But I was a kid, and I knew better. I knew that I had the magic in me. So I saved every nuyen I could, took

60.

Robert N. Charrette an after-school job clerking in a Soy Shack for the extra creds. I didn't have enough before . . . before the accident, and I wasn't able to save much for the next year, till my brother got his stipend from the Ren- raku grant. Once he was in the university, things got easier and I wangled a corporate temp job. It was bor- ing and deadly dull, but I knew I could last it out because it would give me the credit to get tested andonce I was certified as trainable there would be no question. I was going to be a high circle mage. I was so sure.

"Finally I saved enough creds, and I went to the Institute. I was hell to live with for two weeks until the test results came in. My brother never knew why I was such a bitch, and I lost a couple of my few friends. I even risked corporate censure, skipping my work assignment that afternoon in order to run off and find a private place to read the report. It was only

one.

word, but it smashed my dreams. 'Negative.'

"I was crushed. If living with me had been hell while I was waiting, the next two months should have qualified anyone for sainthood. But I didn't have any friends who wanted to stick around for the final exam.

I was queen bitch of the Wash-Bait Metroplex Educa- tion Center. I really didn't shake off the depression until I met Ken at Tokyo University. He made me feel special. He always said I had enough magic for him."

The memories were too much. She couldn't help it,she started to cry. Her body shook with her sobs.

Dan gathered her in, enfolding her with his arms. She bur- ied her face in his fur, feeling it go damp with her tears. He stroked her back, saying nothing until she quieted. When she regained control of herself, he re- leased her and took a step back as if fearing to impose on her. She felt chill without his warm fur meshing with hers.

"Ken is your boyfriend?"

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"Was." The pain was old but she still felt the ache.

It was duller now, but it still hurt. "He doesn't deal well with kawaru. "

He nodded with understanding. "Ken refused to see you after your change?"

She sniifed and shook her head. "He wouldn't even talk to me or answer any letters."

"He sounds like so many people I have known. The prejudice and fear attached to the metamorphosis isvery strong. I think perhaps even stronger now that it is not so common. Do not think too badly of him. As a product of his environment, he was hostage to his society. Given time, he might have come to accept your change ... if he truly loved you.

"You need not worry about acceptance here. We all know what you have gone through. We have seen the fear. Some of us have felt it turn to hate and violence.

We have banded together for mutual aid and support. I speak for all when I say that we want you to join us.

"I will not be shy in saying that your joining will make us stronger, something we all devoutly want.

But do not think that we only think of ourselves. Well, some of us do. But, Janice, I did not invite you here just to strengthen the organization. I felt something when I found you in that hovel in Hong Kong. I don't really understand it myself, but I know it's there. I want you to prosper. I want you to gain the strength to stand on your own feet and take a well-deserved place among us, and I am willing to do whatever is necessary to see that happen."

She turned and stared out at the skyscrapers andmegastructures. They reminded her of the guard tow- ers and bunkers that ringed Yomi.

His words were tempting, freely offering what she had longed for in the long months of exile on Yomi.

There was a hint of more than fellowship, a hint of something that had been torn from her life by the

62.

Robert N. Charrette change. Did she dare believe that he was honest?

Did she dare reach out for it? She had been spurned so often. What if she changed again? Would his concern change along with her body? The questions made her head spin.

He placed his hand on her arm. Her muscles locked for a moment, leaving her frozen like a small animal in a spotlight. He waited until she relaxed to make his tentative contact more firm. She felt the warmth ofhis palm and the prickly touch of his nails through her fur. When she didn't shrink away, he encircled her again in his broad, strong arms. She turned within that enclosure and stared into his face. She found only con- cern.

"Can I trust you?" she asked.

"As much as you can trust anyone."

"That's not a comforting answer, Dan."

"It is not a comfortable world, Janice. I am fallible like anyone else. Sometimes the best of intents yield terrible consequences and the finest of feelings sour.

I.

will not start our relationship with lies and high- sounding promises, but, by all the lights of heaven, I will vow to help you become all you were meant to be. If you let me, I will be your strength now. When you are strong, we can speak of the future."

"You'll wait?"

"I am patient. I will wait for you at each door until you are ready to step through."

"No pressure?""No more than the press of life demands."

His eyes were sincere. She wanted to believe.

Wanted desperately to believe. But she was afraid. "Just hold me."

And he did. His arms were strong, and she felt safe.

Harry Burke was a former member of the Special Air Services, an organization known for its efficient and multi-talented personnel. To Andrew Glover, he was an unparalleled asset.

Without orders, Burke moved quickly along the macadam and took up a position flanking the alley mouth. If he made any noise, it was lost in the jumble of sound from the busy street. It was barely after mid- night, and the Hong Kong Free Enterprise Enclave was still very much awake. The dark alley held no interest for the throngs who surged along the carnival- lit street. No simple passerby would notice the dark- clad man crouched against the building. But ordinary pedestrians did not concern Glover.Glover reached out and tapped the elf on his shoul- der. "Have you broken their codes yet?"

The elf was slow in answering. When he shook his head, the datacord clacked softly against the cyber- deck he cradled in his lap. "Not yet. Invisible work takes a modicum of effort."

"Then get on with it." As dark as the alley was, Glover felt exposed. He wanted to get through that door and into the Mihn-Pao facility. Waiting inside was the boat that would take them across to the main- land. He would be glad to leave Hong Kong behind; he didn't like the city or what it stood for.

There was still no sign of trouble, but his stomach kept getting tighter. He wanted to urge the elf to hurry, but knew that he would get the results he wanted sooner if he left the pointy-eared Matrix runner alone.

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Robert N. Charrette

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Elves were rarely reliable, especially for serious work, but this one had proven himself competent. Glover would have preferred a human decker, but one had to use what was available.

His eyes drifted again to the mouth of the alley.

Even knowing where to look, he had a hard time spotting Burke's crouched figure. The former SAS man waited patiently for whatever would happen. Patience was a lesson that Glover had never learned very well. It had been his own impatience that had nearly gotten them caught. That squat little sector guard had been so in- sufferable. Understandably exasperated by the guard's glacial survey of their papers, he had insisted that they be passed through the checkpoint without delay. Ap- parently that had set off alarms in the half-pint's min- iscule brain, causing him to demand that they exitthe vehicle. Corbeau's nerves wouldn't have taken the in- spection, although Glover had no doubts that their documents would withstand whatever scrutiny the guards could bring to bear. Burke's rapid departure had left the moronic guard capering and screaming imprecations while he ate the dust their car kicked up.

The moron hadn't fired on them. Instead, he set the EPA Patrol Force on their heels, forcing them to aban- don their original plan to leave the Enclave.

At least they had slipped the pursuit. Or had they?

Burke's action told him that the veteran feared that someone would come to disturb their illicit work.

Per- haps his sensitive cyberears had detected a hint of dan- ger to their group. If Burke had been sure, he would have said something. Abruptly, Burke made a chop- ping motion with his right hand.

"Down, everyone," Glover ordered as he crouched himself.

Two caricature silhouettes stopped at the alley mouth. Padded jackets bulked the shoulders wide, and round helmets made their heads bulbous. Tinnedin- signia gleamed, confirming that they were Enclave Po- lice Agency officers. The two bought-badges were chattering to each other in the distorted mishmash of English, Cantonese, and Japanese that was the com- mon language of the streets here. Glover couldn't make out a word, but Burke was fluent. He would know what they said and act if they were a threat.

They stood at the entrance, apparently indecisive.

The flow of traffic adjusted for their presence.

Pedes- trians swerved around without seeming to notice them, but no one passed between the bought-badges and the alley.

Trading comments back and forth, they readied themselves. Both drew weapons, and one unhooked the heavy cylinder of a flashlight from his belt. They stepped forward, the flashlight's harsh xenon beam blasting away the cloaking shadows. Within that illu- minating cone of light, everything was rendered in a curiously flat starkness.Glover heard the soft click of a weapon safety at his side. A glance confirmed that Twist had his pistol readied. Commendable initiative, but not the best re- sponse, since the weapon did not appear to be equipped with a sound suppressor. Their situation would not be improved by attracting attention. Be- sides, Burke was on the job.

"Wait," he whispered.

The second bought-badge trailed his companion by a meter or two as they entered the alley. They ad- vanced cautiously, probing the darkness with the light.

It had yet to sweep deep enough to discover their hid- ing place. And it would not. Burke's black-clad shape rose from the shadows and slipped behind the second man.

One arm encircled the bought-badge's throat, elbow cinching his throat tight. The second pistoned a fist into the man's kidneys. Burke lowered the limp form -----------------

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Robert N. Charrette to the pavement. A slight clatter from the equipment on the man's belt alerted his partner.

The remaining cop started to turn. Without time to straighten, Burke dropped lower and swept a leg out into the back of the man's knees. The cop's legs buck- led. Burke uncoiled and directed a kick to the man's gun hand. The snap of the cop's trigger finger breaking was audible as the weapon spun away. The bought- badge started to howl. Burke's stiff-fingered thrust caught him in the throat, cutting off the scream.

The patrolman was tough. Gasping, he raised the flashlight behind his head, wobbling into a stick- fighter's en garde. His form was ragged, hardly dan- gerous. Burke settled into guard as well, his left hand protecting the high line. Unseen by his opponent, Burke's right hand curled in toward his wrist. Seven centimeters of razor keen steel slid from its forearm sheath.

They stood, each assessing his strategy. Burkeshifted slightly and the bought-badge must have seen a chance. The flashlight whipped around, its beam cutting a wild arc. Burke's maneuver had been a feint.

He stepped away from the incoming blow, spinning inside the cop's reach. His right arm flashed up, the extended blade bisecting his opponent's arm. Flash- light and hand separated as they continued to arc past Burke. He twisted and passed his blade through the cop's neck. The bought-badge's head tilted back, but the flashlight shattered and plunged the alley back into night before the blood fountained.

Twist grabbed Glover's shoulder and spun him around.

"He didn't have to do that, Glover. I could have tranqed them. Those were cops he murdered!"

Glover slapped at the offending hand. "And we're robbers, old chap. Are you aware of the penalty for aiding a contract jumper here in Hong Kong?"

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