"I'm afraid that I have to agree with you. He must be deranged. He's now going to have the security services after him as well as the police, and they don't worry about the need for evidence."

Alex sat thoughtfully. "The one bright side to this, I suppose, is that Chang is out of the way. We only have to get away from Nero now. Keep monitoring the situation. I need to think."

"Okay Alex, will do."

Alex took a cigarette from the bedside table and drew long and hard on it, causing it to flare up and then glow in the dark. Laying back down, he stared up into the blackness, trying to work out how to get away from a megalomaniac.

Katie lay unmoving beside Alex. She hadn't stirred when he'd sat up suddenly. Her dreams were filled with strange lights and sounds. Over everything was Dr. Franklin's voice, flat, passionless, and intrusive. 'AH-K80; you are special, you must always remember that. Never let yourself be cut off from the Net, it will be your home. Plato will guide you at first, but soon you will have to venture out alone.' As the scientist's voice repeated his exhortation over and over, swirling figures moved in and out of view. Most of the figures were faceless and indistinct, dimly remembered lab staff who had never taken the time to talk to her. Through the crowd, coming towards her, she saw some people she recognised. There was Joe, the bar owner who had helped them find a hideout. Next was Shannon, the waitress who had taken them in at Joe's instruction. Finally, out of the gloom came another figure, it was Alex. Katie's little heart jumped when she saw her lover approaching. She knew she would be safe with him around.

"Katie. Katie..... Are you all right?"

Alex's voice grew louder and more intrusive until, opening her eyes, she was looking up at his concerned face. "Katie! Thank God you're okay. You were moaning and talking, but I couldn't wake you up."

"It was Dr. Franklin. He was talking to me. He said I was special."

"You are my darling. But you don't have to worry about what Dr. Franklin thinks, you'll never have to go back to him." Alex held the naked little 4 year old close and kissed her gently on the forehead. As he held Katie in his arms, Alex ran his fingers lightly up and down her spine, soothing her.

Leaning back slightly, Alex looked into Katie's eyes and saw that she was calmer; although there was a slight shadow of worry on her face too.

Continuing to gently caress the little girl, Alex tongued his uplink tooth and subvocalised a question. "Plato.... what do you know about Katie's design? I know she is a mathematical genius and can visualise the VR environment of the Net. But what was the purpose behind it all?"

There was a pause, which in itself told Alex something. A second to Plato was like hours to Alex. Eventually Plato replied "I have made a thorough study of all files relating to the AH-K80 project. There doesn't seem to have been a hard science reasoning behind the project. Chang was a devotee of the Church of the Third Age, and you know what they are like. He was indoctrinated with a belief that mankind was ready for the next step. That the Third Age was coming, where man, machine, and Gaia, would work together in harmony. Somehow, Chang believed that Katie could move the quest forward."

"What was it that Nero heard that made him start a war to get her?"

"I don't think he knows anything specific. He just had to have her in case Chang was right."

Katie gently punched Alex on the jaw. "You're talking to Plato again aren't you."

"Yes." Alex smiled.

"I want an uplink too. It's not fair that you can talk with Plato when I can't."

"One day my darling. You're too young now."

Katie pouted at Alex and his heart went out to her anew. "I'm not too young. I can navigate the Net already, I just have to do it the hard way. What makes me too young?"

Alex paused to think. She was right, already she was more proficient than the average 12 year old, and it had been standard practice for years for children to be fitted with uplinks on their teenday.

"Ummm, I don't know baby. I'll ask Plato to research whether there are any physiological reasons not to."

"I'm doing that now" interrupted the AI.

"The first thing though is to get you clean!"

Alex grabbed the naked little girl and she squealed. Growling at her like a demented ogre, Alex carried Katie to the compact bathroom. He turned on the shower and, holding her close, jumped under the jet of warm water. The shower cycled through to soap and the two lovers were coated with lavender scented bubbles. Katie wriggled in Alex's arms and he put her down before she squirted out from between them. Laughing they slipped and slithered until they were both stood like icing snowmen on a Christmas cake. Katie could see the purple tip of Alex's hard-on poking out of the foam and she grabbed it. Alex jumped and lost his footing, crashing, still laughing, to the soft floor. Katie jumped on top of her lover and squirmed against him, loving the feeling of his throbbing erection against he smooth skin. As they played and groped, the shower cycled through to rinse, washing away the slippery suds, leaving them pink and clean on the floor. Katie kissed Alex hard on the lips and he slipped his tongue into her mouth. As they kissed, Alex moved Katie's body up and down on his stiff prick. His hands gripped her cute little buttocks, the middle finger of each hand gently stroking her baby slit from behind.

Katie knew that she was small, but she wanted to experience everything about sex. Everything she'd read, everything she'd seen on the teevee. She pushed back against Alex's hard tool, trying to get the angle right, wanting it inside her. "Alex. Please! I want you to put it in!"

Alex's prick jerked. God how he wanted to do it! "I don't think I can baby. You're too small." "Pleeease!"

Alex reached down and took a hold of his throbbing member, pressing the blunt tip against the enflamed little lips of Katie's pussy. She pushed back again, but it wouldn't fit. "I'm sorry baby, it won't go in......"

Katie sobbed, grinding her hairless cunny on Alex's red hot tool. The friction was too much for Alex and he began to come, shooting hot, thick sperm between Katie's little legs. Katie sat back on Alex's erupting prick, feeling the sticky spunk wash over her crotch. She ground down harder, wanting the precious juice inside her. Alex gripped Katie by the waist as he thrust upwards with his spitting dick. Together the two lovers writhed in mutual ecstasy on the floor of the shower.

As they descended from the heights of passion, Alex and Katie kissed each other tenderly. Plato softly whispered in Alex's head. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Shannon has just got a taxi from Zone Central. I don't think she should find you like you are."

Alex went red in the face, he'd forgotten that he was still linked to Plato. "Uh okay..... We'll just have a quick rinse."

"Don't worry Alex. I'm not bound by human prejudices. You love Katie and she loves you. That is all that matters."

"Thanks Plato......"

Alex gently lifted Katie to her feet and washed her under the shower's warm waters. He had a quick shower himself and, when Shannon arrived twenty minutes later, they were both sitting on the couch drinking juice. On the teevee the first live pictures from Amersham were coming in. The town was gone. In its place a roiling, bubbling crater. Pocket nukes were relatively clean, what little fallout there was would be lost against the already raised background levels of radiation. Other, more mundane, pollutants could be dealt with by conventional nanotech. That still left tens of thousands of people dead and a town gone......(cont)