by David Bishop
"Who was this man?" Jena asked. But her father strode from the room without answering, leaving the crumpled note on the floor. Jena bent forwards to pick it up, smoothing out the paper on her bed. The final two words caught her eye: Nikolai Dante. "He has his uses, after all," she whispered.
At the bar of Famous Flora's, Dante was sharing a bottle of Imperial Blue with Spatchcock and Flintlock. "We did what we set out to do," the exiled aristocrat offered, his words slurring together. "We stopped the Fabergè experiments, all the genetically engineered eggs were destroyed and the girls are returning to their families, safe and sound."
"Not all of them," Dante replied darkly. "Natalia can never go home."
"Nor can Scullion," Spatchcock said.
Nor can Di Grizov, the Crest added.
Flintlock tipped the last of the vodka into their glasses. "I want to propose a toast, for all those who died - their sacrifice was not in vain."
"You know, we never saw if Tempest died," Spatchcock observed.
"True," Flintlock agreed, downing the contents of his glass. "But she couldn't have survived that blast... could she?"
Dante pushed his drink away. "I've got to go," he muttered.
"Where?" Spatchcock asked.
"To find a church," he replied. "I want to light a candle for Natalia. She deserves to be remembered in a better way than this." Dante staggered away from his companions.
"Will we see you later?"
"I don't know," Dante admitted. "I just don't know."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Bishop was born and raised in New Zealand, becoming a daily newspaper journalist at eighteen years old. He emigrated to Britain in 1990 and became sub-editor of the Judge Dredd Megazine. He was editor from 1992-1995, a period when the title was voted Britain's best comic every year. He edited 2000 AD weekly from 1996 to 2000 before becoming a freelance writer. His previous novels include three starring Judge Dredd (for Virgin Books) and four featuring Doctor Who (for Virgin and the BBC). He also writes non-fiction books and articles, audio dramas, comics and has been a creative consultant on three forthcoming video games.
If you see Bishop in public, do not approach him - alert the nearest editor and then stand well back.