ATeam-Ch11


 * Chapter Eleven:** Patchwork Assassin


 * Characters:** Anne-Marie, Tony, Nova, Glitch, and introducing Yembo with ???

With the shocking realization that he is still alive, comes the equally-shocking discovery that both his torso and right arm are now full cybernetic replacements. He's lost a lot of weight, is pale as a sheet, and now sports a thick beard to boot. Greeted at the door by a ghoul with a cattle prod (Harry), John is escorted to a meeting with Dr. Black -- the man responsible for his post-mortem existence. The doctor explains that his men discovered Johnathan's corpse in time to salvage it, and rebuilt the Merc to the doctor's own specifications. The price for Johnathan's continued existence? Faithful servitude to the enigmatic organ-legger. As an initial test of loyalty, Johnathan is given a mission: Murder a prominent Lone Star Inspector and his family. He is given a cellphone for the express purpose of contacting Dr. Black, with further instructions to check in every week. Still sporting the beard, Johnathan is released back into the world with clean clothes and a light pistol. Wasting no time, the patchwork assassin heads directly to the cop's empty home. He breaks in, kills the family dog, loots the joint, and then sits in silence -- awaiting the arrival of the family. The mother and two children come home first, and are dealt with messily. The officer soon follows their fate, and John takes off in his truck -- which he ditches in Redmond. He shaves off the beard to avoid positive identification, and shacks up in a coffin motel for two days -- attempting to make some sense of his new situation. Meanwhile, the A-Team has been jobless since the fiasco with Maria Mercurial and her 'Wonderland' Tour. Nova is just a spoiler-installation away from finishing the 'Van of Idiocy'; Tony is enjoying his new boosted reflexes with gusto; Anne-Marie has vat-replaced her ruined foot; and Glitch remains comatose in Seattle General Hospital. Johnathan, exhausting all of his old haunts with no luck, decides to try the garage where he and Nova used to live together. His arrival shocks the chromed elf, who immediately becomes suspicious. Nova's suspicions are then compounded when Johnathan's second-hand cyberarm malfunctions and begins choking the elf out. Keeping the mercenary at gunpoint, Nova and Anne-Marie escort him to "Meat's Stitch n' Fix" for a checkup. The old ork does an examination and discovers a cortex bomb hidden away inside Johnathan's skull. John is very disturbed by this news, and the group heads over to Patch's for a second opinion. The surly street doc finds the same problem, informing Johnathan that the safeguards for the bomb are top-notch. John wants the thing removed, but neither surgeon will attempt the operation for less than 85,000¥ -- plus damages and liability in case of detonation. The A-Teamers decide to think it over, and head back to the garage where Johnathan meets Tony. The two hit it off well, and together install the spoiler on the 'Death Chariot'. Nova fills John in on the events of the last half a year, and the two re-solidify their friendship. A few days later, Anne-Marie decides that the team needs a base of operations and goes house-hunting. While Nova purchases a new arsenal for Johnathan, Anne-Marie settles on the abandoned gothic cathedral situated right next door to the team's garage. She drops a cool hundred grand, and brings the other runners the good news. Everyone is thrilled except for Nova, who insists that the A-Team start a group fund. Left with the keys to the castle, the group gears up and heads on over to clear their new place of squatters. They crash the joint like gangbusters, and encounter Yembo -- an insane dwarven Spider shaman who had taken residence in the organ loft. The wacky magician doesn't take kindly to their trespassing, and uses an illusionary giant spider to "fight" the A-Team. The shadowrunners are sufficiently deterred, and Nova ends up shooting himself in the gut. When the illusion is broken, the A-Team goes looking for the mage responsible and the Quotidian (Yembo) flees. Eventually he is cornered and forced to attack Tony. When the dwarf tries to run away again, the shadowrunners shoot his legs up and begin questioning him. Johnathan takes pity on Yembo, and won't let Nova or Tony kill him. Just then, Anne-Marie falls victim to a brain aneurysm brought on by her player leaving the session unannounced. John, knowing that an aneurysm is caused by a blood-clot in the brain, immediately injects Anne-Marie with a dose of his own anti-coagulants. The mercenary then forces the dwarf to heal her with his magicks. Nova ejects the remaining squatters from the property, and they cart Yembo out to see Doc, the magical healer and pit-fighter talent manager. The old man heals Yembo and Nova in turn -- then offers the elf a job, which he refuses. Johnathan offers Yembo a position in the A-Team on the spot, much to Nova's chagrin. The crazy dwarf accepts the offer, on the stipulations that he be given a lot of booze, and get to sleep in the organ loft of the church. Tony and Anne head home to get some sleep -- leaving Nova, Yembo, and Johnathan to further clean and explore the cathedral. Inside they find a solid steel door maglocked to all hell. Eventually, they manage to get past the security and discover the holy Eucharist inside -- forged from solid gold. Yembo detects a slight magical background to the area, and makes off with a sacred cloth which he uses as his bathroom in the loft. John and Nova debate fencing the solid gold bowl and ruby-encrusted crucifixes, but decide not to tempt fate by messing with the religious artifacts. They leave the items sealed in the fortified room, and retain the maglock code themselves.
 * Summary:** Sunday, May 22, 2064. Johnathan Myers, talented mercenary and former A-Teamer, awakens in a small holding cell -- his last memory the rocket attack that claimed his life.