The Mutant Mindbender Ch. 8

[Note: This is not a sexy story. It is more like a 1950's pulp science fiction novel]

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 at 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 wiggled 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 overly 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 poorly 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 trip home, the following two weeks, planning 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 again. 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 reluctance 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 his 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 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 leaped 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 personally, 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, who you can 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 Battleship 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 behind him or a single regret, 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 breathe 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, he'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 dog, 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 in 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 out 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.

"There's 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 aware of 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 the real one."

"What real 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 remote holocam," 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 stand 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 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 had somehow gotten 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 to kill me."

"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?"

[This is NOT the end of the story]