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sort of a parlor trick. Carpathia continued to look at Buck. Neither spoke.
 What is this? Stonagal whispered.  You 're acting like a child.
 I would like to tell you all what you are about to see, Carpathia said, and
Buck felt anew the wash of evil in the room. He wanted more than anything to
rub the gooseflesh from his arms and run for his life. But he was frozen where
he sat. The others seemed transfixed but not troubled, as he and Stonagal
were.
 I am going to ask Mr. Stonagal to rise once more, Carpathia said, the large
ugly weapon safely at his side.  Jonathan, if you please.
Stonagal sat staring at him. Carpathia smiled.  Jonathan, you know you can
trust me. I love you for all you have meant to me, and I humbly ask you to
assist me in this demonstration. I see part of my role as a teacher. You have
said that yourself, and you have been my teacher for years.
Stonagal stood, wary and rigid.
 And now I am going to ask that we switch places.
Stonagal swore.  What is this? he demanded.
 It will become clear quickly, and I will not need your help anymore.
To the others, Buck knew, it sounded as if Carpathia meant he would no longer
need Stonagal's help for whatever this demonstration was. Just as he had sent
the guard back to the corner unarmed, they had to assume he would thank
Stonagal and let him return to his seat.
Stonagal, with a disgusted frown, stepped out and traded places with
Carpathia.
That put Carpathia to Stonagal's right. On Stonagal's left sat Hattie, and
beyond her, Mr. Todd-Cothran.
 And now I am going to ask you to kneel, Jonathan, Carpathia said, his smile
and his light tone having disappeared. To Buck it seemed as if everyone in the
room sucked in a breath and held it.
 That I will not do, Stonagal said.
 Yes, you will, Carpathia said quietly.  Do it now.
 No, sir, I will not, Stonagal said.  Have you lost your mind? I will not be
humiliated. If you think you have risen to a position over me, you are
mistaken.
Carpathia raised the .38, cocked it, and stuck the barrel into Stonagal's
right ear. The older man at first jerked away, but Carpathia said,  Move again
and you are dead.
Several others stood, including Rosenzweig, who cried plaintively,  Nicolae!
 Everyone be seated, please, Carpathia said, calm again.  Jonathan, on your
knees.
Painfully, the old man crouched, using Hattie's chair for support. He did not
face
Carpathia or look at him. The gun was still in his ear. Hattie sat pale and
frozen.
 My dear, Carpathia said, leaning toward her over Stonagal's head,  you will
want to slide your chair back about three feet so as not to soil your outfit.
She did not move.
Stonagal began to whimper.  Nicolae, why are you doing this? I am your friend!
I
am no threat!
 Begging does not become you, Jonathan. Please be quiet. Hattie, he
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
continued, looking directly into her eyes now,  stand and move your chair back
and be seated.
Hair, skin, skull tissue, and brain matter will mostly be absorbed by Mr.
Todd-
Cothran and the others next to him. I do not want anything to get on you.
Hattie moved her chair back, her fingers trembling.
Stonagal whined,  No, Nicolae, no!
Carpathia was in no hurry.  I am going to kill Mr. Stonagal with a painless
hollow-
point round to the brain which he will neither hear nor feel. The rest of us
will experience some ringing in our ears. This will be instructive for you
all. You will understand cognitively that I am in charge, that I fear no man,
and that no one can oppose me.
Mr. Otterness reached for his forehead, as if dizzy, and slumped to one knee.
Buck considered a suicidal dive across the table for the gun, but he knew that
others might die for his effort. He looked to Steve, who sat motionless as the
others. Mr. Todd-
Cothran shut his eyes and grimaced, as if expecting the report any second.
 When Mr. Stonagal is dead, I will tell you what you will remember. And lest
anyone feel I have not been fair, let me not neglect to add that more than
gore will wind up on Mr. Todd-Cothran's suit. A high-velocity bullet at this
range will also kill him, which, as you know, Mr. Williams, is something I
promised you I would deal with in due time.
Todd-Cothran opened his eyes at that news, and Buck heard himself shouting,
 No! as Carpathia pulled the trigger. The blast rattled the windows and even
the door. Stonagal's head crashed into the toppling Todd-Cothran, and both
were plainly dead before their entwined bodies reached the floor.
Several chairs rolled back from the table as their occupants covered their
heads in fear. Buck stared, mouth open, as Carpathia calmly placed the gun in
Stonagal's limp right hand and twisted his finger around the trigger.
Hattie shivered in her seat and appeared to try to emit a scream that would
not come. Carpathia took the floor again.
 What we have just witnessed here, he said kindly, as if speaking to
children,  was
a horrible, tragic end to two otherwise extravagantly productive lives. These
men were two I respected and admired more than any others in the world. What
compelled Mr. Stonagal to rush the guard, disarm him, take his own life and
that of his British colleague, I do not know and may never fully understand.
Buck fought within himself to keep his sanity, to maintain a clear mind, to as [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]