Ryan sat in the Phoenix II's cabin, cruising above Old Route 83, listening to the roar of the engines. Outside, the winds of the approaching thunderstorm howled like a banshee. The hole in his gut grew hollow as he listened to Miranda.

"It's like Burnout is possessed, but not quite. His aura looks nothing like what I've seen in other cyberzombies. It's as though there's another spirit hovering in and around him, and one big fragger too. Never seen a presence like that."

Axler turned to Ryan. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Ryan nodded. "Lethe."

Axler's fine eyebrows drew tight. "Never did trust that astral piece of drek."

Ryan sighed. "That also explains why Burnout's aura is masked and his trail is hard to follow. Where are they?"

"He's on a mountain top, not far from here."

Ryan stood and looked down at Miranda. "You said there was a shaman with him?"

"I think so. I've gotten good at identifying them. He was certainly a gifted old man, but he could have been a mage."

"Did the shaman tag you when you made your pass?"

Miranda smiled, showing white teeth. "Null chance. I was very discreet."

"I'm counting on it," Ryan said. "If Burnout has any idea we're coming, he'll be prepared. Or gone." Ryan turned and spoke into the tacticom. "Dhin?"

"Yes?"

"Give me the status on that storm you've been promising me."

"Look out the window, Bossman. One picture is worth a thousand lines of code."

Ryan ducked to the macroglass porthole. Massive black clouds were spreading rapidly, lit with flashes of lightning. The LAV was headed for the heart of the darkness.

AH right, thought Ryan. The tactician in him took over. The storm should hit in the next hour, and his team would follow it in, by-the-book assault.

He turned, "Jane?"

Her voice sounded in his earphone. "Here, Quicksilver."

"You got satellite imagery of Pony Mountain?"

"I just decked into the weather feeds, courtesy of Ares Macrotechnology," Jane said. "They're not military-grade, but should do for our assault. And they come in glorious full-color, three-D topographical."

"Thanks," Ryan said. In the rear of the cabin, the small holographic display lit up with a three-dimensional terrain map of the surrounding area.

Ryan turned to Miranda. "Can you pinpoint him?"

Miranda's almond eyes fixed on Ryan, and she smiled. "Of course."

Ryan stepped back to the holo display. "Show me."

Miranda pointed to the display. "This ridge line here. Pony Mountain. There's a tower of some sort right at the southeast edge."

Ryan nodded, studying the terrain of the mountain top, which was shaped like an upside-down triangle.

Grind whistled. "That's a rough piece of ground there, Ryan. Sheer cliff faces on two sides, dense forest and open ground on the others."

Axler stepped up to the display. "The only landing zone is this spot of barren ground just up from this tiny lake. Unless we want to hike in?"

Miranda was shaking her head. "Not if we can help it."

Axler went on. "The ground practically funnels us straight toward the tower. If he's ready for us or if the noise of this bird alerts him too soon, he could take us out with a few missiles before we get three hundred meters."

Ryan looked at the map for a moment, then the plan came to him. "Okay, this is how it's going down."

Grind edged in next to him. "You're going in? I know you're a good tactician, Quicksilver, but this is prime ground for an ambush. Standard strategy would suggest forcing his hand, forcing him off the mountain and into a position of our choosing, not his."

Ryan looked at the dwarf. "You spooked by our cyberzombie?"

"He's a killing machine, Ryan."

"Yes, but I've got a plan."

Axler spoke. "Spill it, Ryan. We're with you."

Ryan smiled and turned back to the holo display. "Twice I've almost died because I underestimated Burnout. I'm not going to make that mistake a third time."

The rest of the team gathered around him and the display.

"All right," said Ryan "Here's how this goes down."

He looked at the rest of them. "Axler, you and Miranda are Alpha team. Grind and I will be Beta." He turned back to the map. "Grind was right. The terrain works against us here. We have to assume that Burnout chose this spot to minimize the risk of being outflanked."

Axler nodded. "Taking the only avenue to the tower is like walking down a dragon's throat. He'll chew us up and spit us right back out."

Ryan smiled. "Yes, except we won't be taking that avenue."

Axler looked at Ryan coldly. "How else?"

Ryan pointed to the cliff face on the far side of the clearing. "Here."

"Pretty fragging dangerous," Axler said.

"Hear me out," Ryan said. "This plan has its drawbacks, but at least listen to it before you pick it apart. Burnout is smart, and he's tough. It's going to take all of us working together to make sure this comes off without any of us getting iced."

Axler waited. "Go ahead."

Ryan nodded and turned back to the map. "Burnout's got incredible hearing and will most likely notice the Phoenix before we clear a thousand meters. Even with the storm. Now, this craft has all the aerodynamics of a large rock when you cut the engines. She falls, and she falls fast. I'm going to have Dhin take her up to her max altitude-about two thousand meters, if I'm correct. Situate us above the cliff edge, here."

He pointed again to the sheer rock face.

"Dhin will then cut the engines. We'll freefall to just below the cliff's edge, and he'll hit the engines. Given the amount of thrust needed to bank our fall, it should sound just like a thunderclap rolling through the valley."

Ryan looked around at them. Both Axler and Grind were nodding, smiling. Only Miranda looked apprehensive. "In the few seconds following, Alpha and Beta teams will debark on the cliff's edge. Then Dhin will take the Phoenix up and over, landing at the LZ here, in the clearing just where Burnout would expect us to be."

Ryan pointed to the south edge of the ridge. "Alpha team will skirt the cliff here, while Beta team moves along this slope." He pointed to the north side, facing the lake.

"During this, Dhin will land and send out the two drones; one air, one ground, to head toward the cabin. Making just enough noise so Burnout will think we're prime targets for the ambush."

Grind's face pulled into a snarled grin. "Simple cut and sweep. Very nice."

"Thanks. The first team to tag Burnout calls it. Hopefully, it will be the drones, but if not, whichever team tags him does nothing until the other team is in position. Got it?"

Miranda's apprehension came to the surface. "What if Burnout makes contact first?"

Ryan nodded. "Good question. If unavoidable contact happens, Dhin will use the drones to keep him occupied until reinforcements arrive. Any questions?"

Axler brushed a stray strand of hair back from her face. "Yeah. What about the shaman? He could have some pretty nasty surprises in store for us."

Miranda laughed. "Leave the old man to me. Ain't no backwoods piece of drek gonna spoil our play. I'll eat him for lunch."

Ryan winced. Miranda was an excellent mage, especially in theory and experimental spell design, but could she slice and dice in the non-corporate world? He didn't know. "I sure hope you're right, Miranda. 'Cause if not, this whole mission is going to turn to drek."

Miranda fingered the large ruby pendant that hung from her neck. "Trust me. The old man is going to find out the hard way just how well I know what I'm doing."

Ryan stared at her, searching for clues to what lay under the arrogance. "You got something against shamans?"

Miranda shook her head. "Undisciplined slots," she snarled, giving Ryan a sly smile. "No, got nothing against them. I'm just juiced up for a fight. It's been a long time since I felt the pleasure of raging mana."