​     Adam didn't even get a second sip​ before one of the robots grabbed him by the collar of his suit to lift him completely out of his chair. Adam's reflexes were so good he didn't spill a drop of his drink.

     "Tana?" Goldbody said next.

     She entered the room. 

     She had no smile on her face. She didn't seem happy at all.

​     "Tana's been in my employ for the last year," Goldbody said. "She's the best undercover operator alive today. She can fool anyone. She even fooled you."

​     "She did, indeed." Adam toasted her expertise. You must charge a fortune." 

​     "Several fortunes," she replied. She took her place next to Goldbody. "On the other hand, my friend here's got several fortunes...and more."

     Goldbody wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin, then sat up from the table. "Let's have ourselves a little walk and talk then," he said. Tana looped her arm through his. He barely noticed her.  

     "Walls," Goldbody said. The walls of the dining area fell away, revealing a lot of space for the three of them to have their stroll. A robot carried Adam along by the collar of the shirt Goldbody had provided. Adam continued to sip at his drink.  

     "So where'd you get all your money...your resources...I wonder." 

     Goldbody smiled. "Investments," he replied.

     "And what do you mean by that?" Adam asked. "Investments that you made or investments that were made in you?"  

​     "Why, whatever do you mean?"

     "And exactly what significance does the number Four have for you, Mr. Goldbody?" 

     One moment. Goldbody hesitated for one moment. He froze, and that's when Adam knew he had him pegged for sure. So, it really had begun, then. 

     "You must be first of the Seven Talons," Adam said. "The first plan of seven to take over this planet so that The Fours can seep into this universe and infect it like the cancer it is." As they moved along, they hit a walkway that bisected Goldbody's compound, a facility dug out of the rock of Pete's Peak and the size of a football field squared. Adam looked down several hundred feet to see dozens of Goldbody's associates scrambling to activate this device or twist that dial. The technology itself was massive and intricate. Adam sipped his drink. Impressive. In a way, it was a shame it all had to be destroyed. So much effort, and in a single day it was all going to come apart. Oh well... 

​     Goldbody smiled. "Actually, I'm talon number two. Talon number one began years ago, and none of you know a thing about it. Not even you, apparently. You love numbers so much? One. You'll be father to The One, if you live."

     "There's always that."

     "So, we begin to understand each other at last. Good. You understand that I've already killed a million people this morning."

     "You bastard."  

     "Among the nine billion that currently inhabit this planet. Not really so many, percentage-wise. I had to make a point, of course."

     "And what point is that, that you're an asshole? You could have saved yourself the firepower." 

​     "I make certain that The Fours get their half trillion dollars, they help me take over the world."

​     "The Fours knows you'll never get away with it. You're too melodramatic." 

​     "The future belongs to the bold. It always has. I saw my chance, and I took it."

     "You're crazy, that's what you are. Just one more over-rich, self centered crazy bastard."

     "Fine!" Goldbody suddenly got furiously angry. He had the robot that held Adam stop so that he could stand in front of him to look Adam cold in the eye. "I am crazy, fine, but I am one crazy man who will either destroy this world or rule it. There is no third option."

     "Oh, I'll bet The Fours has plenty of options."

     "I'll take the Earth. The Fours can have the rest of the Universe." 

     "I like you, Gideon. You're a dreamer, like me."

     "Except that I get to live and you have to die." 

​     "I'm not dead yet."

​     "Let's remedy that situation right now, shall we? I still have a world to conquer by the end of the day, and you're already beginning to bore me."

​     Adam finished his drink, then let the glass fall to the floor to shatter. "Have it your way."

​     Gideon opened the door to his left. It opened into a small, empty room. "Bring him in here," he said to the two robots. "Kill him."

     Tana gasped in spite of herself.  

     "Not right away, though," Goldbody continued. "Hurt him first. Torture him. Maybe for half an hour or so. Break his bones one by one, but keep him alive, keep him awake. Then crush his skull like chocolate candy. Keep the pieces, though. I'm going to have him examined later, especially his brain."

     The robots bowed, then wheeled Adam into the empty room. Adam waved good bye to Tana. "You're a lovely woman," he said. "I wish we could have spent a little more time together." Then, SMASH! one of the robots slammed the door so hard it almost broke free from its frame.

     "I...I..." For a second, it looked like Tana planned to jump at the door to fling it open to find some way to save Adam's life. Then, she stopped. What could she do? For the moment, Goldbody held all the cards.

     "Please, dear." Gideon touched her arm in a manner that she imagined was supposed to be comforting. Instead, it just gave her the creeps. "Don't waste any of your compassion on him. The Fours has been trying to kill him since the beginning of time. With Adam Forwarder dies any hope of the Azure stopping the ravenous rot that is The Fours in this particular bundle of timelines."

​     "What? I...I..."

     "You know what? I've got a surprise for you. This way, please."

​     And, even as he said that, the fist of one of the robots smashed completely through the wall. 

     It was covered with blood, Adam's blood.

     "Yes," Goldbody observed. "We have, indeed, at last, come to the final chapter...at least for Adam Forwarder."

END OF CHAPTER NINE

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