Tails You Lose (36 page)

I'VE ACCEPTED AKIRA'S OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT, AND I SUGGEST YOU DO THE SAME. AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, THE RETAINER HE'S GIVEN US IS A MORE THAN ADEQUATE SALARY—EVEN THOUGH IT'S ONLY A SINGLE COIN. I THINK IT'S GOING TO HELP US LIVE TOGETHER IN A MORE CIVILIZED MANNER. JUDGING BY THE WAY IT STILLED THE TREMORS IN MY HAND, I'M GUESSING THAT IT WILL GUARANTEE THAT ONE OF US STAYS ASLEEP WHILE THE OTHER ONE IS AWAKE. AND I THINK THE FEELING OF CONTENTMENT IT GIVES ITS OWNER—US—WILL HELP US LAY TO REST THE GHOSTS FROM OUR PAST.

CAN YOU GUESS WHICH COIN I'M TALKING ABOUT?

Strange—Alma's message sounded like one that Night Owl herself would leave, especially with the teasing question at the end of it. It sounded as if Alma was talking about the Coin of Luck, but that wasn't possible. Night Owl had stolen it from Kageyama and traded it to Tiger Cat for the data on how to defuse the bomb . . .

Hadn't she?

Night Owl looked down. There were
three
I Ching coins on the counter in front of her, when there should have been only two. One of these coins should have been inside Kageyama's pendant. The fact that it was lying here on the counter meant that Kageyama had discovered the switch and given the Taiwanese coin he'd found inside his pendant back to Alma . . . but why?

Suddenly, Night Owl realized the answer: Kageyama had expected her to figure out that the Fu Coin was hidden inside his pendant and had guessed that she would steal it. He'd swapped the Fu Coin for an illusion-cloaked fake, and then hidden the genuine article in plain sight. It had been one of the "Taiwanese" coins that Alma had left on the bedside table.

Stretching out a single finger, Night Owl slowly lowered it toward the counter. She touched the coin on the left and felt only cool metal beneath her fingertips. The coin in the center was the same. But the third coin she touched sent an immediate rush of happiness through her. It felt like a combination of falling in love, receiving the one thing you'd wished for all of your life, having a dream come true . . .

And receiving a reprieve from a death sentence.

Night Owl jerked her finger away and looked back into the mirror. She realized now why Alma had opted for plastic surgery. Night Owl and Alma were about to start a new life together.

Maybe.

Night Owl picked up the Coin of Luck and cocked a thumb under it, ready to flick it into the air. Heads, she'd accept Kageyama's offer of employment. Tails, she'd slide on out of here, disappear back into the shadows, and try to find a way to get rid of Alma.

She flipped the coin into the air and watched it spin. She caught it in her left hand, and slapped it down on her right. Trying to ignore the rush of happiness she felt as it contacted her bare skin, she got ready to peel her hand back and take a look. If it was tails . . .

No. This wasn't any way to make a decision. Striking out on her own and ditching Kageyama would be stupid—suicidal even. She decided that whatever the coin said, heads or tails, she'd take Kageyama up on his offer.

Even so, she couldn't resist just a peek . . .

Heads.

The grin on Night Owl's face was only partially the result of the magical effects of the coin. She'd made the right choice. The coin had just been for confirmation—she wouldn't be using a coin toss to make life-or-death decisions. Not anymore.

Still smiling, she scooped up the other two coins and stuffed them, together with the Fu Coin, into her pocket.

About the Author

Lisa Smedman is author of the Shadowrun® novels
The
Lucifer
Deck
,
Blood
Sport
,
Psychotrope
, and
The
Forever
Drug
published by Roc Books. She is also the author of the Crimson Skies™ novel
Ghost
Squadron
, the second book in the Wings of Justice trilogy published by FASA Corporation. Lisa has also had a number of short science fiction and fantasy stories published in various magazines and anthologies, and in 1993 was a finalist in the Writers of the Future contest.

Formerly a newspaper reporter and magazine editor, she now works as a freelance game designer and fiction writer. Lisa was one of the founders of
Adventures
Unlimited
magazine. She has designed a number of adventures and written short fiction for Tar's Ravenloft and Dark Sun lines, and has designed gaming products for Stars Wars, Indiana Jones, Cyberpunk, Immortal, Shatterzone, and Millennium's End.

Lisa Smedman makes her home in Vancouver, B.C., with her partner. She spends her free time gaming, hiking, and camping with a women's outdoor club, collecting stamps about the space race, riding her moped, and catering to her six cats.

Copyright

ROC

Published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street,

New York. New York 10014, U.S.A.

Penguin Books Ltd, 27 Wrights Lane,

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Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices:

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First published by Roc, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.

First Printing, February 2001 10 987654321

Copyright © FASA Corporation, 2001 AH rights reserved

Series Editor: Donna Ippolito Cover Art: Koveck

REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA

SHADOWRUN, FASA, and the distinctive SHADOWRUN and FASA logos are registered trademarks of the FASA Corporation, 1100 W.

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Printed in the United States of America

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

PUBLISHER S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, business establishments, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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