est trash bin. Very neat, no way to trace them, j drove to a local hotel. He wore a suit and tie, carried and registered at the hotel, which catered to ssmen, looking as if he was one of them. Just an- middle-class white-collar worker earning his living, : to remember.
briefcase contained not papers, however, but the [coins he had gotten at such a bargain rate. While the at the metal detectors in the airport had been cu, they hadn’t even bothered to open the case to look. I if they had, they could have done nothing, because was no law against carrying such things onto a . It wasn’t as if he was going to beat somebody to with them, although technically that was possible. i fifteen or twenty of them into a sock, it would make e, hefty blackjack.
he was checked into the hotel, he took a stroll, into a big drugstore, and bought a cheap dispos- I cell phone with thirty hours of credit on it. He used i to put in a call to his friend at the Brazilian Embassy, who could always used a little extra money, was to hear from him, and they arranged to meet for at a restaurant not far from the hotel, stween now and then, Santos had plenty of time to the information he had about his target. This one lid be simple, nothing complex about it at all. As soon ‘, had the gold transported, he would locate his quarry, f’then it was merely a matter of waiting for the proper at.
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Hollywood, California
Two tall and well-muscled black men in different NBA uniforms played one-on-one basketball in a gym bathed in supernal beams of sunshine pouring in from big skylights in the gym’s roof. There was just enough dust in the air so the beams stood out, hard-edged and brilliant.
The men were the hottest small forwards from both teams in last year’s championship finals, all-stars, guys who routinely got triple-doubles when they played-ten or more shots, assists, and rebounds.
The one with the ball was dressed in black shorts, shoes, and tank top, the other player in white-on-whiteon-white.
The offensive player jinked left, then right, dribbled behind his back, and stutter-stepped, trying to get into position to shoot at the goal.
The defensive player stayed with him, slapping at the ball. Two fine athletes at their peaks, beautiful to watch, even if you didn’t follow the game.
Both men sweated, fat drops that rolled and flew with their sudden moves.
The offensive player faked right, then twirled around to his left and got past the player in white …
Time slowed to a crawl. The ball bounced slowly, took two seconds to come back from the floor to the shooter’s hand. The sounds of heavy breathing grew louder, and when the ball hit the floor again, it sounded like a cannon -booml-deep and vibrant. The ball bounced up. The shooter caught it, jumped for the dunk, moving in glacial slow-mo, as the player in white leaped to block …
The pair drifted through the air, seemingly as weightless as the dust motes in the gym’s air, floating oh-so- slowly toward the basket…
Time speeded back up to normal.
The offensive player slammed the ball down, playing well above the rim, and the net ka-thwipped! in that way
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CYBERNATION
only when the dunk is perfect. The two players : down and smiled at each other, [rite Suit said, “Good move, brother.” He slapped the
on the shoulder, went to fetch the ball. Black Suit said, “Yeah, I still got a few. Here’s another i for you-who’s doing your Internet service?” hite Suit shrugged. “Same provider I always use.” He
the ball to the other man. llack Suit shook his head. “Naw, you need to lose that, I’m tight with CyberNation, it’s the only place to
yberNation? I heard of them.”
jfsl’m telling you, it’s the way to go. They got VR so it’d help even you with your defense.” got a cramp in my foot, is all. Try it again.” Slack Suit laughed and walked away, dribbling. White : propped into a defensive crouch as the other player
and started back toward him.
pThe words CyberNation appeared under the screen, the URL. The scene faded to black, leaving the alone on the black background with the sound of fe dribbled ball echoing in the gym. The sound and im*”‘*, held for five seconds, then faded out.
PART TWO
The Butterfly’s Wings
21
tike Bon Chance
nine Chance liked to be in charge, a big part of the she had taken this job. Here she was, with a cor: budget as big as the treasury in some small coun- , on a gambling ship she had named herself, and after don, for herself. She could, literally, decide matters fe and death. If that wasn’t control, what was? But at I moment, with Jackson practically wetting himself, she ; a definite loss of mastery here, hey sat on the bed in her room. She’d thought sex going to be the main thing on his mind, but she ly realized she was wrong, le’s going to beat the crap out of me,” Jackson said, ow it.”
3n’t be stupid.” fou didn’t see him, how he looked at me. I’m telling this is not somebody to mess around with. He might rell have sent me an invitation: You are cordially into
a major ass-kicking-yours.” “Jackson…”
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NET FORCE
“I’m not joking around here, Jasmine. This guy isn’t civilized. Yeah, he wears a suit and smiles and can make small talk, but that’s no thicker than a coat of paint. Underneath, he’s a savage. He’s a killer! He wouldn’t think twice about sending me to the hospital, or the morgue.”
“He’s just trying to rattle you, hon, that’s.all. He knows how much we need you. He’s playing with your head.”
“And he plans to be playing soccer with my balls. I’m telling you, I know.”
“You need to relax.” She put her hand on his shoulder. The muscles there and in his neck were bunched like wet, knotted ropes.
“Easy for you to say. Listen, I want off die ship. Let me go to the train.”
The train was one of the other two locations for CyberNation’s mobile computer centers. Currently, it was on a siding in Germany, somewhere near the French border.
“Keller-”
“I can take my team there. It won’t be any different. The hardware is the same, the software we built in the last day can be encoded and uploaded in a few hours. By the time it finishes downloading, we can be halfway there.”
“What will you tell your team?”
“No need to tell them anything except they should pack their bags. They do what I say.”
“That’s not the plan,” she said.
“Neither is getting my head stomped in by a jealous assassin!”
She thought about it. It was the fight-or-flight syndrome. Maybe in his place, she could understand it. Still, it wouldn’t really solve anything. What was to stop Rob- erto from hopping on a plane and dropping round to see Jackson on the train? When he had time to settle down and think about it, he’d see that. There was no safety in distance, not if somebody like Roberto really wanted to
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CYBERNATION
pu harm. But no point in saying that now. He was i enough already, ^course, out of sight might be out of mind. She was |she eould divert Roberta’s attention. She could buy |;a new toy, something to do with his fighting art. or later he would feel the call from her to find a where they could get naked. Roberto was, after all, sfprimal in his urges. Maybe it would be for the best
an wasn’t around. 11 right,” she said. “Gather your team and make the gements. Roberto won’t be back before tomorrow at rliest. You can be gone before he returns.” sense of relief was obvious, long as we are here, why don’t you lie down and
massage your back? You’re as tight as a violin
,
i started to protest. “That’s what got me in trouble in Ffirst place.”
Max,” she said. ” ‘Berto is in Washington. You’ll be when he gets back, and we aren’t doing anything aven’t already done a dozen times. What difference it make now? Why not relax and enjoy it?” : didn’t give him time to think about it. She slid her down his chest and into his lap. After that, he had things on his mind.
iForce HQ
co, Virginia
els was in the Net Force gym, dressed only in a pair Ifchorts and workout shoes, practicing his djurus. The ; dances encompassed all the moves that serak teach- had developed for fighting, armed and unarmed, ewhere in the djurus were all the tools you’d ever he’d been taught, far, he had learned more than he thought he’d use