hand and the room stabilized slightly, though the edges kept fading away.
I didn’t even need my extra scripts for this level of restraint. I laughed and pulled my hands apart. The digital shackles snapped in half and disappeared, defeated by my standard security settings.
Ian’s expression flashed to annoyance and I couldn’t hide my grin. Before he could try again with something more substantial, I blew him a kiss, then swiped my left hand through the exit script on my supplemental menu.
The projection flickered as the script jumped me through five random locations. It wasn’t exactly stock functionality, but I’d spent enough time in HIVE to have found a few tricks. I ended up in what looked like someone’s living room. Luckily it was unoccupied and no one questioned my presence.
I checked the location Nadia had sent me. Like the bar, it wasn’t in the standard zone map. I’d be going in blind. I’d known Nadia—as far as two highly secretive, anonymous people in a virtual world could know each other—for five years, and she’d never betrayed me. That didn’t mean that today wouldn’t be the day she would start, but I felt confident enough to risk it.
“HIVE, transport to saved location eight.”
“Transporting to saved location 208a.080m3.1q5y,” the computer said.
The projection wavered, then solidified into a cozy sitting room with pale peach walls and sleek charcoal furniture. A quick glance around revealed that there were no doors. Nadia sat curled up in an overstuffed chair in front of a roaring fireplace. She gestured at the chair next to her.
I directed my avatar to sit and the projection’s perspective shifted again so we were at eye level even though I remained standing in real life.
“You escaped,” she said.
“I did. Thank you for the distraction. He was too busy trying to stabilize the room to try anything too serious.”
“What information is so important that you’d risk a House raid to get it?”
“Likely the same information that caused the raid in the first place,” I said carefully. “I have a client who is very interested in Ferdinand von Hasenberg’s disappearance.”
She glanced sharply at me. “You’re working for House von Hasenberg?”
I didn’t have to fake the sly grin. “No.”
She relaxed, and I filed that information away. She stared into the fire for a long minute. “I think you should walk away, Fenix. This isn’t something you want to poke into. Leave House politics to the Houses. They can take care of themselves.”
“I would if I could,” I said softly. It came out far more bitterly than I had intended.
Nadia’s expression turned hard. “If you need help . . .” She trailed off, leaving the offer open.
“You don’t know how much that means to me,” I said, “but I am okay. And a job is a job. This isn’t the first I time I’ve stuck my nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“Ten thousand credits and you forget where you heard anything I tell you,” she said. “And don’t darken my door for a few weeks while the heat dies down.”
It was a ridiculous amount of money, but I wasn’t in a position to bargain. I brought up my communication menu and sent a message to myself. It caused my avatar to look distant, as if I was communicating with an actual client. “Deal,” I agreed a few minutes later. “Client insists on half up front, half after you deliver.”
Nadia shook her head. “Your client must be stupid or desperate.”
“Who says they can’t be both?” I asked with a smile. “Do we have an agreement?”
“We will when I see some credits.”
I pulled up my menu and transferred five thousand credits to her account. My own account was funded from untraceable currency, preventing anyone from following a paper trail back to my real identity.
Nadia waited until the transfer was completed, then she said, “The rumor is that the Silva Syndicate was paid to knock off Ferdinand, but either the hit payment didn’t go through or they got greedy and grabbed him instead. There was a sketchy rumor about a ransom, but the Syndicate is too smart to take on a High House directly. If I had to guess, they’re planning to break him for information, or bury him in the deepest hole they can find.”
I froze and let the rage burn through my system. When I was sure I could keep my voice neutral, I asked, “How reliable are these rumors?”
“Silva was definitely responsible. The rest is merely speculation. They are playing this one very close and it’s only