"You know I'm not," she replied. "C'mon! What's Brickman's angle? What's his cut when you get the weapons?" she asked and Orion shook his head.

"Nothing," he said.

"Exactly. So what's in it for him?"

"What's in it for you?" Orion countered. "Why are you even telling me this? I mean, you got paid. You did your job. You're not involved any more."

"I am if Brickman is using us to set up something like this," Kellan countered. "He used us to make his setup look convincing, and he may be planning to pin the blame for all this drek on us. I don't like playing the fall guy, and I don't like being used."

Orion snorted. "Get used to it," he said, echoing Jackie Ozone's words. "You're a shadowrunner. People use you."

"What about you?" Kellan asked. "Do you just let people use you? Because that's what's happening here, Orion, and you know it! Brickman is setting you up, plain and simple! He's using you! If you're okay with being someone else's puppet, then fine. I did what I needed to do." She turned and headed for the door, her steps loud in the darkened garage.

"Wait," Orion said, and Kellan turned to face him again. The elf ganger's expression had lost some of its arrogance. He opened his hand and looked at the data chip Kellan had given him.

"You're sure about this?"

"Dead sure."

"All right," the elf said. "You'd better be, because it's not me we have to convince."

"We?" Kellan asked.

"Yeah," Orion said, "if you meant what you said about not wanting to let Brickman pull this off."

"Yeah, I did."

"Okay, then there's somebody you need to talk to."

The leader of the Ancients was called Green Lucifer, and Kellan thought the name suited him. He was tall, even for an elf, all lean, tight muscle beneath the street leathers and the torn T-shirt and jeans. His height and slender build were enhanced by a high Mohawk, dyed the same vivid green as the "A" logo splashed on the back of his jacket. He wore fingerless black leather gloves with chrome studs, and flexed his fingers like a cat extending its claws. Kellan had the impression of a caged beast, like a lion lounging at the head of his pride, licking his chops, but ready to spring in an instant. The predatory look in his dark eyes gave Kellan the shivers, though she did her best not to show it.

Orion managed to persuade the gang leader to at least listen to what Kellan had to say. She spelled out everything she and Jackie discovered in the Matrix and showed him the information on the data chip she had brought for Orion. She explained her theory of how Brickman was playing both ends against the middle, setting the two gangs up for a conflict that would benefit only Knight Errant and Ares in the long run. Green Lucifer listened carefully, taking it all in, giving her his complete attention.

When she finished, the elf gang leader leaned back in the swivel chair in the small office above the old warehouse the Ancients claimed as part of their turf. It reminded Kellan of a throne, and Green Lucifer was, in his own way, king of his particular part of the plex.

"So," he said in a surprisingly cultured voice, "tell me what you think of all this, Orion." He raised one elegant eyebrow, pierced with a silver ring. Without even glancing at Kellan, Orion faced his leader, looking him right in the eye.

"I think she's right," Orion said. "Brickman is playing us, and we shouldn't trust him. This whole deal reeks."

"I see," Green Lucifer said. "And how would you suggest we deal with this situation?"

Orion seemed surprised that the leader of the Ancients was asking for his opinion. He thought for a moment before he replied.

"Get an explanation from Brickman," he said. "Find out the truth about what the frag is going on."

Green Lucifer nodded slowly. "Find out the truth:" he repeated. He placed his hands on the arms of his chair and pushed himself up to stand, towering above the pair sitting opposite him.

"You're certainly very quick to believe the words of this: human," he said to Orion, throwing a glance in Kellan's direction. His intonation made the word sound like a curse, and Kellan drew herself up in her chair.

"She makes sense," Orion replied evenly, unbowed by his leader's scorn, "and I don't trust Brickman."

"As is right. But you trust her? Why is that, I wonder." Green Lucifer turned his back on the two of them, strolling behind his chair before turning toward them again, resting his hands on the back of the chair. He moved and spoke like an actor, Kellan thought, striding across a stage.

"Why is it," he repeated, "you suddenly decide this deal is a threat to us instead of the opportunity you considered it just a short while ago?"

Before Orion could reply, Kellan spoke up, standing to emphasize her point.

"I just explained that," she said. "Brickman is frag-gin' playing you! He's setting you up!"

A look of incredulity passed over Green Lucifer's face, as if he couldn't believe this mere human girl was speaking to him in such a manner. His brows drew together in a frown, then a tight smile twisted his face and he laughed. It was a harsh, bitter sound, with no real humor in it.

"You poor girl," he said in a mocking tone. "Of course Brickman is playing his own game. So are we. So is everyone in the world." He spread his hands wide for emphasis. "It's the way of things. Do you really think that I blindly trust any human? Do you really think that the insights of some human child who has managed to evade her babysitter long enough to play at being a shadowrunner are of any use to me whatsoever?" He waved one hand in a dismissive gesture. "Go back to playing with your toys, little girl. I was making deals before you were even conceived. I know what I'm doing, and I don't need advice from the likes of you."

Kellan stood where she was, the blood draining from her face as Green Lucifer's sneering tone and words cut her to the bone. She clenched her fists and stared daggers at the gang leader, who met her glare with a mocking detachment that only fanned the flames of Kellan's anger. She felt the fire building within her, felt the tingling of the amulet at her throat as the magical forces simmered, just waiting for her call.

"Why, you stuck-up son of a:" she muttered, taking a step forward. Then Orion's hand was on her arm and she whirled to face him.

"Not here," he said quietly, "not now," and Kellan swallowed an angry retort. He was right. She glared at Green Lucifer, who stood watching them, then she yanked her arm from Orion's grasp.

"As for you, Orion," Lucifer continued, as if there'd been no interruption in his monologue, "I would think very carefully before discussing your theories with anyone else-and I would choose my friends more carefully in the future."

"That's it?" Orion asked. "You're not going to do anything about this?"

Green Lucifer's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Are you questioning my decision, Orion?" he asked in a low tone, flicking the question like a whip. Orion didn't shrink from it.

"You're fraggin' right I am!" he said fiercely. "You're talking about selling us out to a corp!"

The look on Lucifer's thin face was unreadable as the gang leader faced down Orion, who refused to look away. Then Lucifer smiled, sending a cold shiver down Kellan's spine.

"Very well," he said. He stepped around Orion to the door of the small office. Opening it, he strode out, heavy boots ringing on the metallic grate of the stairs bolted to the wall. Orion looked like he was in shock. Then, without a word, he set his jaw and turned to follow the Ancients' leader. Kellan wanted desperately to ask him what the frag was going on, but the look in Orion's eyes kept her quiet. She simply followed close behind him out the door.

Green Lucifer stood near the head of the stairs leading down to the floor of the warehouse. Spread out below him were a couple dozen elves in biker leathers, their hair shaved into Mohawks and dyed outrageous colors. A few of them played pool at a table on one side of the room, others lounged, or tinkered with the motorcycles lined up near the loading-bay door.