Deep underground

Deep underground, the same four men and one woman were around the same meeting table, going through today's agenda.

Their leader, Lenny, sitting at the head of the table, clicked the mouse button and a picture of Teylon, plus the five teenagers, appeared on the screens in front of each person. These people were in the middle fifties to sixties, none of them had ever learnt to use finger twitches for computer entry. They all used keyboards and mouses.

"Well, he has certainly has been building up something, even if I can't grasp exactly what he is trying to achieve." he said.

"Yes. He has managed to get a group of five followers. Who, most suspiciously, are all known to us and are subjects of our programs." said Arnold.

"Could that have been pure chance?" asked Teresa.

"Very unlikely. While we have many subjects, they still are only a small fraction of the total population. The probability that he could pick five of them at random, and these five in particular, is very slim."

"I agree with that. And, what is more, he has managing to thoroughly subvert our conditioning on these subjects." said Teresa.

"So, how did that go again?" said the leader.

"Well, bringing that bunch of kids together to try to form a social group would normally fail. Just like, in fact, their initial attempt did fail. But, somehow, Teylon managed to turn it around and actually get that group working together and willing to keep going. I can't work out how, but as soon as they start interacting with Teylon, their behaviour starts to deviate from our psychological modelling of what their behaviour should be. And normally our predicative ability is pretty good."

"So, the effort we have invested in conditioning them have all gone to waste?" said Lenny.

"It's early days yet. And, furthermore, we now have the opportunity to collect new data. And this Teylon person appears to be an absolutely fascinating source of data." said Prakash.

"Yes, especially concerning the revelations on how he made his fortune. Are you sure that the report from Earth says absolutely nothing about how he was a conman?" said Arnold.

"That's right, absolutely nothing. The report has a few details about his formative years, there was an accident and apparently he had it pretty rough for a while. But, mainly, the report goes into great detail about how he made his wealth; by a combination of investing, consulting, and a few lucky business gambles."

"Curious. He must have been very good." said Lenny.

"Oh, and another discrepancy: the report mentions that due to that accident his knee was damaged and he walked with a permanent slight limp. But our medical examination when he arrived on Mars shows not the slightest sign of that." said Terrence.

Lenny grimaced. "Probably means nothing, maybe he had some operation at some stage to make it better."

There was more discussion, and eventually:

"What is glaringly obvious is that we don't know what is going on here. We need to keep on collecting more information. So, let's resolve to keep close track of his future efforts."

"This could turn out to be very entertaining. But, nonetheless, I don't expect him to really pose any actual threat to us. I mean, compared to the dozens of other groups trying to find us, he and his teenagers seem to be comically ill equipped to mount any offense of any sort what so ever." said Lenny.

They were already tracking other groups, and managing to keep them at bay without too much effort. Mainly due to the virtues of total control of the Martian computer systems. Consequently, they all agreed to this statement.

"Yeah, unlike the others, they don't make even the slightest effort try to conceal themselves!" said Arnold.

----------------------------------------

Sarawatch: Hearing some choice gossip #1

The following afternoon, Sarawatch was sitting at the front desk of the watch centre, looking as if she doing a bit of data entry. Actually, she was shopping for cheap jeans on the Verdant city's second hand market website.

Nobody cares what I do in this stupid job, anyway.

Just then, Adalace walked up.

Strange, she looks a little spaced out. Wonder what she has to think about?

She opened the door and walked in, and was so startled when Sarawatch said hello that she jumped a little. Being Mars, this meant about 20 cm into the air.

"Oh, hi, captain."

"And what are you so preoccupied with?"

Adalace came back to reality, and took notice of Sarawatch.

"Well..."

She's turning on that cute look again, medium strength.

"Well, captain, we had a social outing, with Teylon and various teenagers he knows, and, maybe you would like to know something about Teylon, perhaps?"

And now there's a sly look on her face, trying to hide behind that smile.

"Sure, what's the gossip?"

"Is that so? I'm sure that is very interesting."

"Huh, but I hope that this doesn't affect his job."

"Oh, probably not."

You should have thought of that before you told me, young lady.

"And, where has your flower hair clip gone to?"

"Oh, I lost it somewhere yesterday. I might have put it down while freshening up my face in the rest room, perhaps. I'll buy a new one soon." said Adalace.

She continued on, to her office, and closed the door.

A little while later, Sarawatch was still at the front when Teylon walked up, looking as usual.

"Hello Teylon. Would you like to come to my office, I wish to discuss a few things..."

"No problems."

With door closed behind them, Sarawatch wasted no time in getting to the point.

"Adalace has given me some really curious and intriguing news about how you made a living back on Earth."

Teylon became still and just a touch wary.

"My, I didn't think she would be quite that, err, devious, and spill the beans like that."

"There are murky depths to that girl that we know not what about."

"So I am gathering..."

"Well, is it true? That you were a conman of considerable skill but zero renown?" said Sarawatch.

She was staring him in the eye, arms akimbo, slight smile on her face.

"It, err, yes, I don't suppose it will do any good to deny it now, ah, I hope that doesn't change my employment status here?"

"Indeed. You know, I did wonder just a little when I first met you, you gave off that slick, self satisfied, confident aura that successful con men often do. Except it was very faint, and I didn't pay much attention to it. So, you let five kids grill you about it, and you didn't evade their questions?"

"Yes, that's right..."

He's beginning to get nervous. Now, why would someone who is so accomplished at talking himself into anybody's trust be willing to reveal so much about himself?

"So... Tell me, why were you willing to tell them? I'm sure you could have evaded the question and distracted their attention to something else."

"Well, yes, I could have, but, well, I felt it was important to tell them the truth..."

But why? Conmen don't go around telling the truth. He's actually beginning to sweat. No wonder Adalace and the others had so much fun yesterday.

"You still haven't answered the question of why?"

"Ah, can I leave that for the time being? I'm sure at the current rate you will be finding out in due course."

Sarawatch relented. She moved back a little to give him some breathing room.

"And, oh, about your job here," Sarawatch shrugged her shoulders, "If the authorities care, they can deal with you themselves. But, until then, sure, you can stay here. After all, you have been 'so honest' in telling us, haven't you?"

"Ah, yes."

Sarawatch sat on the edge of her desk. "Tell me, did you work alone back on Earth?"

"Of course. I could only trust myself to carry out my jobs."

"How about forming a family, having kids?"

"No, course not. How could I drag other people into such a lifestyle? I was mostly alone, well, various short term relationships... but apart from that."

"Hmm, but here you're involving other people. Young people at that." said Sarawatch.

She got off the desk and went back to staring at him.

"You're not going to - exploit - these kids in any way, are you?"

"No, no, definitely not. Nothing like that. In fact, I have no intention in getting involved with anyone in that way."

"No one? Not even someone who is no longer a teenager?" said Sarawatch, eyebrows raised in query.

"Ah, no one, it wouldn't be responsible for me to do so in my current circumstances."

"I see. And for the time being you're not telling us your precise circumstances... Fine, fine."

She dismissed him, and he left the office, looking relieved.

What a shame. But, still...

Those teenagers, they own him, good and proper, don't they?

----------------------------------------

Teylon: Judges again, and is forced to be honest again

Two days later, on Wednesday, Teylon decided he had better have another gathering. He skimmed though some websites, and chose a location next to the river, slightly elevated, thus giving a good view of the surroundings. He also ordered sufficient food to feed five hungry teenage omnivores, plus a little left over for himself.

He sighed deeply has he paid for all of this.

One the day, he decided to go semi formal, just to set some standards. So, wearing freshly ironed trousers, a good but not too ostentatious shirt with a tie plus matching tie clip, he set off. They met at the location, and sat around one of the tables, provided for just these purposes. Within half an hour of the food being delivered, it had all been demolished, leaving nothing behind but a pile of paper plates, plastic utensils and a few bushels of crumbs. Feeling in good mood, the teenagers happily cleaned up, and Leroy zoomed across the grass, one metre up, to the nearest rubbish bin and back again.

"Ah, I feel like my tummy is going to burst!" said Sarsaparilla, a look of satisfied satiation on her face.

"This is such a worthwhile use of Teylon's funds!" said Adalace.

Groan.

"Don't mention it, youngsters." said Teylon.

"Say, girls, how about we go and freshen ourselves up?" said Maggie.

The girls walked over to the nearest rest rooms, just a hundred metres away. Since the designers of Verdant did not want to clutter up the limited surface with too many buildings, the visible part of the restrooms was only an elevator door in a small building. The rooms themselves, not to mention access to the sub-terrain maglev transport system, were all underground.

The three males watched the girls walk away.

"So," said Erasyl, "Sarsaparilla and Adalace like only girls? Do you think they might fall for each other? Perhaps I should hint something..."

Leroy and Teylon looked at each other, panic in their eyes.

Oh my god, he really is hopeless when dealing with girls. And boys, too, for that matter.

But before he could say anything, Leroy got in first.

"Erasyl! Don't dare say anything about such matters! Otherwise Maggie will take it to be a declaration of hostilities, and you might not survive next time!"

"Oh."

"Yeah, just regard it as part of the 'make no passes' rule, and all of us males will be safe!" continued Leroy.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

The girls came back, and there was a smattering of conversation.

It's not very animated or skilful conversation, but at least they are talking to each other.

At this point, a middle aged man, strolling along the pathway and looking as if he was enjoying the view of the river while getting in his daily exercise quota, passed the table.

A vivid, disturbing, soul reading image of what the man was thinking: A teenage girl's face, contorted in pain...

Oh my god. Oh my god. Just what was that man doing to that girl...?

The soul reading continued, leaving Teylon in no doubt as to what the girl had suffered.

This is bad, far far worse than before. There is absolutely no choice but to - wait!

Damn - I have five teenagers watching me. I can't have them see someone drop dead!

The man was walking away.

"Ah, please, can you stay right here, I need to do something urgently."

He got up and started to walk after the man.

"But, the toilets are in the other direction!" said Maggie.

The others, looking nonplussed by Teylon's behaviour, just watched him.

"What's gotten into him?" said Leroy.

He levitated himself off the ground and started to follow. Maggie gripped the metal handrails bordering the path with invisible tendrils of magnetic force, and also started to follow. The remaining three teenagers, on seeing their two friends drifting along just above the ground close behind Teylon, decided they were not going to be left out. They followed by the old-fashioned means called walking.

Teylon hurried after the man, who was still walking unconcernedly along, enjoying the view.

I catch up to him, then call out his name - err, what is his name?

Esmeralda conveniently put the name 'Vicanef' into his mind’s eye.

Now that's handy. I'll call out his name, look him right in the eye, and...

Shit, those damn kids are following me!

He turned around.

"Please, would you go back to the table! I need to do something."

"But what are you doing?" said Leroy.

"And why don't you want us around?" said Maggie.

Teylon was beginning to get flustered.

I'm losing my cool. Since when did I ever do that? Maybe I need to wait until the kids have gone home?

Just then, he got another soul reading from the man.

Damn, he's actually planning for the next time! If he gets away now, I don't know where he lives, I don't know how to get to him in time. If I let another girl die because I didn't act now then it's my soul that will be getting the blame!

He stopped worrying about his audience, instead he walked faster and caught up with the man.

"Hey! Vicanef!"

The man stopped, turned around and looked with mild inquiry at Teylon, and five teenagers tagging along behind Teylon.

"Ah, yes? Do I know you?"

Judgement!

The man's body collapsed, while his soul screamed as he was dragged away by something so terror inducing that Teylon closed his eyes in horror.

That was Esmeralda, wasn't it?

A really really bad nightmare version of Esmeralda. I don't have to worry about ever meeting her when she looks like that, do I? I could never in a million years do anything that deserves that sort of treatment, could I?

I hope not. My god, I hope not.

The dead body of Vicanef in front of him, he sank to his knees, hands over his eyes, making a futile attempt to erase the images. Fortunately, Esmeralda was being kind, and at least the images of the girl from the soul reading were fading on their own accord. He was left with the basic memories of what had happened, but all of the emotional anguish and terror were scrubbed clean.

That left the picture of Esmeralda dragging the soul of the man away. Which was still bad enough.

"Bloody hell, that was bad."

He opened his eyes, looked at the body of the man in front of him. The last expression on his face made it clear that he had not died in peace.

OK, now what do I do, Oh - shit.

He finally remembered his audience. Who were now crowding around him, gawking at the body and all talking at once.

"Is he dead?"

"Of course he is! I mean, look at him!"

"Did Teylon do this?"

"What? But how?"

"Hey, shouldn't we try artificial resuscitation."

Of course, that last one had to be Leroy. Teylon finally spoke up.

"No, he's not worth it in any way. Besides which, he is most definitely dead and beyond recall."

"Ah, he's not worth it?" said Maggie, "Why do you say that? Do I detect by any chance another 'true confessions' time coming up, in the very near future?"

Esmeralda, this is deliberate, isn't it? Again.

There was no reply from the angel.

Another big sigh from Teylon. "Yes, I suppose so. But first, hadn't we better call an ambulance or whatever you have here in Verdant?"

"Nyah" said Adalace, "Don't you see his medical monitoring band flashing that blue light?"

Indeed, there was a blue flashing light from his wrist.

"I mean, it monitors his health, as well as being a mobile telephone and containing a Mars GPS, so naturally it is also set up to call the authorities if there is an adverse health situation."

"Ah, of a course. It was all covered in my indoctrination. I just forgot about it for a while." said Teylon.

"And this appears to be a very adverse situation." said Erasyl.

Leroy had been looking around - "Yep, there they are!"

He pointed up in the sky, to a small dot that was rapidly growing larger. It resolved to be a young lady, maybe nineteen years old. She was wearing light blue overalls with fluorescent stripes and on her back was a large pack with a red cross on it. She landed lightly besides the body, nodded briefly at the audience, and started her first response duties.

"Hello, I'm at the scene..." she spoke into her mic.

Segments of her backpack unfolded themselves from the pack, wrapped around the lady, and presented her with a bewildering array of medical instruments and displays. After a few minutes-

"Subject is definitely dead, appears to be some sort of brain trauma."

"OK, could you leave now, there is another emergency at..." said a voice that came out of her communications gear.

Another minute and she was a dwindling dot in the sky, arcing through the sky while her shadow raced after her on the dome's floor, heading to her next job.

A police officer arrived soon after, followed by an medical assistant, carrying a portable stretcher. They both arrived via the elevators. Twenty minutes later Teylon and the teenagers were dismissed. The police, after consulting with their bosses, did not appear to have any further interest in them. Thirty minutes after the man had walked by; Teylon was again back at the table. Facing five teenagers. Who had every expectation of extracting yet more personal information from Teylon.

"So, tell me, as well as being a conman, are you also a hit man? Going around, knocking off people. For the good of society, of course." said Maggie.

"No, definitely not! Well, err, actually, not quite..."

"So, are you lining up to kill us all, next?" said Adalace. Who looked more anticipatory than worried.

"No way! If I did that my soul would be dragged off by an extremely angry Angel of Death!"

Maggie looked puzzled. "Now, that's an oddly specific answer."

"And besides which, I wouldn't want to, anyway." continued Teylon.

"Well, that's nice to know." said Erasyl.

"So, can we get to the point? What the hell did happen with that man?" said Leroy.

Half an hour later, Teylon had managed to explain how he came to be a Martian resident, and why the man died. There were five not particularly believing teenagers, and they still had yet more questions.

"So, let me get this straight, you're bitten by a snake, and the next thing you know this chick is sitting next to you, telling you that you have been dead? How do you know that she wasn't just some random passerby who helped you, then fed you a fanciful and unbelievable story just for the fun of it all?" said Leroy.

"Well, I was totally convinced she was an Angel of Death. Probably a side effect of dying. And then there were the test soul readings afterwards."

"Sure you weren't hallucinating?" said Maggie, disbelief all over her face, not to mention her body language.

Shit, how do I convince them? I mean, am I sure myself... Of course I am. Otherwise, nothing makes sense. But, still...

"Then, how do you explain the assassin on the space craft?"

"Perhaps he just dropped dead of something else, and your deluded brain filled in everything else?" said Adalace.

Damn it, she's not the least bit cute at this moment!

"Well then, how do you explain Vicanef's death?" said Teylon, his voice getting louder.

"Whoa there. No need to shout. And I must say his death was certainly impressive. Not to mention a little scary. But, you know, all this could be difficult to believe" said Sarsaparilla. Smiling sweetly.

Is she actually enjoying my discomfit? Nice friend she is!

"And what about all the soul readings I have gotten from you lot!"

Adalace eyes narrowed, and she momentarily looked very scary herself, before she went back to a more neutral expression.

"Yes, about that, just how much did you read from my, I mean our, minds?"

"Ah, not much, not much. I only get what Esmeralda wants me to know, and it's always directly related to whatever she is trying to get me to do at that point in time."

Let's not say anything about me knowing that all five of them, God help me, have been suicidal at some point. Or should that be Angel help me?

"Like, for example, when I first met Sarsaparilla I had a small snippet from her thoughts, when she was regretting not being able to buy an ice cream. Which, of course, enabled me to invite her and Adalace to the Frenzy."

"Actually, that does make sense. Really, in retrospect, you have been unusually proficient in getting us together and getting us to get along with each other." said Maggie.

"Thanks for the compliment!" said Teylon, looking pleased.

"But it wasn't actually your efforts at all, but Esmeralda's, wasn't it?" said Sarsaparilla.

"That compliment didn't last long, did it?" said Teylon, as the pleased look vanished from his face.

Feeling a tiny bit put upon by all of this, he fiddled around with his tie clip, just to give his hands something to do.

"Hmm, so you say 'Judgement' and they drop dead?" said Sarsaparilla.

"Only if it's allowed..." said Teylon.

"You know, I wouldn't mind having an awesome super power like that..." said Sarsaparilla.

"Hey, yeah. That does sound awesome!" said Adalace.

For a short period of time, Teylon and the others saw completely different looks on the faces of those two girls, compared to the usual sweetness or cuteness.

I certainly hope I never meet them in a dark and lonely alley when they are looking like that...

The two girls reverted to their usual expressions. Everyone became silent, for lack of anything more that they wished to say.

So Teylon went to the next point in his agenda.

"And, remember, I supposed to eradicate the evil at the heart of Martian society. And, presumably, you lot are to help he. So, ah, I don't suppose you have any idea about this evil?

The temperature dropped ten degrees. Or at least this is how it felt to Teylon. He looked from face to face. There was definitely a change in mood, here.

"Ah, excuse me, did I say something wrong?"

"Hmm, well, no? I'm sure I don't know much about such things..." said Adalace.

Oh yeah? I am now declaring that something happened to you, for sure.

"Say, are you getting any soul readings right now?" said Sarsaparilla. Looking suspicious, with a hint of worry.

"No, nothing. As I said, I don't get to choose, it is chosen for me."

"If all of this is true, then I suppose that is all to the good. After all, we don't get to read Teylon's soul, so it's a bit of an evasion of privacy for him to read ours all the time." said Leroy.

I wonder if he is hiding something, also?

"I assure you I won't be going around, babbling forth all your deepest and darkest secrets. Even if I knew them."

"That's a relief." said Maggie.

Even without any soul readings, I detect a pattern here.

Having seen a man die in front of their eyes, and getting an amazing story from Teylon about it, the teenagers decided they had had enough for the day. Teylon set a time and date for the next social event, and they dispersed to their separate accommodations.

----------------------------------------

Sarawatch: Hearing some choice gossip #2

Sarawatch saw Adalace come into the centre.

Today she looks serious for once. I wonder why?

"Hello captain. Teylon gave us some more - interesting - information yesterday."

Adalace was fidgeting and actually looking embarrassed. Sarawatch took the hint.

A little while later, in her office, Sarawatch managed to extract the full story from a reluctant Teylon.

A loooooong silence.

"So, you have an Angel of Death at your beck and call?"

"Actually, more like I am at the beck and call of an Angel of Death."

"Hmm."

She drew herself up to her full height, crossed her arms in front of her, glared at him, and said:

"If you ever get the chance, ask her the name of that girl who died."

"Ah, right, her name?"

"Yes. Her name. I want to at least know who she was. Please?"

Teylon, watching her face, nodded his head. He seemed to be a little bit intimidated.

"OK"

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

----------------------------------------

Deep underground

Lenny was reading out a summary of the autopsy report.

"Brain haemorrhaging and brain tissue trauma, but only confined to the prefrontal lobes and associated areas. No signs of damage to other parts of the brain, nor to the skull or skin. The forensic pathologist, after consultation with the appropriate medical authorities, is unable to propose any feasible means by which such damage can occur. However she draws the reader's attention to a recent case with the identical symptoms."

"But couldn't Maggie do that sort of thing?" asked Teresa.

"She could certainly kill someone by frying their brain. But, her ability is basically magnetic and after use it will leave behind certain definite indications. And the autopsy could not find any such traces. They thought about all of that, and checked through the database for other abilities that could potentially do the same sort of thing, but no matches were found." said Lenny.

They watched footage from various surveillance cameras of the event. The video was not of particularly high standards, but it was sufficient to show the basic action. The sound track, taken from the mobile phones on each person's wrist, was much clearer. Except -

"Why is the sound dropping out all of the time? And from all phones, simultaneously?" asked Prakash.

"Beats me," said Terrence, the one who specialised in technical details, "I guess there must be some glitch in the surveillance software that records the audio. We have been unable to trace it down, and unable to fill in the gaps."

"It looks like Teylon is explaining the man's death to the teenagers, but we don't get enough audio to fully work out what it was." said Teresa.

"Except he mentions a name, 'Esmeralda', at one stage."

"And then there is another one of those annoying drop outs."

"We have searched to see if anyone on Mars has that name, but, no, currently there are no Esmeraldas on Mars." said Lenny.

"And then there is the choice of victim, Vicanef." said Arnold.

"Yes. Previously totally unknown to us. But, when the police searched his house, they found irrefutable evidence that he is that infamous serial killer of two teenage girls that up to now the police had been totally unable to solve." said Lenny.

"Yeah, and isn't it kind of amazing, according to the report, that his password was in clear text on his computer screen when the police arrived." said Terrence, "A password that opened all sorts of incriminating files..."

"But, still, what is Teylon doing? Not to mention how." said Arnold.

There was more discussion. Eventually:

"OK, since Teylon has made two very definite statements, and he really is becoming a definite nuisance, let us reply in kind and see what happens." said Lenny.

"Right. If we succeed, then we can see if we can restore our conditioning on those teenagers. It's probably doable." said Prakash.

"And, if we fail?" said Terrence.

"Ah, now that will be interesting in its own right, correct?" said Lenny.

The others all agreed.

----------------------------------------

Teylon: Having a brisk, uneventful, walk home

The following evening, Teylon stepped out of the centre, and briefly consulted his health monitor.

So, if I take a loop around the town centre, cut across the park, over the bridge, back via the next bridge and then straight for the north tower, at a brisk pace, I should satisfy my persistently demanding exercise software.

He was now walking through the park, and planning what to do next.

I have my group of faithful retainers - well, reasonably compliant teenagers, as long as I feed them enough food. But, I still don't know what to do. Perhaps I should be proactive for once?

He had already spent some time on the web, trying to work out how Verdant City, not to mention the rest of Mars, was governed. He regarded his results so far as unsatisfactory.

They have elections, but only for limited roles. Definitely not a true democracy. More like an interlocking series of companies, with executive staff of each company appointed by their company boards, and answerable to their owners. Where the owners are other companies, plus shareholders. Sort of like you can have a vote if you have enough money to buy enough shares - or influence.

I smell a definite rat here, and not a Teflon one either. The fact that everyone on Mars lives in a totally enclosed, artificially maintained, environment where a single mistake could kill thousands, where single mistakes have killed thousands, is certainly a huge justification for some sort of governance that is different from Earth's democracies. But, the current system is also provides ideal conditions for hiding things. Like shady deals ripping off citizens, running corrupt rackets in the background that provide 'exclusive' services to selected (as in wealthy) clients, running things to an agenda that the average person would not agree with, all sorts of things.

Yeah, I know the sorts of things they can get up to. This is definitely a job for a Teflon Rat. Only, this time I'm not going to worry about the money.

He pictured in his mind Maggie grilling him about the scam that robbed her grandparents.

He had a vivid memory of Esmeralda saying they would eventually have a fascinating talk about his career.

Definitely not about the money. Definitely not. This time he really was going to do it for the common good.

Err, not that I wasn't doing it for the common good before, mind you, just that, aw, forget it.

He loosened his collar. It was a very unusual emotion he was beginning to feel now a days, whenever he thought about his past jobs.

Guilt.

Let's just get back on track, shall we? The Teflon Rat is on the move, once again!

He was walking along the back of the park, the industrial centre on one side, clear view of grass and playgrounds on the other. No one was around to see him.

He rubbed his hands in glee.

This could be fun!

Another assassin: Briefly

A hundred metres away, on top of a three story industrial factory, was a man. Currently he was lying down on the flat roof, peering over and out. He had just seen Teylon emerge from the shadows of some trees. There he was, clearly outlined on the path, grass and garden beds behind him, nobody else in sight. Right now Teylon was rubbing his hands together.

The assassin lined up his rifle, and looked through the scope.

Perfect shot, no problems.

He reached for the trigger when;

A boot stepped on the rifle, knocking it sideways.

Normally the assassin’s reflexes should have made him move instantly, to get out of the way and to take counter measures.

But, for some reason he just lay there, frozen.

Huh?

He looked up. The person appeared to be a middle aged, slightly plump lady, wearing a red and purple checked apron and a head scarf of the same pattern.

What the -

The person spoke.

"Judgement!"

Teylon: Keeps walking

There was a faint scream from somewhere.

"What was that?" he said.

A cat erupted out of the bushes on one side of the path, and streaked across before disappearing on the other side.

The cat is chasing something? Although I could have sworn the scream was further out. Oh well, whatever.

He continued home, planning is first foray for gathering intelligence.

The next morning, before he started his serious research, he spent an enjoyable half hour browsing the web, investigating the animal life of Verdant. Including cats. He liked cats.

I wonder if one of the teenagers has a cat?

Actually, it might be idea to start visiting each other's living quarters. Especially if they have a cat. Right, at the gathering tomorrow I'll float the idea.

----------------------------------------

Deep Underground

"It appears that Teylon is going to pose a bigger problem than we anticipated." said Lenny.

The others agreed.