easy way the samurai fit in with people. Shen had hints of that ability herself, but she hadn’t been above decks since the first sunrise. She’d offered to take extra shifts with the prisoner. He’d objected at first, but he could tell by her expression she was going to keep her eyes on Enzo Moretti regardless of what he said.

EnJee understood it was her way of dealing with things. He’d known Shen longer than anyone else in the crew, since she was a kid. He knew her when she’d still been a kiseang, owned by the Triads and trained to be a courtesan. He knew how rarely and how greedily she offered her trust and love. But he’d seen her when they’d lost members of their crew before; seen how the absence of people who truly mattered to her ate at her soul. An admirable trait he’d spent years trying to train that out of her, to no avail. He understood her love for those close to her made her who she was, but it also made her weak. In this life, loss was a real possibility on every run, and this one especially indicated that Nero might not come back. She openly blamed EnJee for accepting the job, and would blame him more if Nero didn’t survive it.

EnJee allowed himself to wonder how it must feel to her to stare into the face of their hostage and know he wasn’t Nero. And know what he’d done to her friend and lover.

Then EnJee didn’t allow himself to wonder any longer, or to reach for that tether of understanding that made her life so very different from his own. He packed away those feelings with a sigh. They still had a job to do, and Lagos was no place to have your guard down.

He called out to Grim Fox, “We planning to stand around making faces at each other, or we going to get this done?”

Grim Fox sneered at EnJee before turning to hug each of the three women. The troll clasped elbows with the one

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