The van halted to a stop and the ‘runners picked themselves up and went towards the door. The dark-skinned elf in the jumpsuit unzipped it to reveal a surprisingly normal outfit of jeans and a T-shirt underneath. She pulled out a simple dark green cardigan from under her seat and threw that on as well; if Katherine hadn’t seen her before she could have easily mistaken her for just another person off the street in downtown Seattle.

Chromatic remained seated though leading Grin to arch his eyebrow and the other shadowrunner to look at her questioningly.

‘Imma stay in the van and keep an eye on things. Too many of us walkin’ around here’ll look suspicious anyways’.

‘What? Too scared to meet the Johnson and get your pay?’.

Grin said with a smile and a sarcastic tone. The other runner just shrugged and seemed to accept Chromatics reasoning, but Katherine detected something else in Grin’s expression. She had the distinct impression that there was something more going on than they were saying, though she couldn’t work out what it could be. Not that it mattered anyway.

‘I don’t give a frag about her. We already agreed on our price, and I don’t need to be there to pick it up if you’re collecting it. If she wants to see me, she can call a fixer herself’.

Getting to her feet Katherine trudged over to the two shadowrunners accompanying her as she looked down at her feet. They had put a pair of off-white sandals on her feet, so she wasn’t walking around barefooted in the barrens. They looked and felt incredibly cheap, most likely “flats”, clothing that had been purchased from a vending machine.

Bright light from a nearby streetlight made her wince under its sudden glare as the doors to the van swung open, but she could see where she had been taken now. As the ‘runners had claimed they had returned her to U-Dub, it seemed to be getting close to the evening now, maybe around sixish? The sky was a kaleidoscopic mix of oranges, reds and purples, the setting sun filtered through the polluted atmosphere. Jaundiced clouds fleeing towards the horizon taking the threat of acidic rain away with them.

Stepping out of the van and into the campus Katherine breathed the air. It wasn’t fresh, no air in Seattle could be considered clean or untainted by pollution. But it lacked the acidic kick that the air in Redmond had as they were further away from the smog belching factories. There were several tastefully disguised scented air dispensers throughout the campus to help mask the true smell of the air as well. Today the breeze hung heavy with the smell of lavender and violets, almost relaxing were she in any other circumstances.

People wandered through the campus, throngs of students heading for parties or study groups, the occasional lecturer or professor only half paying attention to where they were going as they were engrossed in their commlinks. Everyone was going somewhere focused on their own lives, not paying any heed to the trio exiting the van.

Taking the lead, Grin directed them to the boxy looking building next to the parking lot, a smaller, more run-down affair compared to the rest of the gleaming modern architecture of the University of Washington. The painted walls looked a little duller, the windows a little grimier, and the potted plants by the doors were showing signs of wilting. It would have been the crown jewel of Redmond if it was transplanted there but, in the campus, it slunk into the background, not prominent enough to become an eyesore nor possessing enough character to be seen as quirky. An utterly forgettable building, the textbook definition of unremarkable.

It occurred to Katherine as they walked through the sun-bleached faux wooden doors that she had never entered this building before. She’d seen it in passing, absentmindedly observed the occasional person enter or leave it, but Katherine hadn’t ever had any reason to go to it before. No one else she knew of in campus had any reason to go to it from what she could recall. To her knowledge it was an auxiliary building mainly used by faculty members and staff for additional office space when needed, along with being an overflow storage space for maintenance equipment. Now that she thought of it, it did seem unusual for a building with no apparent defined function to not have been updated and repurposed to fit in with the rest of the well-maintained campus.

Muffled footsteps were the only sound to be heard as Grin navigated the small group through the narrow maze of corridors through the building with surprising ability. Katherine got the impression that this was not the man’s first time in the building despite her never having seen him before on the campus. Of course, as of late she hadn’t been spending as much time on campus so perhaps that was why. She noticed that the other shadowrunner had positioned herself right behind her as well, either to prevent Kay from escaping, to protect her, or more likely both.

The building’s interior was just as shabby as its exterior, with the thin carpet fraying at points and had the occasional stain or well-trodden lump of gum on it, the wallpaper was faded and starting to peel in some corners, and the lighting was an obnoxious dull yellow that occasionally would flicker. With the maze of corridors preventing any natural light from reaching inside the building as well Katherine found herself more and more wanting to get her inevitable punishment over and done with just to be free of the building.

Grin stopped before a door that looked much the same as any other one. It had a discoloured plastic plate on it labelling the room as: MEETING ROOM 119. He took a breath and Katherine felt a degree of tension in the corridor. She wasn’t sure why but the ‘runners seemed to be anxious about something. She couldn’t think of what it could be, they had recovered her safe and unharmed; that was their mission what else could bother them?

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He opened the door and strode in as if there was no tension just before he did. The ‘runner behind Katherine also moved forward slightly, forcing her to enter as well. Stepping into the room Katherine found it to be in stark contrast to the rest of the building. The lighting was slightly dimmed but it was clear to see that the rooms furnishings were all of much higher quality than the rest of the building. It was dominated by a large table of what seemed to be black marble while the floor was covering in a thick, luxurious white carpet unblemished by dirt or stains. The walls and ceiling were a delicate shade of eggshell blue with the lighting to the room originating along a seem where the walls met the ceiling. There were several seats surrounding the rectangular black table, all dark leather, or an extremely realistic facsimile, padded and ergonomically styled. The room radiated wealth and power in a tangible manner.

What grabbed Katherine’s attention in the room though was not its furnishings, but the sole occupant of it. An Asian woman who could be anywhere from sixty to eighty years old, her bone white hair tied in a severe bun, her hard, slate grey eyes staring down anyone who attempted to make eye contact with her.

Professor Yamato from the University of Washingtons psychology department, the woman who had spearheaded the project for the study of the Redmond barrens through infiltration. Katherine had met her a few times before; she had been the one to interview Katherine and accept her application for the project in the first place. When she had interacted with Professor Yamato before though she always appeared to be an ordinary member of the faculty. Now though the professor had a… presence to her that she had never seen before.

Risking a quick look in the astral she could see that the professor wasn’t magically active. The only things that the woman’s aura showed was that she had some minor cybernetics installed in her head, most likely a datajack, and that she was filled with a sense of profound certainty and cold confidence. Switching back to her normal vison Kay noticed that Professor Yamato, who normally dressed in a generic blouse and long skirt combination everyday was wearing a jet-black suit with edges sharp enough to cut glass. Katherine wasn’t an expert on fashion, but she was certain that the outfit the professor was wearing was extremely expensive.

Professor Yamato gracefully rose from the seat she was in and gave everyone a long penetrating stare. There was no greeting, no bow of respect from her. Only the inescapable impression that she was a woman not to be trifled with.

‘Is there a reason that the rest of your team is not present?’.

Her question was directed at the ‘runner called Grin as she bore down on him with her steely gaze. Katherine had found the professor somewhat bland in their interactions in the past, a pleasant but forgettable person. Now though Professors Yamato’s once quiet and reserved voice was icy cold and commanding. It sent a chill down her spine. The woman’s entire demeanour had changed from what Katherine understood it to be in the past and found her new, or perhaps real character to be significantly more intimidating.

‘Didn’t want to leave the van unattended. Never know if someone’ll try and steal your ride’.

‘I am certain that the campus security would not allow such a thing to occur’.

The voice was as hard and cold as iron, diametrically opposed to Grin’s own casual, flippant tone.

‘Probably. But old habits y’know? And anyways, we figured it’d be easier to slip in and outta here in a smaller group. Don’t want to attract any unwanted attention now, would we?’.

Grin was smiling, trying to make the conversation as friendly as he could. The professor showed no sign of warming to his charm though and didn’t appear to buy his explanation. For the briefest of moments Katherine thought she saw a hint on an emotion on her face. Sadness? Annoyance? Disappointment? She couldn’t tell, it was gone as fast as it appeared.

Bringing out a glossy gold credstick out of her pocket the professor held it before Grin. He took it eagerly and swiftly brought out his commlink to confirm the amount it held.

‘Do you not trust me to pay you our agreed upon amount?’.

His smirk faltered for the first time and Grin appeared to be authentically concerned that he had insulted Professor Yamato. The other shadowrunner tensed up as well and for a second Katherine didn’t know if they would make a break for the door or draw guns.

But Grin regained his composure and stood tall before the professor, acting as if he hadn’t been struck dumb with fear. As soon as Grin regained his smile the other ‘runner became less tense. Katherine noticed ‘runner in the cardigan’s hand had been reaching behind her back but was now returning to her side, empty.

‘Just wantin’ to see how much of a bonus we got. You said that would be based off’ve how well we accomplished the secondary task. I think we did pretty good, just wanted to see if you agreed’.

The professor’s grey eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms, but she took no action that could be considered aggressive.

‘… Yes. You successfully recovered Miss Yamashita without any harm coming to her and completed the secondary objective as well as could be expected. You will find your bonus on the credstick. I trust it will be satisfactory to you. In addition, I will contact our mutual acquaintance to inform him of my satisfaction with your performance and my willingness to commission you in the future. You will find that he recognises my excellent judgement and your reputation in your… community, should rise accordingly. Now, is there anything else?’.

‘Nope. Nothing at all. You want us to escort the girl back to her place? We know where it is’.

‘Thank you but no. I would like to have a discussion with her’.

‘Well then Ms Johnson, it’s been a pleasure’.

‘Yes. I am sure. You may go now’.

Without so much as a glance towards Katherine the two shadowrunners left the room as quickly as they could without appearing to be rude. Now it was just her and Professor Yamato.

Katherine felt worried now.

She had been expecting to be disciplined, possibly even expelled from U-Dub but the strange room she was in, Professor Yamato’s drastic shift in character, the fearful respect she commanded from the shadowrunners. Katherine could tell that things were going far beyond her expectations, and she didn’t know what would happen to her now.

‘Miss Yamashita, please take a seat’.

It was worded like an offer but with the professors tone it was clearly an order to her. She obeyed as the professor sat down on the chair on the opposite side of the table. Katherine’s mouth felt dry, and she could feel the palms of her hands starting to sweat. She had already been kidnapped, put in a situation she thought would lead her to a fate worse than death, and when she thought she was free she lost the two people she was closest to. Katherine had thought that the worst of the day’s events were over while she was sitting in the van with the shadowrunners. But now, alone in a strange room with an authority figure acting equally strange? She felt that there was a real chance that her tribulations were far from over.