The Council Meeting

A handsome three tiered concrete dome rose in the distance, blazing white in the blatant morning sun. A lawn stretched out in front where a fountain was playing in the center. Gravel crackled beneath his feet as Broot dashed towards the front door. A tiny dwarf bowed down and flung the gate opes as Broot waved his hand to enter. The hallway was large, lines of dusty portrait of look alike goblins adorned the walls, the stone floor was covered in a moth eaten carpet. A rank smell of decay hung in the air. The hallway ended and a heavy door blocked his path. He took a deep breath and turned the stone handle. The room was dark and full of dwarfs sitting at a long stone table. At the far end of the table, a goblin sat beside the central figure. A thin dwarf with pointed ears and a blue half jacket. “Broot” the dwarf said, “Come, we were waiting just for you.” Broot walked in closer and the face of the thin lean dwarf with watery blue eyes shoe through the gloom. Most of the eyes followed Broot as he sat down beside the goblin and whispered in his ears.

“What’s that?” said Alfred.

“My lord, its true. He is the sleaze killer. He uses the darknet to operate and accept kill requests for corrupt humans.”

Everyone leaned forward on the table and a few of them gasped. The goblin beside him smacked the table with the palms of his hand and whistled softly.

“The Sleaze Killer…” repeated Alfred, “Good. And how do you know?”

“I have-with difficulty, and after great effort - succeeded in placing a comm cloner - a trojan horse that relays all his activities to my device.”

“Impressive. You did that within two storm passovers” Said Alfred, his eyes fixed at the hulking muscled figure of Broot.

“And this trojan was sent to him by-”

“By the source we discussed”

Mordant leaned forward to look at Alfred and said, “Didn’t I tell you sire, he can do anything” He patted the dwarfs shoulders.

“What say you, Harry?”

Heads turned towards the other end of the table. Broot hadn’t noticed him before. A tall, full grown, adult human in midst of thirteen dwarfs was not a sight to expect.

“Without evidence its as good as a homewife’s gossip” he said in his usual monotonous voice, “he is filthy rich and can bribe the entire peacekeeper department for two decades and still will be left with enough stoners to buy off the ‘Island of the Dead’.”

Alfred turned to Broot but before he could speak a dwarf seated next to Kritter spoke, “My lord” she said, “give me a chance to remove this…” her voice contorted with emotion, “this hurdle”

“Thank you Plinky, but it must be planned out meticulously.”

“I have a plan, my lord. I’ll send him a request for a kill and…”

“And you can leave the rest to us.” Mordant ejaculated, “If you can lure him to a place we name…”

“Morgan Slave Traders will have a vacancy very soon” jeered Broot.

There was an eruption of laughter all around and some thumped the table with their fists and roared.

Finally Alfred raised a hand and silence fell.

“So be it.” He said softly.