Jo swatted his hand away from the keypad. “I got this,” she said with a satisfied grin. Closing her eyes, she envisioned where she needed togo.
The early 2000s saw rise to a hacker group that would forever remain in infamy: Incognito. Following the end of the third world war, they escalated themselves from Internet defender and vigilante group to sophisticated peace-keepers of the digital world. In a time when governments were rising and falling, countries were collapsing, and economic systems were in peril, they established themselves as the “true free market” where anything could be bought and sold using the most elaborate crypto-currency ever conceived (even if obviously named)—credits.
And where they housed this currency in massive server racks that Jo had only uncovered the location of from months of prep-work in what was now a past life, was (also obviously) the city the group had founded themselvesin.
“Paris,” Jo murmured. Her fingers flew over the keypad, pulled by an invisible force as they had been the first time, and she threw open thedoor.
There was that same hiss of de-pressurization, the click of the door opening, and then—light.
Jo raised a hand up to her eyes, guarding them from the sun as they stepped out of the side-door of a shop and into a narrow street. If the quaint, picture-perfect cobblestones weren’t enough, the lilting sounds of French being spoken around her should have been all the proof sheneeded.
But theyweren’t.
In parallel with her now racing heart, Jo suddenly found herself sprinting down the narrow Paris street, darting between people who unknowingly parted for her, seemingly by random chance. None of them saw her, or even glanced in her direction. She ran, unhindered, to a main thoroughfare that offered a clear view of the most iconic landmark Paris had to offer: the EiffelTower.
“We’re really here,” she breathed inrelief.
“We are.” Jo wasn’t sure how Wayne had caught up with her, but there he was, glued to her side. “Where else would we be?” Whenever he spoke, the rest of the world fell into a hush, as if in thrall. Jo was sure it had something to do with the fact that neither of them existed by technicalstandards.
“I could do it, though, no problem.” Working the Door was far more empowering than Jo ever expected it tobe.
“You can do a great many things. . .” Wayne paused, looking down at her wrist. “Like using thatwatch.”
“You’ll show me how?” She grabbed his wrists without thinking, squeezing them to the point that she was sure she was hurting him. “Finally?”
“Finally?” Wayne snorted at the word. “Doll, you haven’t been in the Society forthatlong.” Before Jo could protest that it was long enough without any kind of formal instruction, he continued, albeit hesitantly, as if admitting to some heinous crime. “Yes, I’ll show you. But we still need to conserve time and becareful.”
“Just how many rules will you put on this excursion?” She frowned, her grip goingslack.
“Just enough to make sure we don’t do any real damage, I hope.” His expression alone was enough to both still and silence her. “We need to conserve time as much as possible—only use what’s necessary. I doubt, at this point, that you’ll be called for the wish. . . but you never reallyknow.”
“Fine,” she conceded. Jo generally prided herself on not being wasteful in her hacking, no more effort than what was necessary. Now didn’t need to be anydifferent.
“And you change as few things aspossible.”
Jo thought a moment. “For the Severity of Exchange? The A to B?” Wayne gave a soft noise of affirmation. “Is that why we aren’t supposed to change the real world? Not because we can’t. . . but because we don’t want to alter things for thewish?”
Waynenodded.
“If only Yuusuke had decided to be a dumbass when weweren’ton wish.” Jo laughedbitterly.
“If only. . .” Wayne repeated. “Even then, it’s not for us to meddle in the real world. You never know when a wish could come in, or how our changes might impact the Severity of Exchange in advance through cause and effect. Plus, it’s no longer our place. So it’s better not to. . .” He trailed off, staring at the Eiffel Tower for a moment. “But here we are. So do you agree to becareful?”
“I agree, fine. I’ll change as little as possible.” Jo nodded. It didn’t seem unfair. “Thank you again, for helpingme.”
Wayne sighed, glancing over her shoulder. “You got it,doll.”
“What?” Joturned.
“Let’s stop in here.” He pointed to a little cafe on the corner. “It’ll be a good place to get your feet wet and practice usingtime.”
“We don’t exactly have time for a leisurely lunch,” Jo reminded him, mostly just to throw his own words back athim.
“You should be comfortable using time, how it works, the sensations, and whatnot. We have enough to afford somethingquick.”
Jo just shrugged. She wasn’t going to say no. Yuusuke shouldn’t be in that server barn for a few more days yet (at the earliest), and Wayne raised a good point. She didn’t want to choke on using her magic at a pivotalmoment.
The establishment had a terraced balcony that overlooked the street and hillside rolling down to the Eiffel Tower. For such a prime location, Jo was surprised to find it mostly vacant, especially on the second floor where the view was utter perfection (most of Europe had been lucky in the most recent World War, a change from the first two). Wayne motioned to atable.
