Running away was futile, Katherine could see that plain as day. Getting out of the room was easy, escaping the situation she was in was all but impossible now. If the professor had more to say she figured she was as well hearing her out; if nothing else she might learn why the professor had taken such dramatic measures against her. The tension that had been building in her legs and arms as Katherine had been subconsciously preparing to dash out of the room fled her body. She slumped deeper into the comfortable, padded chair and tried to mentally prepare herself for whatever new revelations were about to be unleashed upon her.
Another smile came from the professor, more noticeable now. Was she growing more at ease with her, or was she just happy that things were going as she wished?
‘Good… Now, as I said, I was the one who arranged for your capture by the Nitro Mizuchi. However, I took efforts to ensure that you were never in any real danger. Or at least no more than your typical expeditions of the Redmond barrens’.
‘They grabbed me off the street, threw a mage-hood over me and drugged me! They were going to sell me! It felt like fragging danger to me!’.
Gone was any effort to hide her emotions now. Whatever was going to happen would happen, Katherine knew she had no power here, nothing she could do would change the outcome that Professor Yamato had decided upon. So she made no attempt to hide the anger that had been growing in her for some time, especially now that the instigator of her trauma was sitting before her acting so calm and collected.
Her outburst didn’t faze the professor in the slightest. She continued to sit, her fingers arched, staring down Katherine.
‘As I said, steps were taken for your protection’.
Professor Yamato’s tone turned icy and her stare harsher.
‘But I will concede that some elements did go outside of their designated bounds. I had thought the Nitro Mizuchi professional enough for a gang and expected their Redmond chapter to be run with a degree of competency. That the leader of that branch would attempt to use you to buy their way into the Yakuza was as unexpected as it was utterly foolish. Fortunately, I had his communications to them blocked to ensure that the situation did not escalate further and ensured that the shadowrunners on retainer were directed to your location. Even if your “allies” from the barrens had not reached you, you would have been safely recovered’.
Now her tone was… friendly would be an exaggeration. Conciliatory perhaps? Though that also felt too strong for it. The professor was certainly less domineering now and despite herself Katherine sensed her burgeoning fury dissipating. The more cynical part of her noticed that Professor Yamato carefully placed all the blame for her mistreatment at the feet of the now dead gangers; the professor claimed to have only done what she could to help her. There was still one all-consuming question that Katherine needed answered though.
‘Why? Why did you do that to me? Put me through all of that? Were you trying to punish me for what I did, getting too close to… the people in Redmond?’.
A small sigh escaped the professor’s lips and for a moment she seemed, normal, like the educator that Katherine was used to seeing. After all she had been through though she couldn’t tell if this was the true professor, or if this was all an act carefully choreographed to manipulate her into walking the path she desired.
‘Miss Yamashita, Katherine. Or would you prefer Kay?’
‘…Katherine is fine’.
‘Of course. When I told you that what happened today was a direct consequence of all your extended trips to the Redmond barrens I wasn’t lying. But to be more precise it is a result of the reason why you kept going back there, and why you chose to return here. Do you know what that reason was?’.
‘I… I kept going back to Redmond because, you’re right I was… invested in the people there. Of the life I got to create for myself there. The relationships I made. As for why I came back… I… I was too scared to stay. After everything that happened, I… I couldn’t stay there. I couldn’t live in that sort of danger all the time. Even if it was all… engineered, it felt real to me. Too real’.
‘Hm. Those are reasons, but not the reason. You see Miss Yamashita, deep down when you strip away everything else it all comes down to the fact that you want more. You desire the safety and luxuries that you know can only be gained through MCT and by extension the University as well. Yet you also yearn for the freedoms that living on the street offered you. The idiom “having you cake and eating it too” springs to mind in this instance. You did everything in your power to maintain your dual lives for as long as you could to enjoy the benefits of both worlds and were successful in your endeavour to an extent’.
The way the professor was speaking to her now, she almost sounded kindly. Almost. But Katherine found it difficult to divest her from the person who undid all the hard effort she had invested into creating those lives.
‘But you see, the way you were living was never sustainable. You recognise that yourself, don’t you? From everything that I have seen from you, you are smart enough to have already reached that conclusion. There was never going to be a way for you to keep that lifestyle going for more than a year. Had I chosen to let you be then eventually something would have given and there would have been no safety net as there was with me. Instead, I chose to put you in a situation where you could see for yourself where your life was going and give you the opportunity to decide for yourself where you belonged. And you chose correctly’.
She was being played; Katherine could see the signs. The professor was appearing to be more open with her in contrast to her formerly authoritative stance, giving her information that she didn’t have, giving her the option of leaving, divesting herself of responsibility for the trauma she had been put through, reassuring her over the choice she made. Katherine knew she was being played, but she had to admit that it felt nice have someone support what she had done. It was the right thing to do, she was sure of it.
‘And now, after having examined everything that has transpired today along with everything else about you, I have decided to make you an offer’.
‘What kind of offer?’.
‘The kind that you will enjoy, the kind where you get to have your cake and eat it too’.
Professor Yamato taught psychology, she had attended several of her lectures and had found her to be a competent teacher, though she was far from the best on campus. But now? Katherine could see that the woman was an expert on manipulation and psychological games; she was playing with her, giving her subtle hints and making oblique statements and promises to appeal to her, all the while reminding her of how dire her plight was outside of her support. What was truly masterful though was that even though Katherine could see what the professor was doing she still found herself being drawn in.
Smiling as she saw the compliance in Katherine’s eyes the professor continued with her offer.
‘I have a confession to make to you Katherine. When I put forward the project for studying the Redmond barrens through having students infiltrate and examine it first hand, I had ulterior motives. You see, my role as a professor at this university is only one of the positions that I hold. Another position, more prestigious and personally important to me is my role as head of MCT’s Department of Asset Assessment and Acquisition in Seattle. In essence I oversee MCT’s shadow operations here, a spymaster for our parent corporation in this city’.
Katherine’s eyes bulged as she took in what the professor was telling her. It explained how a professor from U-Dub was able to call on a street gang to do her dirty work so easily, along with how she could have a reputation amongst the shadowrunning community. This also clarified how she was so easily able to read and manipulate people, and her clear comfort at the situation, how Professor Yamato effortlessly dominated anyone she spoke to.
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‘Y-you’re from MCT? I thought that all teaching staff had to renounce their corporate citizenship when joining an organisation like a university full time. Doesn’t the university perform background checks to ensure people like – people in your profession don’t get into positions of power here?’.
A smirk rose for the professor’s face. Smug superiority radiating from her, but not directed towards Kay.
‘The University of Washington is an estimable institute of learning, but in terms of security checks and infiltration countermeasures it is profoundly lacking compared to the might of MCT. Never forget that MCT is one of the largest suppliers of computer technologies on the planet and stands at the cutting edge in both terms of hardware and software; we know how to bypass security measures better than most professional criminals do. It makes it easy to slip into an institute such as this with a falsified SIN, especially as I have kept to the lower end of the hierarchical totem pole as it were. The school board is only concerned about more brazen powerplays, and my position suits my purposes quite well’.
‘Which is?’.
‘What all good citizens of the corporation wish. The betterment of their parent company. In my specific case it is through finding and recruiting capable talent to bring into MCT’s various intelligence divisions. Hence our current meeting’.
‘You want me? B-but, after everything that happened today? Why would you want me?’.
‘First of all, regardless of your indulgences you have proven to be a natural when it comes to social engineering and infiltration. From all the surveillance that was gathered from your time in the Redmond barrens I was able to see for myself how you operate. You make a positive, though not overpowering first impression and quickly slip into the background of any gathering absorbing everything that you can. Then, once you have a better grasp of the social structures and expected etiquette you ingratiate yourself further within the scene by reiterating talking points you know will gain the approval of those around you. All the while you give up little about yourself, save what you know people around you will approve of. It’s a simple technique, but the fact that you were able to reliably use it to deal with a wide variety of disparate and often dangerously volatile groups shows a degree of skill that is useful for someone in my profession. And from the reports you wrote along with your thesis, you have proven that you can analyse what you uncover and properly articulate it in writing. As odious as it may be at times, paperwork is a vital component of the work I perform; you have no idea the number of candidates I’ve written off because of their failure to write a legible report in a timely manner’.
She seemed to be more relaxed with her now, more personable. Of course, with everything that the professor was telling her it was just as likely to be a means to manipulate her further. But Katherine couldn’t help but feel good at hearing her work being approved of. More than that she was being lauded, judged as exceptional by a woman who appeared to be at the top of her field. Katherine had lived most of her life being looked down upon, only barely able to be worthy of notice no matter what she did, never smart enough, magically powerful enough, connected enough, rich enough to matter to the important people. Until now.
‘And as for your… indiscretions in the barrens?’.
Sighing, Professor Yamato’s shoulders slumped down from their rigid position, and she seemed to… deflate. Gone was the woman of steel, the tiger before her lamb. Now there was just an old woman in an expensive suit being slowly crushed by pressure from unseen forces. She looked her in the eye and her steely grey eyes took on a wholesome and earnest quantity that hadn’t been present before, not even when she had been pretending to be just another lecturer.
‘It happens to all of us eventually in this line of work Katherine. At some point we lose sight of things and get caught up in the lies we spin, in the person we’re pretending to be, the people we are meant to be using. There are always people who draw us in and make us wonder what it would be like to walk away from it all, to escape from this life and lead a different one. I was ten years into my career when it happened to me, I thought I was above things like that. Never even realised it was happening until it was too late’.
Her eyes drifted off and looked behind Katherine, beyond her, into the past.
‘I was only able to catch myself at the last possible moment. Stop myself from throwing everything away for a childish fantasy. And even then, the damage was done; I’d set my career back a decade and ruined a perfectly acceptable marriage. It’s only been in the past few years that I’ve risen to any degree of prominence in MCT, and my family will only interact with me on the rare occasions when required to at official functions. The only time I see my favourite granddaughter now is through our paths crossing because of work, but even then, she avoids me whenever possible…’.
Professor Yamato snapped upright as if struck by a whip, returning to her previous self in an instant. The transformation was startling to Katherine, but a part of her understood. Sometimes lingering on the mistakes of the past was too painful to bear and it was better to move on. That was what she was telling herself at least.
‘That is why I believe that what you experienced today will only help you in this field of work. You know what it feels like to be totally vulnerable, to have all the protections of the megacorporation you were born into stripped away. But more than that Katherine, you know how it feels to get that close to the other side, to want to run away with them, to live that wild and carefree life they promise you. And you’ve seen the hurt that comes along with being found out, of having those people discover who you really are. All these things will make you stronger in the long run, make you less susceptible to falling for them again. That is why I want you’.
Although the professor had resumed her strict countenance once more, Katherine could hear the sincerity in her voice. Or at least she assumed she could; it was difficult to take anything at face value when dealing with a woman who was apparently an experienced and high-ranking spy for MCT, one of the most powerful megacorporations on the planet. But the brief flash of vulnerability that she showed made Katherine think that she was being honest with her to an extent.
‘And there are… certain benefits that come par for the course in a career such as the one I am offering you naturally. Being able to complete your degree here alongside getting access to some of the best training MCT can provide for example. Knowing that you will always be able to call in highly trained backup in even the most dangerous of situations. Permission to use state of the art equipment on missions. And a very generous wage with an excellent retirement package. But what I think you will appreciate most Katherine is the work itself. If you accept my offer and join me in MCT’s more… clandestine operations, you will get to infiltrate and influence countless locations and organisations. Each new mission you undertake will be a new mask to wear, a new life to lead. And when the mission ends, so does that life. Until a new mission begins. What you experienced in the Redmond barrens was only a taste of what you would if you accept my offer. And if one day you grow tired of all the endless deceptions and myriad lives you have to lead? Well, that’s what promotions are for. Make no mistake Katherine, I am offering you the chance to repeat what you did in the Redmond barrens as a career. It would be your job and so long as you fulfilled your mission parameters you would be permitted to decide how you operate. And I am offering you the opportunity to do it all with the full backing of MCT. This is everything that you have ever wanted in life; respect from the megacorporation, freedom with security, getting to know that you are better than the people who looked down on you. But this is a one-time offer Katherine, you must agree to it now or leave and suffer the wrath of the school board. So, what will it be?’.
‘W-what happens if I get too… involved in a mission? If I make friends again and can’t bear to say goodbye to them like in Redmond?’.
‘Oh Katherine, there will always be Pedro’s and Kenda’s in the world. But next time you feel that way you will think back to today. On the looks on their faces when they learnt the truth. On how you felt when they looked at you like that. When you all realised that you couldn’t ever abandon the world you were born and raised into. You’ll think back to today and you will remember that walking away is not cruelty, but a kindness… So, what do you say?’.
Katherine knew that she was being manipulated. Everything since she entered the mysterious, yet luxurious room had been carefully choreographed, perhaps even from before she had entered. But the professor was good. Because everything that she had been offered was what she wanted deep down; the safety only a megacorporation could offer, a degree of freedom that most in it would never get, the opportunity to experience cultures, environments and people that she would never be able to otherwise. Professor Yamato had framed it as a choice, but to Katherine there was only one option that could be taken.
She stretched over the table and shook the professors outstretched hand as accepted the end of her old life and the beginning of a new one.
All the while, Professor Yamato kept up her perfectly patented poker face. Things hadn’t gone entirely to plan; she’d learnt a long time ago they never did. The over ambitious gang captain had threatened to ruin her plan, but the shadowrunners had dealt with that quite nicely. They’d even managed to complete their bonus objective of destroying Katherine Yamashita’s relationship with the two people she was closest with in Redmond. That blow had been the final thing to push her into accepting her offer; the knowledge that she had nothing left to go back to either in the barrens or her academic life without her patronage. Yamato was certain that Katherine would develop into a fine operative in time, all she needed was the proper tutelage. And she did pride herself in her ability as a teacher.