"The hacker?"

"Yes?"

"Her name was Eva Thorinson," Roxborough said. "But I think she died a few years back."

"Convenient for you," Alice said with a grin. "What did the data show?"

"The file contained only a bit of code, but its implications were staggering. I firmly believe that what burned her computer was a precursor of the Crash virus. That's all the information I have, and the only admission you'll get."

In the grove of trees, Alice's cat tail twitched again. "That doesn't scan," she said. "Dunkelzahn lost billions of nuyen in the Crash of '29. Why would he sponsor something that would cause so much damage to nearly every company he owned? Dragons aren't in the habit of tossing away fortunes like that."

Roxborough sighed. "For such a smart little cat, you're hopelessly stupid. Two plausible possibilities present themselves. One, that whoever was doing the programming lost control of it, allowing the Crash virus to escape. It could have been inadvertent."

Alice mused on that for a second. "That doesn't absolve you of responsibility. What's the second possibility?"

"Just that you're dealing with a dragon."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Simple, my dear. Dragons don't throw anything away without a reason, but you're talking about the most intelligent, far-thinking, Machiavellian bastards on the face of the Earth. Who can ever say why they do what they do? Maybe the Crash was just part of an enormously complex plot on the wyrm's part. A plan with rewards great enough to be worth the losses."

Alice had to admit that Roxborough had a point, even though it galled her to think he might be innocent. "I'm going to check out your story. I hope for your sake you've told me the truth."

Roxborough nodded at the disappearing cat icon. Then Alice pushed that section of the Matrix away from her, back to run its course while she contemplated what Roxborough had told her.

A light drizzle drifted down, making the streets of Wonderland City shine and glow. Reflecting Alice's inner mood. Dark gray sky above mirrored in the buildings.

If Dunkelzahn had engineered the computer entity that had caused both the infamous Crash of 2029 and the death of Alice's meat body, she was going to make sure everyone knew about it. That news would affect the entire world, most of whom loved the old dragon. If it was true, Dunkelzahn's image and everything associated with him would suffer greatly.

She hoped, with everything human left in her, that Rox-borough was lying.

9

Ryan breathed a sigh of relief after Quentin Strapp left Nadja's study. He hated being so high-profile. He didn't want anyone knowing where he was and what he was up to.

Nadja stood and looked at Gordon Wu. "I'll be indisposed for a little while," she told her aide.

Gordon nodded, then turned and walked silently out the door into the adjacent office.

Nadja looked up at Ryan, a mischievous smile forming on her lovely face. "Come on," she said, taking his hand. She led him to the dining room, a spacious chamber with marble floors covered by Indonesian throw rugs and furnished sparingly with antiques of polished rosewood.

The table was a huge marble slab upon which was laid a sumptuous meal. As Nadja indicated for him to take a seat, he suddenly realized that he was very hungry. They ate in silence for a few minutes, Ryan enjoying the rich taste of his real steak.

As he ate, Ryan remembered the scene at Hells Canyon when he had been under the influence of Roxborough's personality. When he had been drunk with the power of the newly acquired Dragon Heart.

Nadja had arrived at the airstrip in her jet. She had come to try to persuade him to give up the Dragon Heart, to continue with Dunkelzahn's mission. He had run, trying to get to the helicopter. Trying to escape so he didn't have to talk to her. Didn't have to justify his actions.

She had come between him and his escape, standing with her guards. Blocking his way to the helo.

Possessed by Roxborough's personality, he had yelled at her, spitting obscenities. Roxborough's voice ringing through his own. The evil voice inside that had become a part of him since the memory transfer in Aztlan. The dark part of him wanted to keep the Dragon Heart, use it himself instead of giving it up as Dunkelzahn had asked.

Lost to Roxborough, Ryan had surprised Nadja's security force, moving faster than any of them could track, slipping past them to grab Nadja and hold his gun to her head. He had threatened to kill her if they didn't let him leave.

And all the while she had spoken to him, soothed him. She had kept her calm under the threat of instant death.

Until finally, Ryan had remembered himself and collapsed, begging for her forgiveness. And she had held him close, whispering her support.

Now, he pushed his empty plate away and looked up at Nadja. "I'm so sorry," he said. "I'm sorry about everything. How could I have done that? How could I have let Roxborough's personality get control and threaten you?"

She held his gaze in silence.

"I want us to stay close," he said. "I want… I want to get past this."

"And now?" she asked. "Are you still in control?"

"Yes," he said. "Firmly. There are occasional flashes of Roxborough's memory, but I no longer act on his impulses."

"You've changed," she said. And there was something like sadness in her expression.

Ryan nodded. "Yes, I don't think I'll ever be the same as before." He sipped his red wine. "I'm not the blind soldier I once was. I think about the big picture too much now. I think too much period. In fact, I'm plagued with indecision."

Ryan looked up at her, his gaze a soft caress. "But my essential core is the same."

"I know," she said. "The part I care about is still there."

"You think so?"

She smiled and gave him a slow nod. Ryan felt a surge of affection. He loved her. On impulse he leaned close and tried to kiss her.

She pulled back and laughed.

"What?"

Between laughs, she said, "I'm sorry, Ryan. You need a shower and perhaps a shave. You're in civilization now." She leaned over and pecked him on the cheek.

Ryan stood. "All right, a bath then. Join me in the big tub?"

Nadja threw her head back in joy. "Sure."

They went into the master bathroom and drew a hot bubble bath and turned on the jets. The tub was huge and very deep, big enough for three trolls to use without crowding. Ryan stripped and settled into the hot water, leaning back to let the jets massage his aching and exhausted muscles.

Nadja joined him a minute later, stepping through the door in her white terry cloth robe. She looked into his eyes as she disrobed, purposely holding his gaze on her face. He was tempted to look lower, to follow the curves of her elven body down past her waist to her toes. But he resisted. There was time enough for that later.

She entered the water and slipped in next to him. He ducked his head under to wet his hair, to wash his face. Spirits, it feels good to focus on getting clean. As he lifted his head from the water, she was on him, her arms wrapped around his neck, her body pressed close.

She moved her mouth up toward his.

A soft knock on the door made her pull away. She tensed and sat up, straightening her hair. "What is it?" she said.

Gordon Wu's voice sifted through. "Sorry to bother you, Ms. Daviar," he said. "But Damien Knight is on line one. He said it was urgent."

Nadja whispered, "Frag it." Then she raised her voice, giving Ryan an apologetic look. "Thank you, Gordon. I'll take it in here."

She sighed and reached over to the telecom on the small marble table next to the tub. She killed the tub's jets as well as the soft music that was playing, gave Ryan a "shh" gesture, then keyed line one, presumably with the video blanked.