“It meant one less person they’d have to control,” Leif pointed out. “And evidently this mystery fund-raiser has money to burn.”
“Delaying a return on an investment isn’t good business,” Maj said.
“It is if the business isn’t ready but you know it will be good.”
Maj turned the possibilities over in her mind, trying to fit the pieces together. “They had more at stake than just the money.”
“What?” Matt asked.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. But I think if we find out, all of this is going to make sense.”
“Well,” Matt said, “you can understand why the Eisenhower execs would start panicking when Peter mentioned pulling the game. They were about to see their reprieve yanked away from them.”
“Can you trace the money Eisenhower got?” Maj asked Leif.
“I’m trying now. Dad even let me borrow the resources of a couple of his key people who are really good at this kind of thing. If it’s there, they’ll find it. But I’m betting there’s no trail. They’re good, these people.”
“And they’re probably the people Heavener is working for.” Maj had filled the group in on the woman at the beginning of the meeting. “If we can find one trail, we’re going to find them all.” She glanced up at the HoloNet display in the corner.
“But you’ve got to ask yourself,” Matt said, “what the tie is between a freelance industrial spy and an online game.”
No one had an answer, but Maj was deep in thought, thinking about the bleed-over that had occurred. She watched the holo with interest. The hole’s sound was muted, but the picture was clear. Thousands of fans were already in the convention center downstairs, buying the Realm of the Bright Waters game launch on the Net the next morning.
“How is it going?” Catie nodded at the marketing representative currently testing Maj’s flight-sim. The man sat in an implant chair provided by the convention at a demonstration booth she’d rented for two hours.
Maj shrugged and willed herself not to pace. It was hard because, as tense as she was, her body craved movement. “Okay. I guess.” She paused. “I don’t know. This waiting is killing me.”
“Lighten up.” Catie smiled. “You knew this was going to be the hard part. This isn’t like showing the sim to Matt.”
Maj exhaled. “I know. I told myself that, but it’s different actually living it.”
“So who is this guy?”
Maj looked at the card the man had given her. “Harold J. Dawkins, Fortress Games. He’s a producer.”
“Meaning he can license your sim for the company.”
Maj nodded.
“Fortress is a big name. I didn’t know you had them on your list.”
“I didn’t,” Maj replied. “He just walked over a few minutes ago and asked me if I had the time to let him run through it. Two other reps didn’t show up, so it was no problem.”
Catie crossed her fingers and showed them to Maj, smiling.
Maj tried to ignore the butterflies beating their little brains out in her stomach. “Has Leif found out anything about Eisenhower’s mystery investor?”
“No. Roarke and Matt are busy trying to trace Oscar Raitt’s movements. They found his plane ticket reservation from Sea-Tac, and they’ve located the shuttle driver who brought Raitt into the hotel. However, the hotel’s stance is that if a guest isn’t registered in their computers, that person was never a guest. Holmes has put a detective on the investigation as well, but Matt doesn’t think they’re going to find anything.”
Harold J. Dawkins sat up in the implant chair. He was in his mid-twenties, with clipped peroxide-blond hair and a boyish grin. He wore athletic clothing but didn’t look like he owned a club membership anywhere. “Hey, great sim. It’s like you’re really there.” He planed his hand through the air in front of him and made jet engine noises.
Maj smiled, relieved. “Thanks. I put a lot of time into that build.”
“Trust me,” Dawkins said. “It shows. I’m glad I came over here.” He took a PDA pad from his pocket and switched it on. “I think we just might be able to work something out. If you’re ready to license the property.”
Catie looked at Maj with rounded eyes that Dawkins couldn’t see and mouthed,
“Sure,” Maj said. “I mean, are you sure?”
Dawkins laughed. “I’ve been licensing games for a while. I think I know a good one when I see it. If you could, I’d like to talk to you about the potential arrangements. If you have the time. And that’s assuming you don’t have any other offers you’d like to consider.”
Maj was stunned. “Uh, no, there aren’t any other offers.”
Catie frowned at her, then turned to Dawkins with a sweet smile. “Of course, there are still a few other companies who are going to demo the sim later today and tomorrow.”
“I understand, but I’m prepared to go to contract over this,” Dawkins said. “Right now.”
“Just like that?” Maj asked.
Dawkins shrugged. “It’s a yes-or-no proposition. My company puts me out here to buy games, that’s what I do. If I see something I like, I’ll know it, and then I license it. I guess you could make this harder than what it is, but I never have.”
Everything in Maj wanted to say yes. It was a confirmation of her talents and instincts. But a feeling persisted in her that suddenly everything wasn’t quite right. The offer just didn’t
“Can I get back to you on that?” Maj asked.
Consternation and irritation showed on Dawkins’s face. “I’d really like to talk to you about this now.”
“I know,” Maj said. “But my dad wants me to talk to him first if anyone is interested in the game.” It wasn’t a lie. Her dad took an interest in everything she did, and he probably would want to talk to her first. “Can I give you a call after I’ve talked to him?”
“I’m really used to getting what I want out of a deal,” Dawkins said.
“I’m not saying you won’t,” Maj replied.
Dawkins hesitated for a moment, as if struggling for something to say. Finally he smiled and left.
Maj watched the rep go, suspicion darkening her thoughts.
“She didn’t go for it,” Heavener said.
Seated behind the cluttered desk in the comfortable disarray of his personal workspace veeyar, Gaspar smiled despite the fear that thrummed steadily in him. Maj Green was proving to be quite resourceful. All the Net Explorers were. He watched Heavener through a buttoncam.
Heavener talked on the encrypted comm-line, and he was only able to hear her side of the conversation. “Maybe Dawkins overplayed his hand,” she said, “but it was within the parameters of his assignment.” She paused. “No, I don’t think the girl is overly suspicious of him.”
Gaspar glanced at the other monitors open to him on the desk, surveying the convention. Heavener’s tech teams had been very quick to reestablish the spylines. As yet, she hadn’t given him any concrete assignments other than to monitor the situation and keep the confusion going on concerning Oscar Raitt.
He’d felt good about the Raitt connection Matt Hunter had turned up. That had been perhaps the only link to Peter that Heavener hadn’t accounted for. The woman had her flaws — other than being a deadly killer and psychotic.
“Stronger measures are called for,” Heavener said. “After ten o’clock Eastern Standard Time tomorrow, it will be too late to stop it.”
Gaspar listened intently. Ten EST was when Realm of the Bright Waters was due to launch. He’d known Peter’s game was the centerpiece of their plans, but he didn’t know D’Arnot Industries was only waiting on the launch. He still wasn’t completely sure what the corporation was going to do with the game’s disruptive programming.
“We kill her,” Heavener said.
