Variation. That is the singular thing that the world has to offer, strange, bizarre, the unexpected are all to be expected. What causes them to happen, nobody knows, everyone puts it down to the element of chance. The strangest of such cases happened on Planet Marne in the year 794 AS. The fortunate (or unfortunate) progenitors named him Ansel, and like any other couple, hoped for a normal and happy life with their son. Not to be.
Ansel Xavier, as was his full name, showed from an early age signs of intelligence. His parents were proud as they saw their son breeze through his studies with apparently no effort. But, there almost seemed to be too much of it. As he grew up, he showed other signs. Signs of arrogance, and contempt. He did not care for what anyone else said, and followed his own will. Mostly keeping to himself, he was violent, but that was only revealed in a showdown in 807 AS, at 13 years of age.
While going to school, he was stopped by a classmate, leader of the "hip" and "Cool" group in the school.
"Yo Ansel! Where ya think ya going!?", He started.
"To School of course, don't be ridiculous." Ansel Replied.
"Hey, ya don't talk to me like that."
"If you will act stupidly, I will."
"Listen punk, don't talk more than you are worth, or you might find your ass handed to you."
"Very well" Sighed Ansel and punched the guy in the face, breaking his nose. As he fell screaming and holding his nose, he climbed on him and started punching his face, obviously out of control. his friends shouted back at him, and tried to stop him, but by the time they managed to subdue him, the poor guy had already been beaten into raw pulp.
"You idiot! You don't behave with schoolmates like that!"
"How could you do this!?"
"I will report you to the authorities!"
He looked at all of them, and merely said one word. Pathetic.
The authorities suspended him from the school in short order. The letter to his parents stated clearly that the school thought him to be mentally unstable. Ansel's parents were shocked beyond all belief. Their son, a genius, mentally unstable? When they tried talking to their son about it, he proved uncommunicative.
"Hey Son, about you getting suspended from the school...."
"He acted stupid, and threatened me. I just took the logical option and struck first."
"But.....but....you don't deal with other people like that!"
"I don't need you to tell me how I deal with people. And of all people, at least you should see that what I did was right!"
"No...it was not. You should apologise to the child whose nose you broke, at once!"
"No"
"You disobey me, and your mother!? "
"Yes, if you don't make any sense, I will not follow you."
"Ansel Xavier, Out of this house at once!". This was the last move, hoping it would bring their son to his sense. Nothing of the sort. He just shrugged, and said briefly. "I will pack my things."
His parents were alarmed, and confined him to a room. All through the night, he thought and contemplated, and finally, reaching a logical conclusion, made a plan.
In the morning, when his parents woke up and went to check on him, they found nothing except a short latter. It read-
"I am tired of irrationality. I will try to find a solution to all this, goodbye."
"Hey Ansel! Come here and help with the unloading!"
"Uh-huh. Right away."
Ansel Xavier moved over to the Transport, his mind still seething with thoughts. The man who had hailed him, was supposedly his "friend", but he was so Stupid. Somehow, he kept his emotions hidden.
"Hey Jack, What's up?" He said. Jacques Deveraux, known in short as "Jack", was a huge man, around 6 foot 7 and 200 pounds, he completely dwarfed everyone else on the station, including Ansel who was a modest 5 foot 7. The only reason Ansel had chosen to make him his friend was that he was top dog in the area, and potentially useful to get what he needed.
"Nothing, just the same old ****, stupid work to be done before I can take the lady out to chug." He replied. The lady was a reference to the Adeline, a L'Ane class transport. Jacques was the owner and captain of the ship, it further added to his reputation in these parts. Ansel had no idea how a dumb oaf like him managed to get there, he suspected a few shady deals.
"Ha, right. Let's finish this up and then talk for a while." He said, taking up one of the cranes which would load the containers onto the Adeline.
"Sure. Yo you lazy arses, get your piece of **** working right now! The lady needs to go quickly." He shouted.
Ansel sighed as he went through the motions. They were too easy, too demeaning for a person like him, but it was necessary. After he left home, he knew he needed to get away as soon as possible. Child labour was forbidden, but Marne was a place where laws were little more than pieces of paper. He flitted from one small job to another, never staying in one place for too long, and in his spare time, he studied in the public database.
At 16 years of age, the person he was employed with decided to leave Marne to go someplace else. Ansel decided to go with him, leaving this planet was essential. To this, his employer agreed with delight, because Ansel had been a useful servant.
That "someplace else" turned out to be the Gallic Brigands. Apparently Ansel's employer, who went by the name Aleron, had a number of contacts in the shady side of things, and decided that the unlawful side was best for profits. He turned out to be wrong, as he was killed soon on a convoy raided by the Royal navy.
But for Ansel, things went well. He picked up a job at the station, and made progress towards what he had in mind. Ever since he had left home, he had thought on that one question. The world's irrationality. And after nearly 11 years, he thought he had the answer, or rather, the solution.
After finishing his shift for the day, he met up with Jack.
"Yo buddy, what did ya need?" Jack said in his large voice.
"Actually Jack, I needed a favor from you." Ansel replied.
"Favor? What sort of?"
"Actually.... I need a loan."
"A loan? What for buddy? You seem pretty well off"
It's true.Thought Ansel. He had been living a frugal life, saving all the money he could, for this. He did not have nearly enough, but it would have to do, time was passing by.
"Actually....I want to buy a ship."
"A ship! Ho ho, want to explore the stars do we!?"
"Not really. I just want to make more money than sitting in this job."
Jack Subsided. "Oh, I see, What sort of ship are you looking for?"
"An Aurochs class. I saw one in the hangar not too long ago, Owner looking to sell it, for around half a million."
Jack considered it. "Well, that's not much for me, I guess I can manage it for a friend. When do you plan to return the money?"
"As soon as possible" Ansel replied with a grin.
"I want it back in 6 months kid, If you don't, you know what I can do."
"I do."
"Awright then, I will transfer the money to your account as soon as I get on the lady, time to go, she's leaving."
"Thanks a lot." Ansel replied with a smile, a genuine one.
As soon as Jacques had left, he sighed. Dealing with these....mediocres was so tough, but he marvelled at the way in which he had learned to bear with it. At least, his plan was finally in motion now.
Ansel sighed, looking at the starscape speeding swiftly by. It had been a few months since he took the loan from Jack and bought the Aurochs class freighter. The ship had been dusty and old when he bought it, but very workable. He had gone through some reading material on ships, and fixed the basic problems on the Aurochs , which he named Adrienne. It had been child’s play from there.
His thought was broken as the navigator shouted “Mazgaran just ahead sir!”. “Prepare to dock.” He answered briefly. Adrienne was carrying a large load of Light arms this time, risky cargo, but good profits. Ansel did not care for the risk, he knew how to minimize it. The crew looked at their captain with something like awe for he always made the runs look so simple. The Adrienne had made a name for itself, because it always took the runs nobody else dared to, and managed to complete it as well.
Mazgaran cleared them to dock, recognizing the Brigands identity of the ship. Soon the ship was docked, and unloading was in progress. Ansel walked up to his contractor, Alsatia Lorraine. She looked pleased.
“Great job again Ansel.” She started.
“My pleasure, but what about the payment?” replied Ansel.
“You are always spot on the money aren’t you?”
“Well, that is what feeds us.”
“Oui, that’s so. Anyways, I will transfer the million credits to your account, good day.” With that, she walked away to check the shipment.
Ansel sighed; they were all just so pathetically stupid, if they thought this work was difficult. But it was the best paying he could find for his freighter, It had been 6 months since he had acquired the ship. The time had certainly been used well, He now had a total of 3 million credits in his bank account. Of course, 2 million were due to Jack, but he had a plan.
The next stop was Marne, he needed to get something, and he knew where to get it from. It was amazing what trading could do to you contacts wise, he now probably knew a contact for any need he should have. This time, the person he was seeking was Anatole, who lived in one of the black market areas of Marne.
Getting there was easy, he soon found himself standing outside the shop, a big neon light announced “Anatole Security Services- Defense, at a cost.” Going inside, he found a big muscular man standing on the counter, he was fingering a rifle. Indeed, rifles were lined all along the shop, lethal weapons of destruction.
“Bonjour Anatole! How are you today!?” Ansel began.
The muscular man looked up, he had eyes like coals, and his face was stern and devoid of expression.
“No worse than usual Ansel, business. Anyways, what do you need?”
“I need to get someone killed, Anatole.” He said quietly and matter-of-factly.
The big man’s eyes narrowed a little, and he signaled to Ansel to follow him to the back of the shop.
“Take a seat. You know that sort of work is difficult.” Anatole began.
“I know, but I also know you will provide” Ansel replied, a faint smile on his lips.
Anatole sighed. “You know me too well. Well, what are the details?”
“Man named Jacques Devereaux. I need to force him to do something for me, and then he is to be killed. However, no one should find out that he is dead, I will have a story cooked up. Your job is to capture him, make him do the thing I want, and then kill him.”
Anatole pondered over it. “Devereaux!? He’s a big man in the Brigands, last I heard.”
“He still is, however, I am willing to pay you as much as it takes.”
“Well…..” Anatole thought over it, “1.5 million credits, but make sure you have a damn good Alibi, cause you know that if you get caught, we will not be able to interfere.”
“I understand that perfectly, and it’s a deal.”
The two men shook hands and now the plan had started in earnest.
Jacques Devereaux was relaxing, as his 'lady' moved through space. Everything was easy, power was in his hands, life was good. Soon he expected to retire, and live the rest of his life in peace, in a grand house somewhere on Marne, full of the comforts he needed......
"Sir, we have a Transmission request, identified as Ansel Xavier. Do I put him through?" Asked his communications officer.
Jacques was startled out of his reverie, but as he heard the name, a smile appeared on his large face. Ansel had not contacted him since he took the loan, and Jacques was getting rather anxious. "Put him through" He said.
The lean and handsome face of Ansel was soon visible on the screen, he wasted no time.
"I want to return the loan Jack." He said.
Jack was startled, how had he managed to make cash this fast!?
"Uh....uhm......Okay. Send the cash over to my neural net account."
"Actually, no. I wanted to meet you in person, have some....celebrations?"
"That would be great! Where do you want to meet?"
"Marne west-side, Houtel Reuvoir would be great, in two days. Good to see you again."
With that, the transmission was terminated. Jack smiled to himself, would be good to meet his friend after a long while, and the extra money never hurts. He relaxed in his chair, and fell back into wistful dreams of retirement......
Meanwhile, on the other end, Ansel sighed. That had been too easy .
***
Hotel Reuvoir was a posh establishment, one well frequented by people with money to burn. Jacques was seated at the table already booked for him, the formal get-up was annoying and uncomfortable. "But If I don't wear them, they would probably throw me out" He thought with a wry smile.
Presently, Ansel walked in, wearing formal attire. He waved to Jack, then walked over and sat down beside him.
"So, how have you been doin' friend?" Jack began.
"Very well, very well indeed, business is well and good." replied Ansel and smiled a little.
"Ah, so I saw. Was rather surprised when you called and said the money was ready."
"No big deal. Let's get down to dinner, it was expensive after all."
They ate dinner for the most part in silence, Jacque's questions being dealt with in a satisfactory manner. Ansel was getting really irritated at his 'friend's' stupidity, he longed for the moment. Finally, the dinner ended.
"Hm, that was good." Jacques said.
"Oui, pretty much. How about you visit my ship for a moment, You haven't seen it since I bought it", Ansel replied.
"Right, I just hope it's better than most of the floating pieces of **** I see around." Jacques said and clapped Ansel on the shoulder.
The Adrienne was positioned deliberately at a secluded position, away from the lights and glitter. Ansel got out of the hover-car and signalled to Jacques to wait while he opened up the ship.
Jacques stood there lethargically, his mind dulled and numbed by the heavy dinner, and the wine and drink. He never saw the shrouded figures moving behind him, nor see the heavy blow directed at his head. The lights went out immediately for Jacques Devereaux as the figures laboured to pick him up and carry him.
***
As the lights came back again for Jacques, he saw that he was in a dark room, and his head was throbbing with pain. Alarmed, he tried to move, but could not, his body was very securely tied up.
"Where am I!? What happened!?" He shouted.
"Your questions will be answered Jack" said a familiar voice. Presently, Ansel came into view, he looked exactly the same as before, complete in formal attire. What was different however, were the gun-toting henchmen with him.
"Ansel! What's the meaning of this!? Totally not a good joke!" Jack said in a lower tone.
"Do I look like joking Jack? What is true is that you have been kidnapped, and I want something from you." Ansel said cooly.
"Ansel you bastard!" Jacques said and spat. A goon immediately emerged from the shadows and hit him in the head, hard.
"You would do well to drop the insults Jacques, and listen to what I say."
"Like hell I will!" Jack tried again, and this time there were multiple punches directed at his face and body.
"You are just so stupid, aren't you."
Jack had subsided, and said nothing, he was bleeding from the nose where the goons had punched him.
Ansel continued. "Anyways, here is what I want from you, you will sign this document" He gave Jacques a pad. The big man took it, and it read as follows-
"I, Jacques Devereaux, do hereby put all my property under the direct control and ownership of Ansel Xavier, to be operated by him and him solely, and I will retire to the Sirius sector, opened up by the Council and spend the rest of my days there. No attempt shall be made to contact me or to find me, I wish to be free of Gallia. This document I sign in complete control of my senses, and without any manipulation whatsoever."
Jacques looked up in horror. "You...you son of a bitch! I will never sign this!" he screamed.
Ansel sighed and shook his head. "Wrong answer, try again."
"I-will-never!"
Ansel gave a signal to the goons, and they encircled the captive. One of them started with a sound hit at Jacque's elbow, snapping it in two. He screamed, but that was only the beginning. Several of them started punching him in the torso, he yelled and begged them to stop, but stop they did not. Only when the captive had coughed up blood did they stop.
"Reconsider your decision Jacques, I will let you live and give you enough cash to survive in Sirius, if you will just cooperate."
Jacques looked at him hopefully. "Re-re-Really?" He gasped out raggedly.
"In the name of old friendship, yes, just sign the documents Jack."
The captive hesitated for a moment, what he was doing was throwing all his years of hard work away. But in the end, he weakly took the DNA mapper and signed the documents. Ansel took the mapper from him and signed the documents as well.
"Well, that is settled. Thanks Jacques" Ansel said, smiling broadly now.
"Le-let me g-go no-now?" Jacques spluttered.
"You wish Jacques. You are so stupid really. You think I will let you live so you can blab out the secret to everyone you know? Of course not! Anatole, your call now."
The big mercernary-for-hire emerged out of the shadows where he had remained hidden from view, and wasted no time. Taking out the standard issue blaster from it's holster, he aimed at Jack's head, and fired. His head vanished, as the searing laser blast vaporized it. The rest of the military men now took out their weapons, and started taking shots at his body, till not a trace of what was once Jacques Devereaux was left.
"Good job Anatole, the money will be transferred" said Ansel in an emotionless voice, and left.
It had been easy from there. Ansel had the documents all made out in proper fashion, and no one could argue about the fact that he was now the owner of Jacques Devereaux's property. What there was speculation about was exactly why Jacques suddenly went "off the rocker" as many put it and made that decision, retiring to the depths of the unknown called Sirius. So they thought.
Ansel smiled as the Adeline floated through space's endless void on yet another difficult smuggling assignment. The crew had been very suspicious at first, but after the first few runs, their fears subsided. Ansel was clearly a good captain of the ship, and they understood, if only partly, why the ship was given to him. The young man stood on the bridge, looking into the floating reality that was space. His life was floating away, new horizons lay ahead.
Now he was the proud owner of a L'Ane Transport, and 50 million credits which were Jacque's personal fortune. At least one obstacle no longer hindered him, money. There were so many obstacles that still lay ahead though. His mind was endlessly taking and pondering on permutations and possibilities.
So at least money is not a problem. I can provide enough money for my requirements as of now.....Hiring a small army should not be difficult, they sell for nothing these days.....but what about loyalty? They will hardly be loyal to my ideals and my goal..... I need to find like-minded people.....but how? Even if they think like I do, The chances of me finding them would be slim....
The problem tugged at him, teasing his mind.
I need a way to find out the gold amidst the chaff....Even if they are not of like-minded nature, if they have any brains, I should be able to convince them to my cause...hmm.....how to make my message and invitations such that only.....people with any worth could read and respond to? Hm...that might be an option....no....Yes, that would be the way to go...
Ansel suddenly laughed, now that he had figured out a plausible plan. The bridge-members looked at him with surprise, but quickly returned to work as their captain sobered up and gave them a piercing stare. Ansel had a tendency to that sometimes, and the crew was getting used to it.
Giving the command to his XO, he went to his personal quarters and closeted himself with the Computer, looking up everything he could about Encryption protocols.
Ansel looked at the responses to his message, and sighed. People were too afraid, or too unconcerned to do what had to be done, to see the light at the end of the tunnel. He was convinced of only one thing now, he was alone. He would have to undertake the gigantic task himself, and the prospect intrigued him. Impossibility was not a factor he wished to take into account. Time was a pressing factor however, and every second, every tick of the dial, and every passing minute counted.
He looked out of the window of his quarters on Planet Quillan, Languedoc System. The sun had set, and the entire planet was suddenly engulfed in dark. He turned his eyes north-west, and saw, almost imperceptible, Silhouetted against the darkling sky, a twinkle. He had seen it before, from aboard Adeline, and on the planet as he walked sleeplessly, trying to think, to solve, to calculate. It was the wreck of Cassard, a Royal Navy battleship that was destroyed at the battle for for the minefield of Languedoc.
He remembered how life had greatly changed when the Council started the war to depose the King and to stop Gallia's intentions. He had never believed much of what was fed, but it was obvious that for the moment, he and the Council had the same objectives.
Overthrow of the Existing Order.
But how would he carry out his plans, his calculations, and bring his dream to fruition, without resources? He could earn money, but there was precious little of anything else available, the Core systems were blocked. Without resources, nothing was possible. He had to acquire those somehow.
So, even as he looked at the twinkle of Cassard, floating in the endless void of space, beyond time, preserved, he found the solution.
The bar on [i]Epernay station was dimly lit, Robots moved around carrying trays with bottles of various drinks on them, and the entirety of the room was shrouded in smoke. In a Corner sat a handsome French man, sporting a Gallic Brigands uniform and strangely, having just a glass of water in front of him.
Ansel sighed with frustration, he disliked coming to the bar, but he needed his drink, and quiet, and the starscape visible from the windows was a great motivator in that. Even as he peered into the depths of his glass and thought, a man walked over to where he was sitting.
"Bonjour, this place occupied?" he said.
His thought broken, Ansel replied with a ting of annoyance. "Not at all, sit down" was his reply, while he was groaning inwardly.....Another Idiot.
The visitor quickly sat down, and sighed. "Stupid Mechanics, they think they know more than me, I knew that Depressuriser was to be fitted into that inner cauldron, but they think they are smarter...." he said, mostly to himself, but Ansel was suddenly interested.
The man does seem like he knows what he's doing at least, unlike some of the others.... He mused.
"What's your name Monsieur?" he asked suddenly.
"Me? Andie Zidane" he replied curtly. "What's yours?" he asked after a while.
"Ansel Xavier, good to meet you"
"Oui, it's good. You know how hard life is for Spaceship experts? Everyone thinks they know it all, and don't like it at all when I prove them wrong!" he said with a smile.
Ansel nodded. Is certainly the type I need. Expert.
"Do you have any jobs, or alleigances?" he asked after a while.
"Oh no! As I said, no one wants to hire me, they all feel I am a threat to their jobs." Andie replied despondently.
"Oui, I know what you mean. Idiocy reigns all around it seems."
"Of course! There are more stupid people in this world than intelligent ones, and they are using their advantage!"
"....No one knows it better. What do you feel about the current state of affairs?"
"It's worthless. The King is useless, and the Council is useless, they are not doing what it takes, and what is possible......"
Ansel was convinced now. He would work fine.
"I will hire you" he said very suddenly, and very coldly.
"Really?" Andie's eyes narrowed. "And what will you use me for?" he said.
"For technical stuff mostly, I am sure you are prepared to learn. You will be paid amply, and not just in money, as you will see soon enough. Are you interested?"
"Oh....I will need time to think about it."
"Fine, here is my neural net link, send me a message" saying that, Ansel swiftly walked out of the bar, leaving the other man thinking.
***
Back on the Adeline, Ansel carefully wrote down his thoughts on a datapad.
"Oui....he will be pretty useful for keeping the ship running, as well as for improving upon it's design. And he will also be useful in other things....improved armaments.....Forged IDs........But will he be trustable? Of course, no one is.....trustworthy.....but his opinions are similar to mine.....and I don't think he will mind.....once the game is opened........Yes, he will be a valuable asset......and should be accepted."
Almost as soon as he finished writing down his thoughts, a message came on his neural net. It read as follows-
Ansel, I am interested. Where do I start?
Andie
Ansel smiled. His decision to accept was yet another deciding factor. He began composing the return message, with a small smirk on his face. It was going well.
The hill, was beautiul, and Serene, a part of the Etienne ranges that stretched across the west side of Marne, it was a sparsely populated area, and one of the few refuges for any local flora and fauna. The sun was far from it's prime, and was about to set. The entire countryside was to be engulfed in the eerie silence of night.
Or not.
A man trekked up one of the many hills, hefting a heavy backpack on his shoulders. He was one of average height, with blonde hair spread untidily across his head and face, but his eyes smoldered with a fire beyond normal human purpose. Finally he completed his ascent to the top of the hill, and looked around. The air was fine, and the scenery was beautiful and pristine. Untouched. Even as he looked, the sun slowly crossed the horizon and set, leaving behind the near darkness of the twilight.
He laughed, and put his backpack on the ground, rummaging through it's contents for something. Eventually he brought out something, and laughed as he looked at it. his creation. He fiddled with it, tinkering to make sure everything was in proper order. At last, he put it on the ground, satisfied. Taking his backpack, he began the long trek back.
After half an hour or so, he was at the bottom, and now it was seen that he had a hover bike which had obviously been his means for getting there. Laughing again, he climbed it and started it up, taking it straight into the sky. The speed was exhilarating, and the climb totally worth it. Eventually he was five thousand feet above the surrounding land, and everything was blurry.
He laughed once more, and killed the engine. Rummaging in his backpack once more, he produced what suspiciously looked like some sort of control.
"Should be fun" was all he said as he pressed the trigger.
***
Epernay Station.
In the relative safety of his quarters, Ansel was looking through the news. He liked doing that, so that anything of relevance to him could be known quickly. He browsed through with habitual pace, but all the while taking every detail in. So far, it was the usual crap, nothing of interest or purpose. He was about to switch off the terminal, when an article caught his eye. He quickly went over to it and opened it. It read-
Massive forest fires in West Marne
In a strange happening, massive forest fires were detected around the Saint Etienne range of hills across West Continent. Scientists are perplexed as to how it happened, as it is not a region in which forest fires usually occur, the region being ever-green. As Firefighters flew over to the spot, they found a wierd thing. The fire seemed to have originated from a epicenter, but when they located it, they were shocked. Most of the hill was blasted away, destroyed utterly.
It was clear that the fire was not natural, but created from a man-made source. Scientists and police teams were quickly called in, who established that the destruction had been caused by an explosive. It was further stated that the explosive was custom-made and very lethal. Why someone would make such an explosive and detonate it in an uninhabited area is yet to be found, but Police teams are on the case.
"Interesting" thought Ansel. "A person who can blow away a hill by developing his own explosive? Could be useful. He saved the file for future reference, and decided to pay Marne a visit. There was some finding out to do.
Marne was, as usual, crowded. It was hard to find docking room for the Adeline, but at last it was managed. Ansel wiped his brow which was drenched in perspiration. He had come here for a purpose, and no time was to be wasted. First stop, The Local Cab Agency.
He needed a Private Hover-Cab which would be willing to risk some trouble with the police, and looking to make a quick buck out of it. Such men were easy to find. Greed was one trait that certainly had not been eliminated by natural selection. Such men could be identified by their appearance, the glint in their eyes, the slouch in their step that indicated laziness, among a lot of others.
He soon found his man. Standing near the back of the vast room, was a bedraggled looking guy, talking boisterously with two others. He was skinny, and looked like the kind of man that would take a risk. He quickly went over to him and abruptly butted into the conversation.
"Excuse me Monsieur, I need your help" He said.
The skinny man turned. "Oui?"
"It's something private, and involves a lot of money."
Ansel knew he had hit the jackpot when he saw the shine in the other man's eyes.
"Of course Monsieur, come with me" he said.
Finding a secure corner, conversation was resumed.
"So what did you have in mind?" he asked.
"It involves getting to that explosion site" Ansel said evenly.
"Merde! That will be cordoned off currently for the investigation! Please wait a few days Monsieur and then we can get there freely!"
"No, I want to get there now, and I am willing to pay a huge sum for it."
"It's way too much ris-"
"Two million Credits" Ansel interjected in between. He was almost amused as he saw the man's jaw drop, and his eyes go almost wild. His judgment had been good.
".......Alright Monsieur, I suppose there are more terms to this job?" the skinny man said finally.
"Of course. Let's get to the explosion site first though."
***Later***
The Hover-Cab made swift time, but no swifter than the driver's tongue. Ansel was getting really annoyed with his constant blabber and garbage, and longed to smash his head in and put an end to his irrationality. But thankfully, they got there first.
Even from a Distance, the deformation in the land caused by the explosion was clearly visible. Ansel put a high power binocular to his eyes and saw a much better view of the damage caused, as well was various police and technical teams rushing around the spot. He smiled, and put the Binoculars back down.
"Now, get very close to land, and drop me off" He said.
"But...But....that's too risky! What If the police craft spot us!?"
"I paid you two million Credits for a reason" he replied coldly.
"But...But.....Oh well."
They started to descend, Ansel had carefully chosen this point as it was far away to make the chances of being spotted minimal while still being workable. They soon reached near-ground level. The Driver looked at the Young Prodigy for a while, and wondered if he was insane, but soon dismissed the thought. Who cared anyway, his credits were good.
"Now, come back here Tomorrow and pick me up at this point."
".....Oui"
Ansel took a deep breath and jumped out of the hover-cab to the ground. Grunting with the impact, he soon recovered and watched as the Hover-cab speeded quickly out of sight.
It was now time to wait.
***Night, a few days later.***
Darkness had consumed the world, and visibility was minimum. Ansel sat there near his camp, looking at the stars. A few days had passed since he had landed here. The Hovercab promptly came the next day for pickup, but he sent it off, saying "He wasn't ready yet"
Everyday, he had trekked to the Blast site, some twenty miles away. the Police Investigation had long since been concluded, and the area was deserted. He hoped to find what he sought.
Through his thinking, he had concluded that the man who made these explosions, was either a Genius or a mad-man. The old line sprang to his mind. [/i]There is a thin line between Genius and Insanity[/i]. Either way, he would be unable to resist coming back to look at his handiwork personally. That is of course, if Ansel's thinking was anywhere near right.
He refused to believe he was wrong, as he prepared himself yet again for the long march. It took him the better part of three hours, but at last he was there. Hiding in a Rock formation, he prepared to wait.
Night passed, the stars blinked, faded, and shined. The moon fell from it's peak. Night was almost at an end. Ansel sighed, and prepared to move, when he heard a sound, as of a rock falling from somewhere. He quickly hid himself and watched with bated breath.
Soon a shillouted form was visible, striding up the hill. He seemed like an ordinary man, hooded and cloaked to conceal his identity. To Ansel, it seemed like he had at last hit the prize, but he not be sure yet. He waited.
The cloaked man soon reached the very epicenter of the blast, and took out something from a bag he was carrying over his shoulders. Soon he dropped to the earth and began doing -something-.
Ansel could not wait any longer. The odds were overwhelmingly in his favor. He carefully crept up behind the man, who was engrossed in his work, and tapped him on the back.
Quick as lightning, the figure turned around and drew a pistol from his pocket. Unperturbed, Ansel drew his. The two figures stared at each other for what seemed like hours, until the cloaked man finally spoke.
"Who the hell are you?"
Ansel countered with a question of his own. "It doesn't matter, did you make the thing that caused this....explosion here?"
"What makes you think that?" was the swift response. The slight quiver in his voice betrayed him though.
"I know for a fact that geniuses love to come back to see the fruits of their work. What other business could you have here? And I can see your tension" Ansel replied coldly.
The mysterious figure did not respond, instead staring out at the vast expanse of sky. He sat down, and buried his face in his hands, lost in thought. Ansel leaned against a nearby Rock and watched him. Time passed slowly, until finally the other man spoke.
"Very well Monsieur. It is clear that you do not work with the police, because if it were so, I would have been arrested already, civilians are not supposed to be here."
"Were you responsible for the explosions?" Ansel asked again, probing, trying to create a vent.
"No. Who are you, and why are you here?"
Ansel easily detected the lie, it was in the slightly twitching eyes, in the few drops of perspiration that had formed on his forehead, in his rather ragged tone.
"Do not lie. But Oui, I will open my purpose to you. My name is Ansel Xavier, and I wished to find the one that made the explosives for this blast."
"Why is that so?"
"I needed him for my own purposes. I am an....devotee of talent, and seek it out where-ever it is, in what-ever form it manifests itself."
"I see. My name is Jean-Paul Ribery, and I am just an ordinary civilian curious to check out this...event with my own eyes."
Another lie. This was not going to be easy.
"Very well then, you will want to leave this place. Will you come with me? I have arrangements made for the pick-up, so you don't have to worry."
"No, I have my own arrangements. Besides I am sure whether I can trust you Monsieur."
"Oh, we will see in due time. I think we will want to talk later. Here's my neural net number, drop a message when you feel you are ready. I will have a proposal for you"
Jean-Paul took the small card with Ansel's ID on it, and nodded. "I do not know why you are giving this to me, but very well."
With that, he turned and disappeared into the undergrowth.
Ansel too, began his trek back, his mission was accomplished. This was surely the man who caused the explosions, and if he indeed had the talent and the wit necessary, he would get in touch soon. If not....he had found the wrong man, although that did not seem likely.
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