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The passage widened into a chamber Its walls were made from jawless skulls, layered like macabre bricks Flattop reached for a particular relic, sliding thick fingers into empty eye-sockets He pulled the skull and the wall parted, sliding out of the way

&039;Coh, into our lair,&039; said Brastov

The man with the cat stepped into the dark beyond the wall of skulls Lights auto to be prodded, Genevieve and Bond followed They stood on a platforround space The cavern was hewn out of naked rock, shored up withbroken classical colue television screens hung from stalactites Symbols crawled across animated maps of various continents Devices the size and shape of refrigerators, huge whirring spools of tape on their fronts, stood in ranks between rock-pools - up-to-date coirls in tailored white ju e boiler suits watched over the over their shoulders

They walked through the operations centre and were shown into changing rooiven a fresh suit of clothes Genevieve considered the evening gown she was offered, but decided to stick with her current practical outfit She didn&039;t want to put down her handbag for fear of losing the gun

While Bond sang a calypso in the shower, Genevieve looked at the hard-faced ned to watch over them She was a new-born, with typically slavic features Few of the people in Brastov&039;s lair were obvious Russians or even Eastern Europeans, though his operation was strictly Soviet, often at odds with the Italian Coanisations

Bond eroorey, with a double-knit blue tie He expected her to compliment him on how he looked, but she disappointed him She was too concerned with Charles, back at the flat alone, perhaps hurt

The matron ushered them into a luxuriously appointed office The fa behind a desk the size of an aircraft carrier A cluled froap and guessed that here Oly dolls was an eight-ar Kali

The ain in deep shadows A spotlight fell on the cat&039;s white fur The ani

&039;May I offer you so to drink?&039; said Brastov &039;We have a well-stocked cellar There are always expendable warmfellows You may kill one if you wish, Mr Bond After your exertion, you must have a touch of the red thirst&039;

Genevieve wouldn&039;t trust Brastov not to pal addict or tertiary syphilitic She declined his offer So, after a ht, did Bond

&039;Very well To business&039;

The cat stretched on the desk, rolling over He was the size of an Alsatian, and doubly fanged Pampered, but obviously a terror to his prey

&039;We were most saddened by the loss of Anibas Vajda&039;

There was steel in the conventional sentiment

&039;So e,&039; said Bond

&039;I doubt that Her loyalties wavered At the ti in our direction Frankly, ondered if you htn&039;t have eliminated her yourself&039;

&039;As it happens, I didn&039;t Not for want of trying&039;

&039;That is as we thought, Mr Bond This business between us, between East and West, may seem impenetrable to outsiders like Madea for a very s influence on the House of Vajda and, through that, getting close to Prince Dracula He still has a certain following in our sphere of influence, and is capricious regarding the use to which he puts it He could be useful or a nuisance to either of us Since the war, he has sat in his palazzo, withdrawn from the world He has had such moods before They do not last&039;

Despite herself, Genevieve was interested

She gathered the Russians were as in the dark as anyone else about il principe&039;s intentions

&039;This Crimson Executioner is the tool of a third force,&039; said the Cat Man &039;A major player, perhaps But not one who has stepped into the field honestly We speak of a hider in the shadows&039;

Genevieve alht think so his enterprises in the present day&039;

She knehom he meant

&039;Or one of the others - Herr Doktor Mabuse, Monsieur Anthony Zenith, even the astronoht them all retired or dead, but those conditions are seldom permanent with such men In the second half of this century, the nature of shadow kings has changed Secret societies abound, but they have become like corporations You saw the wonderful boxes outside, addingmachines Where are the robes and rites and curses of yesteryear? Do you know, Mr Bond, I miss all that In my network, I have as many accountants as assassins&039;

&039;One hopes they are of better quality,&039; Bond said, resting his hand on one of Kali&039;s upper arms &039;Or I should fear even for the Kremlin&039;s deep pockets&039;

&039;We&039;re not quite at that stage, old fellow&039;

Kali&039;s eyes sprung open Bond wasn&039;t startled

&039;She is more than a machine,&039; Brastov co of an ancient despot You have to ad such a beauty to life Her embrace is final but her victims die in unspeakable ecstasy Really Spirit ht them out in the afterlife to confirm it&039;

&039;I&039;ve had too many final embraces these last few days&039;

The cat&039;syawn

&039;That you have, Mr Bond You sought out Charles Beauregard to quiz hiuessed as er Later, if they survived, she&039;d settle with the British spy He had pointlessly endangered a dying aht to the breakable hu the same lines as myself He is a man of quality&039;

&039;He ht be involved,&039; ventured Bond &039;Mario Balato&039;s shower&039;

Brastov hissed a laugh &039;He ht have mentioned the possibility, but he would not subscribe to it Our unruly children are a bother, I admit They believe in too ame Another unwelcome twentieth century trait But this isn&039;t their sort of business No, we&039;ve to look a little deeper, under the stones The answer to this question is old, as old perhaps as Roed

&039;Mademoiselle,&039; Brastov addressed her, &039;have you heard of Mater Lachrymarum?&039;

&039;She&039;s supposed to be one of Three Mothers,&039; Genevieve said &039;Witches or Goddesses or Patron Demons - Mater Suspirioruhs; Mater Tenebrarum, the Mother of Darkness; and Mater Lachrymarum, the Mother of Tears Guardians of the Sick Soul of Europe, or some such Thomas De Quincey wrote an essay about them&039;

&039;You impress me I had expected that Officially, I have little time for such arcane nonsense It ss as un-socialist But I have many sources Mater Lachrymarum, the Mother of Tears, is the oldest of the three, and her legend is inextricably bound up with the history of Rome She was here before Romulus and Remus, they say She has presided over her invisible court throughout the city&039;s history Caligula sacrificed to her and Rodrigo Borgia was her lover before he became Holy Father Myths and rumours and fairy tales, but at their heart is a truth that affects us all There&039;s a whisper that the Mother of Tears is end and that this Crimson Executioner is in her thrall&039;

Genevieve realised they&039;d been brought here not to be questioned, but to be given an answer

This was all about dropping a name

Mater Lachrymarum

The intervieas ended Brastov had concluded his business One of them would be let free, to do with the information as they would The other would be killed, to underline the seriousness of the matter

&039;Perhaps you&039;d care to dance with Kali,&039; Brastov said

The auto Bond&039;s chest

The Cat Man laughed

Genevieve took the Walther out of her bag and tossed it to Bond He was the one who kne to use the wretched thing

He stepped forward, drew perfect aim, and shot the man behind the desk In the chest, twice The cat-minder snapped into his swivel chair, then pitched slowly onto his face

She couldn&039;t believe Bond had racious,&039; said Brastov &039;Russians are so hard to train&039;

Bond was astonished Genevieve was exasperated

&039;Not the man, you idiot,&039; Genevieve shouted &039;The cat!&039;

Brastov flowed across the desk like furred lightning, padding on swelling paws He assuer, forepaws fingered

Bond shot again, but barely brushed Brastov&039;s shrinking tail

A flap opened in the wall and Brastov slipped through it

Bond was at a coet you out of here alive,&039; Genevieve said to hi strength she was about to need &039;But that&039;s it You&039;ll be on your own My patience with this silly game is exhausted&039;