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“You bet, lieutenant”

“Good job” She reached down, favoring her injured arm and chose a Galaxy bar that hadn’t been flattened by the wrestlinghome”

“You didn’t pay for that,” Francois shouted after her

“Fuck you, Frank,” she shouted back and kept going

The incident put her behind schedule By the time she reached Roarke’s mansion, it was 7:10 She’d used over the counter medication to ease the pain in her arm and shoulder If it wasn’t better in a couple of days, she knew she’d have to go in for an exam She hated doctors

She parked the car and spent a ht Its four stories towered over the frosted trees of Central Park It was one of the old buildings, close to two hundred years old, built of actual stone, if her eyes didn’t deceive her

There was lots of glass, and lights burning gold behind the s There was also a security gate, behind which evergreen shrubs and elegant trees were artistically arranged

Even nificence of architecture and landscaping was the quiet She heard no city noises here No traffic snarls, no pedestrian chaos Even the sky overhead was subtly different than the one she was accustomed to farther don Here, you could actually see stars rather than the glint and gleam of transports

Nice life if you can get it, she ate, prepared to identify herself She saw the tiny red eye of a scanner blink, then hold steady The gates opened soundlessly

So, he’d prograht, unsure if she was aate, up the short drive, and left her car at the base of granite steps

A butler opened the door for her She’d never actually seen a butler outside of old videos, but this one didn’t disappoint the fantasy He was silver haired, implacably eyed and dressed in a dark suit and ruthlessly knotted old-fashioned tie

“Lieutenant Dallas”

There was an accent, a faint one that sounded British and Slavic at once “I have an appointment with Roarke”

“He’s expecting you” He ushered her into a wide, towering hallway that looked more like the entrance to a museum than a home

There was a chandelier of star-shaped glass dripping light onto a glossy wood floor that was graced by a boldly patterned rug in shades of red and teal A stairway curved away to the left with a carved griffin for its newel post