Deathstalker 01 - Deathstalker

garish paint on his face, this new Valentine seemed altogether more forceful and self-assured. He also seemed a damn sight more dangerous. It was as though the vague, inconsequential dreamer they'd known up till now had been nothing but a mask, discarded now that it was no longer needed, to reveal the true face beneath. David Deathstalker lowered his eyes, unable to meet Valentine's gaze.
    Kid Death studied the new Wolfe thoughtfully and said nothing. Valentine smiled and turned to his troops.
    "You've done well. There will be bonuses for all of you. Now start clearing up.
    I want the bodies taken out, and the carpenters brought in. As from now, this is Tower Wolfe, and I want all the mess out of here and the windows replaced before tonight. I think I'm going to move in here. There's a marvelous view."

    "What about Finlay?" said Kit.
    "What about him?"
    "He escaped, alive and intact. He's out there somewhere, the last surviving Campbell of note. He'll make a dangerous loose end. There's always the chance he might gather the lesser Campbell cousins around him and unite them against you."
    "Even assuming our people don't catch up with him, he won't start anything. He knows he'd lose. Dear Finlay will follow the better part of valor and go to ground. He'll take a new face and a new identity, and that will be the end of Clan Campbell, bad cess to the name. Though it must be said the court will seem a far duller place without his delightful outfits to brighten it up. Fashion will never be the same again."
    "Good," said Kid Death. He looked around at the devastation and the dead, and smiled. "I'm glad I got the chance to see Crawford brought down. He never liked me."
    "We were glad to have you with us," said Valentine. "It was, after all, your links with the cyberat underground that enabled us to take the Campbells by surprise. The Wolfes owe you a debt; you will not find us ungrateful."
    "I'd better not," said Kit, his voice calm and easy and not threatening at all.
    He turned away and clapped David on the shoulder. "I told you you'd see some real action if you stuck with me. Now, I don't know about you, but somewhere a long cold drink is calling my name. Let's go and find it."
    "Damn right," said the young Deathstalker. "Nothing like honest work to give you a thirst."
    They walked out together, David laughing at some comment of Kit's. Valentine watched them go, and Daniel moved in beside him.
    "Shouldn't we have said something about the knife in Summerlsle's back?"

    "Oh, I'm sure someone will mention it to him."
    Daniel sniffed. "Since when did those two become such good friends? I didn't think Kid Death had any friends."
    "It's a fairly recent phenomenon, from what I hear," said Valentine. "Presumably they have similar interests. Blood and slaughter and the like." He shrugged dismissively and moved over to the great wooden table, miraculously unscathed by the recent conflict. He looked down into one of the monitors, and a cyberat face grinned back at him. Valentine nodded courteously. "My thanks for your help in this. You have my word as Wolfe that as soon as the Campbells' advanced technology is in our hands, it will be made available to you, so that we can both share in its uses."
    "That's all we ever wanted," said the cyberat. "We'd have been just as happy to make a deal with the Campbells, but they just turned up their noses and wouldn't talk to the likes of us. Serves them right. No one does that to the cyberats and gets away with it. Nobody. Talk to you later, Wolfe."
    The monitor screen went blank. Valentine nodded thoughtfully. The cyberat's threat hadn't been particularly subtle, but then, cyberats weren't particularly subtle people away from their machines. Valentine found that rather refreshing after the double meanings and hidden purposes of what passed for conversation at court. He looked up and gestured to Daniel, who moved over to join him.
    "I'd really like to be alone now, Daniel. Just for a while. This has all been very sudden and unexpected, and I need some time to put my thoughts in order.
    Will you take the news back to Constance and Stephanie after all? I think they might take it better from you."
    "If that's what you want. Will you be long?"

    "I shouldn't think so. Take the troops with you. They can start work later."
    Daniel nodded, and looked back at their father's body. The troops had laid it out respectfully to one side, away from the carnage. "I often wished he was dead," Daniel said