Takes person before death

'Why am I here, Mr Toymaker?‘

'I am preparing a new game for one of my old foes, madam. I‘m seeking out some extra players and Monsieur LeFevre saw you on my memory mirror and thought you looked as if you enjoyed a good challenge.‘

'I am on official government business, sir. There is a war on in case you have forgotten, and the Auxiliary Air Force need me to get that plane to... to...‘

'Yes?‘

'I. .. I can‘t remember where I was flying to...‘

The Toymaker smiled. 'I think she is coming around to our way of thinking.‘

'If you torment cardsharps and such like, why am I here?‘

She finally put aside her fears. Whatever phantom zone she had found herself in, she would conduct herself with all the strength of a true daughter of Hull. 'I don‘t gamble!‘

'Don‘t gamble?‘ The Toymaker laughed loudly. 'Don‘t gamble. Dear lady, you are in a rather flimsy flying contraption, crossing a vast expanse of water amidst some of the worst weather of the year, during a war, and you say you don‘t gamble. You were gambling your life versus the elements. Merciful heavens, madam, the greatest gamble possible. And you lost!‘ He roared the last words out, almost shaking with outrage. 'And you say you don‘t gamble. Monsieur LeFevre saved your life, madam, offered you a place in history. Play the game and you will reach your destination safe and sound. Fail and... well, what can I say?‘ The image of the plane vanished from the metal man‘s chest, leaving the Toymaker holding a scale version of it in his hand.

A model. A toy.

And yet something told her it was more than that. The scratches she could see on the wing tip were similar to the gash her craft had received moments earlier. And that crack in the cockpit...

'My God,‘ she breathed.

***

Divided Loyalties, Chapter 6