10 – Aftermath by Asprin, Robert

“Now”-Cade’s laughter ended abruptly-“tell me of our enemies, young warrior.”

It took nearly a week to set up. Raif acted as intermediary. They accepted that- Targ acted as the buyer, Raif his connection. Cade wan- dered about, following aimless leads to throw off any interested parties. The final act was almost ready to begin. He had the long-sought answers.

The why? Simple. The Sharp Side took over many of the operations of the PFLS, including Terrel’s. It had taken Terrel a while to figure it out. When he did he had tried to warn Zip. The Sharp Side had caught him.

Who? Well, one of them was known as “The Beast,” an interrogator for the PFLS, now for the Sharp Side. A mysterious man, little was known about him. But it was rumored he was so unmanageable Zip was glad to see him gone. A man who enjoyed his work. A psychopath. He was the one who wouid have broken Terrel’s bones.

Then there was Amuuth. The brain. The one who ran the gang, gave the orders. Born in Downwind, barely thirty, Amuuth had worked his way up through the ranks. Cruel, hard, uncompromising, and known to be arbitrary in his decisions. This man was the most feared man in Downwind. And his hands were broken.

Cade couldn’t be sure. but it made sense. This man knew of Terrel’s fear, because he was one of the original causes. He hadn’t made an exam- ple of Terrel. His position was too unstable for him to go public. No, he didn’t make sure Terrel died of his worst fear for political reasons. He did it for his own pleasure. For fun . . .