The motorcycles exploded in one very satisfying fireball; Dr. Domino's talent for biggest result with least effort had certainly helped that along. The guard with the strange looking weapon started toward the blast but stopped suddenly as Todd stepped out of concealment. The other two agents scrambled for their own weapons, more ordinary pistols, while at the same time taking cover inside the wreckage of the plane.

Still partly invisible, and apparently about four feet left of where he actually stood, Todd spoke in a huge voice that seemed to come from the sky.

"I am Death Masque, the Eater of Souls! Give up your secrets and live or I will drink them from your dead skulls!"

The guard brought the bell of his odd gun around and fired at the place where he saw Todd's simulacrum. The gun fired a sabot that disintegrated into hundreds of armor-piercing needles and dozens of scalloped, razor-edged darts -- specially designed to penetrate the armor of Star Troopers and butcher the man inside. In this case, however, the needles and darts destroyed only some bushes, the ten-foot wide steel cloud not quite wide enough to touch the real Todd.

A four-round burst from the 10mm full-auto in Todd's left hand nearly cut the guard in two. Not a technological marvel like the buzz gun but lethal nontheless.

The painful psychic impact of the guard's death hit Todd's mind and he screamed like Lucifer falling from Heaven.

* * *

Leo paused on the lawn after dismissing the cab Kendra had used. Grinning, he mimed the two groups of hidden watchers coming out of concealment and performing lewd acts on each other.

Inside the house, Tessie launched herself at the civilian-clad Lady Karma with a shout of "Auntie Kendra! You came!"

"You don't have an Aunt Kendra!" protested Krystal.

Tessie hugged Lady K with eight-year-old ferocity. "You wouldn't know her, Aunt Krystal. She's actually Daddy's aunt. And Kenny's named after her, so there!"

"Huh?" said Kenny.

Kay rolled her eyes, Tessie winked at her, and Leo came back in, just then, still grinning. "I think the guys in the car are state cops but the ones in the bushes may just be local perverts," he said. He looked at Kendra, "Now who in the name of Sam Spade are you?"

"She's my Auntie Kendra," announced Tessie, giving Kay another hug.

"Wait a minute!" Krystal began. A scream from outside interrupted her.

* * *

While Dr. Meridien and the boy, Johnny, enjoyed the hospitality of one of the local plutocrats, Spartako rode out to an auxiliary airport in the desert. The cis-orbital craft called the Screamer took a lot of room to land.

Spartako looked forward to piloting the hypersonic scramjet again. He'd be leaving Dubai in less than an hour and arriving in eastern Washington mid-afternoon, Pacific time. Then a more conventional two hour flight to some little town called Marshalldale.

Spartako buckled his monomer gloves on and snuggled down his annealed rare earth glass helmet. He really looked forward to piloting the Screamer again. Marshalldale just sounded like more boring work.

* * *

Todd's scream had words in it. Down the hill, a quarter mile away, Candace heard them clearly.

"Blood Masque! Second guard in the trees. Kill first, question later."

She cursed under her breath, muttering, "I think I'm supposed to be Blood Masque!"