One bloodied arm came up clutching the dripping blade.
Chiun nodded grimly. "Suicide. I understand. The pain must have been unendurable to drive you to this."
"No," Cheeta said weakly. "I gave . . . myself a. . . caesarian."
Chiun gasped.
Cheeta rolled her eyes up in her head and moaned, "I was magnificent. If only there had been a camera crew . . ."
The Master of Sinanju offered the baby to its mother, saying, "Fret not, Cheeta. Your child breathes. Here . . ."
"Get it away from me!" Cheeta shrieked.
Chiun stepped back, his face stunned. "What?"
"I carried that brat for ten long months, and what does he do? He can't wait until I'm rescued before kicking to be born. Two lousy days and I could have done this in prime time." A sob shook Cheeta's painwracked body. "The first self-induced caesarian in the history of womankind and no pictures."
Chiun only stared. His wispy beard shook uncontrollably.
"Come on, Little Father," Remo said. "Cheeta's just freaked out. She'll get over it."
Cheeta gasped. "Vino? Is that you?"
"Vino?" Remo and Chiun said together.
Cheeta smiled dreamily. "You're my wine . . ."
The Master of Sinanju laid the squalling infant on its mother's chest and backed from the room, his hazel eyes unreadable.
"Cheeta has gone mad . . . ." he breathed.
"In the business," Don Cooder said, "we call it ratings-induced dementia. Some people just can't take the pressure."
Remo closed the door after them.
The Master of Sinanju turned, his hands slipping into his sleeves. His gaze came to rest on the stiff face of Don Cooder.
"It was your face the fiend showed to the world," he said.
Cooder showed his white teeth all around. "Frame."
"And it was the statue you worshipped which crowns this mountain of wickness," Chiun added.
Don Cooder shook his head. "Frank Feldmeyer, crooked as a snake. I still can't believe it. Can you imagine him, a traitor to the news organization that made his a household face?"
The Master of Sinanju turned to his pupil. "Remo, do you believe this man's lies?"
"Not really," said Remo, folding his arms.
Don Cooder couldn't believe what he was hearing. He took hold of his fixed smile and said, "The proof is in the control room. The bad guys. They killed themselves rather than be taken alive."
"Show us," said the old Oriental.
As he led the pair to the control room, Don Cooder tried to cover his nervousness with a question. "Was it really one of your ancestors who got written up in the Bible?"
"Yes."
"That's the kind of press a man can be proud to call his own. My ancestors were simple dirt farmers, proud but poor."
Cooder led them past the groaning and unconscious Mounties to the control room and said, "There. A textbook example of 'if it bleeds, it leads' if I ever saw one."
The old Oriental gave the grisly scene only the briefest of glances. "You saw this happen?" he asked.
"The tail end of it. Feldmeyer shot them both dead then turned the gun on himself. Suicide pact, is the way I see it."
"And which one did you shoot?"
"Huh?"
"You heard him," Remo added. "Who did you shoot?"
"No one. What are you talking about? The only shooting I ever do is with a video camera." He lifted his chains. "Can't even do that with these fetters."
"The stink of gunpowder is on your hands," Chiun said.
Don Cooder brought his fingers to his hands and sniffed. "I don't smell anything," he said.
"We do," said Remo.
Cooder puffed out his chest. "It's your word against that of the Anchor of Steel."
"That only works in court," said Remo.
"Hey, I'm a prisoner of the RCMP, the finest law enforcement organization since the Texas Rangers. I'll go with their brand of justice."
"Sorry. You go with ours. We've got some old scores to settle with you."
"I don't follow . . ."
"Remember, wicked one, the bomb your lust for ratings caused to be built?" Chiun asked in a grave voice.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Because of this device, I lay entombed for many bitter months. This occurred two years ago, but the bitter memory is with me still. Only the wisdom of my emperor enabled me to see the sunlight again."
"What's he talking about?" Cooder asked Remo.