Chapter 5

"No, my dear, that piece doesn't move that way."

"Well, I want it to move that way."

"Abigail, there are many instances in which I allow you to make your own rules. The game of chess is not one of them."

Abigail crossed her arms and stared at the board. She picked up her knight and moved it seven places diagonally. She looked up and smiled hopefully at her grandfather.

She received a small frown in return.

"Fine then," she moved her knight back to where it had originally been and instead moved her queen five squares vertically. "Check!" she declared triumphantly.

"That was a fine move," John Dread told her. "However..." he moved his own queen, which had been residing in the corner of the board and captured her queen.

"Damn."

John Dread smiled and moved one of his pawns. He loved his granddaughter, but she always had trouble looking at the bigger picture. That was the main reason he was teaching her the game of chess. She had to learn how to attack, defend, and keep watch over other matters at the same time. His granddaughter moved her knight, the right way this time, and came to rest within a move of capturing his bishop. Dread was pondering his next move when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in," he called.

In came one of his scientists, the one he believed was in charge of Psycho's specialty care.

"Yes?"

"I just came to tell you that Psycho is now fully functional, and his new arm should be slightly more durable than the old one." Dread saw her glance at Abigail out of the corner of her eye. "However," she continued, "the socket was damaged during the removal of the arm, and I must ask that such an injury be prevented from reoccurring. There's only so much I can do."

"Thank you...378 is it?"

The woman in the lab coat nodded.

"Ah, thank you 378. I assure you this will not happen again." He said that last sentence pointedly while looking directly at Abigail, who gave him an innocent smile in return. He couldn't help but smile back. When he looked back at the woman, he saw her eyeing the chess board that sat on the table. "Do you play?" he asked.

"Yes, do you mind if I..."

"No, not at all." Dread gestured welcomingly towards the board.

The scientist picked up one of his knights and moved it a little further away from Abigail's king. "Checkmate," she said softly.

John Dread looked at the board. "Impressive," he said. "I'm glad you're working for me."

Scientist 378 nodded, turned, and left the room. Dread glanced back over at the redhead sitting across the board from him. He watched, amused, as Abigail studied the board, trying to find an error in the other woman's move.

"I'm afraid that move is flawless my dear."

"Damn it!" Abigail lifted her fist and started to bring it down towards the chess set, then suddenly stopped the movement in midair and pulled herself away from the board. With anyone else she would have smashed the wooden board and let the pieces fly off in all directions, and would probably enjoy it very much. However, these circumstances were a special case. This particular game had taken place in the presence of her grandfather, and had been played with his three hundred year old chess set. She would never dare ruin her grandfather's beloved set. "I think I'm going to go for a ride in my hovercraft," she said quietly, still shocked by what she had almost done.

"A good idea," Dread said.

She searched his face and could see no trace of anger on it. Instead she saw understanding and pride. He knew how hard it was for her to control her temper. It had taken thirty years for him to get his under control himself, and he was proud at the progress she had made. She threw her arms around him in a quick hug, and then exited the room, heading for the hangar where her hovercraft awaited her.

Dread waited until he could no longer hear her light footsteps in the hallway, and then picked up the black queen from the board. The marble felt cool in his hand. He pondered the piece. In the game of chess, the king was seen as the most important, and once the king was captured, the game was over. However, the queen was a far more powerful piece than the king. She could move a countless number of spaces in any direction, provided there were no obstacles, while the king could only move one space at a time. A famous quote popped into his head about there being a woman behind every great man.

How true, he thought. In the game of chess, the queen was the woman behind the king. In the game of life his Abigail was the woman behind him. She had been the driving force keeping him going after all these years. After Max Steel and N'Tek had ruined countless numbers of his fortresses, he would just have to see his granddaughter to give him the strength to fight back. She would never mention it, but he knew that she wanted to fight as badly as he did. In time, my dear, in time, he would always say. But he did not know how long she would wait until she could no longer obey his order to not strike out at N'Tek by herself. After all, he mused, how long would I be able to hold back on avenging my parents?

Dum de dum dum dummmmmm! I like to fill in the little blanks in my stories. First we didn't exactly know how Psycho came to be and then pop! Out came the Fred Erickson theory! Then we didn't know why Abigail lived with her grandfather, (I don't know if anyone actually wondered about that), and then pop! You find out why! I've been in more of a writing mood these past few days, so hopefully the chapters are getting a little better. Oh, and by the way, the idea of Scientist 378 (Melissa) coming in and making the winning move against Abigail was UKHoneyB's idea. Hmmm, could be metaphorical of what might happen later on in the story...............................................................