Miya realized that Lunt was staring at her over the rim of his glass. "The way you speak of him," the German said. "It’s clear you still harbor feelings for the man."
"He’s hard to forget," Miya admitted.
"Sad that he can’t say the same for you. Apparently, he remembers virtually nothing."
"That can be a blessing in some ways," Miya countered. "How is he to know the difference between the true past and a fiction?"
"What are you planning?"
Miya stood up, her body moving enticingly beneath her dress. "I seduced him once before. Why shouldn’t I be able to do it again?"
"What if seeing you again sparks his memory? The last thing we need is for him to remember who he really is. Or who we really are, for that matter."
Something dark and malevolent flashed in Miya’s eyes. "If he doesn’t accept the way things have to be, then I’ll just have to kill him. Again."
"It’s suicide."
Goodwill looked over at the Black Heart ninja who had spoken. The man was one of the group’s leaders but it was still rare for him to openly challenge Goodwill’s decisions. After looking around at the other ninja who stood watching, Goodwill asked, "Would you care to explain that?"
"You want us to lie in wait while you approach Assistance Unlimited with only that… thing… at your side? You could be cut down long before we could respond. Take us with you."
"I’m not looking for a fight. Not right now. I need those papers." Goodwill glanced over at Sazar, who was watching them with all the disinterest of a bored cat. She was toying with her nakedness, raking her fingernails over her flat belly and across her nipples, making them stand up in sharp little points. She was successfully distracting many of the ninja, but not their leader, nor Goodwill.
"But surely you don’t expect them to hand them over. That is not the way of Lazarus Gray or his men."
"Yes. That’s why I’ll have Sazar with me. She’ll be invisible and ready to strike at a moment’s notice. Assistance Unlimited may be capable of handling normal men like yours but they won’t be able to handle her."
The ninja’s eyes were the only part of his face left visible but they flashed with anger. "They nearly killed her the last time, didn’t they?"
Sazar hissed and moved forward but Goodwill held up a hand and she stepped back, though she looked like she might ignore him at a moment’s notice. "I appreciate the fact that you believe in your men so much," Goodwill said. "That confidence makes you one of my best assets. But the discussion is over. Do you understand?"
The man nodded and bowed. "As you say."
Goodwill waited until all the ninja had left the room, heading toward the vehicles that would transport them to the old coal factory. There they’d take up positions all around the property, hidden out of sight.
"Why didn’t you tell them about Walther Lunt?" Sazar asked.
Goodwill turned toward her, keeping his eyes on her breasts. They were so much nicer to look at than her face. He had called Walther Lunt and asked him to meet him at the coal factory immediately after getting off the phone with Gray. Sazar had been with him when he’d made the call but he’d deliberately made sure that none of the Black Heart knew about it. "Because I think the time’s come for me to abandon Sovereign City and I’m going to need a lot of cover to make that happen. When Lunt arrives, I’m expecting all hell to break loose. That’s when you and I take off. We’ll leave my ninja to fight both Assistance Unlimited and Lunt’s men."
"After you’ve gotten the papers back," she whispered.
"Yes."
Sazar slid around in front of him, undulating her hips like a serpent. "You don’t remember the spells, do you? That’s why you’re so desperate to get the papers."
Goodwill tried to retain his bravado but some of his willpower began to wilt. She knew he was helpless now. "I remember enough to bind you," he bluffed.
Sazar laughed throatily. "You amuse me, Malcolm. For that reason — and because I’ve fed recently — I won’t kill you. But don’t think that you’re my master any longer. I can come and go as I please."
Goodwill cleared his throat and moved around her. "Let’s get going, shall we?"
Lazarus Gray and his people were the first to arrive. He had chosen this site for several reasons: first and foremost, it had been abandoned for years, meaning it was unlikely that any innocents would be hurt. Second, Gray owned it, meaning any collateral damage that occurred would only cost him and not anyone else. Finally, he had set up the old factory as an emergency base for Assistance Unlimited, meaning that it had a stash of weapons and equipment hidden around the property.
Gray had Samantha stand with him in the large parking area, which had a gravel surface. It was here that he planned to make the proposed exchange. Morgan was perched on the second floor of the nearby factory building, where he was waiting with a high-powered rifle. Eun was hiding behind some old mining equipment, ready to explode onto the scene if required.
Five minutes before the agreed-upon meeting time, the Black Heart ninjas arrived. Eun spotted them first, watching with amusement as nearly a dozen of the men spread out, hiding behind any cover they could find. They must have parked their vehicles a mile or so away and come the rest of the distance on foot. He did nothing, though, remembering the plan. When one of the ninja tried to take his spot for his own, however, he quietly took the man by surprise, snapping his neck with a move so exquisite that few on the planet could have matched it. Of course, one of those men was his employer.
The next to arrive was Goodwill, who drove himself in a small roadster. He parked thirty feet away from Gray, who stood with the papers clasped in his hands. Goodwill emerged from the vehicle and looked around in dramatic fashion. He smiled at Lazarus and took several steps toward him. "I confess, I’m surprised to see you here. I’d thought you were leading me into a trap."
"And yet you still came," Samantha said.
"Yes," Goodwill responded, frowning. He obviously didn’t appreciate having one of Gray’s underlings answering him. "So, Lazarus. I’ve brought you enough money to cover the transfer." Goodwill reached into the pocket of his slacks and Morgan tensed above. When Goodwill’s hand emerged holding a wad of bills taped together, Morgan’s finger relaxed on the trigger but he still remained ready to fire if need be.
Gray caught the money when Goodwill tossed it to him. Without even bothering to count it, he handed the bills to Samantha. "I must warn you, Mr. Goodwill, you’re dealing with things best left alone." He held up the pages and his already grim face turned even darker. "You risk not only your life but your immortal soul."
"I appreciate the concern," Goodwill answered, still using his faux British accent. "Now may I have my papers back?"
"Why did you kill the young woman we found in Nance’s apartment?"
"Because she knew too much." Goodwill extended his left hand. "The papers, Lazarus. Now."
"Of course." Lazarus took several steps forward and pushed them into Goodwill’s hand. Before the transfer was fully complete, he stared into Goodwill’s eyes and said a series of words that sounded like gibberish, unless you knew that they were the ancient tongue of the demon world.
Goodwill’s eyes opened wide, for he did recognize them. They were the words he’d not been able to remember, the words that bound the demon to whomever spoke them.