Tension in the room rose to fever pitch as all eyes turned in the direction that Stingy was staring. They were sure they could hear his heart hammering in his chest as Morgan came closer to them. His guards prepared themselves to move into a defensive position and evacuate the house as they kept a close watch on his movements. Two of the Network officers instinctively felt for their weapons. They were ready to draw them out in the event that they became required. One of the remaining officers discreetly pressed a button on his belt that would send an alert through the ear pieces of his colleagues, warning them that back up was likely to be needed.

As Morgan neared the table something unexpected occurred. He stopped by the kitchen counter, his eyes still glued on Stingy. Rather than the blank image that served as the cover for all of his emotions his face began to alter. The large, dark eyes that held so many secrets seemed to lighten slightly as his expressive lips twisted and parted into a large smile.

Stingy didn't know what was scarier, Morgan coming slowly towards him with intentions unclear or standing still and smiling at him. It was a smile that seemed as though it would invite him to let his guard down, a smile that dared him to smile back and face the consequences.

Ignoring the potential danger, Kit stood slowly and moved himself between Morgan and Stingy. Breaking the line of sight between the two he became intensely conscious of Morgan's eyes changing and the smile fading perceptively. Silently citing his intentions he took a step forward towards Morgan, all the while keeping his body language neutral.

Morgan breathed deeply as he observed Kit and with his hand he bade the man calm, "It's alright. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Every action we take whether good or bad is open to judgement by someone. By rights I am a bad person that has done bad things, I wouldn't deny that. If indeed the knot doesn't snap my neck when they hang me I'll suffer a death slower than the one I granted my victims. Would anything less than a slow death be penance enough for my crimes?"

It was a question that hung in the air as Morgan turned and walked back to his bedroom. Kit breathed an imperceptible sigh of relief and looked to Stingy whose eyes were levelled to a space beneath the table. His cheeks inflamed and his shoulders sagging.

"I think I've wet myself." Stingy mumbled as his friends began to detect an unpleasant odour and became aware of the puddle that had formed at the foot of his chair.

A sudden shift in the movements of Langford's men caught Sportacus' attention as he gazed out of the kitchen window. They seemed to move in a singular direction, the direction of the Mayor's house. He moved from the kitchen to the living room as he followed their movements. Bessie stood up at his entrance and tried to see what he was seeing but from the angle he was at her vision was obscured.

One of the men broke off from their journey towards the Mayor's house and approached having seen him standing in the window. They let themselves in and told Sportacus and Bessie to remain calm and remain where they were.

As Langford joined the team that had circled the Mayor's house he waited for the second signal. His men were ready to do what was needed and they stood poised for the sound to come through their ear pieces. A faint flicker of sound, an echo in their memories played with their ears and tried to trick them into believing the second signal had come but they ignored it.

They weren't needed yet.

A voice came over the radio sounding the all clear. Crisis had been averted and Langford stepped out from his position and signalled for his men to return to their duties but remain alert just in case. Fulfilling his obligation to investigate any cause of alarm he walked around the house and entered the front door just as a very embarrassed Stingy ambled past him, a strong smell hanging in the air in his wake. Langford allowed himself to follow Stingy with his eyes briefly before turning back and facing his men.

"Report." He ordered.

One of Langford's men quickly did as he'd been asked, "Morgan overheard something Stingy said. It was something of a sensitive nature and we weren't quite sure how he'd react. I thought I'd sound the alert just in case. Fortunately Morgan stayed calm and made no further move, he just sort of smiled."

"Smiled?" Langford paraphrased incredulously.

"Yes sir, that was all he did until Kit got in between him and Stingy."

For his credit, Kit looked bashful when Langford shifted his attention to him. He could see Langford was brewing for a hissy fit beneath that glossy surface of calm. He kept quiet as he doubted what might set Langford off.

There was a slight tone of interrogation when Langford addressed Kit, "You got in between Morgan and Stingy? You really do have a brass neck don't you?"

"Well someone had to do something. He didn't do anything anyway."

"And if he had? What if he'd gone for you?"

Kit shrugged, "I could have handled him...I think. I took on Lily and won, after a fashion. I was doing alright until she tricked kicking my go nads through my arsehole. Although shitting blood for a fortnight was worth the satisfaction of flooring the bitch."

"I don't doubt it was but taking on Lily and beating her once doesn't mean it's something you could pull off a second time. I also recall hearing that you and Cain had one or two bust ups which you obviously survived. That doesn't mean that you'll naturally win every time and we know next to nothing about Morgan. May I suggest that this cavalier attitude you have about getting in scraps stops and stops now? For someone with a background like yours it's highly obvious to me that you've been living on borrowed time for much of your life and now doesn't seem like a good time to start throwing it away."

Langford had struck a cord with Kit and the clown looked down, defeated.