Trigger Warning: blood and guts mention, but that part is pretty tame, mostly exposition dialogue.
I told John to wake me up at six in the morning. Is it six yet? It doesn’t feel like six yet.
Do I look like a damn alarm clock?!?
Give me a break, chummer. Haven’t had my soykaf yet.
[He chuckles.] Well, so much for a good night’s sleep. On the plus side, I noticed you haven’t killed me yet, so… that’s good. If you aren’t after me, then what’s your story?
Oh, don’t apologize for scaring the drek out of me, it’s fine. What’s a little heart attack between friends, right?
Tell that to Dresden, he thinks he’s pretty funny. You’re not the first person he’s pulled this one on. Makes for some rough mornings on my end.
[You sigh. It’s too early for this drek.] I’m looking into the death of Sam Watts. Our dear coroner over there seems to think you can help me out.
Sam, eh? Glad somebody cares. We used to drink together every now and then, over at the Union. Decent enough guy. Always in trouble over something or other though…
Sounds about right.
[Jake yells towards the other side of the room.] John! Is this lady cool?
Yeah, she’s on the level. Working for Sam, believe it or not… some sort of dead man’s switch. I though you could help her out. Maybe even stop moping around the shop all day…
Thanks for volunteering me. [He pauses. Might be sizing you up, but it’s hard to tell behind those shades.] Alright then. The name’s Jake. And you are…?
Call me Sombra.
[He winces.] Damn. Maybe I need some soykaf after all. John, could you grab me a cup?
Get your own damn cup! My hands are dirty anyway. Now what’s wrong with this intestine… [You hear a loud squelching sound as Dresden continues his work.]
Thanks John, you’re a real pal. Anyway, there’s a big fat corp bounty on my head. Like I said, my last job didn’t exactly go according to plan. Out in the alley a few Halloweeners got the jump on us. Damn gangers thought they could turn a quick profit off of my head. [Jake smiles, and you get the impression that didn’t work out so well for the gangers.]
Sam stumbled off during the fight, though, and that’s the last I saw of him. Until he turned up here, dead on arrival. Reminds me of my last stay in this place.
You’ve done this before?
It’s a long story. I end up in the morgue more often than the average guy.
Yeah Jake here’s a regular. Should’ve started a rewards card, Jake - a few more visits and you’d get a free night’s stay.
[Jake laughs.] I’ll hold you to that, John. Anyway, they found Sam’s body less than a block away from the Union, missing liver and all.
What d’ya say?
It’s nice to have someone watching your back out there. It’s less nice to end up with a knife in said back.
I get it. Gotta be careful in this trade. I’m not one to go back on a deal though, John can vouch for that. Plus, you know where I’m hiding out, right? Doesn’t leave me a lot of room to sell you out.
You had me at “decent supplies”. Alright, I’m in. Punching gangers is basically community service, anyway.
Great. I’ve been hiding out here ever since that run-in with those Halloweeners. Whiny bunch of gangers, but this stretch of the Barrens is their turf. Hell, I’m surprised you even made it to this morgue in one piece without packing some heat.
I can be discreet when I feel like it.
[He yells over his shoulder.] Very funny Jake. You can sleep in the dumpsters tomorrow.
So, you need a weapon?
Happen to have an SMG in one of those pockets?
Spray and pray? Fair enough. Take this. It’s a little beat up, but it works.
Hey, I don’t diss your fashion choices, so leave my aim alone.
Before we head out, tell me more about these gangers?
Well, they’re one of the nastier gangs in town. Their symbol is a flaming Jack O’Lantern, but you wouldn’t like they version of Trick-or-Treating very much. Around here they’re led by a troll named John Paul. He’s got all the Halloweeners in the Barrens looking for me. We take him out, maybe I can breathe a bit easier.
So, ready for an evening out on the town?
If you’re buying…
Hey, I’ve already provided the party favors!
Hey, mind if I borrow a few of these medkits?
Considering you’ve already pocketed them, I can hardly say no, can I?
Consider them a compensation for giving me a heart attack earlier. Hasta luego, chummer.
Yeah, yeah. [He waves a bloodied glove without looking up from his work.] You kids be good while you’re out there.
Now here’s some Fun Facts which can be interesting if you don’t know Shadowrun:
Jake here is not some random NPC. He was actually the protagonist of the old Shadowrun videgame for SNES. In that game, he wakes up in a morgue (see a recurring theme, yet?) with a headache and his memory wiped out. The plot starts with him trying to puzzle the events back and discovering who wants him dead and why.Shadowrun Returns takes place about 4 years later iirc? Also the SNES game was published in 1993 so seeing Jake again 21 years later and teaming up with him was pretty fucking awesome!
I won’t say much more about it because it doesn’t have a lot of relevance to the plot, but you can watch a good LP of the SNES game here.
So that’s the end of the Fun Fact Corner and of the Dead Man’s Switch chapter!