Chapter Eight
ENEMIES AND ALLIES
X X X
Daniel put an arm across Tina’s shoulders, and they leaned companionably against each other. It had been a long hard night and day, full of blood and suffering and the slaughter of aliens, but both Hydes were content with the feeling of a job well done. And that was when Daniel’s phone rang. He took it out and glared at it for a long moment, before answering.
“What?” he said loudly.
“You need to get back here right now,” said Patricia. “We have visitors.”
The phone went dead before Daniel could say anything. He put it away and sighed deeply. The moment had lost it savor.
“It could be the mercenaries,” said Tina. “Back for another go at us.”
“In broad daylight?” said Daniel.
“We have been very successful,” said Tina.
“I knew we shouldn’t have put our name on the front door,” said Daniel.
“Do you think it’s the mercenaries again?” said Tina.
“I think Patricia would have mentioned them, if that was the case,” said Daniel. “And I’m pretty sure we would have heard the explosions in the background.”
“But we are going?” said Tina.
“Where else were we going to go?” said Daniel.
“Can I drive this time?” said Tina.
Daniel smiled. “Try and keep most of the wheels on the ground, most of the time.”
“No promises,” said Tina.
X X X
Tina powered her way through the midday traffic with such style and enthusiasm that even hardened London bus drivers hurried to get out of her way. Tina whooped and hollered as she pressed the accelerator to the floor, and worked dark miracles with sudden gear changes. Daniel was almost sure he saw traffic lights turn to green the moment they saw Tina approaching, rather than risk upsetting her. One bike messenger stubbornly refused to get out of her way, and Tina hit him from behind so hard that he and his bike ended up on the top of a taxicab. Many people applauded.
The police car finally screeched to a halt outside Jekyll & Hyde Inc., and parked itself half on and half off the sidewalk. Daniel and Tina bailed out of the car, and looked quickly around for anything that needed coping with. But there was no obvious damage, no fires or broken windows, and even though Daniel craned his head right back he couldn’t see any attack helicopters buzzing around the roof. He relaxed a little, and turned to Tina.
“If the building isn’t under attack, why call us back so urgently?”
“Maybe Patricia felt lonely,” said Tina.
“‘Visitors’ covers a lot of ground . . .” said Daniel. “Who else knows we’re here?”
Tina shrugged. “It had better be someone I want to talk to, or there’s going to be trouble.”
“Well,” said Daniel. “That goes without saying.”
He strode into the lobby, with Tina only a step behind. It was still full of Patricia’s minions, rushing back and forth as they put the finishing touches to Jekyll & Hyde Inc.’s new public face. And then they all stopped, and broke into loud applause. Every single one of them was grinning broadly, and pounding their hands together in what appeared to be genuine enthusiasm. Daniel and Tina stopped where they were, and moved a little closer together.
“Are we in the right building?” said Daniel.
“We must be,” said Tina. “Here comes Patricia’s little favorite.”
“Doesn’t she have anything else to do, except hang around and wait for us to show up?” said Daniel.
“That is an important job,” said Tina.
Joyce came hurrying forward to join them. She wasn’t applauding the Hydes, but looked as though she wanted to. She slammed to a halt before Daniel and Tina and bounced up and down with excitement, her eyes shining.
“Word of your success is all over the building!” she said happily, raising her voice to be make herself heard over the applause. “No one can believe you took out three alien bases so quickly, and walked away!”
Daniel nodded to the grinning crowd, and raised his voice. “Thank you very much, all of you; now knock it off! Too much and it sounds like sarcasm.”
The clapping died away, amid general laughter.
“And get back to work,” growled Tina. “Before Patricia notices you’re slacking.”
Everyone smiled and nodded and went back to being busy. Daniel looked at Joyce.
“Why the sudden change in attitude?”
“Because you earned it!” said Joyce.
“I’m not used to being popular,” said Tina.
“Don’t worry,” said Daniel. “It won’t last.” He fixed Joyce with a steady stare. “What is so important that we had to be summoned back in such a hurry?”
“Beats the hell out of me,” Joyce said cheerfully. “Patricia just told me to escort you up to her office on the top floor. We have to go there right now! It must be something big, because that whole floor is Patricia’s special territory. Well, that and the armory, obviously.”
“You’re babbling, Joyce,” Daniel said kindly. “Take a deep breath, turn around twice and spit, and give us your best guess as to what’s going on.”
Joyce leaned in close, and lowered her voice. “No one gets invited to the top floor unless it’s really important. But Patricia insisted I should be the one to take you up there! I think she’s taking a special interest in me.”
“Go for it, girl,” said Tina.
Daniel wasn’t sure that Patricia taking an interest in anyone was necessarily a good thing, but kept that to himself.
“Is anyone already up there with Patricia?” he said.
Joyce nodded quickly. “Some very important people are talking with Patricia in her office. She let them go up on their own!”
Tina frowned. “Without an escort?”
“I know!” said Joyce. “Lots of us were ready to volunteer, but Patricia sent word no one was to bother these people, so we didn’t.”
“Any idea who they are?” said Daniel.
“I only saw them from a distance,” said Joyce.
Which would have been a perfectly good answer, if Joyce hadn’t suddenly found it difficult to meet the Hydes’ gaze. Which suggested that she did know, but had been told to say she didn’t. Daniel wasn’t a fan of surprises where the armorer was concerned, but couldn’t find it in him to pressure Joyce. He was still in a good mood from knowing he wasn’t going to have to fight off another army of mercenaries, and besides, it would have felt like bullying a puppy. He gestured to Joyce to lead the way to the elevators, and she shot off as though someone had just fired a starting pistol. Daniel and Tina followed after her in their own good time, and everyone else fell back respectfully. A few looked like they wanted to clap Daniel or Tina on the shoulder as they passed, but wisely thought better of it.
All the way up to the top floor, the elevator refrained from playing any music, and Daniel refrained from doing any more damage. Someone had cleaned up the mess he’d made the last time, but he could still see dents in the metalwork. The elevator chimed politely as it delivered them to the top floor, and then hurried off to be somewhere less worrying.
Joyce led Daniel and Tina down the corridor to Patricia’s office, knocked politely, and then pushed the door open. She stepped back, and gestured grandly for them to enter.
“Hold it,” said Daniel. “Aren’t you coming in with us?”
“I wasn’t invited,” said Joyce. “This meeting is for movers and shakers only.”
“I am not leaving you hanging around out here,” said Daniel. “You come in with us, Joyce.”
“Right,” said Tina. “We’ll just tell Patricia you’re our minder, and we’d be lost without you.”
“Oh no,” Joyce said quickly. “I really couldn’t. Given who’s already gone in there, you’re going to be discussing seriously hush-hush things that I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know about.” She smiled suddenly. “Patricia will invite me in, when she wants to see me.”
“Young love,” said Tina. “You’d think there’d be a cure by now. Don’t worry, Joyce, I’ll put in a good word on your behalf.”
“Please don’t,” said Joyce.
Daniel entered Patricia’s office with Tina glaring at his side, and Joyce closed the door firmly behind them. And then Daniel stopped dead in his tracks as he saw Patricia talking quite casually with Alan Diment and Commissioner Jonathan Hart. Daniel looked to Tina.
“Small world, isn’t it?”
“Apparently,” said Tina. “So these are the visitors Patricia wanted us to know about . . .”
“I should have guessed,” said Daniel. He waited a moment for the others to acknowledge him, and then kicked a potted plant so hard it flew across the office and exploded against the far wall. Patricia and her guests stopped talking to look at him.
“I liked that plant,” said Patricia.
“You can probably put it back together again, if you try really hard,” said Tina.
Daniel looked steadily at Alan. “I didn’t know you people knew each other.”
“Oh, we’re all good chums,” said Alan. “We go way back.”
“We’ve worked with Patricia before,” said Johnny. “On certain off-the-books operations.”
Tina fixed the armorer with a cold stare. “And you never thought to mention this before?”
“You never asked,” said Patricia.
Daniel took a moment to note that Alan and Johnny had both made an effort to dress up for the occasion. Alan was wearing a smart city suit, complete with old-school tie, while Johnny had put on his dress uniform, complete with gold piping. Patricia was still wearing her signature outfit of black over black, including the black leather gloves she never took off—either because she was making a statement, or because she didn’t have any other outfits.
A quick glance around confirmed there weren’t any more visitors’ chairs, so Daniel and Tina stood together and struck their most impressive pose. The one that strongly suggested they were ready to punch anyone through a wall who didn’t show them the proper respect. If Patricia and her visitors were impressed, they did a good job of hiding it. Tina smiled sweetly at Alan.
“What brings you here, Mister Very Secret Agent?”
“I have been sent by my superiors to offer you the department’s official congratulations,” Alan said easily.
Tina shook her head. “Your department never offers anything that doesn’t come with a price tag.”
“How very hurtful,” said Alan.
“I notice you’re not denying it,” said Daniel. He turned to Commissioner Hart. “What are you doing here, Johnny?”
“Give me a minute, Danny boy, and I’ll show you.”
Johnny talked quietly into his phone. He’d only just put it away when there was an official-sounding knock at the door. The new arrival didn’t wait for Patricia to invite them in, just slammed the door open and marched into the office. Tall and saturnine, they wore a uniform that Daniel recognized immediately. He’d seen it often enough before, as a great many people wearing it had been doing their level best to shoot him full of holes. The mercenary crashed to a parade rest in the middle of the room. Tina made a low growling sound, her hands closed into fists.
“This is Major Boughton,” Johnny said loudly. “He’s with me.”
Daniel shook his head. “You always did have a weakness for bad company.”
“It got me where I am today,” said Johnny. “Major Boughton is in charge of the company of soldiers who were hired to attack your old building.”
“How does a Commissioner of Police know a major of mercenaries?” said Tina.
“We’ve had occasion to work together,” Johnny said carefully. “To deal with certain well-connected terrorists or criminals I wasn’t allowed to touch—officially. Edward brought us together, in the beginning.”
Daniel stared at him. “You worked for Edward Hyde? You were one of his creatures?”
Johnny stirred uncomfortably on his chair. “I wouldn’t put it that way.”
“I would,” said Daniel. “No wonder you never supported me, when I was raving about being attacked by monsters. You couldn’t afford to attract attention to your own extracurricular activities.”
“Precisely,” said Johnny. “No hard feelings, I trust?”
Daniel looked at him. “What do you think?”
Johnny turned away, rather than face what he saw in Daniel’s eyes. He nodded quickly to Major Boughton, who took a step forward to draw everyone’s attention back to him.
“My company was hired by human agents in the employ of aliens. We did not know who was behind the contract when we agreed to it, and now the truth has been revealed we no longer feel bound by its conditions. We will not work for enemies of Humanity. I am here to offer our services to Jekyll & Hyde Inc., in your fight against the Greys.”
“You blew up our building and shot the shit out of us!” Tina said loudly.
The major met her blazing gaze with unblinking calm. “You killed a great many of my people. Good soldiers, who were only following their orders. But professionals don’t let their emotions get in the way of getting the job done. You shouldn’t take these things personally, young lady.”
Tina tensed dangerously.
“I was the one who informed the major who he was really working for,” Johnny said quickly.
“How did you find that out?” said Daniel.
“While I was busy digging up information on your behalf,” said Johnny.
“My people may be killers for hire, and we may have done questionable things,” said the major, “but there is a line in the sand we will not cross. We stand ready to join your war against the aliens.”
“Fine,” said Tina. “We can always use a few good men. But first . . .”
She surged forward, grabbed a handful of the major’s jacket, and lifted him off his feet. She marched him across the room, slammed him against the wall, and thrust her face in close to his.
“But don’t think for one moment that all is forgotten and forgiven, Major.”
She dropped him back on his feet, and went over to stand with Daniel. The major took a moment to regain his balance and dignity, and tug his uniform back into place.
“And don’t call me young lady!” Tina said loudly.
“You’d make an excellent soldier of fortune,” said the Major.
“I am ready to be your intermediary,” Johnny said quickly, “between Major Boughton and Jekyll & Hyde Inc. And I have to say, Danny boy, going by what people have been telling me about the Greys, you’re going to need an army of professional killers to back you on this one.”
“The commissioner is entirely correct,” said Patricia. “My people are telling me that the Greys pose more of a threat than the Martians, Bug-Eyed Monsters, and Reptiloids put together. That’s why I called you back here to meet these gentlemen.”
Daniel smiled coldly at Johnny. “I should have known you’d find a way to weasel in, and grab some glory for yourself.”
“You know I hate to be left out of things,” said Johnny. “Especially when there’s power and privilege to be had.”
He rose to his feet and nodded to the major, and they left the office together, closing the door quietly behind them.
“I thought they’d never go,” said Alan.
Daniel glared at Patricia. “You really think it’s a good idea to let people like that roam the building unaccompanied?”
“The commissioner is your contact,” said Patricia. “And your friend.”
“I still wouldn’t trust him further than I could throw a wet camel,” said Daniel. “Johnny is a political animal, always looking for a chance to grab the next gold ring. But really, I was talking about the major.”
“Damn right,” said Tina. “His people have already had one good stab at putting Jekyll & Hyde Inc. out of business. And you let him wander around our new building, so he can see all our defenses and protections?”
“The major has been shadowed by my people all the time he’s been here,” said Patricia. “Making sure he doesn’t get to see anything we don’t want him to see—but very politely, because we’re going to need his soldiers. The Greys present a bigger threat than anything you’ve encountered so far.”
“Do you believe in the major and his convenient conscience?” said Tina.
“Not necessarily,” said Patricia. “We’ll keep a close eye on him, and the commissioner. And the best way to do that is to keep them close.”
Tina scowled at Alan. “You know everything. What kind of a man is the major?”
“He has a reputation for being a first-class soldier,” Alan said carefully. “In mercenary terms, that means you can trust him to do what he’s been paid to do, or die trying. And I can tell you for a fact that he has turned down contracts that would have brought him into conflict with this country’s best interests. Despite everything, Boughton remains a patriot. Which of course makes him that much easier to manipulate.”
Daniel looked thoughtfully at Alan. “We know why Johnny was here, but what about you? Do you have new information for us?”
“In a way,” said Alan. He paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully. “I have been keeping my superiors informed about your triumphs over the aliens. Constant surveillance is the price you pay, for including me in your little war. But now, I have to tell you my superiors have decided that you have become just a little too successful. They see Jekyll & Hyde Incorporated as a threat—not only to the department, but to the entire status quo.”
He paused to see how Daniel and Tine were taking this, and then continued.
“There must always be checks and balances. No group can be allowed to become too independent. It has therefore been decided, at the very highest levels, that I should present you with the following ultimatum: Either Jekyll & Hyde Incorporated agrees to place itself under my department’s control, or steps will be taken to shut you down. Permanently.”
Daniel and Tina looked at each other, and then at Patricia. She stared calmly back, making it clear the response was up to them. Daniel looked at Alan long enough for him to stir uncomfortably on his chair.
“You expect us to take orders from you?” Daniel said finally.
“That is the price of your being allowed to do business,” said Alan.
“And you really think you can shut us down?” said Tina.
Alan smiled. “My department doesn’t deal in open attacks, like the major and his soldiers. And we have access to weapons and devices Major Broughton can only dream of.”
Daniel turned to Tina. “You know him better than me. Is he bluffing?”
Tina’s face was full of a terrible cold anger. “Probably not.”
“Please understand,” Alan said smoothly, “that destroying Jekyll & Hyde Incorporated is not our preferred outcome. My superiors see a bright future with you and your people tucked safely under the department’s wing.”
“You want us to be your attack dogs,” said Tina.
“I’m so glad we understand each other,” said Alan.
Tina took a step toward him, and everybody tensed. “I thought we were friends, Alan.”
“We are, my dear,” Alan said earnestly. “That’s why I volunteered to come here, and break the news to you personally.”
“You want to muzzle us,” said Tina. “Put us on a leash, and make sure we only go after the people you don’t like. If you really were my friend, you would have protected me from this.”
Alan sighed. “It’s one thing to act out like a wild child when you’re young and carefree, but now it’s time for you to grow up and accept that there’s a bigger picture. You must learn to do as you’re told.”
“Never,” said Tina.
She surged forward, lifted Alan out of his chair with one hand, and strode over to the nearest window. She drew back a fist to smash the glass, but the window obligingly opened itself for her.
“Tina, please think this through!” said Alan. “You don’t want to do this!”
“Oh, I really think I do,” said Tina.
She threw him out the window, and turned her back on his rapidly fading scream. The window closed itself behind her.
“I thought you liked him,” said Daniel.
“I did,” said Tina. “But no one betrays me and gets away with it.” She looked coldly at Patricia. “Send some of your people to clean the mess off the sidewalk.”
“Of course,” said Patricia.
She got on her phone and murmured quiet instructions. Daniel moved in close beside Tina, but didn’t try to touch her. She was so tense she looked as though she might break.
“Should we be concerned about retaliation from his superiors?” he said carefully.
“He’s not that important,” said Tina. “They’ll understand this is just a message not to mess with us. And besides, we have an army of mercenary soldiers to back us up now.”
“I’ll have a quiet word with Johnny,” said Daniel. “He can use his position as commissioner to run interference. Good thing I didn’t throw him out the window, like I wanted to.”
“I’ve always admired your restraint,” said Tina. She gave him a look that said she was about to change the subject. “At least now we know who was behind the attack on our old building.”
“But why did the Greys decide to launch a preemptive strike?” said Daniel.
“The Greys are more entrenched in our society than the other aliens,” said Patricia. “They’ve learned to think like us. Including Get your retaliation in first.”
“Who knew we’d have so much in common?” said Tina.
Patricia’s phone rang. She listened, murmured a few words, and put it down again.
“It seems we have another visitor on the way up.”
Tina smiled at Daniel. “You can defenestrate this one.”
“You’re so good to me,” said Daniel.
Tina’s smile widened. “I am!”
“While we’re waiting,” said Patricia, “you can give me your report on what happened at the Reptiloid base.”
“They’re dead,” said Daniel.
“Very dead,” said Tina. “And good riddance.”
“I’ll expect a written report on all your actions at some point,” said Patricia.
Daniel looked at her. “Hydes don’t do reports.”
“I’m afraid I must insist,” said Patricia.
Tina smiled easily at her. “Do you want to lose another desk?”
Perhaps fortunately, the door swung open at that point, and William Dee entered the office as though he was on a state visit. He lurched across the room, leaning heavily on a wooden stick with a silver wolfshead handle. He was wearing a smart and surprisingly fashionable suit, though he was so thin he looked like he’d rattle around inside it if he coughed. He headed for the nearest chair and sank down on it with a sigh of relief, before nodding familiarly to Patricia.
“Hello, Pat. Been a while.”
“Hello, William,” said Patricia.
Daniel stared at the armorer. “Do you know everybody?”
“Pretty much,” said Patricia. She looked thoughtfully at William. “I didn’t think you ever left the Albion, these days. That you needed its protections, to keep you safe from all the enemies you’ve made.”
“That’s what I want them to think,” said William. “But there are some seriously old tunnels under the Albion, just waiting to connect me with all kinds of useful places across London.”
“Why are you here?” said Daniel.
William turned stiffly on his chair, and fixed Daniel with a cold, implacable gaze.
“This is my world, and I will do whatever it takes to protect it—including hauling my ancient bones all the way across the city to talk to you in person. The Greys are more powerful than you know. More powerful than anyone knows. You don’t have a hope in hell of defeating them without the support of the Elder Ones.”
“We’ve done all right so far,” said Tina.
“Brute strength and stubbornness can only carry you so far,” said William. “The Greys aren’t like the other aliens.”
“Do you know where their base is?” said Daniel.
“The Greys don’t have a base,” said William. “They live among us, because they can fool us into seeing them as humans.”
“Okay . . .” said Tina. “Major game-changer.”
Daniel frowned. “Are we talking about actual shape-changing, or some kind of illusion?”
“More like a telepathic instruction,” said William, “to make us see what they want us to see.”
“So anyone we meet could be a Grey?” said Tina.
“Of course,” said William. “They’re everywhere.”
Daniel thought about that. If anyone could be a disguised Grey, that would have to include a certain armorer who just turned up out of nowhere, and seemed determined to take control of Jekyll & Hyde Inc.
Tina gave William a hard look. “How can we be sure you’re not a Grey, come to feed us misleading information? How can we be sure of anything you’re telling us?”
“You can’t,” said William, flashing her his unpleasant smile. “Welcome to my world.”
“Is this why you choose to live alone?” said Daniel.
“No,” said William. “I just don’t like people much.”
“Then why are you so keen to save them?” said Tina.
“When everything else has been taken away from you, because you’ve lived too long,” said William, “you still have your duty. A cold comfort, but better than one.”
Daniel looked at Patricia. “Is there anything in the armory that would let us see a Grey as it really is?”
“Let me check some of the darker corners,” said the armorer.
And if you can’t find anything, or say you can’t, thought Daniel, does that tell me something?
“Greys have infiltrated all the corridors of power,” said William, “quietly steering important people to make the decisions they want.”
“What do the Greys want?” Daniel said bluntly.
“Our world,” said William. “But why risk destroying it by fighting a war, when they can persuade us to just hand it over?”
Daniel turned to Tina. “Could this be behind Alan Diment’s ultimatum? Might one of his superiors be a Grey, trying to take us off the table before we can do anything?”
“Could be,” said Tina. “And maybe that is what’s behind Commissioner Hart’s sudden decision to deal himself in.”
“No,” said Daniel. “He’s just a creep.”
“He’s your friend,” said Tina.
Daniel shook his head. “It’s like we can’t trust anyone.”
Tina snorted. “Like we ever did.”
“The Greys are our secret masters,” said William, rapping his stick loudly on the floor to get their attention, “and you have removed all the other alien races who might have got in their way. You have to stop the Greys now, before they can take advantage of the situation you created.”
“No good deed goes unpunished,” said Daniel. “Do the Greys at least have a center of operations?”
“No,” said William. “They use us to get their work done. You can’t attack them without destroying our own infrastructure.”
“Then how are we supposed to stop them?” said Daniel.
“By gathering all the Greys together in one place,” said William. “And then we wipe the bastards out.”
Daniel looked at Patricia. “Do we have a bomb that big?”
“I’ll check the inventory,” said Patricia.
“Aren’t there any nice aliens?” said Tina, just a bit plaintively.
“If there are, they don’t come here,” said William.
“How do we get all the Greys in one place?” said Daniel. “Bait a trap with some alien cheese?”
“By presenting them with a threat so dangerous, they’ll have to turn out in force to stop it,” said William. “I will allow word to get out that I plan to summon the Elder Ones back to this world. The Greys will know it’ll take everything they’ve got to stop that.”
Daniel frowned. “Do the Greys have anything powerful enough to stop the Elder Ones?”
“The Elder Ones could be vulnerable when they first appear in our world,” William said carefully. “They have to download themselves from their higher dimension in order to take on a physical form, and, just possibly, the Greys could interfere with that process.”
Daniel met William’s gaze steadily. “The Elder Ones could be a worse threat to us than the Greys. We can fight aliens, but alien gods?”
“And how can we be sure you’re not persuading us to do what the Greys really want?” said Tina.
William dropped Daniel a roguish wink. “I like her. She’s crafty.” He showed Tina his unpleasant smile again. “You don’t have any choice. The Elder Ones are the only weapon you can use against the Greys.”
“But what are we supposed to do, after the Elder Ones have dealt with the Greys?” said Daniel.
“Make a deal with them,” said William. “They’re not interested in running this world. They just don’t want anyone else to have it.”
“I thought the Elder Ones used to have dominion over the Earth?” said Tina. “And that ever since we booted them out, they’ve been trying to get back in so they can reign again?”
“That’s human thinking,” said William. “They’re so much bigger than that.”
Daniel wasn’t sure he believed that, but said nothing.
“What location did you have in mind, William?” said Patricia.
But before he could say anything the door swung open, and Alan Diment strolled in. He stopped and smiled easily about him, so they could all see how completely unharmed he was. Daniel and Tina moved to stand closer together. Patricia let one hand slip under her desk, as though reaching for a concealed weapon. William swiveled round in his chair, and fixed Alan with a cold, calculating stare. Alan looked from face to face, and his smile never wavered once.
“Hello, everyone. Did you miss me?”
“Next time, I’ll throw you from somewhere higher,” said Tina.
“Wouldn’t do you any good,” said Alan. “Some time ago, my superiors decided I was too valuable to be allowed to die while they still had need of me. So they had me remade and refashioned. I was not consulted. I agreed to a lifetime of service, not a life sentence. But in the end, I knew where my duty lay.”
“You’re immortal?” said Daniel.
“Ask me in a thousand years,” said Alan. “The good news is, I don’t take outbursts of temper personally. I’m still ready to work with Jekyll & Hyde Incorporated to bring down the Greys . . . once you’ve agreed to operate under my department’s authority. There’s nothing like a mutual enemy to bring all sides together. Isn’t that right, William? I overheard your plan, by the way, while I was waiting outside for just the right moment to make my entrance.”
“We won’t work for you,” said Patricia. “But . . . what if we were to offer you something your superiors would want even more than that?”
Alan raised a polite eyebrow. “What did you have in mind?”
“A bottle of the Hyde Elixir,” said Patricia. “For your scientists to study.”
Alan nodded slowly. “Yes . . . that might just do it. But I would have to take the bottle with me, right now.”
Patricia’s hand came up from under the desk, holding one of the bottles Edward had left in the armory. Patricia set it carefully on her desk, and Alan moved quickly forward to snatch it up before she could change her mind.
“A fine vintage, I’m sure.”
“Hold it,” said Daniel. “If you were waiting outside in the corridor, why didn’t Joyce warn us?”
“I’m afraid she’s not around anymore,” said Alan.
Something in his voice put a chill in Daniel’s heart. He hurried over to the door, and looked out into the corridor. There was no sign of Joyce anywhere. He turned and glared at Alan.
“Where is she? What have you done with her?”
“Coming back from the dead always leaves me feeling very hungry,” said Alan. “I’m afraid I just gobbled her up, shoes and all.”
Daniel’s face went very cold. He started forward, and Tina grabbed him quickly by the arm.
“Not now, Daniel. Not while we still need him.”
Daniel looked at her, and then nodded tightly. “We won’t always need him.”
“No,” said Tina. “We won’t.”
Daniel turned back to Alan. “You must have passed lots of people on your way up here. Why choose Joyce?”
“Because he knew her death would hurt you most,” said Tina. “Isn’t that right, Alan?”
“You know me so well, my dear,” said Alan.
“But I was the one who tried to kill you,” said Tina. “Why not hurt me?”
“Haven’t I?” said Alan. “By hurting him?”
“Does Joyce’s death mean we’re even?” said Patricia.
“Oh, of course,” said Alan. He hefted the bottle of Elixir. “This pays for all. For the time being.”
Daniel glared at Patricia. “Joyce liked you! She really liked you!”
“I know,” said Patricia. “But she’s gone, and I have to deal with what’s in front of me.”
Daniel turned his glare on Alan. “I will find a way to kill you.”
“Good luck,” said Alan. “I couldn’t, and I tried really hard. Now, I really must be going.”
“I never knew you at all, did I?” said Tina.
Alan looked at her steadily. “You never knew all of me. Because I only showed you what I wanted you to see.”
“I’ll walk with you, Alan,” said William, levering himself out of his chair with the aid of his stick. “It would appear we have much to discuss.”
“Of course, William,” said Alan.
They left the room together. Daniel turned on Patricia.
“I can’t believe you just gave him the Elixir!”
“His scientists can examine it all they want,” said Patricia. “They won’t get anywhere.”
“I want a bottle of the Elixir,” said Daniel. “Right now.”
Patricia looked at him thoughtfully, and then produced a second bottle from her desk. She held it out, and Daniel took it.
“How did you know I had another bottle?” said Patricia.
“Because I know how you think,” said Daniel.
“I rather doubt that,” said Patricia.
“Why do you want the Elixir, Daniel?” said Tina.
“So that if Diment drinks it, to make himself a Hyde, I can force a second dose down his throat and turn him back,” said Daniel.
“Good thinking,” said Tina.