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."You never did.You die alone and forsaken, and do you know what? Nobody cares.Not one person in this whole world cares that you're dead, just as no one ever cared that you lived."Sudden anger flared in Skye, and he reached toward Mulcifer's face, his fingers clawed to rip the creature's eyes away.A garbled sound of hatred escaped his throat, and Mulcifer grabbed Skye's hand and brought it to his lips in a mocking kiss.Then he looked piercingly at Skye."Our blood sang true at the last, didn't it?" he said triumphantly.For one final moment, Skye thought about how the thing had tricked him, made him hate again, and before he could shift his thoughts back to his mother or Jesus or anything other than the wish to take this monster into death with him, a great weight seemed to fall upon his chest, the air left his body, the darkening sky grew darker, and then he saw and heard nothing at all.Chapter 47"I think he's dead," Tony whispered, and listened for a moment longer, but heard only the soft sound of the sand landing in the grave as Mulcifer kicked it.He and Laika had been watching from the bluff overlooking the beach for the last half hour, from the time that Skye and his agents had arrived.They had agreed ahead of time that whatever happened, they would not interfere.Mulcifer might be able to turn them against each other as easily as he had been able to turn others.And Skye was not worth dying for.Nor, it turned out, was David Allan Stanley.Tony tilted the camera upward to capture the small submarine as it carried its dead passengers outward bound.The only way they would ever find it once it sank to the bottom was with a bathysphere, and they'd probably have to search the whole North Sea.Laika and Tony had heard every word, and gotten every piece of action on videotape, including Skye's death blow to Stanley, and the shooting of all the others except for Mulcifer and Weynnan, who was now piloting the sub to his death.Tony continued to videotape until Skye's body was covered, and Mulcifer walked nonchalantly toward the steps that would take him back to the castle.Then, with a shudder, they packed up their gear and returned to the cottage.Joseph looked grim, and said he had something to tell them, but first Laika told him everything that had happened.When she was finished, Joseph shook his head as though he could scarcely believe the turn of events."So Stanley's been running Skye all the time, and Skye was running us in the hopes that some of these seemingly paranormal occurrences we investigated might lead to the Prisoner.""And they sure did," Tony said."In spades.So what's your news?""Not good.The nerve gas whose location Mulcifer made me tell? They've got it.""Sweet Jesus," said Laika softly."Have they released it yet?"Joseph nodded."That's the weirdest part.Two of these loyal Scottish Nationalists let fly with this stuff at the William Wallace monument in Stirling.The people on top died, but most of the gas was blown away by the wind.""This is no coincidence," Laika said."Mulcifer's to blame.He's too wild a card for Mackay to control.The bastard's toying with him now, playing his little games." She looked hard at Joseph."Do you think he's got more gas?""I'm sure of it.There was a huge stockpile.He wouldn't have gone to the trouble of getting to it for one lousy tank.But the question is, how'd he get it? I haven't heard a thing about any attack on a storage facility.""Maybe they're keeping it quiet so they won't alarm the public," Tony suggested."Negative.MI5 would've informed the Company if that had happened, but there's no mention on our classified sites.They got in and out without anybody even knowing it.""But how would that be possible?" Laika asked.Joseph smiled."Hey, we've seen this guy work.I wouldn't put anything beyond him, would you?"They sat and talked, with long periods of silence in which they thought about what to do.Then Laika asked Tony a great deal about the castle, getting him to describe every small detail that he could remember.She made Joseph tell everything he knew about Colin Mackay, what he had said, and what kind of man he was.At last Joseph said, "You know, I hate to say it, but this situation seems downright impossible.The only person who can clear us with the Company was a traitor to the Company and now he's dead; we've got a police inspector who also happens to be an ex-MI5 operative in our cellar, a castle full of terrorists up the road, and, worst of all, a being that we don't understand and we can't control.""Thank God," said Tony dryly, "we're so good-looking.""And we've got our health," said Laika.Joseph looked at them disbelievingly as they both slowly started to laugh.Then he joined in, seeing the absurdity of it all, and even laughing at their hopelessness.Finally, when they were all sitting there breathing hard from laughing, Laika's face went suddenly solemn."I have a plan," she said."But first we have to let Inspector Fraser out of the cellar."Molly Fraser was furious, and when Agent Laika Harris told her that she was free to go and turn them in to the authorities, she stormed toward the door."But before you go," Harris said, "there are a few more things you should know.First, Richard Skye is dead.He was working for David Allan Stanley, who is also dead, along with four other men.Mulcifer, the thing in that castle that calls himself a man, caused all their deaths, just as he caused the deaths in London.Just as he'll cause the deaths of more—thousands, maybe millions—unless we can stop him.And Inspector, we're the only ones who can.With your help.Only us, and only with your help."By now, Molly had turned and was listening [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]