Chapter Three

[Author's note: Spoilers for the movie Homicidal.]

Late night vigil, waiting for orders from their lord. Ranjit Chidambaram loaded the movie as Geary poured soft drinks. "One of your cheese-fests?" she asked.

"A William Castle movie. Homicidal."

"That title's not promising."

"Oh, no, he didn't make those sorts of movies. When television became common, movie-makers were faced with smaller audiences for their films. Many resorted to gimmicks. Castle was known for his little tricks: spurious votes over a character's fate, a few minutes of grace for the nervous to leave the theater, electric shocks in the seats, that sort of thing. His best one was written by Robert Bloch and starred Barbara Stanwyck. The gimmick in this film's pretty good."

A few minutes in, Helen said, "She's named after the dictionary."

"I wonder if that was intentional."

"More like the ten thousand Shaws with the first name Bernard: it sounds right, so Mom and Dad don't look any further and find the playwright George Bernard Shaw."

Later: "That actor playing the brother is rather bad. Too flat."

Still later: "Is that actor actually and actress?"

End credits: "She makes a convincing man, but not a convincing male actor."

Ranjit picked up the remote. "How about Theatre of Blood? Vincent Price as a mad Shakespearean actor. The hair salon scene should not be missed."

Shakespeare. Homicidal. "Is there a theme to this evening?"

"Given Lord Katse's mission, I thought there should be one."

She reloaded the soft drink and popcorn. "Then we need The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and To Wong Foo: Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar."

"They're in the queue."

Lord Katse was on a mission, in female disguise, a mission too important to leave to any other agent. The pair's job was to wait for him to call for pick-up at a designated location.

"I don't know how he does it." Geary spent a few minutes watching the opening credits, deducing which of Shakespeare's plays were used in them. "He's so --- male. Then he puts on the dress and a couple of accessories, and he could start a fight among straight men with just a wink." Nice hip wiggle, too. I think he goes on these missions to have some fun.

Ranjit actually giggled. "Have you heard about the mission he went on with Bledsoe?"

She hadn't heard about that one. "The big guy who looks like Burt Lancaster?" Enough like him to play the part in a biopic. "Oh, no."

"Oh, yes. I saw them return. I've never seen a car parked so quickly in my life. Bledsoe was in a state."

"I can imagine the state." And my mountain cat was enjoying every second. Galactor had awakened a wicked streak of humor in him.

"Our lord looked particularly lovely that night." He grinned. "They were out to assassinate Ambassador Aganoor. Before they could get close, a wronged woman charged up and opened fire."

Perfect. Absolutely perfect. It was so much better when the targets were taken out by others. Fewer trails to conceal. "I think I read about that."

No doubt he was enjoying this mission, but for different reasons. A prize pet of the Ameris right, one who practiced what he loudly preached (so far as they knew), was about to be seriously compromised. This would give Galactor access to Ameris's Department of Defense, in their special projects division, at least for a short time.

"This movie is over the top," she said. "And the daughter is in on it. Hmm. I think I saw Rigg in a version of Witness for the Prosecution."

At the end, she laughed. "I don't think anyone's been so clever with the Bard before or since."

[Author's Note, 2: There is a remake of Witness for the Prosecution, which I've been looking for. Late 1970s or early 1980s.]