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was rarely complete fiction.   “Who would know different?”
     
    “The people above my father at DGI.   Al Davidson and Anselma Kaiser.”
     
    “I know Al.   Who’s this Anselma person?”
     
    “She used to run the Berlin facility.   She moved to the States two years ago to take over the Denver branch.   She’s more of a figurehead here since Al runs the division for her.   She has an office here, but she’s practically retired.   My father only met her a few times.   I met her once.   She’s a royal bitch.”
     
    The light turned green.   “I’ll keep that in mind.   Maybe I should set an appointment to talk to her.”
     
    “Good luck with that.   She’s been in Switzerland the last few months.”
     
    “Cool.   Want to go skiing?”
     
    She just looked at me.
     

 

     

     

     
    CHAPTER SIX
     

     
    Kelly Chan taught at her dojo on East Colfax.   When I pulled up and parked, Naomi shook her head.
     
    “No, Jonathan.   I can’t be here.”
     
    “It’s safe here.”
     
    “For you.”
     
    “For you too.   Kelly will protect you.”
     
    “She’d rather see me dead.”
     
    I couldn’t argue with that point.   “What she’d like to do and what she will do are sometimes different things.”
     
    “Sometimes?”
     
    I shrugged.
     
    We got out of the car, and I did a quick walk-around to assess the damage.   The front end seemed fine, though the license plate was bent.   The back end had a big dent in the bumper.   It could have been worse.
     
    We entered the dojo.   A class was in session.   Red and blue mats lay on the floor, and full-length mirrors lined the long, back wall so the students could see themselves practicing.   This evening’s class consisted of underprivileged youth.   Kelly loved working with kids, teaching them discipline and self-defense.   It was her way of giving back.   The difference here was that the kids weren’t tortured if they screwed up.
     
    Kelly saw us come in.   She had one of her students take over the class and pointed me to her office.   She did not look pleased to see us.   Kelly stood five foot four in her current barefoot state and wore a black gi and pants on her slender frame.   She entered the office behind us and closed the door.
     
    “You got your ass kicked,” she said.   “Again.”   She frowned.   “You’re making me look bad.”
     
    “You should see the other guy.   Not a scratch on him.”
     
    “One man did this to you?”   She shook her head.   “You’re a disgrace.”   She glanced over at Naomi then gave me a hard stare.   “And who said you could bring that bitch into my dojo?”
     
    I stepped between Kelly and Naomi.   “Calm down, Kelly.”
     
    “I’m always calm, Jonathan.   Get that whore out of here.”
     
    “I’m sorry,” Naomi said.   “We should go.”
     
    “Don’t apologize,” I said.   “Kelly sees it as a sign of weakness.”
     
    “True colors are hard to hide,” Kelly said.
     
    “Naomi, could you give us a minute?   Just wait at the entrance, but don’t leave the dojo.”
     
    She nodded and left us alone in the office.   I watched her through the window as she sat down in the waiting area and picked up an issue of Black Belt Magazine .
     
    Kelly gave me a disappointed look.   “Tell me you didn’t hook up with her again.”
     
    “It’s not like that,” I said.   “She’s a client.”
     
    “Whatever she’s paying is not enough.”
     
    “There’s—”
     
    “Who kicked your ass?”
     
    I took a deep breath.   “A Sekutar.”
     
    “Impossible.”
     
    “I’m glad you think I could hold my own against a Sekutar, but—”
     
    “They’re all dead, Jonathan.   Well, all but me.”
     
    “That’s what I thought too, but look at me.”
     
    She looked me up and down, frowning the entire time.   “What happened?”
     
    I filled her in on the day’s events.
     
    “So you ran over him four times and he still got