The Crash changed all that. In 2029, a computer virus of unprecedented virulence struck the Internet, wiping out information, corrupting backup systems and even burning out hardware. It spread like wildfire around the world, carried by the interconnectivity of the communications systems, and it devastated the network wherever it went. The virus mutated and adapted to successfully attack new systems as it encountered them. It thwarted every attempt to purge it, infecting every computer with which it came into contact. The world telecommunications system practically collapsed.

Then the United States government activated a top-secret team of cyberspecialists named Echo Mirage. Using cutting-edge neural interface technology, they were able to directly engage and destroy the virus. Though it cost the lives of most of the cybercommandos, the threat was ended.

From the ashes of the Internet arose a new telecommunications grid, designed to take full advantage of digital technology and new optical computing tech. It took years to build it but, by the time Kellan was born, the Matrix had been part of everyday life for almost a generation. She could hardly imagine a world without immediate access to vast amounts of data. All you needed was a computer or a terminal and a place to jack in.

The Matrix created a new breed of computer hackers, called deckers. Just as the hackers in their time embraced the newest tech and used it to advance their own goals, the deckers were those who immediately understood the potential of the Matrix as a treasure trove of information. By plugging themselves directly into the information flow, deckers could move faster, dig deeper and generally circumvent any security system. Shadow deckers made their living surfing through the data waves of the Matrix, like pearl divers going deep to find those few precious gems they could sell to the right buyer.

Kellan wasn't going anywhere near that deep; she just needed to search for some basic information about their mysterious Mr. Johnson.

She entered the name "Brickman," but the results didn't get her much. There were a number of Brick-mans in the Seattle Metroplex Telecom Directory, and none of the listings gave Kellan any clues as to which of them, if any, was the man she was looking for. That was assuming he had a number listed in the directory to begin with. She didn't have a photo for image matching, and the directory wasn't configured to search by physical description.

Kellan thought for a minute. The only other significant piece of information she had about Brickman was his interest in Ares Macrotechnology, and a possible connection with the Ancients. After all, it had been a Ares shipment he'd hired them to take, and he must have cut his deal with Orion-whatever it was-before he'd met with Lothan to finalize the run to acquire the shipment. Also, he obviously had a source for the Ares shipping routes.

She fed the new parameters into the browser and set it to work while she sipped her latte and ate, mulling things over. She wasn't entirely sure what she'd do with the data, if anything turned up. It depended on what Brickman was up to. If she'd learned anything about life in the shadows, it was that trusting your instincts was what kept you alive, and one step ahead of the other guy. And her instincts told her that she needed to figure out what she was staying ahead of.

Bingo. The browser signaled that it had found something. Kellan scrolled through the information on the screen, and her eyebrows rose in surprise.

He works for Ares. She reread the section of the corporate host that showed one Simon Brickman was a midlevel manager for Knight Errant Security Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ares Macrotechnology, Inc. There was even a tiny photo that matched the man Kellan had seen at both meets. Brickman worked for a subsidiary of the company he'd hired them to steal from! But why?

Kellan did some additional searches, but wasn't able to turn up much more about Brickman other than the fact that he'd attended Knight Errant's training academy in Seattle, but had moved into management fairly quickly from fieldwork and was apparently up-and-coming at the company. Why would a guy like that want to hire shadowrunners to steal from his own parent company, and then not even take possession of the swag? Kellan's search turned up more questions than answers. She tossed back the last of her drink and closed up the small computer.

She glanced at the time readout inside the coffin and saw that most of the afternoon was gone. If she gave him what she'd learned so far, maybe Lothan would be able to fill in some of the blanks about what Brickman was up to. She stuffed her gear into her bag and headed out to catch a cab to Lothan's place.

When she got to the house on Capitol Hill, Kellan knocked, but there was no answer. She hadn't even considered that Lothan might be out. Not sure what she hoped to achieve, Kellan turned the doorknob. To her surprise, the door opened, and so she stepped inside, closing it behind her.

She hesitated in the hallway, not sure which room to try first. She heard low voices conversing in Lothan's study, one obviously Lothan's deep bass, and one other she couldn't make out. Kellan took a deep breath and knocked on the closed door. The conversation instantly stopped, and there was a long moment of silence that made Kellan cringe, glancing around the hall for any signs of attack, or a quick escape route, if she needed one. Then the door opened and Lothan stood framed in the doorway, peering down at Kellan with a thunderous expression on his craggy face.

"We are not scheduled for a lesson today, Kellan," the troll growled.

"Um: you're right," Kellan stammered, "but I wanted to ask you something. I didn't think about calling before I came. I can ask you later."

"It's all right, Lothan," said a voice in the room.

The troll's expression smoothed out, then he stepped back and gestured to Kellan to enter.

Kellan didn't recognize the woman sitting in one of the chairs by Lothan's desk. She didn't look much older than Kellan, though she had a quiet confidence about her. Kellan immediately noticed that her close-cropped blond hair highlighted the silvery gleam of a datajack at her temple. She wore a close-fitting, sleeveless black T-shirt and black jeans with athletic shoes. A tailored synthleather jacket was draped over the back of the chair.

"Hoi, Kellan," she said in a familiar voice, "nice to see you."

Kellan paused for a moment, trying to place the voice. She was sure that she'd never seen the woman before but she sounded like:

"Jackie?" she asked, and the woman smiled, flashing perfect white teeth in the dimness of the room.

"The one and only," she said.

"Consider yourself honored," Lothan said from behind Kellan as he closed the study door. "Only a select few meet the infamous Jackie Ozone in the flesh." There was a playful, mocking familiarity in his tone.

"Infamous?" Jackie said with a smile. "Why, Lothan, you silver-tongued devil.:"

"So, what is it you wanted to ask?" Lothan cleared his throat and deftly changed the subject. Kellan fished in her bag for the dataBook, opening it up and tapping the controls before holding it so Lothan could see the roll-out screen.

"Brickman," she said simply. "Our Mr. Johnson. Apparently he works for Ares, or at least for Knight Errant. I'm trying to figure out why he hired us to steal from his own company."

"How did you get this?" Lothan asked, nodding toward the screen and ignoring her unspoken question.

"I came up with a couple of keywords, then did a Matrix search with a good browser," Kellan said.

"That's good basic technique," Jackie complimented her, coming around to look at the screen. She cast a critical eye at the dataBook.

"Apparently we're to have a lesson today, after all," Lothan said with a sigh. "Kellan, I assumed you were experienced enough to know better than to dig around in the background of an employer and then sharing that information indiscriminately."