Kneeling here on this highly polished floor with his hands up and half a dozen sickle blades aimed at his throat, Dexter Vex wasn’t exactly in the mood to look back over his plan to pick out the flaws, but he knew they were there, and that was the important thing. Hubris, he figured, was a killer.

“Mr Vex,” said Johann Starke, “I have to say, I am as surprised as I am disappointed. I would not have thought a man of your reputation would stoop so low as to engage in robbery.”

“Johann,” Vex said, giving him a smile, “there’s really no need for hostilities. Isn’t there somewhere we can talk?”

“We’re talking right here,” said Johann, “with you and your associates on your knees and very much under arrest.”

They were in a large circular room with glass walls. The sun came in through the trees that bordered the lake and the glare hit Vex right in the eyes. He risked a glance at the others. They were all calm – bemused but calm – with the possible exception of Wilhelm, who seemed to be quietly hyperventilating.

Johann walked between the Rippers that surrounded them. “Did you really think it would be so easy to steal the dagger?”

Vex frowned. “How did you know we were after the dagger?”

“Your associate is not as subtle as she thinks,” Johann said.

“I am very subtle,” Aurora responded, sounding offended. Then, “Wait, what do you mean?”

“Not you,” said Johann. “The pretty lady from last night.”

“This pretty lady,” said Vex, “she didn’t give a name, did she?”

“Please, don’t insult my intelligence.”

“There are plenty of things I’d insult before getting to your intelligence, Johann. Your beard for one. It looks like the beards of Fu Manchu and Ming the Merciless mated, and their bizarre mutant offspring crawled on to your face and died on your chin.”

Johann sighed. “A pretty brunette. French – though the accent may have been faked. You sent her here to gather information. Where exactly the dagger was, what security was in place, what safeguards I had set up...”

“That was tricky of me,” Vex murmured. “And when she had all this information?”

Johann shrugged. “She vanished, along with one of my Rippers. He is dead, I expect?”

“Sorry, Johann, I wouldn’t know. I have no idea who you’re talking about. I didn’t send her. I didn’t send anyone. If we were going to rob the dagger, we wouldn’t raise your suspicions by sending someone ahead of us.”

“So you’d just drop in unannounced,” Johann said, “like now.”

Vex shrugged. “OK, you got us. Yeah, we were going to borrow the dagger.”

“Borrow it?”

“Just for a little while. We were going to return it, honest we were. Just as soon as we used it to stop Darquesse.”

“Ah,” said Johann, “this notorious Darquesse person that has the Sensitives so nervous.”