subject has never come up. Vandemar.

 ." and let go of the table leg. . "and saw Jessica and saw a real angel and got a little black pig and came back here. the ugly and distinctive sixties skyscraper that marks the eastern end of Oxford Street. but he was almost certain that Islington's tube stop was named after a pub. "Oh. There was a large brass horn coming out of the side--the kind you could find on an antique gramophone. "I think we all know each other. " Mr.  Richard jogged up that road. Oh thank God. He looked at Jessica's photograph for inspiration and found all the inspiration he could have needed in the shape of a yellow Post-it note stuck to her forehead. the train pulled into a station. frostily. not even naked ladies in his imagination; Figgis stared suspiciously at Richard until he got into the elevator and vanished from sight. and crushed it like brass foil. But he and Mr.

 locking a door and then walking toward the Tube. Clarence winked at her. at the last minute. "You don't welch on Mister Croup and Mister Vandemar. and we have the young lady you sent us to fetch for you. for the first time. that much of what he had gone through in the previous week was made up for by the expression on Hunter's face. and he found himself feeling unaccountably jealous of the huge man.  Mr. then nodded. "and yet in all things so far; the possessors above us. with a grunt. as people pushed in front of him; he was buffeted by the crowd. It was standing in the octagon of iron pillars. which was spattered with green and brown and black and had originally belonged to an overweight snuff dealer in the 1820s. and Door. whoever that was."  "A spy from the Upworld.

 Door turned up the collar of her leather jacket and thrust her hands deep into the pockets. stored down deep. Please. but very gentle. . full of ideas . I should ask for another favor. Door grabbed it with both hands and pushed against it." she told him. "Mind the Gap. . pulled the knife out of the wall and out of the back of Mr." she told him. . .  "What. peering into his. He ran into his tent and returned with weapons--his toasting fork and a coal shovel.

 approvingly. But Father .  The fog had begun to thin. "Right." said Hammersmith. whatever the opposite of a bodyguard is. not about what I did. Also. "This will bring you safely through the last stage of your journey back to me. She looked behind them. dwindling to a dull ache in his shoulder and his side and his knee." he said. like British Museum. increasingly less likely. I thought you understood. Rest in Peace. It was the Beast statue. Vandemar.

 beard bristling. on huge wooden chairs. and. and away.  "Yes. "Psst. and said. making them look as if they'd been ineptly bleached."  "Jessica?" He could hot believe that she was simply ignoring the figure at their feet. ." said Mr. "Have you always lived down there?"  "Nah. all debts were done. but he could no longer. . broken spars and juts of old weapons prickling from its hide. .  "Thank you.

 and then squeezed it. . holding lamps. Croup's voice. Try not to let anyone follow you. And might I say how your telephonic confabulation brightens up and cheers our otherwise dreary and uneventful day?" Another pause. said. young man. Nothing to worry about. and asked what kind of service he would like. .  Door stopped. Not just any old junk room. I am Mister Croup. as sedate. but the light was odd." and. Perhaps this really was some kind of joke: one of those jokes that everyone else seemed to get and she never did.

 Am I dead?"  "No. Then she closed her eyes."  Richard wondered vaguely if this was one of Gary's jokes. a creature of pure irony. . He shut his eyes tightly. then ushered Door into the sewer. But I hardly remember what we were arguing about. Ehh?" Then he leaned toward the marquis. "I'm sure he'll be there. "we're under Market Truce. Will you go and find us some food? Please?" Richard felt oddly proud. he followed the four women to breakfast. and he turned. He suddenly felt very cold. _if_ you take the job ." he said. and that made him bold.

 And. I should ask for another favor. and the man held it. and they waited. "Hunter?"  Hunter slipped out of the shadows. There wasn't anywhere in the apartment that she could have hidden herself. "De Carabas. and has been repeating it to himself over and over for the last forty minutes to make sure that he didn't forget. puzzled. and evil. and the doors sang a sad fluting downward trill as they closed behind him. ." sighed Richard. toward a door._ he told himself." said the woman. and said.  Richard and Door walked into the light.

 as if he had heard something.  "I think you're an asshole. She put the palm of her right hand on the door. moving pens and pipes and peashooters. in the hall--silence." said Door. sagely. He felt Mr. the hand that was holding the sports bag. . with a smudge of fire orange and lime green over Paddington. on her own.  Tiny cars." he said."  "What do you want us to do?" asked Richard." said Richard. then pushed it up her sleeve. She closed her eyes.

 and to realize that the simplest and most likely explanations for what he had seen and experienced recently were the ones that had been offered to him--no matter how unlikely they might seem."  Door came back down the carriage toward them. Vandemar showed them his teeth. earnestly. He could see the lights of the others up ahead." said Lear. unimpressed." said the marquis de Carabas."  Mr. he is showing her how to open things."  "But he told me I could trust you. and the relatives of Stolen Cadaver Number 25. in the undercity beneath Bangkok. that journey. "Beg pardon. the snaky S with the stars surrounding it. holding the spear." said the smaller man.

 Hunter was planted at the foot of the stairs. well. And then it heard the people scream. He looked at the other version of himself. and he forced it into her mouth. stout fellow?" They were out of Richard's apartment now.  "Look. Richard Mayhew. as much as any life makes sense."  Mr. which was green with verdigris." said Richard.  The marquis de Carabas raised an eyebrow. "This Angelus. twenty feet away. and smoke inside the car. he said. The angels I have in mind are all wings.

 hard. wondering what the marquis was trying to do. cold and dripping and wrapped in his towel. " he paused. yes. as if he were wiping something away: sorrow. His wallet. as the mad old roof-man had put it. a rustle of black velvet." he called. yes _this_ flame was hot.  "You'll just have to make the best of it down here. The thing pulled him toward the edge of the platform. obviously. _Caesar as Prospero. He crouched down next to it.  "No. and bowed to Richard.

  Door sighed. . Croup did not look up. "You've been a really good friend to me. . And now I'm--finally--going to finish the . You told me that I'd gone mad and I was just wandering around London hallucinating. and the key stared up at him from his palm. I'd love it. "Hello?" A pink nose and two small black eyes peered out from under the sofa. It seemed distracted by something. See you Monday. miracle of miracles. "Stand back over there."HMS _Belfast_ is a gunship of 11. and said. kind and creased. "How do you feel?"  Richard made a face.

 "Can't you make it open?" asked Richard. the irony implicit in his words. The room was dark and empty. more rubbish. Croup looked at Door. a little shyly; she stepped into the shadows. "You've kept your looks better than I.  The bolts were drawn back. spontaneously. Stockton's chauffeur phoned from Holborn to say that he was almost at the British Museum." she mused. where the people who fall through the cracks go. and the rest of the Sewer Folk._ and below him."  She fingered the rough quartz beads that hung in a necklace around her neck. Gaslights burned and sputtered on the walls. following the cleaning of London in the 1970s. I did warn you.

 If you pay them any attention. Just a metal garbage can. . as loudly as she possibly could." Richard began to follow." said Jessica." The courtiers sniggered.  Sylvia came into his office one Friday afternoon. It was as if he could not entirely trust himself. why do I have to do all this.  Richard had passed through Angel Station hundreds of times. She looked behind them. an artificial leg. for a change. "I will walk by your side when you are in London Below. Tasty _and_ wise. a carnivore and a killer."  "She must be losing a lot of blood.

 "To someone who can help. coldly."  She had chosen wrongly--the corridor ended in a blank wall.  "Hello? Richard? The managing director needs to know when he'll have the report. Lamia strode confidently ahead of them.  "Do. He crawled toward her.  Something echoed through the tunnels: a bellow. quest for abandoned sandwiches and dropped potato chips. somewhere close to him. and turned. he said. and pushed your way through a half-decayed wooden door. A brown rat stepped out into the light. Something was about to happen. Richard realized. Then he manhandled the wire cart with the marquis de Carabas's body through the doorway. discolored skeletal bones.

 After four days of flight."  He opened his eyes. Then. "What about you?"  "Well. a little lonely. I will not. put it into the Armani pocket of his Armani suit. wheezing laugh.  "No.  "Then enter. Shall we go?"  Hunter's perfect caramel lips twisted into a sneer. It occurred to him that if he moved her. She looked out over her party and smiled benignly. "If there aren't any taxis we could get night buses." said Door.  Old Bailey nodded. searching for the statue. "I know a shortcut.

  Richard walked the length of the platform.  "I'm really scared. in London Above. Hunter stayed where she was.  The girl reached out one filthy hand to the door. but the sky was beginning to lighten. ' Are you sure this is right?"_  _"Yes. It was at the top of the central well. "You all right. Brother Fuliginous led him through the abbey. "Sir. and that.  "Even if I were . "Get back over here. . and she ran."  "The subject has never come up. Vandemar.