Jekyll & Hyde Inc.

“I don’t know,” said Tina. “I spent a year training, getting myself ready to kill every single one of them, but now it’s over I’m not sure how I feel about it. I didn’t act out of moral outrage over what the Frankensteins have been doing, like you. Edward trained me to see all the monster Clans as my enemy, because as long as any of them survived, they would never stop trying to kill me. All the monsters hate the Hydes, so it’s always been a case of get them, before they get us.”

“Why do the monsters hate Hydes so much?” said Daniel.

“Because Edward wouldn’t stoop from being a monster, to be just a criminal,” said Tina. “Simply by being what he is, he reminds them of what they used to be.”

“What about you?” said Daniel. “Why did you join Edward’s war?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t do it for revenge, like you. I never lost anyone I cared about to the Frankensteins.” She paused. “There’s never been anyone in my life that I cared about. Before you.”

She still wouldn’t look at Daniel.

“What about Erik?” he asked.

“I was a junkie. I hardly noticed him back then.”

He moved in a little closer, and didn’t say anything. They strolled along beside the Thames, listening to the distant lap of the waters and staring straight ahead. Tina’s hand reached out, and took hold of Daniel’s. There was none of the Hyde strength in her grip, just a quiet companionable pressing of flesh against flesh. Daniel squeezed Tina’s hand reassuringly in return, but she didn’t respond. She was frowning hard now, appearing more puzzled than anything, as though she was struggling to find just the right words to help her explain what she was feeling to Daniel.

“At first,” she said slowly, “Edward just sent me out to spy on the Clans. So I could see what they did, and learn to hate them. When he finally turned me loose on individual targets, I didn’t even hesitate. And it felt good, so good, testing my strength and skills against things that would kill me in a moment, if they could. I was a predator who preyed on predators, and I never felt so alive as when I was wading in blood and death. But still . . . I always felt there should be more to it than that. It wasn’t until I saw what the Frankensteins had done to that hybrid that it became personal for me. Because even for Hydes, there are some lines you just can’t cross without giving up what it means to be human. The Frankensteins had to die . . . Not because the monster Clans are at war with Edward Hyde, but because putting them down was something that needed doing. When I saw what they’d done to that man, and what they intended to do to so many others . . . suddenly I saw all of the Clan’s victims. And I felt what you did—your rage, and your need to do something. It wasn’t about self-defense, or being part of Edward’s plan, it was just the right thing to do. Something I’m not used to feeling.”

She broke off abruptly, as though she’d run out of words. Daniel gave her a moment and then nodded encouragingly, to show he was doing his best to understand.

“Edward trained you—personally? To be a killer of monsters?”

“It was always Edward,” said Tina. “Never the organization. Ever since he made me a Hyde, and saved me from my old life. I owe him so much . . . ”

“Did he ever . . . ”

“You have got to be kidding!” Tina looked at Daniel for the first time, grinning broadly at the very thought. “I’m really not his type. Too much woman, for him . . . And do you really think I’d have let him? I would have kicked him out a high window if he’d ever tried anything, and he knew it. If anything, he is a kind of father figure, I suppose. And I don’t do daddy issues. No, it was all about learning how to fight, how to kill, and how to stay alive during it. Molding me into his own personal assassin. I worked some missions for him, earning my spurs by taking out some of the minor players on the sidelines, but it was only ever people who served the Clans, never the monsters themselves. For that, I had to wait until you showed up. I’m still not sure why.”

She looked sharply at Daniel, but all he could do was shrug. Tina sniffed loudly.

“I spent ages familiarizing myself with all kinds of weapons, and taking out my frustrations on the small fry. Plotting tactics, and coming up with plans . . . I don’t know why I was so patient. I could have walked away. There was nothing to stop me. I could have left Jekyll & Hyde Inc. anytime, and made a new life for myself. And to hell with the monsters.”

“But you thought you owed him . . . ”

“Hydes don’t do duty or obligation,” Tina said flatly. “Edward never once put any pressure on me, just promised me that the time would come when I would get to kill monsters. And I wanted that. I needed to test my strength and my skills against something worthy of them. People like the hard men in that bar earlier weren’t any challenge, just a warm-up. Something to stir the blood, and put us in the right mood.”