Rubbing her eyes, Sophie stared at the computer screen. She felt as if she had gone deaf or lost her eyesight – the Wire was gone. Somehow, it had just stopped working, and Sophie wanted to scream at the loss. It had only been two years since she was old enough for the Wire, but it had become essential to her mental processing, and without it, a massive anxiety gripped her.

Tapping on the screen, Sophie wondered how she could contact anyone. Her dad was MIA, and she had never needed to contact Hazel without the Wire.

Wait, Sophie felt a mild relief. I messaged Hazel from the computer before I had a Wire.

Sophie pulled up the message app and searched for her best friend, shaking her head at the long-forgotten messages that popped up. Hazel’s contact, though, was offline. Growling, Sophie pulled up the contact for her dad’s office – the only people who could find him at all times. She shot off an angry message then pulled up her Trip game.

Now that her hands were working, and her stomach muscles didn’t hate her for sitting up, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and faced the little desk beside her bed, tugging it to rest directly in front of her.

Guess I get to see how impressive Hazel really is now! Playing Trip without a Wire was going to feel like swimming in molasses. Still, it was better than waiting to hear back from everyone.

She had been right. Staring at the screen, limited to a keyboard, her reflexes lagged – it didn’t matter that she had almost the fastest Bridge speed possible. She had barely qualified for the Partie, and now she had no chance to play successfully with Hazel. With all the chaos of the past couple of days, she hadn’t spoken to her best friend, and it seemed that Sophie’s new condition made her a poor warrior, her slow reactions counteracting her natural resistance and strength.

This sucks.

As if prescient, Sophie’s thoughts had no sooner formed than her apartment went black – every light went out including her computer screen.

“Hell, no!” she complained aloud. “Hilda!” she shouted. “Hilda, what happened?” Weak and in the dark, Sophie wanted to scream. She would not lie in her sickbed and wait for someone to make her feel better.

Scooting to the edge of the bed, she leaned with all her weight on the desk, testing its sturdiness. Fortunately, she was already of a slight build, and she had lost weight during her coma. The desk held, and she soon found her way, leaning with most of her weight on her arms, against various objects that carried her the ten feet to the nearest window. Only her house had gone dark.

“Miss Sophie!” came the reprimand as Hilda cleared the top step. “You mustn’t get out of bed.”

“I’m fine, Hilda. What’s going on?”

“Just a power outage. They happened all the time when I was a child. In my neighborhood, anyway.”

“Well,” complained Sophie, “they have never happened here.”

As she spoke, a few meager lights flickered on.

“I believe that is a generator, Miss Sophie.”

“Does this mean I can connect the Bridge?”

Hilda shrugged, but when Sophie made her way back to the computer and tried to wake it, nothing happened. Defeated, she flopped onto her bed with a deep sigh.

“Dear Sophie,” comforted Hilda. “You can use my handheld if you wish.”

Relieved, Sophie grabbed Hilda’s face as she extended her hand with the device. “You…” Sophie placed a kiss on her housekeeper’s forehead. “…are amazing!”

Rolling her eyes, Hilda managed a wry smile as she took a seat in “Hazel’s chair” and awaited the power’s return. No reason for either of them to sit alone in the dark.

+++++++++++++++

The knock on the office door took everyone by surprise, but when Vee looked to Tomás, he nodded calmly, so she reached to twist the knob. A moment later, the lead programmer for Dragnet stepped into the office.

“I got a message from Sophie,” the man offered. “It came from a handheld, so it looks like the virtual separation worked.

“Virtual separation?” asked Hazel.

“Obviously, my greatest weakness was Sophie’s connection to the Bridge. If Donovan ever discovered my ruse about myself, he would attack me again through Sophie – he has already done it many times. As soon as Donovan began his extortion, I set my top programmers on the task of the separation. He had lured her to an access point for one of his ground servers, and I could not know what would happen if I separated her. The physical removal is a delicate and dangerous procedure, one made necessary in my own case but which I would not risk with Sophie. Only when her danger at Peter’s hand proved greater than the risks of a reboot – unclear because of potential failsafes put in place by its creator – only then did the risk overcome the potential reward. But even then she was not safe - he could affect her directly through the Bridge. He just had not wanted to at the beginning, because the action could be detected. As he grows nearer to the culmination of his plan, he will fear detection less. If he is successful, no one but he will have the access to trace his actions. I held no certainty that the virtual separation would prove successful, but once she was back on the Bridge, I decided it worth the risk. We were able to virtually set off a time-release exploit in her Wire, if you will, that deteriorated the programming lines that gave the Bridge access. Sophie, like you and I, Hazel, is now Wire-free – at least for all intents and purposes.”

“That’s great!” Hazel gushed. “I mean, maybe not for her, but for us. Could you do that for the other kids?”

“I can’t.” He shook his head. “They are linked to the ground servers now, and I have not found the access point for those so that I can reach their Wires.”

“What is it?” Rel wondered, noticing Hazel’s change in demeanor.

“I have the access points.” She chewed her lip in thought, peering at the space in front of her. “One problem is that each link was probably unique to a specific satellite signal. The signal would alter slightly geographically depending on the time of day the link occurred, and we might miss a couple that lay right at the edge of the satellite coverage as the signal shifted from one satellite to the other, but most of the Wires would stay connected to the same satellite all the time regardless of time of day.”

“Hazel,” Rel interrupted, “what are you talking about?”

“I understand about the satellites,” answered Mr. DeSoto. “There are four satellites that provide signal for the entire Bridge, plus a geosynchronous satellite to pick up the slack if there is short-term interference. Each of the four is assigned to a geographic region that receives the most direct line to that satellite. The Bridge is not actually a unified entity. It is a conjunction of five puzzle pieces that meet at the edges, and those pieces shift a little along the edges depending on time of day, but they basically remain consistent in the center.”

“Right,” Hazel continued the thought. “So each Wire was connected to a specific satellite – we have to assume that very few gamer signals were linked with the geo because it’s too laggy. Technically, Peter could have used any ground server to link to any Wire, but in order to maximize signal strength, the ground server should be in the same region as the satellite coverage. Otherwise, the signal strength would be hard to maintain continuously and keep the kids connected.”

“So…” Tomás pursed his lips in thought. “We have kids being held hostage to control their parents, disconnected from access because they are linked to private ground servers. What is Peter’s endgame, do you think?”

Hazel sighed. “If I understood him right tonight, he is less concerned about the Wires themselves – he basically invented that technology. He is more concerned about the global reach of the Bridge, because he doesn’t trust the bureaucrats and politicians to use it correctly.. He didn’t change the Bridge that much from the Platform, though, ironically, he made it more unified because the Platform was split between some leftover ground servers in some of the more remote regions. The tech was put in place after the advent of the Platform, so Pete just completed the transfer to the satellites.”

“So, he wants to destroy the Bridge?” Vee queried.

“Either that,” Hazel agreed, “or to separate the functionality of the Wire from the satellites.”

“How would he do that without the approval of every global government?” Tomás challenged. “Look at the lengths he had to go to just to transfer a few hundred kids to his ground servers.”

“He could crash the satellites,” Hazel offered. “Literally or by just creating a malfunction – misfire the propellants, redirect the transmitters. The Bridge is managed on the Bridge, so he can access it.”

“Theoretically, though he would have to get through some of my security protocols. It may be why he is delaying.”

“So, how do we get these kids separated from the ground servers,” Vee reined in the conversation, “and how does that help us stop the crash?”

Hazel and Tomás stared at each other.

“I think the key is in which kids are being held,” she proffered. “You guys haven’t been able to access records at the NCB, so all we have is a list of gamertags and locations.”

Nodding, Tomás signaled to his programmer who had stood near the door taking in the conversation. “We can help with that,” Tomás promised. “Enzo, how long would it take you to get a program going that could cross-reference a list of locations with distance from satellite operations centers? I’m willing to bet that some of these kids belong to satellite operators.” He turned back to explain to the others. “In order to sell each of the governments on the Bridge, we had to hand operation of a satellite to three other regions – the most stable of their governments who had the tightest coalition of neighbors. So the satellites have controls in their own region.”

“Which means that the closest gamers are probably associated with the satellite operators.” Rel declared, finally starting to see.

“We’re only talking four operations centers,” Enzo explained, “so, if you give me the list of locations, we could probably manage that in half an hour.”

“And then we just have to figure out how to separate those specific kids from the ground servers so they reboot and wake up. It will render Peter powerless to force them to crash the Bridge.”

“We have the exploit,” Enzo offered helpfully. “The one we used to separate Sophie.”

Hazel bit at her fingernails for a second. “Is it unique to the satellite link?”

“It could be altered, but I would have to know the tracer of the specific ground servers.”

“Rel,” Vee turned to him, “do you have that list of energy drains? Doesn’t that have an exact location?”

“I’ve got it,” Rel agreed. “Though I’m starting to get nervous about what’s in my head. It’s accessible to the Bridge.”

“Link it to me,” Enzo commanded. “Our system is hybrid, and once I receive it, I can isolate it onto the private server we maintain.”

Despite the complexity of it, Hazel could see each of the pieces, and her heart started beating faster with the excitement.

“Do you have it?” Rel wondered.

“Got it,” Enzo answered. “This will bump it up to an hour. Do you want me to answer Sophie?” he turned to Tomás.

“Actually, I would like someone to go get her.”

“I can do that,” Rel offered. “I don’t really add anything to this circle of knowledge now that I’ve handed over the power drain info.”

“Thank you, Mr. Martins. I would like you to use my private car, if you don’t mind. I would like to remain as disconnected from the Bridge as possible until we are through this. Do you drive?”

“I drive,” Rel acknowledged, and Mr. DeSoto retrieved a key from his desk.

“Just a minute, Rel,” Hazel stood as he squeezed her hand and started toward the door. She turned back to Tomás as Rel paused. “I have a few more questions, but I need a minute.”

“We’ll be here.” Tomás smiled.

Hazel followed Rel out into the lobby. They stepped to peer out the floor-to-ceiling window as they spoke. “I know we’re not in any specific danger -”

“Not yet,” Rel huffed.

“But you’ll be careful, won’t you?” She reached for her missing ponytail.

Rel turned to look at her, but she continued to stare out the window, chewing her lip anxiously. “Of course, I’ll be careful.” He smiled, brushing his hand across her collarbone where she had grasped for the imaginary tresses – the skin was delicate like silk, and he realized with a start that he didn’t know how he had let himself do it.

For the first time since she had met him, Rel had reached out to her in something more than comfort, and relief and satisfaction thrummed through her. It had been so hard to tell if he was just being his considerate self, and he had physically pulled himself away from her so often. The brush of his fingers on her shoulder? There was no other way to interpret that. Was he just painfully shy? It would be too ironic if he were more shy than I am. His look of shock seemed to confirm her conjecture. “It’s just…” She pressed her lips together, hesitating and slightly breathless. Finally, she gathered the courage. “You’re not going to be with me, and right now, you’re the only person I care about who still has a functioning Wire in his head.”

With the rapid rise and fall of her chest, Rel found himself dangerously close to ignoring his conscience. Standing in her ridiculously sexy dress, staring into the night and…caring about him – it made her more irresistible than usual. When she managed to turn to face him, he recognized the look in her eye. He wasn’t the only one affected by their proximity.

She reached her hand to his arm, stepping so that she stood only a few inches from him. The slightest slip of his arm, and he would hold her. Still, he waited. In fact, he seemed like stone. Hazel prayed she wouldn’t regret her unusual bravery.

Closing her eyes for a minute, Hazel steeled herself. She could sense the warmth reaching to her from Rel’s body, and she prayed she wouldn’t regret what she was about to do. Pressing down her insecurity, she inched closer to him, finally tilting her face up in expectation.

When Hazel raised her face to him, eyes closed, Rel held his breath. He didn’t want to be wrong, to give in to his baser urges at the expense of his burgeoning relationship with Hazel. His lack of response discouraged her, and when her eyes popped open, doubt and disappointment painted her expression.

It was too much. “Screw it!” he declared under his breath, threading his arm behind her back and lifting her to her toes as he leaned down until their lips met. His other hand laced into her hair, pressing her to him to intensify the kiss. Soft hair, his mind registered amid the electric pulse between them. Hazel raised her hand to his hair, straining up into the kiss for a moment before she lowered herself away, breathing hard. She did not step back, though, instead leaning into the circle of his arms and pressing herself against his chest.

“Just be careful,” she whispered again, and Rel found himself forced to rein in some of his intensity. Guilt stabbed at his gut as he worried whether he was leading her on or sending false signals, but he couldn’t ignore that she had initiated the moment. Of course, it was because she was frightened for him. Also of course, the fact that she was frightened for him confirmed that she cared. A smile curled his lips.

Rel gently caressed her hair, murmuring assurances as he let his energy dissipate. Finally, he relaxed his arms. If Hazel didn’t let him go, he would kiss her again, and he did not trust himself. Fortunately, she read his cues and stepped a few inches away.

She stared at the floor, obviously embarrassed. “I’m sorry,” she stammered. “I just…”

“Hazel,” he offered tenderly, and his tone raised her eyes to his. “I have wanted to do that since the first time we had coffee; I just didn’t think it was an option.” He found it was true, and he cursed the manipulation that had him doubting the truth.

Peering coyly back at the marbled floor, Hazel’s face lit with pleasure. “It wasn’t an option, so it’s good you didn’t.”

“But it is now?” he pressed.

She smiled at him from under her lashes. “It is.”

“Okay, then,” he smiled back. Taking her at her word, he reached for her again and pulled her back into another kiss – definitely not as tentative. Happily, Hazel gripped his neck and tugged him down to her mouth with surprising force. The corners of his mouth lifted, and when she let him go, they were both unsteady on their feet.

“Like I said: be careful,” Hazel commanded. “I’m not done with you.”

Laughing, Rel watched with amusement as she turned from him and strode back to the office, a little extra sway in her hips. Yes, he had always liked her - that much was his own. Sexy as hell, that dress.