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<blockquote data-quote="The Shadow" data-source="post: 1547290" data-attributes="member: 16760"><p>[Well, in the comedy of errors I've been coming to expect, we didn't get our game on Tuesday because SP had a totally unexpected household crisis. But he made it up to me Saturday night, so I am well satisfied. I call this one, "Headache Remedies". And I've only just realized I can give titles to each individual entry; I may just have to go back and put them in.]</p><p></p><p>Alex walked into a work environment that made the Cuban missile crisis look tame. The halls were a silent battlefield, with openly hostile glares being exchanged between members of rival factions. They were three now - those for Legion's project, those against it, and those vehemently insisting they wanted to hear nothing about it. By lunchtime even Alex's stiff upper lip was starting to droop. The atmosphere was simply poisonous. Alex dreaded what would happen when the news hit that the project would never be paid for... Bob's reputation would likely take a heavy blow, and Wright's team would be livid.</p><p></p><p>Lunch was worse. In his absence from work, he had evidently been pigeonholed as a fencesitter between the "opposed" and "uninvolved" camps. His level, steely gaze discouraged anyone from actually attempting to sound him out, but speculation was plainly rife. He noticed a quietly vicious exchange between two of his own team members out of the corner of his eye, and resolved to quash things before they reached the level of open mutiny. He was considering his options when something brushed against his mental shields and shocked him out his reverie.</p><p></p><p>What was...? Who? It had been an inexpert, clumsy thing; and there seemed to be more than one locus. Alex opened his mind and scanned cautiously outward... only to realize, stunned, that no less than eight people in the room were projecting their emotions telempathically, seemingly at random. They did not seem to realize what they were doing - they reminded him, rather uncomfortably, of himself as an adolescent.</p><p></p><p>He couldn't make out who they all were, so he made an excuse and walked across the room, carefully noting the identities of the projectors. All eight were members of Wright's ten-man team working on Legion's chemicals. That tears it, he thought. But how are they getting exposed?! Professional chemists assuredly don't sample their own work!</p><p></p><p>At any rate, the cause of the company's morale problem was solved. Now that he'd lowered his shields, Alex saw clearly that the entire building was blanketed in a miasma of irritation, hostility, and ill will. It was a feedback effect long familiar to him - negative emotion on his part spawning similar emotions in others, which worsened his own mood, and so on. The question was what to do about it... He could probably suppress the activity of any one of them without much trouble, but eight at a time? And perhaps two more? (Wright himself and another team member were not present.) Impossible. Alex sighed. He didn't need this on top of OmniMetal.</p><p></p><p>Nothing to be done about it just yet, though; first things first. After lunch, he called a team meeting. Once everyone was assembled and had put on a suitable simulation of friendly attention, he told them tersely, "I won't take up much of your time. I am aware that there is a project elsewhere in the company that is highly controversial and stirring up strong emotions amongst the staff. You are entitled to whatever feelings about it you may have, but I must remind you that we have a job to do here in this lab whose merits stand or fall on their own. We are here to help people with cancer, and I will not tolerate that work being compromised by projects none of us here are are actually involved in. Are there any questions?" There were none, and Alex felt that he had actually gotten through to them. [Natural 20's on Diplomacy are nice.]</p><p></p><p>They literally got a break later in the day - a sudden insight which promised to save the team at least a week and a half of work. They couldn't accomplish anything more until a test came back from toxicology, so they knocked off early in a celebratory mood, much to Alex's relief. He proposed to Vu, "Care to join me for tea, Dat?" Vu smiled - he'd seemed scarcely affected by the office politics, unflappable as ever - and replied in his precise English, "Certainly, Alex. It is a special day." They stopped off at a nearby coffee shop and ordered a cup of tea apiece. [Neither of them drinks alcohol, so they're hardly going to hit a bar. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />]</p><p></p><p>After some initial chit-chat about Thanksgiving plans and other things, Alex remarked, "Work was ... difficult... today." Dat grimaced faintly. "Indeed. I have never seen things so hostile. I cannot understand what is causing it." "How long has it been like this?" "It has been especially bad the last couple days that you have been gone."</p><p></p><p>Alex weighed things carefully, then set down his teacup. "I think I know the cause." Vu blinked, "Really? What?" "...Let's take a walk." Looking even more puzzled, Vu said, "All right." They settled their bill and went outside; Alex swallowed one of the little "headache" pills from the bottle in his pocket, but said nothing until he'd found a secluded bench in a park. By that time Dat's curiosity was undisguised.</p><p></p><p>"Dat, I... haven't been sick the last couple days. I told Bob I had terrible headaches, but I'm afraid that was only metaphorically true. I dislike lying more than I have to." Dat nodded slowly, not interrupting. Alex sighed. "I suppose it's easier if I just show you. Give me a moment." He paused for a long minute, letting the drug's loosening feeling spread through his system... then reached out to his friend's mind. <strong><em>There's more to me than meets the eye.</em></strong></p><p></p><p>Vu stared at him for a long moment, then said with great formality, "Dr. Brighton, would you object if I placed my hand on your throat while you repeat that? I thought I heard you speak to me without moving your lips, and I must be assured you are not employing ventriloquism." "All right, Dat, if you like." When these precautions were taken, he sent again, <strong><em>As I said, there's more to me than meets the eye. I am speaking to you via mental telepathy.</em></strong></p><p></p><p>Dat sat still and impassive for almost a minute, staring at him fixedly. Then he said, "Either you employ discretion, or else you cannot read minds. I have been thinking at you single-mindedly for some time now." "I can read minds," Alex told him, "I just dislike doing so without good cause. I consider it rude." "As I said: Discretion." He thought a while longer, then said with firm decision, "I think I am not going to mention this to my wife." "Thank you."</p><p></p><p>"Am I right in guessing that you have been having... difficulties of a telepathic nature lately and that is why you have sent David away?" Now it was Alex's turn to stare. "How on earth did you know about that?!" Dat struck a pose of inscrutable Oriental wisdom, then spoiled it by grinning. "My oldest is a good friend of the mother of David's friend Mary." "Your spy network is unparalleled," Alex told him drily. Dat waved off the praise modestly. "I got lucky."</p><p></p><p>Then he went on, "I also conclude that the telepathic situation, whatever it was, is now mostly resolved... but that you fear the company project is related. The chemicals we are making are related to your 'headache medicine', aren't they?" Alex gaped at him openmouthed. When he was able to speak, the only thing he could think of to say was, "Amazing, Holmes!" Dat grinned again. "Come, Alex, it's obvious. You sent David away because you thought he might be in danger; you had a father's natural concern. If things hadn't been mostly resolved, you would already have contacted my wife to let her know that David would not be present at our Thanksgiving dinner; you are too conscientious not to. And there had to be a reason why you took a pill on the way here; you admitted that you were not really having headache problems. Finally, I do not think you would be telling me this at all if there were not some relationship to the project and the company's problems." Alex shook his head. "Your powers of deduction are most impressive."</p><p></p><p>Dat acknowledged the compliment with a seated bow, then asked, "Do you need the pills to use your... abilities?" "They get me in the mood, so to speak. ... And you were wrong in only one particular. I am <em>positive</em> that the company project is related." "Ah. Very well. What will we do?" With that simple question he placed himself at Alex' disposal with a sincerity and trust that humbled him. Alex felt his eyes threatening to mist up, and fought for his wonted rigid control before responding. "Several of our competitors have been offered the same project. Do you have any contacts you could sound out to discover if they are having similar problems? I am on good terms with only a few myself." Dat thought a moment, then said, "Of course," and rattled off a list of names. "Do you wish me to begin making discreet inquiries?" "Please." "I will begin tonight."</p><p></p><p>"Thank you. ... There is also the puzzle of how our people are being exposed." He explained what he knew of the problem, though of course not mentioning Legion or the Shadow. "What is the half-life of these drugs?" Vu wanted to know. "Six hours for the one, perhaps twelve for the other." "Then clearly the exposure is not accidental. It is unthinkable that people in our labs could be unwittingly exposed to a neurotoxin several days in a row." Alex grimaced; he should have thought of that himself. Dat went on, "You say that you have not verified exposure of Wright and one other member of his team. Until we have more information, we should regard them as our first suspects." Alex nodded. "It is time for me to read a few minds, it would seem."</p><p></p><p>He was about to take his leave and get started, but found himself curiously reluctant, the burdens of the last days and weeks suddenly seeming to crash down upon him.. Suddenly unable to meet his friend's eyes, he said, "Dat, I..." Alex swallowed, his heart starting to race. "I've done things I am not proud of." Dat nodded slowly. After a time, he asked, "Have you been working for the greater good?" "I... never thought of it that way before. I don't know."</p><p></p><p>"Have you acted out of the desire for self-aggrandizement?" Alex thought it over. "...No." "Have you acted out of greed?" This one was much easier. "No." "Have you acted out of anger?" Alex winced. "Sometimes." "You would be wise to cleanse your soul of that anger, my friend. But to the extent you have acted for the greater good and not for your own pride or self-advantage, not out of anger or hatred, you have done well. What more could be asked of you?"</p><p></p><p>Alex bit his lip. "I thought... if anyone knew the things I've done, they..." He couldn't finish the sentence, but Dat understood. With eyes full of compassion, he said, "My friend, you forget that my hand has also been raised against my fellow man." He paused while Alex remembered with a start that Vu had been in the South Vietnamese army as a young man, and "re-educated" after the fall of Saigon. Then he shrugged and went on, "It would be pointless to compare our pasts and try to decide whose hands have been stained a deeper shade of red; the very impulse to do so is only a blacker form of pride. Only know that I do not judge you. The important thing is to let go of the illusion of the past, and live..." "...in the illusion of the now?" Alex concluded ironically. Dat smiled. "Just so."</p><p></p><p>Alex took a deep breath, let it out. It came more easily than any breath he'd taken in a long time, he thought. "Thank you, Dat." "You are welcome, my friend. I will see you tomorrow." "Yes."</p><p></p><p>Alex moved invisibly back to his employer's parking lot. Wright's car was already gone, as was that of the other team member he intended to investigate; but a couple other members of the team were still straggling out. He dipped into the mind of one of them that he knew slightly, a Debbie Mortenson. Her will was strong, but still somewhat weakened by the drug; he had no real difficulty. She certainly had no idea she'd been drugged; her only impression of the last few days was that everyone was being unreasonable and needlessly irritating. It was just so obvious that the project was a plum for the company; why couldn't the others see that? The work was annoying, too; Wright was a demanding person to work for, and he'd left early in a huff after getting apparently contradictory results from the same test three times in a row.</p><p></p><p>Alex probed gently for any accidents, spills, suspicious happenings. There were none. Then he tried for shared food or lunches; none. Shared water? Bingo. They had a common water cooler in the lab, and Debbie had noticed that the old canister of water had been replaced a couple days ago although it was only three-quarters empty; she didn't know why or by whom, but it hadn't seemed important. Alex let her go, resolving to fry bigger fish on the morrow. Returning home, he got dressed in his costume (having dropped it off there on his way to work) and made his way to the base by a more-than-usually circuitous route.</p><p></p><p>Once there, he went over the surrounding block with a fine-toothed comb, looking for snipers, suspicious loiterers, or anything else out of the ordinary; he found nothing. I could spend the whole night looking for bombs, cameras, or other things, he realized with frustration, and still I wouldn't be sure there weren't any. And I don't HAVE all night. He sighed, and settled for checking the entrance to the building and the area near the stairwell for tripwires, hidden sensors, and the like. When as satisfied as he could be, he stepped through the fake wall and went down the stairs, breathing a sigh of relief. It was safe in here, at least... Though the absence of the hat on the banister knob did give him a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach.</p><p></p><p>Immediately he moved to gingerly pick up the tampered screamer he'd left on his desk. No telling if, or what, it was transmitting or receiving; though at least it didn't set off the little radio detector Garrity had given him. What to do with the thing... He fetched a mailing box and sealed it up, not bothering with a return address. He seriously considered for a moment sending it to Maria Escolante - the idea of sowing further confusion among his enemies causing a warm glow in his heart. But he eventually decided against it... He didn't particularly want Maria to have screamer technology. After some thought he addressed the box to a police precinct not far from Harvey's favored haunts; the cops already had a screamer so another shouldn't matter, and might intrigue them greatly.</p><p></p><p>That done, he decided to call the other Maria (Volanti) before sending the thing off; it'd been sitting here a couple days, a few more minutes wouldn't hurt. "Maria. It's your friend in black again." "Ah. Good to hear from ya." "What have you learned?" "There's a big shakeup going on. One of their VP's just got canned, and they're bringing in a team of auditors." "So that's the official line, is it? Was his name Richard Jones, by any chance?" "Got it in one. The official line leaves something to be desired?" "I suppose you could say he got the big pink slip from the sky..." "...Oh." "I want you to stay away from these auditors. I suspect that's a cover for a team of telepaths coming in." "That'll make it harder - I can hardly be asking people a lot of questions that they'll also be asking a lot of questions." "Right. Well, it's unfortunate, but that's how it has to be." "You're the boss - and it makes sense, too." "Until they arrive, though, I want you to find out as much as you can about these three people," and he gave three names that Legion had mentioned as possible co-conspirators with Jones. "I'll see what I can scare up, but this whole auditor business will make things difficult." "Do what you can, I'll be in touch. Oh - and what are your Thanksgiving plans?" "Gonna go to my sister's place in San Diego. Sorry, you'll have to wait another year for a proper Italian Thanksgiving." "I wouldn't miss it," Alex assured her, silently regretting the fact that he and Carlos wouldn't have the dinner partner he'd hoped for. After trading a couple more barbed pleasantries, he hung up.</p><p></p><p>Glancing at the clock, Alex realized he only had an hour before Mike was due to show up; he'd better move fast, as he didn't want to mail the screamer from a location too close to the base. Jogging to a moderately distant post office, he reflected ruefully that he'd never thought he'd miss the bike so much after only using it a few weeks. And it was strangely lonely out on the street without Carlos in his ear, too... He rapidly squelched that line of thought.</p><p></p><p>Mike showed up in the base computer shortly after he made it back in the door. <strong><em>Hello Michael. I am glad you got my message.</em></strong> <em>Hey boss - yeah, thanks for the warning.</em> <strong><em>You suffered no ill effects from your brush with the 'thing' in OMIG's computer last time?</em></strong> <em>Nah,</em> the lad replied with his cocksure attitude intact, <em>Carlos told me about it in time.</em> <strong><em>Was it a person or a machine?</em></strong> <em>Person, I think. I don't see how anyone could make a machine that felt like that.</em></p><p></p><p><strong><em>All right. Are you ready to do some more hunting in the same areas? I'll be with you this time.</em></strong> <em>Umm... Sure. Why not?</em> Alex stretched out on Carlos' cot, just as he had the last time. Soon the connection was established - it seemed easier this time. <strong><em>Let's go.</em></strong> Mike flashed them into OmniMetal's mainframe without delay, aided by the still-functioning "Prometheus" login. <em>There's a sysad online, boss. I don't think he's noticed us.</em> Alex 'nodded' and told him, <strong><em>We're looking for the files of 'Richard Jones'...</em></strong> Mike found them easily and downloaded them into the base computer. Meanwhile Alex felt them scanned by a psychic presence, but decided that there was no reason to start doubting his invisibility. </p><p></p><p><strong><em>Now look for 'Jeffrey Thomas'.</em></strong> <em>On it, boss... Uh oh.</em> <strong><em>What?</em></strong> <em>These files are garbage, Shadow. Somebody slipped up and didn't change one of the timestamps correctly. They've been replaced with fakes.</em> Alex pondered, then told him, <strong><em>Download them anyway. It'll be good to know what they WANT us to know... and they may go on to think us fooled by it.</em></strong> <em>OK, done. What now?</em> Another scan passed over their position; Alex decided tensely to let that one slide too.</p><p></p><p><strong><em>Now we look for the files of these three people...</em></strong> He passed on Legion's information again. After a short interval, <em>Got it. This stuff looks like the real thing.</em> <strong><em>Good. How do you feel about retrieving some emails?</em></strong> <em>I dunno, Shadow. That sysadmin is doing stuff in a related area. You want me to try?</em> <strong><em>Yes. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.</em></strong> <em>You're the boss... aw, crap!</em> The connection was broken at the speed of thought and Alex's mind reeled as he tried to follow the boy's twists and turns through the Net.</p><p></p><p><strong><em>What happened?</em></strong> <em>That sysad set us up - tried to lay a trap for us. He's </em>good. <strong><em>Has he succeeded in tracing us?</em></strong> <em>Let me check... Nah. He saw through a couple layers of my tricks, but not all.</em> The boy flashed a mental grin at him and gloated smugly, <em>I said he was good, not that he was the best.</em> Alex refrained from rolling his eyes. <strong><em>How do you feel about heading for the parent company's computer again?</em></strong></p><p></p><p>Mike mulled that over. <em>I dunno, boss. If we do it, we'd better do it </em>now.<em> Otherwise, they might be ready for us, and that wouldn't be good. That sysad could be on the horn to them right now.</em> <strong><em>Not worth the risk, then, you think?</em></strong> <em>I don't feel good about it, boss. Let's wait.</em> That reaction from the ragingly impetuous teen decided Alex. <strong><em>Good enough, then. Come by my computer at the same time the next few nights, will you? I may have need of your services.</em></strong> <em>Sure thing. See you tomorrow!</em> <strong><em>Until next, Michael.</em></strong></p><p></p><p>There was enough data in the files to keep Alex occupied for hours; he selected one of the people, a middle manager who was the highest-ranking of the three, and did some rapid skimming. He quickly convinced himself that the man knew of Legion, and of other "interesting" projects. Good enough. He also had an address.</p><p></p><p>"I believe a visit is in order - and quickly, before OmniMetal organizes."</p><p></p><p>[Looks like things will be going back into hot water next session - which will be on Tuesday, SP's life permitting.]</p><p></p><p>[Events continue to take me by surprise. I felt sure that Alex was headed for a breakdown of titanic proportions (which would have had some very interesting consequences), but it now looks as if Dat may be able to head that off single-handedly. I was VERY impressed with him; everybody should have a friend like that. And boy, SP made quite the string of Int checks for him, didn't he? <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="The Shadow, post: 1547290, member: 16760"] [Well, in the comedy of errors I've been coming to expect, we didn't get our game on Tuesday because SP had a totally unexpected household crisis. But he made it up to me Saturday night, so I am well satisfied. I call this one, "Headache Remedies". And I've only just realized I can give titles to each individual entry; I may just have to go back and put them in.] Alex walked into a work environment that made the Cuban missile crisis look tame. The halls were a silent battlefield, with openly hostile glares being exchanged between members of rival factions. They were three now - those for Legion's project, those against it, and those vehemently insisting they wanted to hear nothing about it. By lunchtime even Alex's stiff upper lip was starting to droop. The atmosphere was simply poisonous. Alex dreaded what would happen when the news hit that the project would never be paid for... Bob's reputation would likely take a heavy blow, and Wright's team would be livid. Lunch was worse. In his absence from work, he had evidently been pigeonholed as a fencesitter between the "opposed" and "uninvolved" camps. His level, steely gaze discouraged anyone from actually attempting to sound him out, but speculation was plainly rife. He noticed a quietly vicious exchange between two of his own team members out of the corner of his eye, and resolved to quash things before they reached the level of open mutiny. He was considering his options when something brushed against his mental shields and shocked him out his reverie. What was...? Who? It had been an inexpert, clumsy thing; and there seemed to be more than one locus. Alex opened his mind and scanned cautiously outward... only to realize, stunned, that no less than eight people in the room were projecting their emotions telempathically, seemingly at random. They did not seem to realize what they were doing - they reminded him, rather uncomfortably, of himself as an adolescent. He couldn't make out who they all were, so he made an excuse and walked across the room, carefully noting the identities of the projectors. All eight were members of Wright's ten-man team working on Legion's chemicals. That tears it, he thought. But how are they getting exposed?! Professional chemists assuredly don't sample their own work! At any rate, the cause of the company's morale problem was solved. Now that he'd lowered his shields, Alex saw clearly that the entire building was blanketed in a miasma of irritation, hostility, and ill will. It was a feedback effect long familiar to him - negative emotion on his part spawning similar emotions in others, which worsened his own mood, and so on. The question was what to do about it... He could probably suppress the activity of any one of them without much trouble, but eight at a time? And perhaps two more? (Wright himself and another team member were not present.) Impossible. Alex sighed. He didn't need this on top of OmniMetal. Nothing to be done about it just yet, though; first things first. After lunch, he called a team meeting. Once everyone was assembled and had put on a suitable simulation of friendly attention, he told them tersely, "I won't take up much of your time. I am aware that there is a project elsewhere in the company that is highly controversial and stirring up strong emotions amongst the staff. You are entitled to whatever feelings about it you may have, but I must remind you that we have a job to do here in this lab whose merits stand or fall on their own. We are here to help people with cancer, and I will not tolerate that work being compromised by projects none of us here are are actually involved in. Are there any questions?" There were none, and Alex felt that he had actually gotten through to them. [Natural 20's on Diplomacy are nice.] They literally got a break later in the day - a sudden insight which promised to save the team at least a week and a half of work. They couldn't accomplish anything more until a test came back from toxicology, so they knocked off early in a celebratory mood, much to Alex's relief. He proposed to Vu, "Care to join me for tea, Dat?" Vu smiled - he'd seemed scarcely affected by the office politics, unflappable as ever - and replied in his precise English, "Certainly, Alex. It is a special day." They stopped off at a nearby coffee shop and ordered a cup of tea apiece. [Neither of them drinks alcohol, so they're hardly going to hit a bar. :)] After some initial chit-chat about Thanksgiving plans and other things, Alex remarked, "Work was ... difficult... today." Dat grimaced faintly. "Indeed. I have never seen things so hostile. I cannot understand what is causing it." "How long has it been like this?" "It has been especially bad the last couple days that you have been gone." Alex weighed things carefully, then set down his teacup. "I think I know the cause." Vu blinked, "Really? What?" "...Let's take a walk." Looking even more puzzled, Vu said, "All right." They settled their bill and went outside; Alex swallowed one of the little "headache" pills from the bottle in his pocket, but said nothing until he'd found a secluded bench in a park. By that time Dat's curiosity was undisguised. "Dat, I... haven't been sick the last couple days. I told Bob I had terrible headaches, but I'm afraid that was only metaphorically true. I dislike lying more than I have to." Dat nodded slowly, not interrupting. Alex sighed. "I suppose it's easier if I just show you. Give me a moment." He paused for a long minute, letting the drug's loosening feeling spread through his system... then reached out to his friend's mind. [b][i]There's more to me than meets the eye.[/i][/b] Vu stared at him for a long moment, then said with great formality, "Dr. Brighton, would you object if I placed my hand on your throat while you repeat that? I thought I heard you speak to me without moving your lips, and I must be assured you are not employing ventriloquism." "All right, Dat, if you like." When these precautions were taken, he sent again, [b][i]As I said, there's more to me than meets the eye. I am speaking to you via mental telepathy.[/i][/b] Dat sat still and impassive for almost a minute, staring at him fixedly. Then he said, "Either you employ discretion, or else you cannot read minds. I have been thinking at you single-mindedly for some time now." "I can read minds," Alex told him, "I just dislike doing so without good cause. I consider it rude." "As I said: Discretion." He thought a while longer, then said with firm decision, "I think I am not going to mention this to my wife." "Thank you." "Am I right in guessing that you have been having... difficulties of a telepathic nature lately and that is why you have sent David away?" Now it was Alex's turn to stare. "How on earth did you know about that?!" Dat struck a pose of inscrutable Oriental wisdom, then spoiled it by grinning. "My oldest is a good friend of the mother of David's friend Mary." "Your spy network is unparalleled," Alex told him drily. Dat waved off the praise modestly. "I got lucky." Then he went on, "I also conclude that the telepathic situation, whatever it was, is now mostly resolved... but that you fear the company project is related. The chemicals we are making are related to your 'headache medicine', aren't they?" Alex gaped at him openmouthed. When he was able to speak, the only thing he could think of to say was, "Amazing, Holmes!" Dat grinned again. "Come, Alex, it's obvious. You sent David away because you thought he might be in danger; you had a father's natural concern. If things hadn't been mostly resolved, you would already have contacted my wife to let her know that David would not be present at our Thanksgiving dinner; you are too conscientious not to. And there had to be a reason why you took a pill on the way here; you admitted that you were not really having headache problems. Finally, I do not think you would be telling me this at all if there were not some relationship to the project and the company's problems." Alex shook his head. "Your powers of deduction are most impressive." Dat acknowledged the compliment with a seated bow, then asked, "Do you need the pills to use your... abilities?" "They get me in the mood, so to speak. ... And you were wrong in only one particular. I am [i]positive[/i] that the company project is related." "Ah. Very well. What will we do?" With that simple question he placed himself at Alex' disposal with a sincerity and trust that humbled him. Alex felt his eyes threatening to mist up, and fought for his wonted rigid control before responding. "Several of our competitors have been offered the same project. Do you have any contacts you could sound out to discover if they are having similar problems? I am on good terms with only a few myself." Dat thought a moment, then said, "Of course," and rattled off a list of names. "Do you wish me to begin making discreet inquiries?" "Please." "I will begin tonight." "Thank you. ... There is also the puzzle of how our people are being exposed." He explained what he knew of the problem, though of course not mentioning Legion or the Shadow. "What is the half-life of these drugs?" Vu wanted to know. "Six hours for the one, perhaps twelve for the other." "Then clearly the exposure is not accidental. It is unthinkable that people in our labs could be unwittingly exposed to a neurotoxin several days in a row." Alex grimaced; he should have thought of that himself. Dat went on, "You say that you have not verified exposure of Wright and one other member of his team. Until we have more information, we should regard them as our first suspects." Alex nodded. "It is time for me to read a few minds, it would seem." He was about to take his leave and get started, but found himself curiously reluctant, the burdens of the last days and weeks suddenly seeming to crash down upon him.. Suddenly unable to meet his friend's eyes, he said, "Dat, I..." Alex swallowed, his heart starting to race. "I've done things I am not proud of." Dat nodded slowly. After a time, he asked, "Have you been working for the greater good?" "I... never thought of it that way before. I don't know." "Have you acted out of the desire for self-aggrandizement?" Alex thought it over. "...No." "Have you acted out of greed?" This one was much easier. "No." "Have you acted out of anger?" Alex winced. "Sometimes." "You would be wise to cleanse your soul of that anger, my friend. But to the extent you have acted for the greater good and not for your own pride or self-advantage, not out of anger or hatred, you have done well. What more could be asked of you?" Alex bit his lip. "I thought... if anyone knew the things I've done, they..." He couldn't finish the sentence, but Dat understood. With eyes full of compassion, he said, "My friend, you forget that my hand has also been raised against my fellow man." He paused while Alex remembered with a start that Vu had been in the South Vietnamese army as a young man, and "re-educated" after the fall of Saigon. Then he shrugged and went on, "It would be pointless to compare our pasts and try to decide whose hands have been stained a deeper shade of red; the very impulse to do so is only a blacker form of pride. Only know that I do not judge you. The important thing is to let go of the illusion of the past, and live..." "...in the illusion of the now?" Alex concluded ironically. Dat smiled. "Just so." Alex took a deep breath, let it out. It came more easily than any breath he'd taken in a long time, he thought. "Thank you, Dat." "You are welcome, my friend. I will see you tomorrow." "Yes." Alex moved invisibly back to his employer's parking lot. Wright's car was already gone, as was that of the other team member he intended to investigate; but a couple other members of the team were still straggling out. He dipped into the mind of one of them that he knew slightly, a Debbie Mortenson. Her will was strong, but still somewhat weakened by the drug; he had no real difficulty. She certainly had no idea she'd been drugged; her only impression of the last few days was that everyone was being unreasonable and needlessly irritating. It was just so obvious that the project was a plum for the company; why couldn't the others see that? The work was annoying, too; Wright was a demanding person to work for, and he'd left early in a huff after getting apparently contradictory results from the same test three times in a row. Alex probed gently for any accidents, spills, suspicious happenings. There were none. Then he tried for shared food or lunches; none. Shared water? Bingo. They had a common water cooler in the lab, and Debbie had noticed that the old canister of water had been replaced a couple days ago although it was only three-quarters empty; she didn't know why or by whom, but it hadn't seemed important. Alex let her go, resolving to fry bigger fish on the morrow. Returning home, he got dressed in his costume (having dropped it off there on his way to work) and made his way to the base by a more-than-usually circuitous route. Once there, he went over the surrounding block with a fine-toothed comb, looking for snipers, suspicious loiterers, or anything else out of the ordinary; he found nothing. I could spend the whole night looking for bombs, cameras, or other things, he realized with frustration, and still I wouldn't be sure there weren't any. And I don't HAVE all night. He sighed, and settled for checking the entrance to the building and the area near the stairwell for tripwires, hidden sensors, and the like. When as satisfied as he could be, he stepped through the fake wall and went down the stairs, breathing a sigh of relief. It was safe in here, at least... Though the absence of the hat on the banister knob did give him a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach. Immediately he moved to gingerly pick up the tampered screamer he'd left on his desk. No telling if, or what, it was transmitting or receiving; though at least it didn't set off the little radio detector Garrity had given him. What to do with the thing... He fetched a mailing box and sealed it up, not bothering with a return address. He seriously considered for a moment sending it to Maria Escolante - the idea of sowing further confusion among his enemies causing a warm glow in his heart. But he eventually decided against it... He didn't particularly want Maria to have screamer technology. After some thought he addressed the box to a police precinct not far from Harvey's favored haunts; the cops already had a screamer so another shouldn't matter, and might intrigue them greatly. That done, he decided to call the other Maria (Volanti) before sending the thing off; it'd been sitting here a couple days, a few more minutes wouldn't hurt. "Maria. It's your friend in black again." "Ah. Good to hear from ya." "What have you learned?" "There's a big shakeup going on. One of their VP's just got canned, and they're bringing in a team of auditors." "So that's the official line, is it? Was his name Richard Jones, by any chance?" "Got it in one. The official line leaves something to be desired?" "I suppose you could say he got the big pink slip from the sky..." "...Oh." "I want you to stay away from these auditors. I suspect that's a cover for a team of telepaths coming in." "That'll make it harder - I can hardly be asking people a lot of questions that they'll also be asking a lot of questions." "Right. Well, it's unfortunate, but that's how it has to be." "You're the boss - and it makes sense, too." "Until they arrive, though, I want you to find out as much as you can about these three people," and he gave three names that Legion had mentioned as possible co-conspirators with Jones. "I'll see what I can scare up, but this whole auditor business will make things difficult." "Do what you can, I'll be in touch. Oh - and what are your Thanksgiving plans?" "Gonna go to my sister's place in San Diego. Sorry, you'll have to wait another year for a proper Italian Thanksgiving." "I wouldn't miss it," Alex assured her, silently regretting the fact that he and Carlos wouldn't have the dinner partner he'd hoped for. After trading a couple more barbed pleasantries, he hung up. Glancing at the clock, Alex realized he only had an hour before Mike was due to show up; he'd better move fast, as he didn't want to mail the screamer from a location too close to the base. Jogging to a moderately distant post office, he reflected ruefully that he'd never thought he'd miss the bike so much after only using it a few weeks. And it was strangely lonely out on the street without Carlos in his ear, too... He rapidly squelched that line of thought. Mike showed up in the base computer shortly after he made it back in the door. [b][i]Hello Michael. I am glad you got my message.[/i][/b] [i]Hey boss - yeah, thanks for the warning.[/i] [b][i]You suffered no ill effects from your brush with the 'thing' in OMIG's computer last time?[/i][/b] [i]Nah,[/i] the lad replied with his cocksure attitude intact, [i]Carlos told me about it in time.[/i] [b][i]Was it a person or a machine?[/i][/b] [i]Person, I think. I don't see how anyone could make a machine that felt like that.[/i] [b][i]All right. Are you ready to do some more hunting in the same areas? I'll be with you this time.[/i][/b] [i]Umm... Sure. Why not?[/i] Alex stretched out on Carlos' cot, just as he had the last time. Soon the connection was established - it seemed easier this time. [b][i]Let's go.[/i][/b] Mike flashed them into OmniMetal's mainframe without delay, aided by the still-functioning "Prometheus" login. [i]There's a sysad online, boss. I don't think he's noticed us.[/i] Alex 'nodded' and told him, [b][i]We're looking for the files of 'Richard Jones'...[/i][/b] Mike found them easily and downloaded them into the base computer. Meanwhile Alex felt them scanned by a psychic presence, but decided that there was no reason to start doubting his invisibility. [b][i]Now look for 'Jeffrey Thomas'.[/i][/b] [i]On it, boss... Uh oh.[/i] [b][i]What?[/i][/b] [i]These files are garbage, Shadow. Somebody slipped up and didn't change one of the timestamps correctly. They've been replaced with fakes.[/i] Alex pondered, then told him, [b][i]Download them anyway. It'll be good to know what they WANT us to know... and they may go on to think us fooled by it.[/i][/b] [i]OK, done. What now?[/i] Another scan passed over their position; Alex decided tensely to let that one slide too. [b][i]Now we look for the files of these three people...[/i][/b] He passed on Legion's information again. After a short interval, [i]Got it. This stuff looks like the real thing.[/i] [b][i]Good. How do you feel about retrieving some emails?[/i][/b] [i]I dunno, Shadow. That sysadmin is doing stuff in a related area. You want me to try?[/i] [b][i]Yes. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.[/i][/b] [i]You're the boss... aw, crap![/i] The connection was broken at the speed of thought and Alex's mind reeled as he tried to follow the boy's twists and turns through the Net. [b][i]What happened?[/i][/b] [i]That sysad set us up - tried to lay a trap for us. He's [/i]good. [b][i]Has he succeeded in tracing us?[/i][/b] [i]Let me check... Nah. He saw through a couple layers of my tricks, but not all.[/i] The boy flashed a mental grin at him and gloated smugly, [i]I said he was good, not that he was the best.[/i] Alex refrained from rolling his eyes. [b][i]How do you feel about heading for the parent company's computer again?[/i][/b] Mike mulled that over. [i]I dunno, boss. If we do it, we'd better do it [/i]now.[i] Otherwise, they might be ready for us, and that wouldn't be good. That sysad could be on the horn to them right now.[/i] [b][i]Not worth the risk, then, you think?[/i][/b] [i]I don't feel good about it, boss. Let's wait.[/i] That reaction from the ragingly impetuous teen decided Alex. [b][i]Good enough, then. Come by my computer at the same time the next few nights, will you? I may have need of your services.[/i][/b] [i]Sure thing. See you tomorrow![/i] [b][i]Until next, Michael.[/i][/b] There was enough data in the files to keep Alex occupied for hours; he selected one of the people, a middle manager who was the highest-ranking of the three, and did some rapid skimming. He quickly convinced himself that the man knew of Legion, and of other "interesting" projects. Good enough. He also had an address. "I believe a visit is in order - and quickly, before OmniMetal organizes." [Looks like things will be going back into hot water next session - which will be on Tuesday, SP's life permitting.] [Events continue to take me by surprise. I felt sure that Alex was headed for a breakdown of titanic proportions (which would have had some very interesting consequences), but it now looks as if Dat may be able to head that off single-handedly. I was VERY impressed with him; everybody should have a friend like that. And boy, SP made quite the string of Int checks for him, didn't he? :)] [/QUOTE]
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