# Redemption

By David Eber.

Janos Sarkany walked down the dull, gunmetal grey hallway of the Department of Special Affairs, New Angeles Operations Center, Bureau of Tactical Management. As usual, the hallways were bare and silent, though Janos knew that dozens of hidden cameras and motion detectors marked his passing. No one ever just casually walked through the halls of the DSA. Its workers stayed confined to their cubicles, offices, and workstations, never communicating face to face. The very fact that Janos was walking down the hallway would have been enough to make most of the workers tremble in fear. Janos was simply known as a "special operative" to the people within the DSA. To others he simply worked for the department, and that was enough to stifle any further inquiries. It didn't matter which department. If he had been a part of, say, the Department of Water and Power, and someone had asked where he worked, he would have answered "Water and Power." However, when someone said that they worked for the Department, that meant that you wouldn't ask any further questions, that you shouldn't have asked at all, and that you would probably regret that you did. It meant that, ultimately, you worked for the Buro. That was something you didn't want to get involved with.

The elevator silently deposited him on his chosen floor, and a short trip down another bare hallway, led him to a door with a small sensor mounted at eye level next to it. An electronic voice tonelessly asked his name and ID number, and told him to step up to the scanner. It was all a formality. Even as the green light flashed across his retina, Janos knew that "they" knew who he was and that they knew every step he had taken since he had entered the building. The scan completed, the voice gave its approval, and the door before Janos slid open. The room beyond would have been considered luxurious by current standards. It was several meters wide and deep, and the walls seemed to be made of some reflective black substance, as was the floor and ceiling. A wide desk of the same material dominated the back end of the room, with monitors and computer screens resting unobtrusively beneath its polished exterior. There were two simple metal chairs in front of the desk and a larger, grey foam one behind it (again, luxury). Other than that, the room was bare, but the back wall sported a vast, dark tinted window that looked out over the city. This, more than anything, was the surest sign that the small man behind the desk was a person of importance. He was thin, and his dark hair was receding rapidly from his head. That, Janos guessed, and the glasses he wore made him look older than he actually was. He wore a neatly cut, dark grey uniform with a tiny silver clasp at the neck. He looked up as Janos entered the room.

"Welcome, Mr. Sarkany." He motioned slightly to one of the seats, which Janos took almost reluctantly. "I trust you are doing well?"

"I'm fine."

"Very good. We've called you here today because we have an assignment for you. In fact, this assignment is particularly suited to you."

Janos' eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the man sitting across from him. Phillip Crone, head of the New Angeles DSA, was not a man he had ever particularly liked, and so the last thing he said had triggered all of the alarms.

"I'm listening." Janos replied, his voice neutral. Crone touched a panel on the arm of his chair and turned to his left. A screen lit up on the black wall, and an image appeared. The image was of a young woman, Asian, with long, lustrous hair. Janos involuntarily gave a start as he saw it.

"The woman is one of our operatives. Her name is Miao Li Yun" Crone turned his head to look at Janos. "I believe you are acquainted with her."

Janos forced himself to breathe evenly. He was sure they were monitoring it. "Yes," he said, "I haven't seen her in almost a year."

Crone studied him for a moment, and Jonas began to feel uneasy. He knew that he shouldn't have said anything other than yes or no. "Neither have we," Crone finally said, "at least not in the last six months."

Janos forced himself to relax and speak easily. "And now I assume that you want me to find out what's happened to her."

Crone actually smiled. "Of course not Mr. Sarkany, since when has intelligence ever been your field?" Janos immediately felt foolish, and angry at the veiled insult. Once again he had said too much. "We already know where she is and what she is doing." Crone paused then, and Janos was unable to keep the obvious interest off of his face.

"Yes?" he said.

"Yes," Crone replied. "We've learned that she's defected from us and joined our enemies. Currently, she is residing in the 1996 juncture, where she has been engaging in subversive activities against our other agents operating there."

Janos sat back, stunned and not caring now what unspoken rules he was violating. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Crone smiled again without mirth. "Of course. There is no question in the matter. This is why we selected you for this mission specifically. Your knowledge of her habits and her personality may give you an edge in successfully executing your orders." Janos knew what was coming next, and in that instant he wanted to shut everything out so that he wouldn't have to hear it.

"Your mission is to kill Miao Li Yun."

Janos stepped out onto the steamy pavement of a back alley. It was night, and the air was hot and sticky. He surveyed the area quickly, and found himself alone. He reached into the pocket of his leather jacket (issued by the resources division, of course), and pulled out what looked like a small hunk of half-melted plastic. He withdrew a tiny, silvery wire from a slot in the device and slid it inside his sleeve. There was a sickly, painful jolt in his arm as he plugged the device into his I/O port, and then a screen on the device glowed with a green light. For the most part Janos avoided arcanowave devices. He had brought few of them with him on this mission, as they would only be conspicuous and obtrusive. However, like all Buro operatives, he was required to have the ports and be trained in their use. In this case, the pathfinder he held in has hand had been worthwhile enough to bring with him. At least Li Yun liked them no better than he did.

Thoughts of Li Yun filled his mind once again, threatening to distract him. As he came closer to completing the mission, he found the images harder and harder to suppress. For the last year now he had worked to put her out of his mind, but now it was all for nothing. He couldn't stop thinking about her smile, her temper, the way she moved, and the nights they had spent together. At one time she had been all that he had needed in his life. But it hadn't been enough for her. He didn't know when it had begun. Maybe it had started before he met her. She began to grow dissatisfied with her work, and then with her life. Janos had tried to brush it off, telling himself it was just a phase. But it didn't go away, and soon the vague doubts became questions, and then . . . and then the arguments began. He couldn't understand her attitude. The job was just a job, nothing more, and when it was done he forgot about it. They had each other, so what else was important? Bedsides, all her talk was crazy, and dangerous too. He had tried to reason with her, but that had only made it worse. Intimacy had changed into anger, and then distance, and finally, separation.

Janos consulted the pathfinder, then unplugged the device and put it safely away. It had indicated that his destination was not far. The intelligence report had said that she had been seen frequenting a nightclub called the Kaleidoscope. Janos walked the distance through the city streets, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. The garish neon lighting outside the club made it easy to spot, as did the throngs of young people milling around by the entrance. Janos realized that he would probably be the oldest person there. He did a quick inventory of his hardware. Whereas Li Yun had always been fond of exotic and bizarre toys, Janos always went with basic, reliable hardware, like the pair of Rugers tucked in the back of his pants, and the knife tucked into his boot. They were all from the 20th century too, because the weapons here were a lot better than what the Buro mass-produced, and because his job entitled him to it. In truth, though, he felt unprepared. Normally he would have packed three times as much ordinance, especially against someone as deadly as Li Yun, but this time his heart wasn't really in it. Besides, with her the job would be done quickly or not at all.

Janos made his way into the Kaleidoscope, followed by the surprised and somewhat bemused stares of the people who worked there. Ruefully, he realized he should have come in through the back. He really hadn't had enough time to plan it all out, and he cursed the DSA for not giving him time to prepare. He also cursed Crone for giving him this mission, Li Yun for being such a fool, and himself for being here at all. Janos forced himself to stick to the task at hand. Letting his mind wander now would be a fatal mistake, especially in this place. He could see where the Kaleidoscope got its name. The place was big, and loud, and crowded. Hundreds of lights rotated in seemingly random directions, throwing up complex and constantly changing patterns of color on the crowd. It would be very easy to get distracted or disoriented in a place like this. Intelligence said that Li Yun could usually be found in one of the booth alcoves along the wall. He scanned each one, moving carefully through the crowd.

Janos felt a lump in his throat. There she was. She was dressed in the clothing of this juncture, but otherwise she still looked the same. Old memories threatened to overwhelm Janos. He forced himself to enter into his work mode. Instantly, he became completely focused. He started moving even as he planned out his approach. He saw that he could move in from the side, so that she would not see him until the last possible moment. Most people felt the need to see their targets, which was why they themselves were usually seen first. Janos only had to remember where she was sitting. Already he pictured himself drawing the gun, pictured himself stepping out in front of the table and quickly planting the bullet between her eyes. It would all be very neat. Already, as he came around the side of the alcove, Li Yun was no longer someone he knew. She was a target. Janos' hand was on the grip of the pistol as he stepped around to the front of the booth. She was sitting exactly where he had placed her in his mind. She looked up at him in surprise as he appeared in front of her, and he saw that surprise turn to shock as she recognized who he was, and what his presence meant. And then, looking at her for just that split second, he hesitated.

Li Yun barked out an expletive in Cantonese and kicked outward. The table she was sitting behind went flying forward into Janos, knocking him backwards and over the railing surrounding the walkway and onto the dance floor below. He instantly recovered and picked himself up amidst the screams and curses around him, but he knew he had lost his chance. He looked up to see that Li Yun had already crossed the room. She turned to look at him, and he remembered the pistols he was carrying. Before he could draw them, Li Yun's hand darted into her jacket and then out again, and there was a flash of silver in her hand. She was holding an oddly curved knife with blades on both ends. He hesitated again, wondering if she would or could use it on him. Then she sent the knife spinning from her hand. He went to duck, but it flew high above him, arcing through a set wires and cables that held a bank of the rotating colored lights above him. He dived rapidly to the side as the apparatus came crashing down, exploding in a series of bright flashes and shattered glass.

Janos picked himself up and looked around rapidly. That was twice he had screwed up, and he should have been dead. Ignoring the now panicking crowd, he scanned the area until he found her. She was at the top of a set of metal stairs, heading into what looked like a second story office. Janos drew both his guns and fired, but the hastily fired shots only ricocheted off of the staircase and splintered the wood around the door frame. Swearing, Janos pocketed his guns and began weaving through the mob of people. He leapt from the dance floor back onto the walkway, and then up the stairs. Drawing his guns again, he kicked the door open. Behind it was an office that looked out over the club, and a hallway behind that. Janos sprinted down the hallway and found that it terminated in a staircase leading to the roof. Cautiously, he climbed the steps and exited onto the roof. He could hear sirens approaching in the distance. Then he saw her. She had already leapt onto a nearby rooftop and was running. He raised his guns, but realized that he would never hit her from where he was. He yelled out her name, once, but she didn't turn around. Swearing again, he began to run, then leapt off the edge of the roof onto the next one. By that time, she had already proceeded to the next one, and he was forced to follow.

For the next half hour she led him on a chase across the rooftops of the city. Each time he thought he might catch her, she found another escape. Each time he thought he had a clear shot, she jumped to another rooftop. Finally, she came to a point where there was no other roof to leap to. Janos stopped and raised his gun. He hadn't wanted it to end this way, but he had no other choice. Then, to his surprise, she leapt over the side of the building and out of sight. Janos quickly leapt to the roof she had vacated and ran over to the edge. He expected to see her lying broken on the street below. Instead, he saw nothing. Below him was a fire escape, so it was obvious where she had jumped to, but then . . . ? None of the windows were broken or open, so she hadn't escaped that way. Then he noticed that they were near the waterfront, and that there was a warehouse across the street. It seemed quiet and closed up, but he noticed a service door left just slightly ajar. Grimly, he lowered himself down the fire escape onto the ground, and then he made his way toward the warehouse.

Janos stepped through the service entrance and into the building. The interior laid stretched out before him, dimly illuminated in blue light that shone weakly down through the sky lights. The warehouse was mostly empty, other than for a few piles of crates stacked up at odd intervals. A steel latticework hung low over the room, supporting a system of tracks and pulleys used for the unloading of crates. Janos peered into the darkness. He knew that she was here, waiting for him somewhere, waiting to settle things once and for all.

Suddenly, the darkness was shattered with an earsplitting cry. Janos turned, his guns ready. Li Yun was leaping through the air, but over him instead of at him. As he raised his guns, he could see what looked like dozens of marbles raining down. He leapt straight upward and landed on one on the steel supports as the tiny grenades hit the ground, blossoming into miniature explosions on impact. Janos spotted Li Yun and unloaded with both pistols. She cartwheeled across the steel latticework, then tossed something toward Janos. He ducked as a pair of bolas whirred past his head and wrapped themselves around the post behind him. He leapt again as the post exploded, and he had to drop his guns in order to catch one of the beams and vault himself upward again. Then she was upon him, in close, where she had the advantage. Janos dodged and parried desperately as she launched a flurry and punches and kicks at him. Finally, he regained his bearings and unsheathed his knife. He lashed out and heard her give a startled cry. He looked to see her backed up in a defensive stance, a thick red line across her forearm where he had cut her. They faced each other for a moment, then he lunged again. Instead of backing up, she extended her unwounded arm toward him. Two thin cables shot out from under her sleeve and coiled around his knife hand. She squeezed her fist, and a jolt of electricity shot down the wires. Janos gasped in pain and dropped the knife from nerveless fingers. Li Yun pulled on the wires, throwing him off balance and onto the hard concrete floor below.

Janos lifted himself halfway up from the ground, dazed. His ribs felt loose in his chest, his breathing was coming in hoarse gasps, and the arm that had been electrified was numb. Li Yun would be on him in a moment, and he had only one trick left. He reached down to a small device about the same size and shape as the pathfinder which he had tucked under his jacket. He drew out a wire already attached to it and plugged it into his port. There was again a moment of pain, and then he felt a burst of energy surge through his body like an adrenaline rush. He kicked out with his right leg faster than any normal man should have been able to, catching Li Yun in the Stomach. Still half-prone, he spun around, sweeping her legs out from under her. He spotted one of his pistols and grabbed it, then spun around again as she started to rise. He pointed the barrel directly between her eyes, and then everything froze. Janos' finger tensed before the trigger, and Li Yun looked at him and the gun, breathing softly but rapidly. Janos willed himself to pull the trigger, but all he could see was her face looking up at him. Finally, he lowered the pistol, then slumped slightly. Li Yun backed up slightly, still wary.

"I'm sorry," he said, though not directly to her, "I can't do it." Li Yun stared at him, saying nothing. He looked into her eyes. "I can't." He sat in silence next to her.

"I . . . ," Li Yun hesitated, "I never meant for this to happen. I never thought they'd send you." Janos felt a wave of bitterness wash over him.

"I didn't even know you were gone. I . . . I never expected this either. If I had known, I . . ." Li Yun cut him off. "Shhh, it doesn't matter."

Janos looked down at her bloody arm and realized what a fool he had been. There had been a time when she was the only thing that mattered in his life, and he had nearly thrown it all away for nothing. He knew now that he could never go back to being what he was, could never go back to the DSA and the Buro and 2056.

"Li Yun, I . . ."

Janos was cut off as the main door to the warehouse exploded in a cloud of twisted metal. The two of them were both thrown backwards by the blast. He didn't even need the smoke to clear to know who would be there, and he realized just how big a fool he had been.

An electronically amplified voice rang out through the smoke. "Janos Sarkany and Miao Li Yun, you are under arrest. The charge is treason and conspiracy against the state. Any attempt to resist will be met with lethal force." Another formality, Janos thought. They would never leave this building alive. He groped for his pistol with his good arm and popped the clip. Through the smoke he could see the BuroMil troops lined up in their polymer shell armor, the blue light reflecting off of their gunmetal grey standard issue rifles. He snapped off several shots from his pistol, killing three of the soldiers, but he knew that it was a lost cause. He was hurt, and the effects of the juice had worn of, playing hell with his reflexes. He ducked behind cover as automatic rifle fire shredded the air, and he wondered how long he would last.

Suddenly, he saw Li Yun leap through the air like a dart. The Buro troops all turned their guns as she landed in the midst of them. They opened fire, but she was too fast. She dodged between them, her motions a blur, but instead of fighting she only seemed to be touching the soldiers. Several of the troopers had already shot each other, and Janos tried to divert their attention with gunfire of his own. But what, he wondered, was she doing? She wasn't hurting any of them, and sooner or later one of them would get lucky. Then one of them burst into an orange ball of flame, enveloping two of the soldiers next to him. Then the next one exploded, and the next, until Janos had to turn his head away to avoid being blinded as the soldiers own grenades blew up, grenades that Li Yun had set off.

Janos realized what had happened, and he looked back up again. By that time, though, the explosions were over, leaving only a thick cloud of smoke and a pile of wreckage that was both metal and human. Janos tore through the haze, looking desperately for Li Yun. He found her lying on the ground. She was still, and she looked almost peaceful. Janos imagined for a moment that she might be sleeping, or playing a joke on him, but then he saw what was left of her body. He knelt down beside her, and cradled her in his arms.

"Li Yun," he whispered, but she did not answer. By now the smoke had cleared, and the moon shone down through the open door. Janos held her there, in his arms, alone among the dead around him.

The nice thing about the New Angeles Department of Special Affairs, thought Janos, was that it was designed to be so secure. With all of its cameras and sensors and alarms, no one would ever try to break into the place. And since no one ever tried to break in, no one would suspect what he was doing now.

Janos lowered him self down the reflective steel side of the DSA building on a thick cable attached to the harness he was wearing. Admittedly, getting to the top hadn't been easy, but he knew a few tricks and all the angles, and so once he had made it there he was in the clear. They never alarmed the exterior of the top floor, because no one would ever go up there. Well, there was one place that was probably rigged, but for what Janos had in mind it was redundant anyway. It was daytime, but the smog and rain caused by the pollution was so thick that no one would notice him anyway, especially not in chameleon gear. Janos came level to a large, darkly tinted window near the top of the building. Originally, he had considered taking a rocket launcher up to the building opposite this one and taking out the room, but that would entail too many variables, and there was no guarantee that the rocket would penetrate the window. Besides, he wanted to do the deed in person. Janos reached into a pouch on his harness and removed what looked like a small aerosol can began to spray the window. The window was made of some unusual type of plexiglass like substance that was bulletproof and shatterproof, but if treated with the right chemical spray it would turn brittle. Thank goodness for the ingenuity of the Buro, Janos thought. He finished spraying and replaced the can. He then made a last check of everything, drew his Rugers, and pushed himself backwards from the wall with his feet.

Janos sailed toward the window at the end of his cable, arms outstretched and guns firing. Spiderweb cracks appeared on the reflective black pane just before Janos crashed feet first though it. He acted more from memory than sight as he landed, unhooking the cable from his harness. Crone was there at his desk. Janos cuffed him with the butt of his pistol, dropping him to the ground. He planted a knee on his chest and put the gun to his temple. With the other hand he worked the controls on the arm of the chair. He had seen enough to guess that they operated the door, and a few moments later he heard someone banging on it, unable to enter.

"That won't hold them for long," Crone said from the floor.

"Long enough for what I need to do."

"You're already in serious trouble. Give it up."

"No. I'm already dead. You're in serious trouble." Janos looked down at the man before him with disgust. "It was all a set up, wasn't it?"

"If you mean that it was a test, then yes."

"Why? When did I ever seem disloyal?"

"Everyone has a weakness, a flaw which can bring them down," Crone said calmly. "We suspected that agent Miao might be yours. We had to be sure." Janos thought of Li Yun's broken body lying in his arms.

"Congratulations," he said, "you were right." Janos pulled the trigger of his pistol.

A moment later, the door opened to reveal a squad of heavily armed security guards. Janos was already halfway out the window by that time. He unloaded with both guns into the now open doorway, and felt a grim satisfaction as the DSA troops toppled under a hail of fire. He then hit a switch on his harness, and was yanked upward toward the roof by an automated pulley rig attached to his cable. Now he would have to escape the building, something that would not be easy. But he had known that going in, and he also knew that he would make it out. This wasn't an ending, it was a beginning, and he had a lot to do.

Shadowfist and Feng Shui: The Shadowfist Roleplaying Game as well as all characters described therein are copyrights and trademarks of Daedalus Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved.

Last modified: September 19, 1996;