“And all of the men that come after him? They’ll always be tempted. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle, Franks. Man can’t unlearn a technology, but he can understand the costs. You have to let them know what they’ve unleashed. As much as this pains me to say, for once the truth is our best weapon. We can’t keep your secret anymore. The cost of this particular secret has gotten too high.”

“How did you know about . . . me?”

Myers chuckled. “I figured it out on my own. I’m one of the world’s leading monster experts, remember? I’ve known for years, but I never said a thing. I felt I owed you that much. I thought I understood your reasoning. It is hard enough for you to be accepted as a monster, but if they knew what lived inside the monster, I can’t imagine what they would have done . . . Now I realize I should have told them the truth years ago, and it might have prevented all of this.”

“You never told me that!” Strayhorn was looking back and forth between them, totally bewildered.

“Why would he?” Franks asked.

“That means Franks is . . . You’re a . . .” Strayhorn seemed genuinely shaken as he whispered, “a demon . . .”

Franks glared at the rookie. Why did it matter to him? “Shut up.”

Luckily, he did. Strayhorn took a few nervous steps back.

“There’s more to it,” Franks warned.

“We’ve worked together for a very long time, old friend. You have risked your life to defend this nation countless times. It didn’t matter to me what you were before, because I know what you are now. I’ve seen the other things that have escaped from Hell, and you’re nothing like them.”

Franks lowered his head. He did not like having emotions.

“I’ve got good men on the case. Stricken is a brilliant adversary, but he’s not perfect. He’s made mistakes and we will exploit them. You two are my eyewitnesses. I need you both to stay safe until we’re ready for you to testify. Once we have solid proof, we can proceed.”

“No.”

“Damn it, Franks. You can’t just murder and bludgeon and shoot your way out of this one.”

“Watch me.”

“I’ve always trusted you.” Myers came over, gave Franks a tired smile and placed one hand on his shoulder. “Now it’s time for you to trust me.”

Then a sniper’s bullet struck Myers in the back.

* * *

The retort of a high-powered rifle echoed over the waves.

“Cease fire, cease fire!” Klaus Lindemann said into the radio. Most of Grimm Berlin’s men weren’t in position yet. He was sitting on the side of the Zodiac in his wetsuit and SCUBA gear, ready to go over the edge. “Who was that?”