Up high on one of the upper most floors of the Federal Meta-Human Resource Center's Parrodipolis office. Looking out one of the picture windows in his large office, General Shamus MacTaggert stands. He looks out on to the city that he hates with a vengeance. He puffs a few plumes of smoke of his cigar. He stands at the window, waiting & watching. Then, from his desk there comes a buzzing noise. It's the intercom. The General walks over to the desk & presses the talk button.
"Yes?" The General says as he tries to not loose his cigar as he talks.
"Mr. MacTaggert?"
"Jane! I told you that's The General or Sir, none of this Mister crap." The General shot back.
"Sir?"
"Yes."
"There is an Agent Jones to see you. He claims to have a 10:30 appointment but it's not in your appointment book."
"Yes, Yes. I know. I forgot to tell you about this. Tell Mister Jones he can enter."
The General releases the button & sits down at his desk. He is the head of FMRC's Parrodipolis office & Agent Jones is one of his many peons. The oak door opens & in walks Agent Jones. He is wearing his FMRC issue suit. Agent Jones walks up to the desk & stands at attention.
"You may sit." The General says & motions to a chair near the desk.
Agent Jones sits down & says "Thank you, sir."
The General opens a wooden box on his desk. "Cigar?"
Jones gets up & picks out a cigar from the box. "Cuban, eh?"
"Yes. Only the best!" The General says with a slight laugh. After the laugh, he coughs a bit & sounds like he's about to cough up some flem, but doesn't.
There are few minutes of silence as The General looks at Jones & Jones tries not to stare at the General. He looks for a few seconds & looks away. He repeats until the General says. "Well, are we going to spend the rest of this meeting with our thumbs up out butts or are we going to talk?"
"Talk, sir."
"Well, since you wanted to meet. You start."
"Yes, sir."
Jones leans over to pick up his briefcase. He opens it, then hands the General a file folder. On the front, it is stamped "Confidential". The General opens the folder & looks over the papers inside. He puffs on the cigar, takes out the cigar & taps the ash into an ashtray near by. Then, the cigar is placed back into his mouth. As the General reads, Jones' eyes start wander around the room. It's one of the few in the building that is wood paneled. There are a few works of art on the wall & on one section is a collection of framed photo's of the General & various famous people.
"So, tell me what you think this file means?" The General says after he finishes reading the file. He has placed it on the desk & as he talks, he taps the file with index finger.
"Well, sir. The file is gathered information on plans of the terrorist sect of meta-humans known by the code name of The Lair Legion."
"Yes?"
"Our info was confirmed by out plant in the group, Mister Epitome."
"Yes? But, all of this info is known & has been for awhile. You must be working with some old info, Epitome has left the group."
"Yes, sir. But as you can see on Memo #67, it's between The Englishmen Sir Mumphrey & the deputy leader, the alien entity known as Yo. On that memo, there seems to talk of plans similar to our own project."
"All I see is a Limey sending a note to a hermaphroditic Alien to check on the Android running their boot camp."
"The status of the entity known as Visionary is unknown, so calling him an Android would be wrong, sir."
"But, you knew who I talking about!" The General said pointedly.
"Yes, sir."
"The training group known as the Lair Legion Junior is a joke compared to this fine institution." The General said & when he brought up the FMRC, he raised his hands to the ceiling.
"The older group known as the New Battlers are even more of a joke." The General said & laughed a bit. This time was not followed with flem.
"Yes, in the New Battlers case but the Lair Legion Junior has the potential to become a threat to what has been set up here."
"Are you saying that the nampy, pampy group of losers could take us down?"
"If trained right."
The General let out a laugh. "Then, the Lair Legion will never be a threat to us, given the training they offer currently."
"But, the memo does say that a change in the program maybe coming. It also says that an expansion maybe coming."
"Yes, but even if they change teachers & expand to a hundred kids, they wouldn't get to our size for a few years."
"I heard a rumor that the Lair Legion already has hidden agents, so the team is actually a hundred or two members strong & not just the fourteen members we see."
"If it is just rumors & we have no proof, we will ignore this for now. Ask Epitome to collect anything on this. If he find anything about, we'll do something about it."
"Yes, sir." Jones said as he collected his things & stood up.
"Anything else you would like to infer about this file to me?" The General said & waved the file in his right hand at Jones.
"No. But, our Lab Tech's are having problems of getting into the Librarian's computer. He's using some encryption systems that we don't see very offen."
"What type?"
"The last time the Lab Tech's saw similar encryptions was when they tried to link up with the Skree Empire's systems."
"So, something alien?"
"Yes, sir."
"Also, have Epitome get info of ways of getting into the computer."
"Yes, Sir."
"Your dismissed." The General said.
Agent Jones then left the office to go contact Epitome.
Meanwhile back in the Office....
"So, what do you think?" The General said.
"About what, sir?" A voice said from a darkened corner of the office. The voice is deep & gravelly.
"Agent Jones. Are the rumors true?"
"It is looking like that, sir." Agent Holcomb said as he stepped out of the corner & into the sunlight. Holcomb was in trademark deep purple suit.
"So, we should be able to track him?" The General said.
"Yes. As long as he keeps the cigar you gave him on his body."
"What happens if he smokes it?"
"Nothing hazardous to the tracker. He may develop lung cancer if he continues to smoke." Agent Holcomb said with a smile. His pearly white teeth glint in the sunlight.
Holcomb & the General start to laugh.
THE END!
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