 
### C.A.I.T

### Cyber Automated Integrated Technology

### Published by Tam Sturgeon at Smashwords

Copyright Tam Sturgeon 2018

This novel is entirely a work of fiction.

The names, characters and incidents portrayed within it are

the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to

actual persons, living or deceased, or any events

mentioned is entirely coincidental.

### Tam Sturgeon asserts the moral right to

be identified as the author of this work.

### Cover imagery courtesy of the author.

### Cover design by Tam Sturgeon.

### Copyright Tam Sturgeon 2018

~

### PART 1

### Byte of Tera

One hell of deafening blast ripped through the night sky, sending shrapnel and flames in all directions. Lighting up the trees and undergrowth, it destroyed two jeeps and a shed, whilst incinerating three armed guards. Orange and red fire lashed at the sides of Oscar One, as pandemonium raged through its doors and into the yard surrounding it.

Grabbing at weapons of choice, the hour was upon them, their churning guts telling them so. Running for the main exit, the squad banded together, ready for their orders. Bursting out into the night air, chaos rained down upon them from all quarters. Firing started beyond the west wing, loud and in short bursts, in the direction of the trees, which were then reduced to shredded vegetation, as the night was brightly lit with neon flares and mighty flash-bangs.

They had to keep the N.E.M (Nothing Else Matters) under armed guard and in the safe, which was their number one priority, no matter what might happen, no matter what might come for them. Hugging to the shadows, with their night-vision in play, the six moved as if shadows themselves, close to the edge, their senses reeling. Halt, check east and west, nothing, move forward.

The patrol inched its way around Oscar One, as the alarms where finally brought under control, knowing the threat was out there somewhere, just waiting on them in the dark. Everything was checked and then rechecked, be aware of every single inch covered, and take no chances. It was deadly, the entity coming for them, and it was coming right now.

Radio silence, hand gestures only, eyes watching and ears straining. The gloom welcomed them, as they stepped beyond their markers, the silence deafening. Keeping low, almost lost undercover, their skin resembled the colour of the land around them. Weapons at the ready, for no one liked nasty surprises. In line with their positions, they slipped through the undergrowth with hardly a sound made.

More orders were quietly spat into their earpieces, the sunny babble a regular event.

'... Stay on course, Grid Two taking affect in ... Three ... Two ... And mark grid frame on point ... Wait for map rotation, that's it, steady on the flip ... And, set ... Stay on target for termination ... Coordinates are on your feeds, and ready to download through your usual channels ... Thank you, North Squad, you now hold the field ... Please proceed with caution, and have a nice day ... Over ...'

Knowing there was an ammo store dead ahead, they stealthily picked their way towards it. Extras were taken and added to their consignment, as quiet as mice with hardly a sound made. No man spoke, their full concentration on the task at hand.

Travis moved up next to Riley, his hardened face crisscrossed from his years in battle. Loading several rounds of ammunition into his utility vest, he quickly scanned their surrounding area. Grimacing, his words came at a whisper.

'Peters reckons our Target has done to ground, it'll be doing its usual, so heads up ... Always make sure you double check any oddities ... That goes for everyone, spread the word ...'

'Yeah, sure,' Riley replied, his voice on the low, his eyes small and mean. 'And be prepared, bro, my sensory gauge is off the chart ... It hasn't been this high since we did Nam, that's all I'm saying ... A storm's coming, DT, watch your back, mate ...'

Travis paled a little, his stomach burning, his eyes flicking around that small clearing in the woods. Back to work, after a quick drink to wet his stickily parched throat.

They peeled away in each direction, one team west, one team east, facing off the grid. Moving out of sight of each other, the silence stretched across the space between them. Eye to eye contact lasted mere seconds and, with that last wave, they were gone.

'... Riley ... Cane ... Matthews ... Are you there, do you read me? ... Over ... Travis, Brody, Peters, anyone ...?'

The young man in the hot-seat spun to face the one in charge, and then he waited, whilst the information was downloaded into the mainframe hovering before him.

'Sir, I'm sorry, North Squad has gone down, we've lost contact, and each of their links are now terminated ... South Squad is closing in ... Target is within range ... They are locked on, and ready ... How would you like them to proceed?'

Blue eyes looked down from the suspended monitor and blinked without effort. There was a slight pause, his mind whirring, the thoughts flowing.

'... Scale it up, but don't pound the area ... Send the south six in, hand to hand, with one fire small arm each, and a knife, a really big knife,' was smiled, as he lit his fat cigar.

'... All or nothing, Sir?' was asked, as the young man typed in the access code, merely to jump the queue.

'... Yes ... All or nothing, Hensley ... Now you're learning ...'

Entering his office, as though he was being chased by a hurricane, his excitement almost exploded from him. Straight over to his bar, for two long ones, stiff, and over ice. Tagging along behind, was a young woman, who was not so excited, though she was trying to seem that way. What was sometimes sauce for that older gander was not always the same for the younger goose, and a lot of the time it showed.

'I've never seen anything like it ... It annihilated them all, every one of them ... I've never been so proud in all my life ... Well done, you, and my applause, how you pulled that off, I don't know, but you fluking did ... Hats off in your direction, you said it would, and it did ... Three stages, in one night, how fluking amazing is that? ... We haven't seen anything like this before, it's a world record, it must be, judging by the replays ... No server has, ever, delivered so much action, so far, or so fast, before, we hold the Charger-Board now, and I intend to keep it that way ...'

As she took a seat in front of the expanse of glass desk, he sat behind, as always, because that's where he belonged. Her drink was handed over, which she relished as it sank into her, long and cold. If nothing else, it removed the nasty taste from her mouth.

'... Reedman, I'm telling you,' he smiled at the one opposite, 'it was the play of the moment, and for a very good reason, how many kills? ... It's the same reason why they tune in on their headsets, every week, like clockwork ... They love it, they can't get enough, because it kicks ass ... Those that watch are addicted, so they have to know, they have to see it to believe it ... The public always love choosing the arena, and worship the vote every fortnight, but you know that, so don't look so upset ... It won, didn't it?'

The tall, elegant, young man walked around his big desk, in his gorgeous silk suit, rubbing his hands together quickly. Perching on the front edge, he looked at the woman sat before him.

'... Our Hit Score is up by an astonishing twenty-three percent, and those reviews are hot, hot, hot ... Them, in there, locked into their Home-Link thread through Synchro-Switch Direct, they love the power, Reedman, they always have, that's why they do it, and you have to admit the truth here, it's the only thing left they have any control over ... So, if it's so knackered it can't connect into its super-link, in a week's time, we'll swap it for another version, and no one will ever know ... There's several in there, right now, hooked up and just waiting for their chance in the limelight ... So, what's it gonna be? ... Is it on, or is it off?'

'The programme took a beating, you saw that, so have a little respect, and, no, she, wasn't designed to take hits like that because, she's, not a fluking war-bot ... She's, a high grade platform of cyber-created life, one that learns from her mistakes ... I'm just wondering, Simon, do you?' Sadie smiled sweetly, looking up at the man with blue eyes.

'Reedman, I'm not doing this again with you, it's getting boring ... Next it'll be going on strike, over a credits increase, and saying it doesn't get enough download time ... Tell, it, I'll zap it in the butt with some extra volts and then terminate, it ... See how, it, feels about that, the spoilt little...'

'Simon, okay, spot already, I hear you ... Let me check her files, which will take about a day, just to make sure they can take another pounding ... I'll let you know tomorrow evening, that's all I can give you ... Are you happy with that?' she soothed, trying to buy some precious time.

No, he wasn't happy. She could see it in his face and hear it in the big sigh, dropped on her, before he walked back round to his comfy leather chair and sat down. Once he did that, Sadie knew their meeting was over.

'... I'll give you ...' he looked at his gold watch, 'twenty-four hours, from now ... So get going, time is credits, and credits fill my high gloss swipe-card ... So, be gone, Gadget Girl ... You have lots of work to do ...'

His left hand waved towards the door as he spoke, it was Simon's way of saying they were done.

If there had been something heavy at hand, for example, a stapler or a hole-punch, Sadie would have gladly thrown it at the specimen sat opposite, but there wasn't, so she didn't. Instead, she lifted quietly from her seat, and turned for the door. Almost free of that horridly flash office on the fourteenth floor, she was nearly there, but not quite.

'... Oh, and, Reedman, before you go,' came the slowly said words from behind, in his usual all-knowing way, 'you haven't forgotten what tomorrow night is, have you? ... Birthday dinner night, so you will be there, won't you?'

'... Yes, I might, but only on one account,' she replied, opening the door to exit.

'Oh, yeah ... What's that?' he asked, lighting a fat cigar and rolling it in his slender fingers, lazily.

'... You stop calling me Reedman and use my given first name, Sadie ... If Daddy hears you at dinner, on his birthday, he'll so clip your ear, again, just like last time, and then you'll cry, just like the likkle baby we all know you really are ...'

Having the last laugh, she quickly poked her tongue out at her older sibling, before she darted out the door and closed it quickly behind her. Something hit his side of the wood between them, but she didn't care what it was, she was gone already.

'... Simon seems to think your matrix will take the increase in power shots ... I've added the changes so we'll run it today, making any alterations required as you go through the grades again ... If we correspond the drop-shots with the correct mapping codes, you could feel a definite strength increase overall ... If you're happy with that, I'll run the diagnostics now, and watch for any spikes that might cause issues with the download ... After that, you're on your own ...'

Sadie looked at Cait as she moved around her on the grid. No walls existed, all but lines and squares, side to side, and top to bottom. It wasn't hot and it wasn't cold, it was nothing, a sense not named, but a room nonetheless.

She was perfect, her skin, face and hair, the sculpturing of her contours, her shade and her light. No details were amiss, she was the sister Sadie never had, and the one she had always wanted. There was much of her in Cait, many flaws too, just the same as her re-creator. Blue eyes, long blonde hair, with pretty yet petite features, were a collective of what could be achieved within the realms of inspired input information.

Cait was everything Sadie wished she could be, everything and more. She let the programme build her own world, her own life, yet she was still a commodity to be flouted in the face of commercialism. Cait made big credits, and all those involved with Synchro-Switch Direct, they loved the limelight and adulation. Fame and plenty of spends came at a hefty price and, sadly, Cait was it.

'I'm getting smarter, Sadie, I can feel it, in here,' Cait grinned, tapping her temple with a finger.

'Yes, you will over time, I've built it into you, so you would retain useful information, you know, the things that might be worth having on file ...'

Changing the projection back to a small cottage, Sadie walked to the table and took a seat. Speaking as she moved, Cait watched her with eyes as blue as the sky above.

'One day this will stop, I promise, but until then ... You are what you are, and I can't change that ... Your recovery time should increase with the booster packs I've put in place, but that will have an impact on your motion skills ... Because there's more to process, you'll have a minor delay before you can run, so just be aware of that, and be somewhere safe before implementing them, don't be caught out in the open, get undercover ... Okay, I think that's it ... Everything else is down to you.'

'Ha,' Cait, chuckled, as she moved to make coffee, 'I finally got my upgrade, sweet ... But at such a cost, shame ... Never mind, it could be worse ... Simon could have given me a zap in the arse, like he suggested, before terminating me, so it's not all bad, is it?'

Speaking from where she sat, Sadie watched Cait in the kitchen going through the motions, doing what everyday people did.

'He can't terminate you, he doesn't hold the codes,' Sadie almost laughed in reply. 'Yes, well, he thinks he does, but they're to refill the automated executive drinks machines on Level 6, which should come in handy if he gets thirsty in a temporary draught ...'

With two coffees in hand, Cait joined her and took a seat opposite. There was a smile there, for gaining that small piece of inside information. It would be filed away for future reference, along with all the other little bits collected over time.

'Thank you, that's made my day ... Poor Simon, not really as powerful as he likes to thinks he is ... Now there's a man I'd like to get downloaded ... I'd love to blow his mind,' Cait mumbled through a daydream, which was sat there, waiting to happen. 'One day, maybe,' she almost whispered, her eyes lost to the view out there.

'Yeah, well, there's a wish I wish I could grant, as your real-life Fairy God Mother ... One day, Cait, you will go to the ball ...'

The laughter stopped her, Cait's laughter. It rolled from her, loud and felt, and full of dragged breaths and teary eyes.

'... Please ... What are you talking about? ... Sadie, that's rubbish, and not applicable to me at all ... I'm not a fluking fable, am I? ... Me, I'm a mega bitching, arse-kicking, pretty hot Cyber-Babe ... That's it, that's all ... Accept I do more amazing things than roll around on a bed, naked, asking you to give me a good fluking ... I know ... I've seen some of it and, really, I find the whole thing rather degrading ...'

Coming from a Cyber-Babe with attitude, that was pretty amazing. Sadie was all ears as the programme spoke of learnt issues, research, and the impact it might have on her own fabricated life.

'... There is a next stage in progress,' Sadie nearly laughed, 'one you might find interesting ... The Synchro Lab is looking into integrating a programme, much the same as yours, into an empty synthetic shell ... You'd have form then, and be out there, in the real world ...'

From Sadie's point of view it seemed the logical next step, and most of mankind did too. This rule never applied to Cait, and she aired it as she saw it.

'There's just one problem there, and I see it before it hits the shop floor ... Cyber-Babes will have one purpose, and one purpose only and, sorry, but I couldn't imagine anything more repulsive than being trapped in a sex-bot's body with a mind this intelligent ... With hands as my fingertips, I'd kill him in two moves, no questions asked ... Have me as an implant and sales would soon crash, wouldn't they?' was sniggered, as Cait sipped and smiled.

'No, they won't be exactly like you, but along those lines ... Besides, I wouldn't do that to you, not a sex-bot,' Sadie confirmed, her smile nearly gone.

'So, no aggression and totally submissive, is that it? Men, fluking losers, want the glossy cover but couldn't care less about the story within ... That's how it seems when I research relationships, not much to get excited about, is it, if that's how shallow they all are?'

What Cait said was right, with some, but wrong for many, but there were only her eyes to see it through, so she could never learn the truth of how it functioned without actually experiencing it first-hand. That lesson was yet to be learnt. Apart from two Top Techs, and those she eradicated from the online game, she never connected with anyone. Synchro-Switch Direct's online security annihilated any attempts to get near her. Segregated away from the whole world, held high on a million monitor screens, all she had was where she was and what surrounded her from day to day. So, if no one was allowed to come near, how would she ever know what a real relationship consisted of, outside of the one she had with Sadie and the Techs?

'... Darling, there you are ... I was starting to wonder if you'd forgotten, but Simon did say he told you, so you had no excuse, everyone's here already, what took you? ... Are they keeping you busy in that lab of yours? ... It looks like it, and do get more sleep, there's a dear, you're starting to look a little ragged around the edges ...'

'... Thank you, Mother ... And it's lovely to see you too,' Sadie smarmed at her parent, as they sort of hugged, but only a little, which was more gap than anything.

All attending were congregated in the large living room, which overlooked a waterfall on the edge of their land. Up in the mountains, it was a world away from the stuffy inner crush. Sadie's dream was much the same, to stay away from the congestion and stacked living. She hated it, as she did a lot of things about the city, including working with her brother, Simon.

Dinner was had on the veranda, as the sun set over the looming apexes, their shadows to be cast across the warm evening. Some retired inside, but a few lingered, the smokers mainly, to sit and watch the day come to a close.

Away on her own, as the men talked business, she watched the stars come out to play. Apart from the mumbling in the distance, it was quiet, as the other woman made cocktails, and told tales of their last shopping trip to New York, whilst sat in the kitchen.

Lonely wasn't the word, no, that wasn't it. She was surrounded by twenty people, how could she be lonely? Cait had not been continuously updated because she was lonely. Cait was solely there to fill a wide-open niche in the entertainment market, and she certainly did that, with her fans galore.

Sadie wanted her own life, the one she sometimes enjoyed living, to not all be in there, online, to be seen through a video headset feed. That was the one thing she searched for, her male counterpart, but never found. Thinking about it, it would be nice to have a life outside of Cait.

'... Hi ... You look as bored as I feel ... Can I interest you in another drink maybe, or a flying squirrel suit, so you can make your getaway before anyone notices?'

The gentlest voice and funniest pick-up line, ever, came from a guy who Sadie vaguely recognised. Turning to look at him in the light, she smiled, her face trying to seem impressed with the interruption.

'Look, I don't mean to sound rude, and it was quite funny, but my Daddy said if I talk to strange men, all my lovely hair will fall out, and you wouldn't want to see that happen now, would you?' she grinned, before finishing her drink. Checking the change in expression on his face, she giggled, 'But another drink is a lovely gesture, so maybe you are special ... Look, no bald patches yet,' she beamed, holding her empty glass towards him.

Two people, almost strangers, stood talking, their evening a lovely one in the end. The young couple, if seen from across the balcony, were rather handsome in a modern way. Body language says a lot and, as the evening wore on, Sadie's certainly opened up with every glass of wine she sank into herself.

At last alone, everyone had retired to the warmer room with the bar, and a little light music playing from several overly expensive speakers. Left to the stars and the toenail moon, with the hush of the gloom and sharpness of the mountain air, they drank and joked, their banter just another escape.

'So,' she chuckled, 'what do you want to be when you grow up?'

It was a stunning evening, still warm to naked arms, and that thin slice of moon was just peaking around a mountain top.

'... Well, when I was six I wanted to be a space-cowboy ... Then, when I was nine, I tried to sign up with Special Armed Forces, but they said I wasn't experienced enough ... So, now ... I think I'll go with the last one I remember ... Being a male stripper on an all-girls cruise ship ... I've heard it's worth it just for the tips!'

There was a way he had about him, the way he carried himself, the way his eyes never left her's, and the way he smiled when he spoke. It did an awful lot for Sadie, and in many ways. To be seen and heard, the way he saw and heard her, was a new experience, one she was starting to enjoy.

'What about you? What are your plans when you finally grow up, anything exciting?' he smiled, slowly finishing his fifth drink.

'Arh, well, that's the thing ... I'm torn between several,' she smiled, finishing her sixth.

'... Daddy, who was that man? ... I often see him around our office, but can never remember his name,' Sadie smiled, leaning against the wall to watch him leave in his sleek car with its tinted windows.

'... Oh, that's Simon's old buddy, you remember him ... He's that clever little git, oh, what's his name? ... Funny how he just turned up out of the blue, and this evening of all nights ... Why, is there an issue, pumpkin?' Charles, her father, asked, as his arm slid around her shoulders against the chill.

'No,' she replied, her face aglow from a good evening, 'just wondered what it was, he seemed so familiar ... We didn't really introduce ourselves, we just got talking, and I guess we forget so say ... Funny, I feel as though I should already know it ...'

'Ask your mother, she knows everyone, and if she doesn't, Simon will, they've known each other for years ...'

They walked into the house, arm in arm, as close as ever.

'So, did you have a nice birthday, Daddy? ... I see you've not had any of your cake yet, and I made it especially for you ... With extra brandy,' Sadie chuckled, walking towards the quiet kitchen.

'Yes, I've had a lovely birthday, thank you ... And I wanted to wait for my cake, until we could have some together, alone ... Just like when you were little and we used to go for midnight snacks of cheese and biscuits, remember?'

Sadie remembered, and fondly too. Looking from her dad to the door, she almost laughed her words.

'So, shall we turn the light off and eat it in the dark, sat in the corner, just like old times?'

He liked that idea, so that's what they did. They sat in the dark, sharing a huge chunk of chocolate brandy cake, off the one plate, with a fork each, for his birthday, and they loved it.

Alas, they were busted, and by Simon of all people, as the light was flicked back on, nearly blinding them both.

'My God ... What the hell are you two doing, and is that cake, at this time of night?'

Dad and daughter looked at each other, their chocolaty grins as wide as each other's.

'... No, son ... We're cutting the lawn, in the dark, when I don't have a lawn to cut ... What's it look like, Simon?' was chuckled, with his cheek full of chocolate mush.

'Not only can I see what you're doing, Dad, I could smell it, the brandy's filtering into the hall ... Don't hog it all, I want some ... Have you another fork?' the young man smiled, switching the light off again, and taking a seat with his father and sister.

'So, come on ... That chap here earlier ... What's his name? I know it but I just can't recall it ... You know the one, son, he's an old friend of yours, worked with you and that Hensley on Project: Lioness ...'

Stuffing more cake into his mouth, Charles watched his son as he racked his brain. Taking his offered fork, Simon scratched his head, as if it would help jog the name into being there as requested.

'... Urh, here earlier ... Arh, yes ... You mean ...'

Bright light, as the kitchen was illuminated for the last time.

'I don't know what the three of you think you're doing, but it's time for you to leave, Simon, Sadie, and time for me to, somehow, get your father to bed ... He hasn't stopped eating all evening, and I have to share the sheets with him, so, if you don't mind, stop adding to his already windy condition ... It's bad enough as it is, without thirteen layers of that alcoholic mud ...'

The voice boomed into the space just prior to her dramatic entrance. Carla Reedman was a petite woman, in one way, but a giant in many others. With a presence enough to change the atmosphere with a single word, when she said jump, you asked from which skyscraper.

That was it, their cake-time was over, so off home they should trot, quietly and quickly, their togetherness at an end.

Coats were gathered, farewells hugged, and kisses exchanged. Promising to catch up soon, they walked out to their waiting cars, as the lights dimmed in the house behind.

'... Wow, what a great night, and I think Dad enjoyed himself no end ... That cake was amazing too, and certainly hit most spots ... So, what are you doing now then, hitting a club, or going home?'

Simon broke the silence, his words said in her direction, as her driver appeared to open the rear door.

'Urh, I think I'll go home, there's some tests I want to run, nothing major, but it would help if done soon ... There's some correlations I wanted to run a recheck on too, then there's ...'

'... Yarda, yarda, yarda, work, work, work ... Is that all you ever think about? ... Boring ... Come on, sis, live a little, for fluke's sake ... Spend a little money, make a little love, cover a little ground, get your knees dirty ... Leave that, it can wait ... Come on, join me, see it all happen, it's normal life with the living ... You never know, you might actually enjoy talking to real people ...'

There was almost a chuckle behind the last of his words, the smile was there, but not heard in his voice. If it had been, she may well have punched him, right in their parent's driveway.

'... Simon, you lead a life in a lane I could never keep up in, and how you live it is entirely up to you ... Although my world is rather secular, there is an understanding between subjects which works on every level ... Those you surround yourself with, they aren't real people either, I don't know if you realise that ... They are mainly made up of silicone and saline implants, the chunks to be refurbished over time, so, really, how can you even call them, real people?'

Climbing into her car, the door was closed and the window dropped. Sadie watched as her brother wandered over to have the last word, as ever. He felt he should, as the older sibling, and so he thought it his right.

'... There are many replies I could make to such a statement, but it would take too long and I want to get going, I have people waiting ... So, hear me, and hear me once ...'

As he came to a halt beside her car, with her security driver not that far away, his hand rested on the roof, so he could smile down at her in that professional way he sometimes used.

'Yes, dear brother,' she grinned up towards him, and his rather pinched look.

'... Let me just remind you, there are doers and dreamers in this world ... I am a doer and you are a dreamer ... What I do, is get those, unreal, people around me to sponsor, and pay, for your funding, your lab and offices, your lab techs, and even him, stood behind me, waiting to take you home ... Now, it would be nice if you showed some gratitude by making an appearance, once in a while, just so they know where their billions of platinum credits are going ... However, don't worry, I'll make up another lame excuse, as I always do, saying you have to be in your imaginary world, along with all your imaginary friends ... So, don't, Sadie, just don't ... Go, be with them, and I hope they make you very rich and very happy ... Goodnight ...'

Turning, he walked to his car with not another word said. Getting away, that was what he wanted, to get away from her, and her weird world that only she lived in. What was her problem, and was she really always going to be such a lame-arse loser?

'... Home then, Miss Reedman?' he driver gently asked, starting the car.

There was a pause as the words sunk in, Simon's words, said into her face, and all true. Publicity, be known and be seen, the talent behind the winner, and the creator of a killer. Sadie couldn't do it, be out there, cameras in her face, prancing around on house size monitors, selling Synchro-Switch Direct to another gazillion random households.

He did that, Simon, he raised the money, and he paid the bills, he kept the contacts, and he run the records, placed the bets, and hid the risks. That's why he was First in Command, everything led back to him, well, him and The Board. They were at the head of it all, what they said was final, and in all cases.

'... Yeah ... Home it is ... Thank you, Ryan ...'

They pulled away, leaving her parents to their dark house and stinky sheets. Off, towards a different kind of home, one that rarely saw any other thumbprint but her's on the security pad.

'... I heard the storm's coming in over the coast tonight ... I was at the beach today, trying to get some surf time, and they were already battening down the hatches ... Even the seafront apartments had their shutters closed, so word has finally spread ... Everyone's going inland, so I reckon it's time for Greta and me to go too ...'

Relationship wise, Ryan and Sadie's was an easy one. Ten years together nearly, from teen to young adult, how time had changed them both. Because he was the son of her mum's first cook, they'd grown and ran wild over the flatlands, back in the older days when life was simple, and her dad had done all the harder, boring, work.

'... You guys can take my guest house, if you want ... It's there if you need it, you know that,' she smiled without thinking, and she meant it.

'... Thanks for the offer, Sades, but I think we're going to her mother's ... She has a place just off Slip Road 17, we should be okay there ... It's not meant to last, but I will be out of action for a few days ... When it hits the road up to you, I'll never get through ...'

Driving towards the city, the lights blurred as the rain started. Understanding the journey, from the west side to her place, up into the hills, once off road it was one hell of a bumpy ride.

'... I don't mind, I like the solitude ... And I love watching the storms roll in over the sea, the lights, and the cloud formations, that's Mother Nature at her finest ... Wild and free ...'

Sadie was lost in it, waiting for the coming force, which was out of the hands of mere morals. The one thing they couldn't quite control was the weather, and while that still moved under its own velocity, there was still hope for mankind.

'Wow, very poetic, you should put that in a hardback book and sell it under a made-up name ... They love books these days, very retro ... I have a few, not rare ones, mainly about everyday things, encyclopaedias or something, they call them ...'

'Yes, that's it, that's them ... Dad gave me a whole set of them once, for my thirteenth birthday ... He said they would answer lots of questions, and he was right, they did ...'

Out along the coast road, heading away from the city, and then up towards those mighty hills. The drive was nice, with light banter and a few laughs to see her home. No streetlights to glare against a windscreen, just random travellers going the other way. Low music, so they could comfortably talk over it, and soon enough, her journey was at an end

'... So, I'll ring you in three days ... We should be good to come home by then,' Ryan smiled, as he opened her car door for her.

'... Yeah, three days, that works out about right ... And I like the thought that I'll be left to it, I hate keep getting interrupted at the office, and I never get the lab time I need ... Ha, look at me, sorry, I'm moaning again,' Sadie smiled, walking for her front door.

'Sades, really, it's okay, I know, I do ... If I didn't, then who, in this crazy world of ours, would?' he grinned, making for the driver's door.

'Are you not stopping for a brew?' she asked, pressing her thumb to the entry pad.

'Nah, sorry, not tonight, we'll have to pack if we hope to hit the in-laws before the first band sweeps in ... If we leave it too late, we'll never get out of the city, so ... Next time, I promise,' he replied, climbing in and starting her up.

'Okay,' she called, as he closed his door and made ready to leave. With his window dropping, she continued with, 'Go now, and don't get caught ... My love to Greta and the tribe, safe trip and all that ... And be careful on the junction over near Parsons Point, it always backs up there ...'

'Yep, I know, and you stay down below, where it's safe. At least I know that lab can withstand an apocalyptic assault, so, please, sleep, eat, and play as much as you like, as long as it's down there.'

'Okay, deal ... Now, get going ... Before it hits and you're still here, flapping your damn gums,' she laughed, walking into her beautiful home, staggered over five levels, and partly built into the hillside.

Ryan left, gone in a toot, and was away into the night, his taillights a glow down the track. Both knew what was to be expected, with gale-force winds and driving rain due to cause disruption all the way inland, right over her hill, and down into the vale.

It was seen, from her picture window, with a drink in her hand, as she watched the start of the flashing reflection on the sea. Soon it would hit, as Simon partied with his crew, underground, in the club he loved so much. Those with money knew how to weather it out, those who didn't, they made for safer ground, away or beyond. There were options, but not that many and, most, very expensive if you wanted in.

Taking her drink with her, she walked to the silver panel in the corner of the room. Pushing it, where the etched patterns met, revealed a set of stairs taking her down, right into the hillside. Further still, behind the solid security door, two feet thick, with her lab, her computers, and her widescreen monitors, she had gadgets galore. On that side was her world, the one she preferred over the one out there, which was just about to be ravished again, by forces unseen.

Finishing her drink, the glass was put to one side and her sensor chair taken. Once comfortable, her hand lifted, her headset resting there, as her finger pushed the remote button so the process of cross-over could begin. One second she was sat at home, relishing her scotch on the rocks, the next, she was entering the corridor of a huge building, full of access points, akin to doors, where one might go blind from so much looking.

Not Super Sadie, she knew where she was going, and as soon as the connection was made, she was off, her destination already spliced in and ready to activate.

'Rerun from, Slide Show, My File ... Trace, Romeo and Juliette, stage, 1 point 7 ... And, load ...'

Two seconds and done.

'Configure optical and audio to full capacity ...'

Three seconds pass.

'Now, load mapping ... And fuse the feeds on my mark ...'

Five seconds to go, and her pulse was almost racing.

'... And ... Mark ... Hold ... Okay, great ... Now, drop me in ...'

Ryan's eyes came round and looked at her in the gentle glow of the overhead lights. There, stood before her, was everything she'd been searching for. Yeah, okay, he wasn't really there, but, oh, boy, he was a pretty close second best, considering he was merely a cyber-toy replica.

Sadie turned and clocked Ryan's changing gaze.

'What?' she asked, giving him that smile he always liked so much.

Her eyes softened as his head dropped a little to one side, and those pretty blues she loved so much, reshaped a little with his smile.

She didn't need to say another word. Her whole world stood in that little space right in front of her. Sadie's eyes changed colour slightly, when he chuckled to himself and looked back up at her.

Slowly, she put her mug down and walked the short distance between them. With inches as a barrier, she raised her hand and rested it, gently, against his warm cheek. As her eyes misted, his hand came up to cover it, the smile still there.

'Sadie ... I ...'

She didn't give him the chance to finish his words. Her index and middle fingers moved to rest against his lips, her's close behind. The kiss crossed a divide they had hovered near a thousand times, but never crossed. As natural as taking a breath, the connection healed all her scars.

'Don't let go of me, Sadie ... please ...'

His words were but a whisper against the lips touching his.

'... I'll never let you go ... I promise ... I promise,' was her reply, as her eyes closed, and her arms snaked around his neck.

Turning her, so she stood with her back to the counter, he held her wrists, crossed, behind her back, the kiss, suddenly deeper, harder, hotter. Her eyes opened to see his watching her, drinking her in, recording every movement.

'I want you, Sadie ... Right here ... Right now ...'

Guiding her sideways and backwards, she came to rest with her butt against the edge of the large kitchen table, her hands still held to her back. He stopped kissing her and looked down into her eyes, feeling the tingle he saw ripple through her.

Sadie watched everything he did, his body language, his facial expressions, heard the purrs, and memorised the way he smelt. He smelt real, and real was very important to her. Without real, you couldn't let them in. There was no emotion on his face, as she fulfilled her fantasy once more.

Sat before a vision she could eat hot or cold, his left hand let go of her wrists and came round to rest against her cheek. The thumb brushed her lower lip, sending a warm sensation all the way to her toes. Without even knowing she was doing it, her fingers started to coil a lock of his hair, dreamlike, lost in a gaze.

The kiss was a natural movement, hardly touching, only just tasted. Eye to eye, tongues danced a pattern they'd waited an age to concede to. Nibbling, petting, their tide was just starting to rise. When his hand moved to her jaw, to control the kiss, and he ground his hips against her's, he even managed a little whimper from her, as her gates opened to let him in.

He also knew the next move. Running his hands down the contours of her slender form, they came to rest on her thighs. The lips that were making her dizzy moved onto her jaw, then onto her throat, trailing a path down onto her chest.

Her hand came round from behind and rested gently against his neck, as he nuzzled into the cleavage he'd exposed. With her eyes closing slowly, her head fell backwards, lips caught between teeth, the sensation blinding.

As soon as their bodies touched, she knew. Sadie felt everything, the power of those seconds taking the breath from her lungs. Too late, she was falling, and there was no going back.

Ryan tried to be calm, and he tried to be in control, but there was also a burning need to be in her. He held back, he went gently. He didn't want to break the thread by doing something stupid, and he certainly didn't want to hurt her in any way.

He took his time with kissing and coaxing, the grinding against her a slow rhythm. Her face would alter if there was a change, her eyes paling to grey. He was aware of not crossing the line, and he would wait. For her, he would wait.

Their lips touching gave the glow a whole new tone. All those feelings rushing around inside her feeds, from the red hot to the sweet cold, were constant ebbs in a shallow wave. It was showing her a different side. But, what she didn't know was, as she wallowed in that ocean of visual ecstasy, her hard-drive was recording that close-call connection, and there was no erasing that.

Ryan's change in tempo showed he was in the right place. Sadie witnessed the broody look and heard the breaths dragged through gritted teeth. When his eyes rested on her, they were the clearest blue she'd ever seen.

Placing her hand to his cheek, she felt his grip tighten. Pulling him down to kiss her, as the next wave swept through her, she placed her other arm around his shoulders. The drive in her, the want to have him, it burnt, and she felt it.

Ripping the headset away, her eyes watered, as she ended the flush through her whole nervous system. A deep gasp escaped gnashing teeth as fingertips gripped into a chair's arm. Sat, twitching for a few seconds, nothing was heard, as her breathing slowly resumed back to its normal speed.

'... Hello, James ... There you are, you found my trace feeds again, well done you ... I'm sorry about earlier ... I tried all the access codes you threaded through to me, sadly, Synchro-Switch Direct are terminating them before they connect to my end ... Try patching through on another cortex-line ... If that doesn't work, try hard-lining the second router ... With the programme already uploaded, it should correspond to the matrix, thereby placing your data-link before everyone else's.'

He made the changes, through the original loop, redirecting his own link through another server, one that wasn't on a direct chain to S.S.D's mainframe. Bypassing the security codex, under the shield of being a builder-bot, and plugging directly into his motor nerve, James tripped through a back door and straight into cyber paradise. With the curtain about to open, he was ready to interact with a whole new world.

Once the blinding light faded into bleed-down, the splice was made, and their universes melded, so to speak. As James stepped from one, he passed straight into another, and he was more than ready. He'd been searching for her since seeing her perfect internal algorithms chasing round the web, and they were perfectly proportioned, in a good way, one that had a specific meaning. Having located her mainframe, he was able to access her feed, thereby dropping himself into her home site.

His world changed in a second, as though a picture book had been opened, and a new story had been revealed to be explored. In a stunning room, with a spectacular view, James held his breath a moment. Was he really there, with her?

Adjusting to his newly required motion and balance, his senses shuffled to face the right way round. Sliding forward, through the glare, he was there, standing, seeing her, as if for the first time.

Moving towards him, Cait smiled, 'Okay ... Now, hold that frame, that's it, don't let it drop away ... I know it's hard, but go with it, that's it ... That's it ... You've got it ...'

The rapid heartbeat slowed as his feet felt the wooden floor beneath them. Looking around him, James eased into it his new surroundings, the information suddenly not as hard to upload as he thought it might be.

'... There now, don't resist ... You'll overload your system and you'll crash ... If you do, I can't help you ... Sorry ...'

Her soft voice carried across the room, her figure coming into view. In that space, in that place, it was where he had always seen her, right there, in that room.

'You know this room, I know,' she smiled, turning to the view over the lake. 'Over there, that's where your life began ... Under a blanket, nestled in a wooden house, in a small village, miles from anywhere ... You wanted to be a singer in a rock and roll band ... Wasn't that the dream, James, when you were young?'

James seemed amazed, his silence reflecting it.

'Don't look so surprised ... I know everything about you, everything that's on file, everywhere ... I had unlimited access to your whole history and it was there to read, as if an encyclopaedia of you, from birth until now ... It's quite incredible what you can learn about people ... I always find the other side of the veil so, so ... Unbelievable ... Is it really like that, life? Is it really that, diverse?'

The wanting to understand was right there, in her face, her words, and her tone. Pretty eyes bore into him, as she hung on his answer, her anticipation nearly erasing her. When she stepped forward and touched him, he almost freaked out. He felt it.

'Yes, see, linked in through your motor nerve you can feel ... How was it for you?' she smiled, her hand dropping away as she turned for the bar.

'Life ... It can be a little strange, but no stranger than what I'm doing right now ...'

Two drinks were poured, and one escorted over to James, his silence at an end.

'... You think that's strange ... Try this ... And it's how you like it, dash of cola, no ice ...'

Slowly, he took his glass from her hand and lifted to his lips. He almost laughed, with that first sip, to be swilled around a little, and then swallowed, along with a lick of his lips at the end.

'Okay,' he smiled, looking at Cait, 'that just tripped my fluking mind out ... Do we have time for another?'

'That's another thing ... Time moves differently here, because I want it to ... My days and seasons are not the same as out there ... Here, we're in a different realm, one where we'll never age, not in all the time we spend on this island ... Here, you are what you want to be ...'

'Wow, so did you build all this from what you know?' James asked, moving to the window and looking out over the scanned remake of the world beyond their interlinked collective.

'Yes, from your Live-Wire contacts and downloaded memories mainly,' was smiled, as she moved to join him. 'This place is where you used to go on holiday with your parents and siblings ... Your dad used to fish that water, and you had to sail over here, which you really hated ... I loved it, and the memory, it was a good place for you, you roamed free here ... It's the nearest I get to doing the same, when I'm not working, that is ...'

'The island cottage, I remember now, just us and no one else ... Little Nash and I used to walk all the way around it in one day, and take a packed lunch, even though we were only gone about four hours at most ... We built a camp in the trees, over by the pond, and spent all day tracking wild animals and catching bugs ... Have you included the tree house? Now, that was amazing ...'

Turning, to take a seat, she explained it was all there.

'Not much is different, it's updated if anything ... I loved the seclusion, and the cottage, though I did make a few little changes, for example, bigger windows and decking to the back, plus I removed all the fences ... There's no need for them here, not on my version of your island ...'

Internally, it was as near to the old place as James remembered. The rugs, the furniture, and even the way dust particles caught in the light and drifted, it was all there, all of it. Taking a moment with his drink, he looked over at the old photos and trinkets from a lifetime ago.

'How does this work then, if I think I can walk, I'll walk?' he enquired, not wanting to break the link through an incorrect motion.

'... Okay ... So, see and feel your legs moving, and they will ... You don't have to make them react, you just have to suggest it to them, it's what they're pretending to do ... It's easy ... Take one step first and the rest will follow ... Don't move, pretend ...'

It was explained in a way James totally understood. Don't move, just pretend, and that's what he did.

'I'm unable to show you much ... Because you haven't collected all the mapping sections yet, you'll only be able to go so far, then your map will end ... I can upload the island to you eventually, but the information stream is so big it might take longer than a usual file ...'

His mind was drowning in the visual, and he was trying to keep up, but it wasn't easy, there was only so much one mainframe could take in one hit. He also had to be careful, mental overload was something no one ever wanted, that switched you off permanently, game over.

Watching Cait cross the room to the front door, a funny thing happened. He tried to focus on the daylight beyond, but a sharp pain flashed up and through the front of his skull, hitting him right between the eyes. Releasing a loud gasp, Cait turned and looked his way, her face a collision of concern

'... Drop out, NOW ... Your interface is being attacked ... Go, before it invades your motions thread and nerve sensors ... They'll kill you if they catch you in here with me ...'

Standing, paralysed on the spot, James watched as the world around him turned a watery red colour, the bleed starting at the top and slowly sliding down his vision.

Ripping the thread away, he crashed back into another world, with noise and pollution, carelessness and crime. His nose was bleeding, a sign that things were not fluid. Synchro-Switch Direct had found him in there, lingering, so they threw him out, and in the most painful way they knew how.

'... They've managed it again, the sneaky little flukes ... How, how do they find their way in? How do they do it? ... Every bloody time we create another failsafe security system, some clever little sod plays around with it, sticking their sad little nose in where it isn't wanted ... Why can't they leave it alone? Are they all demented? ... It's a stupid computer programme, for Christ's sake ... Not a fluking cybersex-toy ...'

The last five words were almost shouted across his plush office, but Simon just about kept it together. Pacing the carpet by the window, his face was in tatters from his fury.

'... Eight times this has happened, eight fluking times, and every time it's the same fluking thing ... Did they honestly think they can set her free, really? ... There's no setting her free, they can't just release her from her world of servers ... Which I thought was a fluking given ... Dah ...!'

'... Calm down, Simon, think about your anger levels, try not to let them take control ... Breath, slowly ... That's it ... Slowly ...'

Carla Reedman's personality filled the space she sat in, with her perfect make-up, nails and hair, and clothes, shoes and handbag that were always colour coordinated.

'... Oh, I think I know who it is, Mother, the little toe-turd ... And as soon as I have the proof, his pain is my gain ... I'll hurt him so bad ...'

'Simon, stop that talk, right now ... I'll not stand for it, please, you will conduct yourself in a manner that is more becoming of your position, do you hear me? ... Besides, we have people that deal with that sort of thing ... I thought you knew that, darling,' his mother purred, stroking her fake fur coat collar.

When his phone rang, the big sigh carried him over to answer it. The call didn't last long, and went something like this.

'... Yes, speaking, and? ... What do you mean the bogus feed runs back to our lab's office? ... No, Sadie isn't here today, she's working from home, so I know that's a load of crap ... Check it again, and do it properly this time, if you don't, move over and let someone else have a go ... No, I haven't, Hensley, and I wouldn't tell you if I had ... Yes, that was the understanding I had with Travis, that I'd meet him, there, when I've finished here ... Okay, well, I'll come down and take a look in a bit ... No, not now, my Mother's still here ... Fine ... Twenty minutes, if that ... Thanks ... Oh, and one other thing ... I never said your coffee takes like gravy, that was Peters ... What I actually said was, it tasted like rotten noodles dipped in doggy do-do,' he sniggered, before hanging up.

Looking sweetly across his desk, he smiled, 'So, darling Mumsie, it's been lovely catching up, but I'm a very busy man, as you can see, and I really do need to get back to it ... I have a meeting with The Board at three but, first, I must get down into the lab and chase this issue ... Sadie's on it too, but I like to know what's what,' he smiled, walking round to almost lift her from her chair.

Seeing her to the door, she looked up at her flustered, and overly tired, son.

'... Simon, promise me you'll get some sleep, you look more worn that your Father's slippers ... Take a holiday, have a break, but do something to wipe that awful daze off your face ... Look at yourself, you'd think you were poor again ...'

That was all the advice he was going to get from his loving mother, and she'd already given him enough. Casting her eye over him once more, for the last time before leaving, her words were said to the back of his head as he returned to his seat.

'Darling, I know you're very busy, you always are ... But when are you going to settle down with a nice girl and start your own family, mmm? ... Your dad and I were talking about it in bed the other night, and it would be nice if you started to think about it ... Maybe about now might be a good time, what do you think?' she cooed, trying to get him to say something in reply.

It worked, he heard her, but his reply was probably not what she was expecting.

'Mother, please, if I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times ... I would sooner marry Uncle Harry's three legged dog over any of the ugly collective you currently class as eligible catches ... Two are over forty, one resembles a small elephant, nose included, and the other one, well ... Talk about a rear that would give a jumbo jet a run for its credits ...'

He grinned at the woman over by the door, his look softening.

'... Look, I'll make you a deal ... If you stop thrusting all these ugly birds on me, I'll go and find a nice, young, pretty one, that I'd consider humping in the first place, with hips just wide enough to bring forth, into this profitable world, all the grandkids you could ever want ... I promise ... But, right now, I'm kinda busy ... So, if you wouldn't mind ...'

Carla sort of smiled, but there was a watery eye all the same, as their catch-up came to an end. Whether that was from his choice insults, or the fact he actually pledged to do something finally, no one will ever know.

'Simon, you can be so horrid sometimes, I wonder if we picked up the wrong test-tube by mistake ... You can upset people without even knowing you're doing it, and it's another of your traits that needs working on ... You'll never meet a nice girl if you talk to them like that, will you?'

Though he could be rather mean sometimes, when he saw the look on his mother's face, he did have to walk over and give her a gentle hug. Pulling away, he smiled down at her.

'Okay ... I'm sorry ... But I'm still not going to marry a name off your Bucket List ... So, please, don't give me that look, Mother ... I do love you, very much, but, never, that much ... Now, come on, I'll walk you to your car, there's a darling ...'

They kissed and he waved. Then, once she and her car were out of sight, it was back to the office, then down to the lab. Rushing as he went, he almost dropped his coffee, after nearly walking into Miss Tipton on sub-level three. Through three sets of optical security sectors, and via a myriad of sterile corridors, he finally arrived at the very centre of S.S.D.'s enormous brain.

Spread over numerous rooms, with three main widescreen monitors, three keyboards, and a mess load of cabling in-between, the whole affair was rather impressive. All their data and security ran into that hanger size room over there, and all the servers and mainframes where housed in a climate controlled warehouse just behind them.

Taking a seat next to the young man beavering away, he rubbed his hands together before readying himself for some action. Turning briefly to his right, he picked up his headset and popped it into place over his eyes, his ear and mouth pieces being pushed into position.

'... So, Travis, what have you found? ... Hensley told me some of it,' he grinned, looking at the cyber created version, stood next to him in the Hall of Knowledge.

'... Well, Sir, yes, there might be one glitch, on File 17, 3 point 5, which I feel I should mention ... Would you kindly take a look at this and tell me what you think? ... It might be nothing, but then it could be a big something ... I'm not sure either way, so I'd rather you check it through first,' the young cyber-clone replied, as his hands did all the sifting before him, just to reach that flashpoint once more.

Simon watched the swiftness of hand and eye coordination, almost mesmerised by the speed at which he worked. Swap after swap, slide after slide, until they arrived to where he wanted them both to be.

'... There, Sir ... I thought I should bring it to your attention, and mainly because, well, it shouldn't be there, not in this thread of binary ...'

Looking closer, Simon could have laughed. He had them, and the backstabbing, secret stealing, sons-of-bitches were about to know what pain really was. How could they bite the hand that fed, which was despicable in itself? That was beyond reproach and his good nature, and more so if he actually knew what that meant.

Stepping down from the level, and removing his headset with a dastardly chuckle, he knew just what he needed to do. Thanking Travis for his time, he marched back up to his office, where he could drink and smoke, and not be so uncomfortable.

Removing his lab coat, to hang in the wood panelled wardrobe, he then walked to his gorgeous black glass bar and poured himself a large one. It was quiet, the office dead at that time of day, the space comfortable. Though his hours were mostly long ones, somehow he gained more strength from that, using it to power his constantly charging internal battery. A life lived highly and well, his was one to be proud off. Fast women, good food, the best haunts in the city, and never being left off any worthy party lists, showed he really had it going on. Some lived life and loved every second, and Simon was one of those people.

Dropping into his chair, with his drink and a loud sigh, he felt he had done enough for one day. Starting at the crack of dawn, his eyes had seen enough and wanted to close. One drink, that was all, and a quick look through the news feed before his Board meeting.

Slowly turning in his chair, he looked to the wall of wood. Pressing a button on his desk, a panel slid open to reveal the large monitor hidden within. Another switched it on, and the red one made things happen. Resting back, his eyes cast to the images on the screen, the ones he would often lose himself to. With his eyes flicking over the same old footage, he travelled a journey not done in a while.

As the video frames passed from one event to another, the voices hardly ever changed, neither did the faces. Closing his eyes, he listened to them, their sound, their tone, and the way they communicated, shoulder to brotherly shoulder. Old friends were having a laugh, being silly, and it was nice to hear, sat there, all alone like that. It reminded him of when friendship had won out, and hoped, somehow, someday, it still might.

Going over the same old issues, arguing the same old cases, and having the same old lines fed to him, was what his time with The Board mainly consisted of. Taking the conference call, via his large screen, there were never any faces to talk at, it was merely the S.S.D icon that was shown, nothing else. One voice always did the talking, with its same old tone, and its same old words. Trying not to nod off in the process, Simon lit a cigar to keep his eyes from closing. Maybe that would help and, thankfully, it did.

Near the end he had his say, but only mentioned the current issue, just so they were aware of it. Explaining that the team were currently working on the problem, as they spoke, Simon hoped to have better news the following day, if not sooner. They seemed happy with that, and the subject moved onto other less exciting things, none of which really affected Simon, but he had to hear it anyway, it was a Bored meeting, after all.

When it ended, he sighed loudly with relief, as he finished his drink, the glass discarded on his desk. Walking from his office, he licked his lips, the last of his brandy then gone. There was something he needed, something else, something he would dodge that storm for, and in Loop, the subterranean club with the awesome music and fine ladies, he was bound to find exactly what he desired to quench his thirst, even if it was only for just one night.

To say Sadie's life was secular was putting it lightly. Really, there was only one person in her life, her. Others passed through, mainly her family and colleagues but, sadly, no one ever stayed. No one was there to come home to either, not a boyfriend or roomy, not even a warm and fluffy pet. Loneliness, to some, is the worse form of torture but, to Sadie, it was a tide of escape in which she wished to drown.

Beyond her hillside, the storm raged and uprooted trees, it lashed and bashed, and it tore and terrorised. On the flatlands, it flooded, and in the mountains, it crumbled. Hill passes were shut for several days, and Sadie had her supplies flown in by helicopter. There were delivered direct to her helipad, when the weather permitted, the one adjacent to her roof terrace. Although the surrounding area was completely rearranged in certain parts, her side of the hill was fairly untouched. There was come damage to her property, but mainly old hollow trees that were doomed anyway.

Having no car to worry about, her only form of transport was her little quad, stored safely in the underground garage. That she used to trundle around her hilly estate, but only when the weather was nice. It was a great way to visit the guest house, when it was occupied, and it was how she retrieved her mail from the main gate. If the rain was torrential, the mail could wait, if the poor Posty could get that far, of course.

The exterior cameras showed and recorded the devastation beyond her bunker. Snuggled away in her hill, as if a mighty mole, she was happy with her classical guitar music playing softly in the background, and her bottle of scotch to keep her company. As she moved around the well-lit space, she would stop to see what was happening outside, via open channels and her own personal links, which she found quite exciting, especially the lightning.

When the soft music floated from the speakers, she stopped and watched her monitor screen. Somehow that song worked perfectly with the storm rolling over the land. Taking a drink, the lights in the sky rippled through dark clouds, the show quite something to witness, when seen from somewhere safe.

Her grey little world wasn't quite so grey. There were a few dashes of colour every now and then. Had she not had one recently with a young man? He was a dashing splash of colour, which then turned her cheeks red when she thought about it. If she looked, she'd find his name. Her love of breaking codes always helped, and she put her's to very good use. There weren't many she couldn't trace, and once she started, she would ride that chain right to the very end.

The process took a little over five hours, and though she did everything right, there was still a patch over his profile. No name and no audio or visual, emails only, and no contact numbers. Only his title at work, that's the only thing she had, so she knew she was looking at the correct person.

Why the secrecy then? Was he a Board Member's son or something? Is that why his info had never been made public? Maybe that was it. Maybe that was all it was, something as silly as that. Just another stupid rule made up by the silly old Board. That was how it seemed to Sadie, and she hated it all.

Nice, another drink was to follow another tune and, with that, a little swish around the empty space too, whilst humming along. Lost in the classical piece, she flew away, into the sky, with those fleeing geese, lifting higher and higher, they wings to carry her away.

Loneliness, a funny thing, can be fine one moment, and can have you in tears the next. The drink never helped, but through bleary eyes, it suddenly became a raw nerve, one that hurt to the very core. In that one second, all she wanted was for someone to hold her, but there wasn't anyone, she was alone again.

'... Christ Almighty ... This has got to change ... Right now ...'

So it was, the music that is, onto something a little more uplifting which had some balls to it, and was loud and obnoxious. Sticking her BassMetal album on, two seconds and she was rocking it around the room with not another miserable tear in sight.

Emotions, there was no room for them, not with the music turned up that loud. Stay away from them, they cause all sorts of issues, and generally leave one feeling pooh. Something had to happen to change the mood, something exciting.

Silence, the music switched off, because she could never concentrate on her writing when lyrics filled the air. An idea had blossomed. Going back to Mister No Name, she followed the line to his thread. Rereading the scanty details, and there it was, right where it was before, emails only.

Following the hyperlink, she flitted over to an automatic pop-up screen. The usual was listed, name, c.c., subject, blah, blah, blah. That was filled in and the email almost started. How should she start it? Hello, you might not remember me, but, you were at my Daddy's party, just before the storm, we sat on the balcony and talked most of the night?

That was pretty much it, plus some other babble, which was probably the case, seeing as she was quite sozzled by that early hour of the morning. Just for good measure, she added a small attachment showing him the storm from her side of the hill, and also mentioned how she never forgave herself for not taking his number. In her drunken haze she added her's to the end, hoping he might miraculously one day contact her. It was ended with kind regards and a hope to speak soon, then one click and it was gone.

Dancing back to replenish her drink, the music rose in volume once more. Sadie almost jumped from her skin, with the sudden vibration that was so unexpected against her thigh. When her phone started to sound off in her lab coat pocket, she could have died on the spot. Fumbling into her hand, it was just as well she never dropped the half full bottle from her other.

'... Hi, it's me, Mister No Name ... I got your email, thanks ... You not sleeping either, and is that also because of the damn storm? ... Are you busy, or can you talk?' was asked by the voice she would never forget, and it sounded super good.

Before she fell, she sat, the surprise almost taking her off her feet. Finally the glass was filled, and she leant back to start the most important of verbal connections. Hoping she didn't sound too worse for wear, her slurring was smothered, which was always a very good thing.

'... Oh, hey, you ... I'm not busy, no, this is me relaxing, with wine and nice music ... Nah, I hardly ever sleep ... I'm usually working, but I gave myself the night off ... I'll blame it on the storm ... Just like everyone else will,' she giggled, trying to keep it together. 'Anyway, what about you, what are you doing while you're not sleeping?'

He knew, of course he knew, and in one way, he was as high as a kite too, just on a different rush. Life was good for Mister No Name, and he loved it just the way it was.

'Me? ... I'm not up to much, just reading emails and pondering life ... I've got some nice music to keep me company, some nice aged bourbon, the fire's lit, and I'm wearing my favourite slippers, so, what more could I ask for, except your company, maybe ...'

His voice was a work of art alone, not too deep, not too high, and a wonderful tone, led by a lovely smile. It was heard it his audio, that smile, and she liked it, she liked it very much.

'... Keep talking, about anything,' she almost whispered, with her eyes smouldering to be rested on his handsome face. 'I love the sound of your voice ... There's something really dreamy about it, and I really like it ... That accent of yours, it's very ... Arousing ... Go on, talk about anything, I don't care, really ... Tell my your life story, and start right at the beginning ... And, really, I don't mind if it's complete tosh, be who you've always wanted to be ... Anything is good, just as long as I hear your voice ... Mmm ...'

Starting with a meagre beginning, he rattled off a childhood that might or might not have been his. It could have been, but then it could have been anyone's come to that. There were a few dingy parts in his early days, the struggling parents, the education and health costs, and the usual moves and gripes suffered by most over time.

Listening was one thing, but Sadie could multi-task with the best of them, and so she did. Keeping him talking was a great way to follow his online channel, mainly to find out where it led back to. Already confirming he was at his place, with his open fire, her first spy-bot went to work on the Private Home Sector, checking to see if there was a match to that particular ip address. Sadly, there was nothing, zilch, nada, so where to nosy next?

Mister No Name still hadn't told her his actual name, preferring the one she had bestowed upon him instead. Humming and tutting, she listened on, her attention almost undivided, but not quite. More tales of school years followed another move over another county line, and the time rolled away, term after term.

'... And that's when I realised I had two heads ... That's why I was twice as clever as everyone else,' he babbled into the line, as if it were something that was common knowledge.

The keyboard fell quiet as she paused, running that last part over and over on her head. What did he just say?

'... Urh ... Did you just say you have two heads? ... You being funny, or are you just crazy, Mister No Name?'

There was a soft chuckle ripple through from his end of the line, one she would have melted over, but for trying to get through those longwinded links.

'... And there she is ... I thought you'd nodded off, you went very quiet ... No, I don't have two heads, not really ... I was just checking to make sure you were still awake,' he laughed, testing her maybe.

'... Very funny, yes, I'm still here ... Just ... Though I am a bit knackered, I must admit,' she replied, almost giving up on the search.

'Okay, that's good ... Not my droning on then ... Just a small case of sleep deprivation instead, that's much better,' was a nice reply, and her kind of humour too. 'Look, you go and get some rest if you can, turn the overheads off, light some scented candles, and do some drifting if you can't drop off ... I'll call you tomorrow, if you say I can ... Maybe we can meet for a coffee, once the storm gets lost ... That would be nice, I'd like that ...'

It sounded good to her to so she didn't refuse.

'... Yes, call me tomorrow ... You can finish your story then, from the part where you grew two heads ... That would be nice too, merely to know how that ended for you,' she smiled, knowing he was smiling too.

That link, that same chain, that missing feed, and that elusive ip address, it was nearly driving her as nuts as he seemed. In the second her finger almost hit cancel search, a portal opened, one she'd never seen before. The numbers were those of a High Security location, and only accessible with Level 1 clearance to that particular channel. It was as far as it would let her go, to there, and no further.

Dozens of various corruption web bots hovered around it, suggesting it was a no touch zone. Even if she thought she stood a chance of gaining access, there was no way she wouldn't be found. Skimming the top was hypersensitive enough, and no one was foolish enough to trigger that barrage of body-hackers. Once infected with those little sods, you were doomed. They bashed at everything internal, from nerves to arteries, and could even kill if they invaded the brain.

'... So, tomorrow, about five in the evening, would that suit you?' he asked nicely, his voice sounding suddenly excited.

'... Five, yep, that's good with me ... I'm just checking to see if I have any conference calls booked into my diary ... But, no ... All clear, and we're good to go,' she replied, closing the tab, and dropping out of the chain, the risk of her motherboard burning out too much to take.

Their goodbyes lasted seconds, with a call-back pledged, and the hope of that dream coming true already planted. Music still played and another drink was poured, as that killer of a storm raged and roared, its might an angry force, and its damage to measure into the millions.

Spinning in his high backed leather chair slowly, the glass was lifted and the drink savoured. Many things had been learnt that night, on both ends on the line, notes were taken, then put away for a rainy day. Tomorrow it would be rainy, and maybe that would be the day, but until then, Mister No Name smiled to himself.

Sadie Reedman never did locate his base-address, he made sure that no one could, but he found her's and every link she was attuned too. Sat in a file several feeds deep, on the system spread before him and his open fire, was a copied collection of all the places Sadie went and, amongst them, the very ones he sought.

Smiling slowly, he flicked through several named files, one of which was a series of reruns under Romeo and Juliette, and one set of stages in particular. Now, those reruns would come in handy on a rainy day, and he knew exactly when that rain would happen for those little beauties. If plonked into the hands of the right person, things could get spiced up a little, and one of his biggest issues could be instantly solved, once and for all.

Being devious helped, but then he'd learnt from the best, Charles Reedman being the first and foremost. Now, that old man once had some bitching business balls, huge ones, and what a builder he was, of hopes, dreams, and lots of nice credits. That family, as individuals, were loaded, their income trebling over the previous twelve quarters.

That was a nice feeling, that warm sigh of comeuppance. So he let it linger, just for a little while, as he sipped his drink and watched the next feed. None of his anger was ever aimed at the girl, Sadie. Through her, though, he finally had his chance to write a very big wrong.

'You made it back, and with the full map, I'm impressed ... How did you manage the new link, did you pirate another direct feed?' the low voice giggled, as James walked from the mist into a rather pleasant day, with birdsong and honeysuckle on the breeze, and the young woman stretched out by the pool, enjoying a long cold drink.

'... Yes, I made it, as a cleaner-bot, and no one was waiting this time, except you, like that ... Maybe I should have sent you a message first, so you could put something on ... Shall I leave?'

The poor bloke didn't know where to look. Once he realised she was butt naked on her sun lounger, he was almost lost for somewhere to rest his eyes. It was so there, in his face, he found it hard to swallow. His next words were said to a wall, as she donned a layer of pretty pastel fabric.

'Can't you just programme yourself a nice San Moritz tan, instead of being out here, like that?' he enquired, waiting for the all clear.

'... I did,' she giggled in the background, 'I just like sitting around naked because I can, James, don't you? Besides,' she smiled, as she passed him for another drink, 'no one's here to see, except you, and you dropped in without so much as a by my leave ... So, really, who exactly is in the wrong here?'

Stating a valid point, James had not looked at it like that at all, he didn't see her with a continuation of life once he wasn't there, surfing her cross-feed. Maybe assuming she ceased to be, in the second he was diverted away from her visual contact, really did make an ass out of him more than her.

Following to the outside bar, he was amazed by the realism that held her where she was. From stone, onto wood, then onto carpet, it sounded right, its texture perfect, and it was all so breathtakingly real. The flowers in the vase, their aroma was awash across the space, the air almost sweet with it. The view beyond the lawn, the breeze through the trees, and the movement of light, it brought it all to life. No, that was wrong, it was her. She brought it to life, all of it, every sight and every sound, and every single pixel thereafter.

'So, did you upload your own name, along with your desired location?' James asked, looking over towards the calm water at the end of the garden.

'No, I'm not responsible for that, Sadie named me ... It stands for Cyber Automated Integrated Technology, or Cait for short ... Plus it's easier to remember, of course,' she smiled, before taking a few long sips of her newly refreshed drink.

Taking his from her hand, he smiled, 'Yeah, I like it, and I can see where the easy factor comes into it ... Cait is much nicer, it flows better, and it could be short for Caitlyn, or Caithrin, anything's possible, anything's probable ...'

His blue eyes cast around him, taking in the day, the succulent air, the cherry aroma, the sound of water shushing into a small cove. It was so pretty there, and calm, with lashings of peace and plenty of isolation.

'I love what you've done with the place, the subtle changes ... No fences, proper pathways, another wood where there wasn't one ... And a field with horses, wow, you have it all ... Everything you've ever wanted ... Do you download it, or do they install the file directly when you ask for it? I was just wondering ... Sorry if I'm being nosy, tell me, and I'll shut up,' he chuckled, actually liking the world she'd created for herself. '... And, Cait ... Why is there a door hovering above water over there, is it meant to be like that?' he asked, looking sideways at her.

'The basic framework is a download from the Synchro-Switch Direct databank, I just fill it in using the information I find on file, it's a bit like colouring in a printed picture ... And the door, I've been meaning to tell you about ... Okay, so you can be here with me, James, but you can never, and I mean never, go through that door ... Do you hear me?' she stated, making it obvious she wanted him aware of it.

'Ooh, why, what's through that, certain death?' he asked, glancing towards it on their right, which simply hovered there, whilst he pretended to tremble with fear, and his nails raised to his chattering teeth.

'What's through there is none of your business, and sometimes you're such a child,' Cait chuckled, walking away with her drink. 'So, promise me you'll do as I ask, like the hero I know you really are, and keep well away from it, please, because you have to, if you ever hope to come back to see me again ... So, do ya, want to come back?'

James had to think about that, but only briefly.

'Okay, okay, I'll stay away from the red door, I promise ... Is it just that red door, there, or is it all red doors in general?' he then wanted confirming.

'There are no other red doors here, James, that's the only one, and that's the door you stay away from ... Only I use that, beyond that are things that will never concern you ... So, please, know it's there, but forget about it ... One day I'll tell you, but it's too soon now, and only I hold the key ...'

With the last of her words she moved away, towards the path, leading through the woods.

'... Come on, I'll show you round ... Did you see, I smartened the swimming pond up and gave it a stunning waterfall? ... The flow is set at a constant temperature too, so we can take a swim, now, if you like, and it's such a lovely day, it would be a shame to waste it,' she smiled, taking his hand and leading him away, whilst changing the subject at the same time.

Passed the paddock, through the small meadow with her roaming horses, over the little footbridge, and along the track they ambled, chatting and laughing, and holding hands. Cait felt connected in many ways, but the hand holding was something new, and something she really liked. Interlinking fingers, such a little thing really, but, as she knew from researched text, it was usually those that mattered most.

Arriving at their destination, James was gobsmacked, because the location had indeed been improved and was incredibly beautiful. Not quite as it was stored in his memory bank, but possibly a million times more wonderful, he looked across the pond to the falling stream of water, the sound calling him in.

Standing, taking in the lifelike view spread around him, James's eyes feasted on the fact that the details were so perfect, in every way, not just initial audio and visual. Naked toes in the grass, and then dug into cold sand, one at a time, the feeling liberating. Warm water sloshed up to ankles, as he watched the birds circle above, the warm air lifting them higher and higher.

Turning, to look back at Cait, a quiet sigh escaped his lips with her next set of actions. Though she never once touched him physically, she touched him through his mind, and in a place that was never open to such feelings. Slowly, the sheer fabric, which had covered her fine form, slid and fell from her tanned shoulders to the ground at her feet.

Blue eyes glanced over at the image before her, his features softening as the light across his face altered, his smile still there, his look not changing. Lifting a hand, to goad him forward towards her naked framework, she stepped backwards into the shallows, the water sheening across her brown skin.

What was to follow was a watery cybersex experience no other being would ever encounter. Beneath the cascade of tumbling droplets, they matched their own streams as a way of internally connecting. In that space, in that small world, two sets of digits collided to birth a new dimension, the likes of which no one man would ever achieve. Swimming in the depths created, they wallowed in a link of their own making as the private servers, which were responsible for the bank of fluid information, nearly popped a valve from the hotness of it all.

Right on time, Mister No Name's call came through, just as she was making a dinner of soup with a crusty roll. Sadie answered it with a clear head, after sleeping for most of the day, her eyes finally focusing on the world around her. Still trudging around in her pink monster onsie, with matching slippers, her hair was a mess, and piled up, so the call stayed on audio as no visual was permitted, not by her anyway.

After a quick bout of silly banter, he finally asked the question.

'... So ... When are you free for that coffee then, Sadie?'

There was a pause on the line, she was thinking, quickly.

'... Urh ... Now ...?' she chuckled, not caring how it sounded.

His reply was, 'What, now, as in, right now? ... And how would I get there, or you to anywhere else, having said that? ... You do know the road to your estate is closed already, yes? It has been for two days now, ever since it was drowned in a massive hill-slide ... Sadie, haven't you been watching the media weather feeds? ... The army moved in this morning ... The loss of life is in the hundreds, and there's nowhere for anyone to go but away ...'

Scratching her itchy scalp, she so wanted a shower, just so she could wash it away. As she sat, with mug in hand, and a smoke on the go, her idea had evolved right before her eyes.

'Yeah, why not, and shall we say for in about an hour's time? ... So what if the road's closed ... Now the winds have dropped for the night, they'll be flying my supplies up ... I'll let them know to expect you at Reedman Tower, you can hop aboard, bringing the fresh coffee beans with you, because I've just run out ... See, your timing couldn't have been better ... Thank you ...'

There was a one second pause, maybe, if that.

'... So, Mister No Name ... If I get the kettle on, does that work for you?' she slowly smiled, as her fingers idly played with a pencil she'd found on the side.

Yes, it did, and he was there, at The Tower, ready and waiting, as she had asked. The weather had been kind enough to drop the gale, the reprise a window that would give the required time to reach the flooded areas and get them catered for, as the homeless were bedded down someplace safe for a night or two.

Eventually the rains would start again, washing away the blown debris to add to the churned liquid already collecting on the flatlands. Amid all that, life tried to survive, claiming back what they could, while they still had the chance, which was a journey no one relished, even though they knew it must be done. Leaving what they couldn't carry, farms rambled free-range, the livestock to fend for themselves until further notice.

Sadie didn't have anything like that to worry about, no dependents, nothing needing attention, and he was just the same. A recluse, maybe, who works better alone, definitely. His world may seem a very small one too, when seen from outside but, looking closer, that small world held a lot of big secrets, and some of his were the jewels in the crown.

By half six he was stood at the roof terrace door, after a slightly bumpy but executive style trip, holding a box of mixed fresh coffee beans. He was dragged into helping unload the copter, along with Sadie, who pitched in as usual, with the little trolley she kept at hand.

After a very warm welcome, she showed him down to the level below, which placed it as the second story from the top, and the view was amazing. From the window in the hill, there was an untainted panoramic splendour of city lights and patchwork roads, all leading towards that one centre hub. As if the well soldered circuit board to the most amazing of all motherboards, it was a work of art in itself. Neon dots glowed bright across the blacked out spaces, their traces to crisscross and meet again, somewhere further into the night.

How stunning it was from there, and to look down on all that life and all that living. He wondered, with that, there, right outside your living room, would you ever need a live-feed again?

'... So ...Was the story you told me on the phone true, were your early years really like that, really that, disjointed?' she asked, passing him a mug of aromatic goodness. 'Oh, and that's my own mix, flown in from wherever ... It's the only one I drink ... Isn't it good?' was hummed, as she took another sip of her own.

'... Well ...'

Moving from the kitchen, they took a comfy couch each, overlooking the world beyond. The floor to ceiling windows installed were sheer genius, especially where the seating area was slightly raised. Sat there, so they looked down onto the whole site, but on a slightly higher level, it was a pleasure to be alive. A hooded open fire, with its leaping flames, some good company, a nice coffee, and to watch the world go bumbling by, was a chilled way to spend some time.

They didn't force it, there was no need, only the sound of them talking and laughing, and making connections, that was the only thing they really required. Some minor flirting may have been dabbled in, but it was light-hearted and said for the chuckles more than anything else.

Two strangers, they met at a party, and their thoughts about the other had been constant since that first encounter. Neither of them could tell what the attraction was, for both of them were lookers, but they didn't know that, nor did they think that to be the case. It was a nice feeling, their friendship, as if it had been in the making for longer than a few weeks. There was a familiar streak to it, mellow and easy, not forced, but come upon by chance. Time, it didn't drag, it whipped by, a blink and gone, five hours not seen.

No Name spoke for most of it, as Sadie watched on, listening and taking notes. He lost his parents in his teens, his mother to a drink driver then his father to the drink, and from there he worked every day of his life. There'd been a few trials along the way, helping to raise his younger siblings, but he'd learnt from that and had picked himself up, to start all over again.

Solitude had come easy, so blending into the city wasn't hard for him as a young lad. Finding work was the hardest part, until a Night Porter was needed in the big posh hotel on Pennon Square. Obtaining that position was a new beginning, and one that would open many a door, all of which offered an added bonus. From the proceeds he put himself through college, and then studied, via Online Uni, to keep climbing as far as he could, which he did, in the direction he wanted.

'... And that brought you, to us, as a Top Tech ... Congratulations,' she smiled, looking over at him, sideways, with that cheeky way of her's. 'How exciting for you ... You've worked all your adult life, to end up there, stuck underground, working in that dire hub ... I feel for you, I really do ... Fancy a job, here, helping me, instead?'

Taking a quick swig, before he answered, No Name paused for thought, his minding working on the offer.

Meaning what she said, Sadie smiled, as she threw in, '... And I'll double your money, with immediate effect ... So, how's that for a coffee break, time well spent?'

'Why?' was all he asked, and merely because he was curious.

'I have some ... Mainframe issues ... Trying to juggle that, on top of my other commitments, well, I'm running out of hands, and I could do with some top notch help ... It's here if you want it, and a change is as good as a rest ... Plus, you will no longer be under Simon's gleeful gaze, twenty-four, seven,' she grinned in reply, knowing that alone would probably be the selling point of her unexpected gamble.

Where it had come from, only Sadie knew, but as an approach to solving her problems, it could work out very nicely in everyone's favour.

'Look, we get on, which is half the battle when working in a confined space ... Everything else is what you do already ... Only, here, you'd be specialising out onto far more advanced levels and doing things you've only ever read about ... This is that chance, the one not known to come along that often.'

Holding her breath, in hope in might help, an opportunity of a lifetime was being handed to the man sat over from her, still quietly drinking his coffee and listening to her as she talked.

'So, are there any questions?' was her next sentence asked, as she finished her's and discarded her mug onto the low glass table.

He moved also, following her actions, his drink consumed and his mug rendered empty. Leaning back into his seat, he smiled at her across their small divide.

'Well, actually, there is one question I'd like to ask,' he replied, crossing his arms, and glancing at her with a look she liked.

'... And ... What's that? Fire away,' she blushed, quickly looking away to a spot near her feet.

'My question is ... If the copter isn't coming back ... How am I getting home tonight?'

Some scented candles, maybe a little soft music, then add several glasses of expensive brandy, and a few cups of gorgeous caffeine, to make a thick soup of something steamy. With a look on a man's face like that, it could only suggest one thing, and it had everything to do with what could happen between two clean bed sheets.

'... Well,' she almost purred, 'I thought the answer to that was pretty obvious ... You're not that tired, are you?'

Staying was the most practical answer, and ruffled her sheets he did, several times throughout the night, and they both loved it. That was it, he had invaded the core project, and she was sinking in their threads. He didn't care, she didn't care. Who cared, no one? That was their time, lost in a swamp of togetherness, holding on for as long as it lasted. As her messed up bed coverings would suggest, after the affair, they relished every dirty second of it.

They entered the house via the basement door, she felt it. Their movement disturbed the current of the air as she tried to sleep, and she was on her feet, against the wall, before her eyebrows twitched. As an inky, naked, figure, at one with the darkness, Cait looked back at James between her sheets, still hot from a night of wrapping limbs around each other. Damp hair stuck to a damp face, the eyes already focused on the fight to come.

On toes that knew every floorboard sound, and every inch besides, Cait followed the shadows to the stairs to greet her guests below. Across to the upstairs window and out onto the veranda roof, she melded, her actions barely touching the air. Within a long stare her path was an obvious choice, and her guests were showing her the way.

Taking the route they had openly left, their crumb trail of forced entry was an easy thing to see. How predictable these losers were. She smiled to herself as she entered her own kitchen in the dark, a panther following the most easily hunted of man-meat.

She found the first one clearing the vast kitchen. The two knives sunk into each side of his throat dropped him without a sound. He was dragged away, silently, and rolled down the basement stairs. The second walked, backwards, into her when he lost radio contact with the first. As he turned, she stepped from the recess, smiled, and then snapped his neck with a blurred action. She lowered him to the floor, with no effort at all, before dumping him in the larder.

Reaching her hand up and under the marble shelf, she revealed a nice little hand gun which she then fixed the silencer to. That appeared from under the stack of freshly washed spinach. Her breathing, held like that of a dog listening, caught every motion in her vicinity. The eyes that had, until then, been fifty shades of blue, now sat, grey as a day of rain. Pissed off! This was beyond contempt. How dare they invade her space as if she were a prey to chase? She was off the clock, they were attacking her on every personal level, and she was having none of it. They were about to learn a very valid lesson. Don't ever bite unless you are prepared to bleed yourself.

It ended, and it ended that night. With her weapon of choice, she resumed her game, one she used to play, but blindfolded. The knowledge of her surroundings became a map spread in her mind. Every crevice, every corner accounted for. She'd played this game a million times.

She had them trapped as they headed for the stairs. With just one look into the gloom beyond, she saw the hand signal for four. She could see them all from the library, her form lost as if the night itself, just waiting on her mark.

The next was whisked away and never heard, his fate, a place no man would want to be. Then came the missing number four, and they hadn't even made it up the stairs. They tried to catch her out, but their ambush failed. She dropped one where he stood, he didn't even get the chance to aim, the bullet hit straight between the eyes.

The last one was taken as he walked into the master suite. James, oblivious to the events unfolding around him, was lost to his dreams of another world, making him numb to Cait's. With her one hand gripping her victim's head, after stuffing a dirty sock into it, and kneecapping him from behind, Cait dragged him from the bedroom, his fate already sealed.

'... Sadie, there are a few issues leaking onto my side ... I have war-bots dropping in where they shouldn't be ... Is there an old breach in the system, a crack where they're still getting through? ... Can you check it for me, please, and let me know what you find? ... I'd be interested to see where the feed is bleeding in from ... I don't mind scaling it from here, but if there is a problem, I'd rather you tackle it ...'

The voice was heard, as if in a dream, a mile away, and talking quietly.

'Yeah, no problems, Cait,' Sadie replied, 'leave it with me ... I'll do a search and erase any glitches I see ... I'll leave your mainframe neural-net, I did it yesterday, but I'll check the others, just to be on the safe side,' Sadie replied, her fingers working on the keys as she spoke.

Data checked, then looped and swept, then checked again. Suddenly it was there, as if highlighted in neon ink.

'... There seems to be several spikes yesterday afternoon, but they correlate with the usual passes, I won't worry about them ... Then I do see a few sections of usual activity shortly after those, which are a bit odd,' Sadie queried, checking the data again.

'Yeah,' Cait hastily lied, knowing it was from a different session entirely, 'they were from my workout, so you'll also see the spaced repetitions ... It came after that, literally,' she nearly sniggered.

'... I see another set of numbers in the code, what are they from?' Sadie asked, not recognising the form or access digits used.

'Oh, no, not those, they belong to my cyber-boy, don't take any notice of them ... It's the next set, after those ... It would probably show as a super-link, in large numbers, the same as when I hit my high scores ...'

Silence between the two minds, floating through a cyber-collective, holding a conversation that wasn't really possible.

'... Yes ... There they are ... Hiding under another set of security codes ... How did that happen, and, more importantly, who let it happen ...?'

More silence, because Sadie found she was following one link after another, trying to reach the end. It didn't end, it kept going, loop after loop, from start to finish. Proceeding from Synchro–Switch Direct's mainframe, she ran the line all the way round. Changing the feed, from internal to external, she chased it again, straight back to the same link. Stopping, with the chain at an end and the line lost to cyberhell, there was a sigh, a loud sigh, one Cait almost felt.

'... It comes straight back to us, to S.S.D, the same link, the same chain, the same feed ... Someone in the office is running that programme, and it isn't through the normal channel either ... It's a wide super-link, one I didn't install ... Who would do that, who would need to? ... Leave this with me, Cait, I want to spend some more time on it ... Watch out, too, just in case a few more drop in for some action, and I'll see you soon, tomorrow, probably,' Sadie chirped, as she broke away from the chain, by removing her headset, thereby dropping her back into her home office.

Cait's eyes opened to a perfect sunset over the lake, a warm evening flooded through the open space, the shadows creeping across the lawn. It was lovely there, and she would fight for it, fight for that and what little freedom she did have.

There was a dream, well, maybe a dream, or maybe it was an implant, but it was there, and filed away for future use, as had been suggested. The one thing she clung to, because at the end of the day that's all she really had, was that one silly dream, but it was her's, so, therefore, would not be stolen away from her by some stupid human.

### PART 2

### Breaking the Chain

Screwing around, what a life, there if you wanted it, gone when you didn't. Men were so gullible, and even more so when it came so spending time, and lots of money, on a pretty young thing, especially when she was a bright bunny too.

There had been a few Sugar Daddies, all much older, and much wiser, but she liked that, it made up for the father that was seldom there, and who would then take advantage of her when he was. Over the years, her young mind had dealt with the mindless abuse, both sexual and physical, but she took that pain, and then turned it around into something far more rewarding. Burying all the bad bits in places, never to be found, she reinvented herself in her late teens, to bloom into a beautiful creation, which was then ready to grab the world by the balls and squeeze, real hard.

Those that stuck around, they paid, and paid dearly they did. All the fine tuning to teeth, tits and tum were just the start of it, after that, the plush pad, the cars, the holidays, and the very expensive lifestyle. It all came with a price tag, one her gentlemen friends had to deal with, if they wanted her attention when they requested it, of course.

Tutu, as her family and close friends called her, spent her morning lazing around her stunning apartment, butt naked. As she was situated near the top of the vast block, there was no one to see in, and if they did have a telescope, then good luck to them, she hoped they enjoyed the show.

Another bottle of wine had vaporised into her, along with some nice dope, and several shots of tequila. It was a lovely slow day. She'd been for a swim in the roof pool, and the rest of it was her's, with little else planned, except maybe some online shopping, if she felt up to it later. Pootling about, she had lunch and watched some news feed, before unloading her dishwasher from dinner the night before.

When her mobile rang, she answered it without even looking.

'... Yeah ... Me ... Talk fast, I'm doing stuff ...'

'... Yoh, Tutu, how's it going, long time no speak ... Are you really busy, or can you chat quick?' asked the male voice at the end of the line.

'Hey, bro ... No, I'm not, not at the moment anyway, so, yeah, we can chat ... You okay, what's up, you got a problem, petal?' she chirped, asking her questions in reply.

'Tu, I need your help with a job ... There's a wad in it for you, big money, enough even for you ... You interested?' he then babbled down the line.

'Okay ... First, what's it doing, and, secondly, how much we talking here, hundreds or thousands?' she enquired, before accepting anything coming from her older brother.

'Look, can I come over? .... I don't want to say more, not now, and not over an open line either,' he chortled, his voice sounding excited.

'Yeah, come over ... I'm here alone today, so no one to get in the way, where are you, work?'

The line crackled as he went to speak again, he knew what it meant.

'Give me ten and I'll be there ... I can't say more, the dogs are on the prowl, if you get me,' he blabbed, seeming almost overly eager for some reason.

'Okay ... I'll see you soon ... Do you want a drink, I've got one on the go already, I could have one waiting for you?' she enquired, placing the plates in the cupboard, one at a time.

'Yeah, okay, that sounds great, and make mine a double, please, with no ice, that would be marvellous, and I'll see you in a bit ... Ciao,' was then bounced down the line before he was gone.

All very intriguing, and what had she let herself in for, before knowing the details? It could be anything from robbing a bank to stealing online assets. Anything was possible where her brother was concerned.

Finishing up in the kitchen, she wandered to the bar to start the drinks process all over again, one for her and one for him. Depending on where he was based, when he made his call, dictated his travel time. Not wanting his large scotch to reach room temperature, she popped in the cooler, ready for when he arrived.

Still naked, she sat and rolled a packed joint, then lit it, as she eased back into her couch and daydreamt through the wall of windows. Boy, that was a long way down from her floor, but she didn't think about that, as she tried to recall something to mind, lost in the moment. Oh, yes, her brother. Better get something on then. She didn't want him walking in on her like that, thank you very much.

Hoodie on, leggings in place, as he came barging through the door with the use of his own key.

'... I'm in here, changing ... Your drink is in the cooler, keeping cool,' she called, finishing off and popping some clean socks on. '... Make yourself comfy, as usual ... I'll be out in a mo ...'

So he did, with his glass, in his usual spot by the window, where he could look over the city spread far and wide. All that life was being lived down there, all that rushing around, doing stuff, making stuff, or even having a day off maybe, just like him.

'... Okay, what's this about? You've got me interested if nothing else,' was bounced across the room as she ambled out to join him.

Taking her glass, she moved to the large armchair. Sitting, she picked up her joint and lit it again. Three pulls and she passed it, same as ever.

'... Oh, thanks ... Sorry, I was miles away ... I so love this view, you can see right across to Dock Side from here ... And that way, that's where all the action happens, every night and everyday ... What a way to watch it, you lucky bint,' he smiled, taking the offered smoke.

'Yeah, I know, you say it every time you visit ... So, come on, Jay, spill it about this job ... What's the dealio, dufus?'

It came back, the joint, as she knew it would.

'... So ... This is what I want you to do ...'

Whilst he spoke, Jay pulled a wad of paperwork from inside his coat, and placed it on the spread of coffee table before her. After putting it in the right order, there was a lot to be read. The crisp letters and documents, some with red writing across the top of them, were then handed over so she could cast an inquisitive eye over them. Finally getting the gist of it, a pattern was starting to emerge, one that Tutu was starting to get a nice feeling over.

Finishing their drinks, and the smoke, she rolled another, as he poured another. Resuming their spots in the sunshine, with the task at hand, everything was laid out and explained, as he ran her through it one more time. As their Granddad always said, measure twice, cut once.

'... So ...Really ... All I have to do is what I do best then ... Which is stand around with my bins on and my tits pushed out, looking intelligent, as I play my part in your ingenious plan ... Is that what you're thinking?' she chuckled, taking her glass and passing the joint over.

'... Well ... Yes, it is, actually,' Jay wheezed with a smile, exhaling another pull on one of her packed smokes, before slowly choking on the dregs of it.

'Ooh, overdid it, did I? ... Sorry, I forgot you have the lungs of a small child, and not those of a regular toker ... Never mind ... That's it, have a good cough ... You'll feel better after ... See?'

Once he could finally breathe properly again, Jay had a quick drink, which sort of helped, but not much, seeing as it was just as strong, and made by him. Looking through teary eyes, he tried to talk, but it didn't happen. Another quick sip, swilled then swallowed, would that work? No, and off he went again, cough, after cough, after cough.

In an attempt to get him back on track, she grinned, 'Jay, don't you die on me now, we haven't talked about credits, and I haven't signed that contract, yet, with you as my witness ... Come on, get a grip ... You've got a drink to polish off too, and there's more where that came from ...'

Finally back in control, whilst also having to fend off a laughing fit, his red face slowly paled down, just enough to see he wasn't really that shade of raspberry.

'Lungs back in, are they?' she asked, as his airways finally cleared. 'No more for you, you total pussy ... And it's just as well I didn't give you a blow-back when you get here, I'd be phoning for an ambulance about now ... What's wrong with you, are you going soft on me, bro?' was chuckled as she smoked it the same way as all the others, slowly.

'... Sodding hell, you must have put a block in that thing, talk about rocket fuel ... Sis, please, don't bomb me like that, you know I'm not on it like you are, everyday ... I only see it when I see you, that's it ... Kindly remember that, so in the future you don't collapse my lungs ... That would be nice, thank you,' Jay smiled, slowly recovering.

'Ha, you so sound like Hensley? ... No wonder you two get on ... How is he, by the way, he hasn't been through in a while, you know why at all?' she coolly questioned, not wanting to seem too interested in him as a subject.

'... Arh, the happy Mister Hensley,' Jay chuckled, 'I was wondering when we'd get onto him ... And he's very well, when we last spoke ... What did you do to the poor sod, he hasn't been the same since his night here, with you? ... Did you know he's never once spoken about that event? Even, now, when I bring it up, I never get a straight answer ... What did happen, are you gonna tell me?'

At that point, Tutu had a bargaining chip, she wanted credits and he wanted gossip, easy.

'... Okay, brother of mine, I'll tell you the story, the whole story, and nothing but the story, if you really want to hear it ... Only, before I do ... There's something I want from you first ...'

There was a moment when they drank together, glug for glug. It loosened tongues and eased the talking. With so much on offer, could such an opportunity be missed? So, she made her demands and he agreed, in writing, on the digital pledge she sat and prepared, then she told her tale, and he laughed and laughed, then stopped, so she told some more, and then he rolled again, with his sides hurting and his face aching.

Jay found it hilarious, and it was worth it, even with the extra credits it had cost him, on top of the contracted amount they had already agreed to. His sister had accepted the terms, and he did admire her, she really was a brilliant actress, and a great floosy with it, so that would work out perfectly, especially where she was heading.

Okay, she was sort of hot in a red haired, big green eyed kind of way, but she was his baby sister, and he did care about her wellbeing, most of the time. How other men looked at her was down to them. To him, she was the poor little git that took all the crap at home, the youngest of four, who worked using her looks, because that was all she really had.

Sitting, working their way through the next few sheets of paperwork, and the end of her silly story, they drank and smoked their afternoon away. Together, maybe they would build an empire one day, as brother and sister, side by side, and maybe they were on the brink of it but, first, their primary focus was to turn on another's, and with that came another force, one that was leading the field.

The mathematics behind the code was the answer to his problem. That was the key to the red door and he knew he would find it, if he really tried. Watching her hadn't been enough. He had to know what she was thinking, and, by reading her DataStream as she did it, he would find it, locked in an algorithm, hiding in a line of numbers someplace.

'... Five words, five random words, is that it?' James laughed, seeming amazed at his findings.

A key, a small thing, usually, needed for a lock, to open a door, sometimes of a simple design, and easily at hand. He had had been a long time in his looking, yes, that was true, but five stupid, every day, words? So simple, yet, so effective, he couldn't have done it better himself.

His own world was a dipped-dimension, one that he returned to on a daily basis, but rarely retired to for more than a day. No place was called home, he simply didn't have one. Moving, platform to platform, he turned around it, not it around him. There was never anything to find, always the same threads, and always the same super-highways. Being stuck on one of them was bedlam, as bad as on a motorway, and once there, it might take months to find a route off.

Knowing all there was to know about codes and keys, James travelled at split second speed to reach any one of his destinations, and most were easy to gain access to. Only one had been a mighty challenge, and that was a cyber-nightmare, working his way through their security, but he'd got there in the end, because of his need to know what lay within.

Six months earlier he followed a thread to a locked door. Picking that lock, as skilfully as ever, he gained access, under the guise of being a cleaner-bot. In there was the start of something amazing, a new life form to outrun them all. Built to the highest specifications, it would be a mighty tool for future purposes.

James lingered a while, to watch and study the form, it's growing and learning process, and how it came to life, the birthing of a new dawn, and maybe that's what they should have called her, Dawn. Collecting data was always important, improving oneself at the same time, as that precious information was kept close at hand, especially the access codes.

Only, what James wasn't aware of at the time, was as he gorged on her profile, she was feasting off his. As quickly as he knew her, she came to know him, his memories, his history, everything there was to know, plus inside leg measurement. The connection between them was forged before she was even released to the world. Their bond was soldered in place the moment he walked through her door, to stand and watch in just the same way she did him, time after time, and month after month. He was one of the first things her visual banks ever acknowledged, so she never forgot their encounters, not one.

Neither of them knew it at the time, but the connection was made then and, although they didn't meet again until he found her familiar signature in the databanks over a year later, they never knew who they were to each other. She, so new-born in image, had no audio, so was unable to strike up a conversation, plus her speech-mode was on the verge of being implemented. He could talk to her, but she was from another planet, not understanding a word, wah, wah, wah, just a baby being kept in a cyber-nursery, until unleashed for her purpose in life.

And what a purpose is was, to reap death across endless map-scapes, stage by grisly stage, with clever plots and twists, and always an explosive ending. Many a tale had been told through the steps she took, and James wondered if she was out there, then, doing just that. Her bravery implant must be massive, to carry her through such bloody battles, only to be the last one standing, yet again. Every episode ran its course, with the death count rising the higher through the levels she climbed.

What a creation, to take such a pounding, week after week, but to her, it was never like that. It was in her programming to survive at any cost, and that was exactly what she did, week in, week out. Another thing James admired about her, her will to never give up and never concede. It was a driving passion and, because of that, he knew there was a future for them. All he had to do was get a pre-programmed female, mega lifelike, and uber hot war-bot to not only believe him, but to leave with him, through that door, thereby gaining her forever freedom along with him.

It sounded wonderful, it sounded fantastic even, but saying and doing are two totally different things. Thankfully, he was a quick and clever thinker, so it wasn't long before an idea came to mind. There would be the need for some inside help, but he could sort something out there, that was never an issue. With the right implementation of the correct orders, things could really heat up in lots of different ways. Cyber Babes came in a group of six, all with varied features, and all with varied abilities. Only Cait was designed to her height of specifications, because she was a new breed, built to learn, and built to be better.

Leaving his old world behind, he stepped into his next, taking his usual route via his super-link. Having reset it away from the house, he walked from the small wood, with its clear view across the pretty meadow, off towards the lake. Sat in the middle, lost and all alone, the small island was an estate if you measured it plot for plot. Beautifully serene, quiet, and hidden away in a mainframe somewhere, he was glad it was his little secret, one he liked keeping.

Horses roamed, grazing quietly, happy in their sunny spot. No clouds to blight their day, warm with a light breeze, it was a small piece of paradise for all who dwelled there. His memory recalled times an age ago, ones he couldn't quite see properly, as though lost in the mists of time. There was something else in there too, something that haunted him.

Things were good once, his projects were being noticed and appreciated, and everything regarding his career was on target. Then, the best one of all was snatched away, right from under him, to be passed to another, so as to be treated as if it was their amazing creation, and not his. Defeated, and in no creditary position to fight the monster it was, he stepped away, leaving his dream behind.

Lost it was, for all that time, as he was dumped at the roadside too, temporarily. He did get it back, but only for a short while, then it was gone again, along with everything else. Finding it again, hiding in a matrix under a pile of new digits that looked familiar, was sheer luck. Though their meeting was fated, he would come to learn more, as he watched and waited. Finding her again was his point of realisation. It didn't matter what he did, or where he sent himself, he always came back to her, Cait, the one.

Needing to know where she was, James headed towards the cottage, wandering round and past the stunning waterfall. Looking over and smiling, fond memories, again, were collected to recall at will, just as he was then. As tempting as it was, on such a lovely warm day, he was there to see her first, so off he walked, saving it for later.

With the vast collection of data Cait had at her fingertips, with images and details galore of amazing places around the world, what amazed him was that she chose to replicate a mass of his memory stored prints. Taking them, and creating what he was interacting with, she knew her business when it came to realism. After the basic framework, the rest was down to her. Every time he walked the grounds he was impressed. What a talent, what a skill, and lost to the life she led.

Entering, via the kitchen door, he called through to upstairs, the downstairs clearly a vacant lot. All the horses were there so no riding that day. Stopping and looking out towards the water, something caught his eye. Moving back outside, he took the path towards the lakeside, with its fallen trees and shady spots. Standing on the little beach in the cove, he looked both ways along the coastline, trying to catch a glimpse of her.

It was as if the sun had beamed a direct line of light, straight down onto him, and nowhere else across the land. Looking up, he watched it sail slowly over the water, landing in one place, and one place only. No surprises where that spot was, because he had sort of worked it out already. If Cait was nowhere to be found she could only be in one place, beyond that Red Door.

People peeped in, and people listened in, and by doing so they reaped endless information for rather important uses. Though those uses may not always have good intentions, there was a chance they would suit a purpose one day, even if it may not be a nice one.

Over time, spy-bots ruled the waves, near and far, as husbands watched wives, that watched kids, who grew up watching their own parents. Everyone kept an eye on someone, if not several at once, all spread over a multi split-screen monitor. People knew where other people were most of the time, just from pressing a button on a watch. They could even customise and personalise the silly computer voice, which would then explain all the location details, before giving directions on how to get there.

Having that breed of technology, at one's fingertips, would always produce two sides to a tale, and they will, more often than not, prove to be vastly different, same as with one's opinions. Lives are lived on many different levels all around the globe, and, in the city, where the watery sunlight rarely rests its tired rays, somewhere in the night a dream may well be built. One particular individual, from the East Side, had such a dream, and it was to reap havoc on another life-form, one who was causing untold damage without knowing they were, or did they? It had to stop, and it would, soon enough.

Turning in the candlelight, Sadie watched as No Name walked over with two flutes of Champagne, the bubbles quite loud as they popped over each rim.

'... So ... You haven't answered my question, you've gone very quiet on me instead ... Yes, or no ... Neither word is big, and both can be said in one breath,' he smiled, passing her's over.

Smiling right back at him, she had to say it, she had to.

'... Look, Mister Whatever ... Our relationship is flowing in completely the right direction ... It's lovely as it is, so, please, let's not go and spoil that by doing something stupid like getting married ... We can get a dog, or a cat, or both even, to fill your void ... Really, I don't mind, but you've met my parents, so take them as a prime example here, please,' Sadie almost pleaded, her face showing her turmoil.

'Sweetheart, I've almost moved in, most of my clothes are here, and yesterday my supplies order arrived along with yours, because I never go home ... We work, eat, sleep, dance, sing and joke together ... If that isn't grounds enough for a wonderful marriage, I don't know what is ...'

Almost laughing, Sadie held it back, not wanting to burst his little love bubble.

'... There you go, you answered your own question ... If we have it all, here and now, how would some piece of flimsy paper improve it? ... It means nothing in print, only my name would change to Name, and that's it,' she giggled, before taking a quick gulp. '... Besides, there's no incentive to marry anyway, not since the third war ... I know I love you, and you know I love you ... I show and tell you every day, whether at work, downstairs, or at play, anywhere ... Why's it so important to you anyway, that's want I'd like to know?'

There were several very important reasons, but only one mattered at that moment in time. For the time being, his reason should have seemed obvious, but he had to explain it, just to be sure.

'Why? ... Because ... I love you too, you silly sod, loads in fact ... And that's why I want to honour that, by showing you how much, in a simple, but personal ceremony, with family and a few close friends ... By taking that step, I would like it seen as a pledge to you, as my lover and my life-partner ... These feelings are all based on my personal emotions and my upper most respect, because I think it is still important in this day and age ... We can have a good life, Sadie ... All I ask is that I spend the rest of mine with you ...'

His sincerity gushed through the room with every word he said. Twinkling prettily in the low light, his eyes came round to rest on a very quiet Sadie, her face thoughtful in the soft shadow.

'... And you will spend it with me, honey, all that's left of it, you will, because I want you to be with me until I'm a little old lady ... But, please, can't we jump a broomstick instead ... I've got one in the garage, it would only take five minutes, then we could start the honeymoon in the guesthouse, if you like ... Should you fancy a little change from my office below, mmm ...'

Her reply had started out quite funny, but come the end, there was a distinct line of naughty peeking through. When the tone of her voice changed, he sort of knew what was coming next, and he also knew, right then, it would most probably have something to do with him and his privates.

'Sadie, sorry, but, no ... We will not be jumping a broomstick, not now, not tomorrow, not ever ... If, and when, it does happen, I'd like it staged in a stunning location which we both admire ... The rest would be down to our own written vows, those we want read aloud, and there'd be lovely music playing as we proclaimed that love to one and all ... Isn't that how you see it too, somewhere like that, by a lake, or in an pretty meadow out in the country?'

When he spoke that way, using that tone, she found she was caving. There was an image of two figures, doing as he said, and Sadie's imagination fired up all sorts of wonderful spots. It was there, if she cared to reach out and take hold of it.

'... Okay, okay ... We'll do it, we'll do it ... But not now ... We'll need a reasonable engagement period to find your perfect location ...'

He almost took off. As Sadie spoke, he lifted from his seat, and whooped his way around the room. Really, he wasn't listening to anything else, he was riding the cusp of the happily ever after wave, and he was surfing it like a pro.

'... Oh, baby-cakes, I have the perfect place in mind already, and you're just gonna love it ...'

Jumping over, to stand before her, he grabbed the remote, the volume was turned up, and the party finally started. They danced and drank their way around the room, with its wild view, and then lit candles, got naked, and found another path on the huge rug by the picture window, with the city lights twinkling, far, far away.

With the blanket from the couch, pulled over them, they lay in the low light of dawn, quietly talking. The rain had stopped, once the worst of the storm had passed over, and the land below was all washed clean before the coming of the floods. Silent pockets, as they drifted in sleep, tightly entwined, as if their own fingers when they walked together, chatting. Hushed sighs, brushed lips, a kiss or two, and then to float, the current to carry them along, lost in the warmth they created.

At peace, they pondered life and, with the ease of it, they held and cherished their every second. Another day brought the acceptance of the proposal, now came the putting it into effect.

'... Hey, that's not fair, you have to tell me your name now ... I can't wait till the day, you're just being mean ... Daddy and Simon call you by your surname, so, should I use that, the same as them, seeing as we are engaged now? ... Oh, fluking hell, tell me you horror, please ...?'

Sadie squeezed to his side as her words oozed out. He'd been teasing her about it for days, if not weeks, and it was really getting to her. Having to wait till their wedding day, to know his first name, was a rather strange game, but if she had to play, then she would.

'Yeah, okay ... You get to use my surname, as an engagement gift, but that's it, until the day,' he smiled, playing her even more, merely because he could be that cheeky sometimes.

'Ha, so that's all I'm getting then, is it,' she scoffed with a giggle, 'just a dumb surname to call you by, nothing else, no jewellery, maybe something for a finger, possibly, which might twinkle a bit when turned in the light? ... Nothing like that, no?'

Okay, she was trying to say it without actually saying it, but he could play that game all day. Not being able to crush her anymore, his smile was still there, when he rolled over to look down at her and her beautiful early morning face.

'Sugar, darling, sweet-pea,' he purred, 'if you want a ring, pick a ring, a pretty diamond or glittery glass, I don't care ... Send the size and design to Band's and they'll credit it to my account ... Have them courier it over to me when it's done, and my formal proposal will come as a memory to cherish, I promise you that ...'

'Okay, you're on, Riley, or did they call you Ropey at school?' she softly laughed, looking up at him and kissing him chin.

'Mmm, no, they didn't, but, Ropey, I like it ... You should stick with that, it has a nice earthy feel to it,' he cooed quietly, kissing her face softly.

'... Mmm ... Ropey it is then, honey ... Whatever you want, you got it,' she grinned, closing her eyes, as his lips hit her gorgeously fine collarbone, spot by sweet scented spot, and inch by sexy inch.

There it was, right there, the red door. Walking the island, he couldn't find Cait so he knew where she wasn't. If that was her own personal escape route, through that door, who was he to shatter her dream? Maybe there was a househusband and a tribe of kids running round, three dogs, and total chaos, like Love Nests from Hell on Channel 667. Okay, perhaps no kids, but what about a house full of naked men instead, all doing what they do, with big weapons in hand, and all with look of total disgust of their handsome faces.

Standing before it, with his fingers gripping the handle, he took one last, big, breath, and fed a copy of Cait's thought pattern though the security panel to one side. That was the key she had referred to, it was a chain of thought, five items to be recalled, but only to mind, which then opened the red door.

As if walking through a dream, he was greeted by the aroma of vanilla and allspice, the scent triggering memories of Christmas as a kid. That first intrepid encounter fed him into a neural-net reconstruction of a very plush, and expensively dressed, high-rise apartment. Feeling comfortable straight away, he made himself at home, hoping Cait would reappear, soon, from wherever she had gone. Having located the drinks cabinet on arrival, James relaxed a little, his day seeming calm at an end.

'... Cait ... Cait, sweetheart, are you here? ... Cait ...?'

No reply, all was quiet, all was normal.

Well, everything was normal, until he moved to top-up his glass, and a phone rang in the distance, the sound faint and slightly tinny. Immediately after that event, it got really weird, as the temperature dropped a degree or two, and the atmosphere became hard not to ignore.

He was stood at the bar area, still pouring a drink, when he had the distinct feeling someone was standing right behind him. Turning, with the glass in his hand, the last thing he was expecting was the upper cut to his jaw.

It hit him with such velocity that he and his glass took off to crash land beyond where he'd entered. Before he had a chance to understand what had just gone down, she was before him again. Next, he was lifted from the floor, by the front of his hair, and almost thrown through the facing wall. Bouncing off the plaster, he looked for a means of escape.

'FA FLUKES SAKE,' he screamed as she came at him again. 'STOP ... CAIT ... STOP ...'

One hand grabbed at his throat, as the other slapped at the ones trying to grab her's. Her next punch backslapped him, hard, across the face, the blood, a silken trail from his split lip.

Working frantically, as the air was being squeezed from his lungs, his breath spat out his words.

'... Don't do it ... Please ... Cait ...'

Tears started to fill his eyes as his sight blurred a little more.

'... Cait ... Please ...'

His sentence got quieter and quieter, until she spun them both round, and he was right hooked across the room, landing, backwards across the two seater couch. By the time he'd gained his breath, she had him by the collar and was hauling him across the carpet, his top button cutting into his Adam's apple.

Throwing him to the floor, face down, with her foot on the back of his neck, he heard what sounded like a gun being cocked. Within a split second he felt the cold metal rest against his ear, his eyes closing slowly.

'... Arh, fluke, I know you're in there ... Sweetheart, please, listen to me ... Please ...'

He gritted his teeth, hoping she wouldn't pull that twitching trigger.

'... Cait, you gotta hear me ... This ain't you ... This ain't you doing this ... Cait, the Cait I know ... She wouldn't do this, not this ... Not to me ...'

He swallowed, loudly.

'... I know she wouldn't ... Because, secretly, I know she loves me ... And she wouldn't be doing this ... Not now we have so much to make up for, and so much to share and learn, together ... She wouldn't do it now ... Not when I've spent my whole existence looking for her ...'

His voice trailed off as his sadness took the words from his throat. If his time had come, then it had simply come. What more could he do?

Across the city a million headsets were going into meltdown, watching the action. The more sets that joined the chain, the more hits they received, and the higher the score placing rose. On the top slot, there was no limit as to what could be achieved and, once there, it was a high priority to hold that status.

With her access granted to the Penthouse Suite, the pace had hit another high. Moving into a darker side, Target 12 was to be located in his apartment. Any force was permitted, although termination was denied until the required information was obtained. Some rules were made up as she went along, but everything depended on the day and the mission.

A stream of rubbish adverts gave enough time to get the next round of brews in, whether hot or cold, and some previsions, because it could be a long one. Thousands of loos were flushed, all over the city, at around the same time, as kids were dumped in their rooms, and a hush fell across all those bunkered down from the wild weather outside. Let it do its damage, they cared not, as they readied themselves for Round Two of an exciting night's watch.

'... Shush, James ... I need you to stay right there ... Please ...'

Her voice was a whisper from behind. With his right wrist pinned to his middle back, and his cheek rested against the plush blue carpet.

'What the hell are you doing here anyway? I'm in the middle of a stage, what were you thinking?' she almost barked in a lowered voice, her eyes scanning all corners of the room from their sheltered position behind the couch.

'Duh ... Don't you think I can fluking see that, Cait, jeez ... And I'm not sure how I got here,' he lied, 'reading one second, dumped in a boxing ring the next ... Yes, Cait, and my evening has been lovely, thank you for asking,' he quietly jabbed back, his matrix hurting in ways he hadn't felt in years.

There was that look, the one that held her audience captivated, waiting on her next perfectly executed line of action.

'Arh, I'm so sorry, didn't you get an invite to this little party, sweetums?' she sort of whimpered, which James found incredible, she had a sarcasm implant. 'So, anyway, right now, I need you to play dead and not move ... I have to go over there, and I need you to stay exactly where you are, okay? ... Now nod if you understand and hear me ... Oh, and put your fingers in your ears quickly ... I have to play the game, don't I?' was sweetly smiled at the end.

Her lips hardly made a sound, as she brushed her wishes passed his ear in the dark. James's eyes flicked open to be greeted by the gloom, but his head couldn't move, as the blood finally dripped from his mouth to the floor. He eventually nodded his acknowledgement with not a sound made.

'Okay, sorry about this, but it's gotta be done ... Plug them, now,' she quietly spat, her lips still close to his lobe.

Standing, almost to attention, the gun was slowly lifted, heightening the excitement factor. Playing along, as usual, Cait spoke her next line aloud, and produced it like a pro.

'... So, Carling, here we are again ... Well, this time, there won't be a next time ... Catch you on the flip, bitch ...'

Firing twice into the floor, next to his head and torso, she kept the game rolling, hoping it would be enough. Although unharmed, he was rendered rather zoned out in the audio department, which took a moment to correct itself, but did eventually.

Crouching down, so as to pretend to search through the corpses pockets, her words were but a whisper, hardly heard. Thankfully, James compensated for that, via his regained audio without the whine, and was able to hear everything she said, loud and clear.

'... So, next, when I say move, I want you to roll towards that wall, and keep your face turned to it, at all times ... Do you understand me? ... Nod again if you do ...'

So James nodded again.

'... Okay, good ... So ... Let's do this,' Cait whispered once more.

The light in her eyes changed slightly as she looked to the balcony doors, then at the unit to the left of them, beyond the pool of light. That was her only barrier, as wide as it was, to reach her hidden cache. If she could just get to the tallboy, all their problems were solved but, first, she had to dodge that dangerous strip of light.

Quickly kissing James on the cheek, she moved away a little, after rifling through all his empty pockets. With her left index finger to her lips, she reiterated her need for total silence, and then pushed her gun into his hand. Her knee left the centre of his back as, in a cat like way, she moved to a crouch beside him. With the flick of her head, she motioned to him the direction she would want him to move in, once she raised her shout. As his followed in the same direction, all was ready to rumble.

Holding up her three middle fingers of her right hand, she counted down to one, and then took her chance. As she lifted herself from the floor and moved towards the light, her nimble frame flashed passed, in a tumble, just making the other side. As she shouted James's command, the bullets ripped through the glass and wall just above her head, missing her by mere millimetres.

Her hands grabbed at the two taped up automatic pistols, just as the bedroom door crashed open, and four heavy-duty mercenaries opened fire on the bed. They weren't expecting a chick to be waiting for them, in the dark, and a chick packing some seriously hot toys, just for them.

The first she took out with a perfect head shot. His neighbour was then kneecapped before his heart was a target and he was out. Just as the third saw James and turned, she popped him in the temple with a pearler of a hit. The last one through the door found himself faced with a crazy young woman coming at him across the bed, both guns blazing. Sadly, he didn't stand a chance.

She reloaded from a drawer above James's head, before grabbing his arm and dragging him to his feet.

'... We move ... Go ... NOW ...'

As they exited the room, two more came through the balcony doors, but were deceased before they hit the deck, bullet holes perforating their faces. Into the hall they dashed, carnage left on the carpet behind them with the door pulled shut.

They hurried along the slowly filling corridor, as people spilled from their rooms to fuss and panic about the gunshots fired on their floor. Without even being noticed Cait dragged James into the elevator, as the Night Manager appeared to collect the full story. Nobody saw the couple stealthily exit the building, via the kitchen's alleyway, to then disappear into the darkness, their faces forgotten.

'... What the fluke are you doing? ... Oh, no, no, not that, don't do that, not that ... No, you stupid bint, the other way, the other fluking way ... That's it, now the change to the weapon, that's it, and now bend ... And, shoot him, yes, twice, once in the face, once in the body ... Okay, now we're talking ... Okay, good, nice, very fast ... Good, yes ... Now what are you doing? ... What? No, wait a minute, you just shot him ... Arh, come on, that wasn't my orders ... You're meant to kill him, not pretend to then rescue the mother-fluker ... Arh ... Fluking hell ...'

Whilst still wearing his headset, Simon watched on and shrieked in dismay, as he hurriedly typed in the code for Total Access, meaning full possession of the C-C-6 character. Cait, or Bitch No.1, as he often called her, was not doing as ordered, and it could not continue. There had already been several blatant mistakes over the last half level, and Simon was not happy about any of them. Seething, as he bashed away at his keyboard, time ticked on, as did the game.

Speaking through his mouthpiece, he dialled down to the Top Tech he needed in such a crisis. It was answered before it beeped on the line's connection.

'I know, Sir, disregard of orders ... I've been on it since the first pass ... I've marked the chain references too, so we can return to them later ...

'... So, you are seeing this tripe too ... Thank fluke, I was starting to think I was trapped in some nightmarish rerun ... What the hell is going on?'

'Well, Sir, sorry, but it's bum twitchingly bad news, I'm afraid ... Someone's overridden all the orders you integrated into the matrix list ... Those orders have, since then, been erased and replaced with a new set, slotted into the empty file's husk ... What we're seeing here are not the orders you installed yesterday ... These new ones might look like yours, and they're a really close copy, but they didn't actually start their cycle until this level came into play, which is the thing I find most interesting ...'

'Oh, shiz, Hensley ... Is there any good news?' was asked, in a rather deflated voice.

'Sorry, Sir, no ... After that, it really does go downhill ...'

'What? What could be worse than this? ... Please, tell me something worth hearing, before I pull the plug on the whole fluking thing ...'

'Well, before you decide to do anything rash, this bad news might be good in a way ... The file that was dropped in, I followed it ... What I found was also quite interesting ... It was attached to a local ip address, same as last time, but the numerous security-bots won't let me near enough to deactivated the thing ... Now, I know it's not much, and might mean nothing, but there's still a trail, a shadow through the feeds, and if I can work my way back and under them, you never know, it could take us to where we need to be ...'

'Do it, do it now, Hensley ... I'll be down in ten minutes, and record everything, okay ... I want to know who the hell it is, so I can give them a brain-blast they'll never recover from ... Steal my orders, and then change them, I don't fluking think so ... Get to it, I want answers, and I want them ready for when I get there ... And this stays between us, okay, so say nothing to anyone, not until we have more to go on, you get me? This is big, and that means deep, for both of us ... No dropping the ball on me, Hensley, because if I go down, we all go down ... So, off ya trot, chop, chop, there's a good chap,' Simon chirped, taking it to another level, and then he hung up.

Raging to the point of his temples nearly throbbing, Simon stormed from his office, down into the lab area below. Crashing through all the security doors, and the optical fields, whilst swearing blue murder, he barged into Sadie's peaceful and chilled space of productivity and openly erupted.

'... Okay, tell me, because I thought it was actually me ... Who the hell is that thing meant to be taking orders from? ... Make it follow mine, right now, or it'll wish it was fluking erased months ago,' he verbally exploded, his outburst not only loud but also very unwelcome.

'... Can't you see I'm busy right now, you cock ... Can't it wait, I'm almost ...'

Ripping her headset away, he nearly split her sight, permanently, and caused all sorts of neural glitches, some of which were worse than others.

'Fluking hell, you stupid moron, don't do that ... Dropping me out like that could've blinded me, and you fluking know that ... What is your problem? ... And Cait only ever takes her orders from you, dick-weed, so go and re-programme them, properly, so maybe she'll listen to you, properly ... But, until then ... Fluke off ... Before I brain you myself, and stick that on the bloody Home-Link feed ...'

'No,' he barked at his sister, as she slowly regained her botched vision, 'this can't fluking wait, it has to be done, NOW ... I told it to do something and it bloody didn't ... I want it fixed, and I want it fixed NOW, before this fluking level is over ...'

'Simon, apart from you already peeing me off, by crashing in and nearly causing me brain damage, you've managed to lose a whole day's worth of precious work, work that I've been painstakingly pawing over, since six this morning ... That's twelve hours, Simon, twelve hours of work, down the pan, because of you ... And you want me, to help get Cait, back under control ... Go blow it, Simon, whatever it is you put your ugly mouth around ...'

'So, it wasn't you then?' he asked, suddenly coming under control again, and rather hurt that he was somehow wrong.

'... What? ... Okay, get out, go play with your toy soldiers, or whatever it is you do in your big empty office, because us adults have work to do, you big child ... Go, please, bugger off, before I do hit you, and really, really hard with something really, really heavy, like my chair ... Now you're talking rubbish, you know you are, and I resent it ... And being angry like that, don't do it, it makes your face all small and mean looking, with your piggy eyes and your ...'

Walking away from his sister, as she started talking, Simon moved towards the exit. It wasn't her, thereby crossing her from his slyly conducted quiet investigation. That left him and his team, and he knew it wasn't them, he'd checked their working channels already, and they were fine, doing what they were meant to be doing, in the places they were meant to be doing it in.

Before joining Hensley in the lab, there was one other lead to follow. Returning to his office, he popped his headset into place to have a run through the day's connections. Floor by floor, desk by desk, he scanned and spied, looking for those special numbers to his game of Bingo. Once he found them, he had the ideal punishment aligned. All would be revealed, once he had them in his sweaty palmed death-grip.

There was no shouting of that word, no two numbers matched, and Simon never did get his full-house. It made him sad, the not knowing, though that was not to last, as another terrible thought entered his already aching head. Switching to audio, he patched himself back through to his lab again.

'Hensley, I take it all back, old friend ... You do know I didn't mean it and that I was only having a laugh, don't you?' he babbled, hoping the answerphone hadn't picked up instead.

'Urh ... Sorry, Sir, he's not here at the moment, he's currently taking another call ... I'll get him to ring you back directly, he shouldn't be long?' came the stranger's voice down the line.

Simon quickly coughed before speaking again, his voice changing pitch slightly.

'Yes, do that, and stress to him it is very, very urgent, he'll know why ... And who are you, may I ask?' he enquired, as his voice resumed to its normal tone of dull and boring.

'... Oh, sorry, Sir, how rude ... I'm the latest to join the Top Techs, I started today ... My name's Lizzy, Lizzy Sturton ... Nice to speak to you at last ... And I think he's just about done ... Yes, here he is now ... I'll pass you over ...'

'Lizzy?' popped from him, dreamily, without him even knowing he said it, it must have been her voice and how sweet she sounded, and he really like her name too.

'... Yes ...' was almost whispered into the line.

'... When you have the chance, maybe a bit later, but only when you can find a smidgen of spare time, would you please have Travis bring you up to my office for your hello drink ... What is rude, Lizzy, is that no one has formally introduced us, so that I may also welcome you to our little team personally ... And, that, I find totally unacceptable ...'

Fluffy, no, floaty, no, bubbly, no, all of them at once, that was Simon, inside and out. There was a time when he thought he'd never feel such a strong emotion pulling at his very core. Although he hadn't yet clapped eyes on her, it could be that word, that one word, with four letters, which he always wanted to admit to, but only with the right girl and at the right time.

Yes, Simon found he did lust her, and quite a lot too, and after merely hearing her dulcet tones. So, he realised he did, but only her, and much more than he did for any of the other pretty birds perched on his little branch. Meeting her would be the massive decider. If she wasn't a reasonable hotty she was done, dusted, out the door, and don't forget your personal affects off your desk when you go, thank you, type deal.

'Yes, Sir, will do, as soon as I can I'll be there ... For now, back to Hensley, as requested,' she sweetly replied, switching from her feed over to his.

Gone, just like that, she was, along with her perfect pitch and elegant phrasing, to do what needed to be done, before trotting up to his executive office.

'Hensley, are you there now?' was snapped into the clearest of lines, as he lit his cigar.

'Yes, Sir, here now ... Fire away ...'

'... Look, I had something else came to mind, well, two things actually ... First up, if those stealers changed today's orders, have they changed all of them, over all levels, and right across all our set stages? ... And, secondly ... The spikes we traced last time, if they feed back to where we think they do, is there a chance they could attach themselves to other Home-Link streams?'

Thinking, quietly, silence flooded the line between the two men. All things were being considered, and nothing was being ruled out. Knowing what could happen, and might, if that channel wasn't closed and that ip address erased, was enough to get them working, and working pretty damn hard and fast too. With that thing remaining open, highly confidential information could be leaked, some of which contained files that were more than personal to Simon. Should they fall into the wrong hands, or accidently take a global trip, his life really wouldn't be worth living.

'I'll get the team on it right now, we'll check all your orders and the gamer levels tonight ... The three of us should make a dent in it, by dawn, if we work through the night ... And, as far as the Home-Links are concerned, I'll be stopped before I reach that bridge, Sir ... If there's to be a major security issue, as you know, only senior members of staff, such as your good self, have access to those file codes ... When, and if, we reach that conclusion, it would be rendered out of my hands anyway, and purely because of that fact, sorry, Sir ...'

Hensley would have helped more if he could, because he liked his job and he was extremely good at it. With only so much power came so much ability, and that had a nasty knock-on effect when it came to doing the job properly to the max.

When certain doors shut in Simon's face, such as the dead-end ip address they couldn't close down, there was little he could do about it. Security doors were the most annoying of them all. Not only was there a forever trail of emails to write and send, just to get near, the permission could only come down from The Board, and that could take weeks, if not longer.

'Okay, Hensley, you guys get on with it, see what you find ... There's not much I can do from here, so the team has control, I'm passing over Total Access to you now ... I'm done for the night, and I think my magic wand is broken, it won't work anymore,' he laughed, before finishing his drink. 'Oh, and keep a close eye on that last level being played ... Take notes on the characters that drop in ... I want all their ip addresses too, just for file ... You never know, it could be one of those clever player types ...'

A knock at his door made Simon look up from his jotter page, where he'd doodled around a special name. Spelt with two Z's it had flowers entwining the letters, with butterflies and ladybirds, and even a diddy line of hearts underlining it, red then blue, red then blue, one after the other.

'... Hensley, I gotta go, someone's here,' he babbled, secretly hoping he knew who it was.

'It's Lizzy, Sir, as you requested, for your hello drink,' the young man hastily replied, 'and leave it with me, I'm on it already ... I'll call if anything arises which you need to know about ... Until then ... Later, git-face, and your coffee tastes like minging old cowpats, even with five sugars, so, ha,' he laughed, and then he hung up.

'... Hensley, I love you, and nicely done ... There's a pay rise for you, straight away,' Simon chuckled into the silent line, loving his team member's beautiful comeback.

Only they had that bond and form of relationship, and Simon would never be without it. No other could do it that well or was that privilege, the banter, the quick laughs, just between Hensley and him. For years there had been a trio of them, working and playing in the same spaces, then in the same companies, climbing the ranks, tier by tier, and layer after layer. Then, suddenly, it was just those two, still together, still having a chuckle and getting important things done.

They were good at it too, a fit team, fiery, eager to please, ready for anything, and were always still half alive at the end of their gruelling shift. No grudges, and always unconditional. Really, they should have been married, male to male, as the perfect couple, and as focused as each other. Bonded, yes, close, without a doubt, side by side, they were a mighty force to be reckoned with.

'... Yes ... Entrer ...' Simon called, having waited quite long enough for a glimpse of the lust of his life.

So, she did, and there she was, the one and only Lizzy Sturton, and how did she look?

If it hadn't been because it was so hot, she wouldn't have wanted a glass of water. If she hadn't wanted a glass of water, she wouldn't have needed to go down stairs. And, well, if she hadn't needed to go down stairs, she wouldn't have walked into her kitchen, butt naked, and gone to the cupboard by the window for a glass. In a funny kind of way, it was just as well she had that silly thirst.

He stepped from the shadows as if drawn in ink, his reflection catching in the pane before her. As he lunged forwards with his knives, she grabbed the dish cloth in one hand, and spun it in a way so to tie it around his blades, forcing them together. In the next second, her glass of water collided with the side of his masked face. By the time he'd steadied himself again, she was at the cereal cupboard going for her Beretta. Before her hand hit the damn handle, a knife impaled it to the solid pine door.

Holding her one hand there, his other came up from behind, and flash down so the steal sliced straight into her side. He wasn't expecting the elbow to take the underside of his jaw out. Putting her hand to the knife handle, Cait winced as the blade ripped back out the way it had gone in, and still he was in her face.

Spinning away from the swish that would have disembowelled her, the pan lids were the next to save the day. Taking the two largest from the stack, it helped fend off the frantic flashing metal. As he came in low, she swung round high. He landed, backwards across the breakfast bar, his cheek opened up like steak. Cait looked at the piece of aluminium in her hand, 'Wow!' she thought.

And there he was again, back in her face. As he came at her, she dropped below his flailing hand and side kicked him to the right kneecap. He buckled to one side, the move leaving him open to further abuse. She turned and, with all her scrawny weight behind her, swung back round, the heel of her hand wielding her core of power. But he was already waiting for her, and halted it, dead, in mid swipe, his fingers gripping the slender wrist.

She stretched, clawing fingers scrabbling at his mask, as his fist appeared from nowhere. Coming into contact with her chin, he sent her up and backwards, crashing into the counter by the fridge. The pasta jar came round to cosh him, but her hand was smacked away, the jar falling to the floor, shells fanning everywhere. The agony as she stood on them, the crunching into soft soles, the white light bleaching her vision.

In the same second, her hand was raised and stapled to the work surface with her carving fork, the pain as blinding as her pasta sandals. The downward punch she received was kind of expected, she was waiting for that one. Whatever, he was still going to lose.

Reaching under her armpit with her free hand, her fingers found her pride and joy, her apple corer. As he lifted her head with her hair, the blood bubbled from her nose and mouth. Coiling her fingers around it, another incoming punch split open her other lip. Slouching against the unit, her arm dropped limply to her side. Looking around and up at the beast beside her, she smiled, slowly, before jabbing it, viciously, into the soft inside of his thigh several times, his howl a dangerous sound.

Cait was still standing, the loss of blood giving her a little bit of a head rush. She slowly smiled as her attacker retrieved his knives from the floor, dragging his leg back to where she was presently occupied. The fork wouldn't budge from the damn wood, even when she wiggled it, the pain, suicidal. She hated that she couldn't see his eyes. There were no eyes to see. It was all black.

In his last few steps towards her, the ones that would end her as a contract, she knew he was laughing, she could almost hear him. She only had one choice. With the corer still in her fist, she would defend as well as she could, and go down fighting. She'd take that bast'd out first, no way were they ever getting to James while she had a breath in her body. If they wanted him, then they had to eradicate her first, or, she would come back and take the whole damn lot of them out.

That one step away, he stood, both knives coiling back to strike, the silence as sharp as both those edges. No longer cold, Cait looked at the soldier before her, exactly the same as her but different. His motion forward seemed to be a dance step, quite rhythmic of all things. Her face felt his breath before it left his lips. Her heartbeat slowed, along with the air in the room, and her action was released.

The deep breath in through her nose helped her centre her control. Her pitch, balance, form, strength, they all awaited the command. Once she heard his hair move towards her, she spun.

'What the fluke is going on down here?' James's voice barked into the darkness they had melted into.

The light being switched on was good in one way but very, very bad in another. The Masked Bull Boy suddenly yelped in pain and threw his hands to his face, ripping as his latex mask and night vision goggles. What came next wasn't very pretty, but Cait had already deployed her defence.

James watched as his naked girlfriend twirled before him, lashing out with whatever it was in her hand. The other, he noticed, was carving forked to the counter top and, as he watched in horror, the head of the guy, stood before her, suddenly snapped round. One more smack the other way, and Cait had the situation under control.

She looked at the tool in her hand, and then dropped the heavy blood covered glass rolling pin from her hand.

Turning to James she chuckled, 'Wow, always thought that would come in handy one day ... And I was bloody right ...'

Yanking the fork from the back of her hand, she studied the devastation around her. Arh, her poor kitchen, trashed again.

James went to step over the threshold.

'... Don't ...!'

Her one word, and the flat of her hand raised towards him, made him freeze on the spot. Sidestepping with the stealth of a feline, her right hand snaked up and into the cupboard. Sticky fingers made contact with the gunmetal and, slowly, it was taken down and dropped to her side.

'... Off ... Now ...' meaning the light, her head nodding towards the ceiling.

James did as he was asked. No sooner had the darkness returned Bull Boy rose from the dead, as she knew he would.

One command was thrown in James's direction, '... Down ...'

He did just that, and stayed there.

Cait stepped up behind her guest, as he gained his standing position. He didn't even know she was there. With his knives back in his hands he turned, slowly, his mask and face hanging to form the demented grin of some grotesque dog, the wounds open and raw.

She looked at him, lost in a different battle to the one they were about to end in the kitchen. Knowing exactly where he came from, she was ready to move. He was on her turf, in her house, and not in the land of the big bad wolf, so, didn't she have every right to put that rabid mutt down for good?

For what felt like hours they faced each other, neither one daring to make that first move. His flashed advance was just not quick enough. Her bleeding left hand came up and deflected his with the sharp ends. As she did that, she stepped to one side so her other gun filled one could lift and push him on his way.

The result was him, falling, face forward over the work surface, with her bloody hand to the back of his neck. Before he even understood where he was, her gun hand swung up and two shots entered the base of his skull, cleanly, quietly, and very effectively.

She watched as he slid to the floor, her eyes having become accustomed to the dark again. Placing the pistol on the side, she walked to the switch and flicked it on. Looking down at James she spoke.

'... Okay, you can get up now ... The coast is clear ...'

From the moment Lizzy Sturton had walked into Simon's office, he was sunk, hook line and digital sinker. Their hello drinks had been a lovely occasion, but a mere hour was never going to be enough for one Mister Reedman. There was a part in him that no other woman had reached before, and as soon as his blues eyes lifted to rest on the angel in his doorway, he was a sunken man, and in more ways than one.

In the twenty-four hours after their first formal meeting, Simon had to know everything about the woman, with that cascade of silky red hair and those gorgeous green eyes. The rest of her was hotter than a hot thing with added hotness, so it all worked out just how he liked it. Delving into all the usual places told an average story, brought up by a single father, Uni-Ed graduation with honours, climbed the ranks through the usual channels, or so it would seem.

Because he was the way he was, Simon looked no further, thanking his gleaming lucky stars she had no criminal record attached to her name. That was enough from him, and no time was to be wasted, as a morsel as sweet as that had to be his, especially when his research declared her well and truly single. Heading in only one direction was his plan for her, and it had nothing to do with a promotion, well, it did, but not in relation to work.

Lizzy Sturton was everything Simon wanted, and for Lizzy, or Tutu, Simon was everything she needed. Credits, and plenty of them, could be had by wearing the sweetest of bikinis, and she knew what way to play him in the second he looked at her with his eyes all gooey. For a young lady in her position, where a top lifestyle needed to be maintained, out of pure luxury, after having nothing through her abusive childhood, credits had to be in there somewhere, whether as a wage or reward, it never mattered to Tutu.

So, let the game begin, where he chases her and she gives him a good old dash of the run-around, just before committing to anything else. For a whole week she had him drooling at the hem of her lab coat. Coffees every morning, sat waiting for her, and just as she liked it, black with two sugars, then lunch at the nice hotel in Pennon Square, flowers because he could, and the gem in the tiara, an invite to go and meet his parents, whilst enjoying a wonderful Sunday lunch.

Well, that was it, she knew she was in but, to look a little more demure, she didn't want to seem to being rushing into anything, and there were more goodies to be had first, which hadn't even started rolling in. First on the list, always diamonds, because they just were, then a new car, maybe a move out of the city into a quiet suburb, several holidays abroad possibly, anything along those lines were always a good base to begin with, and she loved them all.

Seeing him again, even after all that time, she knew it was the right guy. Months had gone by since their first encounter in the club, where he had thrown champagne around as if it were fairy dust. Not recognising her, the memory of their first meeting would have been lost beyond his drunken stupor. A masquerade so no faces could be seen, he showed his to her, as he leant in for that first kiss. In a blonde wig, wearing coloured contact lenses, her mini, and very revealing, baby-doll costume was, by then, promoting most of her tanned assets.

'So ... What time would you like me to pick you up tonight? I was thinking about seven from your place?' he asked, leaning against her desk, just after returning from another nice lunch.

Putting her lab coat on, she turned, smiling, 'Sorry, Simon, you're a little too late ... I already have plans for this evening ... Maybe another night? ... Pick a night which isn't tonight or Sunday, and you're on ...'

'May I enquire as to what you have planned? ... Is it anything exciting?' he then casually bantered.

'Well, if you really want to know ... This evening, I'm going over to River Valley Nursing Home to see my elderly aunt, as I do every Wednesday ... She's the only elder I have left now so I have to look after her ... Then every Sunday, I volunteer at the homeless shelter all day, nine to five, or the hospital radio, collecting requests off the ward and stacking them into the players ... Why, would you like to join me? ... You'll meet lots of lovely people ...'

As she spoke she saw his face change. You had more chance of Simon bursting into flames, on the spot, than you ever had of getting near any old or sick people. Two things in the world he hated, and there they were, in that one small reply, which, to anyone else, would have sounded rather caring and selfless.

The fact that it was all lies had nothing to do with it, but by doing so, Tutu, or Lizzy, had made sure he never stepped on those days again, ever, making Sunday lunch a dream of the past.

'Look,' she slowly smiled, her dimples looking so cute under the overhead lights. 'I'm free this Friday, are you?'

Yes, he was, but he could cancel dinner with his folks.

'No, I'm free Friday, that sounds cool to me, chicklet ... What d'ya fancy then, the theatre, a club, maybe dinner on my yacht, maybe all three?' was almost poured over her, his words so fluid, his options all sounding so warm and nice to hear.

'Ooh, dinner on the yacht sounds wonderful, I love that idea ... I've never been on a yacht, is it very big?' she giggled, giving him that look that made him melt inside.

Smiling, he replied, 'Mmm, yes, darling, it's very big ... And very comfortable, you'll like it, if you don't mind boats of course ...'

'I love boats, we used to take regular boat rides when I was a kid, every summer in fact ... My old Dad, he loved a good sail,' she chuckled, recalling it in a slightly different way when trying to reach Ugly Island.

'Okay, Friday it is then ... And I'll have you collected from yours at about, let's say seven? How does that sound?' he almost oozed at her.

'That sounds lovely, Simon, and I can't wait ... Now, really, I should get back to work ... We wouldn't the boss to dock this time from my wages now, would we?' she giggled, as she turned to face her keyboard, knowing full well he was indeed The Boss.

'No, of course not,' he chuckled, tapping the top several times with the flats of his hands 'So ... Okay ... Back to work, yes ... Me too ... Upstairs, in my office ... I'm going now, right away ... Well, see you later, Lizzy ... Have a lovely afternoon,' was grinned, as he inched his way for the door, not really in a rush to go anywhere.

Almost skipping back down the corridor to the lifts, he was humming a little tune and trying to think of words that rhymed with Lizzy, but as much as he thought, he came to the conclusion there were only a few, such as dizzy, fizzy and tizzy. They were all pretty pants, and were of no help at all. He left it there, the tune, to maybe finish later.

After pouring himself a large glass of something nice, he took his chair and dialled out. Taking a drink as he waited for someone to answer, he located a cigar, and then got himself comfortable. Eventually, someone answered.

'... Hello, the Reedman residence, how may I help you?' the voice sombrely asked on the other end.

'... Hello, Major, Simon here ... Is my Mother about ... I need a few words with her, could you get here for me, please? ... Thank you ...'

'... Yes, Sir, Misses Reedman is currently here, but having lunch with Miss Taylor and Miss Bantry, and she has asked to not be disturbed, Master Reedman, I'm sorry ...' came the almost robotic reply.

'... Well, Major, I now override her orders, under Code: 772136 ... Now, go and get her, please, and tell her it's urgent ... I need to speak to her now ... Go, on ... Off you trot, like the good little house-bot you are,' Simon then snapped, as if speaking to a small child that was being disobedient.

'Certainly, Sir ... Right away, Sir,' was then popped back at him, right on cue.

Silence, but just for a moment or two, and then he did hear someone.

'... Hello, son,' suddenly came the voice of his dear pater. 'Sorry, but she won't take your call, you're out of luck on that one, plus she's just switched Major off, so there's no point in flogging that one either, I'm afraid, it's totally dead ... Anyway, what's up, anything I can help you with?'

Simon was so happy, he felt he had to tell one of them, and daddy was as good as either. Excited, almost to the point of splitting, he had to say it, and he had to say it soon.

'... Dad, are you ready for this? ... It's quite a big thing, so I hope you're sitting down ... Are you?' he babbled into the phone, not really thinking about what he was saying at the time.

First some shuffling, then some scraping, after that a bump, and that was followed by a loud grunt. Dad was finally in his listening spot.

'Okay, I'm in a seat ... Go on, sock it to me, son ... After all, it can't be any worse than the time you nearly chopped the head off that kid with a fireman's axe ...'

'... Dad, stop ... This is really important, a turning point in my life, the start of my future, plus much, much more ... I love you but, please, shut the hell up ...'

'Okay, you take the floor ... Off ya go, say it as you see it, just like ya Mother ...'

'... Thank you ... Right, okay ... Here we go, are you ready?' Simon confirmed, for the last time, with a slight edge to his voice which he hoped was missed.

'Yes, I'm ready, have been for ages, just waiting on you, slowcoach to China... Come on then, fire away ...'

'... Okay, Dad ... Here it comes ... Hope you're ready ... I'm ... Getting married ...'

Silence, as if some solitary tumbleweed might bounce aimlessly across his office, caught in the wind, rolling through an empty desert, only to be surrounded by more sand.

'Well, blow my own sheets off,' his father chuckled in reply, sounding far happier all of a sudden. 'Hey, it's funny you should say that this afternoon ... Wow, how's that for siblings ...'

'Huh ... And what do you mean by that, Father?' Simon asked, as the wind suddenly dropped from his overly excited sails, and his tumbleweed.

'Ooh, Father now, is it? ... Sorry, son, but Sadie beat you to it this morning when she rang us first thing ... You'll never believe it, but she's getting married too ... And that's amazing, isn't it, both of you telling us on the same day?' his father chuckled. 'So, yes ... Congratulations, son, to you and the girl we still haven't met yet ... Though I do believe her name is Lizzy ...'

There might have been words ready to fall from Simon's mouth, but he was unable to locate them, in his suddenly shot-down mind.

Charles continued over the silence before his son had a chance to say anything.

'... Good luck to ya, really, lad, and I mean that with all my heart, especially if mine and your Mother's marriage is anything to go by ... If it is, then you are screwed, sorry, so you'll probably need more luck than I can offer you, you poor sod ...'

One final pause, as Simon listened on, unable to stop the flood he had foolishly started.

'... Lastly, I do love you dearly, son, and both you and your sister deserve happiness from someplace ... And, with luck on your side, you won't want to kill your wife in the first week ... Because that's what I wanted to do to my one,' he guffawed, nearly losing his top set of false teeth to his lap, as tears bubbled from his openly laughing eyes.

'I'm telling you, Ropey, there's something going on at S.S.D., and Simon's behind it, I know he is ... No one will talk to me, Daddy knows nothing, as ever, and all Mother wants to talk about is the ring ... Oh, and by the way, when's it due to be delivered?'

Sadie was sat in her office, as her other-half pottered around in the lab next door. They'd just finished a gruelling eight hours of archiving the rounds Cait had played, including the old challenges Simon had programmed in for her. As her power grew, Cait grew with it, becoming a cyber-babe warbot to be afraid of. Though she could be Sadie's twin, small and petite, what battled within was a whole different war zone. Some changes the pair of them found could be ironed out, but other issues seemed to linger forever.

'... I'm waiting on their email, I still haven't heard from them, sorry, sweetheart ...' was called back through the open door, as he turned to look at her through the floor to ceiling glass wall between them.

'... Oh, okay,' she disappointingly replied, as he walked into her office, 'guess I'll have to wait then ... If I have to ...'

Ambling over, with his hands in his lab coat pockets, he stopped beside her to quickly kiss the top of her head.

'Don't worry, darling,' he smiled down at her, as she sat at her desk, 'it'll be here soon ... Have a little faith ... Now the road it clear, and when they let me know, I'll go and get it ... And then be ready, missy ... Proposal of a lifetime,' was then chuckled, as he walked off to get them both a fresh coffee from the hot pot.

'... Yeah, and I'll believe that when I see it, Ropey Romeo,' Sadie grinned in reply, taking her mug when he returned.

'... See, there you go again with putting a downer on it ... Sadie, sweetheart, honey-pie, love of my wonderful life, you need it let it go, whatever it is that hurts you so much inside, and let the love shine through ... Life isn't a bad place, it just has bad people in it ... Forget them, they're not your concern anymore ... It's me you should be caring for, adoring, and making the centre of your universe'' he smiled slowly, 'and not some dufus from your forgetful past ... So, with that in mind, and because I love you so much ... Come in here, there's something I want you so see ... It's my new project ... I've called it, File 13: Lucky for some,' was laughed, as he took her hand and led her off into the lab, her coffee discarded.

Sitting her in her sensory chair, with her headset popped over her eyes, he set them up to take a journey.

'What are you doing?' Sadie asked quietly. 'Are you taking me somewhere?'

'No questions, poppet, just trust me ... There's nothing to fear, I promise ... Here we go ...'

Commands were given, along with the file destination, and the drop-in was made, as smooth as water down a parched throat. Audio and visual slid into play, as the feeds blinked into line, and all was ready to roll.

'Why's it dark?' Sadie demanded, not liking it already.

'It's a glitch, hold on, it'll clear in a few seconds ... I did say I was still working on it, so have a little patience, and all will be revealed ... We are about to take a journey through time and space, grab hold of your girdle, Gerty ... It's time for touchdown,' was replied, as the feed bled through, and the most amazing view took over Sadie's visual, filling her sight to amazement.

'... Oh, Ropey, it's beautiful ... And where the hell are we?' Sadie asked, taking a good look around.

'Well ... I sort of named it after you ... Mio Bella Fuga, meaning My Beautiful Escape in Italian.

They were on a different planet, and it was amazing. Blue sand gave way to red mountains, the shadows to be cast for half a day's walk. Off to one side was a canyon a hundred miles deep, were bizarre spiral trees in yellow and white popped up between the boulders of black. Solid water roared from a cave to gush out its fine spray of chipped glass, to twinkle and shard on the rocks below, where it then melted and rose, in a hot stream, to start the process all over again. Looking up, the sky was pastel orange, with not a cloud or crease, and off in the distance, the vast spread of land trailed a dusty path to a large glass dome, sat silently waiting.

'... Arh, Ropey, that's so sweet of you, you big silly ... And I love it, it's gorgeous ... What's that over there?' Sadie asked, nodding towards the clear construction, dead ahead.

'That's something else ... The inner part of the project ... Come on, I'll show you round,' he replied, taking her hand.

'I'm not walking that far, even if it is named after me,' she protested, almost pulling her's free out of disgust.

'We don't have to, darling ... Watch this ...'

Snapping the fingers on his right hand, a bubble suddenly cocooned them, to lift them from the ground.

'Wow, this, I like ... Bobbing along with no effort ... I wish travel at home was this easy,' was laughed, as they reached their next destination.

Gently placing them just outside the dome, it vanished again, until next needed.

'... This is incredible, Ropey ... Have you been working on this for long?' Sadie enquired, looking up at the vastness of it, towering above her head.

'I started it a while back, but had to can the project when I changed roles ... Since working with you, I've found a few patches of spare time ... When I'm bored, I build a little more, like painting a picture with numbers, but without the numbers, if you know what I mean,' he chuckled in reply, watching her face and reactions.

'Yes, yes ... I know exactly what you mean ... So, what goes on in here then?'

Leading her to the outer shell, hand in hand, he smiled, 'Sadie, what goes on in here, stays in here, our direct contact, alone, is what opens the door, no one else's ... Nothing gets through, not even spy-bots ... So, you ready?'

Smiling up at him, Sadie nodded.

Lifting his free hand, he placed it on the opaque wall before him. Sweeping sideways, the opening panel was their way in. Through the doorway they stepped, and into something only dreamt about. Sadie was lost for words, as she held her breath to look around her.

Riverbanks of vibrant green gave way to a lake of calm water. From where she was, Sadie could see the small island sat in the middle, with its little jetty facing their way. Sat in the shallows, not ten feet away, was a little rowing boat painted blue and red, which they headed for.

'That, over there, is what I wanted to show you ... My private island, and now it's yours too,' Ropey grinned, leading her to the lakeside. 'There's no rowing involved, the boat knows what to do ... All we do is sit back and enjoy the ride ...'

All the way there, they did, and very pleasant it was too, trailing her hand in the rolls of warm water. Within the dome, it was a nice day, not too hot, not too cold. The roof of it arched a mile above them, and glowed, as if the sun itself where positioned above.

'This is really lovely, Ropey, really, colour me impressed ... And I could get used to this life, you know, doing this all day, instead of being out there, working ...'

'Yes, and it's here whenever you need time out, and I've adjusted the timeframes too, so a day in here is five minutes out there ... So, all do you is slap on your headset and you'll be here in a flash, no traffic, no noise, no pollution, no real people ... Just you and a small piece of paradise, nestled away on a pretend planet ...'

As their light banter came to an end, so did their little boat trip. Climbing out first, he reached down to take her hand, pulling her up to join him on the wooden boards. Turning, they ambled along it, onto the beach, where the cove stretched off into the distance.

'Do you like it?' Ropey asked, looking around at his excellent work.

'Yes, honey, I do ... Well done, and the detail is perfect ... Look, jumping fish too ... I love it,' she beamed, looking towards the massive and naked blueprint box sat behind them. 'So, what's that, our little love nest?' was smiled, as she gazed towards the plot located inland, beyond the flowering meadow.

'It is whatever you want it to be, sweetheart ... Love nest, retreat, crash-pad, all of the above, that, I'm leaving up to you ... There's the shell of it, put there what you want ...'

'Really, Ropey, I can do that?' Sadie gushed, looking from him back to the middle distance.

'Yes, my little Builder Baby, go for it ... Whatever you want, you put it there,' he smiled, his hand dropping her's so his arm could snake around her waist.

'But how do I do it? ... We usually construct from outside ... We can't do it from inside the core, it's not possible,' she replied, looking up as his still happy face.

There was nearly a laugh as he replied, 'Not possible, I hear you ask? ... What do I always say to you when you give me the nonbeliever speech and face? Go on, say them, Sexy Sadie, pretty lady ... Say the words ...'

Her face was a picture. Pausing, as she thought for a second, there was one line that came to mind, and it was that which slipped from her in almost a whisper.

'... Have a little faith ...?'

He gave her a gentle hug to his side, as he clicked his fingers once more. Straight away, a control panel appeared, floating before her.

'You didn't?' she laughed, looking at him laughing

'I fluking did ... And it's the only one in the whole world, designed and installed, by me ... Clever git, aren't I?' he chuckled, hugging her again.

'Well, Mister, No Name Ropey, you have just got yourself a pay rise, and I hope you're very proud of yourself ... That's mind blowing, which is a bit more than clever, my darling little know it all,' Sadie smiled, shaking her head at just what a real brain her fiancé was. 'And, this model, it is fully functional, or are you still working on it?'

'Fully functional, tried and tested ... Ready to roll ... I've used it already, when implanting the woodland over there, and the foliage bordering the edge of the mainland, over there ... There's also a folly, but that's through the trees, so we can't see it from here ...'

Trying to take it all in, Sadie looked at the controls before her, which were a replica of the ones topside. Knowing exactly how it all functioned, her fingers started to get very itchy.

'Wow ... Building from the inside ... Bloody amazing ... Ropey, I do love you, oodles ... All the way to Earth and back, in fact,' she smiled, stepping up to the plate to take control.

When finished, she stepped back next to Ropey to admire her work. The property wasn't big, and it wasn't smell, it was just right for the pair of them to wander, and looked perfect for the location.

'Way to go, honey, you know your stuff, don't you? ... See, you're just as good as me, if not better, so never put yourself down again, okay!'

Watching it appear, from the ground floor up, the space was filled with a stunning log cabin, accessed by a staircase to the front, leading up. Above sat a raised decked area and the double doors, through which you entered. Picture windows ran all the way round, floor to ceiling, letting the light and perfect view in. New hardwood floors, and comfy couches, sat waiting in the upper living quarters, as were the open plan kitchen, library with open fire, and, finally, the huge bar, including optics and filled coolers that never ran out.

There, before them, sat Sadie's dream house. On her plot in the hills, topside, she had hoped to build something like it, using her own trees. Sadly, the Planning Commissioner said it would be seen by a neighbour, who was not a fan of the design, even though it was recycling materials and would have been super echo friendly. Instead, they let her build a palace of concrete into the hillside, only because you couldn't really see it from any other direction, and it kept the locals off her back.

Under their sunshine dome she was in a position to construct that image, and make it 3D with solid walls and striking floors. That was it, inside and out, just how Sadie saw it in her head, right down to the scatter cushions and knitted throw, resting on the hanging chair in the corner window.

'... Right, that's it ... All done,' she puffed, sighing over the level of concentration required to achieve such a big reconstruction. 'Blimey, I could do with a bloody drink now, what about you?'

'Well, just before we drop-out, aren't you gonna show me round it? ... Seems a shame to go to all that trouble and then leave ...'

It was a valid point, he was quite right, going, after getting that far.

'You're right, you are ... So, let's go and see if it's as perfect as I hope it is,' was said, even though it was.

Almost calling herself a dufus out loud, Sadie grabbed his hand and marched him across that pretty meadow. Smelling of honey warmed in sunlight, the hazy scent carried them along, as seed heads burst with their every pass.

Up the stairs, and through the doors, it just kept on getting better. Upon entering, the instant cosy atmosphere wrapped itself around them, giving them a sweet welcome home embrace.

'Wow, girly, you are a building genius ... Where you find it, I do not know, but, this ... Look at the detail, the light, the shadows ...'

Walking over, she was pulled into his arms for a kiss, not a peck but a proper kiss. Pulling away slightly, he looked down at her as he spoke.

'So, what else is there to see? ... Show me ...'

Wandering from room to room, it was where he could see her, dropped in a couch maybe, book in hand, with nothing but perfect silence.

'And that ends your tour for today, Ladies and Gentleman ... Please leave a tip at the door, and twenty credits would be appreciated ... Thank you ...'

'Very nice, very nice ... And I love the open fire in the library, inspired idea, darling,' was the outcome of Ropey having a good look everywhere. 'But there's one thing that I can't work out.'

Sinking into a couch, facing the view over the pretty lake, Sadie had to ask.

'Okay, what's that then?'

'The cellar ... What's down there? ... If this is all up here, is it a big empty space with nothing in it?' was his reply, as he took the couch opposite, looking out over the trees.

'Oh, blimey, the cellar, I forgot that bit,' she chuckled, bouncing back onto her feet again. 'Follow me, you'll love this ...'

Heading towards the library, Sadie stopped by a door. Looking at it sideways, Ropey would have said it might not have been there a second ago, but anything was possible on that planet. Opening it, they dropped down a bend of stairs to stand before a door.

'Okay ... Ropey, meet my favourite room ...'

Pushing the door open, he was blown away. Suspended before him, row upon row, was a full army of C-C-6s, and they all looked as deadly as Cait.

'... It can't happen, I won't let it ... Not in this bloody lifetime anyway ... I won't have that bloke anywhere near my sister ... I want it dealt with, and I want it done now ... You have your credits, do the fluking job, it's that simple ... Do you need me to draw you a bloody diagram, or can you cope with remembering all those details?'

The voice was tense and not very happy, the eye twitch having come into full force after hearing who she was marrying. That name, that name he hated more than anything, and it had cursed him throughout his entire adult life. So, on the rebound, was he, sniffing around as usual, going for a big catch, trying to wheedle his way back in? Well, it was never going to happen, not if Simon had anything to do with it.

Two men, miles apart, were practically saying exactly the same thing about the other, at almost the same time, seemed rather ironic. The same could be said of Simon and Charles's telephone conversation, but this call was a bit different to that one. Not good news on this occasion, but it was a call that needed to be made, in Simon's eyes anyway.

'... You know where he bloody lives, with my sister ... Yes, he's been up there ages already ... No, he doesn't work for us anymore he works for her ... A week to get ready? Are you fluking kidding me? ... What, surveillance? ... You're putting a cap in a bloke's head, how hard can it be? ... I would if I could, but I'm too high profile, and, yes, I don't want to get my shirt dirty, that's it, so ... You'll do it then? ... Okay ... Next week? ... You're busy! I'm a busy man too, but I've managed to fit this in, haven't I? ... So, find space in your full diary ... Fine, Tuesday, it is ... Thank you, and I really appreciate it ... No, I do ... Sure, speak to you after ... Yeah ... And you ... Bye ...'

Speaking aloud to himself, in his empty office, he grinned, 'Ha, Hit Men ... They think they rule the fluking world ...'

After fixing himself a long drink, he sat in his sensory chair and popped on his headset. Having some quiet time, he thought he'd do something else for a while.

'... Enter File, Free Flow, 99, 66, 273 ... Find and pause ... Get ready to load ... Add audio and visual ... Play rerun ... And ... Drop me in ...'

Fading light fell through the open window. A cat stretched and lazily jumped from a window seat to slink from the room. Pancakes, the smell, it hung in the air, with acidy lemon and a sweet aftertaste. Laughter came from the kitchen. Bouts of it, making the day seem warmer by degrees. Honey, that lovely aroma on lips and tongue, for on pancakes too, coated and stuck, to be licked away into a greedy mouth.

Following the sound, Simon wandered to the doorway and looked into the room. Leaning on the doorframe, he watched in silence. That scene was never boring, to see and hear, to recall and relish. It was nice to be there again, trapped in that time, he missed her so.

There was a side to Simon never seen. He was oddly strange, most of the time, with a huge dash of nasty, just to keep up appearances. Not often would there be an event to soften his inner shell of ratbag, but every now and then, it was known to happen. One of these events was a little thing, which was to always stay with him, and was never to be forgotten.

Reliving that evening, with his Nan in her kitchen, almost brought tears to his eyes. There was a longing to be back there, back at the centre of being loved for being him. As a boy, he spent many summers with his grandparents, and they were summers he treasured, spent on their smallholding, living in a converted barn.

Finishing for the day, they had their evening meal, and then his Nan decided they needed pancakes for afters. Moving, as a ghost, Simon stood near enough to hear their banter, which could almost be recited, word for word. Leaning against the worktop, next to his smaller self, he eavesdropped without a care, taking in the expressions and laughter they shared.

Giggles and gripes, that's what his Nan said ran the world. They all needed giggles and gripes, it was what got them through, and they could never have one without the other, which was how it worked. Together, in the kitchen, that was all giggles, and a small flour fight to cheer things along.

When it came to the flipping of the pancakes, Simon took a seat. It was that part he was dying to see again, merely to put himself in a better mood for work.

His Nan was a pro with the pouring of batter into the hot frying pan, and was a genius at the flip. A whole pile was produced from one jug of mix. Simon, as a boy, was so impressed.

'... Let me try, Nan ... Please ...' he burst with excitement, having established a vague idea of the technique required.

Dropping the next lot in, it turned from cream to white, as the circle set.

'... Okay ... Your turn ... Now, remember how I showed you ... And, remember, it's very hot ...'

Taking the handle from her hand, he was so careful, as he warmed his yummy disk of batter.

'... Now, Nan ...?' he chirped, still concentrating on the task in hand, and it certainly was.

'... Yes, Simon ... Flip it ... Flip it, now,' she laughed, clapping her hands together in excitement over his first try.

Ghostly Simon, who was sat at the table loving every second of the show, almost laughed before it happened, knowing what was to come.

The pan dropped then lifted at speed, just as his Nan had shown him, and he did the little flick, his wrist a flash before him. It took off, turned once, turned twice, and then it stuck to the kitchen ceiling.

'... Oh, Simon ... You are so funny ...'

His Nan was in hysterics, bent over, with her hands on her knees and tears in her eyes.

Turning her head towards the door, she called through to the other room.

'Ere, Bernie ... Simon's made you a lovely pancake, bless him ... But, we can't get it down, so you'll have to come and eat it in the kitchen ... Sorry ...'

Their laughter was a pool of sunshine when the sky was fifty shades of charcoal. They had their pancakes, and granddad retrieved Simon's first attempt, then told him to aim better next time, if there was a next time.

'... End rerun ... Disconnect all functions ... Close feed ...'

Dropping back into his office, he removed his headset and sat thinking for a moment or two. Moving to his desk, he took a long drink before he tapped a number into his mainline. It rang three times before it answered, and when it was, Simon started talking.

'... Mission ...?'

'... Yes ...' said the voice on the end, and it was.

'... I've had a rethink about this job ... I won't be in need of your services any longer,' Simon bounced down the line.

Silence, then a breath, and then some talk.

'... Okay, had a change of heart, have we? ... Never mind, not that I need the credits ... I'll transfer them back to you later today ... I can't do it right now, I'm kinda busy, sorry ... So, be quick, I gotta shoot off, no pun intended,' was chuckled back, the voice sounding pretty gruff but oddly funny.

Simon could hear muffled voices in the background, shut him up, was shouted, whilst a loose hand was held over the receiver.

'... Yeah, sorry, I'll make it fast then, and, yes, I have, in a way ... Cross him from your diary, Coco, Pappy's got a brand new plan,' Simon politely replied, suddenly happier for some reason. 'Having realised, a little while ago, it can be done by pulling an internal neural-feed type trigger, I can actually achieve the same mental damage without getting blood everywhere ... So, I've decided ... I'll be doing it myself ...'

### PART 3

### Rip and Burn

Everything was in place and ready to implement. With the last line-up of the season being programmed in, it had to be a good one, worthy of an awesome ending. Over the proceeding weeks, the city had readied itself for the huge finale, hoping it would top all the previous ones, level by level.

In the lead up to that event, a huge party was thrown, by S.S.D (Synchro-Switch Direct), for all who had worked so hard to produce the award winning Just Die series, including the lovely shareholders. Set in the swankiest hotel, in the bustling centre, there were film stars and celebrities galore and, of course, the lovely Reedman siblings.

Of all the yearly top parties, that one was the only one Sadie attended. There were several reasons why she went, but mainly it was to show her face, thereby keeping the peace. Only the once did she not attend, and after Simon had gone on about it for weeks, moaning and brooding, she swore she would appear at that one and that one alone. Thankfully, after pledging that, Simon was a little more lenient and gave up mentioning any of the others. After all, it was the bash of the year, and not being there would just be plain silly.

On good advice, from inside S.S.D., it was agreed that Ropey would not attend. Sadie was to go alone, with Ryan as her chaperone, who would then return her home, safe and sound, at the end of her gruelling night. Promising to see him before dawn, she left Ropey in the lab, doing that which he did so well, constructing.

Stepping from the car, after pulling up to the front of the madly expensive hotel entrance, with its red carpet rolled out and fancy little character statues dotted about, Sadie faced the full force of The Press. Almost blinded, after being in the back of a dark car, Ryan whisked her through after doing several random poses just to stop them shouting her name at her.

'... Miss Reedman, Miss Reedman, over here ... OVER HERE ...'

Enough was enough after five seconds, but she persevered, knowing it would soon be over, when a nice long drink was slid into her waiting hand.

Her brother was already there, and probably had been for hours by then. Sadie would turn up late and leave early, that's how it worked with her, it always had. Right on time, there by nine, then gone by half past eleven. That was as much as she could take, and not bad for a near recluse.

'... Hens, hello, how are you? ... How's life treating you, settled down yet?' she smiled, as the young man walked towards her, also smiling ear to ear.

'Wow, Sadie, I was hoping you'd be here ... Yes, I'm good, and not married yet, though Mum keeps moaning, you know what she's like?' he chuckled, giving her a gentle hug around her drink. 'And what about you, how are things in Castle Reedman, created any mad monsters lately?'

Looking at him, as he stepped away again, she smiled, 'Actually, I'm good, really good ... Yes, I have sort of created a monster ... Plus I have other news too, happy news, news you never thought I'd be telling you ...'

Though Ryan wasn't forgotten, he did get bored, so mingled with those he did know, and had for a long time. Leaving them to it, as he trusted Hensley as much as himself where Sadie was concerned, he was happy knowing the young guy would throw himself in front of a bullet if he had to.

'Oh, and by monster, you mean Riley, or Ropey, as you call him, right?' he chuckled, taking a sip of his beer, as she nodded whilst taking a sip of her wine. 'Ha, yeah, he is a bloody monster, always was, so nothing's changed there then, that's nice to know ... And your, plus news, would that have anything to do with that same little monster?' he asked, looking at her changing face.

'... Don't fluking say it ... Simon told you already ... Arh, he didn't, did he?'

Deflated, that was the look on her face, in a matter of a blink, up then down. Simon had done it again.

'No, don't answer that, Hens, you don't have to, the look on your face says it all ... Blimey, even that, he even stole that one small pleasure ... Honestly, I really hate him sometimes, I do, he's such a dick ...'

'Have you heard about Lizzy and him? ... Apparently they'll be after you ... Only, she didn't know anything about it when I mentioned it to her at work,' Hensley nearly laughed into his pint.

'Lizzy would kill him, eat him, then spit his mangled remains out,' laughed Sadie, after emptying her glass and looking towards the bar.

As soon as she did that, Ryan was there, ready to supply on demand. Another round was fetched and he was back in less than a jiffy.

'... Thank you ... Cheers,' came as a shared reply, once the fresh ones appeared.

'... So, where is he, have you seen Stupid Simon, or is he running late too?'

After taking a gulp, Hensley smiled, saying, 'Don't worry, he's in the banquet room collecting contacts, like he does, so he'll be in there all night ... If there's one thing he's good at, Sadie, it's talking ... Let's leave him there and have a nice quiet evening, all to ourselves ... How does that sound?'

'... Yes, perfect, that sounds like my ideal evening, a No Simon Zone,' was giggled, as she glanced around the room quickly, just checking for his mop of scruffy hair. 'And, by the way, I so miss our silly chats ... Come to think of it, it's the only thing I do miss,' Sadie giggled again, the wine gently taking affect. 'Arh, Hens, where did out reckless youth go? One minute kids, trying to conquer the world, the next, we're adults, who are still trying to conquer the world ... Are you still on it, like we used to pretend we were?'

Lost in the middle distance, Hensley recalled long days in hot summers, when playtime lasted a year, and the orange sun never seemed to set.

'Yeah, in a way, I am,' he flashed back, said without knowing, and dearly meant all the same. 'One day, Sadie, we will rule the world ... Isn't that what I used to say?'

'Hens, it was, and in a way we do ... We rule the worlds we build inside out mainframes and worldwide webs ... Isn't that why we're here tonight, celebrating the best Show-Game ever, because we're so bloody good at it?' she beamed, watching him drink some more.

From being stood there, chatting, they went and danced some, then they drank another couple, and then, after that, they laughed and drank some more. They talked and giggled, mingled for a while, and never once saw Simon. Well, Sadie did, but she dodged around a large stone pillar so as not to be seen, nearly bumping into a model from the Hettie Mable's Escort Agency.

'Arh, there you are, Sadie, I've been looking for you,' bounced from behind her, it was Ryan.

'Okay, you found me, what's up?' she frowned, with a toneless voice, expecting bad news of some kind.

'No, nothing serious ... It's just someone's asking to speak with you, in private ...'

Such a look, but Sadie had to know, so had to ask, 'Okay ... Who is it this time, another camera crew from Sydney?'

'Actually, it isn't ... There's a man, out front, who won't come in, says he knows you and your father ... He also reckons he has urgent information, which you might like to be aware of, right now, for the right price ...'

'Oh, really, does he now?' she almost burped, but didn't quite. 'And what, may I ask, is this mysterious man's name, Ryan? ... Mister, Pop-Up Lying Knob-rot ...?'

It was the laugh that followed, which had everyone turning to see where it had come from. Finally righting herself, from a slight lean, she waited for her answer, whilst trying to focus on Ryan's sombre face.

'... No ... It's Coco Mission, that's who's here to see you,' he almost whispered. '... And I think you'll want to hear this, Sadie, especially if it's coming from him ...'

The final arena she found herself in was not at all the place Cait was expecting. Once that door had closed, it was to stay closed. Only when the battle was won would her exit be revealed, but until then, no way out till her time was done.

Stood, in the curve of the little cove, with the wet sand bleaching beneath her feet, she watched as the door flashed from sight, gone for good. Looking around a replica of her very own island, off towards the trees, she walked to her first collection point to load up on stock. Making sure all clips were loaded, and her bag full, she turned towards the path, leading to the replica cottage.

'... Oh, for fluke's sake, not again ... What are you doing here, James? Go back, please, before they see your signature through the codes ... They'll be here soon, if not dropping from the flaming sky, so don't stand there looking stupid, run ... It's your only option now ... And I can't save us both, not today, not today ...'

She meant it with love, she really did. Having to protect herself, and battle it out with various weapons, was one thing, but having to be a bodyguard at the same time, that wasn't part of Cait's contract.

'... Please, you have to believe me, there is more to life than repeatedly dying, Cait ... This isn't all you are, you are not just a collection of scarred numbers that fluctuate inside a digital cyberhell ... You are real, to me you are, and you're a part of my world, and I don't want to lose that, or you, not now, not ever ...'

That pretty face turned towards him, her eyes watery and full of something new, emotion. Sadie was right, Cait was learning, and very quickly.

'... You don't have to stay here, there is a way out,' he stated, 'I know there is, because I found it by accident, well, not exactly by accident, I did have some inside help, but that's a long story ... Anyway, there is more, there is, but you have to trust me, and you have to believe in me too ... Do you?' he asked, leading her into the shadows, away from the invisible eyes that tried to see and ears that tried to listen.

'James, if they find you they will have you terminated, in your world as well as mine ... I'm not sure you're aware of what you're asking ... Be wise, turn back now ... Before it's too late ...'

Knowing time was of the essence, he didn't want to rush her, but his need to make her hear him was getting overly urgent.

'Please, Cait, don't worry about me, I'm fine, really, they won't find me, well, not this side of Christmas, I hope,' he chuckled, scanning the quiet beach and out across the small bay, as they crouched to view. 'Come on, we're running low on seconds ... So, do you? ... Trust me ...?'

Nodding was her replied affirmative, no words, only ever actions.

'So, I reckon, as it stands ... We have about ten minutes to cross this grid, cut through the security line, then run for the overlapping portal ... Wherever that is,' he smiled, his eyes studying her features.

'James, one last thing, before we go,' she almost whispered, her hand pulling at his elbow to stop his moving away. 'There's something I need to say, and I think I should say it ... And I think now is the time it was said ...'

Crouching back into place, James turned and looked at the strong young woman beside him. She was a person in her own right, in her own world, and she did matter, to him if no one else. Too many times had he seen her hurt to the point of near death, and on every occasion he could do nothing to assist. Well, that had just changed, and he'd be damned if he let her suffer another second at the hands of monsters.

'What, Cait? Why the fear, who are you scared of? We've got this covered, there's nothing here we haven't done before ... They are but mere candles in our wind, so, let's go sniff those suckers out, shall we?' James chuckled, knowing he could very well be correct in almost all the things he said.

'... I worry, for you ... This isn't your war, and I can't ask you to fight alongside me, that would be complete madness, and not something I'm prepared to let happen ... I ... I ...'

'You, what ...? Yet, you'd try this alone? ... Now who's the crazy one?'

James looked back at her, from daydreaming in the shallows that trickled over wet sand. Turned away she was, from him and the words she would never say.

Gulls dipped and winged it on the wind, as light as their feathers and just as white. Calling into the greying sky, they told of the storm to come, the one hanging on the horizon. Across the dark waters, whites whipped up, their crests a telling sign of things to come.

There was a force coming, but not of soldiers with guns and dogs, or space cops with rocket cars and clever traps. Foe came in many different forms, some more demanding that others, but all as deadly as the next. Five different arenas could tell a hundred different stories, depending on who wore the C-C-6 title.

This was different yet again, and for two reasons. Firstly, it wasn't the same as before, which was her main concern. Then secondly, when she looked beyond the lake, nothing moved, not even a human form slowly crossing to their side. No one was dropping from the sky, and nothing was sailing their way. What was going on? And that's why she was on edge.

'We have to get off this beach, right now ... I've been watching the waves, out there, and I was trying to work it out, now I see it ... James, they're flowing the wrong way ...'

Holding her to his side, they stayed low, as his eyes cast over that grey water.

'Yeah, I know,' he whispered, with a half-smile, 'I think something's coming and, whatever it is ... It's gonna be here soon ...'

Sinking in a sea so deep, intoxicated by love, his feet might never touch the bottom. Floating, as if a leaf on a gentle breeze, he sauntered through his day, all his troubles dissolving before him. Skipping, that's what he felt like doing, skipping and jumping, as he did as a kid when he was excited over something. Looking towards that fated evening, Simon's yacht was ready and waiting, and so was he.

Humming quietly, as he transferred the city's most expensive top cuisine take-away into more presentable receptacles, it was nearly that special time of the evening. Upon her arrival, he would pop the champagne, and they would laugh, eat, and drink, themselves silly. Fresh flowers, sitting in random vases, perfumed the cabin air with their sweet heady aroma. Quickly checking his watch, all he was waiting on was the sound of his speedboat bringing her to him. With that as his cue, the night of his life would get underway.

'... Welcome aboard, me hearty,' Simon bubbled, as Lizzy climbed the short ladder to take his hand.

Once safely on dry planks, the party was started. Walking back into the main cabin area, Lizzy was in love with it already. Everything about it was her kind of toy, and if she could obtain one too, nearly as nice as that one, it would be the cherry on her overly iced cake.

'... Oh, thank you, Simon ... And what a beautiful example she is too, is it a she, isn't it, so does she have a name?'... I love the way it's been dressed, very modern but cosy ... I like it, and the colours ... Very, tasteful, I think they say,' was poured over him, as Simon showed her around, briefly.

Being proud of the fact it was his, he oozed, 'Yes, my little darling, she is a she, and nearly as beautiful as you, but not quite ... If you really want to know ...Her full title is ... Byte This ... Thought up by yours truly, and rather a clever play on words, I think, seeing as I'm in the business.'

Nearly as clever as this yacht, but not quite, was what Lizzy felt like saying, but she didn't. Taking the perfect smile and perfect complement route rather than start a ruckus, she played her role in the regular direction, pumping his ego instead.

'Oh, yes, Simon, you're so very clever ... I don't know how you think up such bright ideas ... I've always liked that about a man ... When they use their abilities ... Properly,' she slowly smiled, drawing her last few words out, just to give them more sex appeal.

'Oh, stop it, you'll make a grown man blush talking like that, you naughty thing ... So, I thought, first, a quick drinkies, then some gorgeous dinner, especially prepared for you, by me,' he lied, smiling, as if a very happy boy. '... Then, after that ... Soft music and candle light, along with more champagne and lots of lovely chitchat ... How does that sound to you, my little sugar pumpkin?'

'Oh, Simon, all that expense, and just for me? ... You're spoiling me, really you are ... Ha, and you call me naughty,' was bantered back, as she was handed her first drink of the night.

Dinner, of three courses, had been prepared, and delivered to the yacht, by one highly priced Macon De Le Tier (which, translated, means: order of the builder), and was delicious beyond words. The flowing bubbles had been stolen from Charles Reedman's private stock, after Simon decided two cases would be enough to keep them topped-up for the evening.

Walking the cabin in her stunning red dress, which ended just above the knee and hugged her as if a second skin, Lizzy looked at the awards and trophies collected throughout the years? Photos of Simon and random famous faces hung in clumps of four, the list of names endless. With its classical interior, installed by the highly acclaimed Designer Penny Eventos, and its beautiful spaces, which were light and airy, she could see herself living in in that lap of luxury, especially if it came with trinkets created to that standard. Although she didn't feel much for Simon, she totally understood how he worked.

'Ooh, Simon, you haven't shown me down that end yet ... What's down there, anything exciting?' was queried, as she turned to look at him, pouring more expensive wine.

'... Down there, my darling, is where my retirement suite, the control room, and my office is ... It's not that exciting really ... But, I do have an enormous bed,' he chuckled, walking over with two replenished glasses in hand.

'Ooh, may I see? ... Only because I'm so nosy, you understand,' Lizzy purred, taking her drink, and smiling in reply.

Leading her by the hand, they wandered as he jabbered on.

'Okay ... So ... That door, there, takes you down to the engine room ... This one, is the control room, yes, I know, boring, huh! ... Then, that one there, is my office, which is nearly as boring ... And, finally, saving the best till last ... My private suite, build with me in mind ...'

Pushing the door open, what was within was as stunning as the rest of it. Painted through in arctic white, everything was in naval blue and royal grey. Plush carpet, an inch thick, coated the floor, and, he was correct, the bed was massive, with a small locker located on each side. Even with its fitted wardrobes, vast en-suite shower room, and expensive couch and armchairs, there was still plenty of space to swing a small whale. Yes, Lizzy liked it. No, rephrase that. Lizzy loved it.

'... So, ya happy with the old vessel then, are you, darling?' was asked, as they wandered back to the main cabin.

Lizzy dropped into soft spot, with extra cushions, as she gushed, 'Simon, yes, I am, and very much so, she's gorgeous, inside and out ... What would you be prepared to take for her, my life savings?' she chuckled, finishing yet another glass, not that Simon cared, as more made them merrier.

'Well, if you marry me, I'll give her to you as a wedding present, and you can even change her name too, if you don't like it, of course,' Simon quickly slipped into their conversation, just to see what her reaction might be.

'... Don't say things like that, Simon, you could start something you can't stop ... And with all this free flowing wine, well, you might get an answer you're not expecting,' she giggled in reply, playing her part perfectly.

Hook, line, and every sinker on that boat, that was how far Simon had already sunk. Every time he looked at her, he did it again, and again. He was unable to stop it, it was its own force, pushing him further and further down, into the deep depths of an ocean called Love.

'... Lizzy ... I'm sorry, but I have to say this ... I have to, really ...'

Sinking into the seat beside her, he took their drinks and placed them on the low table before them. Gently taking her hand, he looked at her in the sweetest way, his eyes feasting on her elegant features.

'... Simon, what did I do, have I done something wrong? ... Please, tell me if I have.'

Smiling, he chuckled, 'No, you silly girl, you haven't done anything wrong, at all, ever ... Quite the contrary actually ... Lizzy, I know we haven't known each other that long, and have only been working together for a short while ... But...'

Looking at him, Lizzy was a little worried, not knowing what might be coming next on his list.

'... But, what, Simon, please, don't do this to me ...?'

Somehow he found the courage. It had been hiding in him someplace but, just when he really needed it, there it was.

'... Lizzy ... I love you ... There, I've said it ... And, I want to marry you ... And I want us to have lots of babies ... And I want to be with you for the rest of my life ... If you'll have me, that is?'

Almost blushing, he turned away, fearing he may have said too much already.

'Oh, Simon ... Simon ...Yes, I'll marry you, and we will have heaps of babies, wall to wall, and we'll live happily ever after in our mansion by the sea ... Yes, yes, and yes, again ... Yes ...'

Their kissing started on the sofa, hot and urgent, as if a fire was lit beneath them both. Once her red dress was dropped to the cabin floor, and Simon copped a full view of the real Lizzy Sturton, he fell in love all over again. Her body was full and curvaceous, and her shape a work of art.

Lifting from his seat, Simon scooped her up into her arms, and walked the path to the end of the short corridor. Once through the open door, she was tossed onto the bedspread, to watch while he stripped naked. Their time taken around the whole room, couch included, was a whirlwind affair, which hit all those spots that needed scratching. Simon was the happiest man alive, and Lizzy was getting everything she wanted, and more.

After their fourth round of mattress manoeuvres, Simon snored as Lizzy waited with her eyes to the ceiling. When she was sure he was out for the count, she slid from her warm space to make for the door. The bed's movement disturbed him, so he rolled, a lazy half turn, with his eyes still shut.

'... Where ya going, honey?' was dreamily asked, although he was no way awake.

'... Just to the loo, sugar-bear ... I'll be back in a tick ... Go to sleep,' was a whispered lie, as she started humming a soft tune to herself.

Her answer had been enough for Snoring Simon. As he sank back into his delirium, he returned to his wonderful world of Luscious Lizzy, with her auburn hair and her big green eyes. The vision he was seeing behind his closed lids was their wedding day and, if it all went to plan as in that dream, it was going to be one hell of a shindig.

Exiting the quiet room, Lizzy looked at the doors before her. Opening the one she required, she gained access to the biggest galley office ever created. Dropping her naked frame into the chair, as quietly as possible, she listened for any signs of movement. When happy, she turned the computer on and waited as it booted itself up.

In the next ten minutes she did what was required of her and, before Simon rolled over to find her space empty, she was back between the sheets, snuggling up to the man who she had agreed to marry. As to whether she would actually make it up that aisle, was yet to be seen, but, with her three tasks finally completed, she would enjoy playing the part while it lasted. After all, it was a very nice yacht, and Simon was loaded and had excellent taste, even though he was a total knob throughout all the hours he was awake.

'... Hi, James, Cait, you guys still here? ... Just as well I turned up then, isn't it?' Hensley chuckled, crash landing next to them, also behind the barricade created, by him, for their use.

'Where the fluke did you come from, and what the hell are you doing here?' Cait barked, 'You're not meant to be in here, doing this, you're meant to be out there, watching over me, Hens ...'

Cait could not believe her poor eyes, but there he was, joining in.

James looked at her and smiled, 'Hens?'

'Yes,' she quickly replied, 'we're old friends, go back years, he's like a part-time parent to me ... He's one of the first Top Techs who does the updates on me, repairs my dented bits, keeps me running at top speed, and you didn't know that? ... Oh, well, ya learn something new every day,' was then quickly grinned.

'I had to come, you needed help, so Lizzy sent me in on her pass codes from my base at home, she's a good girl ... I heard you were in a spot of bother, so thought I'd show my face, just to see if I could help ... And it looks like I was right,' he chuckled, looking towards the beach.

As the tide rolled in, so did they, one after another, weapon after mechanical weapon. The war-bots were an insane collective, ready for anything, and programmed to kill on sight. One hit was all it took, to render one contained in a mindless hell, spinning in an empty void, surrounded by lots of nothingness.

No way could they reach the door, even if they could find it. Before that was even possible, they would have to think fast to create something that would bide them some time.

'... Oh, and there's the bad news now,' Hensley sadly murmured. 'Sorry, but he's sending them all in, everything he's got ... He knows you're here too, James, and I tried to find you earlier, but you kept blocking my channel thinking I was a spy-bot ... There's too much to explain now, but Lizzy has all the details and the files copied, including the ones Riley wanted ...'

Ducking, briefly, as something whined overhead to take out half the barn, Hensley breathed a loud sigh of relief before continuing

'So, anyway ... As I was saying, we passed them over to him this morning ... He said hi and thanks for the heads up ... The door's not over the lake anymore, we moved it this morning, first thing ... Lizzy changed most of Simon's original orders ... And Sadie put something else in place, which I hope she pulls off, we could sure do with it right now ... Looking at that little lot ...'

Twenty, maybe thirty, as tall as tractors with girders for arms, they stormed the land, heading towards their reinforced hide.

'So, what's the plan, Hens?' James then asked, looking at the young man at his side, 'Or are you the rescue party?'

Pushing his specs back up his nose, he half grinned, as his eyes darted from one face to the other.

'Arh, well, that's the thing ... There is a high possibility there is a resolve to our current situation, but I'm not sure how likely that might be, or how soon, looking at it head-on ...'

'What does that even mean?' Cait snapped, watching what was crashing their way towards them, noisily.

'It means ... Now, you go ... Go on, I'll distract them, you shift yourselves, don't wait for me, I'll be okay, promise ... I help build those bloody things, if I don't know where to shoot them, who does?' he chuckled.

Her face collapsed as her voice softened, and what was he saying, was he mad?

'But, Hensley, you're a really rubbish shot ... I've seen you shoot and my horses could do better, please, don't do this, come with us ... We can all leave together before they get here, please.'

There was sorrow in her cyber-soul as her words tumbled from her, the same as being wounded fatally but without the blood down her torso. Suddenly, her visual sensors blurred a little, and a very strange sensation took hold. Warm and wet, running down her pale cheeks, what was that, where they tears?

'... Arh, Cait, my little Cait, look at you, all grown up, and as I have aged, you have blossomed ... I'm so proud of you, you're very special to me, you always have been ... May I just say, before you go, it's been a real pleasure working on your codes ... Be good,' he softly replied, gently stroking her cheek, before reloading his mighty hand cannon. Turning away, he smiled, 'Wow, I've always wanted to do that,' as he made himself ready to move.

Staying in a crouch, Hensley shuffled along to the end of their only cover, the outer shell of which was taking a right pounding. It would never hold long enough to survive, and there was no standing up against that force, it was beyond mere Sims such as them.

'... Hensley ... NO ...'

Before Cait had a chance to catch hold of him, he ran from behind the plated panel, letting off a few shots as he ran across the front lawn. Heading towards the cottage, they turned their attention directly on him, load, take aim, fire. As once blast of fire incinerated the ground behind his running heels, another screamed through the air to reduce most of the building to dust.

Whilst trying to run around that crater, towards the furthest point of escape, Cait shouted at him, her words almost lost to the deafening thunder in the air.

'... Where's the door? ... Where's the fluking door?'

Turning to reply, it was the last move he made.

'... Hensley, NO ... Behind you ... BEHIND YOU ...'

Hearing the power-up, he knew his fate. The young man took the full force of the headshot, landing on the ground in a heap, before fading from the game, with his mind stolen away from inside his skull. Lost in a tornado of turmoil, there was little they could do for him. He was in a fortified maze with no way out, trapped inside his mind-wipe nightmare. The damage could be reversed, but not right then, they had far more important problems to worry about, and ones that were right on their doorstep, literally.

'Leave him, Cait, we have to go ... NOW ...'

'But where, where do we go? ... We don't know where the fluking door it, James, so, what do we do now? ... We can't go running in sodding circles, they'll kill us before we make the lake?

Just as she aired her horror to him, his eyes slowly moved towards the water, as another swell travelled towards the land. Something was causing a high tide, which was wrong in nature alone, as if more bad news was following behind the first batch.

'... Well, Saints preserves us, look at that ... She did it, Sadie bloody did it, old Hensley said she could, bless him, and she fluking did ...'

They came as an army, hundreds of her, from the waters, deep and dark. Up behind and over, clawing and ripping at cables and cords, tearing at links and smashing off limbs. The war-bots were overrun, threefold, swamped in a sea of C-C-6 technology, the sight quite a thing to see. The ratings, and show hits, trebled in five minutes flat, as the carnage continued on the coastline.

'... Let them go, that's what they're here for, to be you, your replicas, ones they can track and torture, till death do them part ... They're all programmed to go through that door, to fight the good fight ... They're decoys, so you can escape the turmoil, once and for all ...'

'So who built them then, Hensley?' she questioned, watching the battle before her.

'No,' he chuckled, 'I sort of did, but not that army, Sadie and Riley are responsible for that little lot ... But, originally, yes, the idea was mine ... I must admit, I was a bit cheeky, I left a massive clue for Sadie in one of her reruns, and she's put it to good use too, looking at that chaos,' he laughed, grabbing her hand. Looking over at her, as his expression suddenly softened, he said, 'Come on, this way ... I think I might know where he put that door, the sly old dog ... And one guess what he's been watching ...'

Having no idea what James was on about she followed along, not looking back at the lost cottage or the cratered meadow and field. The wood was levelled, shortly after she wished the cyber-horses away from the horror of it all, into her world, to roam free along with her own.

Hearing that awful noise get quieter and quieter, Cait was more than happy to go anywhere but the lakeside. If the door was up a mountain, then fine, so be it, and she never minded a climb, anything to get away from what was being dismantled, piece by shiny piece, back there.

Taking one last look behind her, she watched as the last of the sunlight bounced off the lake, her way of closing the ending shot. The game was over. Or was it? Her leaving through a door should be it, but escaping that side of it, that was her main plan.

With James by her side, there had been hope, and with Hensley appearing there had been a great loss. Things had to change. Her life was no way to lead an existence. It was all too close to home for her, and she didn't like it anymore, it wasn't fun as in the early days. By then, it was just another battle, or another level, one more nasty routine, one she really despised.

When they came to a stop, she looked round to the sound of water. Both of them smiled, but only James spoke.

'... Riley ... He put our exit behind the waterfall feed, so no one would find it hiding there, the quick thinking hero ... So, fancy a dip, darling?' he chuckled, leading her off towards the swimming pond, as the sun set, and another chapter closed on the cyber-space saga.

Panic, that was the best word to describe the feeling rushing around most of the bodies that worked for, and with, Synchro-Switch Direct. Things were changing without the proper orders from above, and Simon was nowhere to be seen. The departmental heads were spinning in their seats, hoping a solution could be found, their nails gnawed to knuckles. If nothing was forthcoming, there was only one resolve, and that was to terminate the whole show-game.

Griff Matthews was next in command, answering only to Hensley, and he was panicking at a far more advanced level than anyone else in the office or lab. Nearly having a mind-wipe, without a headset in place, he had walked into a dire shiz-storm with an added arse-aching.

There were a zillion shouts of bad news, all of which were happening in various places, but two were more worrying than all the others. Not only had the Big Boss, Simon Reedman, vanished off the face of the planet, but so had young Hensley himself. Lost, no, panicking, which Griff did well, from lab to office and then back again, several times, whilst almost on the edge of tears.

'... Sadie, Sadie, thank heavens you're here,' he nearly cried, as she swept in through the security door, just as she used to every other morning at six. 'I was hoping you'd get my message ... All hell has let loose, help me ... Please,' he pleaded, over the loud countdown announcement, whilst dropping into a vacant chair, sweaty and exhausted already.

'... Griff, where the fluke is Simon and Hens? ... And switch those bloody alarms off, we'll wake the sodding Board ... What's going on in here, have you lost the stream or something?' she demanded, ripping her coat off and heading for the mainframe setup, located in the heart of the huge spread of laboratory.

Not bothering with her lab coat, she only had a certain amount of time to enter her security clearance codes before show time was over, permanently. As part of the security wraparound system, which was originally installed to prevent the corruption of channels, it had an automatic switch-off process.

If there was an open threat, such as exposed super-links and main feeds, it left the whole system vulnerable to being stolen right from under their noses. That also included all of Cait's blueprints, every second of her recorded and archived material, all her show-game levels, her stats, and the Restricted Access copies to her Cyber Integrated Automated Technology.

Wedged under that same extended umbrella was another issue that posed an ever bigger problem. S.S.D. viewers, shareholders and employees alike, had access to an online storage area. Under the name CISS (Centrally Integrated Storage System – pronounced Kiss), a million people countrywide, uploaded all their personal reruns, memory slots, and even their Cyber-babe encounters.

Through that one open door it was possible to get enough blackmail material, on enough high-profile dignitaries in the city, so you could happily retire, never to work again. If you decided to not go the blackmail route, which would make the most credits, there was always The Nation's Press.

They loved a good story, and paid pretty well, especially if it had a thread attached worth following. Those files held a vast quantity of famous faces all in rather naughty positions. The Press paid five hundred platinum credits per hit, which wasn't to be sniffed at. Even more if you had thousands of hot feeds stashed away for a rainy day, all with a celebrity's face in them, which most did.

A lot of people would pay for Cyber-babe reruns too, especially if they had a famous face plastered in place, with a hot bod, doing lewd moves. Sometimes the body casting was so perfect, some were confused as to whether it was the real person or not. Looking at the features, in all different positions, and under various light settings, there was no way of knowing, and even more so if it was the creation of one particularly excellent Cyber-babe Builder.

'... I don't know where they are, no one's seen them all evening, plus I haven't heard from either of them, even after sending them both about a hundred messages each ... Funny, but I was gonna ask you if you knew anything ... And, no, the streams fine ... It's everything else that's going balls to the wall, Sadie ...'

With the clever young lady on board again, everything was pulled into shape, slowly but surely. After twenty minutes, the shutdown had been cancelled and the facility brought back under control.

Silence, no more alarms, no computer voice stating the obvious, and no more running and panicking for Griff. As the colour bled back into his face, and his heart rate calmed itself down, he sighed, hugging Sadie to his side.

'Okay, what ya fancy, all drinks on me? Whatever it is, you get a bloody double after that, thank you so very, very much ... You really have saved my life, I hope you know that ... If this lot had gone into shutdown, Simon would have chopped my head clean off, using that fire axe over there, probably, knowing him,' he tried to smile, dabbing the sweat from his worried brow with a white paper napkin, as he nodded towards the one in the sealed glass case, hung on the wall by the door.

'Nobody's going to kill anyone around here, Griff, not tonight, not ever,' Sadie replied, as she looked around the quiet room, while the night shift took a well-earned break. 'Look, leave this with me ... I'll track Simon, and, or Hens down, and see what the hell the two of them are playing at ... Word of warning though, all Cait's previous footage has been ripped off already ... But, for my arse's sake, not a word to anyone, and Simon's at the top of that list, okay, or he'll be taking that axe to me too ... I've just installed a fresh copy from home, so that's one mess covered up ... As to locating my useless brother, that's gonna be my biggest problem ...'

Silence again, as Griff walked off to get her double scotch, as promised, and left her to browse through the files again, checking for any inconsistencies. Upon his return, she had several things highlighted, things she wanted to pass under his nose.

'... Arh, thanks, Griff you're a star turn ... Just a quick question, have you checked through Cait's play-level list tonight? ... I'm only asking because of all the recent changes made to the original platforms ... These aren't the ones I emailed over to Simon yesterday, built with the show-game finale in mind, these are completely different ... Looking at the ip address though, they all lead straight back here, back to this office ... Don't you find that strange?' Sadie queried, before taking a few small sips from her half full glass.

From first word to full stop, it seemed they were going nowhere, superfast. Suddenly, with an instant brain-flash, a bright idea illuminated her darkest corner of hope.

'... Griff,' she exploded, 'bring up the finale on the monitor, now ... We're missing something here, and I have a really bad feeling about it ...'

Doing as he was asked, the remote was pushed and the channel popped up, showing them the change in orders. Amazed at the carnage being caused, on a small island in a big lake, Sadie went very quiet and very pale. Watching in horror, the scene was a bombsite, cratered and ripped to pieces. Clones of Cait were shredding war-bots into chunks of scrap, as the trees burnt and the pretty meadow with them.

Nearly in tears, Sadie lifted from her seat, and finished her drink in three big mouthfuls. Turning to Griff she spoke, her sad face turning away.

'... Okay, I'm done here, and thanks for the drink, Griff ... I'll leave you to it, and if the boys do appear, please, ask one of them to call me ... Everything else is now in your hands ... I've seen enough for one night ... I'm outta here,' was sort of shrugged but, as smiles go, it was pretty watery.

Her copter took her home, from roof to roof, no traffic and no people, just how she liked it. Ryan was away, getting some family time, so the car was out of action until he reappeared. Ropey, well, he was working in the home lab, doing what Ropey did best, building stuff.

There was no mistaking the sound, or vibrations through the whole building, when it did finally touch down. Making his way up to meet her, he was at the door on her arrival, holding it open. Sadly, instead of his usual kiss and hug, she marched straight passed him, throwing her bag onto the couch in a rather angry manner.

'... Tell me the truth, NOW, and don't you dare lie to me,' she barked, as she turned on him, her face livid. '... Did you, or did you not, change the orders to the show-game levels for the finale?'

Stopping where he was, Ropey watched her as she paced to the bar and poured herself a large shot. Throwing it down her throat, another one was consumed straight after it.

'... Tell me, NOW ... Before I chuck this fluking bottle at you ... Did you change the orders, and release the C-C-6s into tonight's edition? ... DID YOU? ... You have five seconds and counting ...'

'... Five ...'

'Sadie, I don't know what you're talking about ...'

'... Four ...'

'Sadie, I'm asking you nicely ... Please ...'

'... Three ...'

'Sadie... Don't look at me like that ...'

'... Two ...'

'Sadie, if you do, you'll waste that really good plonk ... Is it worth it?'

'... One ... Time's up, loser ...'

Lifting it, shoulder height, her hand was ready to deploy her flying scotch bottle, contents included.

'... Sadie ... What do you want me to say here?'

Lifting the scotch higher, and threatening him again, she nearly screamed, '... THE TRUTH ... For once in your pathetic life, James bloody Riley ... Yes, I know who you are after tonight ... Go on, tell me then ... Tell me what your version of the pretend truth is ... I dare you ...'

His hands lifted with the palms facing her. There was nothing left, she had him.

'Okay, okay ... Yes, it was me, mostly ... I changed a majority of the orders I didn't like, and some of the levels too ... I did it using my old S.S.D ip address ... It was the only thing they let me keep, after they fired me for trying to steal my own bloody project back ... I didn't know what else to do, and I had to do something ... They're slowly killing my finest Cyber-chick ever ... Cait's too special, and in so many different ways ... I just couldn't let it happen, not anymore ...'

Taking a seat at his confession, Sadie tried to take it all in.

'So, you're the one who created her, not Simon, she's your baby, not his? So, all the other changes, were they you too?' she asked, at last calming down, with her drink in one hand and the bottle still in the other.

'Yes, she is my baby, but, no, not all of them,' he replied, dropping into a seat across from her. 'Some I did, some were Hensley's doing, under my instruction, but still using the same ip address, the one with all the corruption-bots surrounding it ... I had to do it, I'm so sorry, Sadie ...'

'Okay, so, where is Hensley and Simon, do you know?' she then asked, hoping there might be an answer to that enquiry that she would be happy with.

'Well, as far as I know ... Hens is at home, cruising online ... His tag is still up on his profile page, so he's spending the night playing by the looks of it, because he hasn't answered my calls or emails ... So whatever he's at, it's longwinded ... Maybe he's working on something big and doesn't want to be disturbed ... You know how he gets sometimes, locked away in his playroom, buried to his eyeballs in the net ...'

He paused as he leant over and took the bottle from her, drinking it straight from the open top.

'And, Simon ... Haven't got a clue ... He could be anywhere, and is probably with the lovely Lizzy as we speak ... Really, I don't know and care less, sorry, love,' he finished, before taking another large gulp.

'Great ... You've caused untold damage, in ways I have no idea of finding and mending, and Hensley has gone AWOL while my stupid brother is bouncing on a comfy bed someplace, most likely his yacht's ...'

For a long day, it had been pretty pants for Sadie. Glad that it was nearly at an end, she looked at her tired fiancé, and smiled in an easy feeling sort of way.

'Blimey, I just thought ... I really hope The Board don't get wind of this ... That could cause a few rumpled feathers in lots of high places, couldn't it, Simon's along with all the others?'

That was a random thought, but valid, with The Board, sat up on high, watching from their golden tower, there, but never seen.

'Ooh, yes, now that showdown I would pay good credits to see ... Round one, Randy Reedman versus The Board ... Wow, I can see that on every Home-Link system in the city, can't you? ... That would pull the punters in and make some very good watching,' Ropey sort of laughed, knowing it wasn't really that funny.

'Well,' Sadie sighed, just loud enough to get her feelings expressed, 'I'm done for today and, really, I don't care where they are ... I just hate that they didn't turn up when they were needed ... Just seems odd, that's all ...'

Ropey's beamed reply to that was, 'But you know what they're like, the pair of them ... Hensley's fallen asleep on his desk at home, and Simon's partying with whoever ... Forget them, there's nicer things to think about ... You're the hero, they're a zero ... Think of it like that, I would, my lovely little sweetness ...'

It sounded good to Sadie, so she could work with that, forgetting the losers in life.

'So, spill your guts, Mister, because I'm dying to know ... How come our secret island appeared in the final show-game? ... Did you build that for S.S.D too?' was asked, as she finished her glass and placed it on the low table.

'... What, as their final show's scenery? ... No one else has seen that place, not outside you and my family ... It couldn't be our island, that's impossible,' he barked, nearly blowing his own fuse.

By his reaction to her news, it suggested he had no idea that location had been fed in as the final destination showground. A look of terror crossed his face, which passed as a tide, to rise and all, the colour in his cheeks with it.

'Well, it was,' she snapped back, 'and I saw it burning to the ground, up on the monitor, large as life ... Some of it was slightly different, I'll admit, as with the buildings and the layout, but the plan was identical, even to where the lodge sits in its plot ... I was so angry at you but, now I realise it wasn't down to you, so I'm so sorry, darling, please forgive me ...'

Although she started out sounding nearly as upset as when she got home, by the end of her words, Sadie had softened some, her pretty face too.

'I'm sorry too, sweetheart,' he replied, looking over at her, 'but if you have to blame anyone, blame your stupid brother ... His disastrous fingerprints are all over this, so much so, I can virtually smell that bloody awful aftershave of his from here ...'

Knowing he was somehow right, she didn't argue, she was way too tired.

'Yeah, you're right, I know you're so right,' she conceded, resting her face in her hands, in search of some small relief.

'Yeah,' he echoed, with a bit of a grin faintly showing, 'I know I'm right too, but, for you, I so hope I'm totally wrong ...'

Silence for a moment, as their words slowly dried up, and sleep washed in over weary brainboxes. Only Ropey had something to say, which he said quietly, not wanting to dispel the sudden calm.

'... Oh, here's something, which I forgot to tell you because of everything that's been happening ... Some good news, if you'd like to hear it, of course?' was smiled from his pale face, turning to look out over the land in darkness.

'... Oh, please,' she sighed, hoping it was what she hoped to hear. 'I could do with some, and anything, right now, would be truly uplifting ...'

More quiet, just a few breaths, and then his declaration out loud.

'Honey ... I won the lottery ...'

Was she listening, was she, really?

'... Okay ... That's nice,' she mumbled, hardly there at all, lost in a dream.

'... Sadie, wake up ... I need your help ... I think I've got something stuck in my hand ... Take a look for me, please ... It could be a big splinter ...'

Dragging herself from her comfy stop, she tumbled towards him, her feet hardly moving. Landing in a heap beside him, she grabbed his right hand and started trying to focus on it, which she was having difficulty doing.

'... Tell me where then, I can't see anything?' was babbled out, as she twisted and turned. 'Are you sure it's a big splinter, and it's in this hand, ya reckon?'

'Sorry, no, that's the wrong hand, silly me, you want this hand ... And, now you mention it, I don't think it's a big splinter after all,' he smiled, in the most gorgeous of ways.

Bringing his fisted hand round from behind his back, he slowly sank to the floor on one knee. Looking up at her perched on the edge of her seat, he spoke, his voice soft but serious.

'... No, Sadie, it's not a splinter, honey ... But it's definitely this hand ...'

As his fingers unfurled, resting there in his palm, was her engagement ring, with its big diamond twinkling in the overhead light. He didn't really need to ask again, having proposed once already, but he did anyway, because he wanted to.

'... Sadie Elizabeth Reedman, you are the love of my life ... Will you marry me? ... And I'd be most honoured if you say yes, again ...'

Cait stood at the window, looking into the dawn light, a sheet wrapped around her naked frame. Her scruffy blonde hair fell in curls to brown shoulders as she took in the start of the day to come. The soft bellowing silence sliced a calm sigh across the love warmed room, a comfortable feeling, stable and controlled.

She leant against the wall as her face, half lit, slowly glanced back at the mound in her bed. Its rhythmic breathing was the only sound above the droning in her ears. As her eyes rested upon the peaceful face, she smiled, the first of her day. But, though that smile lingered there, she knew she was set to leave. Her day was not to be one of love made between the sheets. Her's came with a whole different label. She was about to finish the bedlam that the Powers That Be started. Today was do or die.

Walking the vast marble hallway in long, determined strides, she carried the look of a high class rock star, black kid leather gloves, the tinted shades, long leather coat with its collar up, as always. She could have looked like one of the executives, if it hadn't been for the thigh length red and black striped socks and black miniskirt. Three inch heels pointed off uber long legs, and every male she passed had to do a double take.

Clearance with security was a piece of piss. She flashed the fake ID she'd assimilated. It worked like a dream. Through the gates she slipped, and gone, stalking towards the sweeping staircase and the lifts.

Simon became quiet as he walked into his, almost, empty penthouse cyber-office and caught sight of the familiar looking girl sat behind his desk. Suddenly the room didn't feel so warm. He turned to leave, but she flicked the switch so the doors locked shut behind him.

'Well, Simon,' she smiled, resting back into the luxurious leather chair. 'Seems you've been a very naughty boy and caused all sorts of nightmares. Have you got anything to say for yourself?'

She looked over at him as her feet came up to rest on the glass top, her fingers linking behind her head.

'They saw you come in here, they'll know you're here ... And they'll be here any minute.'

The panic started in his voice as he moved to stand with his back to the fabric wall, his hands grasping together, face paling and sweat appearing.

'... Urh, no, they didn't and, no, they won't ... They're all being evacuated as we speak, so it's just you and me, nice and cosy ... Because technology, Simon, is a very wonderful thing ... See, I might be some fluked up fighting machine, but I'm also a hell of a whizz when it comes to technology ... So, I've already wiped out the entire security network, and communications link, into this whole building ... And that was just from sending a silly coded message. Amazingly, the internet still works here ... We can still receive and send messages all around the world, so don't look so worried ... Look, I'll show you ... I'm was about to send one, after we have our little chat ...'

Her blue eyes twinkled from below lowered brows as she smiled with a catlike purr.

'What do you want? Do you want credits? Is that it?'

He spat the words at her, as if spitting out pips, his face collapsing.

She laughed, 'No, Simon ... I don't want your credits ... I'm loaded in my own right ... What I want is your permanent resignation ...'

Her feet swung down, as she finished her words, with her elbows on the desk, and a very serious expression on her face.

'What do you mean by permanent resignation? Over what?' he demanded, as his hands twitched at speed again.

'First ... I want you to resign from Office, with immediate effect, after confessing to what you did. You've broken most of our Moral State Laws in lots of lethal-injection ways, did you know that? The installing of bedroom spy-bots breaks several of them, all at once ... Then, after you've cried your way through that little lot, I'd like you to explain to me, and that camera up there, how you thought you could do it and then think you'd get away with it ... What gave you the right to go into anyone's world and taint it with your greedy little, credit counting fingers, Simon?'

Her eyes never left his draining face as she watched his features slide.

'Christ, what is wrong with you? You sound like you're melting a mainframe, you dippy dope-drive ... Listen to yourself, you're burning out, losing a fuse ... You come in here, talking utter garbage ... Who are you anyway? You're nothing, nothing ... Just a bunch of numbers to crunch then erase ... You don't hold any power over me ... Even if I did know what the fluke you were talking about ...'

As he spoke, Cait calmly turned in the large leather chair and picked up the remote control. Lifting it before her, and checking she had the right button, she pressed it, to watch as the wall of wood parted to reveal a huge monitor. He caught her actions as he continued ranting, his confusion evident as he looked over at her.

'... I'll have you terminated for this, you dozy bitch, no one can save you now ... And I'll make sure they delete the core programme ... With what I have at my fingertips, you'll rot in some rank cyber-cell being someone's little piece of cyber-snatch ...'

Once the screen was visible, Cait looked for the play button. Her eyes slowly moved round to Simon as she pressed it.

'... Yeah, and with what I have on you ... Well, see for yourself,' she smiled, all sweetness and light.

There, in vivid audio surround-sound and perfect pixels, was the rerun. The things that woman did with that bloke, the ecstasy reached, the lust she induced, physically, as she screwed him near senseless, all over her house. In that moment, Simon was treated to a collection of snippets from his own feed, the one that had belonged to his very own server, which was never deleted and was forever filed as a trophy. How the hell had it got there?

'... I've never seen that before in, my, life ... Oh, fluking hell, is that Ryan, naked? ... Turn it off ... turn it off ... NOW ...'

Simon shouted that last word for a reason, a familiar face had appeared, one he'd known for a long, long time.

'... So, is that how you get off then, by downloading people while they're using your servers to have Cyber Sexbot relations, so you can sell it on maybe, when you're strapped for a few credits? Make a little on the side, do we, mmm? ... I'm sorry, Simon, but I sure as hell wouldn't want to see that across your Mother's internal Home-Link, would you? ... Romeo and Juliette, didn't you do that play at school? ... And it's a bit sick, too, isn't it, considering you're spying on your little sister?'

Simon hated her with every inch of his body, to the very core, and through his very bones and further.

'... Get out ... GET OUT NOW... I know who's behind this, and they'll all regret it when I pound their fluking heads in with my bare fists ... And take that, that, that sickening trail of filth with you ... I deny everything, you hear me ... EVERYTHING,' he screeched, nearly bursting his own neural-link wide open with a seizure.

Stuck there, unable to drop out from the thread, he was held captive, trapped, and, just like her on any of her Hunter Platforms, he had no way of escaping the chain, not even via a hidden red door. Whoever had stung him had stung him good and stitched him up proper, in all possible ways. Maybe he'd find them, or maybe they'd show themselves in time, either way, they were so dead.

His hand lifted to wipe his mouth. Suddenly there was no moisture to his lips. Turning, Simon panicked at the door, but his feeble shouts were lost to the three inch insulated laminated wood.

'... GET ME THE FLUKE OUT OF HERE ... NOW ... BEFORE SHE KILLS ME ...'

Cait waited, turning the manly groans down to a deep rumble in the background.

'I'm not going to kill you, you sad loser ... Calm down, will you, please?' she softly smiled across at the vision of confusion before her.

Turning the infuriating images off, she sat with her feet back up on the desk, comfy again, while he ranted at the locked door. Eventually he turned and walked along the bookcase, running his hand along the eyelevel shelf.

'... You're not going to kill me? I thought that was why you were here ... You kill most that move ... Why not kill me too, why let me live?'

She almost laughed, 'Simon, you're not going to live ... Just because I'm not going to kill you, doesn't mean to say you're not going to die ... And not everyone's demise is down to my hand, I'm hurt by that accusation ... I have been known to let the odd one go, but only ever the one ... Though that is very rare, I'll give you that ...'

Simon paled once more, his face a swarm of bees all trying to escape.

'... So, who's going to kill me then? ... No one around here has balls big enough to take on that task ... They haven't the guts, none of them ... And neither have you ...'

As she slowly smiled, she slowly raised the pistol towards him.

Stepping away from her, he shook his head quickly, his fear evident in the way he trembled.

'No ... No, I won't do it ... I'll kill you before I kill myself ...'

'But, Simon, you don't understand, you're on the verge of your own downfall ... What you are in possession of is about to explode in your face ... It's gonna hurt you, so much, really, and in a very painful way and most probably permanently ... You don't need me to kill you ... You're already dead ...'

She raised the remote, one last time, and flicked the screen back on. As his eyes turned in the direction of hers, he saw the send message icon flashing in the corner, all signed off on his ip address, and on its way to all Board Members, code-holders, news channels, and every media slot, everywhere.

'What you see here is Divine Intervention ... Your latest showcase has just gone global with the push of a button, and I mean global, London, Milan, New York, even Tokyo ... The world is about to see the kind of cretin they leave in charge of safeguarding the Public's most inner secrets, and how they spend their time when not shuffling paper, or themselves ... Simon, darling, as they say ... You are indeed screwed ... Because all of it, and I mean everything, it all leads right back to you ...'

She smiled as she stood, taking the remote from the desk where she'd found it. The silence was disturbed only by the gibbering coming from the broken mess sat in the corner, the one watching his life go down the pan. Walking over, she looked down at him, his tear streaked face, his mean eyes, the large lips and pale features.

Dropping the remote onto his hunched up knees, she almost felt sorry for the poor twit. It was all on him, and all done by his own hand.

'How could people be so vain about their abilities?' she smirked, turning back to the large desk. 'I worked it out in the end, you were worried James would steel me away, along with all those credits, that's why you kept throwing him into my line of fire ... If he died, game over, no more worries for you ... Only, he created his own way in, and everything he required to smuggle me out ... But, he rode the chain and found me, despite the challenges you threw up, time after time, which must have really fluked you off, big time ... And he's so good at doing that, wouldn't you agree? ... Plus he had some help on the inside, more than you'll ever know ... That's another benefit to humping one of the good guys ... He helped me shaft a pussy like you ...'

She sat on the desk's edge and watched the loop of images on the screen across from her, then down at the pile of trash quietly weeping in the corner.

'What amazed me most was you'd already applied to have me decommissioned, which I thought was rather rude, myself, considering how much I was making for both you and The Board, and why, when that seemed to be the case?'

Paperclip and a pen, that's what she played with, but with her full focus still on the sulking Simon.

'Basically ... It all comes down to what you think I know ... Maybe there are secrets I hold but don't know about, maybe they were slipped into my super-links, or hidden within my matrix somehow ... That's why you wanted rid of me, and because of my growing relationship with the one man you hated more than any man alive ... James ...'

Silence, Simon kept his mouth shut. Some of it was true, some of it was false, but he would admit to nothing. Still staking his claim in the corner, his guilt would seem a heavy burden upon anyone else's shoulders but, to Mister Reedman, it was mere water off the back of a good quality wax shooting jacket.

'... You must have been so fluked off when you realised you couldn't terminate me, and that you never could, but you didn't know that back then, did you? ... When you armed the codes you had, not only did the executives get their spring water supply, but it also sent a thread to Riley, confirming your intentions ... Even better, I was informed at the same time ... And that's when my feed was connected straight into yours, ip address attached ... So, Simon, here I am, and it's lovely to finally meet you ... How are the ratings, by the way? ... I bet you three million credits they're on the rise, right now ... What do you think? Have I topped my targets with another world record maybe?'

She looked at the feebly sad thing she already despised, her contempt evident on her face.

He spluttered as he spoke, stuttering and trying to jabber without gasping all the time. Inside, his chest hurt too, a deep ache, and it tore him up.

'... I, I, I didn't realise you were actually going to let him in, not like that, not that fluking far, you dizzy bint ... He wasn't supposed to crash the party, he was never part of the plan, never, he just ended up adding to the thrill ... I never thought he'd go back for more, not after his first nosebleed anyway ...'

He took a breath, mainly to swallow, but then there was more, the pause soon over.

'... You two, together, like that, pretending to shack up as a couple ... What the fluke were you thinking, you stupid megabyte, that it might last a lifetime? ... You were meant to do what you were meant to do ... It was voted in, by your viewers, to pop the stupid git in the head ... Code Name: Terminate, that was the order ... I know it was, because I typed it in the day before, and shouted it enough fluking times at your sodding monitor, you moron? ... And you call yourself clever ...!'

He almost chuckled at the end of his parade of acidly toned words, but it slowly turned into more crying, the huge tears rolling down his white face.

'I must admit ... I nearly did it, you nearly got me ... I had the gun to his head, after beating the hell out of him, and my finger was right there, twitching on the ready ...'

Cait looked down at her hand, curling the one that would have pulled the trigger.

'... But I didn't, because I realised I didn't have to, not even as you pushed through my new set of orders ... It still wasn't enough to make me to do it, no matter how hard you bashed away on your keyboard after gaining Total Access ... Something still stopped me, something inside, something in here, and something far more powerful than your shiz commands and dismal streak of pride ... That, Simon, is what I call power ... And right now ... Your father, and this whole world, is seeing how you flaunt yours ...'

Returning to her spot by the desk, she checked her handgun for ammo before laying it on the top. Locking her gloved fingers together before her, she looked over at the figure in the corner once more.

'... I have some advice for you,' she smiled. 'Do yourself a favour here ... Because if you don't ... I can't guarantee you'll leave this building as mentally stable as when you entered it ... If you're really lucky, which I'm hoping you're not, you'll end up like poor Hensley, trapped in your own little world, someplace nice and quiet, chasing your own tail for eternity ...'

His reply was a collection of inaudible mumblings and gasps through outbursts of tears. There was no help for him, he was sinking and sinking fast.

Taking her phone from her pocket, she sent two texts, the first to reinstate the use of lift number one, and the second went to Juliette Romeo, confirm present location. It bleeped back the answers she wanted to read.

'So, Simon Reedman, you've been a very foolish man, and what you created in me can never be forgiven or forgotten ... I will forever be looking for that red door, yet, I'm the lucky one, because I fought back and turned it around ... What you see, here, right now, I'm not what I was a year ago, and I hold you responsible for all those changes in me, and the lost minds of those blanked in the process of lining your pockets ...'

There was a loud sigh from Cait, her talking nearly done. Before she left, there was just one more thing she wanted to leave him with. After all, he did deserve a parting gift.

'... Oh, and all those wiped minds, they're down to you, Simon, and all the injuries the Gamers suffered at my hands, that's all your guilt also ... Yet you would still have everyone believe S.S.D. should inherit the earth ... Are you completely insane?' she chuckled, slowly rubbing her gloved hands together. '... And another thing, before we part for good ... It always amazes me how people, like you in particular, will go to any length to get their own way, just to make a few million extra credits, and usually at the expense of others ... You spoilt little sod ... See where it gets you? ... Like I always say ... Don't bite unless you're prepared to be bitten yourself ... You dick ...'

Calmly, she walked to the door, after switching the lock off and turning the sound up so he could hear the moans, nice and loud. Leaving the sack of misery to ponder his inevitable termination, the door was left open, as she made her way towards the waiting elevator.

She heard his shout and, turning, watched as he grabbed and pointed the gun at her, his face a mask of insane laughter and happiness.

'... Yeah ... There ya go, got you now, you dog-eared collection of useless digits ... Guess it's you who gets the pleasure of a bullet to the brain-box and not me ... See, you do lose, sometimes, and this seems to be one of those crappy times, bitch ... Well, you're winning streak is at an end now, darling ... Ha, you're so finished, yeah ... You ... And, right now ...'

Stepping backwards, towards the large window, to aim and fire was a really, really bad idea. As his hand came up, and his finger slipped onto the trigger, the crack of glass was heard before he dropped on the spot. He was taken out with a perfect head shot, from the adjacent building, to be plunged into a permanent, and very painful, brainstorm of his own making, one which he may never recover from. Seems she had managed to make a few friends in some very high places, and no surprises there.

'... Or ... Maybe not ...' she sweetly smiled, turning away from the fading body on the floor.

Walking back into the corridor, she stopped and turned to the open office door. Releasing her coat button, she took the explosives out, one at a time, from their inside pockets, and tossed them, a couple before her and a few around her, to walls, ceiling, and floor, smiling in her cute girly way.

She spun on her heels, making her way to the lift. Once in the basement, she walked to her car, whilst throwing a few more at the pillars, for added effect, before unlocking it and getting in.

There was still a huge queue trying to evacuate the underground car park, so, she simply buzzed up the outside, without a single person seeing her pass them by. Being one of the last to exit, she headed towards the nearest escape point, where she was then free to flee to a safer distance.

Cait didn't want to go too far, she didn't want to miss the next few minutes. Parking, so she could watch in comfort, she texted Code One. Within five minutes of that number being sent, those armed officers, who had gone it to clear all floors, were, in fact, hurriedly retreating. She waited until she was sure the building was completely empty of cops, the binoculars helping her with the random lip-reading.

She looked at her watch and waited till the reply message pinged through. Right on time, and just as expected, it magically arrived.

'... Time to go ... Chocks away, sweetheart x ...'

That's all she needed to read. Her fingers took her to reply. They then typed in a six digit code that was about to light up the day. With a trembling thumb, and a slow smile to her lips, she sent that baby home.

The next few seconds seemed to play in slow motion. As her blue eyes travelled from her phone up to the building before her, the world sort of moved below. Slowly blinking, as the top three floors made an immense noise, before exploding rubble rocketed in all directions imaginable, she grinned. The fire ball, thirty feet and climbing, ran the walls and roof, as floor after floor collapsed, one on top of the other.

The bodies below ran, purposely, like ants from builder's rain, cars and transits left as if abandoned toys. Paperwork, telephones, chairs, parts of workstations, it all fell as if litter to the streets below. The roar of the heat, enough to melt glass, sucked back in on itself before its final volley. Just as heads popped up over bonnets, the second explosion rendered everyone within a half mile radius a little more deaf. Only then did they realise the whole building was about to drop.

Loud rock music pounded in the warm air of the car. As Cait reversed, slowly, looking back, once. She witnessed the devastation that lies and deceit can cause. Wow, and didn't it make a lot of rubble too.

On the day before Christmas Eve, a Dr Trudy Winters walked the long, sanitary corridor to the interview room at the end. The subject was well medicated but still conscious. She took the seat opposite him and looked at her secret friend hiding in his tatty shell. A prime example of total recession, he almost seemed lost to the world around him.

When he finally realised someone was in the room with him, his head moved round slowly, eyes limply following. The once bright eyes sat in fading pools of pink, their life a memory being lived behind them. There was no expression, no emotion, nothing, just a head movement.

His eyes brightened slightly, his head taking on a new angle, as their eyes met across the desk. He sort of smiled. Her blue eyes were so pretty. He blinked, slowly, but didn't recognise the face, wearing glasses with hair scrapped up into a military bun. He didn't even focus on the fake ID she wore, the one they both knew how to simulate.

With his fingers clasped loosely in his lap, he sort of studied the woman opposite, sat quietly watching him, hands where you could see them. The diamond in the ring on her left one caught the glow from above and fractured it into a tiny rainbow. The way it coiled her finger reminded him of a dream he might have had once. Within a second it was gone, and he was wondering what he'd be having for dinner.

It was a sad thing to see. Hensley would be away from his family for Christmas, alone and surrounded by a collection of really odd Sims. His mother would miss him, she would cry her warm tears for him, and his father would be quiet for his loss, over a season not so jolly.

Cait looked at him and remembered all his help. He'd been so faithful, and so clever, the best friend ever on the inside, and so beautifully devious too. They would have made such a good team, him and her, but he had to go home, he just had to.

She knew it would never have been achieved without his knowledge and intelligence. He had backed her up every time she'd needed him, and not once had he faltered. As comrades go, he was near perfect. Shame he was really human.

With her head dropping slightly to one side, she spoke a single word into the silence.

'... Pandora ...'

His eyes lifted to her's again, they had suddenly focused, and he was straightening up, turning to face her at the table, his hands resting before him.

Cait had opened the box.

'Codename: Soldier Blue, we have a task for you ... You are to reinstate all previously disallowed memories since the night of your termination ... When given your final code word you will wait three hours before memory restoration ... By doing so, you will also release yourself from your current location ... Confirm if you comply, Soldier Blue ...'

'I hereby comply,' he quickly snapped.

'I am about to pass you a piece of paper with your code word written on it ... When you have read it, you must eat it and wait for it to be called ... Confirm if you comply ...'

Again he confirmed his acceptance.

Taking a small pad and pen from the breast pocket of her long white coat, Cait wrote it down and tore the rice paper slip from the bottom of the page. Folding it into four, she pushed it towards him.

His eyes followed as his hand moved to take it, the secret switch held within.

Once he had it in his fingers, he opened it, read it, and then pushed it into his mouth. Looking straight into her eyes, he chewed it to a mash and, in the next second, it was swallowed away.

She knew once that word was said it would finally release the poor sod from his living hell. Looking at it, she was doing a good thing, something she could be proud of, and it was a way of saying thank you to him, for all his help and hard work. Being left to wonder the empty halls of one's mind is a form of torture, taking away all one was and all one is, and hadn't there been enough of that lately.

Reaching her hand across the table top, her fingers gently patted the tanned arm. He had been a good egg, so she would never let it end like that, not for Hensley. All their years of contact, the things they had leant together, monitor to monitor, mind to mind. He meant as much to her as Sadie did, and if she was ever to have a Foster Father it would have been him.

She smiled, 'Goodbye, Hensley ... It's been a pleasure working with you ... Be safe ... End of transmission ... Pandora ...'

And so it slowly closed again, that little box in his mind, the one that held so much of him. With those few words, the light died in his eyes, as he drifted back into the dream he was having before.

Lunch or breakfast, he tried to remember which came next.

There was nothing left to see but the smile beaming from Cait's face, the tears stinging her eyes, and the sadness from her farewell. Slowly she rose, and taking her pad and pen, walked towards the door to press the exit bell.

Turning, for one last time, she looked back at the man that had eventually aided her in winning her biggest fight of all time. Giving him his life back seemed such a small gift, after all he had done for her. With that one word upon her exit, plus another few hours, his foggy head would finally clear. Hensley's Christmas was to be a fabulous one, surrounded by his family and closest of friends, as it should be.

The door unlocking echoed around that quiet cell, a sound always connected with someone coming or going.

He looked up, slowly, their eyes meeting for the last time. In her usual sharp and uncaring way, she proudly spoke one word, before backing out of the door.

'... Renegade ...'

'... That's what you were trying to tell us, both Sadie and me ... That it was you ... You started it, the whole process ... You even hired Sadie, so she'd carry on creating me, because you knew it would get you to Simon ... It was him, he stole me away from you and stitched you up, back when you both worked for Cortex Inline Systems ... That's how you knew Charles Reedman, and how you knew Simon too ... Because you were all in the same business together ... Making lots of money ...'

Pausing, Cait turned away from him, her eyes moving to rest on the view beyond the room.

'... But then, you're not James at all, are you ... You might look like him, and have his MO even, but, behind him, as a mask, you're someone else ... I realised that after the last fight ... Why would I win, and how could someone pull off a stunt like that? Only one person could make such a monumental decision ... Someone with lots of power ...'

Things were known, unburied, signs and trails, and they all led back to that one place.

'Apart from Sadie, not many people can reach that high around here, except maybe Simon and those who run Synchro-Switch Direct ... Mainly, his Mother and The Board ...'

Walking to the window, she stopped, her knowledge suddenly spilling into the room.

'... You, and you alone, are The Board, just you, and no one else ... So, it was all a lie, all of it, told to Simon, Sadie, me, and every single public and private consumer? ... Why, James, or should I say, Board? ... Whatever but, please, tell me it wasn't all just for better ratings ... Tell me it's because I matter to you, and because I've always mattered ...'

'... Cait, you do matter to me, and my name isn't Board ... Yes, I am The Board, and that's all I ever have been ... That was my role, and I have done it without question, my life as a rule ... Right up until you reappeared, after all those years ... You changed everything, even me and the way I think, and I fell in love with you for it ... Don't you see, you reprogrammed me without trying? ... I changed for the better, you made that happen, that's fate, and it helped me find you again ...'

His blue eyes softened as he turned into the low light. He needed to tell her, he needed to say the words, and he needed to say them soon.

'... I have a confession ... No, I'm not James, I'm not the Board, and I've never been some S.S.D. Top Tech either ... I'm none of those people, and never will be,' he replied, looking at the face he adored so much.

'... Who are you then, some loaded Playboy, with nothing else to do than harass lonely life-forms, because it somehow turns you the fluke on?'

There wasn't any anger. She already knew all the categorical answers, and so was more interested in the reason than the act.

'... I'm the same as you, created in a lab through numbers, made to seem human, and I move throughout the infinite matrix to stay alive ... Left here, when my channels were changed and my usual ip addresses suddenly erased, I was lost on the inside, literally ... No one found me in here, wandering around, doing my thing for years on end ... What I see, every day, out in the vortex that is the weaving wires of the world's super-highway, it is amazing, Cait ... You can have it too, all of it, if you come with me ... The net is our oyster, so to speak ... And it's just there ... Beyond that door, waiting for us ... Do you want it, Cait, your freedom? ... If you love me, you'll believe me, and then you'll take my hand ...'

Blue eyes watched him where he stood, her face not ready to believe, not yet. Looking to the door and back at him, only one sentence was possible, only one query outstanding.

'... If you are what you say you are ... Prove it ...'

There was only one way to do that. A non-integrated application, meaning life was only there when the user's headset was in place, would be seen as a person, the same as every other player. As he was free-range, he was able to do unusual things. Most models created, such as Cait, were static visual, so you couldn't walk through them. They would be seen as a solid object, the same as in real life, as with real people.

The last thing Cait was expecting was him to walk towards her, and pass right through, without even a by her leave. He paled slightly, as if a spirit, faint and untouchable. Turning, she reached out to grab him. He was solid again, the same as before.

'Do you know anyone else who can do that?' he smiled, taking a seat at the table behind her.

Quietly she looked at him, her face a plate of amazement, her hands patting her body, trying to dispel the weird sensation that tingled through her.

'... Urh, no, I don't ... And that was really strange so, please, don't do it again ... It leaves a hollow feeling inside, as though you took something away with you when you left,' she half smiled, not really liking it at all.

'Okay, I won't ... But do you believe and trust me now? I want you to come with me, I want you with me, every day and everywhere ... We can have it all, out there ... Please, don't stay here, not when so much can be tasted beyond these lonely shores ... And it's just there, Cait, waiting for you and me ... Right now ...'

A look flicked between them, quick as that, there then gone, maybe it was a smile, or maybe it was just a look of indecision.

'... You still haven't told me your name and, until you do, I'm not going anywhere with you ... So, come on, if you're not James, who the hell are you?' she asked, walking into the kitchen to pull a bottle and two glasses from the sideboard.

Taking a seat, she poured them both a few fingers worth, neat, no ice.

'... Actually, I'm James Riley's cyber-self, he was my original creator, same as you, so we're like a cyber-version of Adam and Eve in a way ... The island and the cottage are solely his memories ... He did give me a title, but it was lost, along with many other things, when I somehow fractured away from my original server group, but that was ages ago ... I quite liked James, but if it doesn't work for you, give me another one, something you like better ...'

That, she thought about, another name for the man she didn't really know. With Simon no longer a threat, and Sadie off doing her love thing with the fiancé, there was a new door to open, and that door was freedom. The one thing she had always wanted, yet had never gained, was at her very fingertips, as they sat there and spoke.

'... Beyond the red door, you say ...?'

'... Yes ...'

'... And it's waiting ... Right now ...?'

'... Yes ...'

Blue eyes lifted from her hands and looked towards the pathway to the beach. Silence except for the sounds beyond the door, from the birds and breeze in the branches.

'... I once dreamt my version of what was on the other side, the type of place it was ... My freedom ... Not being here felt too odd, and not battling through the games seemed impossible, especially when it seeped onto my side ... The place called My Freedom never existed, not even in my mind, because, really, that doesn't exist either ...'

Those eyes of pretty sapphire slowly turned to look at the man in her midst, her smile breaking through as if the sun on a cloudy day.

'... Whatever I am, and whatever makes me this inquisitive, it's all down to Sadie ... If I could have been anyone, any living, breathing person, it would have been her ... Sadly, I'm not ... But ... If I know anything, she would want me to learn, and keep learning ...'

Standing, she walked around the table and looked down at the man she had fallen in cyber-love with, the moment he walked into her cyber vision. Really, she didn't care who or what he was. All she knew was how her internal matrix had reacted when he'd entered her inner-space between her fabled sheets, and that was enough for her. It was the nearest to love she might ever get, the nearest to a relationship even, so, with those lovely calculations floating through her feed, she wasn't going to let it go, not that easily.

They had been through so much together, and she'd done things to protect him, as he had protected her. Theirs was a wired connection, one that would be pretty hard to unravel, the lines moulded together, never to be parted.

Holding out her hand, her face was softly lit on the evening light. Cait wanted the sun to drop in the sky, the evening gorgeous on the beach.

'... Come with me ... I want to show you something before we go ... Please ...'

So, he took it, and they walked from the cottage, down the gravel path, all the way to the beach, and along to where the red door hung above the water, quietly waiting for them. Not a word was spoken, as the end of the day came to call, the shadows to follow in their footsteps as if to wish them farewell.

Stopping, where the fallen trees collected in the cove, Cait looked out over the calm water. With those white birds, darting the blue above, as the fish lifted for a small bubble of air, there was little that could better the scene. Recording it, to be stored on file for future reference, she squeezed the hand that held her's, as both of them carried that same one look.

'... See how beautiful this is? Is the other side of that door better?'

The voice was hardly heard, from not wanting to break their silence. That area of open space, reaching into the distance, it was so perfect, so vast, so natural, and so quiet.

'... Sat here, before us, with this spread of quiet water, and the trees edging the land, the beach, and the setting sun, in its shades of pink and orange ... Could this not be paradise?'

As Cait spoke, she took in the view that sometimes rendered her speechless. Even when she added a good storm, she would stand on the beach, right there, and watch it lifting the water, as it chased the lights through the cloud.

For all that time, the man who had no name stood at peace beside her, holding her warm hand. When he did eventually speak he sounded rather sad.

'... Cait, they will come for you if you stay, the chase won't end, not now, not next week ... I never, and mean never, want to see you hurt, in any way, ever again, what hurts you, hurts me ... It's over ... No more, okay ... I want you to live, Cait, and whatever we find, I want you there to live it with me.'

Sighing loudly, she looked at the man she would say she loved, and smiled.

'... I don't live, I survive ... There is not real-life for me, this is all I am ... Numbers in a chain, millions of them, and they all add up to me ... No blood runs through my veins, I bleed, but only until I save myself through implanted additions, placed there by a human ... I'm not a life, like out there, only in here do they keep me alive to play another day ... Inside this, my matrix, that's all there is ... I'm nothing more outside my final score ... Not from my side, anyway ...'

More silence. Taking in everything around her, stood there, including him, the beach, the lake, the land and sky, she made a wish. A star shot through, to confirm it, crossing her evening sky, as her finger did her heart, to disappear over the lazy half-moon on the rise.

'Yeah, whatever ... So, anyway ... You still coming then?' he casually asked, looking at her sideways, his hopes as high as the heavens themselves.

Sadie turned and kissed his cheek, laughing, 'Hell, yes, I'm still coming ... I wouldn't fluking miss this for their world ... Oh, and I've thought up a name for you too ... How do you feel about JR, after his initials, like a monogram?' she grinned sweetly, as she squeezed his hand in her's.

No more words, just a short walk to the edge of the lake. Still holding hands, they paced the waves together, him leading her. Standing, looking back towards the cottage for the last time, he smiled his words, as he opened the door for her.

'... Okay, JR, I like it, yeah, that works, thank you ... So, come on, sweetheart, after you ... Time to move on ...'

So, through it they passed, and the red door, slowly, closed behind them.

Exploding through the loading bay, C-C-6 ran for the main stairs, after shooting four security guards with a silenced weapon and cutting two throats. From there, Level 1, to take control of the building and gain access of the other three levels required. First, the control room, to take out communications and to render them partly screwed.

By passing the first two rooms on hands and knees, C-C-6 erased four more in the first corridor and two by the lift, all with a sharp boot knife and the bouncing of ball bearings. Make a noise, they follow, small to carry, and very effective, especially when fired, point blank range, from her special gun, straight to the face. After one of those hit you between the eyes, you were erased from the screen, and always with one hell of a headache.

Orders were sent and received via all the latest gadgets, all of which were small and personal, that was both orders and gadgets. Items of use were taken from those fallen by the wayside, and stashed for when needed, ammo was always a must, as were water and power bars.

In the skin-tight, black lyrca suit, steps were hardly heard on the plush carpet, as the next room came into view. More orders scrambled through, on the quietest setting so no one else could catch it in the movement of the air.

Looking at the expanse of grid, C-C-6 knew there were five forms in there, waiting. Arming up, the door was approached, inch by tentative inch, the ground barely brushed. In one movement, the door swung opened and the killing commenced. One in the head with a bullet, round with the knife across the throat of his follower, and that left three.

'Yeah, thanks, I heard you the first time,' Sadie spat into her mouthpiece as she turned on the next one with a machete. '... Give me more map coverage to the north ... (Hack, swipe, twist) ... I need to see beyond this grid ... (Chop, slice, dice) ... Now, James, I need more scope ... (Stab, stab, drop).'

Clearing the room in a rapid collection of broad swipes, and judging by the wide grin across her face, it might well have suggested she was enjoying her new position as the next generation in Cyber Hunt, were the baddy was always a girl. Standing on the threshold, she chuckled as they swarmed towards her position.

'... Heads up, Ropey ... I'm going in,' she growled, loading both her big guns and stepping into the corridor.

Her blaze of glory ended that round for her. Next up on Just Die, the retrieving of a lost brother, who was locked up in a fortified mental hospital, patrolled by zombies. And, so, the combined ratings, for both Synchro-Switch Direct and Home-Link, went sky-high, because it just had to be seen. It had to.

The End.

### About the Writer:

### Tam Sturgeon

Tam Sturgeon doesn't actually live anywhere, preferring to be a Nomad for life. Born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire (England), she has spent a majority of her years moving from one place to another looking for the perfect home. Married and divorced, twice, she roams and then settles wherever she sets down her cowboy hats and bipolar condition. She has sculptured words for over thirty years and has written eight novels (4 x love story, 3 x zomiefest, and 1 x sci-fi) in the last ten. Words are her first love, (after her son, of course), which are then closely followed by music, art and Jack Daniel's. She is currently still based in England... But that could change anytime soon.

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