"Yes, sir. I hope so. We have the tools. The main limiting factors are the people we set to use them. Properly taught, they can accomplish any job we need accomplished. If I can't cut a piece of string with the knife I'm holding, then I need to sharpen it, not blame the knife for being dull."

Once he he was gone, Thorn decided that maybe it might be a good time to go to the gym. However, given the way his day was running so far, he might just stab himself in the foot. He shook his head. Well. He certainly hadn't impressed these folks with his wit and wisdom today, had he? Maybe he'd better cancel his appointments and stay in his office where he wouldn't say or do anything foolish for the rest of the day. was gone, Thorn decided that maybe it might be a good time to go to the gym. However, given the way his day was running so far, he might just stab himself in the foot. He shook his head. Well. He certainly hadn't impressed these folks with his wit and wisdom today, had he? Maybe he'd better cancel his appointments and stay in his office where he wouldn't say or do anything foolish for the rest of the day.

Washington, D.C.

Jay readied his a.s.sault on Hugo h.e.l.lbinder's secret base from behind a fat-boled banana tree. The infrared laser of his silenced .45 HK Mark-23 painted the hapless guard to the left of the entrance with a foreshadowing dot that Jay, with his specialized night-vision gear, could see, but was otherwise invisible to the human eye.

The guard on the left had to go first because he was closest to the alarm. There'd be maybe a second or two to take the other guard out after the first fell. No problem.

The humid night air of the jungle was warm and full of distractions. One of the guards slapped at a mosquito, and the other leaned over to tie his shoe.

Now . . .

Jay took the shot.

There was a soft whap whap as the subsonic .45 hit the unfortunate guard on the left, the invisible infrared giving way to hot blood as the guard's spine shattered. The other guard cried out, "What? Not as the subsonic .45 hit the unfortunate guard on the left, the invisible infrared giving way to hot blood as the guard's spine shattered. The other guard cried out, "What? Not me! me!" He started to roll to the side, his animation flexing slightly as he blended into the wall behind him for a second before Jay's second shot ended his worries.

Sorry, pal. The rules of the game. Spear-carriers get wiped out fast.

He'd lifted the scenario from an old vid he'd played as a teenager, one of his favorite spy games. The weapons, the sounds, even the imagery-including the occasional computer-glitch blending of enemies with the landscape-was just as he'd remembered it.

It should be, after all the time I spent reverse-engineering it.

Sure, he could could be using VR to simulate some static mind puzzle, some way of more accurately mirroring the RW activity he was engaged in, but as always, that wouldn't be nearly as much fun. be using VR to simulate some static mind puzzle, some way of more accurately mirroring the RW activity he was engaged in, but as always, that wouldn't be nearly as much fun.

He readied himself for the rush to the entrance. There was a camera on the inside of the doorway-it had warned them he was sneaking in on one of his early attempts. A quick shot upward before stepping through the door, and it'd be gone. Then he'd work his way back to the underground bridge, to see if he could fight his way across.

Sooner or later he'd complete the game mission and at that point, the second part of the code would be cracked. In theory.

He retraced his steps perfectly, taking out guards and cameras, not missing a shot. Everything was going well until, abruptly, the scenario froze.

So did Jay.

A doorway opened into the s.p.a.ce, right in the middle of the bridge. Time stalled: Bullets hung frozen in the air, a guard tilted at a forty-five-degree angle in the process of falling, his video-game body painted with pixelated blood.

Through the door stepped Saji.

He frowned-she never never bothered him at work-particularly when his don't-call-me was on. She was one of only two people who bothered him at work-particularly when his don't-call-me was on. She was one of only two people who could. could. He'd given the codes only to Alex and Saji. He'd given the codes only to Alex and Saji.

I'll have to remember to give them to the new guy, he thought, before he wondered what was so important that she would actually he thought, before he wondered what was so important that she would actually use use the access codes. the access codes.

Something wrong? Somebody sick? Or, worse, somebody dead?

There was certainly something something. She had that look to her, a determined set to her VR character.

"This is nice," she said in a voice that meant exactly the opposite. She waved at the frozen blood spray from the back of the guard.

"I'll put something else on." Jay started to switch to a more neutral scenario, but she shook her head.

"I've got one," she said, indicating her doorway.

He followed her and stepped into a zen garden. There were rocks, bonsai trees, and a beautiful stream gurgling in the background.

The detail was amazing. A mosquito buzzed by, and was eaten by a bird that swooped down to catch it. Eddies and currents in the stream moved in endless, almost-random patterns. A cool breeze touched his cheek, and the smell of pine needles wafted over him.

She indicated a bench, and he sat on it, a smooth wooden surface that had been there so long that the front edge had been worn smooth.

"Nice VR. This is great-even I don't usually get this detailed. Where'd you get it?"

She smiled, and his heart stilled for a moment-if she could still smile at him like that, the news couldn't be that bad.

Unless she's dying. She did have a doctor's appointment today.

His stomach lurched.

"I'm glad you like it-it's mine."

He almost forgot to be worried. Saji had done this? Where had she been hiding her abilities? The VR they'd worked through during his therapy had never been this sharp. This was good. good.

"Really?"

She laughed. "Yes really. It's my meditation spot. I've worked on it for years."

"It's great," he said. "Amazing. Really."

She grinned. "Glad that the top VR jock at Net Force approves!"

Then: "Because I've got something to tell you."

This was it. What could be this important? What could be such serious news that she'd come to work and get him-in VR-and show him her most private meditation?

"Saji? Is everything okay? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. You might need to take a deep breath, though."

"Me?"

His face must have shown his confusion, because she smiled, and then took his hand. "Well, yeah. You're going to be a father."

He felt an immense sense of relief-she was okay okay- And then: Me? A father? Me? A father?

It was like being hit in the head with a hammer.

He realized she was waiting for him to say something-anything.

"Wow," he said, stunned. "I mean, wow! wow!" he added, putting some excitement into the word. "That's . . . that's . . . great! great!" He grinned.

Saji seemed relieved. She grinned back at him.

She took his hand and squeezed it.

"I wanted to wait until you got home, but I just couldn't. I'm so excited, Jay! We're going to have a baby!"

He grinned back at her, enjoying her excitement.

He wasn't completely sure about his own, but he knew he'd rather take this leap with her than anyone else.

A baby. He was going to be a father. Whoa. Talk about unreal scenarios.

9.

Quantico, Virginia Risks were unavoidable in Eduard Natadze's line of work. He knew that and accepted that. What he would not accept were unnecessary risks-especially those caused by sloppiness or overconfidence.

He expected no trouble from his current target. He knew Jay Gridley's habits backward and forward, and knew that the computer jock posed no challenge for him. But still he took no chances.

He had made sure that he was not carrying a photo of Jay Gridley, or anything else that would connect him to Net Force's top computer jock. The only thing he did carry was an electronic receiver, but even that was simply a standard player with a couple of nonstandard tunings he could wipe with a touch. He didn't expect to be stopped and searched-they did not do such things here in America-but still, he took no chances. Besides, he did not need any photos. He had already studied his quarry and would know the man when he saw him. He would recognize the automobile the man drove, its license number, and he knew all the likely routes from Net Force HQ to Jay's home.

He was prepared, at least insofar as he could foresee any problems. He had a transmitter on Jay's car, a bug stuck under the vehicle's rear b.u.mper with a powerful magnet, out of sight, to be sure he wouldn't miss him. He knew where his target was going. If he lost Jay before they reached the operations area, he would just hurry to the secondary pickup point and catch him there.

Natadze was two hours early, just in case, and parked in a place where no one would bother him, in a lot outside a shopping area. He wore a fake moustache, not an obvious one, a pair of thick-rimmed gla.s.ses, and had a Band-Aid on his chin, all things that a potential witness would notice, and none of which would be any use to authorities. He would not have to keep a close watch; the bug would tell him as the man approached. It was, as the basketball players said, a slam dunk.

As he waited, Natadaze mentally played a favorite guitar piece, Tarrega's "Recuerdos de la Alhambra," a composition generally used to separate the men from the boys when it came to demonstrations of tremolo virtuosity, that multiple strum on a single string with machinelike speed and precision. He liked Eduardo Fernandez's version, perhaps because they shared a similar first name. Certainly he was not in that man's cla.s.s when it came to execution, but on a good day, he could get through it without too many bobbles. And, of course, in one's imagination, there were no dropped or slurred notes, no nail noises or string squeaks.

It was much easier to be perfect in the theater of the mind.

Net Force HQ Quantico, Virginia Jay was still not quite able to get his thoughts around the concept of being a father. Yes, they had discussed it in theoretical terms, but the sudden and unexpected reality of it was simply too slippery to grasp.

Him. Jay Gridley. Some small person looking up at him, holding out his arms, saying, "Daddy, Daddy, pick me up!"

The term "mind-boggling" was way too mild. This was astounding. Earth-shaking. A tsunami of emotion.

When he pa.s.sed the gate, the on-duty guard may have waved-Jay didn't notice. He was running on autopilot, replaying the scenario with Saji over and over again, trying to put it into perspective. He kept enough of his attention on the road, once he started driving, so as not to hit anybody, but traffic patterns on the way home were the least of his concerns.

A child was a major responsibility. He knew he didn't have a clue about how it would really be, but it seemed like, all of a sudden, his life was going to change in major ways, and that was a disquieting idea. He liked to keep things under control, to have a handle on life, and a baby was a variable that might not be so easy to deal with.

A baby. A little human being that he and Saji would make. It was an amazing thing every time he came at it again.

He was halfway home, on a slow stretch of road with lots of stop-and-go traffic, red lights, creeping along as fast as maybe twenty-five before he had to slow down again. A car in the next lane suddenly swerved in front of him and slammed on its brakes.

Jay shook himself from his mental fugue. He hit his own brakes and skidded off onto the shoulder, heading toward a call box on the side of the road.

Jay screeched to a halt, barely missing both the call box and the other car. The other driver pulled to a quick stop in front of him. Breathing hard, feeling the sudden sweat on his palms, Jay got his first good look at the other car.

It was a dark maroon full-sized sedan. As it rocked to a halt, the driver's door opened and the driver hopped out. A medium-sized man with a moustache, he wore black gla.s.ses and a bandage on his chin. He was dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt.

The guy's expression was bland. Jay couldn't tell if he was coming to apologize or to take a swing at him, but he undid his seat belt and opened his own door.

Then he noticed that the man heading his way had a gun in his hand, held low by his leg.

For a heartbeat, Jay froze.

He had long ago been issued a taser, a high-voltage hit from which would knock a pro wrestler on his b.u.t.t, but it was in a drawer at the office.

He had enough presence of mind to grab his virgil and thumb in the emergency code, even though Net Force would never be able to get anybody here in time to do Jay any good. Then he slammed his door shut and threw the car into reverse.

The gun man was ten feet away as he spun the wheel and stomped on the gas pedal- Rubber burned, smoke spewed from the spinning tires. The car slewed sideways, glancing off the call box behind him with a solid clunk clunk- The gunman raised the revolver and pointed it at Jay- The hole in the barrel looked as big as a cannon- The man lurched, as if he had lost his balance, and fired- The windshield starred, and the world went red.

Net Force HQ Quantico, Virginia Somebody ran into Thorn's office in a big hurry. The man in uniform said, "Sir, we have a distress beacon. General Howard and Colonel Kent are in Situation Control and they request your presence immediately!"

Thorn followed the man.

In SC, a room he had seen but never been in, people were busy. He saw both John Howard and Abe Kent, on handheld Coms.

Kent was closer. "Colonel?" Thorn said.

Kent waved him to silence. "Yes, yes, got it."

Across the room, Colonel John Howard looked up from his Com and over at Kent. "Two minutes ETA, General."

"Copy," Howard said. He went back to his Com.

Kent discommed and turned to Thorn. "Sir. Jay Gridley's distress beacon was activated two minutes ago. That spot, there, on the computer holoproj, that's his location."

Thorn looked at the map. "That's only a couple of miles from here. On the road."

"Yes, sir. We have a copter with a tactical team on the way."

"A car wreck?"

"Unknown, sir. But it's nearly impossible to trigger the virgil's beacon by accident, and protocol says you don't do it unless it is life or death. General Howard is on the horn with the state patrol."

Thorn nodded. "All right." Not much else he could do. This was the military arm's area of expertise. Best he not get in their way.

Howard discommed and came over to where Thorn and Kent stood.

"Commander. VSP is en route. No reports from the scene yet. We don't have a sat in position to footprint it. Our team will be there in a minute. All we can do is wait."

"This happen very often?" Thorn asked.

"No, sir," Howard said. "It's not something Gridley would have done for a minor accident."

"Lord. I hope he's all right."