“You decided,” Whitman said. He and Charlie were standing so close together their shoulders touched. For the first time in a long, long while he felt at ease. He was here while others took credit for bringing the treasonous Alchemists to justice. That was the way he wanted it. He shied away from fame, the limelight, being known. He lived in the shadows at the edge of the world, and he was smart enough to understand that was where he belonged.

Charlie laughed. “Okay, okay, I decided to give our team a new name. Whit is Foxtrot because”—she indicated the speakers—“what other dance could you choose that would please both Hoagy and Whit?

“I”—she lifted up her old-fashioned glass of brown liquid—“am Whiskey.

“And Flix here is Tango.”

“Yeah,” he said in mock horror, “but the Tango is the national dance of Argentina.”

With a look of surprise, he accepted the envelope Charlie handed him.

“It’s a voucher,” she said, “for a dozen lessons at Tango Mercurio.”

“Wow, okay.” Flix shook his head. “Sure. Why not?” He looked at her gravely. “Gracias, guapa.”

“De nada, compadre.”

Flix gave her a nod so formal it was almost a bow.

“Anyway,” Charlie said, “did you want us to call you Mexican Hat Dance?”

Flix threw his head back and laughed. “Then we wouldn’t be Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot.”

“Because,” Charlie said, lifting her glass to meet those of the others, “what the fuck surely defines us!”

And they drank as one, while the gorgeous melody of “Star Dust” swelled and swelled, for that moment filling their entire world.

A moment later, there came a pounding on one wall. “Hey,” a voice from the adjoining apartment yelled, “normal people are trying to sleep! Shut it down!”

“Later!” Julie called giddily.

“Never!” Lucy added.

“I’ll call the freaking authorities!” the disembodied voice screamed.

“We are the freaking authorities!” Whitman, Charlie, and Flix cried in unison.

By Eric Van Lustbader

BY ERIC VAN LUSTBADER

THE JACK McCLURE/ALLI CARSON NOVELS

First Daughter (2008)

Last Snow (2010)

Blood Trust (2011)

Father Night (2012)

Beloved Enemy (2013)

THE PEARL SAGA

The Ring of Five Dragons (2001)

The Veil of a Thousand Tears (2002)

Mistress of the Pearl (2004)

THE SUNSET WARRIOR CYCLE

The Sunset Warrior (1977)

Shallows of Night (1978)

Dai-San (1978)

Beneath an Opal Moon (1980)

Dragons on the Sea of Night (1997)

THE CHINA MAROC SERIES

Jian (1986)

Shan (1988)

THE NICHOLAS LINNEAR/NINJA CYCLE

The Ninja (1980)

The Miko (1984)

White Ninja (1990)

The Kaisho (1993)

Floating City (1994)

Second Skin (1995)

THE JASON BOURNE NOVELS

The Bourne Legacy (2004)

The Bourne Betrayal (2007)

The Bourne Sanction (2008)

The Bourne Deception (2009)

The Bourne Objective (2010)

The Bourne Dominion (2011)

OTHERS

Sirens (1981)

Black Heart (1983)

Zero (1987)

French Kiss (1989)

Angel Eyes (1991)

Batman: The Last Angel (1992)

Black Blade (1993)

Dark Homecoming (1997)

Pale Saint (1999)

Art Kills (2002)

The Testament (2006)

Any Minute Now (2016)

About the Author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR