was annoying. Sam poked him. 'Find anything yet?'
'By all that's good on the earth! Do you want to do it yourself?'
The elf's annoyance triggered Sam's own pent-up frustration. 'Maybe I should!'
'Maybe you should just ask our host to shoot you. Glover's system is tough; it's a lot better protected than it should be. You may have been a hotshot researcher but you never were much of a decker. Besides, you're months behind the SOTA.'
The elf's harsh appraisal of his abilities stung. 'I don't need to be state-of-the-art to bust his hincky system.'
Dodger laughed scornfully. 'You're so hot! So sure! This 'hincky system' has got protection that has fried deckers better than you could ever dream of being.' 'Well, if you're not getting anywhere, somebody has to.'
'I've been working the deck for three days now.
There are layers of this system that are glacial with 1C. Positively cryogenic. You want to fry your brain? Do it with somebody else's hardware. I won't have you getting my chips iced just because you can't wait for a professional to do his job.' Dodger was right, of course. The elf was a pro at unauthorized computer access. Even with the elf's guidance, Sam had been a barely adequate decker when they had run against the Renraku architecture last year. With all of his magical study and firearms practice, Sam had found no time to pursue Dodger's peculiar technomancy. Besides, the computer interface still gave Sam headaches, and the awakening of his magical powers had made the Matrix an even more uncomfortable place. His brash assertions and challenge of Dodger's competence were just manifestations of his frustrations.
'I'm sorry, Dodger. You're right. Do what you can.'
' 'Twould seem my own patience is frayed as well, Sir Twist. I like this enforced guesting no more than you. 'Twould be best not to disturb me whilst I work, for I spoke truly of the devilish complexity of the system. Were you to distract me at the wrong moment, you would learn nothing more than how to care for an elven vegetable.'
'That's not something I want to do, Dodger. Just let me know when you get something.'
'I shall. But wander not too far lest you not be available should their ice lock me in.' 'I'll be here,' said Sam.
Dodger smiled with confidence. 'I shall count on it.'
The elf returned his attention to the Matrix, leaving Sam to contemplate their position. Glover had brought them to England, alleging that he needed them to protect Corbeau now that Burke was gone. Some need! The flight had been uneventful, Corbeau being delivered to a minor ATT installation without incident. Glover had told them to wait at his mansion, offering a handsome retainer. That had been four days ago. Four days in which they had not seen or heard from Glover.
Sam had already been suspicious of Glover's motives. He didn't like the man's attitude. Why had he let Dodger talk him into continuing to work with the man? Why? Because of the chance to find Janice. That slim hope had dwindled to nothing. Janice was on Yomi; she couldn't be further away from England.
But leaving wouldn't be simple. The mansion's population seemed to consist only of a handful of servants, who knew nothing. They were polite and efficient, but totally unhelpful. There were uniformed guards with guns as well, but he and Dodger only saw them when they tried to go beyond the immediate grounds. So far everyone had remained polite, but he was sure that the guards had orders to prevent Sam and Dodger from leaving the estate. Sam had tried an astral survey of the place and found many of the rooms blocked to him. He hadn't tried to get through those blocks, for there were half-world presences drifting around the mansion, hostile spirits that threatened him when he attempted to probe in certain directions.
As much as he disliked his surroundings and the treatment they were receiving, he knew that he couldn't just leave. He had seen the thing Glover had summoned in the Mihn-Pao warehouse. All of his senses screamed that it was wrong. His hair had stood on end when he had seen it form, his head throbbing with a warning howl. Glover had called it, and the list Dodger retrieved from Glover's computer said that he wanted a woman who might be his sister Janice. Now, whether or not the woman Glover sought was Janice, Sam wanted to know just who he had been working for. He had to know more about Glover and his organization. It was hours before Dodger jacked out. His eyes were sunken and rimmed with the bruising of exhaustion.
' 'Twould seem that Rene' Corbeau is not now nor ever has been connected to ATT.'
'You're sure?'
The elf quirked his mouth up in annoyance.
'Sorry.' Sam ran his fingers up through his beard until his palms cradled his jaw. 'Then Glover is a rogue.'
' 'Tis a strong possibility.'
'What about Burke?'
'The man is a shadow. There are tracks here and there, the occasional oblique reference, but all vanish if followed. Naetheless, the pattern is similar to one I have seen before. That shadow was a covert operative for the British government. By all the signs, I would venture that the late Burke was a special agent of some kind.'
'A government agent?'
Dodger sighed. 'You have been unbearable for days.
Have you gone deaf now, too?'
'Sorry, Dodger.' The apologies were becoming a habit. Sam's nerves were frayed, but Dodger's must be worse. The elf had been doing all the hard work.
'Apology accepted, Sir Twist.' Dodger massaged his forehead, then stared down at his hands. Without looking up, he said, 'I fear that I have not helped matters, either. I wish I had never gotten you involved in this.'
'I got myself involved. You may have found the list with a name that might be my sister's, but I was the one who decided to chase that phantom. Going to the Orient was supposed to get us closer to her trail. We were supposed to find out what Glover was doing and who the woman was. Now look at us. We're in England and practically under house arrest. We still don't know anything.'
'Not entirely true. We know that Glover, ATT rogue or not, is part of an efficient organization. While we were helping him acquire Sanchez and Corbeau, someone else has been completing the rest of the list.
At the rate they are moving, whatever plans they have are coming to a head soon.''
'You've gotten an update on the list? Let me see it.'
Dodger furrowed his brow as if the request was an annoyance.
'Wait a minute,' he said, tapping keys. He snapped open the back of his cyberdeck and rolled out the monitor screen. After locking it, he turned it so Sam could see. 'Here it is.'
Sam read it quickly. Five out of the seven names were listed as acquired. Janice Walters, still last on the list, was unacquired. Reason enough to stay. Her acquisition might be why Glover had retained them. 'So what do we do now?'
'Wait. With time and additional endeavor, I shall uncover more details.'
Sam shook his head. 'You've done more than enough for today. If you decked now, you'd trip over the first node you encountered. You need a rest.'
' 'Tis true.' Dodger stretched. Sam could hear his joints crack. ' 'Tis also true that I need to get some exercise. Mayhap a walk in the garden would get the blood flowing again.'
The late afternoon sun slanted across the garden, throwing chill pools of shade from the carefully trimmed evergreen trees and shrubs. Winter had stripped the massive oaks of their leaves, leaving their shadows a net of enmeshing branches. Oppressed by the image, Sam guided their walk into the topiary maze. Within its walls, the grasping oaks were only visible near the outer edge.
The curving paths went from shadow into sunlight and back again, alternately chilling and warming them. They took turns at random, not caring whether they reached the maze's heart, simply satisfied to be moving. After a while, they found themselves at the edge of a clearing. The grass was brown, withered into dormancy by the season. In summer, the circle would have been lush, a quiet, pleasant place to laze in the sun. A quartet of stone blocks, apparently seats, were set at the cardinal points.
Dodger headed for the one bench still touched by the sun and stretched out on it. The block was long enough
