Darsi returned to the HiveHive after dropping off the linked storage drives with trustworthy allies that would go through everything and then give them a detailed report. Initially, the thought process of the Bottom Feeders was to study it themselves. However, it had been Dex who wondered if the drive were a trap of some sort.

“Is this really your first time?” Darsi smiled sexily into the pillow.

“You know it is.” He pushed down harder, making Darsi sigh happily.

“The hell are you two doing up there?” Thumper popped her head into the loft area, fully expecting to find the two of them in a compromising position. But, instead, both were fully clothed while Dex massaged Darsi’s shoulders. “Oh… never mind then.”

Dex frowned when Thumper went back down the stairs and started rummaging through his kitchen. “Can I ask you a question, Darsi?”

The blond nodded while covering a yawn. “Yep… Don’t stop with my backrub, though. Those drives were really heavy; I may have strained myself.”

Dex rolled his eyes, although quite slim, her shoulders and arms were well muscled. “Why is it Fucking Da Vinci, and not Da Vinci?”

Darsi’s lazy smile widened when she peeked over her shoulder at him. “All hackers everywhere have agreed that it’s always Fucking Da Vinci. We’re a petty group that gets pissed when someone one-ups us.”

“You polled all hackers? Impressive work… No one asked me.”

“I’m sure it was when you were under house arrest.” Darsi pointed to her shoulders and sunk her head back onto the pillow.

Dex paused the massage when his HUD buzzed; a moment later, Nova’s pretty face popped up in front of him. “Hey… Move down to the 5th floor yet?”

Nova nodded in reply. “You busy, Dex?”

“Yes, he is. We’re doing some partner bonding.” Darsi’s muffled answer came from the comfort of Dex’s pillow.

Dex shook his head in denial. “Not really. What’s going on?”

“That hacker friend of yours, Kenji? He disappeared.”

“Kenji?” Dex frowned at the mention of the familiar name. Kendal was colluding with Gladis Corp. “Did he Casper?”

Darsi popped her head up long enough to comment. “Maybe he got nabbed by Yuli’s people. We did take them for six mil before you left his calling card.”

Nova forced a smile and continued. Quicksilver made it her habit to intrude whenever she tried to talk to Dex. “Nabbed in broad daylight, black SUV, no plates.”

Dex whistled but couldn’t find enough sympathy to feel bad. His friend Saul hadn’t deserved what he got either. “Thanks for passing it on.”

“No problem. Visit me later? I’m going to start a long dive in the morning.”

“Sure. How long?”

“Maybe a month or so.”

“Big money, I bet… Cya later.” Dex waved and shut off the HUD. Infiltrator work seemed boring to him, although admittedly, he didn’t know much about it.

Darsi sat up slowly, smiling lazily at the young hacker. “Looks like we have all the components we need to build the T-6.”

Dex smiled at the mention of the project. He’d been keeping tabs on the ordered parts, so he was aware that they could finally get started. “We building it in the nest?”

Darsi stood up and stretched her arms overhead. She considered the question while tieing her hair up in a ponytail. The next was the central common area of the Bottom Feeders. When the Hive had been a missile silo, it was the launching platform back in the day. “Yeah. Seems like the best place.”

****************

“Looks like an old distributor cap from the classic combustion engines.” Dex had placed seven sets NTIs (Neural Transfer Interface) on the floor next to him. As with the Tandem jumper, he spliced the 12-Line NTIs from the Brandish pods into 6-Line NTIs for the T-6. That meant that each jumper would be utilizing seven lines. The overload would be used by Syntax to create an encrypted communication and feedback loop.

Darsi nodded in agreement. They’d been working for three days straight. The ‘distributer cap’ that Dex referenced had been built by the two of them as the Interface between all six pods and their encrypted data port. She flipped her goggle down on her head, making it possible to view the v-Hive. “The hell are you doing?”

Thumper dropped the bunny ears she had been mimicking Darsi with. She smiled guiltily and shrugged. “Just a bit of fun.”

Darsi returned the smile with a frown. Thumper and Stiletto were helping them with the virtual Interface from v-Hive. “Run data diagnostics on the NTI lines as Dex connects them.”

Dex glanced at his partner, who seemed to be talking to thin air. He couldn’t see the two virtual assistants since he was assembling the T-6 Interface. “Want me to teach them a lesson?”

Both Thumper and Stiletto shook their heads vigorously at Darsi, causing her frown to disappear with a chuckle.

“No… They are bored. Besides, we’re going to need them when we take down Yuli.” Darsi pushed her goggles back on her head, making the virtual people disappear again.

Six hours later, the T-6 was fully assembled and ready to be tested. Unlike the Anodyne Cybernetic simulation that used the Tandem jumper, the T-6 looped data, and resources. They were all looking forward to how v-Earth looked under their newly Da Vinci-built hardware.

Gadget rubbed his hands together like a child looking at candy. “Let’s get cleaned up and rested. Then we’ll give this a proper run.”

Dex nodded. “Let’s stop in and see Syntax first.”

[Greetings Dextron]

Dex stood with Darsi on the navigation platform. Syntax changed its look slightly; it was slimmer than before, its code could be seen swirling around the outer surface of its body. It had taken what could be considered an androgynous appearance.

Although Dex was aware that Syntax inhabited the entire stealth pod, having an avatar to speak to made conversation less awkward. “How did you feel about the test run?”

[Anodyne Cybernetics would have presented difficulties for most pairings. However, you and Darsi work well together.]

Darsi nodded absent-mindedly; she and Dex were standing on nav-platform while Syntax hovered near them. The warmth of the sun on her face put her in a good mood. “The T-6 is ready to test. With all jumpers plugged in, you’ll be able to update v-Earth in real-time.”

[There are currently 116 satellites standing by for our initial testing of the T-6. During the Tandem mission a few days ago, I could only utilize 12 of these at any one time.]

Darsi placed a hand on Dex’s shoulder, “it felt like a real-time operation.”

[You are correct, Quicksilver. I was able to localize real-time updates to the area you were working. Unfortunately, the rest of v-Earth was not synched.]

Darsi rolled her eyes; only an AI would bring that up. Who would care that a cat crossing the street in Singapore wasn’t updated when you were working in Florida? She gazed silently at the forest below while Dex and Syntax continued talking. If the rest of the world knew what they built here…

“Darsi?”

Dex’s voiced jarred her thoughts. “Hmm?”

“Ready to test the T-6?”

“Sure,” Darsi smiled even though her thoughts were suddenly troubled. “Ride the wave, Syntax.”

[Ride the wave, Quicksilver.]

Less than an hour later, all six bottom feeders stepped into their respective jumpers, three sets of duo-pods built into a triangular construction with the doors facing outward. The pairings of Gadget/Mongoose and Thumper/Stiletto formed the angles of the triangle, while Dextron and Quicksilver were at the base.

Darsi keyed her audio feed, enabling the rest of the group to hear her. “Looks like all systems are green. Does anyone have concerns before we start?”

Dex waited for a few seconds before speaking. “Okay then, this is a short run to Geneva. We might as well get a look at Heltier & Fianti Banking. Count us down, Syntax.”

[Countdown in 5…4…3…2… Ride the Wave, Bottom Feeders.]