“Of course, of course, sirs. Please, just a moment,” Wayne Yorke stammered, his voice losing every ounce of its practiced corporate authority. He was scrambling now, plastering on a subservient grin that didn't reach his terrified eyes. “I just need to notify the General Manager. Protocol, you understand. I’ll explain the situation, and then I’m entirely yours. The Council sees everything, after all, and I’ve always been a man of institutional loyalty.”
“Go ahead,” Ambrose Ward said with a curt nod, his voice as dry as parchment. He gestured toward the telephone. “Make your call. We aren't going anywhere.”
As Yorke fumbled with the receiver, his fingers trembling so violently he nearly dropped it, Ambrose began to move. He didn't pace; he drifted through the office with the predatory gra
