Razmik said, 'I want to see him.'
The creature pursed its stone-like lips and said, 'there has been a change of plans. I want you to know that I had planned, genuinely, to honour our agreement. Your man is here. But then... Well, then you brought her.'
The Golem pointed to Ardia.
Razmik looked at Ardia and back to the Golem. The guards were standing to attention now. Their weapons were not trained on the trio, but they were being held ready.
The Golem said, 'your Jew told us things. You mustn't blame him, he is only a Jew. And further, he showed impressive resilience. But he said things, some of them under the influence of drugs. He told me about a witch, my word not his. A woman who could bend steel with her bare hands and throw men twenty feet through the air. It...caught my attention.'
Razmik eyed the retinue of guards that lined the walkway, 'why?'
'Why do I want her?' the creature asked, 'for the same reason I want your help finding the big hairy beast in Brazil. I have a third party that is very interested in genetic anomalies. I actually have to be quite careful about how I deal with him because of my own...specialness. That's part of why I am so rarely seen in public. He would quite like to acquire me himself. However, at times it is worth the risk as he pays very well. And there is a little self preservation at work too. If I can keep him supplied with subjects for whatever it is he does then he has less need to try and capture me.'
'I won't help you find the beast if you do this,' said Razmik. 'And Ardia will not be cooperative.'
The Golem smiled sadistically, 'she doesn't need to be. I know from past experience that even her corpse will be considered valuable. Living and breathing is better but there are different degrees of living and breathing, aren't there?'
Razmik and Ardia exchanged a look. Razmik put his hands on his hips. It was a signal. All that was need was for O'Connor to be where he was supposed to be.
The Golem opened his mouth to speak but never uttered a word. The sound of the distant gunshot, echoing from somewhere above and far behind Razmik and his companions, actually arrived after bullet. There was not a big delay, but it was noticeable. The Golem's head snapped backward, the big monster staggered back against the wall behind him and then slid to the ground. The sound of O'Connor's rifle arrived somewhere between the beginning and the ending of the sequence.
The Russians began to raise their weapons to shoot.
Episode 4: The Golem (The New Breed Chronicles) Page 5