The dreary Seattle rainfall added an element of cold misery to the night, neon lights reflecting off of the puddles and water flow on the streets and pavement. Most honest folks had abandoned the downtown streets, the traffic near non-existent. Unsavory characters walked these streets, held in check only by the occasional passing Lone Star patrol. The stars were covered in a blanket of clouds and further obstructed by the high rise buildings. Many of these opulent and oppressive structures were home to Mega-Corporations, their own little personal fiefs in a city locked in a limbo between order and chaos.

It was on this night that Samuel found himself trudging along the midnight streets, yawning loudly and quite visibly to the amusement of the man who walked beside him. "If you are serious about this kind of life, Sam, you should spend more of the day asleep." The taller of the pair said, his thin lips quirked up in a lopsided grin.

"Bite me, Razor. I would've gotten more sleep if my bitch neighbor and her boyfriend could fuck more quietly." Sam shot back, glaring irritably up at the other man.

Razor rolled a single green eye as his left eye was noticeably absent and was instead replaced by a cyberware lens. The pair both wore long and rather concealing coats with heavy and thick shirts and pants beneath. Combat boots thudded along the moist concrete without subtlety and both wore a pair of leather gloves. Most similarities ended at the clothes though and that was clear to any who looked at the extremely odd pair.

Razor stood tall and rather broad shouldered which was rather unusual for an elf. One of his pointed ears was missing its very tip, as though it had been torn right off. His face might once have been the desire of most any woman but was now a map of scars and Cyberware implants. His silky black hair had a single white streak dyed in and was cut off just above the shoulders. On the rare occasion that his right sleeve moved in a way to reveal his wrist it would glint silver in the light, his flesh and blood arm entirely replaced long ago. That was a street samurai for you though, couldn't wait to just start changing their body.

The elf's slightly shorter companion was almost the complete opposite. His handsome face was chiseled and unscarred and by the shape of his ears he was very much human. There was no sign of a single piece of cyberware on his body; everything was as natural as could be. His blonde hair was cut short above the ears and his eyes were a dull grey color. The only thing similar physical thing about him was his lanky form though his fitness was a bit more pronounced on the account of his humanity.

"Once your first jobs done hopefully you'll have enough to move out. Maybe get a new arm." Razor supplied helpfully.

"About time, these milk runs you've kept me on lasted long enough. I'm ready for some real action!" Sam said, his tone tinged with excitement.

Razor's grin faded at that. "Careful, kid. You'll learn to treasure the milk runs after a while trust me. When things get real you'll be praying for them."

Further conversation was halted as the elf held his arm out towards a nearby alley, the pair stepping into the shadows that were their element. Razor stopped them at a rusty metal door which he tapped on twice before streaking his finger down in a diagonal motion. A gentle hum sounded out and Sam felt a pickle on his skin as gooseflesh rose up down his arms. He recognized the sensation, magic. A ward of some kind maybe? There was no way Razor had cast some spell, his essence was so low there was no possibility of him ever using magic.

The elf opened the door and motioned for Sam to follow him down a narrow flight of stairs. The door closed behind Sam of its own accord, which he chose to attribute to the wind. When they reached the bottom of the dim stairway they stepped into a well-lit room, chairs and a large table set up in the center. The figures here ranged from rough looking to those that looked like they hadn't seen action a day in their life. Razor's crew, the people he actually ran with in the shadows.

"This the new kid? Human eh? Thought he'd be another dandelion-eater." Said a rather rough looking dwarf, half his face dominated by a tattoo of a gnarled and twisted vine.

"Sorry to disappoint Gregor. I see everyone's already here, so I'll make introductions quick so we can jump right in on the job briefing." Razor replied, his lopsided grin back in full force.

Sam sat down next to his mentor, waiting for the elf to get started. "Right, so this is Samuel. Been feeding him a few milk runs on my off hours and he's pretty solid. Got a good head on his shoulders and is fair with a gun. He'll be joining us on our next run." The elf said.

The dwarf snorted and the human woman next to him looked more than a bit skeptical. "No offense, Razor, but you sure he can handle it? Milk runs are one thing but has he ever been on an actual run?"

"None at all, but I figure this next run will be easy enough. Best chance to add a new addition to the team." He answered, clasping his hands out on the table.

No further objections were forthcoming so Razor continued on. "Right Sam, the dwarf Gregor is our Shaman. Knows a bit of medicine as well so if you get shot he'll probably be able to patch you up. The woman is our Decker, Omega. The orc is Gash, used to run a couple of security gigs for the Mega-Corps, knows most of them inside out. He's also the second best shot here." Razor said.

The orc, who looked a tad too big for his chair rose a single brow at the introduction. "Second best?"

"What can I say, I'm optimistic."

Sam glanced from each of the other runners, taking in the group that his mentor ran with. The orc looked more like he'd fit in with Lone Star or some para-military organization than a group of runners, with his short cropped hair, measured stare and the somewhat expensive looking combat armor. The dwarf didn't look like any shaman he'd ever met, wearing a dark leather vest that displayed his thick arms for all to see. He possessed a good deal of body piercings from what Sam could see and the ink on his body was not exclusive to his face. The other human was, on the other hand, like any decker he's met. Her short blue hair was obviously dyed and her yellow pupils indicated either color contacts or implants. She was cute in a punk sort of way and probably the one closest to his age in the group. Her cyberdeck was sitting on the table at the ready.

"That out of the way I think we can now discuss the details of the job." Razor said.

"Our employer wants us to make a run at a Yamatetsu research lab operating out of a supposedly abandoned building in the Downtown district. It's a simple in and out job, get in, grab the target, get out." Razor stated.

"Yamatetsu... our employer after Cyberware?" Omega asked.

"Bioware actually. According to them the lab is working on some forms of biotechnology that enhance magical abilities. In this instance they are after a formula that is designed to interact with magic, Formula 27. The data vault the info is in is located on the seventh base floor with Security forces between it and us." Razor said, nodding to Omega for some reason.

Sam watched the woman work at her cyberdeck and pull up a holo of a moderately sized building. Razor pointed to what looked like the middle floor. "This here is the ground floor; there are thirteen floors beneath the ground. An old parking complex next door is the only other entrance aside from the main one; we'll have to use the maintenance elevator there to get entry."

"Hmm... I'm assuming we'll hit it at the night shift change. Any ideas about how we get around the little security that's left?" Gash inquired.

"Yeah, our employer will be supplying me with a device that should eliminate power to the complex." Razor replied.

Sam finally spoke up, clearing his throat loudly. "How much of a window will the outage give us before they manage to restore power?"

The young man was pleased by the look of approval his mentor granted him before replying. He had learned well his lessons. Sam knew he was ready for this next step and he'd prove it to Razor and the rest of the crew. The elf had his doubts no doubt but he'd trusted Sam this much and the human intended to continue to prove himself worthy of that trust. He was going to pay him back for everything.

"Twenty to twenty-five minutes. More than enough time to get in and get the data and make a clean getaway. Security will still be present but should be isolated and since the maintenance elevator runs on a separate circuit to the complex we won't get cut off from the escape route. The job will pay 50,000 and we'll split it five ways after necessary deductions are made. Any questions?" Razor finished, looking around the table.

The number was pretty damn good from where Sam was sitting, way better than anything he'd been making on the milk runs. He kept his silence and obviously everyone else was satisfied as they kept their silence as well. "Right. We'll meet up at the complex two days exactly from now. Live the days like they're your last ones and clear your heads for the job." The elf said, standing and dismissing everyone with his normal lopsided grin.