And if there was one thing he was good at, it was damaging and destroying things.

There were five condenser chambers, though at the moment only four were active. Two men, wearing not the white bunny suits found in the innocuous chip fabrication plant but yellow hazard suits with full face masks, were working on the fifth, a panel open and what Chase guessed was the laser partially removed. That meant he could take care of one of the lasers just by knocking it to the floor, but the others would present more of a problem.

The lights in the conference room suddenly flicked on.

Chase whirled, gun flashing up at the door as it opened-

Sophia!

She stood in the doorway, terrified. Behind her was Yuen, pressing a gun against her head. Behind him were two uniformed security guards and the two black-suited bodyguards, all with their guns raised.

Pointing at Chase.

“I told you to wipe your feet.” Smirking, Yuen advanced into the room, shoving Sophia before him. His men followed, spreading out two to each side. “Now, drop your gun or your ex-wife becomes your really ex-wife.”

“You won’t hurt her, Dick,” growled Chase, concentrating more on the other men than on Yuen. While the billionaire was gloating, he was distracted-but his guards were silent and completely focused, weapons unwavering. “Not after the trouble you went through to get her back.”

“Oh, you mean the way you dropped my dear trophy wife right back into my lap, without my even having to lift a finger?” Yuen laughed, and ground the gun against the side of Sophia’s face. She whimpered. “Do it,” he snapped, voice hardening. “Or she dies. I can get another wife. But you won’t get another warning.”

Left with no choice, Chase held up his hands and dropped the gun. The guards immediately rushed forward, grabbing his arms and searching him.

Yuen stepped out from behind Sophia. He lowered his gun…

And handed it to his wife.

Sickening disbelief rose in Chase’s stomach as Sophia flicked her hair and gave him a smile of fake apology. “Sorry, Eddie,” she said. “But you never were terribly bright, were you?”

What the fuck is this, Sophia?” Chase demanded as the guards tossed his belongings onto the circular table and shoved him back against the wall, guns pressed to his chest.

“This,” said Yuen smugly, “is what marriage is all about. Two equals working together in perfect harmony to get what they want.” He kissed Sophia on the cheek. She smiled. Chase’s stomach churned at the full realization of her betrayal-and his complete gullibility.

Yuen went to the window, opening his arms wide as if to embrace the machinery of death below. “So, what do you think of my little toy factory? Looks good, doesn’t it?”

“It’ll look even better as a smoking crater,” Chase replied defiantly.

“Oh, let me guess,” said Yuen. “You’re thinking that even if something happens to you, your friend Mac knows where you went and will use his influence with MI6 to start an investigation?” His mouth curled into another smirk. “Sorry, but he had a slight accident. His house kind of… blew up.”

Mac’s house-Nina.

Chase erupted in rage, trying to tear free of the men holding him to rip out Yuen’s throat with his bare hands, but the guards kept their grip and shoved him painfully back against the wall. “You bastard! I’ll fucking kill you!”

“No, you won’t.” Yuen nodded to his men. “Kill him and get rid of the body.”

One of the security guards moved his gun over Chase’s heart-

“Aren’t you even going to tell him why you’re making the bombs?” Sophia asked in a seductive voice, running a finger up Yuen’s arm. The guards paused.

Yuen looked askance at her. “What am I, a Bond villain? Maybe after I tell him my entire plan I can put him in a tank of sharks with frickin’ laser beams on their heads.”

“Oh go on,” she purred, draping herself over him. “Do it for me. I just want to see the look on his face. And then you can kill him.”

Yuen paused, taking in the scent of Sophia’s perfume, then relented. “Aw, why not?” he said, stepping forward. “Although you’re probably going to be disappointed, Chase. I don’t have some insane scheme for world domination. It’s just about money.”

“So being a billionaire isn’t enough for you?” Chase sneered.

“There’s no such thing as too much money.” Yuen looked down at the assembly line. “I have twenty-four nuclear bombs-okay, I soon will have twenty-four nuclear bombs, as only the first one’s fully assembled. But they’ll be made available through various black-market channels to the highest bidders. I think a hundred million dollars would be a fair starting point per bomb.”

“No bulk discount?” asked Chase sarcastically.

“You know, I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe I could sell them in six-packs.” Yuen gave him a mocking grin. “But the point is, now anyone can become a nuclear power, whether they be a country, a terrorist organization or even just a rich guy who really, really wants to keep the neighborhood kids off his lawn. All they need is the money.” He took another step towards Chase. “So, for the price of a couple of fighter jets, you can have a fifteen-kiloton nuclear device that’s so simple and rugged any illiterate peasant can operate it, can be disassembled and carried by two guys, or even one if he puts his back into it, and has a design that’s absolutely foolproof. Your own personal Hiroshima, for a very reasonable price. Pretty cool, huh?”

“That’ll only get you two point four billion dollars,” Chase pointed out. “You won’t exactly knock Bill Gates off the rich list.”

Yuen smirked again. “You’re not thinking of the big picture-which is why I’m a billionaire, and you’re a loser with thirty seconds left to live. Think of the paranoia when the major governments realize there are nukes running loose! They could be anywhere-they could even be in their capital cities right now! That means a massive spending boost for the military, homeland security, intelligence services… and all the corporations that contract for them. Like mine. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.” He glanced over his shoulder at Sophia. “Is that the look you wanted?”

The look on Chase’s face was actually as blank a mask as he could manage as he tried to conceal his thoughts. This was his last chance, the only remaining moment for him to break free…

But he knew he couldn’t succeed. Each of the four men pinning him against the wall was as strong as he was, and if even one of them pulled the trigger in the split second it would take him to move, he would be dead.

Not that it would stop him from trying. He tensed his muscles, about to make a final desperate attempt to throw off his captors… when something occurred to him.

It was a trivial thought, a question, in the circumstances totally irrelevant. But even as it entered his mind, Chase realized that he had to know the answer.

“Wait,” he said, as Yuen opened his mouth to order Chase’s death. “The map Nina found-what’s it got to do with the nukes? Why do you want to find the Tomb of Hercules?”

Yuen seemed genuinely surprised. “The Tomb of Hercules? I don’t give a rat’s ass about it-the only reason I pretended to was because Sophia asked me.”

“That’s quite enough of that, dear,” said Sophia from behind him-

A bullet exploded from a messy exit wound in his chest as Sophia shot him. Yuen’s mouth opened in a silent scream, then he collapsed to the floor.

Before anyone had a chance to react, Sophia turned and shot one of the uniformed security guards in the head, blood splattering the wall behind him. The other security guard managed to bring his gun around-only for one of the bodyguards to shoot him in the stomach. He dropped to the floor, writhing in agony-and Sophia fired another shot into his back. The man instantly fell still.