((This chapter heading is a line from the song Snow by Red Hot Chilli Peppers.))

Chapter 3
Step from the Road to the Sea to the Sky

The promise to answer soon was harder to keep than either Adam or Francis had thought. The problem wasn't so much that they couldn't come to an agreement. Well that was kind of the problem, but not the usual way. Initially, Francis had wanted to refuse and Adam had told him they could at least humour David. Then, he had let himself be persuaded that the entire thing was possible a death trap David had no idea about. At the same time, Francis had started wondering if it couldn't actually be kind of fun to take a free journey to Serbia. Adam had pointed out that given the flyer for the trip David had given them, the ship was probably full of ancient, presumptuous Germans that clamoured for the good old days.

And so they found themselves driving back to Peterculter, and while David hadn't tried to coax an answer from them again – not even when he bade them good-bye at the airport – they'd have to make up their minds that night. Francis let out a growl from the steering wheel. 'I'll say what you refuse to say then. Neither of us really wants to do this. Because when we get home, you've almost got to go back to the office, because we both know we don't owe him anything, because any debt we've had has been paid a long time ago. But that's not how it feels, is it? I'll admit it. Deep down, I feel I only have the freedom to choose because of him, because he gave me a chance when I was at the bottom. And you, too.'

'That … sums it up better than I like.' Adam watched Francis's face, trying to read his mind. 'And 20.000 credits isn't nothing.'

'No, but we don't need it.'

'Pritchard, I'm not you. I'm not the inventor of a crazy talking AI that's gaining popularity mostly because it's sassy, I work for a small police force.'

'Jensen! It's not like you live off my money, that's completely ridiculous. I may earn a bit more than you, but you came with considerable savings that I used up pretty much completely trying to survive Detroit. And neither of us is in a position where we have to make money an issue in our relationship.'

'No. You're right. I just …'

'You want to find an actual reason to agree. A better one than that, for some irrational reason, we're still in his pocket and always will be.'

Adam grinned. 'Something along those lines. God, Pritchard. I really don't want to.'

'Tell me about it. I've even got a good motivation to stay the hell away.'

'Yeah? Tell me.'

Francis's cheeks glowed in the late morning light. 'I … ah. God. You're going to laugh.'

'I promise I won't.'

'I would, if our roles were reversed.'

'Come on, Pritchard.'

He licked his lips. 'I … am one of the few people … you see, Abi and I … my parents, they tried to keep us safe. They did a horrible job with that as much as everything else, but … they wouldn't let us, and then I was too scared, and …'

'For God's sake, are you going to get to the point there?'

'Jensen, I can't swim.'

Adam opened his mouth and closed it. 'While that is less than ideal, I promise you that I have enough strength to get us both out of the Danube. We're not going into the middle of the Pacific.' He frowned slightly. 'That explains why you refused to get further into that lake than your knees.'

'Yeah. And I'm not frightened. I just thought you should know. So if that ship does sink, for whatever insane reason, you'll have to rescue me.'

Adam reached over, resting his hand in Francis neck and caressing his hairline with his fingertips. 'As if you wouldn't be the first thing on my mind if anything were to happen. So. We're going to do this, aren't we?'

'I fear so, yes. Looks like we're doomed.' Francis glared at the road ahead of them. 'If the people on the ship are presumptuous, can I throw them overboard?'

'No. Because if one of them pulls you down with them, you're in trouble. Let me do the throwing.'

Francis's expression lit up. 'Fine by me. Please tell David. I won't be able to listen to his exhilaration and drive at the same time.

Ϡ

Frank could sense that his sense of foreboding had infected Adam for longer than just a few moments. The thing was, Frank wasn't much of a traveller at the best of times. He'd never left the States, rarely left Detroit. Hell, given the option, he'd hardly left his apartment back home. Somehow Scotland had charmed him enough to want to see the country. He fully planned to take a tour of the Isle of Skye. On foot. He should get his head checked out.

The ship docked at the side of the river was large and looked like a luxurious prison. 'What the hell are we doing here?' he asked softly.

'Watching people, right now.'

'And judging them. Or I am. Look at that one, for example.' An elderly woman with sparse hair, dyed in a red nature never would have forced on anyone, stood at the railing with a sour expression. She wore that hair in a flimsy, longish halo, light shining through it. Frank had first thought it was a weird, see-through hat. A man, probably her husband, approached her, and she said something with an expression that couldn't mean anything good. She also gestured in Frank and Adam's direction. 'I'm going to strangle the lot of them.'

'Liar.'

'Well, I'm more likely to use poison, granted.'

'I'll warn the kitchen.'

'Jensen, we can still get out of this.'

'But we won't.'

Frank sighed deeply. 'No. We won't. Come on, might as well.'

'If this isn't who I'm waiting for, I'll swim the way down.' The voice behind them was amused and had a heavy accent. Frank turned and took the young woman in. She was short and looked like she could outrun and -wrestle your average wolf. She grinned at them both with a fitting predatory expression. 'You're who David sent me, eh?'

'Yes. You must be Johanna Häberle.'

'The same. Even without David's announcement I'd have known who you are. Heavens, everyone who hasn't lived behind the moon does.' She growled. 'This was a terrible idea. I should have just flown. But it's too late for that now, so let's go.'

They followed her on board, where she exchanged a few words in a language Frank couldn't place at all with the receptionist. 'Leave your passports at the reception, please. You'll get it back when we leave the ship.'

'I'd rather not,' Adam said curtly.

'When we cross the Serbian border, they will control the passports here at the reception. With any luck, we can sleep.'

Adam looked at Frank, who shrugged. 'Let's … try and not attract attention the first day, how does that sound?'

Adam relented, even though obviously he didn't want to. Johanna took their key from the receptionist and led them through a corridor to the far end. 'This cabin is for three, but you two are alone in it. Apparently, in Apatin, you share an apartment for four. David really wants his answers badly.'

'Can we ask you a few things?'

Johanna nodded. 'Gladly. I'll wait for you at the bar. Get yourselves situated and meet me there.'

Ϡ

Adam listened attentively as Johanna told them more or less what they already knew from David. Not so much because of the information he hoped to get from her, but because he wondered what they were doing there. Things didn't add up, Francis and he had decided. There was no apparent reason why they hadn't flown to Apatin – or, if asking for such a direct transport was too much, flown to Beograd and taken a train from there. Why he and Francis were going in the first place wasn't entirely clear to him, either. Neither of them had any experience with company politics.

'That explains your ties to Apatin,' Francis said. At last, Adam's attention had shifted away from Johanna. 'But I don't get where we come in. If this is your company, what do you need with a hacker?'

Johanna leaned forwards over their table. 'I need you because I believe that someone you are going to meet wants to use my company for something illegal. I want proof.'

'And what exactly would that illegal thing be?'

'Experimental augs, black market … For all I know, he could be growing and selling organs. I don't know. But he is bloody fishy, he hates me but pretends otherwise, and my foolish family thinks he's the best guy ever.'

'Does that happen to be the one who took down the Häberle homepage?' Adam asked.

'Yes. That would be him.'

'What makes you think that he hates you?' Francis asked.

Look. He can't know that I suspect him. But I ask you, once we are there, to dig your fingers into our computers and find out what you can. In the meantime, work with him. And be careful. I don't know if he's dangerous, too, or just corrupt.'

'One last question,' Adam said. 'How much of this did you tell David Sarif?'

'I told him that I believe someone is trying to compromise our company. That's pretty much all.'

I small smile tugged at Adam's lips. 'One point for you, Pritchard.'