Midnight

of Moonlight Cove in more detail.

12
    Though Loman no longer was interested in the activities of the police department, he switched on the VDT in his car every ten minutes or so to see if anything was happening. He expected Shaddack to be in touch with members of the department from time to time. If he was lucky enough to catch a VDT dialogue between Shaddack and other cops, he might be able to pinpoint the bastard's location from something that was said.
    He didn't leave the computer on all the time because he was afraid of it. He didn't think it would jump at him and suck out his brains or anything, but he did recognize that working with it too long might induce in him a temptation to become what Neil Penniworth and Denny had become—in the same way that being around the regressives had given rise to a powerful urge to devolve.
    He had just pulled to the side of Holliwell Road, where his restless cruising had taken him, had switched on the machine, and was about to call up the dialogue channel to see if anyone was engaged in conversation, when the word ALERT appeared in large letters on the screen. He pulled his hand back from the keyboard as if something had nipped at him.
    The computer said, SUN REQUESTS DIALOGUE.
    Sun? The supercomputer at New Wave? Why would it be accessing the police department's system?
    Before another officer at headquarters or in another car could query the machine, Loman took charge and typed DIALOGUE APPROVED.
    REQUEST CLARIFICATION, Sun said.
    Loman typed YES, which could mean GO AHEAD.
    Structuring its questions from its own self-assessment program, which allowed it to monitor its own workings as if it were an outside observer, Sun said, ARE TELEPHONE CALLS TO AND FROM UNAPPROVED NUMBERS IN MOONLIGHT COVE AND ALL NUMBERS OUTSIDE STILL RESTRICTED?
    YES.
    ARE SUN'S RESERVED TELEPHONE LINES INCLUDED IN AFOREMENTIONED PROHIBITION? the New Wave computer asked, speaking of itself in third person.
    Confused, Loman typed UNCLEAR.
    Patiently leading him through it step by step, Sun explained that it had its own dedicated phone lines, outside the main directory, by which its users could call other computers all over the country and access them.
    He already knew this, so he typed YES.
    ARE SUN'S RESERVED TELEPHONE LINES INCLUDED IN AFOREMENTIONED PROHIBITION? it repeated.
    If he'd had Denny's interest in computers, he might have tumbled immediately to what was happening, but he was still confused. So he typed WHY?—meaning WHY DO YOU ASK?
    OUTSYSTEM MODEM NOW IN USE.
    BY WHOM?
    SAMUEL BOOKER.
    Loman would have laughed if he had been capable of glee. The agent had found a way out of Moonlight Cove, and now the shit was going to hit the fan at last.
    Before he could query Sun as to Booker's activities and whereabouts, another name appeared on the upper left corner of the screen—SHADDACK—indicating that New Wave's own Moreau was watching the dialogue on his VDT and was cutting in. Loman was content to let his maker and Sun converse uninterrupted.
    Shaddack asked for more details.
    Sun responded: FBI KEY SYSTEM ACCESSED.
    Loman could imagine Shaddack's shock. The beast master's demand appeared on the screen: OPTIONS. Which meant he desperately wanted a menu of options from Sun to deal with the situation.
    Sun presented him with five choices, the fifth of which was SHUT DOWN, and Shaddack chose that one.
    A moment later Sun reported: FBI KEY SYSTEM LINK SHUT DOWN.
    Loman hoped that Booker had gotten enough of a message out to blow Shaddack and Moonhawk out of the water.
    On the screen, from Shaddack to Sun: BOOKER'S TERMINAL?
    YOU REQUIRE LOCATION?
    YES.
    MOONLIGHT COVE CENTRAL SCHOOL, COMPUTER LAB.
    Loman was three minutes from Central.
    He wondered how close Shaddack was to the school. It didn't matter. Near or far, Shaddack would bust his ass to get there and prevent Booker from compromising the Moonhawk Project—or to take vengeance if it had already been compromised.
    At last Loman knew where he could find his maker.

13
    When Sam was only six exchanges into his dialogue with Anne Denton in Washington, the link was cut off. The screen went blank.
    He wanted to believe that he had been disconnected by ordinary line problems somewhere along the way. But he knew that wasn't the case.
    He got up from his chair so fast that he knocked it over.
    Chrissie jumped up in surprise, and Tessa said, "What is it? What's wrong?"
    "They know we're here," Sam said. "They're coming."

14
    Harry heard the