@lothlorien leaf: I don't seem to manage to make the chapters longer. In
fact, this one's abominably short, but I really couldn't write more! Good
your computer is okay again!! *smile*
@all readers: Have a nice time reading and please write a review -or two- I greatly appreciate it!
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Afterlife? -No: Aftershock!
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Chapter Fifteen
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"Has anyone spotted him yet?" Malcolm asked, as he stepped into the conference room. His face was drawn into a dark scowl and everyone around him hoped he wouldn't notice them. It was Reno, his second in command, who answered.
"I bet they have, they just won't report to us. He's quite popular with the people here."
"DAMN!" Malcolm brought his fist down onto the table so hard, everyone around him jumped at the noise. "If he's got our clients on his side, we have something to worry about!"
"Why?" Asked Larry, a young man who was one of Reno's three assistants.
"Why?" Malcolm laughed. "Reno! Hear that boy? Why he asks! Well, isn't that clear?" He turned on Larry. "Boy, why do we get money from our clients, why do they do what we want?"
"Th.-they fear us."
"Exactly!" Malcolm clapped for good measure. "Now, tell me, what will happen, if this Boromir can openly defy us without getting punished? Will they still fear us as they do now?"
I.. I don't guess so."
"You don't guess so." With quick steps, Malcolm crossed the room and then turned to face Larry and the others again. As he went on talking, his voice was dangerously quiet. "You guess right, Larry, you guess right. And if our clients stop fearing us, what will stop them from wondering if we might in the end have reason to fear THEM?"
Everyone in the room was listening intently now. Malcolm was clever, why else had he managed to be their leader for so long and expand their territory? If Malcolm was worried, there was reason to be worried, and here he was, fretting about this man Boromir. Something bad was in the air. They realised, when he finished telling them his train of thought.
"Give them too much space, too much confidence and too much hope, and our dear clients will turn against us, they'll organise themselves, plan to get rid of us. They outnumber us greatly and although we may have a few guns, we won't be able to hold them back once they start a mass-attack. We have to get rid of Boromir, before he can instil confidence, hope and courage in our clients. Understood?!"
The men nodded and then went out of the room to redouble their efforts at finding Boromir. They'd use bribery, blackmail and even torture to find out where Boromir was. Malcolm wanted him, he'd get him.
Then, only Malcolm and Reno were in the conference room. The latter gave Malcolm a pat on the shoulder. "We'll find him, don't worry. He's only human, after all."
Malcolm just glared at the tabletop. "I'll stop worrying when he's under control."
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Boromir was definitely not under control. Mr. Foster watched with a bemused smile, as his guest tackled first his kitchen, then the living room and hall with Sandy, pointing at the various objects standing there and asking Sandy about them. It was hard to say, if he was just acting dumb or actually was not accustomed to household gadgets.
When he actually asked Sandy about the water tap with hot and cold water, Mr. Foster interfered. "But Mr. Steward, surely you know what a water tap is! Even in the woodland to the south of Bearon, every blockhouse has a tap."
Boromir looked up quickly. "This tap provides both hot and cold water, it's not like that in the woods." He said carefully, hoping he was right.
"Ah! So you lived in the woods before you came here?"
Boromir could even nod to this without lying. He HAD lived in the woods before he came into this world. At once, Sandy jumped at the opportunity to ask him for another story. She was getting rather tired of explaining things, although it had been fun at first.
"Did you see bears and wolves in the woods?" She asked excitedly, tugging at his sleeve for attention.
"I saw a great many beasts and wonderful creatures in the woods." Boromir broke off, he knew he shouldn't have said that, not in front of Mr. Foster, anyway.
"What kinds of creatures?" Sandy asked on, determined to get all information possible out of him before her father intervened. She had seen the sceptical look in his eyes and knew he didn't believe that Boromir had seen any 'wonderful creatures'.
"Weeell," Borormir wasn't sure how far he should go. A quick look in Mr. Foster's direction told him not to go far at all. "I saw wolves, bigger than a calf, with great fangs, wild manes and paws bigger than my hands. Their bared teeth glistened white in the moonlit night and their sleek bodies were covered with silver fur. They had green eyes that shimmered brightly in the dark and there was a whole pack of them surrounding our company."
"What did you do?" Questioned Sandy breathlessly.
"There is one thing no wild creature dares approach, one thing they are afraid of, even the most powerful and grand. That is fire. We rekindled the glowing embers of our fire and each of us gripped our sword in our right hand and a burning stick in the left. With those we held them off till the next morning. They tried to get to us again and again, till dawn came. As the first ray of the sun groped its way over the horizon, they went. Silently and quickly like ghosts, the vanished in the trees. We never encountered them again."
"Cool!" Sandy cried. "Weren't you frightened, just a little bit?"
"I didn't dare to. They would have smelled it and gained confidence."
"But how can you decide to not be afraid. Either you are or you aren't. Were you afraid?"
"No. I had my sword, my companions and my skills."
"Who were your companions?"
Here Mr. Foster cut in. "Sandy. Time to go to bed."
"I don't want to go to bed!" Sandy protested at once. "I want to know who was Mr. Steward!"
"I daresay that can wait. You know what? I bet Mr. Steward will agree to tell you about his companions as soon as you've gone to bed. Then, when your nicely tucked in, he'll talk to you and describe his companions to you."
He looked apologetically to Boromir and his gaze was soon joined by Sandy's pleading one. He nodded earnestly. "I'll tell you all about them as soon as you're in bed, young Lady."
"Okay." Sandy relented and hurried off to bed.
@all readers: Have a nice time reading and please write a review -or two- I greatly appreciate it!
.
.
Afterlife? -No: Aftershock!
.
Chapter Fifteen
.
"Has anyone spotted him yet?" Malcolm asked, as he stepped into the conference room. His face was drawn into a dark scowl and everyone around him hoped he wouldn't notice them. It was Reno, his second in command, who answered.
"I bet they have, they just won't report to us. He's quite popular with the people here."
"DAMN!" Malcolm brought his fist down onto the table so hard, everyone around him jumped at the noise. "If he's got our clients on his side, we have something to worry about!"
"Why?" Asked Larry, a young man who was one of Reno's three assistants.
"Why?" Malcolm laughed. "Reno! Hear that boy? Why he asks! Well, isn't that clear?" He turned on Larry. "Boy, why do we get money from our clients, why do they do what we want?"
"Th.-they fear us."
"Exactly!" Malcolm clapped for good measure. "Now, tell me, what will happen, if this Boromir can openly defy us without getting punished? Will they still fear us as they do now?"
I.. I don't guess so."
"You don't guess so." With quick steps, Malcolm crossed the room and then turned to face Larry and the others again. As he went on talking, his voice was dangerously quiet. "You guess right, Larry, you guess right. And if our clients stop fearing us, what will stop them from wondering if we might in the end have reason to fear THEM?"
Everyone in the room was listening intently now. Malcolm was clever, why else had he managed to be their leader for so long and expand their territory? If Malcolm was worried, there was reason to be worried, and here he was, fretting about this man Boromir. Something bad was in the air. They realised, when he finished telling them his train of thought.
"Give them too much space, too much confidence and too much hope, and our dear clients will turn against us, they'll organise themselves, plan to get rid of us. They outnumber us greatly and although we may have a few guns, we won't be able to hold them back once they start a mass-attack. We have to get rid of Boromir, before he can instil confidence, hope and courage in our clients. Understood?!"
The men nodded and then went out of the room to redouble their efforts at finding Boromir. They'd use bribery, blackmail and even torture to find out where Boromir was. Malcolm wanted him, he'd get him.
Then, only Malcolm and Reno were in the conference room. The latter gave Malcolm a pat on the shoulder. "We'll find him, don't worry. He's only human, after all."
Malcolm just glared at the tabletop. "I'll stop worrying when he's under control."
.
Boromir was definitely not under control. Mr. Foster watched with a bemused smile, as his guest tackled first his kitchen, then the living room and hall with Sandy, pointing at the various objects standing there and asking Sandy about them. It was hard to say, if he was just acting dumb or actually was not accustomed to household gadgets.
When he actually asked Sandy about the water tap with hot and cold water, Mr. Foster interfered. "But Mr. Steward, surely you know what a water tap is! Even in the woodland to the south of Bearon, every blockhouse has a tap."
Boromir looked up quickly. "This tap provides both hot and cold water, it's not like that in the woods." He said carefully, hoping he was right.
"Ah! So you lived in the woods before you came here?"
Boromir could even nod to this without lying. He HAD lived in the woods before he came into this world. At once, Sandy jumped at the opportunity to ask him for another story. She was getting rather tired of explaining things, although it had been fun at first.
"Did you see bears and wolves in the woods?" She asked excitedly, tugging at his sleeve for attention.
"I saw a great many beasts and wonderful creatures in the woods." Boromir broke off, he knew he shouldn't have said that, not in front of Mr. Foster, anyway.
"What kinds of creatures?" Sandy asked on, determined to get all information possible out of him before her father intervened. She had seen the sceptical look in his eyes and knew he didn't believe that Boromir had seen any 'wonderful creatures'.
"Weeell," Borormir wasn't sure how far he should go. A quick look in Mr. Foster's direction told him not to go far at all. "I saw wolves, bigger than a calf, with great fangs, wild manes and paws bigger than my hands. Their bared teeth glistened white in the moonlit night and their sleek bodies were covered with silver fur. They had green eyes that shimmered brightly in the dark and there was a whole pack of them surrounding our company."
"What did you do?" Questioned Sandy breathlessly.
"There is one thing no wild creature dares approach, one thing they are afraid of, even the most powerful and grand. That is fire. We rekindled the glowing embers of our fire and each of us gripped our sword in our right hand and a burning stick in the left. With those we held them off till the next morning. They tried to get to us again and again, till dawn came. As the first ray of the sun groped its way over the horizon, they went. Silently and quickly like ghosts, the vanished in the trees. We never encountered them again."
"Cool!" Sandy cried. "Weren't you frightened, just a little bit?"
"I didn't dare to. They would have smelled it and gained confidence."
"But how can you decide to not be afraid. Either you are or you aren't. Were you afraid?"
"No. I had my sword, my companions and my skills."
"Who were your companions?"
Here Mr. Foster cut in. "Sandy. Time to go to bed."
"I don't want to go to bed!" Sandy protested at once. "I want to know who was Mr. Steward!"
"I daresay that can wait. You know what? I bet Mr. Steward will agree to tell you about his companions as soon as you've gone to bed. Then, when your nicely tucked in, he'll talk to you and describe his companions to you."
He looked apologetically to Boromir and his gaze was soon joined by Sandy's pleading one. He nodded earnestly. "I'll tell you all about them as soon as you're in bed, young Lady."
"Okay." Sandy relented and hurried off to bed.