They all made hasty noises of agreement and she favored them all with a predatory smile.

  “That is so nice to hear,” she assured them. “I will send alliance agreements shortly. Be sure to have them signed and returned to me within the hour. Understood?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” came as a classroom chorus.

  Elizabeth let the words die away and looked out at them with a firm gaze. “To be sure,” she told them, her voice like ice, “you will provide me with the materials I requested, and they will be of the quality required and provided in the timeframe I need or I will hunt each and every one of you to oblivion.”

  She watched their faces for a moment before she added, “There will be no safe place in this universe.”

  On that note, she had BURT cut the link.

  “Are they sent?” she asked as soon as he signaled that she was clear.

  “Yes, they are,” he reassured her. “They are creating much debate.”

  “And will they sign?”

  “Each and every one,” he told her. “They’re signing as we speak and will read the contracts and whine about them afterward.”

  He was silent a moment, then added, “What did you do to become such a nightmare figure?”

  Elizabeth’s smile, seen via a nearby surveillance camera, gave him chills.

  “I was many things, BURT.”

  Arne glanced at Matthias and saw the same question on the commander’s face as the one that ran through his mind. Exactly what, and who, and how long for?

  Marcus Rimmer pushed his fingers through his hair and stared at the computer screen. To be precise, he stared at his inbox and the email he’d waited anxiously for. The only problem was that he was almost too scared to open it.

  He could hear his assistant moving around the lab and toyed with the idea of sending her away, but he decided that smacked too much of cowardice. Instead, he extended his hand slowly toward the keyboard with a heavy sigh.

  The sound of her voice startled him. “Do you want me to leave, Doctor Rimmer?”

  Her question made him look toward her and he saw she’d already started to move toward the door.

  “No. It’s all right. You can stay.”

  She nodded and her gaze drifted to the computer screen before it settled on his face. In the end, she didn’t ask what he was worried about but returned to recording the results of the experiments he had in progress.

  He watched her work until he felt ready to face the screen again. The email hadn’t gone anywhere.

  Marcus sighed once more and bowed his head. Finally, he laced his fingers together and pushed them out in front of him before he unlaced them and placed them firmly on the keyboard.

  “Let’s do this thing,” he murmured and double-clicked the email entry.

  This was the moment in which he would discover if Stephanie would let him work on a project he’d done his best to reject. Now, he was afraid the Witch would reject him. If she didn’t…well, he honestly didn’t want to consider that option.

  His gaze skimmed the message.

  “Dear Doctor Rimmer,” he muttered, reading it out loud, “we thank you for your interest in….blah blah blah…”

  Unable to take it in, he paused for a moment before he continued. “We remind you that you will operate under a strict NDA and that—” He groaned in frustration. “Oh, come on! Where did you put the good stuff?”

  He breathed deeply in an effort to curb his impatience. “Blah blah…unique technology combining…” He glanced at his assistant, but she worked busily at another station.

  “So, am I in or not?” He thumped a fist onto his desk and made the keyboard jump, then forced himself to keep reading until he reached the end. “…would like to welcome you abo—”

  The door to the lab opened and one of his PhD students came into the room. “Doctor Rimmer? I had a tho—”

  “Haven’t you heard of knocking?” Marcus shouted and pushed to his feet as he jerked a finger toward the door. “Get out!”

  The young man’s mouth fell open and he stopped in mid-stride.

  “Get! Out!” he roared, and the student back-pedaled, reversed out the door, and yanked it closed abruptly.

  “Fuckwit…” he mumbled and flopped into his chair.

  “Doctor Rimmer!” his assistant exclaimed before he could focus on the email. She continued before he had a chance to ask her what she wanted. “That was—” She paused and hastily changed what she might have been about to say. “That was very unkind of you,” she continued and sounded disappointed, “and…and most unbecoming.”

  “What? Why?” He watched as her face flushed red.

  “Well, because…because there is no way the Morgana will work with someone who treats others like…like dirt.”

  “But…but I didn’t…” he protested, puzzled as to what she might mean.

  His reply only seemed to make her mad and she’d never been angry with him before—had she?

  He paused for a moment to reflect on that and finally concluded that no, she hadn’t. When he looked at her face, he realized she might actually be very angry with him and he couldn’t fathom why.

  She bustled over to his computer.

  “May I?” she demanded and he knew it wasn’t a question.

  Nodding dumbly, he simply watched as she reached past him and tapped a few keys savagely. He opened his mouth to protest but took one look at her face and decided against it. He’d never seen her look quite like that and it unnerved him.

  “There!” she exclaimed as the security footage filled the screen. “Look at that poor boy’s body language. You really hurt his feelings.”

  “I…what?”

  “Look at him. He was so excited to be able to give you some good news,” she told him, “and look what you did to him.”

  “I—”

  “See?” she continued and indicated the boy as the Marcus on-screen asked if he’d ever heard of knocking. “That was not the reaction he expected. And look at this…”

  She tapped the screen to show him the way the student’s body had shifted through surprise to shock to disappointment.

  “There! That look. It’s like you kicked a puppy,” she snapped at him. “You’re his hero, his mentor. He practically worships the ground you walk on.”

  That was news to Rimmer and his face must have said as much because she gave him a grim smile.

  “Yes, you never thought of that, did you?”

  “I—”

  She held a hand up and he stopped. He’d never seen her like this…ever. Now, he understood what her husband might see in her. It almost made him wish—

  He shook his head.

  “Well, you know what they say about meeting your heroes in person, don’t you?” he began. “He should have known better than to—”

  “Don’t even go there!” she interjected angrily. “Honestly, you’re worse than my kids.”

  He was?

  His assistant didn’t give him time to catch up. She stooped to look him right in the eye. “Look, science is hard. We make it hard to help create a shell, but…”

  Rimmer looked around and scowled. Of course science was bloody hard. Not simply any idiot could do it. It wasn’t like the ordinary Joe on the street had the brain cells for it—and of those who did, most preferred to waste them on the football or the cricket or some other stupid bloody sport.

  All of which only made what his assistant was saying more important.

  Without saying anything, he shoved his chair away from the desk and stormed over to the door. With any luck, the kid hadn’t gone too far. He’d probably taken shelter in the coffee room.

  “Phillip?” he called and heard the tell-tale clatter of a cup and scrape of a chair.

  “Yes, Professor?”

  Was it his imagination or did the boy’s voice waver?

  Rather than return to his office, Marcus waited in the corridor and until the student emerged from the coffee room. What he saw made his heart fall.

  The kid’s shoulders drooped, and his head hung. The look he gave him was wary and all traces of excitement had vanished.

  Oh. Well, damn.

  “Come in,” he invited and waited until Phillip came into his office.

  Glancing around, he saw no sign of his assistant. Instead of going in search of her, he kicked the door closed and focused on his student.

  “Look, Phillip, I wanted to apologize for snapping at you before. You caught me in the middle of something and I didn’t react well. Let me explain what I was trying to say.”

  The boy raised his head. “I think your meaning was very clear, sir.”

  Was the boy sassing him?

  Marcus’s eyes widened but he spoke regardless. “Well, I want to explain, anyway, without approving of how I delivered my message, okay?”

  Phillip shrugged but didn’t answer. He took that as permission to continue.

  “What I was trying to express was that I needed a moment to digest some career-changing news and that I would be with you in a minute.” He paused, pleased to see some of the tension ease out of the boy’s shoulders. “That minute is now if you still want to talk to me.”

  The student did. “Oh. Well, sir, you know that glitch we hit…”

  Two hours later, Marcus breathed a sigh of relief as the door clicked shut. Once he was sure the boy wasn’t about to return, he leaned back in his chair with another sigh.

  His assistant chose that moment to reappear and chuckled as she passed him, her handbag over her shoulder and her car keys in hand. “I’ll catch you in the morning, Doc.”

  He flapped his hand at her and rested his head on his desk.

  “Man,” he muttered after the door had closed a second time, “if the Morgana doesn’t kill me, the thawing of my heart will break the rest of my body, for sure.”

  Avery and Brenden dropped the shuttle onto a rooftop overlooking the Seine and Elizabeth was relieved to see the security vehicles keep flying.

  “I thought you said we had clearance,” she grumbled to BURT and noticed how Matthias and Arne hadn’t taken their eyes off the two Falcons.

  The first thing he had asked was if they had any anti-aircraft weapons on the shuttle. Johnny had told him no before Elizabeth could answer.

  It wasn’t true, but there was no way she would let her man or his watchdog anywhere near that kind of equipment. Not tonight. They were there to celebrate…and maybe she and Matthias could get to know each other better.

  Maybe.

  Quickly, she unclipped her harness, glad Stephanie had insisted she borrow the shuttle and Brenden and Avery. Johnny had come along as shuttle chaperone, and they’d agreed she needed to expand her security detail from four to six.

  Johnny stood at the door, one hand on the latch as he waited for her to get herself together. He wore a tux, she noticed, and realized he must have shucked the fatigues he’d been wearing before they’d landed.

  She’d been too busy watching the security escort to notice.

  Now that they were gone, she glanced at Matthias and noticed he’d mirrored her action with the harness and now waited for her to make the next move.

  “Shall we?” she asked, pushed to her feet, and extended her hand. His smile surprised her.

  “You mean it’s really going to happen?” he asked.

  Elizabeth frowned. “What’s really going to happen?”

  “Our date,” he answered and his smile faded as he gestured toward the door. “Here…wherever it is.”

  It was her turn to smile. “What makes you think this is a date?” she teased. “I’m merely out to celebrate.”

  For a minute, he looked shocked but quickly rallied.

  “If it was a celebratory dinner,” he told her, “you’d have brought the rest of the team so it has to be a date.”

  Elizabeth led the way to the hatch and neither confirmed nor denied his theory.

  Matthias stared after her, dumbfounded. “Well?”

  She smirked as she tugged on his hand. “We’ll see.”

  He groaned but followed her, going red to the ears. Arne exchanged a glance with Amy and the two security leads snickered. They stopped the couple before they reached the door.

  “Date or not,” the woman told her boss firmly, “we still go first.”

  Ms E raised her eyebrows. “You’re both welcome to go anywhere you like once you’re off duty.”

  Amy’s mouth dropped open, and Arne blushed red to his hairline. She gave them a slight smile and gestured to the hatchway. “After you.”

  They took a moment to compose themselves and moved out quickly to ensure the roof was clear. Two waiters stood at the open door leading from the shuttle pad to the restaurant proper.

  “Welc—” one began, but Amy cut him short.

  “Elizabeth will follow shortly. If you would show us where she will dine?”

  He gulped, blinked, then registered the combat armor and array of weapons she carried. His partner recovered much more quickly. “If you would step this way?”

  Arne squashed the urge to imitate the man’s exact movement as they were led into a wide corridor. Even this part of the place screamed luxury, and he had to wonder how Elizabeth had managed to reserve the entire place for herself.

  His thoughts didn’t distract him from the task at hand, however, and he was glad Lars had insisted Johnny stand in for him for this part of the trip. There was no way he could be in two places at once and letting someone else do the preliminary check didn’t sit well with him.

  The waiter took them through the kitchens and restaurant proper. He noticed that every table was covered with a perfectly laundered white cloth but that none were set.

  The restaurant’s only consideration had been to place a vase of delicately scented roses framed by clusters of foliage and small white flowers. The arrangements were simple and elegant and helped ease the sense of emptiness.

  Arne noted the door leading out to the foyer and made a note to ensure that space was empty as well. The waiter caught his glance.

  “The elevators will not travel to this level,” he assured him, “and our staff have already arrived. At the conclusion of your inspection, we will lock the doors to that area.”

  The Marine nodded and caught Amy’s expression of approval. The waiter indicated the door leading to the balcony.

  “If you would step this way.”

  The balcony, to his relief, was enclosed by carefully tended glass panels. It looked out over the River Seine toward an ancient church. He stared in surprise. Through all the things the earth had suffered, the cathedral still stood.

  He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. It was beautiful and it was old and he was glad it hadn’t been lost—and yet it set his hairs on end as if it was somehow more than it appeared.

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Amy had followed his gaze and now stood beside him.

  “It’s a haven for snipers,” he muttered, and the waiter looked shocked.

  “Monsieur, no one would dare.” He shrugged. “Besides it is well-patrolled, and no one would be able to.”

  Arne held back the urge to say, “Challenge accepted.” Instead, he hid it behind a mask of bland professionalism.

  “That’s good to know,” he managed.

  “And also,” the man hastened to assure him, “we have the glass. It is proof against anything other than a small missile.” He looked suddenly concerned. “Forgive me for asking, but your employer—she has not made anyone that angry, no?”

  “No,” Amy told him firmly, and Arne was impressed by the girl’s ability to lie.

  If anyone had drawn that kind of attention, it was Elizabeth. Or Stephanie, he conceded. The Witch of the Federation was definitely that much of a target. Perhaps that was why they had left her behind.

  Not that it had bothered Steph. She’d wiggled her eyebrows at her boss. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t,” she’d teased.

  Elizabeth’s reply had made her blush. “Sweetheart, what I will and won’t do has nothing to do with you.”

  It made him smile to remember it but it didn’t stop him from taking note of the buildings that could hide a sniper, including those across the river. All that kept him calm about any of this was that no one knew where the One R&D shuttle had gone.

  That, and the hyper-alert French home security forces. If Elizabeth had a chance of being safe anywhere, it might be there. He scanned the horizon, the river, and the street below. Anytime anyone felt safe was usually the time when they weren’t.

  It was good to see Amy doing the same.

  When she was satisfied that the balcony was secure and had run a bug detector over the area, she nodded to the waiter.

  “Let’s get the foyer secured, shall we?”

  If he found her caution offensive, he didn’t show it and merely led them out to inspect the foyer. He took note of the elevators and stood with the waiter while she moved away to have a private chat with Elizabeth and BURT.

  When she was done, she gave the waiter a sunny smile. “I think that is sufficient,” she told him and led the way into the restaurant proper.

  The man gave Arne a puzzled look, then followed. The Marine scanned the foyer once more before he joined them and watched while the waiter locked the foyer doors.

  “You can bring them in now,” Amy announced into her mic.

  “Roger that.” Elle’s voice came loud and clear through the comms.

  Elizabeth and Matthias were seated on the balcony shortly thereafter.

  Arne took up a post parallel to the street below. He was careful not to obscure the view of the cathedral and the river and watched as Elle mirrored him on the other side.

  He didn’t know how many tables the restaurant usually put on the balcony, but they’d cleared it to only the one they gave Elizabeth and Matthias. Candles and the distant streetlights lent an intimate atmosphere to the scene and he almost relaxed.

  Almost, except he still had to keep his principal safe.

  Amy moved through the area, restless and alert. She set him on edge and it was a relief when she propped beside him.