here when you're done.'
He refused to go. 'It's not what I want to do; it's what I need to do, what has to be done. And it's not your permission I want, but your help.' He said more, pointing out the awful consequences of Spider's plot. From what Sam was telling her, the results might be almost as bad if other unspecified but ambitious parties were able to gain what Spider sought.
Surprising herself, she listened.
Awaken.
Aleph's nudge brought her to instant awareness: she had a visitor. Her ally spirit's astral watch made a perfect complement to the electronic security measures incorporated into the townhouse walls. She readied a spell but, before she could shift perceptions, the ghostly image of Sam materialized outside the second-story window of the bedroom. Then it walked through wall, sill, and transparex to stand grinning at her. Obviously, he had gotten the note telling him where to contact her.
She smiled back. 'Nice to see you, lover. It's been a long time.'
'Worried, dear Hart?'
'Me? I never worry. But I'm really glad to see you survived. And strong enough to do a distance projection. Been practicing, have we? Wish we could touch.'
He mimed a hug. 'Best I can do. Magic doesn't make all wishes come true.'
'Only in fantasy. Speaking of which, I Ve had a few good ones recently. How about you?'
'I fear my dreams have been all business.'
'Comes with the trade, oh mighty shaman. How's the hunt going?'
His expression darkened, clouded by a complex of emotions that she couldn't read. His voice lost its bantering lightness. 'One's over. Another's about to begin. But you should know, you're already on the scent.'
He had to mean something else; he seemed too jovial to have found out about her connections. She hung her head and held it, hands covering her surprised expression. She hoped she was doing a credible imitation of someone still groggy from sleep. 'Hey, I just woke up. Can we save the mysterious for after my first cup ofkaf?'
'Sorry,' he said with an apologetic grin. 'I meant you're already near the Deggendorf cache, of course. It's the highest-probability target for Spider, and with you already there, we'll get a jump on Urdli.'
'Whoa, Sam. It sounds like a lot has turned up since I left for the continent. Let's take it from the top.' He did, jumbling his meetings with Howling Coyote, Dog, and the Australian elf Urdli all together. With amazement, Hart realized that what she'd thought was a more personal level of business was turning out to be an international conspiracy. She hated it when the big boys decided to throw their weight, around. Sam was right; if the Tir or the Australian elf were left to clean up the mess alone, there would be trouble. God forbid if the Irish Shidhe or some fire-breathing corporate types got wind of it. Quick, clean, and as quiet as possible was the only way to go. 'I'll get Jenny running yesterday. We'll need any data we can get. Dodger could help.'
Sam frowned, and she felt distress mixed with his frustration. 'If I knew how to contact him, I'd ask. He hasn't been at any of his usual places, not even the fallbacks we'd arranged. Ghost's people have checked. If he hadn't added that note to his last data dump, I'd be really worried. I wish you hadn't left him, Hart.' 'I'd say I'm sorry, but that won't turn him up. If you can't find him in the real world, try the Matrix.' 'Got a reason?'
'A hunch. I can have Jenny check, if you want.'
'No,' he responded quickly. 'I'll take care of it.'
'Going to be a busy boy.'
'I'll manage. We're all going to be busy.'
'Then why are we talking instead of doing?'
'No good reason. But I know what I'd like to be doing.'
'Me, too. But it's more than a bit impractical at the moment.'
'Especially since we're not sharing the same plane of reality.'
She blew him a kiss and his projection faded from sight.
Seeing him again reminded her of how much she missed him. His astral projection was worse than a telecom call. She threw herself in the shower to scrub away the frustration. It wasn't long before she put aside her longings and turned her mind to the problems at hand. Personnel. Equipment. Timing. More than enough to keep her from fretting over a lover thousands of kilometers away, but she worried about him anyway.
Dodger didn't know where Morgan was taking him. He didn't care. Being in her presence was rapture. He was content to follow along, to see what she wished him to see, and to learn what she taught him. Foremost, he was learning how little he knew of the workings of the Matrix. He had believed himself an expert on cyberspace and was discovering how wrong he was. But then, how much could a meat being know compared to one whose very existence was in, and of, the Matrix?
They flew through the midnight voids of the electron sky. She seemed to have a goal, for there was none of the darting and swooping that had accompanied their previous jaunts. He could see a humanoid icon ahead in the distance. The icon's hands were cupped to its face, and it seemed to be calling. Odd behavior, indeed.
As they drew nearer the icon, Dodger began to see details. The figure was of ordinary resolution, standard corporate-level imagery. It was, in fact, a corporate icon, a chrome salaryman in his chrome suit. Such images were nearly featureless, save for the owning corporation's logo and the identity codes of machine and operator. This one fit the profile, except that its identifying logo and codes had been erased. Rather amateurishly, Dodger thought, as he inspected the icon's signature. He could tell that the source of the icon imagery was Renraku.
Renraku was the megacorp that had designed Morgan. Did this icon have something to do with her? He studied it further. He was in no hurry; she had them cloaked in her power, and the icon's operator had no idea his location in the Matrix was being observed. The icon lowered its hands and moved off to a new location. Dodger saw the icon limp, and the pieces fell into place.
Dodger didn't believe the answer. He had only observed one icon that limped, and it had belonged to Sam Verner. What was Sam doing in the Matrix? Since taking up magic, he had forsworn the deck.
As though she were waiting for Dodger to identify Sam, Morgan uncloaked them. Or him, anyway, for Dodger suddenly lost sight of her icon. He knew she wasn't gone, because he could still feel her presence. It didn't make sense, but he accepted it. Much that happened around her didn't make sense. For example, why didn't she want Sam to know she was here? He‹ might wonder, but he respected her decision. He addressed Sam's icon.
'What are you doing here, Sir Twist?' The icon turned to face him with turtle slowness. Dodger knew the software involved and had never thought it so slow. Or was he faster now, by virtue of his association with her? More questions. But what was life without questions?
Sam's icon completed its turn and spoke. 'Looking for you.'
'Well, youVe found me.'
'I'm glad. I was afraid we'd lost you. We need you, Dodger.'
'If 'tis Matrix matters, I'd be happy to oblige; but if tis other, I fear I must decline, for I have matters to attend to here.'
Sam paused. Microseconds or decades, it didn't matter to Dodger. She was here for him, even though he couldn't see her just now. Sam was thinking, calculating with meat slowness. 'You've found it, haven't you?' 'Her,' Dodger said by way of correction. 'I see.' There was a longer pause. 'Dodger, there are people, living people, who need your help. Let me show you. I '11 tell you all about it when you jack out.'' 'Nay.'
Another pause. A growing habit, in both frequency and duration. Finally Sam asked, 'Can you take a data dump, then?' 'Certes.'
Dodger skimmed the data as it flowed. It included the material Dodger had gotten from Neko Noguchi, along with several reports from that industrious young runner who Dodger had never seen although the data entry was logged through on his codes. Much was speculation, but all was serious. Spider was a real threat.
When the dump was finished Sam said, 'There are still missing pieces, Dodger. Some of those pieces are loose in the Matrix. Jenny's looking for them, but time's short. I need you, Dodger. I need everyone I can trust working on this.'
So he trusts me now, Dodger thought, but said nothing.
Sam asked his next question slowly, as though fearful of the answer. 'Are you working with the Al?'
'Surely you do not find that a problem. She is, after all, responsible for your being a shadow in the
