"Good day to you," he said in flawless Japanese. "To what cause do I owe this interruption of my work?" Aneki was no longer surprised by Leonardo's abrupt manner. He had dealt with it before and did not allow the breach in etiquette to ruffle him. "And how does your work progress?" he asked. Leonardo gave an expressive shrug. "As well as can be expected, under the circumstances. Things proceed apace, but there are only so many hours in the day and so much yet to be done." He leaned forward in the chair-an impressive gesture for a hologram-and fixed his intense gaze on Aneki. "That is why I would like an answer to my question. Why have you seen fit to disrupt my work with this interruption?" Aneki swallowed hard under that unsettling gaze but maintained his composure. He was about to reply when Watanabe spoke up for the first time. "We need more," she said, going immediately to the point. "The technology we have is not enough." Leonardo turned his head toward her, and a faint smile played across his sculpted lips. "And suppose there is no more, Watanabe-san? What if Renraku now has all of the little toys I might have to offer you. What then?" Watanabe's face darkened at the elf's mocking tone. "Do not play games with us Leonardo." Her tone was cold. "We know you have not yet shared all of the technological treasures from that laboratory of yours. We have provided you with billions of nuyen to fund your… project and you have given us little more than crumbs of knowledge and technology in return. We expect some kind of return on our investment." One of Leonardo's eyebrows raised in a delicate arch. "Indeed? I understood Renraku's stock has been steadily increasing in value over the past year and a half. Your products are beating out all others in their respective markets and your company holds the cutting edge in computer and Matrix technology, all thanks to my 'little crumbs.' I would think putting Renraku on the fast-track to becoming the most powerful megacorporation in the world would be worth more than a paltry few billion nuyen." Aneki decided to intervene before the situation got out of hand. There still might be a chance to reason with Leonardo before he went off into one of his fits of pique. "Leonardo-san," he began in a calming tone, "we are indeed appreciative of your genius and how it has benefited Renraku, just as I am sure you are appreciative of the resources our company has made available for the continuation of your very important work." In truth, Aneki had little idea what Leonardo's "great work" concerned. The elf inventor was eccentric at best, and quite probably certifiable, but the value of his inventions could not be denied. It certainly would not be the first time a corporation bowed to the whims of an erratic genius. "But," Aneki continued, "our mutually beneficial relationship is threatened. Renraku's growth and prosperity has created concern among the other megacorporations, and there are those who would topple us from the pinnacle we have achieved. We need additional technology from you to make sure that does not happen so we can continue to provide you with the resources you need to continue your work undisturbed." The CEO's words seemed to have the desired effect on Leonardo. His image sat back in the chair and appeared to consider and carefully weigh Aneki's words for a few moments. "And what will I receive in return for providing you with more of my research?" Aneki had already thought carefully about how he would respond to this inevitable question. "In addition to our gratitude, we are prepared to increase the resources at your disposal. Renraku has profited from your work and we are willing to share our profits with all those involved in our corporate family." Leonardo's slow smile made it clear that he did not feel he was a part of anyone's "corporate family," but he was at least willing to consider the offer. The elf seemed more amused by the prospect than anything else. He steepled his fingers again and leaned forward. "I will consider your offer," he said slowly. "We will speak again soon, and I will let you know my decision." Watanabe looked like she was about to say something, then seemed to think better of it. Aneki cleared his throat. "We have prepared information on our most important needs," he began, and Leonardo smiled his enigmatic smile. "I know," Leonardo said. "I've already downloaded it from your database. I will review it and you will hear from me soon. I have… other matters to consider and another distraction awaiting me." Without any further comment, the elf's image fuzzed and faded out of existence, leaving only an empty chair once again. Watanabe looked over at Aneki, who consulted the console on his desk. He gave a bit of a shrug as he turned back toward her. "The system reports we are secure in here, but where he's involved, how can anyone be sure?" Watanabe spoke the thought that was on both their minds. "He got through the new 1C. Easily, from the look of things." Aneki nodded. "Did you really expect otherwise?" he said. Intrusion Countermeasures, known as "ice" on the streets, were sophisticated computer programs intended to keep pirate deckers out of important systems and away from sensitive corporate and government data. Most 1C programs only restricted access and worked to trace data-pirates back to their location in the physical world so the authorities could deal with them. Some 1C, technically illegal, worked directly on the mind of the decker and could injure or kill or, worse yet, alter some of the decker's "wet-ware" through psychotropic techniques to, for example, inspire paralyzing fear of the corporation the decker was trying to rob. Renraku led the field in the development of new intrusion countermeasures ever since gaining access to Leonardo's brilliant leaps in computer technology. Renraku's most sensitive systems were impregnable by almost any standards in the world, but it seemed Leonardo still had his means around them. Not that it came as any great surprise, as Aneki said. Only two years previously, Leonardo had used his phenomenal computer skills and technology to deck his way into the core computer systems of all eight of the world's triple-A megacorporations simultaneously, a feat that was considered impossible, then and now, by any other decker in the world. Leonardo had left no clue other than a blackmail threat demanding that the megacorps pay him billions of nuyen or else he would totally crash their computer systems. He also left behind an enigmatic image as a kind of "signature" of his work: a figure cobbled together from false religious icons and the work of his namesake, Leonardo DaVinci. Naturally, all of the megas had scrambled to investigate the mystery decker who so blithely defied their finest computer security, but there was no trace. It was as if he had simply materialized out of nowhere and then disappeared back to wherever he had come from. Aneki knew through Renraku's intelligence operatives that the other mega-corporations had been as concerned as Renraku about the danger to their systems, but too distrustful of each other to cooperate in finding the culprit, on the suspicion he might be working for a corporate rival. Renraku's agent turned out to be more capable, or more fortunate, than those of the other corporations. He was able to trace the mystery decker's clues to a facility hidden in northern Africa, a facility no one even knew existed, so sophisticated were the electronic defensive systems hiding it from the watchful eyes of orbiting satellites and other means of detection. And in that amazing facility, Renraku's agent discovered Leonardo, the elven genius capable of building such a place and of creating a cyberdeck sophisticated enough to break into the finest corporate systems in the world. It turned out Leonardo was pursuing some project of his own and required large sums to fund his "great work." He was too interested in privacy to sell his advanced technology directly, but he was willing to trade it to a corporation like