Crystal
Crystal - Yuoan Brasseur 2023
Kareken was used to interpreting 3D monitorimages, but this time Harry had to explain to her what she was seeing.
„It’s an empty space in the serverstack.“
She reacted slowly.
„OK.“
„You have to look at it this way: That space shouldn’t be empty. Every message across the Net is split into packages. They are sent by random servers until they come together again at the destination. Each server registers packages coming in and leaving it in a log file. You should see the record of such a datapackage here, but the space is empty.“
„And that shouldn’t be possible?“
He nodded affirmatively.
„That shouldn’t be possible.“
***
On the quay below the Erasmusbridge a camp had grown of people wanting to escape the digital world. No personal WebWorlds, no Goofs, no oppression. There were mainly boxes and plastic tarpaulins with an occasional tent. Some people had bivouaced there since the beginning of the crisis. Others had had to give up their screenaddiction after providers had been forced to sell their rights to the Citycouncil and a start had been made with threaded connections. Everybody could be watched. Privacy was gone if you made use of the all present cables that could be plugged in a contact behind your ear.
Michaela had chosen not to have the contact placed. Among other things, that was the reason she was to be found in the camp seventy percent of the time. The rest of it she divided over skimming the streets at this level (Below) and silently entering the more luxurious dwellings at the higher leven (Above).
***
He turned the nameplate around and around in his hands and stared out of the window at the thirtyseventh floor over the city in the direction of the Hook of Holland. One time the tall chimneypipes of Shell Pernis had dominated the view on the winding river, but now only the glass of highrise buildings and mansions and the greenery inbetween was to be seen as far as the eye could reach.
His clients had changed from spouses suffering from adultery and small enterprises suffering from fraude to safetyleaks, burglaries and infringements on improved DNArights. If money were still in play, he could have become rich from it. He sighed.
The 3D image of his personal WebWorld disappeared immediately after unplugging. This didn’t take him anywhere. Time for a tasty cup of coffee. He stood up from his tailormade chair, but before he could pour the brown liquid from the can into a mug, a woman in a glittering dress and tinkling bracelets swayed between the planting beds and murmuring waterstreams into his field of vision.
„Jacob Dachsfelt?“
„Coffee?“
She shook her redbrown curly head.
„Just had a macche on my way here, thank you.“
She took a note from her handbag, hesitated for a moment and then handed it to him.
„I need your expertise.“
***
Pondering she sat on one of the benches and took small bites from her sandwich. The square was as good as empty, though the temperature was agreeable. The tree she was sitting under, held enough shadow for her not to have to hold her hand above her eyes because of the low angle of the sun.
Recently she had cut her long silverblonde hair shorter and the ponytail she was wearing at the moment was just held together with a blue piece of string. She would lose that as soon as she, as usual, would press a hand against the back of her head to lessen the pain in her neck. After the accident and her husband’s death, she had had complaints of a migraine-like nature for a while. Fortunately they had passed. For a while she hadn’t been able to get much work done and the Citycouncil had been on the verge of finding a replacement.
Kareken thought about the empty space in the logfile of the server. Someone had removed the registration of the datapackage. Someone with skills. And access to the secure part of the CityNet. She chewed on the last bite, rose and started to walk in the direction of the Tradebuilding. The time had come to get an expert’s assitance.
***
The silhouette stood out against the faint shine of the lights on the belly of the bridge. She distinguished a man or woman wrapped in a thick blanket and a spacious cloth around the head and across the left shoulder. She had slept a long time into the day and still didn’t feel superb. It had been a long, long night. Without asking the owner’s permission she had gone into one of the freestanding mansions Above, looking for jewelry, precious plugin modules or whatever-as-long-as-it-would-produce-prestige, but was caught out by the inhabitant in his chique suit. He had watched her with amusement from his wheelchair and asked if she had found something she liked. They had chatted pleasantly for about an hour or so and at daybreak she had said goodbye with a kiss on his cheek.
Michaela stretched yawning.
„What do you want?“
The cloth was removed and the blanket was opened. He appeared to be an adolescent boy.
„Can I join you?“
„Again, what do you want from me?“
His face was covered with acne and a milimetered pelt threw a dark shadow on the top of his head.
„They said to look you up. With my problem. That I have.“
He stammered a bit, but she found that endearing enough.
„Ah, so THEY said I could help you?“
He shook his head.
„No. Just to look you up.“
She tapped the nearly clean duvet on which she had had her morning nap.
„Sit yourself down then.“
***
The woman in the redbrown curls had introduced herself as Eline. That’s what it sounded to him. It could have been Eileen or Ailine or something like that. He had studied the paper she had handed to him, poured coffee into two mugs and placed them on a low table between two low couches in the officegarden. Now they sat opposite each other and drank from the hot coffee studying one another.
„Mrs Hanssen is an acquaintance of yours?“
She smiled.
„Not really. My husband is a coworker.“
„He’s a physician too?“
„Technician.“
They drank some more.
„Well, explain to me what I can be of your service with then.“
She put the mug on the table, opened a pouch he hadn’t seen before, pulled out a piece of cloth and spread it out next to the mug. There lay four crystalshaped stones of about two centimeters in size on it.
„Are those...“
She nodded.
„Yes. And two are missing.“
„Alright. Now I understand why you were sent to me.“
***
Kareken didn’t like the contact behind her ear. Unfortunately it was the only way to get into direct contact with the man she wanted to reach at this moment. Fortunately the Council had allowed her a free plug. Now she could walk to and fro through the part of the officegarden that was assigned to her and where she stayed within reach of her wireless connection. One step outside of it and security would cut off her Net access. She called his name and almost immediately he came online.
„Hi Kareken, what do you need me for this time?“
In the background she could hear someone utter something in an indignant tone and she could picture him raising a hand to what would be his client. She smiled. Still numero uno.
***
The kid had told his story and Michaela gazed over the New Maas river flowing along the quay. Small boats were bobbing on the water. Some took passengers to the other side. Others sailed upstream or downstream to places on the quays that couldn’t be seen from her spot. She was leaning against one of the pillars that supported Above.
Davy was the young man’s name. It came down to him doing something that wasn’t tolerated anymore by the Council. At least, it was something that was virtually impossible nowadays. He had the standard contact behind his ear, but he claimed he could do without it. She had looked at him incredulously and he had shown her.
She looked over her shoulder at where he was sleeping curled on her duvet. She was thinking of several tasks already, where she could make good use of his skill. O yeah. His ability would come in handy for her trips Above.
***
Eline/Eileen/Aileen asked: „Do we settle immediately?“
He shook his head.
„No, only when I have found the missing crystals and handed them back to you.“
She released a relieved sigh.
„Mrs Hanssen told me you demanded payment in ... eh ... special form.“
He poured them both another coffee.
„Did she now?“
***
Balthazar zoomed across the square below the protective dome towards the Tradebuilding. In a few minutes he would see her again. Not that he was in love with her. No way, he told himself. But she was the sciencechief of the Citycouncil. Providing a service for her would make him score. In hindsight he was grateful for his mother Maya pushing him to trade his playboy life for beta studies. He guessed there was no more need for history or geography teachers, or any alpha profession, so he had gone and had studied algorithms and computer architecture. His wristcoding opened the elevatordoor without problem and he rose up to where she was waiting for him.
He found his way between green planting beds and small waterstreams on a path of large bordering stones to the boundaries of her piece and caught himself whistling a happy tune. And there she was, a beautiful, tall woman with - surprise! - shorter hair in a fashionable pantsuit. She was walking to and fro mumbling to herself within the imaginary walls of the private wireless connection. He waited respectfully until she finished her deliberation and beckoned him nearer to her.
„Goodafternoon Baltus.“
„Hi Kareken.“
„I need you for an impossible mission.“
***
Davy stared at her incredulously.
„You want me to do what?“
Patiently she repeated her question.
„Can you appropriate the data of a person for me at the address I’m going to give you presently, in such a way that nobody can trace it to me on the Net?“
***
The garden was filled with silence. Now that the dome was finished above Above there was little wind and certainly no noise from the traffic banned to Below and the planes taking off and descending at The Hague airport. Eline Vizenski lived in a quiet neighbourhood.
They sat on metal bistrochairs at a metal bistrotable sipping elitist coffee. She had shown him where she normally kept the clothwrapped crystals. The safe showed no signs of breakin, so it hadn’t been a regular thief. Afterwards he had subjected her to a third degree and had come to the conclusion she herself was probably not involved. It might have been done by one of the roaming criminals from Below. Some were very resourceful and because here special skills were involved, his choice was limited to about six of them.
A good start of his investigation. it wouldn’t take too long to find the one who had stolen the cystals. And curly head hadn’t put up a fight against payment in kind. Yes. A nice case.
***
She gave him a chaste kiss on the top of his skull. Well, he was seated and she was standing.
„We have a computerproblem.“
He hadn’t expected otherwise. His hands were resting on the armrails of his wheelchair. She explained how Harry had found out what was missing on that one server and ended: „That should be impossible.“
He grinned.
„If you have access it can certainly be done. Finding the registration of that one package. That is the skill. You have to admire that.“
***
His name was Balthazar. Balthazar II in fact, for he was the son of Net guru Maya and former billionaire Balthazar (I). Furthermore, the kid had found out that this Bathazar (II) had stepped in his mother’s shoes and had become a troubleshooter in high demand. She could watch him in the gardenoffice through the all present sneaky cameras that had to make sure the Citycouncil could keep order and have an eye out for troubleseekers. She hadn’t known about the cameras until Davy had magically conjured up the images.
First she had had him remove registered footage of her earlier escapades. That he had done. Now she felt somewhat more secure. Her visit to his mansion Above could not be found anymore by him or any other snoop.
***
Dachsfelt’s bot sailed across the waves of the Net and was following the fourth lead that Jacob had laid out for it. The first three had yielded nothing. The individuals tracked were either dead or long gone from the Rotterdam enclave. Number one had been found murdered in the New Maas river near the former Brienenoord island. Number two had traveled to the countryside of Brabant about five months before. Number three’s head was found several weeks earlier. A settlement in the criminal circuit surely. The present investigation had yielded this living and locally present fourth person and the bot was patiently sniffing her out. She had left a easily followable trace. The detective rubbed his hands. Piece of cake.
***
The guy in his wheelchair had been sitting deathly quiet for more than thirty minutes. If she looked carefully, she could see a small vein pulsating on his left temple. He hardly breathed.
She tasted the real coffee. She had ground the rare beans and poured the granulate in the cylinder of the antique percolator. The water was purified, boiled and she smelled the scent of fresh coffee as soon as she poured the delicious liquid into her mug. She surely enjoyed the priviliges of being head scientist of the Citycouncil. Yes she did.
***
Michaela was bored and had gone to do other things. She strolled along the quay and chatted a bit with several people. She had instructed Davy to call her as soon as the situation would change.
Watching somebody stare in front of him for half an hour was more than enough to make even the most patient medieval monk die of boredom. She didn’t like wasting time, so she was networking. Keeping contacts warm, remembering people of their obligations to her. Scrounging small things that wouldn’t be missed anyhow.
***
End of the line. Jacob shivered. End of trail. The six people he had searched were missing in the cityregisters. In the public ones and in those of the Citycouncil. In the fencenet there was no mention of the two crystals. He puffed his lips. He was disappointed. Now he had to take steps himself. Literally.
He made a list of things known to him so far. The crystals were stolen the day before yesterday. According to Eline Vizenski. The safe hadn’t been broken open. That he had checked himself. Special skills were needed for a robbery like this. The people he deemed able for such a feat hadn’t been in the Rotterdam enclave for more than a month. There had to be a new guy who had remained under the radar up to now. And where would he find such a guy? Not with the known fences. Could it be a disappointed employee? If somebody was able to perform such a burglary, there had to have been a period before it for practice and making mistakes.
Two tracks remained he could follow up on. One: someone in the entourage of Vizenski with a knowledge of safecracking. Two: someone who was hiding in the camp below the Erasmusbridge and had asked for protection from the anti-digitalists.
He sent a bot to collect intel about the Vizenski-clique and decided to descend in person to Below to have a look around the camp. Disguised of course. Too many people would be able to recognize Dachsfelt.
***
The lists scrolled by. Balthazar could find nothing special about them. Everything was as it should be. It almost escaped his attention. There! No wait. There it was again. And... gone. There. Not there. There. Finally he was able to freeze and fix it in one place. Gotcha!
He stirred, unplugged and looked up at her, smiling. Kareken put the mug down on her desk, next to a pile of papers.
„You found something?“
„How long was I out?“
„Almost fortyfive minutes.“
„It was hard to find. Harder even to get a fix on it. Whoever did this is a master at his art.“
She poured him a coffee, blew on the surface before handing it to him.
„Thanks, I could use one. I’m parched.“
He took his time. She wouldn’t mind. As long as he was successful, she would put up with him stalling. And stalling he did. She had long since guessed he liked her, liked being around her. He wasn’t too ugly, but she admired his brain most of all. He had saved her ass more times already than could be counted on the fingers of two hands. Indulging in this whim of his was nothing more than investing in future much needed assistance.
***
When she was younger, Michaela had tried to be a good girl. And failed. Not because she didn’t have the stomach for it. Oh no. She wanted to be good. And she had friends.
One day they all went Above to watch the Summer Carnival parade. Scarcely dressed actors danced and swayed in the now free-from-traffic streets. Music was played by colourful bands. Thousands of people were standing alongside the streets, enjoying the ambiance. She was wearing a tight dress without pockets or anything to keep her purse in. So she had hung a ribbon around her neck and her purse on it, beneath the top of her dress. It made a bit of a bulge, and her friends had teased her with having three tits.
Unaware of any danger, she had hipped and hopped with her friends, until she had felt someone bump into her, someone she hadn’t recognized. He had snatched at the ribbon and torn her purse from it, leaving her still not fully developed breasts in plain sight. Everybody first stood there, astonished and practically paralyzed. Then she had got angry.
She had pulled up her dress, kicked off her high heels and started after the thief. He hadn’t been fast enough, so she had overtaken him and kicked at his legs. After he had fallen down, she had kept on kicking and kicking and kicking. One of her friends had stopped her, holding her back, arms behind her back.
At the policestation she had been questioned, processed and released from custody. Her criminal record had been stored in the Cityregisters. After that day her friends had kept her at a distance. And gradually they had abondoned her. And she had grown the way she had become.
***
In the mirror he saw a strange face. Even his eyes were another colour. Jacob was almost ready to leave for Below, when the telltale signal began to sound and blink. Quickly he pushed the plug into his contact. His bot had found something!
***
„I cannot be sure about the content of the missing datapackage of course, but it would have been part of a coherent message.“
She looked at Balthazar - or Baltus as she nicknamed him - while he was explaining this to her. He always remained calm, never doubted his ability to complete an assignment. It was a good thing she had discovered his qualities and he hadn’t disappointed her yet.
„You can find comparable packages belonging to the same message?“
„I can.“
Of course he could. Look at him sitting there, all gleaming with satisfaction for another task fulfilled, she thought. Sometimes he was too sure of himself. Sometimes she hated his cocksure attitude. But then again he had always lived up to her expectations up to now.
„And I have.“
***
She shook his shoulder and woke up the kid. Davy blinked his eyes and looked at her without seeing much.
„Yes?“
„There’s work to be done. Rise and shine, pretty boy. And make magic happen.“
***
She was Eline Vizensky’s cousin. Levuté. She had come to Rotterdam a few months before from the Lahore enclave and was placed under the protection of The Clan and put to work at the Bunker, their secretive blackop base of operations. It was she who had left the crystals in Eline Vizenski’s care. The crystals that would have been priceless if only money had still been around.
She stood out in the intel the bot had gathered about the Vizensky entourage. Husband uninteresting, close relatives not important, friends not worth mentioning, dealings with acquaintances uneventful. Except with the Hanssens of course.
Dachsfelt stored the data into an informationcube for later study. He had been on his way Below and he was determined to follow up on his previous intention. So he left the gardenoffice, descended to the ground floor and made his way to the metrostation entrance.
***
Levuté stared at the four crystals on the soft cloth.
„They stole two?“
Her aunt nodded affirmatively.
„You hired a detective?“
The same gesture.
„Is he any good?“
„He comes highly recommended by Mrs Hanssen.“
Levuté raised an eyebrow.
„Corinne? How do you know her?“
„We play bridge together at the Club. Your uncle and I and she and her husband.“
She touched one of the crystals.
„What are they for, anyway?“
Levuté started to laugh.
„If I tell you, ...“
„You’d have to kill me. Yes. I understand. But really, can you tell me anything?“
„No I can’t.“
She looked at her aunt, spread her arms and raised her shoulders.
„We need them at the Bunker. That’s all it is safe to say and for you to know.“
***
She was holding Davy’s hands as they sat opposite each other. They were inside one of the rare tents, hidden from sight, probably secure enough to do what she wanted done. The kid had closed his eyes and his thoughts had drifted from the tent towards the Citycouncil’s registers. Without the obligatory cable.
They were close to one of the thousands of outlets for the cableconnections of course. He had explained to her that he had to be in proximity of one, otherwise he couldn’t do it. And she had seen him do it before, so she wasn’t surprised anymore that he could do it.
Michaela imagined him entering a closed room with ceilinghigh bookcases with nothing but papers stacked on shelves, some spilling over and scrolls sticking out of bins and... Stop! Untrue. He would be looking at energyflashes and electrical switches at microlevel. Not some romantic study filled with knowledge in manuscript form. There I go again, she thought. Shut up, fantasy!
He started to speak softly.
„I’m there.“
***
She pressed her wrist against the pad and entered the Bunker when the sliding door opened. Faint lights on the walls barely lit the room enough to find her way to her seat. It hung by means of a long chain from the ceiling, and it swung a bit when she sat down in it. Only Karlssen was present. The rest of the workstations was empty.
Levuté sat staring at the central elevation for some time. Clearly Karlssen had spotted her, because he unplugged and came over to her.
„You ok, Traveler?“
That was the nickname he had given her early on, when she had just started in the Bunker. Because she made journeys on the Net, he explained. Not just on the CityNet, but all over, the entire WorldNet.
„No.“
„What’s up then?“
She looked up at him. A fine fellow he was, medium height, average face, unobtrusive, a ghost almost. That described him fully. She liked him. He was the reason she had come to Rotterdam.
„I had to leave them in a safe place. The crystals. So I thought, who do I trust enough to have them guarded by? Who has a safe safe, you know what I mean. I didn’t want to leave them lying around here. You I trust of course, but you know, I haven’t been around long enough yet for me to trust our colleagues...“
„And you didn’t want me to keep an eye on them?“
„Oh, sure. I mean, you weren’t around. You are often away on assignments for your family.“
„The Clan.“
„Yes, your family. So you weren’t my first choice.“
„Love you too, Levuté. Of course I understand. So where did you take them?“
„My aunt’s. We locked them in her safe, but now they were stolen...“
„All six of them?“
„No. Two. The most useful ones.“
He stood silent for a couple of seconds, his hand on her shoulder. She didn’t mind. She had only known him for a few days before coming to Rotterdam, but she had never felt more at home with anybody than him. Besides her friend Valérie of course. So his hand on her shoulder wasn’t an invasion of privacy. At least not to her.
„Can we retrieve the missing ones? Any idea who took them?“
„Not yet. My aunt hired a detective. Dachsfelt. He is looking for them.“
He grinned.
„Jacob? That’ll cost her.“
„Well, they were taken on her watch!“
***
„Got it!“
Michaela startled from her waking dream. They were inside a tent. Yeah, she knew where she was again.
„And?“
„The most promising news flash I can find is the theft of some crystals. Everybody is after them.“
„Who?“
„The Vizenski’s, Dachsfelt, The Clan, probably the guy you had me investigate earlier, whats-his-name-Balthazar, the Council science department, I guess. Maybe even the Bunker.“
She smiled. Prestige. Lots of it, if she could get her hands on these crystals. A warm glow filled her innards. This was it. This was her chance to be the Golden Girl among her peers.
„Did you cover your tracks?“
He grinned.
„I sure did. And left behind a few gaps for them to wonder about.“
***
Kareken stepped into the Bunker. Only Karlssen was there and she progressed to him. He was plugged into the Net and she softly touched his arm. He twitched. And turned his head to see who it was that was disturbing him. Then he quickly unplugged.
„Kareken, my dear. What can I do for you. You heard about the crystals?“
She sat down in the seat of an adjacent workstation and swung it to and fro a little. She wasn’t used to sitting still.
„The crystals you three brought back from Lahore? What about them?“
„They have been misplaced. I mean, they were stolen. Not all of them. Two.“
„I thought Levuté had them?“
„She did, but didn’t know of a secure place to leave them, so she put them in her aunt’s safe.“
„And somebody opened the safe and took just two of them?“
„Levuté says they are the most useful ones.“
„Hm.“
Bart Karlssen knew when not to interfere with her most inner thoughts. Kareken was a Ten. He had been in love with her from the moment he had met her at a party at his granddad’s. She was married at the time, and he was devastated for her when she and her husband had the accident and he died and she got her migraines.
She had become a friend, who had helped him set up his personal WebWorld by creating a Goof to improve on it and maintain it. His WebWorld was nice, a house by the reeded river on a sloping lawn and an apple orchard behind it. He spent much time in it, just reading or walking between the trees, eating an apple.
„Can we do without the missing crystals?“
He shrugged.
„I don’t know for sure. I have to check with Valérie at our laboratory at the Hamburg enclave.“
„Let Levuté do that. Something has come up and I have an assignment for you.“
„Local?“
She nodded.
„Strictly for your ears and eyes only. Down below.“
„Ok, I’ll inform Levuté and get to your gardenoffice in a couple of minutes.“
She stood up and strode away. Man, she looked good. Picture perfect.
***
Jacob, or Rico as he called himself in this disguise, walked briskly along the massive side of the bridge until he saw the first dwellings. Then he started a leisurely stroll and behave nonchalantly as if he had nothing to hide. Some locals just looked at him, others didn’t even raise their heads. He knew they were watching him. Every single one of them.
The stink wasn’t too bad. There was the river nearby of course. Most of them must use it to clean themselves every once in a while. And the Citycouncil had rubbish cleaners come down here at least twice every month to get rid of most of the dirt left behind by people either too sick to remove it themselves or dead.
„I’m looking for a friend of mine. “
Nobody reacted to this statement. Of course not. They probably all had obligations to her.
„Her name is Michaela. Do you know where she is at the moment? She’s not in her regular place.“
One or two bums lifted an arm hesitantly, both in a different direction.
„Thank you.“
It didn’t pay to be unfriendly. Kindness took you much farther along the way to your destination. Experience speaking there.
He took a bar of synthetic chocolate from his pocket and started peeling off the wrapper. He took a bite and then held it up and waved it a bit.
„Anybody?“
A young man rose up, stood before him and stretched out his hand.
„Hi, I’m Rico. And you are?“
„Davy, sir.“
„Ah, and you are polite too.“
He broke off a piece and handed it to the boy.
„Thank you, sir.“
„You ARE well educated, aren’t you. You been here long?“
Davy shook his head, taking small bites from the chocolate.
„No, sir. Just a few days.“
„You don’t know where Michaela is then?“
Davy shook his head once more.
„Fine chocolate, sir.“
As the boy kept staring at the bar, Jacob/Rico broke off another piece and gave it to him.
„Ever heard of her?“
Davy nodded.
„Everybody here has, I guess. She kind of runs most of the place, sir.“
„Ok, I’ll continue looking for her then. See you around some time, maybe.“
„Ok, sir. Thank you for the chocolate, sir.“
When Jacob/Rico turned and walked on, Michaela got up from under the duvet and stood beside the boy, hand on shoulder.
„You did well, Dave. You have a lot of practice playing beggar?“
Davy sighed.
„Let me tell you how easy it is to deceive people who live Above. They expect you to behave in a certain way down Below. I find that if you don’t, they will be much more generous. What would this man want from you? He clearly isn’t a security person.“
Michaela stared after the shape of him, vanishing between the shelters in the distance.
„Dunno. Hope it isn’t in any way connected to the crystals.“
A voice behind them made them jump.
„Hi Michaela, Dave.“
When they turned around, an inconspicuous man was standing there, legs a bit separated, clearly expecting them to run or put up a fight.
„You must be a regulator of The Clan.“
„Right you are Michaela. My name doesn’t matter. I want to know two things from you: do you have the crystals or not?“
„No. You with him?“
She turned her head slightly in the direction Jacob/Rico had taken.
„Dachsfelt? No. He’s a detective following up on leads. I’m, as you said, a sort of regulator.“
Davy moved a bit from one foot on the other and was clearly nervous.
„Are you going to arrest us, sir?“
Karlssen laughed out loud.
„I surely am not. I couldn’t care less if you broke the law. Hell, I break it all the time.“
Michaela looked at him, tilting her head a bit.
„Why are you after the crystals?“
„We need them at the Bunker.“
„Ah. What if I find them before you?“
„Guess you will hand them to me then. For a recompensation of course.“
Michaela took Davy’s hand and squeezed it. She wasn’t afraid of this guy. Not here. Not Below. Maybe she was overestimating her influence among the locals. Maybe he was more powerful than he pretended. Maybe. Maybe. She had an advantage though. She had Davy.
„The second thing?“
He smiled broadly, looking at Davy.
„I’m investigating an impossible crime.“
***
His house was a mansion Above, situated in the middle of a lush park with trees, bushes, ponds, lawns and a reasonably flat stone path leading up to the front porch. It was a gift from his father, Balthazar I, when he was still alive. His mother Maya sometimes visited him here, when she had come back down to earth from her elevated position as a Bonze at the top floor of the Tradebuilding.
He had an office in the westwing. It was fairly empty, except for a spacious desk and some racks with information cubes of all sizes and shapes. Dooropenings were wide, so he could easily access it from the kitchenwing and the living quarters. Mathematically speaking, the elevator was in the centre of the mansion. From there he could ascend to the master bedroom, bathroom and spare bedrooms. Every once in a while they were used.
„Hello Michaela.“
She had rung the bell, an oldfashioned bell in the shape of, well, a wedgeshaped bell. They had rung the bell to be more precise, because she was accompanied by a young man whose face was a landscape filled with pimples and craters and Karlssen, the Clan investigator.
„This is Davy. He can explain things.“
Balthazar (II) asked them in and led them into the sitting room. That was the only place where there were enough chairs for his guests to sit on. Karlssen poured them something to drink and after that placed himself in the background. He rested his hands on the armrails of his wheelchair and observed the girl and the boy nervously moving their bodies on their seats. They clearly weren’t at ease. He would break the ice then.
„Last time you were here, you wanted to steal things.“
She smiled nervously.
„Yeah, and a good burglary I made of it.“
„I liked the kiss you gave me when you left.“
Did she blush? He hadn’t meant to embarras her. The other night they had had a nice talk. She was witty and good to look at and overall a lovely young woman. He could almost forgive her for being a thief.
„Well Davy, tell me all about it.“
„I, eh, can go on the Net without making use of a cable, sir.“
„A regular hacker, aren’t you?“
He nodded.
„And I have created the gaps, the omissions in the registers, sir.“
„You deleted the datapackages?“
Davy nodded again. He bowed his head as if he were ashamed of his actions.
„I asked him to do that. Get rid of the records of my, eh, activities.“
„You did, Michaela?“
Now it was her turn to nod. Balthazar studied the both of them. Then he looked at Karlssen.
„You sniffed them out?“
Karlssen grinned.
„I followed Dachsfelt and overheard him speaking with Davy. Then I overheard her and Davy. And I added two and two together. So here we are.“
„Kareken will be pleased to hear of this.“
„She will be. We haven’t found the crystals though.“
„The crystals?“
Michaela jumped in.
„Rico, I mean Jacob Dachsfelt, was asking about the crystals. Davy found a reference to them on the Net, so I thought it would bring me, us, a lot of prestige if I, we, would be able to track them down. For The Clan, of course.“
Balthazar stared at her. Then at Davy. Then at Karlssen.
„Important are they, these crystals?“
„I can’t even begin to tell you. I really cannot, you know. Covert Bunker-op. Extremely hush hush.“
Davy looked up, his face lighting up like a sun coming from behind a raincloud.
„I can help track them down.“
„I bet you can, kid. I bet you can.“
***
They had never dreamed of spending time at the topfloor of the Tradebuilding. After Davy had scoured the Net in pursuit of the missing crystals, had supplied them with the name and whereabouts of the perpetrator, the manhunt and persecution of a coworker of Karlssen’s and Levuté’s, they had been humbly requested to join the Bonzes in their gardenoffice domain.
Kareken was there as the sciencechief of the Citycouncil. Representatives of the Council were there. Members of The Clan, relatives of Karlssen’s, were there. Karlssen himself was there. And herself and Davy were there, of course.
„Thank you for helping us return the crystals to their proper owners.“
The pater familias’s speech was longer, but Michaela didn’t pay much attention. She was scouting the place out. What treasure would she be able to take from here! Prestige!
„Hey girl, what are you dreaming about?“
She heard Balthazar speak, but her thoughts were wandering too far for her to really listen to him.
„Huh?“
„You wondering how much loot you can score here?“
She stammered a bit, trying to compose herself.
„How do you know?“
„Well, I don’t know you very well yet, but judging by our little talk a couple of nights ago, I guess that was what you were thinking about. And I would really like to get to know you better.“
Yes! Now he caught her blushing. Maybe he would be able to win her over some time in the not too distant future.
Kareken had taken the boy’s hand in hers, had looked him in the eye and had complimented him with his ability for wifi Net connection.
„Would you consider working for me?“
„Doing what, ma‘am?“
She smiled.
„Stealing, deleting stuff, changing stuff, chasing bad guys on the Net? Not just the CityNet, the entire WorldNet.“
„Legit?“
„If you work for me, yes. Definitely.“
„Is it ok, if I consult with Michaela before answering your question, ma’am?“
„My name is Kareken. And yes, of course you may consult with your friend.“
Pensively, Davy frowned his eyebrows.
„She is not exactly my friend... And if I worked for you, you‘d protect me from her, wouldn’t you, ma’am?“
Kareken looked up at the girl, standing beside Balthazar’s wheelchair.
„Dangerous is she?“
„Not exactly dangerous. Not ENTIRELY dangerous, more strong-willed, ma’am.“
After a moment’s silence he blurted out: „I don’t need to speak with her. My answer is yes. Yes I will work for you. I will do everything you ask me to do. I will seek out your adversaries on the entire WorldNet. Ma’am.“
And pursue your own goals in the meantime, Kareken thought. O boy. What did she have on her hands now? Good thing he would spend most of his time in the Bunker.
Impressum
Texte: yuoan brasseur
Cover: yuon brasseur
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 24.04.2023
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