Interphase (28 page)

Leaning back in the seat, David rubbed his face and groaned. "You're right. The V-Cops are going to need to know exactly what they're dealing with. The three of us can't fight off an invasion." He sighed reluctantly. "Looks like I get to have a rather uncomfortable conversation with my stepfather tomorrow."

***

The 9th V-Squad station was buzzing with activity the following morning. David wove around desks and dodged people as they scurried about. Footage from the stadium attack flickered across several screens, and analysts argued over images and evidence. He looked around helplessly and flagged down a passing V-Cop. "Excuse me, can you point me to Captain Smith?"

The man jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "His office is down the hall, kid." He started to walk past, then paused, frowning. "Hey, weren't you on the newscast yesterday?"

David suppressed a groan and hurried on. "That way, you said? Thanks." He glanced behind and was startled when he bumped into someone. Looking up, he saw that it was Roger.

There was more gray in his stepfather's hair than before, one or two more lines in his face, but everything else was the same as he remembered, from his clean-shaven face to his spotless uniform. David wasn't sure how to begin.

Roger glanced down at his watch. "Right on time." He cracked a dry half-smile. "For once. You said you had something you wanted to talk to me about, David?"

David cleared his throat and nodded.

"Follow me." Roger turned and led him down the hall to an office, closing the door once they entered. He sat down behind his desk, and David pulled up a chair. This seemed a lot like a trip to the principal's office.

"So, how's Mom?"

"Upset that you didn't call her back last night. She saw you on the newscast and wanted to make sure you were all right."

David winced. He had stayed up late while trying to give Analara a crash course in human history, and by the time he had noticed the call, it had been too late to respond. "Yeah, I'll give her a ring later," he said guiltily. How Roger managed to make him feel like a naughty child, he couldn't understand.

Roger nodded his acceptance. "You were at the stadium during the attack. Are you all right?"

"Minor injury, but I've had worse." David steeled himself. "To be honest, what happened at the stadium is why I came."

Roger lifted an eyebrow in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I know who is responsible."

"I've had the whole station working all night trying to discover the identities of the attackers." His brow furrowed. "Would you care to tell me exactly how you've discovered what we haven't?"

David felt his hackles rise at the note of accusation. He leaned forward with an angry frown. "Despite your implications, I came here as a courtesy. I thought you might like to know what you're dealing with before something like this happens again."

"Fair enough. Though you didn't answer my question."

Sighing, David sat back in his seat. He rubbed his hand across his forehead, trying to figure out how to explain things. "Did Lucas ever mention anything about a module I found a month or so ago?"

"Yeah, that sounds familiar."

Okay, that's a start. "The men who attacked the stadium came from that module. Sort of." David paused. "Well, what I found wasn't exactly a module."

Roger frowned at him. "I'm not sure I follow."

David groaned in frustration. He stood up and began pacing across the office floor.

"This shouldn't be that hard, David. Just tell me. What do you know about the attackers?"

"All right. The men that attacked the stadium are fr—"

"Hey, captain," a voice shouted an instant before the office door opened. An officer dashed in, a disc clutched in his hand. "We just got the enhanced vid stream from VERA. You're not gonna believe this stuff."

"Eddie, that's fine. Just put that on my desk for—"

"Sir, you've really gotta see this." Eddie moved around the desk and slipped the disc into Roger's terminal. Roger tossed David an apologetic grimace as Eddie pointed excitedly at the screen. "See, captain? Look at their get-ups. And their weapons. VERA ran a deep analysis on one of those spears, and they don't match any known configuration in the network."

David curled his hands into fists. If this babbling idiot would shut up, he could explain
why
all of these things were like that.

"At least two hundred men took part in the attack, but we haven't been able to identify a single one. We've checked the criminal archives, known hacker list, hell, every database we have. We can't I.D. any of them."

David rolled his eyes. "That's because they're not human."

The statement brought Eddie's talking to a halt. The officer stared at David as if he'd sprouted a second head, and Roger's expression wasn't much different.

David shrugged. "You wanted the truth. There it is."

"Is this some kind of joke, kid?" Eddie scoffed.

"I wish it was that simple. They come from a planet called Analath." David drew a deep breath and looked straight at Roger. "About a month ago, I opened a gate inside V-Net. I was trying to find a module I'd stumbled into. The gate turned out to be a direct link to their world, and I've been visiting it regularly since then. A couple weeks ago, something…" The words caught in his throat, and his mind raced for a way to distill things into a simple form. "There was a misunderstanding." He sighed. "I think I may have inadvertently started a war."

Roger kept his gaze on David, his expression unreadable, but Eddie doubled over with laughter. "Get a load of this kid! Been hitting the sci-fi mods a little too hard?"

David ground his teeth. "This is not a joke!"

Eddie's laughter slowly quieted. "Yeah, you're right. This is a serious investigation. Take your little fantasies and get lost, kid."

"Oh yeah,
real
serious," David snapped. "Two hundred men completely unaccounted for?
Please
. Did you have to study to be this clueless, or does it come naturally?" Eddie glared daggers at him as he turned back to Roger. "I have proof. I know where the gateway is, and I need help to close it before any more of them—"

Roger cut him off with an outstretched hand. "All right, David, calm down." He steepled his fingers together in thought. "If you have proof, send it to me. I will take a look at it and consider the options."

David pressed his palms over his eyes and groaned. "They are going to launch another attack, and
soon
, unless we stop them."

"Yeah, right. Did a little pixie tell you that too?" Eddie retorted.

"Eddie, that's enough," Roger said. "Get back to your station. I'll look at the images once I'm finished."

Eddie did as he was told, glaring as he left. David's cheeks burned with embarrassment, and hearing Roger sigh only made things worse. "You don't really have any intention of looking into this, do you?"

"David, cut me some slack. This information is outlandish at best. I've never known you to lie, but that is the only reason I'm even giving this the time of day."

"So you think I'm crazy?"

"I didn't say that either." Roger sounded annoyed. "In truth, I don't know what to think. The whole situation is just…"

He cast about for the right words, and David couldn't stop himself. "Out of this world?" With a sigh, he turned to the door. "I'll send you the data. Do with it what you will."

Roger looked unhappy to leave things as they were, but there was nothing further to discuss. Things just weren't ever going to be right between the two of them. They shook hands very formally, and David left the office.

Eddie was out front, whispering to several other V-Cops. The entire station erupted with laughter as David headed for the front door, taunts and catcalls pursuing him into the street.

Chapter 24

The morning sunlight streamed through the window, warm and bright, and Analara let it fall on her face. Her second night on Phoenix had been as difficult as the first. She stared up into the blue sky, and her heart wandered. She was trapped inside a stranger's body, adrift in a stranger's life, and her home and everyone she knew was lost to her.

A soft knock on the door made her sit up. Jessica's mother stood in the doorway, smiling at her. "Good morning, dear. Sleeping late today?"

Analara stared at her, heart pounding uncomfortably, unsure of what to say.

"Thomas is here to see you. You two make such a nice couple."

"It's kind of you to say so, Mrs. Spencer," Thomas called down the hallway. He slipped through the door and gave Analara a quick smile. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead."

"I'll leave you two alone then. Don't stay indoors all day." With a grin, Jessica's mother turned and left.

After the door closed, Thomas sat in a chair, his smile replaced by a look of concern. "I thought while David was gone this morning, you might like some company."

Analara gave a relieved sigh. "I have no idea what to tell them, Thomas," she said miserably. "They are her parents, and they deserve to know what happened. But…" Her eyes burned with the threat of tears again. Her grief hadn't diminished over the last two days. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. "I have resigned myself to this new form. But I can not bear telling them that their daughter is dead."

"I do not envy you that burden." Thomas seemed to lose himself in thought, and Analara suspected that he felt as forlorn as she did. "For now, nothing needs to be said. Why not give yourself some time to settle first?" He offered her a faint smile. "I'm sure there is much here that seems strange."

Analara nodded. "David explained some of the history of Phoenix yesterday, though I do not know how much I will remember."

"Well, if he explained the real world, why not come with me on a little adventure inside the virtual one?"

"I think I've had enough adventure to last me a lifetime," Analara replied morosely.

"This sort of adventure is different. There is a place that Jessica and I… liked to frequent." He paused and his voice turned soft. "I would like to share it with you."

Analara thought about it. She wasn't really in the mood for exploring, but there was a silent pleading in Thomas's eyes that she couldn't ignore. He was suffering too. While she had been displaced from her home, he had lost the woman he cared about. Perhaps the diversion would do them both some good. "All right."

Thomas escorted her to an alcove in the main room. At his instruction, she lay back in the soft chair and stretched out. A faint vibration lulled her into a kind of half-doze, and when she blinked, she found herself inside a room that reminded her sharply of home.

"You are in Jessica's cottage," Thomas's voice told her. "I'll be there in a couple minutes. Feel free to look about. It belongs to you now."

The walls were constructed of cut timbers rather than stone, and the furniture was raised off the ground. A large fire burned in a stone hearth, but Analara couldn't see any cooking implements. Despite the differences, she felt welcome and safe here. A reflective panel hung on one wall, and she examined her changed appearance. Her clothing was white and shimmering. She felt the material, and it was both strong and soft. White leather bracers encircled her forearms, and a bow and quiver were slung over her left shoulder. Her gaze moved upward and once again she found herself staring into Jessica's face. Sadness touched the visage, but she thought she could detect a few traces of the woman she still believed herself to be.

True to his word, Thomas arrived a couple minutes later. He was clad in the familiar suit of metal plates, and greeted her with a formal bow. "Shall we away, my lady?"

Analara nodded, not entirely sure what to expect next. Thomas lifted a clear crystal, and a bright light washed over them both.

When the light faded, they stood within a wilderness far thicker than any Analara had seen before. The trees were shorter than the kalneths of home, but they grew close together with great crowns of broad leaves that blocked the sunlight. The forest was eerily quiet. Thomas drew his larger sword, his eyes searching.

"Jessica and I had been tracking a band of outlaws," he explained seriously. "They had stolen something from a village, and we promised to recover it." He pointed through the trees and beckoned her to follow.

"What did they steal?" Analara asked.

"A magical sword. It was their guardian talisman."

Analara didn't fully understand, but she chose not to press Thomas further. It was clear he was focused on the task at hand, and she was content to follow.

Voices sounded from a small clearing up ahead. Thomas pulled Analara down next to him and peered through the thick foliage. "I see a dozen armed men, and two pairs of guards at either end of the camp."

A nervous thrill ran down Analara's spine. She remembered David telling her about this realm's wondrous stories. She knew that she wasn't truly in danger, but there was a strange excitement in the air. "What do we do?"

Thomas drew a diagram in the dirt. "I will charge the guards on this side and break through to the middle. Stay here and pick off the guards at the south."