THIRTY-THREE

Hold on a minute,” Vanessa said that evening when she and Kenna were finally alone in AdventureSome’s offices. “The werewolf program wouldn’t copy?”

“Now do you understand?” Kenna asked. “This isn’t normal.”

Vanessa ran a hand through her hair. “The only elements in VR that can’t be copied are the ones copyrighted by Virtu-Tech. They do that so people have to pay to access them.”

“Right.”

Squinting across the office at some middle distance, Vanessa continued to reason aloud. “But purchased elements can’t be moved, either. Plus, access expires after a relatively short length of time.”

“Uh-huh.” Kenna could be patient now that Vanessa was beginning to grasp what she had sensed all along.

“We have to assume that Jason knows how to copy. That he didn’t simply make a mistake.”

“I think that’s a safe assumption,” Kenna said. “I may not like the guy, but I respect his skills. He knows what he’s doing in there.”

“That means,” Vanessa said as she turned to her keyboard and began tapping, “we’re looking at a whole different type of component. A feature we’ve not encountered before.”

“Exactly,” Kenna said. “Can you isolate it? Can you trace it back to its source?”

Working faster now, Vanessa tightened her jaw. “They haven’t designed a program I can’t navigate.” Data from Kenna’s thumb drive finished uploading. “If the monster is still out there, I’ll find him.”

Kenna paced. “What happens when the person who created the werewolf goes to look for it and it’s not there?”

Vanessa hummed. “Good question.” She lifted her fingers from her keyboard and stared ahead. “I’d say it depends on what we discover when we trace it. Virtu-Tech automatically prevents copying from the moment a new element of theirs is released. What they don’t do, however, is prevent copying from their end.”

“So?” Kenna asked. “How does that matter?”

“Their designers work cooperatively. That means that anything created by a team member needs to be accessible to all of them. If this came out of Virtu-Tech, then chances are anyone working from their systems can retrieve the werewolf at any time. They have access to it from their own system, meaning they don’t need to search for its most recent appearance, the way you did.”

“And if this didn’t originate from Virtu-Tech?”

“Then somebody else has acquired some sophisticated technology.” Vanessa returned to the keyboard. “Let’s deal with that question later. Right now, I’m on the hunt for your monster.”

Twenty minutes later, Vanessa sat back.

“You found it?”

“Not yet.” Vanessa ran her fingers through her hair again. “But I’ve engineered a program to isolate its identifying markers. I’ve got it running now, but results could take a while.”

Kenna sat in a rolling chair across the aisle from Vanessa. “So we wait?”

“So we wait,” Vanessa agreed.

Kenna stared at the display on Vanessa’s monitor, but she was too far to make out any of the rapidly updating information. Dragging her gaze away, she tried to take her mind off the search. “Stewart mentioned a new man in your life,” Kenna said. “How’s that going?”

Vanessa laughed, though not cheerfully. “Not sure yet. He’s a good listener. Almost too good. I feel like he’s deeply interested in everything I have to say.”

“That’s not the worst thing.”

“But he’s overly interested, if that makes any sense,” Vanessa said. “I wish I knew more about him.”

“What do you know?” Kenna asked.

“His job takes him out of town from time to time. As a matter of fact, he’s in DC today. He’s headed back tonight.”

“What does he do?”

“Sales.”

“Of what?”

“I didn’t ask. Probably should have.” Vanessa shrugged. “He’s good-looking, fit, and generous with compliments. We’ve seen each other only a couple of times, and he can be very charming.”

“I’m sensing a ‘but.’”

Vanessa wrinkled her nose. “He always wants to stay in. I wouldn’t mind going out. We haven’t actually been on a real date yet. No dinner, no walk around the park, no movie.”

“Vanessa.” Kenna tilted her head. “Is this turning into another booty-call relationship? You swore you were done with those.”

She grimaced. “It’s not like I don’t enjoy myself, you know. And he’s really pretty good in bed. Attentive.” She made a so-so motion with her head. “Most of the time.”

“If you’ve only gotten together twice,” Kenna said, “there’s no ‘most of the time.’ He’s either attentive or not. Which is it?”

“I know. I know. I stink at this, don’t I?” Vanessa glanced back at the monitor before continuing. “This is why I wasn’t going to tell you about him. Not until I knew where the relationship was going. I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve fallen into the booty-call trap again. You’re so much stronger than I am. I hate confrontation.”

“This shouldn’t be confrontation,” Kenna said. “When you’re in a relationship, you should be able to express your needs without it becoming a problem.”

“I know that on a logical level.” Vanessa picked at her fingernails. “But knowing what’s right and actually doing what’s right are not the same thing. It’s hard.”

“Watch out for yourself, Vanessa. Don’t let anyone take advantage.”

Vanessa nodded. “Don’t hate me for putting it this way,” she said, “but what I really want is what you and Charlie had.”

Kenna’s heart lurched. She didn’t trust herself to speak.

“I wish I knew how to get there.”

Vanessa’s monitor dinged. In a flash, she returned to studying it, fingers flying across her keyboard.

“What is it?” Kenna asked. “Did you find it?”

“Hang on.”

Kenna got up and began pacing again. She stole glances over Vanessa’s back to study the screen but only saw diagrams and images she couldn’t decipher.

Picking up the pace, Vanessa leaned closer—like a person hunched over a steering wheel—staring in at the digital road ahead. She made noises as she worked but Kenna couldn’t discern whether they were expressions of aggravation or optimism.

A long minute later, Vanessa pushed back in her rolling chair, arms extended in exultation. “Woo-hoo!” she hollered. “I nailed you, you wily bastard.”

“Yes!” Kenna cheered. “Where?” she asked. “Where did he come from?”

“He’s a Virtu-Tech creation. No doubt about it.” Vanessa pointed. “And he was born in the building right down the street. Chicago headquarters.”

“How did he get into Charlie’s scenario?” Kenna asked.

“That, I can’t tell you. I’ve been insisting that technology for remote access doesn’t exist.” She tapped her station. “But after seeing this and knowing what happened to you in there, I’m starting to have my doubts.”