Knight stood and walked around to the chair and sat again. "That's exactly what I'm telling you."

"You'll have to do a lot better than that, Knight. At least Alice and Roxborough gave me some evidence to back up their story."

Knight sighed. "I was afraid it would come down to this. And I won't deny that I often wanted the old wyrm to butt out with all his behind-the-scenes manipulation. It especially slotted me off when I had to sell him VisionQuest.

"I may have even wished for his death more than once. Frankly, he was on the hit list of all the megacorps. But we didn't all cause that explosion. I'm not even sure how it could have been done."

Ryan laughed. "Your words are like sand in the desert, Knight. There are a whole lot of them, and they're worthless."

Knight nodded. "Then I'm very sorry that you don't believe me, Mister Mercury. I can't give you the proof you need, and I can't afford to have someone as dangerous as you wandering around plotting my demise."

Knight nodded to one of the trolls behind Ryan. "Kill him quickly, and painlessly."

34

Burnout cleared the wall with a quick flex of his hydraulic legs. He landed behind some trimmed azalea bushes and fell to his belly, listening intently for the telltale sounds of alarms or guard animals.

Nothing but the distant chirping of birds and the chatter of squirrels.

Burnout had seen a number of Secret Servicemen, and he knew that if this took too long, many of them would die and he might be prevented from getting to Daviar.

That was why his plan was based on speed.

"I'm masking our auras," Lethe said. "And doing my best to make us invisible in the physical as well."

Burnout didn't respond with physical speech, but Lethe seemed to understand his answer. Good.

"When I was here last, she was in her office," Lethe said. "That window, straight ahead. First floor, next to the arboretum."

For the most part, the mansion was a huge red brick structure with a shingled roof, but just ahead, across a short section of groomed lawn, Burnout noticed the elaborate greenhouse. The walls were in style with the rest of the house, but the roof was made of glass or some other clear composite. The glass was held up by the huge limbs of stone trees. Very ornate and beautiful.

And very likely, complex on the inside. A great place for a confrontation.

Burnout scanned left and caught sight of the elf woman, Daviar, through the panes of a tall window straight ahead. It was multi-paned and most likely bulletproof, but even plexan could be defeated with the right weaponry. Burnout didn't hesitate for a second; he sprang to his feet and launched himself into a full-out run, straight for the window.

In the thirty meters between the hedge and the house, Burnout accelerated to nearly sixty klicks per hour. He pulled the Predators and fired into the window as his legs hurtled the two of them toward the window. And Daviar.

Bullets ricocheted off the glass at first, then they cracked it. Burnout emptied both clips into the clear polymer, forming a nearly perfect circle of cracks. Then he launched himself head first into the house.

The glass exploded in a shower of glittering shards as Burnout burst through and rolled on carpeting, snapped himself up and lunged for a startled Nadja Daviar. She pulled away from him, faster than he expected, nearly reaching the door.

But his ravaged metal body slammed into her, and she crumpled beneath his weight. Alarms sounded throughout the mansion, relentless and annoying. Burnout pushed himself to his feet just as three guards in dark suits and sunglasses rushed through the door.

Burnout lifted the elf, Daviar, holding her in front of him with one large and gruesome hand encircling her neck. "Back off! Or she dies."

The woman straightened and regained her composure. Remarkably fast. "Please," she said. "Tell us what you want, and I'll make sure you get it."

Burnout allowed himself a smile. "Yes, you will."

"What do you want with me?"

"First, tell these suits to kindly leave the building."

Nadja nodded toward the security team.

"We can't just leave you in here with this thing," said one of the suits.

"You can and you will, Mister," Nadja said, her voice ringing with authority.

The suits retreated, and when they were gone, Burnout turned her toward him. She was the picture of unmarred flesh, so fragile in her unblemished beauty. And he was a tableau of gore-covered metal and bundled Kevlar III fibers. So very little flesh left, even his outer coating of vatgrown skin had mostly peeled away or rotted off.

Opposites, they stared at each other for a brief moment.

Then Burnout spoke. "There is only one person who can save you, and I suggest you get him here. He must come at once. And he must come alone."

35

Sweat dripped down Ryan's naked chest as he sat in the cold metal chair. As he readied himself for the next few seconds. In the observation mirror, he saw the big troll guard move forward slightly. Ready to pull the trigger.

Ryan tensed his legs and tried to focus. There wasn't any way he could take both the trolls, but he wasn't going to die without taking Knight down with him. He could use his telekinetic thrust to deflect the gun barrel so that the bullets would hit Knight, but timing was going to be crucial.

As the huge man pressed the barrel of the automatic to the side of Ryan's neck, time seemed to slow down. His mind was filled with the image of Dunkelzahn in his natural form. Huge and sinuous, with metallic blue scales. I'm sorry. I've failed you again.

Ryan was just about to make his move when the telecom on the desk came to life.

Knight held up his hand, and the troll stopped, the muzzle of his weapon digging a circular ring just under Ryan's ear. Knight hit the connect and looked at the face on the screen in surprise.

The voice that came over the line was faint, barely audible to Ryan's ears. "Do you have him?"

Knight looked up at Ryan. "It's for you."

Ryan didn't like the look of glee in the old man's eyes.

Knight smiled, and turned the telecom around, and Ryan found himself looking at an extreme close-up of Nadja's face.

Her features filled the entire screen, blocking any clue as to where she was. She looks worried, Ryan thought.

"Hello, dear," said Ryan. "Am I out after my curfew?"

Ryan watched as Nadja shot a glance to her left, then looked back at him. The message was clear, she wasn't alone.

She looks scared.

"Ryan, I need you to come home right now." The panic in her voice sent every muscle in Ryan's body jumping.

He forced himself to be calm. Losing control wouldn't help anyone. With as much nonchalance as he could muster, Ryan looked down at his naked condition, then back up to the screen. "Well, dear, and this might be a tired cliche, but as you can see, I'm a bit tied up right now."

One of the trolls behind Ryan laughed.

Nadja's composure came as close to cracking as Ryan had ever seen. "I'm sorry, Ryan. But it's imperative that you return to the mansion at once."

Knight turned the screen in his direction, "Miss Daviar, how good of you to call. It seems as if you just might have tuned in at a very advantageous time for everyone."

There was something in Knight's tone that bothered Ryan. It was almost as if the man had been expecting her call, as if this was just another step in a very intricate dance.

Ryan couldn't quite hear Nadja's reply, but Knight nodded. "Why, of course I'll send Mister Mercury on his way to you immediately. However, in this world of quid pro quo, I must ask something in return."

Nadja said something, but the only word Ryan could make out was "Bastard."