"It will all be over very soon now, Kellan, very soon. Don’t be afraid."
"Kellan . . . Kellan."
"Orion!"
Kellan bolted awake to find Orion practically face-to-face with her. He grabbed her arms to steady her as she got her bearings. Then she threw herself against his chest and hugged him just to make sure he was real, tears welling up at the memory of holding his unmoving body.
"Hey, it’s okay," he said soothingly. "It’s okay." Kellan suddenly felt awkward, and pulled back, wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "Another dream?" Orion asked.
Kellan nodded mutely.
"You want to talk about it?" She shook her head.
"It’s okay," she began, but Orion cut her off with a wave of his hand.
"No, it’s not. Kellan, there’s obviously something going on, something that’s bothering you. I’ll admit I don’t know drek about what dreams mean, but I do know that having nightmares all the time means something is wrong."
She didn’t argue the point, and that seemed to deflate Orion’s anger. "Look," he said gently, "it might help to talk to someone about it."
"I don’t know what they mean," Kellan said, hugging her arms to her chest, hunched on the edge of the cot. "They’re just these images . . ."
"Images of what?"
"Death," she said, glancing up to meet Orion’s eyes. "Images of death, betrayal, and I don’t know what to do about it, and I feel so . . . helpless." She shook her head slowly.
"Kel, they’re just dreams."
"No," she said. "No, I don’t think they are. I think they’re more than that, but I just don’t know what."
"Magic?" Orion asked, and Kellan nodded. "Have you asked Lothan about it? Or maybe Liada?" Kellan shook her head again. "When I first started having them, I didn’t want to talk to anybody about them because I didn’t know what to say. Now I wish I had."
"Don’t you think it could just be, you know, the stress of the run and everything else that’s going on?"
"Maybe," but she didn’t sound convinced. Looking around the room, she asked, "Midnight’s not back?"
"She should be soon."
"Okay." Kellan sat up and took a deep breath. "There anything to eat?"
"Midnight said she’d bring something back with her."
Kellan nodded again, then stood and stretched, working the kinks out from sleeping badly on the hard cot.
"Did you get any sleep?" she asked.
"Enough. If you want to try to go back to sleep . . ."
"No, that’s okay. I’m up now."
Kellan went to her bag and pulled out her cyberdeck. Setting it on her lap, she switched it on in "tortoise" mode, allowing her to access the grid without jacking directly into the Matrix, which wasn’t necessary for the simple stuff she had in mind. She checked to see if she had any new e-mail or messages, but there was nothing—not that she’d been expecting anything, but it was something to do while they waited for Midnight to return.
"Kellan," Orion began behind her, "about the other night . . ."
"I told you," she said, without looking at him. "It’s frosty, no problem."
"Well, I think I’ve got a problem," Orion said, and Kellan paused, fingers poised over the keyboard. "I think . . ." He paused, sighing.
"What?" She half turned to see Orion standing where she’d left him, eyes downcast. She’d never seen her friend look so uncomfortable. Even when he’d been called to account by the leader of the Ancients, he’d retained his usual proud bearing and defiant attitude.
"I don’t want you think what happened, our being together, was just a casual thing," Orion said. He lifted his eyes to meet hers, and Kellan felt her pulse race. "It wasn’t to me, anyway, and I don’t think it was to you, either."
"Tam—"
"No, let me finish. I like you, Kel. I like you more than I ever thought I would like anyone ever again in my life. I . . . have feelings for you, and I understand if you don’t feel the same way, but if I didn’t tell you, I would always wonder. . .
Kellan got to her feet, setting the cyberdeck aside, and went to him. She rested her hands lightly on his chest, feeling the taut muscles under his shirt.
"I ... I do feel the same way," she said hesitantly. "I just didn’t ... I didn’t want it to be . . ."
"Unprofessional?" Orion suggested, and Kellan flushed and ducked her head, resting it for a moment against his chest.
"Yeah. Dumb, huh?"
Orion smiled and shook his head. "No, not really. We’re both still feeling our way through life in the shadows, and reputation is important."
"I just didn’t know what to say . . . what to do."
"Well, there’s this for starters. . . ." Orion said softly, tipping her face up to his and leaning toward her.
Kellan felt the warm press of his lips, and melted against him as Orion’s arms surrounded her and pulled her closer. Neither of them noticed the door to the room quietly open, or the dark-clad figure standing there.
* * *
Lothan took the seat Akimura offered him, pleased the fixer didn’t subscribe to Japanese custom and have them all sitting on the floor. The padded hotel chair was comfortable, and even large enough to accommodate his size.
Toshiro Akimura was of somewhat less than average height, yet carried a commanding presence. He was clearly used to receiving a certain measure of respect from the people around him. If he was at all nervous about meeting with Lothan and G-Dogg, he didn’t show it. He was dressed fairly casually in a dark sport coat and slacks with a cream-colored V-neck shirt, though Lothan recognized the design as one of Vashon Islands’ lines of secure clothing for executives. The coat was lined with ballistic cloth, and an enhancement to the weave of the shirt provided an additional layer of protection.
Akimura’s dark hair was cut conservatively short, revealing the gleam of the datajack at his right temple, and his dark eyes were like shuttered windows, impossible to read. Lothan suppressed the automatic urge to scan the fixer astrally; it would hardly be polite, and, more importantly, if Akimura had arranged for magical protection, it might be taken as a threat.
"I’m glad you contacted me to set up this meeting," Akimura began.
"And why is that?"
"Because I need to get in touch with Kellan Colt, and I understand you know her quite well."
"Well enough."
"Then you can pass on a message for me. She’s in danger."
"Indeed?" Lothan raised one eyebrow. "I was under the impression she was in danger from you."
"She’s not," the fixer answered. "I don’t mean Kellan any harm. On the contrary, I’ve been trying to protect her, but I haven’t been able to reach her."
"You have an odd idea of protection, Mr. Akimura. Does it include sending a gang after the person you are trying to shield?"
The other man shook his head impatiently. "I have already answered this accusation. I didn’t send the Halloweeners after Kellan. I only heard about it after the fact."
"If you didn’t employ the Halloweeners, then who did?"
"I have my suspicions."
"But you choose not to share them?"
"Forgive my saying so, Lothan, but I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. I don’t know where your loyalties lie, and you have no reason to trust me."
"That’s quite true. So why should I believe any of what you’re telling me now?"
"Because I know that Kellan is in very grave danger," Akimura said, fixing Lothan with a level stare, "and I doubt she is aware that someone close to her is planning to betray her."
* * *
Absorbed in their embrace, Kellan and Orion sprang apart when a synthleather satchel thudded to the floor of the small room. They turned toward the door where Midnight stood, holding a plastic bag that smelled of Asian take-out, and wearing a barely controlled smirk.
"I’m sorry," she said in a mocking tone, "I didn’t mean to interrupt. Should I come back a little later . . . or maybe much later?"
"No!" she said. "I mean . . . um . . ."
"It’s fine," Orion interjected flatly. Midnight didn’t say anything else, but the look on her face spoke volumes.
"I brought dinner," she said, carrying the food over to the table, "and information." She produced a data-chip from her pocket, holding it up for them to see. "We’ve got what we need to get down to work, so let’s do it ... if that’s all right with you two."
When they nodded agreement, Midnight passed the chip to Kellan, asking her to slot it into her cyberdeck so that they could look at the information while they ate. Kellan kept busy at the computer for a moment, but risked a sidelong glance at Orion. He looked up from pulling food cartons out of the plastic bag, caught Kellan’s eye, and then glanced away as she did the same, both obviously wondering for the first time about the future after this run was finished.
Chapter 12
Someone is planning to betray Kellan?" Lothan asked. "I think I can guess who."
"I’m afraid I won’t be able to confirm your suspicions at this time," Akimura replied softly.
"You don’t offer much information, Akimura-san."
"I cannot. Not until I can better comprehend where things stand."
"Why are you so concerned with Kellan’s welfare? She doesn’t even know you."
"That is true, but I nonetheless owe her a debt," the fixer said, "and I always make good on my debts."
"You knew Kellan’s mother," Lothan said. It wasn’t a question.
Akimura paused for only a moment. "Yes, I did," he said, his expression unreadable.
"Well?"
"Very well."
"You’re not Kellan’s—" Lothan began, but the other man shook his head.
"No, I’m not, but I owe it to Kellan’s mother to look out for her daughter. I owe her my life, many times over. We worked together once, quite closely."
"Then you know what happened to her."
For the first time since he’d sat down, Lothan saw the faintest crack in Akimura’s emotional mask. A flicker of pain crossed the dark eyes, a grimace tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"She’s dead, and I feel confident that her killer is after Kellan now. So once again: I need to know if you can get a message to her. We need to talk."
"Why haven’t you contacted Kellan before now? If you had this information about her mother, and felt you owed her a debt ..."
"I couldn’t," Akimura replied. "I was . . . indisposed. If I could have gotten in touch with Kellan sooner I would have."
"The clinic," Lothan mused out loud. "You were at Nightengale’s."
Akimura didn’t flinch. "You have done your research, I see."
Lothan shook his head. "Not me, Kellan. She was hired to erase your records at the clinic—she assumed by you. That’s why she thinks you’re out to get her now."
"Was she working alone?"
"No, she was working with someone—someone else who says she knew Kellan’s mother."
"Lothan, where is Kellan now?"
* * *
"As you can see," Midnight said, leaning over the diagram on the display of Kellan’s deck, "the Telestrian Habitat isn’t quite as big as the old Renraku Arcology, but it’s still a huge area to safeguard. Even the best security measures cannot fully accommodate the sheer number of people who move in and out of the facility on a daily basis, and that’s how we’re going to get in."
"Huh?" Kellan asked.
"Blend in with the on-site personnel," Midnight prompted, "disappear into the crowd and let the daily routine get us closer to the goal."
"Won’t it be that much harder carrying out the run with the place full of people?" Orion asked, emphasizing his question with a wave of his chopsticks.
"Not if we do it right," said Midnight. "If we try to get inside the habitat after hours, we’ll need to get past the sorts of security measures intended to keep people out. If we go in as part of the regular traffic, . security will be lighter because it has to be, and we’ve got a better chance of passing unnoticed, as long as we plan carefully and don’t make any mistakes."
"That’s likely," Kellan heard Orion mutter under his breath.
Midnight reached into her bag and produced a flat plastic badge. "These will get us past most of the security," she said. "They’re keyed to the habitat’s systems, and broadcast an ID code that will identify us as authorized employees, giving us access. We won’t set off any alarms, so security will have no reason to question us."
"And if they do?" Kellan asked, recalling their brush with the guard at the cyberclinic.
"Then we improvise," Midnight said with a smile. "We set up a cover story and stick to it. We’re out-of-town consultants, troubleshooters, brought in to handle a system-processing problem and we answer directly to Timothy Telestrian, who’s the head of the NeuroTech Computing division."
"Won’t somebody check?"
"Trust me, no one in Tir Tairngire wants to get a higher-up annoyed with them, and people learn not to question authority. As long as we play it like we’re important enough not to be bothered, no one will bother us. They won’t contact NeuroTech because they don’t want to get on Telestrian’s bad side. As long as it isn’t any trouble for them, they’re not going to worry about it."
"What about getting the data?" Kellan asked.
"That’s going to be the harder part," Midnight said. "Once we’re on the inside, we’ll have access to a terminal, but our contact can’t provide us with all the codes we need to get access to the files, so we’re going to have to do some of it the old-fashioned way."
"Hacking into the files?"
"Right. And we’ll need to be careful, since an external system alert can blow our cover."
"Kellan," Orion asked, "can you handle that?"
"Of course she can," Midnight offered supportively. Kellan seemed a little less certain.
"Well, Jackie has set me up with some good software," she began, "but hacking into a corporate main host—"
"We’ll be inside the primary intrusion countermeasures of the habitat’s system," Midnight pointed out. "All you’ll need to worry about is the ice protecting the actual files. Even the encryption we can deal with once we’re out."
Kellan nodded. "That’s true."
"I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t think you could handle it, Kellan."
Kellan glanced from Orion to Midnight, then nodded firmly. "Okay, then. No problem."
"Good," Midnight said. "Okay, this is what we need to work on tomorrow, and we ought to get an early start. . . ."
* * *
"Where is Kellan?" Akimura asked again.
Lothan slowly stood, towering over the man sitting in front of him. "I’ll pass on your message, Akimura-san," he said. "After that, it’s up to Kellan."
For a moment, the fixer looked like he was about to say something more, but he simply nodded. "Very well," he said. "Please tell her that she can set up the meeting, and I’ll agree to any terms she wants to place on our rendezvous. I need her to understand she can trust me."
"I’ll tell her," Lothan repeated.
With a nod to G-Dogg, Lothan walked toward the door. The Street Deacon handed them their weapons, then stepped aside to allow the pair to pass. Lothan heard the door close softly behind them, but didn’t look back or say anything until they reached the elevator.
"Lothan—" G-Dogg began, but the mage held up a hand for silence. Only once they stepped inside the elevator car and the doors closed behind them did he lower his hand, indicating that his companion was allowed to speak.
"What the frag is going on?" G-Dogg asked, his voice low.
"That’s what I intend to find out," Lothan replied. "If any of what we’ve been told is true, then Akimura is right about one thing: Kellan is in danger."
"So shouldn’t we warn her?"
"My very thought," Lothan replied, "but I want to use a means that’s a bit
more secure than a cell call. Akimura has resources enough to tap into that."
"Magic," G-Dogg said, and Lothan nodded. The elevator doors opened onto the lobby, and they made their way out to the street and headed back to the van.
"Yes," the troll mage said, "and while I’m making preparations, I want to try to get some confirmation of Mr. Akimura’s story." He took his phone from his coat pocket and, as he opened the passenger-side door of the van, spoke into it.
"Call Jackie Ozone," he said, and the phone complied. It rang only twice before the decker answered.
"Jackie," Lothan said as G-Dogg started up the engine, "I may have some additional leads for you to follow, but I’m going to need that information a little faster than expected."
When they returned to his home, Lothan went directly to his basement workshop, instructing G-Dogg to keep in touch with Jackie and to discreetly find out what he could about Kellan’s current whereabouts.
"Meet me back here in two hours," the troll said, and G-Dogg set off, leaving Lothan to get to work.
The mage began sketching a diagram on the floor of the workshop. It rapidly took shape as two concentric circles, the space between the circles filled with mystical symbols. Within the middle circle was a five-pointed star, with sigils at each of the points. Lothan’s big hands moved quickly through the familiar patterns of the design. In the center of the star he drew the symbol of the all-seeing eye.
Sitting back on his haunches, Lothan appraised his work and decided it was sufficient. He set candles at the points of the star and, with a pass of his hand, kindled them into flame. Turning the lights off in the room, the mage sat in the center of the circle he’d created, took a deep breath, and reached into the pouch at his belt to withdraw a tiny plastic bag. With another sigh, Lothan cleared his mind and began working.
It was a fairly simple ritual. Centering himself, Lothan withdrew a two flaxen hairs from the plastic bag. They were Kellan’s hairs, gathered after one of her many lessons. Lothan looked at them and thought about why he had kept them. He had always told himself it was for an occasion like this. If Kellan got into trouble, and it was difficult or dangerous to contact her any other way, then he would have another means at his disposal.
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