“Zoe, what is your plan for the church?” Claire asked after they had dinner that night.

“As I said earlier, slice the network, steal any data of value, and then destroy it with an Atomic,” Zoe answered.

“Mhmmm,” Claire muttered. “Is that all?”

Zoe nodded her head in answer. Claire all but glared at the younger woman. Zane laughed.

“And any credits in accounts that you could access?” Zane asked.

“I’ve been thinking I would donate that to different charities,” Zoe replied after an awkward silence.

“Uh huh,” Claire said.

“Really?” Zane asked while giving Zoe a disbelieving look.

“I’m sure,” Zoe protested, giving the married couple her best innocent look. The husband and wife looked at each other and then turned to Zoe, giving her the same disbelieving, questioning look. Zoe’s eyes widened. “How did you two do that?”

“Do what?” Claire asked.

“That look,” Zoe replied.

“Long practice and a finely tuned bullshit detector,” Zane said. Claire smiled at that statement and patted Zane’s thigh.

“Thank God. For a moment, I thought you were going to say parenting,” Zoe said, making the other two laugh.

“What do you think all the practice is for?” Claire asked.

“Congratulations,” Zoe said instead of answering the rhetorical question.

“That’s premature, but thanks anyway,” Claire replied.

“Now, stop changing the subject and answer my question,” Zane said.

“Ok. I was planning to donate some to myself too,” Zoe admitted.

“And do what with it?” Claire asked. “Planning on renting another houseboat, buying a house, or moving to Arizona with your aunt?”

“For some reason it doesn’t surprise me you know that Aunt Anne is moving,” Zoe said.

“Part of the job,” Zane replied. “But answer Doc’s question. What are you going to do with the money?”

“I hadn’t thought that far ahead,” Zoe answered. “I sold my GT4 and all but emptied my accounts to buy the Atomic daemon, so probably use whatever I can get for myself to buy a new motorcycle, rent a place, buy more clothes, and keep working as a courier in and around the city.”

“You could do better,” Claire said. “You do have federal drivers and courier licenses.”

“Do you know everything about me?” Zoe asked.

Claire’s lips twitched into a grin as Zane laughed. She then said, “Almost.”

“What did you mean I could do better than just starting over?” Zoe asked after a brief silence.

“You were carving out a nice little profitable niche for yourself with the out of city runs you were taking,” Zane said. Zoe dropped her head into her hands.

“Am I bugged or something?” Zoe asked after looking up at the couple.

“No,” Claire answered.

“But we have been keeping an eye on you,” Zane added.

“You’re also not the only slicer that we know,” Claire said.

“Ok…” Zoe replied. “Wait, are you suggesting that I shouldn’t buy another bike and should take jobs away from the city?”

“Bingo,” Zane answered.

“Doing so would keep you away from the criminal elements here and others you’ve had run ins with,” Claire added. “It would also be a lot more profitable while allowing you to visit Anne from time to time while getting paid for it. You would need something more than a motorcycle to do that though.”

“I suppose doing runs for you or other associates of yours would be part of my out of state runs too,” Zoe concluded.

“I think she’s earned some ice cream for that answer,” Zane said.

“You can’t have ice cream. You’re on a diet and you know it,” Doc told Zane. Zoe laughed as Zane gave his wife a wounded look.

“I’ll think about it,” Zoe said trying to picture what kind of vehicle she would need to travel across the country.

“Fair enough,” Zane replied. “Now, let’s discuss your plan.”

“Simple, I hide my location through VPNs and slice the church’s network while using something else as a diversion,” Zoe said dismissing her previous thoughts. Claire and Zane exchanged a look. “What?”

“Don’t worry about even using your personal VPN,” Claire said. “We’ll let you use our network for your attack. It’s more than enough to keep your location safe.”

“As for a diversion, leave that to us,” Zane added. “I think it’s time the police arrest the brothers and their crew for arson and attempted kidnapping.”

“That’s not much of a diversion,” Zoe pointed out.

“No, but it gets them off the streets,” Zane replied.

“As well as giving the church leadership something else to think about,” Claire added.

“I’m not sure I want to be part of some legal mess either,” Zoe said.

“I’ll make sure you stay out of it as much as possible,” Claire promised. Zoe nodded her head in gratitude and agreement.

“We’ll arrange for another slicer or two to attack the church at the same time you do,” Zane said.

“The church’s slicers are good despite not having implants,” Zoe warned.

“We know,” Claire assured her.

“And this won’t be the first time we’ve tangled with the church,” Zane said.

“Huh,” Zoe muttered as Zane grinned at her again.

“How do you feel about using VR when on the net?” Claire asked, changing the subject.

“Never tried it,” Zoe replied. “Why?”

“It’s faster and allows you to use the net just like you do MR in the real world,” Claire answered.

“The downside to VR is that you need a secure location to use it, since you can’t watch yourself beyond your personal ICE,” Zane said.

“Do you have a VR rig you want me to try or something?” Zoe asked.

“No,” Claire answered. “But I want to give you every advantage to pull this off with.”

“I know VR allows a user to interact with virtual things as if they were real, but I don’t see the point of that in slicing since MR allows the same thing,” a slightly puzzled Zoe said. Where was Doc Brown going with all this?

“As Claire said, VR is faster and while pretty much allowing you to visit the system you’re attacking in person,” Zane said. “At least, that’s what the slicers we’ve talked to have said.”

“Sounds like MR to me,” Zoe replied.

“Can you visit a system that’s in another city or country in person using MR?” Claire asked.

“No. I see a representation of it though.”

“VR is like really traveling to the site. You’ll be able to see their Fortress, Castle, Dragons, or whatever as if you’re really there,” Claire replied.

“And you’ll be able to dodge attacks by daemons and other slicers just like you duck or hide when someone shoots at you,” Zane added pointing a finger gun at Zoe.

“That could be useful,” Zoe said. “But you said you don’t have a VR rig.”

“We don’t,” Claire agreed. “I see you’ve forgotten that all Kaisers have built in VR.”

“Yeah, I forgot about that,” Zoe admitted.

“It does VR in addition to having a 125X zoom that lets you see about half a mile away,” Zane said. “V4 also has thermal vision, all previous model features, plus photography and video modes. That said, the V4s aren’t available to the public yet.”

“Oh,” Zoe replied. “I couldn’t afford that even if they were available.”

“I’ll only charge you cost, which you can pay off once you pull off your heist,” Claire said.

“So, how about it?” Zane asked. “Ready to step into the real state of the art HD world?”

“You’re not just offering this to me at cost for my benefit, are you?” Zoe asked suspiciously.

“Told you she was quick,” Zane said to his wife.

“We and a few others may want to make use of your skills and implants from time to time in exchange for the restricted tech,” Claire admitted.

Zoe thought it over for a few minutes. “Alright. But I’m not going to be some slave to the CSA or whoever you really work for.”

“I would never sell you into something like that. You have my word,” Claire promised. “This really is about helping you while satisfying my backers that they’ll get a small return on their investment.”

“Ok. I trust you two. Let’s do it,” Zoe said.