+ Month 7

Proxy Blue was face forward and static, almost as if in mourning. "With thanks to all you cub reporters out there, I have a little backlog.  The news obviously never sleeps, however this girl does. So, for now I only have one thing to say. Cyberteam has been in invaded by an outside source. Don't know who and I don't know how, but sources tell me the foreign body's gone straight to the core. Hear me, techno-dweebs? Like a famous Fox, not of the feral kind, once said a few times; Trust No One. Not even me."

*****

Lena unplugged her palmtop from the motel room phone jack and, composing herself, left for her car, quickly driving away from the place.

She and Nora had been so completely locked out of Cyberteam that the invading force had to have been an inside job. But the only person inside who had enough information was herself. And Nora. But she could vouch for both of them.

Since Proxy was so clinically separated, it was clearly Cyberteam the opposition had wanted, and she'd left a distraught Nora with her now useless machines to run, before someone came looking for her. She'd told Nora to run too, and the girl had grinned and gone with an assurance that said she had a back up plan to keep her safe.

There were psionic cyberpaths and Lena wondered if one of them had been responsible, but the whole structure of Cyberteam was compartmentalised; a foreign source could certainly take down one part, but not the whole thing, not that smoothly. As Sherlock Holmes said, once you've eliminated the obvious, whatever's left must be the truth.

The original creator of Cyberteam. Who would maybe, possibly, have wanted control of his creation back. But surely he'd have asked Nora for control? Unless he thought the Cyberteam was compromised. Unless he himself was compromised. The latter being much more likely since Cyberteam's original Central Control had been taken down months ago, the Kilmartin boy paraded out by Langley at every possible occasion.  Except that he'd been noticeably absent the last few weeks. The rumour mill had it that the boy had some strange mutant illness or something equally as manufactured.

In a similar vein she went back to the original Cyberteam Central. She hadn't back there since she'd been scavenging and run into Mulwray, but this time she was hoping to run into him. Mulwray would be able to tell her if Kilmartin was back in play. Mulwray might even have a corner with a secure phone jack where she might set up Proxy.  And, just maybe, without having to run Cyberteam as well, she could concentrate on finding exactly what had happened to Darius.

*****

"We have got to take that meddling woman out of commission!" Adam ranted as he stood behind Jesse's chair. "I want you to find and destroy her."

Jesse said nothing. It was usually better that way.

"And keep Cyberteam running. I don't want anything to confirm what she's said, so we'll keep it going for a while until any panic is forgotten."

For a moment Jesse still didn't say anything. Adam liked an acknowledgement when he was done, so when Jesse was certain that Adam had finished he said, "Yes, sir."

Normally then the door opened, shut and locked, but this time it didn't. "Are you getting fed?" the older man said.

"Yes Sir." Jesse was puzzled. Every time he came out of his cyber world there was a fresh tray of food waiting for him.

"All righty." Then Adam went and Cyber was waiting for him. Cyberteam was virtually running itself, and he had no intention of tracking Proxy down and even less intention of worrying about the repercussions of not telling Adam that. He wanted to go have fun and feel what it was like to live.

*****

"Well, so this is it." Eckhart gestured contemptuously at the people grouped in the polythene-clad room. "One elemental who keeps short-circuiting…"

"And I love you too," Brennan muttered under his breath.

"One specimen that doesn't know who or what it is…" Eckhart waved at the Shalimar that was purring on the seat besides Brennan, "and one that has groupies attached to her rear-end." He waved at the Shalimar that scowled from the doorway, Paolo at her side and the others arguing in the kitchen over cookie dough.

Eckhart glared at the corner. "And some random woman sitting in the corner typing an essay. Who are you, and what exactly are you doing in my living room?"

Lena looked up, startled. "Erm…"

"I brought her here," Brennan said. "She's doing some computer work for us."

Eckhart sighed. "Private militia, freaks and now techno geeks. My life is complete. But I suppose she helps with the numbers. Here, I thought you might like these." He threw something onto the table.

Brennan opened it cautiously and everyone stared at what was revealed, resting inside the battered container. "You went to Sanctuary?" he asked.

"Well, obviously," Eckhart snapped, but didn't elaborate.

"Ooh, can I have one?" Dale asked, sliding over to the table as s/he changed into Sean Bean's Boromir and reached to take one of the silver rings.

Shalimar moved almost faster than light to grab Dale's wrist. "Not on your life," she hissed. She snapped the box closed and gave it back to Eckhart. "We're still missing three," she said simply.

*****