The sparring had begun. R00tkid posted an 'open letter' to the community - using a stronger encryption key - explaining that the whole 3V3 thing was a setup and the goons were setting a trap in their own clumsy way.

He urged everyone not to fall for it. As proof, he posted a vid of himself and Lady 3V3 together reading his statement, with the hi-rez surveillance vid and cable news running in background monitors as a timestamp. They both explained that she was safe and where she had always been, and that this was just a trap by the goons.

Then the discussion turned to whether they actually had a prisoner or had managed to synthesize the likeness of Lady 3V3 for their 'leaked' surveillance footage.

“I know these guys.” R00tkid posted “They're not that good.”

Everyone quickly agreed. Adding that no one was.

'Almost no one' thought R00tkid as Lady3V3 left his side and walked off camera. He discreetly terminated the overlay and concentrated on the remainder of the videoconference.

“OK. They can't fake this. But the REAL Lady 3V3 is still with R00tkid. So they must have someone. I wonder if she has any idea what's happening to her.”

“Doubtful.” R00tkid replied. “These guys don't explain themselves like a Bond villain.”

“So what do we do? She may not be Lady 3V3, but they still have her. And we have to save her. Anyway, she's really hot!” Everyone eagerly echoed their agreement on that.

“We do nothing for now. They won't hurt her. She's of no use to them damaged... she will just have to marinate until we come up with a plan. If we go off impulsively without a plan we're no better than they are. And we MUST be better – much better – if we want to succeed.” No one was happy to wait, but neither was anyone able to make a compelling argument for a better plan of action, so the troops gathered in wait.

“What the hell is IN those shots you keep giving me?” I asked the guard as he dragged me out for another series of injections. He just shrugged. Curiosity was not in his job description. I imagine it would be considered a grave liability. “Well, could you ask? ...for me?” I really began to worry if they were some sort of psychotropic, because I was gradually feeling much edgier and raw. I had been able to tough out the first few days, but as time went on, I would find myself overwhelmed with despair and loneliness. I was becoming very emotionally fragile. I was never very emotional, but that had changed, and these were the most vivid, overwhelming emotions I'd experienced. I seriously thought the only way to escape my situation was to kill myself, but my captors took away every means to achieve even that goal. I was bereft and inconsolable. Which seemed to really please my captors. I knew they were constantly watching me on the security cameras. I wondered if anyone else was watching too.

The live feed from the pen had become a permanent window in Aaron's display. SIMon's internal diagnostics were just as capable of monitoring the secure intranet as it was the public grid. They must have known that because they kept her in camera sight nearly all the time. He had no doubt she was not a clone of HIS Eve. She was not a sim. He was watching a flesh and blood human. And it caused him increasing distress to witness her emotional unraveling.