Chapter 16
As desperate as the overall situation was, Mirana felt a sense of confident determination as she walked down the exit ramp of the freighter she had been stowing away on. Her padded metal boots allowed her to move quickly while carefully avoiding contact with the other passengers as they disembarked. Having to travel hidden on a public freighter was certainly a step down for her, now that she was used to having her own starship, but this seemed to be the only practical way to travel now that Nemesis had returned to the fleet.
Mirana would have preferred to at least have Nightsong along, but of course she would have to leave it somewhere, and it would be too hard to keep it hidden once she was away from it. So she had resorted to sneaking aboard Delta Epsilon while the repair crew worked, and then stowing away on a freighter heading for Holdaris Prime. Spending a trip hunched in a corner in her battle armor was not very luxurious, but it was hardly a foreign experience for her, either. And now she was here, so it was time to get to work.
Sneaking onto a transit shuttle was no harder than the freighter had been. She supposed that what she was doing was technically illegal, but it was not really hurting anyone either, and this was certainly no time for her to start worrying about technicalities like that. She would just have to see to it that her efforts were worthwhile enough to pay the galaxy back for the liberties she was in the habit of taking with it.
The shuttle took an indirect route, picking up and dropping off passengers at ten or so locations before finally arriving at the records archive. Mirana dropped silently to the ground as the shuttle slowed to a stop. There were a few people passing in and out of the building’s front entry, and Mirana mingled with them, scanning the layout and security coverage as she entered. The cameras, of course, were no concern, but she had to be careful of any pressure sensors or checkpoints that would not allow the bulk of her armor to pass through along with someone else. Things at this point were lax enough that she was able to follow a series of people past the main checkpoint and into a lift pod that led further down into the complex. She exited the pod along with a distracted-looking man, following him down a nondescript hallway.
Finally she decided she was close enough to a suitable terminal and stopped, letting the man she had been tailing continue down the corridor and out of sight. She took a deep breath, looking around again to make sure that no one was nearby, then approached a nearby door. Its lock was controlled by an access panel built into the wall next to it, which Mirana regarded impassively. This next part, she had to admit, was cheating – perhaps even more so than using the Shadow Field. Whoever had created this armor had built in a very sophisticated system for interfacing with computerized systems, and Mirana had practiced enough in lower-priority systems to be fairly confident of what cracking this one would take. A flick of the suit’s internal controls opened a panel on her wrist, and a flexible wire protruded, with claw-like pads at its tip. Mirana took hold of the wire and fastened it to a button panel while she brought up some falsified credentials on her suit’s helmet readout. When she found the ones she needed, she activated the hacking system, which simulated the necessary password and biometrics to the access panel, and the door slid open. In a more secure complex, this would have triggered additional checks, like photo recognition from a more remote camera. But systems like that were an added expense, and apparently whoever had built this one had not felt it necessary. Mirana stepped through the door, thinking sardonically that at least no one was going to die as a result of this particular oversight. No one good, at least.
The door led to a group of offices. Some of them were occupied, but everyone seemed busy at something. When Mirana was satisfied that no attention was directed her way, she opened another door and stepped into a room with a broad console and a wraparound screen setup. Again she provided her falsified credentials, and the console lit up, waiting patiently for her query.
Mirana deactivated both her armor and the Shadow field, deciding that either one would look more suspicious than her regular appearance if anyone were to happen upon her at this point. In spite of the infiltration she had just accomplished, it was only now that Mirana’s heart started to pound. This was it, she realized. If she could not find something useful here, then she would have abandoned her crew for nothing and would have to admit that she was completely out of ideas on how to fight Dark Viper.
Nakmar Dren. A scowl crossed her face as she scanned the man’s life history. Of course she would keep a copy of what she was looking at now, but uploading the whole database would trigger alarms and an immediate lockout, so she had to be selective of where she looked in the time available. Dren had definitely been up to no good for several years. In fact, imperial investigators had evidently tracked him down a few times, but they had allowed him to continue operating so they could use him as a way to get to his superiors. Nothing he had been involved in raised any obvious concerns, right up to the point where he had silently disappeared several months ago.
“Curse.” Mirana bit her lip, thinking. What else had she learned since picking Ned up? Vortak. Nothing. Alien War. Plenty of information, but nothing obviously useful. Plasma Weapons. Mirana had already been over this record, and nothing new stood out to her now. It seemed that everything Viper had gained had come from somewhere beyond Mirana’s reach. She had hit a dead end after all.
Wait. Ruggles Girx. Mirana had already read this entry as well, but not since talking to the man, and something in the back of her mind suggested that there might be a connection. And there it was: Girx had worked with a crime syndicate led by Smurgal Horlock. Mirana turned back to the entry on Nakmar Dren and smiled. Dren worked as part of Horlock Enterprises for several years before leaving due to a conflict of financial priorities. Despair turned to a spark of hope; there was a connection after all.
She searched again. Smurgal Horlock. Evidently he had been very successful in a business involving deep space travel. He had shipped supplies and trafficked in ancient relics for a time. Eventually his black market trading had been uncovered, and he had been arrested.
The record included a list of his business associates, and Mirana scanned the list. A smile crossed her lips almost immediately. Trelan Thendrak. Viper had booked several trips to outlying worlds and commissioned various shipments. All of it had been before Horlock’s criminal activity had been uncovered, well before Thendrak had joined the Imperial Council. Mirana drilled into the business records. Nothing looked immediately promising, but she could go over the full details later. She flipped back to Horlock’s main biography record and continued reading. It was fairly standard – people he had scammed, other criminals he had angered. He had avoided the death penalty by providing vital information in several other criminal cases and ended up in a maximum security prison cell on Anacron. Then suddenly Mirana froze, her hand involuntarily covering her mouth in shock. Horlock died in prison the following year due to an industrial explosion in the Crelandis district. Mirana was very familiar with that explosion. It was the one that had killed her father.
Mirana stepped back as her mind struggled to process this. The explosion had been ruled an accident, and everyone directly involved had been incinerated anyway. But what if it had not been an accident after all? What if Thendrak had used the explosion as a way to execute Horlock? It would be the perfect cover-up; no one would think twice about the death of one prisoner when thousands of innocent people had died at the same time. But if the explosion were intentional, then her own father’s death was a horrible coincidence. Only at this point, Mirana was wary of ruling anything a coincidence. After all, her father had clearly had some kind of connection with Trelan Thendrak, or he would not have sworn her to defend the man. Mirana had been thoroughly unable to find any connection between the two, but maybe these other names could open a new door.
Smurgal Horlock / Meldin Kelar. She was hardly even surprised to see that the Crelandis explosion was not the only connection. Her father was listed as a crewmember on several shi
ps owned by Horlock Enterprises. Smurgal Horlock himself did not appear to have been on any of those trips, but it was conceivable that her father might have learned something about him, or about one of his clients. Like Trelan Thendrak. Mirana started uploading everything she could think of related to Horlock’s business. She already had copies of the records for her father and Dark Viper, and hopefully she would be able to put something together.
She glanced around, suddenly unsure of how long she might have before someone walked in on her. But there was no window on the door, and it was probably soundproof, so she figured she might as well keep working as long as she could. She turned back to the console and continued reading. For some reason, she found it hard to concentrate. Maybe she had already found everything there was to find, but there was no sense in leaving prematurely. She double-checked her father’s known associates with anyone connected with Dren or Viper, and she searched Horlock’s voyages for any hint of an important destination. She was still looking when something in the back of her mind caused her to jump back, suddenly alert. Reflexively she engaged her armor and immediately saw the reason for her alarm: the helmet’s readout showed a rapidly growing concentration of anoxelene in the air. One good breath of the gas could have been fatal, and Mirana wondered how she had sensed the danger, but there was no time to ponder that. Even through the soundproof door, Mirana could hear something banging up against it. She vanished and moved into a corner, out of the immediate range of the blast she expected to come at any moment. Silently she cursed herself for letting her guard down. Somehow, Dark Viper had found her.
Kayleen Rax gripped her command console eagerly as White Mercury slipped out of its hyperspace boost. The warp enhancement device was completely spent, but it had done its job: The Holdaris system lay just ahead. Ideally, they would have come out close enough to launch a direct attack before Holdaris Prime got its shields up, but as it was they had to make a short jump at regular warp in order to reach the planet itself. The crew made this leap through hyperspace quickly, but Kayleen could already see that the planet was massing its defenses. She was going to have to do this the hard way. But really, she suspected she was going to enjoy it more like this.
There was no need to issue orders; the Vortak immediately moved the ship into range of an orbiting space station. Several ships of various types had not been fast enough to leave the system or move within the planetary shield bubble, and White Mercury opened fire immediately, draining the shields of a few smaller ones in seconds with its specialized particle beams. A few military guard ships were already moving to intercept, and a nearby orbital weapons platform was on course as well. Kayleen felt a rush of adrenaline as the situation’s danger level increased, but she forged ahead with a grim sense of purpose. She had known the danger, but she only needed a short time. Several of White Mercury’s tractor beams locked onto the ships she had just incapacitated while its weapons hammered away at other ships. First two, then four cruisers were held powerless in the beams, their engines blown away by the Vortak weapons. White Mercury was taking damage as well, and soon the defenders were upon her, attacking from more directions than she could count quickly. “Now,” Kayleen ordered, and several sections of her ship split off, each powered by its own graviton drive and spraying their own weapons fire into the surrounding vessels. Kayleen wished she could see the reactions of the defending commanders as they realized that they now faced not one but five invading warships. At the same time, the main section of White Mercury launched a squadron of single-occupant ships to engage the starfighters streaming out at her from the Holdarian vessels. The Vortak were still outnumbered, but still Kayleen managed a smile.
The reason, she supposed, would soon become clear to her enemies. In the brief time she had had to herself before reinforcements arrived, she had already crippled several transport vessels. With their engines and minimal weapons destroyed, they were helpless against the tractor beams emanating from the main core of White Mercury. Drawing the broken ships in, Kayleen used their bulk as a shield against the other Holdarian vessels. And sure enough, by the time more than a couple of defenders were within range, attacks from the station and orbital platform were already winding down. Kayleen let the attack modules finish off one of the defending battleships before calling them in to rejoin the core, hidden within the protective shell of wrecked vessels. Kayleen stood tall in range of the com camera and opened a link to the planet. Her victims were ready.
“This is President Etvolt,” the nervous-looking man on the viewscreen announced. “You are completely surrounded! I order you to leave this system immediately, or you will be destroyed!”
Kayleen ignored the threat completely. “Good morning, President,” she greeted in a solemn voice. “Allow me to explain the situation to you. I am Kayleen Rax, Master of the Ice Plasma and enforcer of the Order of Dark Viper. My agents have located a criminal hiding on your planet. They have engaged her already, and I am here to retrieve her. You will give me passage to the surface so I can deal with her, and then you will let us go. At that time, the people I am now holding captive will be released.” Kayleen took a step forward and lowered her eyebrows threateningly. “If you resist, I will kill them and deal with this criminal on my own. But first, President, I swear that I will personally kill you. I strongly suggest that you comply with my terms.”
The man was visibly shaken. He muted his end of the link as he turned to converse with his associates. Kayleen waited patiently. She knew his type – Etvolt would weigh various options and seek assurance that he had the proper support, as well as a record of his attempts to minimize the loss of life, but in the end he would do the safe thing. As long as he could tell himself that he was saving others’ lives in addition to his own, there was no way he was going to risk going up against a Plasma Master, outnumbered though she may be.
“Very well,” Etvolt agreed finally. “We will allow one of your small fighters to descend to the surface. You will return to your ship within the hour and leave this system. I advise you to hurry, because Emperor Marnax will have additional-”
“It won’t take long,” Kayleen assured him. “But there’s one change of terms: I’ll be taking one of your shuttles down. It will be filled with your own people. Just in case you were thinking of firing at me along the way.”
Mirana was already invisible when an explosion turned the door to shrapnel, but the white, insectile creatures that burst through raked the room with laser fire, pinpointing her immediately. Her own weapon dropped the first group within seconds, and a missile fired through the door took out several others that had been waiting outside. There was just the one entrance to the room, and although that might have made her position defensible, Mirana felt an urgent need to get out of there. Letting her armor absorb laser fire from the next wave of Vortak, she barreled past them and into the hall beyond. A quick salvo of lasers and Shadow beams dispatched the remaining Vortak. Unlike the red version she had encountered on Dread Phoenix, these remained motionless on the ground. Mirana started back the way she had come. The anoxelene content was high outside the console room as well, and a quick glance around made it clear that no one had survived the Vortak’s invasion. Mirana’s stomach turned a little, but she molded the revulsion into an added determination to get out of here and punish everyone responsible.
Mirana was a little surprised to make it out of the office area without further resistance; apparently the whole group of Vortak had joined in that initial assault. Of course, it was still a bit unbelievable that any Vortak at all could have found her there. Mirana supposed that they must have been waiting on this planet before her arrival, and that something she had done while infiltrating the building had tipped them off. She cringed at the thought of these things hiding out on other Anacronian planets as well, but the more immediate problem was the threat of reinforcements. It was possible that this group had hoped to take Mirana out with the gas alone, but it seemed more likely that there was some sort of larger trap being sprung h
ere.
The moment Mirana stepped out of the office area and into the outer hallway, an explosion rocked the building. Mirana’s thoughts jumped back to the trap she had sprung in those ruins she had explored with Ned, half expecting the ceiling to come down on her this time as well. But the building held, and Mirana hurried toward the lift pod that had brought her. She was halfway there when several Vortak emerged simultaneously from around several corners and from access panels in the ceiling, all opening fire the moment they appeared. Mirana planted her back and returned fire. She had no idea how they had pinpointed her position so quickly, but once she had cleared the area of attackers, she looked around and found her answer. The floor was covered in tiny, clear beads. She had not noticed them in her urgency to get out, but now she could see that even her padded boots had left footprints on the floor. She dropped the Shadow field, figuring it wiser to conserve energy if they could track her anyway.
Seeing that the way forward was clear, Mirana started forward again, but to her surprise she stumbled and nearly fell. As she lurched forward to catch her balance, she saw what had happened: the beads on the floor had begun to grow up around her feet, fastening them to the floor. It was happening again now, and Mirana started moving, shattering the crystalline growth before it had a chance to take hold. Her visor told her that the temperature was dropping rapidly, and she took that as a bad sign. She was almost to the lift pod door when it completely iced over, encased in a thick layer of crystal. The icy barrier spread onto the wall, and Mirana backed away, looking around in alarm for a likely escape route. Before she had found one, the ice that had reached the ceiling shattered, leaving a gaping hole above the corridor. Mirana stepped back again, gathering power in her fist, as a woman she almost recognized dropped easily down from above and regarded her grimly.
“Kayleen Rax?” Mirana spoke the name almost unconsciously, shocked as much by the woman’s appearance as by her presence here in the first place. Kayleen’s entire body was transparent, and oddly she seemed to be dressed in common jogging pants and a t-shirt. But the ice spreading across the floor from where she stood made it clear that Rax was a threat, even if the nature of that threat was still unclear.
Rax acknowledged her name with a wicked grin, but Mirana did not wait for an explanation. She dashed forward, reaching out with her hand to cast a Shadow beam directly into that crystalline face. But Rax was obviously anticipating an attack; she brought up a hand, and in the same motion a column of ice sprung from the ground, blocking the black energy as it shattered a few feet from where Rax stood. Mirana was already firing laser shots, but still Rax stayed put, raising her hand as if to block the attack. The lasers struck, but aside from some icy particles that scattered from the impact points, Rax seemed unaffected. Mirana was still moving forward, but now Rax extended her hand and sent a beam of frosty energy directly into Mirana, knocking her to the ground several meters back.
Instantly the ice on the ground began to take hold, and Mirana had to struggle to regain her feet. As she did, Rax rushed forward, firing another beam of energy. Mirana blocked it with the Shadow Plasma and directed some of her power downward, breaking apart the encroaching ice. As Rax reached her, Mirana wrapped herself in black fire, hoping to cancel at least some of the freezing Plasma being directed at her. She rose to her feet and swung a punch at Rax. The newly-remade Plasma Master flinched at the blow but countered with one of her own, leaving a bit of ice behind on Mirana’s armor as she blocked. They exchanged a few more punches, with Mirana connecting consistently and Rax not seeming to mind her inability to block. It was time for desperate strategy. She fired a missile point-blank. The explosion damaged her armor a bit, but it melted away the icy covering, and she managed to spring away, following up with a quick barrage of missiles. The explosions filled the hallway, and Rax disappeared in the orange light.
When the flames cleared, Mirana almost thought that she had finished the battle: Where Rax had been standing, there was only a thick cloud of mist and swirling white energy. But it quickly solidified into humanoid form, and in a second Rax was glaring maliciously. Ice quickly spread across the floor once again, and Mirana decided to end that particular irritation. She rushed Rax one more time, blocking the shards of icy Plasma that came flying at her. When they were close, Mirana delivered a powerful uppercut to Rax’s midsection, lifting her clear of the ground. While she was still rising into the air, Mirana leapt up and knocked her opponent back with a spinning kick. Rax had scarcely struck the ground when Mirana’s missile detonated against her. Mirana fired again as soon as she landed, but a wall of ice quickly formed to block this projectile and the next. Mirana sighed, exasperated. Her suit was warning her of structural integrity dangers due to the ultra-freezing temperature, and she could already see Rax reforming. Of course, after her experience with Dren, it was hardly a surprise that Mirana’s current powers were not enough to take out another elemental Plasma Master. Preparing to meet another attack, Mirana mentally scanned through her options. There was one idea she could try, something she had thought up some time ago. It would be very risky. But it just might teach her something, as well. Wrapping herself in a Shadow field, Mirana turned and ran.
Great, Kayleen thought. She figured that Mirana would eventually run out of missiles, and by then it should be simple enough to overpower her. But now she was running, and Kayleen was going to have to chase her down. She could already sense a bubble of warmer temperature somewhere ahead and started in that direction. She seemed to be a bit faster than she had been in her regular, human form, but she had to stop a few times to block a missile attack, and somehow Mirana was maintaining distance. For now.
Then a series of explosions lit up the hallway ahead, and Kayleen lost track of Mirana. The missiles had blown several holes in the floor, walls, and ceiling, all of which could have provided a means for escape. Kayleen slowed, gritting her teeth. She quickly sent a curving wall of Plasma outward, wrapping the nearby area in a sphere of Ice Plasma. It was just a weak barrier, but Kayleen would be able to sense when something penetrated it. When she completed the sphere, Kayleen waited for several seconds. If Mirana was inside it, Kayleen could just contract it until it detected her, but suddenly she wondered whether she had somehow made it too small and missed Mirana after all. But then there it was – an empty pocket that poked through the cold haze she had cast. Mirana was there, one floor up and a short distance ahead. Quickly Kayleen focused her power there, and the emptiness became clearer. Mirana was definitely there, and she was coming closer.
It was a good thing, Kayleen supposed, but she had to wonder why the fleeing Shadow Master would suddenly change her mind. Some kind of a trap, she supposed, but there was no sense in hesitating now. Kayleen walked over until she was directly underneath the opening in the ceiling, then caused an icy platform to rise up under her feet, lifting Kayleen onto the floor above. The lighting had been shot out here, but Kayleen could sense the location of her surroundings well enough without it. Mirana was nearing her position now, but Kayleen started forward anyway, filling the corridor with mist in case her opponent was still invisible.
She was not. Kayleen caught sight of black metal as a missile fired at her from around a corner. Already planning her defense, Kayleen blocked the shot easily. Rather than waiting for the next missile, she blasted a hole in the wall that led to that corner and shattered the metal. She dodged the next missile by simply stepping into the next room, then blew her way into the room after that. She was now quite close to the Shadow Master, with only a few walls between her and her target. She sent her power out through the ether, then let the freezing Plasma explode outside in the hall, where she sensed Mirana’s figure stumble. Apparently Mirana was unable to sense the source of the attack, because the Shadow Master’s presence began to retreat back down the hall. Kayleen blew away the remaining walls and stepped into the corridor.
Mirana immediately fired two more missiles, which Kayleen again blocked. Black fire obscured the arm
or again, and Kayleen readied herself for another charge. More missile fire came at her as her opponent approached, and Kayleen felt the heat drain her a bit, but she was ready when the dark fist swung her way. This time Kayleen caught hold of the metal and sealed herself to it with an icy covering. Mirana’s other glove quickly angled toward Kayleen, no doubt preparing another point-blank missile blast, but the Ice Plasma was already intensely focused all around her, and Kayleen sealed off the launchers with a solid barrier; if Mirana fired now, the missiles would probably explode inside the launchers, and her hand would probably not like that. Just to remind Mirana how useless her hand-to-hand combat skills were here, Kayleen rammed the black helmet with her own head, causing the Shadow Master to stumble backward. The black fire had died down as Mirana no doubt had to focus everything she had on blocking out the ice that was now everywhere. Kayleen intensified the pale energy streaming out of her hands, creating a shell of ice around her struggling opponent. Black light flared a few times within the crystal barrier, but each time it did less to dislodge the shell. Finally, the Shadow Plasma died down entirely, as Kayleen strengthened the block of Ice Plasma she had created.
When Kayleen was satisfied that Mirana was captured, she took a moment to admire her work. The Shadow Master’s armor was still standing up to the cold, but its joints and weapons were completely immobilized. A smile crossed Kayleen’s face as she imagined Mirana’s mood, paralyzed in there, probably wondering which would run out first – the suit’s shell integrity or its life support system. Of course, Kayleen could probably find a way to crush the armor right now, but she wanted to get off this planet before someone attempted a rescue, or before someone more determined than Etvolt seized control of the situation with her ship.
The ice block took up most of the corridor’s cross-section, and Kayleen looked around for a moment, wondering about the best way to get her trophy back to the waiting shuttle. The Vortak might be able to move it for her, but Kayleen already knew what Viper would say about resorting to help. Then she had it. She sent the ice out along the floor again, this time creating a perfectly smooth surface. She then removed a bit of the Ice Plasma that encased Mirana’s immobile figure, letting a small air cushion form between the ice block and the floor. When she was satisfied, Kayleen moved behind the ice block and gave it a casual shove. To her satisfaction, it slid easily down the corridor. Congratulating herself on her ingenuity, Kayleen contacted the survivors of her Vortak escort and instructed them to await her return.
“You broke your end of the deal!” President Etvolt looked just as overwhelmed as he did indignant.
“I did no such thing,” Kayleen replied calmly. “I said I would leave those ships alone, and I have. And the attack on your building happened before our deal. I’m not responsible for your own lack of security. Just be glad it was just the one building I had to deal with.”
Despite her air of confidence, Kayleen knew that she was not really safe yet. Her threat to kill Etvolt was probably within her power to carry out, as long as she was near the city, but once she gained any real altitude, the planetary defense lasers could probably take her out in a single shot. Of course, there was still the matter of the hostages she had. But it was still a little hard to accept that her enemies would hold their fire when Kayleen in their position would be quick to see the tactical advantage of sacrificing a few hostages to take out a Plasma Master. Her assessment of Etvolt had gotten her safely in, though, so she supposed it made sense to continue with it. “Just be patient for a few more minutes,” she said in an insultingly reassuring voice, “and I will be gone, and you can get back to your day.”
He clearly wanted her dead. Everyone on and around this planet wanted her dead. But they were powerless. As she passed through the shields, Kayleen smiled in spite of the obvious danger. Her power was back. She could command the Plasma. She could make entire worlds cower in fear. One starship against a planet. The Ice Master against the woman who had previously brought Dark Viper to his knees. With almost no practice in recent memory, Kayleen Rax had faced impossible odds and won.
As the shuttle approached White Mercury, Kayleen ran a final scan of the area. The nearby warships were still locked in a stalemate, no doubt waiting to see what Kayleen would do now. The straightforward thing would be to dock the shuttle with her own ship so she and her crew could transfer to it. But that seemed too slow, and it might suggest an opportunity for attack. Instead, Kayleen activated the shuttle’s com link and addressed the former crew, whom she now held prisoner. “Everyone to the escape pods. Launch when I tell you and hope your friends keep their promise.” She waited, giving the Vortak time to corral everyone into the emergency pods. The Vortak signaled that they were ready just as the shuttle was nearing White Mercury and its shell of helpless warships.
“Open the landing bay,” she instructed the Vortak. Ahead she saw an opening appear in the crystalline structure of her ship and headed straight for it. “Everyone, eject now.”
There was no need to repeat the order; the Holdarian crew was clearly eager to be as far away from her as possible. As the captive ships reached out with their own tractor beams to recover the escape pods, Kayleen docked the shuttle inside her own landing bay. “Time to go,” she ordered.
Outside, White Mercury pushed some of its captive ships away, just enough to allow a clear shot into deep space. Etvolt was going to lose his job, Kayleen thought as she monitored her ship’s departure. Harvey would be furious at the whole defense force. And Nedward Simmons… he would be alone. As her crystalline warship blasted away from Holdaris at high warp, Kayleen’s thoughts turned to that boy who had caused her so much trouble. And now, finally, he was truly vulnerable. Yes, the last obstacle to Kayleen’s ultimate success would fall very, very soon.