The tiered seating of the amphitheater was packed with people, to the point that they flowed out onto the steps that led down to the floor of the arena below. It was a challenge for Max to follow Perske without touching any of the audience members, which was something he wanted to avoid for fear that the visions that he would inevitably experience with even a brief contact would distract him from his mission. Listen to the Chapter 33 podcast with roboreader Sangeeta. Rows of tables filled the center of the arena where he had first met Neumann. Pairs of people sat at each table concentrating intently on chess boards. Based on the crowd, Max assumed it was a major tournament of some kind, although the patrons didn’t appear to be paying much attention to the competition, or anything else for that matter. They were as blithely distracted as the people he and Linda had encountered on their way to the courtyard where she had met her violent end. Perske led him past the competitors to a roped off section that comprised the front row and six or sevens rows back. Unlike the rest of the audience, the people in the VIP section were intently focused on the tournament -- taking notes and talking among themselves in whispers and occasional animated exchanges. Max stopped at the arena’s edge while Perske climbed up a step to one of two empty spaces in the front row. “I understand that you want to make a trade,” she said. “That’s right.” He held out his hand and let the pendant dangle from his wrist. “It’s too late for Linda, but there’s something else I want from you.” She motioned for him to continue. “Here’s the deal,” he said, his voice cracking despite the fact that he had rehearsed the words to himself over and over in his final hours at the Freedom Club. “I want you to leave me alone. I’m quitting the university and going away where you won’t hear from me again. I’ve had enough.” “I see,” said Perske. “And another thing,” he let his hand drop to his side. “I want Betty back.” Perske smiled in a way that looked more sad and pitying than anything else. “All that,” she said, “in exchange for a piece of costume jewelry.” Max shook his head. “It’s no doomsday device, but it’s a lot more than a necklace. I’ve seen it in action.” “You’re wrong. That thing is junk.” She pointed to the distance and Max turned to see Spencer carrying Linus under one arm and dragging a robed figure across the arena floor with the other. He instantly recognized the aluminum skull cap. “Joel?” Spencer deposited the lunatic unceremoniously at Max’s feet, and continued by to take the seat beside Perske. He leaned over and set Linus on the ground where the penguin fluttered his stubby wings and preened his belly. “Max Caine, I presume,” said Joel, lifting himself onto his hands and knees. “Funny meeting you here.” Max’s head swam as he tried to put all the pieces together. He thrust the pendant in Joel’s face. “Tell them what this thing can do.” Joel sat back on his heels and inspected the jewel as though he were appraising its resale value for a pawn shop. “Not much really, other than broadcast its IP address every few milliseconds.” “What?” “It’s just a tracking device.” Spencer stood up, sneering as he displayed a necklace and pendant that was virtually identical to the one in Max’s hand. “I presume this is the one you were thinking of,” he said. “I took it off of our mutual friend Joel there.” A lump rose in Max’s throat. His one bargaining chip was lost. “Linda lied to me?” Joel shook his head. “She didn’t know about the switch. I told her you were conning us, but she didn’t believe me. It appears,” said Joel as he pushed his cap back on his head, “that her intuition was wrong.” Max’s nostrils flared as he pointed the rifle at Joel. All that was left was to go down in a flurry of destruction. First Joel, then Spencer, then Perske and anyone else he could take out before they stopped him. He wrapped his finger over the trigger. But the futility of the situation ov