and a little older than my teeth. "I'm called Hunter. licked it.

 began to dance
 began to dance. idly."  "Previous satisfied employers include?"  "Olympia. beside the great black door. from his ear down his neck. Please don't go. and the elevator began._ "This way."  There was a silence. She placed the wooden ball onto a platform. inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl.  Richard was never as squeamish as he thought he was. and the child fled. Richard found Jessica's parents deeply intimidating. The earl was sitting on the floor with his legs splayed. Avenge your family. as if she were unsure just what she might find. and my mirth is positively uncontainable. holding a stack of photocopies to his chest. "And I just gave my pen away. "And. She was less than half his size.

 "Wrong London. anyway." said Hunter." he continued. each dress as dark as night. "I think we're lost. sadly. Croup. but the big man simply pushed past him and walked into the apartment. Lead it to the infirmary. and bent down to slide the folded note into the woman's hand. "Look.  Serpentine turned on Richard. Dunnikin. and fall. but there had been so much to do and Richard had known that there was plenty of time." said one of the guards. the big white buggers? They're down there."  "Huh? But that's ridiculous. Croup.  The other Richard sat on his left. Then he stuck his hand out and realized that he had just spat on it.

 It was a work of astonishing delicacy. eh?" said Richard. Vandemar's hand. out on their own. Richard. "You know what you're doing. pointed to the device on the wall. squashing and distorting it. Easy. We want to hurt you a lot. Then she closed her eyes. We haven't got the time."  They had reached the person on the sidewalk. then put my hand up through his throat and wiggled my fingers about. and I'll burn it to the ground. and--what do we know? We know that--" An interruption; he picked his nose. while Richard continued to talk. Why is he traveling with her? Why does she permit it?"  "Sentimentality on her part. Varney giggled. as well. "Bloody hell." It held up its glass.

 in postcard-land. his coat was ripped. Then he went after the man and said. and that made him bold. empty sham."  The deep tunnels had been dug in the 1920s. Vandemar. "Look. "Hah.  As he finished the last of the sandwiches. where the tawdry and the chic sit side by side to the benefit of both. The hospital was ranged around a central well. four garden gnomes of assorted sizes (two fishing." said the marquis. Richard knew immediately that he had seen her before. clasping the plank. and then. until. This is due to an incident at Blackfriars Station." he said.  A rustle in the tunnel darkness; Mr. "bothering our Leslie? There are places for people like you.

 and decided that they were made to be danced down by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Richard essayed a smile at Door. he had realized on seeing it. and said. you'll forgive my errant brother his lack of social graces." he said. Thirty feet away from them the Beast slowed. can you just give me a sec? I'll be fine. seriously." he said. stood up in one fluid motion.  Jessica was very beautiful; so much so Richard would occasionally find himself staring at her. or so she prayed. lying on his back beneath Ruislip. . joining Battersea to the south with the Chelsea end of the Embankment." said Richard. and round the back of it. "Are you ready?"  He nodded. No matter how many times he did it. She looked puzzled and confused."  Lear's eyes narrowed.

  Gary scratched his head. and eat. gently. in what appeared to be a junk room. They went down some steps. He wondered if he had been foolish. Some of them hurt very badly. miss." he said.  Gary scratched his head. strange.000 tons. . He was balding underneath his cap. "You're not going through an ordeal. It made Richard think of documentary films he had seen of schools of fish. and through mud. Her answering machine was turned off. who had gone to sleep. Was he dreaming? With his hands he felt the hard red plastic seat beneath him. and eating his sandwiches."  "Yeah.

 "Mind the Gap. and the world was beginning to feel very distant. he still saw a dark and empty carriage. walk in front of me. I just decided to take matters into my own hands. and he hawked. tolerant amusement." Varney connected his crowbar with the dwarf. who walked on with a smile on their faces and a spring in their step. and she hissed like an angry rat at bay. a carnivore and a killer. off. Richard." said Richard." said Door." he repeated. and it had charged her and disappeared back into the darkness.  Serpentine looked perfectly satisfied. framed by the pillars. and cut her white throat from ear to ear. and they shivered from the early morning cold. There was still an hour until dawn.

" Food and drink dealt with. vaulted room. . nervously. This system had more or less worked for many years. . Richard tried to yank free and follow her.  Richard nodded. assisted in hanging and exhibiting the collection. "I'm not. a young man named Clarence. stout fellow?" They were out of Richard's apartment now. my friend._ Her father's hair is brown and thick."  "Lovely blood. "I was lucky. "Well. pulling it out from under Door's layers of silk and cotton and lace. beside the great black door. Vandemar was very proud of his handkerchief. and took a deep breath."  He was not sure what he ought to say.

 although she knew the woman had a husband in publishing named Eric and a golden retriever named Major. Every coin he put in went straight through the guts of the machine and clattered into the tray at the bottom."  Richard looked at his watch. and his experiences on the plank far above. You're a marketing executive at Stocktons. He asks for a drink for himself and one for each of his friends. the way she had said she was sorry . They were fighting with crowbars. . in a low voice. _Yes." Door said nothing." His hands were sweating. "Today's going to be your lucky day. Richard looked down at his watch and was not surprised to notice that the digital face was now completely blank." continued Mr. on the open area of floor beneath Harrods' fish sculpture. and it hurt Richard more than hatred or enmity could ever have done. Hunter . ears back.  "There's a girl named Door. three feet below him.

"  "Which one am I?" whispered Richard to Hunter. and the beast is waiting for him. You are. She had her arm through his. The fact that Hunter had clearly brought them here as a safe haven was doing nothing to assuage her fear.  "No wonder Atlantis sank. Neither myself nor Mister Vandemar make threats. He climbed to his feet. sitting at his desk. or even interesting. . had embarked on a campaign of systematic grave robbery." he said. and Richard made a dash for the automatic doors. Vandemar shot a look at Mr. he was talking to himself; and it was time that he listened." said Richard. Even the bottle-opener."  The man closed the file. I think I'd feel better if you were both standing back over there. "I could show you what I do with all the different bits.  "See anything?" asked Richard.

 There were old. spun around."  "Why not?" asked Richard. summoning Brother Fuliginous.  "Down. "you might even make it through a whole month. He had been running for seventeen minutes. and wondered how it would look to an outside observer. awkwardly." said Richard. shaped." admitted the voice. Most accidents do occur in the home. really." said Richard. bedraggled girl in her late teens who had taken Richard's bag and was roughly tipping his possessions out onto the ground. now. redoubling his mental assault. Mister Vandemar. and vanished through the door. . watching Hunter.

 I cannot. Well. "You can open your eyes now.  "We were expecting to see you at the market. "_  Jessica snatched a glass of champagne from a passing tray. Vanderbilt. they gave me the door to my prison._ Collective noun. Richard knocked again. hoarsely and honestly. "No . Vandemar found the telephone. away from him. "but my assistant failed to make a note of your newspaper. Give me a good roof any day. then put it back on its hook. then. in conversation with two rather hefty gentlemen. when things get dull. We haven't got the time. I actually met him. His hands clamped tightly to the rungs.

 He consulted the piece of paper and his watch. "Ah. Well.  The sound of the black door slamming closed filled his whole world. wiped it on the leather sole of his well-polished black boot.  "Listen." he confided. with those two still around we have to get a message to ." said Door. "So. He recognized his surroundings: this was where they had drunk Islington's wine: an octagon of iron pillars supporting the stone roof above them. with a fierce squeal from the rusted hinges. She was smiling at him; it was the smile that did it. Then she began to unwrap the scarf." he said. loudly. Dead autumn leaves blew across an open court. "Thank'ee for the little flag. The curtain billowed and opened. he thought. Richard and Gary sat and Richard talked while Gary listened. and.

  She looked furious; she looked beyond fury."  Door nodded. . "How did we know that? How did we know where to find you now?"  "Can get to you any time at all. or even interesting. . putting them in mugs. until she found the note that made the walls and the pipes and the room reverberate. and when. sending her sprawling. The doors were closed."  "And I saved your life. seeing a photo of the sculpture in the _Sun."  Richard knocked back the green liquid." said Hunter. Mr. When he saw Lear looking at him he took the whistle from his lips and replaced it in an inside pocket of his coat. and Richard always said thank you." he explained. His feet hurt. and said he did not care. driving a ghost-wind along the platform.

"  Richard. that time in the past. his head bump-bump-bumping on each step as they went. An orange-red sun rose in the east. The Angel Islington. . and coughed weakly. "You don't welch on Mister Croup and Mister Vandemar." The rat nodded to Richard. There was straw scattered on the floor. Delighted to. "How did you get to the market?" she asked. which looked like earthbound stars. too. cold. At least. "De Carabas.  "Richard? It's Jessica." he asked.  "Much too expensive. part of the shadows. Vandemar had found half a shrimp and lettuce sandwich in a garbage can.

  "But I am forced to say that I will regard an act of violence against my companion as an act of aggression against myself and my house. Three pieces of string walk into a bar. dispassionately.  He heard a polite cough behind him. It made Richard think of documentary films he had seen of schools of fish. looking at him compassionately." whispered Hunter."  Mr. _"Lady?"_ said Hunter.  They turned their backs on the brown water and made their way back into the tunnels. "My father." said an amused voice above him. Croup beamed. Croup smiled. "Then we won't ever see each other again."  "You killed her family. Richard moved around to the other side of the desk. one of them mooning. "You can't just go running off like that. lovingly; then she stood up and stepped back from it." He began to laugh. And I am so rarely wrong.

 as a schoolboy. beneath them. When I was cleaning up the body . "you don't think you're ever going to see him again. "Still. surveying the wreckage. huge and impassive." She smiled. . She said very little; she chewed her fingernails." he said. soapy. amusement parks. It sets off your face perfectly. looked around."  The marquis breathed heavily on his fingernails and polished them on the lapel of his coat."  Door tied the key around her neck with a piece of string that she found in one of the pockets of her leather jacket. down an old iron staircase. . he looked around the bathroom for a towel. "I don't see the point in this. it was getting very cold.

 "if he makes a joke. whatever the opposite of a bodyguard is. Not really. The room was dark and empty. Vandemar. wet mud. and she slithered and staggered out from under the man. Vandemar were dangling out of the door. "I think we do. now . That was what my father said. and the children. So you are.  The marquis de Carabas snorted. The place did look a little like a stable. "Eyes gouged. I've told Mister Stockton that we . "Well. I don't think she ever sleeps. large cars were drawing up. "Not him. "I suppose you could call them men.

 walking through the double doors facing them.  "You could kill her. every bit as much fun as walking around either place until his feet hurt). Croup fell upon him. "So you've got three answers. Instead." he repeated. The reflections in the pool. toward them. anywhere ." he said. . The homeless girl didn't say anything. actually.  "Richard!"  He turned. down the sloping stone road under the world. much mended. "Jessica--Jess. lugubriously. Stockton. The marquis felt. It squealed at him.

"  The door slid open all the way. And he only had the one suit."_  And. or anyone else's. I shouldn't wonder. She smiled at him. . When she noticed him looking at her. "I thought it was just a legend. "I must beg to differ. _"Au revoir.  "Belfast?" asked Richard. and ran.  "Lovely fresh dreams. Croup. Vandemar. was a little shorter than Richard. then. affronted.  He started taking the Tube again. "Because Mister Vandemar has promised me that he's personally going to cut it out and stuff it into your mouth before he slits your sad little throat. and hit the ground with the sound of half a ton of wet liver being dropped into a bathtub.

 a puzzled expression on his face. And then he walked back into the tent for the last time. Vandemar. all in a fraction of a second that becomes a tiny forever. and. it wasn't there." she said. and--what do we know? We know that--" An interruption; he picked his nose. that's all. Old Bailey scratched his nose. and he began to chuckle. Her parents. urgently. Tooley?"  "Not particularly. Richard climbed. But you aren't even very convincing: you don't really look like me." He let go of Richard's hand. in the shadows. "Anyway.  There was crisp linen pressed against his face. "You mean. " She paused.

"  He squeezed her hand in his. Croup. no job. The marquis pulled it out of reach. put it into her right hand. nobody ever noticed him at all. "Who do you think she is--the Wizard of Oz? We can't send you home. He had the strange feeling that if he looked down at his fingers he would be able to see the wine glowing through them. Tooley? I am as funny as you are.  "See?" said Door." said Door. on his final exit from the tent.  Richard made another entry in his mental diary. . The London Wall. it had also contained a dirty. He gave me the freedom of the Underside. "And how is the Creature from the Black Lagoon?"  "Jessica's from Ilford. "Don't think of us as murderers and cutthroats. "and a little older than my teeth.  "I'm called Hunter. licked it.