All three stare at me expectantly, waiting for me to hand over the poison that will bring the human era to a swift and fatal end. I stare back solemnly at the doc, saying nothing, milking the moment.
Then I grin wickedly and shoot him the finger.
Dr. Oystein’s face darkens. “Do not toy with me,” he growls.
“Get stuffed,” I jeer.
“Becky!” Owl Man barks. “Give him the vial.”
“You can get stuffed too,” I retort with undeniable relish.
Owl Man blinks with shock.
Dr. Oystein snaps, “Has she broken your hold over her?”
“She must have,” Owl Man mutters, “but I do not know how.”
“Don’t sweat it, Owlie,” I smirk. “If I had free will, I’d be ripping your brains out. You’re still the boss of me, worse luck.”
“Then give him the vial,” Owl Man says slowly, sternly, his voice resonating deeply.
“Can’t,” I beam. Then I hit them with the kicker. “I don’t have it.”
Rage howls with laughter as the men gape. “Trust Queen B to come up with a kick-in-the-nuts twist!”
“But you told us you had it,” Dr. Oystein wheezes, ignoring the gleeful Rage.
“No,” I correct him. “You asked me if I’d taken it from Mr. Dowling. I said I had, which was the truth. I also told you I’d hidden it in the cavity of my stomach, which was true too. But you never asked me if I still had it.”
Dr. Oystein looks as if he’s about to throw up. Owl Man has started to tremble. Rage carries on laughing.
“You set it aside?” the doc croaks.
“Yeah,” I drawl.
“Where is it?” he asks.
“Don’t know,” I answer innocently.
“Zachary!” he yells, losing his temper.
“Tell us where it is,” Owl Man says gravely.
“I can’t,” I reply sweetly. “Like I said, I don’t know.”
“But you must!” Dr. Oystein howls. Sakarias is startled by the noise and growls angrily at the doctor.
“But I don’t,” I smile.
Dr. Oystein raises a hand to strike me. Owl Man coughs politely and says, “No, uncle. That is not your way. You will regret it if you hit her.” As the doc practically foams at the mouth, Owl Man faces me. “Tell us what you did with the vial, Becky.”
“Well, since you asked nicely…” I simper, then shrug. “When I saw that County Hall had fallen, I lost hope. I thought the good doctor was done for, that Mr. Dowling had killed him. I was sure my vengeful husband would track me down and retrieve his precious vial. I wanted to thwart him.
“So I gave the vial to Holy Moly. I told the lovable little beast that if it wanted to please its mummy, it should take the vial deep underground and hide it in a place where nobody would ever find it.
“You’re back where you started, doc. The vial’s lost to you, out of sight, out of reach. How does that tickle your fancy, creep?”