Page 1, The New York Times

'You know, we did a lot of things right. Like Harvard. We got into every system at Harvard. It was a good move. Harvard gave us the fame we needed.'

Electron couldn't believe what he was hearing. He didn't need any fame - and he certainly didn't need to be busted. The conversation - like Phoenix himself - was really beginning to annoy him.

'Hey, and they know your name,' Phoenix said coyly.

That got a reaction. Electron gulped his anger.

'Haha! Just joshing!' Phoenix practically shouted. 'Don't worry! They didn't really mention anyone's name.'

'Good,' Electron answered curtly. His irritation stewed quietly.

'So, do you reckon we'll make the cover of *Time* or *Newsweek*?'

Good grief! Didn't Phoenix ever give up? As if it wasn't enough to appear on the 6 o'clock national news in a country crawling with over-zealous law enforcement agencies. Or to make the *New York Times*. He had to have the weeklies too.

Phoenix was revelling in his own publicity. He felt like he was on top of the world, and he wanted to shout about it. Electron had felt the same wave of excitement from hacking many high-profile targets and matching wits with the best, but he was happy to stand on the peak by himself, or with people like Pad and Gandalf, and enjoy the view quietly. He was happy to know he had been the best on the frontier of a computer underground which was fresh, experimental and, most of all, international. He didn't need to call up newspaper reporters or gloat about it in Clifford Stoll's face.

'Well, what do you reckon?' Phoenix asked impatiently.

'No,' Electron answered.

'No? You don't think we will?' Phoenix sounded disappointed.

'No.'

'Well, I'll demand it!' Phoenix said laughing, 'Fuck it, we want the cover of *Newsweek*, nothing less.' Then, more seriously,