Authority of Thieves

Like the dots in a pointillist painting, events separated by time and place often seem to lack meaning unless seen from afar. From that perspective, insight sometimes leaps from the emergence of dramatic images. More often, however, the elucidation comes slowly, as prosaic occurrences are connected to form an instructive pattern.

True to his nature, Robert Brampton lived in a secluded area just outside the Beltway. The rather nondescript exterior of the house suggested little of the curiosities inside, which served as both laboratory and museum to Brampton’s eclectic interests. One room housed a cutting edge sampling of operational and development-stage security devices. Another an almost full scale laboratory for his experiments with chemical and biological formulations. And others displayed his collections of wines, weaponry, instruments of torture, and exotic pets.

Having completed his written work for the evening, he poured himself a goblet of Merlot. As he swirled the wine in the glass, he labored over the details of the YOVEL clean-up operation. He’d assured Kellem that it was complete, but he remained anxious about it. There were so many people to deal with and that in itself presented logistical problems. If it were his decision, the operation would have been undertaken years ago--while the targets were still few and the secrets had little chance to leach. But Kellem had insisted otherwise and so all he could do was plan carefully...and worry. He carried his wine with him into what he called his South American Room and sat down in front of a bank of large glass containers holding an assortment of tropical snakes and lizards. In the container before him were two Rainbow Boas that he’d captured in Panama, and the container alongside held a dozen eggs that he had separated from the parents about a week before. As he watched, he saw that several young snakes had already hatched and others were now breaking out of their shells. He had witnessed the scene many times before but was still fascinated by how they emerged fully formed and ready to fend for themselves. Even in the wild, there would be no parent to fight off predators or find food. They would have to survive by their own instincts and abilities--just as he had.

As he watched the young snakes, subconscious thoughts of his own childhood sparked a surprising surge of anger and he turned his attention back to the adults. He'd never fed the two adult snakes while they were together, but tonight would be different. Coldly, he reached into a cage of white mice and dropped one into the container. The mouse froze as the serpents fixed cold eyes on their dinner. When the larger snake moved forward, the mouse began scurrying about in a frenzy but was soon deftly maneuvered into a corner. In a lightning move, the constrictor seized the mouse in its jaws, wrapped its coils around it, and squeezed it to death. But the smaller snake was not willing to relinquish its rights to the meal and a strange contest began. As the larger snake enveloped the head of the rodent in its mouth, the smaller snake began devouring it from the other side. As each swallowed more of the prey, they moved closer and closer to each other until their snouts touched. It looked like the contest could go no further. With their teeth curved inward, neither was able nor inclined to let go of its meal. But the stalemate continued only for a few moments. When the smaller snake did not withdraw, the larger simply opened its jaws wider and began to swallow the smaller snake along with the mouse.

Brampton was neither surprised nor moved by the encounter. He sat and watched, casually sipping his wine, as the drama played out before him. After an hour, he left the room and prepared for bed. He expected the next few days at the Trust to be hectic, and he wanted to get a good night’s sleep.