Rook

willing to take. My cousin had been told I would be sequestering myself in my quarters, and he has always recognized my occasional need for contemplation and strategic planning, so he left me to my solitude. Even if he broke down my door, he would not find a body. Thus,” said the Belgian, “we are free to hammer out the details of our merger. I can present it to my cousin as a fait accompli. If Gerd is unable to cope with it, then I am certain the combined forces of Wetenschappelijk Broederschap van Natuurkundigen and His Majesty’s Hidden Soldiers of the Checquy will be able to subdue him and whatever forces he can muster.” The Belgian sat back with a satisfied smile.
    “Yes, well,” said Myfanwy, “it all sounds delightful, but I am afraid I have some bad news for you. To begin with, your experimental new heart technology still has a few bugs. It hasn’t been weeks in the growing, it’s been months. And whatever project you arranged to tie up your cousin’s attention, um, it didn’t work…” Myfanwy gave him a quick précis of his cousin’s recent activities.
    “… and so it appears that your cousin is dead—killed in the assault,” finished Myfanwy awkwardly.
    “Dead,” repeated the Belgian dully. He had slumped back in the chair and looked a bit shell-shocked. Myfanwy shifted in her uncomfortable seat and wondered if she should offer her condolences.
Maybe the official condolences of the Checquy?
she thought. But she concluded that any sympathies she expressed would be grossly and obviously insincere. She allowed herself to take a good look at the man sittingin front of her. He seemed to be in his midthirties and had the physique of someone who worked out regularly. He had been completely hairless when she walked in the room, but during the course of their conversation, stubble had appeared on his scalp.
    “Dead,” he repeated again quietly. Myfanwy nodded silently. “Still perhaps it is better this way,” he said, sighing. “Gerd would have had problems adjusting to the new situation. He had problems adjusting to lots of things of late.”
    Including the idea of a traceable fax line,
thought Myfanwy irreverently and then tried to quash the thought as unworthy.
    “Graaf von Suchtlen, I’m not empowered to effect a merger between our organizations,” said Myfanwy gently. “You understand, it will have to be presented to the entire Court.” He nodded. “And of course, the Croatoan will need to be involved. Speaking of which, what were your intentions regarding the Americans? Why did you have agents there?” Von Suchtlen looked confused and shook his head helplessly.
    “A Grafter operative was captured in Los Angeles,” Myfanwy explained.
    “Ah, it looks as if Gerd enacted one of our contingency gambits,” he said. “If the Checquy were to become aware of our presence in Britain, we would allow one of our more expendable operatives to be discovered in the United States. This would be a red herring to distract the Croatoan and ensure that they did not provide inconvenient reinforcements to the Checquy.”
    “Huh,” said Myfanwy. “You said the activation of the mold factory in Bath was another of your contingency plans? What about the flesh-cubey guy in Reading?”
    “Not one of mine,” said the Belgian, puzzled. “It sounds as if Gerd was doing a bit of improvising.” Myfanwy looked at him closely, then shrugged.
    I don’t buy it,
she thought,
but this guy had to have known that activating those plans would have prevented the possibility of any compromises. I’ll bet his skinless cousin took a project that was supposed to be a last option and tried to use it as a first strike.
    “Well, as I said, negotiations cannot begin until all the relevant parties are gathered. Still, I’m interested in hearing some of your proposed terms. Are you hungry? I’m always terribly grouchy when I’ve just woken up, and you’ve been growing in a refrigerator for several months.”
    “I
would
like a cup of coffee,” confessed the Belgian.
    “The kitchens are closed for another few hours,” said Myfanwy, “and the office machine is broken. In my residence I have a coffee machine that is exceptionally complicated, but I’m sure I can figure it out. How do you take it?” Myfanwy stood up and moved toward the portrait of Grantchester. The eyes of the portrait caught her gaze.
I suppose somebody will say that we should remove that,
she thought.
    “Black with sugar, please,” said