Johnny quietly followed Mac downstairs to the hotel restaurant, his hands thrust in his pockets, his head hung low.

     The restaurant was small and quaint, unlike the bar from the night before. Calen sat at a table to the right of the entrance, the remains of breakfast and coffee visible on his table. The paper rested in one hand, a glass of orange juice in the other.

     Mac paused as Johnny passed by and took a seat at Oz's table. The Adept narrowed his eyes at Calen. Is it me, or is there something oddly…different…about the VE? He seems less brooding.

     Calen looked up from his paper and glared at Mac.

     Or maybe not.

     Mark sat at a table alone. The Chorister waved at him and Mac sat down and ordered breakfast when the waitress approached.

     "Did you have a nice sleep?" Mark gave Mac a wide smile.

     The Adept was reminded of the Chorister in his dreams, and wondered briefly if this particular Chorister knew what it was he'd dreamed. No…I don't think so. But I could be wrong. I'm usually more wrong than right these days. Look at my family. Completely in left field on that one.

     The whole time it's been Richard as the thorn up my ass.

     "Yeah, it was…informative."

     Mark didn't say more. He simply nodded and looked back to the hand-bound journal he was reading.

     Arden breezed into the room then, just as the waitress brought Mac his coffee. She gave the Adept little more than a cryptic raise of her eyebrow. Her full attention was given directly to Calen.

     Calen?

     She paused at the VE's table. "And how are you doing this morning?"

     What is up with that? The witch hardly ever put the 'good morning sunshine' routine on the VE. Did something happen between the two of them last night? Was this the thing she was hiding earlier – the thing she thought he was asking about?

     Calen pulled the newspaper up to cover his face and said nothing. The Verbena simply gave him a sardonic smile and joined Mac and Mark at their table. She sat beside Mac, but said nothing.

     Huang and Oz came in. Mac was about to take a sip of coffee, but set the cup back on the table as he took in their expressions. Haggard was the only word that came to mind. What the hell happened? Surely this isn't about the whole intrusion clone thing, and Johnny's mysterious escape?

     Huang paused at their table and yawned before settling herself down into a seat. Her eyes were half lidded, and half moons hung beneath them. The woman had had very little sleep.

     Oz moved over to 'Calen the newspaper'. The Hermetic stepped behind him and clapped the VE on the back. "Morn'n" he sat down at Calen's table and ordered a bowl of coffee. Mac was little more than surprised when the waitress returned almost immediately with an actual bowl of coffee, accompanied by a smaller bowl of whipped cream. He looked over at 'Calen the newspaper'. "Hey, how you doing kid?"

     A voice came from behind the newsprint. "Eh...better."

     Why is everyone so concerned with Calen?

     But before he could turn and directly ask Arden what was up, Huang clinked a spoon on her coffee mug. "Good morning, how is everybody? I think all of us had a few adventures over the course of the evening. We should recount those that hold interesting information." She looked at Mac and Johnny. "Oz tells me that you had some visitors."

     Mac nodded, not at all comfortable with the spotlight on he and the singer.

     "Johnny and Mac were approached in the bar by a group of women who used a form of mind control to disable their natural defenses and disabled Mac's secondary defenses. We believe their target was Johnny alone, but thankfully Oz and Nicholas managed to aid the situation and get these women off the premises." She looked directly at Mac. "Nobody's at fault here. You didn't do anything wrong."

     "I didn't do anything right, either."

     Huang shook her head in solace. "It's hard with them. They're called intrusion clones for a reason." She looked back at the group as a whole. "Basically they are designed to appeal to your sensibilities. For example, Derrick, if you get a client and in the middle of delicate relations she tries to kill you. It might even be someone who's gearing up your rigging for a climb. That's what they're good at. For right now, as a group, I think we all need to understand that they're out there. It appears these only targeted Johnny.
     "But any one of us could be their next target. Especially if they realize we're all working together? But I believe Kyle and Derrick got something more interesting."

     Kyle nodded. "I went about our intended circle of landmarks last night, with Derrick's aid. And from what I could tell, there is nothing one person from our group can do. What I mean is, that we all have to work together on the landmarks. Certain people's skills will be used at one time."

     "So we can't scatter?" Huang asked.

     "No, we have to do it together. As a whole. Oh, and there seems to be a lack of police presence. It's like the city has a feeling of safety to it."

     Mac thought back over the Chorister's words as Vienna as the last safe place.

     Kyle continued. "There were protections on each of the landmarks so we'll have to put our heads together. Some of these things have sleeping protections..."

     Derrick nodded. "They're there, and they're asleep and if you don't give the right password, then something nasty happens to you, and us."

     Huang looked a bit peaked at the mention of anything magic. Mac glanced over at Calen, who wasn't looking much better, though the Adept wasn't sure if it was the inevitable facing off of magic, or something that happened…last night?

     The VE raised his hand. "My scanner's missing. Do you know what happened to it?"

     "I have it," Huang said. "I'm ordering a second one for you. Mine is not functioning. I stopped by the front desk and purchased a map."

     Kyle had marked his map from the night before, so Huang synced her own with his.

     "Now we have two, in case we become separated." She paused. "I hate us traveling together like this - too conspicuous. If we could travel as a tour group...with just us..."

     Abruptly something on the peripheral of Mac's optics blinked. He looked over at Calen, who was now in a full tour guide uniform. The logo of one of the vans parked outside the hotel rested on his left breast pocket.

     Mac crossed his arms over his chest. "I've got to get me one of those."

     "I'll see what I can do," She raised an eyebrow at Calen and smiled. "Right Mr. Calen."

     "Are we ready?" Kyle asked.

     Huang looked at each of them.

     Calen spoke up. "I...have some information I had intended to impart yesterday. But I was..."

     Mac frowned at the VE's pause. He had become used to the Engineer's speech pattern as staccato like, with crisp short answers. Not big on talking. But now his speech seemed halting. Almost lyrical. Calen paused and nearly stuttered as he spoke. It was as if he were a different person. "I uh...."

     "You got sick," Huang interjected.

     Calen nodded. "Yes," he said quickly.

     Mac looked from Huang, to Calen, to Arden. What they hell is going on here? He recalled the image of Calen outside his room, his gun in his hand. The wild hair and red rimmed eyes. Food poisoning? It would explain the concern.

     The VE set the newspaper aside. "I discovered that Mr. Meyers, Mr. Cody and Mr. Dryden were identified in Paris by Interpol. They're wanted in connection with the explosions at the Paris airport. Which means they know Johnny is here, which explains the clones..."

     Huang immediately pulled out her laptop and began tapping keys.

     Mac looked at Calen. "But they don't know the rest of us are here - that you or the others aren't dead?"

     Calen looked at Mac. "Shorting out the clone's transponder was bound to raise some flags. And if they managed to identify either of us..." he shook his head. "I haven't seen anything on it yet."

     Huang shook her head. "Shit...there is good news and bad news. Nothing has flagged yet on any of the records, as far as Technocracy, except with Derrick and Oz and they're letting the sleepers deal with it."

     "And the bad?" Arden asked.

     "Interpol is on the case." She sighed. "They are listed as terrorists. Which means their faces are being broadcast all over Europe. I might be able to go back to redirect, so I'll try and call in a favor in this."

     "Then perhaps Derrick and Oz should keep as low a profile as possible," Arden suggested.

     "Since there isn't a large police presence here, as Kyle noted, then I think we should be fine. As long as we keep to ourselves." Huang looked at Derrick. "No scaling walls. And I think we should have a backup plan."

     "I agree." Arden said. "If anyone is made or identified, I think it best they split from the group so as not to expose the others."

     "Good idea. And if there's nothing else, then I suggest we put on our walking shoes and get started."

     Calen stood and moved to the restaurant's doorway, his stiff and arrogant demeanor playing into his favor. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you'll follow me."

     Everyone stood. Mac looked at Johnny and shook his head. "This is too weird."

     As they filed through the front door, Mark sidled up to Johnny and put his arm around the singer. "I think if we're going to look the part of tourists, we should act it. And with that in mind, I'm designating you my partner for the trip."

     Johnny gave the Chorister a questioning look. "Okay?"

     As Mac exited through the door, he found his own arm seized by Arden. She'd dressed in a fashionable suit dress of white and red. Her smooth, tanned legs were bare and on her delicate feet she wore a pair of two-inch spiked shoes. "And you'll be my husband," she drawled.

     Oh no. Mac tried to pull away, but Huang was suddenly in his left ear. "It's a good charade. Play it up."

     Damn.

     "When do we get to see the people riding the boats?" Arden abruptly said at an ear-shattering decimal as they neared the front door of the hotel. Guests and employees alike turned and stared at them.

     "Hon," Mac said in a stern voice, very much aware that the Verbena was poking fun at his confusion of cities from the day before. "That's Venice."

     "Oh," she leaned into him. "What would I do without you, my husband?"

     The Adept put his head in his hand as they stepped outside into the hot, Vienna morning.

     Calen muttered to the hotel's manager, who stood beside the door. "Americans..."

     Just outside sat a van with the same logo on its side as what Calen had on his ionic uniform. The VE said something to the van's original driver, who then moved back into the hotel. Calen motioned everyone to get inside.

     Arden crowded into the seat alongside Mac, shoving him into the van's window. He gave her a withering look as Calen slid in behind the driver's seat and pulled the van into Vienna's morning traffic.

     He easily turned the bus down the semi-busy streets to the park across from the parliament building. In the center of the expanse was the impressive temple of Theseus. Calen parked the van in the tour parking and easily fell into the guise of tour guide.

     In German he said, "This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Temple of Theseus..."

     Arden kept her grip on Mac's arm as the two of them lagged behind the others. It wasn't that the group moved too fast, but that Arden's heels continued to sink into the soft dirt beneath the grass.

     Derrick was first up, directly behind Calen. Then came Kyle and Huang, followed by Mark, Oz, and Johnny. They stopped just outside the temple's door as Calen turned to face them.

     "...exact replica of the temple found in..."

     Mark moved in closer and said under his breath, "There is just this odd energy around here. I feel that it's just special inside."

     Calen continued to extol the uniqueness of the temple.

     "I just thought it was a bush." Arden said.

     Mark gave her a scathing look. "You would. Cretin."

     "I'm not from Crete."

     Oz shook his head. "Okay guys...maybe you shouldn't play American tourist so well?"

     Calen led them into the interior of the temple. "Please do not touch anything, please do not use flash photography."

     "We got one of these in Nashville." Arden said.

     Luckily they were the only group inside the structure.

     Mac looked up and around him and privately marveled at the architecture and ornate beauty of the structure. Seeing the image online and actually stepping inside were two completely different experiences.

     Huang turned to the group. "Right...I need someone to be on the doors to make sure no one wonders in."

     Mac scanned the temple. "No security cameras."

     "I'll be at the door," Calen moved to the entrance.

     Mac watched as Mark went immediately the farthest wall, his eyes riveted to something the Adept couldn't see. Kyle also stared at the spot. Derrick stepped up beside Mark, as did Johnny.

     "What are you seeing?" Arden asked.

     "There are letters...glowing on the wall. N.E.L.U.M.F."

     "Nelmuf?" the Verbena looked at Mac. "Is that German?"

     Mac entered the word into his German DB. He shook his head. This was going to get insane. He couldn't see anything on that wall, and none of his optic filters revealed anything unusual.

     Oz shook his head. "It's a nonsense word."

     "Wait," Calen said abruptly from the door. He moved forward, his gaze also locked onto a mysterious spot on the wall.

     Mac moved away from Arden to take the VE's place by the door.

     "What is it, Nicholas?" Huang said.

     The VE stepped past Mark. "It's an anagram - fulmen."

     The word rang a bell in Mac's memory. He immediately pulled up the reference, something that Huang had said before...Suavium and Fulmen. Those were the names used in the information gathered from Casada and Lovenstein.

     Abruptly something moved against the wall – something that even Mac could see. Arden pointed at the wall as letters in electric blue formed the word CANOVA.

     Something began beeping in Huang's hand. She looked down at the information on the unit's small LCD screen.

     "Canolie?" Arden asked. "Isn't that a desert?"

     "No, Canova," Calen said in a stern voice.

     As the word was spoken, Arden's entire demeanor changed. She held her feet wide apart, her hands straight down at her sides, and her mouth opened wide as did her eyes. After a brief moment she said, "What kind of shit is this?"

     "What?" Derrick turned to her. "What did you see?"

     "Something just came out of that wall - a ghost I suppose - and told me 'you have been given an answer, you must give the knight a password'."

     Huang nodded as she continued looking at her scanner. "Interdemensional communication. Ask it what the password is."

     Arden did. "It said honoris."

     "That's exactly what I have," Huang turned her screen so that others could see. "Dimensional contact."

     Mac was impressed with the level of technology possessed by the Union. They can sense a ghost, and hear it with their gadgets. I'd call it magic. They call it technology.

     Calen reached out and took the scanner from Huang's grasp. Mac watched as the VE's usual calm composure seemed to crack. His brow furrowed and he shook his head. Calen blinked several times then looked at Huang. "What have you done to my scanner? I can read dimensional speak. I know what it is...but I can't read this."

     The Avalon member moved closer to him and said in a hushed tone that Mac could hear via his audio enhancements. "I've done nothing to your scanner, Nicholas. You simply cannot read it anymore. It's one of the changes."

     Can't read it anymore? Changes? Mac narrowed his eyes at the two. What the frell was going on?

     "Are we done here?" Arden said to the empty wall before them. After a beat, she smiled and moved back to Mac. Her arm looped inside of his. "Let's go."

     The word Canova disappeared as well.

     One down, too many to go…

     The next step of the puzzle was the Knight, then on to kiss Sofia's hand. Calen pulled the van around to another park near the temple. The little group got out and walked a lane leading to a circular clearing where the Rathausman stood.

     Again Calen gave his spiel of guide information. Mac was peripherally aware of the VE's voice as he thought about the information given to him by the Chorister in his dream. I'm broadcasting at a low level, and I'm not even aware of it. Yet...the Union hasn't noticed.

     Shouldn't Huang know this? Shouldn't she have told me? Or at least, shouldn't Mannis? If Huang's not worried, I guess I shouldn't be either. Maybe I'm just part of a background noise – especially if every Technocrat possesses this DEI thing. What I don't want is to stand out like a mosquito in a quiet room.

     That would be bad.

     He looked up at the statue as he thought. Something moved about it - and his optics began to whirl and hone in. A read-out along his navigator said ANIMATED MATTER.

     Animated Matter? He blinked and looked again at the statue. Indeed, it looked as if the thing moved as each of them looked up.

     "Does anyone else see that thing moving?" Arden asked.

     "This just isn't right," Calen muttered.

     Huang moved closer to it and held up her scanner. "We need to give it a password."

     Fog rolled in from all sides, successfully blocking out anything but the Rathausman itself. The smoky mixture shifted and sieved around their feet. It was almost a tangible thing about Mac's neck and face, caressing him. "Is this supposed to happen?"

     Huang's voice quivered. "I...I don't know."

     "But I'm right in that everyone can see this?" Derrick asked from somewhere in the white, cottony substance.

     Everyone gave a yes.

     "Holy shit..." came Calen's voice in the fog.

     Mac looked up at the statue again, ignoring the tickling fog. The statue moved fluidly, and looked down at the group. In a voice that was part of the fog and not, it said, "You must seek the last judgment."

     Arden shook her head. "Which is?"

     "You must seek the last judgment. Give my fair lady this word - amorie."

     Mac opened his mouth, and then closed it. Hoo-kay.

     The statue's eyes then closed. He was as a statue again and the fog was gone as if it had never been.

     "Our next stop, ladies and gentlemen..." Calen boomed out as he moved quickly to the van, moving out way ahead of everyone else, as if that last encounter had spooked him. Which Mac was sure it had. Technocrats do not like or believe in magic.

     "Right..." Huang echoed. "Let's go."

     The next piece of the puzzle began with "kiss Sofia's hand". They headed back to the Parliament building, following Calen's lead. They came upon an impressive fountain. At its center was a statue of Athena. Another group stood about the fountain. From their casual dress of tee shirts, sweaters and jeans, Mac assumed they were university students. The students were sitting on the fountain's side as some others had decided to wade inside the fountain's pool.

     "This is the statue of Athena," Calen began while giving a wild gesture to it. "Which many residents believe to give good luck...especially if you climb up and kiss her hand?"

     Mac smiled to himself. Good idea, Nicholas.

     Johnny said, "Cool." It was the first positive gesture or sound the singer had made since waking. Johnny moved to the fountain's edge and scaled the statue itself. The other students gave a resounding applause as he made it to the top.

     One hand of the statue was outstretched. Within her grasp was an orb with an owl resting upon it. Mac watched as Johnny found a foothold along the statue's bodice, then leaned in to the statue and whispered in her ear.

     "Amorie," Johnny said, loud and clear in Mac's audio.

     Johnny then moved himself out to her outstretched hand holding the orb. He balanced himself steady, then kissed the hand.

     Something inside Mac's head whirled and he became dizzy for a second. Arden's grip on his arm intensified and he looked over into her large, brown eyes. He gave her a half smile, and then looked to one of the students to his right.

     After several seconds, he looked around at all the students. None of them moved. Everyone had stopped in mid motion, as if a DVD had been paused. Even the flash from a nearby camera had frozen in mid-flash.

     "Wow..." he stepped forward to the fountain. Even the water had stopped in mid fall.

     "Uh-oh," Derrick said. He pointed at the statue.

     Athena had opened her eyes just as the Rauthausman had done. She looked disdainfully at Johnny. "Seek you the image of my father's brother." She gave him a wooden smile. "And pinch the little devil's ass for me."

     "What?" Arden exclaimed. "We're pinching ass?"

     The statue closed her eyes. Time began again. One of the other students fell into the fountain.

     Derrick looked to Huang. "Pinch the little Devil's ass? What little devil?"

     "Goes with the tea with the devil bit," Oz nodded. "Seems to me that's our next clue, right?" He looked at Kyle. "You find anything like this on your excursion last night?'

     The Hollow One nodded. "An amusement park called the Prater."

     It took a little drive to get to where Kyle claimed he'd seen the devil. The group walked around, passing by several odd looking sculptures set about the area. One was of a Volkswagen with an elephant sitting atop it. There were other psychedelic metal statues as well.

     As they rounded a corner, Mark pointed out, "There it is."

     Indeed, Mac saw a small scene of an elderly man and woman sitting upon a park bench gazing down at a small devil who held a cup and saucer. It all appeared to be cast out of iron.

     "Mark, take my picture and I'll pinch its ass." Arden released Mac's arm. He waved it about, trying to get the circulation back in.

     The crowds reminded him of Disney around ten in the morning. It wasn't crowded but getting there. So no one paid the two much attention as the Verbena leaned into the statue of the devil and the Chorister took her picture. She pinched the devil's ass, and then moved away.

     Arden gave a sly smile. "It's giggling."

     "I can see," Huang was looking at her scanner again.

     Mac frowned at the still iron form. I can't see a thing.

     Arden giggled again.

     "What?" Derrick asked.

     Huang looked at Arden, then looked at the statue, then looked at Arden.

     Derrick opened his arms wide. "What?" he said again.

     But the Verbena only giggled and then kissed the Devil's cheek and moved away.

     "Was that part of it?" Mac asked as she moved back to him. "Kissing his cheek?"

     "Yes," she looked at the group. "We have to see the lady of the wheel, because there was a great battle in this city, between the devil representing carnival and the Lady. We have to find her and tell her," the Verbena gave a low snicker. She abruptly blew everyone a razz berry.

     "We have to do what?" Oz said.

     "We have to blow her a razz berry?" Derrick asked. "Oh this is nuts."

     "Riiiight," Huang said.

     Derrick laughed as Oz said, "This is the most fucked up thing I ever saw."

     "Well..." Calen turned and pointed behind them all. "I would assume the wheel mentioned would be that?"

     All turned around. Mac beheld the largest Ferris wheel he had ever seen. It was a kid's dream. The thing arched over one hundred and fifty feet in the air.

     As everyone approached the wheel, Calen began. "I recommend everyone give the wheel a turn. It will give you an outstanding view of Vienna."

     The cars were large enough to hold all of them. Arden scrunched up next to Mac again. Johnny sat on his right. The ride itself was slow, unlike any Ferris wheel that Mac had ever been on. He estimated at the speed they began, it would take twenty minutes for one rotation.

     "I wonder what happens now," he muttered.

     "Uhm..." Kyle began looking around them. "This wheel is moving a bit faster than it should...isn't it?"

     Indeed the wheel moved at a faster speed than it started. Mac held on to the seat's belt as Arden let out a very loud "Wahoo!"

     Huang's scanner began to beep. She looked at the LCD readout.

     "What is happening?" Derrick asked.

     Wind pushed at their hair and made speaking harder as it moved their voices away.

     "There is a time effect on this wheel," Mark said.

     A woman appeared in the car with them, sitting beside Huang. The Avalon member moved quickly away, her eyes wide in horror.

     The woman was dressed a period costume, perhaps mid-nineteen hundreds if Mac read it right. She looked at each of them and smiled. "Good day."

     Arden moved away from Mac. "The Devil says," and the Verbena again blew a razz berry.

     Oz cracked up in laughter.

     The woman raised an eyebrow. "Really. He won't be laughing so much when lent comes around. When you see the king in his garden, tell him the word he is looking for is Nimbus."

     The lady vanished. The Ferris wheel moved at a normal speed.

     Mac gathered from his Correspondence Sphere that they had only gone around the wheel once - though it felt as if they had traveled the rotation several times. As they neared the end, Huang motioned to the attendant she wanted off.

     Mac winced as Arden grabbed his arm again. "Do you have to hold on so tight?"

     She leaned in and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "Yes shugah. It's not every day a girl like me finds a handsome husband, and one that'll let me have my toys as well."

     He looked sideways at the witch. Now how do I take that?

     "Easy," Arden whispered. "I keep you all happy and jacked in, and I can have some special fun."

     Mac tried to wrench his arm away. "Get out of my head."

     "I wasn't in your head. You need to learn a poker face, shugah. Teach those bright green eyes of yours to look untouched." She gave him a slow, simmering smile and touched his chin with her red lacquered nail. "Ah, but you are an innocent, aren't you?"

     The group piled out with the Avalon member leading the way ahead of Calen.

     Mac watched after the tall, elegant Asian. I'm thinking this is completely messing with that woman's paradigm.

     And he was right.

     The next stop was the Belvedere palace. In order to get there, they would have to take Vienna's equivalent of the subway. Calen purchased the group's tickets, still keeping with his role as guide. The station was semi-crowded as the day began. Mac checked the clock on his Navigator - it was nearing eleven a.m.

     As they neared the parked train, Calen abruptly turned and began speaking at a volume he usually didn't use. "So this is the standard Metro station. It's much too easy for one to get lost so we're going to take the train. I thought you should see the opulence that is portrayed in the cities. We're walking...we're walking..." the VE began gesturing for them to move hurriedly to the train itself.

     Mac frowned and focused on a point just beyond Calen. His optics came up and his Port opened as he scanned five men in matching suits.

     Interpol.

     Shit, shit, shit...

     Oz, Johnny and Derrick... if they identified them. We're screwed.

     Two of the men looked at their group. They pointed and spoke to two others. The tallest of them joined in, then shook his head. To Mac's surprise, the five of them moved away.

     "Let's go," Huang said as she grabbed Mac and Arden's arms. "I'm not tempting good luck when I see it."

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