Nicolette awoke in her old bed next morning, and began to review recent events in her mind. The spectre of her dead mother loomed before her once again, and Nicolette decided that she needed to do something in order to ward it off. She recalled the computer system she and JC Denton had discovered in the basement of the house – a tool such as that could be of massive value to Silhouette's efforts.

Nicolette padded through the familiar corridors and down the stairs, into the kitchen. She went down into the gloom of the wine cellar and, after carefully locking the door behind her, proceeded to the ostentatious candleholder and pressed it into the wall. There was a great grinding as the secret door opened, then shut behind her as she stepped through into her mother's secret place of work. Nicolette walked through the grimy dungeon, wondering as she did at how people of such power ended up working so clandestinely, in such frankly unpleasant surroundings.

When she reached the room in which the computer was housed Nicolette quickly sat down at the worn chair. She was about to input the command for the computer to start up when she heard a noise back where she had come from. Nicolette froze for a moment then began to relax, dismissing it, when she heard the sound of the secret door from the wine cellar opening with much grating and grinding. She quickly stood up and moved over to the side of the room, disappearing into the shadows with practised ease.

A figure entered the room a few moments later and looked round, then began to move around the other side from where Nicolette was hidden. She stepped up behind him stealthily, but she must have made some sound, as he turned around suddenly. Her eyes widened in surprise and then narrowed in hatred.

"You!"

"Ah, my daughter-" Morgan Everett got no further as Nicolette lashed out, hitting him in the chest with her right hand and then following up with a left to the face – powerful, accurate blows. Everrett found himself on the hard stone floor, gasping for breath and seeing stars. By the time he had recovered his vision Nicolette was standing over him with s pistol she had produced from somewhere on her person pointed directly at him. He had been aware of her hostility to the Illuminati in general and himself in particular, but the open hatred in her face as she looked at him now still caught him off guard. Seeing how tense she was, Everett realised that there was a serious danger that she might just kill him here and now. Possibly not the best time to force a confrontation.

"Err... I surrender?" He put his arms out weakly.

"What are you doing here?" Nicolette spoke slowly and clearly, her narrowed eyes not moving from his form for a second.

"Well in fact, dear girl" – Nicolette moved as if she was going to hit him again but restrained herself, for which Everett was profoundly grateful – "I was looking for you. There have been a few rather major changes in the world just recently, and I thought you might be little out of touch. As a matter of fact, I came here to be of help to you."

"I need none of your 'help'." Nicolette's hostile tone had not changed at all. Everett's patronising, mocking tone suddenly disappeared to be replaced by his customary forceful confidence.

"Yes you do, so put that gun away and listen to me. Majestic-12 have been decapitated, destroyed – that stupid boy Denton saw to that."

"They... wha-" Morgan Everett continued to talk right over Nicolette's confused question.

"But they are not all that has been destroyed. The Aquinas router was blown up. Do you have any IDEA what that means, Nicolette? Governments will tumble; nations cease to exist as we know them. Anarchy, chaos and destruction will be let lose on a scale not seen in this century. Beth's computer, here, is of no value now. There is a car waiting outside. Come with me to Paris, I wish to speak to your friend Chad."

"You're giving me orders already? Who the HELL do you think you-"

"Nicolette, you don't understand how big this is. It is not safe out here, all order is gone, all protection. The future of this world is in flux, things must be done if it is ever to recover. Just come with me for now."

And somehow, numbed and shocked by the enormity of what he was telling her and bowled over by Everett's awesome presence and charisma, Nicolette found herself putting her gun away and meekly following Everett into the back of his sleek armoured limousine.