The chairman pored feverishly over Forrester’s field report.  Looking up nervously he asked, “You’re sure it’s him?”

Forrester nodded heavily. Chairman Faust rose from his desk before abruptly hurling a metal hand paperweight against a mirror, shattering it.

“Damn that man!  After all these years we thought he was long gone, the rat finally shows his face! He stole our AI tech, sabotaged Project Antares, set us back a near-decade of progress and nearly destroyed this company and now he has the nerve to hack us!”

Faust rounded the desk, red-faced and breathing heavily, facing Forrester.

“Miss Forrester, have you had any contact with Mr. Wade since the incident 13 years ago?”

Karen stiffened.  Even the wrong tone could doom her.  In a perfectly neutral voice she replied, “No sir, until this time I thought he was dead.”

His fears assuaged, Faust sat back down.  He glared at Forrester.

”Karen, it is the fact that you managed to ID him that you’re even still allowed in this building,” Faust said.  “That man is your office’s number one priority now.  If you need resources to hunt him down, you’ll get them.  You know his style and his patterns.  But you’re going to need more.”  A tall man buzzed the door and walked in.

“This is Agent Yu Long Zhou,” Faust said.  “He will be assisting you in the physical process of your search.”

“Physical, sir?”

With a steely gaze, Faust uttered, “You will hound this man to the ends of this infernal earth, Miss Forrester.  You find a location; Zhou is on call 24/7 and can be on his way there in an instant.  Harass and harry him as much as you can.  Make his life a living hell.  The police give you any troubles tell them to call me.  Any questions?”

“Sir, what makes you think Wade is in Baltimore still?”

“I’ll let Agent Zhou brief you on that portion; I have to meet with the President in an hour.  You’re dismissed. Oh, and Karen,” he added, “the board has approved your measure.  We have decided to discount our lower end augmentations and AI tech for the general public.  Onsite installations will also be offered, per your suggestion.  Hopefully this will give the company some good will.”

Forrester sat up and walked out, giving Zhou a slight nod as they both headed to her office, which now housed a desk for Zhou as well.  Most of her work would take place in the Virtua, so that didn’t bother her. Peeling off her coat, she sat at her desk as Zhou wordlessly occupied his.

Someone would have to end this stalemate, she thought.

“So, Zhou,” she said, “I don’t remember ever seeing you on our roster…”

Typing on his computer, Zhou did not even bother to make eye contact as he responded,

”I was pulled from our European branch 48 hours ago.  I doubt you would even have clearance to my files though.”

Forrester was put off by her new partner’s attitude, but she pressed on.

“Look I don’t know what your problem with me is—”

“My problem with you, Ms. Forrester,” he interrupted, “is that you are a problem, having knowingly been emotionally intimate with our target, Damon Wade.  This automatically deems you a liability, not an asset, as Chairman Faust would believe.  As such, I now must compensate for that by increasing my workload and my investigation.”

Forrester felt he was testing her.  One fiery objection and Faust would remove her from the investigation.  Her temper cooled and she leaned back.

“Fair enough.”

Zhou smiled, shook his head and handed her an e-file.

“Here, just so there’s no question later on.”

She took it and read the contents.  Born in Kowloon, Hong Kong in 1998.  Schooled in English, French and Mandarin.  Well-accomplished in martial arts.  Four years in the Chinese army.  No political affiliations, but he was certainly not a communist working for Source Point.  No, Yu Long Zhou was a company man, holding dual master’s degrees in business and global conflict resolution.

Looking up from her reading, Forrester commented, “kind of a light read.”

Zhou barely cracked a smile.

“Got to live long enough first.”

“Any experience in cyber espionage?”

“Most of my business is conducted in the physical world; however, I am competent at some forms of counter-intrusion.”

She grinned.

“Then by now you must have noticed that I have successfully hacked your personal bank account.”

Zhou expressed his displeasure by smashing her mouse.

“Point taken,” she conceded.

Read part five here.

Read part seven here.