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already put out. Corporate Johnsons weren't well known for paying for incomplete or failed shadowruns. Hammer rested a hand on the back of Val's seat and looked out at the Mandala facility. "Hit the LZ," he said. "We're going in."

18

On February 8, 2029, computer systems across the world were attacked, apparently at random, by a virus program of unprecedented power. Systems crashed, their data wiped clean and even their hardware burned out by the effects of the virus. As the killer program spread, governments toppled and the world economy neared collapse. Only the Echo Mirage Project sponsored by the United States government was able to produce data-processing specialists able to directly engage the virus in cyberspace. By 2031, the last known concentrations of the virus code were purged from the world telecommunications system and only seven of the original thirty-two members of Echo Mirage lived to tell of it. -From How It Came to Pass: Events That Shaped the Sixth World, by Armand D'Angelo, Virtual Press, Seattle, 2044 Hammer had the door of the chopper open even before Val put the bird on the ground. As soon as the helicopter settled onto the ferrocrete of the Mandala parking area with a gentle bump, Hammer and the rest of his team were hitting the ground and moving low away from the backwash of the rotors as they kicked up dirt and leaves from the immaculate black surface. The facility was too small to have a helipad of its own, but the empty parking lot made a perfect landing zone for a pilot of Val's skill. The five men loped across the open ground of the parking area, senses alert for any signs of a trap or that their

approach was noticed in any way by someone in the darkened building. There was nothing, no sign of movement or light from the windows, no chatter from hidden sentry guns or hunting cries from any magical beasts that might be guarding the facility. The place seemed to be as Hammer's co

The mage nodded and sank into a lotus position on the floor with practiced ease. His breathing slowed and he gave a deep sigh. Hammer imagined he could see Geist's spirit leaving his body with his breath as the mage descended into a deep trance. His astral form would be able to recon the place more quickly than any flesh and blood person and report back. The rest of the team would keep an eye on Geist's meat body while he was "away." Hammer glanced up from the still form of the mage just as a pair of security guards appeared around the corner. There was a split-second where the guards were surprised at the sight of the ru

armored uniform. The armor absorbed most of the impact, but there was still more than enough force to crush the man's trachea and send him flopping onto the floor, dropping his gun and clutching at his neck before he passed out. The other guard tried weakly to get back to his feet, but Tojo was on top of him before he had the chance. A snap-kick to the guard's head and he was down for the count. Two guards down in just seconds. The shadowru