In magic, we use a false expectation of timing to catch people off guard. We do things on the odd count. I pull coins from the air and keep dropping them into a bucket until I steal a champagne bottle from there. I create a rhythm as they hit the bottom of the bucket. Clink, clink, clink, smile. Clink, clink, clink, smile. It’s after the smile, the relaxed moment between the beats, when I do my dirty work. All eyes are on my face. My hand falls to my side and I steal something. We lull you in with a pattern, then get you.

I’ve already made clear that I think the Warlock is going to hit either a day early or a day late. Probably early, while we’re still preparing ourselves in anticipation.

When not being distracted by my own predicament, I’ve been trying to help Ailes’s team in the bullpen sort through all of the image matches for Chloe. The other agents are tracking down the likeliest matches by requesting server records from various social networks and doing soft inquiries into missing persons.

“I think we’ll carefully consider how we deploy our assets. What would you do in Michigan if I can get you out there?” ask Ailes.

Before I can answer him, his laptop makes a ringing sound. “Hold on.” He smiles. “I think it’s for you.” He spins the screen to face me.

I’m looking at an image of myself in the other conference room. Only it’s not me.

I look at Gerald through the window. He grins back at me from his setup. Then I look at the screen; the image is pretty good. With a little bit of digital noise to mimic a bad Internet connection, maybe a better image map to base it on than the photographs of me he got behind my back, and it would totally pass. Gerald spins around in his chair and I watch the virtual version of me do the same. There’s no appreciable delay, at least none that stands out on video conferencing.

He made a pretty convincing 3-D model of me in just a few hours and figured out how to use the gaming consoles motion sensors to animate it in real time. It’s scary to think what the Warlock could have done with years of planning and more resources.

Ailes turns the laptop to look at the virtual me. “Good work, Gerald.”

Gerald’s voice comes though my mouth. “Want me to work on the voice emulator?”

Ailes shakes his head. “I don’t think we need to go that far. How long to make a 3-D map of the director?”

“Twenty for a basic one. He’s bald, so I don’t have to do the hair. The software side is mostly done. All I had to do was just hack it all together.”

“Do it. Let’s schedule a video conference with him in a half hour. Maybe we can get a little more love for our image search. With more horsepower, we might crack this sooner.”