“ ‘Have you ever wanted a new car?’ he asked me quite suddenly.

“I did, of course, and said so.

“ ‘How about a large house? How about two large houses? In the country. With grounds. And a Rembrandt.’

“I saw what he was up to.

“ ‘If you want to buy my compliance, Acheron, you have to choose the right currency.’

“Acheron’s face fell.

“ ‘You are strong, Thursday. Avarice works on most people.’

“I was angry now.

“‘What do you want with the Chuzzlewit manuscript, Acheron? To sell it?’

“ ‘Stealing and selling? How common,’ he sneered. ‘I’m sorry about your two friends. Hollow-points make quite a mess, don’t they?’

“We stood there facing one another. It wouldn’t be long before SO-14 were on the scene.

“ ‘On the ground,’ I ordered him, ‘or I swear I’ll fire.’

“Hades was suddenly a blur of movement. There was a sharp crack and I felt something pluck at my upper arm. There was a sensation of warmth and I realized with a certain detached interest that I had been shot.

“ ‘Good try, Thursday. How about with the other arm?’

“Without knowing it, I had loosed off a shot in his direction. It was this that he was congratulating me on. I knew that I had thirty seconds at best before the loss of blood started to make me woozy. I transferred the automatic to my left hand and started to raise it again.

“Acheron smiled admiringly. He would have continued his brutal game for as long as he could but the distant wail of police sirens hastened him into action. He shot me once in the chest and left me for dead.”

The SO-1 officials shuffled slightly as I concluded my story. They swapped looks, but I had no interest in whether they believed me or not. Hades had left me for dead but my time wasn’t yet up. The copy of Jane Eyre that Tamworth had given me had saved my life. I had placed it in my breast pocket; Hades’ slug had penetrated to the back cover but had not gone through. Broken ribs, a collapsed lung and a bruise to die for—but I had survived. It was luck, or fate, or whatever the hell you want to make of it.

“That’s it?” asked Flanker.

I nodded.

“That’s it.”

It wasn’t it, of course, there was a lot more, but none of it was relevant to them. I hadn’t told them how Hades had used Filbert Snood’s death to grind me down emotionally; that was how he managed to get the first shot in.

“That’s about all we need to know, Miss Next. You can return to SO-27 as soon as you are able. I would remind you that you are bound by the confidentiality clause you signed. A misplaced word could have very poor consequences. Is there anything you would like to add yourself?”

I took a deep breath.

“I know a lot of this sounds far-fetched, but it is the truth. I am the first witness who has seen what Hades will do to survive. Whoever pursues him in the future must be fully aware of what he is capable of.’