“You’ll be the only one.” He put down his menu. “It’ll be your own little pet name for me.”

Irene cleared her throat. “I guess.”

“I like you having your own name for me.”

“I’ve always had pet names for you, but you always told me they were rude.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Brat.”

The waiter arrived and Irene ordered her food first. While Holtz ordered his, Irene looked out the window. After several seconds, she sighed. “He must be new.”

“Who must be new?”

Irene motioned to the man on the other side of the mall floor. “Him. He must be new.”

“New what?”

“Agent. An American, based on that tacky haircut. You know, hair gel is a privilege, not a right. Anyway, the good ones I don’t spot for hours. I spotted his sophomoric butt about ten minutes after we left your apartment.” The waiter returned with salads and Irene tore her eyes away from the bright red sweatshirt the man had the nerve to wear to eat Russian dressing–covered lettuce. That’s when she realized Holtz was staring at her.

“What?”

“Why are agents following you?”

“There are always agents following me.” She shrugged and sipped her drink. “When I was younger, about twelve, they actually took me into custody for my own safety.” She snorted. “They really just wanted to keep me out of the hands of the Soviets. They brought teachers to the compound where they were keeping me. And I had to stay there all day with no friends, no family—not that they would have been much help, but still.”

“What happened?”

“They let me go.”

“Why would they do that?”

“I blew up half the compound and leveled a city street about thirty miles away. It was an accident. Sort of.”

“You mean like you hitting me with a two-by-four and stabbing me in the leg?”

“Those were accidents. If I really wanted to stab you, I’d at least aim for the face.”

“That’s lovely, Irene.”

“Sorry. Knowing they’re still following me annoys me.”

“They don’t do it all the time?”

“No.”

“Then why are they doing it now?”

Irene didn’t answer him and Holtz leaned over the table a bit.

“What have you done?”

“What makes you think I did anything?”

“Because you’re not looking me in the eye.”

When she had to look at him to see his face, she knew she really hadn’t been looking him in the eye.

“I won’t discuss this with you.”

“Why? Because I won’t understand it or because you did something you know is wrong?”

“That’s not fair.”She lowered her voice to a whisper and leaned over the table so they couldn’t be heard. “It’s not like any of us go into this looking for something . . . troublesome. I had the best intentions.”

“Then what happened?”

She sighed. “Side effects. Very bad side effects.” Side effects screwed the best experiments.

“And these people want it for the bad side effects?”

“Most likely.” She doubted they wanted it for its nature-nourishing powers.

“Then destroy it . . . or was that why you were out in the woods that night?”

“Yes. That’s why I was out there. And I did destroy it . . . mostly.”

“Mostly?”

“Don’t snarl at me,” she snarled back. “You have no concept of how many hours I put into that. All the work I did. You expect me to just toss it all away?”

Holtz took a deep breath. “First I need to ask you, is there any danger to the stuff you dumped out there?”

“No. Not at all. I give you my word.”

“Good.” Then he stared at her for the longest time before saying, “And second . . . don’t you understand you have nothing to prove?”

Irene flinched. “What does that mean?”

“It means you don’t have anything to prove to anyone but yourself.”

“That’s bullshit, Holtz. In this business, you’re constantly proving yourself. Constantly striving for better. Otherwise—”

“Otherwise what? Otherwise you can enjoy a weekend out with your boyfriend? Otherwise the government stops following you around? Otherwise you can allow yourself to relax and simply enjoy your existence on this planet? Would that be such a bad thing?”

She specifically chose to ignore the boyfriend comment and instead said, “When all you’re recognized for is your vast intelligence, you’re loath to lose it.”

“You won’t lose that. You’ve already made your mark, Irene. Now you can relax and do whatever the hell you want.”

“No. I can’t. Every day more come along wanting to unseat me from my hard-won throne. Wanting to take what is mine. Think of it in territorial terms, Holtz. Something you can understand. This is my domain. I have no intention of giving it up to anyone.”

“So you risk yourself and others by keeping something you know is dangerous?”

Irene dropped back in her seat. She rested her elbows on the table, laced her fingers together, and rested her forehead against her knuckles. She absolutely detested the man for being right.

“Look, Irene, I’m not saying you need to take care of it this minute. I know you have it someplace safe. But think about it, baby. Remember how you felt over the hyena? Imagine that on a global scale.”