Arriving
before the others & accompanied by his current drinking buddy, T Bird, Skinpin
began to wonder if this was really such a good idea after all, before he had
chance to leave however Mariusz, Vrasten & Alex arrived. Guns for Hire - Script Twenty Four
Wingers Bar, Spanish Fork, Utah 2.31pm - 17/01/2016
Arriving
before the others & accompanied by his current drinking buddy, T Bird, Skinpin
began to wonder if this was really such a good idea after all, before he had
chance to leave however Mariusz, Vrasten & Alex arrived.
"Shit, why did they all have to be on fucking time" muttered Skinpin as the three moved between the table to where he & T Bird sat.
Almost immediately the recriminations began, Vrasten baring the brunt of both Mariusz's & Alex's belligerence at the loss, in their opinion, of millions of dollars following Vrasten's objection to selling out on Helen & the kid, H12, Vrasten throwing back in Alex's face his opinion in being left to face the music in Night City whilst everybody else did a runner as well as not receiving his share of any of the mullah paid over by Frank Uzzitt. As Vrasten valiantly battled to defend the moral stance he'd taken over selling out to SCC Skinpin couldn't help but notice the slight tick in Vrasten's left cheek, to much fucking cyber shit maybe thought Skinpin, but hey, on the up side at least nobody's shot anyone yet.
Eventually Skinpin managed to get a word in & manfully tried for a change of subject by introducing T Bird, all looked expectantly his way,
"Hi, I'm T Bird, nice to meet you all; Skinpin's told me all about what happened"
This was the cue for the recriminations, ever louder, to recommence, shaking his head T Bird stood,
"I'll er, let you sought this one out without me interfering OK, I'll be at the bar if anyone wants me"
"Can't we just drop it, let bygones be bygones" mumbled Skinpin, "Hey, who fancies a steak, a beer, yeah, lets order, I'm starved"
Eventually, tired of the bull shit Alex held up her hands, "OK, OK, enough's enough, I think I'm right in saying Vrasten that as far as me & Mariusz are concerned you fucked up big time an' cost us plenty but, for the sake of all concerned I'm prepared to draw a line under what's gone before. How about you Mariusz ?"
"I suppose" replied Mariusz "but it's a fucking feint line yeah & if he" stabbing his finger towards Vrasten " can't remember whose fucking side he's on in future then maybe it gets rubbed out, permanently"
Returning from the bar with a coffee T Bird asked, "If you dudes have quit bickering can we order now ?"
Wingers Bar, Spanish Fork, Utah 3.29pm - 17/01/2016
Silently all waited for the waitress to finish putting down the steak heavy plates on the table, T Bird took the opportunity to again flirt with Alex, she had to admit, the attention wasn't unwelcome if a little forward, he certainly looked good & he even smelt as if he showered, daily however today was not the best day for fun, to many side issues bubbling under the surface.
As the waitress walked away watched admiringly by T Bird Vrasten blurted out, "What about the fucking warehouse then, didn't hear you singing about that little fuck up did I, kids, women whatever, did I hold back, did I fuck"
Mariusz, near incandescent with rage, reacted with similar aplomb, for a few seconds Skinpin contemplated seeking safety under the table whilst T Bird wondered why the fuck Skinpin had bothered to try & square things up, as far as he could see this Vrasten jerk had lost the fucking plot, Alex simply wondered whether she could get away with shooting the fucker here & now.
Eventually, peace, of sorts, was agreed upon, almost, Mariusz agreed not to waste Vrasten, Alex refused to hand any money over to Vrasten on account that he owed them all a dam sight more & Vrasten promised to be a ruthless bastard when need arose as long as Mariusz agreed not to murder every fucker in sight, with this all agreed upon Skinpin ordered ice cream.
As they began to consider the future Vrasten, just for the merest fraction of a second, swore he could see Skinpin's dog.
Wingers Bar, Spanish Fork, Utah 4.04pm - 17/01/2016
"So Skinpin, why the fuck did you arrange this little party ?" asked Alex "presumably it wasn't for the witty humour"
Over the next forty minutes or so Skinpin filled them in,
"After
you lot had fled town, I kept my head down, yeah that's right" looking
apologetically at Vrasten "I was still in the Hope when I called you, I
never left. Anyway's, I spoke with Freeman & he was cool for me to join
the Hope's medic team plus freelance with a couple of other joints elsewhere
in NC, well late December, the 19th I think it was, I'm stitching this grunts
guts up & he can't stop blabbing yeah, he starts telling me about some blood
jockey he knows down at the city morgue who regularly posts images of murder
bodies on the data stream, so then he pulls out his talk stick & starts
flashing down loaded images at me, as if I don't see enough fucking blood baths."
"Well, I'm trying to stitch him up quick like so as I can quit listening to his bull when he starts to tell me about this one body that comes in absolutely cut to ribbons that the Bronze have trawled outa' the bay, then he sticks the screen in my face, nearly stitched by finger, the bastard, anyway's I look at the screen & at first I can't tell what the fuck I'm looking at, then it it comes into focus, it's some mother who's gone all the way with a slice'n'dicer, skinned, in pieces, the fucking works man, it was pretty fucking sick. Then it hits me, I know this dude, it's that Aussie twat, Netuno."
As Skinpin's revelation sinks in Alex couldn't help herself & let out a whoop of delight,
"You sure Skinpin, you weren't with the pixies or something"
"Nope, absolutely kosher, it was our friend from the Ecuador" replied Skinpin "Not wanting to admit to knowing the John D I feigned professional interest & got him to forward it on, he goes on to tell me that the curious thing was that after the state autopsy the body never came back for disposal, it should have come back to the morgue pending next of kin recovery, or as a John D for roasting but it never did, when eventually somebody thought to ask where it was, it had simply disappeared, no trace."
"Over
the next couple of days or so I put feelers out with associates in the meet
trade &, for a small bloody fortune, I got hold of a copy of the coroners
report as well as the official PD file, pretty much the autopsy confirmed that
the bastard had been dead for at least 48 hours but had only been in the water
for a day at most. Cause
of death was given as multiple stab wounds but from the muscle, tissue & bone
trauma the coroner theorised that the victim had been dissected over a prolonged
period of time & had been alive for a considerable period before finally succumbing
to blood loss, which from the look of it had been in part prevented by cauterisation,
the autopsy was dated 16th Oct 2015. Oh & the coroner had added a last comment,"
"Evidence to suggest that the victim had been burnt by use of a alkylating agent or acid, however analysis of the residue & scar tissue has been unable to confirm what the substance used was."
"The Bronze file didn't have much more to say but it have several blurry b/w stills captured off a CCTV overlooking the wharf, they showed a female, maybe late teens/early twenties dragging a body & dumping it into the water, the image was pretty poor & shadowy, even after the Bronze had cleaned it up they'd be unlikely to be able to be used to give a positive ID but I swear I have absolutely no doubt that it's H12. The police report dates the body as being fished out on 13th Oct & states that the CCTV images were tagged as 3.59am 12th Oct."
Skinpin added that after he'd read the official reports he'd run a net search to see if there were any reports relating to above, he'd found a couple of one liners but nothing with anything he didn't already know, he did however pick up on several other reported violent deaths in one of the city scream sheets dated early in October involving a viscous young female killer, one report made reference to the face of the victim having been melted.
Skinpin, with a nervous look around the grill house leant forward,
"A couple of weeks back, I got back to the Hope late one night, Sundance collared me & told me that a girl, sure looking like that kid's big sister, y'know, the one who here with your mates back in summer, had been poking around earlier in the day today but hadn't leave any message. From the description he gave it was a 'grown up' H12 not Helen."
Skinpin sat back in his seat licking the last of his ice cream from the bowl & added,
"There was just one last thing, mid August an e-card arrived care off the Hope, it was addressed to Vrasten & was tagged as originating from Kaikoura, New Zealand, it simply said"
"Having a great time, don't think I'll be coming back, hope you're back on your feet & sis' isn't causing problems, love Helen"
Wingers Bar, Spanish Fork, Utah 4.18pm - 17/01/2016
As Skinpin's revelations as well as the options to earn a crust were discussed arguments so recently set aside were raised anew as the pro's & con's of hunting H12 were debated, Vrasten's comments that maybe her capture would be a good way to broker a deal with SCC were not well received in view of his previous actions.
Into the mix Skinpin mentioned that from street gossip he was pretty sure that the contract that had been taken out on them by SCC had been withdrawn, although he had no proof of it. He also suggested that with the ramping up of the ongoing corporation 'Net Wars' the boardrooms were literally awash with spilt blood as lines are being drawn & constantly crossed, whilst this was global issue in NC the corporations ruled & the city & its police force toed the line & could do little to prevent the war spilling on to the streets. On the back of this Skinpin suggests that there are plenty of contracts on offer as the suits are hiring anyone who shoot straight or netrun. Furthermore with the Bronze having there hands full with the corporations the city gangs had crawled out of their various holes & were busy blowing the fuck out of each other & anyone who got in the way, the media are hyping things up & calling for a return to marshal law but in practice everybody knows the Bronze couldn't handle it & if the city governors do declare a curfew then the National Guard would be forced to intervene.
Wingers Bar, Spanish Fork, Utah 4.57pm - 17/01/2016
For the next hour or more Alex, Mariusz, Vrasten & Skinpin continued to discuss the payroll prospects should they return to Night City, T Bird, whilst not familiar with NC was keen to be involved all the more so as he was getting pretty pissed with living hand to mouth, & besides, this Korean half breed had a body to die for.
Sitting back for a moment Alex glanced around the grill house, it was starting to fill again as the staff geared up for the evening. As one of the waitress's passed through the swing door to what Alex assumed was the kitchen area she caught sight of a law enforcement officer talking earnestly to one of the waitress's who'd served their table earlier. Raising an eye to a passing waitress Alex casually asked was everything in order, the tray laden teenage waitress briefly slowed her progress but ensured Alex that apart from being busy everything was OK unless she, Alex, new better. Looking around the table Alex was pretty sure that both Mariusz & Vrasten would be to be tooled up, Skinpin probably not though you never could tell with Skinpin, as for this T Bird, probably, none of them, including herself, were openly displaying any hardware & in any case as far as she new Utah State law didn't prohibit the carrying of side arms. Sure they'd been a bit vocal earlier on but nobody had complained about them & they'd done nothing wrong, still her gut feeling told her something wasn't quite right, leaning across the table she suggested that maybe it was time to leave.
Wingers Bar, Spanish Fork, Utah 5.12pm - 17/01/2016
T
Bird stood, stretched & casually wandered over to the bar, taking the same seat
as earlier he ordered another coffee then watched as this Vrasten dude did similar,
in T Bird's mind the guy looked pretty wired but not having met him before today
didn't know if this was the norm.
Alex, smiling benignly, dropped sufficient funds on the table to cover the bill, accompanied by Mariusz & Skinpin she headed for the door leaving Vrasten & T Bird sat at the bar. Stepping out onto the street Alex turned smartly to her left to walk down towards the RV which she'd parked some way down the street. With Skinpin tailing behind them both Alex & Mariusz were taken aback to see two parked black'n'white's on the opposite side of the road, one to either side of Winger's frontage. Behind the first vehicle, now to their rear, a single officer raised a megaphone, sheltering behind the second vehicle they could see two officers, both armed with pump action shotguns. Feigning ignorance all three engaged in pleasantries & started to walk past the bars darkened plate glass window, almost immediately the amplified voice of the first officer rang across the street,
"YOU IN FRONT OF THE BAR, STOP WALKING AND RAISE YOUR HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE'EM"
Wingers Bar, Spanish Fork, Utah 5.14pm - 17/01/2016
T
Bird watched the others head for the door, fuck this for a game of soldiers
he thought, gesturing to the kid behind the bar to scrub the coffee he walked
quickly past Vrasten ignoring him & made for the door.
From the bar Vrasten watched the others leave, were the bastards setting him up or something, who the fuck was this T Bird goon, shit, shit, shit, the nerves under his left eye were sparking like fuck as the painkillers failed to overcome the tension flooding through him, from behind, the kitchen door maybe, he heard a familiar sound, the cocking of pistol & the yammering of a police officer commanding everybody to remain calm & stay where they were. Vrasten's nerves were screaming at him to do something, he knew he should just stay put but he couldn't stop himself, blindly he upped & ran fumbling for the hidden sub dermal ST2, from behind the officer rapidly shouted a second, then third warning, when Vrasten failed to stop he fired twice as people threw themselves out of Vrasten's panicky flight.
Outside the bar Alex, Skinpin & Mariusz half turned with arms held wide in mock surprise at the officers warning, Mariusz could see the two shotgun wielding officers raise the shotguns menacingly towards them, suddenly from inside the bar there was the muffled sound of gunfire, distracted the police officers aim wavered slightly, Skinpin dropped to floor where he stood however both Mariusz & Alex edged away until they were beyond the bars window, through the tinted glass both were amazed to see Vrasten sprint towards the glass, draw & shoot, again the Bronze with the megaphone howled for them to freeze where they were, in part compliance both lowered themselves to there knees keeping the hands spread wide,
"What's the problem officer" replied Alex, "Don't move a fucking muscle" responded the cop.
Wingers Bar, Spanish Fork, Utah 5.15pm - 17/01/2016
Vrasten
put two slugs into the glass expecting it to shatter, when it didn't he swerved
towards the door, two more shots rang out & again he felt a dull thud as they
struck home, sub consciously Vrasten knew this was fucking stupid & that if
it wasn't for the skin weave he'd be on the slab, at this precise moment none
of this mattered, he just needed to get out of this place. As he dived for the
door handle he felt some body slip an arm around his neck, grab his gun & in
one fluid movement kick his feet from underneath him before pinning his arm
behind his back, as Vrasten hit the deck T Bird's smiling face came into view
closely followed by the hot muzzle of the officers smoking gun,
"DON'T MOVE A FUCKING INCH YOU PIECE OF SHIT"
Wingers Bar, Spanish Fork, Utah 5.17pm - 17/01/2016
As those outside watched the cuffed Vrasten being pushed into the back of a black'n'white the two officers covering them continued crab-like across the road shotguns still leveled their way barking a string of orders, Alex, protesting innocence, turned on the charm offensive even volunteering Vrasten's current alias as proof of cooperation, Mariusz, grinning threw his own recommendations into the mix.
Taken
aback at air of apparent cooperation the two officers slowly lowered their weapons
& in answer to Alex's questions confirmed that they'd had a report from the
bar manager that some guys & a woman had spent the afternoon in his bar
discussing murder & mayhem, relaxing Mariusz & Alex explained that they were
all ex-forces & had got together for the first time in a long time, yeah things
had got a bit loaded once or twice & yeah, Zdenko Boulis, had got a bit out
of order, tapping his forehead Mariusz added,
"CSR yeah, all in his head, to long in the zone, completely gaga"
Grinning, shotguns completely lowered by now, the cops shuck there head knowingly & relaxed, even going so far as to apologies for the inconvenience of the situation & explaining what procedure would now be followed, finally the officers wished all three a pleasant day & left them to their own devices.
Wingers Bar, Spanish Fork, Utah 5.27pm - 17/01/2016
Inside the grill house the arresting officer finished taking T Bird's details & again thanked him for his swift action, T Bird, embarrassed by the spontaneous applause from the grill's patrons, did his best to play matters down but had no option but to confirm his details when the officer advised him that he would be likely called as a state witness. Unsure how his actions may be viewed by Skinpin & Co he hurried from the bar in pursuit & caught site of them a couple of hundred yards down the street getting into an RV, still unsure of their reaction he shouted after them to wait & jogged along the sidewalk, he was surprised when Mariusz, laughing, slapped him on the back,
"So, tell me again T Bird, where you from ?"
Spanish Fork, Utah 6.18pm - 17/01/2016
Inside the RV Skinpin agreed that pizza would be good but he'd sure like to know that Vrasten was OK, he was, as Skinpin pointed out, still his friend if nobody else's.
Under protestations from Mariusz Alex sighed but slew the RV around & followed the street sign towards the SFPD building.
Utah County Police Security Center, North Main, Spanish Fork, Utah 6.33pm - 17/01/2016
Eyes
closed, Vrasten sat calmly in the interview room waiting for the interviewing
detective to return, he new the drill & was impressed with the overall security
of the place, initially they'd taken away all his belongings, dressed him in
a bright orange boiler suit &, still cuffed, placed him in a chilled holding
cell with full camera surveillance until he'd calmed down. Now, hands free,
but with ankle cuffs fixed to the floor bolted chair he was calm, even the tick
in his cheek had all but faded away. He new he'd acted irrationally but at the
time it had seemed the right thing to do, maybe he'd get Skinpin to check him
out when all this shit was sorted, he just wished the detective would hurry
up so they could get this all ironed out.
Utah County Police Security Center, North Main, Spanish Fork, Utah 6.41pm - 17/01/2016
Skinpin, Mariusz & Alex quietly walked into the public inquiry area of the PD building & joined the queue, eventually they hit the front & though the security glass requested details of Zdenko's incarceration, shortly the answer came back, No he wouldn't be released on bail tonight & the best thing they could do would be come back tomorrow morning. Mollified that Vrasten was at least safe & there was nothing they could legally do to help him tonight Skinpin requested extra anchovies on his pizza.
Utah County Police Security Center, North Main, Spanish Fork, Utah 8.26pm - 17/01/2016
Lying back Vrasten smiled to himself, he'd answered all the detective's question succinctly & politely, after all he'd sat on the opposite side of the table so many times himself he knew exactly what the little shit head had wanted to hear, remorse, apologies, to much stress, agreement to pay all damages without question etc, etc, fuck he'd even got the guy to almost agree it was an unfortunate misunderstanding. The detective had agreed to give the bar proprietor a call in the morning to see if he was happy to accept payment for all damages, after all nobody was dead & the only injury was to Vrasten & the police medic had bee very apologetic after he'd stitched those up when finally the arresting cop had confirmed that yes he'd shot Vrasten four times.
He'd spoken with Skinpin briefly on the phone so at least he new they hadn't run out on him, yet, best get some sleep, it had been a long day & he wanted to look his best for the detective in the morning.
Utah County Police Security Center, North Main, Spanish Fork, Utah 10.22am - 18/01/2016
Vrasten stretched his fingers appreciating his recently granted freedom, the bar owner, greedy bastard, had gone for the money & was happy to drop all charges as long as he never saw Vrasten again, no problems on that front, the detective had issued a court injunction stating that Zdenko Boulis had twelve hours to cross the state line & that if he ever entered Utah again he would automatically face a minimum of three years in the state prison, again he'd assured the officer he was happy to comply with this stipulation, so he'd paid up plus a bit more to ensure no change of heart. They'd even given him a lift to the motel where his saloon up was on the promise that he'd be out of town before they could blink, life was suddenly good again, the only black spot was they'd kept his pistol & switchblade, oh yeah, & he needed to have a little chat with Mr. fucking T Bird
Utah County Police Security Center, North Main, Spanish Fork, Utah 12.09am - 18/01/2016
Leaving Mariusz chatting with T Bird, Alex & Skinpin again wandered into inquiries area & repeated the previous nights request for news on Zdenko Boulis, the officer behind the screen checked the day list & frowned, picking up the phone he made a quick call then smiled,
"Your friend was released this morning under caution with instructions to remove himself from Utah within twelve hours, that's by 9.27pm this evening"
Taken aback Alex pressed for more information on Zdenko's current whereabouts'; it took considerable eye fluttering to discover they'd dropped him off at the Lone Star Motel on East 400.
Firing up the RV they followed the officers directions & headed over to the Lone Star. Pulling into the motel's parking lot they could see Vrasten loading his kit into the trunk of a dog eared Red Chevy. Skinpin hollered out the window to get Vrasten's attention then jumped out & joined Vrasten in the saloon signaling to Alex that he'd sit in with Vrasten until they were clear of town.
As Alex pulled back out of the parking lot she watched the Red Dodge Challenger in her wing mirror & wondered how things would go down when they stopped for gas.