The Spy Is Cast (17 page)

I looked. And was
amply rewarded. Oh, yeah.

I pushed up my visor,
carefully keeping my eyes above his neck. The clean-shaven,
distinguished businessman of the weekend had morphed into a
dangerously hot biker, several days’ worth of dark stubble
accenting the planes of his face and emphasizing his grey eyes.

“I wasn’t sure it was
you,” he said. “What did you do with your hair?”

“I stuffed it down my
jacket collar. Otherwise it just turns into a rat’s nest.”

He pulled on his
helmet and started his bike. “Let’s go.”

We rode west for a few
more miles until he turned onto a side road that was paved for only
the first hundred yards or so. I followed him as he took a quick
right over a gravelled crossing, threading between a couple of
fence posts. The ground dropped off into a valley, and we rode down
the short, grassy hill.

A blocky, muscular man
swung open a gate at the bottom of the hill. I waved to him as we
rode through, taking a sharp turn behind a copse of trees. An RV
and an enclosed cargo trailer were concealed in the forested area,
with a red Yamaha YZF-R1 motorcycle parked alongside. As we rolled
to a halt and dismounted, our gatekeeper closed the gate behind us
and strolled over.

I pulled off my helmet
and slipped out of the hot jacket, leaving them on the seat of my
bike. I surveyed the broad-shouldered man with a grin. “Carl! How
are you?”

“Hi, Aydan. Nice to
see you again.” His brown eyes crinkled in a smile.

I regarded his black
ringlets with a raised eyebrow. “What’s with the rock-star hair? Or
no, wait a minute, I know; you look like one of those long-haired
WWF wrestling guys.”

Kane laughed.
“Germain’s getting in touch with his feminine side.”

Germain rubbed a hand
over luxuriant black whiskers almost long enough to qualify as a
beard. “If this looks feminine to you, you’ve been out in the bush
too long.”

I laughed. “Spider
would kill for stubble like that,” I told him. “He’s growing a
beard. Or trying. So are you growing your hair long?”

“Not intentionally,”
he replied ruefully. “It’s driving me nuts. I just haven’t had time
to get it cut lately.”

“We can socialize
later. We need to get Aydan up to speed and get into position at
Harchman’s,” Kane said. “Let’s go inside.”

As we trooped toward
the RV, Germain grinned. “It sure is nice to see a face without a
beard.”

“Lucky I shaved this
morning, then,” I said, to their laughter.

Inside the RV, there
was little evidence of the male-type clutter I had expected from
guys who’d been camping out for several days. The sofa bed was
pulled out, its covers rumpled as though recently occupied. I
glimpsed another unmade bed in the bedroom at the back of the RV.
There were a couple of backpacks lying in the corner, but the rest
was surprisingly tidy.

We skirted the sofa
bed and I chuckled when the two big men squeezed onto the benches
of the dinette.

“They make these
things for hobbits,” Kane groused as we settled in.

“Still, pretty nice
accommodations,” I teased. “I thought you said it was primitive. Is
this how city boys rough it? Queen-sized beds, microwave…”

Germain grinned. “If
you really want to sleep outside in the mosquitoes, we’ll let
you.”

“Nah. I’ve got nothing
to prove.”

Kane got straight to
the point. “So here’s the situation. Hellhound, Germain and I have
been watching Harchman’s place from the woods since Sunday morning,
taking shifts. Hellhound’s in place now. We’ve got Wheeler
undercover with the security company, working the midnight-to-eight
shift. Wheeler has placed bugs in the security office, employee
locker room, and Harchman’s office, but we haven’t heard anything
relevant yet. Wheeler also gained the confidence of one of the
women who works with the housekeeping staff…”

Germain winked at me.
“It must be nice to be tall, blond and handsome. If it was me, they
wouldn’t give me the time of day.”

I grinned back at him.
“Oh, I don’t know. I think that rock-star hair’s working for
you.”

“Getting back to the
point,” Kane said firmly.

“Right, sorry.”

“This woman says
Harchman has started a new business venture within the past few
months, a wellness spa for businessmen,” Kane continued. “It seems
Harchman usually has several guests staying at the guest house at
any given time, so there are quite a few people around. But last
night around 3:30 A.M., a panel van drove up to the guest house and
offloaded at least two people from the cargo bay, plus a driver and
a passenger. We couldn’t get a clear view, but we’re fairly certain
one person was bound and blindfolded. There’s been no other unusual
activity since. We need to know what, if anything, is going on in
the network.”

He turned to me,
frowning. “This is where it gets dangerous. We need to get you
close enough to access the network. We don’t know exactly how close
that will be, or how long it might be safe to stay there. We may
need to move you, fast. Can we wake you reliably from the
network?”

“Not really…”

His shoulders tensed
as he interrupted. “This can’t work, then. We have to be able to
get you out. The risk is too great otherwise.”

“Let me finish.
There’s an alternative.”

His eyes bored into
mine. “I’m listening.”

“Spider and I did some
tests. Unfortunately, we confirmed that I don’t wake to the normal
methods like touch or sound. It takes a pain stimulus to wake me
from the network. And when that happens, it’s the same as if I exit
the portal too fast. I’m completely incapacitated. And I’m loud.
You remember what it was like at the warehouse this spring.”

Kane and Germain both
frowned, grim lines deepening in their weary faces. “So what’s the
alternative?” Kane demanded.

I showed him Spider’s
device. “This. Instead of actually yanking me out, this device
generates enough electromagnetic interference to weaken the signal
that keeps me logged into the network. I see a blip in the sim, and
I get a little jolt of pain. It acts as a signal to me that I need
to exit the network. Then I can step out of my own accord, with no
worse consequences than usual. All you have to do is hold the
device against my wristwatch and press the button.”

“Why your
wristwatch?”

“That’s where the
network key circuitry is currently hidden. And the device has to be
touching the watch, or the signal will be too weak for me to
detect.”

“How do we know it
will work consistently?”

“Spider and I had a
hundred percent accuracy in our tests. But if for some reason you
need a stronger pulse, you can turn this little screw a quarter
turn clockwise.” I showed them the adjustment. “But then you run
the risk of actually breaking the signal. With the accompanying
noise and drama on my part.”

Kane rubbed at his
frown. “All right,” he said reluctantly. “I guess that’s the best
we can do. But we’ll have to be ready to move fast, because you’ll
be visible as soon as you step into the network. Can you still use
your disguise?”

I grinned at him.
“You’re going to like this part.”

Hope rose in his eyes.
“I could really use some good news right now.”

“I can be
invisible.”

“What?” Both men
jerked forward, faces intent.

“Spider and Smith and
I tested it thoroughly. I can be completely invisible in a sim. And
insubstantial, for the most part. I can walk through any construct,
if I choose to, without affecting it or myself. Avatars are
different, unfortunately. If you and I were in a sim together, I
couldn’t walk through you. You’d feel me, even though you couldn’t
see me.”

Kane relaxed back into
the seat, his face clearing. “Well, that changes things. That’s the
first good news I’ve had in days. All right. Then all we have to do
is get you within range of the network.”

I frowned at him. “I
hope there’s some spillover of the broadcast from the building site
into the surrounding area.”

“We won’t know until
you try,” he admitted. “Your access was so widespread when we were
there Saturday night, I hope we won’t have to approach the
buildings at all. I find it hard to believe they’re broadcasting
over a range that large, but Spider says it’s technically possible.
It just seems too good to be true.”

“Only one way to find
out.”

He nodded. “Germain,
you stay here. We’ll go and relieve Hellhound. Aydan will try to
access the network. We’ll make plans afterward, depending on what
she finds. Expect her back within one hour, tops. If she doesn’t
make it back in that time, assume we’ve been captured and go to
Plan B.”

Germain nodded, his
usually cheerful face serious.

“Aydan, we’ll try to
get access from as far away as possible,” Kane continued. “If we
have to get closer, we will. You are the most important part of
this plan. Your primary objective is to stay safe.”

“But.” He sighed, his
eyes reflecting old pain. “If you’re captured, I’ll have to ask you
to make that wristwatch your top priority. If you can do it
undetectably, drop the watch and leave it concealed somewhere. It
can’t fall into enemy hands.”

“Understood.”

He reached across the
table and took my hand. “You know what will happen to you if you’re
captured.”

I nodded wordlessly,
not trusting my voice.

“I hate to put you in
this position. But if that happens… try to hold on as long as you
can. Know that we’ll get you out as soon as possible.”

“I know,” I said
quietly. “Let’s go.”

I followed Kane’s bike
past Harchman’s driveway to a crossing about a mile down the road.
He turned off and rode slowly through a narrow gap between two
fence posts, and I threaded through behind him, acutely conscious
of the unaccustomed width of my ride.

We idled quietly in
single-file while he followed a twisting trail through the woods
for a couple of hundred yards. We dismounted beside Hellhound’s
Harley Fatboy in a small clearing, and I strapped my helmet onto my
bike for safekeeping.

I eyed the Harley.
“Not exactly a stealth vehicle, is it?”

“He doesn’t start it
up until he’s at the highway.”

I grinned. “Lucky he’s
been working out lately. It’s a hell of a big bike to push.”

Kane led the way down
a twisting game trail, and I followed, sticking close. “How much
does Hellhound know about the network?” I whispered.

“Nothing.”

“Okay.”

Kane took out his
cellphone and punched a speed dial button. Seconds later, he
disconnected. Catching my curious look, he explained, “I’m
signalling him that we’re incoming. We keep our phones on vibrate.
Otherwise he wouldn’t know who was sneaking up on him.”

“Right, makes
sense.”

A few minutes’ walking
brought us to another small clearing. Hellhound looked up from his
binoculars as we arrived. A slow smile spread across his face as he
looked me up and down.

“Well, hello,
darlin’,” he rasped. “You’re the best thing I’ve seen in days.”

He was wearing leather
riding chaps, too. Kane couldn’t see my face, so I didn’t even try
to hide the way my gaze zeroed in on Hellhound’s crotch. He winked
at me and licked his lips. Despite my nervousness, I felt a slow
fire start down low.

Kane ignored his
antics, as usual. “You can head back to camp now,” he said. “I’ll
relieve you. We need to get a little closer.”

“We, meanin’ you an’
Aydan?”

At Kane’s wordless
nod, Hellhound bristled. “Ya puttin’ her in danger again?”

Kane sighed. “Yes.” He
met Hellhound’s eyes squarely. “No choice.”

Hellhound scowled but
nodded. “Okay, Cap. Watch out for the patrols. They’ve been random
today.” He handed the binoculars to Kane. “Stay safe. Both a’ ya.”
He disappeared down the path.

I looked up at Kane.
“Might as well try from here for starters.”

I sat cross-legged on
the ground and concentrated. Nothing happened. I got up,
sighing.

“That would have been
too easy. Onward.”

I followed Kane as he
zigzagged along the trail, gradually angling toward the buildings.
He stopped on a small rise. “Try it from here.”

I dropped to the
ground again and bowed my head.

“Still nothing.”

“Damn.”

Several more minutes
of stealthy travel brought us considerably closer to the building
site. Kane held up a hand to signal a halt and turned to me,
raising his eyebrows. I obediently sat again, concentrating. This
time, I drifted insubstantially into a void.

Heart hammering, I
peered down at myself, making certain I was truly invisible. I took
a deep, calming breath when I saw nothing. I began to drift
silently, creating a barely-there ghost of the corridors that
formed the network. Doors lined each wall, and I swore to myself.
This could take a hell of a long time. I needed to see inside each
room.

I pondered, floating.
What if I created a sim of a tiny piece of one-way glass in each
door? Theoretically, if the room was occupied, nobody would notice
me peeking in.

Theoretically.

I steeled myself and
floated to the first door, taking a quick peek through. Vacant. I
did the same for the next. And the next.

I quickly evolved a
system to save time. Unhampered by a physical body, I could zap
from door to door without a time lapse. Zap. Peek. Zap. Peek.

I finished the first
corridor and hurtled down the next one, gaining speed and
confidence. Everything seemed deserted.

Peek.

I froze, gawking into
the room.

Harchman was inside.
The party scene from the gazebo had been carelessly recreated.
Faceless people moved around, providing a backdrop for the detailed
scenario at the bar. I stood facing Harchman, wearing my party
dress. In his fantasy, the dress was a lot more revealing.
Apparently he liked big boobs, too, because mine were inflated like
volleyballs.