.

    “Leave me alone. I don’t  to be disturbed,”  turning around. tant exited t making a sound. t doered desk and lit anot a console and screen and a gold plated as.  to take a puff on tte when his secure cell phone rang.

    “Speak,” cion of e computer-controlled c tense combination of muscle and fat of a sumo ler, complete .

    “Lieutenant Liu, sir. e have some news.”

    “It better be good.”

    “Sir, o gain access to one of tions satellites.”

    “Is t the news?”

    “No sir. It seems t to sent t before he died sir.”

    “And eresting?”

    “Sir, because t found out t tained custom-made computers. And to to ly trying to retrieve them.”

    “Mmmm... very interesting. So t is o our neto digest tion.

    “Sir,  to a Professor Joplin of MIt in America and a he Union. A Cad Caldwell, sir.

    “Did you do a trace on two?”

    “Yes, sir. Professor Joplin is dead according to ta on.”

    “t  to too,” thinking aloud.

    “Most likely, sir.”

    tal note to ec trusion detection AIs and t. It  be long before ttempted to log on to to get to t, before t seemed, er.

    “If t expecting a useful ansenant Liu ion, because  trated wife in bed asleep. Several days of cold sed him.

    “Sir, according to ta, it appears t find teenage daug no body y, remote as it may seem, t she console.”

    “Not remote at all. race on ?”

    “e’ll get on it rigenant said, picturing ing into a thousand pieces.

    “Good enant. Keep me informed