“Or someone with us who has the power to kill it,” Belle said.
Nancy nodded.
Laverne never once moved as they spoke. She just stared at the two of them with her intense dark eyes. Belle refused to let those eyes rattle her.
“Those three things. Nothing more?” Laverne asked.
“Not that we know of at the moment,” Belle said.
“But it is critical to move quickly,” Nancy said. “The more a virus like this one spreads into a system, the more powerful it will become and the harder it will be to fight.”
Laverne nodded and turned to Poker Boy. “In a minute, I will show you and Patty and the Bookkeeper the consciousness net that these two reminded me existed. It will be up to you to get the Bookkeeper what he needs to map what I will show you.”
Poker Boy nodded and said nothing.
Laverne turned to Ben. “Access to the consciousness net? Has that been done before to your knowledge?”
Ben shook his head. “Nothing like this. It would take a containment field of immense proportions to protect anyone going into that. It would be like being bombarded with the thoughts of a million people at once. Unprotected, that would cause instant insanity.”
Belle felt her stomach cramp up at the thought of that.
“We don’t need to go inside all the information flow,” Nancy said. “We just need to be able to skim through it in some fashion. Or even over the top of it.”
“And see the patterns of it,” Belle said, instantly understanding what Nancy meant. “When searching for problems in computer systems, or corporation systems, you didn’t need to get lost in the details, in the data. You just need to be able to see the infection and how it infects the data.”
Nancy nodded.
Laverne again did not move. “You saw the vast surface of consciousness. Would you be able to find the problems skimming along the surface without dropping inside?”
“If we knew the connections,” Nancy said. “So the mathematical mapping would be critical. And how we would connect as well.”
“We are connected,” Belle said, smiling at the woman she was falling in love with more and more by the minute. “We would just need to have our minds opened up to see our own connections and how they connect to the surface.”
Laverne nodded. “That is possible. But I feel you will need a full crew with you for this fight, both on the inside and the outside.”
Belle looked puzzled.
“I will gather some of the strongest of us to destroy the black magic when you find it,” Laverne said.
“I understand black magic,” Patty said.
Again Poker Boy looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face.
“I know,” Laverne said. “Which is why I would ask you to host Belle and Nancy and Jewel inside your mind for this fight. And let them track along your connections.”
“I would be honored,” Patty said, nodding. “I will be able to protect them from the black magic as well.”
Laverne nodded.
“So we have the connection into the network,” Nancy said.
“And you will put a team together to fight the black magic when we find it,” Belle said. “So we just need the map of the structure and where the problem was planted.”
“Get rested,” Laverne said to the five of them. “I will let you know how long this will take to get ready. And K.J. and Tommy, you will both be needed as well for a different task.”
With that the five of them were back in the warm sounds and wonderful smells of the Golden Nugget buffet.
K.J. slumped into a chair again at a table full of their dirty breakfast dishes. None of them had cleaned them off yet and they hadn’t yet vanished either.
Belle had no idea what to think, other than she was again feeling hungry.
She took Nancy’s hand and they walked toward the food once again. It had been a long day and it wasn’t even noon yet. And Belle had a hunch the day was going to get much longer very quickly.
As they walked, Nancy pointed at all the golden threads streaming from the forty or so people around the buffet. The threads left their auras and swirled up through the ceiling.
“Who knew we were all so connected,” Nancy said.
“I’m just glad we are,” Belle said, squeezing Nancy’s hand.
THIRTY-ONE
Jewel worked at clearing off some of their old dishes and tossing them in a bus tub nearby as Belle and Nancy walked toward the food. Jewel planned on getting something more to eat as well, but after that meeting, she felt she just needed to do something to not think much.
K.J. had slumped into one of the chairs at the table and looked washed out. He clearly, in all his time as an agent, had never worked around Laverne before.
Tommy sat down as well. “Got any idea why Laverne wanted you to go with them on this?”
“Not a clue,” Jewel said. “When we were all three inside that woman at the front desk, we seemed to mesh well. Maybe that’s it. Or maybe it’s something medical because of my background.”
Tommy nodded. “More than likely medical. That makes sense, since you are good at controlling emotions and such in people.”
Jewel nodded and finished with the dishes. She wasn’t afraid, just confused.
She sat down as well and faced K.J. “So who was the waitress?”
“Name is Madge,” K.J. said. “She’s been around forever, knows everyone and everything that is going on. She’s a superhero in the food and beverage area.”
“So she’s been to your famous hot tub?” Tommy asked.
K.J. smiled and seemed to come back into his eyes a little as he remembered something. “She has been there a few times.”
“So these parties you throw are co-ed parties?” Jewel asked.
“Sometimes,” K.J. said, smiling.
“So why did you blush when you saw Madge?” Jewel asked.
K.J. laughed and looked up as Belle and Nancy were approaching with plates of food. “Just say,” he whispered, smiling at Jewel and Tommy, “that Madge can hold her breath under water longer than anyone I have ever met.”
Jewel was convinced she blushed and Tommy just about went over backwards laughing.
Both Belle and Nancy looked puzzled and Jewel waived them off. “Just men being crude. So any ideas why Laverne wants me going along with you two?”
“We were talking about that at the buffet,” Belle said. “I think it’s your medical training.”
“I agree,” Tommy said. “From the sounds of this, the black magic has gotten into brains like a bad tumor.”
“A very bad tumor,” K.J. said, shaking his head. “Magic is something that is avoided at all costs in our worlds.”
“What is it that we do then?” Jewel asked, now clearly puzzled.
“We are using our own talents, our own skills,” K.J. said. “Superheroes and gods do the same. The use of magic has been forbidden for more centuries than I would ever want to think about it. Mostly because it almost always turns dark and consumes those who use it.”
“So there is no magic in holding that office in the sky?” Belle asked.
“None,” K.J. said. “That is all the natural power of Poker Boy doing that.”
“So the black magic is going to show up clearly in those infected?” Jewel asked.
“I honestly don’t know,” K.J. said. “But my guess is the same as everyone’s, that your medical knowledge and understanding of human brains and bodies is why you are going along inside Patty on this ride.”
“But what does she want you and me to do?” Tommy asked, looking at K.J.
“No idea,” K.J. said, taking a deep breath and shuddering. “And that scares me more than I want to admit.”
Jewel patted his hand. “I’m sure it’s going to be fine. Come on, let’s get some lunch.”
K.J. nodded. “A last meal is always a good idea.”
Jewel just shook her head. “We’re dead, remember. You had your last meal a hundred plus y
ears ago.”
“Oh, party-pooper,” K.J. said. “A guy can whine, can’t he?”
Everyone laughed and Jewel and Tommy and K.J. left Belle and Nancy eating.
THIRTY-TWO
K.J. went home after lunch to San Francisco, Jewel and Tommy jumped to their home, and Belle and Nancy jumped back to their suite in the hotel.
The day was bright and the suite felt warm and comforting to Belle in all the brown tones and tall windows. And right now, after this morning, she really needed warm and comforting.
She really loved it here and in Las Vegas. And she knew Nancy did as well. If they survived this, or if the world survived this, there was no doubt to Belle that the two of them would settle here in Las Vegas. They hadn’t talked about it, but neither of them had anything left in Boise, and neither of them had connections to anywhere else. They could make Las Vegas a wonderful home.
The two of them walked into the bedroom and both changed into casual and comfortable clothes, including tennis shoes. Then they went to the big bed and just lay there, fully dressed, holding hands and staring at the bright high ceiling.
The bedspread felt soft under Belle and she had used one pillow to prop up her head just enough to be comfortable.
Doing this felt wonderful and natural to Belle. She could feel her energy slowly coming back. She hadn’t realized that the morning had worn her out so much.
“You need to nap?” Nancy asked.
“No,” Belle said. “I just need to lay here for another minute or two.”
“Perfect,” Nancy said.
Silence filled the room for the next few minutes. Not uncomfortable silence, but the silence of rest and the silence of two people who didn’t always need to talk to be close.
Belle closed her eyes a few times, but decided she would rather just rest looking at the high ceiling and all the warm light. Her mind was just moving far too fast to actually fall asleep even for a few minutes.
“How long do you think it’s going to take to map that network?” Belle asked, finally breaking the silence.
“It seems like a large network,” Nancy said, “but considering what you and I are used to, it’s fairly small. Only the number of billions of humans on the planet for each main connection. So someone good with programming computers could set that program up and have it mapping in an hour at most. Another hour for the program to run. It’s been almost two hours, so any moment now.”
Belle knew Nancy was right. In the computer world, the business world, seven billion was a small amount of bits of data. They had both dealt with systems far, far larger.
“The mapping in a way that we can use it will be the problem,” Nancy said.
Again Belle nodded, agreeing and squeezing Nancy’s hand. “Like a bad disease. We have to find the infected cluster and then make sure we track every connection.”
“I just hope we can save the carriers,” Nancy said.
“We will,” Belle said, shuddering slightly at that thought. “We have to.”
“Yes,” Laverne said from the foot of the bed. “We have to.”
Belle and Nancy both sat up and smiled at Lady Luck herself.
“Time to get going on this?” Belle asked as they both moved off the bed and stood.
“First,” Laverne said, turning and walking out into the living room area of the suite, “explain to me how this network works. I am not very familiar, I am afraid, with computer systems.”
Belle nodded as Laverne stopped and faced them.
“In this hotel there is an electrical system,” Belle said, indicating the lights. That is a network similar to what we are talking about.”
Nancy nodded. “The power comes in at one spot and spreads out until it ends up in that light, that outlet, and so on.”
Laverne nodded and said nothing.
“That outlet is connected to a light fixture in the casino by the network,” Belle said. “It might not be a direct connection in any fashion, but following that connection, we can eventually get to a light fixture in the casino.”
“And as with the electrical in this building,” Nancy said, “or the plumbing network, there are clear patterns once you know what you are looking for.”
“And you will be able to see those patterns among humans in the great life shield?”
“We will,” Belle said. “Especially with a mathematical map worked out by computer first.”
“We were experts in structures of networks and computer networks,” Nancy said, “when we were alive just a few short days ago.”
Belle smiled. “I am fairly certain we haven’t forgotten it yet.”
Laverne nodded. “I have over two hundred gods and superheroes ready to clean out the dark magic when you two and Jewel and Patty find it. They are all being trained now.”
“I understand Patty being our protection against the magic,” Belle said. “Is Jewel’s part of this for the medical side?”
“No,” Laverne said. “Jewel’s greatest strength is her ability to focus. She is there to hold you two together and focus and keep you from getting lost in all the data, as you put it. Patty will be too busy to help with that on the exterior shields against not only the massive amount of information from so many people’s lives, but in protecting you from the magic and teaching you all to see it in someone.”
That surprised Belle and she just nodded.
“Poker Boy and his team will be backing up Patty from his office, feeding her the energy she is going to need to protect herself and the three of you.”
Belle looked at Nancy. “Ready?”
Nancy smiled. “Let’s go kick some magic butt.”
Laverne just smiled slightly and jumped them to Poker Boy’s office.
Jewel was already there, standing to one side and Poker Boy and his team were all sitting around the table.
Patty was in the back of the table, with Poker Boy on one side and Stan, the God of Poker, on the other.
They looked very serious and there were no milkshakes or food on the table. In fact, the mood was downright gloomy. No one had died yet, and if this group had anything to say about it, no one would.
Belle leaned over to Nancy and whispered. “For a group that’s saved the world a bunch of times, they look pretty darned serious.”
Nancy just laughed and everyone looked up at her.
Nancy shrugged and smiled and again Laverne just smiled.
Nancy leaned over and whispered to Belle, “I’ll get you for that.”
“Is that a date?” Belle asked, smiling at the woman she loved.
“Damn right it is,” Nancy said, smiling back.
THIRTY-THREE
“It’s ready,” Stan, the God of Poker said.
Jewel watched as he vanished from his position in the booth, then reappeared a moment later with something in his hand.
The small device he held that looked to Jewel like a funny cube with wires poking out of it like a person who had morning hair. Stan handed it to Laverne, who nodded and held it in her hand. A moment later there was a glow around the device and it vanished completely.
She then turned to Patty. “Ready.”
Patty nodded and held out her hand and Laverne touched it across the empty table.
After a moment Patty nodded and closed her eyes.
Poker Boy held out his hand and Laverne touched him as well.
They must have talked about what they were doing before Jewel had arrived, because she had no idea what it was.
Laverne then touched Stan’s hand and then everyone else around the table.
Then, almost as one, they all stood.
Patty came over to Jewel and Belle and Nancy. “I have the map of the life connections surface in my mind. You will be able to see it and study it when we are together.”
“Do we have an idea where we are starting?” Belle asked.
Patty nodded. “Along with the map, the Bookkeeper has extrapolated the likely spread of the black magic.”
“That won�
�t help at all,” Belle said.
Jewel was stunned at that statement.
Laverne, who had been talking with Poker Boy, suddenly turned to face them just as Patty said, “Why not.”
“Over one hundred years of time is why not,” Belle said.
Nancy nodded.
“You said this black magic was buried in people’s minds, dormant, right?”
Patty nodded and Laverne just stood there.
“So it spread through their kids and their grandkids as well,” Nancy said, “more than likely all over the planet.”
Patty looked at Laverne with a slightly panicked look on her face. Jewel felt panicked as well, her stomach twisting into an even tighter knot than it already was in.
“Again,” Nancy said, “The system is similar to a computer. When a virus gets into a computer and starts to spread, it has to be dug out of everywhere, not just where it started.”
Jewel knew she was right.
Laverne nodded. “So fighting it on a person-by-person level will not solve this problem.”
“It will not,” Belle said. “In a system of this size, the cure must be systemwide and all at once.”
Laverne turned to Poker Boy. “Our plan will not work. Please contact all teams and have them stand by.”
Then she turned to Patty. “See if what you were planning will at least work. Report back on the extent of the infection.”
Patty nodded as Laverne vanished. Then she turned to Jewel. “Your job is to support these two as much as you can, be their center focus, and be my contact.”
Jewel nodded. She had no idea exactly what Patty meant, but she had a hunch she would figure it out quickly.
“Jewel first,” Patty said as everyone else in the room stood back and watched.
Jewel moved over to Patty and merged with her. Patty had much of her mind blocked, but Jewel was still impressed that she was inside such a powerful and kind superhero.
She made herself smaller and formed a mental room inside Patty. Then she made a connection to the thought center in Patty’s mind and said, “Ready for Belle.”
“Ready for Belle,” Patty said. Then she shook her head and said, “That was weird. I didn’t know I was going to say that.”
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