"I know. I'm not crazy about it either, but what choice do we have?"
"It could be a trap."
Talon shrugged. "Why would Lofwyr bother? If he wanted us dead, he could have sent an elite S-K squad to meet us instead of Brackhaus. Hell, he could probably do it in twenty different ways we couldn't even think of until it was too late. I know it's risky, but it's the only way we're going to see the rest of
our money, and besides . . ."
"Besides what?"
"We're talking about a chance to meet
Lofwyr
here! That's not something that comes along every day. I wouldn't pass this up for twice what he's paying us."
Val slowly unplugged the lead from her datajack, studying Talon's face the whole time.
"You're a strange man, Talon."
"So I've been told."
Val and Hammer stepped down from the Stallion, and Brackhaus' pilot took his seat in the cockpit and jacked into the control systems. As he powered up the rotors, Talon turned back to Brackhaus with a slight bow, gesturing toward the cabin.
"After you, Herr Brackhaus."
"Danke,
Herr Talon." Brackhaus stepped up into the cabin, followed by Talon. He pulled the door closed, and the helicopter began to rise into the air. The Eurocar backed away slowly, then turned and drove out of the vacant lot, leaving Hammer and Val alone, to be swallowed up by the shadows.
* * *
The chopper rose up high over the buildings below, then turned and headed back on a course for the
no heliport, then decided that S-K probably didn't
have to explain much of anything in Germany, if it chose not to.
Brackhaus sat near the cockpit, quietly composed, making no effort at conversation. For most of the flight, they rode in silence, Talon and Boom sitting together and the unconscious Dr. Goronay in the back of the chopper.
Eventually, the massive Saeder-Krupp Ruhr arcology building came into sight. Even from kilometers away, it was an impressive sight. Rising like an ancient medieval castle above the smaller buildings surrounding it, the arcology was more than two hundred stories tall, and covered almost ten square city blocks, rising up like a truncated pyramid. The sides of the building were covered in black macroglass, giving the whole structure a glossy black surface that gleamed wetly in the city lights of Essen. Along the top of the building glowed the Saeder-Krupp name and logo, a reclining black dragon against a neon-red background. Lights glimmered from the numerous landing pads placed at different levels, and spotlights cast shimmering cones of illumination along the building's sides and from the roof.
Though not quite as large as the ill-fated Renraku arcology in Seattle, the S-K arcology still housed nearly seventy thousand employees and their families, like a small, self-contained city. It was completed sometime in 2058, Talon recalled, having seen a trideo broadcast of the dedication ceremonies. He recalled the corporate commentators mentioning how Saeder-Krupp had managed to finish their arcology project before Renraku completed theirs, even though S-K began more than a year later. A definite public relations coup for the megacorp.
As the Stallion banked toward the arcology, Boom
leaned in close to Talon and spoke softly. "So, chummer, have you ever met a dragon?"
"Yeah," Talon said, "but it wasn't a very friendly meeting. The dragon had . . . issues."
"The only one I ever met was Dunkelzahn." Boom said, glancing out the window. "He's the one who really got me started in the shadow-biz in Boston. Saw something other than muscle in me, I guess. Showed me I could be more than that. Nice guy."
Somehow Talon didn't think the same could be said of Lofwyr. Still, he hoped this experience with a dragon would be more like Boom's than his own had been.
The arcology loomed to fill Talon's entire field of vision as the helicopter came in on its final approach. They touched down gently on one of the rooftop helipads, the others already occupied by corporate helos and tilt-rotor aircraft to convey S-K personnel to various points throughout the plex. As they landed, Dr. Goronay stirred and moaned slightly. Boom took the doctor's arm and shook it gently.
"Wakey, wakey." he said.
Goronay stirred and opened his eyes. He looked over at Boom and Talon in confusion and muttered something in Russian. Talon didn't speak it, and didn't have a Russian language chip on him.
"Wake up, Doctor." he said firmly. "We'll carry you if we have to, but it would be better if you can walk."
"Where . . . ?" Goronay began.
"Saeder-Krupp HQ." Talon said. "We have some business to conclude here."
If Goronay was concerned over the prospect of being forcibly brought back into the presence of his patrons, he certainly didn't show it. In fact, the doctor seemed somewhat befuddled, but he offered no resistance and did what he was told.
Brackhaus opened the door of the helicopter and stepped down, waiting for Talon, Boom, and Goronay to do the same. The doctor was a touch unsteady on his feet, but managed to get his bearings with a little help from Boom. Then Brackhaus led them to a bank of elevators on the rooftop. Taking a credstick from his pocket, he slotted it into the port next to one of the elevators. A light immediately went on over the port and the elevator doors slid open smoothly.
"Gentlemen." he said with a wave. They all stepped into the elevator, followed by Brackhaus. Talon noticed there were no visible controls. As soon as the doors closed, Brackhaus said "executive level." and the elevator began to move quickly. It slowed and came to a stop with a gentle bump, and the doors opened again to reveal a long corridor lined with doors. The walls were a pale cream color and the hallway was carpeted in deep burgundy, with dark wood trim. Talon was willing to bet it was real wood, too, not synthetic. Everything in the place, from the doors to the brass fittings and nameplates to the faint spicy scent of herbal air freshener, spoke of power and wealth. This was where the real high-rollers of the world's most powerful megacorp operated.
Talon was quite certain that they were being scanned by an infinite array of state-of-the-art sensors as they walked down the corridor. He itched to use his astral senses to check out the place, but he resisted the urge. Any use of his magical abilities might bring a sudden and brutal response from the unseen S-K security forces. Instead, Talon did his very best to keep himself looking as calm and unthreatening as possible.
The corridor ended and opened up into a pleasant reception area. Talon had lived in smaller apartments than the room, which was spacious, with one wall to the left made up of macroglass windows that afforded a spectacular view of the
Talon smiled to himself, thinking Lofwyr was nothing if not stylish.
Sitting to the right of the doors was a curved desk that blended in with the decor. Coming around from behind it was a striking human woman dressed in a sharp business pants suit of dark blue, with a short jacket and a lighter blue blouse. A belt of silver disks encircled her slim waist, and she wore tasteful silver earrings. Her hair was ash-blond, pulled back from her face into a pony tail, and perfectly coifed. Talon noticed that her eyes matched the color of her blouse and that her smile was almost perfectly white. For some reason he couldn't explain, he found himself reminded of a predator baring its fangs when he saw her smile. Perhaps it was the dark-uniformed security guards flanking either side of the hall through which they entered.
"Hello." she said. "I'm Karen Montejac, the President's personal assistant. I must ask you to surrender your weapons."
Talon and Boom glanced at each other, then Talon reached, slowly, under his coat and withdrew his Ares Viper. He made a careful show of removing the clip from the weapon before handing it over to Montejac. Boom did the same with his Predator. One of the guards waved a hand-held scanner over Boom from head to foot.
"He's clean." the guard said. He did the same over Talon, pausing at his waist.
"I'm afraid you must surrender
all
your weapons, sir." Montejac said in a firm tone, her gaze falling on the jeweled dagger hilt barely visible beneath his coat.
"No." Talon said, quietly.
"Excuse me?"
"Talon, give them the bloody dagger!" Boom hissed under his breath.
"No." Talon repeated. "I won't surrender my mageblade." His gun was one thing, that was protocol, but Talonclaw was more than just a weapon, it was bonded to Talon magically, almost a part of him. He'd worked a long time to make it, to enchant it as an embodiment of his will and his magical power. He wouldn't surrender it easily. Besides, what did they think he would do with it in Lofwyr's presence? Even a mageblade was of little use against the power of a great dragon.
"Sir." Montejac began, her eyes narrowing dangerously. Then she stopped and cocked her head, as if listening to a voice no one else could hear. She nodded, almost unconsciously, and turned back to Talon and the others.
"You may enter." she said. "He is expecting you."
Talon swallowed and nodded. Brackhaus stepped forward and pushed open the bronzed doors, allowing Talon, Boom, and Goronay to enter, followed closely by the unobtrusive security guards.
Dominating the room was the sprawling body of the great golden dragon, making Talon feel quite small and insignificant in comparison. As he stood looking at the shimmering, awesome shape of Lofwyr, he heard a voice speaking in his mind.
"
Welcome
,
Talon. I've been looking forward to this meeting."
The "corner office" of the Saeder-Krupp arcology was a vast room by necessity. One could easily have landed a mid-sized VTOL inside it, with plenty of space to maneuver. In fact, in many ways it less resembled an office than a hangar, or perhaps a cavernous den where a dragon would feel more at home.
Two adjoining walls were floor-to-ceiling armored macroglass, with adjustable tint and opacity, currently set to provide a clear view of the
The wall in which those doors were set was of pale
stone, carved with elaborate bas-reliefs that looked medieval in style. No noble knights slaying dragons on them, however. They could very well have been authentic, looted from some castle or other ruin in Europe during the work of the Restoration. The floor was a seamless slab of dark marble, smooth and cool, although the air in the room was fairly warm.
The wall off to the right of the doors drew the most interest. The entire surface was covered with a sensitive film of ruthenium polymers, turning the whole wall into a giant trideo screen. On that screen were dozens of different "windows" showing video footage, computer graphics, and scrolling lists of text and numbers. Talon recognized a couple of major international news channels, along with the stock indices for Tokyo, London, and Boston. The rest was just a meaningless jumble of sounds and images overlapping, too much information at once for his senses to make heads or tails out of it.
In the midst of the room, lying curled up like a giant house cat, was by far the largest dragon Talon had ever seen. Not that he'd seen many. Most people gladly went their whole lives never getting any closer to an actual dragon than on the trideo. Talon had met only one other during his years in the shadows, and that creature was a child compared to the majestic shape he saw before him. It wasn't until he looked on Lofwyr, resting in his own lair, that Talon understood where the term "great dragon" came from.
Even curled up like he was, bat-like wings furled tightly against his back, back spines lying flat, with his sharp, reptilian head close to the floor, Lofwyr was huge. The dragon's golden scales shimmered in the light coming from the upper corners of the room as his sides heaved slowly, in and out, like great bellows. The air was filled with the dry, musty scent of a reptile house. Talon was reminded of a lizard, sunning itself on a rock, as he saw Lofwyr bathed in the glow of the track lighting from above.
As Talon, Boom, and their escort entered the room, the dragon raised up his head and forelimbs and stretched, another catlike gesture, spreading his wings so the tips brushed up against the far walls of the room. One look from Lofwyr's golden eyes reminded Talon that this was no mere lizard, but a creature of formidable intelligence, who single-handedly controlled the world's largest megacorp.