Ragnarock (9 page)
"Very well, Jaromar. My Prince, Jenna Ni'Ferra, has dispatched me on a matter of some . . . delicacy." he began. "Of late, word has reached her of the activities of a political organization in the German Alliance, an organization opposed to the interests of Tir Tairngire, a group known as Alt Welt."
The duke dabbed at his lip with a linen napkin. "Yes, yes, I know of them. Political agitators opposed to the Reconstruction, though hardly of any great concern. I find it surprising that Prince Jenna would consider them any threat to the
"Hardly a threat." Speren said. "As you say, they are only a small group. But one of their political targets is Saeder-Krupp, and that is of concern to the Council of Princes."
"Because of the dragon." the duke said with a distinct note of distaste, putting aside his fork. "Why does Jenna Ni'Ferra send her liege man to investigate something connected with Lofwyr? Surely the dragon has servants and watchers enough to deal with a problem in his own back yard."
"I cannot say, Jaromar. I can tell you only what my Prince has commanded me to do. She requires more information about the organization, and I have been dispatched to gather it. I have been told that you have assisted us in the past, and I can assure you that she would be most appreciative of your help in this matter."
Jaromar sat back in his chair and considered. For a moment, Speren thought he'd given away too much. Certainly Jaromar was suspicious, but as yet he had nothing to put with his suspicions to come to a conclusion, and there was a great deal more to be gained from cooperation than there was from obstinacy. Additionally, although Speren had not said so, it was well known that Jenna was no supporter of Lofwyr, nor was Jaromar. If the Prince wanted information on political dissidents opposed to Lofwyr's plans for European Restoration, it could only be as a thorn in the dragon's side. Speren, of course, had no such designs, but let Jaromar think what he pleased, so long as it got him what he needed.
The duke's thin face split into an oily smile. "Of course, I would be delighted to assist the inquires of the Prince in any way I can." he said smoothly. "I have friends in other parts of the Alliance. I will contact them and see what I can learn that may assist you."
"My thanks." Speren said, inclining his head in a slight nod. "First I will need whatever information
you can provide about the organization's history and
its known members."
"Of course, of course." the duke said, with a wave of his hand. "I'll see that you're provided with whatever it is you require. Anything to assist Prince Jenna.
I hope the information I have will be useful in fulfilling your duties, paladin."
Speren speared a slice of sausage on his plate and raised it in salute of the duke.
"I'm sure it will be, Jaromar. I'm sure it will."
"Alt Welt." Trouble said. "German policlub, meaning 'Old World.' Supporters of a policy known as 'Europa Dividus,' keeping the nations of Europe separate and independent following the EuroWars. Fairly active on-line with information sites, various political tracts, and email lists to organize political protests, things like that."
The team was settled into the small condoplex in Diisseldorf, going over the data Trouble had gathered on their target. Trouble stood near the head of the table in the small dining room, the flexible viewscreen of her cyberdeck rolled out to display various images and datafiles as she talked. She directed the images through the slim fiber-optic cable slotted into the jack behind her ear.
Talon, Boom, and Hammer sat around the table, listening carefully to the report. Each of them had already reviewed the information at least once before leaving Boston or on the flight to Europe, but this was the first time they'd gone over it all as a group.
"And no indications Alt Welt has any ties to terrorist organizations?" Talon asked. That was part of the data that puzzled him.
"Nothing definite." Trouble said. "On the surface, they're just another policlub."
"Yeah, and the Universal Brotherhood was just another crackpot religion." Boom muttered to himself.
Trouble shrugged. "That's the thing. If Alt Welt does have terrorist ties, they're pretty well hidden. I did as much digging as I could in the Matrix, but the information there is limited. The German grid is a hopeless patchwork anyway. Finding useful data among all the government servers is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I might be able to dig up more now that we're here."
"So, we still don't know why a group like Alt Welt would be interested in whatever it is Professor Goronay's got to sell." Talon mused.
"Well, considering we don't even know what he's selling, that's not saying much." Hammer put in.
"True." Talon said. "Okay, put Alt Welt on hold for a while. What's the scan on Goronay?"
Trouble blinked for a second, her eyes refocusing, and a new image appeared on the cyberdeck's screen. It was a head-shot of an older man, his hair gone nearly white and thinning above a broad forehead. Bushy brows nearly met above clear, intelligent blue eyes framed by wire-rimmed glasses. He had a full beard, the same color as his hair, and a fairly prominent nose. His craggy features were weathered and ruddy from years spent in the outdoors, and Talon could almost see him with a pipe clenched between his teeth as he spoke or lectured.
"Alexi Goronay." Trouble said. "Professor of Archeology at the University of Kiev, Russia. Age sixty-one. born in St. Petersburg, educated in Moscow and Kiev. The picture is from the University records. Goronay has worked at different archeological sites all over the world, and is considered an expert in his field. Has, among other things, published papers postulating the existence of magic-using cultures before the Awakening."
"Interesting theory." Talon said.
"Are you saying Goronay thinks magic existed before the Awakening?" Hammer asked.
Trouble jumped in before Talon could say anything. "Lots of people do, apparently. Archeologists like Goronay believe that a lot of myths and legends about magic, along with all the magical lore that existed before the Awakening, is left over from some distant time in the past when magic worked. For some reason, the magic went away, and all we were left with were the myths, stories, and traditions handed down over the centuries until 2011, when the magic came back."
"You
have
been reading." Talon said with a grin.
"Naturally." Trouble replied. "You don't have to be Awakened to pick up on the theory. Even we mundanes can do it."
"Touché."
"So why'd the magic go away?" Boom asked. "And why did it come back?"
Trouble glanced at Talon, who just shrugged. "Who knows?" she said. "It's only a theory, and nobody can really explain it. But then, nobody can really explain why magic started working again in 2011, either."
"There's all sorts of theories," Talon said, "and most of them involve a lot of chaos mathematics and drek like that. Suffice to say that right now nobody really has a clue. It's just the way things are."
"Magic." Boom gave a slight shudder. "You just never know, where it's concerned."
Talon thought the comment strange coming from a being who would have been considered "magical" not so many years ago. Then he thought about what it must be like to be a troll or an ork. For them, magic might be more of a raw deal than it was for a magician like Talon, and not something they'd want to put their trust in.
"That's pretty much it." Trouble said, blanking the viewscreen and pulling the plug from her datajack. "You've all seen the rest of the file on Goronay and there's not much else to say. He was married, but his wife's been dead for eight years. They have no children, no other living relatives. He's not political, which is typical for most academics. His papers haven't stirred up any major controversies, except maybe among a few fellow academics. No shady past, no indications of any skeletons hidden in his closet."
"What about medical records?" Talon asked. "Anything that might suggest why he'd go crazy like that?"
Trouble shook her head and rolled the cyberdeck's viewscreen back into its case. "Nada. I managed to get hold of his medical files through the University's insurance provider. He's in good health, goes for regular checkups. Doesn't smoke, drinks moderately, and keeps in shape. No history of psychological problems of any kind, apart from the fact that apparently he's not terribly social. Nothing out of sorts for an elderly university professor."
"Damn." Talon said quietly. "That doesn't make things any—" The sound of the door opening carried into the room, and every member of the team was immediately on his or her feet, hands hovering close to their weapons.
"Its okay, guys, it's just Val." came the voice of Aracos from out of the air.
"I wish he wouldn't do that." Hammer muttered to Talon, who ignored the comment and silently told the spirit to do the same.
"Thanks, Aracos." he said aloud.
Val came into the room and glanced over at Talon. Her face was tightly controlled, not showing any sign of what she was feeling, and Talon resisted the urge to use his magical senses to read her aura to find out.
"Well?" he said.
"She'll see us." Val said. "I set up a meet for two hours from now."
"How many?"
"Just you and me. If it's more than that, she won't come."
Talon nodded. "All right then. You guys keep working on the other angles while Val and I talk to her . . . contact, okay?"
"Check in after the meet." Trouble said. "If we don't hear from you, we'll come looking."
Talon tapped the side of his head and grinned.
"No problem. I'll give you a buzz on the commlink when I've got something, and I'll bring Aracos along to keep an eye on things. He can always come back and let you chummers know if something happens."
"Like you could leave me behind."
his ally spoke into Talon's mind.
"What's it called again?" Talon asked as Val drove them along the winding road out of Diisseldorf, toward the outskirts of the plex.
"Zombietown." Val said. "That's what most people call it."
"Sounds charming."
"Oh, it is." she said with an ironic smile. "But it's also pretty lawless, at least in the lower levels. There's not much chance of running into any unexpected problems with the local law down there."
"So it's something like the Ork Underground in Seattle?"
Val shrugged. "Couldn't say. I've never seen it."
"It's an interesting place." Talon said. "Remind me to tell you about it sometime."
Val took a moment before she spoke. "You know, we haven't really talked much since you got us together." she said.
It was Talon's turn to shrug. "My loss. It's just that you never seemed all that interested in talking, and I try to stay out of people's personal business. Force of habit."
"I understand." she said. "It's not a criticism. I just wanted to say . . . well, thank you for the talk we had at the Avalon, and for letting me come on this run."
"Null sheen." Talon said. "I appreciate your help."
"This will be a good thing." Val said, almost to herself. "It's something I've needed to do for a long time."
Talon wondered who she was trying to convince, him or herself. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence in the car as Val guided it smoothly along at speeds that probably would have gotten them pulled over immediately in Boston (assuming such speeds were even possible on any of the city's congested roads).
"So, tell me more about this 'zombietown' place." Talon finally said.
"Its real name is Wuppertal, built up around the
"Because the undercity only has artificial light, it's attracted a lot of metahumans who can't take natural sunlight. They live down there, along with a lot of norms who come for the cheap rents and whatever work is available. The ones who don't find jobs get pushed down to the lower levels, where things are even cheaper. The lowest level has a lot of squatters and cast-offs, who probably don't have much chance of finding their way out again."
Talon shook his head sadly. "Like I said, sounds charming. And your friend is going to meet US there?"
Val nodded. "There are plenty of places to meet in Zombietown where we won't be overheard. Estelle prefers it that way."
"Do you really think she can help us?" Talon asked.
"I don't know if she will," Val said, "but if anyone knows the ins and outs of the Alliance and all the policlubs, it's 'Stelle. She's respected by a lot of people in the shadows."
There was a note of pain in her voice that made Talon want to ask if Val was all right with this, but he decided to leave it alone. Val would deal with things in her own way. If she wanted to talk about it, she would.