Springboard

35

Jay removed his rig, stripped the casters and sensor gear and mesh off, and just let it drop on the carpet. Later, he’d shove the sweaty mesh into the ultrasonic cleaner, and use dry-clean wipes on the bits that he couldn’t immerse in the ultrasound’s liquid, but for now, he just wanted to go and take a shower himself.

It hadn’t been pretty, but it was, at last, done.

No matter how good a scenario you could spin, running down the rascals that Shing had caused to infest the military and CyberNation computers was dull, grinding work. Like pulling crab grass up by the roots, or scrubbing a dirty floor, or maybe chipping barnacles off a ship’s hull. Each bit had to be done manually, and once removed, the place where it had been had to be sanded, smoothed, wiped, repainted — remade so that the chunk removed didn’t leave a gap or hole or whatever.

It was scut work, and not Jay’s thing, but it had to be done, it had to be done right, and it was his project.

But, finally, it was finished. As far as Jay could tell, all traces of the tampering done by Shing and his allies were no more.

His virgil beeped in its computer dock. Seurat.

“Good evening,” Seurat said when Jay accepted the connection.

“Hey.”

“How goes it?”

Jay managed a tired grin. “We got the guy, we got his modus, and I just finished cleaning it out. The military system — and yours — are as clean as new pennies. At least as far as this hack is concerned.”

“Très bon, Gridley! Excellent!”

“Just part of the job, Mr. Seurat.”

“But you must call me Charles, mon ami.”

“I must?”

“Oui.”

The man sounded way too happy, even though Jay had done him a good turn.

“Do you like Paris, my friend?”

“Sure.”

“Then you must come and visit. To a wedding.”

“Somebody getting married?”

“Yes. Me. I have met a wonderful woman — an American, no less. She is perfect, the most beautiful and intelligent and funny woman in the world.”

“Save one,” Jay said.

“Ah, you are married?”

“Yep. Got a baby son, too.”

“This is wonderful, no?”

“Yeah. It is. And after I take a shower, I’m going to go and spend some quality time with them. This has been a bastard of a case.”

“But you have solved it, and all is right with the world, no?”

“As close as it gets for me,” Jay said.

After he and Seurat broke the connection, Jay smiled. For him, all was right with the world. Or would be, right after he took a shower…