Grima hated visiting Saruman. The elderly man's house was too richly decorated, too clean, and smelled too much like an old woman's perfume. What old woman would venture into Saruman's house, Grima did not know, nor did he want to. Another thing about Saruman's house that Grima disliked was the fact that there was always the looming threat that Saruman could dispose of him like Grima had disposed of Lurtz.

"Are you aware of why I called you here?" Saruman said cooly, flipping the newspaper down to reveal his face. Grima shuddered. It was almost as if Saruman had read a book on how to intimidate everybody in the immediate vicinity.

"No, sir," Grima said nervously. He never liked meeting Saruman's eyes. Though they were a warm brown colour, they always looked so cold.

Saruman spun the newspaper so that Grima could read it. It was a small article; less than a column in length, but Grima could see the title clearly. The bold letters stood out amidst the regular font.

CAR CRASH VICTIM WAKES FROM COMA

By Estella Bolger

Grima looked up from the paper to the man in the room. Saruman was lounging in his chair, the swirling the cup of tea in his hand much like a villain swirling a glass of wine. The man was wearing a dark suit, complete with a purple tie. His hair was even slicked back. Grima wondered why a retired man would want to spend so much effort on dressing.

What bothered Grima the most, however, was the look on Saruman's face. It was obvious that he was expecting something from him. Grima twirled the paper back around so it faced Saruman again.

"That is no concern of ours," Grima said, "So what if the boy has woken up? He cannot do anything to us in the hospital."

"No, he cannot," Saruman said softly, "But the boy has eyes. He had definitely saw you. It would have been no concern if you had let Lurtz drive the car, since Lurtz had been taken care of already. But you had to drive the car."

"It is no concern. I was wearing a Mordor College sweater, and the hood covered my face," Grima told him, "If he suspected anybody, it would be a Mordor College student. They might already suspect Lurtz, and now that he is dead they won't try to figure it out."

Saruman sighed heavily, his hand reaching up to massage his temples. Grima immediately realized that he had said the wrong thing. He didn't understand what he was supposed to say. Saruman set down his teacup, a little bit of the tea spilling over the edge onto the lace tablecloth.

"Oh, pity," Saruman mused, looking down at the tablecloth. "It was such a useful thing, but now it has a stain. What am I to do?"

Grima froze. He stared at Saruman for a couple of seconds, shaking softly. He tried to compose his voice when he asked, "What am I to do, sir?"

"Get. A. Clue," Saruman spelled out, his voice dark and threatening. Saruman reached for his cup of tea, and then sipped it. Grima felt uncomfortable, despite how casual the conversation seemed to be.

"Excuse me, sir, but I do not understand what you are suggesting," Grima said. He had learned that pretending to know what Saruman was saying was worse than being blunt about his so-called stupidity.

"That much is clear," Saruman said, setting down the teacup this time. Grima waited for some tea to bead over the edge of the cup, but there was none. He supposed that he was in the clear, at least for now. Saruman then continued, "It is not the moronic café workers that I am concerned with. It is the Eorl siblings that I care about. They know about your little stunt with the police chief's son. What makes you think that they cannot make the connection?"

"They do not suspect a thing," Grima said, "Eo- the girl is concerned about her uncle, as is the boy."

"What makes you think that they are not concerned with you?" Saruman demanded, "They suspect that you are the one who has been drugging the police chief, and they know that you are the one who killed their cousin. What makes you think that they will not take action?"

"Because I run the police force. They know that messing with me will mean that they will mess with the law," Grima said, trying to sound confident. Saruman's lips twitched for a couple of seconds, before he burst out laughing.

The maliscious sound washed over Grima, and the police sergeant frowned. Grima knew that asking 'what' would earn him a slap in the face, or a knife in the kidney. Instead, he waited until the old man had finished with his laughing and spoke.

"Oh yes," Saruman said, laughter in his voice, "They were very reassured by that. Especially after the boy was cleared of all charges when he was supposed to be put in for first-degree murder for killing Lurtz. But now they are still searching for suspects, and the boy is walking free. What makes you think that you have complete control of the law?"

Grima felt sick to his stomach. He didn't know what to say to that. Saruman was right; his control was slipping, and Eowyn was getting nosier than before. She knew what he was up to, but Grima was not going to tell Saruman that.

At first, he had joined Saruman because he wanted power. He was tired of being on the lowest rung of the police quarters. Now that he had power, he was constantly scared of Saruman thinking he was trash. He knew what being trash to Saruman meant. Grima had personally killed Lurtz because Saruman no longer wanted him.

Saruman seemed to know that Grima's control was failing, but Grima was not going to encourage that line of thought. The elderly man sat back in his large chair, his hands resting on the arms of it. The expectant look on Saruman's face made Grima think that he had to respond.

"I'll make sure the message is clear," Grima said.

"Good," Saruman smiled. "I don't care how you do it. Frame them for illegal drug use, murder them, seriously maim them, ship them off to France with a bullshit promise of a scholarship."

"Understood, sir," Grima said. "What shall I do about Theoden?"

"He is no longer necessary," Saruman said, "You are in line to be the next chief. I believe it is time to administer the overdose."

Grima nodded grimly, before he turned to leave.

"Oh, and Grima?" Saruman called back. Grima paused, his heart sinking. "Make sure it kills him. I don't want anymore dangerous people waking from their coma."

Thanks to Revolutionary Star, BoricuaPinkRanger, BrightWatcher, Wanderingidealism, EvenstarRoses,LoTR-HP-PJ, SlipssyW17, Goldie Gamgee, MoonLight1300, NTSFroes, Polka-dot Pippin, Louisiana Stephenic, Faryna, MeMeMeMeMeMeMeMe, Daeril Ullothwen, Guest, TortoisetheStoryteller, Aqua4444, and Spartan-G257 for reviewing! Thanks to Star Anise, ResoluteShadow, SlipssyW17, Cloaks and tunics, ilovereading321, and Aqua4444, for favouriting/subscribing.

Last weekend was Easter, so I did not update! Sorry! Also, this chapter is short because I am feeling quite ill at the moment. I also am going to be very busy with studying for school, seeing as two of the courses I am taking (ahead a year) are going to count for university and my lowest mark is in one of them. Updates may not be every sunday, but I shall try to make the next couple of months better than what this one was.

Thank you very much for reading, and please review!