He's still alive and aware. He's just… lost.'
'In the Matrix?' 'I think so.'
'Not possible. The Matrix is no true reality. Either he is in command of his brain, or not. If so, once the connection is severed, his awareness will be forced to return to the real world. If not, the matter will be resolved.'
'Maybe. I don't know. His condition is not normal. His theta rhythms are grossly out of synch with normal decking activity. If we sever the link, he might go catatonic.'
'I will take the risk.' 'Damn it! It's not your risk to take!' 'Makkanagee morkhan, I will do it myself.' As Urdli took the first step into the room, O'Connor came from behind the couch to place herself between him and the decker. By the defensive stance she took, he saw how apt was the name he had called her, for her Shatatain stance showed her well below his own competence in the art of carromeleg. 'Laverty does not oppose me. By standing in my way, you break your bond as milessaratish, staining his honor while gaining none for yourself. You will fall.'
'I'm not milessaratish, so leave the professor out of it. This is between you and me. I won't let you touch Dodger.'
Her defiance was annoying. 'By denying the bond to Laverty, you remove restraint from me. Out of consideration for him, I might have only incapacitated you, but now you have offended me with your opposition. You cannot stop me. You can buy only the slightest delay with your life.'
He took his stance, and he saw in her eyes the realization that she was indeed facing a superior. Surprisingly, her rigidity slackened into a more natural defensive posture. That would make her a more difficult conquest, but though delayed, the outcome would be the same. He slid forward a pace and studied her non-reaction. More difficult, indeed. The appreciation of imminent death had brought her to zathien. Her unresolved stillness of spirit offered danger and unpredictable responses. He centered himself, seeking his own grasp of zathien from which to answer her. In the face of her resolution, the completeness eluded him. He slid forward another pace, determined to overmatch her transcendental state with his skill. The clash never began. 'What's going on?'
Urdli slid back from engagement range before turning to face the newly arrived Estios. O'Connor relaxed, too, but her breathing was rapid, speeded by the adrenaline coursing in her system. The interruption had disrupted her zathien. She would be no serious hindrance to Urdli now. But first he would learn what had brought Estios from his huddled conferences with Laverty's scholars and technicians. 'What news, Estios?'
Deliberately ignoring the confrontation he had interrupted, Estios spoke in a tone more suitable to a briefing room. 'The new data has been correlated with the last batch the alley runner received from the source in Hong Kong. Probabilities that the operations are under way are more than fifty percent on several of the possibilities. If, as you suggest, the fixer known as Grandmother is an agent of Rachnei, she is a most active agent.'
'Characteristic,' Urdli said impatiently. 'I'll take your word for it. One of her areas of activity is of particular interest, as it suggests a very ugly possibility.'
'You try my patience, Estios.' Estios gave him a tight smile that held no humor. 'Try this. What do Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Tripoli, and Baghdad have in common?' 'You remain obscure.'
'These are all cities where atomic or nuclear weapons have been used.'
'But that's open history,' O'Connor interjected. 'They are also all topics of Grandmother's researches, with her interest confined to dates following the unfortunate nuclear events.' Estios turned to her. 'And the events are not open history to something that slept through the explosions.'
Urdli nodded in understanding. 'You suggest that Rachnei seeks to understand the potential of such weaponry. A reasonable speculation, for nuclear war devices were not developed much before the middle of the last century. They would, indeed, be unknown to a sleeper. The precaution of investigating potential threats is in keeping with Rachnei's reputed method of operation. Knowing what we know, simple research offers no threat.'
'I agree. If historical research based in, shall we say, scientific curiosity were all there was to it, there would be no danger. However, we have discovered additional files, nested within a datastore, containing lists of all the legitimately held nuclear weapons remaining after the build-down.'
Urdli set aside Estios' concern with a negligent wave of his hand. 'Rachnei would certainly seek knowledge of currently available weapons. My understanding is that the safeguards installed to protect those devices after the Awakening should be adequate to prevent acquisition by any unauthorized party.'
Estios' blue eyes glittered like ice at Urdli's dismissive gesture, but he held his temper. Anger barely colored his tone. 'Where the weapons are held legitimately I would agree, but the datastore held more files nested even deeper. The encryption protecting that datafile is much better. It's locked very tightly.'
'And you fear that some terrible secret is locked within that file?'
'I do,' Estios stated firmly. 'The technicians tried to open the file but were unable to recover much. When the code was broken, we released some kind of virus that started to devour the data. The team only got bits and pieces. We've gotten out enough to know that a handful of sites are on Grandmother's list. Each one is located near a former storage site for nuclear weapons or delivery systems.'
'Suggesting that Rachnei is seeking a stockpile of nuclear weapons?'
'I believe so*'
Urdli considered the danger of such an occurrence and found it unthinkably great. He knew the ways of magic too well and how little a part coincidence played. The uncovering of Rachnei's shard could only align with the uncovering of this nuclear threat. If one was not the father of the other, they would work in concert. 'And where does Verner fit into this?'
Estios shrugged his shoulders in helplessness. 'We haven't figured that angle, but some connection is likely. We've learned he's headed for Denver.'
'Rocky Flats,' O'Connor whispered.
'Or NORAD command at Cheyenne Mountain, or any of a dozen possible places where the old U.S.A. military played their games,' Estios said. 'For a Caucasian like him, Denver would be the best location to work any of those sites.'
'Don't be ridiculous, Estios,' O'Connor said. 'Verner's not working for Grandmother or Rachnei. You know him. He's not that kind.'
Estios ignored her. 'We've also learned that Grandmother has sent two Asian agents to Denver,''
'Coincidence,' O'Connor objected.
Urdli smiled sourly. He knew better. 'Can you be sure, O'Connor? Rachnei works subtly, sending out strands, then manipulating them carefully until the target is ensnared in a web from which there is no escape. Verner may be trapped already. Perhaps he started out innocently enough, but over time fell under the influence Rachnei has projected through the stone. Verner may not even be aware that he is carrying the stone to Rachnei's agents. It is more imperative than ever that we prevent the stone from falling into Rachnei's grasp. I had thought that Verner yielding his stolen treasure to Rachnei would represent only the loss of a weapon, but I begin to see that we stand to lose far more. ' 'Verner must be stopped.''
Sam was exhausted, but he was getting used to that. For days he had been running on short sleep. Chasing leads and meeting with locals, both shadowfolk and legitimate citizens, kept him up all hours of the day and night. When he could sleep he got little rest, always troubled by dreams, vague fantasies of pursuit where he shifted roles from the hunter to the hunted. In those nocturnal excursions he was running, always running. Not the pleasing freedom of the chase, however, but the desperate, panting flight of knowing someone or something powerful is just behind one's tail. So far, he had not glimpsed his nightmarish pursuer.
The emotions from the dreams had leaked over into his waking life, leaving him nervous and warily watching over his shoulder. At these moments he thought he might expose whoever was following him, and had begun trying sudden spins and fast doubling-back around corners. So far he had yet to observe any clearly malevolent trackers, but he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching.
He surveyed the street he intended to cross. There was no rush; the runner he was to meet was not scheduled to arrive for another half-hour. Plenty of time to check out the site. Here in this maze of tenements, the crowd was a mix of working types, homebodies, and the SINless. Ordinary people. Only a few looked out of place. Sam spotted a pair of Indian salarymen did they call them that here? passing through on business, and then a
