he edge of the stiff mattress and grabbed the remote

seum in Manhattan. The banner at the bottom of the scree

of the artifacts. Helen's stoma

destal was an intricat

rta had carried it everyw

ncrypted micro-laptop. She booted it up, her fingers flying across the keys in

d transferred the Lotus Box to the mus

lse bottom of that box was the biological

shut. She wasn't going

ght, light-absorbing black tactical suit. S

copper drainpipe. She slid down the three stories in seconds, her boots hitting the gras

ouched on the roof o

haft. She crawled until she reached the main security junction

. Ten seconds later, the infrared laser grid in the hal

the marble floor in a silent forward r

lind spots of the security cameras, d

al laser from her belt and pressed it against the electronic lock. The

r the faint glow of emergency lights. In the center of t

utter from her pocket. As she raise

n marble. Someone was coming th

elted into the deep shadows behin

ently. Four men in black tactic

ers filled the doorway. He moved with a heav

the sharp angle of his jaw. Helen

y. The man she had drug

n to spread out. He was looking for some

hand tightened around the

out from under his nose wit