back, driving him forward into my arms. He didn’t cry out. He looked more puzzled than hurt, like an old man who’d fallen and didn’t know why. I held on to him as his legs gave out, and he tried to say something, but all that came out of his mouth was blood. I armoured down, still holding on to him. He seemed such a small and fragile thing. He looked up into my face, still struggling to say something, some last words worthy of a legend, but he died before he could. I lowered his body to the floor, straightened up again, and glared down the corridor at the Commander.
“You didn’t have to do that! He was just an old man, no threat to anyone!”
“He was the Fantom,” said the Commander. “A notorious uncaught criminal. A threat to the security of this establishment!”
“He was just an old man, afraid of his past catching up with him,” I said tiredly.
“He knew about the Big Ear,” said the Commander, finally holstering his gun. “He knew too much to ever be allowed to leave. If I hadn’t shot him, he would have spent the remainder of his life in solitary confinement. You might say I did him a favour.”
“No,” I said, “I wouldn’t say that.”
“What would you have done, Drood?”
I didn’t have an answer for him.
* * *
The Commander went back to his office, after giving orders for his men to come and take away the body. I waited with the Fantom until the soldiers turned up. It didn’t feel right to leave him alone, in a strange place. The soldiers gathered him up with brisk efficiency and carried him off. There wasn’t much left of the old man to weigh much. They left his top hat behind, lying on the floor. It looked lost and sad, on its own. I left it there, and walked away. Legends shouldn’t grow old. And they shouldn’t die from being shot in the back. Even though so many do.
To my surprise, I soon caught up with the Commander. As though he’d been walking deliberately slowly, waiting for me.
“What should I do with the body?” he said, not looking at me. “Send it back to the French Embassy?”
“No,” I said. “It would only embarrass them. Just dispose of it. Legends should disappear without trace.”
“No,” said the Commander. “I think a lot of people are going to want evidence that the legendary Fantom is finally dead.”
He increased his pace and strode off down the corridor. I watched him go. The idea of the Fantom’s body being shown around the espionage community, as some kind of exhibit or trophy, suddenly made me so angry I determined there and then to bring the whole damned centre down around the Commander’s ears.
“Kate!” I said. “Are you still there?”
“Of course, Eddie. I’m always here. Has something happened? You sound upset.”
I filled her in on the Fantom, and the manner of his death. “Has the Matriarch decided on her official policy yet?”
“Yes, Eddie. The Matriarch authorizes you to take all necessary actions to remove the telepath and the device from Lark Hill and bring them back to Drood Hall. They’re both far too valuable, and too dangerous, to be left outside the family’s control.”
“So Gemma Markham gets to swap one prison for another,” I said. “That’s not what I had in mind when I offered her sanctuary with my family.”
“We must all do what we have to,” Kate said carefully.
“And if taking her away from Lark Hill puts this country’s security at risk?”
“They managed without her before. And they always have us.”
“Not always,” I said. “What if she doesn’t want to go with me?”
“Explain the situation to her; tell her that it’s for the best.”
“And if she still says no?”
“You are authorized to use all necessary measures, Eddie.”
There was a great deal I felt like saying, but I didn’t. I thought hard.
“I’ve had an idea,” I said. “Put me in touch with Ammonia Vom Acht.”
“What?” said Kate. “Her? Are you sure?”
“Do it,” I said. “I need her.”
There was a long pause. Ammonia Vom Acht was perhaps the most powerful telepath in the world, currently married to the Drood Librarian, William. She didn’t stay at the Hall; she couldn’t. Too many voices, pressing in on her. But they would know how to contact her. Ammonia’s voice rang suddenly inside my head, so loud it rattled my fillings.
“What do you want, Eddie? I’m busy. I’m always busy.”
“You’ll want to hear this,” I said. And