Elvis chose that moment to leave the spotlight. He drifted across the desk, cape fluttering behind him, and came to a halt in front of Fontana's coffee cup.

"Any large corporation has a few public relations issues," Fontana said. He watched Elvis with a mildly wary expression. "Is the bunny housebroken?"

"Dust bunnies are naturally very clean, and the Guilds are not normal business entities," Sierra shot back. "The best that can be said about them is that they are uneasy crosses between emergency militias and closely held, highly secretive private corporations."

Fontana's dark brows rose slightly. "Would that be the dust bunnies or the Guilds?"

She flushed. He's trying to push your buttons. Don't let him do it. "I'm talking about the Guilds, of course."

"Corporations run like military organizations," Fontana repeated in that maddeningly thoughtful way. He inclined his head. "That's a fairly accurate description. You have to admit that the Guilds are unique."

"Many people feel that it would be more accurate to say that they are little better than legalized mobs of gangsters. Guild chiefs have traditionally considered themselves to be above the law."

"No one is above the law, Miss McIntyre" Fontana said gently.

"The former chief, Brock Jenner, took a different view. Some would say a more traditional view. He ran the Crystal City Guild as if it were his own private fiefdom. There were persistent rumors to the effect that under his watch the organization dabbled heavily in a variety of illicit activities."

"You ought to know, Miss McIntyre. Your stories in the Curtain were responsible for a lot of those rumors."

"Naturally my readers want to know if they can expect more of the same now that you're in charge."

"I think that is what is known as a loaded question."

"Are you going to answer it?"

"Are you certain that your readers care about my plans for the Guild? I was under the impression that the readers of the Curtain were more interested in insightful investigative reporting about people who have the misfortune to get kidnapped by aliens and dragged down into the catacombs for strange sexual experiments."