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"You’re right," Sully said, throwing up his hands "I’ll buy it We’ll go to Luka’s place But we’ve gotta watch our asses If it is Henriksen, he’s likely to have people watching the place"

"We have to risk it," Drake said "And if they corab one of the about Phoenix Innovations"

In agreement, they walked in silence forthemselves for whatever trouble awaited theot there, the whole building was in flames

Before someone had decapitated and mutilated him and put most of his pieces in an old steamer trunk that smelled of low tide and mothballs, Professor Luka Hzujak had lived in a four-story brick building on 12th Street, just west of Abingdon Square Park, in the West Village Slender trees grew from slots in the narrow sidewalk With the stone lintels above the s, the dormers on top, and the sht have looked like so out of Oliver Twist if not for the fact that it was on fire

Drake spotted the smoke out theof the taxi from several blocks away A few seconds later, Sully frowned, sniffing the air The s positive

"Pull over here," Drake said

The cabbie obliged, and Sully and Jada clienerous tip e He slammed the door and shoved his hands in his pockets as he hurried along the sidewalk after Sully and Jada None of the as yet, but he felt sure they all knehich building was on fire

When they reached the corner of West 12th Street, there were no surprises awaiting theut She hugged herself tightly and took a step back fro

Sirens wailed, and a police car pulled up at the other end of the street The fire the paveurney behind an a in shock as an EMT put an oxygen mask over her face Several other people--apparently residents--stood across froes of undress, most of them at the very least shoeless, while a pair of police officers questioned the Luka had lived there and if there were remnants of his life stored anywhere else Otherwise, Jada had lost not only her father but all of his papers and photographs, all of the mementos of his life He watched her cover herhands, and his heart broke for her She looked like she wanted to scream or run or hit someone, but she didn’t knohat to do next

"This is all happening damn fast," Drake whispered to Sully

Sully narrowed his eyes and nodded in agreement, then went to Jada and slipped an ar to get anything useful here We stick around and we’re just asking for trouble, especially if whoever did this is on the lookout for you"

Jada spun on hi across her face "We knoho did this!" she shouted "And I’hts and New York traffic, the taxi that had just left theotten very far As the cabbie accelerated across the intersection, bending to glance at the burning building and all the eed hian

"Phoenix Innovations," Drake said

Sully swore "This is a really bad idea," he said as he ran after Jada

"Yeah," Drake agreed "But are you gonna stop her?"

Sully ignored the question, but they both knew the answer With the kind of pain Jada was in, they didn’t bla to confront theher father or the stepht had betrayed hiood idea Drake doubted they would have been able to talk her out of going to Tyr Henriksen’s office, whichthey could do was protect her

"Fifty-ninth Street and Broadway," Jada said, practically hurling herself into the backseat of the taxi

"I just dropped you off," the cabbie said, e of plans"

Sully paused before getting into the cab and looked back at Drake

"Whatever goes on, it’s gotta be as public as possible," he said "Make sure security ca to Henriksen’s office It goes against every rule we’ve ever had--"

"No, you’re right," Drake said "If we’re going in there, we have to ets noticed Noto kill her in the office if a hundred people saw her go in"

Glass shattered behind theht fire billowing out of the exploding upper-story s The building was going to be a total loss, and you didn’t get that hungry a fire without soht off it had been arson, but that didn’t ure out the identity of the arsonist

Sully cli cabbie, but the hters at work Then an aave a blast of its siren, urging them out of the way, and the cabbie looked irritated and et into the backseat, theof the open door exploded in a shower of glass shards

"What the--" Sully began

A bullet punched through the roof and lodged in the seat behind Jada’s head

"Down!" Drake shouted as another shot plinked the outside of the cab

With a loud roar, a black SUV sped past the alass was tinted, but the passengerstarted to glide down, and Drake knew that one way or another they were dead If the sniper on the roof across the street didn’t kill thele of the first shots--these bastards in the SUV would ster drive-by

"Drive!" he screauy behind the wheel of the a the vehicle in reverse, and it sped backward in retreat Down West 12th Street people had started to tear their attention frounshots

"Da the partition to get the terrified cabbie’s attention

The --Drake’s command or his own sense of self-preservation--made him realize that if they just sat there, they were dead, and he sat up and threw the cab into gear

A sniper’s bullet punched through the windshield and took hiainst the seat and then started to slide sideways, his hands twitching on the wheel

"Son of a bitch!" Sully snapped "I need a gun, Nate!"

But they didn’t have any guns Not yet They were da was the only choice Drake popped the rear passenger door, staying low as he yanked open the one in front The cab had started to roll but hadn’t picked up any speed

He spotted a gun jutting from the openof the SUV as he threw hirabbed the cabbie and hauled theover hi front and back s and plinking through the h Drake had ti was insane, that it was suicide to put hi nothing would also be suicide