Chapter Six: The plan
"Did you find out about the bird's condition?" Khan inquired. Night had fallen and, without a single star in the sky, the Pride Lands were drenched in darkness; however at the bottom of a rocky hill, a meeting was fast underway. "Yes sire, the bird survived our attack," replied one of the lesser tigers sounding both distasted and brave as to be the one whom would reveal this news to their leader. Khan surveyed the tiger with a piercing look which caused the speaker to shiver as if he had fallen into an icy lake. The tiger raced to bow his head to the ground, "please forgive me, sire…" he spluttered. The rest of the clan surveyed this trembling tiger with looks of disgust. Khan bowed his head, his eyes shut; this was too much for the tiger. With a terrible cry he leapt to his paws and darted off up the hill, watched closely by the rest of the clan. "Kill him," whispered Khan. Three roars followed his command and, in mere seconds, the trembling tiger was dragged before him; his neck broken, and 2 deep fang holes in his throat.
"The fool allowed his fear to get the better of him," announced Khan, turning over the dead body with his paw. Just then a female tiger emerged from the long line of tigers that were grouped at the bottom of the hill; silently she approached her leader, taking in everything about his current mood. "Sire, were you displeased with the news he brought?" she asked.
"No, it was just his character that displeased me," Khan replied.
"So then, what about the bird?" she asked.
"Shiba," said Khan, turning to face the female tiger, "in all successful war campaigns the first strike is never to kill; only to intimidate. The second strike, however, is designed for death."
Shiba looked awestruck as Khan ended his speech. "So who is our next target?" she asked sinisterly.
Khan smiled, revealing a full set of piercingly long teeth, "who else but the King's mother. Now listen to me, all of you!" he thundered, turning suddenly towards the rest of the clan. "Simba will almost certainly be on high alert after the attack on his advisor. So I have devised a plan in which to lure his mother away from the rest of the pride, so that she may be killed."
The entire clan turned eagerly towards their leader, fire burning in their eyes. "Shiba," continued Khan, turning back towards the female tiger. "Take a squad of seven or more and chase the antelope herd west until they graze in the shadow of Pride Rock and DO NOT EAT THEM!", he bellowed, spotting a few of the tigers licking their jaws.
"Now Simba and the rest of his pride will be famished after these few days
without food; they will not resist the bait. He will definitely send a hunting party to take the grazing antelope. I am sure that his mother will be a part of it as he will be greatly concerned for her wellbeing. They will then chase the antelope north. It is at this point that your squad will intercept them. Make absolutely sure that Simba's mother is killed, do with the others what you please," he ended on a sinister note.
The tigers roared in appreciation; never before had they heard such a foolproof plan in all of their lives. "We will begin in the morning," said Khan, turning his back to the clan and moving towards the cave. Shiba glanced at the tigers that were moving off, each discussing the prospect of killing Mufassa's former wife and, with a glance towards the sky, smiled evilly. "I look forward to seeing the look on your face Simba when I kill your mother," she muttered.