Jo called her partner as she drove. Henry ground his teeth; he'd seen enough victims of cell phone-related accidents. He wasn't interested in his Guardian becoming one of Lucas's clients.

"Really? Where... okay, thanks, Hanson." Jo hit "end call" and tossed the phone onto Henry's lap. "Hanson said all of the four cell phones have been turned on in the last day, and all in the same area."

"Where is it?" Henry asked.

"Around the intersection of Second and Stanton." Henry slammed his fists on the dashboard, making Jo jump. "What? What is it?"

"That's my apartment."

"Where your son lives?" Jo sped up. He shook his head when she reached for the siren.

"It'll only alert him that we're on our way. Not that he doesn't know already," he said. "This must have been his plan all along."

"No, Henry." Although she was driving quickly, swerving around slower vehicles, her voice was calm. Henry supposed that she was used to stressful situations, being a detective. "His plan was to get us upset, don't you see? Recruiting Ezekiel was just to get into the Library and locate you. But going after Lucas, taking a jab at me, showing off what he did to Abigail – those didn't serve any purpose for him except to make us mad."

The reference to his wife made Henry wince. "What's your point, Detective?"

"My point is, we need to have a plan before we go in there. If we don't, he'll just keep angering us until we make a mistake."

"We've already made mistakes."

"I know that." Jo's calm faltered; she swallowed and said, "I never should have let him be alone with you. I never should have brought the flintlock with me to the morgue."

"And the Library should have been better protected. I should have figured out what he was doing a long time ago. I've lived long enough – I should be better at keeping my cool."

"So we've both made mistakes." Jo stopped at a red light and turned to grin at him. "Now let's make a plan."

The light turned green; she drove on as Henry thought. How could they trick Adam into either giving up the flintlock or becoming vulnerable to an attack by the pugio?

"What was in the bag that Adam took?" he asked.

"The pistol, obviously. Your carpet. And Charlene put Athena's shield in there."

Henry smiled. "Oh, that will do quite nicely, Detective."

"It will? Because Adam has all three of those items, so I'm not sure how they're going to help us."

"My carpet is very well trained, and I have my pipes. Here's what we'll do, Detective..."

Their plan was hatched by the time Jo pulled up to the antique shop. She parked next to it and waited until Henry got out of the car. "Are you sure this will work?" she asked, poking her head out of the driver's side window.

"Of course!"

"That doesn't make me feel better." She drove away as Henry straightened his scarf and adjusted his suit coat, making sure that the knife in his pocket was showing through the fabric. Then he entered the antique shop at a leisurely walk.

"Hello, Abraham," he said, stopping by the desk to greet his son.

"Hey, Dad," Abe replied, not looking up from his work. "Just updating the account books. I sold five items today – premium prices, too!"

"That's good, Abe." Henry bent down to kiss his sixty-five-year-old son's head. "Don't come downstairs for a bit. I have some work to do."

"More stuff you can't tell me about?"

"Maybe someday."

"You say that every day." Abe ran his fingers through his thinning white hair. "Let me know when someday comes, Henry."

"I will." With that, Henry pulled up the trapdoor to his laboratory and descended into the basement. As he'd expected, the lights were on, and Adam was sitting behind his desk. Jo's bag was over his shoulder.

"You decided to join me?"

"Yes, I told Abe that I had some work to do." Henry pulled out his pipes, noticing Adam's interest in the knife in his other pocket.

"The pipes, eh? Not the pugio?"

"I'm not a killer," he told the other man quietly.

Adam pulled the flintlock from the bag. "Well, that's too bad, because I am. Where's your detective?"

"She's not my detective."

"Have you seen the way she looks at you? She's yours, all right. It's really a shame that she won't get to know you any better. Maybe I'll meet up with her, once you're gone. Help her to appreciate a real man."

Jo had warned him not to rise to Adam's bait. It was harder than he had anticipated. He clenched his fists, but said nothing, instead putting the pipes to his lips. Adam raised the flintlock. "I wouldn't, unless you want to test my theory," he warned.

Henry shrugged lightly. "I'm a scientist," he said, seeing movement behind Adam and fighting not to acknowledge it. "I like testing theories."

"So be it!" Adam pulled the trigger. Jo emerged from the hidden entrance and slashed his throat with the pugio. Henry's carpet scurried out of the bag, dragging the shield – but it was too late. He had miscalculated, perhaps for the final time.

Henry looked down. He had been shot in the chest, an almost perfect hit on his old scar. He fell backwards as though in slow motion. From a distance, he could hear Jo's voice. "Henry! Henry, hold on, Librarian, hold on..."


Oh no, that can't be good. Two chapters left!

Thanks for reading, everyone! Parkin24, here's the confrontation you predicted. Adam is definitely a jerk to the highest degree. And good catch with the ancestor/descendant mixup. I fixed it!