He looked down into her amber eyes. “That’s part of the plan. But I have to make sure it’s not marked or got some sort of tracer on it. So, waiting a little while might be a good idea.”
“I could transfer it into a drone.” Silk smiled. “Send it into storage somewhere. No one’ll think to look in there. And stop—hear me out,” she said, putting a finger on his lips. “If I’m right and your name does show up, hiding it anywhere within your sphere of family would be dangerous.” Her eyes widened. “Oh shit….tell me you didn’t put it there.”
“I told Ponsu to hide it. I didn’t tell her to specifically hide it there, but I’m pretty sure that’s where she put it.”
Silk pulled back. “In your grandmother’s host. Kaz—”
“Wait, wait. I’m not sure, okay? And it’s encrypted so tight now that only Ponsu can open it.”
But his partner wasn’t having any of it. She pulled away and he watched her backside as she left the bathroom. He followed her and shrugged on his black KE suit jacket as she put on clothes as well. “Silk…don’t be mad.”
“I’m not mad. You just don’t get it, do you?” She turned an angry face on him, and he stopped what he was doing. “Kazuma…our people are dying out there. They’re having their brains cut open, and no one gives a damn. Is this all a game to you?”
“No it’s not a game—”
“Then wake up already!” She pulled her vest on and zipped it up. “Hitori is missing—really missing this time—and you’re fooling yourself if you think you’re going to find her alive. I can only tell you that so many times.”
“But I would know if she were dead, Silk. We’re twins. I would know.”
She looked at him for a while, and her expression became sad. “How many times have you submerged, Kazuma?”
“Three.”
“You need two more. You’re right about the data, that it needs to be left alone for now. But it’s not safe where it’s at. Tell Ponsu to meet me in your grandmother’s host. Do I still have admin access?”
He nodded.
“Good. Then I’m going to hide it in a better place. Then you and I are taking a long weekend with friends, and you’re going to submerge again.”
Kazuma frowned as he turned to the wall facing his bed. He touched the surface, connected with the apartment’s AR, and the wall broke into three panels. The one in front of him opened and he stepped inside to look for pants.
“Kazuma?” Silk followed him inside and watched as he picked a pair from the dozens hanging on the wall. “Is it that thing again? Is that why you’re afraid? Why you don’t want to?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Don’t shut me out. I’m listening.”
Anger flared, and he kicked a pile of clothing aside before he faced her. “No, you’re not. No one’s listening to me. No one’s paying attention to it. Not even on the boards. What’s the use of those things if no one’s looking?”
“Wait, calm down,” Silk reached out and put her hand on his arm. “You’re talking about that shadow again, aren’t you?”
“It’s not just the shadow.” He put a hand to his forehead and stared at the row of pressed shirts and suit jackets. “It’s a pressure. A weight. It’s exactly what Dirk said it would be.” He chewed on his lower lip. “It scared the shit out of him, Silk. And when I feel it…it scares me like that, too. But it’s there, just on the edge of the resonance. Like it’s…waiting.”
She rolled her eyes. “Dirk Montgomery is a recluse and an old man. I wouldn’t take much stock in what he says about the Matrix. He’s not exactly wired.”
“He was right about the information. It was right where he said it was. And I saw the word Caliban. It’s the first time I’ve seen that word in relation to Horizon since Vegas. It’s important. And we both think it’s got something to do with whatever’s out there.”
“In the Resonance Realms.”
“Yeah, and I told you and I told Gomer, but no one paid attention. I’ve had nightmares about a man-eating tree…and black. Everything goes black. And things are twisted and bent and covered in…evil and rot.” He had to admit that sounded a bit out there when he said it out loud. But it didn’t stop the dreams, or the images of Los Angeles being swallowed whole, and the laughter. The incessant laughter that followed him out of sleep.
“Hip did say you might have experienced a touch of dissonance when you left the resonance stream. That is a possibility, since both dissonant and resonant beings—us included—use them.”
Kazuma lowered his hand and looked at her. “That’s true. I just…with Hitori missing, and now this thing in the realms that I can’t shake…I’m on edge.”
“Get dressed. I’ll make some breakfast.” She went up on her toes and kissed his cheek. “Always remember to fuel the meat.”
He watched her leave the closet before he went to the waist high chest to his right. He opened the top drawer and retrieved the KE pin there, the one that acted as his ID and his SIN, and clipped it onto his lapel.
No matter what the other technomancers thought or believed or wanted to see…there was something there. Something in the resonance.
And it was dark…
Very dark.
Chapter Ten
Horizon Home Office
Los Angeles
Charis was at the front doors of the Horizon Building, drinks in hand, when Wagner stepped through. He took one of them, sipped it. Perfect, as always. She ran through the day’s calendar as usual. Even though he was there several hours early, Charis was still efficient.
“—and there’s someone in your office.”
Something in her tone caused him to stop just outside his office door. “Who?”
She lowered her shoulders and sneered. “It’s him.”
“Him?”
The doors opened at that moment, and the all-too-familiar visage of the dwarf, Mr. Powell, poked out. He looked from left to right, and then up at Wagner, his expression breaking into a garish smile. “Ah—Mr. Wagner! So nice of you to see me so early. Please come in—we have so much to discuss.”
Before Wagner could complain the dwarf was gone, the door to his office closing.
He whirled and glared at Charis. “No one is ever supposed to be in my office.”
“I know that, sir. But he was already in there when I arrived. Him and that—wolf.”
Wagner frowned. “He brought that dog?”
Charis looked at him under lowered brows, her hand on her hip. “If that’s a dog, I’m an ork. That creature is a wolf. And it’s a damned scary one.”
Shaking his head, Wagner looked at the clock in the upper right side of his shades, the company’s AR always active once he walked through the doors. “Just page me in a half-hour. Do you have that work order? The one the Knight Errant employee had?”
She grimaced. “I requested it. But he—” She pointed at the door. “—intercepted it.”
“Fine, fine.” He waved at her to go, and then stepped into his office. He’d half expected to see Powell in his chair behind his desk. But the interloper was in the guest chair, sitting patiently, the dog—wolf—sitting resolutely by his side.
Wagner set his briefcase by his desk and removed his suit jacket before settling into his chair. With controlled impatience, he leaned forward and interlaced his fingers as he placed them on the desktop. “Mr. Powell, what can I do for you?”
Powell pursed his lips. “Do you know what I do, Wagner?”
Wagner shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“I procure…assets.”
Wagner leaned his head to his right. “Assets?”
“Yes.” The dwarf smiled. “I work for a group of entities who seek and use…individuals with special abilities.”
The wolf made a noise—almost a small woof.
Wagner sighed. “Ah, I see. You’re looking for technomancers. Mr. Powell, you’ve come to the wrong office. I’m afraid I don’t have the information you seek.”
Powell
jumped down off the chair and put his hands behind his back. The wolf stayed put—watching Wagner. Powell was just over a meter tall—with short, cropped red hair and a thin beard that outlined a strong jaw. His skin was olive, and he was perfectly proportioned in every way. To Wagner he looked like a small human—except for the thick, pointed ears. “Late last night—or early this morning—an Annex owned by Horizon and scheduled for demolition tomorrow was broken into. Three bodies were found inside, but according to the intel I have, nothing was taken.”
There was nothing stopping the quicker beat of Wagner’s heart in his chest. He had thought Powell little more than a nuisance. But there was something here that just became very dangerous. Not to mention the almost intelligent light in the wolf’s eyes as he watched both Wagner and Powell unnerved him. “The work order your assistant retrieved—at your behest—says that a Knight Errant employee was scheduled to double-check the erasure of an off-grid host within the building. Supposedly, this was a redundant system—something the corp used for archiving and encrypting. I believe that was the purpose for the Annex in the first place. It was shut down after the Vegas incident, and the hosts removed. All except three. From what little information I’ve been able to access, the remaining hosts were empty.”
“I’m sorry—I’m not following you.”
“Oh, I believe you are, Mr. Wagner.” He started to pace very slowly, and then stopped next to the wolf. “This is Hyde. Hyde—please say hello to Mr. Wagner.”
The wolf dipped his head in what Wagner could only assume was a bow. “Powell—”
But Powell turned and walked to stand in front of the desk. “Hyde is a special creature, Mr. Wagner. He is a technomancer.”
The laugh escaped his lips before he could stop it. Wagner shook his head as he held out his hands. “I’m sorry—but did you just tell me this animal is a technomancer?”
“Yes. I did. This is no laughing matter, sir. technocritters—as they are called—revealed themselves a few years ago. My employer caught many of them—as one technocritter can sense another—and trained them. Trained them to hunt and identify others of their kind. They can no longer hide, Mr. Wagner. And Hyde,” he glanced back at the wolf. “Can sense the more powerful ones. The…special ones.”
Frowning, Wagner watched the wolf. “Special ones?” He had no idea where this line of discussion was going, so he made sure Charis was listening to the conversation as well.
Powell strolled back to the wolf. He scratched the animal affectionately behind the ears. “If there is one thing research has shown us so far, it’s that no two technomancers are alike. They all have different specialities, abilities, strengths—as do we all.” He pursed his lips. “Do you know how they increase their power, Wagner?”
Wagner leaned forward. “Can you just spell it out in plain English, Powell? Why are you in my office, going through my things?”
The dwarf smiled. “They submerge into Resonance, Mr. Wagner,” he continued, as if Wagner had never interrupted him. “They develop abilities they call Echoes. One of these abilities is to connect with a host with no signal.” He smiled. “Much like the host in your Annex.”
Powell moved to a small bag on the floor by the door Wagner hadn’t noticed until now. He retrieved something from the bag, crossed the room, and set it on Wagner’s table.
“It’s a commlink.”
“It is.” Powell smiled. “Knight Errant standard issue. Factory default.”
Wagner lowered his shoulders. “Powell—”
“Think about it. If a Knight Errant tech was scheduled to double-check that host before the building was demolished, doesn’t it stand to reason the tech would be outfitted with Knight Errant’s best? This commlink should be loaded with apps. The memory should be full of upgrades. Alas—” Powell pushed at it. “There is nothing there. This is—as one would say—straight out of the box.”
Wagner glanced at the device more closely. “You’re saying this is the commlink the KE tech was using?”
“Yes. It was found near the body, along with boot prints and a lot of smeared blood. No real discernible fingerprints, but blood can be worked with.” Powell put his hand on the commlink and fixed Wagner with a serious look. “Technomancers use these as a means to hide, Mr. Wagner. You have one of these visible when you access your AR or VR, and no one thinks anything of it.”
Wagner finally took the commlink and looked at it. “Whose is it? I’m sure they register serial numbers to their employers?”
“This one isn’t registered. It’s not in the KE database. Now, let’s go back to something very important I just told you.” He stepped back and laced his fingers together. “The skin link. The ability to connect with a host. If a technomancer were to physically touch that host, they could spoof an ID and enter it and have this commlink visible so as to not look suspicious.”
“Please, Mr. Powell. No one can hack with a commlink anymore.”
“Yes. I know. He would need a deck. A technomancer doesn’t even need that. But that’s not where I want to direct you. A man hacks an abandoned host. So, what I have to know is—” Powell focused on Wagner’s face with a frown. “Why?”
“Why?”
“Why? It’s a dead host. There’s nothing on it but the most basic OS, or so the Knight Errant manifest reported. So, why would anyone break into that Annex and hack that host?”
Wagner did not like where this conversation was going. “Mr. Powell, no one said anything about that host being hacked—”
“Of course they didn’t.” The dwarf smiled. “Because your friend in the PCC police didn’t report it. Then again, how would she know? She and her group of armed thugs wouldn’t have looked past the three dead bodies.”
How does he know this? Wagner made a mental note to discuss his office’s security with Charis. “Mr. Powell—answer this question. If this Annex has been secured since the break-in, how is it you have this information before I arrived for work? I only received word Knight Errant is looking into the building’s security when I woke—and even they haven’t established that the host was compromised.”
Powell moved to the desk and retrieved the commlink. He spoke as he dropped it to the bag by the door and returned. “Mr. Wagner—you seem more interested in my being well informed than in the possibility that a technomancer hacked your host.”
“Because the only proof you’ve shown me that a technomancer hacked a host is a factory default commlink. He probably had a deck. All you have is speculation.” This little freak was getting on his last nerve. “We’ve already established this. There was nothing on the host. Now, if there isn’t anything else, this pointless meeting is over.”
But Powell didn’t move. Neither did his wolf.
Wagner sighed and sat back. After a few minutes of staring at one another, he finally held out his hands. “Anything else?”
“Your signature is on the work order.”
“What?”
“The work order for Knight Errant. The one that allowed a KE tech to be in the Annex last night.”
“What?” Wagner said again. “I never signed any order for anyone to be in that Annex last night.”
Powell gestured and a document abruptly appeared on Wagner’s own AR desktop. “This is the work order you had your assistant procure this morning that I intercepted. It’s for a Knight Errant technician named Toshi Morimoto. A work order by itself is usually non-suspect. But when the name on the order is that of a man who died a few years after the Crash—a dead man who somehow broke into your Annex last night, stole something, and murdered two security guards and a young girl—it becomes very suspect. Your name is on the work order, authorizing it.”
Wagner reached up and yanked the virtual page closer, zooming in on the signature at the bottom and the name of the employee, Toshi Morimoto. “I never signed this!”
“I’m aware of this.” The horrid little dwarf laced his fingers together over his chest. “So what I’d like to know is why a technomancer b
roke into a host with basic programing? What was he looking for, Mr. Wagner?”
“I have no idea.”
Powell steepled his fingers as Hyde growled. “I believe you do. And neither I nor my associate are leaving this office until you tell me everything you know.”
Chapter Eleven
Outside the Horizon Home Offices
Netcat sidestepped the fast-moving human as he bolted through the front doors of the Horizon building. She didn’t care why he was in a hurry. She didn’t care that he nearly ran into her. Nor did she care when he scowled at her less than professional dress. While others moved around her in the latest designer suits, complete with their built-in links and ID tags, she’d chosen to dress as she always had.
Her way.
That way consisted of a pair of fitted black jeans, a thigh length utili-kilt, cropped black top and a waist-length black jacket. Her thick-soled boots were adorned with silver studs, and her nails and lips were painted in iridescent black.
It was practically the nicest outfit she owned. At least it didn’t have any holes in it.
And she definitely had on clean underwear.
Bag slung over her shoulder, Netcat stood just outside the cathedral-like doors, the haze filtering out the morning sun, and looked up at one of the least popular corporations in the world. Well, least popular with technomancers, anyway. Netcat couldn’t speak for anyone else. She felt an overwhelming nausea intrude on her stomach when she thought about the TMs that had lost their lives in Vegas. And the ones that disappeared daily. She thought about the Renraku Tower in Manhattan, and the trail of information that had led her across the country to this hell of corporate greed.
Los Angeles.
She knew it would have been better, even safer to do this in the Matrix, but she wasn’t up for extended periods online. Not with GOD watching. Not with what she planned on doing.
Which included finding the bastard that sold lists of registered technomancers to Renraku, just to name a few. The evidence she and a few others had gathered was staggering. She hoped if she could find the source of the leak, maybe even find copies of those names, she would have a better idea of where they were, what corporations had them, and maybe even some leverage to negotiate their release.
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