Mafia don? Posing, hell. he was running one of the biggest Family operations on the entire East Coast!
It didn’t make any sense. The T.I.A. didn't work that way. The only other possible explanation seemed to be that Manelli was in the Underground, but then he had said he wasn't. 'No. Not exactly,' was what he had said. Now what did that mean?
Either he was or he wasn't. And why did he seem so interested in Hunter being a deserter, a conclusion be had incorrectly jumped to and one that Hunter had seen no reason to dissuade him from. The idea of Hunter being a deserter from the Temporal Corps had definitely appealed to Manelli. And that would have made sense if Manelli was in the
Underground. But then be bad said he wasn't. 'No. Not exactly. “ The response was maddening. Why the qualifier? It seemed to imply that be was either indirectly associated with the Underground.. or perhaps with some- thing like it. Only what?
Hunter's mind kept going around in circles and he was getting nowhere. One thing was certain. He'd been careless and now he was in a lot of trouble. If he was going to attempt escape, he'd damn well better get it done soon, before Manelli returned with his silent, deadly looking friend in the violently flamboyant suit. The eyes on that man worried him. They weren't evil eyes, like Vincent's, nor were they expressionless, like the flat-dead stare of a psychotic. They were calm. Confident.
Attentive. They were the eyes of a man who did not overreact or panic. The eyes of a pro. A pro with a warp disc. And, once again, that brought Hunter back to the
T.I.A. and that made no sense whatsoever. Unless.
The door behind him opened.
'Well, well,' said a deep, baritone voice. 'Capt. Hunter.
Imagine meeting you here. '
Hunter looked up into the face of Nikolai Drakov and his heart sank. That's it, he thought. I'm dead.
Finn Delaney remained long enough to make sure that Forrester had made it safely to the hospital and that Dr. Hazen was in attendance, with a sizeable force of heavily armed LS.O. men on the premises, then he checked out a floater pak and prepared to clock out to the past, to the co-ordinates that Gulliver had supplied them with. With Forrester out of commission, Steiger had to remain behind at headquarters and assume command.
'It never should've happened,' Steiger had said, after they had viewed the tapes taken from the disabled security system. They saw how the courier, 'Stroud,' had smuggled the Lilliput commandos right up to the penthouse security station in his briefcase and they saw how the attack had commenced, up to the moment that the miniature assassins had knocked out the
security system. Steiger was disgusted. 'That son of a bitch just walked right in.'
'Well, he did have proper credentials,' said Delaney. 'And no one ever expected him to be carrying an entire commando assault force in that briefcase.'
'That's precisely the point,” Steiger had said. 'We should've been expecting it!
We'd been warned! Christ, my own brother had been killed by those little bastards and I was still asleep at the wheel!'
'You were clocked out on a mission, Creed-'
'It doesn't, make any difference, dammit! I should've made sure my people were prepared! I was in command of the I.S.O.; it was my responsibility.'
'Don't be so hard on yourself. Creed,' Delaney said. 'What happened to Sandy wasn't your fault. Neither was what happened to the old man. There was no warning with Sandy, no way anybody could have known. And as for the old man, we were expecting the Network to make a try for him, not Nikolai Drakov.'
'Yeah, and that's another thing that's got me worried,'
Steiger said. 'You said you actually saw Drakov die.'
Delaney nodded. 'Forrester shot him point blank with a plasma gun.'
'So how the hell can he still be alive?'
Delaney shook his head. 'Hell, I don't know, Creed. But Andre saw Lucas get killed right before her eyes and he's still alive. I'm not discounting anything. One way or another, I aim to find out the truth..
'Well, while you're at it, keep this in mind,' said Steiger. 'The Network's got a contract out on Forrester. My brother was killed in what seemed to be a practice exercise for what just went down here. And we still don't know who 'Stroud' was.
His credentials were good, which suggests the possibility that he was on the inside.
If it turns out that Stroud was an agency mole for the Network, then assuming
Drakov is still alive and responsible for this 'Lilliput legion,' that means he's working with the Network.'
'Jesus,' said Delaney, 'that didn't even occur to me.' 'Maybe you should take somebody back with you,' said Steiger.
'There's no point in pulling someone off another team,'
Delaney replied. 'We've all got more than enough to worry about. Besides, now that Lucas is back, we're up to full strength again.' He paused awkwardly. 'Uh, sorry, I didn't mean that quite the way it came out.'
'It's all right, I understand,' said Steiger. 'I just hope you know what you're doing.'
'What's that supposed to mean?'
'Just that you and Andre seem pretty convinced that he's really Lucas
Priest.'
'You're not?'
'Well, I don't know him as well as you two did,' said Steiger, 'but I'm reserving my judgement until I've had a chance to speak with Dr. Darkness.' He sighed. 'It's a wild story. I don't know what the hell to believe. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I want to think he's an impostor who's been cleverly coached by someone from the other side, but if it really is him, then I'm worried about the consequences of his coming back to life like that.'
'Look if I'm out of line, just say so,' said Delaney, 'but are you sure your concerns don't stem from the fact that Darkness can't do the same thing for your brother?'
'No, I don't think so,' Steiger said, after thinking it over for a moment. 'I wouldn't have qualified my answer except for the fact that I'm still pretty tom up about
Sandy's death. Still, I know the circumstances weren't the same. At least I understand that intellectually. Whether or not I understand it in my gut is something I can't say for sure yet. But either way, it makes no difference. What matters is the truth. Maybe I've been in the agency too long, but I simply can't take anything or anyone at face value anymore. Be careful, my friend. Watch your step.'
'Believe-it, Creed, if that isn't Lucas, I'll know it. And I'm sure Andre will know it, too. '
'Maybe,' said Steiger. 'On the other hand, maybe she'll subconsciously decide to fool herself. I'm not saying that anything was going on there, it's none of my business, but it didn't take a genius to see that they had some strong feelings for each other. Or at least she did. I'm not sure I'd count too heavily on her judgement right now.'
'Point taken,' Delaney said. 'But even if Andre could be fooled, I don't think I could. Lucas and I go back a long, long Time. I know him like I know myself. I know how he reacts, how he thinks. If that isn't Lucas Priest, believe me, he'll wish he was dead.'
What neither of them had voiced was the unsettling possibility that if Drakov really was alive and creating Lilliputians, then he might have created another Lucas
Priest, as well. Drakov had studied under the tutelage of a master, the infamous Dr.
Moreau, and he had continued where Moreau left off, using his discoveries to genetically engineer such horrifying creatures as harpies, werewolves and vampires. For a man who could accomplish all. that, how difficult would it be to create a 'fake' Lucas Priest? They had been in his custody before. He could have taken his raw material directly from Lucas himself.
And that could also explain how Drakov had survived. If it was indeed Drakov they were facing. He might have replicated himself. Or perhaps, given the reality bending conditions imposed by time travel, they were encountering Drakov before
Forrester had killed him. Or what Darkness had done in bringing Lucas back to life had somehow resulted in a temporal disruption that had also cancelled out the death of Nikolai Drakov. Either way, the implications were frightening to consider.
Delaney took one last drag, crushed his cigarette out beneath his boot and programmed the co-ordinates for
