"No."
"Look, goddammit "
"Decisions must be made. Discussed and made."
"I've made my decision."
"And I don't agree," Tachyon said flatly. "Grant me a little consideration in this, Ackroyd. I stand between three friends." The detective stared at Brennan. "Friends," he snorted. Tachyon lowered himself slowly back into his chair. Brennan could see the strain on his face, but the mental vise he'd placed upon Brennan's mind still held. "We will talk," the alien said, "but peace will lie upon this room."
Bending, Tachyon pulled his dagger from its boot sheath and dropped it on the carpet at his feet. Jennifer walked woodenly toward Tachyon and dropped her gun next to the knife. Tachyon turned to Brennan. "Daniel, will you lay down your weapon?"
There was no sense being stupidly stubborn. There was no way he could break Tachyon's mind control, and there was no way anything further would happen if he insisted on keeping his gun. He nodded, almost imperceptibly.
"And Ackroyd?" Tachyon asked. "What about you?"
"I hate this Takisian bullshit."
"I could take control of you and make you a dummy in these talks. I would prefer not to."
"Yeah, well, okay."
"Hands in pockets, please."
Tachyon released Brennan. He stepped forward and dropped his gun at Tachyon's feet. He looked at the alien with anger and bitterness in his eyes. "You betrayed me," he said.
"I prevented murder," the alien snapped. "Self-defense-"
"Oh, please! We bandy with words. Killing, it's all killing! You kill Jay because he attempts to put you in the Tombs. You kill Hiram because you get to mete out justice. The end result is all the same-death! And it's got to stop!" Tachyon pressed the heel of his hand against his head as if trying to push back agony. He turned to Worchester, who had been a mute witness to this all. "Hiram, what do you intend to do?"
"That's already been decided," said Jay. "We'll take-"
"Shut up! Hiram?"
"I'll return to New York and turn myself over to the authorities."
"I'll accept that," Brennan said. It was a reasonable end to their difficulties. It was a solution Chrysalis would understand. "I don't recall him asking your fucking opinion," Jay gritted.
"He'd better take it into consideration," Brennan said. He turned to face Worchester. "If you get to the airport and change your mind, if you decide to run, you'd better know now that you'll never have another day's peace. I'll be coming for you."
"You utterly amaze me, Daniel, with your rigid, selfrighteous certainty," Tachyon said. "Who made you God? Who gave you the right to place your judgment above all others?"
Brennan barked a short, harsh laugh. "That's funny coming from you, Tachyon. Release Jennifer."
"No," Tachyon said, shaking his head.
"Why not?" Brennan asked, flaring with anger he could no longer suppress. "We have an agreement."
Jay plunged forward. "We've agreed to nothing. Hiram stands trial and maybe goes to prison for a mistake, while this guy walks free? Fuck that! If his little war excuses him, then Hiram should be completely exonerated."
"Jay," Tachyon said, shaking his head, "you've allowed your anger to replace your brains. Elmo stands accused of a crime he did not commit. Hiram has confessed to it. He must stand trial."
"Yeah, but we're talking involuntary manslaughter here. Voluntary manslaughter, tops. Hiram may walk out of that courtroom with probation." Jay jerked a thumb at Brennan. "How's Danny Boy gonna take that?"
"We'll all have to see, won't we?" Brennan said coldly.
"To hell with that," Jay said. "Why don't we let Hiram write out his confession and then get on a plane to Tibet or wherever the hell he wants to go?"
"He'll die before he ever reaches that plane," Brennan said softly.
"Not if you're behind bars."
Hiram stirred and got off the bed. He no longer looked lost, victimized. It seemed as if he'd made a decision and was determined to carry it through. "You can talk until you're both damned," he said. "This is my decision to make, and I will go to New York and stand trial because I choose to." He looked directly at Brennan. "And not because I'm afraid of you. I'm not."
And Brennan could see that that was true. Hiram had been through the fire and emerged cleansed. He looked as if he feared nothing now.
"Hiram-" Jay began.
"Jay, your friendship warms me, but I must do this. I've been a puppet for too long. First with… him… then with Ti Malice. Well, it's all over. I'm through being a puppet."
"Hiram's right," Tachyon said passionately. "Don 7t any of you understand? Hiram's trial is critical, not only for Elmo or Hiram, but for aU of us. The law is the witness of our moral life. Its history is the history of the moral development of your race. But my race upset the balance. We created superhumans, and the result has been a growing chaos. The Turtle assaults with impunity because he is armored literally and figuratively with the secret of his identity. I invade people's minds. You, Jay, violate their civil liberties. And Daniel, you kill them. If we don't demonstrate our willingness to abide by the rule of law, then we are everything Barnett says we are. We are dangerous and heedless and deserve to be controlled since we are unwilling or unable to abide by the rules of civilized society"
"That's fascinating," Brennan said dryly, "but you missed something. I'm not a wild card. I'm just a nat."
Jay whirled on him. "You bastard. Tachyon, all you've done is convince me that I'm right, and that this killer should be behind-"
Jay cut off in midsentence. Brennan looked at Tachyon, pale and shaken, who had half risen out of his chair.
"Yes," Tachyon said wearily. "I am once again playing God. Go, Daniel. Take your lady and go. Never return. If you do, know that I will not aid you."
Jennifer swayed drunkenly when Tachyon released her. Brennan caught her, supported her. He looked back at Tachyon once before he left the hotel suite, and Tachyon looked back. Neither parting glance was kind.
When Brennan and his girlfriend were both gone, Tachyon finally released his iron grip on Jay's body and mind. The alien was trembling, his brow beaded with sweat.
Jay ran to the door, jumped out into the hall, looked up and down. There was no one waiting for the elevators. He made a dash for the stairwell, slammed through the fire door, breathing hard. The stairs were empty, silent. They were gone.
Swearing loudly with disgust, Jay turned on his heel and stalked back to the room. He slammed the door shut behind him. The noise made Tachyon wince. Jay pointed at him, his arm trembling with tension. "I hope you realize what you've done," he said bitterly. "You've just let another Demise out onto the streets."
Tachyon looked at him for a long moment. Then the wide lilac eyes rolled up into his head, and the little alien fainted dead away.
"Oh, hell," Jay said. The perfect ending to a perfect week. He gave Hiram a weary look. "C'mon," he said, "help me tuck the little fuck into bed."
10:00 P.M.
Sometimes, Brennan thought, duty was never ending. He and Jennifer had left Atlanta immediately. They retrieved Brennan's van from the airport parking lot and drove to where the Crystal Palace used to be. Brennan got out and walked over to the ruins.
It was dark. There were few pedestrians on the street. There was nothing to bring them here now that the crystal lady was dead and her palace was gone. Brennan stared at the wreckage for a long moment. The stench of burning was still in the air, the tide of memories still flowed in his mind. He turned and stood before one of the piles of debris that had been around since the Jokertown riot. He waited until he saw eyes blinking inside it.