gaze, and all at once his misgiving sharpened into dread. What had he done? He'd just blundered straight into danger. The monster started to move towards him, and Landesman did a smart about-turn and made for the exit.
Then a voice came from a corner of the room.
'No. Stop.'
Landesman heard the Minotaur halt in its tracks. He turned again, to see Sam emerge from behind a shelving unit, one of the few items of furniture in the room still standing upright. She crossed over to the monster, which preened at her approach, offering her its head much as a cat might do when greeting its owner.
'That's enough,' Sam said, scratching the Minotaur between the horns. 'We have Mr Landesman's attention now.'
Landesman recovered his composure, some of it. 'Really, I should deduct this from your wage packet,' he said, waving at the mess. 'It's what any other employer would do. Luckily for you, I'm not that petty. Now, you're quite certain you have that beast fully under your command? It's not going to take against me all of a sudden and charge?'
'That depends. If you're uncooperative, the Minotaur might sense it and not be happy. Then there's no telling what it'll do.'
'I don't believe that,' Landesman replied. 'You're many things, Sam Akehurst, but reckless isn't one of them. Especially when it comes to the welfare of others.'
'I don't know. Perhaps you should try me and see.'
Landesman eyed the Minotaur, then her. 'No,' he said firmly. 'I'm perfectly safe.' He picked up a chair, righted it, dusted off the seat, and sat with his arms folded and ankle on knee. 'So. What shall we talk about? What is it you want? This is about New York, I'm assuming. You're of the opinion that I handled the op poorly. I waltzed us straight into a trap. You even warned me beforehand that you thought Zeus might be setting us up, and I pooh- poohed the notion, and look where it got us. It was a miscalculation on my part. I could have managed things better. There, I've admitted it. Is that good enough for you? I messed up. I shan't again, though. Once bitten, and so on. Happy?'
'No.' Sam took the Minotaur by the arm and steered it to the far end of the room, near the hatch through which meals were served. The massive, hulking creature let itself be led, docile as a donkey. She fetched a dish of fruit and vegetables for it, and the monster got to work noisily and indiscriminately, stuffing apples and broccoli florets into its mouth, green beans and whole tangerines with the skins still on, raw potatoes and handfuls of red grapes. Then she returned to face Landesman, who understood that she had just holstered her gun but could still draw it any time and use it on him. Not that she would. It wasn't in her nature — was it?
'Then what are you after?' he said. 'Need I remind you that New York, although it cost us two of our own, also cost the Olympians dearly. And, furthermore, it appears to have garnered us considerable public support and acclaim. It's even fired up some politicians. Only this morning the new prime minister of Japan announced he's sending a fleet of warships on exercises in the Mediterranean. I say fleet. They're only got about five in total left. But the Mediterranean! A place of about as much strategic important to Japan as the moon. What possible motive can Mr Akiyama have for sending ships there other than to rattle a sabre at the Pantheon? You mark my words, those warships will sail into the Aegean and as far up the north-east coastline of Greece as they can, 'til they're within shelling distance of Mount Olympus — and then Poseidon will sink them. But still. The world will see. The message will have been sent, loud and clear. Japan isn't afraid. Japan is prepared to forfeit its last few naval vessels to show the Olympians how unafraid it is. And where one nation leads, others will surely follow. The New York op has effected a sea change, Sam, a seismic shift in the global mood. Yes, we had to lose Anders and Kerstin in order for that to happen, and it's something I deeply and sincerely regret, but for God's sake, just look at the benefits!'
Sam said nothing.
'I see. Not New York,' said Landesman. 'The Myrmidon Protocol. Is that what's got you so hot under the collar? OK, perhaps I should have come clean. Perhaps I should have shared that little nugget of information with you right from the start. But honestly, would it have helped? You might have refused point-blank to put the battlesuits on, knowing what the nanotech could do, knowing that it wasn't solely there for your protection. I made a judgement call, and on balance I think I got it right. After all, it was possible that the protocol would never have had to be implemented, and then you'd have been none the wiser.'
'Ignorance is bliss, eh?'
'It's not always such a bad principle. Doesn't it tell you something, though, that I am quite happy to put a TITAN suit on, Myrmidon notwithstanding? If I'm not bothered by it, then neither should any of you be. It's only ever to be used in a worst-case scenario, when the suit wearer is long past caring, and there's a failsafe in place to stop it going off accidentally. The suits have built-in cardiac monitors. Myrmidon will not work if the CPU is measuring heart rate activity in the wearer.'
'You know, maybe it says something about me, about how I've changed since becoming a Titan, but I don't actually find the Myrmidon thing that difficult to come to terms with,' Sam said. 'A few months ago I'd have been disgusted. Now, I'm able to see the need, even if the whole idea of it doesn't exactly give me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.'
'You're a more pragmatic person than you used to be.'
'In some respects, yes. I'm more able to see that means are justified by ends. Scruples have to be discarded in order to get the results you crave. You, I imagine, were born knowing that, but it's something I've had to learn.'
'You think all I am is a businessman without scruples? How shallow of you, Sam. If that's really the case, why the Titan project? Why am I here haemorrhaging money over this thing, and now putting my life on the line as well, if I am, as you seem to be implying, an ethics-free zone? What is this campaign I've embarked on if not a selfless, public-spirited act, intended not for my own good but for everyone's?'
'Well, there you have it, Mr Landesman. There we get to the nub of it.'
'I remain in the dark. What has been my sin, Sam? I'm as committed to the cause as you are, isn't that obvious? More committed, I'd say.'
'Some might debate that,' Sam said. 'Some might say that if you were truly committed, you'd have gone to Kerstin's aid in New York instead of just carrying on running up the West Side Highway.'
'I told you at the time,' said Landesman, face reddening, 'I didn't know Hermes had got her.'
'And I told you he had.'
'And I didn't hear!' he barked.
The Minotaur looked up from its meal and grunted a query at Sam. She patted the air, telling it everything was all right.
'It's protective of you,' Landesman murmured. 'Amazing. You have that creature wrapped around your finger.'
'I said I could tame it, and I did,' Sam replied.
'And I never truly doubted you. But as for Kerstin — I swear, if I'd realised, I'd have done something. It's an oversight that will haunt me to my grave. Although, one could argue, could one not, that a leader is entitled to focus on his own safety, to the exclusion of all else, in order to be able to continue to lead.'
'No. One could not argue that. That's not leadership as I understand it.'
'Well, anyway,' Landesman said, 'if my shortcomings in the field are evidence that I'm not worthy of being a Titan, I'd humbly submit that you are in error, and I shall prove it on our next op. So, are we done now?' He made to stand up. 'Only, I have plenty of other matters to attend to.'
'Nearly done.' Sam motioned Landesman to retake his seat, which, somewhat to his own surprise, he did. 'We just have one last thing to discuss, and it's what I brought you down here for.'
'Fair enough. Out with it then.'
'Selfless, you said a moment ago. Public-spirited. For everyone's good.'
'I did say that.'
'Well, forgive me, Mr Landesman,' Sam said, 'but I've never heard such a crock of shit.'
Landesman's circumflex eyebrows shot up. 'I beg your pardon?'
'The truth is, you've lied to us. You've been lying from the start. We're not fighting the Pantheon for some high-minded notion of freeing the world from the yoke of oppression.'
