Pauline looked at him, worried. 'Tanner, is there any way they can trace your calls?'

Tanner laughed. 'I hope they do. If someone tries to trace them, they'll reach a relay in a church, then a second relay takes them to a school. The third relay will set up storms they'll wish they had never seen. And the fourth time it ends up at the Oval Office of the White House.'

Pauline laughed.

The door opened and Andrew walked in.

Tanner turned. 'Ah. Here's my dear brother.'

Andrew was staring at Pauline, a puzzled expression on his face. 'Don't I know you?' He looked at her for almost a minute as he concentrated, and then his face lit up. 'You-you and Tanner were- going to get married. I was the best man. You're-you're Princess.'

Pauline said, 'Very good, Andrew.'

'But you-you went away. You didn't love Tanner.'

Tanner spoke up. 'Let me straighten you out. She went away because she did love me.' He took Pauline's hand. 'She telephoned me the day after her wedding. She married a very rich, influential man so she could use her husband's influence to get important clients for KIG. That's why we were able to grow so fast.' Tanner gave Pauline a hug. 'We arranged to meet secretly every month.' He said proudly, 'And then she got interested in politics and became a senator.'

Andrew frowned. 'But-but Sebastiana-Sebastiana-'

'Sebastiana Cortez.' Tanner laughed. 'She was a decoy, to throw people off the track. I made sure that everyone at the office knew about her. Princess and I couldn't afford to let anyone become suspicious.'

Andrew said vaguely, 'Oh, I see.'

'Come over here, Andrew.' Tanner led him to the control centre. They stood in front of Prima.

Tanner said, 'Do you remember this? You helped develop it. Now it's finished.'

Andrew's eyes widened. 'Prima . . .'

Tanner pointed to a b.u.t.ton and said, 'Yes. Weather control.' He pointed to another b.u.t.ton. 'Location.' He looked at his brother. 'See how simple we made it?'

Andrew said, under his breath, 'I remember . . .'

Tanner turned to Pauline. 'This is only the beginning, Princess.'

Tanner took her in his arms. 'I'm researching thirty more countries.

'You got what you wanted. Power and money.'

Pauline said happily, 'A computer like that could be worth-'

'Two computers like that,' Tanner said. 'I have a surprise for you. Have you ever heard of Tamoa Island, in the South Pacific?'

'No.'

'We just bought it. It's sixty square miles and unbelievably beautiful. It's in the French Polynesian islands, and it has a landing strip and a yacht harbour. It has everything, including'-he paused dramatically-'Prima II.'

Pauline said, 'You mean there's another-?'

Tanner nodded. 'That's right. It's underground, where no one can ever find it. Now that those two nosy b.i.t.c.hes are finally out of the way, the world is ours.'

CHAPTER 43.Kelly was the first to open her eyes. She was lying on her back, naked, on the bare floor of a concrete bas.e.m.e.nt, her hands handcuffed to eight-inch chains fastened to the wall, just above the floor. There was a small, barred window at the far end of the room, and a heavy door leading into the room.

Kelly turned to see Diane next to her, also naked and handcuffed. Their clothing had been thrown into a corner.

Diane said groggily, 'Where are we?'

'We're in h.e.l.l, partner.'

Kelly tested the handcuffs. They were tight and firm around her wrists. She could lift her arm four or five inches, but that was it. 'We walked right into their trap,' she said bitterly.

'You know what I hate most about this?'

Kelly looked around the bare room and said, 'I can't imagine.'

'They won. We know why they killed our husbands, and why they're going to kill us, but there's no way we can ever tell the world. They've gotten away with it. Kingsley was right. Our luck has finally run out.'

'No, it hasn't.' The door had opened, and Harry Flint was standing in the room. His smile widened. He locked the door behind him and put the key in his pocket. 'I shot you with Xylocaine bullets. I was supposed to kill you, but I thought we'd all have a little fun first.' He moved closer.

The two women exchanged a terrified look. They watched Flint, grinning, take off his shirt and trousers. 'Look what I have for you,' he said. He dropped his shorts. His member was stiff and turgid. Flint looked at the two of them and moved toward Diane. 'Why don't I start with you, baby, and then-'

Kelly interrupted. 'Wait a minute, handsome. How about taking me first? I feel h.o.r.n.y.'

Diane looked at her, stunned. 'Kelly-'

Flint turned to Kelly and smirked. 'Sure, baby. You're going to love this.'

Flint reached down and started to stretch out on top of Kelly's naked body.

'Oh, yes.' Kelly moaned. 'I've really missed this.'

Diane had closed her eyes. She could not bear to watch.

Kelly stretched her legs apart, and as Flint started to enter her, Kelly raised her right arm a few inches and reached into her upswept hairdo. When her hand came down, there was a rat-tailed comb with a steel tip five inches long in it. In one quick motion, she slammed the steel tail into the back of Harry Flint's neck, pushing its steel tip all the way through.

Flint tried to scream, but all that came out was a loud gurgle. Blood was pouring out of his neck. Diane opened her eyes, stunned.

Kelly looked over at Diane. 'You-you can relax now.' She pushed away the limp figure on top of her. 'He's dead.'

Diane's heart was beating so fast it felt as though it was going to leap from her chest. Her face was ghostly white.

Kelly was watching her, alarmed. 'Are you all right?'

'I was afraid he was going to-' Her mouth went dry. She looked at the b.l.o.o.d.y body of Harry Flint and shuddered. 'Why didn't you tell me about-?' She pointed to the rat-tailed comb in his neck.

'Because if it hadn't worked . . . well, I didn't want you to think I failed you. Let's get out of here.'

'How?'

'I'll show you.' Kelly stretched out a long leg to where Flint had dropped his pants. Her toes reached out to grab his trousers. Two inches too far away. She shifted closer. One inch too short. Then finally, success.

Kelly grinned. 'Voila!' Her toes clutched the leg of the trousers, and she slowly pulled them close until they were near enough to grab with her hands. She was going through his pockets, looking for the key to the handcuffs. She found it. A moment later, her hands were free. She hurried to free Diane.

'My G.o.d, you're a miracle,' Diane said.

'Thank my new hairdo. Let's get away from here.'

The two women picked up their clothes from the floor and quickly dressed. Kelly took the key to the door from Flint's pocket.

They walked over to the door and listened a moment. Silence. Kelly opened the door. They were in a long, empty corridor.

'There must be a back way out of here,' Diane said.

Kelly nodded. 'All right. You go that way and I'll go the other way and-'

'No. Please. Let's stay together, Kelly.'

Kelly squeezed Diane's arm and nodded. 'Right, partner.'

Minutes later, the two women found themselves in a garage. There was a Jaguar and a Toyota in it.

'Take your choice,' Kelly said.

'The Jaguar is too noticeable. Let's take the Toyota.'

'I hope the key is-'

It was. Diane took the wheel.

'Do you have any idea where we're going?' Kelly asked.

'To Manhattan. I don't have a plan yet.'

'That's good news.' Kelly sighed.

'We need to find a place to sleep. When Kingsley finds out we've escaped, he's going to go crazy. We're not going to be safe anywhere.'

Kelly was thinking. 'Yes, we are.'

Diane glanced at her. 'What do you mean?'

Kelly said proudly, 'I have a plan.'

CHAPTER 44.As they drove into White Plains, twenty-five miles north of Manhattan, Diane said, 'This looks like a nice town. What are we doing here?'

'I have a friend here. She'll take care of us.'

'Tell me about her.'

Kelly said slowly, 'My mother was married to a drunk who enjoyed beating her. When I was able to afford to take care of my mother, I persuaded her to leave him. One of the models who had run away from an abusive boyfriend told me about this place. It's a boarding house run by an angel of a woman named Grace Seidel. I took my mother there to stay until I could find an apartment for her. I used to visit her at Grace's every day. My mother loved it and became friends with some of the boarders. I finally found an apartment for Mother and went to pick her up.' She stopped.

Diane looked at her. 'What happened?'

'She had gone back to her husband.'

They had reached the boarding house. 'We're here.'

Grace Seidel was in her fifties, a dynamic, motherly ball of energy. When she opened the door and saw Kelly, her face lit up.

'Kelly!' She threw her arms around her. 'I'm so glad to see you.'

Kelly said, 'This is my friend Diane.'

They exchanged h.e.l.los.

'Your room is all ready for you,' Grace said. 'As a matter of fact, it was your mother's room. I had an extra bed put in.'

As Grace Seidel walked them to their bedroom, they pa.s.sed through a comfortable-looking living room where a dozen women were playing card games or doing various other activities.

'How long will you be staying?' Grace asked.

Kelly and Diane looked at each other. 'We're not sure.'

Grace Seidel smiled. 'No problem. The room is yours for as long as you want it.'

The room was lovely-neat and clean.

When Grace Seidel had left, Kelly said to Diane, 'We'll be safe here. And by the way, I think we made the Guinness Book of World Records. Do you know how many times they've tried to kill us?'

'Yes.' Diane was standing by the window. Kelly heard her say, 'Thank you, Richard.'

Kelly started to speak, then thought, It's no use.

Andrew, dozing at his desk, dreamed that he was asleep in a hospital bed. It was the voices in the room that had awakened him. '... And luckily, I discovered this when we were decontaminating Andrew's safety equipment. I thought I should show it to you right away.'

'The G.o.dd.a.m.n army told me it would be safe.'

A man was handing Tanner one of the gas masks from the army-experiment.

'I found a tiny hole at the base of the mask. It looks like someone cut it. That would be enough to cause your brother's condition.'

Tanner looked at the mask and thundered, 'Whoever is responsible for this is going to pay.' He looked at the man and said, 'I'll look into this immediately. Thanks for bringing it to me.'

From his bed, Andrew groggily watched the man leave. Tanner looked at the mask a moment and then walked over to a corner of the room where there was a large hospital cart filled with soiled linens.