Orion leapt forward and grabbed Kellan by the vest with one hand, holding on to a cargo strap with the other as they dangled over the pavement. He hauled her back into the truck as they hit the bottom of the ramp and tumbled toward the front of the truck. Kellan was dimly aware of a reddish light behind them as she scrabbled for a handhold along the wall.

"Take cover!" Liada yelled, and Kellan glanced back to see a massive ball of fire barreling down on the back of the truck. She instinctively closed her eyes and threw up a hand to shield herself as she heard Liada and Lothan call out. There was a roar and a wave of heat, but no more than opening an oven door. Kellan opened her eyes to see the reddish flames harmlessly dissipate all around the truck.

The remaining Ancients came roaring down the exit ramp in pursuit as the shadowrunners changed clips and readied for another assault. When the bikers reached the bottom of the ramp, there was a burst of gunfire. It ricocheted off the pavement and mowed down one of the elven gangers. Kellan glanced toward the Street Deacon, but saw that the samurai hadn't fired. None of the shadowrunners had.

When she looked back, she saw a collection of powerful Harley Scorpion motorcycles roar out of a side street, carrying nearly a dozen powerfully muscled troll. riders. Each of them was armed with a heavy-caliber pistol or submachine gun, and they were firing on the Ancients.

Lothan levered himself up against the side of the truck again as the Ancients turned their attention toward the troll bike gang. He made a pass with one hand in front of him, then reached out as if plucking something out of the air with his thick fingers. A blue shimmer surrounded the Ancients' sorceress and she flew off the back of the bike, as if picked up by a giant invisible hand. She rose about four meters into the air and hung there, suspended, as the Rapiers of her fellow Ancients rode on. By the time the driver of her bike realized there was something amiss, he was a good twelve meters ahead.

Then as the sorceress shouted something Kellan couldn't make out and raised her hands, Lothan brought his hand down, palm flat toward the ground, and the elf woman dropped onto the street. She didn't even move before the heavy troll bikes roared right over her. Kellan closed her eyes tightly and tried to shut out the sound of her scream.

"Amateur," Lothan said with a derisive snort.

Without their spellcaster, and now trapped between two dangerous foes, the Ancients broke off their pursuit, veering onto one of the side streets. The troll bikers followed after them, showing the symbols on the backs of their jackets as they roared off in pursuit: a cartoonish image of an elf's head, with x-ed-out eyes and a spike driven through it.

"The Spikes!" Orion said, recognizing them instantly. "What the frag are they doing here?"

"I invited them," Kellan said. "I told them I had information that said the Ancients might show up around here about this time. I thought they might be able to provide us with a distraction, if we needed one.

"Well, I think they're doing a marvelous job," Lothan said, slumping against the side of the truck and sliding down to sit heavily on the floor with a sigh, leaning his head back and closing his eyes for a moment.

"How did you convince them?" Orion asked.

"G-Dogg set things up. We showed them a picture of Brickman, and told them it looked like he was cutting a deal with the Ancients. Apparently, Mr. Brickman has been working both sides of the street, supplying weapons to the Spikes and promising the same to the Ancients when the Spikes started wiping out their enemies. I figured the Spikes wouldn't care for being used any more than we did. I just didn't think it would turn into such a big mess," she said regretfully.

"Well, what did you think would happen?" Orion snorted, and Kellan shrugged.

"I don't know, that the Ancients would take off once things went sour, I guess. That they'd both realize they were being set up and they'd call things off."

"Maybe if it was anyone other than the Spikes," Orion replied ruefully, "but the Spikes have been our: have been the Ancients' enemies for way too long. It doesn't matter who's getting used or who's getting set up any more. It's blood for blood."

"Everybody okay back there?" G-Dogg said over the comm.

"Yeah, Dogg," Kellan replied, shaking off her other thoughts. They weren't done with business yet.

"Looks like the Spikes bought us what we needed. Great idea, kid. Max is headed for the drop-off so we can get off the streets."

"So ka," Kellan said. "Jackie, what's our status?"

"I think you're in the clear," the decker replied. "I'm going to massage a few things online to convince Lone Star this is just another outbreak of gang violence between the Spikes and the Ancients; their response will focus on the gangs, so we can use it as cover. Odds are Ares won't report anything to the Star in a hurry, if they bother to report it at all. Max is going to want to sweep the truck for tracers, like we talked about, but, other than that, it looks good. Oh, and I think I've got a buyer who's very interested in some quality Ares merchandise."

Kellan smiled and rubbed a dirty hand across her jaw. "Nice work," she said. "Set up a meet."

"Already taken care of," Jackie replied. "The buyer will join us at the stash site."

The cargo hauler clattered off into the darkened streets of the metroplex and Kellan listened to the roar of the bikes, and the sounds of gunfire, fading into the distance behind them. She glanced over at Orion. He was looking out into the dark, maybe thinking about the people who used to be his surrogate family. Were any of the Ancients who attacked them going to survive the night?

Her plan had worked, but at what cost?

Silver Max expertly guided the battered cargo truck through the back streets on the outskirts of Redmond, avoiding what little traffic there was at such an early hour. They'd chosen a different meeting site than before, but the new one was also in the Barrens: there were more than a few places in the Redmond Barrens to hide a truck, even one the size of an Ares cargo hauler.

The place used to be a mall, a retail store, or a commercial garage; it was difficult to tell for sure. The important thing was that it offered facilities to accommodate large trucks. G-Dogg jumped down from the cab to open up the overhead door and let Silver Max drive in, keeping an eye out for any signs of trouble. The shadowrunners in the back of the truck had been watching for signs of pursuit, but they saw none. The encounter with the Spikes had apparently sidetracked the Ancients, and there were no signs of Lone Star or Ares security.

Max left the truck's headlights on, since there was no other light in the room. They threw a glare against the wall, casting long, dark shadows into the corners. The light silhouetted a slim shape that approached the truck from the darkness.

"Right on time," Jackie Ozone said. "Are we all clear?"

"Looks like," G-Dogg said with a smile.

"Good." Jackie closed her eyes for a moment. As she dropped down from the back of the truck, Kellan could see the decker's lips moving slightly. She was subvocalizing, most likely for an implanted phone or commlink that was wired directly into her brain and linked to her ears and vocal cords.

Jackie opened her eyes with a small, satisfied smile.

"Our buyer will be here shortly," she said.

"Don't you suppose you should check to make sure you actually have the goods first?" Lothan asked, clambering down from the truck. All eyes fixed on him.

Kellan felt her heart sink for a moment before Lothan began chuckling, then laughing.

"Don't worry!" the troll mage said. "Just a little joke."