Daemons Are Forever

“Ask them yourself,” said Pe

“Oh, of course,” I said. “All right, patch me through.”

Pe

“Will you please stop bugging me?” said a harsh voice. “We’ll contact you when we’ve got anything worth reporting. Whole place is a mess. We’re having to move carefully because the bastards found time to leave a whole bunch of booby traps behind, before they scarpered. Trip wires and grenades, mostly. Wouldn’t bother us if we had our torcs, but as it is… We’re moving deeper into the heart of the bunker, but it looks like they took everything of value with them and trashed the rest. A localised EMP took out all their computers; we’ll bring back the hard drives just in case, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up. Oh, and we’ve found some bodies. Too far gone to identify, unless you want us to take DNA samples. Looks like they were setting one last trap when it went off in their faces.

“That’s it; end of report. Except to say it’s cold, and damp, and I’m sure I’m coming down with something. Now go away and bother someone else, we’re busy. I want us finished and out of here before some other organisation gets the bright idea to come down here and see if there’s anything worth salvaging.”

“This is Eddie Drood,” I said.

“Well, whoop de doo. Colour me impressed. You don’t know who I am, do you?”

“No,” I said.

“Let’s keep it that way. We’ll be home soon; put the kettle on.”

And he shut down the video feed from his end. Everyone was looking at me, so I was careful to smile. “I don’t know who he is, but I like his style. He reminds me of me. See to it I get a full report from him, the moment he turns up here. In the meantime, keep working on tracking down Truman’s new base of operations. He’s got to be pla

“You see?” said Pe

All meetings of my I

The point is that thanks to the Sanctity’s shielding, and the strange matter’s unusual emissions, no one can listen in on the I

Pe

“Remarkable,” she said. “Reminds me of standing in front of one of Klein’s famous Blue paintings, in the Louvre.” She noted my surprise and raised a supercilious eyebrow. “I do have some culture, you know.”

“Then you should put yoghurt on it,” said Molly.

Pe

“Pe

“Just like that?” said Molly dangerously.

“Yes,” I said.

Molly looked at the rest of the Circle. “I’ll knock him down, you get the straightjacket on him.”

“I need advisors from all parts of the family,” I said patiently. “Including the traditionalists.”

“You mean the ones who wanted you and me dead?” said Molly. “The ones who declared you rogue, and secretly ran Manifest Destiny behind the cover of the Zero Tolerance faction?”

“That’s the ones,” I said. “Except that Pe

“And you believed her?” said Molly.

“Of course,” I said. “She’s family.”

“So,” said Pe

“Yes,” I said. “Eventually the I

“Democracy?” said Molly.

“Shut up, dear, I’m talking,” I said. “The old Council had to go, Pe

“Elected…” Pe

I gri

I looked round the Circle, but it didn’t seem that impressed. My I

“I might have known you’d stick your girlfriend in a position of power,” she said sweetly. “You always were a soppy romantic, Eddie. You must know she can’t be allowed authority over the family. She just can’t. I mean, she’s an outsider.”

“She’s with me,” I said flatly. “Accept it, and move on. Or there’ll be tears before bedtime.”

The Armourer made his usual impatient harrumphing sound, meaning he had something important to say, and he was going to say it whatever anybody else felt. He was wearing his usual chemical-stained and lightly charred lab coat; a stick-thin middle-aged man with far too much nervous energy, and not nearly enough self-preservation instincts. He designed and built weapons and gadgets for agents in the field, aided by a fiercely questing intellect and a complete lack of scruples. He wore a grubby T-shirt under his coat bearing the legend Weapons of Mass Destruction; Ask Here. He once created a nuclear grenade, but couldn’t find anyone who could throw it far enough. Two great tufts of white hair jutted out over his ears, the only hair on his head apart from bushy white eyebrows. He had calm gray eyes, a brief but engaging smile, and a somewhat jumpy ma