Vienna, December 1904. Andrew Kirkland prepares for a confrontation with his Undead Austro-Hungarian nemesis Josef Graf von Borbek... A coded phrase in Henri’s message told me he and Arkady had engaged Borbek in conversation and would try to hold him there until I arrived, so I had only limited time to act. Veronica and I swiftly made our way upstairs where she insisted on helping me dress. What she did was more like a squire helping a knight into his armor. But the armor she’d helped me choose was custom tailored and I had possibly the most attractive squire a knight could ever want. She even combed my hair as I adjusted the shoulder holster that held my Smith & Wesson, now loaded with .44 caliber silver bullets courtesy of Baron von Augsburg. It was a precaution I insisted on taking. I knew if I had to use it I was fast enough to get off one shot, but I figured that was all I’d need. I was well practiced with the pistol, subscribing diligently to Wyatt Earp’s famous dictum, ‘fast is fine, but accuracy is everything’.
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