Under normal circumstances, Knight would have kept half the room between himself and Ryan. A snake doesn't slither too close to the mongoose unless it wishes to do battle. Or, unless the viper thinks it's fast enough to kill the mongoose with one quick strike.

Ryan knew Knight wasn't here to kill, he was here to do a little dance, to try and hypnotize the mongoose. Knight wanted to use Ryan. For someone so dangerous, Knight, you 're refreshingly predictable.

Damien led him to one of the small, unoccupied tables. Ryan noticed how several people shifted to get out of their way. Some of them were frightened by Knight, and the others knew just a bit too much about Ryan Mercury to feel safe without some distance.

They sat, and Ryan took another sip of his cognac. "What can I do for you, Mister Knight?"

Knight propped his elbows on the table and leaned forward. "I'm surprised to see you here, Mercury. Especially coming as Miss Daviar's escort. Don't you realize you could cost her the nomination?"

Ryan smiled. "Well, I'm not so sure she really wants it anyway. She's got so much on her hands right now, the VP would only add to a schedule that's already over-full."

Knight sat back, and his expression grew thoughtful. "You know, I've always had a difficult time reading you."

Here it comes, thought Ryan. Draw me in, then cut me off at the knees.

"What's to read? Nadja's busy, and might not even have the time for this whole political gig. Dunkelzahn left her to stir quite a few pots, so to speak."

Knight's smile was tight. "Yes, he did. That doesn't seem like it would leave much time for a romantic life, does it?"

Ryan shrugged. "We both have tight schedules, but that just makes the time we have together that much more special."

Knight looked as if he were going to be ill.

"Yes, I can see how it would. However, with such limited time in the day, I could see where Nadja might be unable to give her attention to some of the finer details."

Ryan gave him a questioning look. "I'm not sure I follow?"

Damien smiled like a shark. "Well, she's been left quite a few different positions to fill. Not a problem for a dragon, but somewhat overwhelming for a simple metahuman, wouldn't you agree?"

Ryan followed his lead. "Oh, yes. In fact, she and I were just talking about all the company stock she now has to vote. She's not even that familiar with the workings of quite a few of them. I mean, she's got a pretty good hang on stuff like the Gavilan stock, but other things are a bit esoteric."

And the fly lands, thought Ryan, watching Knight's eyes light up.

"Exactly," Knight said. "In fact, I have a meeting with her in about half an hour to discuss that particular stock."

"Really, I was unaware."

Knight said nothing and for just a moment Ryan thought he might have been a bit heavy-handed. Knight leaned back, and his face went still.

Knight seemed to be thinking hard, and Ryan could see when he reached a decision. "Ryan, just between you and me, I'm worried about Miss Daviar. Especially in relation to her dealings with Gavilan. There's so much political back-stabbing going on there right now that I'm afraid it might be a bit much for her."

Ryan leaned forward, doing his best impersonation of a little kid being told a secret. "Really? I guess that's not so surprising after what happened to Dunkelzahn."

Knight nodded, playing his fatherly role to the hilt. "You know, I just thought of something. In my meeting with Daviar, I'm going to suggest that she give me temporary proxy rights to Gavilan. Just until she comes to know who all the main players are and where they stand. That way, she won't do anything she might regret later."

Ryan smiled. "That's very kind of you."

Knight's face turned conspiratorial again. "However, you, better than anyone, should know how strong-willed she is. I'm just afraid she'll misinterpret my offer. I would hate for her to refuse me, then kick herself for it later."

"How can I help?"

Knight actually leaned over and patted his arm. "Just talk to her. I'm sure she trusts you, and if you give her a gentle nudge in the right direction, we might just be able to avoid a big mess."

Ryan smiled. "You got it. I'll do anything for her."

Knight smiled and stretched out his hand. "It was a pleasure talking to you."

Ryan took the offered hand, but didn't release it. He let his face turn thoughtful. "You know, I heard your name come up in conversation the other day."

Knight, realizing he wasn't going to get his hand back, sat. His smile faded, replaced by a cautious look. "Oh, really? In what context?"

Ryan grinned and turned loose of Knight's hand. "Oh, I think it was an ex-employee of yours."

Knight's grin was thin, strained. "Someone you 'helped' relocate?"

Ryan shook his head. "No, no, no. It was someone you worked with before my time."

Knight's thin smile turned positively painful. "I hope this person had good things to say."

Ryan's smile grew predatory. "Oh, good and bad. She said you had some secrets, but she also said you were good in the sack."

It was a shot in the dark-something in Alice's tone when she'd talked about "David"-and Ryan was pleased with the results.

Knight turned white. "Her name?"

Ryan tapped his forefinger on his chin. "Let me see, I think it was… Alice. Yes, that's it. It was Alice Haeffner. Quite a nice lady, actually."

Knight looked as if someone had kicked the wind out him. "You spoke to her?"

Ryan's smile softened. "Yes. Seems she'd been speaking to another old friend of yours, a Thomas Rox-borough. They have some pretty interesting views of your relationship with my former employer."

Knight was actually shaking. "Mister Mercury, thank you for the conversation, but I do have other people to talk to. If you'll excuse me."

As he was standing, Ryan dropped the bomb. "It seems that both Alice and Roxborough think you might have blamed Dunkelzahn for the Crash. That maybe you've held a grudge for more than two decades, and that possibly, just possibly, you might have finally gotten your revenge."

It was just a simple tick of the eye, but from someone as professional as Knight it was like a signed confession. Without another word, Knight left the table.

Ryan took another sip of his cognac, which had gone lukewarm. He turned and found Nadja's eyes on him. He blinked, slowly, their prearranged signal, and stood.

It took Ryan almost twenty minutes to extract himself from the gathering and make it to the back stairwell. Then he was past security and out the fire door.

He keyed his wristphone. "Jane, you get all that?"

Jane's voice floated into the concrete doorway. "In glorious color. That was a thing of beauty, Quicksilver."

Ryan reached the ground floor, and Brooks cleared him with security. Her face was grim when she bade him goodbye. Ryan made his way to the small Eurocar he had stashed in the employee parking lot.

"Jane, can you get tabs on Knight?"

"No problem there, Quicksilver. However, even in light of how surprisingly successful your evening was, you might want to drop it for now."

"What's up?"

"That call I got earlier was from the team you had me hire to watch Burnout. You called it correctly. He's heading straight for you, and he'll be there soon."

"Jane, we're going to have to be careful. Get tabs on Knight, and get Grind and Dhin prepped. Damien hosed up, and he knows it, but the proof will be in what he does next, and when he gives me that proof, I want to be there."

"Copy," Jane said. "Grind and Dhin are ready to roll, and Knight is still at the party."

"Good. Keep me informed."

He cut the connection, and reached the dark blue Eurocar. He was just leaning over to open the door when his senses screamed danger.