Page 131 of The Mech Who Loved Me
"Everything's going according to plan," Ghost replied, tugging off his gloves, finger by finger. The talldhampirwas ghostly pale in the dark confines of Undertown, faint light highlighting the stark slope of his cheekbones. "The clinical trials of the control chip work. We can move forward with that plan once our pet mech's created enoughofthem."
"Casualties?"
"It has a success rate of 50percent."
"Hmm," the Mastermurmured.
"We can't get close to the queen, as expected," Obsidian stated emotionlessly. "We've been testing the defenses of the Ivory Tower, and it's tootight."
"You'll figure it out, Iassume?"
"Yes, Master," they bothechoed.
"We just need time," Ghost added. "Ulbricht's little scheme has been a distraction, as we cleaned upafterhim."
"It was actually rather clever, for Ulbricht," the Master replied. "Poisoning the Echelon's entire drinking supply. Imagine theuproar."
Obsidian froze. Sometimes it felt like the man was testing them. He shouldn't haveknownthat.
"It failed," Ghost said. "And now Malloryn knows what the caterpillar mushroom does. His little company interrupted Ulbricht halfway through completion, and Ulbricht tried to detonate the charges with them inside the factory. Malloryn had brought the Nighthawks in on the scheme, and they managed to capture the remaining Sons of Gilead before they could destroy the otherfactories."
"So only one factory burned? Obsidian?" the Masterdemanded.
Obsidian couldn't tell if the Master wasdispleased. "Yes."
"You watched and didnothing?"
A frisson of alarm went along his nerves. Obsidian looked up, meeting Ghost's eyes where the leader of thedhampirstood on the underground train platform at the Master's side. "As instructed, Master," Obsidian replied. "I was told not to interfere. Not to be sighted. We wanted to know what Ulbricht was up to, now he was off Zero'sleash."
He held his breath. Ghost brooked no challenges to his leadership, and any infringement was punished cruelly—but the Master... he'd saved them, and brought them together. They owed himeverything.
"And Ulbricht?" the Master continued. "Where ishenow?"
"Dead. Malloryn must havekilledhim."
"Anywitnesses?"
"The Nighthawks got their hands on a couple of SOG members. I killed a few with the serum when they triedtoflee."
"The serumworked?"
"Within minutes," he replied, and thenhesitated.
"What is it?" Ghost asked. He never could fool thatbastard.
Obsidian swallowed. "There was one anomaly. Corbyn died in the assassination attempt upon Miss McLaren, but to all extents she seems to have survived an injection of theserum."
They looked at eachother.
"All of the blue blood test subjects have died," Ghost said slowly. "How did shesurvive?"
"I don'tknow,sir."
"Yet," Ghost said, and it wasn't aquestion.
"Yet," heconceded.
"So Ulbricht failed, and the Sons of Gilead are dead, my lord," Ghost continued. "Most of their higher-ranking members were killed in the explosion, and the rest captured by theNighthawks."
