2. THE CHOSEN ONES

It was over.

It was all over, and I had lost. I guess I shouldn't have tied everything into this one last shot, one last audition. I was only looking to be shot down.

As if I ever had a realistic chance to be a star in the first place. Dance was my life, but it seemed now that devotion does not always equal success.

I was sitting huddled in the spotlight, spending my last few moments in its warmth while the Chosen Ones huddled around the Producer, when I realized I was being watched. I looked up just as a someone stepped from the darkened house to the edge of the spot shining brightly onto the barren stage. Nice shoes, I thought.

I looked up from the red heels to see a tall, dark-haired woman wearing a red business suit. Not too trendy, but definitely stylish, in her own way. She took off her dark, wrap-around glasses and smiled sadly at me.

"Linna Yamazaki?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry. I thought you did very well."

Someone turned off the spot and the stage lights, and the house lights came up. I got up as well. "Thank you. I guess it wasn't good enough, though." I was rather proud of myself for not letting it show just how much it hurt.

She gave me that sad smile again.

Well, not letting it show too much, I guess.

"Yamazaki-san, I have a business proposition I would like you to consider. May we go somewhere a bit more comfortable to talk about it?"

"A business proposition? What sort of business?" I asked, intrigued in spite of myself. Finding work this quickly would definitely make today's misery bearable. And give me the opportunity to continue eating. My bank balance was at a new low.

"I can't really discuss it here," she replied, looking around as the other dancers began to gather their things and leave the stage. One or two gave me gloating looks. "Perhaps at the coffee shop across the street?"

I considered things for a couple seconds. The thought of my nearly non-existent bank balance forced the decision. "All right. I need to clean up and change. I'll meet you there in fifteen minutes, OK?"

"Fifteen minutes, then," she agreed. Putting her glasses back on, she turned and made her way back into the theater.

I realized then that I didn't know her name.

"Give me back my gun."

"No."

"Then at least give me my goddamned knife!"

"Asagiri-san, civilized people don't carry weaponry into public places."

I did a double take. Ms. High-and-Mighty Corporate Executive-type runs me down, threatens me, does a full body search, threatens me, takes my weapons, threatens me, takes me to this dive for coffee, and then carries on about civilized behavior? Quite a few things didn't add up. I was outta there.

"Look, lady, ain't been a very fuckin' good night. You ran me down, wiped me out, and totaled my bike. I don't know who you are or who you're working for, and for some reason you think I should trust you. Well, listen up princess, I don't want anything to do with you or your damned business proposition!" Once again, I tried to get up, and once again she tightened her grip on my wrist so I couldn't move.

"As I told you before, I'm unaffiliated," she said calmly, as if I hadn't just finished yelling at her. "I'm certainly not involved with Genom or any of the other multinationals. Let me have a few minutes of your time to make my proposition, and then you can decide if you want to participate or not. I think you'll find it worth your time."

Corporate power suit, dark glasses -- at night, yet -- and she says she's not working for someone. Right. And I'm Batman. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" If she thought she could buy me, she was in for a surprise.

"Someone who would like to keep certain... organizations from trampling the rights of the common man. Interested?"

"Do-Gooders Anonymous?" I sneered. "Pass." I got up from the table, and this time she didn't try to stop me. I guess she realized I wasn't buying her line one bit. The entire set-up smelled anyway, and I had to do something about my bike.

I started to walk away when she said, not loudly, but loud enough that I could hear, "Don't you want your revenge, Priss?"

I turned around and stared at her. She gazed calmly back, eyes hidden by the shades.

"Look what they've done to you. Your lover. Your entire life. Think of what you had, and what you have now. This is your big chance to get back at them without throwing what's left of your life away. The only real chance you'll ever get."

Unwelcome scenes from the wreckage of my life flashed before my eyes. It was all still too fresh, too raw. "You bitch," I whispered under my breath, feeling the dampness on my cheeks. "You goddamn bitch."

"Please sit down, Priss." She asked, this time. "I really think you'd be interested in what I have to say." She paused for a minute, then took a sip from the cup of coffee that had sat untouched since it was delivered. "Besides," she said into the cup, "you might find that you and I have more in common than you think."

"So you need a hacker to help you take Genom down?"

"That's not what I said, Romanova-san."

"No, but it's what you meant." I grinned. I loved putting people off-balance, and this lady was no exception: the look on her face was priceless. Now, to find out what she was really after. "Why me?" I asked, my question echoing her expression.

She just sat there for a minute, as if she was considering something. Then she sighed, and said, "Of those who managed to crack the code embedded in my electronic message, you are one of the few who met the additional requirements necessary for the position."

Additional requirements? OK, I was game. "What additional requirements?"

She stared at me again. Dead end question, I guess. Then she changed the subject. "There will be some field work involved, and--"

"Cool! I get to be a spy!" Her sigh sounded a little exasperated to me, so I decided I'd better tone it down a bit. I may like cute things, but that doesn't make me stupid. "All right, all right. What else?" I asked, holding my hands up in what I hoped was a placating gesture.

"You will need to improve your physical conditioning. You'll be required to carry some of your equipment with you, and that will require strength, stamina, and agility."

Conditioning? OK, I thought, I really need to go on a diet anyway. She was watching me, so I nodded for her to go on.

"A certain amount of personal danger is also involved." Eh! Personal danger? What does a hacker do that's personally dangerous? Nothing, that's what. I like to daydream about it, but I guess I'm not really cut out for a life of--

"And you're going to have to get a new job."

Now wait just a-- "But I like the job I have right now!" I complained.

"Working behind the counter at an ice cream parlor is not convenient." I think the lady was a little ticked off at me.

"Hey! It's convenient for me!"

"But not for me, and not for the business at hand." She got a very serious look on her face, and took her dark sunglasses off. That scared me a little. I've always heard the phrase "steely blue eyes." Hers were brown, but the same thought applied.

She put the glasses into her bag, and her hand remained in the bag. That scared me a lot. "Who are you?"

"Don't misunderstand me, Romanova-san. This is not a game. Perhaps I've told you too much as it is. I need a decision from you. Now."

What had I gotten into? "If I say yes, can I leave if I change my mind?" I asked so quietly that I could barely hear my own words.

"It will be dealt with, if you change your mind."

I didn't like the sound of that either. On the other hand, she had me cornered, in all meanings of the word. I thought about it for a minute. I had thought this was a joke, but it had gotten way out of hand. And I couldn't see any way out.

"All right. I'm in. What do you want me to do?"

The hand came out of her bag, and in it was a plain card, with a handwritten address on it. "Be there tomorrow night, 22:00." Then she handed me an envelope. "And be here tomorrow morning, at 7:00, for your pre-employment baseline testing and evaluation. The details are in the envelope."

Pre-employment baseline testing? I guess my confusion must have shown on my face, because as she stood to leave, she smiled. Very slightly, but it was a smile. I think.

"Welcome to the AD Police, Romanova-san."

AD Police?

I was dead.