He sounded funny, like I had water in my ears. I was still too doped up to be angry, but I still tried to sit up. I tried a few times, but couldn’t quite make it. I gave up and sunk back into the pillows. I’d kill him later. Right now I was just tired and thirsty.

Stricken walked over and stood over the bed. It was the first time I’d met him in person. He was too tall and too thin. It was like he tried to avoid the sun coming through the miniblinds. “Owen Zastava Pitt…I’m going to make this simple for you. I’m going to ask you some questions. Your answers will determine the rest of your life. Ready?”

“Up yours,” I whispered.

“Let me set the stage for this next question, help you get in the right frame of mind.” He gave me an eerie smile. “You met the dragon under the casino.”

“Management?”

“No. The other dragon. Yes, Management, you idiot. While my people were investigating the scene, it came to my attention that our dragon friend had a problem with eavesdropping. That’s a terrible habit. Shows a real lack of character. So here’s my question. What do you know?”

I meant to say fuck you, but what came out instead was, “Nemesis.”

Stricken chuckled over my surprise. “Don’t be alarmed, Mr. Pitt. There’s a potent chemical cocktail in your IV bag. You couldn’t lie to me if you wanted to…I was afraid of this. What do you know about Project Nemesis?”

“Nothing about what it actually does. Something big, I think. You want it. Franks and Myers don’t. It scares them. You’d let everyone die to make your point.” It hurt to talk, but I couldn’t stop. It was like there was no stop between my mouth and my brain. “Heard you…”

“I was afraid of that.” Stricken picked up a pitcher of water. “You look thirsty. Want a drink?” I nodded. My mouth was very dry. “Who else knows about this?”

I bit my tongue until I could taste blood.

There was something sinister about the way Stricken leaned over me. Like he was an undertaker and I was in a coffin. It made me giggle. “Don’t be like that, Mr. Pitt. What else do you know?”

“Your real plan…”

Stricken filled a plastic cup with water from the pitcher. “Oh, really? And what would that be?”