by Terry Schott
Harry shook his head, but Josh nodded tersely as they all sat down at the large conference table.
"The guy not talk?" Dawn ventured.
"Oh, he talked," Josh said. "He just didn't give us very much information to go on."
"That shouldn't be a surprise," said Sam.
"You've never seen your dad and William interrogate someone, but I have," said Josh. "They get answers. I'm surprised we got so little out of this guy."
Dawn looked at her father and wondered once more just how little she knew about him.
"We did get some useful information," William said. "There were a couple of tidbits that he obviously did not mean to divulge."
"Here's what we know," Harry began, reaching for a notepad and pen from the middle of the table. "There is another group out there with training and access to the game. We don't know who they are, what they call themselves, or how many of them make up their group." He made notes as he spoke.
Dawn wanted to ask a question, but refrained.
"They have an agenda," Harry continued. "With an endgame that seems to involve destroying SHEPHERDS and the flow of information to our clientele."
"And the destruction of the Families." William's face was grim.
Harry snorted. "That tells us they are fools. There's no way they could accomplish that. Hurt us, maybe; wipe out our whole structure, not possible."
"They knew when and where the leaders would all be together," Josh said, "and they were able to slip something into the food and drink."
"Local leaders, and that's because we were all overconfident," William said. "The last time there was an attack on the Families from an outside source, none of us were born yet."
"Is it from an outside source?" Dawn asked.
Harry paused and nodded thoughtfully. "Good question. It's more believable that an insider could get access to our itinerary. Josh, please send a picture across the system and ask all the Families if anyone recognizes our captive."
Josh stood and headed toward the door. "I'm on it. I'll be back in a couple minutes." He opened the door and began to leave, but stopped as he met Vector and Logan.
"We need to speak with Harry," Vector said.
Josh looked at Harry, who nodded. "In you go, then."
The brothers entered the room and sat at the table, Vector's usual arrogance absent. "What's the status of my great-uncle?" he asked.
"Same as all the other leaders who were with him," Harry said. "Unconscious, but alive. There doesn't appear to be any chemical poisoning or trauma to their bodies. Vital signs are stable. To look at them, you would think they were just sleeping." Harry paused. "We have learned that they were bugged."
"Bugged?" Logan asked. "What do you mean?"
"A nanotech bug was slipped into their food. A signal was sent to activate the bug, and it has somehow put them into a coma."
"That's sophisticated."
"It is," Harry said.
"So, it's an inside job," Logan said.
Dawn smiled. Harry grimaced. "We were just considering that possibility when you arrived."
"I smell war," Vector said, leaning back warily.
"Might be a bit early to reach that conclusion," said William.
"Well, you can count on our help to find whoever is responsible," Vector said. "It's lucky that we were here when this happened."
"Yeah, lucky," said Sam. "Or maybe you are the ones responsible."
Vector laughed. "That's too funny. If we were involved, would we be here offering to help?"
"Probably," Harry said, "but it doesn't matter. We will discover who is on our side and who isn't soon enough. I'll accept your offer of help because this threatens us all." Harry nodded reassuringly at his son, "Like I said, Sam, if the Hearthkins are responsible, we will find out and deal with them. I don't think they are, though. They have just as much to lose as the rest of us."
"We can sit here and talk about it until we die of old age, and never uncover a single fact," said William. "Harry, you lead the Family while Father is down. Tell me what to do and I'll get started."
"We need to identify our attacker." Harry stood and walked to the desk. He sat down, opened the bottom right-hand drawer, removed a smartphone and turned it on. "That's our only lead at the moment, so we will chase it until it raises more questions." He began to compose a message on the phone. "I need to know who leads the Families in this area now that the current ones are out of commission. A meeting will be held soon to discuss further strategy. I will need your help in this, William. You are my right hand."
"I thought Josh is your right hand?" William said.
"Josh is my left," Harry answered with a smile. "Living apart from the Family has forced me to become ambidextrous at times."
William laughed. "What about the kids?" he looked at Sam and Dawn.
"Line of succession is not passed down to firstborn children. Sam and Dawn should be in no significant danger. At least, no more than normal. They can return to the city and run SHADOWS from there, keeping an eye out for anything fishy."
"Okay," William said. "Is this a serious mess, brother?"
"Not yet," Harry said, "but it's getting there."
42
"How are we supposed to pretend everything is normal?" Sam surveyed the sparse crowd of people milling past as he sat with Dawn in the food court. "We barely got a chance to spend time with our extended family before chaos broke out. It's not fair."
"I agree," Dawn said. "Let's hope we can help from here. In the meantime, it doesn't do us much good to pout. Now, here comes Kerstin and Sarah-Marie. Put a smile on your face and let's see what's got them so agitated."
The girls sat down, looking miserable. After a moment of silence, Sam spoke. "Well, ladies, what seems to be the problem?"
Kerstin described the events involving Red Hoodie, from the decision to attempt a shear on him to his humiliating retaliation. Sam sighed and looked at Dawn, who looked at Sarah-Marie and shook her head.
Sarah-Marie lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry. I had no idea how much trouble we could get into."
"It's not all your fault," Dawn reassured her. "I did a poor job of communicating the dangers, so it's entirely on me."
"And me as well," said Sam, drawing his ansible. "I'm glad that neither of you were physically attacked. Unfortunately, that can and does happen." He looked at them and rapped softly on the table. "This is the stage of the game where things get more serious. With higher stakes, players will defend their earnings more ruthlessly. You can both choose to stay where you are, or even drop down one level and remain in safer waters. Many players choose this option, and there's no shame in it. If you want to think about it, we understand. Also, I apologize for not addressing this issue as soon as you both levelled. We had problems of our own, and because we were dealing with new challenges that come at our current levels, we didn't do a good job for you as sponsors."
"We don't need to think about it," Kerstin shook her head. "We've already discussed it and both agree that there's no way either of us want to back down or stay at the same level. Plus, we're supposed to seek out help as we advance. Dawn was very clear that we were not to try shearing other players until we had a chance to discuss it. It's my fault, and I'll take warnings more seriously in the future."
"I'm glad to hear you say that, Kerstin," Sam said. "That is the type of thing a real leader says. I'm proud that you're part of our team."
Kerstin smiled. Sam looked down at his ansible. "Now let's see how much money we've all lost due to our combined errors, shall we?" After a few moments, he frowned. "Something must be wrong with the reporting function. It doesn't look like the group has lost more than a few targets, and our digicash and kb are right where they should be."
"There's no mistake," Sarah-Marie said. "I lost money and data personally, but the rest of the group stepped up and helped make sure the targets were all sheared and the territory didn't suffer."
"Plus I spent extra time shearing around town to make up
for the deficit," Kerstin admitted. She understated the reality; she had spent almost every available hour on her phone working the game to maintain the team's current level.
Sam nodded and smiled. "Outstanding work, ladies. I'm even more impressed now. Sarah-Marie, is your phone up and working yet?"
"Not for another six hours. When it goes live, I'll still have time to get all the day's shearing done."
"That will mean working from midnight until at least 6 a.m.," Dawn observed. Sarah-Marie shrugged, but Dawn shook her head. "I will cover your deficit. It will be my penance for not leading well enough."
"That's not necessary," Sarah-Marie said.
"It is," Dawn said. "I also want to know how much money you lost. We will reimburse you."
"How will I learn if I don't lose money?" Sarah-Marie shook her head. "It's fine, you don't need to do that."
Dawn knew she needed money. "It's not up for discussion. I'll offset the loss."
"Thank you," said Sarah-Marie, sincerely.
The four spoke for a while longer, then left the mall. As Dawn and Sam were walking to Sam's car, a familiar voice spoke up behind them. "Hey guys, know any good places to hang out in town?"
Dawn turned. "Kyle!" She walked over and hugged him. "What are you doing in town? Is everything okay?"
Kyle nodded as they continued toward the car. "Everything's fine. I just wanted to get out of town for a day or two, and I haven't been here in months. How are things with you two? I hear that there's been some excitement lately."
Sam laughed. "There's the understatement of the day. Excitement seems to be flying our way no matter which way we turn."
Kyle hopped into the back seat and sat in the middle. "Yeah, I bet. I'm talking about all the leaders going to sleep before they could finish their desserts."
Sam's hand froze on the ignition key. His eyes darted first to his sister's, and then to the rear view mirror. "How do you know about that? Dad said that only a few key players would have those details."
"Relax," Kyle raised a hand and made a calming motion. "I know more than most people. That's no surprise to either of you."
"You shouldn't know this, Kyle," Dawn said, turning to look at him.
"You're right, I shouldn't. But the fact is that I do." He leaned back and put the middle seatbelt on with an audible click. "Now pull out of the parking lot and turn right. I have some place cool to show you."
Dawn pulled out her ansible, where Kyle couldn't see it, and sent a quick text.
"We aren't going anywhere but home," Sam said.
"I'm sorry, guys, but I have to insist," Kyle's tone was still friendly, but with an edge. "Don't worry, I would never put either of you in danger. I hope Dawn believes that by now."
Dawn turned around to look at Kyle. She turned back to her brother and nodded. "I believe him. Let's go where he wants to take us."
"I don't like this." Sam said as he pulled out of the parking lot.
"I think you will before we're through," Kyle smiled.
43
"That will be fifty-one dollars and thirty-three cents, please."
The man nodded and held up a plastic card for the grocery store cashier to see. "Credit," he said.
The woman nodded and pressed a button on her register. "Go ahead, sir." She pointed to the card reader mounted on a small ledge between them.
The man inserted his card and followed the steps to complete the transaction. After a moment, the machine made a beeping sound.
"I'm sorry, sir, but the charge was declined."
"That's odd," the man said.
"Is there a different card you would like to try?"
"Yeah, sure. Debit, please." He replaced the credit card and withdrew a different piece of plastic.
"Go ahead."
A few moments later, the machine beeped again. "It was declined as well, sir."
The man did not look pleased. "That's impossible. There's lots of money in my account, I was just at the bank before I came here."
The cashier opened her mouth to reply, then heard a beep from the register behind her. "It declined your card, sir," said another cashier to someone else. More beeps sounded from other cashier stations. "It looks like our system might be down," said the first cashier. "Would you like to use cash?"
The man shook his head. "Who uses cash these days? I guess I'll have to come back another time."
The man left the grocery store and walked across the parking lot to his bank, where the teller spread her hands in apology. "I'm sorry, sir. Our systems are down at the moment. We are unable to process any requests to your account until things come back online."
"They told me the same thing over at the grocery store," the man said. "What am I supposed to do for money?"
"I'm sure your debit and credit card can still be used most everywhere," the teller said. "We think only this plaza is affected."
The man began to reply, but his phone rang. It was his wife. "Hello," he said.
"Did you max out the credit card?" she asked, annoyed.
"No. I'm having trouble using it at the grocery store. Where are you?"
"Across town. Debit card isn't working either."
"Look around," he said. "I have a feeling it isn't only us having trouble."
There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Yeah, they're saying the system is down. I'll see you at home in a bit."
The line went dead as his wife hung up. He looked at the teller.
She shrugged.
***
"In a few minutes, you're gonna start getting a bunch of texts," Kyle said from the back seat of the car. "A lot of texts. Likely even a flood of calls."
"Why?" Sam asked.
"Everybody who's been sheared is about to lose their stuff."
"What do you mean?"
"What I said. Everyone who has been sheared is going to lose their digital possessions. Money, mortgages, credit cards, loans, credit history. It's all gonna disappear."
Dawn looked at Sam, who shook his head. "That doesn't even make sense. How is everyone going to lose all of that?"
"A group of very clever and determined people are about to shear the game."
"That's not possible."
"It is." Kyle leaned back and looked out the window. Before Dawn or Sam could ask another question, their phones began to ring and chirp with incoming text notifications. Soon there were so many that the beeps began to run together into one long humming sound.
"What the..." Dawn looked at her ansible. Names scrolled upward quickly as they appeared on her screen.
"Don't answer any of them," Kyle said.
Sam pulled over to the side of the road and brought the car to an abrupt stop. He turned to face Kyle and held his ansible up so everyone could see it. "What the hell is going on? This is bad, Kyle. This has got to be bad, right?"
"Not yet," Kyle shrugged. "This is just a shot across our bow."
"What?" Dawn asked.
"It's a nautical term," Sam said. "Pirates would fire a cannon ball in front of your ship. It didn't hurt you or the boat, but it let you know they meant business. It was a warning to make you stop and surrender."
Dawn glared at Kyle. "You still with us, Kyle?"
"Yes, of course. Well...I don't know for sure, Dawn, but I think I still am. It's complicated."
"No, it's not," said Sam. " You either work with us, or you work for somebody else. Which is it?"
"They claim to be on your side. On our side."
"If they're shearing all our stuff, then they aren't," said Dawn.
"It will all revert back in a couple hours. That's what they said."
"Most of the population will be without money or credit for the next few hours?" Sam ran a hand through his hair. "That's going to cause a riot."
"It won't last long enough for that to happen," Kyle said. "It's an attention-getter, that's all. We need to keep driving."
Sam raised his voice. "I'm not driving anywhere! Dawn might have trusted you when w
e left the mall, but I'm tempted to drive straight to Wallaceton and plop you down in front of my dad."
"You can do that after the meeting," Kyle said, unruffled, "but we can't miss the rendezvous. I promise you do not want to miss this."
Sam sat with his arms crossed and glared at Kyle, who caught Dawn's eyes. "Dawn. Please convince him to drive."
Dawn's expression was blank.
Kyle sighed and pulled out his phone. "Fine, it looks like I need to give you some additional motivation. I'm going to show you a picture on my phone. After I do, we are going to drive as fast as we can to get to the rendezvous point. I won't answer any more questions; all you are gonna hear from me is directions."
Dawn pursed her lips to argue. Then Kyle flipped his phone around. When she saw the picture, she forgot what she'd planned to say. "Sam..."
"I see it." Sam turned around, put the car in drive, and pressed the accelerator to the floor.
44
"Bring me up to speed."
Over a dozen men and women sat around the large table, all with varying degrees of resemblance. They were the leaders of the Thorne business, espionage, and military divisions, gathered to recap developments from the past three days since the dining hall attack.
Harry sat at the head of the table, with William on his right and Josh on his left. Harry looked at a pretty, bespectacled middle-aged brunette. "Jane. Update us on the health of the Elders."
Jane nodded, pulled a loose sheet from her notebook, composed herself and began. "There has been no change in their status. All vital signs are normal. We detect no stress to any of their vital organs or systems. Brain scans show activity that is consistent with a light comatose state, with no measurable spikes in cognitive centres." She looked at Harry. "One of our first concerns was that the enemy had introduced technology capable of infiltrating their brains and mining useful information from their thoughts and memories, but there is no evidence of that."
"That we have found," Josh said.
"Yes," Jane nodded. "There is a slight possibility that we are wrong, but if something like that were happening, we would expect to see spikes in brain activity."
"That's a valid expectation," Harry said. "Is there any sign of them waking up on their own? Have we been able to isolate and identify the invasive nanotech?"