“This is nearly impossible to believe,” said Toni, and she took a gulp of her gin and tonic, her hand shaking.
Eric looked at Meredith. “Rith.”
She nodded and then said, “Toni, do you remember when the Foxes captured an entire battalion?”
“I do,” said Toni.
“Then listen.”
The quiet of the great room was suddenly filled with stealthy sounds of furtive movement and the soft jingle of chain mail. It was as if a large force of armed and armored men were quietly moving through a forest. And starting at the same end of the room where Ky had begun, slowly, cautiously the unseen army neared and passed and went on, the sound to fade to silence somewhere beyond the wall.
“Oh, my,” said Toni.
Eric looked at Alice. “Lyssa.”
Alice stood and stepped toward a window. Five foot six and a trim one thirty, the lithe biologist closed her brown eyes and bowed her head, her brunette hair falling down around her face. After a moment she said, “There is a puma nearby. I will fetch it.”
Without moving from the spot, she bowed her head again.
Minutes passed, but then Timothy’s outside motion-detector lights flared on. Caught in the glare, just within the low front wall, a mountain lion stood between two flowering bougainvilleas. Yet the cat didn’t flee.
Toni took in a deep breath, as did Hiroko and Meredith.
Alice said, “I release it . . . now!”
As she said it, the lion bounded to the top of the wall and then beyond and away into the darkness downslope.
“Lord, lord, this is difficult to believe,” said Toni. Then she looked at Alice and said, “I don’t know how you did that, but—”
“Neither do I,” said Alice. “Pardon me for interrupting, you were going to say . . . ?”
“Just that I am glad you did one of your ‘ranger’ spells. You see, I thought that since you were turned into a ghost in VR, you might try something right spookish.”
Alice’s eyebrows raised in surprise, and she looked at Eric. “I never even thought that I might have that talent, too.”
“Lyssa, I’m not certain it’s wise to run experiments along those lines. We don’t know what it might do to you. I mean, to become a ghost, you might have to die.”
“Rather dangerous, if I might say,” said Toni.
Eric nodded even as Kane said, “So would I. Stay corporeal, Lyssa, if you don’t mind.”
“Still,” murmured Alice, staring down at the Saltillo tile, as if looking into the very depths of the world, “it would be a handy thing to have—walking through walls, slipping onto a room unnoticed, draining enemies, and other such ghostly things.” Then she glanced up and smiled and added, “I think a trial or two is in order, but later, when we have time.”
Eric sighed and shook his head. “Who am I to caution against risk? After all, I am one who thinks we should go back into VR to rescue Arton, which might actually free Arthur. —But enough of that, for the moment.” Eric looked at Caine and said, “Kane.”
“All right.” Caine set aside his tumbler of scotch and said, “I’ll be right back.” He headed for the wet bar and then to the bathroom beyond.
As Caine walked from the room, Toni looked at Eric. “What about Arik? What’s his talent?”
Eric glanced at the others and said, “It seems whatever weapon I take in hand might become magical, charmed.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. Do you remember the set-to I had with the top duelist at the U of A?”
Toni nodded. “Bested him in all blades—épée, saber, rapier—if I recall.”
As Eric nodded, Alice said, “You should see Eric shoot pistols, or throw darts.”
Toni said, “Well, I’d rather not see flashing blades to demonstrate your gift, Eric. There might be blood spilled.”
“We always have Kane to clean up the mess,” said Hiroko, grinning and looking toward the archway where her love had gone.
Toni turned to Timothy. “And you, Tim? What did you come away with?”
“I have Trendel’s seer powers,” said Timothy. “I can cast past vision spells, peer into the future—though that is very draining—and cast illusions or see through them; I can spot the invisible, the hidden, and the unseen, as well other seer things. For example”—Timothy concentrated on Toni’s purse—“in addition to the usual items such as lipstick and a comb and keys, you have twenty-three creds, a small caliber pistol—seven millimeters, serial number MM02011-762, it’s a Beretta. You also have a tampon, three condoms—Trojan Ultra Ribbed—and a small vial of AstroGlide personal lubricant. Shall I continue?”
Even as Hiroko giggled and both Meredith and Alice smiled, Toni, now blushing, shook her head. But then she looked at Timothy and asked, “Would it be possible for you to, um, see into Avery’s black hole?”
Just as had Alice’s, Timothy’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “God, why didn’t I think of that?”
Kane came back into the great room. He was carrying a corkscrew, a Band Aid, an antibacterial “Wet One” wipe, and a small tube of Neosporin.
Toni looked a bit askance at the big man. “Don’t worry, my dear,” said Caine, “this won’t hurt a bit . . . or at any rate, only a little bit.”
He sat beside Toni and took her arm in one hand and the corkscrew in the other and with the point he just broke the skin above the wrist. As red welled out from the puncture, Toni jerked away, snapping, “What the bloody hell, Caine, that corkscrew isn’t sanitary.” She reached for the Neosporin and the—”
But Caine grabbed her arm and closed his eyes, and the wound disappeared from her and appeared on Caine’s own wrist. Toni’s skin was now whole, unbroken, though droplets of blood yet remained.
Even as Toni looked on in wonder, the puncture on Caine’s arm began to close, and he said, “The wipe is for you.”
As Toni cleaned away the remnants of blood from her skin, she asked, “What about the stick-on and ointment?”
Caine grinned. “That was for the others to treat you with in case you coldcocked me.”
“She might have shot you instead,” said Hiroko, grinning.
As Caine canted his head sideways in question, Timothy said, “One of several, um, surprises she has in her purse.”
As Meredith got up to refresh everyone’s drinks, Eric said, “Well, Toni, now you know all our secrets.”
“And I can see why you’d want to keep them that way.” She glanced at Caine, whose puncture was now completely healed. “Specimens on a slide, indeed. —I say, no wonder you popped out of Catalina Crest Retreat as fast as you did. We all thought you’d be a long while recovering from being bonkers.”
“For me, it was a long while,” said Caine. “Most injuries I take on are healed in as short as a few minutes though the more serious can take several hours. But injuries to the mind require much longer times to repair, ’cause they somehow interfere with my ability.”
“I shouldn’t wonder,” said Toni. Then she frowned and asked, “Here now, were you responsible for those miracle cures up there as well?”
Caine grinned and nodded. “Like to have driven several of the shrinks and other quacks up there bonkers, too.”
As Meredith sat back down, Eric said, “I think it’s time we began considering just what we need to do to free Arton.”
“Right,” said Caine.
Toni shook her head, and her gaze swept over the Foxes. “You might be the only team that can accomplish it, but let me tell you this: going back into VR with Avery at the helm, well, it’s quite bloody fucking dangerous. What makes you think he just won’t kill you outright?”
“Look,” said Timothy, “I programmed much of Avery’s fundamentals, and even though he seems insane, catatonic, perhaps, or, of recent, a babbling idiot, still I believe that he must follow the basic rules, or at least the majority of them.”
“Refresh my memory,” said Toni. “Which rules do you think are still in effect?”
Timothy said
, “These are the ones most deeply embedded in his system: he cannot put thoughts in our minds, other than those that would naturally come to us through our perceptions—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—those are the ones in the settings we encounter . . . it is part and parcel to us having free will. We have to have free will, and so he cannot control our thoughts, such as making us believe we are mortal enemies of one another. Avery cannot just suddenly kill us; that is, even though he is like a god in VR and sets up the environment and the other people and creatures in it, he is not allowed, for example, to suddenly plunge us to the bottom of an ocean, or have an asteroid wipe us out. No, he’s got to play fair—no instant death traps. And speaking of traps, or other hazards for that matter, there must always be a way for us to escape whatever perils we encounter, though if we make a stupid choice, so be it. And given free will, we must use our wits, or stealth and guile, or brute force, or our powers, or even run away—or whatever—and succeed in dealing with the challenge in one way or another. And, if we win the game, we are to be returned to reality. That’s game-over, so to speak.”
Toni sighed and said, “Well, let’s hope it’s game-over for Avery, and not game-over for you.”
5
Five Months Before the Hearing
(Black Foxes)
“So, Toni,” said Eric, “you’re going to help us do this, right?”
Toni took a deep breath and then let it out. “I can’t do it alone. I’ll need at least a few of the corporate team to assist.”
“Like who?” asked Caine.
“Alya, Drew, Henry—”
“Stein?” barked Caine. “Henry Stein? That son of a bitch? I mean, what the hell, he tried to blow our brains out with that modified cephalorupter of his.”
“We can’t do this without a doctor,” said Toni, “and Henry is the only one we’ve got who knows the ins and outs of Avery and the rigs.”
“Yeah, that might be,” said Caine, “but Alya can take over that task.”
“Ms. Ramani is a biochemist,” said Toni. “Not a medical doctor. Yes, Alya can monitor the biosigns for the team, but if anything goes awry, like the last time, then we’ll need Henry.” She gestured at Alice and said, “Henry kept her alive when we mistakenly started to unplug her. I mean, that is why her alter, Lyssa, turned into a specter, and Alice nearly died.”
“Which reminds me,” said Eric, “will Lyssa be a ghost when we go back into VR? If so, then I think you are right: we will need a doctor to make certain Alice stays alive out here.”
“But that jerk?” asked Caine.
“Remember,” said Toni, “he and his whole family are Veritites."
Eric sighed and shook his head. “Plain-talkers. They believe in rejecting the so-called veils of diplomacy: say what you mean; mean what you say—the truth shall set you free.”
"And be damned the social consequences," added Alice.
"Exactly so," said Toni. “And Henry is extreme, for he was raised as an Elite Veritite. Yet in spite of his social flaws, he’s brilliant at his job.”
Caine groaned and looked at Hiroko, and she sighed and said, “Yes, lover, it’ll have to be Stein.”
“Oh, dretch,” growled Caine, then settled back.
“Let me ask you this, Toni,” said Eric. “Will Stein actually come? I mean, he was adamant and refused to believe that our mentalities had been sucked into Avery the last go-round, so what makes you think he’ll join us on a mission to rescue Arthur Coburn’s trapped mentality.”
“Oh, he’ll come all right,” said Toni. “He was practically spitting nails when they threw us out. Besides, being the Elite Veritite he is, he’ll try to prove to us just what fools we are in believing such twaddle as Arthur being trapped in Avery’s memory.”
“Doctor Jerk,” grunted Caine.
“We’ll also need a couple of medtechs to assist him,” said Toni. “Alvin Johnson and Grace Willoby are the best we have. They were superb during Alice’s crisis.”
Eric nodded and said, “Okay, Toni, let’s say you’re right in your assessment. That gives us”—Eric ticked off on his fingers—“Alya Ramanni, biochemist; Drew Meyer, physicist and mathematician; and Henry Stein, medical doctor, and a couple of medtechs: that’s five, and you make six. Who else do we need besides that sextet? Remember, to keep our secret, the less the merrier.”
“How about John Greyson?” asked Caine.
Meredith frowned. “Greyson? The ethicist? What for?”
“Well, look, Rith, he’s the one who saved our butts when Stein was going to shock us with that CR.”
“Ah, as a counterbalance, eh?”
“Yeah.” Caine looked at Eric.
“All right,” replied Eric. “John Greyson.” He looked at Toni. “Is that enough for a skeleton crew?”
Timothy said, “We’ll need at least two comptechs—say Sheila Baxter and Billy Clay—in case something blows.”
Toni nodded and added, “And a team of powertechs.”
Eric frowned. “But we already have juice. I mean, the facility is running on autopilot now, right? Not shut down; just no crew?”
“Yes, but there are two good reasons we need powertechs,” said Toni. “First, when you were in Itheria and the lightning struck out here, we lost power, and if it hadn’t been for Kat Lawrence and some of her crew and Al Hawkins and Mike Phelan in my crew, then every one of you would have died.”
“Yeah, but we’re not likely to have that happen again,” said Caine.
“That’s right, but some sort of failure can always happen, and so we need powertechs.”
“That’s a good enough reason,” said Eric. “But you said you had two. What’s the second?”
Just this,” said Toni. “Say we take over the facility and Mark Perry and the heirs discover what we are doing.”
“Yeah, and . . . ?”
“What’s to keep them from having the power shut off at the mains? If that happens, the entire facility would die.”
“Avery has battery backup,” said Timothy.
“But it’s only good for four hours,” said Toni. “What we need is to have Kat bring back her rig with the Astro two-fifty turbogen. She and her crew’ll hook it up to our H2 source, as well as make ready to feed juice to the main bus, just as she did before, and that way, no matter what happens to the mains, we’ll be assured of power. Anyway, with the powertechs on board and the others we’ve named, we should be able to support you out here and the Black Foxes in VR as well.”
“Yeah, but there’s still a problem,” said Eric.
“What?” asked Timothy.
“Just this,” said Eric. “If we take over the facility, we’ll need to deal with the security forces, and as Ky says, getting in will be no trouble: we simply use stealth and guile. But to keep everyone out until we’re done? Ah, there is the rub.”
“Ah, right,” said Toni. “The security forces are Blackledge men—hired by Mark Perry—and they are loyal to the heirs, and if they find us there . . .”
“Wait,” said Timothy. “That place is built like a fortress. Once we get inside, then we simply raise the drawbridge and slam the gates, so to speak. The best they can do is set siege.”
“Well, not really,” said Toni. “Given enough time, they’ll surely break in.”
“Then we’ll need to have Arton free before that happens,” said Meredith.
Toni nodded and said, “All right. Let’s say we, or at least the Foxes, can deal with Blackledge and get us in, and we hold them off for a while. My question is this: since we can’t boot Avery, then how are you actually going to enter VR? Too, what’s to say that you’ll go to Itheria, or wherever it is that Arton is being held—the right milieu, that is?”
“Well,” said Timothy, “Avery has several autonomous functions that should take effect whenever a team is hemisynched in. And, given that the ID crystals of the Black Foxes specify that they are Itherian, well, I think that’s where the autonomous functions of Avery have to start the adventure.
”
“But Avery has no planned adventure on hand,” said Toni, “or at least has not laid out the settings and the people within those settings for a new game.”
“Look,” said Timothy, “if he hasn’t anything on hand, and if he can’t run an adventure on the fly, then you’ll just have to pull us back out.”
“Ah,” said Eric, “I have an idea.”
“Something to do about Avery running an adventure?” asked Toni.
“No,” said Eric, “that’s your bailiwick. Instead, I have the glimmering of a plan as to how we can get into the facility, at least long enough to make an attempt to set Arton free.”
Meredith cocked an eyebrow. “And this secret ploy of yours, O Fearless Leader, is . . . ?”
“We go in disguise.”
“Ah, crap,” said Caine. “I don’t see—?”
“Hear me out,” said Eric. “The weekend is the day after tomorrow, and Monday is a holiday. It’s not likely that Mark will have rounded up a team to shut down and restart Avery by then. So, here’s what we’ll do: Mark will lead a team past Blackledge—”
“What?” blurted Toni. “Mark will not cooperate in—”
Eric pushed out a hand to stop her words. “Timothy will be Mark.”
“Ah, clever plan, grasshopper,” said Hiroko, enlightenment lighting up her face, as it did the other Foxes.
“I don’t understand,” said Toni.
Alice said, “It ought to work.”
Caine agreed, as did Meredith and Timothy.
Toni frowned. “I still don’t—”
In that instant, where Timothy had been standing, Mark Perry said, “Illusion.”
Toni gasped.
“I cast an illusion and become Mark Perry,” continued Mark, or someone who seemed to be Mark. “Then I roll up and tell ‘my’ guards that this is the team that will take over Avery. We’ll leave them just as they are, keeping watch over the grounds and building, none the wiser. We’ll have three days to get Arton free.” Mark disappeared and Timothy stood in his place.
Shadowprey: A Black Foxes Adventure Page 4