Machiavellianism

[Sage]

Aiden cocked an eyebrow at him and the spark died. Sage knew the look. Aiden had it wrong, but the conversation never turned to the misadventure. So a private conversation later - if Aiden remembered. But Jaxen wasn't really interested in sharing. Voxel wasn't exactly a man of the people. He was a selfish self absorbed hacker who played the game because he could. And the real life man wasn't much different - he said so himself. But Sage liked Jaxen, even if Voxel was not his favorite hacker. But then Voxel knew nothing of The Wicked Truth, if he'd still held Phaser he might - but that was dangerous.

They went on about myths and legends and treasures and Sage found himself back in his head. Lost in the ones and zeros as he laid his head down on Aiden's shoulder and let himself drift into the code he was writing. He had a lot to rebuild. The Atharim had eyes and ears everywhere. Their data was pulled from many sources, Jaxen had gotten some data himself. Nox had given Sage access and he didn't dark poke at the locks now that Nox was ex-Atharim. But he could if he really wanted to, but that was the sort of thing that had gotten him into trouble when he was Phaser - he'd lost his reputation because of the thing in his head. He wouldn't let it happen again.

Sage went on the search for a server house he could buy - that might be something he could do. Sage was only half listening to the world outside. He might not even catch his own name in lost in the haze of his own little world.