Tunnels 04, Closer

telephone link you called me on?"
    "Certainly is," Will answered, as he pushed the door open.
    Wandering in, Drake gave the room the once-over.
    He froze.
    "What's that?" he said suddenly.
    "What's what?" Surprised that Drake had drawn his handgun, Will stepped from behind him to see hat he was referring to.
    Drake's eyes were fixed on the bench. In front of the main radio was a model soldier, barely more than a centimeter tall.
    "Did you know that was there?" Drake demanded urgently.
    "No way," Will replied. "And I've no idea where it's come from."
    Drake moved closer to it. "What about you, Elliott?" he asked. "Know anything about this?"
    "Not me," she said.
    Will reached toward the soldier.
    "No! Don't touch it!" Drake warned, as he ducked down to look under the bench. Once he was satisfied, he got back up and checked the area immediately around the figure. "No wires, no traps," he said under his breath, then very carefully picked the figure up.
    As Drake held it up to the light, Will could see that it wasn't a modern soldier, but one from an old campaign. Sporting some sort of Admiral's hat, and with a cavalry sword hanging from a belt around its waist, it appeared to be writing on a map, or perhaps a battle plan.
    But the oddest thing was that the figure's long jacket and trousers had been painted to resemble the camouflage of a Limiter's combats. And it was a perfect copy of this camouflage -- the disruptive pattern consisting of rectangular patches of light and dark brown.
    Will frowned with incomprehension. It might have only been a model soldier, but it was certainly a menacing one. "It looks like a Limiter, but it's d--" he started to say.
    "It the Iron Duke. The Battle of Waterloo is his great passion," Drake cut him short. "This is the Duke of Wellington, but Eddie style."
    There was a sharp intake of breath from Elliott. "Isn't that what you called my father?"
    "I don't understand. Was Wellington a Styx then?" Will asked.
    Drake turned to him. "No, I don't think so -- just a brilliant tactician, and Eddie admired him for it, and the way he trounced Napoleon. But tell me -- I need to know when you were last in here."
    "More than two days ago... when I made the calls to you," the boy answered, trying to remember. "But no... hold on... I did come in once after that."
    "When, exactly? This is important," Drake snapped.
    "Probably ten or twelve hours ago. And I'm absolutely positive the soldier wasn't there then," Will replied.
    "So, while we slept, my father's been here... and he sneaked this in," Elliott reasoned, then frowned. "And Bartleby didn't hear him?"
    Drake passed her the model soldier. "He's a Limiter, isn't he?" he merely said in explanation. "Right, both of you grab yourselves a weapon..." he began, then caught himself. "Elliott, you need to tell me now that you're okay with this? I'm not the best friends with your old man, and if I come across him here, I will use ultimate force. I will shoot to kill."
    Elliott didn't hesitate in her response. "Sure, ultimate force. He means nothing to me," she confirmed.
    "Good," Drake said, with a brief smile, but his eyes were deadly serious. "Now we're going to comb every damned inch of this place."

    * * * * *

    They first went to see if there was another vessel hidden on the quayside or in the harbor, as Eddie would have required one for the journey down the river. But other than the launch that Drake had just arrived in, they found nothing. Then they systematically checked and rechecked the fallout shelter, each of the outbuildings, and every nook and cranny in the harbor. Working as a team and armed to the teeth, it took them several hours to finish the job. And although they'd put Bartleby into play with his acute sense of smell, the Hunter seemed unable to find anything either.
    A they made their way back to the shelter, Drake was still looking around nervously.
    "Just because we can't find him, doesn't mean he's not here," he said. "I suggest we pack up and split from this place."
    "You bet," Will and Elliott chorused.

33

    In one of the upper levels of the Styx Citadel, the corridor outside the old Styx's rooms was filled with a long queue of those he'd summoned to report to him. This was the most important floor of the whole building, from where all the Styx's major operations were orchestrated. Despite this, it was virtually indistinguishable from the rest of the Citadel; with its unadorned white walls and stone floors, dingily lit with only the