the desk away from Noda's door. Sure it was a risk, but we couldn't let
him burn to death. Or Mori. Besides, we were home free. With the NEC
supercomputer blown to pieces, as well as Jim Bob, there was absolutely
no way Noda could cancel that stack of buy orders we'd seeded all
around the globe. Nothing could stop the bomb.
As we made our way through security, we saw Mori coming out of the
office, choking through the smoke and looking crazed as ever.
Apparently the battle of Dan-no-ura, twentieth-century style, was still
raging. Then Noda appeared in the doorway behind her and just stood
there surveying the blazing ruins of his empire. With his customary
discipline, he appeared totally unperturbed by it all. Not her, though.
She lunged for the remains of the computer room, now billowing smoke
and tongues of fire. The last thing on her mind, apparently, was us.
Which was just as well, because the second we hit the hallway we heard
the elevator chime. It had to be Noda's backup forces. Without a word
we both ducked for the stairwell, and as the metal door slammed behind
us, Tanaka and a host of armed DNI security guards poured off the
elevator like gangbusters. Turns out there'd been a small army poised
downstairs just in case.
They could have the place, what was left of it. My last memory of that
office was a raging torrent of smoke and flame. Nothing remained. This
had to be the grand finale for Dai Nippon and Matsuo Noda. The end.
_Finis_.
Barring unforeseen developments.