6

Case, aided by the Dixie Flatline, hunts for a low-profile access point and locates a “pirate’s paradise” on the edge of Copenhagen’s academic grid. Using fresh entry codes, Case slips into Bell Europa, then connects to the London database Molly identified as Armitage’s.

With the Flatline’s timing cues, Case navigates the database and has the Hosaka sift for personal history. The system returns video and records focused on Colonel Willis Corto—whose face matches Armitage’s—linking Armitage’s identity to Corto.

Case reviews the compiled dossier: Corto led a Screaming Fist insertion over Kirensk, lost his sight and comrades when EMPs and lasers destroyed their microlights, and was later extracted near Helsinki. Rebuilt for televised trials, Corto delivered scripted testimony that protected senior officers, then turned violent and itinerant—working corporate defection jobs, committing assaults and murder, drifting through criminal roles across continents.

The record shows Corto’s mental collapse in France, institutionalization near Toulon, and participation in an experimental cybernetic therapy program, where he uniquely “recovered.” The file ends without explaining how Corto became Armitage. Exhausted, Case lies down beside Molly, withholding the full account.

Armitage calls, abruptly ordering them to Istanbul that night and promising the Finn will handle Case’s deck. Molly packs despite lingering pain, and they ride a train toward the airport as she recalls Armitage’s pattern of sudden relocations. The chapter closes with their departure through an industrial landscape, momentum shifting toward Istanbul.