Arkady tried to resist, but his limbs moved without him. He flicked off the virtual reality layer. The auras disappeared, but his body kept moving. He tried to scream, but nothing came out.

Oh no. Oh, fucking no.

Whatever force controlled him led Arkady away from the water, over sand that gradually turned to rock and then concrete, away from the outdoor party, into the sprawling club, down a side hallway, down a set of stairs, and in through a closed door.

Inside he found the man who’d sold him this Nexus. Bogdan. A lit cigarette was in his hand. On the table next to Bogdan was a slate. On its screen was Gazprom’s remote access site. Next to it were a retinal scanner and a thumb print pad.

No.

“Mr Volodin,” Bogdan said. “How very nice to meet you.”

Abruptly Arkady found he could speak again.

“Please,” he said. “I’ll give you anything. I have money. Lots of money.”

Bogdan grinned.

“Oh, I know you do, Arkady. But your employer has so much more.”

“No,” Arkady said. “You don’t understand. You don’t know how they operate. They’ll kill me.”

Bogdan took a drag on his cigarette, then exhaled, flicking ash to the floor. He grinned at the Russian he held captive. “No, Arkady. You’ll already be dead.”

Arkady screamed then, only to find it abruptly cut off as someone else’s will constricted his throat.

“Now,” Bogdan said. “Kindly swipe your thumb, place your eye to the scanner, and enter your access codes.”

Arkady moved forward to comply.

Kade tunneled into fear. This mind was gripped in terror. He struggled to take in the situation. A dark room. Pounding music came in from beyond the walls. The sense of a vast crowd nearby, thousands of minds. And here, in the room with him.

He flicked this body’s eyes over, took in the slate, the retinal scanner, the man with the cigarette.

Theft. Theft and likely murder.

Kade reached out with his thoughts, opened the mind of the man before him, sent the passcode, and then he was in.

Bogdan smiled as Arkady moved forward. The money would be dumped into offshore accounts which would be cashed out minutes later. Arkady here would have a nasty accident. And by the time the authorities realized that it hadn’t been an accident, Bogdan would be long gone, and much, much richer.

Then Arkady stopped, suddenly. Bogdan felt something change about the man’s mind. Then he felt something press against his own mind, something vast.

Oh fuck, Bogdan thought. He turned and ran for the door.

Kade saw the man turn and run, just as the passcode opened his mind. He reached out and yanked on the man’s motor cortex.

The man stumbled and fell to the floor of the store room, cursing.

Bogdan. That was his name. Kade could feel it now.