She writhed and screamed, and a sudden bubble bloomed on her chest.

"Get back!" cried Machiko.

Too late.

Before any of them, frozen with surprise, could do a thing, the bubble burst. Like a gory jack-in-the-box, flaps of bone and flesh lifted off, and suddenly a wormlike thing stood up in the middle of Piezki's chest. Blood sprayed around the room like a crazy water sprinkler.

They were all splattered with it.

Petra Piezki got one look at the creature she'd given crimson breech birth to, and then her head fell back, holding Death in its eyes.

The wormthing chittered at them and started sliding out.

"Stand back!" cried Machiko. She pulled out her gun from its holster and fired at the creature.

It slapped off to one side and skittered away.

The two slugs slammed into Piezki's body, kicking up divots of shattered ribs and gouts of flesh and blood.

Machiko tracked the running, slithering thing. No question. Bug-larvae time.

If she knew one thing, she knew she had to clip its wings before it flewinto ductwork or down the hall to hide in some broom closet. She was grateful she'd had pistol practice.

Now, though, she'd have to prove she could use it in the clinch.

The thing was at the door. Closed. It slithered quickly toward shadow.

Machiko squeezed off three shots.

The first missed.

The second bit off a chunk of flesh on the tail.

The third rammed directly into the head, exploding the ugly, b.l.o.o.d.y ma.s.s into an uglier, bloodier ma.s.s. The thing flipped over and commenced spasming, somehow still straining for escape.

Machiko calmly walked over and put another bullet in it.

The acid blood smoked as it ate away at the floor.

"Better get some neutralizing agents in here, Zorski."

Zorski got on the phone.

Machiko put her gun back in her holster.

Too bad Attila couldn't have seen that. He would have been proud of her.

She turned and walked over to where Abner Brookings stood, bloodied and horrified.

She tapped his chest. "h.e.l.lo. h.e.l.lo. Anyone in there?"

"No. No, I wasn't infected. Don't cut me open .... I swear."

She looked at him in disgust. "I was talking about your heart."

Recovering, Evanston had somehow found a towel and was wiping off the blood. "Nurse. Have that body taken out of here and destroyed immediately."

"The problem hits a little closer to home, Evanston."

Evanston nodded. "Yes. That's why I hired you and the others."

"An excellent choice, all of us."

"You worked well this morning?" His words were strained.

"Very well."

"Good. I'm sure you're going to be busy very soon."

"Fine. That's what we're here for." She found a towel herself and began to get rid of some of the blood. Funny, it didn't really bother her. After the business on Ryus.h.i.+, after her time with the pack, after helping those miners, she'd experienced plenty of blood, much of it hers.

A detail.

"That tour of the genetic biolab," said Machiko. "I really should have a look. There may be infection-" Evanston shook his head. "I can't-I'm in no state now for any kind of silly tour."

"This evening, then?"

"No. No, I'm sorry."

"Well, tomorrow."

"Tomorrow I want you to go out again and do what I hired you to do, Noguchi." His voice was firm. "I will advise my scientists and workers to look for infiltration into their systems. When things are down to a mild roar here, I'll be happy to show you the place myself."

"Surely someone else can-"

"Have you forgotten? I am your employer. I make the rules. Now leave me be.

I have"-he shook his head sadly-"to take a shower and start coordinating precautions against these things." He put a chubby hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks for the good work here, though. And the quick thinking."

"Good thing you let me wear a sidearm," she said. "Better if you'd let me see that biolab."

"No," he said firmly, and began walking away. "That's impossible."

She looked down at the body of Petra Piezki, eyes wide-open and face frozen in a rictus of terror.

She could sense it now.

Something was very wrong here, and it wasn't just the yautja, it wasn't just the kainde amedha.

Chapter 16.

They were having that beer.

"Too bad about Piezki," said Sanchez.

"Yeah." She took a long, hard gulp. Grimaced. She didn't particularly like it, but sharing a beer with someone seemed important now. "I should have called it."

"Me too."

"We can't get everything right."

He drank again and there was silence.

"I guess there have been times with both of us when everything has been wrong, hasn't there?" said Machiko.

"You know, Noguchi, you're just too d.a.m.n perceptive for your own good."

"That beer looks gone. You want another one?"

"Helps limber the tongue, doesn't it?"

"Sometimes."

She went and got two fresh brews. Opened his. Set it before him. The beer was good and cold, a dark, yeasty ale. No label. Brewed here.

They sipped in silence for a moment.

"You know," the man said after a while, "back where I come from, when a woman takes a fella back to her room, orders the a.s.sistant out, pours him a couple beers, and starts talking personal stuff, the man might think she was trying to seduce him."

"So what do you think, Ned Sanchez?"

He shrugged. "I'd say you're not the most feminine creature that's crossed my path. But, you know, you're probably one that I could respect in the morning-so to speak."

She smiled tartly. "Bulls.h.i.+t. I can tell when a man fancies me, Sanchez."

"Sounds like you can tell when you fancy a man, too."

"The hard head takes a little cracking-" She looked away. "I'm sorry. It's just been a while since I've felt that way, I guess. Never mind. Sorry to be so forward. Probably turns you off."

His hand suddenly took hers. Although it was a rough hand, it was warm, and it had a firmness and a purpose to it.

"No. Not at all. I guess I'm just used to being the pursuer."

"Want to start over?"

"No. I'm fine with the way it is." He took another drink.

He slowly and solidly got up.

Pulled her to her feet.

Brought himself up against her.

She could feel herself melting against him. His arms went around her, and for once her mind could just drift away into nothingness and release. The next thing she knew she was kissing him, and it was warm and right.

When they came up for breath, he said, "I take it back"

"Take what back?"

"The crack about your not being feminine. You're entirely female."

"I'd hardly get respect bug-killing in a dress."

"No."

"We might both be dead tomorrow."

"But we're not dead now."

Later, in the afterglow of a particularly satisfactory biological act, coated with an intriguing amount of pheromones and a kind of odd connection she'd never quite felt before, Machiko found herself speechless.

"You know, I guess I should count my lucky perks," Ned Sanchez said finally. She put a finger to his lips. "Shh. Let me savor this.

"It's been a long time since you've had a man."

"No. It's been a long time since there's been any feeling involved."

"Ah. I think I'll need some silence to think about that one."

He took it.

She closed her eyes and just lay there a moment. G.o.d knew what was ahead of her, but she knew what was here now, and she accepted it gratefully.

Eventually, he spoke.

"Maybe I should tell you something, Machiko."

"Maybe you shouldn't."

"No, I think it would be a good idea."