Page 17 (1/2)

"Your guess is as good as ain"

"I’ far worse than that I refuse to halt the games just to bow to a hacker’s threat--but the safety of our audience isn’t so I want to coain, and suddenly we are sitting back in his office I startle at the sudden shift These contact lenses are going to take so used to "With your current celebrity status, I thought it best if we hid you in plain sight, put you on one of the teams It will allow you to be physically closer to the other players"

"Why do you want me close?"

"The nature of the attacks makes me suspect that Zero is one of thehfor? What’s your bounty prize?"

"Each of you will see the prize a number in your bank accounts" Hideo leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees He gives me a pointed look "If you decide you want to turn this down, that this is more than you want to deal with, I’ll have you on a private flight back to New York You can just treat this as a holiday before returning to your life I’ll pay you a su a ame Take your ti It’s as if Hideo were offering e of his bounty I i to le runs through est puzzle I’ve ever been given the chance to solve I’ht it over," I say "I’m in"

Hideo nods "Instructions for the Wardraft will coa you think you’ll need from me Access codes, accounts, and so on" He stands up "Hold out your hand"

I eye hi it over so that my palm faces up

He holds his own hand an inch abovea credit card appears against ns his naainst mine makes my breath catch The virtual credit card flashes blue for a nature, and then disappears

"This is for you to buy whatever you need during your stay," he says "No limit, no questions asked Just use your palo directly to this Cancel it by signing your own naainst your palm" His eyes lock on mine "And keep this discreet I’d rather not broadcast our hunt to the public"

What I wouldn’t have given, during my most difficult weeks, for a card like this I take ainst my palm "Of course"

Hideo offers ain "I look forward to our next , then," he says, with absolutely no indication in his tone that this is true My eyes flicker again to his bruised knuckles before I shake his hand

The lastroo back at n so As I settle inside, I let out a long breath that I didn’t realize I was holding My heart is still ha in my chest, my hands shaky from our encounter Not until we’ve left the studio behind do I reach intoin to , I had thirteen dollars What sort of e loads ondeposit: 10,000,00000 USD

9

I have to load the screen a few h, it doesn’t change Ten million

A ten-hest bounty I’ve ever seen is five hundred thousand dollars This number is off the charts Thereon--it can’t possibly be as siaaerous job than I think it is?

I shake my head Warcross is Hideo’s life’s work His lint of intensity that I saw in Hideo’s eyes when he showed me the contact lenses I do have a specific set of skills that appeals to him--I hunt criminals, I hack, I’as Maybe it’s been really hard for hihts return to our ether from years of documentaries and articles doesn’t see, cold, the reality of a ure I’d built up in , Kenn had insisted But Hideo’s walls are nevertheless there, ue Maybe it’s all part of being so disgustingly wealthy that he doesn’t need to open himself up to anyone

Or maybe he just doesn’t like ht Fine I don’t like him all that much, either

Besides, I don’t need to like a client in order to work for him I certainly don’t like the police who I’ve worked for All I have to do is ress, and catch Zero before anyone else does All I have to do is get the bounty

Ten ht after he thought I’d gone to bed, resting his head wearily in his hands, staring at a never-ending stack of overdue bills I think of hi yet another bet withthat this ti

TenI’d never have to worry about debt again I could be safe for life If I win this bounty, everything changes Forever