“She has not been given the drug antidote as you were. She will sleep it off and awaken in a few hours.”

“I want to see her in person to make sure she is all right.”

“Later perhaps.” The answer was uncompromising. The woman touched the screen, and it went dark.

Francesca looked around. “Where exactly is this place?”

“That's not important.”

“Why have you brought us here?”

The woman ignored her question. “Did Melo and Radko frighten you?”

“Do you mean the human mushrooms who just left?”

She smiled at the comparison. “A clever metaphor, but you would do better to compare them to poisonous toadstools. Despite your bravado, I can see the fear in your eyes. Good. They should frighten you. During the ethnic cleansing campaign in Bosnia the Kradzik brothers personally killed hundreds of people and planned the deaths of thousands. They destroyed entire villages and engineered numerous massacres. If not for me they would be sitting in the prisoners' dock at the World Court in the Hague, charged with crimes against humanity. There is no war crime they did not commit. They have absolutely no conscience, no morals, no sense of remorse for anything they do. Maiming and killing are second nature to them.” She paused to let her words sink in. “Am I making my point?”

“Yes. That you have no scruples yourself about hiring murderers.”

“Exactly. Their murderous character is precisely why I hired them. It is no different from a carpenter buying a hammer to drive nails into a board. The Kradzik twins are my hammer.”

“People aren't nails.”

“Some are. Some aren't, Dr. Cabral.”

Francesca wanted to change the subject. “How do you know my name?”

“I have known and admired your work for years, Dr. Cabral. In my opinion, your fame as one of the world's leading hydro engineers easily eclipses your more recent notoriety as a white goddess.”

“You know who I am, but who are you?”

“My name is Brynhild Sigurd. Although your name is better known than mine, we are both accomplished in our chosen field, the movement of the earth's most precious substance, its' water.”

“You're a hydro-engineer?”

“I studied at the finest technological institutions in Europe. After I finished my studies I moved to California, where I started my consulting company, now one of the biggest in the world.”

Francesca shook her head. She thought she knew everyone in the water engineering fraternity. “I've never heard of you.”

“I prefer it that way. I've always operated behind the scenes. I'm nearly seven feet tall. My stature makes me a freak, subject to derision from those very much inferior to me.”

Despite her predicament, Francesca felt a slight pang of empathy. “I had my share of harassment from idiots who don't like the idea of a woman excelling in their field. I never let it bother me.”

“Perhaps you should have. In the long run my resentment at having to hide from the public has been an asset. I directed my anger, retooling it into an unstoppable ambition. I acquired other companies, all with an eye toward the future. There was only one fly in the ointment.” The cold smile again. “You, Dr. Cabral.”