Shadowboxer Read Online Free PDF

boss!” he gushed and closed the door.
    Pirates? Gimmeabreak. Two Bears shook his head as he wracked his brains. Where to try next? Bad Billie? Nah, the mage was out of town on family biz. Some tragedy in what was left of Chicago. And Dogface was on a run until further notice. Maybe Blackjack. The norm owed him a favor or three. He punched the runner’s code into the telecom, but all he got was a recorded message that Blackjack was gone fishing and would return in a few days. So, he was on a run, too, eh? Local biz was booming.
    Blast, who else then? Unfortunately, nobody came to mind. The only other thing he could think of was a long shot. But what the frag, he had to start somewhere, didn’t he? He tapped in a code and the screensaver changed to a view of a sick-looking norm wearing a stiff suit, ridiculous pince nez glasses from before the Before balanced on the end of his nose, and the haggard expression worn by all city employees. It was probably issued weekly along with their measly stipend and crappy parking spots.
    “Public library,” sniffed the norm, forcing a polite smile. He applied a handkerchief to his nose and did a good imitation of an elephant. “How may I help you?” he continued, stuffing the nasal rag into his pocket.
    The sight was disgusting, but Two Bears stayed chill. “O-hio, sir. Sorry to see you’re under the weather. I’m trying to track down a mention of the name, or place, don’t know which for sure. ... IronHell?”
    A quizzical expression. “From Dante’s Inferno ?"
    “Dunno, chummer. You tell me.”
    The librarian gave a silent sigh and started typing on a keyboard off screen. “Checking, sir. Just a moment, please, sir.” It took longer than a few moments, and the results were all negative. Apparently the word couldn’t be found in something called Don Tay’s Inferno or any other famous books involving hell.
    “Metallurgy?” guessed Two Bears, taking a shot in the wild dark.
    Blinking and sniffling, the librarian accepted the odious task. “Certainly, sir.” After another longer wait, the clerk returned with equal negative results. Nothing in basic metallurgy, history of, modern advances in, biographies of people involved in, Mrs . Brown’s Dictionary of Industrial Scientific Slang —contemporary and antiquarian editions.
    There was such a thing? Two Bears made a mental note to get a copy of the chip. Might be handy in dealing with corps to parlay in their own lingo.
    “Can I be of any further help?” sniffled the man wearily.
    If you’d been of help, then I’d be gone, hoophead. “Yes, please. Would you be so kind as to transfer me to the reference department?”
    A cough and a sneeze. “Certainly, sir. Just a moment please.”
    “Reference department, Ms. Sour speaking.”
    Two Bears perked up at her appearance. The image shown was anything but sour, and he leered at the tasty lady dwarf displayed on his telecom screen. A little gray at the temples meant nothing with sparkling eyes like those. Bodies got old, but never the eyes. Faintly, she reminded him of Melinda, and that thought cooled his ardor instantly.
    “ Buenos di'as senorita ,” he said, trying to please. “I am seeking any data on the word, name, or phrase IronHell. Can you assist me, please?”
    “Certainly,” she replied warmly, smiling shyly in return. “One moment.” She too put him on hold, but was back almost immediately.
    “Sorry, sir,” she reported. “I tried a global search on the library master grid, the public net, and worldwide Matrix, even used the 9.5 Hunter program, but can find no mention of the word anywhere. I do apologize.”
    He chewed that over for a tick. Hey, if it was easy, then the Johnson wouldn’t have hired him in the first place.
    “Is there anything else, sir?”
    Unable to come up with another suggestion, Two Bears thanked her profusely to earn a few brownie points for when he asked her out later, then killed the telecom.
    Blast. No go, not on the public