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'All our working practices have been officially sanctioned.' Bacci pointed to the glass door on the right. 'The small biocontainment lab isn't approved for level three or four hot agents, but it's okay up to level two, which is all we need for developing basic viral vectors,'

'You're welcome to use one of Comvec's smart vectors,'Joachim said.

Bacci smiled. 'I'm more than happy for you to suggest improvements but the two genetically engineered viruses I've been using are line. Both get the genes into the host cells' DNA, and that's all they need to do. The Sixty-nine vector targets the short-living somatic cells and the Seventy-two targets the lifetime stem cells. Where I need help from Kappel Privatbank and Comvec is in funding, organizing clinical trials to satisfy the various regulatory bodies, and commercial advice on how best to launch the product.'

'We can do that,' Max said.

Bacci walked down the middle of the room. 'In simple terms three processes are required to make the drug. First we isolate and recombine the genes we want to insert into the target cell's DNA. This is the active ingredient of the NiL drug, the engineered DNA patch that overwrites the genetic code currently in the target cell, instructing new levels of hormone and brain chemical production and inserting the genetic facial blueprint of the love object.

'Second, we need to create an appropriate viral vector, which as you know is essentially an attenuated virus.'

'Attenuated?' Max asked.

'Tamed. Made harmless,' explained Joachim. 'Basically a virus is a non-thinking parcel of genetic material wrapped in protein, which exists to seek out hosts to reproduce itself. When it finds a host with receptive cells it enters one and usurps its genetic code, replacing it with its own. Then, when the cell containing the new viral DNA divides and replicates, the virus copies itself and spreads throughout the body.

'An attenuated virus has had its harmful DNA removed, leaving just the empty protein envelope, which can then be filled with therapeutic human genes and chemically addressed to specific cells in the human body. Therefore the properties that make a virus so dangerous also make it ideal for delivering new genes, namely its accurate targeting mechanism and its ability to replace the DNA in a host's cell with its own.'

'Exactly,' said Bacci. 'And the third process required to produce the NiL drug entails what Joachim has just said. We take the recombined genetic material from the first process - the NiL genes - and insert them into the attenuated viral vector from the second process and, hey presto, we have our magic bullet.' He pointed to the equipment on the right of the laboratory. 'The apparatus on this side is used to isolate and recombine the NiL genes, and the biocontainment lab is where we create the viral vectors.' He pointed to the left. "The small pilot production plant on this side of the lab brings everything together and produces the drug in powder form.'

'Very impressive,' Joachim said. 'Everything from the Gallen-camp incubators to the Genescope are top quality. No wonder you need more funding.' He pointed to a matt black swan-like machine on the right side of the laboratory. 'Is that Genescope a version eight?'

Bacci nodded. 'I need at least an eight for the speed and accuracy. It's been modified too. Come.' He walked over to the machine, which looked like a cross between a computer and a large microscope. Attached to it was a smaller, scanner-like device, with a white horizontal area that reminded Max of a photocopier, and a monitor. 'Embedded in the DNA of every cell in our bodies is a copy of our entire genome, the unique genetic code that specifies every physiological aspect of our individual makeup. This code has an alphabet of four letters, A, G, T and C, which stand for the four base chemicals adenine, guanine, thymine and cytosine. These letters spell out words -- genes -- which in turn spell out our entire sentence of life, our genome.'

He smiled at Max. 'A human genome is about three billion letters long. These letters contain almost a hundred thousand genes. Genes don't actually do anything themselves. They're just code. But this code instructs every aspect of our physiological development -how our hair grows, how we age, how our cells divide, how we digest our food. We are born with this software, inherited from our parents, but with gene therapy we are learning how to overwrite and correct the programming when it goes wrong.'

He tapped the black Genescope. 'This can read a biological sample and translate the entire genome contained within it. A hair follicle is all it needs.' He pointed to the scanner device. 'This attachment focuses only on the part of the genome that codes for the human face. This allows the Genescope readings to be faster and more precise.' He pulled a hair from his head and placed it on the flat scanning surface, a shallow white tray filled with clear liquid gel. 'The gel isolates all contaminants and helps break down the sample for analysis.' He pressed a button on the swan's neck and a humming filled the air. The tray glowed with a blue, almost ultraviolet light, and less than a minute later the monitor on the side of the device flickered. Then Carlo Bacci's face appeared.

'The technology's similar to that found on most security scanners, except it's far more precise. Also, it doesn't just read the code, it extracts the relevant genetic material and splices it with the NiL genes.'

Joachim nodded, then glanced at the red door marked 'Samples'. 'Have you kept all your past versions of the drug?'

'Oh,yes. Allversions , including my mistakes, are in the refrigerated sample room. There's a rogue's gallery of weird and wonderful cocktails in there. I never throw anything away.' 'I'd love to see them some time. Can I look inside?' Bacci laughed again. 'Sure. If you really want to.' For the next forty-five minutes Bacci went through every detailed step of the development and production process. Afterwards, Max followed him to his office and left Joachim to explore the rest of the laboratory and the sample room.

AS BACCI SAT DOWN AT HIS DESK AND DIRECTED MAX TO A CHAIR, HE was torn between relief and excitement. He had aborted his plan to give Leo the drug. Isabella had said she didn't want him back. But giving Max and her the drug had been a different matter. In agreeing to her involvement, he had used her as an unwitting guinea pig. He had been wrestling with his conscience ever since.

He was convinced that a holiday romance would do her no harm and from her own account he had been right. But he had been on tenterhooks until her return from Antibes. Since her mother's death they had shared most things, and as soon as she had mentioned a brief romance with a man who had saved her from vicious thugs, he had felt better. If he hadn't involved her, Max wouldn't have been there to help her. And, of course, the episode had secured the Kappels' support for his drug.

'What now, Max?'

'The Kappel board meet next week to finalize our proposal. After that I'll report back to you with a full business plan - and funding. You'll have to sign some forms and Joachim will work alongside you for a few months. He understands your area and will prove invaluable when we seek the necessary approvals. The EU and the FDA are going to be all over this so we've got to make sure our application's unimpeachable. With Joachim liaising on the technical side and myself handling the commercial aspects, we can ensure that nothing slips through the cracks. Even so, it'll still take time. You'll have to be patient -- you also have to get rid of your lab technician. Joachim will be here to help and we can't allow the chance of a leak. Only employ technicians as and when you need them. And never the same one twice. Okay?'

'Okay.' Bacci smiled. 'How did it go in Antibes?'

Max pursed his lips and flushed. 'You were right. I fell in love with your daughter. And forty-eight hours later I fell out of love.' He spoke matter-of-facdy as if he were discussing a profit-and-loss statement.

His obvious discomfort amused Bacci. 'How's your arm?'

'Fine.'

'She told me you saved her life. Thank you for that. It makes me feel better about involving her.' Max said nothing. For all the man's reserve and control, Bacci sensed deep, repressed passion in him. 'As a matter of interest, did you save my daughter's life before or after you took NiL Sixty-nine.'

'Does it matter?'

'You tell me.'

Max changed the subject. 'I need to ask you a favour, Professor Bacci. It's a delicate matter.'

'Yes?'

'My father and his wife are unhappy. They're contemplating divorce and wondered if you could help.' He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out two small plastic bags. Each contained a single human hair. 'The follicles are intact. They would have come themselves, but they are proud and this is a difficult--'

Bacci raised his hand. 'Do they both want this? Your father and his wife?'

Max handed over an envelope. 'In here you will find a signed letter.'

He opened the envelope. The letter was a formal request for 'treatment' signed by both parties. 'Tell them it will be my pleasure. This is exactly what I developed NiL for.'

'Thank you.' Max paused. 'One more thing. On this occasion they request that you use NiL Seventy-two - the permanent version.'

THESTILLNIGHT AIR WAS HEAVY WITH THE ACRID PERFUME OF cigar smoke. After the monthly meeting with the non-family senior directors at Kappel Privatbank's offices, the family had retired to the Schloss to discuss the non-legitimate side of the business. Dinner was over and the men had withdrawn to the terrace where a white-jacketed manservant walked among them with a silver tray and four glasses: brandy for Helmut, Joachim and Klaus; malt whisky for Max. The Kappel women had withdrawn to the drawing room with Delphine Chevalier.

Helmut used the assassin's blade to cut off the tip of his cigar, then offered it to Max. He rarely offered anyone his cigarettes or cigars so this was an honour.

'Smoke with me, Max. You don't inhale cigars so it won't damage your diver's lungs.' Max hesitated, then accepted the cigar in the spirit in which it was given. As his father flicked his lighter and lit it for him, he could feel Joachim's eyes burn into him.

Once the servant had left and Helmut had closed die terrace doors, Klaus asked the question everyone had been avoiding throughout dinner. 'Where's Eva?'

Helmut sucked on his cigar. 'I'm divorcing her. The papers are prepared. You'll understand why in a moment. But, first, I need to tell you something.'

'What?'

Helmut gestured for Klaus to sit down. Max and Joachim joined him. Helmut remained standing. 'This family made its fortune and won its place in the world by understanding and exploiting two of man's most primal fears and desires - death and greed.' He looked at each of them in turn. 'As assassins in Italy we were successful, but we were still servants meting out death for our masters. Fortunately, our ancestor Dieter Kappel understood that any organism must evolve or die. So we evolved beyond servants and became business partners, bankers. For two hundred years we have enjoyed unprecedented wealth, status and success, making our clients and ourselves rich.

'Now we stand at another crossroads. Some of our clients, men whose wealth we created, threaten to close their accounts and withdraw their funds. Again we face extinction, and again we must evolve or die. Comvec was initiated to take us to the next level, but Comvec alone won't save us in time. It is no longer enough to be our clients' partners. We must now become their masters. We must use our expertise, in death and money, to exploit man's greatest weakness, his heart's desire, which we have the power not only to satisfy but to control. Love.'

'Love?' said Klaus, scratching his white beard. 'I don't understand.'

When Helmut had summarized Professor Bacci's project, Klaus frowned and crossed his arms, as sceptical as Max had been.

'Think about it, Klaus,' Helmut said. 'Imagine the chance to possess any woman or man in the world. Not just sexually, but their heart, their undying devotion. Who could resist that?'

'But does it work?'

'The science does,' said Joachim, from his seat on Helmut's left. He began to explain how the drug worked technically, but Klaus ignored him. 'Max, what do you think?'

Max shrugged. 'I thought it was bullshit too.' He gave a rueful smile. 'Until I tried it.'

Klaus shifted his heavy frame and uncrossed his arms. What happened?'

'Trust me, Klaus, it works . . .' he said, and told him about Antibes. His uncle's eyes gleamed.

'Joachim is checking out the technology,' Helmut said, 'and Max has devised two business plans. We will present one to Bacci and the other we will develop for ourselves. The Bacci plan will be a typical development schedule, including clinical trials and launch proposals. Naturally the timetable will stretch across many years, as it does with all drug-development programmes, and of course it will never happen. Our own covert proposal for using the drug will ensure that its existence is kept secret and we retain its powers.'

'But what do we do with it?' Klaus asked. 'Put an ad in the paper - "Love for Sale"?'

Helmut smiled. 'Not exactly.' He reached into a briefcase, pulled out four pale blue folders and passed them round. 'This is an outline of the project.'

Max opened his copy of the document he had helped to prepare. The project name, written on the cover in bold black type, was his choice, but he didn't recognize some of the later sections.

'From now on we only refer to the project by its name,' Helmut said.

'Ilium?' queried Klaus.