But it had to be done. Whatever misgivings I felt, I had to make sure Cleary and his nanites were no longer a threat. Ben had tapped the day before, asking if I’d checked on Cleary. I didn’t want to let him down when he contacted me again.

I accessed Cleary’s stream and fast-forwarded to his meeting with Pape at Cleary’s place. Pape had left, infected with nanites.

Cleary cleared the table. He poured Pape’s leftover wine into a special container and sealed it. He glanced at the day’s headlines, looked at some messages, and tapped a couple of people at NTI, discussing innocuous matters. He carried on as if all were normal.

The next morning Cleary began making arrangements for his financial affairs. He did so at amazing speed. He was reviewing his will when a tap came. It was Pape. Cleary entered a VR strip club.

“Pape, I’ll miss the high-class places you drag me to. I didn’t expect to hear from you for…oh, twenty years.”

“Your last day with us, Cleary. I couldn’t stand not to say good-bye.” He pasted on a smile. “We neglected to discuss a certain detail yesterday.”

“We did?”

“The Caldwell woman.”

“She can’t stop us now.”

“But she’s a loose end.”

“True. One who can identify you.” Cleary leaned forward, glanced around the room, and looked back at Pape. “Lewis, I’m disappearing tomorrow. If you wish to take care of her, I have no objection.”

“And the professor?”

“The same.”

They stood, shook hands, and said their farewells. Cleary exited VR.

I exited from his memory stream, fear crawling up my neck. Pape is still loose. He could be here. Or in Fort Worth.

I tapped Sabin. He took forever to answer.

“Creighton, what’s going—”

“Sabin, Abby has to leave immediately.”

“We’ll be wrapping up here in about half an hour. The car—”

“No! She has to leave now. She may be in danger.”

His face hardened. “In danger? From whom?”

“Lewis Pape.”

“I thought he was out of the picture.”

“I thought so too. But I checked Cleary’s memory stream, and he may be coming after Abby.”

“Should we tap the police?”

“No, we just have to get her out of here. On a plane—anywhere but here. Pape won’t have enough time left to follow her. We just need a couple of days. Put her in a car, and send her back here. I’ll have a plan by the time she arrives.”

I grabbed my briefcase and sprinted down the hall and two flights of stairs. I ran across campus and hopped into a car, out of breath.