H-S, but it wasn't anything that was immediately valuable to us. I thought maybe we could use it as collateral to pry something out of the rival corp. Adler agreed."
"He went to Fuchi. He went to your father," said Chase.
She shook her head slightly. "He went to Fuchi, but not to my father. A few days later we were met by a woman, Katrina Demarque. She worked for Fuchi, but not for my father's part of the company. She's an agent for the Nakatomis."
Chase nodded. Fuchi Industrial Electronics was owned by a consortium of three families. Two of them were Japanese, the Nakatomis and the Yamanas. The other third was headed by Richard Villiers, Cara's father. Even when Chase had worked for the family, the relationships within the triad had been tense and volatile. Despite that, Fuchi had become one of the most powerful megacorporations in the world under their joint leadership.
Cara took a deep breath. "I was upset."
"I can imagine."
"I told Adler I didn't want them dealing with Fuchi. But he liked the way Demarque treated him, like he and his organization were important. She claimed that the data we had was actually very, very valuable and that Fuchi was willing to pay well for it.
"It started to feel like I was home again, and I hated it." She closed her eyes. "I ran away. I don't think Adler really noticed: she treated him well."
Chase waited, and fixed her another drink. She took it without a word, sipped it, and then continued.
"I went to France for a while; that's where I met L'Infame. I traveled with them, even sang a little, played some keyboards. They hate the corps and anyone associated with them. They didn't know who I was.
"We were in southern Spain, near Berja not far from the Mediterranean, when I got a message from Nicholas Issan, one of the surviving Alte Welt. I agreed to meet him in Madrid, but when I got there I learned that he'd been killed the night before in a street robbery. His throat had been slashed.
"I went back to Berja and found a letter waiting for me. It was from Nicholas. He'd written it just before he was killed; I think he was expecting it to happen."
Chase was surprised, but Cara's voice actually got stronger. He'd been expecting her to lose her composure at some point during the tale, but it hadn't happened. Her trials of fire had apparently hardened her more than he'd have expected. She went on.
"In the letter, he told me that Adler and Alte Welt's relationship with Fuchi had become more complex, darker, since I'd left. I wasn't surprised. Fuchi had actually taken over and broken up Hanburg-Stein, and Alte Welt had profited enormously. In the process, however, Adler had sold himself to the company. Again, I wasn't surprised."
She took another sip from the drink. "Nicholas' letter said that Demarque had quietly recruited Adler and some of his more radical friends to kill my father while he was in Frankfurt for an economic conference next month."
"You've got to be joking."
"I'm not." She looked down into her drink. "I may not like my father, but I don't want him dead."
"Why don't you just call him?"
"I can't. I don't have access anymore. After he and my mother divorced I made some nasty comments that got repeated in the press. That was when I ran away the last time. The Japanese insisted that he disassociate himself from me. If I couldn't be controlled, then he should let me go. Any messages from me are destroyed without being read."
Chase stood up and began to pace. "What about your mother? I heard that she and your father stayed somewhat friendly after the divorce."
Cara winced. "I tried, last week in London, but I glitched up. Nicholas' letter said that some of my father's own people would be feeding Adler and his friends security information related to my father's itinerary while in Frankfurt. It didn't occur to me that they might have spies in other places, too.
"My mother was in London on business last week and I went there after the… problems."
"The two L'Infame boys
"He went to Fuchi. He went to your father," said Chase.
She shook her head slightly. "He went to Fuchi, but not to my father. A few days later we were met by a woman, Katrina Demarque. She worked for Fuchi, but not for my father's part of the company. She's an agent for the Nakatomis."
Chase nodded. Fuchi Industrial Electronics was owned by a consortium of three families. Two of them were Japanese, the Nakatomis and the Yamanas. The other third was headed by Richard Villiers, Cara's father. Even when Chase had worked for the family, the relationships within the triad had been tense and volatile. Despite that, Fuchi had become one of the most powerful megacorporations in the world under their joint leadership.
Cara took a deep breath. "I was upset."
"I can imagine."
"I told Adler I didn't want them dealing with Fuchi. But he liked the way Demarque treated him, like he and his organization were important. She claimed that the data we had was actually very, very valuable and that Fuchi was willing to pay well for it.
"It started to feel like I was home again, and I hated it." She closed her eyes. "I ran away. I don't think Adler really noticed: she treated him well."
Chase waited, and fixed her another drink. She took it without a word, sipped it, and then continued.
"I went to France for a while; that's where I met L'Infame. I traveled with them, even sang a little, played some keyboards. They hate the corps and anyone associated with them. They didn't know who I was.
"We were in southern Spain, near Berja not far from the Mediterranean, when I got a message from Nicholas Issan, one of the surviving Alte Welt. I agreed to meet him in Madrid, but when I got there I learned that he'd been killed the night before in a street robbery. His throat had been slashed.
"I went back to Berja and found a letter waiting for me. It was from Nicholas. He'd written it just before he was killed; I think he was expecting it to happen."
Chase was surprised, but Cara's voice actually got stronger. He'd been expecting her to lose her composure at some point during the tale, but it hadn't happened. Her trials of fire had apparently hardened her more than he'd have expected. She went on.
"In the letter, he told me that Adler and Alte Welt's relationship with Fuchi had become more complex, darker, since I'd left. I wasn't surprised. Fuchi had actually taken over and broken up Hanburg-Stein, and Alte Welt had profited enormously. In the process, however, Adler had sold himself to the company. Again, I wasn't surprised."
She took another sip from the drink. "Nicholas' letter said that Demarque had quietly recruited Adler and some of his more radical friends to kill my father while he was in Frankfurt for an economic conference next month."
"You've got to be joking."
"I'm not." She looked down into her drink. "I may not like my father, but I don't want him dead."
"Why don't you just call him?"
"I can't. I don't have access anymore. After he and my mother divorced I made some nasty comments that got repeated in the press. That was when I ran away the last time. The Japanese insisted that he disassociate himself from me. If I couldn't be controlled, then he should let me go. Any messages from me are destroyed without being read."
Chase stood up and began to pace. "What about your mother? I heard that she and your father stayed somewhat friendly after the divorce."
Cara winced. "I tried, last week in London, but I glitched up. Nicholas' letter said that some of my father's own people would be feeding Adler and his friends security information related to my father's itinerary while in Frankfurt. It didn't occur to me that they might have spies in other places, too.
"My mother was in London on business last week and I went there after the… problems."
"The two L'Infame boys
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