“Tidy up in here, please,” Sill said.

“Right away.”

“I need to rest,” Sill said. “I’m going to take my box to my room and take a rest. Gloria, take them to the basement.”

“Yes, Mr. Sill.”

“You really should have had sex with her,” Sill said to me.

2

“Is it your plan to kill everyone?” I asked. We were in the library now. The P.F. Flyer shoebox was sitting on top of a pristine first edition of Twain’s Huck Finn.

“They’re the lucky ones,” Sill said. “The rest, nothing will happen to. Which would you prefer?”

“Nothing is going to happen to no one,” someone said. From behind a bookcase stepped my gender-ambiguous student Sam.

“Sam?” I said.

“Who’s Sam?” Sill asked. “Who are you?”

“Sam is my student,” I said. “How did you get here?”

“I’m actually from MI6,” Sam said. “My name is not Sam. It’s Chris.”

“Sam, Chris, Jesus, it doesn’t matter,” Sill said. “This box has nothing in it and it’s all mine.”

“Sam,” I said. “Chris, be careful. He’s already killed several people.”

“If I keep this up, I’ll get a reputation,” Sill said.

“But you’ve been in my class all year,” I said.

“We knew this was coming,” Chris said. He pointed a pistol at Sill. “The box.”

“Actually, I’ll take the box.” DeMarcus stepped into the room, holding a pistol of his own.

“DeMarcus?” Sill said, incredulously.

“Xue Wenqing, MSS, China,” DeMarcus said.

“I can’t believe this,” Sill said. “You’ve been with me for five years.”

“I’m thorough,” Xue said.

Eigen was smiling.

“What is it?” I whispered to her.

“This is crazy. I love it.”

“Sorry, Chris,” Xue said. “I was here first.”

“I am not giving this shoebox to someone named Xue,” Sill said. “Or Chris. Everybody’s going to so much trouble over nothing. Well, it’s mine, and if anyone takes another step I’ll pull this string and open the box.”

Xue and Chris froze.

“Lower the pistols,” Sill said.

“What about mine?” This voice came from behind Sill. The voice belonged to Leon Coltrane.

“Mr. Coltrane?” I said.

“Yes,” he said. “And my name really is Leon Coltrane.”

“You’re a hundred years old,” Sill said.

“And yet my pistol is brand new.”

“And who do you work for?” Sill was on the verge of laughter.

“Bundesnachrichtendienst, Federal Republic of Germany.”

“I can’t believe this. I am a villain. I mean, I am the villain.”

“Where’s Trigo?” Eigen asked.

Coltrane turned around to reveal Trigo’s head poking out of a pack on his back.

Eigen rose to run to him. I pulled her back. “There are a lot of guns in this room,” I said to her.

Sill rubbed the end of the bowstring of the box between his fingers. “What will happen if I open this box?”

“Nothing,” I said.

“Nothing,” Sill repeated. “Are any of you ready for that? Mr. MI6, Chris, Sam, whatever, are you ready for nothing? All your training has you ready for anything, but are you ready for nothing? Are you a double zero? I hope they sent a double-naught spy for me. Are you 007? 009?”