Jack of Harts 2.5: Wolfenheim Rising Read Online Free PDF Page A

structure with light.  “But I was one of them long before I met you.  That makes up for a lot.  Even if I became a heathen Protestant ,” he finished with a chuckle.
    Malcolm laughed and watched the limo prowling towards the end of the parking ramp.  There’d been a time, he knew, when the difference between Protestant and Catholic had been death.  Literally.  But that was centuries ago.  After Contact, the differences between Catholics and Protestants had become very minor indeed.  The limo came to a stop and the doors opened, letting in a breath of fresh morning air.
    Malcolm slid out first and looked at the open door that led down into the bar.  Dawn followed and stepped up behind him with John on her heels, and Malcolm shared a look with each of them before walking towards the opening.
    An alarm blared as they approached and a guard stepped out of a nearby alcove, hand rising to stop them.  He looked straight at Dawn.  “No personal computers in the club.”
    “She’s a cyber , not a computer,” Malcolm corrected with an upraised hand.
    “Doesn’t matter.”  The guard shook his head, a mulish expression taking over his face.  “We don’t serve her kind here.”
    A hot anger flashed through Malcolm, and he glared at the guard.  “Now just you see here,” he growled, but Dawn’s hand touched his shoulder and he turned to look at her.  She shook her head in a movement so slight that the guard probably hadn’t even noticed.  Malcolm suppressed a growl and turned back to the guard in silence.
    “We don’t want any trouble,” John said in a calm tone, arms raised in a pacifying gesture.  “So why don’t you go tell Mikey that Johnny and Mal are here to see him,” John continued, putting only the slightest of emphasis on the first name.
    The guard’s eyes widened at the name, and John continued to simply smile at him.  Nobody used that name casually, unless of course they could use it casually.  Because if they couldn’t and they did anyways, they never did a second time.
    “Go on,” John whispered, waving his hand towards the door.  “You don’t want to keep Mikey waiting, do you?” he added, and despite the casual words, his tone left no question as to whether or not it was an order.
    The guard practically scampered off down the stairs, obviously not wanting to get between anyone who thought they could call his boss that name and said boss without someone who had a lot more seniority to take the flak for him.  The man disappeared into the heart of the club at the bottom of the stairs, and Malcolm grunted in approval.
    John sighed and gave him a long look.  “You really need to learn diplomacy.”
    Malcolm glanced at Dawn and she cocked her head to the side, obviously waiting for his response.  “Not sure I want to deal diplomatically with idiots like that.”  She frowned at him and he stared right back at her for several seconds, making it clear that he wasn’t about to back down from that point.  Then he turned back to John, fresh determination to get his suspicions answered filling him.  “So, what are you really doing here?”
    “What?” John asked, his eyes opening wide in an innocent expression that didn’t fool Malcolm for an instant.  “I can’t be here just to see an old friend off to the stars one last time?” John added in a plaintive tone.
    Malcolm’s eyes narrowed.  They weren’t officially scheduled to launch for at least a few more days.  John knew far more than anyone outside the Wolfenheim Project was supposed to know.  “What do you know?”
    John cleared his throat and waved a hand in a dismissive gesture.  “Oh, nothing really.”  John sobered when he saw Malcolm’s raised eyebrow.  “Fine.  The courier that arrived earlier today had a message for you, right?  That’s why you’re down here?”
    Malcolm sighed and nodded.  He supposed it wouldn’t do any good to deny that fact at the moment.
    “That’s what I figured,”