The Shadow Project by Herbie Brennan

You can’t use him. He hasn’t had the implants. Or the basic training.”
    â€œWe think he may have natural talent,” Carradine said. “We’ve managed without implants before.”
    â€œWhat about the anchor? We can’t use Michael again. Not in the state he’s in.”
    â€œFine,” Michael said again, swaying a little.
    Surprisingly, it was Hornfield who said, “An anchor’s not strictly necessary, Fran.”
    Fran glanced across at him. “No, but the risk factor increases. Quite considerably, I’d imagine, if we’re using an untrained operative.”
    Carradine opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Sir Roland said, “We’ll discuss the finer points later, Fran. Meanwhile, get young Lipman down here and hook him up.”
    â€œWe’re sending him out?” Carradine asked tentatively. “Now?”
    â€œOf course now. Just as soon as we can brief him on what to do. Don’t you imagine this is urgent?”
    â€œWhat happens if…?” Fran let it trail. Everybody knew what she was asking.
    â€œHe’s dispensable,” Sir Roland said. “My daughter isn’t.”

23
Danny, the Shadow Project
    I n less than five minutes, George Hanover appeared with Danny in tow. Sir Roland looked up. “Have you told him?” he asked.
    Hanover nodded. “Yes.”
    â€œI’m not doing it,” Danny said.
    Every head in the chamber turned to look in his direction.
    Roland took a deep breath, then asked coldly, “Why not?”
    The girl Opal, Sir Roland’s daughter, was slumped in one of the two wired chairs, clamped in like a torture victim. She seemed to have passed out, but she was still breathing. Danny said, “This wasn’t the deal we had.”
    â€œI thought it was exactly the deal we had,” Roland said.
    But Danny was shaking his head. “There was no mention of sending me out tonight.”
    â€œThis is an emergency, Danny,” Sir Roland said.
    The stubborn look stayed fixed on Danny’s face. “You said I’d get training.”
    Fran glanced briefly at Carradine but said nothing. George Hanover put on one of his most avuncular expressions. “You don’t actually need training, Danny. Most of it is automatic.”
    Carradine said, “Basic RV training is really just a question of getting used to the equipment.”
    â€œAnd the experience,” Hanover added.
    Something was going on here—Danny could smell it—and nobody was in any hurry to tell him what it was. He glanced at Fran, who seemed the edgiest of them all. “Who’s my partner?”
    â€œPartner?” Fran echoed, frowning.
    â€œTwo chairs wired together,” Danny said. “Two-man trip, right?”
    By God, he was quick on the uptake, Roland thought. For someone who’d only stumbled onto the Project hours before and been told the minimum about its operation, he could put two and two together. Not necessarily a bad thing, if he was going to help get Opal back. Roland came to a decision. Before any of the others could speak he said, “Usually, yes. Sometimes the experience is difficult to handle if you project without a partner. But it would be unsafe to release my daughter from the secondchair at the moment, so you’ll have to do this alone. We’ve deactivated the connection.” He was staring intently at Danny. “To the second chair.”
    â€œSo I’m flying solo?”
    â€œThere are very seldom any problems,” Roland said. “ Very seldom indeed.”
    â€œHe the one partnered your girl?” Danny asked, nodding toward Michael.
    After just the barest hesitation, Sir Roland said, “Yes.”
    Michael was looking like death warmed up. He could hardly stand upright, and his hands were trembling. Something bad has happened, and they aren’t telling the half of it, Danny thought. What they were asking him to do