“Dodger,” she said, her face lighting with a welcoming smile. “Ghost said it was you. Haven’t seen you in… how long has it been?”

“Not long enough,” Ghost offered.

Sally shot him a look of mock anger. “Too long. Been too busy to sprawl with old friends?”

“ ’Tis truth, Fair One, that I have been occupied.”

“And now you’re loose.” She rolled to her feet. “That’s wiz! We heard a rumor that Concrete Dreams will show up to play at Club Penumbra tonight. It isn’t true, of course, but the crowd ought to be great. Figures that you’d show in time for a big street party.”

Dodger was tempted, but he had other things on his mind. “ ’Tis certain to be a full flash, Lady. A pity that I shall be elsewhere.”

“Biz?” Sally asked with mild curiosity.

“Does the name Samuel Verner call any memories to mind?”

“Sure. That was the kid who tipped us to the scam when Seretech tried setting us up for murder in that Renraku run last year.” Sally’s laugh ended in a sly smile. “No, can’t recall a thing.”

“I have heard from him recently,” Dodger said.

“He survived going back to Raku?” Ghost asked. “He was one brave paleface to hold to his loyalty.”

“Foolish, more like. If they didn’t dump him, they must of froze him solid. Junior salaryman without end, or hope. Amen.” Sally snatched a soy bar from the stool that served as a table. Around the mouthful she bit off, she added her evaluation, “What a dumb kid.”

Dodger looked at Ghost to see how he took the remark. Ghost, who was younger than Sally, kept his expression rigidly neutral. Dodger knew this meant disagreement, but the Indian would not voice it. Some kind of Indian macho thing. Feeling uncharacteristically sorry for the samurai, Dodger said. “I believe that he is of an age with yourself, Lady Tsung.”

“Let’s not get personal, Dodger,” she snapped.

The Elf gave her his most disarming grin. “No offense intended, Fair One. I only meant to imply that first impressions can be deceiving.”

“Are you saying there’s something we should know about him? Something about that Seretech run?”

“Nay. That matter is long-buried. As to what you might want to know of him, I would not presume to say. You have ever been the best judge of what you needed, or wanted, to know of anyone.”

“Dodger.” Sally’s voice held a warning note, but still remained light. Her tone said he had piqued her interest.

“The word I bring is that he wishes to meet with those he ran with a year ago.”

“Then it is biz!” Sally sat up, eyes widening as a new eagerness entered her face. “Has he changed his name to Johnson?”

“Not exactly?”

“Don’t be coy, Dodger.”

“Far better, Fair One, that he explain it all to you himself.

41

Crenshaw made the formal courtesy bows at the door and again as she neared his seat, but Sato’s frown did not bode well. Though the chair opposite was empty, his expression told her to not take it. She placed a chip on the low table and remained standing. Sato pointed at the case and raised an eyebrow.

“The overnight report, Sato-sama,” she said. Sato sat quietly for several seconds staring at the case, then turned his gaze to the Seattle skyline visible through the windows. His voice was cold. “Will I find it any more encouraging than the others inflicted on me for the last week?”

Not likely, she thought. He had lived up to his reputation as a hatchetman, bringing many departments of Renraku America to heel. So far he had left one untouched, though Crenshaw suspected it was the prime reason for his visit, “All construction and implementation departments record quotas met according to your revised schedule.”

“I expected no less. There is nothing new from the Special Directorate, then?” He took her silence as confirniation. “That project is the crucial matter. The advancement and well-being of Renraku depends on its success.”

Advancement and well-being for you, Crenshaw corrected inwardly. She’d used such indirection often enough herself. Words were useful; one could aim them obliquely to avoid embarrassment, or directly to distract attention. She chose her own next words carefully. “President Huang reports that the latest test results are encouraging, Kansayaku.”

Sato swung his head around to glare at her, the sparkling gold irises of his eyes shrunken to mere rings around his dilated pupils. For a moment, she thought he was angry, but his words allayed her fear. “Test results have been encouraging for over a year. Such lack of progress is no longer acceptable. Huang and his team must show results.”

Relieved, she saw an opportunity beginning to form. “I am sure that something will break soon, Kansayaku.”

“Oh, yes. Something will.” Sato’s sudden shark-toothed grin told her that he would wait no longer.

“Perhaps there is something that I can do for the Kansayaku?”

“Perhaps, indeed.” He composed his features into a calmer, business-like expression. “I have lost patience with be plodding Huang and that shrill harpy. The Special Directorate is not so special that it can continue to drain resources. They must achieve the goals set forth in their mandate or admit failure. it is time they found some incentive.”

“I understand, Kansayaku.”

“I knew you would, Crenshaw-san. We have already invested too much in chasing their dreams. Renraku lives and dies in the world of reality and a dream that cannot become real is worth no more than an American dollar.”

He turned his gaze again to the skyline. Crenshaw bowed and headed for the door. As she was crossing the threshold, he spoke again.

“I expect results soon.”

“Hai, Kansayaku.” she bowed to the back of his head as the door slid shut. Ignoring the covert stares of Sato’s bodyguards and staff, she strode across the antechamber without a word. Let them wonder what he might have empowered her to do.

In reality, Sato had given her license to continue. She was heady trying to find a lever with one or more members of the AI team. At the time she’d set Addison to the task, Crenshaw wasn’t sure how she might use such leverage. Her only idea had been to learn something about some member of the team that she could use as blackmail for whatever they were hiding. Now she saw a better opportunity. The more she could control the flow of data on the team’s progress, the better she could make herself look to Sato. With the proper timing, she could make it look as though she had motivated any successes while disassociating herself from my failures. As well as she had performed for Sato until now, this was the task that would count. If she pulled it off, she would ingratiate herself with a Renraku man powerful enough to get her what she really wanted.