Stricken chuckled. “That came as a complete surprise,” he lied. His intel on Franks had been incomplete at best, but even then they’d only expected a fifty percent chance of extradimensional corruption, tops. Those seemed like good odds, and what was life, if not one big gamble. “I really wanted to be able to use those soldiers. It doesn’t matter now though.”

“Many of our dealings have been exposed. Our arrangement did not include exposure, Mr. Stricken.”

“Relax. That was part of my plan. It was just enough information to accomplish our goals. I made sure Renfroe had what I wanted him to have, nothing more. People with morals are so boringly predictable that I knew he’d blab. It was only a question of timing. He leaked it sooner than I expected him to, but then again, thinking you’re about to get your arms pulled off by a supersoldier helps you get your priorities straight.”

“You took an unacceptable risk.”

“Yet still achieved our primary goal. You can thank me later. Our mutual foe knows what lengths we’re willing to go to now, so his timeline will move up. The longer he stayed in the shadows the stronger his forces became. It was force it now, or lose in the future. Look on the bright side, we were lucky to have demons possess my Nemesis soldiers. That drew him out enough to try and make friends. You should thank me. The war is coming.” He sipped his scotch. He’d brought the good stuff.

“The factions are not ready to defeat the might of Asag Shedu.”

“Then you’d better get your ass in gear, Queen Fancy Pants. I’ve done my part. I’m off to enjoy my retirement.” Stricken ended the call. “Who would’ve thought all these big cosmic powers would be such crybabies?” he said to the thing hiding just outside the door. A pair of red eyes winked into existence. “You might as well come in. You know you’re always invited.”

“Why, Mr. Stricken, ever the gentleman.” The Master vampire floated inside. “Just a polite heads-up, but there’s a shoggoth that just crawled out of the ocean and it’s lumbering this way.”

“Oh, he’s no concern. That’s just my next appointment.”

She sat on the couch next to him. An unnatural chill pushed away the tropical air. Most people would flinch with such a deadly predator so close, but Stricken routinely dealt with far worse. “All those lies. Is it hard to keep them all straight?”

“It takes a lot of work, but I’ve got a lot of practice.” He held out the bottle. “Care for a drink?”

Her fangs were very white in the dark. “Not my vintage.”

He poured her one anyway. “The thing is, Mrs. Shackleford—”

“Please, just Susan.” She took the glass from him.