“No I'm not. I'm showing what the business did to her.”

“She got exactly what she deserved. You should make your movies about missionaries, about the glory of God —”

“I'll show you my film! There's nothing glamorous about it.”

Hathaway looked at her and smiled. “Rune, we all have to make sacrifices. You ought to be proud of what's going to happen to you. I think the press coverage should last a year. You're going to be famous.”

He sat down on the small bed, spreading out the components of the bomb, examining each one carefully.

She eased forward, her feet sliding under the bed slightly.

Hathaway said, “Don't think about jumping at me.” The box cutter she remembered from the first attack on the pier was in his hand. “I can hurt you in very painful ways. It's why I wear a red windbreaker — I sometimes have to hurt people. They sometimes bleed.”

Rune sat back on the bed.

Hathaway spoke in a soothing tone as he pressed a white cylinder into the middle of the wad of explosive. “This is about three ounces of C-3.” He looked up. “I wouldn't go into this detail normally but since you're going to be my partner in this project I thought you'd like to know a little about what to expect. It's not fair to let you think you can just pull the wires out and wait for help.” He held up a black plastic box, which he pressed the explosive into. “And what we have here is very clever. A rocker box. It has a liquid mercury switch. If you pick it up and try to pull the detonator out the switch sets off the explosive. The battery's inside, so you can't cut the power.” He ran wires to another small black box with a clock on it. “The timer. It's set and armed electronically. There's a shunt. If you disconnect the wire or cut it the detonator senses a drop in voltage and sets off the bomb.” He smiled. “God gave men such miraculous brains, didn't he?”

“Please, I'll do whatever you want. Do you want me to make a movie about God? I can do that.”

Hathaway looked at her for a moment. “You know, Rune, there are clergy that will accept repentance at any time, whether the sinner's acting of his own will or whether he's, say, being tortured.” He shook his head. “But I'm funny. I need a little more sincerity than this situation warrants. So in answer to your question: No, I don't want a little whore like you to make a movie about God.”

Rune said, “Yeah? And what do you think you are — a good Christian? Bullshit. You're a killer. That's all you are.”

Hathaway's eyes lifted to her as he picked up the wire. “Swear all you like. God knows who His faithful are.”