Jekyll & Hyde Inc.

A great many responses crossed Daniel’s mind, none of them likely to make a good first impression, so he just opened the door and went in. This office was more modern, with stylish furniture, all the latest equipment, and a large, drooping rubber plant in one corner. From off to one side came a series of low thudding sounds, and Daniel turned to see a woman throwing knives at a dartboard. They chunked heavily into the center of the board, each thin blade quivering with the force of its impact. The woman turned unhurriedly to face Daniel, hefting the last knife in her hand.

“Just getting my eye in,” she said.

Daniel nodded, lost for words. At six and half feet tall, the woman was a few inches taller than him, with a physique like a body builder; but she also had the sleek grace of some powerful exotic animal. In her smart business suit and black string tie, she looked seductive and glamorous and extraordinarily dangerous. A great mane of crimson hair cascaded down past her shoulders, her eyes were a fierce green, and her mouth was wide and mocking. And as Daniel stood there, taking it all in, the woman threw her last knife right at his face.

Daniel’s hand snapped up faster than he could think and caught the knife, stopping its point an inch short of his eyeball. He looked speechlessly at the woman, and she grinned back at him.

“Just checking you really are one of us. Nothing personal.”

“A knife to the eye strikes me as about as personal as it gets,” Daniel said coldly. “Please don’t try that again.”

“Of course not,” the woman said reasonably. “Not now. I’ve run out of knives.”

Daniel examined the blade. It was light and slender, with an excellent balance. “Is this what we’re going to use at the Frankenstein gathering?”

“Not unless the plan goes seriously wrong. I am Valentina Hyde; always Tina, never Val. I’ll be your partner in the mass slaughter to come.”

Daniel tucked the knife away in an inside pocket. “I’m still not sure how I feel about that . . . ”

Tina threw herself at him, like a jungle cat going for the throat. Her first punch was so powerful it would have taken Daniel’s head clean off his shoulders if it had connected, but his reactions started him moving the same moment she did, and her fist sailed harmlessly past his cheek. She lashed out with both hands, again and again, but he avoided most of the blows and blocked the rest. She tried a few karate kicks, and he evaded them easily, as though they were both just moving through the steps of a familiar dance.

Daniel finally decided he’d had enough, ducked inside Tina’s reach, and punched her right between the eyes. The blow rocked her back, and while she was off-balance Daniel grabbed her and threw her across the room. She tucked and rolled and was quickly back on her feet again, her eyes full of the light of battle and something else besides. She grinned at Daniel, snatched up a heavy chair and threw it at him. He backhanded it to one side, but while he was busy doing that she picked up the massive oak office desk and brought it slamming down on his head.

The impact alone should have been enough to kill him, but he barely felt it. Daniel punched her in the face again, putting all his weight into the blow. Tina fell back a step, but appeared entirely unhurt. The desk had split in two over Daniel’s head, so she tossed it aside. The two of them surged forward and slammed together, trading punches that would have killed a lesser mortal. And neither of them felt any pain or took any damage. Tina grinned, as she saw him realize that.

“Now you’re getting it,” she said, laughing breathlessly. “This is what it means to be a Hyde.”

She grabbed Daniel with both hands, and he grabbed her, and they wrestled fiercely, both of them using all their strength to try and subdue the other. Tina fought to get in close, her teeth snapping at Daniel’s face, and it took all his strength to hold her off. They raged back and forth across the office, smashing through the furniture and fittings as though they were made of paper. Daniel laughed loudly. He felt like he could do anything, because there was nothing in the world strong enough to stop him. The Elixir had rewritten all the rules in his favor. By the time the two of them finally broke apart they had wrecked everything they touched, and the rubber plant was in tatters.

They ended up standing head to head, so close Daniel could feel her breath beating against his face, and see the sweat running down hers. But he didn’t feel hurt, or even tired. He felt . . . exhilarated. There was a definite sexual charge on the air, an almost overwhelming attraction that was pulling the two of them even closer. Tina laughed at the look on Daniel’s face, and ostentatiously relaxed. She lowered her hands and stepped back, and after a moment so did he.

“I just wanted to be sure you were up to the job,” said Tina.