Emergence (Fox Meridian Book 5) by Niall Teasdale

smiled and said, ‘Thank you, Kit. Misaki deserved the upgrade and it let me consolidate the house computer systems.’
    Fox gave a nod. ‘Okay. We’ll get started on that as soon as possible and try to set your mind at ease. If you’ll excuse me, I have a small party to attend.’
    ‘I did wonder about the dress,’ Iberson said. She got up, along with Sakura, as Fox rose to her feet.
    ‘Not my usual business attire, no, but I had to dress up for the occasion.’
    ~~~
    The German with the sense of humour was called Johann Baum, and Fox pulled him and Yuriko Fukui aside for a quick chat once the little party was underway. ‘You two,’ Fox told them, ‘get special assignments to be handled when you get back. Well, Monday will probably do.’
    ‘This is good,’ Baum said. ‘I was expecting to be sitting on my ass a lot of the time when I got home.’
    ‘We’ll find things for you to do,’ Fox told him. ‘First thing, however, is a live one. Kit will send you some contact data for a German citizen who has some internet problems. Go see him, talk to him. We want permission to investigate the hacks. Some of it is banking so you’ll probably need to liaise with the German police.’
    Baum winced. ‘Potential minefield. Many banking institutions are highly secretive about security problems.’
    ‘See what you can get. We think the man who’s been hacking this guy’s accounts could be a potential security risk to a client.’ Fox turned to Fukui. ‘That client being Nishi Sakura. She’s doing a show in Tokyo in February. I want you to run background on her. Palladium was brought in because IMC didn’t think they could handle security for her in Japan. I’d like to know why and I doubt I’ll get a straight answer out of them.’
    ‘I can do that,’ Fukui replied. ‘I know she came out of the industrial sprawl around Chiba. You would say a “rags-to-riches story,” I think? She has no family left in Japan, and she has not been back there in around six years. She remains popular in Japan despite this.’
    Fox nodded. ‘Coordinate with Kit. She’ll be doing a run on Sakura’s web presence, and you’ll handle the physical world. Right, I just wanted to give you both some prior notice. Go have fun.’
    ‘I will,’ Fukui said, ‘if I can manage to avoid Mister Keen for most of the evening. Oh, he’s coming this way…’
    ‘I’ll run interference. Go.’ Fox turned and smiled as Keen sauntered over, and Fukui beat a hasty retreat.
    ‘Nice dress,’ the Australian said. ‘What there is of it anyway.’ His grin contained far too much leer.
    ‘Thanks. See that tall, blonde guy over there chatting to Ray and Helen?’
    ‘The one who looks like he should be on Bondi doing lifeguard duty?’
    ‘If you say so. That’s the only guy here likely to get under my dress tonight. He’s the local UNTPP captain as well as my boyfriend. You should talk to him. He’s here to meet the international contingent more than the Americans.’
    Keen seemed to take this with considerable equanimity. ‘I’ll try to get over envying the lucky bastard and do that.’
    ‘Good. He’s a nice guy. And stop scaring Yuriko.’
    ‘You’re right. We’ll be sharing a flight from here to Japan tomorrow. I should lay off or it could be a bit dodgy spending that long with her.’ Keen sighed. ‘That’s two down. Maybe the stiff-arsed Brit could be persuaded…’
    ~~~
    ‘Thanks for coming,’ Fox said when, at some point, she intersected with Jason again. ‘You saved me from a proposition by an Australian.’
    ‘The horror,’ Jason replied. ‘It has been a useful exercise, and there is wine.’
    ‘And you’re coming back to my place after, right?’
    ‘I am. Tonight is the viewing of Marie.’
    Fox giggled. ‘Marie’s pilot episode.’
    ‘Ah, non. Tonight we view Marie viewing her pilot episode. If we wish to watch the actual vid, we do that later on a repeat. Marie is almost certain to be more entertaining to