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Mind Bender

by Steven Gordon



Prologue



	He was the most dangerous enemy the Alliance had ever faced.

	No person could stand up to him.

	No person could oppose him.

	A nondescript young man appeared in the middle of a heavily 
guarded power plant. He spoke a few words to a supervisor. Other people 
were in the room, but no one, including the supervisor, appeared to 
notice him. A few minutes later the supervisor flipped a switch, 
plunging an entire sector of the planet August into darkness for hours.

	The nondescript young man appeared in a local police station. 
None of the officers questioned his presence. He spoke a few words to 
the officer in charge. A few minutes later, the officer released all 
the criminals from the jail into the street. 

	A pilot boarding a cargo ship was stopped by a nondescript young 
man at Sarney Sarittenden Spaceport. No words were spoken, but the 
pilot paused for a moment, and then nodded. Several minutes later, the 
cargo ship headed straight up... and then straight down, crashing into 
the ground, causing a tremendous explosion, and killing all seven 
crewmembers aboard.

	 His victims did what they were told, even when he didn't say a 
word. To him everyone was a blank slate, one in which he could write 
orders, and they would carry them out.

	For he could control the mind of any person in the galaxy.

	Who could stop him? Police couldn't arrest him; the army couldn't 
shoot him; and even the superswift Graftonites couldn't react faster 
than the speed of thought. 

	And this nightmare was unleashed on August, the capital of the 
League and the Alliance.

	Right now he was only playing, testing his abilities, as he 
stared dispassionately at the burning wreckage at Sarney Sarittenden 
Spaceport.

	What would happen to society when he got serious?

	Who would be able to stop him?




Part I: Mind Bender



Chapter 1: Free Money



	Superspy Clifford Croft sat with several other agents in an 
office in Column Headquarters watching a live visual feed on a large 
holoreceiver. They watched as a man, standing in a park in Sarney 
Sarittenden, less than a mile away, was handing out disposable data 
pads to a growing line of people.

	Only this wasn't just any man, and those weren't ordinary 
datapads. The man was Brill Greens, one of the richest men on August, 
and each of those datapads carried the authority of ten million 
credits. He was giving out large sums of his money, to strangers, for 
free.

	"Well, that's something you don't see every day," said Croft, as 
he watched Greens hand out another ten million credit datapad.

	Preston, a fellow spy, squinted at the image. "What is it all 
about? Some kind of publicity stunt?"

	"If it is, it's a mighty expensive one," said Croft. "Press 
reports indicate he's already given away more than a billion credits."

	"Wow!" said Preston. "We should go and get in line."

	"I was just thinking of that," said Croft. "But by now the line 
has gotten very long. He touched a control, and the screen widened to 
show the line stretching far in the distance.
	"But still, all that money," said Preston.

	"I know it's a lot of money, but I hate waiting in lines," said 
Croft. He moved to reset the image so it was once again focused on 
Greens. Greens had a vacant smile as he handed out datapads, as if 
giving away his wealth was something he enjoyed doing every day.

	Croft panned out slightly, to see Greens' assistants bringing in 
boxes filled with more datapads. He saw something, and frowned.

	"What?" said Preston, noticing his change of expression.

	Croft adjusted the controls, panning to the right. A man was 
standing to the right of Greens' assistants, just standing there.

	"Look familiar?" said Croft.

	Preston nodded. "That's-"

	Suddenly, there was a buzz, and Croft touched his comm. "Croft! 
The Chief wants to see you, right away."

	Croft got up.

	"What do you think A.A. wants?" Preston asked.

	"I don't know. But I hope he doesn't want me to stand in line for 
him," said Croft.

	Croft hated waiting, and therefore he hated lines. He also hated 
waiting outside the Chief's office, so when he reached Aldman 
Alderman's office, he was glad to be quickly rushed into the Chief's 
office. The Chief, viewing a holoreceiver, was watching the same scene 
Croft was.

	"What do you think of this?" the Chief asked, indicating the 
scene before them.

	"He's very generous with his money," said Croft. "I just wished 
there was some way we could get some without waiting in line. Surely, 
in this day and age we could sign up and automatically-"

	"Croft!" said the Chief. He pressed a button, and a man standing 
to the side of Brill Greens was highlighted. "Do you recognize this 
individual?"

	"Hm," said Croft. "He does bear a remarkable resemblance to Agent 
Waverly of Directorate Intelligence."

	"Yes, he does, doesn't he?" said A.A.

	The League, which Croft worked for, and the Directorate, which 
Agent Waverly worked for, together formed the Alliance. The Alliance 
was not so much a government but a military alignment between two 
separate and independent governments. One of them was the very large 
League of United Planets, a democracy, with its capital on August. 
Croft was currently in Sarney Sarittenden, the capital city of August.

	The other government in the Alliance was the June Directorate, 
technically a dictatorship, but a relatively enlightened one, under the 
authority of Steven Quick.  Quick was a supergenius with silvery eyes 
who ruled the Directorate like a meritocracy, employing minimal 
government to spur the economy while using his legendary thinking 
abilities to think several steps ahead of the curve. But his 
government, however benevolent, was still technically a dictatorship, 
and the League didn't really like that.

	The League and the Directorate had been hostile to each other for 
a number of years. However, when the Slurian Union (another 
dictatorship, but a relatively unenlightened one) attempted to turn the 
Directorate against the League, their efforts backfired, and the League 
and the Directorate eventually entered into the Alliance against the 
Slurians. 

	Agent Waverly was a senior DI (Directorate Intelligence) 
operative who Croft had worked with before. Croft certainly recognized 
him, as he had several minutes ago with Preston.

	"What is he doing there?" said A.A.

	"Getting some free credits?" said Croft. He was joking, of 
course; Waverly clearly was not on line, but standing to the side.

	A.A. gave him a menacing look.

	"How would I know?" said Croft. "It's an enigma wrapped in a 
conundrum. Or should that be a conundrum wrapped in an enigma? I always 
forget which gets wrapped first."

	"Ha ha," said A.A. "That was very funny, and now that you have 
greatly amused us both, you can return to reality again. A billionaire 
suddenly decides to give away all his money, and a foreign agent is 
standing by his side. I want to know what is going on."
	"Why don't you ask him?" said Croft. "We are allies, after all."

	"And who is our main contact man with the Directorate?" said A.A. 
"Who is virtually the only agent ever to meet Steven Quick himself, on 
not one but several occasions?"

	Croft said nothing.

	"Croft!"

	"Oh, were you expecting an answer? Sorry, I thought it was a 
rhetorical question," said Croft. He paused. "Can you repeat the 
question?"

	"Get out there and find out what's going on," said A.A.

	"Yes, Chief," said Croft.



	A convenient travel tube brought him to the park within a few 
short minutes. It was a small park, surrounded by giant buildings, but 
it was amazing for a park of any size to be there. Land was very 
precious in downtown Sarney Sarittenden, the capital city on the 
capital planet of the League and the Alliance. Skyscrapers hundreds of 
feet tall blotted out direct sunlight except during the short time the 
sun was directly overhead.	

	Croft casually walked to the side of the very long line as he 
made his way up front. Security had been called in to keep the line 
orderly, and for the most part people stood patiently, though he did 
hear more than one complaint about how long one had to wait for their 
free money. Instantly Croft felt vindicated; it wouldn't have been 
worth the wait in line.

	As Croft approached the head of the line he saw a large, furry 
almost rat-like creature standing and observing the scene. It stood on 
four legs, had strawlike fur, had a rectangular snout, and wore 
spectacles over its large eyes. Above it was a hologram of an old 
fashioned quill, floating in the air, writing rapidly on a holographic 
tablet, which was also floating in the air.

	Interesting.

	But no time for that now.

	Croft walked forward and saw Brill Greens, still grinning 
maniacally, handing out datapads. Croft saw one of Greens' assistants 
arguing with him, and then Greens pushed him away, screaming "More 
money! Must give away more money!". Then, as if on some prearranged 
signal, the police moved in. 

	"No!" Greens screamed. "I must give away all my money!" 

	Suddenly, two white coated officials from the mental health 
authorities slipped through the police cordon. They covered Greens with 
what looked like a giant butterfly net. Then they started to drag him 
to a waiting padded hovertruck. All the while Greens continued to 
scream about the need to give away his money. The side of the all white 
truck was labeled "Department of Health - Personality Readjustment 
Division."

	The crowed rushed forward to grab the remaining datapads. The 
police were overwhelmed, even as they attempted to use their stun 
batons to best use. Their stun batons, it might be noted, were 
virtually identical to the cattle prods used by farmers on the outer 
colonies.

	Croft jumped back to avoid the surging crowd. Even so a man would 
have collided against him, if someone hadn't strategically pulled Croft 
to the side.

	Croft turned to face his benefactor.

	"Agent Waverly," said Croft.

	"Agent Croft," said Agent Waverly. "Did you come down for some 
money? I didn't realize Column salaries were so meager that you needed 
a supplement."

	"Actually, I came here because I saw you," said Croft.

	"Did I appear in the holobroadcasts? How careless of me," said 
Agent Waverly. He watched the hovervan carrying Greens drive away. 
"What is he being arrested for? Is it now a crime to give away one's 
money in the League? Given your notoriously high rate of taxation, I 
would think such a move would be applauded by your chattering classes-"

	"Waverly, what are you doing here?" Croft.

	"Why don't we go for a walk?" said Agent Waverly.

	Croft looked around. The large rat-like creature was gone. Well, 
Croft knew where to find him. Croft nodded.

	Waverly walked, and Croft followed. He walked casually along the 
park's edge long enough to be reasonably sure they weren't being 
followed, and then gestured for Croft to follow him down several 
flights of stairs into the underground city. August, Sarney in 
particular, was so crowded, that the city had not only expanded 
upwards, and every other direction of the compass, but downwards as 
well.

	As they stepped into the undercity, the idea of an ambush barely 
crossed Croft's mind. Waverly worked with an allied government, he had 
no reason to kidnap or kill Croft, and he would hardly do it in Sarney 
Sarittenden, the seat of power, in any event.

	Still, it was undeniable that they were paid by different 
employers, and Croft didn't even fully trust other members of the 
Column, much less someone from a different agency.

	But nothing eventful occurred until they reached a small room on 
sublevel 5C.

	Croft stepped into the furnished room as Waverly closed the door 
behind him.

	"A safehouse?"
	"Nothing so dramatic," said Agent Waverly.

	He checked a device on the shelf.

	"Do we have privacy?"

	Waverly paused, and said, "It appears so."
	"So what is this all about?"
	Waverly turned to Croft. "Fourteen days ago, a supervisor at one 
of your power plants flipped a switch, plunging the southern sector of 
August into darkness for several hours."
	"I saw the report on that," said Croft.
	"Did you find out the cause?"

	"The supervisor said he made a mistake. It's being investigated."
	Waverly looked at Croft. "Eight days ago, the chief of police of 
Gleaming, some two hundred miles south of here, suddenly decided to 
release all his prisoners, despite the protestations of his deputies."

	"I think I heard something about this," said Croft. 

	"Do you know what happened?"

	"No," said Croft. "Do you?"
	"The police chief claimed he didn't realize he was letting the 
prisoners go," said Agent Waverly. 

	"What does this have to do with-"

	"Four days ago a cargo ship crashed into the field on Sarney 
Sarittenden Spaceport."

	"That I know," said Croft. "The cause-"

	"Is still being investigated," said Agent Waverly. "But did you 
know that mechanical error has already been ruled out?"
	"How?' said Croft. 

	"A recorded holo of the craft. It clearly went up on thrusters, 
and then clearly aimed for the ground, and clearly activated its drive, 
to thrust downwards. It was piloted, purposefully, to crash."

	Croft said, "How do you know-"

	"How I know is not important," said Agent Waverly. "And then 
today, one of the richest men on August starts handing out tens of 
millions of credits as if it's nothing more valuable than water."
	"Water is actually somewhat of a scarce commodity on August," 
Croft said.

	"You see my point," said Agent Waverly.

	"Yes, I see your point. Can you tell me why he did it, and what, 
if any, are the connection between these three incidents?" said Croft.

	"I don't know," said Agent Waverly.

	"You don't know?" said Croft. "You seemed to know enough to be 
there. People at the Column saw you, and my Chief actually has the 
tiniest suspicion that you might be involved."

	"I heard about the great money giveaway the same time the Column 
did, a few hours ago. The only difference is that I attached more 
significance to the event, and went there to observe it firsthand," 
said Agent Waverly. "But I didn't have any prior knowledge that it 
would happen."

	"What brings you to August in the first place?" said Croft. 
"You're one of Quick's leading troubleshooters. Why are you here?"
	"I'm here to investigate this... whatever this is," said Agent 
Waverly.

	"But this is League territory. Why didn't you notify us?" said 
Croft.

	"And go through channels? How long would that have taken? How 
many more incidents before we could convince you that something was 
going on?" Waverly asked.
	"You purposely stood in range of the holorecorders," said Croft. 
"You wanted us to see you. You knew... you knew they would send me, 
because of our prior association. Very clever. Something that Steven 
Quick would have thought of."
	"You give him too much credit. He's much too busy to plan such 
minutia," said Agent Waverly.

	"Nevertheless, why have you called me in?" Croft asked.
	"To warn a fellow ally about danger," said Agent Waverly.

	"That's very nice, and touching as well," said Croft. "Your 
friendship and loyalty really mean a lot to me."

	Croft gave a smile brimming with milk and honey.

	Waverly gave a thin smile in return.

	Croft's smile faded, as if turned off by a switch.  "Now that 
we've gotten that out of the way, would you mind telling me the truth, 
even just a small amount of it?"

	"Clifford-"

	 "We both know that you and your boss don't have the highest 
opinion of League Intelligence," Croft pointed out.

	"It's true that we think your larger affiliate, Stellar 
Intelligence, would have trouble pouring out a cup of gauche if the 
instructions were written on the side of the cup," said Agent Waverly. 
"But we have a higher opinion of the Column; and we have an even higher 
opinion of you."

	"I'm flattered."

	"It was you, after all, who averted war between our two 
governments when the Slurians attempted to manipulate us." Agent 
Waverly noted.

	"I do have a vague memory of something I might have played a 
minor part in," said Croft.

	"Your modesty does not become you," said Agent Waverly.

	"Neither does your subterfuge," said Croft. "You guys can never 
get to the point. You always have a plan within a plan within a plan. 
What is it you really want?"
	"To work together, to have a joint investigation," said Agent 
Waverly.

	"I still don't believe it," Croft replied instantly. "I mean, 
we've worked on the same side before, but you've never actively called 
for our help."
	Waverly sighed, and ever so slowly took something out of his 
jacket. He pressed a button on the device, and the prerecorded image of 
Steven Quick, the ruler of the June Directorate, appeared.

	"Ah, Clifford," said the image of Quick, his silvery eyes glowing 
oddly. "You have probably reached the point in your conversation with 
Agent Waverly where you are expressing skepticism about our motives. 
Perhaps your institutional paranoia has caused you to even entertained 
the farfetched idea that we have a role in recent events." 

	"Well, now that you mention it-"

	"Your suspicions are natural, given the healthy sense of 
skepticism you are endowed with. However, we really do need your help 
on this one. August is your territory, not ours, and you can command 
greater resources than Agent Waverly can in this investigation," said 
Quick.

	Croft wondered why Quick cared about August.

	Those silvery eyes stared at him. "At this point you're probably 
wondering why I care about a series of odd, perhaps even accidental or 
coincidental events on August. Well, first of all, Clifford, I need not 
remind you that we are allies, and anything that concerns you, concerns 
us."

	"Now for the real reason, please," said Croft, speaking to the 
recording.

	"But more immediately, there is something very odd about these 
incidents. We spotted them before you did because our agents are 
trained to spot patterns, and this is an unusual and disturbing 
pattern. Something is acting to turn people against their own nature. 
Some sort of brainwashing, or coercion? I think you can see the 
implications if whoever is behind this turns their attention to June. 
That's why I want it stopped on August." Quick paused a moment, his 
silvery eyes flirting left and right.

	"I think you and Agent Waverly have made an excellent team in the 
past and I am sure you can do so again now," said Quick. "Assuming your 
superiors agree to a joint investigation, Agent Waverly will keep me 
informed of your progress." Those silvery eyes seemed to bore into 
Croft. "Good hunting, Clifford. And be careful."
	The image faded.

	"So he anticipated," said Croft.

	"That's what he does," said Agent Waverly.

	"So what's next?" said Croft.

	"We investigate," said Agent Waverly.

	"I'm still not convinced that there is a connection between these 
incidents," said Croft. "There are billions of people on August. Three 
of them going crazy is not unusual. A handful out of billions are bound 
to go crazy, from time to time."

	"But you will investigate?" Waverly asked.

	Croft nodded. "I'll talk to the Chief.  Let me look into this. 
I'll get back to you. Where are you staying?"
	"The embassy."

	"Oh, of course. What's your cover?" Croft asked.
	"Culinary attache," said Agent Waverly.

	"How sweet," Croft commented.


Chapter 2: Initial Investigations



	Croft easily got permission from the Chief to pursue the joint 
investigation with Agent Waverly. The Chief was impressed that Waverly 
had spotted the trend first, if indeed it was a trend. Croft  also got 
several other agents, including Preston, assigned to him. Preston was 
delighted to be on the case; at least, that was how Croft told him he 
should feel.

	"So what's the story with this supervisor at the power plant?" 
Croft said.

	"He still sticks to the story that he flipped the wrong switch," 
said Preston. "Only, it wasn't that simple."

	"How so?"

	"He didn't simply turn off the power," said Preston. "If he had 
done that, they simply could have turned it back on in a few minutes. 
He actually executed a series of commands at his controller's terminal 
that caused a burnout of key relay circuits before hitting the switch."

	"It sounds like sabotage," said Croft.

	"It would seem so," said Preston. "Only...."

	"What?"

	"He had no motive," said Preston. "We checked him out. Normal 
family man. He didn't try to hide what he did, or escape after the 
fact. No payments we could find or trace. He acts like he made a simple 
mistake, but it's clear now that he's not covering up incompetence. He 
did what he did purposefully."

	"Hm....," said Croft. "And what about the police chief who let 
all the criminals go?"
	"He says he doesn't remember doing anything either. But twenty 
officers at his station can testify that he ordered the prisoners 
released," said Preston.

	Croft asked, "What about the story of the cargo ship that crashed 
into SSS a few days ago?"

	"It was exactly like your friend Waverly said," said Preston. 
"Preliminary investigations show the ship was crashed, purposefully. 
The pilot isn't available for interrogation, obviously, but we checked 
his record. Clean, normal. Not a known fanatic or crazy."
	"Clean and normal people don't crash their own cargo ships," said 
Croft. "Why would he do it? What would it accomplish?"

	"Maybe you should ask your friend Quick that," said Preston. 
"He's always several steps ahead, isn't he?"

	"If he knew what was going on, he wouldn't be asking for our 
help," said Croft irritably.

	"Not necessarily," said Preston. "He might know what's going on 
and manipulating us into taking action."

	"We shouldn't have to be manipulated into taking action," said 
Croft. "Something is going wrong here. And Quick and the June 
Directorate are allies, remember?"

	"Allies don't always have the same interests," said Preston.

	Croft changed the subject. "What information do we have about the 
Brill Greens situation?"

	"He's more interesting. He does remember giving out his money for 
free. He screamed all the way to the mental hospital that he wanted to 
give away more. But then, this morning, he returned to normal. He says 
he remembers doing what he did, but isn't sure why."

	"Poor fellow," said Croft. "Losing all his money, like that."
	"Oh, he didn't lose all his money," said Preston. He checked his 
report. "He only gave away a little over a billion; he still has two 
billion more."

	"Oh, then it's not a big deal, then," said Croft. He looked into 
the air, momentarily. "Greens. The police chief. The power boss. Have 
they been checked for drugs, brainwashing?"

	"Yes. The results came up negative."

	"Which is hardly conclusive, if a fast acting drug were used, or 
if it were a very subtle form of hypnosis," said Croft. 

	"It doesn't make any sense," said Preston. "What is gained by 
these actions? Giving away money doesn't cause any harm. The power shut 
down was inconvenient, but hardly catastrophic."

	"But then there are those dead people on the cargo ship."

	"Yes, but if it were an act of terrorism, why didn't they crash 
it into something big, like a building?" said Preston. "They crashed it 
into flat, empty land."

	"As if they didn't care," said Croft. "As if they were tests."

	"What?"

	"Testing," said Croft. "Someone is testing a new system of 
coercion. They don't care what the results are; they just want to see 
if it will work."

	"Coercion? What kind of coercion?"
	"I don't know," said Croft. He glanced sharply at Preston. "Have 
our people checked for any connection between these individuals?"

	"We're backtracking them now, but so far, no common connections. 
We can't find a common person who had a grudge against them, or a 
financial interest," said Preston. 

	"You're wrong," said Croft. "There is a common connection between 
them."

	"There is?" said Preston.

	"Someone got to each of these three people. When we find out who 
that person is, we'll find out how he does it," said Croft. He stared 
at the ceiling for a moment.

	"A power plant. A spaceport. A police station. A rich man's 
mansion. At least three of these must have had security holorecorders," 
said Croft. "Check back 50 hours before each incident at each 
location."

	"That will take some time," said Preston.

	"That's all right," said Croft, getting up. "I have an 
appointment."

	"With whom?" 

	"With what," Croft corrected him.



	Aliens were not a common sight on August, or on any planet, for 
that matter. Mankind had encountered relatively few alien races during 
the exploration of the stars, and what contacts there had been had been 
fleeting.

	But there was one alien they had had a solid contact with. 
Luckily for them, this alien turned out to be friendly.  In fact, this 
alien actually chose to lived on August, all alone among billions of 
humans. Croft came to know this alien better than almost any other 
person on August, which is to say, not very well at all, since this 
alien was quite enigmatic and secretive. 

	His name was Professor Capybara and he looked like a giant furry 
rat who wore spectacles and had a pipe coming out of the end of his 
rectangular snout. Smoke periodically wafted out of it, although Croft 
suspected the smoke was holographic because it didn't give off any 
smell.

	Croft entered the secure location where the Professor lived, 
passing through several security checks. The Professor was free to come 
and go as he pleased, of course; the security was only to protect him, 
not keep him caged in. Not that the League could caged him in, even if 
they wanted to.

	"Ah, young (tweatle tweatle) Clifford," came the familiar 
singsong voice, as Croft stepped into the well furnished living room. 
The Professor's back was turned to Croft, but Croft wasn't at all 
surprised that he knew he was coming.

	"Professor," said Croft, and Croft had to resist a smile as the 
Professor, with a datapad in his hand and a pipe in his mouth, turned 
to face him.

	Croft pointed to the datapad. "Are we a little richer today, 
Professor?"

	The Professor Capybara didn't flinch. "How do you mean, 
Clifford?"
	"I saw you at the big money giveaway yesterday," said Croft.

	"Ah, yes, that was an interesting set of (tweatle tweatle) 
observations," said the Capybara. "How is it that one who is so 
(tweatle tweatle) obsessed with obtaining ownership of a substantial 
share of your economy suddenly becomes equally (tweatle tweatle) 
obsessed with giving it away?"
	"I was hoping you could answer that," said Croft.

	"I?" said the Capybara, putting a webbed paw to his chest.

	"You were there," said Croft.

	"Surely you don't think I could be (tweatle tweatle)," said the 
Professor.

	"Strange things have happened around you before," said Croft.

	"But Clifford, you know my role is only to observe," said the 
Professor.

	"Observe for whom? For what purpose?" Croft asked.

	The Professor waddled over to a sack of peanuts. He put one in 
his mouth and chewed, shell and all. "Would you like one, Clifford?"

	"No," said Croft. He waited another moment, but then realized no 
additional  answer was forthcoming. The Professor had used his classic 
peanut maneuver on him to evade the question. This was hardly the first 
time. Croft tried again. "Do you have any idea what was going on?"

	"One of your fellow humans was distributing his resources-"

	"Do you have any idea WHY this was happening?" Croft asked.

	"That's a much tougher (tweatle tweatle)," said the Professor. 
"Who can say why any of you humans (tweatle tweatle)?"

	"So you don't know," said Croft.

	"I do have a (tweatle tweatle) theory," said the Professor. 

	"Do tell," said Croft.

	"The design of the human mind," said the Professor.

	"What about it?" said Croft.

	"Very poorly designed. Often prone to error, and (tweatle 
tweatle) irrational behavior," said the Professor. "Haven't you 
noticed? Oh, I forget, you have one of those (tweatle tweatle) minds, 
don't you?"
	"That's it?" said Croft. "Just out of curiosity, do you have the 
ability to answer a single question without being patronizing or 
deprecating of humanity in general?"

	"I don't mean to antagonize you, young Clifford," said the 
Professor. "In the future, perhaps I should massage the truth a bit to 
make it more pleasant to hear." 

	"Stop with the massaging!" said Croft, getting enraged. "Were you 
also aware that one of our commercial space pilots crashed his own ship 
into the ground? Or that a police chief let an entire jail full of 
criminals loose, or that a power boss purposefully sabotaged his own 
power plant?"

	"Interesting," said the Professor. A holographic quill and tablet 
appeared above his head, and started writing rapidly.

	"Stop with the note taking!" Croft screamed. "Can't you say 
anything useful?"

	"I cannot get involved, Clifford," said the Professor.

	"Is that your very backhanded way of saying that you weren't in 
any way involved in these incidents?" Croft asked.
	"Certainly not," said the Professor, raising his snout 
indignantly.

	"Well, I suppose that tells me something, then," said Croft. The 
Capybara didn't have any reason to lie, none that Croft knew, anyway. 
He turned to go.

	"Clifford," said the Professor.

	"Yes," said Croft, turning back.

	"Be careful," said the Professor, and there appeared to be 
genuine concern in his black eyes.

	"Be careful of what?" said Croft.

	"Of whom," said the Professor, nodding slowly.

	The Professor knew what was going on. He wasn't going to tell 
Croft, some rule obviously prevented that, but he was trying at least 
to tell him something. It wasn't some kind of alien, outside force. It 
was a person, and a person who could be dangerous.

	Croft nodded in return, and left.



	When he returned to the Column, Preston surprised him. 

	They knew the identity of the saboteur.

	"He was on all the security holorecordings," said Preston. "You 
were right. Just a few minutes before each event."

	"Let me see," said Croft.

	Preston punched up the videos. One showed a nondescript, ordinary 
looking man going up to the power plant supervisor. Words were said, 
but were too faint to make out. 

	The other videos showed much the same: the nondescript man 
approaching each of the people who lately acted strangely.

	"Do we have an identity on this guy yet?" Croft asked.

	"Not yet," said Preston. "We did a sample run against known enemy 
agents, but there was no match. We're doing a broader search now, but 
it's going to take some time."

	"Get cracking on it," said Croft.

	"Do you think all these people acting strangely are part of some 
underground?" said Preston. "Some group that's trying to disrupt 
August?"

	"Not unless they're a group of underground telepaths," said 
Croft.

	"What do you mean?" said Preston.

	"Have a look at this last video," said Croft.

	He replayed the one of the nondescript man approaching Brill 
Greens. The man said nothing, but after a moment Brill nodded, and 
moved on.

	"Nothing was said, but meaning was understood," said Croft.

	"Then they're... telepaths?" said Preston.

	"Or the one elusive guy is."
	"How do we tell if the guy is the only telepath, or if they all 
are?"
	"We bring in an outside consultant," said Croft.



	Croft sighed as he passed through the final layer of security and 
entered the heavily guarded gamma section. The gammas were the Column's 
secret weapons, individuals with mental powers and unusual skills. 
Unfortunately, with those skills usually came a price: eccentricity, 
bizarre behavior, anti-social tendencies-

	A blast of fire came out of a junction just before Croft entered 
it. He jumped back, reflexively drawing his blaster.

	The fire disappeared. In its place appeared a young woman in a 
tight red outfit with red and blonde hair. She grinned at him.

	"Sally, that was dangerous," said Croft. "You could have burned 
me."

	"No I couldn't have," said Red Sally.

	"Why not?" Croft asked.

	"Because he told me I wouldn't," said Red Sally, indicating a 
pale, crouching figure who came up besides her.

	"Mongo," said Croft.

	"So glad to see us, yes, the Croft is," said the one called 
Mongo.

	"I'm on an important mission-"

	"Yes, missions always important, important ones always go to the 
Croft, yes?" said Mongo.

	"-and I'm in a bit of a hurry."
	"Never take time to say hello to poor Mongo, no, the Croft only 
talks to Mongo when the Croft needs something. The Croft bursts in, he 
bursts in, and says, 'Mongo, need this! Mongo, need that!' Never, hello 
Mongo, how are you today? Was your lunch to your liking?"

	"I really have to see-"

	"The picky one, yes," said Mongo.

	Red Sally grinned, looking amused.

	Croft shook his head, walking past them.

	"But you will be back, you will come to talk to Mongo," said 
Mongo.

	Croft turned back, "And in all the futures you see, do you ever 
ask how about my lunch?"

	Mongo hissed at him; Croft grinned and continued onwards.

	The person he wanted was sitting in a chair, looking at the 
ceiling.

	"Hello Dalbo," said Croft.

	The man continued to stare, his lips moving silently.

	"When someone says hello to you, often the polite thing to do is 
to say hello back," Croft noted. "You might even make eye contact with 
them, but I don't want to ask for too much."

	The man continued to stare upwards.

	Croft sighed, and put a hand over the man's face. The man 
blinked, and looked at Croft. "You made me lose count."

	"Don't tell me you haven't counted the ceiling tiles a hundred 
times over already," said Croft.

	"Twenty one times," said Dalbo Alto. "I have counted them exactly 
twenty one times."

	"Then what more will one more time matter? It's not likely that 
the count will ever change, will it?" said Croft.

	"Grey tiles," said Dalbo.

	"What?" said Croft.

	"Grey tiles," said Dalbo.

	Croft looked up. The tiles were white. "They look white to me."

	"Some of them have a grey streak. Others have two grey streaks," 
said Dalbo.

	Croft looked closely. He still didn't see any grey streaks. "So 
you were counting to see which ones have grey streaks?"

	"Which ones have how many grey streaks," said Dalbo. As a 
follower of Reductionist Stimulism, these sorts of tiny things 
fascinated him. "I have already done that."

	"Will this allow you to finish your dissertation on the subject?" 
Croft inquired.

	Dalbo glanced sharply at Croft. "It is not merely a matter of how 
many have grey streaks. It is a matter of placement, the pattern of 
tiles with one grey streak, with two grey streaks, with no grey 
streaks."

	"You think they were put down in a pattern?"

	"It is an interesting study," said Dalbo.

	"I'm sure it is," said Croft. "But right now I need your help-"

	"You always need my help," said Dalbo, looking up again.

	"And you're always happy to give it," said Croft, putting his 
hand up to block Dalbo's view of the ceiling.

	"Are you going to continue to block my view until you get what 
you want?"

	"You're the mindreader," said Croft. "You tell me."





* * * * * * * * * *



	"Try and concentrate," said the interrogator.

	Croft, Agent Waverly, Preston and Dalbo sat in a room with a one 
way window on another room containing an interrogator and Brill Greens. 
Normally it would have been out of the question for Waverly, or any 
outsider, to be around Dalbo, as he was one of the League's best kept 
secrets; but Quick as well as Waverly already knew about Dalbo's 
existence, so Croft didn't see any harm in having him attend. Letting 
Waverly attend could also confirm a hunch Croft had.

	Brill Greens, looking sweaty, bit his lip. "I just don't 
remember!"

	"Your own holosecurity recorder revealed that this individual was 
in your presence for a full 98 seconds," said the interrogator.

	"I haven't committed any crime!" said Greens.

	"You haven't been charged with one. We just want you to answer 
the question," said the interrogator. He was a fellow Column agent, of 
course. "This individual was in your presence for 98 seconds. He didn't 
say a word to you, but according to the holorecording, you spoke to 
him, saying, "Yes, I understand. I will distribute my wealth 
immediately."

	"I don't remember saying that," said Greens.

	"He's telling the truth," said Preston casually, checking a 
monitor. The chair that Greens was sitting in was a bit more 
sophisticated than it looked.

	"Dalbo?" said Croft.

	Dalbo, staring at the one way window, didn't respond.

	"August to Dalbo, August to Dalbo, come in, Dalbo," said Croft.

	"44," said Dalbo promptly.

	"44 what?" said Croft.

	"44 floor tiles," said Dalbo. "Exactly 44. Not 45, not 43-"
	"Not 46, not 42," said Croft. "That's really exciting. But can 
you turn away from the decorating survey for a moment and tell me what 
he's thinking?"

	"He is thinking about his lawyer, and whether his lawyer can 
extract him from this situation," said Dalbo.

	"What about his encounter with the nondescript man?"

	Dalbo frowned for a minute and paused. "Empty."

	"Empty? Empty what?" said Preston.

	"I was referring to the noun, not the verb," said Dalbo. "He is 
trying to recall what happened, but he can't. There is a blank spot in 
his mind."

	"A... blank spot," said Croft. "What could cause that?"

	"Drugs?" said Preston.

	"You saw the holorecording," said Croft. "He wasn't drugged."
	"Maybe prior hypnosis or conditioning," Preston said.

	"That would need to be triggered somehow," said Croft. "The 
nondescript guy didn't say a word. It's true that the presence of the 
nondescript guy could have triggered prior conditioning, but-"

	"It's much more likely that we have a telepath on our hands," 
said Preston. He was no dummy; that's why Croft could tolerate him 
better than most other Column agents.

	"Not just a telepath," said Croft. "He can apparently not only 
read minds, he can change them."

	"That was our conclusion as well," said Agent Waverly.

	Croft looked at Waverly. "That's why Quick really called us in. 
You knew we had Dalbo, and wanted us to use him to confirm your 
suspicions."

	Agent Waverly took a deep breath. "That was one reason. But don't 
underestimate the value of your investigative ability, Agent Croft," 
said Agent Waverly. "Director Quick thinks very highly of you."
	"Really?" Croft looked interested. "Perhaps you can have him put 
in a good word with the Chief for me during my next performance 
review," said Croft.

	"So what do we do next?" Preston asked.

	"We find out who this nondescript guy is," said Croft. He turned 
to Preston, "Shouldn't you be conducting the search?"

	"I have a team working on it," said Preston. "A baker doesn't 
have to be standing there to watch his robots bake bread."

	Croft was feverishly thinking of a catchy reply when Preston's 
comm beeped. Preston pressed a button. Someone spoke on the other end.

	"We have him," said Preston.





	"Albert Wender," said Croft, looking at the holoreport.

	"He's a League citizen. No known ties to foreign governments or 
extremist groups," said Preston, reading the report on his own 
terminal. Agent Waverly stood in the background, keenly eyeing the 
exchange between the two.

	"He has a minor criminal record. Two assaults, charges dropped on 
one, put on probation for the other," said Croft. 

	"That didn't stop him from going ES."

	"Exploration Service?" said Croft. He glanced over the record. 
"Make that formerly of the ES." ES was the League's Exploration 
Service. Croft gave a low whistle. "Resigned from the service after his 
last mission, two months ago."

	"Wouldn't you?" said Preston. "He went out on a four man probe, 
and he's the only one who came back alive."

	"What happened?" Croft said, reading rapidly to find where 
Preston was reading.

	"Doesn't say," said Preston. "He claims he had amnesia. His ship 
went to explore a new sector, and only he came back."

	"I see it," said Croft. "They sent a followup team, but never 
found any sign of the original crew. What about the rest of his 
background?"

	"Looking...." said Preston. He paused for a moment. "He looks 
like a bit of a hothead, but everything else looks normal."

	"Normal, that is, until he comes back as the only survivor of a 
four man expedition, with no explanation of what happened to the rest 
of his crew," said Croft.

	"Do you think he killed them?" Preston asked.

	"Maybe they discovered he could control minds," said Croft. "No, 
that's stupid. He would never allow them to discover that." After all, 
a person who could control minds could instruct people not to realize 
or remember that such a person could control their minds.

	"There's no evidence that he had this kind of ability before he 
left," said Preston. "Either he kept it well hidden, or something 
happened on that mission that gave him that ability."

	"What could happen to a person to give them the ability to 
control minds?" said Croft.

	"I don't know," said Preston. "But they were searching for 
Monumental technology. Maybe they were playing with a technology they 
didn't understand, Maybe some exotic piece of Monumental technology 
killed the others and changed him."

	"The followup reports don't mention anything about a cache of 
Monumental technology," said Croft. He looked casually over at Agent 
Waverly. "Your thoughts?"

	"You should issue a planetwide alert for him," said Agent 
Waverly.

	"Easy to say, not so easy to do," said Croft. "Can you see an 
officer bringing him in? Can you see him allowing an officer to bring 
him in?"
	"You're assuming he really can read and control minds. If 
something really happened to him on this expedition," said Agent 
Waverly. "It's all still a theory. You need more information."

	"Right," said Croft, making a decision. "Preston. Locate his 
parents, and make an appointment for later today. Do the same for his 
supervisor at ES. You can comm me with the coordinates." Croft 
activated his personnel locator, and pressed a few buttons and nodded.
	"Where are you going?" said Preston.

	"I thought I would get a bite to eat," said Croft.

	

	The main cafeteria was on the 250th floor of the Column 
Headquarters, and offered great views of downtown August. But Croft, 
with Waverly in tow, didn't go there for the views or the food. Instead 
he entered the kitchen area, to the side of the main cafeteria.

	"Ow Wow Wow!" said a deep but tiny voice.

	Croft looked down to see a small cream colored Pomeranian staring 
at him. The animal was very furry, had small foxlike ears, a black 
nose, and large black eyes.

	"Ow, Wow!" said the dog again.

	"Hello, Croft," said another voice.

	Croft turned to see Levi Esherkol, the Column's chief scientist, 
wearing an apron and oversized chef's hat. 

	"Do you really understand what he says, or is that all part of 
the act?" Croft asked. The Pomeranian looked at Croft closely as he 
spoke, turning his head at an angle as if he were listening intently.

	Quick was no ordinary Pomeranian. Yes, his name really was Quick, 
named after Steven Quick, the supergenius who ran the June Directorate. 
He was a genetically engineered dog, a type 212 (b) Pomeranian, with a 
very large IQ. Levi had named him Quick in honor of the real Quick. 
Quick the dog was smarter than all dogs, of course, but what was really 
astounding was that he was also smarter than many people as well.

	"I saw you come in," said Levi, in his old EastEuro accent. "What 
want?" Levi turned on a loud fan over a pot and started stirring.

	"I need your help, Levi," said Croft.

	"What?" Levi asked.

	"Mind control, Levi."
	"What?" Levi said.

	"Mind control," said Croft, more loudly.

	Levi continued to stir.

	Croft sighed, went over, and turned off the fan. Quick barked.

	"Why can you never let me cook in peace?" said Levi.

	"Well, for starters, you're not the cook here," said Croft. 
"You're chief scientist, and if you weren't twice as good as any other 
scientist here the chief wouldn't indulge your whims. Secondly, we have 
someone on the loose who can apparently control anyone's mind and make 
them do very dangerous things. And thirdly, I'm not at all sure that 
dogs are actually allowed in food preparation areas."
	Quick barked at Croft. Croft ignored him.

	"Control minds?" said Levi. "Are you sure?"

	"It looks that way," said Croft. "I've transmitted a summary of 
what we know to your central folder."
	"What you want?"

	"A method of blocking mind control," said Croft. "We need it as 
soon as possible."

	Levi laughed. Even Quick stuck out his tongue and smiled.

	"What's so funny?" Croft said.

	"You so funny," said Levi. "You come into my kitchen, and expect 
me develop totally unknown technology. It's like you asking for 
Monumental technology, or the first cure for aging-"
	"We already have the anti-aging serum, but thanks," said Croft, 
who, like everyone around him (except Quick), was several hundred years 
old. "Is it really so difficult? I mean, all you need to do is block 
brainwaves, right? And we've been experimenting with Dalbo for years, 
right?"

	Levi laughed again.

	Croft glanced at Agent Waverly, who was keeping a studiously 
neutral expression. Croft turned back to Levi, who was still laughing.

	"I'm glad to bring you such pleasure," said Croft. "But do you 
come with subtitles?"

	Levi stopped laughing. "Sorry. Was cutting a humor onion before, 
must still be suffering the effects-"

	"Right Levi. Can we wander back into truth territory for a little 
while now?" Croft asked.

	"Is not nearly so simple as you think," said Levi. "First is 
matter of brainwaves. No known way of scrambling brainwaves from 
outside of head. Even if could do, result would cause brains to stop 
working."

	"Oh," said Croft. He hadn't thought of that.

	"Furthermore, studying Dalbo is different. Yes, have studied for 
years, seen gamma section reports, but much of details of how he 
interprets thoughts is still not precisely known. Even more 
furthermore, Dalbo is different from current problem. He reads minds, 
not controls them."
	"So?"

	"Reading, very crude term, is a subject of sensory perception. 
Controlling is more active," said Levi.

	"But if you can block a mind reader, can't you block a mind 
controller?" said Croft.

	"Maybe, maybe not. Never met a mind controller before," said 
Levi. "Could be totally different methods. May not even use brain 
waves. You assume that using brain waves to control brain waves. May be 
entirely different method."

	"Well, that's a thought," said Croft, for once being 
unintentionally funny. "Are you saying you don't even have any idea 
where to start?"
	"To start would need readings from mind controller," said Levi.	

	"Well, that's simple enough, we'll just call him in and ask for 
some readings," said Croft. 

	"Hm," said Levi. He turned back to his food. Quick rubbed against 
his leg.

	"Levi?" said Croft.

	Levi turned back. "What?"
	"That's it?" said Croft.

	"You're still here?" Levi seemed genuinely surprised. "When you 
ready, when can locate, tell me, and I will tell you what equipment to 
use to measure readings."

	"Oh," said Croft, as Levi turned away. "Thanks. And I'm sorry if 
I've disrupted any important cooking. As long as the food is good here, 
there's no need to be concerned if the rest of August goes down the 
saniflush."

	"Sarcasm noted."

	Quick barked, and stuck his tongue out at Croft again.

	"Clever riposte," said Levi, reaching down to pet the little 
animal on the head. Quick wagged his tail vigorously and stuck out his 
tongue. "Good mutated dog!"

	"What do you think?" Waverly asked Croft, when they had left the 
cafeteria.

	"I think those two need to go and get a private room," said 
Croft. "Now let's see about our meetings."


Chapter 3: Who is Albert Wender?



	"He was always a good little boy," said Mrs. Wender.

	"Really?" said Croft. Croft, Preston and Agent Waverly were 
sitting in the household of Albert Wender's parents. Mrs. Wender was a 
kind looking woman with a thick line of bright red lipstick drawn in a 
circle all around the edges of her face, from above her eyebrows on her 
forehead around the sides of her eyes to just below her lips on her 
cheeks. She also wore her underwear on the outsides of her pants.

	"Yes, he was a good kid, wasn't he, Danber?" said Mrs. Wender.

	Mr. Wender, seeming to awaken from a slumber, said, "Yes, yes he 
was." He was dressed in an old fashioned clown suit, complete with an 
orange nose and painted eyebrows.

	"He has two assaults on his record," said Croft.

	"Oh, the charges were dropped on one of those," said Mrs. Wender. 
"And he was just a kid then."

	A chair faced away from all the participants in the conversation. 
Over the top of it the back of a head could be seen. Croft and the 
others didn't give it a second glance.

	"I see here he was age 28 and 34 for each arrest," said Croft.

	"Barely out of childhood," said Mrs. Wender.

	Croft eyed their unusual dress. "Mrs. Wender, have you seen your 
son recently?"

	"Why no," said Mrs. Wender, a frown forming which caused a crease 
in some of the lipstick that circled her face. "Why do you ask?"

	Croft looked at her outerwear and her husband's clown suit. "We'd 
like to talk to Albert. Do you know where he can be reached?"

	The chair facing away from them slowly spun around. The 
nondescript man was sitting in it. He stared right at them.

	Mr. Wender, sitting just a few feet from this occupied chair, 
said, "No, sorry, we don't know where Albert is."

	Croft and Preston exchanged glances. "We know your son left the 
Exploration Service recently."

	The nondescript man leaned forward in his chair. No one noticed.

	"Yes, that was a tragedy," said Mrs. Wender. She shook her head. 
"What terrible negligence."

	"Negligence?" said Croft.

	"The negligence of his crew," said Mrs. Wender. "If they hadn't 
been incompetent, they wouldn't have died."

	"Really?" said Croft. "Tell me more about this incompetence."

	The nondescript man stared sharply at Mrs. Wender.

	"Well... I wouldn't know anything about it," said Mrs. Wender.

	"Then how would you know it was negligence?" said Croft.

	Mrs. Wender paused noticeably for a moment. Then she said, 
"Albert told us it was, shortly after the accident. Didn't he, Danber?"

	"Yes, that's what he told us," said the man in the clown suit 
dully.

	Croft exchanged glances with Preston and Waverly. These people 
were obviously under mind control. If that was the case, Wender could 
be here, in this very house! They should search the house-

	"Are you sure he's not here?" said Croft.

	"I'm not here," said the nondescript man, in a soft, hypnotic 
voice. "I'm long gone."

	No, on second thought, there was no need to search the house, 
Croft realized. Wender wasn't here. He was long gone. Croft saw Waverly 
and Preston nod in agreement.

	"Yes, I'm sure," said Mrs. Wender. "I would know if Albert was 
here."

	Croft looked befuddled for a moment. Then, he recovered. "Ah... 
yes... where was I?"

	"Asking about Albert," said Mrs. Wender.

	"Yes, about Albert." Croft tried to concentrate. What had he been 
thinking? "So what else did he say to you about the accident?"

	"He didn't give any other details," said Mrs. Wender. "He didn't 
want to talk about it."

	"You should be going now," said the nondescript man.

	"We should be going now," said Croft. "Thank you for your time."



	As they left the home, the nondescript man followed them. When 
they got outside, Croft turned to Preston and Waverly. "Impressions?"

	"Obviously they were under mind control," said Preston.

	"Yes," said Preston. "Wender must have been there recently. It's 
a shame he wasn't there when we visited."

	"Yes," said Croft mechanically.
	"Perhaps you should take the parents in for an examination," said 
Agent Waverly.

	The nondescript man said something.

	"No, I don't think that would be useful," said Croft. "They will 
probably just be like Greens and the others."

	"You're probably right," said Agent Waverly, wondering why he had 
suggested it.

	"So what have we learned?" said Preston.

	"Well, I think if Wender had this skill all along, I think 
someone would have noticed his Dad wearing a clown suit before now," 
said Croft.

	"So this tends to confirm our working theory that whatever 
happened to Wender happened to him on his last mission," said Preston.

	"Yes," said Croft. "Let's go have a talk with the Exploration 
Service, shall we?"
	They got into their hovercar, Croft and Preston in the front and 
Waverly in the back. Waverly moved over so the nondescript man could 
also get in. He stared intently at the others in the car.

	As he drove Croft said, "I'm Clifford Croft, with the Column."

	The others said nothing. The nondescript man looked at Preston.

	"I'm Agent Preston, with the Column," said Preston.

	"I'm Agent Waverly, with the June Directorate," said Agent 
Waverly.

	 The nondescript man looked at Preston. "Croft is in charge 
because he's one of the Eight."

	The nondescript man looked at Croft.

	"I'm a top level one agent, one of the best," Croft said.

	There was another pause.

	"We think he can read and control minds. We're looking for him," 
said Croft.

	Another pause.

	"We found him because we spotted him on holorecordings with the 
victims," said Croft.

	Another pause.

	"We don't know what we'll do when we find him. We'll probably 
have to lock him up, at a minimum," said Croft.

	There was a longer pause, and Croft blinked. "This isn't the way 
to the Exploration Service. I've been going in the wrong direction." He 
grimaced, and made a turn at a corner, heading in another direction. 
"What were we talking about?"
	Waverly shrugged. Preston stared blankly.

	"Well, there is one thing we learned from the Wenders," said 
Croft.
	"What?" said Preston.

	"Wender said in his report that he had amnesia, that he didn't 
remember what had happened on his mission," said Croft. "But according 
to his parents, he told them that his crew's death had been caused by 
their negligence."

	"He knows exactly what happened," said Agent Waverly.

	"That's the logical conclusion, yes," said Croft.

	"But what could happen to a person to give him the ability to 
control minds?" Preston asked.

	"A good question," said Croft.

	The nondescript man sat back in silence.

	They reached the ornate headquarters of the Exploration Service, 
a large building with elaborate fountains in front of them, as well as 
a quarter scale model of a classic Explorer class vessel. They were 
small, three or four man ships, but designed to travel long distances 
in the vastness of space.

	Commander Ornat Rentlo had been Albert Wender's superior. He was 
also one of the officers on the commission investigating the causes of 
death of Wender's fellow crewmembers.

	Introductions were made courteously. Croft was relieved to see 
that Rentlo was dressed and acting normally, no clown suit, no 
overblown makeup, no underwear over outer garments. The nondescript man 
looked around but didn't find a chair available. Waverly decided to 
stand up and lean against a wall. The nondescript man took his seat.

	Croft started the questioning. "We have your written report," 
said Croft. "But can you tell us in your words what happened?"

	Rentlo nodded. "We sent a standard Explorer class vessel to an 
uncharted section of space. The trip was supposed to take two weeks, 
and the crew was supposed to spend about a month exploring before 
returning."

	"Those ships must be quick, if they can get out of known space in 
only two weeks," Croft remarked.

	"They are. Explorer class ships are built for speed," said 
Rentlo. "Most of the entire ship is engines, leaving little space for 
the crew. That's why we only fit three or four in a ship, and even then 
it's pretty cramped for them."

	"So what happened with this crew?" Croft asked.

	"They were two weeks overdue, and we hadn't heard anything from 
them. We were planning to launch a rescue expedition, when Wender's 
ship appeared in the main ship lanes. A League light cruiser boarded 
it, and space marines found Crewman Wender, unconscious. There was no 
sign of the rest of the crew," said Rentlo.

	"And the ship?" Croft asked.

	"There were no signs of struggle, or forced entry, or battle," 
said Rentlo. "The ship's log noted that the ship headed towards the 
assigned sector on one trajectory, made a few course corrections, and 
then returned."
	"That's it?" said Croft. "There was no record in the ship's log 
of landings on any other planet?"
	"No," said Rentlo.

	"No records of sensor blips, maybe intercepts with other ships?"
	"No," said Rentlo.

	"No unusual stellar phenomena, radiation, or anything unusual?" 
said Croft.

	"No," said Rentlo.

	"So if the ship never landed anywhere, what happened to the 
crew?" said Croft. "How did they even get off the ship, unless they 
simply stepped out of the airlock?"

	Rentlo paused before answering. "We simply don't know. A few 
weeks later we sent a followup ship on the same trajectory as Crewman 
Wender's ship. It returned a few days ago without reporting anything 
unusual."

	"And what of Wender himself?" Croft asked.

	"Aside from his amnesia, he was perfectly healthy. No sign of any 
trauma or drugs in his system. He remembered going out... and then he 
remembers coming back."

	"Did he seem odd, or changed?" Croft asked.

	Rentlo paused. "No, not changed."

	"That's funny," said Croft.

	"Why funny?" Rentlo asked.

	"Well, if I came back from a mission with a gap in my memory and 
my fellow crewmembers all gone, I would be a bit concerned. And if I 
resigned from the service all of a sudden, I would expect people to ask 
questions."
	"We did ask him questions," Rentlo frowned. "He didn't tell us 
anything useful."

	"Please let us be the judge of that," said Croft. "What exactly 
did he say when you asked him what happened?"

	"He didn't remember. Like I said, he remembered going out... and 
then he remembers coming back," Rentlo dully repeated.

	"But he didn't say anything about how his fellow crew 
disappeared?" said Croft.

	"No," said Rentlo. He paused again, "But he was an able 
commander. I doubt whatever happened was his fault."

	"What an odd thing to say," said Croft. 

	"Why?" Rentlo asked.

	"Well, how can you say it wasn't his fault when you don't know 
what happened?" Croft asked.

	"He was a very able member of our service," said Rentlo.

	"Commander," said Agent Waverly. "You called him commander. But 
he wasn't the commander of the mission. It was a Lieutenant Fuller, was 
it not?"

	"Ah, yes, that's correct," said Rentlo. 

	The nondescript man said something.

	"I misspoke; it was just a slip of the tongue." said Rentlo.

	"Yes," said Croft. "I can see it that you misspoke, that it was 
just a slip of the tongue," he repeated.

	The nondescript man looked keenly at Croft.

	"I can see there's nothing further to learn here," said Croft. He 
got up, and then blinked. There had actually been some more questions 
he had wanted to ask, but it probably would have been a waste of time 
to ask them.

	A waste of time? How could he know that?

	Croft looked around the room. He saw Rentlo, Preston, and 
Waverly. Croft had another thought. 

	"Would you mind if we-" he stopped, in insentience.

	Rentlo looked inquiringly at him.

	"...got a transcript of the report?" Croft asked, changing his 
sentence in midspeech.

	"We've already transmitted that to you, haven't we?" said Rentlo, 
looking confused.

	"Yes, so we have, my mistake, sorry," said Croft.

	They left and entered the hovercar. This time Waverly lay on the 
floor in the back while the nondescript man sat in the backseat with 
his feet on Waverly's chest. Neither Croft, Preston, or Waverly thought 
anything unusual about it.

	"What were you really going to ask Rentlo?" the nondescript man 
asked.

	"For permission to examine Wender's ship," said Croft, in a dull 
monotone.

	"You don't need to examine Wender's ship," said the nondescript 
man. "There's nothing to be learned there."

	"There's nothing to be learned there," Croft repeated.

	A few minutes later Croft stopped the hovercar at a street 
corner. The back door opened, and then closed. Waverly sat up in the 
back seat. Croft resumed driving. He pressed the accelerator.

	"So, impressions, anyone?" Croft asked.

	"Something must have happened on that mission," said Preston. "An 
entire crew simply doesn't disappear." He noticed that Croft seemed to 
be driving fast.

	"Something happened to change him," said Croft. "At this point, I 
don't think there's much else to investigate on this end." 

	"What do we do next?" Waverly asked.

	"I'll have to put my mind on it," said Croft. Croft gunned the 
car as they came to an intersection, where a holographic stop light was 
shining.

	"Hey, slow down," said Preston.

	"Why," Croft asked, still accelerating.

	"Croft!" Waverly yelled. 

	Preston attempted to reach for Croft, but it was too late.

	A car appeared ahead of them. Croft, still wondering what was 
going on, slammed into the rear of the car, sending both his and the 
target car spinning into the intersection. The car kept spinning until 
it slammed into a wall of a nearby building.

	Croft blacked out for a moment. When he awoke, he saw Preston 
looking over him. 

	"Croft? Croft?"


Chapter 4: The Search Continues



	"My neck still hurts me," Croft groaned, slowly rotating his 
head. 

	It was the following day. Preston, Croft, and Agent Waverly were 
sitting in an office in Column HQ.

	"We were very lucky that that was the most severe injury in both 
cars," said Agent Waverly.

	"Wender must have been controlling my mind," said Croft.

	"How?" said Preston. "Do you think he can control minds from a 
distance?"
	"Maybe," said Croft. "Or maybe he was in the car with us."

	"What? How?" said Preston.

	"If he can control our minds, conceivably he can tell us to 
ignore his presence," said Croft. He looked across his desk. "We could 
be staring at him right now and not even notice."

	"I was thinking the same thing," said Agent Waverly. "I think I 
was wondering if he was with us when we interviewed the Wenders. At the 
time I thought they were reacting to posthypnotic suggestion, but after 
the fact some of their artificial responses seemed... spontaneous."

	"I remember thinking the same thing," said Croft. "And then I 
remembered thinking that he couldn't possibly be there. Why did I think 
that? Perhaps because he told me to."

	"We can't be constantly second guessing our thoughts," said Agent 
Waverly.

	"Our thought processes are all suspect now," said Preston. "We 
don't know what's really happening and what's not."

	"All right, let's put the brakes on the hysteria," said Croft. 
"Until we know otherwise, we have to presume that we are experiencing 
our own thoughts right now. Wender can't be everywhere at the same 
time."

	"So far there's been no sign of him," said Preston. " His 
holoimage has been sent to all law enforcement units.  If he's on 
August, he's evading the security forces of the entire planet."

	"Probably not a very difficult thing for someone to do if he can 
control minds," said Croft. "If a policeman recognizes him, and moves 
to arrest him, what do you think will happen?"

	"He'll take over the policeman's mind, and make him go away," 
said Agent Waverly.

	"Wender will not only make the policeman go away," said Croft. 
"Wender will make him forget he ever saw him. He probably did the same 
to us yesterday when we were with his parents. Come to think of it, 
Commander Rentlo was acting strange as well. Wender was probably in the 
room with us the whole time."

	"He could be here now," said Preston.

	"He could be," said Croft. "But we have to proceed as if he's 
not, unless we're ready to give up."

	His wristcomm bleeped. "Yes?" said Croft, speaking into it.

	The other end was not audible to the others.

	"Not now, Levi. I don't have time for a cooking show," said 
Croft.

	A tiny voice came through the other end.

	"All right," Croft grimaced. He turned to a nearby holoreceiver.

	"What is it?" said Preston.

	"Levi wants us to watch a cooking show or something," said Croft. 
He turned to a channel, and the image of Tony Spagetti, the most famous 
chef on August, appeared on the screen.

	"I call this my pineapple surprise," said Spagetti, grinning 
wildly. He poured a half glass of pineapple juice into a blender.

	Croft spoke into his wristcomm. "Levi, I know his show gets good 
ratings, but this isn't really my sort of thing."

	"Then you add a bit of sugar," said Spagetti, holding up two dead 
rats. He put them in the blender. 

	Croft, who had been reaching forward to change the channel, 
stopped. 

	"Then you add a fair amount of lemon juice," said Spagetti, and 
at that point he did something totally unexpected: he dropped his 
pants.

	Then, if possible, he did something even more unexpected. He 
urinated into the blender.

	A tiny voice came out of his comm. "All right, all right," Croft 
said, speaking to Levi over the open line. "I gather this is not one of 
his more exotic recipes?" They heard a tinny but angry reply. Croft 
responded, "Sorry, I just wanted to be sure. You know how exotic some 
of these chefs can be."

	Croft watched with a mixture of fascination and disgust as 
Spagetti, still maintaining his poise, raised his pants and started the 
blender, acting like nothing unusual had happened. It whirred merrily 
for a moment as the pineapple juice, rat parts, and chef urine mixed 
together.

	Then Spagetti took the black and yellow mixture and poured it 
into a large cup. He held it up to the light. "Looks delicious, eh?" 

	He raised it to his mouth.

	Two stage assistants raced out and grabbed his arms. "No, no!" 
Spagetti yelled. Spagetti struggled to get the glass to his lips. There 
were shouts, and the contents of the glass splashed on one of the 
production assistants, there was a loud yell, and then a still image 
replaced the live feed, with the written message "Technical 
difficulties, please stand by" appearing on the holoscreen.

	 

	"Very odd," said Agent Waverly. 

	"It's not exactly what you'd expect from a gourmet chef," said 
Croft. "On the other hand, it is ratings week."

	Waverly stared at Croft with sharp eyes, and for a brief moment 
he reminded Croft of Steven Quick. Quick, of course, had silvery eyes 
and was a supergenius; but his top men, including Waverly, were also 
selected for their thinking ability.

	"Consider the irrationality of it all," said Agent Waverly. 
"There is no consistent pattern. He blacks out part of August, to 
demonstrate his ability. He maliciously kills the crew of a cargo ship. 
But then he does harmless things, like this."

	"He doesn't care if he does harm or not," said Croft. "Bender's a 
prankster, albeit an incredibly dangerous one."
	"Bender?" said Preston.
	"Wender," said Croft.  "But that's what he is, a Mind Bender." He 
turned to Waverly. "He tried to have us killed by having me crash our 
hovercar. Why did he choose that method?"

	"To make it look like an accident, perhaps," said Agent Waverly.

	"Look at this man; is anything he does subtle?" said Croft. "If 
anything, he's trying to broadcast his abilities, not hide them. If he 
wanted us dead, he would have had us shoot each other with our 
blasters."
	"Are you suggesting he didn't mean to kill us?" Waverly said.

	"I'm suggesting he didn't care," said Croft. "He just thought it 
would be amusing to put us in a car crash. And that's why you can't 
find a pattern. Because there is no pattern. He's just amusing himself. 
I don't see any higher agendas; no blackmail demands, no puppets 
pulling the strings."

	"At this point I would tend to concur," said Agent Waverly. "But 
this is an extraordinarily dangerous prankster. What if he suggests to 
an army officer that he detonate a blockbuster bomb here in the heart 
of Sarney Sarittenden?"

	"That's why we have to stop him," said Croft.

	"We're all helpless against him," said Agent Waverly. "I don't 
know how."

	"Well, we'll have to give it some thought," said Croft. "I know 
someone who may be able to help."

	"Your Graftonite friend?" said Agent Waverly.

	"How did you know?" said Croft, looking surprised.

	"It's one of your classic moves," said Agent Waverly. He gave 
Croft a thoughtful look. "When things get tough, you turn to the 
Graftonite."

	"I have somehow managed to accomplished one or two minor things 
on my own without his help," said Croft dryly.

	"Go ahead and contact him," said Agent Waverly, ignoring the hurt 
feelings. "If you don't mind, I'm going to file a report with center 
and request further guidance."

	"You do that," said Croft. "Get some guidance."

	As Waverly left, Croft pressed a series of buttons on his 
holotransmitter. In a minute the holoimage of a Graftonite bounty 
hunter appeared on his holoviewer. Not just any Graftonite bounty 
hunter; this was The Silencer, perhaps the most famous bounty hunter of 
all. Graftonites were mercenary gunmen who could be hired for all sorts 
of tasks; they were highly desired because they had superfast quickdraw 
reflexes, making them difficult to kill.

	"Croft," said the Silencer non-commentally. That was his way of 
saying hello.

	"John," said Croft. "I'm glad I caught you between jobs."

	"I'm actually taking a few days off before my next one," said the 
Silencer. "Annie wants to go to a gun festival outside of Regular."

	"That's nice," said Croft, automatically falling into liespeak.

	"What do you want, Croft?"

	"We have a little problem here on August," said Croft.

	"If it's so small, I'm sure you can handle it," said the 
Silencer, turning Croft's lie against him.

	"Maybe not so small," said Croft, quickly backpedaling. "We may, 
ah, have a guy running around who can control peoples' minds."

	"I always thought your League minds were rather pliable to begin 
with," said the Silencer.

	"This isn't funny, John. A number of people have already been 
killed. This guy tells you to do something, to jump off a cliff, and 
you jump off a cliff," said Croft.

	"It makes one want to stick to the lowlands," the Silencer said 
dryly.

	"I need your help," Croft persisted.

	"Sorry, but no thanks," said the Silencer.

	"I realize you're busy with your gun festival and all, but I'll 
make it worth your while." Croft wet his lips. "We'll double your 
normal fee."

	"Not interested," said the Silencer.

	Croft paused. "Triple."

	The Silencer shook his head. "If what you're telling me is really 
true, I don't think anyone could stand a chance against him. No matter 
how fast a gunslinger is, no one can move faster than a human thought."
	"So you're afraid?" said Croft.

	The Silencer gave him a deadly look. "Don't push me, Croft. You 
may think you're safe because you're talking to me on a holocom, but if 
you push me enough, I'll come to August to teach you some manners."

	"You would actually kill me?" Croft asked. "Without getting paid 
for it?"

	"I've been known to do some pro bono work when the mood strikes 
me," said the Silencer. He stared hard at Croft. After a moment, he 
appeared to calm down. "Please don't spread that around, of course."

	"Oh, of course," said Croft. He knew that any rumor that the 
Silencer would lower his prices or perform a service for free would 
hurt his reputation. "So about stopping this mind control guy...."

	The Silencer cut him off, but a little more gently this time. 
"I'm not the right man for this job. Do you want my professional 
opinion?"
	"Sure," Croft said, shrugging.

	"Find out where he is, and drop a large blockbuster bomb on him."

	That was his professional opinion? Maybe, coming from the 
Silencer, it was. "John, ah, I don't quite know how to tell you this, 
but we're not in the underpopulated grasslands of Grafton II, we're in 
the heart of August, with the most dense population density in the 
galaxy. A blockbuster bomb would kill a lot of other people," said 
Croft.

	The Silencer shrugged. Without a further word, he closed 
communications, and his image faded.

	"Well, that was productive," said Croft, with the usual amount of 
irony in his tone.

	He and Preston chatted for a few minutes before Agent Waverly 
returned.

	"I've just spoken with Director Quick."

	"It's impressive that you got through," said Croft. "I know he's 
a busy man."
	"He is," said Agent Waverly. "And he wants to speak to you."

	"To me?" said Croft, his eyebrows raised.

	Waverly pressed a few buttons on a nearby holoconsole. In seconds 
the holoimage of Steven Quick, the ruler of all the June Directorate, 
appeared.

	Croft tried not to stare at those silvery eyes. 

	"Croft," said Quick simply.

	"Director Quick," said Croft.

	Quick smiled. "I hear you're having a spot of trouble."

	"Actually, for the record, you heard about it first and informed 
us," said Croft. "Very nice of you to do that, by the way."

	"We're allies, aren't we?" said Quick.

	"That's what I keep telling myself," said Croft. "But 
historically you don't like to use outside help."

	"Well, we make a special exception, where you're involved," said 
Quick. "I can personally vouch for your ability."

	"Thanks," said Croft. "Ah, was there something you wanted to tell 
me?"

	Quick smiled. "It's beyond obvious to say that this individual 
has to be apprehended."

	"Got any ideas on how to do that?"

	"I'm formulating possibilities," said Quick. "But first you need 
to be able to locate him."

	"How do we do that?" Croft said. "He can walk through our 
security forces effortlessly."
	"It's very simple," said Quick. "You need to know where he is 
going to be before he does."

	"And how do we-" Croft stopped in midsentence. "You want us to 
use Mongo. That's why you contacted me, to use Dalbo and Mongo."

	Quick looked hurt. "Clifford, after all we've been through, do 
you really think we were just-"

	"Yes," said Croft. "Now it finally makes sense."

	"Well, if it makes you feel any better, we've been using your 
skills as well," said Quick. "Because if you don't stop this menace, he 
may come over to one of my planets and start to turn things upside 
down."

	"Assuming we can get to him before he strikes, what would you 
have us do?" Croft asked.

	"Use the advantage of surprise, and ambush him," said Quick.

	"Ambush?"

	"Terminate him, Clifford," said Quick, his silvery eyes shining.

	"Uhhhh....."

	"I don't like killing any more than you do," said Quick. "But 
this individual murdered an entire crew of a cargo ship. From what I 
hear he just tried to murder you, not to mention one of my very 
valuable agents. There's no way you can safely contain him if you 
capture him. You have to eliminate him, Clifford."

	"But what about his ability? Aren't you curious-"

	"Save your curiosity for the autopsy, Clifford," said Quick.

	"That's a catchy slogan," said Croft. "Would you mind if I-"
	A voice spoke off screen. Quick turned away for a moment, and 
then turned back to him. "Clifford, I have to go. Report back when it's 
done."

	His image faded.

	Croft turned to Waverly. "I presume that part about reporting 
back was directed to you, or someone else who works for him."
	Waverly gave a small grin.

	Preston turned to Croft. "So he knows about Mongo; is there any 
of our super secret gamma operatives he doesn't know about?"
	Croft turned to Waverly, but Waverly simply gave an innocent 
shrug.



	"Yes, yes, Mongo knows that the Croft comes back, Mongo knows," 
said Mongo, clearly relishing the most recent turn of events. "Mongo 
knew, when he came for the picky one, that the picky one would not be 
able to help. Mongo say so; but did they listen to Mongo? No, oh no."

	They were back in the gamma section, or the institute, as it was 
also called, deep in the heart of Column HQ. 

	"Well, we're listening to you now," said Croft, somehow wishing 
he weren't..

	"Yes, yes, when the Croft wants something, the Croft listens, he 
always listens, yes. But when was last time the Croft came to just say 
hello? When was last time the Croft asks, he asks, 'Mongo, how are you 
doing today? Is there anything you need'?"

	"Hello," said Croft.

	Mongo stared at him expectantly.

	"How are you doing today?"

	"This environment is boring, yes. Food is bad, company is worse. 
If Mongo could just show you his decrepit quarters-"

	"Is there anything you need?" Croft asked.

	Mongo hissed. "Mongo wants to live elsewhere, in better room  
with better food."

	"A better room with better food," said Croft.

	"With a view, yes a view of August."
	"A view."

	"Mighty view, must be higher up than all others."
	"Higher."

	"But not so high that affects Mongo's fear of heights."
	"Very high, but not so high," said Croft.

	"And servants! Must have servants too," said Mongo. "Women, in 
tight fitting uniforms, yes."

	"Women, tight fitting servants, got it," said Croft. What little 
feigned enthusiasm and sincerity there was in his voice ran dry. "Now 
that we've covered all that, I need your help."

	"No! Will not give it!" said Mongo resolutely. "Will escape, run 
away, before helping the mean and uncaring Croft."

	"Escape?" said Croft.

	"You don't think Mongo can escape?" Mongo's eyes grew wide. "You 
think, you may think, 'Gamma section locked up, many thick doors, many 
equally thick guards'. But Mongo knows how to escape, yes, Mongo knows 
ways to get away."

	"So you can actually see a future where you escape?" Croft asked.

	"Yes, many futures, Mongo sees many futures where Mongo escapes 
and all is bright and happy," said Mongo.

	"And in any of those futures, do you not see me hunting you 
down?"
	Mongo hissed, but didn't answer.

	"Well?"

	"What does the Croft want?" Mongo finally said.

	"The Croft wants to take you on a little drive," said Croft.

	"Do you have to go through this every time?" Waverly whispered, 
as they walked out of the gamma section together.

	"This was relatively quick," said Croft.

	



	"Have you seen anything yet?" Croft asked. He was driving a 
hovercar with Preston, Waverly, and Mongo. They had been driving almost 
randomly around Sarney Sarittenden for the past hour. Mongo, 
unfortunately, needed to be near either the person or the scene of the 
event he wished to see the future of; and even so, his flashes of 
insight were infrequent, unpredictable, and sometimes even wrong.

	"Mongo seen anything? What sort of anything?" Mongo inquired. He 
was sitting in the back seat, idly flicking through holochannels on the 
small holoreceiver there.

	Croft sighed. He thought he had already explained. Actually, he 
had. Well, there was nothing to do but to explain again.

	"People acting weirdly, doing odd things."

	"All peoples are weird," said Mongo. "Only Mongo is normal," he 
added.

	"Yes, we already know that," said Croft. "But I'm looking for 
really weird, really unusual."

	"I see something," said Mongo. staring forward suddenly.

	Croft stopped the hovercar and turned around to face Mongo in the 
back seat. "What?"

	"Sports peoples."

	"What kind of sports peoples? What about them?"

	"Anti-gravity ball players, playing with silly orange bouncy 
balls," said Mongo. "Doing strange things, putting balls in baskets."

	"What's strange about that?" said Croft.

	"Putting balls in own team's baskets to score points for other 
side," said Mongo. "Strange, even for August peoples."

	"That is strange," said Croft, trying to contain his excitement. 
It sounded like something the Mind Bender would do. "When will this 
happen?"

	"Already happening."

	"Already... what?" Mongo usually predicted events that hadn't yet 
happened.

	"Look," said Mongo, pointing with a bony finger at the 
holoreceiver.

	Croft turned his gaze a few inches to see players, jumping up and 
down in the near zero gravity of the Sarney Sarittenden arena, scoring 
points against their own teams. The audience was alternatively laughing 
and booing.

	Mongo hadn't predicted anything at all. He had simply seen it on 
the holoplayer.

	"The Croft looks unhappy," said Mongo. "Was this not the kind of 
strangeness that he seeks?"

	"Yes," said Croft. "But we want to learn about the strangeness 
before it happens."

	"Oh. The Croft did not specify that," said Mongo.

	"The Croft most definitely did," said Croft.
	"Did not," said Mongo defiantly. "He says, the Croft he says, 
'Mongo, tell me where strangeness occurs.' No other details given. What 
is strange? What is not strange? How is Mongo to know? How is Mongo to 
know what the Croft, who himself is strange, will think is strange? No, 
no no, nice Croft must make Mongo guess. And does Mongo receive any 
thanks for trying? No, no thanks, no, never any thanks."

	"Well, I'm telling you now," said Croft, reaching back and 
clicking off the holoreceiver. "And I'm thanking you in advance."

	"Mongo would like sincere thanks," said Mongo. "Something, maybe, 
with sweeter tone of voice-"

	"Mongo!" said Croft.

	"Mongo working," said Mongo, immediately looking out the window.

	

	They drove around for a while more. Then Mongo suddenly sat 
upright outside a small restaurant. 

	"Ice cream!" said Mongo. He looked very animated.

	"Something's going to happen in this restaurant?" Agent Waverly 
asked. He peered as best he could at the restaurant.

	"No, he just wants some ice cream," said Croft.

	"No, something will happen!" said Mongo.

	"What?" said Croft, momentarily stopping the hovercar.

	Mongo was silent for a moment, as if concentrating.

	"What will happen?" said Croft again.

	"Mongo sees... ice cream," said Mongo.

	"See?" said Croft, to the others.

	"Mongo sees... people eating ice cream," said Mongo.

	"That's it?" said Croft.

	"No, no," said Mongo. "Then... people eat ice cream, but then, 
but then... people throw ice cream, at each other. Chocolate, vanilla, 
strawberry, yes, strawberry!"

	"All right," said Croft, starting the hovercar moving again.

	"Croft, are you sure there wasn't something about to go on 
there?" Waverly asked.

	"No," said Croft. "He just wanted ice cream."

	

	They drove on for several more hours. Mongo started to get 
restless, shifting back and forth in the car. He produced several more 
"sightings", but they all involved ice cream, other sweet foods, a 
circus, and a holomovie theater, all of which, given Mongo's known 
likes, were suspect reportings.

	"Mongo getting tired," said Mongo, squirming around in the back 
seat.

	"Yes, it must be tiring thinking of ice cream full time," said 
Croft.

	"Mongo working hard!" said Mongo. "Very tiring, mentally tiring, 
to see what might be. But Croft wouldn't know that, no, Croft, with 
simple mind that sees so little, expects immediate results."

	"Maybe we should take a break," said Agent Waverly.

	Suddenly Mongo stiffened, sitting upright.

	"You think he's excited about taking a break?" said Preston.

	"Museum," Mongo whispered, pointing a bony finger across the 
street. 

	"What's going to happen?" said Croft.

	"Crazy things," Mongo said. "Crazy things, very soon. Must 
hurry."

	Agent Waverly exchanged glances with Croft. "You think it's 
legitimate?"	

	"It might be," said Croft. "He doesn't like museums."



	They entered the museum, the Sarney Sarittenden Center for Post 
Contemporary Art. Paintings filled the walls. Many of the paintings 
were single color. People stood admiringly around one that was all 
purple, murmuring about its artistic properties.

	"You're right, that is strange behavior," said Croft, with a 
straight face.

	Agent Waverly suppressed a smile.

	Some of the paintings were slightly more creative, with 
occasional horizontal or vertical stripes running across them. Visitors 
marveled at the simplicity of the lines.

	"Be on the lookout for the Mind Bender," said Croft. "If you see 
him, don't engage him in conversation. Shoot him before he shoots you."

	"Should we set to stun, or to kill?" said Preston.

	Croft paused, but only for a moment. "For stun, for now."
	"If we do succeed in capturing him, he's going to overpower us 
the minute he wakes up," said Agent Waverly. 

	"He can be kept unconscious through the use of drugs," said 
Croft.

	"It's not safe," said Agent Waverly.

	"Agent Waverly, you're not under my authority, so I can't tell 
you what to do," said Croft. "But I can tell you that if you kill this 
man without my prior approval, I will have to shoot you."

	"He will do it, yes, he will," said Mongo. "He has shot Mongo, 
maaaaany many times before."

	"Once or twice over a period of decades," said Croft. "And it was 
always set on stun."

	"So gentle, yes, the Croft is very gentle," Mongo hissed. 

	"So Mongo, where is he going to be? This is a big museum," said 
Croft, as they wandered from room to room. They wandered right past a 
nondescript man, without noticing him.

	"Mongo concentrates," said Mongo. He closed his eyes, and then 
opens them. "Mongo sees strangeness in a room."
	"In a room? Which room. This museum has about 400 of them," said 
Croft. "Can you give me any detail?"

	Mongo concentrated. "Mongo sees... room with silly paintings."

	"Well, I suppose that eliminates the bathroom," said Croft.

	Mongo concentrated some more. "Mongo sees... this room."

	"This room?" Croft spun around, his hand on his blaster inside 
his jacket. He looked at and then past the nondescript man. So did 
Preston and Agent Waverly.

	Suddenly, a curator came in, carrying a trash can filled to 
capacity. In fact, overfilled. Scraps of rotting food fell to the 
ground as the curator carried it to the center of the room. The curator 
dropped it with a clang in the center of the room.

	Croft, Preston and Waverly noticed this, but kept their eye out 
for the Mind Bender.

	A crowd started to gather around the trash can. "And here we have 
our latest work of art," said the curator. He pointed to the dirty 
trash can. Flies buzzed around the surface, and the smell of old food 
wafted from it.

	"Magnificent, isn't it?" the curator smiled, and the crowd nodded 
appreciatively.

	"I don't see anything unusual," said Croft, looking around. "Do 
you, Waverly?"

	"No," said Agent Waverly.

	Croft turned to Mongo. "When is this strange thing going to 
happen?"

	Mongo shrugged.

	"By all means, please take a sample," said the smiling curator.

	The crowd tentatively moved forward, with individuals scooping 
out a handful of rubbish. The smelly goo smeared on their hands. The 
patrons rubbed it on their clothes, and sniffed the aroma. It smelled 
like sweet grapes to them.

	Preston turned towards the garbage can, took a step.

	"Where are you going?" Croft asked.

	"It looks good, I thought I'd try some," said Preston.

	"Oh," said Croft. It wasn't his idea of art, but different people 
had different tastes.

	Preston took some of the goo from the trash and rubbed it on his 
shirt. He gave a wide, moronic smile.

	Croft frowned. There was something odd about what Preston was 
doing, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was.

	Preston dipped a finger into the goo on his shirt, and put it in 
his mouth. "Mmmm," said Preston.	

	Croft was about to say something, when the nondescript man, who 
was standing to his side, spoke.

	"Everything is fine. It's just an artistic thing."

	Croft closed his mouth. Whatever thought had occurred to him had 
just disappeared. What had he been thinking of? He watched Preston, 
smiling, as he sucked on the goo.

	The nondescript man filtered around the room, whispering. Patrons 
turned away from the garbage can and turned to the paintings on the 
wall. First one and then other patrons started to splash the artwork 
with the goo from the garbage can.

	Waverly eyed this with only slight curiosity. 

	"It's only performance art," whispered the nondescript man by his 
elbow.

	A patron took down one of the paintings and put his foot through 
it. Other visitors stared, as if in shock, and then, one by one, they 
started clapping.

	More and more patrons took down artwork, some helped by museum 
guards, and started stomping on it.

	Croft checked his chrono. "Mongo, when is something going to 
happen?"
	Mongo shrugged.

	Croft watched the curator rip a priceless painting. "We'll wait a 
few more minutes for something unusual to happen, and then we'll go."

	"Could he have been wrong?" said Agent Waverly, also watching the 
curator rip the painting.

	"He isn't always right," said Croft. "It could have been another 
art museum, or something else."
	There was a loud ripping sound as a canvas was torn in half, and 
a gleeful crowd of artsy types cheered.





	When they returned to Column HQ, one of the operatives on their 
team told them, "Did you hear what happened at the art museum?"

	Croft and Waverly looked at each other "Which art museum?"

	"The Center for Post Contemporary Art," said the operative. 
"We've just received reports of massive destruction of artwork there."

	"We were just there," said Croft. "We didn't see anything. It 
must have happened after we left."

	The operative said, "There were also reports of people covering 
themselves with garbage and-" he stopped when he saw Preston. Preston, 
whose shirt was covered in garbage. "What happened to you?"

	"What do you mean?" said Preston.

	"There's junk on your shirt," said the operative.

	"Junk?" said Preston. He looked down, and stared.

	Suddenly, Croft blinked. "Preston!" he shouted.

	Preston involuntarily jumped in the air. "There's all kind of 
garbage on my shirt!"

	"Yes, and you put it there," said Croft. "You took it out of a 
garbage can, remember?"

	"Yeah, but I thought...."

	"Thought what?" said Croft.

	"It was some artsy thing...."
	"It wasn't," said Croft grimly.

	"I remember now," said Agent Waverly. "I mean, I remember 
everything that happened there, but it's all different, now. I thought 
we were watching some kind of performance art."

	"They were smearing themselves with garbage and ripping up 
painting, right in front of us," said Croft. "And we thought it was 
performance art."

	"Yes, yes, performance art," said Mongo. "Very amusing, Mongo 
likes." He gave them all wide smiles.
	Waverly looked at Mongo. "It's worn off on us, how come it hasn't 
on him?"

	"Oh, it's worn off on him too," Croft said wearily. This wasn't 
the time to get into a detailed explanation of Mongo's artistic tastes.

	"Well, at least this fits the pattern," said Agent Waverly. 
"Whatever suggestion we're given seems to wear off in time, especially 
if we're told that's something's wrong."

	"Very comforting," said Croft.

	"What's amazing is that he had the ability to control an entire 
room full of people," said Agent Waverly. "That makes him even more 
dangerous than I thought."

	Suddenly, Preston realized he had an odd taste in his mouth, and 
he ran off.

	"Where did he go?" Waverly asked.

	"I think he just realized that he sampled some of the art," said 
Croft.



	"This is disgraceful," said the Chief. He was watching the 
holovideo of the security cam from the museum. He saw it all--people 
ripping up the paintings, while Croft, Waverly, Preston, and Mongo just 
stood there.

	"I agree, it's not my best side," said Croft, squinting at his 
image on the holo.

	"This isn't funny, Croft," said A.A.

	"Bad art rarely is, Chief," said Croft. Before A.A. could speak 
again, Croft added, "What did you expect us to do? We were under mind 
control, like all the rest."

	"You have to figure out how to stop him," said the Chief. 
Suddenly, there was a buzz on his comm. "Yes?"

	The Chief read a message that appeared on his holodisplay. It was 
set for one way, so Croft couldn't read it from his side of the desk.

	"A League destroyer has just defected to the Slurians," said the 
Chief.

	"What?" said Croft. That was unheard of.

	"The Captain made a broadcast, saying the League was corrupt and 
effete, and that he and his crew were joining up with the Slurians."

	"How could this happen?" said Croft.

	"I don't think there's any reason to guess," said the Chief. He 
pressed a button, and Croft saw a holoimage of the Captain's broadcast. 
The Captain spoke slowly, haltingly, staring into space as he spoke.

	"He obviously looks drugged," said Croft. "The Slurians must 
have-"

	"The Slurians did nothing," said the Chief. "This broadcast was 
made before they surrendered."

	"Before," said Croft. "Wender?"
	"Undoubtedly," said A.A.

	"But... to control the entire crew of a destroyer?"

	"This man has to be stopped," said the Chief. "And I mean stopped 
now."

	"It's a little difficult, sir," said Croft. "If he sees us 
coming, we don't stand a chance."

	"Then don't let him see you coming," said the Chief. He drummed 
his fingers on his desk. "You are now authorized to terminate him."

	"You don't want him alive?"

	"He's too dangerous," said the Chief.

	"Why is everyone telling me to kill him?"

	"Just because he doesn't have a blaster pointing at you doesn't 
make him any less dangerous than a Graftonite killer," said the Chief. 
"In fact, he's even more dangerous than a Graftonite killer. A 
Graftonite killer we could stop."

	"How?" said Croft.

	"With another Graftonite killer, of course," said the Chief. 
"Unfortunately we do not have one of his kind in our arsenal," he 
added, referring to Wender.

	"All right," said Croft, getting up.

	"I'm not removing you from the case, but I'm assigning all 
available teams to hunt down and eliminate this individual," said the 
Chief. 

	"Understood," said Croft.

	An entire destroyer crew. What were the limits of this man's 
mind?


Chapter 5: Platform #8 is Falling



	"Does this look strange to you?" said Croft. 

	He stood with Agent Waverly in a large banquet hall. A benefit 
was being held to raise money for the zero gravity ballet. Very fancy-
fancy men in fancy tuxedos and women in even fancier dresses were 
milling about.

	Except the men weren't wearing any pants. Or underwear. And the 
women had ripped off the bottoms of their dresses.

	And all their buttocks were colored purple. 

	"Yes, this looks strange to me," said Agent Waverly.

	A long line of people were waiting for something. Croft and 
Waverly went to the front of the line. A distinguished gentleman, 
presumably the host, was sitting on a chair. A guest would lie down on 
his lap, and he would wack their bare bottom with his hand.

	"Thank you very much!" the guest smiled, getting up gracefully, 
so the next person could take her turn.

	"This Mind Bender seems to have fetishes about nudity, and 
embarrassment," said Agent Waverly, watching the spankings 
dispassionately.

	"And League destroyers," said Croft.

	"That wasn't so nice," said Agent Waverly. "But it just proves 
how erratic he is. One moment he is engaged in the silly, and the next 
something serious or deadly."

	"The crew of the destroyer wasn't so amused," said Croft. "When 
Wender's suggestion wore off, they found themselves the prisoners of 
the Slurians."

	"Are you going to get them back?"

	"We'll probably have to give the Slurians something in return," 
said Croft. "Some political or economic concession. But they'll have a 
field day with our destroyer. It was one of our most modern ones."

	Croft and Waverly passed a station where guests were bending over 
to have their buttocks painted with a purplish substance.

	"I also notice he seems to like purple," said Agent Waverly.

	"I don't know what possible use that information is," said Croft, 
watching someone's tush get painted purple.	

	"I'm just trying to build a complete profile," said Agent 
Waverly.

	"But you think this is all strange, right?" said Croft anxiously.

	"Definitely," said Agent Waverly, watching a guest get up, with 
paint dripping from his buttocks, as he thanked his illustrator.

	"So that means Wender isn't here," said Croft. "If he were here, 
we would be thinking that this is normal."

	"Not necessarily," said Agent Waverly. "He might want us to be 
aware enough to admire his work."

	"No," said Croft. "If he were here, we'd be getting our bottoms 
painted purple and we'd never wonder about it."

	"Perhaps you are correct," said Agent Waverly.



	They returned to Column HQ.  Preston gave them an update. "The 
news networks are being flooded with false stories."

	"What kind of stories?" Croft asked. He eyed Mongo, sitting in a 
corner, muttering to himself. 

	"Well, let 's see." Preston checked a datapad. "August is about 
to crash into the sun. Free money is being given out at the Palace. 
August is officially being turned over to Sluria. The Secretary of 
Foreign Affairs is having a secret love affair with a mutated goat."

	"That last one has a ring of truth to it," said Croft. 

	They stared at him.

	"It does, sort of," said Croft. He had always had his suspicions 
of the Foreign Affairs Secretary. Croft wondered for a split second if 
he should edit what he said before saying the first thing that came to 
mind. No, he decided, honesty and expressiveness was always the best 
policy.

	Preston said, "In each case the false news story is 
professionally written, with details, in a serious tone, like a real 
article."

	"Why aren't editors pulling these articles before they're 
published?" said Croft.

	"He's gotten to the editors too," said Preston. "The stories are 
pulled once they start getting complaints, but each story can be out 
there a while before someone with a brain notices."

	Croft knew how rare and far between those kind of people were 
"Which news service was affected?" Croft asked.

	"It's not just one news service, it's a bunch of them. The Mind 
Bender has had a busy day," said Preston grimly.

	"Yes, he has," said Croft.

	At that moment the nondescript man casually walked into the 
office.

	"None of you see me," he said, equally casually. He walked right 
by Croft without Croft giving him a glance, and made his way to the 
area where the agents were sitting. The nondescript man made a few 
whispered suggestions.

	One agent wrote a short letter saying that he was a secret 
operative with the Column. Then he arranged to have this letter 
published on a public electronic message board that all could see.

	Another operative located a series of electronic files, and then, 
in bunches, started transmitting them. 

	To Sluria.

	"We have to figure out where he will strike next," said Croft, 
trying to think. 

	"I don't think you can figure it out," said Agent Waverly.

	"Why not?" Croft asked, genuinely curious. It seemed an odd thing 
for Waverly to say.

	Someone whispered something in the background.

	"Because you're an idiot," said Agent Waverly, somewhat 
mechanically.

	"Yes, I am an idiot," said Croft, nodding sagely.

	Preston wrote the word IDIOT in big letters on a piece of paper. 
Then he taped it to Croft's shirt.

	"That was helpful, thank you," said Croft politely. Then, "Think, 
people, think! How do we stop him?"

	Suddenly alarm bells rang. Agents rushed into the room.

	"What's going on?" said Croft.

	One of the agents looked at Croft, with the big idiot sign on 
him. "Secure data is being transmitted to the Slurians."

	"From where?"

	"From this room!" said the agent. He raced passed Croft to an 
agent, who was still typing away, until the agents grabbed him.

	"It's the Mind Bender, he's here!" said Croft. He activated his 
comm. "Monitoring station four, do you see him?"

	"Checking." There was a short wait, while, at a remote location, 
the room was scanned by other operatives. They had been given a holo of 
Wender's appearance, but there were a lot of agents in the room.

	"Negative," said the voice. "But are you aware that you are 
wearing a big sign that says "Idiot"?"

	Croft looked down, and, suddenly noticing it, ripped it off. "Go 
to storage backup, and review the past thirty minutes."

	"Standby," said the voice.

	Croft looked at the piece of paper, and crumpled it. "He was 
here, right here, and we didn't even notice it."
	"It certainly looks that way," said Preston.

	"Mongo!" said Croft.

	Mongo looked up. Mongo was probably affected like the rest of 
them, but maybe, while Wender was here, he had an incidental 
thought....

	"Mongo, did you see the strange man?" Croft asked.

	"Strange man," said Mongo, in a low voice. "Yes, I saw the 
strange man."

	"Can you tell me what he's going to do next, where he will be?" 
Croft asked.

	"Strange man... will be on atmospheric platform 8, in one hour," 
said Mongo, in a dull tone.

	Something sounded off. Not what Mongo was saying it, but how he 
was saying it. Usually Mongo wasn't so... direct. He had to be prodded, 
cajoled.

	"Mongo, are you sure Wender-"

	Someone on the far side of the room drew a blaster and fired at 
Croft. The blast hit Croft's desk. He ducked.

	The person kept firing. An agent fired back, hitting the 
attacker. The attacker fell to the ground.

	"Clear," someone said.

	Croft got up. "Who was it?"

	They looked. It was one of their agents.

	Croft said, "Undoubtedly before the Mind Bender left us, he made 
a number of suggestions meant to take effect after he left. But how did 
Wender trigger-"
	Another agent whipped out his blaster. Croft, a little quicker 
this time, ducked behind his desk before the agent could fire at him. 
The agent fired, the bolt grazing the top of Croft's desk. Another 
operative fired, stunning the latest attacker.

	"I think we've found the keyword," said Agent Waverly.

	Croft, his blaster drawn, peered up from behind his desk. 
"Wender!" he said again.

	Suddenly, another agent drew his blaster, but he was stunned 
before he could aim it.

	"Wender!" said Croft again, peering from behind his desk, where 
he still crouched.

	"Wender!" said Croft again. "Wender Wender Wender."

	"It appears to be safe," said Agent Waverly, looking around, with 
his blaster in hand. "You can get up from behind your desk now, I 
think."

	Croft spoke to the agent in charge. "Take them to sickbay," he 
said, referring to the stunned agents. "They will be all right in a few 
hours."
	"What about the people on the atmospheric platform?" said Agent 
Waverly.

	"We've got to go help them," said Croft. He went for his 
holoconsole. It was blasted. He went to one on a neighboring desk, and 
started typing.

	What was he typing? "We can't delay," said Agent Waverly.

	"A little delay is always good," said Croft, typing rapidly. 
After a moment he got up. He motioned to Preston, pointing at the 
terminal. "Make sure this gets done!" Then he turned to Waverly. "All 
right, let's go!" He grabbed Mongo by the arm.

	"Not to touch!" said Mongo, jerking back.

	"Then come on!" said Croft.

	Goaded by the fear of Croft's touch, Mongo started walking 
quickly towards the exit.



	They went to the roof where they strapped themselves into a 
multiseater gravitator. Croft took off even as Mongo was only beginning 
to strap himself in.

	Mongo gave a scream to show his lack of appreciation as he 
struggled to hang on. Croft gunned the gravitator at full speed, 
periodically glancing at the online map.

	"What do you think he's going to do?" said Agent Waverly.

	"He's going to crash the platform, of course," said Croft.

	Real estate in August, especially in Sarney Sarittenden, was at a 
premium. This was, after all, the capitol of the League and the 
Alliance, and the bureaucracy, already huge, only grew more so over the 
centuries. So buildings were built with hundreds of stories, and many 
buildings grew as big and wide as a city block.

	But that wasn't big enough. 

	So the city burrowed underground, creating multiple levels under 
the gigantic buildings.

	But even that wasn't enough.

	Even on August, there was still space to spread, both north, 
west, and south of Sarney Sarittenden. But when the prime measure of 
one's influence within the government (or with the government from the 
outside) was often measured by one's physical proximity to Sarney, 
spreading out too far wasn't an option.

	So the antigrav platforms were created. They were tremendously 
expensive, because each one had to carry thousands of pounds of weight, 
but they could house hundreds of bureaucrats (people). They generally 
hovered several hundred feet above the skyline, acquiring whatever 
expensive air rights they could to hover high in the air, above already 
tall buildings.

	No one ever gave any thought to the fact that unlike buildings, 
antigrav platforms were held up by an active technology. It was just 
assumed that this technology, around for hundreds of years, would never 
fail.

	But what if the platform were sabotaged... or someone simply 
turned off the antigrav?

	"He'll be killed if he's on the platform," said Agent Waverly.

	"I'm sure he'll have his own escape planned," said Croft. 
"Probably a gravitator of his own where he can watch the spectacle of a 
huge platform smashing into the buildings and streets below."

	"Well, this does conform to his pattern--random acts of 
humiliation or violence," said Agent Waverly.

	"Maybe Quick will give you a gold star for spotting the pattern, 
but it doesn't help us any," said Croft. Directorate agents were 
trained to be analytical, but sometimes they could be too much so, for 
Croft's tastes. He turned to Mongo. "Can you tell us exactly where or 
when he's going to sabotage the platform?"

	Mongo said, "He will sabotage platform number eight in one hour."

	Croft looked at Mongo. "That's word for word what you said 
before." He turned to Waverly. "The Mind Bender got to him."

	"Yes," said Agent Waverly. "So this is a trap."

	"Most probably," said Croft.

	Waverly was silent for a moment. "So we're going into a trap."

	"Yes," said Croft.

	"I just wanted to be sure I was following what was going on," 
said Agent Waverly.



	Several minutes later the platform came into view. It was a 
large, impressive structure, and even at a distance they could hear the 
antigrav motors underneath, glowing with power that made deep throbbing 
sounds.

	Croft knew better than to drive the gravitator directly under the 
antigrav units. But he did a quick skim around the edges of the 
platform.

	"If you're looking for sabotage you're probably wasting your 
time," said Agent Waverly. "He'll just have someone inside turn off the 
antigrav generators."

	"You're probably right," said Croft. 

	He maneuvered the gravitator close in to a landing pad. As they 
landed, Croft said to Waverly, "If you see him, shoot to kill."

	"I'm glad you're seeing things my way," said Agent Waverly. 

	"When a platform is about to crash and kill hundreds if not 
thousands of people, one's perspective changes," said Croft.

	They landed on the platform. Croft and Waverly got out of the 
gravitator. But Mongo didn't move.

	"Mongo?"
	"Mongo stay here," said Mongo.

	"Mongo comes with us," said Croft.

	"Mongo stay here," said Mongo. "Safer."

	"Are you sure about that?" said Croft, drawing his blaster.

	Wordlessly, Mongo got out of the gravitator and onto the 
platform.

	"That's quite a working relationship you have there," said Agent 
Waverly.

	"You should see the size of the fruit basket I get him on Mutant 
Appreciation Day," said Croft.

	They headed for the bottom level of the platform. That was where 
the antigrav engines would be housed. When they got there, they made 
their way through dark, narrow corridors. 

	Suddenly, Mongo stopped.

	"Mongo?" said Croft.

	"Switch, up ahead," said Mongo, sounding more like his old self. 
"Bad man will be there. May be there."

	"Will be? May be?" said Agent Waverly.

	"Mongo isn't sure if he's there yet," said Croft. "There are a 
number of possible futures. But do you see any of them in which we kill 
the Mind Bender?"

	Mongo shook his head, then mumbled something.

	"What?" said Croft, anxiously looking down the corridor.

	"Is possible. If you go forward, and other man goes around," said 
Mongo.

	"What is possible?" Croft persisted.

	"May surprise the bad man, giving time for this one to shoot 
him," said Mongo, indicating Waverly.

	"May?" said Croft. "What are your chances?"
	Mongo shrugged. "Mongo does not know chances. But Mongo sees 
many, many futures where you fail, and bad man controls you, controls 
you both."

	"That doesn't sound so good."

	"If you go in direct, together, bad man will definitely control 
you," said Mongo. "But if one of you goes around, you may win."

	"How many futures do you see us winning in, if we try this?" 
Croft asked.

	"One," said Mongo. He paused, and blinked. "Maybe two."

	"And how many do you see us losing in?"

	"Many," said Mongo. "Many many."

	"Don't you see anything else where we come out alive, with a 
little better odds?" said Agent Waverly.

	"Yes," said Mongo promptly. "If we head back to gravitator 
promptly, we will get out safely. Other peoples will fall. Croft will 
look very sad, and unjustly blame Mongo, but we will be alive."

	"I mean, an alternative where we save the platform?" said Agent 
Waverly.

	Mongo shrugged. "Mongo can not see all permutations that far 
ahead."

	"But you said you can see far enough ahead to see what will 
happen if we head back now," said Waverly. "You say you see us saving 
ourselves and Croft blaming you."

	"Well, do not actually see that," said Mongo. "Just using common 
sense that the Croft will blame poor Mongo."

	Croft looked at Waverly, who looked back at him.

	"We're talking several hundred people here," said Croft.

	"Can they be evacuated?" said Agent Waverly.

	"He'll flip the switch before the first one gets off."

	Waverly took a deep breath. "Then I'll try to go around while you 
distract him."

	"Good luck," said Croft, as Waverly turned down a side corridor.

	Croft turned to Mongo. "You can go."

	"Go?" said Mongo, looking surprised.

	"Surely you can see a future where I said that. Get back to the 
gravitator. There's nothing more you can do here."
	Mongo gave Croft an unusual stare, but whether he was 
experiencing curiosity or admiration or something else, Croft couldn't 
be sure. After matching his glance for a long second, Mongo turned and 
scampered off.

	Croft marched down the dark corridor, his breath labored. Mongo 
said his chances weren't very good. It was difficult to march into a 
situation where you knew in advance that you had very little chance of 
success.

	But Mongo had been wrong before, misinterpreting futures or 
viewing futures that didn't come to pass. Maybe this would be one of 
those times.

	Given the Mind Bender's powers, however, it was hard to believe 
that Croft would prevail.

	"Ah, there you are."

	Croft blinked, and he found himself facing the Mind Bender, 
standing next to a bank of electrical panels and a rather large switch. 
What had happened? It felt like a piece of time had been sliced away.

	Croft noticed that his blaster, which had been in his hand, was 
now holstered. He tried to reach for it, but for some reason he 
couldn't move.

	The Mind Bender smiled at him, as if he knew Croft's dilemma.

	"I'm afraid I can't let you shoot me," said the Mind Bender.

	Croft's mind raced.

	"Nor can I let Agent Waverly shoot me," said the Mind Bender, and 
he stepped aside, and Croft saw that Agent Waverly was frozen in place, 
on the other side of the corridor.

	"Really, you never were very much competition."

	Croft found he could speak. "Is that what you were looking for, 
competition?"
	"You are rated the best, the best of the best, a level one Column 
agent," said the Mind Bender. Now that Croft saw him up close, he 
didn't look at all unusual, just an ordinary, nondescript man.

	Wender approached Croft. "But you were no challenge at all."

	"What do you expect?" said Croft. "I can't control minds like 
you."
	"I know," said Wender. "I can't find any person who is my equal. 
Depressing, isn't it?"

	"Life is difficult all over," said Croft. "Did you hear how taxes 
went up again last month?"

	"Your attempt to be humorous is very feeble," said Wender.

	"If I had known you were running a talent show, I would have 
practiced my tap dancing," said Croft.

	"Do you have anything else to say before I pull this switch?" 
said Wender.

	"Yes," said Croft.

	Wender waited. "Well?"

	"Don't pull the switch."

	Wender laughed.

	"Is there something you want?" Croft asked.	

	"Something I want?" said Wender, a maniacal expression on his 
face. "What do I want? What does anyone want?"

	"Philosophers have debated this for ages," said Croft. "Chubar of 
Greenfields one said that desire is like a little frosted fruit cup 
that doesn't have a cherry on top-"

	"Silence!" said the Mind Bender. He stood close to Croft. "There 
is nothing I want; certainly nothing that you puny humans can give me. 
I'm the most powerful human being on this planet. On any planet. What 
is there that you can give me?"

	"Is that what this is about? Proving how powerful you are?" said 
Croft. "I grant you that you have the ability to control minds. But is 
it really necessary to kill people to prove it?"
	"Kill?" said Wender. "Killing applies to sentients. I stepped on 
a bunch of ants!"

	"Is that how you think of us?"
	"That's how I think of you now," said the Mind Bender. "I am as 
far above you as you are above an amoeba, and we have about as much in 
common. I am a quantum leap ahead in the evolution of mankind."

	"I hope not," said Croft. "It would be a shame if we all became 
maniacal killers."

	"Watch your tongue, Croft!" said the Mind Bender, and he moved 
his face to Croft's. "Or perhaps I'll have you cut yours out. I can do 
it, you know; make you do anything, I mean. I can make you shoot 
Waverly, or yourself, or go and jump off this platform."

	"Why have me do any of this?" said Croft. "You were a member of 
the Exploration Service. You can use your powers for good-"
	"Oh, don't give me that trite nonsense," the Mind Bender snapped. 
"I didn't keep you alive this long to hear that kind of garbage."

	"Keep me alive? It seems you tried several times to kill me," 
said Croft.

	The Mind Bender looked mockingly at Croft. "Kill you? I was 
toying with you." He stuck a finger in Croft's chest. "If I wanted you 
dead, you'd be dead."

	He moved towards the switch. "And now, I think I want you dead."

	"Again, where is the logic in this? What do you hope to 
accomplish?" Croft asked.

	"To show them," said the Mind Bender. "That I could take the best 
of the best. That I can do what I want."

	"We already see that," said Croft. "But what is it you want?"
	The Mind Bender frowned, as if the question irritated him. "I 
want whatever I want! I haven't decided what I want! Whatever I want, 
is whatever I want at the moment that strikes my fancy, and I take it!"

	He put his hand on the switch.

	"And at this moment, I want this!" said the Mind Bender, pulling 
the switch.

	There was a low groan, and lights on the monitoring panels 
started to dim. An alarm sounded, and Croft could feel the ground 
slowly start to sink beneath him.

	The Mind Bender grinned. "I did a little research. The antigravs 
turn off slowly. A safety precaution. One that will give me more than 
enough time to get to a gravitator and enjoy the view."

	"And you expect me to just stand here and let this happen?"
	"Yes," said the Mind Bender. He reached over and pulled Croft's 
blaster from its holster. He aimed it at Croft.

	It was set to kill.

	The Mind Bender slowly squeezed the trigger....

	But at the last moment the Mind Bender turned aside and shot the 
surrounding consoles. Once, and then twice. Sparked splayed over Croft, 
making him wince, but still he did not move.

	The Mind Bender turned back to Croft, the blaster still in his 
hand.

	The Mind Bender stared into Croft's face.

	"Thank you," he said, putting the blaster back in Croft's 
holster.

	"And now, I must take my leave of you," said the Mind Bender. He 
brushed past Croft provocatively. Croft didn't even flinch. The Mind 
Bender headed down the corridor, so very confident that Croft would not 
turn and shoot him.

	Would not?

	Could not.

	The floor started to sink more rapidly.

	Croft tried to get himself to move. His legs wouldn't budge.

	"Waverly," he yelled.

	"Yes," came the distant answer. "I can't move either."

	"But he's gone. And we know what he's done. It should wear off."
	"He's only been gone a moment," said Agent Waverly. "Perhaps it 
takes more time to wear off. Or perhaps he implanted the command to 
stay still more strongly with us."

	"We can't think that way," said Croft. "We've got to move."

	This was silly. There was nothing wrong with his legs. He had 
simply been told not to move. That was ridiculous. Move, Croft thought, 
move!

	But his legs wouldn't budge.

	Croft heard voices, rapid footsteps above them. Panic. Would 
someone come down here to save them? They'd have to be carried off the 
platform. Was there time?

	No, people were likely fleeing for their lives.

	Maybe Mongo would come?

	Even less likely.
	There was another lurch, and the floor beneath them started to 
drop more quickly.

	"Try to concentrate on moving any part of your body, even a 
finger," said Agent Waverly.

	"A finger isn't going to help," said Croft, trying anyway.

	"It may help to break the impulse."

	Croft strained. He tried to move... he strained.... he moved a 
finger, slightly. Or did he?

	The ground dropped even more rapidly. They were in freefall now. 
Croft didn't say what both men knew; even if they got control back over 
their legs, there was no way they would reach the docking level in 
time, assuming there was a gravitator left to be had.

	Agent Waverly looked at Croft, and nodded. "It's been a pleasure 
serving with you, Agent Croft."

	Croft gave Waverly a look of pure determination. "I'm not ready 
to give up yet."

	"What can happen, in the few seconds remaining?" said Agent 
Waverly.

	Croft arched an eyebrow. Suddenly, he found he could move his 
left arm a bit. And then he found he could move his right arm, just a 
bit.

	And suddenly, there was a jarring jolt, which sent both men 
crashing to the ground.

	The platform had stopped falling.

	Croft sat up, saw Waverly doing the same. "Are you all right?"

	"Remarkably, yes," said Agent Waverly. "Please don't take this 
the wrong way, but why are we still alive? That wasn't us hitting the 
ground, was it?"

	"No," said Croft. "If that had happened, we wouldn't be sitting 
here talking about it. What you felt was the jolt from a magnetic 
attractor beam, probably from the strength of it, from two or more 
cruisers, or maybe a battleship."

	"What?"

	"I anticipated that we might have a bit of difficulty with the 
Mind Bender. So I had Preston prepare a backup plan. An all points 
bulletin went out to any League warships in orbit to come and help 
out."

	"But you didn't know-"

	"Whether they would make it in time? No. That's why we had to try 
to save the platform as well," said Croft.

	"But Mongo-"

	"-couldn't see past the pulling of the lever," said Croft. "He 
didn't know what would happen next. Sometimes he can see for longer 
periods, sometimes shorter ones. That's why his predictions have to be 
taken skeptically."

	Waverly looked at Croft with newfound admiration. "I think 
Director Quick was right about you."

	



	"Of course I was right about him," said the holoimage of Steven 
Quick, those bright silvery eyes staring alternatively at Agent Waverly 
and Croft.

	They had the League Battleship Majestic, under the command of the 
legendary Myster Harkness, to thank for their last minute rescue, some 
eighty feet above the August skyline. Two other cruisers arrived 
seconds later, supporting the Majestic's beam, and several more ships 
arrived after that, keeping the platform in tow until engineers could 
repair the damage to the antigrav system on the platform.

	"He's mad," said Croft. "Whatever gave him the power also made 
him mad. He has no goals, other than random destruction."

	"That's not quite true," said Quick. "He does seem to have a 
persistent fixation with you."

	"With killing me," Croft corrected him.

	"With you," said Quick. "You were the one he put the idiot tag 
on. He feels competitive with you. He has tried to kill you, but hasn't 
tried very hard to do so."

	"It seemed otherwise to me."
	"In your last encounter, perhaps," said Quick. "But consider the 
first time. He tried to kill you in a hovercrash. Hovercraft crashes do 
happen, but fatality is far from certain when they occur."

	"He also had several of my fellow agents try to shoot me," said 
Croft.

	"Agent Waverly?"

	"True," said Agent Waverly. "But I noticed that the first agent 
to open fire was one far across the room. The second and third were 
also some distance from Croft."
	"So?" said Croft.

	"If he wanted you dead, why didn't he have an agent close by 
shoot you?" said Agent Waverly. "Or why didn't he shoot you himself?"

	Croft didn't have an answer.

	"Even on the platform, he didn't shoot you even when he had a 
blaster and you stood right in front of him," said Agent Waverly.

	"What are you saying, that he expected me to survive?"

	"Not during the last encounter," said Quick. "But he definitely 
is playing with you. Now that he knows that the platform didn't crash, 
he will know you are still alive, and you can expect his fixation to 
resume."

	"How can that help us?" Croft asked.

	Those silvery eyes turned on Croft. "To set a trap, of course."

	"It's kind of difficult to trap this guy," said Croft.  "He knows 
you're coming, and he stops you. Although..."

	"What is it?" said Quick, probing him with those eyes.

	"Presumably he can read minds as well as control them."

	"So?" said Quick.

	"So how come he didn't know that I had ordered warships to 
intercept the platform?" Croft asked.

	"Perhaps he did know but didn't think they would arrive in time," 
said Agent Waverly.

	"No, he would have mentioned them, to taunt me."

	Quick gave him a look. "Were you thinking about the fleet when 
you encountered him?"

	"I... I don't remember," said Croft.

	"Perhaps he can only discern topics you are actively thinking 
about," said Agent Waverly.

	"Perhaps," said Croft.

	"Perhaps," said Quick. "But we're getting sidetracked from the 
main issue; how can this man be stopped?"

	"I really don't know," said Croft. "We don't have anyone in the 
gamma section who is remotely on his level."

	Quick paused. 	"We need to find out more about his powers, and 
how he acquired them."

	"We haven't had much luck with that either," said Croft. "All we 
were able to determine is that he probably acquired these powers when 
he went on his last Exploration Survey trip."

	"Yes, I read about it," said Quick. "I understand a followup 
expedition was sent out on the same course and heading."

	"Yes, on the same trajectory," said Croft. "They found nothing."

	"What did an examination of the ship reveal?" said Quick.

	"The Exploration Service found nothing," said Croft quickly.

	"The Exploration Service? What about the Column? Didn't you do 
your own investigation?" Quick asked.

	"I... I didn't feel a search of the ship was necessary," said 
Croft, suddenly feeling that something was not quite right.

	"Why?" said Quick, and those silvery eyes stared at him.

	Those eyes stared at him.

	Croft thought a moment. "I... I'm not sure."
	"To be more precise, Albert Wender didn't feel that a further 
search of his ship would be necessary, and he told you that, didn't 
he?" said Quick.

	"Perhaps," said Croft, straining to remember.

	"If he doesn't want you examining it, there may be something to 
find."

	"I'll have a team go over it immediately," said Croft. Why hadn't 
he ordered that before?

	"Good," said Quick. "Hang in there, you're making progress."
	"You really think so?" said Croft.

	"You're still alive, aren't you?"

	Quick's image faded.

	"I find that sentiment both cheerful and encouraging," said 
Croft.

	"The Director likes us to think positively," said Agent Waverly.

	"That's really nice," said Croft.


Chapter 6: The Mind Bender Gives Up



	Croft, sitting at an empty desk near his blasted desk, watched an 
advertisement on one of the holonetworks.

	"Buy Claritan Computers!" said a cheery model. "They only break 
down 84% of the time in the first year of use, and if you have any 
problems, it only takes only an average of 89 minutes to get past our 
AI holosupport program to get a real live technician-"

	"I think the Mind Bender is messing around with corporations 
again," Croft said.

	"You don't know the half of it," said Preston. "Turn to channel 
749."

	Croft did. He saw a televised meeting of the Claritan 
Corporation, or at least the August branch of the Claritan Corporation 
(it was giant multiplanetary corporation, one of the largest). The 
President of the Claritan branch, Ripon Favor, was speaking to 
employees on a platform.

	"Hello, team members!" said Favor. Team members. That was one of 
the most commonly used euphemism for junior employees. "I want to 
congratulate new teammembers from the former Janicrane corporation who 
joined our team last week when we acquired your company! I just want to 
let you know that you are all very valuable members of our team. 
However, to be perfectly honest, some teammembers are more valuable 
than others. That is why in the months following the merger, 80% of you 
will be released into the private sector, where you will be encouraged 
to grow in new directions-"

	"Hm, this sounds a little bit odd," said Croft. "On the other 
hand, it does have some elements of a typical doublethink corporate 
speech."
	"Keep watching," said Preston grimly.

	"It's never good to give without receiving, I always say, so I 
want all you new employees to come up here and tell me what you think," 
said Favor. "Come on, come up on the stage."
	A string of hesitant looking employees (ex-employees?) started to 
come up on the stage.

	"Come on over, come on," said Favor, waving them over. It was 
then, when the camera panned slightly back, that Croft saw someone 
standing behind Favor. Croft adjusted his zoom controls. And groaned. 
He saw Wender.

	Favor got down on his hands and knees, facing away from the 
employees. "Come on, tell me what you think, tell me!"

	"Uhhhh...." said the first employee.

	"Give me a good kick!" said Favor. "I deserve it."

	"I'll bet he does," said Croft.

	"Uhhh..." said the employee again.

	"Come on, I'm going to fire you! What do you have to lose?" said 
Favor. "Kick me! Kick me hard!"

	After some prodding, the first employee gave Favor a kick in the 
buttocks.

	"The Mind Bender seems to have an obsession with buttocks," said 
Agent Waverly.

	"Another useful pattern to note," Croft nodded sagely. "Better be 
sure to report that to Quick."

	"Come on, harder! Kick me harder!" said Favor, still grinning.

	The next employee gave a harder kick, one so hard that it 
actually pushed Favor forward a few inches. "Better! Next! Give me a 
real good kick! Remember, you're being fired, it doesn't matter what 
you do!"

	The next employee gave Favor a kick that sent him sprawling. He 
grinned got up, and actually shook the employee's hand. Then he got 
down on his hands and knees again.

	"Next!" Favor yelled. "Remember, there's no I in team!"

	The line of team members looked very long.

	"Did you notice anything when the camera panned out?" said Agent 
Waverly.

	"No," said Croft. "Didn't notice anything." Of course, he did 
notice something, but he was trying hard to deny it.

	"I saw Wender, standing behind Favor," said Agent Waverly.

	"Did you? Are you sure, he looks like a lot of people," said 
Croft, trying to obfuscate. After the last few encounters, he really, 
really did not want to go after Wender again. Besides, no one was being 
hurt. Not seriously.

	"We should go and intercept him. He's still there," Waverly urged 
him.

	"He may be gone by the time we get there," said Croft.

	"It's only a few minutes away."

	"Traffic is really bad this time of day."

	"Croft, why are you fighting me on this?" Waverly asked.

	"What's the harm? Favor is getting kicked. He probably deserves 
it," said Croft philosophically.

	"Croft, we're under orders to stop him," said Agent Waverly. 
"What is this all about?"
	"I don't know, Agent Waverly," said Croft. "It's just that when 
we go face to face with this guy, we're helpless, and every time we get 
together, he tries to kill me. This is another obvious trap; he 
certainly knew he would get picked up on the holos."
	"We could send a team of space marines in, armed to the teeth," 
said Preston.

	"And they would end up shooting themselves, or other employees," 
said Croft. "We've seen him take over groups of minds before. 
Although...."

	"What?" said Preston.

	Croft was still thinking about the battleship that had saved 
them. The Mind Bender had to be able to read minds to control them, 
right? Then how come he hadn't known the fleet was coming? Was there 
some weakness to be exploited? If there was a weakness, had Croft 
already discovered the weakness, only to have it suppressed by the Mind 
Bender?

 	"I really don't want to go there and simply be a target again."

	"Fine," said Agent Waverly. "Then I'll go alone."

	"It's obviously a trap," said Croft. "He just wants another 
chance to kill us."

	"He could come here and do that," said Agent Waverly. "He was 
already here once before."

	"Maybe he thought of another way of killing us over there that's 
more amusing for him," said Croft.

	"We have to go," said Agent Waverly.

	Suddenly, A.A.'s image appeared on the holoscreen. "Croft! Are 
you still here? He's broadcasting on a holochannel, not five standard 
miles from your location. Go and get him!"

	Croft sighed.



	When they arrived at the central auditorium in the Claritan 
building, Favor was still being kicked around. The cumulative kicking 
must have been painful, because now with every kick Favor screamed, 
"Ow!" before thanking each employee.

	The Mind Bender stood smugly behind Favor, looking very pleased 
with himself. He arched an eyebrow when he saw Croft and Waverly.

	"You haven't even drawn your blasters this time," said the Mind 
Bender approvingly. "You know you can't oppose me."

	"Is there something you want?" said Croft wearily.

	"As a matter of fact, yes," said the Mind Bender. He leaned 
towards Croft. "I was moderately impressed with your stratagem on the 
platform. Your use of the warships was moderately innovative."

	He hadn't known about the warships. He hadn't expected them. But 
how could he not have known?

	"Thanks for all the faint praise," said Croft, showing no outward 
reaction. "Now, what do you want?"

	"Why, to surrender, of course." The Mind Bender looked carefully 
at Croft to study his reaction.

	Nothing he said could have surprised Croft more. "What?"

	The Mind Bender assumed a bland expression. "Well, you won, and I 
lost, so I suppose there has to be some consequences. So I'm going to 
surrender."
	"Just like that?" said Croft.

	"Just like that," said the Mind Bender. 

	"This isn't a game, where you go back two squares and land in a 
penalty box," said Croft.

	"Everything is a game to me," said the Mind Bender. "I've never 
been incarcerated. It might be an interesting experience. For a short 
while." He smiled, and looked at Croft. "Of course, you might want to 
kill me. That thought has occurred to me. But, I suspect, it no longer 
occurs to you, does it?"

	Croft tried to go for his blaster, but suddenly, he found he 
couldn't.

	Neither could Waverly.

	"So your only option is to take me in," said the Mind Bender. 
"Or..."

	"Or what?"

	"Or watch this poor man get some more appreciation." He indicated 
the line to boot Favor in the rear end. "There's a very long line 
there, you know. By the way, and this may interest you, while I am 
controlling Favor, the employees, I mean team members, are acting under 
their own free will."
	Croft and Waverly exchanged glances. Nodding, they decided to 
take the Mind Bender in. They couldn't see what he was planning, but it 
didn't make sense to just leave him here.

	As they took the Mind Bender away. Other agents came to take 
Favor into custody. He would be all right in a few hours, although his 
rump would be sore for some time..

	But what about Croft? He felt an acute sense of danger as they 
drove back to Column HQ, with the Mind Bender in tow.

	Croft looked at Waverly. Waverly looked back at him. Even though 
they thought the Mind Bender could read their minds, they still felt 
afraid to speak their fears aloud.

	"Why so quiet?" the Mind Bender grinned. "This should be a happy 
day for you. You puny beings have finally succeeded in apprehending me. 
Doesn't this please you?"

	"For the moment, we're playing your game," said Croft. "Only for 
the moment."

	"Oh, you sound sore," said the Mind Bender. "By the way, did you 
realize you have the word 'Idiot' written on your chest?"

	Croft looked down at his shirt. He saw nothing.

	"I made you look!" the Mind Bender grinned.

	When they reached Column HQ, Croft led the Mind Bender to the 
detention area.

	Croft felt scarcely better when he gestured for the Mind Bender 
to go into a cell. The Mind Bender smiled and stepped in the cell. It 
was so obviously all a game for him. Even after Croft raised the 
forcefield he looked smug. The Mind Bender smiled at him, and looked 
around at his surroundings.

	What was he doing? Croft could not figure it out.

	The Mind Bender continued to smile at him. Croft's obvious 
confusion pleased him.

	Croft didn't give the guards there any special orders; there was 
no need to. The Mind Bender could leave any time he wanted to, and 
Croft knew it.

	Croft went immediately to the Chief, accompanied by Agent 
Waverly.

	"Well?" said A.A.

	"It's done," said Croft.

	"What do you mean?" said A.A.

	"We've got him in custody," said Croft.

	"In custody? Here?" The Chief looked incredulous. "How?"

	"He surrendered," said Croft.

	"I told you to terminate him," said the Chief.

	"I tried," said Croft. "You try and order someone to shoot him, 
Chief. Or try to shoot him yourself."

	The Chief considered. "I see what you mean. Maybe if we took him 
out to an empty area, and wrapped him around a bomb."

	"Which operative would do such a thing? Which operative would he 
permit to do such a thing?" Croft said.

	"I see the problem," said the Chief. "What is he up to?"

	"I really don't know," said Croft.

	"I have a suggestion," said Agent Waverly tentatively.

	"Yes?" said the Chief.

	"Evacuate the building," said Agent Waverly.

	"Evacuate?" said the Chief. "For what purpose?"

	"Evacuate, and have the League fleet bombard this building. Pound 
it until it's a pile of dust."

	The Chief looked at Waverly like he was mad. "Agent Waverly, do 
you have any idea where we are?"

	"Yes," said Agent Waverly.

	"We are in central August. This is a large, 400 story building. 
Even if we succeeded in evacuating the entire building without his 
figuring out what we were doing, there is no way a building this size 
cannot be destroyed without causing collateral damage."

	"Then evacuate the surrounding area as well, and blow it up," 
said Agent Waverly. "I don't know any more than Agent Croft what he's 
up to either, but this may be your only chance to kill him."

	"Furthermore the loss of resources would be tremendous," said the 
Chief. "This is our headquarters-"

	Agent Waverly spoke very slowly and clearly. "This may be your 
only chance to kill him."

	The Chief paused for a long moment. Then he nodded. He moved to 
press an alarm button-

	"Don't," said Agent Waverly. "If he hears it, he will simply get 
himself released. You have to pass the word, quietly."

	"It will take some time to evacuate this building," said the 
Chief. "There are several thousand people in this building. More in the 
surrounding buildings."

	"Then get started," said Agent Waverly.

	"I'll go and keep him distracted," said Croft.

	"No," said Agent Waverly. "He can read minds. He will find out 
our plans the minute you step into the cellblock."
	"Well, I'll monitor him by remote holo until the building is 
evacuated."

	The Chief paused, then nodded. He touched a button. "Jenkins! Get 
me the senior department heads, and get me fleet command-"

	They left the Chief's office. In a few moments they saw the first 
signs of evacuation.

	"It's a drastic plan," said Croft. "But for what it's worth, I 
hope it works."

	"So do I," said Agent Waverly. 

	Croft returned to his desk, which still bore blast marks from the 
incident of the other day. A new holoterminal had been installed. Croft 
keyed up the cellblock where the Mind Bender was. The Mind Bender was 
in his cell...

	but the forcefield was clearly down. And two of the guards were 
in the cell.

	Croft panned closer. One of the guards was giving the Mind Bender 
a massage. 

	The other was feeding him grapes.

	How to get the guards out of there without arousing Wender's 
suspicions?

	They would have to be the last two evacuated.

	Croft turned away and started frantically gathering some 
important data discs. There was a lot of hustle and bustle around him 
as others did the same. Agent Waverly, who didn't work there, simply 
stood and watched everyone prepare to leave.

	Twenty minutes later, Croft gathered all his data discs in a 
carry bag, and was preparing to go, when someone entered their section.

	"The evacuation has been canceled."

	Croft looked at the operative for a moment, and then turned to 
take another glance at the holomonitor.

	The cell was empty.

	The Mind Bender was gone.

	Croft adjusted the viewing controls, panning widely through the 
cellblock. He wasn't there, though the guards still were. Croft commed 
one of them. 

	"What happened to the prisoner?" he asked.

	"What?' said the guard.

	"The prisoner!" said Croft.

	"What prisoner?" said the guard.

	Croft frowned and made his way to the Chief's office. Bursting 
in, he said, "Chief-why was the evacuation cancelled-" before stopping 
himself.

	The Mind Bender stood in the Chief's office, flanked by two 
operatives.

	"What's going on here?" said Croft.

	"Nothing's going on," said the Chief. "What are you doing here?"

	"Looking for him," said Croft, nodding towards the Mind Bender.

	The Chief looked at the Mind Bender briefly. He appeared to see 
him, but didn't take any special note of him.

	"Chief, we should really get him back into a cell," said Croft, 
feeling a great deal of unease.
	"Why?" said the Chief.

	"He's dangerous," said Croft.

	The Chief frowned, as if he were trying to concentrate.

	The Mind Bender looked at the Chief, saying nothing. But 
something was obviously going on between them on a mental level.

	"No, I don't think so," said the Chief slowly. "He's not the 
problem anymore."

	"He's not?" Croft said incredulously. "If he's not the problem, 
than what is?"

	"You are," said the Chief. He turned to the two agents. "Take him 
to detention."

	"What?" said Croft, taking a step backward, preparing to put up a 
fight.

	"Relieve him of his sidearm," said the Chief.

	Croft suddenly lost the desire to actively resist. He let the 
agents take his blaster. "Why?"

	"Hold him in confinement until further notice," said the Chief. 
The agents took Croft away. The last image Croft saw was of the Mind 
Bender, smiling, as he stood behind the Chief in his office.

	Once they left the office Croft said, "Guys, guys, snap out of 
it! You're under mind control!"

	The agents didn't budge. The Mind Bender must have put a 
particularly tight squeeze on them.

	The agents marched Croft down to the elevator bank. 

	"I can't believe you're going to put me in detention!" said 
Croft.

	In a few minutes Croft was sitting in a cell, behind a forcefield 
in the detention area. "Ok, now I can believe it," he said, to no one 
in particular.

	He eyed a guard almost out of his vision, just beyond the force 
field. Croft tried to get his attention.

	"You're making a mistake!" Croft yelled. "Snap out of it!"

	The operative stood outside his cell, but said nothing.

	Croft knew that eventually the Mind Bender's hold over the guards 
would be broken. But in the meantime Wender was alone with the Chief. 
Who knew what he was having the Chief do?
	Croft paced back and forth in frustration. He tried to think of a 
plan to get past the forcefield and the armed guards in the cellblock. 
Nothing came to mind immediately.

	After some time had passed, he heard footsteps.

	"Let him out," said a familiar voice.

	"We have orders to keep him here," said one of the operatives.

	"Your orders are not valid," said the voice.

	"We have orders to keep him here," said one of the operatives.

	"I am countermanding them," said the voice. There was the sound 
of blasterfire, and then not one but two operatives fell into view on 
the ground. A few seconds later, Agent Waverly and Preston stepped 
forward.

	"What are you doing here?," Croft asked.

	"Looking for you," said Agent Waverly. He deactivated the 
forcefield.

	"He got to the Chief," said Croft, taking his blaster from one of 
the fallen operatives. "The Chief was his target all along."

	"Was he?" said Agent Waverly. "So what do you intend to do now?"

	"Go back in there and kill him."

	"You mean the Mind Bender, don't you?" said Preston uncertainly.

	Croft nodded, and gave a small grin.

	"I don't think you'll be successful," said Agent Waverly.

	"Well, I don't think your plan to evacuate the building and pound 
the area from orbit will work any more, either," said Croft.

	"I agree," said Agent Waverly. "But let us move with caution. Is 
there any way we can observe the Chief's office without going in it?"

	"The Chief's office is monitored, of course, but access to his 
security holomonitor has the highest level of security encryption," 
said Croft.

	"So you can't get access?" Waverly said.

	"Now, I didn't say that," said Croft.

	A few minutes later they were viewing a live feed from inside the 
Chief's office. The Chief was sitting in his office, looking at his 
holoprojector. There was no sign of the Mind Bender.

	"There's no way he could fool a holoprojector, could he?" Croft 
asked.

	"So far he's only been able to tamper with minds, not 
technology," said Agent Waverly.

	"My thinking exactly," said Croft. He lifted his blaster. "Let's 
go."
	They entered the Chief's office tentatively. The Chief, working 
at his desk, took several seconds to notice them.

	"What is it, Croft?" said the Chief. He didn't seem especially 
surprised or bothered by the fact that Croft was no longer in 
confinement.

	"Where is he?" said Croft.

	"Where is who?" said the Chief.

	"Wender," said Croft.

	"How would I know?" said the Chief.

	"He was just here," said Croft.

	The Chief frowned. "I haven't seen him."

	"Post hypnotic suggestion," said Agent Waverly. "He must have 
told the Chief to forget everything, just like the others."

	"Are you saying that Wender was in here?" said the Chief 
incredulously.

	"Yes," said Croft. "He had you order me put in detention, 
remember?"

	"Really?" said the Chief. He frowned. "No, I don't remember."

	"We need to activate the alert," said Preston. "He may still be 
in the building."

	The Chief pressed a button, and started the wheels moving on the 
alert.

	"That's great, but I don't think that will do any good," said 
Croft. "Even if he's still here, I don't think anyone will be allowed 
to report having seen him. The only thing that might work is to have 
the building searched remotely, from the secure cameras on each floor."
	"This is a 400 floor building," said the Chief. "Do you know how 
long that would take?"

	"That's the only way," said Croft.

	"Very well," said the Chief. He activated his comm and gave the 
appropriate orders.

	"In the meantime we have to figure out what he was doing here," 
said Agent Waverly.

	"It was another one of his stupid games," said Croft. "He wanted 
to show us he could escape at any time. He wanted to have some fun with 
the Chief."

	"Yes, I imagine that's what he wanted us to believe," said Agent 
Waverly dryly. Sometimes he had that superior air about him, like Quick 
did. "But I think there may have been another purpose to his visit."

	"What?" said Croft.

	"At present, I don't have an answer for that. But if we look at 
the secure holorecordings for this room, we might find an answer."

	The Chief went to his terminal and called them up. They played it 
back, starting from the point when Wender came into the room.

	"What are you doing here?" they saw the Chief say, his hand 
moving towards an alarm.

	"Everything is fine, there's nothing to be concerned about," said 
Wender.

	"Nothing to be concerned about," said the Chief, moving his hand 
away.

	From then on Wender did no talking. He simply stared at the 
Chief. 

	"The military control center," said the Chief, in response to no 
question in particular.

	"Several levels of security," said the Chief, again not in 
response to anything said.

	"Normally an office on the 200th floor," said the Chief. "In an 
emergency, they go to a sublevel bunker."

	There was another pause.

	"Let me check," said the Chief. He punched a few buttons on his 
terminal. 

	"Yes, the Secretary of Defense and the joint chiefs are currently 
there," said the Chief. 

	There was another silence.

	"When you get off the elevator on the 200th floor, you go 
straight down a long corridor, then past two offices," said the Chief.

	Another pause.

	"The 100th floor, in the office to your right as you get off the 
elevator," said the Chief.

	A few seconds later Wender looked around and said, "Someone is 
coming."

	The Chief pressed a button, and called two operatives into his 
office. They barely got there before Croft did. They looked startled to 
see Wender, and then their faces went blank. Then Croft came in. The 
Chief watched with surprise as he saw himself on the recording ordering 
Croft to be taken away. When Croft had gone, Wender looked at the 
Chief, and the Chief nodded, and returned to work, as Wender walked 
out.

	"You can cancel that search of the building," said Croft.

	"What or who is he after?" Agent Waverly asked.

	"The Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs," said the Chief. 
He pressed a button. "I've got to alert them."

	"If it isn't already too late," said Croft.

	They found out a moment later. 

	The Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs, the most senior 
military generals and admirals in the League, were gone. A nondescript 
man had come in. He hadn't been stopped or questioned by several layers 
of intrusive security, instead walking right by them.

	He had gone into the office of the Secretary of Defense without 
being questioned, walking out a few seconds later with the Secretary. 
They went to the office of the Joint Chiefs, and a few seconds after 
that the Joint Chiefs followed him out. They left the military security 
center and that was the last time they were seen.

	"That's why he surrendered," said Agent Waverly. "He wanted to 
see to Director Alderman so he could get to the Secretary of Defense 
and the Joint Chiefs."

	"Why would he even need the Chief?" said Preston. "This guy can 
go anywhere he wants."

	"That's true, but he didn't know where the Secretary was," said 
Agent Waverly. "The Chief told him."

	"Yes, he did, didn't he," said Croft, getting an unusual gleam in 
his eye. There was something very, very odd about that.

	"It was totally coerced, of course," said the Chief, trying to 
deflect blame automatically. He was, after all, a bureaucrat.

	"Yes," said Croft, still thinking afield.

	"We must start a priority one search for them," said the Chief. 
"I'll notify the President."

	Croft nodded, and left the office.

	"Good luck with the search," said Preston. "Anyone who sees them 
isn't likely to be allowed to remember it."

	"August has an extensive surveillance system," said Agent 
Waverly. "It's possible they might be spotted remotely." He turned to 
Croft. "You seem fixated on a thought."

	"That occasionally happens," said Croft. He said nothing more.

	Planet-wide surveillance did indeed show the Mind Bender and his 
captives getting into a hovercar. But the trail quickly grew cold when 
they entered a building that wasn't under direct surveillance. From 
that building they could have gone to a number of connected buildings, 
or even into the underground parts of the city.

	"They're doing an extensive search, but we're not optimistic," 
said Preston.

	"Nor should you be," said Croft. He still seemed to be deep in 
thought.

	"Why would Wender want to take captives?" Preston said. "It's not 
his style."
	"No, it isn't," Waverly agreed.

	"We're receiving a secure transmission," said an operative.

	Croft turned to his holoscreen. The image of the Mind Bender 
appeared. He must have gotten the secure transmission code from one of 
his captives.

	"Ah, hello there,' said the Mind Bender. "I think I may have 
something that belongs to you. Seven somethings, or someones, to be 
specific." He smiled. The camera was panned tight, so one could only 
see a gleaming metal wall behind him, which didn't help identify his 
surroundings.

	"I'm willing to give them back," said the Mind Bender. "For a 
modest price."

	Everyone took a deep breath. How much would the Mind Bender 
demand?
	"20 million credits," said the Mind Bender. "In an unassigned 
datapad."

	20 million credits? He only wanted 20 million credits?

	"I want the credits delivered to me on top of the Sarney 
Sarittenden dam, in exactly eight hours from now," said the Mind 
Bender. He paused. "There's just one catch. I want the money delivered 
by the President."
	He paused again.

	"And the President should be naked. Totally naked. And painted 
purple, all over his body," said the Mind Bender. He gave a wide grin. 
"Eight hours. If you don't meet my demands, the 'dense secretary' and 
your high price generals will be dead in exactly sixty minutes after 
that. Dead, by their own hand."

	The camera panned to show the Secretary of Defense and generals 
with blasters in their hands. Their blasters were all pointed at each 
other.

	The image faded.

	There was a loud babble in the room as agents started talking to 
each other.

	"Ridiculous," said Croft.

	"Yes, a ridiculously small sum of money," said Preston.

	"He doesn't care at all about the money," said Croft. "He just 
wants to make a fool of the President."
	"That's what this was all about," said Agent Waverly. "And again 
we see his fetishes with nudity and the color purple."

	"That's all part of that fascinating and highly informative 
pattern," said Croft, stealing Waverly's best lines.

	They went to see the Chief.

	"You can't let him pay," said Croft.

	"The amount is almost trivial," said the Chief.

	"He's just trying to get to the President," said Croft.

	"It seems that he could have as easily gotten to the President 
before this," said the Chief.

	"Yes, but in his mind, kidnapping the President isn't nearly as 
amusing as getting the President to embarrass himself of his own free 
will," said Croft. "And who knows what else he might consider to be 
fun?"

	"What do you mean?"

	"Do you think he picked the dam just by chance?" said Croft.

	"What do you mean? said the Chief again.

	"I think after he's had his fun with the President, he may order 
him to take a dive," said Croft grimly.

	The Chief frowned. "You're right. We can't let the President 
participate. I just commed the Chief of Staff. They are certainly not 
inclined to let the President anywhere near this madman. But, on the 
other hand, we can't just let those men be killed. "
	"That's right," said Croft. "So we do something different."

	"How different?"

	"Let me deliver the ransom," said Croft.

	"He said the President had to deliver it," said Preston.

	"I like to think I have some presidential qualities," said Croft.

	"Do you think he'll be satisfied with you?" A.A. asked.

	"So many people are," said Croft.

	"Do you want to go up against him again?" said the Chief. "You 
were reluctant last time. What's change?'

	"Just a small bit of insight," said Croft. "Kind of like Agent 
Waverly's pattern analysis, only a little more useful."

	The Chief looked skeptical. "Do you really think you can get him 
to tell you where the hostages are?"
	"With the right planning and personnel, yes," said Croft.



	Nearly eight hours later, a number of operatives were in an 
aircar heading to the Sarney Sarittenden dam: Croft, Agent Waverly, 
Preston, and... Dalbo Alto.

	Dalbo was busy counting aircars around them.

	"I don't see how this is going to work," said Preston.

	"It's simple," said Croft. "Dalbo here reads his mind and finds 
out where the prisoners are."

	"But he can read minds too," said Preston. "What happens when he 
reads your mind and finds out you're trying to read his?"

	"We'll see," said Croft. He itched a little bit. He was wearing a 
formal seven piece suit for the occasion.

	"He'll order Dalbo to forget the location, or he'll kill you," 
said Preston.

	"Kill?" said Dalbo, momentarily breaking out of his daydream.

	"No, he said bill," said Croft. "He'll bill us."

	"Oh," said Dalbo. He resumed counting aircars around them.

	Croft spoke in a lower voice. "Do you have any other ideas on how 
to find the hostages in time?" he asked Preston.

	"No," said Preston. "But if we can't recover them, we should at 
least kill Wender."
	"Ah, he's standing on top of a rather large dam," said Croft. 
"Heavy ordinance is not advised."

	"You know more than you're saying," said Agent Waverly.

	"Or perhaps I'm saying more than I know," said Croft. He raised 
an eyebrow provocatively. "Did that ever occur to you?"

	They reached the dam. It was late afternoon, and the sun was just 
starting to dip below the tallest of the buildings in Sarney 
Sarittenden, casting large shadows. One very large shadow belonged to a 
single man, standing next to a gravitator parked in the middle of the 
dam.

	Croft stopped the aircar at the edge of the dam, where a security 
cordon had been set up. They got out of the aircar. 

	"Dalbo," said Croft. 

	Dalbo looked distracted. He appeared to be counting the onlookers 
being held back by security.

	"Dalbo!" said Croft.

	Dalbo reluctantly turned his head towards Croft.

	"Do you remember what it is we want?"
	Dalbo shook his head.

	How could Dalbo have known? Croft had only told him several times 
since they had left the institute.

	"We want to know where the prisoners are," said Croft. "I want 
you to probe the Mind Bender's mind and find out where the prisoners 
are, all right?"

	Dalbo shrugged.

	"Was that an I don't know shrug?" said Preston.

	"I think it was a yes shrug," said Croft, who eyed Dalbo 
expertly. He had gotten to know Dalbo fairly well over the years and 
could quickly gauge how spaced out he was at any given moment.

	"Does he realize how dangerous this can be?" said Preston.

	"Danger, a prelude to unpleasant stimuli," said Dalbo promptly.

	"On a very abstract level he does," said Croft. 

	"Do you want me to come with you?" Preston asked.

	Croft shook his head. "There's no sense."

	"You're very brave, Cliff," said Preston.

	Croft looked at the remaining sunlight of the day, shining on 
Preston's face. "I know."

	He turned to Dalbo. "Come on."
	The two of them, Croft and Dalbo, slowly made their way across 
the top of the dam. A single figure stood there in the middle, waiting 
for them.



	When they got close the Mind Bender didn't even bother to show 
surprise on his face.

	"You again," he sneered. "I told them to bring the President."

	"We've got the money," said Croft, holding up the datapad. 

	The Mind Bender put his face right next to Croft, who suddenly 
found he couldn't move. "I told you to bring the President, idiot."

	The Mind Bender took a step back, and looked at Dalbo. "Who is 
this?"

	Who is this.

	Who is this?

	The Mind Bender was actually asking who Dalbo was. It was if he 
didn't know.

	It was as if he couldn't read minds!

	"This is an aide to the Defense Secretary," said Croft. The Mind 
Bender hadn't, for the moment, controlled him to the point of making 
him answer questions, so he could still lie freely.

	The Mind Bender looked Dalbo over and frowned. "He doesn't look 
like an aide to me."

	Dalbo spoke. "I am Dalbo Alto. I count things. I notice 
patterns." Obviously, he had been compelled to say that. But what would 
that mean to the Mind Bender?

	"He's an analyst," said Croft. He quickly changed the subject. 
"We brought the money; you wouldn't mind telling us where the prisoners 
are, would you?" he asked. He knew that Dalbo could only pick up active 
thoughts; the Mind Bender had to actively be thinking about their 
location for Dalbo to find that information out.

	"Do you really expect me to tell you that?" said the Mind Bender, 
looking amused. "I'll tell you what, though, in an hour I'll tell you 
where their bodies can be found. Because there's no way you'll find 
them in time."

	"Shiny metal room," said Dalbo suddenly.

	"What?" said the Mind Bender.

	"He says they're in a shiny metal room-" said Croft.

	"I know what he said," snapped the Mind Bender.

	"We saw that from your transmission," said Croft quickly.

	"City sublevel 19a," said Dalbo. "19a, definitely 19a."

	The Mind Bender's jaw dropped. "How did you know that?"

	"Where on 19a?" said Croft sharply. Preston and the others should 
be listening in on his open comm line.

	The Mind Bender looked horrified as Dalbo stared at him. 
"Section... 2, definitely section 2," said Dalbo. "Very dirty, not well 
lit. A lot of dirt, litter, some papers, some pieces of metals."
	"How did you know that!" the Mind Bender shrieked.

	"All minds are open to me," said Dalbo dully. He was under the 
Mind Bender's control now.

	"Fascinating," said the Mind Bender. He quickly considered the 
consequences of this fact. He gave Croft a cunning look, and a nod, as 
if showing respect to a worthy adversary who had made an unexpected 
move. "Unfortunately, I can't allow either of you to reveal this 
information. Please step closer to the edge. I think you might enjoy 
the view."
	Croft found himself involuntarily stepping close to the edge, 
pressing against a waist high railing. Dalbo stood to his side.

	"1289," said Dalbo.

	"What?" said the Mind Bender.

	"1289 feet," said Dalbo, looking down. "I have read the dam is 
1289 feet tall. But I do not know if it includes the railing." He 
looked at the railing. "I estimate the railing is four or four and a 
half feet tall. It goes up against my waist, which is nearly four feet 
tall, so that would make it-"

	"Enough!" said the Mind Bender. He turned to Croft. "A nice 
trick, Croft. But your worthless generals will pay the price for your 
trickery." He stared eye to eye with Croft. "And now, so will you."

	Suddenly, Croft felt the overwhelming urge to leap over the 
railing. He tried to resist it... but he couldn't.

	He jumped over, almost at the same time Dalbo did. Immediately, 
they were falling down, and down....
	


Chapter 7: Journey Into The Unknown



	Dalbo was looking at his chrono as they plunged downwards. 
Undoubtedly he was curious to find out how long the journey would take.

	Croft lunged forward and grabbed Dalbo in a bear hug. Dalbo, 
surprised, tried to worm out of it, but Croft grabbed him tightly.

	Then Croft turned to his wrist and pressed a button. 

	The back of his "suit" jacket blew out, revealing a compact grav 
chute backpack. Less powerful than a gravitator, with very limited 
energy, they were good for slowing falls. Croft felt it working as 
their fall started to slow.

	But the ground wasn't very far below them. Could it stop their 
fall in time?

	They were still falling even as the grav chute continued to slow 
their descent. Croft watched the ground speeding towards them. Time, 
they needed more time-

	Their feet hit the ground first, and Croft expertly rolled to the 
side, unfortunately with Dalbo on top of him. 

	He felt pain radiating throughout the left side of his body. He 
lay there, winded, unmoving.

	Croft didn't know how long it took for Preston and Waverly to get 
there. But it seemed like only a moment later when they stood, looking 
down at him.

	"Croft!" Preston shouted, pulling him up. "Are you all right?"

	"Ow!"  said Croft, feeling the pain in his side. "I think I broke 
something."

	Dalbo got up of his own accord. "Can you describe the pain?" He 
seemed uninjured. Undoubtedly Croft had broken his fall.

	Describe the pain? "I'm looking right at it," said Croft, staring 
at him.

	"Let's get you to base medical," said Preston.

	"Wait, what about-"
	"We have a team already on the way there," said Preston. "Wender 
took off in his gravitator. It's a race, to see who will get there 
first."



	Croft didn't find out who had won the race until after he had 
been treated at the hospital, several hours later. He sat in an 
operating center while a doctor studied the treatment he had just 
received.

	"How is he, Doctor?" said Preston, coming into the room. Agent 
Waverly was with him.

	"A lot of bruises, a few broken ribs, nothing critical," said the 
doctor. He turned to Croft. "From what I hear, you were very lucky."

	"Lucky, yeah," Croft winced.

	"The bones have been fused, but it will be tender for the next 
day or two," said the doctor. "I prescribe rest-"

	"I'll rest when that madman is eliminated," said Croft. "Thank 
you, doctor." He got up, and left the room with Croft and Waverly.

	"We found them the generals, they're all ok," said Preston. "We 
were lucky that we had operatives closer to their location. They were 
able to get there and get them out before the Mind Bender could get 
back there."

	"Where are they now?" said Croft.

	"A secure location," said Preston. "Under observation for the 
next day or two, just to make sure that Wender's instructions wear 
off."

	"Your President and other senior officials have also been moved 
to undisclosed locations," said Agent Waverly. "Wender won't be able to 
try that particular trick again."

	Croft nodded.

	"How did you know? said Agent Waverly.

	"Know what?" Croft smiled, despite his discomfort.

	"How did you know that the Mind Bender couldn't read minds?" 
Agent Waverly asked.

	Croft smiled. "It first struck me when he was getting information 
from the Chief. I noticed that the Chief was answering questions that 
hadn't been asked. Obviously, Wender had been asking them 
telepathically. But the Chief was answering those questions in words. 
At first, I thought it was just a reflex--the Chief was responding in 
thoughts and words. But then it occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, 
the Chief was speaking because Wender couldn't read his mind. That he 
could only control minds, but not read them."
	"How could he possibly control a mind without being able to read 
it?" said Preston.

	"Let's go see Levi and find out," said Croft.



	"Of course is possible," said Levi, when they found him in his 
private kitchen deep in the heart of Column HQ. "As I try to tell you, 
reading minds, controlling minds, can be two very different things."

	"But how can he telepathically tell them what to do if he can't 
read their minds?" said Preston.

	"If you deaf, can you speak?" said Levi.

	"Well, yes, I suppose, but it's not the same thing-"

	"Is the same thing," said Levi. "Mind Bender knows what he is 
thinking. Knows how to project his own thoughts. Can probably sense 
presence of other minds, and direct thoughts in those directions."

	"He knew I was coming to the Chief's office before I came in," 
said Croft.

	"Or he knew someone was coming," said Levi. "It is like a garbled 
holocom turned on low. You can hear that it's there, but not know what 
it is saying."

	"So he projects the thoughts he wants the subject to obey, and 
then-"

	"Gets subjects to repeat what he told them to do, to make sure he 
got proper message through," said Levi. "He has immense power, but does 
not even know if he is successful with power unless subject tells him 
so."
	"Which is why whenever he asks a question telepathically the 
person he's controlling has to answer it verbally," says Croft. "That 
also explains why he didn't immediately know that Dalbo was a telepath, 
or that I had a mini grav chute hidden under my clothes."

	"That was a very clever deduction, Croft," said Agent Waverly. 
"But if you had been wrong-"

	"If I had been wrong, he probably would have had me take off my 
grav chute first," said Croft. "But I reviewed the records of his other 
victims. They spoke to him too. It seemed like more than a 
coincidence."

	"Now that we know this, how can we use this against him?" Preston 
asked.

	"Since we know he can't read our minds, we can confidently plan a 
surprise the next time we see him," said Croft. "If he asks for a 
datapad full of money, we can give him one that will blow up in his 
face."

	"It may not be that easy," said Agent Waverly. "All he has to do 
is to compel us to tell him what we're planning."

	"If he thinks of the right questions," said Croft. "It's a 
start."

	"What about his origins?" Waverly asked. "Did you ever have a 
Column tech team look over his Exploration Service ship?"
	"I did," said Croft. "They should have reported in by now." He 
activated his comm. Within a few moments he was speaking to the team 
leader.

	"This is agent Croft. Did you examine Wender's Exploration 
Service ship?" Croft asked.

	"Yes," came the tech's voice.

	"What did you find?" Croft asked.

	"We didn't find anything," said the tech.

	Croft frowned. "Did you check the log computer?"

	"We didn't find anything."

	"Forensic data?"
	"We did not find anything," the tech repeated, in an identical 
tone.

	"Thanks," said Croft, signing off. He looked at the others.

	"Wender got to them," said Preston.

	"I wonder what's in that ship that he doesn't want us to find," 
said Croft.

	"If he were thorough, he would have had his ship destroyed," said 
Agent Waverly. "Maybe there is nothing to find."
	"No, he's just sloppy," Croft decided. "That's another pattern 
that describes Wender. But by now he has obscured two investigations of 
his ship," said Croft. "So I'm guessing there's something there to 
find."

	"He really would have destroyed the ship, I think, if there were 
anything to find," said Preston. "I agree with Waverly on this one."

	"Then why would he obscure two investigations?" said Croft. "I'll 
say it again. He's sloppy. He acts on impulse. He's not a criminal 
mastermind. A criminal mastermind would have asked for more than 20 
million credits. A criminal mastermind would have questioned me more 
closely on the dam, and grabbed Dalbo, who's easily worth more than 20 
million credits. He acts erratically, and that's to our advantage."

	Croft turned to Levi. "Levi, I want you to check out Wender's 
Exploration Service ship."

	"What am looking for?" Levi asked.

	"Anything. Everything," said Croft. "His entire crew disappeared 
in midflight. The story is unbelievable. I want to see if you can come 
up with any evidence to find out what happened."

	"How do we know that what happened to the tech team won't happen 
to Levi?" Preston asked.

	"Wender can't be everywhere at once or know everything we do. But 
we will have to take some precautions," said Croft. "Levi, I want you 
to take a portable holotransmitter with you. Have someone monitor it 
and monitor you while you are examining the ship; if whoever monitors 
you sees any sign of Wender, we'll know that whatever conclusions you 
come to won't be your own."

	"All right," said Levi.



	Croft spent the rest of the day resting in bed, taking 
painkillers. When he got up the next morning, he was no longer in 
active pain but he felt sore whenever he moved. He called Waverly and 
Preston and told them to meet him in Levi's lab.

	When they got there, a small dog intercepted them at the door.

	"Arf arf!" said Quick, the small mutated Pomeranian.

	"We're looking for Levi, Quick," said Croft.

	"Arf, arf!" said Quick, still blocking their way.

	"We really don't think Levi would mind us being here," said 
Croft.

	"Roough!" said Quick, pointing his snout in the air as he barked.

	Croft suddenly gained some perspective. "Look at me; I'm arguing 
with a lap dog."

	Croft simply stepped around the small dog and entered the room. 
Quick, unhappy with the intruders, continued to yap.

	It seemed Levi wasn't in the lab. But his holoreceiver was on, 
and it showed an image of Levi inside an Exploration Service scoutship.

	Croft pressed the transmit button. "Levi, I told you to have 
someone watching you remotely."

	Levi pressed the button on his wrist comm. "Yes. Quick is 
watching. Quick, what is status?"

	The little dog ran up to the comm unit. "Arf arf!"

	"No sign of Mind Bender yet," Levi translated.

	"You're relying on the dog to guard your back?" said Preston. 
"How do you know he won't be distracted by a bone or going to the 
bathroom or something?"

	"Grrrr!" said Quick, baring his teeth at Preston.

	"Is a very conscientious animal," said Levi, bending over a 
console.

	"What have you found?" Croft asked.

	Levi turned to face the holotransmitter, and held up a plastic 
bag with a few bits of something in it.

	"Levi, this is no time for recipes," said Croft.

	"Dirt," said Levi. 

	Croft raised an eyebrow. He wasn't really a forensics specialist. 
"Levi, help me out here. Is it any particular kind of dirt?"
	"Alien dirt."

	"Alien dirt," said Croft. "Meaning..."

	"Soil," said Levi. "Ran it through shipboard analyzer. Doesn't 
match soil from any known inhabited planet."

	Croft frowned. "We were told that the ship never set down 
anywhere."

	"I think it did," said Levi. He manipulated a console, stared at 
the readout. "Ah!"

	"What?" said Croft.

	"Databanks altered," said Levi.

	"How do you know?" Croft asked.

	"Did simple unerase of original log. Very amateur job of erasure. 
Recovery of lost data showed ship set down on planet, different 
trajectory than what said in log," Levi continued to read the data, 
even as he spoke.

	"A planet," said Croft. "What else does it say?"
	"Planet breathable atmosphere. Ship there for several weeks. Then 
ship leave," said Levi.

	"No personal logs, no crew logs?" said Croft.

	"Found erased logs mentioning going to planet," said Levi. "But 
no logs once reached planet, or after."

	"Hm," said Croft. That sounded a little ominous.

	"Why wouldn't Wender want us to know about a planet he and his 
crew discovered?" Preston asked. "Unless...."

	"Unless something on this planet gave him this power," said 
Croft.

	"I think we have to investigate this," said Agent Waverly.

	"I'm afraid I agree," Croft sighed. He knew he had to go. But he 
didn't like the idea of going to some distant planet without any 
backup. Croft was an expert infiltrator; but he felt at ease 
infiltrating societies with a lot of people, where he knew how to blend 
in. Going to some distant planet where there was no people, but perhaps 
some dangerous aliens, was not his idea of infiltration work, and 
Croft's skills and natural advantages would not work for him.

	

	Four hours later, they were on one of the fastest and most famous 
ships in the Exploration Service fleet, the Space Racer, commanded by 
the legendary ES explorer, James Starr.

	If there was some alien artifacts on this unknown planet to be 
studied or interpreted, Starr was the best man for the job. He had 
hundreds of years of experience exploring uncharted planets and 
analyzing alien artifacts. He had also published many scholarly books 
on the subject, though because of their scholarly nature, only one, 
specifically designed for the mass market, had become an instant 
bestseller: the Complete Idiot's Guide to Monumental Technology. Croft 
had read it several times, but it was more of a basic guide than a how-
to book. Everyone was curious about the old monuments that were found 
scattered throughout the galaxy, but not much was really known about 
them. What little was known, however, was known quite well by James 
Starr. They were just lucky that he happened to be on August at this 
particular time; he was usually out among the stars, engaged in long 
distance travel and exploration.

	Preston and Agent Waverly accompanied them. Croft also brought 
Mongo. If they were going into danger, Mongo might get a warning in 
time to help them.

	"I have to admit a certain amount of apprehension about this 
trip," said Croft.

	"Why, Clifford?" said Starr.

	"I mean, this guy went to this planet and came back with the 
ability to control minds," said Croft.

	"Wouldn't you like the ability to control minds?" said Preston.

	"It certainly would be useful in dealing with A.A., and some 
other bosses I've had in the past," said Croft. "But this same ability 
also drove Wender mad. He probably killed his crew, and when he got 
back here... look what he did."

	"Wender had a violent background to begin with," said Starr. 
"There's no certainty that whatever gave him this power would also turn 
us into homicidal maniacs."

	"He had an assault record," said Croft. "But he never killed 
anyone."

	"Perhaps because he knew he couldn't get away with it before," 
said Starr. "But now he can."

	"Well, I just don't want to get turned into whatever he is," said 
Croft. "All our gamma operatives have something a little odd about 
them. I don't want to come back with the urge to count ceiling tiles or 
something like that."

	"Exploration always has a certain degree of risk."
	"Yes, and that makes me wonder why you do it," said Croft.

	"The thrill of adventure, and making new discoveries," said 
Starr. "But being a spy is not without its risk as well. It makes me 
wonder why you do what you do."

	"Well, I get to travel," said Croft. "And the Column also has an 
excellent dental plan."

	"Yes, yes, now the Croft admits he is frightened," hissed a 
familiar voice. "But does he tell that to Mongo before they leaves? No, 
no. He goes to Mongo, he goes, Mongo, how would you like special trip, 
to nice beautiful luscious planet? Will make many friends there, and 
have lots of ice cream, so the Croft says. And Mongo, poor gullible 
Mongo, he believes the Croft and says, yes, will go and take trip to 
nice shiny planet. But only now Mongo finds out danger, much danger, 
yes, and poooor Mongo being sent to naaaasty planet with bad danger."

	"We may need your help," said Croft.

	Mongo gave him a hard look. "Yessssss, always need Mongo's help. 
Mongo is number one helper. Many, many statues on August in 
appreciation for all the help Mongo-"

	"Mongo, perhaps now is as good a time as any to make you aware 
that this ship has not one but several closets I can lock you in," said 
Croft.

	"Yes, must silence poor Mongo. Lock Mongo away in cruel tight 
place until Mongo is needed." Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "But 
if you lock Mongo in closet, how will the Croft know about air leak?" 
Mongo asked.

	"What air leak?" said Starr, looking alarmed.

	Mongo smiled slightly. "Air leak comes at night, when all 
sleeping. No one notices, no one wakes up. Mongo tries to warn, but is 
locked up in tight closet by the Croft. Everyone suffocates, even poor 
Mongo. Later, when followup team finds bodies on ship, they say, they 
say, why did they lock poor Mongo in tight little closet?"
	Starr checked the life support systems. "I don't see any signs of 
an air leak."
	"Air leak not happen yet," said Mongo. "Mongo sees what happens 
later, not now. That is why Mongo is in such big demand. Did you not 
know? You probably thought Mongo brought along only for his handsome 
looks, yes."

	Starr was more concerned about a more critical issue. "Where will 
this air leak occur?" said Starr. "I can scan the affected area for 
microfractures-"

	"Just a minute," said Croft suddenly. He stared at Mongo 
appraisingly. "It occurred to me that this horror story started when I 
talked about locking you in a closet. This whole story about an air 
leak wouldn't just be a lie to get back at me, would it?"

	"Mongo is always the honest one," said Mongo. "Mongo is not one 
to say, 'come to nice pleasure planet, is safe for everyone, especially 
Mongo' when planet can be very very naaaaasty."

	"Will there be an air leak?" said Croft, staring at Mongo.

	"Mongo does not know," said Mongo, shrugging. "There are many 
many futures."

	Croft tried a different approach. "Is it likely that there will 
be an air leak?" he asked.

	"Mongo does not know," said Mongo.

	"Where will this air leak appear?" Croft persisted.

	"Mongo does not know yet," said Mongo. "But certainly will not 
know if locked in closet."

	Croft stared him in the eye for a moment, making a determination. 

	"All right," said Croft. "For safety's sake, we'll all sleep in 
spacesuits tonight."

	"Spacesuits," said Preston, making a face. "We'll never fall 
sleep in spacesuits."

	"It's the only way to be sure, isn't it?" Croft said, continuing 
to stare at Mongo.

	"Ah, Mongo not need spacesuit," said Mongo.

	"Why not?" Croft asked.

	"Mongo get warning before air leak, and wake you up," said Mongo 
brightly.

	"No, just to be safe, you'll sleep in a spacesuit with the rest 
of us," said Croft.

	Mongo muttered something.

	"What was that?"

	Mongo muttered to himself.

	"I didn't catch that," said Croft.

	"Air leak may not occur," said Mongo.

	"May not?" said Croft. "What does that mean?"

	"There are maaaany many futures," said Mongo. "Air leak in some 
futures, not others."

	"So we should sleep in spacesuits just to be safe," said Croft.

	Mongo said, "Ah, not necessary..."
	"But I thought you said-"

	"Mongo sees now. It was air leak, but not in this ship. Was in 
other ship," he said quickly.

	"Ah, another ship," said Croft, pretending to look surprised. "So 
it was the OTHER ship you were thinking about that has the air leak, 
right?"

	Mongo looked unhappy. "Yes, Mongo realizes that now," he said, in 
a soft tone.

	"Well, I can see how you might confuse a completely different 
ship with ours," said Croft. He turned to the others with a knowing 
look.

	"How did you know?" said Starr.

	"I know Mongo," said Croft simply.



	Two weeks later, the Space Racer arrived at the locations 
mentioned in Wender's logs. Sure enough, they found an uncharted planet 
around an uncharted system. 

	Everyone in the cramped exploration ship was tense.

	Starr checked the sensors. "Detecting an August-type planet with 
a breathable atmosphere, plant life, mountains...."

	"Any signs of a civilization?" said Croft.

	Starr paused.  "No signs of intelligent life... wait." He stared 
at the sensors.

	"What?" said Croft.

	"Wait," said Starr, frowning.

	They waited another long moment.

	Starr looked up. "There's a monument down there."

	A monument. 

	Thousands of years ago an alien race with highly advanced 
technology had deposited structures, with writing on them, on planets 
throughout the galaxy. Only a small fraction of these writings had been 
deciphered, and only bits and pieces of their technology had been 
found, but obviously this had been a highly advanced race. No one knew 
what purpose the monuments served, but locating one was a fantastic 
find. The race who built these structures were called the Monumentals.

	"So somehow Wender got his hands on some monumental technology 
which altered his mind," said Croft, piecing it all together. "If so, 
he may not have left that technology behind for anyone to find."

	"Whoa, you're making a lot of assumptions," said Starr. "If there 
is alien technology that changed him, it may have been too large to 
transport."

	"Are you picking up anything else besides the monument? Cities, 
anything?"
	Starr shook his head.

	"Then we should land by the monument," said Croft. Croft looked 
at Mongo. "Do you sense anything?"

	"Anything?" said Mongo, cocking his head. "Mongo always senses 
things. Why does the Croft ask such silly things?"

	"Anything dangerous?" Croft said.

	"The only dangerous thing Mongo senses is the Croft," said Mongo.

	The Space Racer entered the atmosphere. Within a few minutes the 
Space Racer was hovering over the monument, which was in a small 
clearing near a forest.

	"What is... that?" said Starr, looking out the front window.

	Croft leaned forward. From their viewpoint, a few hundred feet 
above the ground, they could see that a huge rectangular section of the 
forest had been flattened.

	"That must be... like a mile and a half, maybe two miles in 
length, right?" Starr said, to no one in particular. "Looks like a half 
mile or so wide."

	"What caused that?" said Croft.

	"I don't know," said Starr. He used the sensors to zoom in on a 
patch of ground. "The area has not even begun to be overgrown yet. I'd 
say this happened somewhat recently."
	"Could he have flattened this area with his mind?" said Croft.

	"He's shown no telekinesis ability of any kind," said Agent 
Waverly. "And given his showmanship, I think he would have demonstrated 
such an ability by now, especially if he has it on that scale."

	"I don't think a person did this," said Starr, staring at the 
ground below. "I think it was a ship."

	"A ship, two miles long?" said Croft. "Who had those kinds of 
ships?"
	"The Monumentals," said Starr. "That's what our research 
indicated."

	"You think the Monumentals were here recently?"

	"They've never been seen," said Starr. "But anything is 
possible."

	"Do you think it's wise to land?" Croft asked.

	"We won't find out anything more up here," said Starr, looking at 
him.

	"So we land," said Croft.



	They landed in the small grasslands near the monument. They 
opened the hatch and left the ship. They didn't leave with blasters 
drawn, but Croft's hand was definitely on his holstered weapon. He was 
no Graftonite, but he wanted to be ready to shoot, if he had to.

	But to shoot what? Or whom? The planet, apparently, was 
uninhabited.



	Starr didn't look worried. Starr landed on empty, unexplored 
planets for a living. He was used to the unknown. He walked confidently 
to the monument. The others, a bit more hesitantly, followed.

	It was tall, and black, like many of the monuments were, and it 
had intricate lettering on the sides. Starr raised a holocam and 
started recording the symbols.

	"What are we supposed to do?" Preston asked.

	"Why don't you check out that flattened section of forest?" said 
Starr.

	"Check it for what?" said Preston. "We're not scientists."

	"Suit yourself," said Starr, already wrapped up in his work.

	"I don't think it's a good idea for us to be separated," said 
Croft.

	Mongo chose that moment to come out of the ship. He looked 
around, hissed, and went back inside the ship again.

	Croft decided to take a short walk in the open grasslands. 
Preston came with him; Waverly stayed with Starr. 

	"I thought you said we shouldn't be separated," said Preston.

	"I'm not going very far," said Croft. "Are you nervous?"

	"We're billions of miles from backup, and there may be aliens or 
who knows what else around," said Preston.

	"Our scientists believe that the Monumentals disappeared 
thousands of years ago," said Croft casually.

	"Someone made that big print in the forest," said Preston.

	"That's not the only one," said Croft, who suddenly stopped.

	Preston did as well.

	For, in the grass, they saw the outlines of the imprints of 
several landing struts. They looked familiar as they should have; they 
were the landing struts of an explorer class ship.

	Croft and Preston returned to Starr and Waverly to tell them the 
news. "He was definitely here," Croft concluded. 

	Starr, studying the monument, only nodded.

	"Having any luck with that?" Croft asked.

	"Give me a few weeks," said Starr.

	Croft was silent for a moment. Then, "You're kidding, right?"

	Starr looked at him. "This is a language I haven't even seen 
before."

	"Aren't all monuments in the same language?"

	"Actually, they aren't," said Starr. "And this is a language I 
haven't seen before. Oh, it has some common elements with some of the 
other inscriptions on other monuments, but this one is different, as if 
it evolved from the other languages, or perhaps it's the other way 
around-"

	"Is there anything there that can help us discover what happened 
to Wender?" Croft asked.

	"I won't know until I finish translating it."

	Croft went over to Preston and Waverly. "He says he needs a few 
weeks."

	"A few weeks?" said Preston. "By that time, everyone on August 
will be naked and purple."

	"I know," said Croft. He frowned. "I think we should give him a 
day or two. If nothing else happens-"

	"Croft! CROOOOOFT!" he heard a scream.

	They went running for the ship. 

	Mongo, running out of it, met them half way.

	Croft drew his blaster. "What is it?" He looked past Mongo for a 
target.

	"Danger, much danger!" said Mongo. He was out of breath and 
plainly terrified.

	"What danger?"

	"Must leave, must leave now!" said Mongo. He was on his knees, 
tugging at Croft's pants.

	Croft looked around. He didn't see anything. "What do you mean?"

	"Must go, must go now!" Mongo repeated.

	"Why?" said Croft. "What do you see?"

	"Bad man," said Mongo. "Bad man coming. Very bad man."

	Suddenly, they heard something in the air. A roar.

	And then, out of the clouds, they saw it. A small scoutship. It 
was coming in for a landing.

	A scoutship. 

	The bad man.

	Wender.

	Croft looked up at the scoutship. It was landing right next to 
the Space Racer. He looked at its rate of descent, and then looked a 
few hundred feet away, where Starr was still working on the monument. A 
simple calculation told him that unless they abandoned Starr, they 
weren't going to make it.

	With only the slightest hesitation, Croft turned to Waverly and 
Preston and said, "Get the ship out of here. I'll get James--"

	"No!" said Mongo. "Too late now, too late. If go back now, bad 
man will make you as still as stone!"

	The ship had almost landed. It was coming in so fast that it was 
practically a crash landing. Well, that was Wender's style.

	"Any ideas?" said Preston.

	"Running comes to mind," said Croft. They stared at each other 
for a split second, and then started to run.

	They ran to the monument. Before they got there Starr, alerted by 
the noise, saw them coming, and scooped up his equipment. By the time 
they got to the monument, the scoutship had landed, several hundred 
feet behind them.

	Croft didn't know what the Mind Bender's effective range was, and 
he didn't want to find out.

	"Keep running!" he said.

	They made for the forest.

	Croft looked back once. He saw the scoutship open up.

	As they reached the forest's edge he looked back again. He saw 
what looked like a figure, standing on the ramp.

	Croft kept running. Nothing stopped him.



	They ran far into the forest. They only stopped when they ran out 
of breath.

	"Do you think he can track us?" Preston said, gasping for air.

	"I'm guessing he can sense the presence of minds, but at what 
distance, I don't know," said Croft.

	The sun was setting. It was getting dark.

	"He doesn't have to track us," said Agent Waverly. "There's only 
one way off this planet. All he has to do is stay there and wait."

	"That's really great," said Preston grimly.

	"I hate to raise even worse alternatives, but what if he simply 
destroys our ship, and takes off on his own?" said Agent Waverly. He 
turned to Croft. "When will we be declared overdue?"

	"A month, maybe," said Croft. 

	"A month?" said Preston, not believing his ears.

	Croft considered. "A month. Remember, it takes two weeks to get 
back, so we won't even be overdue for at least three weeks. The Chief 
will have the ES send a rescue mission in maybe a month. Unless, of 
course, Wender gets to the Chief again...."

	"We've got to get out of here," said Preston, thinking of the 
future.

	"Maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea," said Croft, thinking 
of the past.

	"We've discovered another monument! Don't you realize how rare a 
find that is?" said Starr, thinking of something completely different.

	"Ah, Professor, there's a psychotic killer with super mental 
powers who's trying to kill us," said Croft. "I think that's our most 
immediate concern."

	"He won't destroy our ship," said Agent Waverly suddenly.

	"How do you know?"

	"He'll leave it intact, as a lure," said Agent Waverly. "It's 
part of the kind of game he'll play."

	"To get us back there so he can kill us," said Croft.

	"Humiliate us, and then kill us," said Agent Waverly.

	"All right," said Croft. "So how many days of food do we have? 
Let's check."

	The answer was immediate: zero. They also had no water.

	"Are any of these things edible?" said Preston, looking at the 
plant life around them.	

	Starr shook his head. "There's no way to tell."

	"I mean, they look like regular green plants...."

	"They could be poisonous," said Starr. "This is an alien planet, 
remember."

	Croft's patience snapped.. The image of them foraging in the 
forest for months simply wasn't his style. "Forget it," said Croft. 
"We're not going to hang out here, eating shrubs and hoping for rescue. 
Our ship is waiting for us back there and that's how we're going to 
escape."

	"And what about Wender?" said Preston.

	"We'll deal with Wender," said Croft. "I've been in more 
difficult situations than this."

	"Really? When?" said Preston.

	Croft ignored him. "You forget, we have a powerful ally." He 
turned to Mongo, who had been silent up until now.

	"Yes, yes, now you turn to Mongo, when desperate, veeeeeery 
desperate. The naaaasty Croft very foolishly risks all our lives, yes, 
all our lives, taking us to empty planet so the bad man can hunt us. 
When we are all chased away, out of options, then he turns to Mongo, 
yes, to Mongo, and says, 'Mongo, we make many mistakes, but we are 
desperate. Once again, can you save our dear sweet lives'?"

	"Can you?" said Croft.

	"No, oh no," said Mongo. "Bad man stays behind. He waits for us, 
yes."

	"We want the bad man to follow us," said Croft.

	"We do?" said Preston.

	"If the bad man follows us, we can lure him away from the 
spaceships," said Croft. "In fact, if we time this right, we can solve 
all our problems."

	"What do you mean?" said Agent Waverly.

	Croft turned to Starr. "You have a laser built in your ship, 
correct?"
	"Yes," said Starr. "But it's only a medium power Spruance class-"

	"It's a laser," said Croft, simplifying things.

	"Yes," said Starr.

	"When we escape, we'll use the laser blast his ship. He'll be 
stuck here for the rest of his life, and the League will once again be 
saved. See what a great idea it was to come here?" said Croft.

	"How are you going to lure him out?" said Preston.

	"We have to be close enough to see him, but far enough to be at a 
safe distance."

	"And we have no idea what a safe distance is," said Preston.

	"We'll find out through trial and error," said Croft. He turned 
to Waverly. "The forest was on one side of the monument. There were 
some mountains on the other side, correct?"

	"That's what I remember," said Agent Waverly.

	"Let's circle around and get to those," said Croft.

	"That will take some time," said Agent Waverly.

	"Let it take time," said Croft. "It's getting dark and we'll need 
to do what we have to do in the sunlight."

	"So what will we do tonight?"

	"We stay in the naaasty forest," Mongo sighed. It didn't take 
someone who could see into the future to predict that.



	They had a very unrestful night in the forest. They took turns 
keeping watch, but they were well aware that Wender could take control 
of them from some distance. Would the person on watch even get the 
chance to yell an alert? And what good would an alert do any of the 
others?

	Croft sat in the darkness during the time he was on watch. They 
hadn't risked a fire, because they knew it would lead Wender right to 
them. But this planet had two medium sized moons which shined a little 
light. He could see maybe a few dozen feet away.

	He heard sounds of movement in the forest. It was most likely 
animals. But there was no way to be sure....

	Croft realized he was gripping his blaster tightly, and he forced 
himself to relax a bit. He really hated this kind of mission. He was an 
infiltrator. This planet was so... empty. There was no place to hide.

	"You look tense," said Starr, who was lying a few feet away.

	"This isn't my idea of fun," said Croft.

	"It is mine," said Starr.

	Croft gave him an odd look.

	"Oh, not being hunted by the Mind Bender. I mean exploration. 
Think of it, Clifford, we are the first human beings to step on this 
planet!"

	"Not exactly the first."

	"Well, you know what I mean," said Starr. "Just think of the 
first expedition. They actually came into contact with aliens! Can you 
even imagine what that giant spaceship must have looked like?"
	"If it really was a giant spaceship that flattened those trees," 
said Croft. "These aliens made Wender crazy."

	"Maybe that wasn't their intention," said Starr. "Maybe these 
aliens meant it as a gift."
	"Then they were stupid aliens," said Croft. "Giving an unstable 
character like Wender those powers was nothing but trouble."

	"Just think what will happen if we can make contact with them," 
said Starr. "Think of what they can teach us."

	"Maybe they can teach us how to kill Wender," said Croft.

	"You're not being very open minded, Clifford."

	"I seldom am, when I'm hungry and sitting in the dark in a 
forest," said Croft.	

	Croft did his shift and turned over the watch to Preston. Then he 
settled into an uneasy sleep. But whenever he heard a twig snapping, he 
couldn't help but think that it was Wender, closing in on them.

	Sunlight woke Croft in the morning with the realization that 
Wender never showed up. Or, if he did show up, he never let them 
realize that he did. When they were all awake they made their way in a 
semi circular direction around the area of the monument and headed 
towards the mountains. Soon they reached the base of the closet 
mountains, and started the arduous climb. Mongo complained every step 
of the way.

	When they reached the top of one of the taller ones, several 
hours later, they had quite an imposing view of the grasslands and the 
forests.

	Squinting in the late morning light, Croft could see the ships 
and the monument. He held his electrobinocs up to his eyes, one of the 
few pieces of equipment he had been fortunate enough to have on hand. 

	He looked through it and saw... the ship, up close. It looked 
intact. He panned left, and saw Wender's ship. Then he panned a little 
closer... and saw Wender, staring at him through his own set of 
electrobinoculars.

	Croft felt a shock as they stared at each other for a moment, and 
then Wender put his down and smiled.

	"Croft," came Wender's voice.

	Croft looked at his wristcomm as if it had become a deadly thing.

	"I know you're there," came Wender's voice.

	Croft reluctantly activated the speaking mode. "What do you 
want?" 

	"Just a little chat," said Wender.

	"Start chatting," said Croft.

	"It's so much better to talk face to face," said Wender.

	"I prefer it this way," said Croft.

	"Don't you want to find out what really happened here?"

	"I know what happened here," said Croft. "You used an alien 
device to get your powers. Then you killed your crew so that they 
couldn't tell anyone."

	"You are so wrong," said Wender. "I'm willing to tell you, and 
only you, the truth, but you have to come here for me to tell it."

	"Why?" Croft wanted to know.

	"Because I respect you," said Wender. "You've been a worthy 
adversary. I really haven't expected you to survive as long as you 
have."

	"So I should come down so you should have another chance to kill 
me?"

	"We'll declare... a truce. Yes, a temporary truce, for the 
duration of our talk," said Wender.

	Croft paused.

	"Well, Croft?"

	"I'm thinking," said Croft.

	There was another pause.

	"Croft."

	"Still thinking," said Croft.

	Another moment passed. Croft looked at the others. The others 
looked at him. Croft activated his comm again.

	"All right," said Croft finally. "Come up here, and we'll talk."

	"You want me to come up there?"
	"That's where I am," said Croft.

	"That's quite an uphill hike."

	"It's good exercise," said Croft.

	There was a pause. 

	"No, you come down here," said Wender.

	Croft paused. The others looked at him. They shook their heads. 
Croft considered some more.

	"Croft?"

	Croft opened his mouth. "All right. Meet me in the area where the 
grasslands intersect the foothills. I'll meet you there."

	"Why there?"

	"Because that is where I will meet you," said Croft.

	Another pause.

	"Very well," said the Mind Bender.

	Croft closed the channel.

	"Why did you agree to go down there?" said Agent Waverly.

	"Because this may be our only chance," said Croft.

	"He'll kill you," said Agent Waverly.

	"He'll certainly try," said Croft.

	"Then why did you agree to go?"

	"This is our chance," said Croft. "He's going to meet me about 
two hundred feet away from our ship. I'm going to head down real 
slowly. I want you to circle around and get to the ship."
	"We're not leaving you behind," said Agent Waverly.

	"When you get high enough, blast his ship," said Croft.

	"What about you?" said Preston.

	"We can use the ship's laser to blast him," said Agent Waverly.

	Croft shook his head. "You'll have to be too close in order to 
get him. He could take control of you, even inside your ship."

	"We don't know that for sure," said Starr.

	"Do we?" said Croft, turning to Mongo.

	Mongo looked at Croft with big, wide eyes.

	"Well Mongo, tell us how it ends," said Croft.

	Mongo shrugged.

	"I would think that since the resolution of this conflict affects 
you, that you'd be more interested than that," said Croft.

	Mongo got a far away look. "Many variables," said Mongo. "In some 
cases bad man takes control of everyone."

	"Even from 200 feet away?" said Preston.

	"In other cases, others get away, in spaceship," said Mongo. 
"Other times when spaceship tries to shoot bad man, bad man takes 
control of peoples inside spaceship."

	"I told you," said Croft.

	"And sometimes, things get hairy."

	"Hairy?" said Croft.

	Mongo was silent.

	"What does that mean, hairy?" said Croft.

	"Mongo not know," said Mongo. "See large, hairy thing. If things 
get hairy, outcomes entirely different."
	Croft looked at the others. "Could he be referring to some 
wildlife?"

	"Perhaps one of the aliens who gave him the power," said Starr.

	"I can hardly see one of them helping us," said Agent Waverly.

	"He didn't say they helped us," said Croft. He turned to Mongo. 
"And what happens to me?"
	Mongo shrugged. "Sometimes the Croft dies. Sometimes the Croft 
escapes. Sometimes the Croft stays alive, but under control of the bad 
man."

	"Well, at least I have a chance," said Croft.

	"It's very brave of you to risk your life for us," said Agent 
Waverly.

	"Thanks," said Croft. "But I don't think he'll kill me, if you 
destroy his ship and get away. He'll be all alone here. He'll want an 
audience."

	"That doesn't sound so great either," said Preston.

	"You can go back to Levi and Quick and figure something out, and 
come back to rescue me," said Croft.

	"You want us to go to the dog for advice?" said Preston 
incredulously.

	"I think he means my boss," said Agent Waverly wryly.

	"Oh," said Preston.

	"And what if we don't get away, and don't destroy his ship?" said 
Starr.

	"Then he will probably kill all of us," said Croft.

	There was a staticy sound, and then, "Croft! Have you started 
down yet? I don't have all day."

	Croft pressed his comm momentarily. "Coming."

	"It's a pity we don't have a sniper rifle," said Preston. "We 
could end this right here and now."

	"I was thinking much the same thing," said Croft. "And you know 
what else I was thinking?"
	"What?" said Preston.

	"We're in direct line of sight, and he still can't control us," 
said Croft. "He does have some limits."

	"Hm," said Preston.

	Croft started walking. "I'll walk slowly so you have time to go 
back and circle around. Be ready when I distract him."

	"We'll be there," said Agent Waverly.

	Croft stared at Waverly intensely for a moment. Waverly nodded.

	

	Croft walked slowly, making sure it took him close to an hour to 
get to the bottom. The Mind Bender was no fool; he would know what they 
were doing.

	But the Mind Bender had been defeated by his overconfidence 
before. And Croft now knew that the Mind Bender had one weakness: he 
couldn't read minds.

	Still, Croft wondered what he was doing as he walked down the 
mountain and saw the Mind Bender standing there, waiting for him. Each 
step took him closer and closer.

	When Croft got to the bottom, the Mind Bender gave him a smile. 
"How nice of you to come, Croft." Before Croft could say anything, he 
added, "Why don't we continue this discussion by our ships?"
	"We agreed we would talk here," said Croft.

	"But I insist," said the Mind Bender.

	Croft found his legs moving, heading towards the ships.

	"It will probably take your friends a few more minutes to get 
there," said the Mind Bender. "I don't sense them yet. I assume that 
was your plan, for you to distract me while they steal the ships?"

	"I told them to steal one ship and destroy the other," said Croft 
involuntarily.

	"That wasn't very nice, certainly not in the spirit of our 
truce," said the Mind Bender. "I may have to reconsider my commitment 
to the truce as well."

	"I thought you were going to tell me your story," said Croft, 
suddenly finding his mouth under his own control again.

	"And so I shall," said the Mind Bender. "There will be time 
enough for that, before you die." He smiled.

	They walked in silence for the rest of the way to the ships.

	"That's far enough," said the Mind Bender. "I'm not worried about 
them sneaking up from behind the ships. I can sense them without seeing 
them, you know."
	"I suspected as much," said Croft. "So now are you going to tell 
me what happened here?"

	"My expedition discovered this planet," said the Mind Bender. "We 
picked up the signs of the monument, and landed."

	"That much I guessed," said Croft. "What did you find?"

	"Nothing, really," said the Mind Bender. "We spent several 
pointless days studying it. And then the aliens came."
	"The aliens?"

	"You may have noticed that small clearing in the woods, perhaps?"

	"The two mile long one, yes," said Croft.

	"That was their spaceship," said the Mind Bender. "We were 
stunned, of course; our minds could hardly comprehend the enormity of 
it. Imagine a giant two mile long spaceship landing right next to you."

	"What happened then?"
	"The aliens came out," said the Mind Bender.

	"What did they look like?"
	"They were friendly," said the Mind Bender. "They gave us all a 
great gift."

	"Mind control," said Croft. "Wait, you said all of you. The rest 
of your crew got it too?"

	"Yes," said the Mind Bender.

	"Then where are they?" said Croft.

	"Just a moment," said the Mind Bender. He appeared to 
concentrate, and suddenly, in the distance, Agent Waverly and Preston 
stood up, holding a blaster. He started to calmly walk towards them, 
obviously under the Mind Bender's control.

	Croft started to speak.

	"Wait!" said the Mind Bender. 

	From the other direction, Starr and Mongo appeared, and started 
walking towards them.

	"A change in plan?" said the Mind Bender. "It appears these 
gentlemen were planning to gun me down from a distance." He looked 
meaningfully at Croft.

	"The plan was to steal the ships," said Croft. "But I hoped 
Waverly would take some initiative and try to kill you."

	"I see I did not interrogate you properly," said the Mind Bender. 
"That was almost my undoing."

	"You may have the ability to control minds, but you can't read 
them," said Croft. "You have power, but you're as blind as the rest of 
us when it comes to knowing what other people are thinking."
	The others entered the clearing.

	"Blind? Blind? You dare call me blind!"

	Suddenly Croft raised his arm and slapped his face, hard. He drew 
his hand back, and slapped his face again, and again.

	"I should watch my tongue," said Croft mechanically.

	"I should think so," said the Mind Bender.

	Croft matched glances with the others.

	"We tried," said Agent Waverly.

	"And failed miserably," said the Mind Bender.

	"So what happened to the rest of your crew?" said Croft. "You 
haven't finished your story."
	"My story?" said the Mind Bender. "Yes, where was I?"

	"What happened to the rest of your crew?" Croft persisted.

	"The... procedure had some side effects," said the Mind Bender.

	"What kind of side effects?" said Croft.

	"They went mad," said the Mind Bender. "They had to be 
destroyed."

	"Destroyed."

	"Fortunately, I was the last one to have the procedure done on," 
said the Mind Bender. "By then, they had figured out how to calibrate 
it properly."
	"Since you're obviously not insane," said Croft.

	"Exactly," said the Mind Bender. He smiled. "So now you know. I'm 
afraid, however, that you will not be able to tell anyone."

	"Because you're going to strand us here," said Croft hopefully.

	"No, I'm going to kill you," said the Mind Bender.

	"Why not just strand us here?" said Croft. "Wouldn't you get a 
big laugh out of that?"

	"I would," said the Mind Bender. "But I wouldn't get as big a 
laugh when the League comes to rescue you. No, you're going to die. But 
first, we're going to have a little fun."
	"What kind of fun?" said Croft warily.

	"You'll see," said the Mind Bender. He waved a hand and Croft 
found himself compelled to go to the Mind Bender's ship. He stepped 
inside, and kept walking. The Mind Bender was so confident in his 
control of Croft that he had no fear that Croft would take his ship and 
leave, and Croft knew that this was the Mind Bender's way of rubbing 
Croft's nose in it. 

	Croft found himself reaching down and picking up a medium sized 
carrying case. He then left the Mind Bender's ship and returned to the 
others in the clearing.

	"Open it," said the Mind Bender.

	Inside were some... unusual clothing. Tutu's. Leotards. Women's 
pantyhose, and ballerina slippers.

	"That's right," said the Mind Bender. "Your worst nightmare: open 
air ballet."

	Croft, Preston, and Waverly mechanically picked items of clothing 
from the case. They then proceeded to strip down and put on the 
pantyhose. It fit tightly against their legs. Then they put on the 
frilly tutu's, leotards, and finally the ballerina slippers. They were 
made of some spandexy material that snapped tightly against their feet.

	Mongo, meanwhile, went back inside the Mind Bender's ship. He 
came out with a chair and bowl of grapes, and placed the chair behind 
the Mind Bender, who sat in it. 

	The Mind Bender clapped his hands twice. Croft arched his hands 
over his head. Preston stretched out his right foot in a classic 
girlish fashion. Waverly started to balance on his tipey toes.

	The next hour was a nightmare. Croft, Preston, and Waverly were 
forced to perform feminine dance moves, strutting about on their 
tiptoes, making little flowery gestures with their hands, and leaping 
from point to point like a peacock.

	The Mind Bender was smiling throughout. Mongo's role was to feed 
him grapes, one by one. 

	Croft felt himself strutting on tipeytoes by the Mind Bender 
while holding his palms to the air in a very feminine pose. His legs 
felt sore from all the leaping the Mind Bender had forced him to do. 
Suddenly, he tripped and fell.

	Croft mechanically got up, and was forced to strut again, but 
several minutes later, he fell again.

	"Not used to stretching your ballet legs, eh?" said the Mind 
Bender, giving him a grin. "All right, we'll give you a little break, 
then." He turned his attention to Preston and Waverly, who were being 
made to dance with each other while hopping up and down on their toes.

	Croft suddenly found himself in control of his body. As he sat on 
the ground he spied his discarded clothes. Neatly on the pile was his 
blaster.

	His blaster!

	Croft looked at the Mind Bender, without moving his head so as to 
attract as little attention as possible. The Mind Bender appeared 
totally absorbed with Preston and Waverly, grinning from ear to ear as 
he made them do silly dances.

	Croft slowly reached towards his clothes, his eyes on the Mind 
Bender.

	The Mind Bender didn't notice him. He couldn't read minds, and 
for the moment he appeared to be distracted.

	Croft's hand reached out some more.

	The Mind Bender still didn't turn his way. The Mind Bender could 
see him, out of the corner of his eye, but as long as the rest of his 
body didn't move, maybe....

	Croft's right hand felt his blaster. He grabbed it, still without 
looking at it, and slowly drew his hand back.

	The Mind Bender was still distracted.

	Croft slowly raised the blaster, without moving the rest of his 
body. He took what he thought would be the right aim, from the position 
of his hand.

	The Mind Bender was sitting in his chair, still directing Preston 
and Waverly.

	Croft's fingers tightened on the trigger. He could do it. He 
could shoot the Mind Bender.

	But then he frowned. There was something wrong. He couldn't quite 
put his finger on it.

	But then he did. He readjusted his aim, and fired.

	The blast scorched the ground to the left of the Mind Bender. 
Croft fired again.

	The blast hit the ground to the right of the Mind Bender.

	"Not bad."
	Croft looked around to see the Mind Bender suddenly standing by 
his side.

	"But I'm right here," said the Mind Bender. 

	Suddenly, the picture changed; where the Mind Bender had been 
sitting, Mongo was now sitting.

	"How did you know?" said the Mind Bender.

	"You made Mongo appear to be you in order to have me shoot him," 
said Croft. "But you neglected to paint Mongo somewhere else in the 
picture." He looked down. His blaster was set to kill. But he couldn't 
move his arm an inch now.

	"Forgive my carelessness," said the Mind Bender. "But you make it 
so difficult to have fun with you." He paused, and something clicked 
inside his head. "You bore me. You fail to amuse me. So I have no 
further use for you."

	That had an air of finality to it.

	The Mind Bender continued. "At first I enjoyed our little 
competition, Croft, but, to be honest, lately I have grown tired of it. 
How many times must I kill you before finally getting the job done?"

	Croft suddenly raised his blaster, and pointed it at his own 
head.

	"Wait," said Croft. "How about something sporting, like a hunt-"

	"Sorry," said the Mind Bender. "But you are simply too clever. 
This time I do not think we will leave anything to doubt. Do you or 
your friends have any last words?"

	Croft's hand was tight on the trigger. He couldn't budge or move 
it. He knew that when the Mind Bender took control of his mind and 
ordered him to fire, he would be unable to stop him.

	The others didn't say anything. That was uncharacteristic of 
them; they should be stalling for time. The Mind Bender must be making 
them silent. He asked them if they had any last words, and then forced 
them to be silent. He was toying with Croft one last time!

	Croft felt his finger tightening on the trigger. He tried to 
speak, but the Mind Bender had clamped down on him too.

	"Well, if no one has anything else to say-"

	"Excuse me," said a new voice.


Chapter 8:  Endgame





	"What are you?" said the Mind Bender. He stared at the large, 
furry animal. It wore spectacles and had an unlit pipe sticking out of 
its mouth. It also had webbed feet and straw colored fur.

	"My name is (tweatle tweatle tweatle whistle! tweatle tweatle)," 
said the animal.

	"What?"

	"But you can just call me Professor (tweatle tweatle) Capybara."

	Professor Capybara waddled forward until he was between Croft and 
the Mind Bender.

	"I would really appreciate it if you didn't kill Clifford," said 
the Professor. "Admittedly, he isn't very bright. Also, his dancing 
leaves much to be desired, but I still have some hope for him."

	The Mind Bender looked incredulously at the Professor, and then 
at Croft, and then back to the Professor again. The Mind Bender 
concentrated, and...

	Croft put the blaster down.

	"I didn't tell him to do that!" the Mind Bender roared.

	"I'm afraid that terminating these humans would (tweatle tweatle) 
interfere with my observations," said the Capybara. "I do have some 
(tweatle tweatle) questions for you, however."
	"What are you?" said the Mind Bender.

	"I will trade you, a question for a (tweatle tweatle) question," 
said the Capybara. He twisted his head slightly, staring at the Mind 
Bender with big black eyes. That seemed to take the Mind Bender back a 
bit.

	"All right," said the Mind Bender, uncertainly.

	"Tell me about the aliens who (tweatle tweatle) changed you," the 
Professor said.

	The Mind Bender took a breath. "They were tall-"

	"I don't care what they looked like, or (tweatle tweatle) 
appeared to look like," said the Capybara impatiently. "What did they 
say? What was their philosophy?"

	Philosophy?

	But the Mind Bender appeared to immediately know what the 
Professor was referring to. "They said they wanted to improve the human 
race," said the Mind Bender. "They wanted to send us back as test 
subjects. If it worked well they would improve more of us."

	"Only it didn't (tweatle tweatle) so well, did it?" said the 
Professor. He twizzled his whiskers and sighed "I know who they are."

	"Who were they?" Croft asked.

	"Incompetent (tweatle tweatle) butchers," said the Professor, 
with a wave of a paw. "You needn't worry about them, young Clifford."

	"But you do need to worry about me," said the Mind Bender. He 
looked hard into the Capybara's large dark eyes. They locked stares for 
a moment.

	And then the Mind Bender jerked back, and fell to the ground.

	Croft looked at the Capybara, openmouthed. 

	"Is he dead?" said Preston.

	"We can only hope," said Croft.

	"He's merely napping from his exertion," said the Capybara.

	"What happened?" said Croft.

	"He was over impressed by the (tweatle tweatle) toy powers he was 
given," said the Professor. "It should make for a fascinating paper." A 
holographic quill and writing tablet appeared in the air above the 
Professor and started moving.

	"Stop with the writing!" Croft yelled.

	The quill stopped in midstroke.

	"How did you know we were here? Come to think of it, how did you 
get here?" said Croft.

	"I took a shortcut," said the Professor. 

	"What does that mean?" Preston asked.

	"Wait a minute," said Croft. "You always say that you're not 
allowed to interfere. Last time we spoke you weren't even interested in 
this guy."
	"Yes, I imagine that's how it (tweatle tweatle) to you," said the 
Professor, in a mildly deprecating voice. "But I decided to study this 
subject further. And no, Clifford, I did not interfere."
	"You most certainly did," said Croft.

	"I most certainly did not," said the Professor. "He attacked me. 
I merely defended myself."

	Croft looked down at the Mind Bender. Suddenly he realized there 
was an opportunity to eliminate this menace, once and for all! He aimed 
his blaster-

	"Stop, Clifford," said the Professor. 

	"I have to eliminate him now," said Croft.

	"I realize that you are angry about having been forced to dance, 
and rather maladroitly too, I might (tweatle tweatle) add," said the 
Professor. 

	"It's not about that," said Croft. "He's killed people, and if he 
escapes, he'll kill more."

	"You cannot terminate him," said the Professor.

	"Why not?" said Croft.

	"Because if you (tweatle tweatle) do, it will be because of my 
(tweatle tweatle) involvement, and I will have (tweatle tweatle) 
interfered," said the Professor. "That's  against the (tweatle tweatle) 
rules."
	"Your rules," said Croft, aiming his blaster tightly. All he 
would have to do was squeeze the trigger....

	"Clifford!" 

	Croft matched gazes with those large dark eyes. Suddenly, he 
didn't feel very safe. Croft reluctantly lowered his blaster.

	"I suggest you leave," said the Professor. "He will be awake in a 
few (tweatle tweatle)."

	"All right," said Croft. "Let's get to the ship." He turned to 
the Professor. "Do you want to come with us?"

	"No," said the Professor.

	"So you're just going to stay here, alone?"
	"He's going to wake up any moment, Clifford."

	"Let's go," said Croft, starting for the ship.

	The last thing the Capybara heard, in the distance, was Croft, 
saying to Mongo, "He's an animal, Mongo. He has fur, not hair."



	As soon as they took off Croft said, "Get me targeting on the 
ship's laser. We'll blast his ship, and if he's close enough, him too."

	"What about the Capybara?" said Starr.

	"Let'm eat cake," said Croft. "But first let's climb to a safe 
altitude."

	"What's a safe altitude?" said Starr.

	"Maximum visual range," said Croft.

	The Space Racer climbed and climbed. Croft activated the laser, 
as well as the manual targeting mechanism. Slowly he lined it up on the 
scoutship still parked near the monument. He activated the magnifier. 
The scoutship danced around his target finder...

	And then it started moving.

	"He's taking off!" said Croft.

	"What do we do?" said Preston.

	"Let's get out of here," said Croft.

	"We still have the laser," said Preston.

	"Do you want to test what his effective range is?" said Croft. He 
turned to Starr. "Can that thing outrun us?"

	"He'll try to catch us now, as we exit the atmosphere," said 
Starr. "Stand by for maximum acceleration!"

	They climbed into their crash couches, and then the weight of 
several g's slammed into them.

	The pressured increased, and increased more.... and then slacked 
off.

	"Ok, we're ok," said Starr. "He's 40 miles behind us.... 45... 50 
miles...."

	"Good," said Croft. "At this rate, how much of a lead will we 
have getting back to August?"

	"We can't keep up this speed indefinitely," said Starr. "I'll 
have to make some computations. Just a moment," said Starr, doing some 
computations. "20 hours."

	"20 hours," said Croft. "Well, it will have to do."

	

	They spent much of the following two weeks talking about a course 
of action.

	"You know the first thing he's going to do when he gets back," 
said Preston.

	"He's going to come after me," said Croft.

	"He does seem to have an unhealthy fixation with you," said Agent 
Waverly.

	"Unhealthy for whom?" Croft inquired.

	"What did all this get us?" said Preston. "We still don't know 
how to kill him."

	"We learned that there was a limit to his range," said Croft. 
"How far away were we on top of that tall hill, maybe two miles?"

	"Yes," said Preston. "But how does that help us?"

	"It helps us because we've learned that even he has limits," said 
Croft. "We know his minimum range is greater than 200 feet, and his 
maximum range is under 2 miles. That's more than we knew before." 

	"Yes, but what do we do?" Preston asked.

	"I need time to think," said Croft.



	Two weeks later August loomed large on their screens. They had 
come up with many possible solutions over the course of their journey 
home. They had also weeded out most of them as impractical.

	"All right, let's hear your latest idea," Croft sighed, speaking 
to Agent Waverly. He never thought he would tire of discussing how to 
successfully kill Wender and live to tell about it, but after two weeks 
of shooting down one impractical solution after another he was getting 
fatigued.

	"You carry a gas grenade," said Waverly.

	"So I carry a gas grenade," said Croft.

	"Not just any gas grenade," said Agent Waverly. "A modified one 
that sends a stream out directly in front of you."
	"I presume I'll be wearing nose filters?" said Croft.

	"Of course," said Agent Waverly. "We'll make an activator that 
you can use simply by touching a part of your jacket. He'll never know 
it's there."

	"Unless he asks me about it, of course," said Croft.

	"That's why you need to activate it the minute he gets near you," 
said Agent Waverly.

	"What if he takes control of me and freezes me before he gets 
near me?" said Croft.

	"That's a risk," said Agent Waverly.

	"A risk? I think it's better categorized as a flaw in the plan," 
said Croft.

	"Do you have any better ideas?" said Agent Waverly.

	"Not yet," said Croft. The ship shuddered as it entered the 
atmosphere.



	In two hours they were back at the Column HQ. Croft, Waverly and 
Preston reported to the Chief in person.

	"You were lucky to get out alive," said the Chief. "How did the 
Capybara get there?"

	"We don't know," said Agent Waverly. "We never saw a ship."

	"Maybe it's an invisible ship," said Croft.

	Waverly looked at him.

	"If it were invisible, wouldn't we see the Capybara inside his 
ship?" said Preston.

	"Ha ha, very funny," said Croft. "But we know that the Capybara 
can camouflage himself."

	The Chief tapped some records on his terminal. "I see here from 
our security affiliates who monitor the Professor that he eluded his 
minders and disappeared a little over two weeks ago."

	"Just a little over two weeks ago?" said Croft. "That would mean 
he would have had to get to the planet in a day or less."

	"That's not possible," said Preston.

	"Not with our technology," said Croft.

	"According to these records, he reappeared in the area around his 
quarters a few hours later," said the Chief.

	"Wait a minute," said Croft. "Are you saying the Professor has 
been back here for two weeks?"

	"According to these records, yes," said the Chief.

	"How is that possible?" said Croft.

	"I'm intrigued as well, but we have a more immediate problem," 
said the Chief. "Wender will be back here in less than a day. Have you 
come up with any solutions?"

	"Have the navy intercept him," said Croft promptly. "Blow him out 
of the sky. That's it! That's the answer. I'm a genius. Preston, tell 
me I'm a genius."

	Preston looked at Waverly. Waverly looked at Croft. "Why didn't I 
think of that before?" said Agent Waverly.

	"Why ask why?" said Croft. "You really want an answer? You were 
thinking on the micro level. Killing him face to face. We never 
considered long distance, large scale solutions. The Mind Bender is 
only about 15 hours out. Our sensor net should be able to track him. Do 
we have any ships in sector?"

	"Let me check," said the Chief. He tapped a few keys, and a 
situation map of the August system appeared on the screen.

	"We have two battle cruisers in orbit," said the Chief.

	"That should do," said Croft. "The battle cruisers will have to 
be careful not to engage any closer than two miles. We know that's 
outside his control limit. But they must have missiles and laser 
turrets that can hit farther than that. Where is Wender's ship?"

	"Let's find out," said the Chief.

	It took two more hours to get the answer, and it was not to their 
liking.

	Wender's ship was nowhere to be seen.

	"Maybe it got lost, or blew up," said Croft hopefully.

	"Or maybe he anticipated this move, and switched ships," said 
Agent Waverly.

	"He switched ships," said Croft dully.

	Waverly turned to the Chief. "Can you interdict all traffic 
coming into August?"
	"Are you kidding?" said the Chief. "This is August, not some 
isolated colony world."

	"I know there would be ramifications," said Agent Waverly. "But-"

	"You don't know the half of them," said the Chief. "Not only do 
thousands of people come here daily, but August is dependent on vital 
imports of food and hundreds of other commodities. We can't simply stop 
such shipments."

	"I'm not talking about an embargo," said Agent Waverly. "I'm 
talking about a search and examination of each ship."

	"Do you know the kind of backlog that would create?" said the 
Chief. "We'd have ships in line stretching from here to New London."

	"Forget it," said Croft. "No ship inspection routine will work. 
He'll simply get through it undetected. Remember who we're dealing 
with."

	"So what do you suggest?" said the Chief.

	"Let's try and think of something else," said Croft.



	They tried, and they tried. And they tried and they tried some 
more. For two days they thought of ideas. All were impractical. For his 
own protection, Croft hid away at a Column safehouse, and didn't tell 
anyone, even the Chief, where he was hiding. Waverly and Preston were 
with him.

	The Mind Bender returned. They knew he had returned simply by 
watching their holovids.

	Pornographic holovids started to appear on the public networks. 
The first showed the Mind Bender sleeping with a famous holofilm star, 
while her husband watched approvingly.

	From then on the Mind Bender proceeded to sleep with other famous 
actresses, often while their husbands watched and clapped or gave the 
thumbs up. Of course, after the mind control wore off, they were 
undoubtedly not so happy.

	"I knew holostars slept around, but I didn't think they did it so 
publicly," said Preston.

	"He's just trying to get our attention," said Croft. "He's trying 
to get me out in the open."

	"We still have my gas grenade idea," said Agent Waverly.

	"It may be worth a try," said Croft. "But let's see if we can't 
think of a few other ideas. Why don't I establish a holo with Levi? Do 
you think you can get your boss on the line as well?"

	"Let me see," said Agent Waverly.

	An hour later it was all arranged. A three way holoconference of 
the best and the brightest. Preston, Waverly, and Croft sat in one 
room, and the holoimages of Levi and Steven Quick appeared. To Levi and 
Steven Quick in their respective locations, Preston, Waverly, and Croft 
would also appear to be holograms.

	And then, as they were about to begin, another Quick joined the 
conversation. Quick the Pomeranian jumped into Levi's lap. "Arf!"

	"Levi, we need to get serious here," said Croft.

	"Is that the... animal that's named after me?" said Quick, his 
silvery eyes blazing.

	"Arf arf!" said Quick.

	"Quick is very pleased to meet you," Levi translated.

	Quick the person looked at Quick the dog, staring hard at him. 
Quick the dog cocked his head, turning it to the side, as if he were 
analyzing Quick the person in return. After a few seconds, Quick the 
dog stuck out his tongue and wagged his tail.

	Steven Quick looked up. "Interesting. But my time is limited, so 
let us begin. You are looking for a way to neutralize Albert Wender, 
correct?"

	"Neutralize, or preferably kill," said Croft, who, after their 
last encounter, had lost all compunctions against eliminating his 
nemesis. He vividly remembered the blaster he had been forced to press 
against his own head.

	"Agent Waverly has told me about his gas grenade idea," said 
Quick. "I think it may be worth a try, but there are several possible 
flaws. He may take control of you before you get close enough to use 
it."

	"That thought already occurred to me," said Croft.

	"So you need a backup plan," said Quick. He thought quickly. "Can 
you lure him to an isolated area?"

	Croft thought for a moment. "I think so. He's so fixated with me 
that he'll probably follow me anywhere."

	"Then as a backup plan, have a cruiser standing by," said Quick. 
"If you don't resolve the situation within five minutes after he 
arrives, have the cruiser blast the location to rubble."

	"There is just one flaw in that plan," said Croft.

	"Clifford, this man has to be stopped," said Quick.

	"I'd like to do it in a way that leaves me alive," said Croft.

	"If your primary plan fails, you will probably be dead anyway," 
said Quick.

	"Hm," said Croft. 

	"Arf!" said Quick the dog, who was smiling as he sat in on this 
top secret discussion. Levi petted the animal to quiet him.

	Croft stared at the dog, and grew thoughtful for a moment.

	Those silvery eyes noticed his expression and bore into him. 
"Yes, Clifford?"

	"I noticed that Professor Capybara wasn't affected by the Mind 
Bender."

	"Perhaps he has the mental ability to resist him," said Quick.

	"Perhaps," said Croft. "Or perhaps the Mind Bender can only 
affect humans."

	"An interesting possibility. Do you think you can persuade the 
Professor to take on the Mind Bender?" said Quick.

	"No, I know he won't do that," said Croft. 

	"So how does this help us?" Quick asked.

	Croft replied, "If it is true that the Mind Bender can only 
affect humans, that would mean he can't affect other forms of life."

	"Other forms of life?" said Quick. "What other form of life did 
you have in mind?"

	Croft turned his head to stare at the small smiling Pomeranian on 
Quick's lap. The others turned to follow his gaze.

	"What?" said Levi, noticing the stares. Then he realized. "Oh, 
no...."

	"Levi, you can make Quick understand voice instructions, right?" 
said Croft. 

	"Yes," said Levi, looking uncomfortable. "But is just a little 
dog. Can't expect him to bite Mind Bender to death."

	"What if we attached an ultrasharp metal sliver to one of his 
paws, and coated it with a knockout drug that would work on contact?" 
said Croft. "All he would have to do is scratch the skin."

	"Usually the Mind Bender wears pants," said Agent Waverly.

	"The metal sliver will be sharp enough to cut through pants," 
said Croft.

	"It... might work," said Quick. "But only if the Mind Bender 
cannot control animal minds. If he can, but the Professor was simply 
too strong for him, your animal will be as susceptible to mind control 
as you are."

	"I know," said Croft. He turned to Levi. "Are you up for this?"

	"No," said Levi. "Quick is my little animal."

	"Levi, we're talking about something really big here," said 
Croft. "If we don't catch this guy, he could kill a lot more people. 
How long do you think before he's going to tire of sleeping with 
holostars, and starts crashing ships and blowing things up again?"
	Levi looked miserable. He appeared to think about it, and then 
said, "Must ask Quick. It is his decision."
	"All right, you want to take a few minutes and go and explain-"

	"Quick listening, Quick already understands," said Levi, giving 
Croft a chiding look. Levi's expression softened, and he looked down at 
Quick.

	"Quick?" he said.

	The little Pomeranian wagged his tail.

	"You not have to do this," said Levi. 

	"Arf!" said Quick.

	"It very dangerous," said Levi.

	"Arf, arf, rough!" said Quick. He leapt up and quickly licked 
Levi on the nose.

	"Does that mean he'll do it, or is he asking for a dog biscuit?"

	"He is very brave animal," said Levi.

	



	Preparations had to be made. The metal sliver and the drug that 
was to coat it had to be prepared and attached to Quick's paw. The 
fleet had to be alerted and made ready. It would take a few hours.

	"Well, I think I'm going out for a walk," said Croft 
nonchalantly.

	"Is that advisable?" said Agent Waverly. "He's still looking for 
you."
	"Let him try to find me, in a city this size," said Croft.

	"Let us come with you," said Preston.

	"No, I think I want a walk alone," said Croft. "Don't worry, I'll 
be back soon."





	Croft left the apartment, which was on the outskirts of Sarney 
Sarittenden. He immediately boarded a travel tube. He knew exactly 
where he was going.

	Within an hour he was buzzing a specific apartment. A few seconds 
later he was inside.

	"Clifford! How (tweatle tweatle) to see you!" said the occupant.

	Professor Capybara was smoking a pipe and lying on a small rug. 
The holographic quill and tablet were hovering in the air above him.

	"You sure got back quickly enough," said Croft.

	"I dislike long flights," said the Capybara.

	"Not going to tell me how you did it, are you?" said Croft.

	"It's very (tweatle tweatle) complex," said the Capybara.

	"That's how you avoid most conversations," said Croft.

	"Very well, Clifford," sighed the Professor. "To state it in the 
most simple possible terms, I simply (tweatle tweatle tweatle tweatle 
tweatle tweatle tweatle whistle! pop! tweatle tweatle tweatle)."

	"Well, that clears that up," said Croft. "But the real reason I'm 
here is to get an answer to another question. Hopefully a less musical 
answer."

	"Musical, did you say?" said the Capybara, brightening. "By the 
way, on a similar subject, what were you and your associates doing in 
those (tweatle tweatle) feminine clothes on the planet? Your opponent 
called it dancing, but I have never seen anything quite like it-"

	"Never mind about that," Croft snapped. "I didn't come here for a 
dance critique."

	"Then how can I (tweatle tweatle) help you, young Clifford?" the 
Capybara asked.

	"You had a confrontation with the Mind Bender on the planet," 
Croft said.

	"Oh, I would hardly call it a (tweatle tweatle) confrontation," 
said the Professor. "I prefer to think of it as (tweatle tweatle) an 
exchange of ideas."

	"Yes, you do that," said Croft. "While you were exchanging ideas, 
an idea occurred to me."

	"Now Clifford, you know I cannot get involved in your race's 
petty strife," said the Capybara.

	"I'm not interested in getting you involved in our petty strife," 
said Croft. "I just want an answer to a question."

	"Which is?"

	"Can the Mind Bender control animals as well as people?"

	The Professor was silent for a moment. "That's an interesting 
question."

	"I'm sure the answer will be as well."

	"I do not suppose it would do any harm, or constitute 
interference, to answer it."

	"Then let's have it."

	The Professor looked at him. "The one you call the Mind Bender 
can probably control animals, but in a simple way. He could not get 
them to understand complex tasks, but he could get them to do simple 
things, like to stay, or to attack. Naturally the more sophisticated 
the animal is-" The Professor stopped, and looked at Clifford's face. 
"I sense this information is not pleasing to you, Clifford."

	"Well, it just sinks perhaps our best plan for stopping him," 
said Croft. 

	"There there," said the Professor, gently putting a webbed paw on 
Croft's leg. "You're a very limited species. You can't be expected to 
be very innovative. Why don't you holofilm your next encounter with 
him?"
	"Why?" Croft asked.

	"I might be able to analyze it and offer some further insights 
into his character."

	"You just want more information to study," said Croft. 

	"If you had a (tweatle tweatle) live video feed and an earpiece I 
could (tweatle tweatle) feed you some interesting questions that might 
help us learn more about his (tweatle tweatle) personality," said the 
Professor.

	"I think that unlikely," said Croft, for a moment imagining 
himself wired up and getting coaching suggestions live from the 
Capybara. Then, all of a sudden, he stopped, and stared at the 
Capybara.

	"What, Clifford?"

	"You were never interested in having me film him," said Croft, 
staring hard at the Capybara. "You were hinting at something completely 
different."
	"I (tweatle tweatle) was?" said the Capybara.
	Croft nodded. "You say you can't interfere, so you're being 
subtle about it."
	"I (tweatle tweatle) am?" The Capybara looked amused.

	"I think it will work," said Croft.

	"You think what will (tweatle tweatle) work?" said the Professor.

	"Thanks," said Croft, heading for the door.

	"Interesting," said the Professor, after he had left. The 
holographic quill started to move about more rapidly. "Subject 
addendum: the human Clifford Croft." The quill started to write on the 
tablet.





	Croft went directly to Sarney Sarittenden spaceport. He went to 
the closed off military section of the spaceport, and showed his ID. A 
few minutes thereafter he boarded a small, one man shuttle and took 
off. Once he reached orbit, he turned on the interstellar transmitter, 
set to maximum scramble.

	Getting in touch with Quick's office on June was easy. Getting to 
speak to Quick was not .

	"My name is Clifford Croft," said Croft. "I need to speak to 
him."
	"I'm sorry, but the Director is very busy," said the functionary 
on the other line.	

	"I'm Clifford Croft. I just need you to tell him my name, and 
that I'm on the line," said Croft.

	"I'm sorry, but-"

	"I'm sorry, but if you don't do what I say, I will have to come 
to June personality, and shoot you," said Croft. 

	The image quickly flickered, and Croft found himself talking to 
someone else.

	"This is security," said the plainclothes individual.

	"My name is Clifford Croft. I am a level one Column operative. I 
need to talk to Director Quick immediately," said Croft.

	"Croft," said the man. "I know who you are."

	"I'm working with Agent Waverly. But I need to talk to Director 
Quick without your alerting Agent Waverly," said Croft.

	"Why?" said the man.

	"Because," said Croft. "Do a search of my undoubtedly elaborate 
record in your database and you'll find  that I have a close 
relationship with Director Quick."
	"Hold on." The man tapped some keys. A moment later, his eyebrows 
lifted. "I do see you've had some contacts with the Director."

	"To put it mildly. Now put him on," said Croft.

	"I will see if he's available," said the man.

	Croft waited five minutes, and then ten. He was about to give up 
when a set of familiar silvery eyes appeared on the holo.

	"Clifford," said Quick. "What was so important that you had to 
see me now, and without Agent Waverly?" Those eyes stared at him, 
appraising him and his surroundings.

	Croft said, "First, look around me; can you see the entire 
passenger section of this shuttle?"
	Quick's eyes darted left and right. "Yes."

	"Am I alone?" Croft asked.

	"Yes," said Quick again.

	"Are you quite sure?" Croft said anxiously.
	"I can see the entire insides of this shuttle, and you appear to 
be quite alone," said Quick.

	"Good." Croft told him the situation. It only took a moment 
before Quick nodded. and raised his hand. "No need to elaborate 
further. I understand. But what do you want from me?"

	"You must have other agents on August besides Agent Waverly." 
said Croft.

	"We have no agents on August, Clifford; you're an allied 
government," said Quick.

	Croft rolled his eyes. "Ok, then, you must have some cultural 
attaches from your embassy, someone you can rely on, trust for 
something important."

	"What kind of important task?" Quick asked.

	Croft told him.

	"I think that can be arranged," said Quick calmly.
	"I need it within 12 hours," said Croft. He named a location. 
"Have him leave it there. And I need someone reliable."
	"He will be," said Quick. He stared at Croft appraisingly. "An 
interesting plan. I'm surprised I did not think of it."

	"Well, you probably have your mind on a lot of things," said 
Croft.

	"Yes, I do," said Quick. "But I still should have thought of it 
first. Good work, Clifford."
	"You can congratulate me when he's dead," said Croft.





	Croft returned to the safehouse.

	"You were gone for some time," said Preston. "We were beginning 
to get worried."
	"I went to see the Professor Capybara," said Croft.

	"Why?" Preston asked.
	"To confirm my theory that the Mind Bender can't control 
animals."

	"And what did he say?"

	"He told me the Mind Bender could only control humans," said 
Croft.

	"So the plan may work," said Agent Waverly. He looked slightly 
optimistic.

	"That's the hope," said Croft. "Do we have a location?"

	"The Frontier Bureau," said Agent Waverly. "We can have it 
evacuated in an hour."

	"Make it 14 hours," said Croft.

	"Why so long?"

	"I want a good night's sleep."

	"That will leave him to roam free for another day."

	"The holostars will have to cope," said Croft.

	"How exactly are you going to get him to the Frontier Bureau?" 
said Agent Waverly.

	"Simple," said Croft. He pressed a button on a nearby holoplayer. 
"I made a little commercial."

	The face of Albert Wender appeared. The words "Coward!" in big 
letters appeared below it. Then the letters started to scrawl... 
"Coward... freak... moron.... dummy...." with other appropriate 
adjectives every few seconds.

	"We'll just tack on an address and a time to that, and broadcast 
it on the public networks," said Croft.

	"He'll know it's a trap," said Agent Waverly.

	"He's vain," said Croft. "He'll be there." Croft pressed another 
button, and in a few seconds a holographic image of Levi appeared.

	"How is it going?" Croft asked.
	"Is ready," said Levi. Levi updated them on some last minute 
details. 

	When Levi signed off, he stood back from the holoprojector. Levi 
walked past a table full of equipment, and a chair, where the Mind 
Bender sat, looking moderately amused.



	The next morning Croft put on his jacket and prepared to leave.

	"Are you ready?" said Preston.

	"No," said Croft. "But what does that matter?"

	After some small talk with Waverly and Preston, they went down to 
the level where there were travel tubes that crisscrossed all of Sarney 
Sarittenden.

	"Excuse me one moment," said Croft.

	He went into the public restroom, into one of the stalls. Behind 
the stall door was a jacket, identical to Croft's. He took off his 
jacket, and put on the other one. There was a small bulge in his right 
breast pocket, but it was barely noticeable. Croft emerged a few 
seconds later.

	"All ready?" said Agent Waverly.

	"I am now," said Croft.

	There was a security cordon at the entrance to the Frontier 
Building. It was not meant to keep out Wender, of course, but merely to 
keep people out of the building.

	"The building has been cleared," said Preston. "It's the first 
room outside the elevator on the 195th floor. Do you have the gas 
grenade?"

	Croft opened his jacket slightly, revealing the bulbous object 
clipped to his belt.

	"Remember you only have to squeeze it slightly, even through your 
jacket," said Preston. "It's directed to spray out in front of you." 
Preston took a deep breath. "One more thing. The Majestic is in 
position. The minute sensors detect he's in the room, you have five 
minutes. Five minutes and one second later the Majestic will launch a 
missile, one that will take out that floor and several above and below, 
unless we hear otherwise from you. If the gas grenade doesn't work, and 
the dog doesn't do it-"

	"I understand," Croft nodded.

	"Good luck, Croft," said Preston, extending his hand. 

	Croft shook it.

	Waverly turned to Croft. "Luck is irrelevant. You're a survivor."

	"I hope so," said Croft.

	Without a glance back he entered the building.

	

	In the lobby Croft saw Levi and a small dog waiting for him.

	"Arf arf!" said Quick the Pomeranian, wagging his tail.

	"Ok, Levi, I can take it from here," said Croft.

	"I coming with you," said Levi.

	"What? No, Levi," said Croft.

	Levi stood resolutely.

	"Levi, do you realize how dangerous this is going to be?" said 
Croft.

	"I do," said Levi.

	"Levi, it's only a dog," said Croft.

	"Rrrrrrr!" said Quick.

	"I go, or Quick not go," said Levi.

	Croft sighed.  "Levi, if this doesn't work, they're going to blow 
up the building."
	"I know," said Levi.

	"This guy could kill you with a thought," Croft said.

	"I know," said Levi.

	Croft sighed again. He stared at Levi, and then at the little 
dog. Then back to Levi, then back to the little dog. What a crazy plan. 
"All right," he sighed. "Just try not to get shot or blown up."

	They walked in silence to the elevator. Croft pressed the button 
to summon the elevator. While they waited, Croft said, "I presume the 
sharp metal sliver has been attached to his paw."

	Quick held up a paw, and Croft saw a shiny sliver.

	"How does he prevent himself from cutting himself with it?" said 
Croft.

	"I told him to be careful," said Levi.

	"Well, that should do it," said Croft.

	The elevator door opened.

	"Wait a minute," said Croft. "If this gas grenade works, you'll 
be knocked out. You don't have nose filters."

	"I do," said Levi.

	"And what about Quick?" Suddenly Croft regretted asking; who 
cares if the little dog was temporarily put to sleep?

	"Has filters too."

	"What?" Croft bent down and looked at Quick's tiny nose.

	"Arf!"

	Croft jumped back.

	"Made special filters for him," said Levi.

	"I suppose you also told him not to breath through his mouth."
	"Of course," said Levi.

	"Of course," said Croft. He tentatively stepped in the elevator. 
Levi stepped in; Quick hopped in a split second later.

	"This is already quite bizarre," Croft commented.



	Croft's heart was pounding when they reached the 195th floor. The 
building was empty, of course. They walked down a hallway in silence. 
When they entered the room, they half expected Wender to be there.

	But the room was empty. Or at least, it appeared to be empty.

	Croft checked his comm. "Preston, what do remote sensors show?"

	"Just you and Levi and the animal," came Preston's voice.

	"Arf!"

	"He's a Pomeranian," Levi corrected.

	"Keep me posted. Croft out," said Croft, closing his comm. He 
gazed out the window at the rest of August. "It looks like it's going 
to be a nice day. I wonder if we'll live to see the rest of it."

	"Not to worry," said Levi. "Quick is on the job."

	"So we have nothing to worry about," said Croft. "You and I 
didn't even need to bother coming."

	"Why you not respect Quick?" Levi asked.

	"Levi, it's a dog," said Croft. "Do you respect my hamster?"

	"You not have hamster. And Quick not any dog, he genius dog," 
said Levi.

	"So let him become a professor at Sarney Sarittenden University."

	"Good idea," said Levi, brightening.

	Suddenly Croft's comm became active. "Croft, we have an 
unauthorized gravitator landing on the roof."

	The roof was only two floors up.

	"Understood," said Croft, his gut tightening.

	Croft looked at Levi. Levi was bending down, petting his dogs, 
who was lying on his back, begging to have his belly rubbed.

	"My hero," said Croft, staring at the little dog.



	A few minutes later Albert Wender stepped through the doorway. 
Croft knew the Mind Bender was coming even before he stepped in the 
room, because suddenly he froze, unable to move a single muscle in his 
body. Croft saw Quick and Levi also standing still.

	Wender entered the room. He gave Croft a smile. "You really 
thought you could trap me, did you?"

	Five minutes and counting.

	"All these elaborate plans," said Wender. "Secret gas canisters, 
poisoned dog paws... did you really think I wouldn't see through your 
plan?"

	"How did you know?" said Croft. He found he could still speak, at 
least. But he couldn't move his arms, not in the slightest. 

	Wender was slowly pacing back and forth in front of him. Croft 
purposefully had been facing the door even before Wender came in, and 
as Wender paced, he moved back and forth, almost in front of Croft.

	Almost.

	"You're so dumb," said Wender. "Your friend here was kind enough 
to let me sit on his entire conversation with you. He never realized 
that I was there. Neither was this supergenius mutt. Not so smart after 
all, is he?"

	Quick growled. Evidently he could still do that.

	Wender looked at Quick. Suddenly Quick appeared pained, as if he 
were spitting something unpleasant. And then he suddenly said, "Meow."

	Wender laughed. "What was that?" he said, pretending to be coy.

	"Meow! Meow!" said Quick, more loudly.

	Wender laughed again. "You see, I can control animals. To me, you 
are all animals, it makes no difference," said the Mind Bender, 
continuing to pace.

	"But the Capybara taught you a thing or two, didn't he?" said 
Croft.

	"You're trying to stall for time, I know," said the Mind Bender. 
He held up a chrono. "Four minutes and counting, not counting the time 
it will take the missile to hit. I will need at least three to get out 
of here. So we only have one minute left together. I am sorry to rush 
things, but..."

	Croft suddenly drew his blaster, and pointed it at his own head.

	"Nothing to stop us now, is there?" said the Mind Bender, 
standing a little to his left. "You're not so haughty without your rat 
to protect you, are you?"

	"Wait," said Croft.

	"I only have 45 seconds left," said the Mind Bender. "You'll have 
to be quick."

	"If you're going to kill me, at least turn away," said Croft. "I 
don't want the last thing I see to be your ugly face," he spat.

	"Ha, ha ha ha," said the Mind Bender. "So finally I have 
penetrated that smug calmness. "Well, I intend to watch this up close." 
And for the first time since he entered the room, he stood directly in 
front of Croft.

	"You, cook and dog! Are you ready to see an exciting shooting?"
	Suddenly, there was a weapons discharge.

	The Mind Bender fell to the ground, bleeding profusely from his 
shoulder.

	Suddenly Croft felt himself regaining control over his body. He 
noticed a smokey hole in his jacket but ignored that for the moment. 
Lowering his blaster, he aimed it at the Mind Bender.

	"You're right, that was a very exciting shooting," said Croft.

	Levi came closer.

	"How....," the Mind Bender gasped.

	"Wouldn't you like to know," said Croft. He reluctantly lowered 
the setting on his blaster and fired again. The Mind Bender slumped to 
the ground, unconscious.

	"Yes, would like to know," said Levi, looking very surprised.

	Croft opened his comm. "Preston, call off the attack. The Mind 
Bender is secured. Call in the medical team."

	"How?" said Levi.

	"I spoke to the Capybara. He told me that our plan wouldn't 
work," said Croft.

	"Then why...."

	"I suspected the Mind Bender might be listening in, if not with 
you then with someone else like the Chief who was in on our plan," said 
Croft. "I had to let him think he knew what our plan would be so he 
wouldn't be on guard for another one."
	"What other plan?" Levi asked.
	"It struck me when I was talking with the Capybara that the only 
way to make objective observations about the Mind Bender was from a 
distance by watching a holoprojector," said Croft. "After all, that's 
how we verified that you were doing a proper job when you examined the 
Mind Bender's ship. And that started me thinking that if a person on 
the other end of a holoprojector was safe from the Mind Bender's 
influence, he could be trusted to act against the Mind Bender."

	"You had micro-remote controlled blaster in your jacket?" said 
Levi.

	"Complete with a tiny holocamera," said Croft. "Only a one-shot 
blaster, I'm afraid, they couldn't make anything more effective than 
that on short notice."
	"They?" said Levi.

	"The cultural attache at the June Directorate embassy," said 
Croft. "He has many talents. He's quite skilled in many kinds of arts 
and crafts. He's also the one who fired the weapon. The only tricky 
part was the aiming. I had to get the Mind Bender to appear right in 
front of me."

	"Why did use cultural-"

	"I had to use one of Quick's spies because the Column had so 
obviously been penetrated by the Mind Bender. He knew we were going to 
the planet, and as you can see he knew our other plans. So I boarded a 
shuttle alone and went into orbit, as isolated as I could possibly be. 
First I contacted Quick, Steven Quick, and asked him to remotely view 
the shuttle to make sure I really was alone, so I could be certain that 
the Mind Bender would not hear what I was planning. Then I asked Quick 
to have one of his cultural operatives prepare this little device. I 
knew that it was very unlikely that the Mind Bender would have the time 
or inclination to watch Quick's people, aside from Agent Waverly. All I 
needed was someone that the Mind Bender would not be paying attention 
to. That's why I didn't have you or even someone in our technical 
section put this together. I couldn't take the chance of using someone 
from our organization," said Croft. "I even kept Waverly and Preston in 
the dark about it, in case the Mind Bender somehow got to them."
	"You certainly did," said Agent Waverly, entering the room, with 
a team of operatives and medical technicians. Waverly looked at the 
medical technicians. "What are they doing?"
	"Stabilizing him and preparing him for transport."

	"He should be dead," said Agent Waverly. 

	Croft looked hesitant.

	"When he wakes up-"
	"I know he's a killer," said Croft. "But it's hard even for me to 
kill someone who's just lying there. And the Chief told me to take him 
alive, if I could."
	"Do you really think any prison can hold him?" Waverly asked.

	"We'll see," said Croft.

	"Foolish," said Agent Waverly. "Very, very foolish." His grip 
tightened on his blaster as he stared at Wender's body. But he did not 
move. 

	The medical technicians worked feverishly on his wound.

	"Keep him unconscious," said Croft. "That's the Chief's orders."

	"We know," said one of the medtechs. 

	Another medtech lifted up the Mind Bender's left hand. "What 
happened here?"

	The Mind Bender was bleeding from several little puncture marks 
throughout his hand.

	"Arf!" said Quick, scooting away from the body with a sly smile.

	"He will think twice now before toying with Pomeranian," said 
Levi, wagging a reprimanding finger at the unconscious body of the Mind 
Bender.





	"So are you sure this will work?" Croft asked.

	"Again, yes," said Levi. "How many times you ask?"

	"Just a few more," said Croft. Preston stood to his side.

	They were staring at the Mind Bender on a video monitor. He was 
in a small cell, writing something on the walls.

	"Took measurements with proper equipment. Maximum range of his 
mental projections is 240 feet," said Levi.

	"Are you sure it's not 250 feet? Or 260 feet?" said Croft.

	"240 feet," said Levi. "Cell is actually 300 feet in all 
directions, up, down, left, right, away from personnel."

	"What about food?"

	"Food delivered by automated cart, slid into hole in door," said 
Levi.

	They could see what Wender was writing on the walls now.

	"KILL CROFT" it read.

	Over the next several minutes, Wender proceeded to write that, 
over and over.

	KILL CROFT. KILL CROFT

	"The psychiatrists think his fixation with you will fade over 
time," said Preston. They watched dispassionately as Wender wrote the 
same message, with some minor variations, over and over.

	KILL!!!!! KILL CROFT!!!!

	"He uses different calligraphy each time he writes it," Croft 
commented dispassionately. "I wonder if that suggests schizophrenia?"

	"Let's just hope he doesn't get out of there," said Preston. 
"Doesn't it worry you that he might?"

	KILL CROFT!!!!!

	"Oh, not really," Croft gave a dismissive wave of the hand. "The 
prisons are filled with people who hate me. If they all got out, they'd 
have to stand in a very long line."

	"Well, let's just hope this one doesn't get out," said Preston.

	Suddenly Wender turned to the holorecorder on the ceiling, and 
yelled, "Are you watching? Are you? Tell Croft! Tell him I'm coming! 
Tell him I'm, coming to kill him!" he screamed, at the top of his 
lungs.

	Preston and Levi looked at Croft.

	"Still not worried," said Croft. On further reflection, he said, 
"Anyone know what's for lunch?"




Part II: The Mind Bender Escapes



Chapter 9:  An Unexpected Shooting



The time: Some years later



	The first even remotest hint of a clue that Croft got that the 
Mind Bender had escaped was when several men came into the cafeteria at 
the Column HQ and started shooting at him.

	Four men entered the large cafeteria where operatives were trying 
to enjoy their lunches on the 250th floor of the Column HQ building. 
For one Levi was not cooking, so the food was bland and ordinary.

	"Where is Clifford Croft?" one of the men yelled.

	Croft, who was sitting with Preston, looked up and matched looks 
with the speaker. The man's face gave a hint of recognition, and he 
shouted. "Must kill Clifford Croft!" as he and his men drew their 
blasters and opened fire.

	Croft was not on guard, being in a relaxed atmosphere with a soup 
spoon in his hand, but he tensed up when he heard the word kill, and 
his honed reflexes made him drop the spoon, duck, and draw his blaster 
just as the man started firing.

	The first shots went wide, and Croft, beneath the table, started 
firing back, hitting one of the men and shooting close to another.

	The other three men ducked low to try to get a shot at Croft.

	Unfortunately for them, they were in a room full of Column 
employees. Many of them were analysts, but some of them were 
operatives, and they were always armed. They opened fire, and in 
seconds the four were stunned, in a heap by the entrance to the 
cafeteria. 

	Preston cautiously stood up. "What in the world is-"

	Several more men entered the cafeteria.

	"Must kill Croft!" they shouted.

	The gunfire erupted again. Croft was safer this time, because 
they didn't know he was under the table, and in seconds they were 
stunned too.

	Then a third wave came in. "Kill Croft!" they shouted. A few 
seconds later they were dropped as well.

	Croft let a few seconds pass. Then a few more. Then, cautiously 
grabbing his blaster, he stood up.

	A young man entered the cafeteria. A dozen blasters trained on 
him.

	"I just wanted lunch, but it's ok, I can come back another time," 
said the man hastily, exiting by stepping backwards out of the room.

	"What's going on?" said Preston.

	"I don't know," said Croft. "But I don't think I want to stick 
around here waiting for the next wave."

	They cautiously made their way to the elevators, their blasters 
still drawn. When the elevator doors opened, they were ready to fire. 
But there were only a few surprised looking research analysts in the 
elevator.

	"Shall we go underground?" Preston suggested.

	"Let's head for the roof," said Croft, pushing the button for the 
top level.

	They reached the top floor, just below the roof, and exited. 
There were several agents milling about.

	"Attention," came a voice over the comm system, one that they 
recognized as the Chief. "This is Director Alderman."

	"Finally, the Chief," said Preston. "Maybe now we'll find out 
what's happening."

	 The Chief's voice could be heard by all operatives in the 
building. "Attention all Column personnel! Agent Clifford Croft has 
become a severe security threat. He is to be shot and killed on sight. 
Find him and kill him now!"
	The agents, shocked to hear this, suddenly turned their gaze to 
Croft and Preston.

	Croft and Preston had their blasters in their hands, now pointed 
at the men. "Don't make any moves," said Croft.

	"Croft, what is this all about?" said one of the operatives.

	"I don't know," said Croft, taking steps towards the roof access 
even as he kept his eyes riveted on the agents.

	"Can't we talk about this?" said the operative.

	"Talk about what? Letting you shoot me?" said Croft.

	Suddenly, another agent appeared from an adjacent hallway. He 
drew his blaster. This distracted Croft enough to enable the agents in 
the room to draw their weapons. Croft and Preston fired, downing two of 
them immediately. A third aimed at Croft before Croft downed him too. 
The agent in the hallway fired, narrowly missing Croft. Preston shot at 
him, but missed. Croft hit him with another shot.

	They heard the sounds of running footsteps.

	"Come on," said Croft.

	"Kill Croft now!" they heard A.A. yell over the comm system.

	"Do you think this is the Chief's way of giving me an 
unsatisfactory performance evaluation?" Croft asked, as they ran.

	They made their way to the roof. There were two operatives there. 
Seconds later Croft and Preston stepped by their snoring bodies, and 
strapped themselves into gravitators.

	In seconds they had launched. and were flying over downtown 
August.

	"They will be tracking us soon. Where do we go?" shouted Preston. 
He was smart enough not to use the comm, instead maneuvering parallel 
to Croft to speak directly. "A safehouse?"

	"Not very safe," said Croft. "We'll have to pick some place at 
random."

	In a few minutes they landed and made their way to the 
underground. Croft picked the lock on a small underground apartment, 
and they entered. The apartment happened to be empty at the moment, but 
was fully furnished.

	"What happens when the occupant returns?" said Preston.

	"I think we have bigger worries," said Croft, turning on the 
holovision. The image of the President of the League came on.

	"-danger to us all. I repeat, we have a dangerous spy in our 
midst. His name is Clifford Croft. Formerly an operative, he has been 
found to be a double agent," said the President. "Intelligence 
indicates he had planted a blockbuster bomb somewhere in the city and 
has the activator on him. That's why it is crucial that he be shot on 
sight. Do not attempt to talk with him, do not stun him, shoot to kill. 
August is under martial law until this emergency is resolved. I repeat, 
Clifford Croft must be killed on sight."

	The image faded to be replaced by that of troops moving into 
position all over August, establishing checkpoints and searching the 
area.

	"He's got the army after us," said Preston.

	"And probably the navy as well," said Croft.

	"We're not going to remain undetected here very long," said 
Preston. "What do we do?"

	"First we figure out what's going on," said Croft.

	"I don't know what's going on," said Preston. "It's as if we 
jumped into a parallel August where everything has changed."

	"No," said Croft. "Not everything. In fact, only one fact has 
changed. Something specific to me. Now, who do we know who may have 
reason to be angry with me?"

	"Well... almost everyone," Preston reflected. "I mean, the 
Slurian NGB, Slurian military intelligence, several more Slurian 
security services, the Terrible Thinker, the Claritan corporation, half 
of the planet Grafton, the Union-"

	"Let me amend that," said Croft. "Who would be angry enough with 
me and have the ability to get the President and the Chief to put a 
price on my head?"

	Preston paused.

	"That's right, Wender," said Croft, when Preston didn't answer 
quickly enough. 

	"Wender?" Preston blinked. "But he's in jail."

	"I'll bet you he's not there anymore," said Croft.

	"Come to think of it, I suddenly recall that he was more than a 
little angry with you," said Preston. "Didn't he write 'Kill Croft' on 
the walls of his cell?"

	"A few hundred times, over and over, so the prison psychiatrists 
told me," said Croft. He scratched his head thoughtfully. "At the time, 
I didn't think anything of it...."

	"But... assuming the Mind Bender is behind this, how did he get 
out?"

	"The how is not so important, and we don't really have the time 
or luxury to investigate at the moment," said Croft. 

	"All right, how do we stop him?" Preston asked.

	"Kind of difficult," said Croft. "I don't think he'll fall for 
the remote controlled blaster in the jacket again. Another difficult 
problem is that we don't even know where he is, and the minute we start 
moving around, we risk getting caught." He reflected. "Actually, as far 
as I know, they're only after me. You might be able to go freely."

	"And I might not," said Preston. "How do I know that if I went 
back to the Column that Wender might not issue more orders for me to be 
caught or killed?"

	"You're right, it's a risk," said Croft. "But they might not be 
actively looking for you. You might be able to get to one of our safe 
houses."

	"I thought you said they weren't safe," said Preston.

	"They won't be, not for very long," said Croft. "But they can't 
watch all the safe houses all the time, they simply don't have the 
manpower." Croft punched up a map of Sarney Sarittenden on a nearby 
holoreceiver, and then zoomed in. After a moment he said, "There. 
There's one of our safe houses only a quarter mile away."

	"What is it you want?" said Preston.

	Croft told him.

	"And what do we do with it once we get it?" said Preston.

	"One step at a time," said Croft. "Get the stuff, and get back 
here."
	"All right," said Preston. He went to the door. "I'll be back 
soon."
	"I'll be waiting right here for you," Croft promised.



	Preston returned about an hour later. When he entered their 
temporary quarters, he found that Croft was not there.

	"Croft?" he said. "Croft?" he said again.

	Preston drew his gun. He went over to the holoterminal. There was 
a message there.

	"Be right back. Stay put," it said.

	Preston lowered his blaster. He sat.

	Several minutes later Croft entered the room.

	"Where were you?" said Preston.

	"Making sure you weren't followed," said Croft.

	Preston suddenly felt that his professional ability was being 
questioned. "Croft, I know I'm not one of the Eight, but do you really 
think I'm unprofessional to allow myself to be followed?"

	"No," said Croft. "But what if the Mind Bender had gotten to you, 
and then used you to get to me?" said Croft. "It was a possibility that 
I had to prepare for."

	"Oh," said Preston.

	Croft took the package from Preston.

	"All right, so what do we do now?" Preston asked.

	"I've given the matter some thought. In my estimation, there are 
only two places we might be safe on August," said Croft. "The 
Directorate embassy, and Professor Capybara's apartment."

	Preston thought about the possibilities. "What if Wender expects 
us to go to these places?"

	"We have to be prepared for that possibility," said Croft. 

	"They could be well guarded," Preston pointed out.

	"Remember that funny name they give us? I  think that's why we're 
called 'infiltrators'," said Croft. He opened the package Preston had 
brought. "Come on, let's get started."
	Gary Kelso was a senior operative in Stellar Intelligence, the 
largest intelligence, most well known, and least competent spy agency 
in the League. Most of SI were analysts, but there were certain 
sections of SI that were used for "active work". Two  squads of active 
operatives circled the ground level apartment of the alien known only 
as Professor Capybara. Kelso stood at the Capybara's front door with 
several of his men.

	Two men walked down the hallway towards them. Immediately Kelso 
and two backup operatives raised their weapons.

	"Whoa!" said one of the men. "Please don't shoot!"

	Kelso looked at the men. Neither of them looked like Croft or his 
associate, Preston. "Who are you? What do you want?"

	The man in front said, "My name is Professor Bob Brakes of Sarney 
Sarittenden University, and this is Stan Sterk, my research assistant. 
We're here to see the Professor Capybara."

	"The Professor Capybara isn't seeing anyone today," said Kelso 
guardedly.

	"But we have an appointment," said Professor Brakes, looking 
astonished. He took a step or two closer.

	"It's been canceled. There's a state of emergency, in case you 
haven't noticed. Come back another time," Kelso suggested.

	"But I have authorization from the highest sources," said 
Professor Brakes. He reached into his jacket. Kelso and his men 
immediately raised their blasters.

	"Wait!" said Brakes. He slowly took out a datapad. "Here. At 
least look at my authorization." He walked over and handed it to Kelso.

	"There isn't any authorization you have that can change 
anything," said Kelso. Nevertheless, he looked down at the datapad.

	At that moment Brakes lashed out with his foot at one of Kelso's 
men, while simultaneously chopping Kelso on the back of the neck. The 
second guard raised his blaster, which was kicked out of his hand by 
Brake's research assistant. Brakes gave the guards some additional 
scholarly punches to knock them out.

	"Come on," said Croft. They pressed the signal chimes on the 
Professor's door.

	For a moment, nothing happened.

	Croft and Preston looked at each other. They hadn't counted on 
the Professor not being in.

	Then, the door slowly opened.

	Croft and Preston entered quickly, closing the door behind them.

	The Professor was in his study. He looked up at them. He didn't 
ask who they were; he didn't register any surprise. All he said was, 
"Ah, young Clifford. Isn't that a (tweatle tweatle) new look for you?"

	"How did you know it was me?" said Croft. After all, he and 
Preston were wearing plastiform disguise faces.

	"Oh Clifford," said the Professor, waving a webbed foot modestly. 
"Ask me something difficult."

	"Ok," said Croft. "How do we deal with a mad man who controls 
minds who had taken control of the entire planet?"

	"Hm, that is a (tweatle tweatle) difficult question," the 
Professor admitted. He added, "I have noticed some (tweatle tweatle) 
unusual announcements lately. Something about killing you, I believe. 
Why don't you sit down and (tweatle tweatle) all about it?"

	"Professor, we don't have the-"
	Suddenly the door came crashing inwards. Several SI agents rushed 
in, blasters drawn. Several more rushed in from the patio, also with 
blasters drawn.

	"You weren't invited in," said the Capybara, in an instructive 
but patient tone.

	'That's him," said one of the operatives, pointing at Croft. "You 
heard the orders! Kill him!"

	Suddenly the operatives, all of them, slumped to the ground. One 
of them fired his blaster as he fell unconscious, making a rather 
large, smoking hole in the Professor's reclining chair.

	"Hm, I (tweatle tweatle) if that can be fixed," said the 
Professor worriedly.

	"Ah, Professor?" said Croft. "We have bigger problems. Remember 
Wender?"

	"Wender? Who?" said the Professor. "Forgive me, but I have seen 
so many (tweatle tweatle) humans, and you all tend to sound and look 
alike-"

	"Wender, the guy who can control minds?"

	"Oh, you mean (tweatle tweatle)," said the Professor, his 
expression brightening. "Yes, I do seem to recall a minor encounter 
with (tweatle tweatle) a number of years ago. It was hardly 
noteworthy."

	"Yes, I'm sure it was," said Croft. "But you see, he's kind of 
taken over our government, and he's telling everyone to kill me-"

	Suddenly, several army soldiers rushed in. They shouted, raised 
their blaster rifles... and fell asleep too.

	"Yes, I can see how that could be a minor (tweatle tweatle) 
problem," said the Professor.

	"You're very astute," said Croft. "But I'm here for help, not 
analysis."

	"Help? Clifford, I can't interfere," said the Professor. He 
waddled over to a sack of peanuts, and scooped some out with a webbed 
paw. "Nut?"

	Croft, suddenly thinking of the adjective rather than the noun, 
said, "No thanks." He tried to think of a way he could get through to 
the large rodent. "I appreciate the fact that you can't interfere under 
normal circumstances-"

	"Under any circumstances," the Professor corrected him.

	"-but seeing as he's taken over the entire planet, I thought you 
might make an exception," said Croft.

	"Sorry, no can do," said the Professor.

	Several more soldiers entered. "There he is!" one of them 
shouted. They raised their weapons, before falling asleep as well. The 
pile of sleeping soldiers and operatives started to get larger.

	"Look at this," said Croft, activating the Professor's 
holoreceiver.

	The image on the screen showed troops marching in rows through 
downtown Sarney Sarittenden, shouting, "Kill Croft! Kill Croft!"

	Croft changed the channel.
	"This just in," said the announcer. He read from an information 
screen. "The hunt is still on to kill Clifford Croft.

	Croft switched to another channel. It was a panel discussion of 
prominent politicians.

	"In the rush to say that Clifford Croft needs to be eliminated, 
no one has ever stopped to debate exactly what method should be used to 
execute him-"
	Croft changed the channel.

	"Fire!" said a voice, as several dozen military blasters ripped 
through a cardboard image of Croft. The surrounding crowd cheered.

	Croft turned off the holoreceiver, and stared at the Professor.

	The Professor said nothing, only continuing to chew nuts 
thoughtfully. The silencer was only punctuated by the sounds of his 
chewing and a new group of soldiers entering the room and falling 
asleep.

	Finally Croft said, "Well, do you have any advice, anything?"

	The Professor chewed on some peanuts, shells and all, and 
considered. "Have you considered that now might be an opportune time to 
take a vacation?"
	"That's it? That's your great advice?" said Croft. "The army's 
looking for me on the ground. And I'm equally sure the navy has a tight 
interdiction net around August."

	"Hm," said the Capybara, chewing thoughtfully.

	Several more soldiers entered, though they had trouble getting 
through the logjam of bodies at the door. "Kill Croft!" they shouted. 
They quickly joined the sleeping crew.

	"Listen, do you have any other ideas?" said Croft desperately. He 
heard the sounds of many boot steps in the distance. He knew they 
couldn't stay here much longer.

	"Not at the moment," said the Capybara. "Perhaps if you came back 
later."

	"There's a problem with that," said Croft. "I may not be alive to 
come back later."

	"I see what you mean," said the Capybara, putting another pawful 
of nuts in his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully.

	"Listen," said Croft. "You're not allowed to interfere, right?"

	"Correct," said the Professor.

	"You're not allowed to interfere with human development, right?" 
Croft asked.
	"Correct again," said the Capybara.

	"Well, we all know that this Wender guy isn't the subject of 
human development. We both know he was modified, by aliens," said 
Croft.

	"True," said the Capybara, continuing to munch. Let nothing 
interfere with his snacking!

	Croft desperately continued making his argument. "So, interfering 
with Wender wouldn't really be interfering with human development."

	"Hm..." said the Capybara.

	They heard a low rumble outside. Preston went on the patio to 
check it out.

	"Come on, Professor," Croft urged him.

	"Still thinking," the Capybara announced.

 	Preston quickly returned.  "Croft, they're bringing battle 
tanks!"

	"Professor!"

	"I'm sorry Clifford," said the Capybara. "But I simply cannot get 
involved."

	"All right, but give me something," said Croft. "Something."
	The sound of battle tanks grew louder.	

	The Capybara paused. "All right," he said.

	"All right, what?" Croft asked.

	He looked at Croft, hard, in the eyes.

	Croft stared back. Suddenly, he felt a shock, and all his senses 
felt scrambled.



	

	"Where is he?"

	The Mind Bender blazed with anger.

	"I don't know," said the President dully. "My men are looking."

	The Mind Bender was seated on the throne itself in the throne 
room in the heart of the palace, Sarney Sarittenden proper. Sarney 
Sarittenden was both a city and a palace; the most senior government 
leaders of the executive branch were located in the palace. Naturally 
most of the bureaucracy couldn't fit in the palace, which is why they 
filled buildings for miles in every direction radiating out from the 
palace. 

	The President sat in a small chair by the Mind Bender's throne.

	"Your men are idiots! You have the entire planet looking and 
can't find one man!"

	"My men are idiots," said the President dully.

	"But this time I have more resources on my side," said the Mind 
Bender slyly. He turned to his right, where Mongo sat, also in a small 
chair. Mongo looked dazed.

	"Where is Croft?"

	Mongo concentrated. "Croft... is coming here."

	"Here? When?"

	"In few minutes," said Mongo, still concentrating. "Yes, few 
minutes."

	"Really? What happens?" said the Mind Bender. "Do I defeat him?"

	Mongo concentrated. It was hard to do, because the Mind Bender 
was putting so much pressure on him.

	"Do I?" said the Mind Bender.

	"Yes," said Mongo, sweating profusely. "He tries tricksey, but 
you beat him."

	"How? Do you see me shooting him dead?" said the Mind Bender.

	Mongo tried to concentrate. With all the pressure on his mind, it 
was very, very difficult. 

	"Well?"

	"Yes!" Mongo cried. "Mongo sees you shooting the Croft, and 
laughing, yes, laughing, when he is very, very dead."

	"Well then," the Mind Bender smirked. "I guess I just have to 
wait for it to happen."

	A few minutes later someone entered the throne room. It was an 
elderly man in a white formal jacket, Benniter, the President's 
personal servant. He carried a small tray.

	"I have brought some refreshment, sir."

	"How kind," said the Mind Bender. "Come closer with it."

	Benniter brought the tray, a bottle and glasses, over to the Mind 
Bender. He put it down on a nearby table. Benniter glanced at Mongoa 
and the President, but didn't show any surprise. Benniter turned to go.

	"Just a moment," said the Mind Bender. 

	Benniter turned.

	"Why don't you share a drink with us?" the Mind Bender asked.

	Benniter said, "Thank you, sir, but I'm on duty."

	"Nonsense," said the Mind Bender. His tone hardened. "I insist."

	Benniter suddenly and mechanically grabbed the bottle, and poured 
himself a drink. The Mind Bender was controlling his movements.

	"Aren't you drinking, sir?" Benniter asked.

	"No, just you," said the Mind Bender. "Drink up, now."

	Benniter tried to resist, but he found himself gulping down the 
drink.

	Suddenly, he dropped the glass, and it went crashing to the 
ground. Benniter choked, and fell to his knees.

	"Ah, ha ha ha!" said the Mind Bender. "So this is finally the 
end, Croft!"

	Benniter tried to say something, but he fell to the ground before 
he could choke out the words, and stopped moving.

	The Mind Bender reached down and pulled at Benniter's face. It 
came off easily, revealing Croft's face.

	"Ha, I knew it!" said the Mind Bender. 

	"I DID IT! I DID IT! FINALLY HE IS DEAD!" the Mind Bender 
shrieked, and his voice reverberated all over the palace. "Finally, 
after all these years! Ha! Ha! Ah, hahahahaha!"

	The Mind Bender did a little dance as he laughed, and laughed, 
and laughed and laughed. And then, all of a sudden, he stopped 
laughing. He looked at Mongo.

	"Wait a minute," said the Mind Bender.

	Mongo's eyes grew wide.

	"You said you saw me shoot him with a blaster," said the Mind 
Bender. "That didn't happen."

	"Very astute," said Croft, getting up off the floor.

	The Mind Bender was opened mouth. "What.... How....?"
	"The wine wasn't poisoned," said Croft. "There was no need to 
poison it," he added, drawing his hidden blaster.

	The Mind Bender concentrated.

	But the blaster was still pointed at him.

	The Mind Bender concentrated harder.

	"Is that the sound of your teeth grinding together?" said Croft 
nonchalantly.

	"HOW ARE YOU RESISTING ME?" the Mind Bender screamed.

	"I took a course, in resisting," said Croft. He spread his legs 
slightly and steadied his aim.

	"No!" said the Mind Bender. "Please, don't kill me!"

	"Give me one reason why I shouldn't," said Croft.

	"I'll undo what I've done!" said the Mind Bender.

	"All I have to do is wait a few hours and it will undo itself," 
said Croft. His finger tightened on the trigger.

	"Please show mercy!"

	"Somehow, when you've got every armed man on the planet chanting 
"Kill Clifford Croft" and trying to kill me, mercy isn't exactly the 
first thing to come to my mind," said Croft.

	"There must be something you want!" said the Mind Bender.

	Despite the seriousness of the situation, Croft paused, 
considering. Here he was, in the palace itself. next to the president. 
He didn't need the Mind Bender controlling him to know that this was a 
unique situation.

	"Maybe," said Croft, opening the door, just a little. "But if I 
let you live, how do I know you won't escape and try to kill me again?"

	"I promise, I promise I won't do it again!" said the Mind Bender 
frantically.

	"You promise?" said Croft. "You'll have to do better than that."

	"I'll tell you exactly how I escaped!" said the Mind Bender. "I 
practiced my skill and extended my range to over 300 feet!"

	Croft said nothing.

	"Please!"

	"All right," said Croft. "Maybe I'll spare your miserable life."

	"Maybe?" said the Mind Bender.

	"If you do a few, minor things for me."

	"Anything!" the Mind Bender wailed.





	"So Croft, how's it going?" said Preston. It was several days 
later, and they were sitting in the Column cafeteria. Both were eating 
very juicy steaks, which were now standard menu items. In fact, all 
food in the cafeteria was now free, a new perk for operatives.

	"Fine," said Croft.

	"I hear the President was so grateful for saving August, that he 
gave you your own mansion," said Preston.

	"Yeah," said Croft.

	"And your own space yacht."

	"Yeah," said Croft. "It only makes sense. I have to get to my new 
vacation home on Wilderland somehow."

	"And I heard the President gave you a huge pay raise and cash 
bonus," said Preston.

	"Yep," said Croft.

	"The rumor is that you're quite wealthy now," said Preston.

	"Well, you know about rumors," said Croft.

	"And we've all heard how he's reorganizing the Intelligence 
Services, radically expanding the Column, and downsizing Stellar 
Intelligence."

	"That's what I heard too," said Croft.

	"So?" said Preston.

	"So what?" said Croft.

	"What happened when he stopped being under the Mind Bender's 
control? Didn't he rescind all those things?" said Preston.

	"No," said Croft.

	"Why not?" Preston asked.

	Croft smiled, and offered an explanation. "Let's just say that it 
wouldn't look good for the President if it became common knowledge that 
he were under mind control. The cover story, that I had been framed by 
outside sources, was good enough for the general public."

	"But still, you're a household name on August now," said Preston. 
"How can you be an effective operative?"

	Croft shrugged. "In a week, when all the focus is on the next 
holostar is found in bed with his director, no one will remember who I 
am or what I look like."
	"That's probably true," Preston admitted.

	Croft took another bite of his steak. It was very good.

	But Preston hadn't finished satisfying his curiosity. "I read 
your after action report," said Preston. "But I have some questions."

	"We all have questions," said Croft. He put another piece of meat 
in his mouth. "Do you like the meat? Let me know if you have any 
complaints. It's supposed to be grade 'A+'."

	"The meat is fine," said Preston. "But how did Mongo get it 
wrong?"

	"What do you mean?" Croft asked. Yes, the meat was definitely 
very good. They had hired a top chef from a prominent steakhouse to 
cook for them.

	"Well, according to your report, Mongo was under the Mind 
Bender's control. Why didn't he accurately report what you were going 
to attempt?" Preston asked.

	Croft smiled. "He didn't know Mongo."
	"What does that mean?" Preston said.

	"Lots of time I've put Mongo under pressure to get information 
and I got all sorts of answers. I found if I put too much pressure on 
him I would always get the answer I wanted to hear, the answers Mongo 
thought would satisfy me."

	"But Mongo was under mind control-"
	"But there are degrees of mind control and some minds are more 
difficult to control. Remember, Mongo is a pathological liar," said 
Croft. "The Mind Bender pushed only enough until he got the answer he 
wanted, but not the correct one."
	"And you?" Preston asked.

	"What about me?" Croft said.

	"How were you able to resist the Mind Bender's control?" said 
Preston.

	"You were there," said Croft.

	"No, I wasn't," said Preston. Then, he realized that Croft was 
referring to something else. "You mean, with the Capybara. He did 
something to you." His eyes widened. "He gave you the ability to resist 
mind control."

	"Um," said Croft.

	Preston lowered his voice. "Is it permanent?"

	Croft shrugged. "When I went to see him about it later, he 
wouldn't answer that."

	"But didn't he interfere, by giving you this special power?" 
Preston asked.

	Croft smiled. "The Professor justified it as a 'small experiment' 
designed to help him better study humans. He said that my immunity was 
not even worth mentioning in his notes, because it would only work 
against 'the most childish attempts' to control my mind."

	"It makes you think there may be more dangerous things out 
there," said Preston.

	"It does make you think that," said Croft, taking another bite 
out of his steak. "But for now, we have steak."

	"Do you really think letting him live was the best thing to do?" 
said Preston.

	Croft shrugged. "They've got him locked up in a new and improved 
prison. Only time will tell."

	"So what happens now?"

	"The way I see it, we go on with business as usual," said Croft.

	Suddenly, Croft's personal waiter approached. "Would you like me 
to refill your cup, sir?"

	"Yes, thank you," Croft smiled.


Part III: The Twister



Chapter 10: Enter the Twister



The Time: Some years later



	His name was the Twister. That wasn't the name he was born with, 
but it was the name he gave himself, and soon everyone knew it. He was 
a large man with bulging muscles, and he wore a giant sleeveless shirt 
with a large uppercase T and a picture of a tornado on it, as if to 
emphasis his point.

	His name was the Twister, and he was currently on a relatively 
isolated part of the western continent of August, Concord. The western 
part of the continent was not nearly as developed as the eastern part, 
especially the east coast, where the capitol, Sarney Sarittenden, was 
located.

	Nestled in the foothills was a very special installation. 

	The Twister drove his groundcar up to the main gate. The 
groundcar was stolen, of course, and a number of people on the scene 
had seen the Twister steal it, but that didn't concern him in the 
slightest.

	For the Twister was not concerned with subtlety.

	The sign in front of the fenced off facility simply read 
"Government facility. Authorized Persons Only". That was rather vague. 
Usually, government facilities were well identified.

	But this was a special case.

	Two sentries came out of a guardhut and walked to the groundcar.

	The Twister got out of the groundcar.

	"This is a restricted-" one of the sentries began.

	The Twister flexed his right hand, ever so slightly, and the both 
guards went flying into the air, smashing into the fence.

	The Twister blew air out of his mouth, and the fence in front of 
the groundcar ripped itself out of the ground and flew a hundred feet 
or more inside the facility.

	The Twister casually walked in as sirens sounded.

	Guards rushed out of a nearby barracks.

	The Twister smiled, and the guards were all tossed into the air, 
like rag dolls.

	More guards kept coming out of the barracks. The Twister turned 
his head slightly, and the barracks collapsed, from the inside.

	The sirens continue to sound as the Twister casually continued 
walking. 

	He purposely ignored a number of identical looking buildings 
before coming to an inner fence. The fence had a warning sign on it 
that read: "Restricted area: Under no circumstances go beyond this 
point!"

	The Twister tossed aside a section of inner fence. Beyond this 
was a central boxed in area, exactly 350 feet by 350 feet wide. A small 
concrete structure stood in the center of it.

	The Twister looked at it, and the concrete structure crumbled. He 
continued staring.

	The ground beneath the structure cracked open. Mounds of dirt 
flew into the air.

	This process continued for nearly a minute, and then stopped. 

	The Twister casually walked over to the large hole he had 
created. He looked down. Then, he made a small motion with his hand, 
and-

	The Mind Bender floated out of the hole, landing softly by his 
side.

	The Mind Bender looked the Twister up and down, especially taking 
in the shirt with the whirlwind and the giant T.

	"My car is this way," said the Twister. "Shall we go?"



	An hour later the Twister and the Mind Bender were in a room 
together. The Twister pressed a button, activating the holoreceiver.

	The image of a face in a darkened room appeared. They couldn't 
make out much of the face; the only light in the room was faint, and it 
focused on the man's eyes.

	Those silvery eyes.



* * * * * * * * * * * *



	"This can't be good," Croft decided, staring at a holo of the now 
destroyed prison.

	"You should have killed him when you had the chance," said 
Preston. "But nooooo, you had to get rich."

	"Listen, you," said Croft. "You work for the Column for a few 
hundred years. You save the population from countless invasions, 
attacks, and other great destructive events. And then see how you like 
living on a Column pension." Croft paused. "Besides, he didn't escape."

	"He didn't?"
	"Someone got him out," said Croft. 

	"And the distinction being?"

	"That couldn't have been anticipated," said Croft, pointing at 
the replay of the prison breakout.
	"You couldn't be more right on that point," said Preston. "A guy 
with a big T on his shirt. He's the most powerful telekinetic I've ever 
seen. He makes the Clapper look like a cripple."

	"Is there any more information on who he really is?" Croft asked.

	Preston shook his head.

	"It's kind of odd that a guy with powers like this just suddenly 
appears out of nowhere," said Croft. "It's doubly odd that in his first 
public appearance, he locates a prison he shouldn't even know about and 
helps the Mind Bender escape."

	"Almost as if it were planned," said Preston.

	"That's right," said Croft. "But why would anyone want to release 
the Mind Bender? He'd be as great a threat to his liberator as to any 
of us. He could simply take control of the telekinetic's mind."

	"That assumes that the telekinetic isn't immune to his power."

	"How would the telekinetic know he's immune?" said Croft. "So far 
as we know, I'm the only person immune to the Mind Bender."

	"It would be a great risk to take," Preston admitted. "You're 
right, it doesn't make sense."

	"Unless...."

	"What?" Croft asked.

	"Unless the telekinetic himself is working for someone else, and 
that someone else keeps a safe distance from the Mind Bender," Preston 
theorized.

	"But that doesn't make sense either," said Croft. "If someone has 
someone as powerful as the telekinetic working for him, why would he 
want to risk losing control of the telekinetic by releasing the Mind 
Bender?"

	"I... don't... know," said Preston.



* * * * * * * * * * 



	"My name is-"

	"I know who you are," said the Mind Bender, staring at the holo 
of those silvery eyes. "I've been cut off from current events, but I'm 
not ignorant. You're the Terrible Thinker."

	The eyes flared. "The Great Thinker."

	"Whatever," said the Mind Bender, waving a hand dismissively.

	It made a difference, to the Great Thinker.

	His name was the Great Thinker to some and the Terrible Thinker 
to others and he was quite possibly the smartest human being in the 
galaxy, though he competed actively for that title with his estranged 
brother, Steven Quick. While Quick rose to rule the June Directorate 
and used his brains to ally himself with the League, the Terrible 
Thinker uses his powers to strike out on his own.

	He didn't have the armed forces of Sluria at his command, or a 
(small) army of gamma section operatives with special powers, like the 
League did, but he did have that magnificent brain, and his plans, 
whether they involved espionage, assassination, regime change, or 
spying, were all elaborately complicated, and were usually executed 
flawlessly. 

	Those silvery eyes stared at the Mind Bender. "I would have 
thought that you would have been more grateful for your release," said 
the Terrible Thinker.

	"I assume you want something," said the Mind Bender. "Though I 
don't know why I should even bother to listen to you."

	"Really?"

	"Yes," said the Mind Bender. "I'm surprised it hasn't even 
occurred to you, but I can simply take this big guy here and go back 
into business for myself."

	The Twister looked uncomfortably at the Mind Bender.

	Those silvery eyes glared at the Mind Bender. "That thought had 
occurred to me, but after weighing the possibilities, I realized that 
you would be too smart to do that."

	"Really?" said the Mind Bender, an amused expression on his face.

	"In the past you have struck out on your own, as you might call 
it. Each time it has landed you in prison."
	"I was unlucky," said the Mind Bender, all the amusement gone 
from his face.

	"You have a tremendous ability," said the Terrible Thinker. "But 
don't think that your ability gives you the ability to do anything you 
want. You need others, with other abilities, to complement yours."

	"To complement me?" said the Mind Bender. He turned to the 
Twister. "All right, say something nice about my powers."

	"Ha ha," said the Terrible Thinker, without any humor. "You 
really think you can go out now, and not get caught again within a few 
days?'

	"With this guy's help I can," said the Mind Bender, indicating 
the Twister.

	The Twister looked uncomfortable again.

	"And what exactly will you do?" the Terrible Thinker asked.

	The Mind Bender looked certain.

	"Where exactly will you go?" the Terrible Thinker queried.
	The Mind Bender paused.

	"What is your plan?" The Terrible Thinker persisted.
	"What does it matter?" said the Mind Bender. "We'll be 
unstoppable!"

	"Really?" said the Terrible Thinker. "What if you come up against 
a brigade of jump troopers? Can you control all of their minds?"

	"No, but this fellow can handle them," said the Mind Bender.

	"You're wrong," said the Terrible Thinker. "He can be shot just 
like anyone else. His main advantage is surprise, quick reflexes, and 
operating against small numbers. Like you, he is a precision tool, made 
for carefully designed operations. If you just go wandering around 
August creating destruction around you, sooner or later you will be 
stopped, probably fatally."

	The Mind Bender paused again. The Terrible Thinker looked at him 
with those silvery, as if he could interpret his thought processes. Of 
course, the Terrible Thinker couldn't read minds, but he didn't have 
to. He had already prepared responses to all of the Mind Bender's 
likely arguments weeks ago.

	"So what would you have us do?" said the Mind Bender.

	The Terrible Thinker told him.

	"That's stupid," said the Mind Bender. "What do I get out of it?"

	The Terrible Thinker told him.

	"That makes a little more sense, but isn't that a very roundabout 
way of going about it?" said the Mind Bender.

	"The more direct route is quicker, but won't work," said the 
Terrible Thinker. "I prefer success, even if it takes more time."
	"All right," said the Mind Bender grudgingly. "I'll give it a 
try."

	The Terrible Thinker nodded. This had all been expected. "Report 
back to me at regular intervals."

	His image faded.

	"Report back to him," said the Mind Bender. "I never thought I 
would be reporting to anyone."

	"And I never thought I could be persuaded to rescue you," said 
the Twister. "But he's thought out everything in advance."

	"Maybe," said the Mind Bender.

	


Chapter 11:  Diversionary Attacks



	The civilian space liner was coming in for a landing at Sarney 
Sarittenden Spaceport. SSS was one of the largest spaceports in the 
galaxy, with ships landing and taking off almost every minute. The 
spaceport was divided into three distinct sections: military, passenger 
civilians, and cargo. One particular passenger liner descended lower, 
and lower, as it prepared for a gentle landing.

	A single figure stood near its landing spot. 

	It was the Twister.

	He made a gesture with his hands, as if he were breaking 
something.

	There was a rumble, and the liner, which had been descending, 
hovered in place, shaking. Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and then 
it broke in two pieces, snapping along the middle of the ship.

	Both halves of the ship quickly rotated to face downwards. 
Passengers started to fall out of the ship onto the tarmack, thirty to 
forty feet below. Many screamed as they fell. 

	More and more figures fell out of the ships, many of them 
screaming; and then the pace slowed.

	The Twister was annoyed. Obviously some people in the ship were 
still holding on to their seats.

	He grunted, and flexed his mental muscles, shaking both halves of 
the ship. A few more people fell out.

	"There," the Twister grinned.

	The first few people who fell were crushed, both by the impact 
and the other people who fell on top of them; but most of the 
passengers who fell later, on the first passengers, had an easier 
landing, and many of those survived.

	Not that the Twister cared in the slightest. 

	Several vehicles approached, sirens blaring.

	The Twister gave a nudge, and both halves of the ship were 
discarded, sent spinning along the tarmac. One went harmlessly out into 
the landing field; another crashed against a terminal, crashing into 
another ship that was just landing, sending it spinning out of 
position.

	The approaching vehicles slowed, but the Twister didn't give 
anyone a chance to dismount; one by one, he flung the vehicles, sending 
them sprawling into the spaceport. One went airborne, landing in the 
passenger section of another spaceship.

	Soldiers ran forward on foot. The Twister waved a hand, and sent 
them flying.

	The Twister could see more running towards him in the distance.

	Time to go.

	With a slight shrug the Twister turned back to the flattened 
section of fencing he had walked across, and the waiting hovercar.

	



	"We did have troops defending the spaceport," said A.A., yelling 
at Croft. "He swatted them aside like flies." The Chief turned to 
Preston. "What have you learned?"
	"We still don't have anything on him" said Preston. "He's 
probably not even a League citizen."

	"Well, whatever he is, he's getting around easily enough," said 
A.A. "How does a freak with a giant T on his shirt surreptitiously get 
his way around August without being spotted?"

	"The Mind Bender," said Preston suddenly. "That's why the Twister 
released him."

	"The who?" said A.A.

	"Twister," said Preston. "Obvious enough, from the whirlwind on 
the shirt-"

	"Of course," said Croft. "The Mind Bender can simply persuade any 
of our security forces they come into contact with that they're not 
there."

	"What whirlwind on his shirt?" said A.A.

	"The question is, though, how did the Twister know where the Mind 
Bender could be found? He can't read minds, can he?" said Croft.

	"You must have seen it, sir, a whirlwind on his shirt," said 
Preston. He pressed a few buttons, and a still photo of the Twister 
appeared. Preston zoomed in, and one could clearly see a whirlwind 
surrounding the T.

	"But even so, why would the Mind Bender agree to help the 
Twister?" said Croft. "Why would anyone free the Twister, wouldn't they 
be afraid that the Twister would take their mind over?"

	"Oh," said the A.A., squinting at the image of the whirlwind on 
the Twister's shirt. "Very powerful branding."

	Croft cleared his throat. "Chief, I'm sorry to disrupt your 
trademarks and marketing discussion, but we have more central issues to 
deal with."

	A.A. turned to Croft. "What is it, Croft?"

	"Nothing is unfolding logically," said Croft. "This guy appears 
out of nowhere, without warning, and appears at a top secret 
installation, and now made a random attack at the spaceport. He's made 
no request for ransom, and has no apparent agenda."

	"Maybe he has no agenda," said Preston. "Maybe he's just crazy, 
like the Mind Bender."

	"Maybe," said Croft. "But whatever he is, I think you have to 
advise the government to increase the number of troops at major 
installations."
	"How will that help?" said A.A. "Did you see the way he swatted 
those troops aside, as if they were flies?"

	"A handful of troops confronted him, and he had ample notice they 
were coming," said Croft. "I would like to see what he could do against 
a battalion or a brigade. I'll bet a blaster can kill him like everyone 
else, if enough guns are pointed at him. He can't stop all of them."

	"All right," said the Chief.





	"Why are we here?" said the Mind Bender, making a face.

	He and the Twister were standing outside Power Relay Station #144 
on the southern outskirts of Sarney Sarittenden.

	"He told us to destroy it," said the Twister.

	"He told you to destroy it," the Mind Bender corrected him. "I 
never get to blow up anything. I'm just your chauffeur, making sure you 
don't get followed or caught."

	"He has his reasons," said the Twister.

	"If we're going to attack something, why not a full fledged power 
plant?" the Mind Bender asked. "That would create a much more 
impressive explosion."

	Suddenly they heard a pinging on their wrist comms. The Twister 
activated it.

	On the tiny screen they saw those glowing silvery eyes. "I have 
yet to hear any reports about attacks at the power station," said the 
voice.

	"That's because we haven't attacked yet," said the Mind Bender. 
"Why are we even wasting our time here? Why don't we take out a 
reactor?"

	"You're not thinking," said the voice. It was in the tone of an 
accusation.

	There was silence for a moment. Then the voice said, "Think for 
moment. Really hard. If you blow up a reactor, what happens?"
	"It explodes," said the Twister, smiling.

	"And you along with it, unless you're sophisticated enough to set 
in a time delay, which you don't have the equipment or technical skill 
to do," said the Terrible Thinker.

	"Then why don't we get the equipment?" said the Mind Bender.

	"Because I'm telling you to attack this target," said the 
Terrible Thinker.

	"Maybe I'll just go off on my own and attack my own targets," 
said the Mind Bender. "I may not be able to move things around like big 
T here, but any manager of any power plant will blow it up, at my 
request."

	"I'm sure that's so," said the Terrible Thinker. "And how long 
after you go off on your own will it be before you get caught again?"
	The Mind Bender opened his mouth to speak but the Thinker was 
quicker.

	"Remember that! You're safe under the physical protection of the 
Twister, and the strategic protection of my plan. But once you go off 
on your own, you'll have no protection, no backup," said the Terrible 
Thinker. He added, "There's also something you want. Something you 
won't get, if you deviate from the plan."
	The Mind Bender grimaced. "All right."
	"Now go and attack this plant." The signal terminated at the 
other end.

	"You heard old glowing eyes," said the Mind Bender.

	The Twister smirked. "This will be fun."

	The relay station consisted of giant batteries, which 
intercepted, stored, and then relayed the power to other sections of 
August. The batteries were huge, 80 feet tall cylinders, each filled 
with tremendous energy.

	The Twister grunted, and one of the cylinders started to tremble. 
There were sparks around it, and the cylinder started to lift off the 
ground, snapping off of electrical cables.  Workers started shouting 
and running in the background.

	The cylinder lifted up, up in the air. And then, with tremendous 
speed, it came crashing down, into the other cylinders. There was an 
explosion, and a large flash.

	"Ow!" said the Twister, blinking rapidly as he saw large spots 
before his eyes. "He didn't tell me that was going to hurt!"
	The power station was on fire now, and workers, the ones who were 
still alive, were screaming and yelling for help. 	All the building 
and street lights in the area went dark, only providing further 
contrast for the flames from the destruction the Twister had created.

	"Maybe it was a good thing we didn't start with a power plant 
after all," said the Mind Bender, whose eyes also stung.





	"Another attack!" said the Chief. A.A. was perspiring furiously 
as he studied the damage report.  "Do you know what this means?"
	Croft shook his head.

	"Not only do we have to protect our power plants, but we also 
have to have guards at all our relay stations. Do you have any idea how 
many there are?" said A.A.

	Croft shook his head. "But I have a feeling you're about to tell 
me."

	"There are hundreds! The army is going to have to spread its 
forces pretty thin to cover them all," said the Chief.

	"Pretty thin," Croft repeated. "Maybe that's what they want."

	"Why?" said the Chief.

	"I don't know," said Croft.

	"Haven't you anything useful to offer?" said the Chief. "Or are 
you only capable of standing there?"

	Croft turned to Preston, who was working on a holomonitor. 
Preston held up a restraining hand, and then, a second later, he 
nodded. "Got him."
	"What do you mean?" said the Chief.

	"I mean, we know exactly where he is," said Croft. He turned to 
Preston. "Projected trajectory?"
	A map of August appeared, focused on the area around Sarney 
Sarittenden. A line slowly plotted along the map, showing their 
projected course.

	Preston stared at the line as it moved. "Nothing there... nothing 
there... what kind of target are we looking for, Croft?"

	Croft followed the moving line until it came to a very noticeable 
piece of landscape. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe, something big, like a 
dam."

	"A dam?" Preston looked up at the progress of the line. It lead 
straight to the Sarney Sarittenden dam.

	"Get all available units in position," Croft told Preston. He 
turned to the Chief. "And you'd better start an evacuation, in case all 
available units aren't sufficient."
	"What? How did you even spot them-"

	"After you order the evacuation, I'll explain," said Croft.

	The Chief turned to his comm, and issued a series of orders. He 
looked at the area in question. "If the dam goes, it will flood half 
the downtown. The area will never be evacuated in time."

	"Then we'll have to stop them, won't we?" said Croft, staring at 
the action reports slowly pouring in, and the image of the hovercar 
containing the Twister and the Mind Bender on the map.

	"How did you find them, Croft?" A.A. asked.

	"By using a very small amount of brains, something in rare supply 
here," said Croft.

	Before the Chief could snarl, Croft said, "I couldn't do it after 
he raided the prison. That was in a remote area of August. But after he 
hit the power relay station, that was in a fairly central part of 
August, on the outskirts of our sprawling metropolis. There were bound 
to be security cams everywhere. I expected them to try and go somewhere 
to evade camera surveillance, but they didn't. Either they figured that 
we had too many holocams to watch to find them, or they didn't think of 
the tiny idea of following their progress from one holocam to another. 
All we had to do was go through the backup records of the holocams 
around the area of the power station, and work our way forwards in 
time, following the progress of these crazies from one holocam covered 
zone to another."
	"But I thought when they blew the station it cut power to that 
part of the city," said the Chief, indicating a dark section of the 
map.

	"It's a good thing, then, that security holocams have their own 
source of power," said Croft. "Some might call it... a secure source of 
power."

	"Are you mocking me, Croft?" said the Chief.

	"Always, sir," said Croft.

	The Chief looked at the hovercar on the monitor. "You make it 
difficult to retire you when you turn out to be right."
	"I know, sir," said Croft patiently.





	"Good, we're going to blow up a dam," said the Twister excitedly, 
as the Mind Bender drove. They had just received their next set of 
orders from the Terrible Thinker. For whatever reason he felt it 
necessary to keep the larger plan from them, telling them only their 
next immediate step, one at a time.

	"That should be fun, I suppose," said the Mind Bender, grinning 
slightly at the thought of fancy and proper Augustians forced to swim 
on the streets of their fair capital city.

	"I think we may have an obstruction, though," said the Mind 
Bender.

	Ahead of them was an army roadblock. An entire platoon, several 
layers deep, blocked the wide avenue. The platoon had rifles and heavy 
weapons and most impressively several large, lumbering battle tanks. As 
they drove closer the soldiers raised their weapons.

	"We had better get out of here," said the Mind Bender, preparing 
to turn the hovercar in reverse.
	"No need," said the Twister nonchalantly.

	The giant battle tanks turned their large turrets towards the 
hovercar.

	And then, suddenly, two of the battle tanks lifted into the air. 
They hovered for a moment, and then crashed into each other with a loud 
clang. The collision must have detonated internal explosives, because 
they blew up; and as they did so they fell to the ground, on top of 
much of the ground troops.

	The troops started to run away, screaming, but the Twister was 
more concerned about a third and fourth battle tank that were turning 
to aim at their car.

	"No, let me," said the Mind Bender. He gave a small smile.

	One of the battle tanks turned and reaimed, orienting on the 
other battle tank. It opened fire, blasting its fellow battle tank, 
sending it smashing into a nearby building.

	"Eh?" said the Mind Bender, smiling.

	"Eh," the Twister responded. He made a fist, and at the same time 
the last remaining battle tank was crushed, as if a giant hammer had 
collapsed upon it.

	"Now look at the mess you left," said the Mind Bender, indicating 
the burning rubble in front of them. "We'll have to get out and walk."

	"Not necessarily," said the Twister. And all the carnage and 
debris and bodies was suddenly swept away, to the right and to the 
left, clearing a path for them.

	"Thanks," said the Mind Bender, starting the hovercar. "I'll bet 
you'd be great to have along when I'm looking for a parking space in a 
crowded lot."

	The Twister smirked.

	They drove forward for several blocks. The Mind Bender knew they 
were getting close because he could actually see part of the dam in the 
distance, in between the mammouth August skyscrapers that lined every 
block.

	But then they came to another blockade. This time it was a bunch 
of heavy trucks that had been parked in the middle of the street.

	But what was more interesting were the people in front of it. 
They were armed, they had blaster rifles, but no uniforms. And there 
were six of them.

	Only six of them.

	The Twister yawned as if to sweep them away, but the Mind Bender 
said, "Hold on."
	He drove closer, into effective gun range. The gunmen rapidly 
aimed their weapons, but their leader shouted, "Wait!" and the gunmen 
stopped.

	"We might as well get out and walk from here," said the Mind 
Bender.

	The Twister gave him a lazy look.

	"It's only another block, and I want to stretch my legs," said 
the Mind Bender.

	"You mean, play with these guys," said the Twister. "All right, 
go and have your fun."

	They both got out of the car. The leader of the gunmen obediently 
trotted forward.

	"We're a Graftonite mercenary assault team," said their leader. 

	The Mind Bender stared at him.

	"It was hoped that our quick reflexes would enable us to kill 
you," said the leader.

	The Mind Bender continued to say nothing.

	"My men get paid 500,000 credits each," said the leader "And I 
get 750,000 credits."

	"You see?" said the Mind Bender. He turned to the Twister. "Do 
you see how little they think we're worth?" He turned back to the 
Graftonites, and got a nasty glint in his eyes. "So, you think you're 
so powerful? Show us your fancy reflexes, gunman."
	The leader started to dance, and so did his men. They started to 
dance more and more rapidly, until their legs could hardly be seen.

	"Impressive," said the Mind Bender.

	"We're wasting time," said the Twister.
	"Oh, when you're having fun with your power, that's ok, but when 
I'm doing the same with mine, we're wasting time, are we?" said the 
Mind Bender. 
	"End this," said the Twister, looking bored.

	"All right," said the Mind Bender. He turned to the leader, who 
stopped dancing. "Your friends' legs are moving so quickly. Do you 
think you could shoot them?"
	Without answering the Graftonite raised his laser rifle. He aimed 
at one of his men and opened fire.

	"Missed!" said the Mind Bender. "Maybe you aren't such a 
marksman!"

	The Graftonite leader fired again. One of his mercenaries went 
down, screaming.

	He fired again. Another soldier went down.

	"Bor-ring," said the Twister. He waved his hands, and the bodies 
of the remaining Graftonites were ripped apart. The Graftonite leader 
stood dispassionately.

	"You didn't have to interrupt me," said the Mind Bender.

	"Can we go now?" said the Twister.

	The Mind Bender looked at the Graftonite leader intently. "Watch 
my car."
	"Affirmative," said the leader, covering the area with his laser 
rifle.

	The Mind Bender and the Twister walked the short distance to the 
edge of the dam. The dam was sandwiched on two sides by hills, and the 
Mind Bender and the Twister stood on one of them. They didn't actually 
get on the dam, of course, there was no need to. But from here they 
could see the view down in the valley that composed much of downtown 
August.

	"Quite a view, isn't it?" said the Mind Bender, watching the sun 
sparkle off of the skyscrapers in the distance.

	"It looks hot," said the Twister. "I think they need to cool 
off," he added, with a grin.

	He looked at the dam, and started to concentrate.

	Suddenly a young woman jumped into view in front of them. She had 
long reddish blonde flowing hair and large breasts, the outlines of 
which were quite visible through the skintight red uniform she wore, 
complete with red boots.

	"I don't think so," she said, her hair starting to steam.

	"Hey, good looking," the Mind Bender grinned. "You look like a 
tasty morsel."

	"Taste this," she said. Raising her right hand, she sent a blast 
of fire out towards the Mind Bender and the Twister. The Twister yelped 
and recoiled, but the flames parted before they hit the Mind Bender and 
the Twister, and parted around them. The woman's face briefly 
registered surprise as the Twister deflected her fire.

	"Yeow!" said the Mind Bender. "I've never seen that before!"

	"She's a firestarter," said the Twister.

	The young woman launched another blast of flame, but that went 
astray as well. Now her hair was turning a bright, bright red, and she 
was starting to perspire. Suddenly, she lowered her hands and stood 
stiffly still.

	"My name is Red Sally," she said dully.

	"Well, you are a cutey," said the Mind Bender, staring at her 
with intense interest. "That red suit doesn't hide much, does it?"

	Red Sally shook her head.

	"Well, show us what you've got!" said the Mind Bender.

	Sally started to remove her clothing.

	"We don't have time for this," said the Twister. "We've got a dam 
to break, a city to flood, remember?"

	"The city can wait five extra minutes to be flooded," said the 
Mind Bender.

	Sally removed her shirt and stood there, topless, with her arms 
on her hips.

	"Very attractive," said the Mind Bender, eating her up with his 
eyes. "You really keep in shape."
	"Thank you," said Sally dully.

	"I notice your hair isn't the only thing that gets red when you 
start a fire," the Mind Bender grinned. 

	"Very attractive," said the Mind Bender, walking around her 
slowly as he stared at her body. He slowly slid a hand across her back. 
"You have a nice body, you know that?"

	"Yes," said Sally. Her faced was fixed with a wooden smile.

	"Yes, Master," said the Mind Bender.

	"Yes, Master," said Sally obediently.

	The Mind Bender licked his lips. "You're quite an exhibitionist. 
Perhaps you would enjoy taking off the rest of your clothes and 
stripping for me. Do you think you would enjoy that?"

	"Yes, Master," said Sally, smiling again.

	"Yes, Master what?"

	"Yes, Master, I think I would enjoy stripping for you," said 
Sally.

	"Then do so."

	"Yes master," said Sally again. She started to remove the rest of 
her clothing.

	"If she ever gets free, she's really not going to be very happy 
with you," said the Twister.
	The Mind Bender shrugged.

	Red Sally finished taking off all her clothes, including her 
boots, and then stood there, once again, with her hands on her hips, 
staring into the distance.

	The Mind Bender stared at her admiringly. "Well, what do you 
know," said the Mind Bender. "It seems when her hair changes color, it 
changes all over."

	"Can we get on with this?" the Twister asked.

	"Wait, hold that pose!" said the Mind Bender. He took out a small 
holocamera. "Smile!"

	Red Sally smiled.

	The Mind Bender took an image. "Thanks! Now-"

	Suddenly Red Sally was flung way into the air away from them.

	"Hey," said the Mind Bender, turning to the Twister. "I was in 
the middle of something there."
	Neither paid the slightest attention, or notice, when Sally 
landed with a gigantic splash in the water behind the dam.

	"We don't have time for this," said the Twister. "And taking her 
along with us can only be trouble."

	"She would be under my control."
	"And what would happen when she escaped your control?" said the 
Twister. "I've been well-briefed on your ability."
	"Have you now?" said the Mind Bender giving the Twister an odd 
expression.

	"Don't even think of using that on me. You heard what the Thinker 
said," said the Twister.

	"He said I would get caught without his help. I'm not sure I 
believed him," said the Mind Bender ominously.
	"He also said if you betrayed us you wouldn't received what you 
were promised for cooperating," said the Twister.

	The Mind Bender stared at the Twister. "And exactly what were you 
promised, for cooperating?"
	"A piece of the bigger picture," said the Twister. "Now, are you 
going to stop yapping, so I can destroy this dam?"

	Suddenly, one grenade, and then a second one, popped into view, 
landing at their feet.

	Gas started to hiss out of them.

	The Mind Bender started to simultaneously hold his breath and 
prepare to run, but the Twister said, "Stay tight."
	Suddenly a strong wind gusted by, taking the grenades and the gas 
emitting from them in a different direction, away from the two of them.

	"I didn't know you could do that," said the Mind Bender. He 
looked around.

	Several soldiers peeked around a corner. Seeing them, the Mind 
Bender said, "Don't be shy, step forward!"

	The soldiers stepped forward.

	"That's close enough," said the Mind Bender, when they were about 
twenty feet away. "Ok, now go to it."
	The soldiers activated new gas grenades, holding them in their 
hands and breathing directly from them. In seconds they were collapsed, 
on the ground.

	"All right," said the Mind Bender, turning to the Twister. "Now 
you can-"
	The dam was buckling. It swayed, twisted, there was a loud sound, 
of something collapsing, and then a piece of the dam broke. 

	The Twister started to look tired. He concentrated harder.

	More and more chunks broke. Water flowed through the holes. 
Finally, the Twister gave an enormous heave, and the rest of the dam 
collapsed.

	"Rest," said the Twister, looking exhausted. "I need a rest."

	They returned to their hovercar, where the Graftonite leader 
stood.

	"Thanks for watching the car," said the Mind Bender. He pressed a 
button on his data pad, which sent a small transmission to the 
Graftonite's data pad. "I've just given you a 2 credit tip."

	The Graftonite nodded mindlessly, not even noticing the twisted 
and dead bodies of his companions nearby.

	"Let's go," said the Twister, getting into the hovercar.

	The Mind Bender briefly considered whether to kill the last 
Graftonite or not, but then smiled, thinking what would happen when the 
Graftonite recovered his senses, and simply got into the hovercar, and 
drove away.


Chapter 12: The Terrible Thinker Reveals His Plan





	"Status report!" said the Chief, speaking to an aide in his 
command center.

	"Only about a quarter of the population of the low lying area was 
evacuated before the dam broke." On their screens they could see tidal 
waves running through downtown August.

	Levi Esherkol waddled into the room with his dog, Quick. He tried 
to get the Chief's attention, but the Chief was too distracted with 
damage reports. 

	"Arf, arf arf!" Quick yelled.

	The Chief turned around. "Levi, this is a high security area, can 
you get that animal out of here-"

	"Quick has full clearance," said Levi.

	Croft blinked. A dog had security clearance?

	"What is it, Levi?"

	"You must instruct civil authorities to tell people to stay 
indoors, go to 15th floor or higher."

	"Why?" said the Chief.

	"Have calculated that water level will not go that high. Those 
not evacuated can be done, more slowly, from gravitators on rooftops."

	"I'm not in charge of the evacuations, but I will relay your 
calculations," said the Chief. "Are you sure they're correct?"
	Levi turned to Quick.

	"Arf, arf!" said Quick, sticking out his pink tongue as his fox-
like ears stood up.

	"Am sure," said Levi.

	"Maybe we should put the dog in charge and make Levi his 
assistant," Croft suggested.

	"Is one more thing," said Levi. He handed over a datapad, which 
had schematics on it.

	"What is this?" said the Chief.

	"Plans for restoring dam," said Levi.

	"Levi, that's going to take months, if not years," said the 
Chief. "This isn't the time-"
	"No, will only take few days," said Levi. He flipped through 
datapages. "Have fleet of capital ships hold over former position of 
dam. Have them project force fields. Hold water back."
	"An ingenious idea, Levi, but those ships won't be able to 
project forcefields for very long," said the Chief.

	"Have rotating teams of capital ships," said Levi. "Replace one 
at a time in rotation with overlapping forcefields. In meantime, 
fashion large thin plastibarrier, slip behind force field, and slide in 
ferroconcrete-"
	The Chief looked at the plans. "Levi, I don't know if this will 
work, but it looks ingenious! How did you come up with the plans so 
quickly/"
	Levi shrugged his shoulders modestly.

	The Chief continued to look at the schematics. "What does that 
mean," he said, pointing at one of the diagrams. Looking closer, he saw 
it was labeled "Arf, arf".

	"Sorry, did not have time to fully translate."
	"Levi, did your dog work out this plan?" said the Chief.

	"Ah... no, " said Levi.

	"Then why is there an animal notation here?" said the Chief.

	Levi looked uncomfortable. "Well, was my idea, but Quick helped 
with some minor details," said Levi.

	The Chief looked doubtful.

	"Trust, Chief. Will work."

	"I'll relay this to the civil authorities and see what they 
think," said the Chief. He turned to Croft. "Well?"

	Croft had been monitoring events on the city's secure 
holomonitors. He had watched the progress of the assault on the dam. 
"The troops couldn't stop them. The Graftonites couldn't stop them. And 
Red Sally...."
	"Is she alive?" the Chief asked.

	"I don't know," said Croft. "I think she fell into the water 
behind the dam. But if she was in the water when the dam broke, 
well..."

	"Have a team start a search," the Chief instructed him.

	"If she's still alive, she could be anywhere in the flooded 
downtown area," said Croft.

	"What about our progress in tracking the Mind Bender and the 
Twister?" the Chief asked.

	"Our remote monitoring units tracked them trading their hovercar 
for an aircar, which makes sense, given all the flooding," said Croft. 
"Then they went off our tracking system."
	The Chief glared at him. "Croft, these two have caused billions 
of dollars in damage. Probably hundreds are dead. And now we can't 
track them. What should I tell the President?"

	"Tell him this is nothing like we've ever faced before," said 
Croft. "These people can control minds and objects. Together, they're 
almost unstoppable."

	"But how do we stop them?" said the Chief.

	"The navy," said Croft bluntly.

	"What?"
	"If they're spotted again, have the navy blast them from orbit," 
said Croft. There were usually several ships in the vicinity of August. 
One or more of them could be called in to help.

	"In the middle of Sarney Sarittenden?" said the Chief. "Do you 
know the kind of casualties that would cause?"

	"Do you know the kind of casualties they have already caused?" 
said Croft. "Do you know the kind of casualties they are still capable 
of causing?"
	The Chief thought about it, silently, for a moment. Then he 
nodded. "I'll advise the President. But I want you work on locating 
them."
	"I'll try," said Croft.

	"And try to come up with a better plan."

	"I'll try my best, Chief," said Croft.

	Croft and Preston left the situation room and returned to their 
offices.

	Croft assessed the situation. "They asked for no ransom. The made 
no demands," said Croft. "They simply blew up a dam."

	"It's more of the Mind Bender's randomness," said Preston.

	"Only it was the Twister who actually did it," said Croft. They 
knew so little about the Twister. But he seemed to be acting just like 
the Mind Bender.

	"Maybe he's crazy like the Mind Bender," said Preston. "Or maybe 
the Mind Bender has taken control of him."

	"Or maybe it's part of a plan we can't see the full implications 
of yet," said Croft.

	"Croft, they've flooded Sarney, killed a lot of people, caused a 
lot of property damage, and ground this city to a halt. I think we've 
seen their plan," said Preston.

	"That's it, then?" said Croft. "Mindless destruction? Do you 
think they plan to simply go around to every major city in the League 
and start tearing it apart?"

	"I don't know, maybe," said Preston.

	"It doesn't make sense," said Croft.





	"It makes no sense," the Mind Bender frowned. He and the Twister 
were in a secure location, watching and listening to the Terrible 
Thinker. "Why don't we blow something else up, like a building, or a 
bridge, or a-"

	"Because I tell you to," said those silvery eyes. The image they 
were watching  was dark, and all they could see were those silvery 
eyes. Whether the Terrible Thinker was sitting in a dark room, or had 
some special setting on his holotransmitter to facilitate this, his 
intent was clear--to intimidate them with his eyes.

	The Mind Bender still wasn't satisfied with that explanation. Nor 
was he intimidated by those eyes. "All you want us to do is tap in and 
get some information? Will we be blowing up stuff after that?"
	The Terrible Thinker shook his head. "This will be your last 
action on August, for now."

	"What is this important information we're going to get?" said the 
Mind Bender.

	"The off-world locations of the Column's gamma operatives," said 
the Terrible Thinker.

	"The gamma operatives?" said the Mind Bender. "So we're finally 
going after them?"

	"Yes," the Terrible Thinker whispered.

	"Well, there are plenty right here on August. Why don't we get 
the ones here?" said the Mind Bender. The Terrible Thinker always took 
the long way to get to their goal.

	"Do you know where the gamma operatives are located?" the 
Terrible Thinker asked.

	"In one of the Column buildings, I suppose," said the Mind 
Bender.

	"Do you know exactly where they are?" the Terrible Thinker asked 
again.

	"Well, no, but it shouldn't take long to find out-"
	"Do you know what kind of defenses are at this location?" the 
Terrible Thinker persisted.

	"No, nor do I care," said the Mind Bender. What did it matter? 
Nothing could stand up to him and the Twister.

	"Really?" said the Terrible Thinker. "And what do you do when you 
enter the complex and step into a killing zone, such as a long, thin 
corridor with an automated laser at the end of it?"

	"The Twister pulls it out and deactivates the laser," said the 
Mind Bender.

	"If he sees it, and can pull it out from that distance," said the 
Terrible Thinker. "And what happens when you step into a room and they 
flood it with gas?"

	"The Twister blows it away," said the Mind Bender.

	"But if you're sealed in a room, where does he blow it to?" said 
the Terrible Thinker. He talked as if he were speaking to a small 
child.

	"Uh...."

	The Terrible Thinker continued his line of questioning. "Once you 
reach the gamma operatives, how do you plan to counteract their active 
powers?"

	The Mind Bender said, "You saw what we did to the cute red girl-"

	"And what about the gamma operatives who are immune to your 
powers?" The Terrible Thinker asked. He felt frustrated with the Mind 
Bender; he was dense, he was undisciplined, he was difficult to deal 
with. But the use of his powers were an essential part of the Terrible 
Thinker's plans.

	"What? They have some gamma operatives whose minds cannot be 
controlled?" said the Mind Bender. "I thought only Croft was immune. 
The last time I was out and about they didn't have anyone-"

	"I don't know if they do," said the Terrible Thinker. 

	"Then why did you say-"

	"All I'm saying is that you don't know what you're going up 
against," said the Terrible Thinker. "And it will take only one 
surprise for you to be captured or killed. The point is that you can't 
just go charging into one of the most secure access points on August. 
Even you and the Twister would likely be apprehended."

	"So you want us to go after the ones that are off planet, because 
they will be easier to get a hold of," said the Mind Bender.

	"Precisely," said the Terrible Thinker.

	"So why didn't we just go and tap into this database in the first 
place?" said the Mind Bender. "Much as I enjoyed all the destruction, 
it seems totally unrelated."
	"Yes, I imagine it would," said the Terrible Thinker, not trying 
very hard to keep a deprecating tone out of his voice. "The terminal I 
am sending you to is only one of a few that has access to this 
information. This particular terminal which I have determined is most 
accessible is located in the headquarters of the director of League 
Intelligence, but even that has, or had, safeguards."

	"What do you mean, had?" said the Mind Bender.

	"I mean until your first two attacks there were several rings of 
army soldiers and jump troop surrounding the building," said the 
Terrible Thinker. "But since then they have been dispersed, to guard 
critical installations."

	"Ohhh," said the Mind Bender. "So that was why you had us attack 
those places?"

	"Yes," said the Terrible Thinker. "Furthermore, now that the 
first twelve floors of the building are under water, it has largely 
been evacuated, except for a skeleton staff."

	"And that was why you had us blow the dam," said the Mind Bender. 
"I see now."

	"Good," said the Terrible Thinker. "Then stop wasting time 
questioning my orders and get the information."

	The Mind Bender turned to the Twister. "Are you up for it?"

	The Twister still looked tired. "I don't think I could break any 
more dams for a while-"

	"-you won't have to," said the Terrible Thinker. "Resistance will 
be minimal, if you go now. But one more thing, about Red Sally."
	"Yes, quite a looker, wasn't she?" the Mind Bender smirked.

	"You wasted precious minutes entertaining yourself with her. You 
allowed reinforcements to catch up with your position."

	"The guys with the gas grenades? They were nothing," said the 
Mind Bender dismissively.

	"They easily could have been a brigade with battle tanks," said 
the Terrible Thinker. "You have to get in and get out quickly and not 
allow yourself to be diverted."

	The Mind Bender stared at those eyes. "I'll divert whenever I 
want to. You're trying to scare me with those eyes and your spooky 
voice, but your charms don't work on me. Don't confuse my collaboration 
on a common plan with the idea that we're your subordinates. I'm only 
doing this to get what you promised."
	Those silvery eyes stared at him for a moment. The Twister 
wondered what would happen next. Would the Terrible Thinker threaten 
him?

	But the Terrible Thinker merely said, "If you want what was 
promised, you had better get to work."

	And his image faded.

	"You shouldn't push him," said the Twister.

	"You?" said the Mind Bender. "You of all people are saying that? 
I'm surprised you're not giving him orders! After all, what can he do? 
What power does he have?"
	"He has brains," said the Twister. "And if you want to go on 
staying free, and one step ahead of the League, I suggest you listen to 
him."

	The Mind Bender gave no answer.





	"Professor?" said Croft. He peered cautiously into the apartment 
as he slogged inside.

	Professor Capybara's apartment was just inside the "wet zone", 
which was fortunate, since it was a ground water apartment. But two 
feet of water filled the apartment, and so far there was no sign of the 
Professor. They did see numerous peanuts floating on the water, 
however.

	"Professor?" said Croft again.

	"In here, Clifford," came that familiar voice.

	Croft and Preston entered the study, to find the Professor, 
nonchalantly floating on his back. He had his spectacles on and was 
smoking his pipe, and was studying a datapad as he floated.

	"This is quite relaxing," said the Professor. "But I'm not sure 
how (tweatle tweatle) it is for the furniture."

	"Professor, we need your help," said Croft.

	The Professor looked at Croft. "Why is it you always (tweatle 
tweatle) when you need something? Why not just (tweatle tweatle) to say 
hello?"

	"I don't know, Professor," said Croft. "Listen, there's this guy 
named the Twister, he's on the lose, he's a telekinetic and he's very 
dangerous, and the Mind Bender is with him-"

	As he spoke the familiar holographic quill and tablet appeared 
above the Professor's head, and started scribbling.

	"And so you see, we need your help," said Croft.

	"I imagine you (tweatle tweatle) do," said the Professor 
deprecatingly. "But Clifford, as you already know, I cannot get 
involved."
	"Why not?" said Croft. "You did, once before. You gave me the 
power to resist the Mind Bender."

	"That was not (tweatle tweatle) involvement," said the Professor.

	"What was it?"
	The Professor waved a hand. "A minor (tweatle tweatle) 
experiment."
	"Fine," said Croft. "Do another one. Make me immune to the 
Twister."
	"Do you realize what you are asking for?" said the Professor, 
looking at Croft through his spectacles.

	"Sure," said Croft.

	"No, you (tweatle tweatle) don't," said the Professor, turning 
back to his datapad. "Making your feeble brain cells immune to some 
level of (tweatle tweatle) outside influence is simple. Making your 
body immune to (tweatle tweatle) physical force produced by another... 
well, it would require a level of (tweatle tweatle) change that your 
simple (tweatle tweatle) architecture simply couldn't handle."

	"Why not?" said Croft. "The Twister handles it."
	"Clifford," said the Professor. "From your (tweatle tweatle) 
description this one you call the Twister can direct mental power--but 
can he resist it?"
	"Uh...."

	"As I said, a totally different power," the Professor said.
	"Then give me his power!" said Croft.

	"Sorry, the (tweatle tweatle) mental powers store is closed 
today," said the Professor, turning back to his readings. "Please 
(tweatle tweatle) try back tomorrow."
	"Really?" said Croft. "If I come back tomorrow, you'll give me 
his powers?"
	The Professor looked down on him through his spectacles. "It was 
just one of your (tweatle tweatle) human expressions I thought I had 
mastered, Clifford. I have observed you humans say many things you 
(tweatle tweatle) don't feel, such as 'Hello' 'How are you?' 'Goodbye' 
'See you later'-"

	"You helped us before when we faced a tremendous menace!" said 
Croft. "How is this any different?"

	The Professor sighed. "I'm sorry your (tweatle tweatle) small 
intellect cannot understand the distinction."

	"Then educate me."

	The Professor sighed again. "The first being had the potential to 
change your society. As you (tweatle tweatle) pointed out to me at the 
time, he controlled your ruler, and under your archaic authority-driven 
society, he could actually control your kind by (tweatle tweatle) 
controlling your ruler," said the Professor. "This newcomer, however, 
is (tweatle tweatle) different. All he can do is destroy objects."

	"Very expensive and vital objects, like dams," said Croft.

	"Oh, is that where all this liquid came from?" said the 
Professor. "I was wondering."

	"What did you think?"
	The Professor shrugged. "I just thought your kind was being 
(tweatle tweatle) normally careless with its natural resources."

	"Uh huh," said Croft. He hated it when the Professor played dumb. 
"He can also kill a lot of people."

	"Sorry-

	"-can't get involved, I know," said Croft. He turned to go. "Come 
on," he said to Preston.

	"Please come again, Clifford," said the Professor.

	Croft turned back to him. "That may be hard to do if the Twister 
cuts me in half or crushes me under a heavy rock."

	"Oh, how sad," said the Professor. 

	"Yes?" said Croft, a little hopefully.

	"Yes, I will miss our little conversations," said the Professor. 
The quill started scribbling madly on the tablet.

	"What are you doing?" Croft asked.
	"Making final notes about you while you are still fresh in my 
mind, just in case something happens to you," said the Professor. "Oh, 
and Clifford, can you relay a message to your superiors?"

	"Yes?" said Croft, a slight look of hope appearing on his face.

	"Yes, when you return to your (tweatle tweatle) central 
authority, can you arrange to have someone come and (tweatle tweatle) 
dry out my furniture?"
	Croft simply gave the Capybara an angry stare.





	"Here we are," said the Mind Bender, indicating the terminal 
inside the building housing the League Intelligence Bureau, the 
oversight arm for all League intelligence agencies, including the 
Column. Behind them stood a wrecked door and two bodies. The Twister 
activated his comm.

	'We're here," said the Mind Bender. "What do you want us to do?"

	"Do exactly as I say," came the voice of the Terrible Thinker.

	The Mind Bender proceeded to type for several minutes, under the 
instruction of the Terrible Thinker. Even working remotely, he was able 
to break in to the network relatively quickly. The Thinker must have 
worked this out in advance. Soon, the desired information appeared on 
the terminal.

	"There's only one operative off-planet," said the Mind Bender. 
"Only one."
	"Who?" the Terrible Thinker asked.

	"The one called... Mongo," said the Mind Bender.

	"Where?" said the Terrible Thinker.

	"Steps," said the Mind Bender. "I have the precise location of 
their safehouse here."

	"Good," said the Terrible Thinker.

	"I trust you want us to go after him?" said the Mind Bender.

	"Yes," said the Terrible Thinker. "But first I want you to enter 
the following keystrokes-"

	"I'm not entering anything until you tell me what is going on," 
said the Mind Bender.

	"What do you mean?" came the Terrible Thinker's voice.

	"The only reason I'm participating in all this, the ONLY reason, 
is for you to get me the one called Dalbo Alto," said the Mind Bender. 
"He has the ability to read minds. His ability combined with mine will 
make me incredibly powerful."

	"Yes, that's what I promised you," said the Terrible Thinker.

	"And yet Dalbo is here, on August, and you want us to go off-
planet to fetch this Mongo creature," said the Mind Bender.

	"An alarm has been sounded," said the Terrible Thinker. 
"Reinforcements will be there in several minutes. We don't have time to 
argue about this-"

	"We have all the time in the world until you tell me when I'm 
going to get what I came for," said the Mind Bender.

	"When you go after Mongo, Croft will pursue you, and take Dalbo 
with him," said the Terrible Thinker.

	"How do you know?" the Mind Bender asked.
	"Because I know Croft, and it's a classic countermove," said the 
Terrible Thinker.

	"So you don't know for sure," said the Mind Bender.

	"I know, just as I know how the League has reacted to everything 
that's taken place so far," said the Terrible Thinker.

	The Mind Bender frowned. This was all too indirect and iffy for 
his tastes. "Why can't we just go and get Dalbo now? I have his exact 
location-"
	"Go ahead," said the Terrible Thinker curtly. "They're ready for 
you. Ever since the last time you escaped they've upgraded security 
with remote camera operated guns. Get past all of those on your own."

	The Mind Bender was silent for a moment. The hum of approaching 
gravitators could be heard in the distance.

	"All right," said the Mind Bender. "What do you want me to type 
now?"

	"Type the following."	The Terrible Thinker gave him a sequence 
of commands.

	The hum of gravitators was closer now.

	"What will all this do?" said the Mind Bender.

	"It will cover your tracks," said the Terrible Thinker.

	"Why?" the Mind Bender asked.

	"So the League won't know what it is you looked at," said the 
Terrible Thinker. His voice was still patient but he was not. He was 
unaccustomed to having to explain himself, much less every step, every 
move. He found the Mind Bender was tiring him.

	"If they won't know what we looked at, how will they send Croft 
and Dalbo after us?" the Mind Bender asked.
	"They will know, but it will take them some time to figure out," 
said the Terrible Thinker. "Have you typed it in yet?" he said, his 
voice now starting to show that he had clearly run out of patience.

	"Wait... "
	Suddenly soldiers rushed into the room... and then the soldiers 
glided past them, smacking into the walls behind them.

	"Hey," said the Mind Bender, as one of the soldiers brushed by 
him. "Keep them off me."

	He typed for a moment longer. When the second wave of troops came 
in, the Twister sent them spinning in different directions.

	"All right, done," said the Mind Bender.

	"What does the terminal say?" the Terrible Thinker asked.

	"All clear," said the Mind Bender. "Can we go now?"

	"Yes," said the Terrible Thinker.





	Later, a small scoutship rocketed out of August's atmosphere. The 
Twister sat in the cockpit, the Mind Bender standing behind him.

	"So, how much of a lead do we have?"

	"Twelve to twenty five hours," came the voice of the Terrible 
Thinker over the comm. 

	"It's going to take us three days to get to Steps," said the Mind 
Bender. "They'll warn them and be long gone by then."

	"That's why I'm going to take other measures to make certain they 
stay there," said the Terrible Thinker.

	"You wouldn't care to be more specific?" the Mind Bender said, 
still hating to be treated like a puppet.

	"You'll receive further instructions when you get into orbit 
around Steps," said the Terrible Thinker.

	"Why not give them to us now?" the Mind Bender asked.

	"Because I don't yet know exactly where Mongo and his party will 
be," said the Terrible Thinker. The Terrible Thinker closed the channel 
on his end.

	"He knows what he's doing," said the Twister, looking back at the 
Mind Bender. "You're only making it difficult by being so 
argumentative."

	"He's pulling us on strings like puppets," said the Mind Bender. 

	"Don't judge him until you see how the rest of his plan unfolds," 
said the Twister.

	"We'll see," said the Mind Bender. He turned and went back into 
the passenger section.

	The Twister put a small round object in his ear. A moment later 
he, and only he, heard a voice. "Is he gone?"

	"Um," said the Twister softly.

	"Don't speak. It has become increasingly obvious that your 
companion will not fit into our larger plans," said the Terrible 
Thinker. "I had hoped to make him a part of the team, but his unchecked 
distrust of authority makes it difficult to work with him. I now 
project an 88% chance he will desert either shortly before or after the 
mission is completed, and a 59% chance he will attempt to betray us, 
also shortly before or after the mission is completed. I have decided 
we will put contingency number 4 into place. Continue with the mission 
as planned for now."

	"Um," said the Twister.

	"It's a pity, because he would have made quite a formidable 
ally," said the Terrible Thinker.





* * * * * * * * * *





	Bernard Bourgeois looked at the holoprojection of silvery eyes. 
It was a bit intimidating. "Why can we not see your whole face, yes?"

	"What does it matter?" said the Terrible Thinker. "We have 
business to discuss."

	"We do?" said Bourgeois. "Do you plan to unionize your 
workforce?"

	Bourgeois was one of the regional bosses of the Union. The Union, 
short for the Galactic Union of Concerned Workers, was a galaxy wide 
body that organized workers into unions and fought for workers' rights

	At least, that was the theory.

	The Union did organize workers, but the Union also had other 
agendas, such as extortion, kickbacks, blackmail, racketeering, and any 
other revenue enhancing programs it could put into place to enrich its 
top rank of union bosses. A favorite Union tactic was to investigate 
corporate bosses and dig up dirt that could be used for blackmail 
purposes; and then, when it came time to negotiate labor contracts, use 
that information as leverage to get secret, separate payments made to 
Union bosses. Strikes and work disruptions could also be avoided for 
appropriate payments. Union wages rose moderately, but a big chunk of 
the payments went to a select few Union bosses. All this was an open 
secret, of course; but any Union members who opposed the status quo 
often wound up for a swim in the river, wearing plastisteel filled work 
boots.

	"This isn't about my workforce," said the Terrible Thinker. "It's 
about the League's. A very important... employee of the League is on 
the planet Steps. I want to give him a chance to come and work for me, 
but he is surrounded by hostile League agents who won't let him enter 
into an...  employment contract with another company."

	"What's so special about this... employee?" Bourgeois wanted to 
know.

	"He can see into the future," said the Terrible Thinker. There 
was no use in lying on this point, and he calculated that perhaps this 
was one of those rare times when the truth would help. The Terrible 
Thinker needed to get Bourgeois interested enough to take action.

	"Really?" said Bourgeois. "What kind of person can see into the 
future?"

	"A League gamma operative."

	The gamma section was supposed to be a complete secret. But 
Bourgeois raised his eyebrows. "I have heard of this name. But I did 
not know if this group really existed, only rumors."

	"It isn't rumors and they do exist."

	"And this individual can really see into the future?" said 
Bourgeois. "On any planet?"

	"Yes," said the Terrible Thinker.

	"It sounds like he would be a great addition to the Union," said 
Bourgeois.

	The Terrible Thinker smiled. Bourgeois was being so transparent. 
"I'm willing to pay you ten million credits to keep him safe and turn 
him over to my people," said the Terrible Thinker.

	"That's a lot of money," said Bourgeois.

	"It can be a very... personal... payment," said the Terrible 
Thinker. He was offering to bribe Bourgeois directly.

	"I might be interested," said Bourgeois.

	"You'll have to act quickly," said the Terrible Thinker. "He'll 
be alerted within a few hours. I understand you have a team of 
agitators on Steps?"

	"I believe we do have a team of labor mediators," said Bourgeois.

	"Sorry, wrong terminology," said the Terrible Thinker.

	Bourgeois thought for a moment. Those silvery eyes bore into his 
mind, as if they were trying to read his thoughts.

	"All right," said Bourgeois. "Give me his location."

	"I'm transmitting them now," said the Terrible Thinker, nodding.

	"Got them," said Bourgeois, checking his displays.

	"My people will arrive in three days to pick them up," said the 
Terrible Thinker.

	"We'll have him for you," Bourgeois promised.

	"Don't betray me," said the Terrible Thinker.

	"The thought never crossed my mind," said Bourgeois.

	As the Terrible Thinker's image faded, Bourgeois chuckled. Did 
the Terrible Thinker really think that Mongo was worth only ten million 
credits? He could get ten times that on the open market for him.

	Or perhaps Mongo could be persuaded to join the Union. With the 
proper inducements (or intimidation--both were the same to Bourgeois), 
he might join the Union, and use his skill to predict future business 
events, making Bourgeois and a small circle of Union bosses very, very 
rich men.





	Meanwhile, back on August....

	"So what did they access?" said Croft, hovering over Levi's 
shoulder.

	"Records say nothing," said Levi, staring into a holoterminal and 
typing rapidly.

	"Of course they say nothing," said Croft. "What did they access?"

	"Will take time to determine," said Levi. "Not help by you 
bouncing around behind me."

	Croft took a few steps back. And then he saw an incredible sight: 
while Levi was sitting at his desk, typing rapidly into the 
holoterminal, at his feet sat Quick, who also was looking into a tiny 
holoterminal. He even seemed to have some kind of prototype keyboard 
with a number of paw shaped keys that the animal was tapping.

	"Now I've seen everything," said Croft, rolling his eyes.

	"Go away," Levi suggested.



	Levi called him back six hours later. There hadn't been any more 
reported attacks since then, which only confirmed Croft's suspicions 
that whatever had been in that database had been their real targets. 
Meanwhile the casualty reports were still coming in. Several hundred 
were missing and presumed dead from the flood. Most people had survived 
by going to higher floors in their buildings. The property damage bill 
was enormous. The legislature, in emergency session, was already 
talking about a new tax to cover it (as well as a number of other 
unrelated items).

	Meanwhile Levi's (or Quick's?) idea of using spaceship projected 
forcefields to block the water was working. Giant spaceships hovered 
over the former site of the dam, holding back a flood of water, while 
work crews frantically worked to put a makeshift barrier in place. The 
water level was starting to drop and repair work on the damaged 
sections of the city was beginning.

	When Croft and Preston returned to Levi's lab, Levi said, "Got 
information."

	"Don't tell me the dog did it again," said Croft, indicating the 
smiling Quick, who was sitting by Levi's feet.

	"No," said Levi. "Though Quick was helpful in devising algorithm-
"

	"Levi!"

	"It's Mongo," said Levi. "In great danger."
	"Mongo?" said Croft. Suddenly, he realized. "He's on Steps." He 
turned to Preston. "That's what they were after all along. Mongo."

	He went to Levi's terminal. The information was already on the 
screen. Personnel, locations, comm frequency. Croft was about to hit 
the comm button, when Levi put a hand over his.

	"Already tried to contact agent in charge," said Levi. "Tried as 
soon as realized what was happening."

	"And?"

	"No response," said Levi.

	"No response," said Croft. "How could the Mind Bender have gotten 
to them so quickly?"



	A few minutes later Croft and Preston were in the Chief's office. 
None of them looked very pleased.

	"So it's Mongo they were after," said the Chief.

	"Yes, but it doesn't make any sense," said Croft.

	"Why not?" the Chief asked.

	Croft explained. "The Mind Bender had Mongo under his control 
once before. It didn't exactly help him during our last encounter. Why 
would he want Mongo again?"

	"Maybe he's figured a more effective method of control," said the 
Chief. "Or maybe it's the Twister's idea."

	"Or maybe he plans to sell Mongo to the Slurians, for kicks," 
said Preston. "That would be so like his style."

	"What was Mongo doing on Steps in the first place?" said Croft. 
"That's the last planet where he would be needed for a mission."

	"He was there for research purposes," said the Chief.

	"Research purposes?" said Croft. "Whose idiotic idea-"

	"Mine, actually," said the Chief coldly. "It was thought that 
standing in the high point could augment his powers."

	"So he had to go out there and see," said Croft. He paused. "This 
isn't an accident. Whoever is behind this knew that Mongo was off-
planet. This whole effort was directed at finding out exactly where he 
was." He paused. "And, if they have half a brain, they expect us to go 
after him."

	"Are you saying we shouldn't try to rescue him?" said the Chief.

	"No," said Croft, thinking rapidly. "Just that we need to proceed 
carefully." He paused again. "I want Dalbo on this one."

	"Why?" said the Chief. "I would think you would want someone with 
more active powers, like the Clapper-"

	"The Clapper doesn't have a tenth of the power that the Twister 
has," said Croft. "No, we've been behind the curve because of a lack of 
information, and Dalbo might help level the field. I'll also want to 
hire the Silencer, too, if I can get him there in time."
	"He is very expensive to hire," said the Chief, but then, seeing 
Croft's expression, he added, "But seeing the emergency nature of this 
situation, I approve your request."

	"Good," said Croft. "Then I'll pay a quick visit to Levi and the 
institute and then I'll head out."

	"Just one more thing, Croft," said the Chief. "Mongo had a 
security detail of four agents accompanying him, lead by Agent Blanner. 
Just because we can't get in touch with him doesn't mean anything. They 
may have gone to ground."

	"Right Chief," said Croft. He had absolutely no confidence in 
other agents in a situation liked this. He only hoped their trail 
wouldn't be too cold by the time he reached Steps.

	A few minutes later they were back in Levi's lab.

	"Levi, we're heading off to Steps," said Croft. "We just need one 
last thing: something to give us an edge against the Twister."

	Levi merely looked at him.

	"What's wrong, has the Mind Bender got your tongue?"

	"You come in here and you ask impossible thing," said Levi. "New 
enemy appear yesterday with enormous mental power. You want immediate 
solution."

	"Well, it's not like we've never seen this power before," said 
Croft. "It's the same power that the Clapper has, on amplified levels. 
Surely you've had years to study it."
	"Yes," said Levi. "Clapper moves objects with brainwaves, on 
molecular level. But do not know way to stop it. To stop must stop 
molecules."

	"Oh," said Croft. "I thought there might be some anti telekinetic 
treatment-"

	"Not that I know of," said Levi. "Telekinesis acts on molecules 
just like a person does when moving an object by hand. The only way to 
stop is to stop transmission of brain waves."

	"How can I do that?" said Croft.

	"Shoot him," said Levi.

	Croft stared at Levi

	Levi stared at Croft.

	"Arf!" Quick trotted between the two. He stood on hind legs and 
stuck his tongue out. Levi reached down and petted Quick.

	"If he's a genius, why does he need to be pet like an ordinary 
dog?" Croft asked.

	"Is a genius, yes, but is still a dog," said Levi.

	"Well, if you can't figure anything out, maybe you can give him a 
biscuit and get him working on it," said Croft.

	"Good luck," said Levi.

	"Yeah," said Croft.

	His last stop before he left was the gamma section, or the 
institute, as it was also called. After getting through several layers 
of security he found Dalbo in his room. 

	"It sounds dangerous," said Dalbo, before Croft had a chance to 
say a single word. All he did was enter the room.

	"Very polite of you to read my mind," said Croft.

	"That's what you want to use me for, isn't it?" said Dalbo.

	"To read other people's minds," said Croft. "Don't you want to 
help rescue Mongo, your friend?"

	"Mongo is not my friend," said Dalbo. "He is a greedy hissing 
narcisstic creature."

	"Well, don't you have any sympathy for him?" said Croft.

	"Not really," said Dalbo.

	"Are you ready to go?" said Croft.

	"I guess so," Dalbo sighed, getting up.

	Suddenly they heard a scream, and Croft, turning around, saw 
someone striding towards them, surrounded in flames.

	It was Red Sally. She was wearing a tight blue outfit, and flames 
trailed in her wake.

	It probably would not be a good idea to ask what happened to her 
red outfit, Croft realized.

	"WHERE IS HE?" She shrieked.

	"Who?" said Croft, giving Dalbo a warning glance.

	"YOU KNOW WHO, THE ONE WHO MADE A FOOL OF ME!" she screamed.

	"Sally, calm down, you're going to set the institute on fire," 
said Croft. He watched the trail of flames dancing behind her.

	"Don't tell me to calm down!" she yelled, at a slightly lower 
pitch. "I want him dead, do you hear me, DEAD!"

	"We're working on that-"

	"Take me with you!" said Sally.

	"Now Sally, you know that you're vulnerable, to both of them," 
said Croft. "The Twister could fling you away, or the Mind Bender 
could, uh-"

	"Yes? What?" A flame danced on Sally's open palm.

	"Take control of your mind again," said Croft, putting it 
diplomatically.

	"I don't care, I want to see him dead!" she screamed again.

	"We haven't located them yet."
	"Then were are you going with HIM?" she said, indicating Dalbo.

	"To interrogate a suspect who might give us a lead," said Croft. 

	"When you find him, you'd better let me know!" said Sally.
	"Of course," said Croft soothingly.

	"You'd better!" Her flames started to extinguish.

	"Why don't you lie down on your nice asbestos mattress and get 
some rest?" said Croft.

	Sally paused, and then nodded.

	As Dalbo and Croft departed, Dalbo remarked, "Do you lie to 
everyone all the time?"

	Croft looked at Dalbo. "If I tell you yes, then I'm not lying to 
you now, am I?"
	Dalbo looked perplexed.

	"Think about it!" said Croft smugly.





	They took a small but fast scoutship from the military section of 
Sarney Sarittenden Spaceport. Croft only took Dalbo and Preston with 
him.

	"Why didn't you want a full team?" said Preston. "The Chief would 
have given it to you."

	"What is a full team of agents against the Mind Bender or the 
Twister?" said Croft.

	"I see what you mean," said Preston. "Well, I guess I should be 
flattered that you want me along."

	"I find you relatively competent," said Croft indifferently.

	"Don't shower me with compliments, Croftie," said Preston.

	"Given my opinion of most agents, you should be flattered," said 
Croft.

	Suddenly, they received an incoming transmission. In seconds they 
were staring at silvery eyes.

	"How did you know where we were?" said Croft incredulously.

	"Is that really the foremost worry in your mind?" said Steven 
Quick, those silvery eyes staring out at him. There were only two 
famous beings in the galaxy who were known to have silvery eyes, and 
Steven Quick was one of them.

	"What can I do for you?" Croft inquired.

	"I've  heard a little about events on August," said Quick.

	"No doubt you get reports from your efficient agents," said 
Croft.

	"It doesn't always take efficient agents to notice when a third 
of Sarney Sarittenden gets flooded," Quick commented. "I've deduced 
where you're going and why."

	"I'm hardly surprised," said Croft.

	"I'm concerned you may be walking into a trap," said Quick.

	"That thought had occurred to me," said Croft.

	"This plan is much too elaborate for the Mind Bender to have 
thought up. And we do not think this is the Twister's plan either," 
said Quick.

	"How do you know?" said Croft. "We don't know anything about the 
Twister, so you haven't had the chance to steal the information from 
us."

	"Clifford, you embarrass us. We are allies, so spying on each 
other is out of the question," said Quick. "We have our own resources. 
Actually, it turns out that the Twister is one of ours."

	"One of your operatives?"

	"One of our citizens. His real name is Manton Flebber."

	"I can see why he changed it to the Twister," Croft remarked. "Do 
you know how he got his powers? Did he have some kind of alien 
encounter like the Mind Bender?"

	"Not that we know of," said Quick. "Though he did have a criminal 
record. His last recorded position was serving as a mechanic in a 
spaceship repair yard. Two months ago there was an accident. Flebber 
was nearly electrocuted. He was in a coma for a while. When he woke up, 
he started to demonstrate powers."

	"Telekinesis," said Croft.

	Quick nodded.

	"Did he really get telekinesis by being electrocuted?" said 
Croft.

	"Apparently the doctors hypothesized that electrical currents 
produced random changes in his brain tissue at a molecular level-"
	"In other words, don't try this at home," said Croft.

	"It does seem to be a random result that would have no practical 
applications if one wanted to create an army of telekinetics," said 
Quick. "You'd probably have to give near lethal doses to hundreds, if 
not thousands of people to produce one telekinetic."
	"Well, don't tell that to the Slurians," said Croft grimly, 
knowing they were fully capable of doing it. "So what happened to 
Fibber after the accident?"

	"Flebber," said Quick. "He was studied by doctors for several 
weeks, and news of him and his abilities had just reached my desk, when 
he disappeared."

	"Disappeared," said Croft.

	"That's what I said, yes," said Quick. "And then, three weeks 
later, he reappeared on August, when he helped the Mind Bender escape."

	"How does this Flebber get from point A to point B?" said Croft. 
"The location of the Mind Bender was hardly public knowledge. Was 
Flebber some sort of criminal mastermind?"

	"No," said Quick. "Quite the opposite, in fact."

	"Could the Mind Bender have sent him a message from inside his 
prison?"
	"You tell me," said Quick.

	"I don't think so," said Croft. "Nor does this plan appear to be 
his style."
	"I agree," said Quick.

	"So what are we talking about here? The Slurians? Do you think 
that in that missing three weeks the Twister went to Sluria, and that 
this is an NGB or MRU or Special Tasks operation?"

	"It might be," said Quick. "But my own suspicious are closer to 
home."

	Croft was looking at those silvery eyes when Quick said that. It 
came to him in an instant. "The Terrible Thinker," said Croft. "Of 
course. He loves these kinds of indirect operations. Tell him to get 
from point A to point B and he'll go from A to C to D to E to Z before 
finally getting to B."

	"But his plans are meticulously thought out," said Quick. "And 
that's why I'm contacting you."
	"He expects me to come after Mongo," said Croft.

	"Correct," said Quick. "He has also probably anticipated that you 
will bring a gamma operative with you. He may have even anticipated 
which one."

	Croft cast a glance back at Dalbo. "This is all about Dalbo."

	"Quite possibly."

	"But Mongo is very important too. We can't let him fall into 
enemy hands."

	"Agreed," said Quick.

	"I might actually need Dalbo to find Mongo," said Croft.

	"Possibly," said Quick.

	"So what I need... is some additional assets," said Croft.

	"Yes," said Quick.

	"You see, I'm thinking like you now," said Croft.

	"Let's not get too heady, Clifford," said Quick. 

	"Um," said Croft. "Any other advice?"
	"Nothing specific," said Quick. "If you are facing the Terrible 
Thinker, don't get paranoid. His plans are well thought out, but he is 
hardly infallible."

	"Um," said Croft.

	"Good luck, Croft."
	"Thanks."

	The transmission terminated.

	Croft looked at Preston. "I think we're going to need some backup 
on this one."

	He punched up the holotransmitter. In a few moments, the image of 
the Silencer, the famous Graftonite gunman, appeared on the screen.

	"Yes?" said the Silencer.

	"How about 'Hello'?" said Croft.

	"What do you want, Croft?"
	"To give you some money," said Croft.

	"What do you want?" said the Silencer again.

	"One of our operatives has been taken captive," said Croft.

	"By anyone in particular?"
	"The Mind Bender and the Twister."

	"I told you I'm not going up against the Mind Bender," said the 
Silencer.

	"This isn't a rescue mission for you," said Croft. "It's a body 
guarding mission. We have a gamma operative with us who may need 
protecting."	

	"When do you need me?"

	"Now. A rush job, on the planet Steps."

	The Silencer considered. "All right."

	"Your usual fee?" said Croft.

	"No," said the Silencer.

	"If you're trying to jack up the price-"

	"Whenever you hire me you always have me shoot a lot of people," 
said the Silencer.

	"You're a gunman," said Croft.

	"I'm a bounty hunter," the Silencer corrected him. "Not a 
killer."

	"There's a difference?"
	"A bounty hunter goes out and finds people, usually criminals. He 
may have to shoot people, but that's purely incidental to his work."

	"Well, any killing you'll have to do will be purely incidental to 
your protecting our specialist," said Croft.

	"No," said the Silencer. "If you want to use me, you have to pay 
me per shot."

	"Per kill?" Croft asked.
	"It's usually the same thing," said the Silencer. "I want 20,000 
credits per shot."

	"20,000 credits each time you fire a gun!" said Preston. "What if 
you just fire off your blaster into the air-"
	"20,000 per shot," said the Silencer. "And I keep count."

	"All right," said Croft. "But I was prepared to pay you 500,000 
credits. Do you really think you're going to have to shoot so many 
people?"

	"Where you're involved, probably," said the Silencer.

	"Grafton is closer to Steps than August is. Can you meet us at 
the Steps spaceport in exactly 70 hours?" Croft asked.

	The Silencer nodded.

	"Good. See you there. Croft out."

	"20,000 credits a shot is ridiculous," said Preston.

	"He is the best," said Croft.

	"You saw what the Twister did against that Graftonite mercenary 
team. What can one man do that those guys couldn't?"

	Croft gave Preston a knowing look. "Those men were Graftonites 
with super reflexes. But they didn't have super brains. I intend to use 
the Silencer more effectively. And then, of course, there's another 
wildcard in the equation."

	"What?"

	"Steps."

	"Steps," said Preston. He had barely given any thought to their 
destination.

	Steps.


Chapter 13: Steps



	Steps.

	In a galaxy full of odd and unusual places, Steps had to rank as 
one of the most unusual. It was a fractured planet--not politically, or 
geographically, or even chemically, but fractured in time.

	The planet itself had hundreds of such fractures. On a daily 
basis one could walk down the street and see a future version of 
oneself, thirty seconds in the future, walking ahead. Or a past 
version, walking thirty seconds behind. People jumped forward and 
backwards in time on a regular basis.

	That made for a very confusing life for the inhabitants, who 
needed a firm grip on reality just to get along. Fortunately there was 
some limits to the craziness of time travel.

	For one thing people never jumped more than a few minutes 
forwards or backwards in time. And when it happened, people never 
jumped to a different location, so the disruption was relatively 
minimal,

	Steps was an independent planet, not aligned with the League, or 
the Directorate, or the Slurians, or any other major power. Other 
planets coveted the power of Steps, and the Steppian government 
cleverly played one power off against another to retain their 
neutrality.

	There was one place on Steps that was special, even by local 
standards. It was referred to as the high point. Although it was twenty 
stories up, that wasn't how it got its name. After all, a twenty story 
building on August, or even a lesser planet, would not be considered 
very high. The high point got its name from the particular properties 
of the place. People standing in that particular spot could see hours 
ahead into the future, or sometimes even days. A building was built 
directly under the high point so people could get to that point, twenty 
stories up, and experience the greatest visions that time travel had to 
offer.

	Well, at least so some people could experience it. The high point 
was jealously guarded by Steppian security forces, and access was 
handed out only to those with influence, or, baring that, to the 
highest bidders.

	It was there that Mongo was being taken to. Mongo could see 
futures on his own, but his ability was limited to seeing a short time 
into the future. It was felt that if Mongo could get into the high 
point, the combination of his abilities and the unique nature of the 
place might allow him to see months or years into the future on other 
planets.

	That's why a four man Column team took Mongo to Steps. 
Unfortunately, the Column had lost contact with the team guarding Mongo 
shortly after the Mind Bender and the Twister had left August. 





	The ship carrying the Mind Bender and the Twister entered orbit 
around Steps. The disrupting time fragmenting effects only came into 
play inside the planet's atmosphere, so they didn't have to worry about 
being affected by it, yet.

	A hologram of those silvery eyes appeared on their holoreceiver.

	"We're here," the Mind Bender told him. "Where is our target?" He 
was referring, of course, to Mongo.

	"I believe he's currently being held in a safehouse of the 
Claritan corporation," said the Terrible Thinker.

	"Why would he be there?" the Mind Bender asked.

	"We did not immediately have the resources to apprehend the 
precognitor on Steps, so I had to contract out the job," said the 
Terrible Thinker.

	"To the Claritan corporation?"

	The Claritan corporation was the largest multiplanetary 
corporation in the galaxy. In addition to producing a wide range of 
products and services, it was adept at using, changing, or bending the 
law to suit its bottom line: profit. It had a full range of espionage 
specialists on many planets capable of doing its dirty work.

	"Actually, I contracted the job out to the Union," said the 
Terrible Thinker.

	"Then why would the Union keep him in a safehouse of the Claritan 
corporation?" said the Mind Bender. "The Union and the Claritan 
corporation hate each other."

	"The Union isn't keeping him there," said the Terrible Thinker. 
"The Claritan corporation is."

	"You're confusing me," said the Mind Bender. 

	Those silvery eyes stared out at him from the darkness. "I 
originally contracted out the job to the Union. The Union took the 
precognitor, but betrayed me, intending to keep the precognitor for 
themselves. I anticipated this betrayal, and alerted the Claritan 
corporation to the presence of the precognitor. The Claritan 
corporation stole him from the Union."

	"So the Claritan corporation has proven more reliable than the 
Union?"
	"No," said the Terrible Thinker. "They intended to betray me too. 
I knew that from the beginning. So I informed the Slurians where to 
find the precognitor, and they currently have the Claritan safehouse 
surrounded."

	"You sure involved a lot of unreliable parties," said the Mind 
Bender. "Why didn't you have your own operatives apprehend the 
precognitor?"

	"I didn't have any operatives on Steps that could do so," said 
the Terrible Thinker.

	"If you knew the precognitor was going to be somewhere on Steps, 
why didn't you have agents ready?" said the Mind Bender.

	"I did not know he would be on Steps," said the Terrible Thinker. 
"One of my informants saw the precognitor leaving the military section 
of Sarney Sarittenden Spaceport in the company of several Column 
agents. He did not, however, manage to find out where they were going."

	"If you have no agents on Steps, how do you know what's been 
happening?" the Mind Bender asked.

	"I do have agents on Steps," said the Terrible Thinker. "But they 
are agents, not operatives."

	"What does that mean?" said the Mind Bender.

	The Terrible thinker sighed. He hated having to explain himself 
like this. "It means they, the two agents, are skilled at surveillance, 
but not operations, like kidnap and retrieval. I had no idea where the 
precognitor would be sent when my agents saw him leave August. He could 
have been sent on a mission. I had no idea he would be sent to do 
precognition research on Steps. If I had known, I would have sent a 
capture team."

	"So that's why you had to use all these different groups," said 
the Mind Bender.

	"Precisely," said the Terrible Thinker. "Now, we are wasting 
precious time. Go and retrieve the precognitor."

	"And what of the mind reader, Dalbo Alto?" said the Mind Bender. 
"When do I get him?"
	"He's only a few hours behind you, along with Clifford Croft" 
said the Terrible Thinker. "If you stand still long enough, he'll find 
you."
	"Good," said the Mind Bender, smiling.

	"Not good," said the Terrible Thinker. "Don't underestimate 
Clifford Croft. He's immune to your powers, you know."

	"Not to mine," said the Twister, with a gleam in his eye.

	"I'm not worried about Croft," said the Mind Bender. "I can 
handle him."

	"There's also the distorting effect of Steps-"

	The Mind Bender gave the Terrible Thinker a dismissive wave. 
"We'll handle it."

	The Terrible Thinker stared out at them, and his image slowly 
faded.



 	Croft's ship landed at one of spaceports near the capital of 
Steps, also called Steps. There were three medium sized spaceports in 
the area around Steps. He landed at the one closest to the city center.

	Croft took a step to exit the spaceship, and-

	suddenly he was outside of the spaceship, in the spaceport 
terminal. Everything was tinged a light blue.

	Croft, to his surprise, saw himself, Preston, and Dalbo meeting 
the Silencer.

	"Croft," said the Silencer, by way of greeting.

	"Hello, John," said Croft, the other Croft.

	"Is this the one I'm supposed to be guarding?" said the Silencer, 
indicating Dalbo.

	"Yes," said Croft.

	"Your jacket is blue," said Dalbo, staring at the Silencer.

	"That's right."
	Dalbo leaned forward. The Silencer reflexively drew his blaster, 
drawing so fast his hand moved in a blur,

	"Easy, John," said Croft.

	"Blue," said Dalbo.

	"Yes, it's blue," said the Silencer, lowering his weapon.

	"Not light blue, not dark blue, but not medium blue either," said 
Dalbo. "Certainly not medium blue.  What kind of blue is it?"

	"Graftonite blue," said the Silencer.

	"A little lighter than medium blue, but darker than light blue," 
said Dalbo, totally ignoring the response. "May I have a sample?"

	"What?" said the Silencer, looking around.

	"A sample, a piece of cloth, a color sample, to add to my 
spectrum collection," said Dalbo.

	The Silencer wheeled around and raised his blaster, just as a 
blaster bolt whizzed by them. The Silencer started to fire, and-





	"Croft?" said Preston.

	"What?" said Croft.

	"You're blocking the exit. Are we going to enter the spaceport or 
just stay here in the ship?" said Preston.

	Croft looked around. They were still in the ship.

	Nodding, he stepped out.

	The Silencer greeted them in the terminal.

	"Croft," he said neutrally. He wore his typical blue denim and 
had blasters holstered on both legs. He also had a laser rifle strapped 
over his shoulder. He was obviously ready to generate a lot of revenue 
shooting his weapons.

	"Hello, John," said Croft

	"Is this the one I'm supposed to be guarding?" said the Silencer, 
indicating Dalbo.

	"Yes," said Croft, frowning oddly.

	Dalbo peered at the Silencer. 

	"Don't lean forward, Dalbo, the Silencer might hurt you," Croft 
advised.

	Dalbo didn't lean forward. But he did say, "His jacket-"

	"Is blue, not medium, dark, or light blue, I know," said Croft.

	"You do?" said Preston.

	"Silencer, turn around," said Croft. "What do you see?"
	The Silencer turned around, and stared for a moment.

	"Passengers...," said the Silencer. "And armed men, trying to 
blend in with the passengers."

	"They're about to shoot us," said Croft. "Would you mind shooting 
them first?"
	The Silencer whipped out his blasters and open fire. There were 
screams in the spaceport, and people ducked for cover. 

	But in a moment, it was over.

	"Four shots," said the Silencer, as Croft went over to examine 
the bodies. Of course, there were only four bodies. The Silencer 
wouldn't have needed more than one shot for each.

	"Who were they?" said Preston.

	Croft looked at one of them. "They look like Slurians."

	"How did they know we were here?" Preston asked.

	"They could have gotten a vision, like I did," said Croft. "But 
more likely than not the Terrible Thinker tipped them off. It sounds 
like something he would do, probably to slow us down."

	He heard the whir of a siren.

	"We'd better get out of here before we get caught," said Croft. 
"Steps is a neutral planet. They might not like us shooting people, 
even if they are Slurian spies."
	

	They left the spaceport in a hurry and obtained a groundcar.  
Right before they had landed Croft had received an update from the 
Chief. A disturbance had been reported in a certain neighborhood.

	Disturbance was one thing to call it.

	When they got there, they found themselves in a residential area. 
Bodies littered the ground. Several of the houses had been shot up by 
blaster fire.

	"What happened here?" said Croft.

	Suddenly, everything turned blue. The bodies were gone, but there 
were people running around him, firing at one of the houses. Blaster 
fire from inside the house cut down some of the attackers, but others 
made it to the house. There was more blaster fire inside. By the time 
Croft got there, he saw Mongo, being dragged away by two of the 
attackers.

	Mongo looked directly at him, which was odd, as people in the 
other time frame shouldn't have noticed him. And then Mongo spoke to 
him! "Yes, late you are, always late!" he hissed, staring Croft in the 
eye. And then he was dragged away.

	Croft shifted back into the present. "I think I just saw what 
happened."
	"I did too," said Preston. "I shifted into the past. And Mongo 
was there. He even insulted me. I thought the time shifting made one 
invisible in whatever time frame they were sent to."

	"I guess that Mongo, with his innate ability, has more perception 
during the time shifts," said Croft. He looked at the bodies. "It looks 
like two different groups were fighting over him."

	"The Terrible Thinker's people... and who else?" Preston asked.

	"I don't know," said Croft. He checked over the other bodies. 
They were indeed dead. "We need more information."

	"Any ideas how to get it?" Preston asked.

	Croft looked at Dalbo. Dalbo was great at reading minds, but only 
those of the living. "Let's go to the high point," he said.



	The Mind Bender looked at Croft, Dalbo, Preston, and the Silencer 
through electrobinoculars, several blocks away. "The mind reader is 
right there," said the Mind Bender. "Let's go get him now."
	"The Thinker said we were supposed to retrieve the precognitor 
first," said the Twister.

	"Who cares what he said? Dalbo is right here," said the Mind 
Bender.

	"No," said the Twister. "We do it as the Thinker said."
	"And what if I choose not to?" said the Mind Bender.

	"Then you can face Croft alone," said the Twister. "That didn't 
work out so well the last time around, did it?"
	The Mind Bender's face darkened. "What if I persuade you to 
assist me?"

	"If you do that you had better be ready to take control of my 
mind every minute of every day," said the Twister. "Because if I get 
free for even one second, I'll snap your body in half." He was saying, 
almost word for word, what the Terrible Thinker had instructed him to 
say in case of such an eventuality.
	The Mind Bender paused, considering his options. "All right," he 
said finally. "We'll go after the other one first. But then we're 
coming back for this one, agreed?"

	"That was the plan all along," said the Twister. At least, it was 
until the Terrible Thinker activated contingency 4.





	The High Point. That was the name given for the location on Steps 
with the largest and most far reaching time fractures. It was said that 
one could see for hours, or even days or weeks into the future from 
this location, and the futures that one saw could take place anywhere, 
even on other planets.

	Naturally, the government of Steps jealously guarded this 
location and it was securely guarded. The League had arranged, for a 
very generous fee, to have Mongo go to the High Point to see how his 
natural powers would react to the unique properties of the place. If a 
regular individual could see days or weeks into the future, perhaps 
Mongo could see months or even years into the future.

	Unfortunately Mongo had never reached the High Point. Even more 
unfortunate was that Croft didn't have clearance to go there himself. 
Appointments were made weeks or even months in advance, after intense 
negotiations and even more intense payments. Croft didn't have that 
kind of time.

	The High Point itself was a building with a large tower. The 
location of the High Point was on the top of the tower, a mere twenty 
stories up. There were antiaircraft emplacements on the roof to prevent 
unauthorized access by parties who hadn't paid to be there.

	"I expect you'll want me to shoot our way in," said the Silencer, 
trying not to look pleased. He would set his blasters for stun, of 
course, as he would in any situation involving innocent third parties. 
But he expected good payment for each person he shot.

	"Not necessarily," said Croft. He took out his datapad and 
started pressing buttons.

	When he was done, he turned to Preston. "You and the Silencer 
stay here." He turned to Preston. "Make sure John doesn't try to shoot 
anyone unnecessarily as a revenue enhancement measure."

	Croft turned to Dalbo. "You come with me."

	They went to the entrance. Four stern looking guards stared out 
at them. "Halt!" said one of them.

	Croft showed his datapad. "My name is Lifford Loft, I'm deputy 
minister of security." 

	The guard took the datapad. He checked the ID electronically, and 
then the picture on it, to see that it matched Croft's face. It did.

	"Unauthorized visits are not allowed," said the guard. He 
checked. "You are not on the schedule."
	"Who is in charge of authorizing visits?" Croft inquired.

	"The Ministry of Security," said the guard.

	"Where am I from?" Croft asked.

	"The Ministry of Security," said the guard.

	"Then I hereby authorize myself to enter," said Croft.

	The guard looked uncertain. "I'm not sure you can do that."
	"But I am," said Croft. He brushed past the guard, with Dalbo in 
tow.

	"Wait!" said the guard. "Who is accompanying you?"
	Croft turned back briefly. "I'm afraid you don't have the 
security clearance to know."

	And he walked away, Dalbo in tow. "Why did you not simply make up 
another lie?" Dalbo asked.

	"Bureaucratic guards like that kind of answer," said Croft.

	They passed through two more security checkpoints before getting 
to an elevator. When they got inside Dalbo asked, "Why did you bring me 
here?"
	"You can read my mind, can't you tell?"
	Dalbo made a face. "Your mind is filled with all sorts of 
unaesthetic thoughts, making it very unpleasant to wade through."

	"My condolences," said Croft. "It's occurred to me that if any 
random person goes to the high point, he may see a number of futures, 
but perhaps none relevant to what he is looking for." He looked at 
Dalbo. "However, perhaps one who has a specific mental ability might be 
able to train his thoughts, and find what we are looking for."

	"It seems to me that Mongo would be better at this than I would," 
said Dalbo.

	"Yes, but Mongo is not here. In fact, if you have been following 
along, we are here looking for Mongo," said Croft.

	"It is not necessary to always speak to me with such contempt," 
said Dalbo.

	"Are you reading my mind again?" Croft asked.

	When they got to the roof they were stopped by another security 
checkpoint. These guards insisted they had to have an appointment.

	"Everyone on the roof must have an appointment," said one of the 
guards.

	"Where is your appointment?" said Croft.

	"What?" said the guard.

	"Your appointment," said Croft. "You are on the roof; where is 
your appointment?"
	"We're guarding this place, we have no appointments."

	"No appointments? I will make a note of it," said Croft.

	Suddenly, the guard's eyes grew wide. "He's going to draw a 
blaster on us!" He must have seen into the future.

	He reached for his own gun but Croft was faster, drawing his and 
stunning the guard. Croft turned and shot the second as he was drawing 
his.

	Two other guards on the far side of the roof started running 
towards them. They had their blaster out and were firing. 

	Croft got on his knees and carefully aimed. Blaster bolts whizzed 
by him.

	Croft carefully squeezed off one shot. One guard fell.

	A blaster bolt flew over Croft's shoulder.

	Croft carefully fired a second shot. The last guard fell.

	Croft stood up. "As you can see, it is quality, and not quantity, 
that is most important."
	Suddenly, everything turned blue. Croft was at the base of the 
tower, seeing himself arguing with the Silencer.

	"What do you mean, you shot four guards?" said the Silencer. "Are 
you trying to cut me out of some of my fee?"

	Suddenly the perspective shifted and Croft was back on the roof.

	"He's not going to be happy about that," Croft muttered. He 
turned to Dalbo. "All right, get to it. Think of Mongo."

	Dalbo made a face. "Do I have to?"

	"Yes, you have to," said Croft.

	"But he's so uncouth," said Dalbo.

	"Come on," said Croft.

	Dalbo sighed, and concentrated.




Chapter 14: Mongo's Wild Ride



The time: three days earlier



	"Where is the ice cream?" Mongo asked.

	"We don't have any ice cream," said Agent Blanner. He looked 
around the safehouse, where two fellow operatives stood. One of them 
had thought he had spotted someone watching them as they had come into 
the safe house. They were on the lookout for their watcher now.

	"You say, you say, "Mongo, come to planet. Great ice cream 
there."

	"Yes," said Agent Blanner. "And we will get you ice cream. We 
just want to take you to a special place first."

	"Yes, the high point," said Mongo.	

	"Who told you?" said Blanner.

	"You think, you think, we hide real reason for coming to planet 
from Mongo. But you forget, you forget, Mongo sees many many futures. 
And since coming to this planet, Mongo sees even better. And in every 
future Mongo sees, there is no ice cream. None," said Mongo.

	"We're working on it," said Blanner nervously. He turned to one 
of his fellow agents. "See anything?"

	"No," said the agent, looking out of the window. "But I'm pretty 
sure I saw someone watching us. "

	"We should switch to an alternative safe house," said Blanner. He 
turned to another operative. "Go into the database and punch up an 
alternate location."

	Mongo shook his head. "No time."

	"What do you mean, no time?" said Blanner.	

	"Angry workers attack," said Mongo.

	"Workers?" said Blanner. "How many?"
	"Too many," said Mongo.

	"We should get out of here now," said Blanner.

	"Too late," said Mongo. "You will get shot if you do."
	Blanner and the other agents went to the windows.

	"You will get shot if you stand there," said Mongo.

	Blanner moved to the door.

	"You will get crushed by falling door if you stand there."

	Blanner moved to the middle of the room."
	"Sniper will shoot you there," said Mongo.

	"So where can I stand safely?" said Blanner.

	"Mongo will not say," said Mongo.

	"Why not?" said Blanner.

	"You lied about ice cream," said Mongo.

	At that moment, there was a series of blasts from the outside. 
Blanner and the other agents were cut down by a series of well aimed 
stun bolts. Mongo, however, was untouched.

	"Mongo knows where to stand," said Mongo brightly, as the door 
was broken down.





The time: a day earlier.



	"Won't you eat something?" said one of his captors.

	Mongo hissed.

	"Come on, Mongo, you have to keep up your strength."

	"No, Mongo will not let you poison him," Mongo said.

	"We would certainly never poison you," said the man. His name was 
Francois. Although he had a girlish name, he really was a man.

	Mongo spat at him. "Mongo does not want any of your diiiiirty 
foods."

	"I wish you would be more open with us," said Francois. "We just 
want to be your friend."

	"Yes, friends," said Mongo. "Were you also friends with Column 
agents you gunned down?"

	"They were holding you prisoner, Mongo," said Francois. "We came 
to free you."

	"Yes, I was a prisoner," said Mongo. 

	"Good," said Francois. "Then maybe you'll have a more positive 
attitude towards the Union. Union benefits-"

	"Mongo does not want to join your naaaaasty union," said Mongo.

	"Why not?" said Francois. "The Union is filled with hardworking 
people-"

	"Mongo not like them," said Mongo.

	"What have you got against Union members?"
	"Nothing," said Mongo. "Mongo does not like people."
	"Oh," said Francois. "Well, maybe that's because you've been 
surrounded by the wrong sort of people. You've spent much of your lives 
around spies. But here at the Union we're different. We're 
hardworking... individuals who are fighting for healthcare, work 
safety, the rights of workers, social justice-"

	"Mongo not care about your stinking s-s-s-s-social justice," he 
hissed. 

	"But surely the fact that workers are being exploited around the 
galaxy must move you?" said Francois. He looked very earnest as he said 
it.

	"Yes, Mongo is very exploited," said Mongo. "The Croft comes, he 
comes, and says 'Mongo, you must do this', or 'Mongo, you must do 
that'. And when Mongo explains that what the Croft asks is impossible, 
or cannot do, the Croft yells, or threatens to shoot Mongo-"
	"You see, we're not like that-"
	"And then, and then, when Mongo does what the Croft says, and 
Mongo saves many, many people, does the Croft thank Mongo? Does the 
Croft reward Mongo? No, oh no, Mongo's only reward is to be locked in 
cruel cold institute, with mental defectives, like the picky one, and 
the one with the big spoon hand. They laugh at Mongo, all of them do, 
especially the one called Red Sally, but she will not be laughing now, 
no, now that she is naked for all Augustians to see. Mongo will be the 
one who will be laughing-"
	Mongo went on and on like this for several minutes. He didn't 
even notice when an aide came and spoke to Francois in whispered tones. 
"How is it going?"

	"He has a tremendous amount of hostility to the Column," said 
Francois. "Whoever this Croft is, he must really hate him."

	"Yes, we hate the Croft, we hate him!" said Mongo.

	"We all hate management, Mongo," said Francois. "That why the 
workers have to unite. Was this Croft your manager?"

	"Yes, the Croft was management," said Mongo. "He managed Mongo 
very, very poorly. Everyone say so. Poor Mongo exploited worker-" he 
said, going on and on about his complaints about Croft.

	"He seems to have a special dislike for this Croft person, 
whoever that is," said Francois's associate.

	"I sort of get the impression that he dislikes everyone," said 
Francois.

	"Yes, Mongo hates everyone," said Mongo, snapping back into 
reality. 

	"But our Union-"

	Mongo interrupted him. "Mongo does not want to join your diiiirty 
union."

	"Are you sure, Mongo? Consider the benefits," said Francois. 
"Health care, dental care, 20 weeks paid vacation-"

	"Yes, yes, Mongo join, Mongo join!" said Mongo, doing a complete 
180 turn in a the space of a few seconds.

	"Really?" said Francois.
	"Yes," said Mongo. "Mongo want 20 week vacation, starting right 
now. Can Mongo go now?"
	"Not so fast," said Francois. "You actually have to work a while 
before you can go on vacation, even in the Union."
	"Work?" said Mongo. He looked sad. He didn't know joining the 
Union involved work.

	"Sure, but it will be easy," said Francois. "We'll take you 
around to a group of powerful employers who we're negotiating contracts 
with. All we want from you is to tell us what their fallback 
negotiating positions are, or will be, several days in the future."
	"Oh," said Mongo. He thought for a moment, and his eyes got 
dreamy. Then he said, "No, will not work."

	"What? Why not?" Francois asked.
	"Cannot do," said Mongo.

	"Why not?" Francois repeated.

	"You cannot take me to employers if you are shot, can you?" Mongo 
asked.

	"Ah, no, I suppose not," said Francois.

	"Then is not possible. Very sorry," Mongo added. He ducked low to 
the ground.

	"What do you mean?" Francois asked.

	Suddenly, there was a hail of blasterfire from the outside. A 
number of other operatives were cut down. Francois and the other Union 
operatives who weren't hit started to fire back. There was a vicious 
firefight for several minutes.

	"Who is it?" said Francois, drawing his blaster and aiming 
cautiously through a window.

	"Don't know-" said another operative, just as he was shot.

	Francois, seeing how operatives were dropping like flies, quickly 
turned and ran for the back door. When he opened it, however, someone 
smacked him in the face, sending him sprawling to the ground, and a new 
team of operatives entered the room.

	"Very good," said Mongo, looking down at Francois's body. "You 
listen to Mongo. You not get shot."

	The newcomers entered the room....





	The following day Mongo sat in another safehouse.

	"We're trying to arrange secure transport," said one of the 
operatives. "A ship full of our men is due in the spaceport in a few 
hours."

	"Why don't we just take the ship and go now?" said another 
operative.
	"We've lost too many of our men taking him and a new group is on 
our trail," said the operative. He turned to Mongo. "Aren't they?"
	Mongo shrugged. "Why ask poor Mongo?"
	The operative said, "Because you can see into the future."

	"Yes, yes, Mongo knows all futures," said Mongo. "Every future, 
every where, every minute. But not all futures can fit neatly inside 
Mongo's head. If Mongo asks you to watch every holofilm in existence, 
you can tell Mongo what happens at a particular scene in a particular 
film, yes?"

	"Well..."
	"You are very stupid. Mongo wants you to go away now," Mongo 
suggested.

	The leader, whose name was Waget, came up to Mongo. "We want to 
be your friend."

	"Yes, friends," said Mongo. "What does Mongo's latest group of 
friends want?"

	"We're not extortionists like the Union," said Waget. "We 
represent an honorable group of workers from the Claritan Corporation. 
Have you heard of us?"

	"Clariton Clariten Clarituna." Mongo said the name in several 
variations, none of them correctly. Then, "Mongo not heard of."

	"We're the largest multiplanetary corporation in the galaxy," 
said Waget. "You've obviously led a very sheltered life."

	"A very imprisoned life, yes," said Mongo. "They keep Mongo in 
the institute. Mongo tries to get out, to go to amusement complex, but 
what do they say?  They say, they say, 'no Mongo'. Mongo even tries to 
go out to buy ice cream, says will be gone very, very few minutes. They 
say, no, Mongo, no can go."

	"Well, if you join the Claritan corporation, you can have as much 
ice cream as you want," said Waget.

	"Really?" said Mongo, looking genuinely interested.

	"Yes, in fact that's only one of many benefits-"

	"As much ice cream as Mongo wants?"
	"Yes-"
	"So if, so if Mongo asks for five dishes of ice cream, Mongo 
gets?"
	"Yes," said Waget. "But also-"

	"So if Mongo asks for ten dishes of ice cream, Mongo gets?"
	"Yes," said Waget. "But I'm also trying to-"

	"And if Mongo wants several different flavors, Mongo can get 
chocolate, and vanilla, and gisenberry, yes?"
	"Yes," said Waget. "Of course you can-"

	"And what of sturinberry, does Claritron have sturinberry?"

	"Well, I suppose we do," said Waget.

	"Suppose?" said Mongo.

	"Well, we're the largest multiplanetary corporation in the 
galaxy. I suppose, if this sturinberry exists, we can get it."

	"Hm," said Mongo.

	"But what I was trying to tell you was that there are a lot of 
benefits besides ice cream to joining our team," said Waget.

	"Team?" said Mongo.

	"Yes, in the Claritan corporation all employees are called team 
members, in an effort to treat employees equally-"

	"Equally?" said Mongo. "So Mongo gets same ice cream flavors as 
company president?"

	Waget had to think about that. "Yes, I suppose you would."
	"And what does Clickituck company want with Mongo in return for 
ice cream, eh?" Mongo already knew that there would be some conditions.

	"Well, there are a variety of ways in which you can help the 
Claritan corporation," said Waget. "I'm sure there are others who will 
be able to explain it better to you than I, but I've been told that 
there is talk about making you vice president for research and 
strategy."

	"Research and strategy," said Mongo. "Does this mean that Mongo 
gets his own office at Clickytruck corporation?"

	"Yes, of course," said Waget.

	"And Mongo gets his own secretary?" said Mongo.

	"Yes," said Waget.

	Mongo licked his lips. "A female secretary?"

	"Yes, I'm sure that can be arranged," said Waget.

	Mongo gave a sly look. "Can Mongo, ah, pick female secretary?"

	"I imagine so," said Waget.

	"Can Mongo dress female secretary?" Mongo asked.

	"What?" Waget said.

	"Clothes, choose the clothes for secretary," said Mongo.

	"I'm not sure about that," said Waget. "But there are many other 
benefits-"
	"Spaceships," said Mongo. "Mongo wants a spaceship."

	"I'm sure that can be arranged."
	"A big, big spaceship with one, giant window, from one end of 
ship to the other."

	"A glass spaceship? I'm not sure that such a thing exists?"

	"Clickitrick corporation makes spaceships, does it not?" said 
Mongo.

	"Yes-"
	'Then Clackitrack can make a spaceship for Mongo," said Mongo.

	"I'm not sure if that can be arranged-"
	"And a planet," said Mongo.

	"What?
	"Mongo wants his own planet," said Mongo. "With many many women. 
Who will dress very very little. Better make it a warm planet, yes, a 
warm planet, to give womens incentives to wear less. And must have ice 
cream stores, on every block, with every flavor, including 
sturinberry."

	"You'll have to negotiate your employment contract with a 
separate division," said Waget.

	"Then why is Mongo wasting precious time talking to you?" said 
Mongo, looking genuinely puzzled.

	Waget was suddenly interrupted as he was rudely thrown into the 
future.

	When he returned, he sat upright. "We've got to get out of here!"

	"What is it?" said another operative.

	They looked out the window of the safehouse. A group of men were 
encircling the house.

	"How did they know?" said the operative.

	"They didn't," said Waget grimly. "The Thinker must have betrayed 
us." He turned to Mongo.

	"We're surrounded. How do we get out of this?"

	Mongo shrugged. 

	"You can see into the future. What future do you see that gets us 
out of this?" Waget asked.

	Mongo said, "You can see into future; why not ask yourself?"
	"Because the flashes come infrequently and I can't see all of 
them," said Waget. "I understand you do. Do you see a future where we 
get out safely?"

	"Yes," said Mongo.

	"Then tell me how to do it," said Waget.

	"Is planet ready?"

	"What?" said Waget.

	"Planet, with scantily dressed women, and ice cream."

	"Come out with your hands up," came a voice outside, with a 
noticeable Slurian accent.

	"He's betrayed us to the Slurians!" said one of the Claritan 
operatives.

	"We don't have time for this," said Waget. "How do we get out 
safely?"
	"First, must have planet with ice cream and women," said Mongo.

	"Yes," said Waget desperately. "It's all ready, waiting for you."
	"The planet with the ice cream?" Mongo asked.

	"Yes."
	"Planet with the women?" Mongo asked, getting a gleam in his eye.
	"Yes."

	"All ready for Mongo?"
	"Yes!"
	Mongo looked at Waget oddly. "What kind of fool do you take Mongo 
for?"
	Waget grabbed Mongo and shook him. Mongo squealed and pulled 
away.

	"Tell me how to get out of this without being shot!" said Waget.

	"Want to get out of this without being shot?" said Mongo.

	"Yes!"

	"Go out with hands up."

	"What?"

	"Go out, hands up. Only way," said Mongo.

	"Really?"
	"Yes," said Mongo.

	Waget had a conference with the other operatives.

	"They'll just gun us down," said the operatives.

	"He can see into the future," said Waget. "Are you sure, Mongo?"
	"Mongo sure," said Mongo firmly.

	"We'll be safe," said Waget.

	He overcame resistance. They reluctantly concurred.

	"All right, we're coming out," Waget yelled. He turned to Mongo. 
"You stay here."

	Mongo nodded, his eyes big.

	The Claritan operatives went outside, their hands raised. Mongo 
heard voices.

	"He's not with them," said one.

	And then he heard the sound of blaster fire.

	Mongo snickered. They were all stunned, of course; the Slurians 
didn't want to take any chances on injuring Mongo. But Mongo enjoyed 
the deception.

	When the new group of operatives entered the building, the first 
thing Mongo said was, "We hope you are not as stupid as the 
Clickytricks."

	"Are you Mongo?" one of the operatives barked.

	"No, no, not Mongo," said Mongo. "Mongo went that way," he said, 
pointing to a window. Immediately two agents rushed to the window and 
looked.

	The operative in front of Mongo took out a datapad. "You match 
the description of Mongo."
	"Yes, yes, am told, am always told Mongo looks like me. They say, 
they say 'You look like Mongo!' and I say, I say, thanks, many thanks, 
I enjoy being handsome like Mongo, but no, so sorry no, I am not he. It 
is a case of mistaken identity, yes, very mistaken," said Mongo.

	"You come," said the agent, pulling Mongo by the arm. 

	Mongo yiped. "Not to touch!"





	Mongo was taken to yet another safehouse. But this time he was a 
prisoner of the Slurians.

	"Mongo is tired of being prisoner. Why do you not go home and 
play with someone else?" he asked.

	"It must seem like play to you," said the man standing before 
him. He wore an eyepatch and didn't look very friendly. "That's because 
you were in the hands of amateurs."

	"Mongo does not care," said Mongo. "Mongo wants to go home."

	"But our intelligence indicated that you were not very happy with 
the Column," said the man.

	"Mongo does not like the Column, but there is less shooting in 
the institute," said Mongo. He gave the matter some additional thought. 
"Actually there is some unwanted fire in the institute, but that is 
Sally's fault. Generally, though, it is much quieter, fewer shootings."

	"Well, we will take you to a quiet place."

	Mongo's eyes widened as he looked at the man. "Later," he said.

	"What?"

	"Your name is Later," said Mongo.

	"How did you know that?" said the man with the eyepatch.

	Suddenly, an operative approached. "Major Latr, all is clear 
outside for now."

	Major T'Kaya Latr of the Slurian secret police, formally known as 
NGB, looked at Mongo. "You saw him say it to me, in the future."

	Mongo shrugged.

	"We will have much to talk about when we return to Sluria."

	"What will you promise?" Mongo asked.

	"What?"

	"The promises," said Mongo. "Everyone who captures Mongo makes 
biiiig promises. The last ones to capture Mongo promised Mongo a 
planet."

	"They did, did they?" said Latr, looking genuinely amused.

	"What will Slurians promise Mongo?"
	Latr bent down and faced Mongo. "If you obey us, we promise 
you'll live."

	Mongo gulped. "No planet?"
	"No planet."

	"Not even a small one?"
	"You will be tortured until you reveal all your secrets. Then, 
when you are broken, you will work for us. If you even once give us the 
smallest bit of disinformation, you will be tortured further." Latr 
stood up and chuckled. "I will enjoy the pleasure of interrogating you 
myself. How soon can the ship be ready?"
	"In an hour, Major," said another operative. "We can leave for 
the spaceport in twenty minutes."
	"No," said Mongo.

	"No?" said Latr. "Do not give yourself the luxury of feeling you 
can resist."

	"Oh, Mongo will not resist," said Mongo.

	"That's better," said Latr.

	"But he might," said Mongo.

	"Who?" said Latr.

	Suddenly, a section of the wall blew inwards. Agents were blown 
into the interior of the room.

	When the smoke cleared, they saw, through a giant hole in the 
wall, a man with a big T on his shirt and the picture of a whirlwind.

	Latr snarled and reached for his blaster. So did the other 
agents.

	"Mongo does not recommend this course of action," said Mongo.

	The Twister smiled, and Slurians flew through the air. In seconds 
there were thumps as bodies hit the ground.

	The Twister stepped forward into the room, and stared at Mongo.

	"You have wrong person," said Mongo. "You want, er, him," he 
said, pointing to Latr, who was lying on the ground.

	The Mind Bender stepped out from behind the Twister. He gave 
Mongo a smile. "Surely you remember me?"

	"Mongo does not want to remember," said Mongo, cringing.

	Suddenly, Mongo felt himself standing up and walking towards the 
Mind Bender.

	"Mission accomplished," said the Twister. "And I'm not even 
winded."

	"What do you mean, mission accomplished?" said the Mind Bender. 
"You haven't held up your end of the bargain. The deal was that you get 
Mongo, and I get Dalbo."

	"Yes, of course," said the Twister. "Fortunately we have a good 
resource to help us locate them." He turned to Mongo.

	Mongo suddenly found himself in the grip of the Mind Bender.

	"Where is Croft?" the Mind Bender asked.

	"Not know," Mongo squealed.

	"Even I know you're not asking the right question," said the 
Twister. "Where will Croft be?"

	The Mind Bender stared at Mongo, applying pressure.

	Mongo squealed.

	"Careful!" said the Twister.

	"What do you care?" the Mind Bender said.

	"I have to deliver him intact, to the Thinker," said the Twister.

	"He'll be all right," said the Mind Bender disdainfully. He 
looked hard at Mongo. "Where will he be?"

	"Croft... is coming here." said Mongo.

	"When?"

	"In a few minutes," Mongo whispered.

	Suddenly, the Twister appeared to freeze for a second. Then he 
said, "I saw them."
	"You did?" said the Mind Bender.

	"I just had a flash forward. There was Croft, another agent, 
Dalbo, and someone else. The way he was dressed, I think he was a 
Graftonite."

	"Who is the Graftonite?" said the Mind Bender.

	"His name... his name is Silencer," said Mongo.

	"The Silencer," said the Mind Bender. "He's reputed to be one of 
the best."

	"Who cares?" said the Twister. "We'll handle them like we did the 
Graftonites on August."

	"How did they know we are here?" the Mind Bender asked.

	"They go to High Place. Dalbo sees you here from High Place," 
said Mongo slowly.

	"How do you know that?" the Mind Bender asked.
	"Saw them before... before they got there," said Mongo woodenly.

	"You can really see the future from so many miles away?" said the 
Mind Bender.

	"Strange planet... adds to Mongo's abilities," said Mongo.

	The Mind Bender glanced at the Twister. "Once your master tames 
him, it might be useful to bring him back here."

	"I will mention this to the Thinker," said the Twister. "But we 
must be ready for their attack. Which direction will they come from?"
	Mongo was silent.

	"Which direction?" said the Mind Bender.

	Mongo grabbed his head. "Hurts!"

	"Let go!" said the Twister.

	"Hurts!" moaned Mongo again.

	The Mind Bender felt himself pushed backwards. Mongo, sobbing, 
fell to the ground.

	"You would dare use your power against me?"
	"He is my property," said the Twister. "I don't want him 
damaged."

	The Mind Bender glared at Twister. It wasn't difficult to guess 
what was on his mind.

	"Remember what I warned you about," said the Twister. "If you 
take me over, plan on taking me over every minute of every day, and 
don't plan on getting any sleep, ever."

	The Mind Bender appeared to calm down.

	"Good," said the Twister. He turned to Mongo. "Now, which 
direction will they attack from?"

	"No directions. All directions," Mongo babbled.

	"What do you mean?"
	"Sometimes they come from that way," said Mongo, pointing a bony 
finger. "Sometimes from that way," he said, pointing in another 
direction. "Or that way,"  he said, pointing in a third direction.

	"How can you not know?"
	"Many possible futures, many variables," said Mongo. "Who will 
lead attack? Will the Croft follow Silencer suggestion, or Preston 
suggestion? What will the Croft do? In my experience, the Croft is 
veeeeery unpredictable."

	"All right," said the Twister. "It doesn't matter what direction 
they come from. When they come in, whoever sees them first will take 
them."

	"No, no, nooooo," said Mongo. 

	"What do you mean?" said the Twister.

	"Both of you defending will not work," said Mongo.

	"He's lying," said the Mind Bender, his eyes blazing. "He lied 
before, and tricked me once. I won't let him trick me again."

	"No, no, see for yourself," said Mongo.

	Suddenly, the room turned blue. They found themselves still in 
the room, but with a duplicate copy of each of them standing there. 
They were standing looking at themselves, though their other selves 
didn't seem to be aware of them.

	Suddenly, a gas grenade entered the room through a window. The 
other Twister tossed the gas grenade out, but more and more entered the 
room. The space was too confined to stop all of them, and the other 
Twister, the other Mongo, and the other Mind Bender fell asleep.

	Suddenly they were back in the present.

	"See?" said Mongo.

	"All right," said the Twister. "What if I stand out in front of 
this house?"

	"No," said Mongo, shaking his head.

	"No what?"

	"See," said Mongo.

	Suddenly, the room turned blue again and they were looking at 
their own duplicates. Evidently Mongo had the ability to trigger one of 
these temporal rifts at will, at least on Steps.

	In this version, the Twister was standing out in front of the 
home. Suddenly, a blast came from above, knocking him out. The next 
thing they saw was the Silencer, sliding off of the roof. The Mind 
Bender used his power to freeze him, but Croft came in through the back 
door and shot the Mind Bender.

	They returned to the present.

	"All right," said the Twister. "How can we beat them?"
	"Is no guaranteed way," said Mongo.

	The Mind Bender stared at him. Mongo started to squeal again.

	"Stop!" said the Twister again. He turned to the Mind Bender. "If 
this is going to be too risky then maybe we should just leave."

	"No!" said the Mind Bender. "You promised me the mind reader!"
	"Maybe there's another easier way or time to get him," said the 
Twister.

	"We had an agreement," said the Mind Bender, his eyes blazing.

	"All right," said the Twister hastily. He turned to Mongo. "What 
is the plan with the best chance of success?"

	Mongo paused. "If you stay," he said, pointing a bony finger at 
the Mind Bender, "And you go," he added, pointing a finger at the 
Twister.

	"Go?" said the Twister.

	"Go out back. Wait five minutes, circle around, come in, 
surprise, when others distracted with him," said Mongo, indicating the 
Mind Bender.

	"He's lying," said the Mind Bender. "He's just trying to split us 
up."

	"No, see for self," said Mongo.

	The scene turned blue again. This time only the Mind Bender was 
in the room.

	Croft and his allies blasted down the front door and entered. 
They exchanged some smalltalk with the Mind Bender. Then, all of a 
sudden, Croft and his allies fell flat on their face. The Twister 
entered from behind them, dragging a reluctant looking Mongo.

	The room resumed its normal color.

	"You're sure it will work?" said the Twister.

	Mongo hissed.

	"Are you sure?" said the Twister.

	"No, not sure," said Mongo. "With Croft, never sure. But is your 
best chance."

	"All right, then that's what we'll do," said the Twister. He 
grabbed Mongo by the arm. Mongo yelped.

	"I'm not so sure," said the Mind Bender.

	"We saw it ourselves," said the Twister. "Do you want the mind 
reader or not?"
	"All right," said the Mind Bender.

	"I'll go out the back and circle around and wait for the others. 
When they come, I'll strike them from behind." The Twister left through 
the back way, dragging Mongo along.

	The Mind Bender stood in the empty room wordlessly. Somehow he 
didn't think this is how it would happen. He wanted to go and confront 
Croft, not wait for Croft to come to him.

	He knew that Croft was immune to his powers. Still, that did not 
bother him much.

	For the Mind Bender was sure that the Silencer, with his super 
reflexes, would be all too happy to help out. Once the Mind Bender took 
control of him, and used him against Croft.

	The Mind Bender waited two minutes, then three minutes, then four 
and then five. Suddenly Clifford Croft, blaster drawn, came casually 
through the front door. His friends came behind him.

	The Mind Bender smiled. "It's been a long time, Croft."

	"Yes," said Croft, looking left and right.

	"What brings you here?" said the Mind Bender.

	"It's the touristy season on Steps," said Croft. "I'm here to 
work on my sun tan."

	"You're too late," said the Mind Bender.

	"Am I now?" said Croft.

	The Mind Bender frowned. The Twister should have circled around 
by now. Well, the Mind Bender could take care of this himself.

	"You know, I've waited a long time to kill you," said the Mind 
Bender.

	"Perhaps your brain is even more scrambled than I thought, or 
else you've completely forgotten that I'm immune to your charm," said 
Croft. He raised his blaster and pointed  it at the Mind Bender. 
"What's to stop me from pulling the trigger right now?"

	"Him," said the Mind Bender.

	Suddenly, the Silencer drew his blaster blindlingly quick and 
pointed it at Croft's head. However, the Mind Bender's jaw dropped when 
he saw exactly what it was that was pointed at Croft.

	It was the Silencer's finger.

	Croft quickly moved to the other side of the room from his 
friends. "Ooops!" said Croft. "The Silencer forgot his weapons. How 
careless of him!"

	"You have no gun?" said the Mind Bender, looking stunned.

	"He's paying me by the shot," said the Silencer. "This is his way 
of saving money."
	The Mind Bender turned to Preston, who drew his gun... also only 
to come up empty handed.

	"So... let's get back to topic A: is there any reason why I 
shouldn't kill you?" said Croft.

	The Mind Bender gulped and felt fear, for the first time in a 
very long time. Then his confidence returned.

	"You won't kill me," he said.

	"Why, because you think the Twister will help you?" said Croft. 
"He's long gone."

	"What?"

	"Why do you think I was the only one with a blaster when we 
walked in?" said Croft. "Dalbo here served two great purposes. First, 
he used the high point to locate you, or rather where you would be. 
Second, he's good at sensing people even before we see them. He doesn't 
sense the Twister within 200 square feet, do you, Dalbo?"

	Dalbo mumbled something.

	"Dalbo?"
	"No," said Dalbo.

	"So I knew we only had to deal with you."
	"He betrayed me," said the Mind Bender. 

	"Probably," said Croft. "But if you tell me where he is, I might 
let you live."
	"Live?" said the Mind Bender. "If you want to know where your 
friend is, you'll let me go."

	"I don't think so," said Croft. "You've caused too much death and 
destruction to be left wandering freely."
	"Being sent to prison is hardly an incentive to talk," said the 
Mind Bender.

	"It is when the alternative is death," said Croft, his tone 
hardening.

	"You won't find him if you don't catch him now," said the Mind 
Bender.

	"I'll find him," said Croft. His grip tightened on the trigger. 
"You're trying to bargain with me but you don't exactly have a winning 
hand. I'm running out of patience and you're running out of time."

	The Mind Bender looked at his face, as if trying to gauge his 
determination. Croft looked very stern. Would he shoot? The Mind Bender 
couldn't take the chance. "All right," he said.

	"Where?" Croft said.

	"They're at the spaceport," said the Mind Bender.

	"There are three of them. Which one, and which pad?"
	The Mind Bender told him. 

	"All right," said Croft. He reset his blaster, and aimed it at 
the Mind Bender again.

	"What-what are you doing?"
	"Shooting you," said Croft. He fired again, and the Mind Bender 
fell to the ground.

	Croft took a hypo out of his equipment sack. He gave it to 
Preston. "You know what to do." Then he turned to the Silencer. "Time 
to make some money, John."



	The sun was hot under the tarmac as Croft ran towards the small 
scoutship. His blaster was in his hand as he ran. With the Twister, he 
might not have the time to draw it first.

	He had almost reached the scoutship when the scoutship actually 
moved. Not moved, like using thrusters, or its drive unit; no, the 
scoutship was actually moved, by an external force. It slid 100 feet to 
the right, to reveal, standing behind it, the Twister and Mongo.

	The Twister and Mongo calmly walked forward. When they got into 
speaking range, the Twister turned to Mongo. "It was just as you showed 
me." He turned to Croft. "I'm told you're the best of the best."

	"I've heard that," said Croft.  He tried to raise his blaster 
arm, but found he couldn't. It was different from the control the Mind 
Bender had once exerted; Croft had full control of his mind, it was 
just his arms that were frozen in place.

	"How did you get by the Mind Bender?" said the Twister. "Did the 
gas work?"
	Croft paused, only fractionally. "Yes, the gas worked."
	"I figured," said the Twister. He nodded his head slightly 
towards Mongo. "He couldn't guarantee success. I figured it was too 
risky to take you in on a cramped, indoor environment."
	"Um," said Croft. "Would you mind telling me why you're doing all 
this?"
	"Isn't it obvious?" said the Twister. "For power."

	"Is that worth killing all the people you murdered when the dam 
broke?"
	"It was a diversionary measure," said the Twister.

	"A diversion," said Croft. "That's what you call something that 
kills hundreds of people?"
	"Who cares?" said the Twister. "It was all part of the plan."
	"Whose plan?" said Croft.

	The Twister smiled.

	"The Terrible Thinker, right?" said Croft.

	The Twister's smile grew broader. "He was right about you."
	"He was?"

	"He said you were sharp, and would be tough to beat."

	"Well, at least he's right about something," said Croft.

	A wind blew, bathing both of them in the hot afternoon sun.

	"I'd love to stay and chat all day, but I've got things to do, 
people to deliver," said the Twister. "So how do you want it?" he 
asked.

	"How do I want what?" said Croft.

	"I can throw you so high in the air so that you'll make an 
imprint when you hit the ground."

	"No, I don't think I would like that," said Croft.

	"I can rip your body in half with a thought," said the Twister.

	"Think gentler thoughts, please."

	"Or I could shoot you with your own blaster," said the Twister.

	"That's not really gentler, is it?" said Croft.

	Suddenly, Croft's blaster was pulled from its holster. The 
blaster, floating in air, turned and aimed at Croft.

	"Uh, I'd rather wait and hear the rest of my options," said 
Croft.

	The Twister smiled again. "I'm sorry, but you're stalling, and I 
don't have any-"
	There was a quick flash of light, and the Twister stopped, in 
midsentence, looking puzzled. Putting his hand to his chest, he came 
away with blood.

	"What happened?" he said, in a soft voice.

	"I stalled long enough," said Croft.

	The Twister fell to the ground. Croft casually went over and felt 
for a pulse.

	He was dead.

	Good riddance. Croft thought about all the people he had so 
nonchalantly killed when he ruptured the dam. The galaxy would be a 
better place without him.

	The Silencer casually came walking forward, with Dalbo in tow. 
The Silencer had a laser rifle in hand, with long range sights.

	The Silencer looked down at the body. "You said you wanted him 
dead."
	"That's what I said," said Croft. He turned to Mongo. "Thank 
you."
	Mongo gave a big smile.

	"What are you thanking him for?" said the Silencer.

	"I'm guessing he told them about futures that made this 
possible," said Croft. "Except in the versions he told them about, they 
were successful, not us."

	"No, even better," said Mongo, smiling. "Planet unusual 
environment, was actually able to show them futures where they 
succeeded by following Mongo's advice."
	"Really?" said Croft. "You were able to manipulate futures?"
	"No, showed them real futures," said Mongo. "Real possible 
futures."

	"Just not real likely futures," said Croft.

	"The Croft understands," said Mongo. "For once. And Mongo is very 
surprised."
	Just then Preston came running towards them.

	"What?" said Croft. 

	"He's gone," said Preston.

	"The Mind Bender?" said Croft. "Didn't you give him the shot?"
	"I thought I did," said Preston. "But then I fell into a kind of 
daze, and when I started noticing things again, he was gone."

	"He must not have been fully stunned," said Croft.

	"Do we look for him?" said Preston.

	Croft thought about it. And then he thought about all the Union, 
Claritan, and Slurian agents who were undoubtedly on the planet who 
were also looking for them. And then he thought about Mongo and Dalbo, 
his precious cargo. It was better to call it a day. The threat from the 
Twister, at least, had been permanently eliminated.

	"No," said Croft. "Let's go home."

	After they lifted off, the Silencer turned to Croft and said, in 
an ominous tone, "You planned this."
	"What?"

	"I only fired my weapon five times. That means I only made 
100,000 credits. That's one fifth of my normal fee," said the Silencer.

	Croft shrugged.

	"Furthermore one of those shots took out the Twister, one of the 
most dangerous enemies the League has ever faced. I killed him, and it 
only cost you 20,000 credits! Do you know how much I would have charged 
as a flat fee to go up against him?"

	"John, it was you who insisted on a pay per shot policy," said 
Croft.

	"Well, it's the last time I ever do that again," said the 
Silencer.

	"Glad to hear it," said Croft.

	There was a further silence, and then the Silencer said, "Croft, 
given the enormity of what I've done, surely you can see your way to 
giving a higher bonus-"

	"Silencer, when you negotiate sky-high fees when we need you in a 
crunch, do you ever renegotiate your fee downwards if it turns out 
after the fact that we didn't need you so much?"

	"Well, no," said the Silencer.

	"Well then," said Croft.

	For once he felt very, very satisfied.



	"So the Mind Bender is still on the loose," said A.A.

	"But the Twister is dead."

	"But the Mind Bender is out there, somewhere."
	"Twister, very very dead," said Croft. "Nothing else is going to 
break apart."

	"But the Mind Bender could come against us again," A.A. 
persisted.

	"Possible," said Croft. "But if I read my facial expressions 
correctly, I think the Mind Bender will be leery of coming back to 
August for a while."

	"Why?"
	"For fear he might run into me," said Croft.

	The Chief considered, and then nodded. "Perhaps you're right. 
Well, at least we've gotten our gammas back. We found Mongo's Column 
escorts tied up in a Union safehouse. The dam is in the process of 
being rebuilt, and reconstruction of the damaged areas is in earnest."
	"Glad to hear it," said Croft. He got up to go.

	"Croft?"
	"Yes?"

	"How many more ticking time bombs are out there?"

	"Sir?"
	"People with fantastic mental abilities, just waiting to attack 
us?" said the Chief.

	"I don't know, sir," Croft yawned. "I know I could use at least a 
week off before the next one."
	The Chief gave him a rare smile. Croft yawned again. He was 
tired. But he had one last thing to do before he went to sleep that 
night.

	Even before he stepped into Mongo's room at the institute he 
heard that voice.

	"Yes, yes, we were expecting you, yes."
	"You always complain that I only come here when I want to ask you 
for something," said Croft. He held one hand behind his back.

	"Give, give!" said Mongo.

	Croft brought his hand forward, revealing a small container. 
Shrieking, Mongo opened it, and started wildly gobbling the contents 
with his fingers.

	"Sturinberry," said Croft. "Maybe that will give you second 
thoughts the next time you think about defecting to the other side."
	Mongo, not answering, was gobbling away.

	"That leads me to one question, which, I think you already know 
I'm going to ask," said Croft. "If you hate it so much here, if you 
hate me so much, why didn't you go with any of your other kidnappers?"

	Mongo, gobbling, tried talking with his mouth full.

	"What was that?"
	"Bttr icseem"
	"What?" said Croft

	Mongo swallowed a huge chunk of ice cream. "Better ice cream 
here."

	"Uh huh," said Croft. "I'll have to make sure that we're well 
stocked then, in case the Slurians ever attack."



The End



	"No, no, not the end," Mongo hissed. "Foolish reader, do you 
really think this is the end? Very foolish reader, yes, very foolish if 
reader thinks, reader thinks this is the last story with Mongo in it."



Author's Notes, July 10, 2004

I got the impression I wrote this book at a slower pace, but when I add 
up the days, I see it actually only took about two to three weeks to 
write. Well, maybe that is a slower pace, for me. Unlike my previous 
books, I actually wrote this one from beginning to finish, rather than 
writing the beginning first, the ending later, and working my way back 
to the middle. This book introduces what will become one of the major 
recurring villains in later books--the Mind Bender. The Mind Bender, 
like the Slurians and the Terrible Thinker, will be major recurring 
villains in a number of later books, fighting Croft in different ways, 
and sometimes, fighting among themselves. In fact by now, in the 11th 
book in the Croft series, a significant number of major characters have 
been established--Croft, Levi, Norman North, Idaho Took, Starr, Steven 
Quick, the Mind Bender, the Slurians, the Terrible Thinker, Mongo, 
Dalbo, Red Sally, and of course the Capybara (actually, two Capybaras).




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