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“Mmm,” Bethany said. “I didn’t think you were the type to indulge in revenge for its
own sake.”
“Revenge is nice as a side dish, though,” Marla said.
“I’m sure. Capturing him will be more difficult.”
“I don’t care how good he is. He can’t be as good as the two of us working together.”
Marla would have said that with more confidence if Ch’ang Hao had ever answered her
summons, and brought her the rare jungle snake she needed, but with Bethany’s help,
on Bethany’s apparently well-protected turf, they probably did stand a chance against
the mad Aztec.
“You’re probably right,” Bethany said. She went to the control panel and made some
imperceptible adjustments, then returned to her chair. “I’m glad your interests coincide
with my own need for self-preservation. All right. Let’s take him. But you’ll owe me—
and my city—a favor, in exchange for not killing him outright, and letting you get the
information you need. It’s not in my best interests, after all, to keep Mutex alive for any
length of time.”
Marla could appreciate that. “A favor it is.”
“Do you think he’ll come here?”
“He seems to like house calls.”
“How much time do you think we have?”
“No telling. Let’s assume he’ll be along any minute now.”
“Fair enough,” Bethany said. “I should get warning once he opens the main door or
touches the stairs, just like I did with you.”
“And then?”
“Oh, I have tricks. I like building things, and there are lots of nice traps secreted on the
platform. I just hit you with the bright lights to let you know I was watching, but I’ve
got nastier things at my disposal. We’ll hit him with remote Tasers—I’ve got the
wireless kind, where the current travels on a spray of fluid, which comes from nozzles
in the walls. That should drop him for long enough that we can secure and interrogate
him at our leisure. I owe him a little revenge, too. I used to fuck Dalton, sometimes, and
I was fond of him. He wasn’t much in bed alone, but when he brought along a couple of
his mirror-selves, it could be pleasant.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Marla said.
Rondeau burst into the compartment, B close behind. Rondeau had his butterfly knife
open, and B was pale and wide-eyed.
Marla shot to her feet. “Mutex?”