The InterGang spy closed the connection with the police, and don Illuminatus thanked him and dismissed him from her office.

After he left, she reflected upon last night's t-mail conversation with capo Mysshroudedtery. "My capo," she had said, "I'm dreadfully sorry to have to call you so late, but I must report a complication in the project you had assigned of observing those adventurers. I had sent some of my enforcers to join my spies, who were watching them at the Apple-Spruce Inn."

"But why ever would you do a thing like that, don Illuminatus?" the capo asked, in a tone suggesting that she had strong suspicions as to why she'd done it.

"A simple precaution. Surely some of our spies and LandOrder's may recognize each other. I did not think LandOrder would take kindly to realizing that we were watching the same people they were watching. I wanted to provide my people with a degree of protection, in case LandOrder should attempt to eliminate the competition."

"I see. And are you shorthanded of enforcers? Do you perhaps need to consider budgeting for some more?"

Illuminatus hesitated; she didn't see where the capo was going with that question. "I... no, capo. Why do you ask?"

"Did you have more enforcers than usual on duty tonight, and on call? Surely not all of your on-duty enforcers were sent there immediately upon discovering the whereabouts of the adventurers in question?"

"N-no, capo."

"Well, continue your report."

"Of course. It seems one of my enforcers got drunk, my chief enforcer, actually..."

"While he was on duty? Surprisingly unprofessional; dreadfully poor leadership skills, on his part. One should always present a good example for one's subordinates. ...I'm sorry, did you say he was on duty?"

"I don't believe that I did, but it is a natural inference."

"Well? Was he on duty? Or was it mere coincidence that he happened to be there?"

"He..." and Illuminatus paused, momentarily unsure of what to say. Probably the truth was less dangerous than allowing Mysshroudedtery to possibly catch her in a lie. "He was on duty, capo."

"This would be Thom Bipolar?"

"Yes, my capo."

"Hmmm. Possibly we shall have to contemplate disciplinary action against him, for such a lapse of judgment. Pray, continue."

"Well... you will be aware, perhaps, of his emotional troubles. I fear the alcohol did little to help; on the contrary, in fact. And it seems the songs the band was playing were, some of them, of rather a melancholy nature. It was enough to very much depress him, and his depression often leads to anger. So he was, unfortunately, unable to refrain from... unwittingly instigating an incident.... Well, there was a brawl, and his enforcers decided to come to his aid, as he was outnumbered on his own, of course."

"How unfortunate. I can't imagine such a thing would go unanswered by LandOrder's own spies."

"It didn't, capo." Illuminatus was by now convinced that the capo had already been fully briefed on the night's events, but she could do nothing but make her report, as if it were the first time Mysshroudedtery was hearing any of this. "They called their own enforcers, who soon arrived to aid the adventurers. Still more of our enforcers headed for the inn, but the police were by then not far behind."

"And what, I wonder, happened to the object of everyone's attentions?"

"The... adventurers... apparently escaped in a wagon provided them by LandOrder. We'd taken their own wagon, you see. That is all I can think to say, except that chief Bipolar, as well as many of our enforcers, are currently being held by the police. Oh, and there are unsubstantiated reports that don Breakhead may have been killed. Certainly he was greatly hurt, but I expect if he now lives, he will continue to do so."

"Hmmm. Well, it seems things have come to a head. Clearly, we have our proof that LandOrder is more than slightly interested in these adventurers, though we don't know why, as yet. Perhaps if we could have continued observing them longer, we might have learned something useful."

"It... may well... have been so, my capo."

"Now, as to the matter of your need for more enforcers..."

"Begging your pardon, capo, but I believe I said I didn't see a need for any more enforcers."

"No? But if you have enough, cannot you afford to allow your people to take occasional time off?"

Illuminatus was now feeling greatly shaken. But she retained her outward composure and responded, "Of course I can, capo."

"Really?" She glanced down at her desk, and picked up a sheet of paper. "But I have here a copy of an official grant of leave for chief Bipolar, to have begun today, signed by you, and dated two days ago."

"I... must have forgotten, when I assigned him tonight."

"Didn't he mention it to you? Don't you think it would be rather important to him. In fact, mightn't he have a medical need for such a leave?"

"I, I... no, I mean, he didn't mention it to me. He is of course a very dedicated leader, he would do whatever he thought best for his men. Perhaps I made the potential danger from LandOrder sound greater than I should have, and he felt it too important. Perhaps he felt his leave could wait another day or so, if the safety of our people was at stake."

"Perhaps he did, don. Perhaps, too, he was merely drinking tonight in an effort to calm his nerves, so that he wouldn't present a danger, himself. A calculated risk, but a well-intentioned one. Perhaps no disciplinary action against him will be necessary, after all. Send a lawyer down to the station in the morning, and once he is at liberty, extend his leave to two weeks, with our thanks for his dedication, and our apologies for our forgetfulness and insensitivity."

"Yes, capo," Illuminatus said with some relief.

"As to more practical matters, now that LandOrder's hand has been at least partially forced, they will surely be much more cautious, even while advancing whatever timetable they may have had for whatever it is they are doing. We must also pay greater attention to these adventurers. We must do what we can to find them, learn of their activities and plans, and attempt to thwart them, should they pose a threat to us. Therefore, I'll be alerting all our dons to increase their surveillance measures, have enforcers ready to intervene at a moment's notice, and keep in constant contact with each other and with me. You may start, because of course, you're the one I'm talking to right now, and they're closest to you for now."

"Yes, capo."

"Also, to make things harder for them, make sure they can't seek protection against us from the authorities. Surely the police will already be suspicious of the adventurers after tonight's incident, but make sure they don't lose interest. Try to implicate LandOrder's new friends with the gang. It shouldn't be hard. I'll also have my spies in the various villages' police forces keep me informed of any information the police may acquire concerning the adventurers and their connections with LandOrder."

"Excellent idea, capo."

"Now, I'll let you go, don Illuminatus. I must contact the other dons, as I said. First, naturally, will be don Manager, as it was his idea to watch these adventurers in the first place. And while chief Bipolar may have inadvertently cost us the opportunity to gain more information," the capo added with a smile, "he has also unwittingly proven that don Manager was absolutely correct; his interest in these people was clearly well-placed. Yes, most wise and insightful of him.... Well, good night, don."

Through gritted teeth, Illuminatus said, "Good night, capo," and closed the connection.

Coming out of her reverie of last night's discussion, the don said to herself, "Very well. That was intended to needle me. She's very clever, and knows me well. Of course, she could have said what she knew, and officially reprimanded me, but of course she knew that her last remark would sting more. Well. And of course, it's not like I supposed she didn't have her own personal spies within the organization, in every village. Fine." She activated a t-mail bubble. "Chief Milkman, come at once. I have a job for you." She closed the connection, reclined in her chair, propped her feet on the desk, and smiled. Steepling her fingers, she continued talking to herself. "We'll find any spies she has here, and we'll think up some delightful game to play with them, we will. Oh, yes," and she tilted back her head with laughter.

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