As a girl growing up on an isolated farm in Minnesota, she had come to love the cold and reveled in the purity to be found in subfreezing temperatures. She would ski alone for hours under the stars ignoring the icy chill that stung her cheeks. As she grew in height and strength she distanced herself even more from humanity, the “little people” as she called them, who saw her as a freak. At school in Europe, her natural brilliance allowed her to excel at her studies even when she seldom attended class. Those times when she couldn't hide and had to suffer the stares of others only drove her ambition, fueled her smoldering resentment, and planted the seeds for her megalomania.

She was talking on the speaker phone: “Thank you for your support of the Colorado River legislation, Senator Barnes. Your state stands to gain quite handsomely for your key vote, especially when your brother's firm starts picking up contracts for the work we have planned. I hope you've taken advantage of the suggestions I've made.”

“Yes, ma'am, I have, thank you. I've had to avoid the conflict-of-interest thing, of course, but my brother and I are quite close, if you know what I mean.”

“I do, Senator. Have you talked to the president?”

“Just got off the phone with his chief of staff. The White House will veto any bill that seeks to overturn the privatization legislation we passed. The president is a firm believer that the private sector can always do a better job than government, whether it's running prisons, social security, or pumping water.”

“What sort of backing does the Kinkaid bill have?”

“Only a scattering of votes, nothing serious. Damned shame about Kinkaid having that accident. I always liked the man. But without him around to whip up the troops, an override is bound to fail.”

“Excellent. How are the other privatization bills faring?”

“They'll do just fine. You'll be seeing publicly run water facilities being privatized all over the country.”

“So there are no problems?”

“One maybe. The biggest pain in the butt is the editor of the daily paper in my state capital. He's raising a ruckus, and I'm afraid he might bollix things up.”

She asked the editor's name and made a metal note of the senator's answer. Her desktop was free of pen and paper. She committed everything to memory.

“By the way, Senator Barnes, was the contribution to your reelection campaign sufficient?”

“Yes, ma'am, it was very generous considering I'm running unopposed. Having a big war chest discourages the opposition.”

A red light was blinking on the phone console. “We'll speak again. Good-bye, Senator.”

She pressed a button, and a door opened in the wall of the room. The Kradzik brothers, wearing their usual black leather, stepped inside.

“Well?” she said.

The thin lips widened in identical metallic smiles.

“We have fired Mexican farmer...”

“... and lawyer as you ordered.”

“No complications?”

They shook their heads.

“The authorities will spend little time on the farmer's case,” she said. “The lawyer had many enemies. Now to other matters. There have been some developments on the explosion at our Mexican operation.”