"So that was the gang's symbol?" Kellan referred to the circled "A" in acid-green paint emblazoned on the back of Orion's jacket.

"Yup," G-Dogg said.

"Why would the Johnson want us to work with a member of a gang?"

"It's of no importance," Lothan interrupted tersely before G-Dogg could reply. "So long as Mr. Johnson's credit is good, it's none of our concern. He wants the elf involved with the run, so he will be, and this is not the place to be discussing it at any rate." He gave Kellan a meaningful look and she clammed up, stung by the implication about her lack of professionalism. Then the troll mage stood, putting an end to the conversation.

Kellan felt a hot flush of embarrassment and stood up quickly to follow Lothan and G-Dogg out of the bar. Stupid, she thought, asking questions like some dumb kid! She noticed how quickly Lothan and G-Dogg had frozen out Orion. Was that how they looked at her? Some kid that they were saddled with whether they liked it or not? Lothan had invited her along to the meeting, even if he didn't say two words to her about it, and G-Dogg didn't seem to think her questions were out of line, but:

But nothing, Kellan thought as she settled into her seat in the car. I'm going to show them that I can do the job. This is the chance I wanted. I'm not going to frag it up.

They went back to Lothan's place, where the troll mage excused himself for a moment to make a few calls, leaving G-Dogg and Kellan waiting in his cluttered study. When Lothan returned, he seemed satisfied with the results of his inquiries.

"G-Dogg, I'll want you to get in touch with a few people. I'll let you know the particulars soon."

"Okay," the ork said, getting to his feet. Seeing this, Kellan did the same.

"As for you," the troll said to Kellan, "we can start your instruction soon, provided that you're still interested:."

Kellan nodded. "Yeah, count me in."

"Excellent," Lothan said with a nod. "Well, then, if you'll excuse me, I'm not as suited for these late-night rendezvous as I used to be, and there're still things to be done. G-Dogg, I'll contact you soon. You can show yourselves out."

"A'right, Lothan. See you later," the ork said. He paused for Kellan to precede him out the door, following close behind.

They didn't speak until they were in G-Dogg's car, on their way back toward Lake Washington.

"Hey, I just wanted to say thanks," Kellan said quietly.

"For what?" the ork replied.

"Well, for everything. Helping me out back at the club, getting me set up with Lothan-everything."

The ork chuckled. "Don't thank me yet, kid. You haven't started lessons with the 'master of the arts arcane,' yet." G-Dogg did an uncanny imitation of Lothan's lofty and educated tone of voice. "Don't get me wrong," he said, catching a look of concern on Kellan's face. "Lothan's a great mage-maybe even as great as he thinks he is. He really knows his stuff but: well, let's just say that he's not a real people person."

"Not like you," Kellan said.

"Nope," G-Dogg replied. "Sometimes I think it's because Lothan wasn't born a trog." Kellan was surprised, both by the information and G-Dogg's casual use of a racial slur usually hurled at orks and trolls by Humanis Policlub supremacists.

"He wasn't?" she asked.

"Nope. Lothan was born before the Awakening, kid. He's older than you and me put together. He's been around the block more than a few times, and he's still here to talk about it."

"So he wasn't always a mage, either?" Kellan said.

"Well, just about," the ork replied, shifting gears and changing lanes to dodge around some slower-moving traffic. "Ol' Lothan was like eleven or twelve when the Awakening hit, so he was just a kid. I dunno whether his Talent woke up then or if it was when he goblinized."

"Wow," Kellan said. "I just figured he was maybe forty or so."

"Well, he looks it, if he was born a troll. Hell, if Lothan was born a troll, he'd be dead by now. Not too many trolls make it to his age."

Or orks, Kellan thought. While elves born at the dawn of the Awakening were still young and vital well into their fifties and sixties, those born as orks and trolls weren't blessed with similarly long lifespans. In fact, the so-called goblinized metahumans physically matured faster than humans, and they aged faster, too. Orks were lucky if they lived past forty or so, and a troll who reached fifty was practically ancient. Apparently, metahumans born as humans were different, living out their normal human lifespans. G-Dogg said that he was born an ork. Kellan suddenly realized G-Dogg was probably younger than she thought.

"Me, I'm glad that I didn't have to go through the change," G-Dogg mused aloud. "I've heard that it hurts like nobody's business."

Kellan shuddered as she imagined muscle and bone reshaping itself in response to some hidden genetic directive, warping the normal human form into that of an ork or troll. By itself, the process of adding all the additional body mass had to be incredibly painful, even if it was all magic. No wonder some of the first orks and trolls had gone insane from the process. She thought about Lothan going though that, turning from a human into a troll over the course of several pain-wracked days, and felt a sudden sympathy for the old mage.

"I hope I can learn how to do it all," Kellan said.

"What, magic?" G-Dogg asked. "Beats the frag out of me, kid. I'm a total mundane. Never got the mojo, and that's fine with me. Too complicated. I like to keep things simple. I think you'll do okay, though. Aren't too many runners in the plex who know magic better than Lothan."

"So," the ork said, changing the subject, "you got a place to crash? 'Cause if you need one, you're welcome to check out my doss." He glanced at Kellan briefly before returning his eyes to the road.

"No thanks," she said. "I've got a place. I just need to pick up my ride at the club."

"No problem," G-Dogg said in a carefully neutral tone. "I've got to go back there to take care of some stuff anyway. I'll drop you off."

The trip back to Underworld 93 was less eventful than the trip downtown. G-Dogg made occasional small talk about places Kellan should check out in Seattle, but didn't say anything more about Lothan or the run. In fact, Kellan noticed that the ork didn't say a thing about the job or what he thought about Mr. Johnson or the elf ganger Orion. Kellan didn't bring it up either, concerned about coming off looking like a newbie again.

Then they were outside the club. The line of wannabes was gone and the night's business was winding down, though Kellan could still hear the pounding beat of the music from inside. She took her phone out and beamed the number to G-Dogg, who checked the display on his phone, then beamed her his number before snapping it closed.

"Frosty," he said. "I'll call you when things start happening. If something comes up, give me a buzz."

"Okay," Kellan said.

"Sure you don't want one for the road?" G-Dogg asked. "I'm buyin'."

Kellan shook her head. "No, thanks, I should get going."

"Later, then," the ork said and drove off, turning the corner around the side of the club.

Kellan waited until he was out of sight before going over to the public comm terminal and slotting her credstick, keying in a request for a cab. She hoped that the Grid-Cabs ran this late at night, but she hadn't wanted to ask G-Dogg about it and thus admit that she didn't have transportation of her own. That was something she was going to have to take care of, maybe when she got the cred from this job.

The cab showed up in short order and Kellan climbed in, slotting her stick into the port and keying in the address she needed. It highlighted the destination on a map displayed on the scratched and battered flatscreen, and she accepted the route as correct. By the time she was halfway there, it had started to rain again, a steady drumming on the roof and windows of the cab, painting the city streets in streaks of distorted streetlights and neon signs.