A door opened in the closest of the small buildings, and two women came out. It surprised the men to see that one of the women was Jill Hamilton-Krawczyk—HK—and from her broad smile, it was obvious she enjoyed the surprise. She wore a different blue diamond, this one a pear-shaped cut of at least four carats, and half-carat stud earrings. She wore a billed cap in the same shade as her diamonds.

“Well, fellows,” she said, coming over and shaking their hands, “welcome to the Pavilion.”

“Happy to be aboard, ma’am,” said Top.

“Yeah. This place looks tight,” agreed Bunny. “Love the layout. Done right.”

“Oh, we do our best,” said HK, “and I think you’ll be even more impressed once you see what we have under the hood.” She gave them a broad conspiratorial wink.

“Who’s your friend?” asked Top, nodding to the younger woman at her side.

The other woman was a slender blonde in her early twenties. Very fit, very pretty, but not at all nice to look at. There was a reptilian coldness in her eyes, and her lips were compressed into a tight red line. She wore camo pants, an olive drab T-shirt, no jewelry, and had a leg brace around her right knee. A Glock 19 was tucked into a low-slung holster, and she had a leather sheath strapped to her left leg from which the handles of three slim throwing knifes protruded. Her pale hair was pulled back into a ponytail so severe it looked painful. And although there were no lines at all on her face, there was an ancient glower in her eyes.

Top and Bunny had to fight to keep all reaction from their expressions. They knew her. They’d seen her in surveillance photos and videos.

“This,” said HK, “is Eve.”

Bunny offered his hand, but Eve stared at him as if he were doing something rude and inappropriate. He withdrew his hand without comment.

In his ear, Top heard Scott Wilson say a couple of very crude four-letter words. Then Doc Holliday said, “It’s a good thing our dear Outlaw can’t see this. He’d have a goldurn coronary.”

Top tapped his button.

“Eve is here overseeing one of our projects,” said HK, beaming with pride and good humor.

“Oh?” asked Top.

But HK did not elaborate. Eve stood beside her as if she’d been cut and pasted into the moment. She ignored the two big men and mostly ignored HK and instead seemed to look inward into her own thoughts. The energy she radiated was odd and unpleasant. She fidgeted, and her hand kept absently touching the handle of her pistol.

Bunny nudged his suitcase. “Is there someplace we can put this stuff? Maybe take a shower and get a hot meal?”

“Oh, of course,” said HK. “Where are my manners?”