Freaks and Geeks

The university campus was very small. Not many people in Seattle went to university; most went straight onto the streets or even into the shadows these days, learning what they needed to know elsewhere. In the main office tower was where Zapper met with Alan, who had managed to plant his bug among Rigden's cigars with no trouble.

"It's lucky the bug was marked with the same brand as those things Rigden smokes," he said, after finishing his account of the previous night. "Catherine really did her homework."

"She did indeed," Zapper remarked. "It's thanks to her that we're here now. We now know that at least two of our suspects went to school together. Maybe now we can begin to draw parallels between them and the victims."

"Shouldn't be any trouble in this place," Alan muttered. The university was very quiet at this time of morning; it seemed most of the students were still in bed. The two of them rode the elevator up to the fourth floor, where the members of the science faculty had their offices. Zapper led Alan to the office of the lecturer of neurology, Lillian Beck. Since she seemed pretty friendly with Dr. Burton, she seemed to be their best lead.

After knocking on the door, a huge, dark-skinned troll woman with a shock of white hair appeared. Zapper's eyes widened; this was clearly something he hadn't expected.

"Can I help you?" the troll asked politely, apparently taking no notice of Zapper's expression.

"Excuse me, Professor Beck," Alan chimed in. "I assume that is you, of course?"

"That's correct," Beck said, smiling slightly. "Not quite what you were expecting, correct?"

"We're reporters for the Seattle Herald," Alan said. "Do you have a few minutes?"

"That's how many I have exactly," Beck replied. "A few." She glanced over at Zapper, who still seemed to have been shocked into silence. "Does your friend need to sit down? There are seats over there." She pointed down the corridor towards a small sofa propped against the wall.

"Let me handle this one," Alan said to Zapper, grinning as he stepped through the door into Beck's room. Clearly Zapper hadn't got used to the idea that trolls and orcs could achieve anything intellectual, and he had always been unable to treat them as equals. Alan, on the other hand, had no problems interacting with them; he had conversed with infinitely stranger beings before. He followed the professor into her office.

"So what can I do for you?" she asked.

"Do you remember a student of yours named Tanya Burton?" Alan asked.

"She was the only student I ever encouraged to leave school," Beck replied, rolling her eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"You advised a student to leave school?" Alan asked, puzzled.

"Frankly we had nothing to offer her," Beck said. "It was my feeling that it could have even restricted her development, but I repeat; why did you ask?"

"She's taking care of a friend of mine," Alan replied, thinking fast. "Some of her colleagues think that her treatment is a bit unorthodox."

"I have no doubt it is," Beck chuckled, relaxing a little. "She wouldn't look at things the way most surgeons do. It's what makes her so creative and innovative."

"She seems a bit weird about it," Alan commented.

"She's quirky alright," Beck said. "I remember that about her. Some very unusual predilections indeed, but that's often a mark of genius. Unless Tanya has changed drastically in the years that I've seen her, there is no need for concern."

"Thank you," Alan said, trying to look relieved. "Do you know anything about a policeman named Vincent Rigden?" he asked. "Was he a student here?"

"Tanya used to mention him," Beck replied, looking thoughtful. "Apparently he had quite a temper. He wasn't any student of mine though, so sorry I can't be of much help there."

"No problem," Alan replied. "What about a man named Joey Falconetti? Was he one of your students also?"

"Not one of mine," Beck replied, "though I remember him well. He was an astonishing Matrix-surfer, but that obsession with brain-hacking he had bothered me. I considered to be unethical and with no useful purpose. I often regret thinking that now, since the Medicog used his ideas."

"Did he have an affiliation with Tanya Burton?" Alan quickly asked.

"By affiliation..." the professor mumbled, "I assume you mean 'did she have an affair with him'. I couldn't say. I knew her well though; she may well have found his air of danger sexually appealing, and she was certainly aggressive intellectually. I'm sure she went after him to challenge his skills, see if she could prove herself superior. Who knows? The WebRunners may even have been her idea."

"The what?" Alan asked, now genuinely puzzled.

"The WebRunners," Beck explained. "It was a gaming club of some sorts. It was cutting-edge. Tanya and Falconetti were among the founding members. In fact, when she left school, Tanya seemed to do little else. She virtually disappeared."

"Do the WebRunners still exist?" Alan asked. "Where can I find them?"

"They're like children with a secret clubhouse," Beck chuckled. "I do know that they post notices of their meetings on the bulletin board out in the hallway. I also know that they changed their name recently in honour of our former President to the KnightRunners."

At this, Alan gave a low sigh. It seemed Kiryuu's various legacies followed him everywhere these days. Still, it seemed they had a new lead, and it also seemed that was all the professor knew. Alan thanked her and walked out of the office. Zapper was poring over the message board out in the hallway, and Alan tapped him roughly on the shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Over the shock yet?" he asked wryly.

"I think so," Zapper gasped. "Find anything useful?"

"Yeah," Alan replied. "All three of them used to come here, though they took different courses. At least two of them were in this gaming club now called the KnightRunners."

"So they've been around a long time?" Zapper asked. "I've just been looking over their latest bulletin. Their meeting's at an old warehouse turned loft apartment, on Dragnet Drive. They're using quite a clever code, though not good enough to stump me."

"Okay, Zapper," Alan said. "I just hope they don't mind having a visitor or two."

***

The KnightRunners' choice of meeting place was down in the harbour district, and as Alan and Zapper entered the sound of waves splashing against the shore could be heard close by. The calls of various seabirds were also audible. Alan thought it would make a nice place for a meeting, though he suspected that wouldn't matter once the members were absorbed in their games.

Entering the cavernous, though somewhat spartan-looking apartment, the two of them saw one lone person; a teenage girl with long black hair, wearing a VR rig. She was swaying slightly, as if she was practicing tai chi while in the Matrix. His face lined with impatience, Zapper marched straight over to her and pulled the VR rig off her head. The girl staggered onto the floor, looking like she had been drugged.

"What the fuck?!" she exclaimed. Alan winced, hating to hear the young with such potty mouths.

"Where's the seventh cavalry?!" she exclaimed, before turning to look at Zapper with a murderous look.

"Are you mad?!" she shouted. "You almost gave me a stroke! I was doing the Custer sim, and I was the only remaining Indian and I had Goldilocks by the throat!" Alan couldn't help wincing again at the mention of 'Goldilocks', as that name reminded him of a very different creature.

"This won't take long, honey," Zapper said reassuringly. "I just need to ask a few questions."

"Make an appointment with my secretary," the girl replied very sarcastically. She tried to make a grab for her VR rig, but Zapper held it out of her reach.

"I'm gonna tell you what I've been going through lately, hop-along," he said, sounding highly annoyed. "I've been playing tag with a serial killer, and ruining my shine by walking through his victims' guts! My girlfriend's in a coma, and the next time the Reaper kills it could possibly be yours truly! So fuck your cartoons!" he shouted. It sounded like Zapper had wanted to get this off his chest for some time, but Alan felt he was being bang out of order taking it out on some teenager. He didn't say anything, however, as his outburst seemed to have gained some results.

"Okay..." the girl stammered, now looking scared of Zapper.

"Fine," Zapper said. "Now let's talk. A woman named Tanya Burton used to be a Runner. Do you know her?"

"Yeah, I know her," the Runner replied sullenly. "I mean, I don't know her. I know who she is and who she was. She was one of the first, a proto-runner. We care about our history, man. You've got to know where you've been to know where you're going."

Alan rolled his eyes. He never expected to hear philosophy being spouted by someone who played video games, and he began to get his first inkling of the gap between the Webrunners' dreams and their powers.

"So what do you know about her?" Zapper asked again.

"I just know who she is," the girl replied. "See the pictures hanging on the walls in here? See for yourself." At this Alan took a look around the pictures on the wall while Zapper continued the interview.

"What about a guy named Falconetti?" Zapper asked. At this, the Runner chuckled.

"Everyone has heard of the Falcon!" she replied smarmily. "He's a legend on heels! Before he was a Runner, he decked with a gang called Arrow-33."

"Wow..." Zapper muttered, looking genuinely impressed. "Falconetti was a 33... Was he part of that TRW thing?"

"Story is that he masterminded it," the Runner replied. "Core overwrite. Took out the credit record of every adult on the West Coast. Cops never got him. They say he's still out there, waiting to strike again."

"I bet..." Alan muttered, overhearing the conversation as he looked at a portrait of a young man wearing a bandanna, presumably to try and give more impact to a ridiculous comb-over.

"Ever hear of Vincent Rigden?" Zapper asked.

"Sounds familiar," the Runner shrugged. "You'd have to check the Runners archive node to see if that means anything. Never actually been there, myself; it's for senior runners only. I know the address; look for 'Anachrony Station'. You're on your own with the ice, though."

"Okay," Zapper said. "Thanks." With that, he and Alan left the Runner to play with her games again and went back to the Wild at Heart. Instantly Zapper crossed into the office while Alan updated Miki and Sparks on the search.

"Sound like a bunch a' no-good bums to me," Sparks snarled, upon hearing about the KnightRunners. "I can see why someone like Falconetti would be part o' 'em, but Burton? That one's got me shocked, I'll admit."

"I think it's fascinating," Miki replied. "Especially since they named themselves after the President. I bet they must have really admired him." She gazed at Alan with a twinkle in her eye, which he somehow found as annoying as the actual idea of anyone idolising Kiryuu.

"Whatever," Alan just said, gulping down his beer. "I just hope we find out which one is the Reaper, so this can end quickly and Catherine can get better."

Miki looked nervously back towards the door, then leaned in close to Alan.

"To be honest," she said in a loud whisper. "I've never really liked Catherine. She always seemed very stuck-up, especially around non-humans, and from what you've been saying she sounds like a bit of a gold-digger. I don't know what she was thinking, going behind Zapper's back like that."

"I'm sure she had her reasons, lass," Sparks said. "Maybe she were jus' tryin' to protect him. Who knows? She can tell us when she wakes up."

A few minutes later, a sweat-covered Zapper emerged from the office, grinning from ear to pointy ear.

"Find anything?" Alan asked.

"Oh yes indeed," Zapper said. "Just look at this." With that, he brought up various documents on his commlink, holding it out so that the trio could see. They were all profiles of the original WebRunners, straight from their archive:

"Tanya Burton. Five-year member. Gifted Matrix traveller. Strengths include graphical user development in multi-dimensional hyperplane, and first-person arcade shooters. Handle; Churchill. Most played; Hostage Gulf, Slipstream and Hip-Hop Mafia. Left WebRunners after marriage to Joey Falconetti ended in divorce fifteen years ago, and the latter was sentenced to prison. Burton/Falconetti marriage ceremony of note due to disruption by another WebRunner, Vincent Rigden, who claimed to be in love with her.

"Josie Dorset. Three-year member. An extraordinary hacker and decker, but one known not to flaunt her Matrix talent in a pretentious fashion. Handle; Disraeli. Most played; Alien Mothers, Virtual Twister and Beach Party Cryonics. Graduate research thesis on the effects of extensive decking brought her national acclaim in the Matrix community. An enthusiastic gamer, she died under very mysterious circumstances. The Josie Dorset case is still unsolved to date. Josie Dorset left behind an ex-husband and a teenage daughter.

"Victor Estevez. Five-year member. A highly-skilled programmer, decker and designer. Best known for his controversial past followed by his personal religious conversion. Handle: Elvis. Most played; Teen Runaway Exploitation, Headhunter, New Testament Interactive Volume One, Saint Noah and Genesis: The Ultimate God Game. Reputed to be the WebRunners' programmer extraordinaire. Expert in low-level supercomputer programming. Author of several controversial underground games that continue to draw a large cult following. Following a personal religious conversion, Estevez became a senior programmer for Xanatos Enterprises, where he is designing and writing a new line of religious interactive adventures.

"Joey Falconetti, also known as Falcon Eddie. Eight-year member. Founding father. An angel, an ace hacker, a master of the Matrix. Handle: Biederbrook. Most played; Collateral Damage 2020, Hum-Vee, Logic Bomb and WarTops. Left Runners fifteen years ago when convicted of murder in the first degree. Conviction was overturned two years later when it was discovered that a police officer had falsified evidence leading to the conviction. The police officer suspected, but never convicted of mishandling the evidence, was Vincent Rigden, a former WebRunner.

"Stephanie Jordan. Five-year member. Decker of modest ability. No significant strengths or specialties. Handle; Victoria. Most played; Trophy Wife and Necropolis. Most notable for the company she kept, Jordan engaged in lengthy multi-player sessions with Falcon Eddie, Rigden and Burton. Played no role in the deadly events that tore the formidable trio apart. Left the Runners due to unknown circumstances.

"Vincent Rigden. Eight-year member. Archangel, ace hacker, a master of the Matrix whose talents were only exceeded by Falcon Eddie. Handle; Sir Duke. Most played; Designer Jeep, Hebrew Vice, Papadelphia and Pistol Party. Betrayed Runners' credo that information shall be free by joining the data fascists at the Seattle precinct of the United Police Forces. Explosive romantic triangle with members Tanya Burton and Joey Falconetti culminated with Rigden implicating Falconetti in a murder, and the three of them leaving the WebRunners.

"Sam Mendell. Four-year member. A decker of above-average ability. Strengths included interface design and applied gaming theory. Handle; Uruk. Most played; Wolfenator, WhoreBusters and President Satan. Mendell's game Wolfenator was a national best-seller. Known for his strong game design skill, Mendell followed up his smash hit with the highly-controversial President Satan. Suddenly a target for an angry public and a hungry international media, Mendell left the WebRunners and retired from the gaming community. Years later, he opened a successful dry-cleaning business in the sprawl of Seattle.

"May Stein. Two-year member. Known more as a plot writer than a decker. Strengths included character development, plot-tree branches and artificial personality construction. Handle; Salisbury. Most played; The Heat of Big City and Love Net 3000. Talented writer, designer and game scenario-builder. Left the WebRunners to pursue a career as a hyper-text novelist. She authored three acclaimed interactive novels before taking a position at CII Publishing as a senior editor."

As Alan finished reading the profiles, his eyes went wider. He stared at Zapper, who still had that annoyingly smug grin on his face.

"Do the names ring a bell?" he asked, wryly. "Feel free to say it."

"That's it..." Alan muttered. "That's the connection!"

Just then, a sudden beeping came from Alan's own commlink, along with a tinny voice saying "Incoming web transmission." Now looking puzzled, Alan pulled up his commlink and opened the line. On his screen was the image of a woman with short blonde hair, looking very nervous.

"Mr. Anderson?" she said. "This is Stephanie Jordan. I was a member of the WebRunners with Tanya, Eddie and Rigden. Professor Beck emailed me telling me you were asking questions about the Reaper."

"You know something about it?" Alan asked in a shocked tone.

"I'm in terrible danger!" Stephanie exclaimed. "Meet me at the KnightRunners' loft, and hurry! There's something in the Matrix I want to show you! If I can find it, it will change everything you know about the Reaper! Hurry!"

With that, she signed off. Alan and Zapper looked at each other, both very excited.

***

A heavy storm picked that moment to hit Seattle, causing flooding and disruption in the bay area, cutting off the fastest route to the loft and forcing Alan and Zapper to fight a gridlocked city route. It took them over two hours to get there. By the time they arrived at the KnightRunners' loft, it was too late. The Reaper had struck again, Stephanie Jordan was dead, and Rigden had had her body removed.

All that was left when they arrived was an empty loft, with huge bloodstains coating the floor and most of the walls in a sea of crimson. It was the first time Alan had had the dubious honour of visiting one of the Reaper's crime scenes, and even he was shocked by the brutality on display. Stood in the middle of it was the teenage Runner they had seen before, now shivering from head-to-toe and covered in blood. She ran to Zapper as soon as they arrived, tears streaming down her face.

"Cops just took the body!" she stammered. "Oh God, it was terrible, man! I was all decked in, and I was doing the OK Corral, and I was shooting the hell out of the Clantons, and I felt all of this... this stuff hitting me and then... Dude, I'm not even thinking about it because I figured it was Doc Holliday blowing Frank McLaury open! But I was still alive and shooting Morgan, so I know something's wrong! So I... I paused the program, and took my rig off... and she was just there! She was just all cut up, with her eyes open and looking at me... and... Fuck!" she shouted, weeping heavily, "I didn't do this shit, man! I didn't even see anybody leaving! I'm gonna be sick, man..."

"No, no, no," Zapper soothed, holding her close. "Take it easy, cowgirl! You take it easy. Nobody's accused you of anything. It's all going to be okay, you'll see."

Nonetheless, the girl continued to sob into Zapper's chest. It was then that they were interrupted by a call on Zapper's commlink. He raised it and found Rigden staring at him.

"Too late, LeRoi," he growled. "I never thought I'd see you miss a story."

"Why'd you remove the body from the scene, Rigden?!" Zapper challenged.

"You know," Rigden snarled, "I'm getting tired of answering to you! I'm in charge of this investigation!"

"The public has a right to know what happened here!" Zapper retorted.

"Not if I don't think so!" Rigden spat. "Maybe I'll leak some information I just found. Really interesting stuff. It seems like your changeling friend was the last person Jordan contacted before she died. Powell and now Jordan... Could really make you wonder."

With that, he signed off. Zapper backed away from the weeping Runner and kicked an old easel over.

"That son-of-a-bitch!" he shouted. "He's going to try and pin this on us, I just know it!" Alan too was looking concerned. If Zapper went down for anything, it would be partly his fault.

"I wouldn't put it past him to pull a stunt like that," Alan said firmly, "especially after what we've just found out." He looked over at the pool of blood on the floor. Only a couple of hours ago a woman had been there, one who was scared and was looking to him for help. He thought of her, and then thought of the maniac who did this, and even now could be planning to frame him and his friend for the deed.

"It means we now have a deadline," he said.

***

With Stephanie Jordan's body already moved, Zapper decided to head to the morgue immediately and find out what happened. Alan knew that they had to get answers fast, especially if there was a very real chance Rigden would do anything to get them out of the way. When they got there, however, they saw that Jordan's body wasn't with the other Reaper victims. Eccles was present, however, somehow looking even more twitchy and nervous than ever.

"Where's Stephanie Jordan's body?" Zapper demanded.

"I..." Eccles stammered. "I don't.... I don't know that name."

"She was the Reaper's latest victim," Zapper explained. "They must have brought her body here!"

"That's true," Eccles replied, "but I don't know anything about a Stephanie Jordan. I'm sure there's information pertaining to her on that computer," he continued, pointing at a powered-down terminal on the wall near the bodies, "but it hasn't worked since I arrived! Styzyack probably tampered with it before he left."

Knowing that this kind of thing was Zapper's territory, Alan stood aside and allowed Eccles to lead the elf over to the terminal. The access panel had been removed, and Zapper could see that some of the circuits had blown out.

"I called for a technician," Eccles continued, "but it's impossible to get anything done in this place. If you can get it up and running again, I'll see if I can help you." He suddenly became even more panicky than usual. "That's as far as my involvement in this goes!" he half-shouted. "I can't afford to lose this job!"

Zapper sighed, and immediately set to work on the machine. Alan knew that computers were the elf's life, and while he much preferred being in the Matrix and hacking the software he had to have learned hardware maintenance at some point. It took just over an hour, and with a lot of bad language on Zapper's part, but eventually he was able to close the access panel in triumph as the computer hummed into life.

"Nice job!" Eccles said. "Now let's see..." He pressed several buttons on the keyboard and brought up a number of different files, humming and looking more confident than Alan had seen him. After a time, however, the pathologist's face fell.

"That's strange..." he muttered. "It says that Jordan's body is in the animal storage room! That doesn't make any sense; they just store monkeys down there for use in experiments." He turned to look at the two reporters quizzically. "Why would she be there?"

"Where is this storage area?" Alan asked.

"You just go through the door in the back of the morgue," Eccles said, pointing to a second door close to the door back to the elevator, "but..." He paused, then a look of horror spread across his face.

"Oh shit!" he exclaimed, swiping the air with his fist. He breathed deeply to regain his composure, then turned to Zapper and Alan.

"Mr. LeRoi," he said as courteously as he could manage, "Mr. Anderson, please leave before you get me fired."

Following this accidental advice, Zapper and Alan immediately headed into the room next-door to the morgue. Inside the dimly-lit room they came across row upon row of cages, all of which contained very unhappy-looking monkeys. Some of them were in various states of alteration from the effects of the Awakening. Alan saw Zapper's expression turn dark; the elf had been an animal rights activist before joining Alan's team.

They crossed the room carefully, while Alan noticed that the monkeys were unusually quiet about their presence. In the back of the room they came across a sealed door, with a voice lock next to it. Alan knew how such things worked, having one on his apartment door; all you had to do was say your name, and then something like "open up". The trouble was that such locks wouldn't open for just anyone, and he was willing to bet good money on whose voice the lock was programmed for.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Alan asked Zapper. "Can't you hack it or trick it somehow?"

"I can't hack it," Zapper replied, shaking his head. "If this is Burton's work, she'll be expecting something like that. We might be able to trick it with a recording of her voice, but don't ask me how we're going to get such a thing. I'm willing to bet she's also the one who sabotaged that bust computer; she wouldn't want anyone sniffing around in this business of hers, whatever it is."

Alan thought for a moment, scratching his chin. "Burton once mentioned that she went to the gym," he said. "Maybe you can catch her there now."

"Oh, great," Zapper said, rolling his eyes. "Am I supposed to just ask her to let us in here?"

"You're a journalist," Alan shrugged. "I'm sure you'll think of something."

***

A plan was quickly formed. Alan would stay behind and be ready to go inside the restricted chamber at a moment's notice, while Zapper would find a way to get a voice sample from Dr. Burton. Luckily Dr. Eccles didn't spot Zapper leaving the room unaccompanied.

As he headed to Silver's Gym, the only remaining gymnasium in town, Zapper found out that more of Catherine's journal had been decrypted. It seemed that Catherine had the same idea, but hadn't got round to getting an audio-visual editor to get past the lock. Stopping a moment to sign such an editor out of the library node (the recordings he made would be deleted in one month unless he renewed), he proceeded to the gym.

The gym was almost empty when Zapper arrived. It looked more like it had come from a military base than a place for the upper-crust to burn off the pounds, though attempts had been made to brighten it up with potted plants and a carpeted area. A variety of treadmills, weights and cycling machines were scattered about, and Zapper instantly recognised Dr. Burton running on one of the treadmills. According to the receptionist she ran ten miles every other day, and had done for years with no chit-chat. He crossed the room to the doctor, who remained absolutely focused on her workout even as Zapper approached her.

"Do you run, LeRoi?" she asked.

"Only for a story," Zapper chuckled. He stood close to the treadmill and leaned on one of the rails. Eventually, looking irritated, Burton switched off the treadmill and turned to face him.

"What do you want?" she asked, panting slightly.

"Just a quick interview," Zapper said, holding up his commlink and switching on the voice recorder. "So, Dr. Burton, can you-"

"Don't Dr. Burton me!" Burton snapped, looking affronted. "I've had enough of you expecting me to open up all the time! This is ridiculous! I don't have the time!"

"Come on," Zapper said. "Just one quote for attribution!"

"Everything I give to you," Burton stated with finality, "is off-the-record."

For once, Zapper didn't argue. He didn't want to sabotage this chance of questioning Burton, as she seemed to be more willing to answer questions if she wasn't being recorded. He switched off the voice recorder.

"So you used to be married to Eddie..." Zapper commented. "Somehow I can't picture you two together."

"Took you long enough, LeRoi," Burton sighed. "That was the biggest mistake of my life."

"How long did it take to figure that out?" Zapper asked.

"About five minutes," Burton replied. "Six months with the lawyers, eight years to forget."

"Alright," Zapper said, "so why are you obstructing Catherine's treatment?"

"I'm not!" Burton replied indignantly. "I know what I'm doing! Eddie may be a genius, but he's crazy! If your girlfriend dies because of him, it'll be my fault."

"So what about you and Rigden?" Zapper asked. "What's up there?"

"He brings me patients," Burton shrugged. "He throws his weight around the hospital until I throw him out. That's our relationship."

"Well," Zapper replied slyly, "I heard there was more to it than that."

"He's a man with a grudge," Burton stated.

"Against who?" Zapper chimed in.

"Who do you think?" Burton replied, with a penetrating glance. It seemed that she and Zapper were on the same wavelength about the Falconetti incident, so Zapper figured that little more needed to be said.

"I also know about Rigden breaking up your wedding," he said.

"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Burton replied coldly. "A charming guy like him?"

"Hard to believe he has a heart," Zapper quipped, "but I think it still beats for you."

Burton snorted. "When I married Joey," she said, "I learned how crazy Vincent Rigden is. He became obsessed with me and Joey. That obsession nearly ruined our lives. Now it might kill us all."

"I wonder if he went crazy before or after the WebRunners," Zapper said idly. Before Burton could interrupt, he quickly added, "Oh yeah, I know all three of you used to be WebRunners. You know, they call themselves the KnightRunners now?"

"That was fifteen years ago," Burton replied, "when I was a kid."

"So that's all it was?" Zapper asked, with traces of derision in his voice. "Kids' stuff?"

"Actually, it was exciting," Burton replied, with a look of longing. "I learned more about the Matrix there than I did in school, but basically it was all about games and I grew up."

"So you and Eddie were friends with Rigden back then," Zapper stated.

"'Friends' is pushing it," the doctor replied derisively.

"Look," Zapper retorted, "I would appreciate an honest response! I know that all three of you were members of this WebRunners thing! What are all three of you hiding?!"

"What makes you think we're hiding anything?" Burton replied calmly, causing Zapper to give a sharp laugh.

"Three people involved in a murder case," he stated, "all just happened to hang out together fifteen years ago?"

"Stranger things have happened," Burton replied, still unshakeable.

"Alright then," Zapper spat. "Did you hear that the Reaper's killed again?"

"That's a line I've heard often enough," Burton sighed.

"Stephanie Jordan," Zapper stated. "Maybe you know her."

The doctor's eyes went wide. "Stephanie Jordan?" she breathed. "I haven't seen her for fifteen years..." She turned away, now looking visibly shaken. "Same as the others?"

"Yeah," Zapper replied. Burton took several deep breaths. It seemed that Zapper had found a sore spot, though he couldn't decide if she was just a good actress. Burton seemed too shell-shocked to talk any further at present, so he thanked her and left the gym, grinning. He'd got what he wanted.

***

A few moments later, crouched in the dark and smelly animal storage room, Alan found an email from Zapper waiting in his commlink's inbox:

"Play this sound file I have attached, and hold it up to the voice lock. Record everything you find in there. Good luck!"

Hoping against hope that this would work, Alan held the commlink's microphone close to the voice lock and played the sound file attached to the email. It was Dr. Burton's voice, but Alan could tell that it had been edited and chopped up to give one simple phrase:

"This is Dr. Burton open up."

Much to Alan's surprised, the lock approved the message and there was a loud click as the door unlocked. Wondering what it was that the doctor had originally said, Alan stepped through the doorway and entered the room beyond.

He didn't have to be a Pulitzer prize-winner to realise that he had stumbled onto something big. The door led to an abandoned service tunnel, though it looked as if Dr. Burton had found a use for it. At the other end of the tunnel he found a door leading into a small, well-lit room, one half of which was filled with boxes. There was also a hospital bed with a filled body bag perched on it, which Alan assumed belonged to Stephanie Jordan.

A sudden beeping from his commlink alerted Alan to another email, again from Zapper:

"Just got another message from the Reaper. I wasn't able to trace the signal, but I've sent you a copy to have a look. Maybe you'll find something that can nail him, or rather her, in there."

Out of morbid curiosity, Alan played the file attached to the email. Again he saw the same glowing V-shaped ruby that he had seen in the other message Zapper showed him, and within seconds the unnerving metallic sound of the Reaper's voice seemed to fill the room.

"Dear Boss," it said, "see what happens when you get too close? Someone dies. To you, she had something to say, and now she's silent. I'm holding her tongue in my fingers right now, but it has nothing to say! It's dangerous to follow me. You've looked into my eyes, and I've seen your fear. Yours truly, Reaper."

Again, the glow from the ruby filled the screen before the message finished. Taking a moment to examine the bed, Alan found the autopsy report. It was indeed Stephanie's body, ripped limb from limb with an impossible amount of lacerations. Special care had been taken to chop her tongue clean out of her head. Again, there was no indication of what exactly had caused this.

Hoping and praying that Alan would find something in here that would end this madness, Alan crossed into the next room, which was a well-lit laboratory space. A variety of equipment lined the room, including microscopes, sound analysis equipment and a monkey in a cage with a number of wires attached to its head. More confused than ever, Alan switched on a small holographic projector that turned out to be a video log, showing Burton fiddling about with the switches and recording the monkey's (often very painful) reactions. He quickly made a copy of it to send to Zapper.

He spent a moment looking at the monkey in the cage. The animal's wide eyes peered at Alan, almost as if it was begging to be released. Alan couldn't help feeling sorry for it; he was sure that, had circumstances not benefitted him over seventy years ago, he would be caged up and poked at by scientists even now. He was distracted by a beeping from his commlink, indicating another message from Zapper:

"From what I can tell, she was performing cyber-cognitive experiments on monkeys. You know, in an effort to get animals to talk. The question is why she's hiding this kind of thing in a subway tunnel. I hate to say it, but maybe that monkey can give you the answers."

Alan winced, looking over at the controls Burton had used in the video log. He really wasn't sure he wanted to do this and cause that unfortunate monkey to be in any more pain, but he had a feeling it was the best witness for what was happening here. He crossed over to a control panel by the monkey's cage that looked like a mixing board, and fiddled about with the sliders before pressing a button. Instantly a zapping sound was heard, and the monkey gave a series of loud screeches. What shocked Alan was that he heard plain English mixed with the screeches, coming from a small loudspeaker:

"Hunger! Pain! Cold! Burning!"

Wincing, Alan knew that he couldn't give up. Giving an apologetic look at the monkey, he played about with the sliders again before activating the grotesque device again. Now the monkey spoke again.

"She hurts! Kills others like me without touching! Matrix!"

An appalled look spread across Alan's face. What did this all mean? Killing others without touching them? What was this about the Matrix? Just what was going on here?

Quickly, Alan sent recordings of everything that he had found to Zapper, informing him of everything he had found out, before making his way back to the Wild at Heart. Whatever Burton had done here, she had to be confronted about it.

***

Zapper received Alan's message, which prompted him to splutter indignantly. He had never heard of such appalling things being done to animals in his life; the activist in him wanted to see Burton locked up for this alone. He marched straight back into the gym and confronted Burton, who seemed to have recovered from her shock earlier and was in the process of finishing her workout. Zapper practically pushed his commlink in her face, showing her the pictures and files Alan had found.

"What's with this lab?!" he demanded.

The doctor looked surprised, but not a bit frightened.

"It's legitimate," she explained. "Just because it's hidden doesn't mean it's illegal. I'm doing some very important work in there, and I'm not talking to you, your partner, or anyone else about it!"

"Hiding Stephanie Jordan's body in a subway tunnel?" Zapper snorted. "That's legitimate?!"

"No comment," Burton said firmly.

"It would make a great front-page story," Zapper snarled.

"For the last time, LeRoi," Burton half-shouted, "no comment!"

"Secret labs," Zapper pressed on. "Mutilated animals. Remains of Reaper victims..."

"That's enough!" Burton interrupted, loud enough to draw odd looks from the other visitors in the gym.

"Talking monkeys!" Zapper yelled. "You know, I've never cited a monkey as a source!"

"LeRoi..." Burton sighed, clearly trying hard to regain her composure. "I'd like to help, but scientists don't just release research information like this."

"I'm not trying to screw you out of grant money, Doctor," Zapper retorted. "I am trying to find a murderer!" With that, he spun on his heel, snarled and marched back towards the door of the gym. Burton gazed after him, looking determined.

"Maybe I am too," she muttered quietly to herself.