Chapter 9

Wednesday, August 15, 2035, AM

The first thing Al did upon waking was to call Modern Electronics. He talked briefly with Marge. She was very sympathetic, and Al knew she was truly grieving over Sam's death. She told him the security men were in place, and that she had given them special instructions to be on the lookout for arsonists and the like.

Al asked to speak with Edison Jones. When Jones came on line, Al asked him what he knew about the structure of the dihedrons.

Jones launched into a description of the manufacturing of dihedrons, and had been running on for some time when Al stopped him. "Maybe I should just explain to you what I'm interested in," he said. He then went on to explain about the files Hak had found that could not be saved to the dihedrons. He told Jones his theory that there might be something in the dihedron itself that prevented files, encrypted in a particular manner, from being saved.

Jones thought for a few seconds then said, "I've never heard of anything like that, but I guess it's possible. We've tried to break down the boot records of dihedrons many times, but have never had any luck. I'll tell you what I'll do. If you think this is really important, I'll start a couple of people working on it. Maybe we can find something now that we know what we are looking for."

They hung up after exchanging some pleasantries with Jones promising to get people on the problem right away.

Al started one of his computers and went on the Internet in search of information on dihedrons. He had been following leads and checking out web pages for over an hour when a security system announced that someone was at the door.

When he look at the screen on the door console, he thought his heart skipped a beat. There was Bonnie holding two large bags. After he had let her in, she explained that she was making lunch for him today. He didn't argue, but went back to his computer, and continued his investigation. Before long, he could detect wonderful smells coming from the kitchen area.

When he started to go over to see what was cooking, Bonnie sent him back and told him to stay put until she was finished.

He didn't have long to wait, but the wonderful smells made it seem like forever. Bonnie finally came over, took his hand, and led him to the dining table. On his plate was one of the lightest, fluffiest omelets he had ever seen or tasted. It seemed to melt in his mouth. Beside it were fresh baked crescent rolls and lean Canadian bacon. "One more reason to like this lady," he thought.

After they had eaten, and had cleaned up the dishes together, Al showed Bonnie what he had been working on. He set up one of his other computers for her, then left her to decide which direction she would take. They worked quietly for a couple of hours, occasionally exchanging small talk, but generally too enthralled in what they were doing to pay much attention to each other.

Finally Bonnie spoke up. "Now this is interesting," she said. "I've been doing some research into non technical aspects of dihedrons. Did you know that there had been several lawsuits brought against Mitsutronics about dihedrons?"

"No I didn't," Al looked perplexed. "What were these lawsuits about?"

"Most are antitrust lawsuits. Some are about whether Mitsutronics has the right to force all computer manufacturers to use the Mitsutronics operating system. Could this not being able to save files to one of the dihedrons have something to do with the operating system?"

"Yes, I would say it could," answered Al. "That has been what I have been thinking about, but so far I haven't been able to find anything in what I've been reading. Why don't you look into the specifics of the suits. Maybe there's some language there that will give us a better idea of what to look for. "

"OK, but why don't we put this away for a little while. Let's get something to drink, and then just talk. I could really use a break right now." she said. She smiled at Al, not wanting to admit to herself she liked being around this man.

"Suits me," Al said as he walked into the kitchen area. "You first though. How did you get so good at computers? I know reporters use them in their work, but I thought they used mostly word processing programs. When you were talking with Hak, you seem to know exactly what he was talking about, and even gave him some suggestions."

Bonnie filled him in on part of her life's history as they sipped cold sodas and nibbled on some cookies Al found in one of his cabinets. She was the second child of two very intelligent people. Her mother was a surgeon, and her father was a systems manager for one of the largest computer software developers in the country.

The house where she grew up was full of computers. Her mother was always working on a report or an article for one of the surgical publications. Her father never brought his work home with him, but he was always on the computer playing or developing software of his own. Her older brother was the ultimate computer nerd. He was writing his own games by the time he was twelve, and was now developing the latest in computer hardware. Both her two brothers and her father taught her about computers from a very early age. Later, she suspected they were only trying to get rid of her so they could do their own thing. Then, when she became a journalist, it was only natural to hone her skills even further.

"You know I even got in trouble once, Al." she grinned at him.

Al looked surprised. "You did? What happened?"

"Well, I was about sixteen, and curious to see if I was as good as I thought I was. I broke into the database at the company my father worked for. I had no idea they had traced me until my father sat me down that evening and read me the riot act. He told me the only reason I wasn't in jail was because he was a manager there. He scared the pants off me."

"That must have been a sight to see," Al said with a leer, as he let his eyes roam up and down her legs. "Let's see... I'm trying to picture it in my mind" Al dodged the cookie Bonnie threw at him and broke up laughing. He could see the feigned look of anger on her face, but he could also see the sparkle of laughter in her eyes.

"OK buster, keep your imagination to yourself," Bonnie said as she went to gather up the pieces of the cookie she had thrown. "Your turn now. I've seen your Dad, and I know he's a professor at Berkley. I know about Sam. Did you have a mother, or were you spawned by a wolf?"

"Yes, I had a mother. She died when I was seventeen. Sam was fourteen at the time. I went off to college that fall, and never really felt like dad's place was home. I never spent much time around him after that. He never approved of what I was doing, no matter how successful I became. He always had this idea that I should be in business, or a professor at some university. He thought computer games were for kids, and anyone associated with them was just wasting his time."

"Mom was a wonderful person. She was a stay at home mom, always looking after her husband and her sons. Until I was in high school, I can never remember coming home to an empty house. There were always good solid meals on the table, and always a hug if I skinned my knee."

"There were good times with dad too. He was always taking us camping, or on weekend outings to see some historic or interesting place. He never did do any rough-and-tumble with us. He did teach us how to play chess though and he read to us and took us to movies."

"Mom's death was harder on Sam. He was younger for one thing, then the same year, I went away to college. He basically lost two of the three most important people in his life in the same year."

"I'm sorry Al," Bonnie said, looking downcast. "I didn't mean to make light of your mother's death. I know it must have been very hard on you too."

"That's OK, Bonnie. I knew you weren't making fun or anything. I've opened my mouth and inserted my foot on many occasions myself."

Bonnie looked a little nervous before she asked her next question. "So, do you have a girlfriend?"

Al was startled that Bonnie would ask him such a question, but was glad she did. "Not really, I have a sort of some time girlfriend. She's a photographer for one of the major magazines, and she's on location most of the time. When she's in town we try to get together, but lately we haven't been trying very hard. We talked it over a while back, and both of us agreed to keep it casual. What about you, any men in your life?"

"No, I'm afraid not. I've about sworn off boyfriends. My father died a few years ago, and my brothers have all moved out of the area. One is an investment broker on Wall Street, and the other is working on alternative power sources in Arizona."

He didn't notice the enigmatic smile Bonnie was trying to hide, because the door console announced another visitor.

Mumbling to himself, he went to see who was there.

Al was glad to see Linda at the door. He buzzed her in, and gave her a big hug when she entered. If Linda was surprised to see Bonnie there, she didn't let on. She told them about her trip to San Diego, and about the day she spent with her mother and father.

Al quickly filled her in the on what they had been doing and asked if she would like to start doing some research on the company's that Hak had been digging into. She was more than willing. She wanted to make a contribution. She wanted more than anything to find and punish the people responsible for killing her husband.

They decided that the first thing to do was call Hak to see if he'd found anything out. Hak was in a rare mood when they called him. He described in detail what he'd been doing and what he'd found out. Al told him they'd work on the list of names, and he sent it to them.

After four hours of work, they managed to get official biographies on the top five men on the list. They'd gone over the chart of interlocking companies that Linda had put together, and were not surprised that the top five names on the list were the controlling influences in the five largest companies on the chart. They decided to put this aside for Linda to look at, and started digging into the word Shishi. The only thing they could find on it were references to an ancient Samurai sect of that name. They picked the best of the references, which described the Shishi as being radically anti-foreign, and printed it out.

It was now after 8:00 in the evening. None of them had heard from Art Slavens since early morning. Al thought briefly about trying to call him, but they decided that he must be busy and they didn't want to disturb him.

Bonnie and Linda decided to call it a night. As Al was walking them down to their cars, Bonnie took his hand. She gave him a quick peck on the lips as he opened the car door for her. As Bonnie was driving off, he gave Linda another big hug. "Are we going to get together again tomorrow," he asked.

"I suppose so," Linda said with a big smile. "Unless you'd rather be alone."

"What do you mean?," Al blushed, feigning ignorance. Linda reached up and pecked Al on the cheek. "Uh huh." was all she said as she climbed into her car. Al raked his hands through his hair. You can't keep anything from a woman he groaned.

Al was awakened about a half-hour later by the phone. As he came awake, he thought to himself, "I'm going to start storing this thing in a bucket of water," he grumbled.

"Hello," he mumbled into the receiver.

Bonnie was upset, and nearly hysterical. "Al, someone followed me home," she gasped. "I've locked and bolted the doors, but I'm scared to death. The car was just like the one we chased."

Al was fully awake and all business. "Give me directions to your apartment, then call Slavens. I'll be there as soon as I can."

He was dressing even as he listened to Bonnie's directions. It took him only seconds to finish, grab the gun Art had given him, and run down the fire stairs. The drive that had taken Bonnie nearly a half-hour took Al only twenty minutes. It was the longest 20 minutes of his life. The rental car, though fully charged, was nothing like his sports car. He cursed it with every curve and every time he needed to accelerate. The freeways were as clear as they ever got in the bay area, but he found himself weaving in and out of traffic. When he finally arrived at Bonnie's apartment building, he scanned the parking lot for a black Honda, but saw none.

Her apartment was in a secure building, so he had to activate the call for her apartment and wait while she checked the monitor before she opened the outer door. Bonnie's apartment was on the third floor, but instead of waiting for the elevator, he took the stairs two at a time until he reached her floor. He was slightly disoriented when he burst through the door on her landing, but it only took him seconds to determine the direction to her apartment, and sprint down the hall. He knocked on the door, rather than ring the bell, then looked directly into the security camera so there could be no doubt as to who he was. Bonnie opened the door immediately and pulled him into the room.

Before anything else, Al slammed and locked the door. He then took Bonnie in his arms, and held her as if he were afraid she was going to run away. They stood that way for a couple of minutes, each taking comfort from the other, then the outer door alarm sounded again, making them both jump. It was Slavens. Bonnie actuated the outside door, and they could see Art striding through with an air of purpose that would have stopped anyone from interfering with him. When they heard the inside door alarm, Al opened the door. So far neither he nor Bonnie had said a word since his arrival.