I'm a little uncomfortable. After so much time in the Waldo, I've gotten used to it's people level perspective, and swinging around at the end of someone's arm has never been a fave of mine anyway. Scanning up, Richie seems a little haunted, eyes all crinkly at the corners. There was a rustling from the other side of the door, and Wander stiffened up, making an obvious effort to compose himself.

The door is opened by a knockout redhead, Marcia, I guess, about the same height as Richie, maybe a little taller. Her gray eyes widen, flicking over him, and my travel case.

"Richie! What a ...I wasn't expecting ... "

"Did Becky find you? Give you the stuff I sent?"

Her expression cleared a bit. She nodded, and opened the door wider.Inside, a thin girl, twenty something, sat fidgeting in an over-upholstered living room chair. She sprang up blinking intently at Wander 's mug.

Wander seemed contrite, and lowering his eyes from Marcia, removed his dumpy hat, rotating it nervously in his hands.

"I know I haven't kept in touch like I should have. Just, didn't want to make a nuisance of myself, I..."

"Oh Richie, just come inside. Thanks, I got the material about mother's will, your note, and evidently, your new client. Coffee?"

Richie blew out a breath, nodded and dragged himself over the threshold. He put my case down on a side table while his Ex fetched coffee. Muscles rippled over that bald pate while he tried to pinch out some idea constipating his head. I got nervous.

"What?"

Richie narrows his eyes at me.

"You still have some of those research papers you collated on Becky's dad?"

"Uh, the whak-a-doodle UFO stuff? Sure, why?

"Marcia's got a printer here. Print me copies."

He digs around in his ratty mackintosh, and pulls out a baggie. Oh. The chip.

"Can you affix this thing inside your carry case? So it can't be separated out from the other circuitry in it? Hide it?"

I sniff, well, make sniffing sounds though the case's speaker. "Sure. That's kinda my purpose-du-Jour. There's a small test bed platform, ah, open the case."

Ritchie manages, and grunts, " So now what?"

"Left end, next to the petrie dish, a small cover. See it?"

"Yeah."

"Flip it up. There's a bunch of rows of pinch clips on the board, lots of slots in it. Line the chip up with the little black dot top left of the board, and push the chip in."

Ritchie grunts and fumbles, drops it twice, but eventually manages to poke it in place. I link up to the test board. Wow, that interesting. I start testing to data channels, and pretty much ignore anything else going on.