AlterWorld

The Colonel gestured Dan to speak. He turned to me. "Max. Talking about your proposition. It's equal parts of generosity and danger. You can't even imagine the amount of work we've done to draft the prospective alliance. In principle, all the interested parties have given their prior consent. Now we only need to settle a few details… the rest is up to you," he paused, looking down at the floor. "Two things. There'll be nine clans in the alliance which will make it a force to be reckoned with. In case you ask, the Olders aren't in it. Not many people like them and even fewer want their influence to grow. This is one of the pillars of our agreement. No one's really interested in the Vets' strengthening their positions here, either. That's why the Alliance is against the patent owner's belonging to one of the signatory clans. We've discussed all the possibilities and now we suggest you start your own clan. In name only, don't worry. A clan that would consist of one person—yourself. You will join the Alliance as its tenth clan. Which will also simplify the process of sharing the profits: two percent to each clan. Including yours. Tell me what you think. Take your time. I'm in no hurry."

What I think! I leaned back in the easy chair and closed my eyes. Things were much more complicated than I thought. My own clan. It gave me access to some really nice things: special interfaces, possibilities to build a castle or to buy out a newly discovered one. And lots of other freebies. On one hand, all those extra options without any of the responsibility were only welcome. On the other, I wasn't going to integrate into an already existing powerful structure which could give me the protection I needed. I already knew that you couldn't get anywhere in this world without being part of a powerful group. Then again, what made me think I couldn't? In a way, making part of our cluster's most powerful alliance was even better than just being a clan member. Look at Dan: with all his cloak-and-dagger panache, they had still taken him to task, rubbing his nose in a puddle of piss like a puppy in front of everyone. And he had to grin and salute, suppressing his own character, as in, 'My fault, Sir, it won't happen again, Sir!' Did I really want that?

In actual fact, a clan of my own could give me the independence I craved while Alliance membership offered the protection I needed. The only downside was the inability to join serious clan raids, but I still had to grow a lot before I could start thinking about that. By then, it could all change.

Now, the two percent. I had to admit I expected more. But judging by the forces involved, it was a good job I'd managed to at least get something. It was about time I removed the target off my back, handed over the exclusive license and became an anonymous rich nonentity—eventually, I hoped.

I opened my eyes. The others were studying me. I nodded. "I agree on all points. I do have a few questions I'd like to discuss later with Dan. No need for all the staff to attend."

A sigh of relief swept across the room. The clan was now looking at a new stage of political and financial gain.

The Colonel—who turned out to be the clan leader's deputy himself—raised his glass to the successful closing of the deal. We spent some more time discussing the details. Dan was asking for another day or two to collect all the signatures under the agreement. He asked me to stay put and create my own clan. The guest apartment was at my complete disposal, and they granted Taali free access to the castle.

Dan didn't like to beat about the bush. As soon as the meeting was closed, he came over to me. He looked worried. Despite the successful talks, he had too much on his plate: the i

"What do you want to tell me?" he asked.

"Is there a place we could talk?"

He gave it some thought. "Your place is probably the closest."

When we walked into my enormous apartment, the first thing I gave him was the rest of the cigarettes. He forced a smile. "Tobacco is the root of all evil."

"Exactly my point. I don't think it would be a good idea for me to go back to the Olders' i

Dan looked up and moved his lips, calculating. "Sure you can. I'll take care of the commandant. You can stay here. I'll give you full personal access. Anything else?"

"Yeah. It's personal, sort of. I need to know something that happened in real life about six months ago. You think you could check it out for me, whether it's true or not?"

"Go ahead."

I told him what I'd learned from Taali, giving him as many facts as I could remember so he had something to work with. The moment I finished, Dan nodded. "It's all true."

"What's true?"

"The whole story, start to finish. Taali, a.k.a. Tania Semyakina. Eighteen. Lives with her mother. Their relationship is strained. No boyfriend or partner. Her sister, Katia Semyakina, committed suicide about six months ago. You know why. I don't think you'll be interested in details, like who paid whom and how much. Sorry, man. We had to double-check you and your associates. Too much money at stake. We had no right to bet on a mysterious dark horse called Laith."

I didn't say a word. What else did I want? The game ended the moment the logout button stopped working. This was life now. And Dan was no cute and cuddly character but a professional secret agent working for a major military organization. When was I supposed to get used to the fact that AlterWorld had two sides to it: one that was a game and the other which was perma reality. The world kept changing, offering you one side, then the other, making you play, then rubbing your nose into your own gullibility as you lost touch with life. Now I knew why veteran permas often couldn't tell game sequences from reality.

"I see. Thank you, man. Then you probably know what I meant to ask you about?"

He shrugged, evasive, as if saying, I might, but you're the one who needs this conversation so it's up to you to speak. He wasn't the one to show his cards first.

"Taali wants to make it even," I said. "She wants to do it herself. To both scumbags and the police bitch. She needs help and advice, probably weapons, and she will need cover. And once it's over, she'll need to buy some time to go perma."

Dan pursed his lips and fell silent. Seeing his hesitation, I pulled a ring out of my pocket. The clan's ring. I lay it on the table.

He picked up the item and gave me a long look. Then he handed it back to me.

"You don't flash this kind of thing like that. Very well. I have the right men and co

"How much?"

"They'll need to tail each target for a couple weeks. They'll have to work out a plan, find a position for a hitman, decide on his control, cover and withdrawal. Then it's entirely up to her. They're not going to risk first degree charges for her. We can help her collect and analyze all information and present her with our recommendations. And we'll help her with the gun, of course. Plenty of that crap around. Basically, you're looking at ten grand USD."

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. That was a lot. Having said that, I still had all the pickings from the tobacco business to take. I could try to raise at least some of it before the news of the mass tobacco production hit the media. Taali, too, had some savings. If push came to shove, I could borrow some from the Vets. I had a fu