Deathstalker 07 - Deathstalker Return

but it cost less than she expected. Perhaps the big gun she let the man glimpse on her hip had something to do with that. The attendant let her into the cold room, told her she had ten minutes tops, and then went back to watching James's funeral procession on the viewscreen in his pokey little office. Emma was lying on a metal slab, identified only by a number. She was wearing a regulation white shift, and a cloth to cover the damage done to her head. Nina trailed her fingertips across Emma's cold brown cheek. She'd meant to say so many things to Emma, promises of revenge and retribution and more, but now… it all seemed so small, in the face of death.
    Emma seemed smaller, diminished, like an exquisite doll that had been carelessly handled and crushed.
    Something infinitely precious, forever ruined. She should have been left in her Paragon's armor, at least.
    She'd earned the right to lie in full honors. But by attacking Anne Barclay, she'd been condemned as just another traitor. Just another Paragon gone bad. Nina couldn't believe it, when the news came into the media office where she was trying to get some work done, while waiting for Emma to come back. Anne Barclay? There really wasn't anyone you could trust, after all.
    "They struck you down from behind," Nina said finally, her voice small and lost in the overpowering silence of the cold room. "It was the only way they could have brought you down. They always were afraid to face you. But they'll pay for this, Emma, all of them. With your help." Her hand went to her sleeve, and the hidden Paragon's skeleton key that Emma had left behind, along with her handwritten notes. "I have a plan, Emma. A simple plan, perhaps, but then I never was a very complicated person.
    I'm going to tear down Finn's rotten regime, and dance on its ashes. All for you, my darling Emma. All for you."
    Stuart Lennox was chained to the wall of his holding cell with heavy steel chains that clinked loudly every time he moved his wrists. He was waiting to be moved to maximum security, but no one was in any rush.
    He was supposed to be doped to keep him quiet, but the prison doctor had said he was too frail yet. It didn't matter. They all knew a broken man when they saw one. They'd left him a protein cube and a cup of water, but he hadn't touched them.
    He was too busy thinking.
    Even after all that had happened, up until today he'd still clung to his belief in Finn. Belief that deep down, the man cared for him. Loved him, in his way. It was hard to realize he'd been such a fool. The day's events had been like a shock of cold water in the face, waking him from a self-indulgent dream.
    Well, he was awake now, and his mind was sharp and focused again. Sooner or later they would come for him, and seeing only a frail broken man, they would be relaxed and careless. They would make a mistake, give him an opening, and then… Stuart Lennox would show them all that he was still a Paragon.
    He picked up the protein cube, took a firm bite, and chewed hungrily.
    There was a commotion outside his cell, and Stuart looked round curiously. There was scuffling and shouting, and the sudden sharp sound of an energy gun firing at close range. Stuart was on his feet in a moment. Something was happening. He could feel it. He took hold of his chains in both hands, ready to use them as a weapon if necessary. The lock on the heavy steel door snapped open, and Stuart braced himself, ready for one last chance at escape or revenge. Or at least a chance to die bravely. The door swung open, and a young woman in black—with a tall pink mohawk, a really big gun in one hand, and a Paragon's skeleton key in the other—grinned at him cheerfully.
    "Hi there! I'm Nina Malapert, demon girl reporter. Emma Steel was my partner and my friend, and Finn's people killed her. So I thought maybe you and I could get together and do something about it.
    What do you think, sweetie?"
    "Sounds like a plan to me," said Stuart. "Unlock these chains and just point me at the bastards."
    Nina flashed him another brilliant smile, and used her skeleton key on his chains. She had to support some of his weight as they left the cell. Stuart hadn't realized just how weak he'd become. Outside, the reception area was trashed, and there was a dead guard behind the main desk, and another lying on the floor. Nina hurried him past them.
    "Sorry about the mess, but they weren't as open to reason and bribes as I'd hoped. Gosh, there isn't much of you, is