Together, he and Silverblade astrally projected onto the metaplanes, the distant astral dwelling places of the spirits, home of Talon's familiar Aracos. The astral journey to the metaplane of air to retrieve Aracos from his temporary banishment seemed like a short jaunt to Talon. But in the physical world, he awoke to discover that the remainder of the night and part of the next day had passed, about eight hours while they were in a trance state, their spirits journeying. He groaned and stretched, feeling his joints pop, then got slowly to his feet. He saw Silverblade stir and open his eyes before pulling his legs under him and standing gracefully. There was a shimmer in the air and Aracos materialized in the form of a gray-furred wolf, which turned and growled at the elf.
"I don't think he likes me." Silverblade said.
"Can't imagine why." Talon replied. He put a hand on Aracos' fur to soothe him.
"Just let me take one bite out of him, boss." the spirit spoke in Talon's mind.
"Sorry, chummer, but we need him for now." Talon answered. "He's our new Johnson."
A feeling of disgust came back at him. Talon returned a mental shrug, as if to say "what can we do about it?"
"I assume you can keep him under control?" Silverblade said, with a nod toward Aracos.
"Don't worry." Talon said. "He only goes after the people I tell him to. Shall we rejoin the others?"
"After you." Speren said with a smile and a courtly bow.
Talon walked out of the room and let Aracos watch his back.
* * *
"About time you two got back." Boom said when they returned to the main room. In the hours that had gone by, Talon's team had transformed the place into a base of operations. Trouble sat in one of the padded chairs, her deck cradled in her lap, tapping out a steady rhythm on the keys. A cable was plugged into her datajack, and her head was lolled back, not unlike Talon's own journeying trance, although her journey took her into the depths of the German Matrix. Val was working on a drone that was partly broken down on a blanket spread out on the floor. Boom and Hammer were checking the team's weapons and had the trideo unit in one corner of the room tuned to a twenty-four-hour news channel.
"Did we miss anything?" Talon said.
"Not too much." Boom said, gesturing toward the trideo with the gun he was cleaning. "There hasn't been much about Lofwyr on the news. Saeder-Krupp put out a press release this morning that the dragon was involved in some high-level meetings and that he'd canceled a meeting with some skags from the megaplex government, but that's it, no mention of a disturbance, much less an attack. And no trid footage of the dragon, of course. Trouble's been digging almost since you tranced out. She's only jacked out once to have something to eat. She said she had some leads, but she wanted to wait to see where they went. She'll give everyone an update at once."
"No problems?"
"Not a one. Whatever else you can say about the Tir, they've got a nice safe house." Boom said. Silverblade pointedly ignored the left-handed compliment. "No sign of Saeder-Krupp security of any kind. Of course, I can't say for sure when it comes to spooks and mages checking things out."
Silverblade closed his deep green eyes for a moment, then opened them again.
"There are no disruptions of the building's wards and protections." he said. "No signs of any intrusion. If there had been any while we quested, I would have known of it. We remain undiscovered, for the time being."
"Good." Talon said. "Now, is there anything to eat in this place?"
After he'd polished off a couple of sandwiches put together from the house's well-stocked larder, he began to feel much more grounded. He was nearly always hungry after any long magical operation. Such things took a lot of energy, and food helped to replenish him and clear away the heady after-effects of using a lot of magic. As he finished up, he heard Trouble stir as she tapped a few final keys on her cyberdeck, logging off the Matrix with a flourish.
"Evening, boys." she said to Talon and Silverblade, looking up from her chair with a grin. "Looks like you chummers are just in time. I think I've got us a lead on who might be setting themselves up as dragonslayers."
16
"I've got good news and bad news." Trouble said to the rest of the team gathered around the room, all intently focused on her and the information she'd gathered.
"Good news first." Talon said.
"The good news is Lofwyr isn't dead. First thing I did was crack into Saeder-Krupp—not an easy task since their systems are seriously on alert, but I know a few back doors here and there." Talon doubted it was anywhere near as easy as Trouble made it sound, but she definitely knew her business. Trouble was one of the best deckers Talon had ever worked with, and that was saying a lot.
"What did you get?" he asked.
"It seems that Lofwyr managed to survive whatever the crystal tried to do to him, so we're not looking at another dead dragon."
"Great. What's the bad news?" Talon asked.
"The bad news is that Lofwyr isn't dead, but he hasn't regained consciousness since the crystal attacked him like you described. Saeder-Krupp has called in all sorts of paranaturalists and parabiologists for top-secret meetings and examinations, very hush-hush. Their preliminary findings are that the dragon is in some kind of coma. His life signs are stable, but at a very low level, and he's completely unresponsive. Of course, the findings are only preliminary, and nobody really knows a whole lot about dragon biology. A lot of it is probably guesswork on their part."
"So Lofwyr could bloody well be brain-dead, for all we know." Boom said.
"Right." Trouble said. "Which could be almost as bad, if not worse, than him being dead-dead. Rumors have already started up on the 'trix that something happened at the S-K arcology last night, but nobody knows what. Saeder-Krupp is keeping a tight lid on the whole thing: no leaks to the media, top security on the arcology. Still, some people have twigged onto the fact that something happened out at the arcology, but, of course, nobody's talking. Speculation is starting to run rampant. I already saw some posts from people saying they think whatever is happening is somehow connected to Dunkelzahn's assassination, that somebody may be gunning for great dragons."
"What about Dr. Goronay?" Silverblade inquired. It was the first time he'd spoken during the briefing, and Trouble glanced over at Talon for a second before answering. The elf was a stranger among them, but Trouble didn't allow that to affect her professionalism.
"It looks like Talon may be right. S-K had an autopsy done on what was left of Goronay after Lofwyr flamed him. From the sound of it, there wasn't a whole hell of a lot left, but they did find some of his cyberware, along with evidence that he may have been slotting BTLs, or something similar."
"Which suggests that he was conditioned by someone else somehow." Talon said.
"Right. The only question is who?" Boom said.
"That's where things start to get interesting." Trouble told him. "I figured that somebody must have hooked Goronay on BTLs, because none of the psych profile we dug up indicated any addictive behavior patterns or likelihood of getting involved in that drek. It also doesn't explain the stuff Talon and Boom said he was spouting when he went off. Somebody must have programmed that into him at some point.
"So I did some more digging, using BTL-based mind programming as my basic search parameter, looking for someone who might have had an ax to grind with Lofwyr, Saeder-Krupp, or even Goronay himself. Guess what I came up with."
"Runenthing." Talon said.
"Almost, but not quite. I found a file on the Shadowland boards about an organization that calls itself Winternight. Ever heard of them?"
"Yeah, I read that file." Talon said. "They're some sort of terrorist group, aren't they? Obsessed with bringing about the Norse 'twilight of the gods' so they can end this nasty world and start another one, right?"
"Got it in one." Trouble said. "Not only that but, according to the file, Winternight uses specialized BTL chips to brainwash people into working for them. The chips are completely addictive, and
carry encoded subliminal programming instructions."
"The twilight of the gods." Boom said. "That's what Goronay said before Lofwyr cracked him. He said 'The judgment of the gods is upon you, serpent. The twilight of the gods is upon us all.' "
"You're right!" Talon said. He was always impressed by Boom's memory. "That fits with Winternight's M.O. exactly."
"It gets better." Trouble went on. "Seems Winternight is heavily into Norse/Germanic mythology and imagery, not unlike der Runenthing. Apparently, there are suspected ties between Winternight and various German terrorist organizations, like Alt Welt, which oppose Saeder-Krupp's plans for European Restoration and support Europa Dividus."
"Brackhaus said that S-K had pegged Zoller as a member of Alt Welt." Talon said. "What if he was right? What if Zoller does have ties with Alt Welt in some way?"
"No." Silverblade broke in. "That is unlikely. Alt Welt does not even truly exist. The organization is a blind, a front organization used by different terrorist groups to cover their true activities in Europe and elsewhere. The most recent intelligence reports suggested that Alt Welt was being used as a cover for der Nachtmachen some years ago, but that organization is also defunct. A covert operation ended their involvement in European politics."
"Maybe somebody is still using Alt Welt as a front," Val put in, "somebody like this Winternight."
"Zoller is high up in Runenthing," Talon mused, "and S-K suspected him of involvement with Alt Welt, so it sounds like he's our link. Runenthing is strongly nationalistic and opposed to Saeder-Krupp's restoration plans. They're suspected of links to terrorist activities, and it was Zoller that Goronay came to with the crystal. We suspected Goronay was looking to sell it, but what if he was simply programmed to bring it to Zoller as part of the whole plan?"
"But then why did Zoller try to sell it himself?" Val asked.
"He set up the auction," Silverblade said, "but he did not actually try to sell the artifact. Zoller must have known that the artifact had some value to Lofwyr, that it would draw his personal attention. He must have also known that Lofwyr would not allow it to go missing, that he would arrange for agents—such as yourselves—to recover it. You did say that recovering Goronay and the crystal didn't seem as difficult as you originally thought."
"That's true," Talon mused, "but do you really think Zoller would go to such lengths, take those kind of risks, just to get at Lofwyr?"
"To overcome a dragon, you must think like a dragon, in mazes and plots." Silverblade returned.
"Maybe," Boom broke in, "but that doesn't explain everything. How the frag did Zoller know to co-opt Goronay in the first place? How did he know that the crystal would even be there? And, more importantly, how could he have put a spell on it capable of taking down Lofwyr?"
"That's a good point." Talon said. "I've never seen anything like the magic that attacked Lofwyr. It seemed to go right through his defenses. There's no way Zoller, or even his whole circle of magicians, could have cooked up a spell that powerful."
"Unless they have access to magical secrets unknown to you, alley runner." Silverblade said with a trace of smugness.
"If you want to compare wand-size, long ears, we can do it some other time." Talon retorted. "I know what I'm talking about, and I'm saying that I don't think the crystal's magic, whatever it is, came from Zoller. Still, I agree that Zoller and his group are our best possible lead. I think we should follow up on that. Trouble, why don't you and Val put Zoller under surveillance again. Find out whatever you can. If this really is some plan of his, then he should be following up on it, one way or another. Silverblade and I can take some time to look over the crystal and see if there's anything to be learned from it. Boom, you and Hammer . . ."
"I know, I know." the troll said. "We'll hold down the fort and check into the supplies for dinner."
Talon grinned. "Good man. Let's get to work, people."
* * *
The silvery sprite glided through the electron world of the Matrix like quicksilver, skating along datalines toward her destination at the speed of light. The computer system Heinrich Zoller used for his personal affairs wasn't anywhere near the league of the high-tech corporate machines Trouble was used to dealing with, but it was still the cutting edge in personal computer systems, which included defensive programs. If Talon was right, and Zoller was tied in with the whole mess in some way, then the fairly light security programs she encountered the first time in could have been camouflage for more sophisticated intrusion countermeasures.
She approached the Matrix icon representing Zoller's personal system. It looked like a dolmen, a standing stone, the sort you might see in dozens of places all over Europe. This particular "stone" stood roughly head-height and was carved with intricate patterns of Nordic runes. Trouble didn't know very much about runes, but she knew plenty about computer encryption systems. The runes represented an encryption lock-out on Zoller's system. She needed a password to get by it.
Fortunately, Trouble had a piece of software for just such a situation. She pulled a magnifying lens out of thin air and used it to examine the runes on the dolmen. As she peered through the glass, her program began invisibly searching for possible password combinations. In the dark ages of computing tech—back in the late twentieth century—such a search could have taken hours, but Trouble's cyberdeck was as far ahead of those clumsy machines as they were ahead of the abacus. Light pulsed in the optical circuitry of the deck, the program executed, and the runes began to resolve themselves into a recognizable pattern. Trouble input the password, and the "stone" split open to reveal a doorway inside.
She passed through into the system itself. The dolmen was far larger inside than it appeared, containing an entire large room that represented Zoller's computer system. The room was decorated in the same relentless Nordic motif as the dolmen, looking like an ancient meadhall. Dull, duller, dullest, Trouble thought as she looked around. She'd been inside Zoller's system once before, when she'd put her spybot frame in place, but this time the system was much more active, and much better protected. A large, black-furred wolf slept curled up near the fireplace in the hall. It wore a spiked iron collar and looked large enough to tear Trouble in half. Definitely some kind of protective ice. She'd have to be careful.
Trouble called up the system's activity log. She wanted to see what Zoller had been up to. He didn't use the system much. No surprise there. Members of der Runenthing—and Winternight, she recalled— didn't overly trust the Matrix or computer technology in general. They believed such things weakened those who used them, that the illusions created by the Matrix were a trick to lure honest folk into lives as sickly couch potatoes. In some ways, Trouble supposed they were right. Plenty of people went into the Matrix and preferred never to come out, living virtual lives in a place "better" than the harsh and dirty reality they'd left behind. She knew plenty of deckers like that, chummers who hadn't seen sunlight literally in years.
Still, as a modern businessman, Zoller couldn't entirely avoid the "evils" of the Matrix. All telecommunications went through the world computer grid and, as a magical consultant, Zoller needed to be available for his clients. His home system contained some very nice personal-assistant software that managed Zoller's calls and provided potential clients with information about his various services. It was the program that most interested Trouble. Its logs and databanks were represented by the collection of books and scrolls stacked up on one table in the virtual meadhall. Trouble headed toward them, tiptoeing past the sleeping wolf. There she drew a slim silver wand and waved it over the table, sprinkling the papers with glittering electron fairy dust. Almost immediately, one of the scrolls began to glow faintly.
It was the most recent file. Trouble tapped it gently with her wand and it floated up into the air, where it unfurled for her to view it: a record of an email Zoller had received not long after Talon and Boom paid their fateful visit to Saeder-Krupp. It read: "Stage Two accomplished. Meet at the train yard for Stage Three. J."
She had just begun sorting through the trash bin when there was a snort from the wolfhound by the fire. Frag! Trouble thought. She'd been in the system too long. The intrusion countermeasure had detected her. With startling suddenness, the black wolf sprang to life. It suddenly split in two, and there were two wolves where there was only one before. One howled and rushed off, nose to the ground. It was backtracking Trouble's data trail, trying to figure out the location from which she was decking. Once found, it would report that information to the system, and possibly trigger other IC. The other wolf snarled and leapt at the intruder, clearly trying to keep Trouble busy until the trace program could complete its work.
Fortunately, Trouble came into the system prepared. Her spritely form was clad in intricate silver armor that deflected the attack of the second wolf. She produced a satchel out of thin air and opened it to reveal a white rabbit, its pink nose twitching, eyes bright (Trouble was particularly proud of that little bit of programming).
"Okay, Bugs," she said, "go get 'im boy!" She tossed the rabbit onto the floor and it took off in a white blur, past the wolf tracking her trail. The rabbit stopped, practically in front of the wolf, and wiggled its cottony tail, as if taunting the wolf to catch it. The wolf left off following Trouble's trail and raced after the rabbit, which led it off into the depths of the Matrix. By the time the trace program's diagnostics figured out it was chasing after shadows, Trouble would be long gone.
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