The Cochrane Date (2nd attempt)

[Wolfgang Weisen]

Wolfgang makes a sardonic smile. He then crosses his palms together.

"Oh my dear, but you already know what I want. We spend some personal time after the meeting and the tapes are destroyed. It's a simple deal, take it or leave it. We Lane Hackers have a reputation to protect, you should be fully confident that I will keep my end of the bargain."

The Deceiver said while instinctively he started wetting his lips one more time.

---

"Our society is based on an economic bubble. Do you know what will happen when the bubble collapses?"

[Wolfgang Weisen]

Wolfgang made a sardonic smile. He then crossed his palms together.

"Oh my dear, but you already know what I want. We spend some personal time after the meeting and the tapes are destroyed. It's a simple deal, take it or leave it. We Lane Hackers have a reputation to protect, you should be fully confident that I will keep my end of the bargain."

The Deceiver said while instinctively he started wetting his lips one more time.

Julia was looking at the smile, and she was somewhat surprised by the directness of her opponent again. She asked herself what he might hold, and whether it would be worth it, however it was entirely possible that there was material. She did not care THAT much, however she was thinking: 'why take a risk'.

"Alright." she answered and held eye contact. "We spend some time. And I have a reputation to protect, too... so..." she shrugs and looks at him: "Business first? I try to keep the mission and private mess apart... as you likely understand."

"Very good, very good. Let's talk business then." Wolfgang said with obvious pleasure. The deranged man finally leaned back to his seat and gestured at the hologram.

"Where is the information about the Delta and Sigma conflict Mr Henderson promised us?"

"The relevant intel is on this memory device." she pointed to the one that she threw to him and that he only narrowly caught. "You wanted me to walk you through it, you said. I guess that's where I should start." she replied and looked again at the table that displayed the data files. She selected one that says 'Delta Incident'. She opened it and there was intel on Core| attacks against civilians, and on an IMG convoy headed towards the Freeport. "Mr. Henderson mentioned you were running your own relief operations?" and that was seemingly a question.

"Oh yes, we also supported the Zoners of Freeport 11. As you know the Lane Hackers support the weak and innocent."

Julia smiled and showed him some more of the data that shows the incidents between the Core and other trade ships, proving their hostile intentions against those who did relief shipments. "What is your angle on the choices that the Core took in this situation?" she asked him, pointing to a few guncam pictures of their actions.

"I believe the community of Sirius should take a tougher approach against the Core. Hitting humanitarian convoys is just wrong. Fortunately you took a bold and public stance on this matter and I believe this is another reason why the people of Sirius rallied so much to help the Zoners of Freeport 11."

Julia nodded and then leaned back: "We included some relevant mission data on flights of 3rd parties that were included, showing a strange mix of people assisting the Freeport helping operations, I do not know whether all of this is relevant to you, though. But I was told that you like to have data in general and this is pretty much raw data that you might be able to work with." she concluded, pointing at a raw data file.

"Furthermore, I have a question about what you know about Rheinland involvement in the area around Delta." she asks him curiously.

"Hmm.." Wolfgang didn't know the answer to this question. He didn't have the resources or the associates that senior Hackers typically field around Sirius.

"I think you probably know more about this than I do. What do you know Ms Morrow?"

Julia pointed to another file that shows considerable amounts of Rheinland vessels. Few large ships, mainly small ships, but enough to make it look as more than incidental. "Not sure what we can make out of this. It feels a little too far away from Rhienland, but one can never know. Perhaps you can inquire?" she smiled at him, trying to convince him. "It's also raw data files, gathered by our flights. Just make sure to keep us out of it. Sources... ye... you know. Protecting sources protects the flow of intel." she smiled, shrugging her slender shoulders and crossing her legs.

"Hmm, interesting. I wonder what interest Rheinland has in the Omicrons... But I suspect this Omicron Korps battlegroup was rather short-lived, right?" Wolfgang asked while his eyes focused on the document which he slowly but carefuly was browsing.

Julia nodded when he mentioned it: "Yes. There were a patrol, escort wing... or... something like...spies. How do you call them? In the military? Recon or something. Then more and more ships appeared when we were there. They took... a rather active stance, even warships were there. And they were obviously... siding with the Core, who damaged the Freeport." she remarked and shrugged. She pointed out a few of the pictures and details, mainly of reoccuring ships. But there was nothing... spectacular.

Wolfgang nodded to the report. This was undoubtedly intel he could follow up and see what was going on.

"Thank you Ms Morrow. Now about the Sigma conflict, what material do you have?" He said and returned the hologram in the initial screen while gesturing Julia to show the way around.

Julia smiled when she heard that this was somewhat useful and she leaned back, crossing her legs the other way and smiled: "Ehm... Sigma conflict?" she seemed to think "You mean the Rheinland - Sigma conflict about Luneburg that... is now called some... Sigma-25 or such?" she seemed a little confused for a moment. "Or... do you mean the Kruger threat against the GMG installations?"

Wolfgang was puzzled.

"Mr Henderson promised us information about the Omicron and Sigma conflicts... I thought you were briefed of what he wanted to inform us about." The Hacker said and started searching the files on the hologram, trying to find the relevant files on his own.

Julia shrugged and smiled: "There is a lot... and I am pretty sure that he asked the Lane Hackers for their stance in it - or at least this is how I interpreted the mission specification!" she answered and smiled. She seemed to be genuine about it, this certain form of naivety surrounding her like a silken cloak, as it seemed to somehow fit the person. "How are the Lane Hackers with Kruger and the GMG? Because one of these conflicts is mainly surrounding S13 and Kruger's passage rights, and a threat against one of the GMG installations. An... empty threat, as time has shown. However, it still led to some... interesting links. However, how you are with Kruger and GMG?" she asked him again.

The Deceiver was baffled by Julia's question. Why would the IMG be interested in such an unnecessary question? The Sigmas were always far from Lane Hacker interest.

"Both of them are part of the corporate establishment Ms Morrows. As you can imagine they are not treated any differently than the rest."

Julia smiled when she realized that this question must have been weird to her counterpart and she smiled and shrugged: "Oh. I see. I did not expect the Hackers to treat the Gas Miners Guild as corporate establishment, but this of course explains your... reduced interest in this conflict that was happening there." she took a sip of her drink and sighed when the rather strong alcoholic drink makes her tongue tickle a little "Pretty... good... I'll have another one." she says and orders it via the table's desktop menue.

Wolfgang continued browsing the folders while Julia was speaking. A minute later he found what he was looking for.

"Your boss expressed interest in establishing anonymous bank transactions. As we are fighting the banking system we accepted his request free of charge. In fact, I have already explained to him the process. Are these the transactions which you want to conduct at this moment?"

Julia nodded and hinted at the data files which showed encrypted banking codes. "Yes. A secure data line to move these between the designated accounts." she nodded and it was all explained in rather heavily encrypted files. However it was pretty clear that one has to be the IMG-affiliated account, and the other one might have been a little harder to pinpoint the identity of.

"I see. Please allow me to explain to you as well how this system works."

"I am definitely all ears!"

"All banking transactions are made through extremely secure applications in the neuralnet. However the respectove House government, its Agencies and Interspace Commerce even though the latter denies it, can view those transactions allegedly because to make sure there is no money laundering or tax evasion, and so on. Of course the true reason is that they want to restrain your economic freedom, one of the basic rights entitled to every human."

He paused for a moment and then continued.

"We of course as the Champions of the people, we have devised a way to guarantee you complete safety. It's called the 'Converter'. Instead of sending money directly to a bank account, you instead send the money to an anonymous, auto-generated neuralnet location. This transaction supposedly is flagged as invalid and sends the money back to the sender, in reality however, no money is sent. Instead the money is forwarded to the bank account of your choice. Of course this is only possible if you hack into the neuralnet network, something that only the Lane Hackers can achieve."

Julia was listening and seemed rather interested in it, as her body language gave away when she leaned forwards and nodded a few times while he kept explaining it: "Fascinating." she commented and her face also showed that she did not seem to agree with the spying that he mentioned earlier: "I guess Mr. Henderson knew why to turn to the Lane Hackers for this kind of... business." she smiled when he explained it. "I assume you have quite a lot of clients that ask you for... these kinds of transfers and secret transmission lines?" and he seemed to have caught her curiousity.

Wolfgang's mood started to get better once he realized that Julia was interested in his kind of talk. As with most men, he enjoyed bragging and talking about his work.

"Of course, however I cannot discuss client business." He said in a definite manner. "I suspect after we are done here Mr Henderson will send the first batch of sums?"

Julia smiled when he confirmed with his way of holding himself that he was actually successful and he had a lot of clients, and nodded when he suspected that there will be more of these transactions: "Yes, Mr. Henderson will be on this as soon as everything is a 'go'." she nodded and leaned back again, smiling at him and looking him in the eyes: "Come on... tell me... one great story about something... outrageous that you did, that was really... cool through the roof... something you will not forget ever!" she tried to tease him a little, and trigger this way of 'liking to brag about and bask of his success.

The old man was particularly seduced by Julia's interest. He knew he shouldn't be talking about this, but when was the last time he made such a lovely creature so curious about his activities? After all she wouldn't fully understand half the things he'd tell her, he estimated.

"Well, let's see. It was summer 822 A.S. and I was running black ops in Rheinland. I had orders from my superior to do something extremely delicate and difficult even for a Lane Hacker. My mission was to deteriorate the LH relations with the VWA but to make it look like it was VWA's fault, not ours. So I grabbed on a Pirate Train a load of second-rate cardamine and headed for Frankfurt system. As expected VWA leader and some of his attack dogs tried to stop me, but I was always slightly ahead of 'em, enough to check my cargo hold but not capture it as evidence. They chased me all the way to Omega-11 Jump Gate. After jumping, I jettisoned and destroyed my cargo while I moved significantly closer to Freital before the Bundschuh finally 'got me'.

The late VWA leader Erich Klugmann was furious. He was accusing me for moving cardamine but he had no proof, instead I had evidence which showed VWA firing disruptors to my train while going to Freital supposedly 'to get a load of Blood Diamonds'. Mind you we have a mutual defence agreement with the Hessians. And if that was not enough, he went as far as to ban the Hackers from Rheinland.

That was the cherry at the top of the cake. To our eyes the world is a chessboard, and with certain moves of certain chesspieces you can yield the results you want. This happened in this very mission."

Julia was listening and she can't really hide that the story is pretty cool, and the far-reaching consequences of easy actions like this are somewhat impressive. "Oh dear..." she commented when he ended and shook her head with a smile, barely hiding admiration for a trick well played: "Not half bad, I have to admit." she said and leaned back again, thinking about everything that could go wrong in such an operation: "Wasn't it terribly risky? I mean... being in the center of such diplomatic affairs can be... horribly dangerous, I had to learn by... experience." she hinted at herself sometimes being in the crosshairs like this, and she ordered another drink, while they were still talking.

"It is, yes that's the point. Living by the moment and taking big risks is part of our psyche my dear. Wouldn't you agree that it is better than leading a dull life?" He said before adding. "I used to live a dull life in fact."

Julia seemed really amused with what he was telling her and how he did it. "I agree." she beamed back. "I mean, I could have chosen to stay with the BMM and become one of the bleary-eyed factory girls... but hey... I chose the Guild, the Taus, to fly huge hulking Battletransports..." and while they were at it, she couldn't stop herself from bragging a little. "Do you know I am the most highly decorated transport pilot in the Guild?" she looked at him, then added: "I led a convoy that finished off 2 gunships and a Cruiser. In transports."

"Now that's brutal" Wolfgang says and catches himself laughing with what he perceived as a joke, a lunacy.
After that slip, he regained his composure just as Julia's drink arrived. He straightened his clothing and resumed his demeanor. "Now that all matters you brought in have been resolved, there is some issues that have come up recently and I want you with an open mind to help us out..."

Julia is also smiling at his remark and reaction and nods: "Alright. I do not know in how far I can be of much help there, but for sure I can try and if needed, I can also contact Mr. Henderson for an opinion in case it is 'over my paygrade'.", she answered. She took the drink, and started sipping from it while he was explaining it.

"As you are aware, the Guild was particularly useful to the Lane Hackers as it provided us with basic supplies for Mactan... but after the FP4 takeover from Liberty's government and your constant attacks on cardamine trade, there are strong voices within my organization that demand a harsh stance..."

"I think you also recognize that the disruption of the former status quo is creating problems, right?"

Julia was listening and she nodded a few times: "Yes, I agree. The takeover of Freeport 4 makes our cooperation a lot harder. It threw a big spanner into the workings... we've had." she agreed and nodded slowly again. "Furthermore, cardamine needs to be opposed by the Guild. I think I have explained it already, but the philosophy of the Guild favours freedom. So... the best thing we can do is already being done." she waited for effect: "We turn a blind eye to Lane Hackers running through the Taus if they at least try to be sneaky. I think this is the deal Henderson had with the Hackers... wasn't it?"

"Of course the Guild hasn't shown hostility towards the rare LH asset traversing in the region. We wouldn't have been having this conversation if this had taken place. Since we lost access in Freeport 4, we require a new place to trade with you... Your underground base on Planet Pecos can temporarily replace Mactan's demands until Freeport 4 is regained by the Guild."

Julia looked at him and breathed out loudly: "Hmm, Pecos." she took her PDA and she typed a few things, explaining: "Need to ask Mr. Henderson..." and there seemed to be a direct connection, as the PDA was placed on the table and Mr. Henderson's picture could be seen in realtime: "Greetings, Mr. Weisen. A pleasure. Pecos, you mentioned. Alright. The problem might be your relations with the Colonials that inhabit the planet partially by having refugee camps there, until they completely relocated to Yuma City." he remarked. "The Guild does not have any problem with building a logistic chain from Pecos towards you, or allowing you to do that... but how are you with the Colonials? They are trying to assert their power in Coronado rather aggressively."

"Hello Mr Henderson. We are not in good terms with the Colonials, that is true.. But as it happened with Freeport 4, you can expect a low profile while travelling to and from Camp Lister."

"Alright. A low profile is one way. The other one would be... the IMG would contact the Colonials and be very clear about how they are meant to deal with Lane Hackers moving to Lister. I do not know how assertive they are, but Pecos belongs to the IMG and I assume the Colonials would not have forgotten that quickly who is their host for millions of refugees... but this is actually your call whether you want me to directly intervene there. Personally, I do not have a problem with letting the Colonials know of our neutral relations... whether that is wise, only time can show. But as Coronado is a House-free place, I guess this is a way to go."

"That would be optimal, of course. Pecos is a resource-rich moon, and not forfeiting your rights in there is the best course of action in the long-term. In return for your assistance, we would offer to sign you up in our Job Board."

Wolfgang pressed a few buttons and a neuralnet page showed up on Julia's and Jack's terminal.

"We offer large bonuses for your pilots and as a former Interspace economist, I can tell you that it is not an opportunity you should let it pass."

Julia was taking a look, but seemed a little less able to understand what was being shown there: "Ehm..." she mentioned and then tried to find out what it it, while Mr. Henderson grasped it a lot quicker: "Interesting. A link with the Hessians... risky... the H-Fuel is a lot easier for us to do." he was talking while he was already thinking about routes and options. "Is your demand limited to these two commodities? Because, Pecos can offer access to Deuterium and while it definitely is not the cheapest way of obtaining fuel, the Guild could - as a gesture of goodwill and because we understand the situation absolutely well - offer the Deuterium at a reduced price. Call it... interventionism into markets via subsidies. Especially as i see H-Fuel there, a second pillar to rest your energy mix on might be a wise choice, strategically." he suggested. If Wolfgang looked at Julia, he would see that she did not really follow what they were talking now.

Wolfgang nodded his head in Jack's suggestion. "That's true, however H-Fuel is cheaper and easier to 'obtain'. So due to our outlawed status most of our engines are designed to work with H-Fuel. We will however obtain some Deuterium from Camp Lister, however this deal is independent from the Pecos one. This is a good job opportunity with strong bonuses for your shippers to exploit. What say you?"

Julia was sitting there, not much more than decoration from the moment on that Jack's face appeared on the screen of the table and the two men started discussing these issues: "Entirely your call." Jack answered with a nod when it came to the Deuterium and their engines. "And yes, I do agree. This board of yours seems really attractive. It will take skilled shippers on my side to do it safely, but I am rather confident..." a smirk could be seen That I have a few of those ready." he nodded again. "You see, it's important that alliances survive times when things are a little harder. Fair-weather-friends... at least the Guild does not need those. And I want you to know that the Guild is prepared to stay a good friend even in the most rainy of weathers..." he seemed to be already looking at some screens that are off-camera, likely looking at flight schedules.

"Very good man." Wolfgang remarked after the video link was cut off. "I am positively surprised by the understanding of the situation and how to reignite our relationship in a mutually beneficial way."
Wolfgang checked his clock while waiting in case Julia wanted to say anything. He knew his private time with Julia was finally coming and he craved for it.

Jack's picture disappeared from the table displayed a few moments later after he said: "Ms. Morrows, please check your PDA for flight instruction updates." and then he wished the Lane Hacker Deceiver a good evening before the communication was cut. Julia was looking at her PDA when Wolfgang refocusses on her and she seemed to be surprised when she looked up from the message she received. Somewhat positively surprised - he might read from her rather open body language. "Hm." she said, sipping her drink before putting it away and leaned forward slightly: "Mr. Henderson has a way... to convince." she agreed, also talking about herself. The bonus promise she had read moments ago when this meeting was booked as a success for the Lane Hacker side was not too small. "So, where were we... before I became decoration?" she asked him, not without a good sense of self-irony after having been side-lined for a few minutes.

Wolfgang unconsciously wet his lips one more time. "I wouldn't say that my dear. It's logical that for some matters you didn't have the authority to answer instead redirecting them to your superior. It happens to me quite often too. My direct boss is Mr. Yoshida."

He then stood up and gestured to their door in their right. "Please come over here."

---

"Our society is based on an economic bubble. Do you know what will happen when the bubble collapses?"

[Wolfgang Weisen]

Julia didn't seem to have taken insult at all in him talking to Henderson, and she seemed to actually be in a pretty good mood now, which might had surprised him when he compared her reaction just now to what her reactions to his rather direct advances had been at the beginning of their conversation when he had also made advances towards her. "Mr. Yoshida?" she repeated, not even hiding her interest. Yoshida was a myth, a legend. "... the... Mr. Yoshida?" she asked him again, while getting up, pulling her skirt into the correct shape and downwards a little, before she followed his invitation into the next room.

"Oh yes. The man who designed and executed the biggest extortion in the history of Sirius. He is one of most respectable and formidable individuals even amongst our ranks. That black ops mission in Rheinland I told you earlier... it was his creation." The duo walked and opened the doors to the next room. A large hall revealed itself, and classical music was playing. Julia quickly realized this was intended as a dance hall. "Would you like to walk a few steps with me, my dear?" Wolfgang smirked and offered his hand.

Julia was surprised when the door opened and she was not being guided into a bedroom or even just to a sofa - but that this actually was classy. "Oh..." she said surprised and looked around curiously: "Nice place." she commented, and it might sounded a little clumsy, but she took the hand that was offered and walked next to him while the music striked her as strange, yet new and therefore interesting. Julia seemed to be a very curious type, and as a working-class girl without much education, she at least was a curious one. "Sometimes it's good to be in the 2nd or even 3rd row... when it comes to fame." she remarked, just following his lead.

Wolfgang took the lead and it looked like the old man knew quite well how to move around. He definitely enjoyed classical music. Julia was moving along with him and she thought all of a sudden: 'Are we... really dancing?' and she realized that he did not just lead her there, but that this moving had a certain pattern and that he was leading her very well. She was talented, and she knew dancing, however not anything close to classic dancing, and of course she had never had any dance class. "Oops... sorry!" she apologized and blushed when she bumped into him, and her toes would sometimes meet his tip of his shoes. She started giggling. "Why... are you taking me... to dance... to such music?" she asked him, after she managed to somewhat get into the pattern, mostly staring at her feet, imitating his steps and picking it up admirably fast.

Eventually the track ended and the duo stopped dancing. "There is a certain magic... a certain appeal in dancing I believe. It is one of the habits I have kept from my previous life." Wolfgang said with a quick flashback of his family in Rheinland quickly passing through his mind.

Julia was really busy trying to not mess it up and she would giggle a few times and blushed when she did, but it was fun and he could feel her relax quite a bit while he was moving her, leading her pretty well over the dance floor of this room. When the music faded, she looked up, somewhat expecting more. She listened to him, then asked him: "You really learned this? I mean, it is standardized dance in Rheinland?" she asked him, and kept bombarding him with questions. "What was this one called? And are there more? And can we do this one again? I... was more concentrating on not tripping over me feet... than on the music." she laughed and looked up, waiting for his answers or his decision.

Wolfgang felt the time had arrived to make the proposition. "Why don't you follow me in my apartment, I will answer all your questions, I promise." The Rheinlander said softly.

Julia smiled when Wolfgang pointed her towards the apartment: "Oh, you will?" she asked him, smiling and she did not really move. "I want another dance, der Herr." she tried to add some Rheinland phrases, and it might sounded funny, and she also laughed about it. "... or can only men ask women in Rheinland for a dance?" and she looked up and got a little closer to him. "Please?" she asked him.

Wolfgang grinned and agreed to Julia's request. "Well, who am I to say no to such a request" he said in a fakely-wounded manner. He brought out again the small computer out of his pocket and clicked a few times. Then, another well known and exquisite track of the same genre started playing.

Julia smirked when she saw him agree to her request for another dance and when the music started playing, it took her a few moments to get into it again, but then she was able to imitate the patterns that he had taught her in the first dance and they moved around the room, while Julia was getting more and more confident, and at around half the dance was over, she even looked upwards to him, forgetting to check for her feet. "You won't likely believe it but..." she smiled, almost mixing up the side-step with one to the front, but he guided her nicely "... this is my first... like... dance like this, I mean... I dance, of course... in clubs and so on... but never like this." she commented, while moving around the room with him.

Wolfgang nodded to her comment. "And what do you think my dear? I know I am old-school but you cannot refuse that there is a certain elegance in this type of entertainment."

"I do not... refuse that. I admit it freely..." she moved with him, still talking. "You know..." She added. "I thought first, when you were really direct... I mean..." she blushed a little, then corrected herself. "I thought you were a brute when we met. Now..." she shrugged and allowed him to pull her a little closer in one of the turns. "I don't think that way any more." she admitted, perhaps it was also flattery, but she genuinely seemed to enjoy dancing, or learning it, or both.

"Well, thank you my dear. It warms my heart to hear that." Wolfgang said but he lied. He wanted that young lovely woman in his bed, and he didn't care what she ultimately thought of him. He wanted to tell her more things and further seduce her but he was remarkably unfamiliar with such situations, he wasn't sure what to say or do.

Julia smiled and looked him in his eyes for a little longer before she looked down and the music ended again and she looked up again, smiling brightly. "So..." she shrugged her shoulders and then exhaled audibly. "What's the plan? I mean... you made it feel like a business meeting first... then like a callgirl... then like decoration while talking to Mr. Henderson and now it feels almost like a date in good society... and where are we going now?" she asked him, playfully.

The duo kept dancing while talking to each other. "I thought I already told you my dear. We live for the moment, so wherever that moments gets us next, is anyone's guess. What about you.. what do you want my dear?"

Julia gave him a smile and a shrug and she couldn't help giggling a little when he becomes evasive. "Just going with the flow then?" she asked him and shook her head. "Thinking back to the rather... bad beginning of this meeting, I have to say, it's quite pleasant now." she commented and when the music was turned down again, then she took a step back, signalling that she is ready to go. She would not make the first step, it's her little wish for 'revenge' for him being so nasty at the start... so if he wanted anything, he would have to move into that direction.

Wolfgang's noticed Julia's latest game however his good mood wasn't going to go away with just this. He simply moved his hand to his side, an invitation for an arm in arm walk. Julia accepted the offer of the arm and took it, then started walking next to him. "Where to?" she asked him, feeling a little tension, mainly because of his silence.

Wolfgang slightly raised his eyebrows as if he imagined the route he'd take. "You don't like surprises, do you?" He said lightly before adding. "To my private apartment, you should be curious to see how a Hacker's apartment looks like."

Julia smirked and shrugged her shoulders: "I do like surprises!" she answered quickly without much thinking. "However, I have been named a curious kitten many many times. Likely there is a reason for that?" And she light-heartedly laughed. "... and, I am curious, indeed."

The duo headed to the dormitory section of Cochrane Depot. A row of elevators and staircases connected the whole complex. Julia immediately noticed that screens replaced walls which showed different locations on various planets, pictures from nature almost exclusively. Wolfgang's apartment was located in the prestigious upper section even though he held a low-senior rank, a fact undoubtedly attributed to his superior's patronage.

After passing two different identity checks the door opened. Julia entered into a comfortable and expensive-looking living room, with a small and unused personal kitchen further in. In the other corner she noticed the hallway to his office and workstation, undoubtedly the bathroom and bedrooms were further in. She also noticed the absense of windows which would provide some stunning views of Ontario system, evidently showing that patronage can only get you that much.

Julia was watching the different security mechanisms and joked. "Looks like... high security vault here..." she laughed a little, while he channeled her through the layers of security. Once in, she stepped out of the arm-in-arm position and walked around freely in the room, looking around. "You love cooking for yourself as much as I do?" she commented on the unused kitchen and she opened a drawer to confirm it, and it was all neatly ordered in there, then she nodded. "Yes, confirmed."

Wolfgang giggled to her comment and raised his hands to admit defeat. "And of course the robot does all the housekeeping, the excuse I tell myself is that I am a busy man."

Julia smiled and nodded. "And I was asking who you hired to do such perfect housekeeping!" she laughed and looked around for the robot, but she could not see it immediately. She walked into the living room, looking for the large TV holo screens, the expensive entertainment equipment and the larger than life sofas that she totally expected from a man like him.

"Do you want to see the office?" Wolfgang finally said.

"Sure! Show me the center of power from where you work your magic!" she nodded, after looking around, running her fingers over the back of the sofa. "Nice. I have to say... I guess... that's state of the art living."

"Until you get even higher." Wolfgang quietly murmured to himself. Wolfgang gestured to a locked door in the corner of the room. There, the Hacker had to pass another identity check. Once the check was passed, the door automatically opened revealing a tiny room with 3 separate computers working together while the walls were filled with schemes, frauds, plans and various analysis that a former IC senior analyst would require during his attempts to steal money or destabilize the economic system in any way. "Many of us suffer from minor disorders, you know attributed to high intelligence and all that. So we believe that the fewer things your office has, the better concentration you can achieve. I am sure you didn't expect to see that, did you?" Wolfgang said, momentarily realizing once again that bringing Julia in there was against regulations but he didn't care. 'What she would make of all this? Nothing.' he thought and dropped the issue.

"Isn't the kind of security a little... overdone?" she asked him when he had to pass another check for his office and she kept wondering what miracles might be behind it, but actually she was disappointed, and he addressed that disappointment immediately. "Ah!" she was still walking around, looking at the things, but there was little to see, and less to do: "Ehm... I see. I see... so... you can focus better. I guess, I understand, but... I actually really expected a huge terminal with high-end computer technology, and stuff..." she laughed, and would exit the room rather quickly again.

Wolfgang was slightly disappointed by her response even though he was certain this would be it. How could she understand what was going on in this room, the battles that were given, the schemes which were plotted. He quickly reminded to himself Julia was just an entertainment, a reward for his hard work, that was her purpose, her life's worth.

He moved on the sofa and sat, with legs wide open, relaxing. "Well, I showed you everything, this is who I am." He said with low voice. "Why don't you show me a bit of Julia now?" The Rheinlander said and gestured at her clothing.

---

"Our society is based on an economic bubble. Do you know what will happen when the bubble collapses?"