I walk into the study like I'm walking into my own execution.
Margaret Liu turns toward me, and her smile is pure victory. The detonator is in her hand - small, black with the red button exposed - looks almost mundane. Just a piece of technology that represents the power to kill everyone in this building and both neighboring brownstones.
"Anthony." Her voice is warm and grandmotherly, like she's greeting me at a family dinner instead of threatening mass murder. "So good to see you alive. It seems the reports of your death were greatly exaggerated."
"Margaret." I keep my hands visible and non-threatening. Every combat instinct I have is screaming for me to move, to attack, to disarm. But the switch in her hand changes everything. "Let's talk about this."
