Deathstalker 05 - Deathstalker Destiny

enough to get us both killed. But since we're here… and I have no intention of going back without a whole bunch of answers…
    Grace took over the day-to-day running of Clan Shreck, after Gregor was murdered by Finlay Campbell. Suited me just fine, at the time. The last thing I needed was more work and more responsibilities. Until the Family bank alerted me, on the quiet, that Grace had been authorizing some very… unorthodox expenditures.
    Many of them borderline illegal, not to mention immoral. Very unlike dear old-fashioned aunt Grace.
    "So I checked it out. Grace had all sorts of elaborate security measures in place, but you can't keep a Shreck out of Shreck computers. It turned out that among many dubious and downright disreputable rackets, Grace had been quietly running a very discreet shipping service, specializing in transporting the kind of goods owners prefer not to describe too specifically. If at all. To my surprise, not to mention outright shock, when I compared the schedules with my own current area of interest, it turned out that one of these ships almost certainly brought the carrier of the nano plague to Golgotha."
    "Wait a minute, wait a minute," said Flynn. "Are you saying the nano plague's being spread by a single carrier?"
    "Right. A Typhoid Mary, infected with the plague but not affected by it. And he came here on a Shreck ship. Grace's ship."
    "We're talking treason here," said Flynn carefully. "Can you prove any of this?"
    "Some of it. Enough to make it vital I talk with Grace before I go public.
    Another rogue Shreck like Gregor, and the Clan will be disgraced beyond saving.
    I have to give Grace a chance to explain herself. It's just possible she's being used as a front by someone else. Certainly none of this sounds anything like the aunt Grace I've always known."
    "Have you tried calling her?"
    "She won't take my calls. And now she's blocked my line to Clarissa. So we're going in."
    "I love this we bit." Flynn studied the gates dubiously. "They appear to be locked."
    Toby snorted. "I was cracking the locks on these gates back when I was fifteen, and heading out for a night on the town."
    He produced a set of efficient and highly illegal lock-picks, and had the gates open in a matter of seconds. Flynn discreetly pointed his camera in another direction. The gate hinges squealed noisily as Toby pushed them open, and the sound seemed very loud in the quiet. Toby and Flynn froze in place for a moment, but there were no alarms, no sudden lights or raised voices, and after a moment they pressed on. The garden had overgrown the main path, and they had to push their way past overhanging branches and outcropping rose bushes. It was very dark, once they moved out of the range of the streetlights. Toby followed his old memories, from late night and early morning returns after teenage revels, and Flynn stuck close to Toby. Every sound they made seemed to carry and echo on the still air. They came at last to the front door, and Toby came to a halt so suddenly Flynn almost ran into the back of him. There was a small light on over the door, which stood wide open.
    "Damn," said Toby tonelessly. "They know we're here."
    "They?" said Flynn. "Who's this they! I thought you said Grace was behind all this."
    "There's always a they. Grace couldn't have done this alone. She wouldn't have known how. Follow me in, Flynn. Stay close, and keep that camera going, whatever happens. And if I say run, don't hang about or you'll be following me all the way out. Got it?"
    "Got it, Boss."
    Toby strode forward into the gloom of the hallway beyond the front door, and Flynn was right there with him, almost treading on his heels. Toby found the light switches, and turned them all on. The hall blazed into being around them, and they both waited a minute for their eyes to adjust to the new light. The first thing Toby noticed was that there was dust everywhere. He frowned. Grace had always been so house proud. He led the way through the house, finding only empty rooms and more dust. The whole place might have been utterly deserted. He came at last to the heavy doors leading to Grace's main reception room, and he hesitated only a moment before pushing them open and storming in. The room was brightly lit, and there was Grace Shreck, sitting stiffly in her chair beside the fire, as always. And standing by her side was the Speaker of the House, Elias Gutman. They both nodded courteously to Toby and Flynn.
    "Well," said Toby. "That