was the Campbell now. He didn't give a damn. Gerald and William were dead, too, but he'd mourn them later. He looked back at Adrienne, but she was lost in her own world of shock and pain. He was alone, the last of the Campbells, with all hands turned against him. No other Clan would support him; the Families had no time for losers. So let Finlay die too now; that life was over. All that was left was the Gladiator, the underground… and Evangeline Shreck. That last thought calmed him, and he turned the sled in a new direction. Evangeline would help him and Adrienne. She had to.
Back in Tower Campbell, Valentine Wolfe fought on, the battle drugs singing in his veins as he cut down foe after foe. There didn't seem as many as there had been before, but still he cut and hacked with bloody abandon, his scarlet mouth stretched in a death's-head grin. And then hands grabbed his arms, holding him still despite all his efforts, and a familiar face loomed up before him. Valentine breathed harshly as his gaze cleared, and there was Daniel, standing a cautious distance away. He glared at Valentine.
'Are you back with us now, Valentine? Do you know what you've done?'
Valentine concentrated, and new chemicals ran through his system, purging out the battle drugs. His mind cleared quickly, and he looked warily at Daniel. How much did his brother know? He slowly realized that the fighting was over, and that the men holding him were all wearing Wolfe emblems. They didn't look at all pleased with him.
'All right,' he said calmly. 'I'm back. What's the situation, Daniel? We did win, I take it?'
'We won some time ago,' said Daniel. 'The Campbells are dead or fled, and their men surrendered. But you were so out of your mind, you couldn't tell. You've spent the last few minutes cutting down our own men!'
'Ah,' said Valentine. 'Sorry about that. I got a bit carried away. What are our losses?'
'Apart from the men you just butchered?'
'I said I was sorry. Where's Father?'
Daniels' face suddenly crumpled as the anger went out of it, replaced by what seemed to Valentine to be honest grief. Daniel gestured harshly to the men holding Valentine, and they reluctantly released him. They didn't move far away, though, and they kept their hands near their guns. Valentine ostentatiously sheathed his sword. Daniel gestured at the bodies lying scattered across the room and made his way slowly through them.
'Father is dead. We found him lying beside the body of the Campbell. They must have killed each other. All the Campbells are dead except Finlay, and possibly Adrienne. They got away on a gravity sled. Our people aren't far behind them. Either way, Clan Campbell is broken forever.' He stopped and knelt beside the body of Jacob Wolfe. 'He should never have come with us. He was getting too old for this, but he wouldn't listen. He never listened. What are we going to tell Constance?'
'I'll tell her,' said Valentine. 'I'm the Wolfe now, regrettable though that may be.' He waited for Daniel to object, but all the strength seemed to have gone out of him, and he remained kneeling beside his dead father. Valentine turned away, and his gaze fell upon Razor. The Investigator still had his sword in his hand, but he was surrounded by men armed with disrupters. He didn't look at all beaten, just outnumbered. Valentine moved across to him, carefully stepping over the bodies, and bowed courteously.
'I congratulate you on your survival. Investigator. It would be a shame to lose such talents as yours.'
'David and I finally dueled him to a standstill,' said Kit Summerlsle. 'Took everything we had, though.'
'You will both be rewarded,' said Valentine. 'Clan Wolfe remembers its friends.' He looked back at Razor. 'Be our friend, Investigator. Your fight here is over. Clan Campbell is broken and dispersed. You are free to join us, or leave, as you wish.'
Razor nodded once, sheathed his sword, and walked toward the door. Valentine gestured, and everyone fell back to give Razor plenty of room. He left and shut the door behind him, and everyone in the room relaxed a little. No one had really wanted to take on an Investigator again; not even Kid Death and the Deathstalker, both of whom had a sneaking suspicion Razor had really only surrendered because he saw the main fight was over. Valentine looked thoughtfully at the surviving Campbell troops and gestured at the door, and they filed out quickly before he changed his mind. Valentine smiled. He could have had them killed, but it was important to establish the new Wolfe as an honorable man. Besides, he might need to hire them someday, or others like them, and it never hurt to build up a little good will among the mercenary community.
Especially after cutting down some of his own men.
'You fought well. Valentine,' said Kit. 'If a trifle indiscriminately. I have to say you did much better than your reputation led me to believe, given your… unusual lifestyle.'
Valentine smiled easily. 'Battle drugs. The very latest, fresh off the military shelf. I've always believed there's a chemical for every occasion.'
The young Deathstalker sniffed. 'Drugs again. I might have known.'
He might have been going to say something more, but at that point he saw the look in Valentine's mascaraed eyes and decided he'd said enough. For all the 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
