™

© 2014 The Topps Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Run & Gun, Shadowrun, and Matrix are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of The Topps Company, Inc., in the United States

and/or other countries. Catalyst Game Labs and the Catalyst Game Labs logo are trademarks of InMediaRes Productions, LLC. Printed in the USA.

Under License From

Guns and ammo cost nuyen.

Mastering martial arts takes time.

And learning how to use explosives

without blowing yourself up takes

patience and a steady hand. These

weapons and more are out there,

waiting for you. You have the chance

to use them to become deadlier,

faster, more dangerous than the next

guy—and more dangerous than you

were yesterday. You’ll have to pay the

price to get what you want, but this is

the Sixth World. Don’t you always?

is the core combat

containing more weapons, more

armor, more modifications, and more

game options such as martial arts

and unit tactics. Explosives, survival

gear, specialized techniques—they’re

all here! Break the book open and

™

>> RUN & GUN <<

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CATSPAW 6

FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE 10

WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW KILLS YOU 11

Sensei’s Thoughts On: Fighting 12

On Weapons 13

On Armor and Protection 14

On Tactics and teamwork 15

On Manhandling and Skullcracking 15

On Things That Go Boom 16

On ‘Sneaky Bastards’ 16

Final Thoughts 17

ARSENAL 18

BLADES 18

Highland Forge Claymore 18Horizon-Flynn Rapier 18Victorinox Memory Blade 19Ares “One” Monosword 19Cougar Fineblades 20

CLUBS 20

Nemesis Arms Maul Stun Staff 20EXOTIC MELEE WEAPONS 20

Garrote 20Ares “Queen of Hearts” Monofilament Garrote 20Bullwhip 20Ash Arms Combat Chainsaw 21Ash Arms Monofilament Chainsaw 21

IMPROVISED MELEE WEAPONS 22

RANGED WEAPONS 22

Aquadyne Shark-XS Harpoon Gun 22Ranger Sliver Pistol Crossbow 23Ares Giantslayer Slingshot 23

ARROWHEADS 23

Barbed Head 23Explosive Head 23Hammerhead 24Incendiary Head 24Screamer Head 24Stick ‘n’ Shock 24Boomerang 24Harpoon/Javelin 24Net 24Cavalier Arms Urban Tribe Tomahawk 25

EXOTIC RANGED WEAPONS 26

Ares Screech Sonic Rifle 26Blowgun 26Bolas 26Nemesis Arms Suruchin Monofilament Bolas 26FN-AAL Gyrojet Pistol 26Mortimer of London “Trafalger” Gun Cane 27SA Retiarus Net Gun 28Tiffani Élégance Shooting Bracers 28

TASERS 29

Cavalier SafeGuard 29Tiffani-Defiance Protector 29

HOLD-OUTS 30

Fichetti Tiffani Self-Defender 2075 30LIGHT PISTOLS 30

Fichetti Executive Action 30Shiawase Arms Puzzler 31Nitama Sporter 31

HEAVY PISTOLS 32

Cavalier Deputy 32PSK-3 Collapsible Heavy Pistol 32Savalette Guardian 33Onotari Arms Violator 33

MACHINE PISTOLS 34

PPSK-4 Collapsible Machine Pistol 34Onotari Arms Equalizer 34Ultimax 70 35

SUBMACHINE GUNS 35

Ares Executioner 35HK Urban Combat 36

ASSAULT RIFLES 36

AK-98 36Ares HVAR 37HK XM30 37Nissan Optimum II 38

SNIPER RIFLES 38

Terracotta Arms AM-47 38Onotari Arms JP-K50 39Pioneer 60 39Barret Model 122 40

SHOTGUNS 40

Auto-Assault 16 40Mossberg AM-CMDT 41Franchi SPAS-24 41Remington 990 42

MACHINE GUNS 42

GE Vindicator Mini-Gun 42SA Nemesis 43FN MAG-5 43Ultamax MMG 44Ruhrmetall SF-20 44Ultamax HMG-2 45

CANNONS/LAUNCHERS 45

Ares Thunderstruck Gauss Rifle 45Ogre Hammer SWS Assault Cannon 46Ares Vigorous Assault Cannon 46Onotari Arms Ballista MML 46Mitsubishi Yakusoku MRL 47

LASER WEAPONS 47

Ares Redline 48Ares Lancer MP Laser 48Ares Archon Heavy MP Laser 49

FLAMETHROWERS 49

Shiawase Blazer 50WEAPON ACCESSORIES 50

AMMO 54

EX-Explosive 54Frangible 54Flare 55Tracker 55Capsule 55

ARMOR & PROTECTION 56

WHY WE WEAR IT 57

HIGH-FASHION ARMOR CLOTHING 57

Armanté 57Mortimer of London 58Vashon Island 58Zoé 61Executive Suite 61Heritage 61

NightShade/Moonsilver 62Second Skin 63Ares Victory 63

SPECIALTY ARMOR 65

Form-Fitting Body Armor 65Hardened Mil-Spec Battle Armor (Light, Medium, Heavy) 66Security Armor (Light, Medium, Heavy) 67Bike Racing Armor 68Bunker Gear 69Riot Control Armor 69SWAT Armor 70SecureTech PPP 70Body Armor Bag 70Chain Mail 71Padded Leather Armor 72Ares FlaShield 72Murder Armor 72Forearm Guards 73Ballistic Mask 74

Environmental Protection 74

Universal 75Ghillie Suit 75Ares Armored Survivalist 75

Heat 75

Desert Suit 75Snake Mesh Socks 76

Lack of Heat 76

Coldsuit 76Polar Survival Suit 76Ares Arctic Forces Suit 77Ares Armored Coldsuit 78Ares Polar Sneak Suit 78

The Great Blue Mystery 79

Enclosed Breathing Helmet 79Full Face Mask 79Drysuit 79Diving Armor 80Arctic Diver Suit 80

Space, the Moon, or Mars 80

Evo HEL Suit 81Spacesuit 81Security Spacesuit 81Evo Armadillo Armored Space Suit 82Magnetic Boots 83Survival Bubble 83The Nasty Spots 83

CUSTOMIZATIONS AND OPTIONS 84

Auto-Injector 84Fresnel Fabric 84Pulse Weave 84Shock Weave 84Universal Mirror Material 84YNT SoftWeave Armor 84Radiation Shielding 84Ruthenium Polymer Coating 85Gel Packs 85Responsive Interface Gear (RIG) 85

TACTICS & TOOLS 88

SIXTH WORLD COMBAT TACTICS 89

What Came Before 89

“Geek the Mage First” 89

2 CONTENTS/CREDITS >>

>> RUN & GUN <<

Warfare Gone Digital 90

REALITIES OF TACTICAL TEAMWORK 91

Building the Team 91

Team Types 91Know Your Role 92

Small Unit Tactics: Basics 94

Mission 94Operations 94Maneuver Considerations 95Offense and Defense 95

“By the Book” 96

The Military 96Law Enforcement and Security 97Shadowrunners 97Criminals and Gangs 97

APPLYING THE LESSONS 98

Combat Teamwork 98

Combat Maneuver Tests 98Combat Maneuvers 99

Bounding Overwatch 99Counter Peal 99Crossfire 100Diamond Formation 100Dog Pile 100Dynamic Entry, standard 100Dynamic Entry, “Chuck and Charge” 100Fire Shield 100Marching Fire 101Slicing the Pie 102Traveling Overwatch 102

THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE 103

Personal Integrated Tactical Network 104

KILLSHOTS AND MORE 106

PUTTING THE HURT ON 107

Options for Deadlier or Less Lethal Combat 107

RG1: No Action Phase Attack Limit 107RG2: Target Size Modifiers 108RG3: Movement Penalties by Speed 108RG4: Alternate Initiative 108RG5: Putting Bullets Around Armor 109RG6: Damage for No Defense 110

More Called Shots 110

Ammo-Specific Called Shots 111Blast out of Hand 111Break Weapon 111Dirty Trick 111Disarm 111Entanglement 111Feint 111Knock Down 112Pin 112Reversal 112Shake Up 112Splitting Damage 112Specific Target 112Trick Shot 112

Location, Location, Location. 112

Ankle 112Ear 112Eye 113Foot 113Forearm 113

Genitals 113Gut 113Hand 113Hip 114Jaw 114Knee 114Neck 114Shin 114Shoulder/Upper Arm 114Sternum 114Thigh 115Vehicle 115

Ammo Whammy! 115

Bellringer 116Bulls-Eye Double-Tap/Burst 116Down the Gullet 116Extreme Intimidation! 116Finger Popper 116Flame On! 116Flash Blind 116Here’s Muck in Your Eye! 116Hit ‘em Where It Counts 116Light ’em Up 116More Muck, Better Duck! 117Nasty Finger Prick 117On Pins and Needles 117Ricochet Shot 117Shake, Rattle, and BOOM! 117Shake, Rattle, and Pop! 117Shredded Flesh 117Spinner 117Tag! 117That Hit the Spot! 117Through and Through … and Into 117Troll Finger Popper 118Up the Ante 118Warning Shot 118

More actions! 119

Aimed Burst 119Ballestra 119Brain Blaster 119Clinch 119Charge Attack 120Double-Tap 120Escape 120Enhanced Suppression 120Evade 120Finishing Move 120Flechette Suppressive Fire 120Flying Kick 121Full Offense 121Half Sword 121Haymaker 121Herding 121Iaijutsu 122Interception 122Kip-Up 122Playing Possum 122Pouncing Dragon 122Pre-emptive Block 122Pre-emptive Dodge 122Pre-emptive Parry 122Push/Shove/Sacrifice Move 123Reading the Defense 123Subduing 123

Throw Person 123Touch-Only Attack 124

Interrupt Actions 124

Block 124Counterstrike 124Dive for Cover 124Dodge 124Full Defense 124Parry 124Reversal 124Right Back At Ya! 124Run for Your Life/Dive on the Grenade 125Sacrifice Throw 125Riposte 125Protecting the Principle 125Shadow Block 125

Combat Edge 126

Lucky Move 126Miracle Shot 126Lucky Duck 126Sixth Sense 126Lucky Cover 126

NEW QUALITIES 127

Positive Qualities 127

Acrobatic Defender 127Agile Defender 127Brand Loyalty 127One Trick Pony 127Perceptive Defender 127Sharpshooter 127Too Pretty to Hit 127

Negative Quality 127

Combat Junkie 127MARTIAL ARTS 128

Martial Art styles 128

It’s All About How and Where You Hit 12852 Blocks 128Aikido 128Arnis De Mano 128Bartitsu 128Boxing (Brawler Style) 129Boxing (Classic Style) 129Boxing (Swarmer Style) 129Capoeira 129Carromeleg 129Chakram Fighting 129Drunken Boxing 130Fiore dei Liberi (Two Weapon Sword Fighting) 130Firefight 130Gun Kata 130Jeet Kune Do 130Jogo Du Pau 130Jujitsu 131Karate 131Kenjutsu 131Knight Errant Tactical 132Krav Maga 132Kunst des Fechtens (Longsword Fighting) 132Kyujutsu 132La Verdadera Destreza (Rapier Fighting) 132Lone Star Tactical 132Muay Thai 133Ninjutsu 133Okichitaw 133Parkour 133

<< CONTENTS/CREDITS 3

>> RUN & GUN <<

Pentjak-Silat 133Quarterstaff Fighting 133Sangre y Acero 133Tae Kwon Do 133The Cowboy Way 133Turkish Archery 134Whip Fighting 134Wildcat 134Wrestling (Sport Style) 134Wrestling (Sumo Style) 134Wrestling (Professional Style) 134Wrestling (MMA Style) 135Wudang Sword 135

Martial Art Techniques 135

Ballestra 135Barbed Hooks 135Bending of the Reed 135Broken Fang 135Called Shot (Break Weapon) 136Called Shot Disarm 136Called Shot Entanglement 136Called Shot Feint 136Called Shot Pin 136Chin Na 136Clinch 136Close Quarter Firearms 136Close Quarter Defense Against Firearms 137Constrictor’s Crush 137Counterstrike 137Crushing Jaws 137Defiant Dance 137Dim Mak 137Finishing Move 137Flying Kick 137Full Offense 137Grasping Vines 137Half Sword 137Hammerfist 138Haymaker 138Herding 138Iaijutsu 138Imposing Stone 138Jiao Di 138Karmic Response 138Kick Attack 138Kip-Up 139Knucklebreaker 139Leaping Mantis 139Monkey Climb 139Multiple Opponent Combat 139Multiple Opponent Defense 139Oaken Stance 139Opposing Force 139Releasing Talons 139Randori 140Riposte 140Rooted Tree 140Sacrifice Throw 140Shadow Block 140Silken Storm 140Soaring Shackles 141

Stagger 141Pouncing Dragon 141Rolling Clouds 141Sweep 141Throw Person 141Thunder Strike 141Ti Khao 141Tricking 141Two-Headed Snake 141Two-Weapon Style Attack 141Two-Weapon Style Defense 141Yielding Force 141

FIXIN’ ALL THE BROKEN DREK 143

Making the Blind See and the Deaf Hear 143Broken Weapons 143All the Other Broken Drek 143

STAYING ALIVE 144

INTRODUCTION 145

WORLDLY HAZARDS 145

Heat 145

Environment Severity 146Perspiration and Dehydration 146Sunburn 147Radiant Heat 148

Killing Frost 148

Environment Severity 148Physical Damage from Cold 149Perspiration and Cold Damage 150Injury Modifiers, Environmental Effects, and Cold Damage 150

Pollution 150

Environment Severity 151Radiation 152

Environment Severity 152Extreme 153Healing Radiation and Pollution Damage 153

Beneath the Seas 156

Fatigue from Environment 156Troubles in the Deep 156Underwater Combat 158Magic of the Sea 158Spirits 159

Above the Skies 161

Matrix Lag 161Gravitational Complications 161

Space Combat 162

Action Modifiers 162Damage Modifiers 162Movement 163Falling Damage 164Recoil 164Range 164Throwing Weapons 164Defense 164

Bigger Problems 165

Decompression 165Suit Leaks 165Hull Breaches 165Long-Term Effects 165Magic 168

QUALITIES 169

Negative Qualities 169

Blighted 169Earther 169

Positive Qualities 169

Radiation Sponge 169Rad-Tolerant 169Spacer 169

BLOW UP GOOD 170

ADVANCED DEMOLITIONS 171

Homemade Versus Commercial Grade 175

Explosions and Background Count 177

Time Frame for Building Charges 178

RULES FOR TAKING DOWN BUILDINGS 180

Step 1: Identify Amount of Explosives Needed 180

Step 2: Make the DemolItions Tests 182

Step 3: Planting the Explosives and Detonating 183

RULES FOR EXPLOSIVES AND VEHICLES 185

Car Bombs for Property Damage 185

Car Bombs as Tools for Assassins 187

Disabling Vehicles 189

Erasing Explosive Fingerprints 189

Using Explosives with Drones 189

RULES FOR BREACHING/CUTTING 191

Breaching Charges 191

Cutting Charges 192

COOKING EXPLOSIVES 192

EXPLOSIVES 193

Ammonium Nitrate 193

ANFO 193

Detonating Cord 193

Dynamite 193

Gunpowder 193

Linear Cutting Charge 194

Liquid Explosives 194

Nitroglycerine 194

TNT 194

DETONATORS 194

Blasting Cap 194

Electrical Detonator 195

Optical Detonator 195

Pull Detonator 195

Push Detonator 195

Radio Detonator 195

Timer Detonator 195

EXPLOSIVE ACCESSORIES 196

Anti-Removal Modifications 196

Atomizer 196

Exploder 196

Hard-Shell Briefcase (Hermetically Sealed) 196

Safety Fuse 197

GEAR QUALITIES 197

Counterfeit 197

Defective 197

Hot 197

HOSTILE EXTRACTION 198

RUN & GUN TABLES 202

4 CONTENTS/CREDITS >>

>> RUN & GUN <<

© 2014 The Topps Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Shadowrun, Matrix, and Run & Gun are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of The Topps Company, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the Copyright Owner, nor be otherwise circulated in any form other than that in which it is published. Catalyst Game Labs and the Catalyst Game Labs logo are trademarks of InMediaRes Productions, LLC.

First Printing by Catalyst Game Labs, an imprint of InMediaRes Productions, LLC

PMB 202 • 303 -91st Ave. NE, E-502Lake Stevens, WA 98258

Find us online:info@shadowruntabletop.com (Shadowrun questions)http://www.shadowruntabletop.com (Catalyst Shadowrun website)http://www.shadowrun.com (official Shadowrun Universe website)http://www.catalystgamelabs.com (Catalyst website)http://shop.catalystgamelabs.com (Catalyst/Shadowrun orders)

RUN & GUN CREDITSWriting: Raymond Croteau, Jason M. Hardy, John

Helfers, Robyn “Rat” King, Adam Large, Scott Schletz, R.J.

Thomas, Michael Wich, Thomas Willoughby

Additional Contributions: David Ellenberger, Steven

“Bull” Ratkovich

Editing: Kevin Killiany, Philip A. Lee, Andrea Rebholz

Art Direction: Brent Evans

Cover Art: Victor Manuel Leza Moreno

Cover Layout: Matt Heerdt

Iconography: Nigel Sade

Interior Art: Nate Abell, Marius Andrei, Piotr

Arendzikowski, Gordon Bennetto, Echo Chernik, Victor

Perez Corbella, Phil Hilliker, David Hovey, Ian King, Ben

McSweeney, Victor Manuel Leza Moreno, Mark Poole, Rob

Ruffolo, Andreas “AAS” Schroth

Interior Layout: Matt “Wrath” Heerdt

Shadowrun Line Developer: Jason M. Hardy

Playtesting: Dylan Avery, Aaron Brosman, Stephen

Brown, Kurt Fryzek, Jeff McLane, William Murray, Anthony

Presbitero, John Rogers, Scott Schletz, Charles “Nick” Zaffery

Proofreading: Raymond Croteau, Lars Wagner Hansen,

Mason Hart, Adam Large, Scott Schletz, R.J. Thomas

SPECIAL DEDICATION

In memory of Steven A. Tinner (GM to the Stars), who certainly would have been able to use the gear and tactics in this book to make life for his players even harder.

<< CONTENTS/CREDITS 5

Just one more.

That’s all, just one more.

Not yet.

La Gata—yeah, like she even deserved that name anymore—

crouched behind cover and waited. Her teeth clenched as another

flutter ran through her arm, spidering upward until it reached the

meat where it joined her shoulder and sent an involuntary twitch

through her left side. Closing her fingers around her battered

Ingram, she forced herself not to think of what waited nestled in

the pouch inside her armored jacket.

Not yet.

The whole run was a setup. It had to be. She cursed herself for

not realizing it—but then, she’d hardly been in a position to bargain,

had she?

Grue was dead, all that expensive headware just so much

decoration joining the offensively inoffensive corporate holo-art

on the wall near the door where they’d gotten in. Drake was dead

too—”geek the mage first” was a philosophy still alive and well

among your standard-issue corpsec types, probably because he’d

scared the drek out of them slinging all that lightning around like

some kind of flashy idiot.

That was what she had to work with these days. Oh, how the

mighty have fallen. Once, she’d run with the best. Those days

seemed so long ago now, but it was true. And now here she

was, fighting for her life with a dwindling collection of misfits and

social deviants, knowing that barring a miracle, none of them was

going to get out of here alive.

✖

From his command center, security chief Thomas Barbour watched

the monitors as his team cut down two of the intruders. He flicked

between views with a twitch of his mind, his contempt growing as

he took in their mismatched, outdated armor, their pathetic lack of

organization, the way half of them scattered when Miller’s team

had taken out their mage and their decker. These were nothing but

street scum. What the hell were they even doing here?

He hadn’t even needed the anonymous tip someone had called

in an hour ago—a call he’d traced back to someplace in downtown

Seattle before he’d lost the trail. Who needed tips when the intruders

had practically announced themselves with AR fanfare and fragging

skywriting?

Amateurs. They didn’t make runners the way they used to. Not

anymore. Not like the old days.

Still—never assume anything. That kind of thinking got you

dead. Just because he’d gone over the wall didn’t mean he’d lost

his instincts from his days in the shadows. He still missed those

days. The unpredictability had been a rush for his active mind.

Almost like a drug.

He shivered a little at that thought: now wasn’t the time to

dredge up old memories, and especially not those old memories.

He glanced at the holopic above his monitors. The pretty young

woman and the baby boy in her arms grinned out at him. He

smiled back at them, reminding himself that Celeste had asked

CATSPAW

6 CATSPAW

him to pick up some diapers when he got off shift. He sent the

reminder to his personal commlink and waited for Miller to

report back.

✖

It was supposed to be a milk run. Gata knew better than that—

there was no such thing as a “milk run” when the lead and the

mojo were flying—but it was billed as a quick in-and-out job. Get

in, grab a prototype from the lab, get out. Fifteen minutes, tops,

from entry to getaway.

Fifteen minutes, even babysitting the losers she’d been saddled

with for a team. Fifteen minutes, and everything would change.

Debts clear, slate erased. She’d get herself clean and be back on top

where she belonged.

Somebody had tipped off security.

She should have known Grue wasn’t good enough to get them

in that quietly. The greasy-haired dwarf had flashed the rest of the

team a tobacco-stained grin right before a barrage from a guard’s

assault rifle had taken the top of his head off.

After that, all their careful plans (yeah, right, like these fraggers

even pretended to follow orders) had gone to drek. Milly and Rip had

scattered; the only one who’d stayed on task was Shark. It was

his voice she heard over her internal commlink now: “Your game,

honey. What’s the call?” The ork crouched across from her behind

another console, leering at her through his yellowed tusks, his little

cloud of noxious BO nearly visible around him. She resisted the urge

to run him through with her sword. The only thing that stopped her

was that the cutlass had been a gift from a former teammate and

old flame, and she didn’t want to stink it up. We’d never have looked

twice at him, back when we were—

Get off your high horse, chica. You’re one of them now. Times

change. Things fall apart.

People fall apart.

“Milly! Rip! Where the hell are you? Get over here now.”

“Keep your pants on,” came back a young male voice.

Had she ever been that young?

✖

Barbour watched over the monitors, fingers dancing over his

console as his men moved to deal with the rest of the intruders. The

AR tags over their heads were the only way he could tell them apart:

all human, all dressed in identical matte gray armor and helmets

with the stylized green logo, all carrying identical FN HARs. The

mothership was generous to their important little subsidiary labs:

they’d just gotten the shipment in last week to replace their barely-

used AK-97s. This place was quiet, usually, but the home office

made sure they had what they needed to deal with problems.

They reached the end of the corridor. “Careful,” Barbour told

them. “They’re in the doorway. Can’t tell if they’ve got masks—use a

gas grenade, then go in.”

Miller sent his acknowledgement. One of the other guards

reached to his belt and tossed a small roundish object down the

BY ROBYN ‘RAT’ KING

CATSPAW 7

hallway, where it clinked and rolled to a stop near the doorway

where the runners were hiding. It immediately issued clouds of

thick smoke, filling the hallway. The guards, rebreathers built into

their helmets, moved forward.

✖

“Go!” Gata pulled up a mask and leaned out from her cover just far

enough to spray a full-auto blast through the smoke at the shadowy

forms of the sec-guards. One of them screamed and dropped as

the smoke began to dissipate, red holes stitching across the gray

of his armored chestplate. The other one fell back, driven by the

staccato patter of Shark’s SMG. The ork whooped through his own

mask as the guard faltered, one of the rounds taking a chunk from

his leg, and disappeared around a corner.

Gata didn’t waste time. She vaulted out, her jacked and drug-

augmented reflexes taking her across the room in an instant. She

was still sweating, her arm sending intermittent pulsing shots up

into her shoulder. She should have had it checked over weeks ago.

She’d meant to. Just like she’d meant to get that annoying glitch in

her left cybereye looked at.

She smelled Shark coming up behind her before she heard

his open-mouthed breathing, and motioned him forward. In the

distance she could hear more gunfire—the others must be engaging

other guards. Too bad they’d gone the wrong way. The prototype

was in a lab up ahead.

Her vision blurred, then cleared. Heat crawled down her neck,

joining the cold in her arm. The shakes clawed at her again.

Just one more...

Damn it, not yet.

✖

Wu was down. Barbour gripped the edges of his console, rage

growing. He’d trained Wu himself—good kid, just got married last

year. And these useless fraggers had geeked him. They’d pay for

that. “Miller,” he sent over the ‘link. “You okay?”

“Y-yes, sir,” came the shaky voice back. “Leg grazed, but I’m

okay.”

Another one the losers would have to answer for. “Okay, fall

back. I’m sending Kowalski and Largo to your location.”

“I think some of them are headed for the lab, sir. Not sure where

the others are going.”

“Acknowledged, Miller. Watch yourself.” Barbour shifted the

vid’s view to take in the other two members of the ragtag team: a

smallish female troll with a crossbow and a purple-mohawked male

human in a jacket festooned with gang symbols. With a tight smile

he sent the command and watched as the automated SMG lowered

itself silently from the ceiling after they passed. His finger mimicked

pulling a trigger; the gun chattered, and Purple Mohawk became

Red Mist. The troll, moving with surprising grace for her size, rolled

sideways and ducked into a doorway, then let fly with something.

There was an explosion and both Barbour’s view and his connection

to the gun went blank.

Barbour swore, scrambling to pick up another feed.

✖

They were almost to the lab now. They rounded the last corner,

revealing a long hallway with a door at the end. The doors along

it were all closed. Gata’s gaze darted around, looking for opening

doorways, ceiling ports where automated defenses could be

deployed, ground drones—even the shimmer of patrolling spirits.

She shifted through her cybereyes’ modes—infrared, low-light, UV—

but saw nothing.

“Come on,” Shark urged. He’d swapped out his HK for a

worn but serviceable AK-97, shifting from foot to foot like he

was about to run a race. “What the hell are you waitin’ for?

They’re on to us!”

“Too clear,” she snapped. Something was wrong. Where were

the guards? She could still hear gunfire off in the distance—had

they fallen back to chase Rip and Milly? That didn’t make sense.

But Shark was right: they couldn’t stay here forever. Hoping she

hadn’t missed anything, she launched herself out into the hallway,

her protesting cyberware propelling her to just short of the lab

door in scant seconds. She tried a door next to it and it opened.

Shark followed more slowly, his gun barrel in constant motion. He

stopped halfway down the hallway and turned back. “Get that door

open,” he growled. “I’ll cover you.”

Two guards came around the corner and opened fire.

✖

From his command center, Barbour watched the action. His

fingers twitched, the urge to go out there and join his team almost

irresistible. But he knew he was more help to them here, watching

over them like the spider he was, controlling his nest’s automated

defenses. He wasn’t going to lose anyone else. Not to the likes of

these.

One of the runners was crouched in an open doorway just

outside the lab, ducking out to take shots with her SMG when she

could. Human female, it looked like. She didn’t move like the others.

There was a compact grace to her movements that Barbour had

seen many times back in his other life.

She shifted position and he caught a glimpse of something

hanging at her right thigh. Some kind of sword, but not the standard-

issue katana all the cool razorkids were carrying these days. The

blade was curved. What kind of samurai carried a cutlass? He hadn’t

seen one since he’d given—

Color drained from his face and he gripped the edge of his

console. He zoomed in, then keyed his ‘link. “Miller, come in.”

“Here, sir.” The muffled sounds of gunfire provided a backdrop

to his words.

“Miller, there’s a human woman in the doorway by the lab. I

want her alive if possible.”

“Sir?”

“You heard me. I want to question her.”

“Yes, sir.”

Barbour closed his eyes, but just for a moment. Then, still

watching the vid-feed, he let his hands fly over the keyboard of his

deck. He had an idea.

✖

This was no time for subtlety. Gata leaned out from her cover,

pulling a high-explosive grenade from one of her pouches and

rolling it toward the door. It blew, driving the heavy metal door

inward. She spared a glance at Shark: he was still down the hall

holding off the sec-guards with punishing cover fire from his AK,

tucked into another doorway that he must have kicked open with

one of those gunboat-sized feet of his. The guards returned fire and

she heard a grunt from the ork. Had they hit him?

And then she couldn’t care anymore—her meat arm flared pain

as a stray round found its mark. Her armored jacket soaked most of

8 CATSPAW