“Where is she, Martins?”

The flashing and beeping of the urgent message jerked Rel awake, and the words sent his heart racing.

“Who is this?” Rel replied, though he thought he knew the answer.

“Where is Hazel?”

If Peter Donovan had really contacted Rel without needing permission, the Bridge’s architect would also have access to Rel’s vital signs. He forced himself to breathe slowly, calming the beating of his heart as it tried to race. What Hazel had said was true – Rel was the only person who wore a Wire who had any specific dealings with her.

“Hazel?” Rel hedged. “The runaway Queue car girl. I don’t know. Is she okay? I could search the records if you think she’s in danger.”

Rel drew on all of his Bureau training to obscure the electronic evidence of his deception – the Bureau had taught their agents to fool lie detector tests in most cases, though Rel had never had the opportunity to utilize his knowledge before.

“You exchanged messages with Hazel, and you were with Sophie.”

“Sophie DeSoto,” Rel agreed, not acknowledging his communication with Hazel and formulating a plausible story as fast as he could. “Yesterday. Her father has a security line to the NCB, and there was some kind of weird malfunction at his home last night. There’s an automatic alarm that is sent to us – national security with Dragnet and all that – and I was instructed to pick her up. I’m pretty low ranking, so…Wait, who is this? How are you linking to me like this? I shouldn’t be talking to you. My supervisor is going to kill me!”

“I can check out your claims,” the anonymous message came back. “You’d better be telling the truth. You know better than to mess with me.”

“I have no desire to mess with anyone if I can help it. And if you’ll tell me who you are, I’ll do my best to help you.”

Peter Donovan’s voice carried hard steel. “I’ll be monitoring you to make sure you’re telling me the truth. Don’t screw with me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it…” Rel started, but the link just dropped, and he couldn’t finish his thought.

Rel cursed. For the next few hours at least, he would need to stay away from Dragnet. Not only that, he couldn’t send a message to tell them why. He couldn’t send Hazel a message to reassure her that he was okay – that she would be okay. Though he had shied away from losing access to his Neurex, he now wished he had listened to Hazel’s concern the night before. Maybe Donovan had a good idea in severing some of the power of the Bridge, even if the man intended it for completely immoral reasons. The Architect’s ideas for improving the Bridge revolved around consolidating more power onto him. If Rel had to pick a system to rule the world, he would want the people in charge to need to compete with each other for dominance.

Wasn’t society a constantly shifting conflict between the competing vices of humanity? Give too much power to the individual, anarchy ensues and the weak suffer. Give too much power to a government, and injustices abound – and the weak suffer. And people like Rel – people who held a tiny bit of power and high ideals – found themselves impotent to change things. Except, for this one battle he had a weapon in Hazel – a weapon he hoped would never see a fight. He just prayed that he was right to help her, and that she didn’t get hurt even more in the process.

Huffing in frustration, Rel settled in to watch a video. He would kill a couple of hours and then “go to work,” meaning he would visit Marquis Lewellen. If Marquis liked Vee, maybe he would help Rel just a little. A simple message to Vee would suffice.

+++++++++++++++++++++

Hazel stared around the room at the Rendering – it felt surreal. Though she had seen Peter’s Rendering, that consisted of a network of blue dots, connected by hair-thin lines of the same color representing the entire Bridge. Peter could zoom in on a specific blue dot, a cluster of dots, lines of connection. He could filter out different locations by a million characteristics. In a way, Peter’s Rendering offered the most complex computer creation possible.

In a different way, though, the Rendering offered by Tomás DeSoto and his Dragnet corporation revealed a competing complexity. It was like comparing the laws of physics in the vast cosmos and interstellar interactions to the intricacy and mechanics of the inside of a cell or the forces that control an atom. Tomás had rendered for Hazel an entire room of Tripartite. If she imagined the concept right, she could believe the experience similar to Wire-play. It was…heady.

The streets of Brussels, Belgium stretched before Hazel – not on the screen as usually happened, but life-size and surrounding her. Behind her, Sophie whistled.

“Actually, this is better than the Wire in a lot of ways,” she asserted.

“It’s disorienting, though,” Hazel complained lightly.

“Good thing you have eight hours to practice.”

“How is the exploit coming along?” Hazel demanded.

A voice came through her headphones. “We’re modeling it after your universal exploit to save time. Of course, we’re having to alter it, but it has the basic code patterns that work in the game. Probably four hours.”

Sighing, Hazel picked up the controller – unfamiliar in her hands – that Mr. DeSoto had provided her. “Is this what the Wire is like?” she begged Sophie as the Pros began to stir up around her.

“Similar, I guess. This is actually a little more immersive, believe it or not. The Wire just makes your eyes see a computer screen in front of them. The controls respond to thoughts as well as hand motions, so that’s different. You might actually convince me that this is better. Since I’m so cloaked, I just might pull this off.”

Hazel smiled, adrenaline flushing her system as she propelled herself into the game. Even with the novel setup, her gameplay proved instinctive. Probably even more satisfying since the physical activity double-flushed her system with a chemical spike.

In the back of her mind, she pouted that Rel had gone MIA. Still, she hadn’t talked to Vee as of yet, and surely Rel’s coworker would know his whereabouts. Maybe his fellow agent had sent him on a mission related to Peter’s plans.

Though Hazel wanted to seek out the answer to her questions, she was grateful that her role in the scheme had been naturally limited to playing her game. She was not made for the pressure. Not only that, thinking of Peter still made her nauseous – not because he scared her or because of how he had treated her. It sickened her how completely her actions felt like betrayal. She could intellectually persuade herself of the necessity of her actions, of the absolute uncompromising need to stop Peter, but Peter had been her friend. Maybe he could switch off his affection for her, but she could not manage it. Even as everything within her screamed that she had to stop him, Hazel ached for his disappointment and loss.

“I’m actually majorly jealous,” came Sophie’s voice, breaking through Hazel’s conflict.

You wouldn’t be if you could see the inside of my head, Hazel sighed as she approached to battle a ranger who was close to capturing a nearby Prefecture.

+++++++++++++++

The Partie would start in a few hours, and Peter knew one thing for certain: Hazel would be there. In fact, Hazel most likely had begun her warmup already. If he were going to find her without her handheld, he would have to find her in Trip. Fortunately for him, he had exactly twenty-four hours to kill before he started full execution of the Deconstruction, and everything was in place.

If he let things stand as they did with Hazel, though, he may never have another opportunity to find her. Maybe he could talk some sense into her. If not, though, he could at least have the satisfaction of kicking her ass in the game and stealing some of her gear – leave her weaker for the Partie. She had shown him a side of herself he had never suspected. It made her both less convenient and more challenging. His conscious mind despised challenges, but his instincts gloried in them. Since she had changed the game, he would best her at it.

Pulling up the Rendering, Peter donned his avatar. When he had searched for Hazel’s handheld, all he could manage was her last transmission date – about ten minutes before she slipped out of his hands.

Before tomorrow, he would remedy that shortcoming. He would access as much equipment as he could, winning the few things he couldn’t buy and buying the rest. He would also make sure that ExDominus would continue as a no-show for his spot – Pete needed the spot with Tryptech’s team. An hour or two before the tournament started, the teams would begin linking into the arena, and once Hazel did that, Peter could locate her by accessing that link.

+++++++++++++++

“Thanks for the clothes,” Hazel offered gratefully as she and Sophie pulled up the Trip rendering. “I forgot that I had left my dance clothes at your house that day of the wreck, and I would never have expected you to have a sweatshirt this big.”

“Tight black pants with an oversized sweatshirt and combat boots. You are hot!”

Hazel rolled her eyes, but half turned up a smile. “It’s certainly better than a ripped bodycon dress. I could hardly move.”

“You would hardly need to. Rel would have chased you to the ends of the earth if you stayed in that dress.”

“Rexist,” Hazel leveled, turning back to the table where the controls sat ready for their test run. She refused to give Sophie the satisfaction of looking for a reaction. “Here’s my issue,” Hazel complained as she unleashed a level fourteen spell against a nearby tank. “If I’m going to deploy this exploit, I will need to leave the tournament and go into the Trifecta.”

“Maybe I should enter your team. A berserker is close enough to a tank. It would fly for the qualifications of the advisory board, and I technically have reached the proper level – though with a Wire. It’s not like they’ve had someone un-Wire themselves before. They can’t have a regulation for it.”

Hazel dropped a couple of Pros who had sprung up in advance of an approaching tank. “Do you really think – being half-functional as you are – that you can learn an entirely new way to play in a couple of hours?”

“You’re doing it,” Sophie protested. “I can hold your team together while you wander off. Make your excuses and cover for you so they don’t kick you out before you can deploy the exploit.”

“Pick up a controller then. The mage approaching is level sixteen. That should give you some practice; see if it’s feasible.”

Sophie grabbed another controller and joined Hazel on the twilit street. Though it seemed a little otherworldly, her instincts adapted quickly. “Glad you picked Keitel. I’ll Jolt this.”

“So, here’s the other thing,” Hazel continued without missing a beat. “We have four satellites that need to be protected. I can only do one – the one covering North and Central America. We’re going to need three more Wire-frees to deploy the exploit, and they have to be from specific regions. We’re going to need three other identifiers for Trifecta for them to use. Once we detach the kids from the servers, someone at your dad’s company is going to have to convince the satellite operators that their kids are safe and they can disobey Peter.”

“I can get the Trifecta invitations,” Sophie insisted, deftly deflecting a spell cast by the mage. She seemed to have adapted quickly to the different style of play. “I must have met fifty people who got invites, and I guarantee they didn’t all use them. Honestly wish I hadn’t. When you have as much money as this group has, there’s little incentive to battle for weapons – why not just buy them.”

“Okay. That helps. So where do I find Wire-frees to help me?”

“Maybe SOA?”

Knocking down a horde of Pros, Hazel considered the idea. “Maybe. But even if I can manage to contact somebody in the short amount of time we have, I will need to bluff to get their help. They would love it if the Bridge collapsed.”

“Except that it’s the Wire they don’t like. And Peter is trying to get control of everyone’s Wire, however he may paint it. You could sell that. It’s what they’re afraid of. Maybe they fear the big, bad government, too, but they wouldn’t like the idea of a rogue element taking control either.” As she finished the sentence, Sophie dispatched the opposing mage and set down her controller. “So, am I in?”

Hazel signed out of her account and switched off the Rendering. “You’re amazing, Sophe…” Hazel smiled. “And in recovery from a coma. You’re making it look easy enough that I wonder why everyone is so impressed with me. You’ve got it handled. Now we just have to explain the plan to your dad, convince some Wired rich people to give us their private information and some Wire-free rebels to neglect their biggest tournament of the year to save the world, and successfully deploy an exploit that is yet to be written.”

“Piece of cake.”

“Let’s go talk to your dad.”

When the girls reached Mr. DeSoto’s office, they were surprised to find the man alone with Vee Garrison, seated in a cozy tete-a-tete in a pair of armchairs and speaking in low tones as they sipped what looked like a French espresso.

Sophie put her hand out and arrested Hazel’s forward progress, holding her finger to her lips. Perplexed, Hazel cast her friend a glare. Eavesdropping seemed entirely inappropriate, but Hazel wouldn’t resist her friend.

“…it would hardly be suitable for me to accept, Tomás. And detrimental to you.”

“You think other people would prove less forgiving?” the older man wondered.

“I think other people would be looking from the outside and not realizing how horrible this experience has been for you, not to mention your daughter and Hazel. Before you and I start down this road, I need to make sure justice is served for you.”

Tomás placed his hand on Vee’s, and even Sophie had the sense to look embarrassed. When Hazel dragged her back out the door, Sophie didn’t resist. However, it took the daughter only a moment to return to her father’s office in a raucous manner that announced her presence.

“…I’m sure his techs can pull it off,” Sophie declared as if she spoke midsentence. Hazel pursed her lips in disapproval but said nothing. The girls made sure not to notice the couple where they sat in their private corner, and when Mr. DeSoto rose with a smile, they kept their eyes on him, avoiding the diminutive woman until she was able to approach them from a less intimate direction.

“What is it you need?” Mr. DeSoto queried confidently, as if he were prepared to solve all of their problems.

“Hazel has kind of solidified the plans that we need to accomplish in the next four hours to make this happen, and they are pretty daunting. I think I have a good grasp on how each of us can accomplish our respective tasks, but it’s going to be really challenging to pull it off.”

Striding across to her father’s desk, she pulled out a notepad and pen and sectioned the paper into four sections.

“Your job is twofold, father.”

“How can I help?”

“Obviously, your techs need to finish the exploit, but Hazel has set the basis for that, so I imagine they will have that for us soon. The hard part of your job is political.”

“As always,” Tomás chuckled ironically.

“We need to separate the four kids of the satellite operators from the ground servers – that’s Hazel’s job. But even once we have done that, someone needs to convince the operators that they can resist Peter’s extortion.”

Tomás rubbed his chin in thought. “I can reach out to associates or colleagues, perhaps. Explain the situation to them and persuade them to approach our contacts. You will not disconnect the subjects for four or five hours, I assume, since you intend to deploy the fix during the tournament.”

“That’s true,” agreed Hazel. “And I have to find three Wire-free elites who are willing to risk the tournament to help me deploy the exploit.”

“You Wire-free’s are all rebellious thrill-seekers. It shouldn’t be too hard.”

Irritated, Hazel rolled her eyes at her friend. Unlike Sophie, persuasion was not Hazel’s strong suit.

“And…” Sophie finished out the last quadrant with her own responsibilities. “I have to find identifiers for entry into Trifecta and then keep our team competitive while Hazel dashes off to save the world.”

“It is an ambitious venture, and a lot of responsibility to place on young shoulders. I regret that I did not make a better world for you, Sophie, my dear.”

Sophie rolled her eyes, and Hazel found herself biting her lip so she didn’t smile. “Dad, you know it’s better in a thousand ways. Power-hungry autocrats aren’t unique to this generation.”

Laughing, Mr. DeSoto pulled his daughter into a hug. “I have missed you, Sophie.” He gushed, and though Sophie rolled her eyes again, she couldn’t suppress her smile.

As Mr. DeSoto and Sophie headed off to deliberate about their next steps, Hazel pulled Vee aside. “Have you heard from Rel this morning?”

“I haven’t,” Vee acknowledged. “I’m debating whether or not to go to his apartment and search him out.”

“If Peter manages to connect Rel with me, the Wire might put Rel in danger.”

“I’ve had the same thought. But other than the time he accompanied you in the Queue car, Peter has never encountered Rel, right?”

Hazel shook herself. “I think that was enough for Peter if he remembers the event. I think he recognized that I liked Rel even before I did. Some primal mating instinct.”

Vee laughed. “Well, we will hope that Peter is too preoccupied with his plan to give Rel much thought. Do you have any idea how to find prospects for your portion of the operation? Is there some way I can help? Being the only technologically challenged person here, I don’t know that I have to offer much.”

Considering, Hazel ran through possibilities of how to contact SOA. “Well, I received several messages from SOA – Soldiers of America – on my handheld, but I can’t really access those at the moment. I could pull up my broadcast feed, and you could search through the comments for recruitment messages. I had several in there.”

“Lead me to it,” Vee commanded, and the two ladies headed out to find the others.

“Wait, Vee. I need to tell you something.”

Vee arrested her forward motion, and Hazel glanced around to make sure no one else could overhear. “I want to give you something, because I think you’re the most objective person here.”

“Objective?”

“I am both too forgiving and too judgmental of Peter, because I love him but he has hurt me very badly. Rel obviously has the whole rivalry thing going on with Peter, though I feel pretty sure Rel would restrain himself. Mr. DeSoto would as soon see Peter fry as breathe, and Sophie has never liked him.”

Screwing up her face, Vee huffed a laugh. “I’ve never liked him, either.”

“But you’re a law enforcement agent, and I’ve seen your standards. I think I can trust you to follow the highest level of ethics.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence…what is it, Hazel?”

Hazel rubbed her hands on her neck. “I have Peter’s key.”

Blowing out a breath, Vee chewed her lip. “And you want to give it to me.”

“I found it when I was spying on his computer, and I knew instantly that it was dangerous. If I let myself think too hard, I might use it against him, and I need that not to be an emotional decision.”

“Send it to me. I’ll carry the responsibility.”

Hazel’s face fell, and she seemed devastated that she had handed over a potentially deadly piece of information to someone who didn’t love Peter.

Touched, Vee reached a comforting hand to Hazel’s arm. “I promise, I won’t use this lightly.”

Nodding, Hazel turned and headed out of the office.

++++++++++++++++

“Can’t say I expected to see you again,” Marquis Lewellen mused as he stared across at the giant seated across from him.

“I am in a bit of a dilemma,” Rel huffed, digging his fingers into the leather arms of the chair. His morning of killing time had stretched interminably, and knowing that Peter Donovan was likely monitoring him had set Rel on uncharacteristic edge. “Is your Wire upgraded?”

Without answering, AD Lewellen ran his hand under the green keyboard beam and tapped at the keyboard that lit up on his desk. A moment later, he returned his gaze to his guest.

“For a short while, I am incognito. What is it you need?”

“You did a good job of shutting me down,” Rel accused.

“I don’t care how secure this room is right now…” Lewellen threw Rel a hard glare. “…that is not something I can discuss out loud, ever.”

Surprised, Rel stared openmouthed at the AD. “I expected denials.”

Without replying directly, Lewellen shrugged. “But there were other ways to convey information – ways that didn’t require direct words for information sharing.”

Rel felt his heart speed as ire painted his vision red for an instant. “I had thought that communication was helpful, until it nearly destroyed something important to me.”

To his credit, AD Lewellen looked stricken for a moment, and Rel wondered what had compelled the man. Certainly, if his expression signified anything, it wasn’t personal preference.

“That being the case, I think maybe it would be best if I tender my resignation.”

“I’ve been in close communication with Tomás of late. You might talk to him before you make that decision.”

“I had planned to ask you for help because Vee likes you, but I think that ship has sailed based on what you just told me. Still, I will talk to Tomás when I am able.”

“I’ll do what I can. That thing in your head is pretty intrusive, is it not?”

“Is that a threat?” Rel steamed.

Pursing his lips, AD Lewellen reached into his desk drawer. He retrieved a handheld device and handed it over to his companion. “Nothing is really disconnected from the Bridge, you know,” the man explained, “but the Bridge is a huge structure. Without identifiers, it’s hard to hone in on a message’s source or intention.”

Rel stared at the device. Honestly, he had planned to walk out of the office and try to buy a handheld, though he balked at the expense. The Wire, though, hovered like a landmine in Rel’s brain, and a simple software download would make a handheld untraceable. Lewellen had to know that. The handheld did not solve all of Rel’s problems, but he felt a lot more confident sending a message over a device that wasn’t in his brain. If Peter Donovan decided Rel was a threat, Rel could still die, but he might have more time to help Hazel before he did.

As soon as he stepped out of the building, he downloaded the program and wiped the handheld. “I need to meet you ASAP,” he typed. “Emergency.” Hopping into a Queue car, he headed to the restaurant where he had met Vee.