"Yeah. Where are we?"

          "Two hours away from New York," Calen said. Mac didn't realize the VE was still seated beside him.

          Mac smiled and looked around. Oz still sat in his chair, sketching from one sheet to the next. Arden and Mark had taken up residence on the first sofa, drinks in hand. Johnny was asleep, as was Kyle. "Didn't miss much, did I?" He looked back at Huang. "You look worried."

          "I may have to leave you for a short period of time in France. I might need to make good on that lie I told my father. It will buy us some more time."

          Mac looked at her then glanced at Calen. "He mentioned condolences...what message was he talking about?"

          "When anyone involved in the Union dies, their personal journals are automatically uplinked to a storage forum. It makes them accessible." She sat in the leather seat in front of them. "Mr. Calen's records are now public because he's 'terminated'."

          Calen leaned forward in the seat beside Mac. "They scan those journals, looking for sensitive material. Their contents are used for Research."

          Mac pursed his full lips. "So anything you wrote in there up until the time you were reported as terminated, is now public knowledge - within your Convention."

          He nodded.

          Laura Huang sighed. "It was my attempt to validate the reports of his demise. And it looks good for his family politically if someone influential within their convention writes in..."

          "This isn't going to cause a problem?" Mac asked.

          "No, no..."

          "Was there anything in those records that could compromise anyone's position?"

          Calen pulled his laptop out. "Not anything I wrote up until then. But I haven't checked on entries possibly made afterward."

          "Afterward? By a dead guy?" Mac said.

          "No, by anyone else reading them."

          Huang clarified. "Mac, the entries are given areas for posting comments. Nicholas is checking to see what comments were made after his last entry. That is the one that raises the most questions within the Convention."

          The left side of Calen's mouth pulled up. "Mom is pissed off. "

          Huang nodded. "You see why I felt the need to post. But I do wonder what "The Plan" is."

          Calen shook his head. "No idea."

          Mac continued to watch Calen. "May I?"

          Calen looked at him through furrowed brows. "It's personal."

          "I understand that. But what if you've let something slip that might compromise us or this mission?"

          "I didn't," the VE shook his head. "But..." he gave Mac several furtive glances. "Do you have a brother? "

          "I have two...but you know that from my dossier."

          "Richard Cooper?"

          "Yes."

          Laura shifted in her chair.

          "Do you know what Convention he was assigned too?"

          "No..." Mac's heart leapt into his mouth. "What is it? Why'd you bring up my brother?"

          "Well, apparently he's done quite well for himself. And," he read a bit more. "He's quite the kiss-ass."

          Mac couldn't suppress the flat laugh that came. "Yeah...that would be Richie."

          "Open up your IR...."

          Mac raised an eyebrow.

          Calen looks less than patient. "I'm going to send you a copy."

          With a glance at Laura, Mac opened his port for receiving. The folder appeared in his inbox and his virtual icon grabbed it up. He opened the envelope and read the entries on the single piece of paper.

          The final entry caught his attention.

          Sir and Madam, I would like to take this time to offer my condolences on the loss of your son. I am sure whatever the reason, NWO had their hands in it and will answer to a higher authority. I would also like for anyone with knowledge about the Tradition Mages Cpl. Calen mentioned in his logs to please contact me. I believe we should keep an eye on them.

          Signed, Richard W. Cooper, Administrator of IO Research Station.

          Richard Wells Cooper, my brother, is a Void Engineer. Nuts.

          The five-hour layover in New York passed uneventfully. Johnny crashed in the back of the plane. Oz continued to draw. Mark, after asking Mac to get him a phone number, accompanied Arden out to visit friends.

          Mac remained on board as the plane refueled. He went over the information on Lovenstein he'd received earlier, then continued doing research inside his VR world's library. Home state was comfortable for him, though he had to admit, it did look more suited to Giles' tastes than his own.

          Laura Huang's face appeared to him, an image from the real world. "Is everything okay?"

          Mac blinked, once again sending his library away, and sat up in his chair. He rubbed at his right temple. "Sure. Everything's fine. Just trying to keep my life separate from what's ahead of us as a group. "

          "You sound like Mannis."

          Mac fixed her with his stare. "He told me to stop poking around in my past - to leave my family alone. I don't want to screw this up, Laura, but..." he chewed on his lower lip. "According to that post, my family - namely Richie - is going to get themselves involved without any help from me."

          "There has been another post since the last one." Calen said.

          Mac looked to his right. I didn't know he was still here. "There has?"

          "Well, it appears your brother's gotten the attention he wanted. There is a slight chance that my father will form an investigation team into my death. Namely their focus is on the deviants remaining alive."

          "That would be Oz, Johnny, Ortega and me," he shrugged. "Yay, go us."

          Huang nodded. "Then the two of you will have to work together on seeing to the group's protection."

          Mac looked at Calen. The VE didn't look any happier than Mac felt. "I need to make a call." He rose and stepped to the back of the plane.

          Once behind the curtain, Mac checked on Johnny. The Singer gave a loud snore and Mac smiled. He sat in one of the chairs beside the bed, propped his feet up on the bed's edge and then closed his eyes.

          The Library was how he'd left it. The single sheet of comments lay on his desk. He set the sheet in his "URGENT" box and sat down at his desk. He needed to speak with Syd. To fill him in on a couple of things, and to have him do as much digging as he could find on his brother.

          Now how do I get Syd in here? In VR?

          The world around him blurred. He brought it into focus again, but now Syd sat in a chair in front of him. The kid's eyes were wide, his mouth open, and in his ears were his ever-present ear buds. When he saw Mac his grin widened from ear to ear.

          "Mcgyver...?"

          The icon Mac nodded. "Welcome to the new me."

          "You're not like Richard Anderson anymore. You look more like..." he shrugged. "A different you. More like a thug."

          "Thanks."

          "No, it's good, it's good. But this?" he stood slowly and looked around the room. "I was in my own hard drive when someone knocked at the door. I opened it and then I was here." He looked back at Mac. "Where is here?"

          "My Home State. Technically, we're inside my CPU right now. Or more readily, my Navigator."

          Syd's eyes widened incredibly and he pointed at Mac. "You did it! You took the enchantments."

          "Yes." He cocked his head to the side. "I'm surprised Trent didn't tell you."

          "Oh, that's right," Syd came back to his chair. "I've been trying to figure out how to get a hold of you. They're gone, did you know that? The whole group. And anything I send to Trent just comes back. I had some information on... are you okay?"

          Mac nodded and smiled. He hadn't spoken to Syd since the before his brunch with Doc, so unless Trent had said something, Syd didn't know about the inhibitor and tracker. Mac mentioned them.

          Syd didn't know.

          "Holy..." Syd stood up and backed away. "Tracker? You're kidding? What for? And if that's so, how come he's never come for you? I'm glad the inhibitor didn't work, though. It might have done some damage."

          "My nose bled."

          "Besides that." The kid gave a long sigh and shook his head. "This is getting weirder."

          "Not yet," he leaned forward and pulled the folder out on The Mission and what Ortega had sent him. "I need you to download this stuff and go over it. If you come up with anything new that I don't already have, let me know ASAP. Okay?"

          Syd's grin returned. "You got it, boss. I like this you. More confidant. At least, in here." He winked. "I'm supposed to be Captain Picard in here, but in this VR," he shrugged. "I'm just me."

          "It's not your work, just some safety protocols that are set up. Prevents Icons from coming in. So if I'm hacked, I can see who it is. Now," he sat up in his chair. "you still have partial access to the VE database?"

          "Yeah. What's up? That Calen beat you up again?"

          Mac opened his mouth, then closed it. Trent had to have told him about the altercation with the Void Engineer. "No. I need you to look up a Richard Wells Cooper. Find out all you can about him; what he's been doing, what he's involved in, and if he has any ties to any other Convention."

          "Got it." he smiled. "I like this set up. Sweet. Can I get one of these?"

          "Is your head wired for it?"

          The kid's smile vanished. He replaced it with a thoughtful look. "I have no idea. It might."

          And he might at that. Mac bid Syd goodbye. Even after the kid had vanished back into his own hard drive, Mac sat in his chair and looked about his environment. He tweaked some things, changed a few colors. Just toyed with his toy - practiced, as it were.

          I refuse to let anything happen to this group. Damn my family and their fucked up loyalties.

          The plane ride to France was as equally uneventful as the one to New York. Mac slept most of the way, dozing in the bed beside Johnny. Once when he went to the forward cabin for a drink, he saw Huang tapping on her laptop. For more practice, and careful not to be anywhere near the flight computer, Mac tapped into her IR port. There were no passwords to keep him out. There was nothing of vital intelligence there.

          Only the wonderful Haiku she was writing.

          Mac returned to his chair beside Calen as they neared Paris. Huang asked Kyle to do a reading of their landing. The Hollow One didn't sense any danger or foresee any problems. Huang then moved among them and offered packets of pills. "One of these is a language interface - if you don't speak French, it will allow you to do so. The other is to counter jet lag."

          Mac eyed the pills. What is it with me and pills lately? Doc kept giving me pills too. He remembered his experience with Korean. Why not try French? Within seconds he downloaded a program and called it up. Seven dialects as well as an updated accounting of regional slang.

          Cool.

          The jet-lag pill was round and filled with a brownish, gold liquid. Calen's hand came into his vision. Within his palm rested a pill of pearl white. "This is a much better pill for jet lag. Go ahead, try them. Your Father made them. They're quite good." He gave Mac a slow smile.

          The Adept narrowed his eyes. Two days ago the mention of his father by this kid would have sent him into an internal panic. Two days ago, he would merely have backed away, afraid they would come for him if he spoke. They being who now? But two days later, all he saw sitting before him was a kid who enjoyed flaunting his knowledge in Mac's face.

          "Embrassez mon âne," Mac said. "Pas même si ma vie dépendait d'elle."

          After the plane landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport, Huang lead the group through a private customs area. No one's bag was searched and no one was questioned. She then turned to them and produced passports. Mac was surprised to see his read Kyle Alan Mcgyver. Even he'd not been able to fake his new identity well enough to fool the passport office. This is going to come in handy in the future.

          Next their Visas were issued.

          When they enter the terminal, Mac spotted a tall, well-dressed man among the others waiting for loved ones to depart from the planes. What caught his eye most about this guy was the large sign reading WIZARD OF OZ.

          "Oh...my...god..." Mac's jaw dropped as the man vaulted over the barricade. Oz dropped his own bags and ran to greet this man. The two give a loud, warm embrace, and to even further attract attention, the new guy turned Oz around and gave him a nugee.

          A nugee? Did I just see Ozmandius Cody get a nugee? Well so much for keeping a low profile. Mac began scanning the security cameras to check the airport.

          "Man it is so good to see you," Oz pulled away. "You enjoying France?"

          "The beer here sucks but the wine is great."

          "You're still alive...I can't believe it."

          "This your crew?"

          "Yeah, come meet'm." Oz pulled the man toward the Chorister. "Derrick Dryden, this is Mark Devins."

          "Nice to meet you."

          Mark's eyebrows wiggle up and down. "Likewise."

          "This is Mac Mcgyver." Mac shook his hand.

          "Arden Vervain."

          "Kyle."

          "Nicholas Calen."

          "And Laura Huang."

          Derrick reached out and took Laura's hand. "We've spoken on the phone. Nice to meet you"

          The Void Engineer smiled.

          "And this is Johnny Meyer."

          Johnny yawned but was able to give the new member a reasonable smile and handshake.

          As they all headed to the front of the airport, Mac couldn't help but think he'd seen his face before "Mr. Dryden...have you ever surfed in O'ahu? North Shore?"

          "Oh sure...great location."

          "I thought I'd seen your picture before."

          "I think I won a tournament there not long ago. Beautiful beaches. That's why they call it paradise." He clapped his hands. "Okay, we have to find a real beer now."

          Huang cleared her throat. "Here is where I must leave you all and make a small pit-stop. I have some damage control at work."

          Mac said, "Psych evaluation?"

          "Yeah, it would be good for me to stop in for one."

          "Can you get through it?"

          "Oh yeah. I know ways around it. I suppose you all should decide on a hotel. I'm not in charge of this outfit - I've gotten us this far, but the rest is up to you."

          Mac thought of hotels NOT controlled by the Union and was surprised to find several, one in particular that is nearby. "We can stay at the Parc."

          Calen pulled his uplink out and attached it. "Let me clear it. Yes. I'll make the reservations."

          Johnny nudged Mac. Mac shrugged. Calen had the cash. Who was he to question?

          Once in the lobby of the Hôtel Luxembourg Parc, Arden suggested that Mac and Calen share a room since they were both doing the electronic thing.

          Oz, Nicholas and Mac all said in unison, "Oh no...no..not a good idea."

          When the money was given and the keys bestowed, the group paired. Arden and Haung would share a room. Mark and Johnny. Oz and Derrick. Kyle and Mac. Calen would be by himself.

          Mac realized there had been a mistake when Kyle approached him and said. "Look, if you come in and there's a sock on the door, that means I'm busy."

          Greeeat.

          Derrick made the suggestion that everyone go out and get to know one another. He knew of a local American bar. Arden was more interested in discussing their plan of action, but Derrick's carefree attitude was contagious. He convinced everyone that they could meet for breakfast and get things rolling - but tonight should be a getting to know one another gig.

          Everyone agreed to go, save for Calen. And to Mac's surprise, the tall athletic man was able to convince the Engineer that such a getting together was integral to them as a team.

          "Well...the moment we all start hugging one another in a drunken expression of brotherly love, I'm leaving." Calen's voice was not to be argued with.

          Oz glanced at Mac. "Oh, I don't think we have to worry about that."

          "But how are we going to know what to do tomorrow? Where to go?" Arden insisted.

          Calen turned to him. "Myself and the Adept possess all the pertinent files. We can coordinate in the morning, as Mr. Dryden suggested."

          I guess in his own way, the VE is trying to work with me. Mac smiled, but the bit of humor quickly faded when he started to contact Trent, to tell him where he was and update him.

          There was no Trent. There was no one to call.

          The bar was full of vacationing Americans, all talking at once. Several televisions displayed action packed episodes of Magnum P.I. as scanty dressed barmaids brought pitchers of frothy beer. Mac sat with Johnny on his left and Mark on his right. Arden sat on Mark's right. Calen sat stiffly on Arden's right as Derrick talked merrily to the right of the VE. Oz lounged beside Derrick, completing the circled table.

          Derrick motioned the waitress and ordered another pitcher. Mac sat forward, his elbows on the table. His gaze floated along the top of his half empty beer mug. He'd drank three...or had it been four? His sense of time had vanished again, much like it had while out with Johnny.

          I'm not a drinker - never have been. So why am I drinking now? Would getting drunk help the way he felt? Abandoned? All that anger he'd kept inside since boarding the plane, had somehow evaporated at seeing Derrick and Oz together. Such old friends from opposite worlds - but still friends.

          Derrick hadn't abandoned their friendship when Oz had moved on. And it was obvious that Oz didn't care what Tradition Derrick was from. Oz didn't care much where anyone was from, as long as they had a true dedication and honest heart.

          The man I had come to see as my father had turned tail and run at the first sign of trouble. He hadn't so much ask how I'm doing, or considered what his desertion would do to me.

          Sure, I'm tough. Riiight... I've been shot. I've watched my wife die. I've even had an eighteen-year-old kid paint the floor with my face. Now I've even survived having my head rewired. Sure...don't worry about the emotional impact of the past two years. Don't worry that you're libel to screw up and shoot the wrong thing with your new toys. He rubbed his face with his left hand and then finished his mug of beer. With my luck, it'll be the Engineer. Don't want to frag one of his new toys.

          Mark and Arden left abruptly and meandered to the bar, where Mark began playing and Arden singing. He sat and listened to her for a while, impressed at her voice and poise.

          "Come on, Calen. Unwind and have a drink." Oz offered an empty mug to the Technocrat. Calen gave a single shake of his head.

          Mac took a deep breath to say something - but didn't. Maybe it's better if I just sit and drink. The last thing I need is to piss the guy off again. I'm not ready to take him on again.

          Yet.

          Derrick started to tell them about himself after Arden and Mark return to the table. "I was raised in San Francisco. I graduated and joined the military. The Marines. Got out, went back to California went to college, picked back up in the martial arts thing, met master Kim. Awoke three years later and found the joys and wonder of the Doe. Then started teaching, picked up some things. Then when we technically lost the war, I made myself known to the Technocracy and took high-risk jobs they didn't want to take. That's where I met Oz. There was one thing, something to do with crystals..."

          Oz piped up. "Yeah, I found your ass hanging off the back of an El Camino driving along the Umbra..."

          Derrick put up his finger. "That was a simple misunderstanding. I though she was his sister!" the man laughed. "You know what's great about all the things I've done for these guys - not only have they paid for all my vacations, they send me after their own dudes more often. I've hit on three of the Cabala guys in one week. Then I was after a couple of the Iterates. And you know...I just can't get past this whole group with the things stuffed in their heads. All the cyborg stuff. It's not right."

          Mac pursed his lips. Note to self: don't tell Derrick about your enhancements.

          The Surfer finished off another beer. "I'm lucky they never sent me after my own guys."

          "Who are they?" Mac asked, then realized he'd asked it in his head, in his VR, but not in real life. He blinked several times. The alcohol wasn't having any effect on the new stuff, but it was monkeying with his Navigator.

          "That's pretty much my deal." He looked at Mac. "What do you do?"

          Mac blinked again, making sure he was tuned in on RL and not VR.

          "He's a librarian," Calen said with a sarcastic tone.

          Mac ignored the VE and gave Derrick a half smile and decided to give a little of his background. "Two years ago I was a happily married Librarian. Two years ago the Technocracy killed my wife the morning I Awakened.." It felt odd to say the words to practical strangers. Johnny knew the truth, and he suspected Oz did to a point. But not the others. He'd not been this open about his past since he'd met them.

          "Damn," Derrick poured him another beer. "Go on."

          Mac watched the bubbles. "Then the other day, I discover that I've had things shoved up my nose." Wait...did I say that out loud?

          Derrick shook his head. "What?"

          He noticed Calen's eyes narrow.

          Mac sat in silence, unsure of what to say. He hadn't meant to say what he had, and now he was afraid to open his mouth.

          "Look, it was like this. See," Oz pointed at Calen and Mac. "These two have issues - Tradition and 'crat issues. So, they ironed them out."

          "Ironed them out?" Mac found his voice and glared at Oz. "This kid kicked my ass."

          Derrick smiled and pointed at Oz. "He was in the room, wasn't he?"

          "Yeah - didn't stop a bit of it."

          Derrick nodded and smacked the table with the palm of his hand. "I knew it."

          Oz looked innocent. "What? They were just supposed to spar. I didn't know he'd wipe the floor with his ass. Look at him," he pointed to Mac. "He's not a small guy. He's thin but not like a weakling."

          "Oh come on," Derrick said. "You so totally planned that."

          "No, I didn't. But Mac was a mess, so I called Holly - you remember her right?"

          Derrick nodded. "Yeah, good ole doc."

          "Well, I called her and she came up to his room..."

          "She do that thing with her tongue?"

          "Uh...no. she's like working on him and she gets this look on her face. She tells me to put this apron on the ground. She pressed on his head and he started to yell and then she shoved his head down and a river of blood just poured out of his nose. It just didn't stop. The first thing to hit the mat was this little piece of metal. And then there was more blood and something else came out."

          "What the hell were they?"

          "One was a tracking device, the other..." Oz looked at Mac.

          Mac was silent, unsure he wanted to go on. He'd not heard the experience from anyone else's point of view - and hearing it now from Oz unnerved him more now than the actual happening. He chewed on his full lower lip and kept his gaze focused on his beer.

          "Mac?" It was Calen's voice.

          "It was an inhibitor." He swallowed. "Put there to stop my magic. But I awakened anyway."

          "Your headaches..." Arden said softly.

          Mac looked over at her. He hadn't realized she'd noticed his headaches.

          "And that morning is when they killed your wife?" Derrick asked.

          Mac nodded. "My father ordered them in to take me - she was the casualty."

          "They showed up the morning you awakened?" Nicholas asked.

          Mac looked at the VE. His expression was unreadable. He looked neither disbelieving nor judging. "Yes. But I was being watched by not only my father but by a group of VA's. Ones I'd met in Atlanta, but never knew it. They knew he was coming. Right as they killed her, they shot me, but I was in the middle of a correspondence rote - one Trent cast." He became quiet now - I'll never see Trent again. "I've worked in the VA Tradition since."

          "And our sparring knocked these items lose?"

          He nodded.

          Calen was silent.

          Derrik had turned his attention to Mark. "So what's your story?"

          "I was gifted when I was very young with a great voice. It was right after High School that I awakened. It was then that my parents threw me out of the house for being gay. I moved to Vegas. I met Cicel Wilke who helped me with The Way. And since then I've been trying to find my own way."

          Derrik frowned. "You're a Chorister?"

          "Yeah."

          Derrick blinked. "And you're in Vegas?"

          "Yeah." Mark's smile widened.

          "Isn't that like Sodom and Gomorrah for you?"

          Everyone laughed except Calen.

          Mac, lost in an alcohol depression, peripherally heard Arden speak about her past. He glanced at Nicholas. The VE abruptly inserted his uplink into his right ear, then tapped a few keys and frowned. He glanced up and his eyes locked with Mac's.

          What?

          The Technocrat looked back at his screen and his eyes widened for a brief second.

          Through the alcohol induced haze, Mac stepped back inside his Library and rummaged around for the original IM he'd received on the first meeting with Laura Huang - the one he'd received from Calen. He found his IM logs buried beneath a stack of books and found the one.

          There was no return screen name. Would he even see a reply post? Though Mac's eyes appeared to be glazed, he could still see Calen's expression, and he needed to know what had surprised the VE. He also needed break through the beer-induced fog.

          He'd brought Syd into the VR world - he did not wish to bring Calen in. This is the last place I want a 'crout. But how to IM? He held the IM in the air. It stayed there and with his thoughts, he typed in a question and watched as invisible fingers typed it out.

          >What are you doing? You're not listening to Arden - and I'm not as drunk as I appear.

          Well, that wasn't an exact truth - but he did feel as if he were sobering up fast.

          Calen typed, though Mac wasn't sure if he'd actually received a response, then...

          >Johnny just did it again. Capture Team just had a car wreck down the street.

          Mac wasn't sure he would receive a response. That wasn't what I expected to learn.

          As Mannis had said, the more he used his connections, the smoother his adjustment on them would become. Without a thought of purpose, Mac keyed in on his left ear's audio and began searching police and emergency broadcasts. Within seconds he heard a response call from an ambulance and a wrecker - to a location just down the street. His Magick-Eye refocused as the IM was set to the side and the screen in his mind began displaying street grids. The dizzying speed abruptly halted. The bar where they sat was illuminated in green, then only half a mile down the main street, an image of two cars cut into one another and illuminated red.

          His thoughts immediately translated to the IM.

          >We're not secure...fuck...we should get out of here.

          He hadn't meant to relay that response, but Calen's rebuttal proved to be interesting.

          >Isolated incident. Team didn't report their target.

          Isolated? Mac refocused on the grid. Why would a team not report their target? Was their target not given to them by their superiors? And if most of this group had been declared terminated on the dossiers - then who had been their intended? Dryden? Oz? Johnny?

          Mac refocused his view of Calen and disconnected.

          The VE closed his laptop, his own expression unreadable.

          Oz had turned to Johnny. "Well my friend...I think it's time we get back to the hotel and get you into bed. We have an early start in the morning."

          Mac looked around at everyone, then focused on Calen. The Technocrat returned the stare. "Tell them.," Mac said.

          But Calen hesitated.

          "You have to tell them." Mac tried to stand then thought better of it. His mind might be clearing of the beer-induced haze, but his body hadn't.

          "Dryden looked at Mac, then raised his eyebrows at Calen in question. "Tell us what?'

          "With a harsh glance at Mac, the Technocrat spoke. "It seems Mr. Meyer's uncanny skill for evasion has struck again."

          Everyone stopped and listened to Calen.

          "My what?" Johnny said, then belched.

          "A CT was dispatched along this road. Apparently Mr. Meyer was spotted at the airport and they tracked you here. Yet mysteriously their car was rammed by another car. Both agents were killed."

          "Oh shit," Oz said as he reached down and pulled Johnny to his feet. "Then I think we all need to take a different route back to the hotel. Split up. "

          "What's a CT?" Arden asked.

          "A Capture Team."

          Mark put his hands out. "Capture? But we're all dead."

          "Not all," Oz said as he helped Johnny up to a standing position. "Meyer here isn't listed as dead. Neither am I, or Dryden here though I'm not sure they know about his involvement.." He looked at Mac. "Neither is Mac. We can't forget that. I think we definitely need to get back to the hotel."

          "Dryden shook his head. "I think Oz's right. We need to split up. Mark, you and Arden take the boat back. Kyle..." he glanced at the table. The Hollow One was nowhere to be seen. "Okay, never mind. Calen, I'm sure you can make it back on your own on foot. Mac?"

          Mac looked at the Akashic.

          "Can you stand? I think you've had a bit more then you should have, and that's partially my fault. "

          No it's not... he thought and nodded. You didn't force me to drink it. "I think," he tried again to stand. His optics blurred and unbidden he connected with hard drive again. "Shit." Okay, no one warned me about this slight side effect.

          Oz moved from his chair, and with Johnny in one arm, he reached down and easily helped Mac to his feet. He leaned in and whispered. "Hey...computer man, log off. I can tell by the way you're not focusing what's up."

          Mac took a deep breath and focused on the shutter image again. With forced concentration, he irsed it shut.

          His head cleared of the electronic buzz, but the alcoholic one remained. "Bad Mac...very bad Mac..."

          Oz chuckled and helped the Adept up. "Can you stand?"

          Mac moved away from the Hermetic. His feet were solid, even if his legs were shaky. "I might call a cab."

          "No," Oz shook his head. "You come with us. Dryden, you cover my back. Let's all meet back at the hotel."

          Calen gave a grunt as he packed his laptop and moved away from the dispersing group. Mac wanted to defend his position. He wanted to yell out that he wasn't perfect, he was only human. That he'd lost his Mentor...his only guidance since his Awakening.

          But instead, he did the only thing his fuzzy mind could at that moment.

          He stuck his tongue out at the back of the retreating Void Engineer. Real mature, huh?

          Johnny laughed.

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