Gadget stared up at the construction ten floors above the Bottom Feeder’s residences. Someone with no apparent fear of heights hung from the railed walkway while ratcheting the steel supports in place. “What is Fucking Da Vinci up to?”

Mongoose shook his head slightly while studying Dex’s every movement as if waiting for something unbelievable to happen. “Did you see the list he gave Gunner?”

“Yes.” Gadget brought up a copy of the request sheet. “Honjo Masamune sword (replica), Flexible body armor, M4A1 Carbine w/Schematic, Combat boots (Side zipper version), All-season camouflage suit, black bodysuit (electronic insulated), black under armor (asbestos-lined), and one Captain America shield (replica).”

Mongoose chuckled at the last item. “Is Dex a fanboy or something? Does he realize the shield will be aluminum or maybe steel?”

The conversation was interrupted by the revving of a high-powered engine. Although the 10th floors railed catwalk partially obstructed their view from the bottom, the flash of red caused both of them to stare with open mouths.

Mongoose rubbed his dark eyes as trying to scrub away an illusion. “Isn’t that Quicksilver’s Ducati?”

Within moments, the railing of nearly every floor in the Hive became occupied by the residents of that level. The roar of the Ducati echoed through the silo.

On the 10th floor, Quicksilver grinned at her captive audience and revved the engine a few more times before shutting it off and dismounting. “One more first for us, Partner!”

Dex peeked up over the edge of the platform where he hung from a safety harness. “Did you submit your Exe for mirroring?”

The ponytailed blonde leaned comfortably against the railing, watching as he continued the platform’s assembly. “Every bit of Exe I could find, even the old crappy stuff from my early days.”

“I want everything that the hive members have. Syntax is coding those memory chips that Gunner acquisitioned for me. Our ability to navigate within the Quebec Node or any future node will rely on our equipment and capabilities. These must be embedded into v-Earth’s code before the Nodes come online.”

“Fucking awesome…” Quicksilver stepped onto the walkway leading to the platform. The two of them had spent most of the morning constructing it. “The armory walls are already being pre-fabricated, Gunner says three or four days. Stiletto and Thumper are working on the Virtual Mock-up; they promise something special.”

Dex slid to the next fixture and started attaching it to the support structure. “And Vasai Virtual?”

Darsi favored him with a smile; unexpectedly, when she mentioned the idea to Nix and Hara, the redhead had jumped in with both feet. “Hey… Want to jump into Colonial for a bit?”

Dex stared at her for a moment, unsure if she was joking. “Serious? Let me finish this last support, and then I will.”

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

[Colonial Virtual Reality Lab: St. Paul, Mn Director O’Hara’s office]

The steady tap of a pen on the desk’s surface broke the stillness of what otherwise would have been complete silence. Frowning at the report, Hara sat it down and tucked the pen into the bun formed by her light red hair. “This isn’t good.”

“Feels like the shit is going to hit the fan,” Nix’s calm voice replied. Since being contacted by Darsi more than a week earlier, the virtual movement had become like a domino effect of world events. Three more territories joined the secession of independence before declaring their intent to become virtual nations. “Tasmania, Madagascar, and Spain/Portugal in the last four days… What does it mean?”

Hara stared at the jump capsule schematic that she presented to Colonial experts. “Did Darsi confirm that these pods are being constructed in all six VNs (Virtual Nations)?”

Nix nodded; he still wore the blue-colored contacts that changed his natural eye color. However, he reverted his hair to its original state. “I take it they aren’t normal pods?”

“Normal?” Hara pursed her lips slightly while leaning back in her chair. “The phrase I’d use is terrifying. We need to push up the meeting with the Hive while we are still capable of responding.”

Nix’s hud buzzed for a moment before Darsi’s face popped up in front of them.

“Hey, Trip-7!” Darsi quickly motioned with one hand before a brief replaced her face in Nix’s hud. “Read this, and wrap up whatever you have going on. The Hive has joined hands with Inferno and is moving forward with the Vasai Virtual purchase.”

“That was fast,” Hara commented. In the years since the Flight of Dragons expansion, the guild acquired a large number of Colonial assets. It was largely unknown, but Inferno’s virtual holdings exceeded Colonial’s other corporate investors. “The board moved fast.”

Nix grinned at the term. ‘The board’ consisted of the original Inferno Officers.

[Read At Once!]

We’ve gathered enough evidence to support our theory that all six soon-to-be VNs are working in concert and will be linked up once their Nodes are online.

Twenty-four Satellites are being launched from six independent sites. Our intel has identified them as G-5 satellites, the same type that world powers use for enhanced operations; estimated worth is around ten billion USD each. Therefore, interfering with the launch of these satellites has become our top priority.

We have to move forward with our evac plans. Move all friends and family to Vasai Virtual. We’ll make room for them once the purchase is complete. Our best guess is that we have to be ready within 90 days.

Nix read the brief before glancing up. Hara was still looking at the jump capsule schematic. “Going to have to ask you to break some rules again.”

Hara’s warm brown eyes focused on him for a moment. “Again? Are we talking about a small bend? Or a complete break?” Strictly speaking, using Colonial experts to study Quebec’s jump capsule wasn’t a significant misuse of resources; if pressed, she could make up a viable excuse.

“I want all the DRPs who have relations with Inferno to be moved to Vasai Virtual.” Nix watched her for a reaction, his sharp eye noting the crease that suddenly developed on her forehead.

“Nix… I’m not privy to that information. The only ones I know for sure are Bali and maybe Mina.”

“It’s a big ask. With everything going on, can we afford to leave our friends exposed?”

Hara let out a long breath. The truth was that the world was changing quickly. The different world powers seemed unsure what action to take as an unnatural calm settled over everything.

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

“Can we talk, Dex?” Nova ignored Quicksilver’s frown and interrupted the young hacker working nearby.

“Sec…” Dex attached the memory chip to the last empty space on the Ducati’s front wheel before signaling Darsi to ease the jack down until the tire touched the floor. It had taken more than five thousand memory chips to cover the Ducati’s exterior. He would have directly contacted Syntax but held off since Nova was present. “Something up?”

Nova stared at the motorcycle, unsure what to think. Dex and Quicksilver used thermal coupling paste to attach countless memory chips to all sorts of equipment; weapons, clothing, and now the Ducati. The Hive was buzzing with questions, but the Bottom Feeders weren’t answering. “Let’s go somewhere. What I have to say is sensitive information.”

Nova followed Quicksilver and Dex to his apartment at the Hive’s bottom. She paused for a moment but remained standing while the two of them sat down. “The Secret Service is being disbanded.”

Before either of them could reply, the goth Infiltrator continued. “Not just us, but the CIA, FBI, and every other intel organization in our government.”

Dex whistled softly and shifted his gaze to his partner. “That make sense?”

Darsi shook her head before reluctantly turning toward Nova. “Do you know anything else?”

Nova nodded. “This is classified. Homeland Security will be expanding to absorb the entirety of the Intelligence operations. The two major divisions will be Homeland Security Domestic (HSD) and Homeland Security International (HSI). My new assignment would be under one of the subdivisions of HSD.”

Dex caught her meaning immediately. “You aren’t going to stay with Intelligence?”

Nova shook her head. “I want to request a permanent residence here at the Hive. I’ll move to whatever floor you like.”

“No.” Dex rejected the idea without pausing.

Both women stared at him when he stood up and headed towards the kitchen bathroom.

Quicksilver wore an amused smile, but her expression held a tiny sliver of sympathy. “A kid like Dex is slow to forgive.”

Nova exhaled, not bothering to mask her disappointment. “Tell me about it.”

Unexpectedly Darsi’s smile widened. “I’ll talk to him; keep baking him stuff.”

“W-What?” Nova stared at the other woman for a long moment. What was going on? “Right… I’ll do that.”

Darsi opened the bathroom door despite hearing that the water was running. As suspected, Dex was sitting on the sink’s counter. “She’s gone; you can turn the water off.”

Dex turned the faucet. “It’s a bad idea to trust her.”

“Maybe,” Quicksilver replied noncommittally. “We have to think everything through. The world is teetering on a precipice at the moment.”

“Agreed.” Dex didn’t move when she pushed herself between his knees, leaning forward until he could feel her breath. “I don’t trust her.”

Darsi let the comment slide; her following words surprised her partner. “She’s choosing a side, Dex.”

“Are you sure about that,” Dex asked?

Darsi shook her head slightly. “No, but she’d need big brass balls to think about pulling the same play on us twice.”

Dex chuckled despite the frown on his face. “Guess so.”

Quicksilver gripped his hands and pulled him out of the bathroom. “She knows there’d be no surviving a second attempt.”

Dex let himself be escorted out of the kitchen, not stopping until she started up the loft stairs. “We jumping?”

Quicksilver targeted him with a sexy smile. “Nope.. Partner bonding.”