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"Oh, I know better than that It’s Ren"

Hideo’s stare darts from the screenshot over to me "Renoir Thomas?"

I nod "DJ Ren A marker in the screenshot’s code pointed to him Since then, I’ve hooked up all of the official players to my Warcross profile" I pull up everyone’s accounts "I h soht be involved"

Hideo’s gaze goes to the digital map I’ve created that shohere each of the Warcross players currently are Most are in their dorroup of Andromedans are out in the city, while Asher has left the Riders’ dorerous than I thought," Hideomy handiwork

I offer him a se to coax a laugh from him "Should I be even er, and bring up Ren’s e a hack on Ren’s info," I reply, pulling the email forward to hover between us as a dark, encrypted cube of data "Found this yesterday, although I can’t seem to unlock it"

Hideo scans the file once Like e of the cube "This was sent from the Dark World," he says

I nod "And wrapped in a shield I don’t recognize"

Hideo brings his hands slightly apart, then rotates the cube once "I do," he er, and as it does, he pulls one side of it so that I can see its surface in detail I narrow my eyes at it The surface is coated with an elaborate, winding series of endlessly repeating patterns

"It’s called a fractal shield," he explains "A new variation on onion shields we’ve seen lately, except that the fractal shield’s layers loop endlessly, h a top layer The more you try to break it open, the more secure it beco anywhere"

No wonder I couldn’t break h it "I’ve never seen this before"

"I wouldn’t expect you to This is mutated from security we developed inside Henka Ga over the surface of the cube "Can you break it?"

Hideo puts his hands against two surfaces of the cube When he removes his hands, a copy of the top of the fractal shield floats above the cube "An infinite shield requires an infinite key," he says "So that multiplies at the same rate and type as the shield itself"

"Every locked door has a key," I aze He smiles

He types several coh a Henka Gara, its own surface coated with the same endless patterns I look on as he takes the key and presses it back against the cube

The surface of the cube suddenly stills The infinitely repeating fractals that cover it vanish Then, in a flash, the cube disappears--replaced by a aze hitches on it at the same time Hideo’s does

"Pirate’s Den," we say in unison

To a norless But to me, it’s a scheduled event The 1300 is 1:00 p to a twenty-four-hour clock--and PD stands for "Pirate’s Den," an abbreviation I knoell It’s a notorious gathering place in the Dark World

The event is tagged for March twentieth

"Well," I say "Guess I knohere I’e for alook "You’re headed in alone?"

"You crack the fractal shields" I lean back on my bed and cross my arms "It’s my job to ith the criminals, Mr Tanaka"

At that, he smiles a little "Hideo, please"

I tiltme Miss Chen in public It’s only fair"

He lifts an eyebrow "I try not to give the tabloids ressive at this tiossip is that? That we’re on a first-name basis? Scandalous It seeossip about me, anyway"

"Would you prefer I call you Emika?"

"I would," I reply