"Eddie. As if I didn't have enough problems. Why aren't you under arrest, and safely locked up, rather than coming here and bothering me? I have work to do. Important work. I'm in charge here, you know! It's a mistake, but I'm not going to tell them. I have a room on the second floor now. With a view! Not much of a view, admittedly, but… Look, I could say I'm glad to see you, but we both know I don't meant it, so what's the point? Tell me what it is you need me to do, so I can do it and get you the hell out of my War Room."

"Hello, Callan," I said. "I think we need to review your medication again."

"Oh, would you? I'd be ever so grateful. Look at the situation screens. Look at them! I haven't seen this many flashing lights in one place since I was at a San Francisco disco. Everyone out there's talking about the Apocalypse Door, even if most of them aren't entirely sure what it is, yet. Some of the rumours are getting really extreme. Everyone's going on a war footing, just in case, and a lot of them are already planning to get their retaliation in first. It's a mess… I've got field agents reporting subterranean action and intrigue all over the world. Tell me you've got a plan to deal with all this, Eddie. Lie to me if you must. I won't mind."

"Can you show me where Doctor Delirium's secret base is located these days?" I said.

"Oh sure! No problem. There's not many people can hide from us for long, and Doctor Delirium wouldn't even make the short list. He's very predictable, and he never learns."

He had one of his people task an orbiting surveillance satellite to show us where Doctor Delirium had gone to ground, this time. We could launch our own satellites, but it's always been more cost efficient to hitch a ride on the existing ones. Never any shortage of spy satellites.

"It's a Russian eye in the sky, but they won't notice we're piggy-backing the signal," said Callan. "We like to keep an eye on Doctor Delirium's movements, but after that business at LA we've upgraded the Doctor from nuisance to actual threat. Don't suppose you know what the Apocalypse Door is, do you, Eddie?"

"Trust me," I said. "You really don't want to know."

"Oh…" said Callan. "One of those… Batten down the hatches, people! It's going to be a long night! Extra tea and jaffa cakes for everyone, and someone get me a refill of those nice little blue pills." He looked at me, suddenly very sober. "Is it true? Is the Matriarch really dead?"

"Yes," I said. "She's gone."

"I still can't believe it. Not her, of all people. I thought she'd go on forever. I'll miss her. I don't think she ever approved of me much, but she never let me forget what it meant to be a Drood. I've had all my people on full alert, ever since I heard. This would be a really good time for an enemy attack, while we're all so disorganised. Maybe that's why they killed her? Cut off our head, and we'd all run around in circles? They don't know us. They don't know Droods."

"The Sarjeant-at-Arms is on the case," I said. "Now, Doctor Delirium…"

"Can't show you the base itself," said Callan, immediately all business again. "It's hidden from view, under the jungle canopy. The Amazon rain forest is bigger than some countries, and most of it has never been mapped. But we can give you a pretty specific location." He pointed to one particular display screen, now showing an aerial view of the jungle.? From really quite high up. The tightly packed greenery stretched away for miles, dark and unbroken, like the surface of an unknown planet. One of Callan's people obligingly put a large red cross over one area.

"And you're sure he's there, because?" I said.

Callan smiled smugly. "Abnormal energy spikes, unique electromagnetic fields, and far too many human life signs coming and going in what should be nothing more than miles and miles of jungle. And because we've got a low-level spy tucked away inside his organisation, who keeps us up to date on his every move. Technology is all very well and good, but you can't beat cheating and a good-sized bribe to get you results."

"I think it's time I dropped in on Doctor Delirium, for a little head to head," I said. "And maybe a slap or two, to put him in his place. Contact the local field agent, and tell him I'm going in. Do we know how far he is from Doctor Delirium's new base?"

"Conrad's already heading in the right direction, but given how far off the map the Doctor is now, even at best speed… forty-eight hours. Minimum. It's a big area, Eddie. It's not like there's a local bus. What are you going to do, grab a ride on one of the Blackhawkes, and then parachute in?"

"I think I can do better than that," I said. "Tell Conrad to make his best speed, and join up with me at the base."

I called the Merlin Glass into my hand, and shook it out into a door. Through the gap, I could immediately see the same aerial view of the jungle as on the display screen. The Merlin Glass was on the job. Callan looked at me sulkily.

"It's not fair. You always get the best toys! When I was in the field, I couldn't even get a short-range teleport bracelet without filling out a dozen forms in triplicate. Did you know the Armourer once used one to take care of a kidney stone? Just programmed the bracelet and then teleported across the Armoury, leaving the kidney stone behind?"

"Certainly sounds like the Armourer,"? I said.

"Wonder whether it would work with haemorrhoids…"

"You know very well you weren't allowed gadgets in the field because you kept losing them," I said, quickly changing the subject. "You were legendary for not knowing where you'd put things. The Armourer still keeps a list of all the things you've lost on his wall, and when I say lost, I also include broken and exploded. How can anyone misplace an enchanted motorbike?"

Callan shrugged. "It's a gift. Not everyone could do it."

I looked through the open door standing before me. The jungle canopy didn't have a red cross superimposed over it, but I was sure the Glass could take me to the exact spot. It had never let me down yet. So I gave Callan a cheery wave good-bye, stepped through the Merlin Glass, and found myself high up in the sky, falling more and more rapidly towards the jungle canopy below.

"Stupid bloody literal Glass! "

The Merlin Glass had already disappeared back into its subspace pocket, leaving me plummeting towards the jungle, grabbing handfuls of fresh air along the way. I turned myself over so that I could look straight down. I really was a hell of a long way up. The cold air slammed against me, buffeting me this way and that and tugging at my clothes, but not slowing me down in the least. My first thought was to summon the Glass back, and go somewhere else through it, but I was already travelling at such a speed that my arrival at another destination would prove just as tricky. Besides, I'd come here to get my hands on Doctor Delirium, and I wasn't giving up yet.

So I subvocalised my activating Words, and armoured up. The golden strange matter flowed swiftly from my torc, and engulfed me in a moment from head to toe. The air that had been slamming me about with increasing force was immediately cut off, and I could breathe more easily. I hadn't realised how cold I was, until the armour warmed me up again. I was still falling hard, but the jungle canopy didn't look that much closer. I had time to think about this.

I concentrated hard, and huge golden glider wings spread out from my armoured back. They cupped the air, and slowed me down some. I was still falling, but at least now I had some control. The armour couldn't fly, but by gliding in a series of tight circles, I was at least slowing my descent. I spiralled down and down, the huge green jungle rotating swiftly beneath me. I fell and fell, and I made a point of enjoying as much of it as I could. On the grounds I'd probably never have such an experience again. The jungle canopy suddenly leapt up towards me, becoming clearer and more detailed with every moment. I waited as long as I dared, and then pulled the glider wings back in, curled up into a foetal ball, and braced myself as best I could.