Harry must have moved pretty damn fast, because Cecila’s land line rang again just as I finished washing my face.

“It’s Tamerlane,” she said. “He won’t do anything until he speaks with you personally.”

“Kovak,” Cecilia hissed at me. “This man is the only hope for my city, so whatever he wants, he gets. He tells you to suck his dick and fuck his sister, you say yes sir and how long!”

I nodded, cleared my throat, and said “Hello?” to the smartest man on Earth.

“Timothy Kovak!” a man’s voice said, as if he was a loving father greeting his prodigal son. The voice was older but not old, with some vague European accent.

Joseph Tamerlane was a robotics genius, a pioneer who started off building friendly robot pets that slowly evolved into full-on death machines. Or maybe they were always intended to be death machines, and the adorable pets were just the first step.

Whatever his motives, Tamerlane became a national hero after he released a whole new line of advanced military robots in animal shapes, just in time to help us win the African War.

He was the most famous, most admired, and most feared man in the world, a genuine polymath super-genius producing an endless stream of new inventions - effectively the founder of our whole modern world, responsible for half a dozen Earth-shaking inventions like Datacore processors and flying cars.

He was never my hero, but he was the closest thing to a hero my father ever had. A self-made man who had effectively remade the whole planet in his image, replacing the old, corrupt governments of Earth with a sleek new corporate system where any man could, as Dad put it, “Get a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work,” and everybody got what they deserved.”

Tamerlane was called the Secret King of America in the press. It had started as a joke, but it really wasn’t a joke or a secret anymore. There were nine other companies on the Security Council, but HDI was the biggest, and none of the others would go against him, effectively giving him dictatorial control of the most powerful nation on Earth.

And if other companies in China and Japan were said to defy him, it was only because he hadn’t bothered to destroy them yet.

Now this terrifying mythological figure was on the other end of Cecilia’s phone, greeting me like I was family.

“Tell me, Mister Kovak, what is your middle name?”

“Erin,” I said.

“Please spell it for me.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“E-R-I-N. It was supposed to be Aaron with an A, but Dad thought I would grow up tougher if he gave me a girl’s name.”

“And when were you born?”

“April 13th, 2033.”

“What time of day?”

“11:17 p.m.”

“Excellent,” he said, sounding like my birth was something I could take credit for. “So, it’s been several months since your birthday and you’re a working hero on Bluestar 7. You are not currently bound to demons, and you are asking for my help, so you don’t have to surrender to them. Is that correct?”

“Yes, sir,” I said, impressed by his immediate grasp of the situation.

“And if I say no, are you willing to sacrifice yourself? Turn yourself over to these creatures and accept servitude or death?”

“I am. That was my first idea, but Cecilia won’t let me.”

“And if this happened again in different circumstances, if you could save a whole world by sacrificing yourself, would you do it?”

I said, “I think so. I think most people would.”

Tamerlane chuckled. “All right, Mister Kovak, here are my terms. I will not fight your war for you, but I will send Panthers, Battle Hounds, and autoguns to protect the various corporate arcologies around Boston.

“I will not protect private property or historical sites, but anyone willing to sign an employment contract will be allowed in my shelters.”

“Wait,” I said. “We’ve got a full-on demon attack headed for a major city, and you’re going to use this situation to force unaffiliated people to work for you?”

“I am using this situation to give a large number of recalcitrant people a chance at a better life, but I don’t expect you to understand that… yet.

“Anyone who is not willing to accept employment can hide in the public shelters or take their chances fortifying their own homes, but I can guarantee any demon that comes near corporate property will be annihilated, and anyone who accepts my protection will be safe. In exchange, let’s just say you’ll owe me a favor. Are you willing to accept these terms?”

“You sure you’re not a demon, Mister Tamerlane?”

“I am not, but I am very curious to see if you are. And please understand, I am not making a deal with this witch or the DMA. This will be a gentleman’s agreement between myself and the wizard Timothy Kovak. Would you rather see these people die than have them accept protection from me?”

“Of course not. You’re the only chance we’ve got, so I accept your terms.”

“Very good! My troops are already on their way.”

“Already?” I stammered. “So, my choice didn’t even matter?”

“Oh, it mattered a great deal, but I have my own reasons for helping your city. Someone needs to show these monsters that the human race is ready and able to defend itself.

“I wish you luck, Mister Kovak, and I promise I will not shame you or reveal your secret, if you choose to break off at any point during this battle and seek shelter with me.

“If you are alive and well this time next week, I hope you will call and check in from time to time, just to let me know how you are.”

Then the Secret King of America hung up, leaving me listening to a dial tone on Cecila’s old plastic phone.

* * *

“Well?” Cecilia said, shaking me out of my stunned silence. “Is he gonna help us?”

“Yes, but he’ll only protect corporate property, centered on the arcologies. Anybody who wants in will basically have to sell their soul to him, so we need to get the warning out early, and pack people into those public shelters as fast as we can.”

Most people who had stayed in Boston since ‘23 had basements and safe rooms, but we were still going to have thousands of people at risk.

“I’ll get Harry on it,” Cecilia said. “Any idea why Tamerlane insisted on talking to you? What’s your connection with him?”

“I have no idea,” I said honestly. “But make no mistake, this guy is playing life in god mode, and I would love to know where he got the codes.”