The Case Study of Yousef Ragheeb Al-Fatih.

10.1: The case study of Yousef Ragheeb Al-Fatih.

Many have asked me. How do I do it? Just how exactly did I achieve so much, with so little?

I ask them back, just what is 'so much'?

here is where people differ, where they show their motives and aspirations.

"Your grades."

"Your athleticism."

"Your discipline."

And many more answers, all fit into these 3 aspects.

I would answer them accordingly, as I only then understood their question. After all, to me, the concept of 'so much' does not, and will never, pertain to those concepts. I will only believe I have achieved something, once they are happy... no, once he is happy.

....

We went in, did as advised, and went our separate ways. Each taking a gate, we stepped into the range.

To describe what happened, would be sad. Kevin was completely overwhelmed. The message sent by Avery through the points, Once I understood it, I knew that winning was a possibility. I only had to achieve it.

But, my real challenge came at the end. With every second that passed, my heart grew heavier. The darkness crept in, the light disappeared, my field of vision shrunk, my steps slowed, my hands ached, and my head drooped. As the countdown mercilessly persisted, I played along. Every part of me begging for it to stop, it was not fatigue, it was not tiredness. I was afraid. Afraid of 0-o'clock. The moment at the end.

Finally, with the ending of the last minute. As I lay my final tag on my opponent, The alarm plays. A large bang raided the air. My memories rushed to me, I quickly shrunk down in fear. And, then followed a blast of light.

....

"Laser tag range," Alice recommended.

"Ohhh! Is something exciting happening there?" My mother's eyes glittered.

"K-kinda...?" Alice tilted her head, forcing a reaction, "There is a special indoor fireworks show!" She figured.

"I see, then we should be going!" My mother Agreed. "Will you be joining us?" My mother asked the girl.

"N-no... But, here! I had some tickets booked so that you all will be there on time, me and my friends at work prepared them." She said, pointing the three tickets at my mother.

"How sweet! You're such a lucky boy, Yousef, to befriend such a nice girl! I'm already scared of her taking away my little baby!!!" Keeping true to her exaggerated act, my mother hugged me in, way too tight.

My father checked with Alice, asking if she was sure and if she really didn't wish to join us, acting like an actual adult, unlike the woman holding me.

Alice persisted and even told us to hurry up, apparently the event would be happening in around an hour at 12. Thankfully, Alice had booked the tickets so that our turn in the range would be done right then at 12, we should be still inside to witness it.

My parents moved first, I had asked them to have a couple of words with her before following, and they agreed.

"Is this because of yesterday, a way to thank me for not speaking? Or maybe a way to make me not speak?" I asked

Alice kept silent, though smiling, her eye was in despair.

"Thank you, you helped me greatly. It was due to you that I was able to understand something important. But, this is my salvation. Please, accept it gratefully, and do not waste it." She said, bringing out a cell phone.

Her smile faded as she answered the phone, swiftly spinning around, blending into the bustling crowd. Only catching a few words before her voice was drowned out by the cacophony of the masses.

"Yes, the laser range is..."

She vanished from sight and sound.

I returned to my parents.

The rest, was uneventful, though we had asked the staff about the supposed "in-door" event. None had said anything, we were all baffled by the dedication the staff had showcased and accepted it.

Now, after the fact, I do wonder, just why were we so trusting? Why did we trust a girl we had never seen or known about before, so much? Was she that honest, or were we a bunch of fools? Whatever the reason was, reality wouldn't change. We trusted the girl and saw it. The hellscape that is war.

11:58 am

"I need to go something quick, just wait outside for me." My mother said, turning away to the stalls.

2 minutes before the show, she might have wanted to get us something sweet to have while we watched it.

11:59 am

Me and dad waited in the further back of the indoors, keeping away from the crowds. We were still bewildered, while yes, the place was crowded, none seemed to care or hint at any kind of "show" or gathering.

"Your mother's running late," Dad said, studying his wristwatch, "it's going to hit twelve, the lines must be that long."

12:00 pm

A loud bang could be heard from afar. Everyone stopping they turned towards where the noise had seemingly come from. Soon, another, then another. Followed by another. A tremor set each apart. The crowds join in with the noise, all screeching at the top of their lungs.

Luck to us, we had stood ours back to the wall. We didn't have to suffer the mindless mob's marching.

"What is happening?!" Dad said, covering me with his body, "Your mother, where is she?!" He looked around frantically, making sure to keep me well hidden within his arms.

I attempted to help, but within my father's confines, only so much was visible. All I could do was listen to the crowd's mindless shouting.

Finally, a flash of light, followed by an unfathomable explosion. Completely deafening me, all I could do was look up at my father, who had seemed to say something. But, I was unable to hear, only viewing his last moments as we fell victim to the effects of the bombing.

All turned to white.

??:?? pm

"Y&*#)f!!!" A voice called, "Yo%#f, pl*%se!!!! An)w!r me!!!!" The voice kept calling. muffled and blurry, the only reason it had conveyed was waking me up.

"Yasmi--- Alice! Stop that pit*$ul act and co@e here, n!w!" Another voice, much deeper, much stronger, sounded. "You will only e_d up killing yo(%!@lf! Come he%e!"

"No!" The first voice shouted, sound returning to me. "You lied to me, You all did! Didn't I tell you not to touch this place! You-...You guys are monsters!"

"You child!" A much stronger voice appeared with it followed by strong stomps as if crashing the ground with every step, the man behind the voice clearly showcased his anger, "I knew it was wrong to bring you here. You're too young, too much of a child to understand!"

"N-No! Leave me alone!" The weaker voice sounded, seemingly running.

Eventually, It appeared. The holder of the voice, Alice, stood before me. On her person a strapped rifle, a Russian AK. She stood atop a grotesque hill of rubble, looking down at me.

"Oh my god. Oh my god... Oh my god..." Taken aback by reality, on top of the rubble ridden by piercing metal rods, and rough cement, she fell to her knees. Repeating to herself as if a broken cassette, she continued to deny the person in front of her.

"Alice!" The strong voice called, rushing over. As he appeared behind her, looking down at me, he said "...The kid..."

"Quick, someone get here," 'Omar' gestured people over, "Help the man a little, just make sure he doesn't die. Don't do too much or they will render him an accomplice." Soon, 2 men ran down, walking to my side.

As I moved my gaze away from Alice, I followed the 2 new people, both in rough, bloodied, torn clothes. As they reached their destination, they crouched down, sorry excuses for medical equipment in hand, and they treated him. My father.

"..!!!" I attempt to shout in horror due to the scene before me. My father lay stomach first, unconscious, his back pierced by rods, his rough brown hair dyed crimson, his hands limp, his flesh pierced.

"!!!!" I continued, attempting to make a sound, but my body betrayed me. Unable to lift a finger, I couldn't muster a call even. I force my right shoulder upwards, attempting to roll over to my left. Eventually, with everything I could muster, I succeed, only to hurt my face as it takes the brunt of the roll.

I then use both of my arms, forcing myself upwards.

"Y-yousef!" I could hear from behind that Alice had started rushing down, she must have gotten over her shock.

"Alice, get back, you might hurt yourself." One of the men treating my dad said, "Lion, talk to her!"

I continued to force myself upwards, mustering and pushing every muscle fiber I could. Soon Alice arrives, helping me up.

"No, let her be. She will need this to grow." Lion, or Omar, sounded from atop, "Alice, just be there at rendezvous." He could be heard walking away.

Alice helped me stand, and allowed me to rest on her shoulder, "Are you okay?!" She asked, seemingly concerned.

Unable to face her, the person I blamed for everything, I pushed her away, falling myself.

"You sent us here! You told us to come here! You wanted to kill us!" A child started his tantrum.

"No, no, no! I didn't want this! I wanted to help you! I didn't mean for any of this to happen," Alice cried out, clutching her head and pulling at her hair. She sobbed uncontrollably, her words choked with emotion. "I didn't want any of this. I didn't want us to get hurt! I only wanted them, just them! Just them! JustThemJustThemJusthemjusthemthemthemthemthem." She banged her head, causing her rifle, strapped to her, to swing back and forth.

"Shut up! Just, Shut up! I don't want to see you again!" I said, as I pathetically attempted to force myself up. Now again on the floor, I was unable to force myself upwards. "You, You, You AGHHHHHHHH!" I screeched at the top of my lungs. Unable to bear in my emotions.

"No, No No NOnoNOnoNoNONooghhhhhhhh!" she screeched back.

Two children, trading accusations amidst a distorted landscape. The air thick with the metallic scent of blood, mingling with the gruesome display of intestines and organs. Here, hell served as the morbid backdrop to their confrontation.

Eventually, we had both given out. My throat reached its end, and I could taste the iron alongside its stench now.

"Hey, kid," The two men got up, one walked away, and the other faced me. "He will live." One said, following the other.

I turned to my dad, who was still unconscious. I crawled over, unable to stand. Finally laying atop his now visible chest, I sobbed. Calling him, he didn't answer me, so I continued. Over and over, I called him. I needed him, at this moment, all my maturity, all my knowledge, all my athleticism, meant nothing. I needed his comfort, his warm embrace, his strengthening tone.

I needed him. 

Yet, he didn't answer. Left alone within the hellscape, I continued my selfish, childish behavior.

Finally, at my limit, I realize, "Where is she?!" I raise my head.

"Mom? MOM?!" I called.

I dart my head around, to no avail, as I continue to call pathetically.  To the sound of gunfire and explosions that raided the air, I was but a speck of dust.

"Alice, please! Please!" I beg the only person who can hear me, "Please! Please find her! Please!" 

I was in a wretched state, my resentment toward her evaporating into desperation.

"Please, Alice! Please!" I cried, my throat growing numb. To think just moments ago I was unable to speak. I continued to beg as the girl sat hugging her knees, hiding her face between her chest and knees.

Finally, as I reached the end of my vocal cords, she stood. Her gaze stuck to the ground, she moved towards me. She hid herself, unable to face me. Standing before me, she reached out a hand. She swung the rifle to her back and made sure I was able to rest upon her shoulder properly.

"Come with me..." She said, her voice drowned out by the sounds of war, "You would be more able to differentiate her."

Her words were simple, yet what they sheltered was horrifying.

I reluctantly accept her offer, finally able to stand with her help.

She immediately started moving, forcing me to limp alongside her.  As we moved, I cast a worried glance at my father, she quickly reassured me, "They won't kill him. They need him."

Forcing our way atop the rubble, we moved with caution. Every step was consciously made, every gaze was studied, and every noise was carefully examined. In the blood path beyond me, any of the corpses... could be her.

The scene of death had not scared me, nor did it Alice. We were used to it, as people of this land, we grew up understanding that one day, we too, will have to face it. I had once already, and Alice had probably multiple times. But, this was different, while I had my parents to reassure me before, this time I only had the person I hated most.

As we moved further, the ground gradually vanished, replaced by pools of blood.

Soon, I could see them, the victims of the attack. Some resting under the rubble, an arm sticking out, begging for help.  Some crawling towards us, begging for an end. 

"Wh-!" I jump, taken aback by the sudden sense at my left leg, opposite Alice. 

"Please... Please..." The voice begged, its hand clutching my ankle.

I turned to face the miserable existence, it looked up at me, half its face burned to molten flesh. But, before I could pity it

BANG.

My ears ring a close and loud noise. Forcing me to flinch, I miss the moment the person had met their end. Their clutch let off as they fell to the ground, somehow sheltering enough blood to leave their head.

"Let's go," Alice said, lowering the rifle in her hand. She moved, answering to the begs of the crowd.

Those that begged for death, Alice answered. With a quick, merciful pull of the trigger, she had delivered them salvation.

As I limped along, relying on her shoulder for support, she skillfully wielded her rifle. Each pull of the trigger was accompanied by a melancholic sadness.

"Alice... How can you..." I questioned her, "These are people... How could you kill them and keep such an empty... face?" With every shot, a life was taken, yet her face was straight.

"It was only yesterday, Yousef," She said, "that they weren't seeing you as one."

Those who begged, received. Those who asked for help were denied, and soon they too begged. And when her rifle was out, she swiftly replaced its chamber, a slave to their demands.

"Listen out for the calls..." Alice said, swallowing her words, and then forcing herself to continue, "...Your mother might be one."

I accepted her words in silence, a method to deny the could-be reality.

Drowned in the ocean of white-nose, made up of cries and calls for aid. They only stopped whenever the bang of her rifle raided the air.

"Alice!" I called, wishing my hearing had betrayed me, "There, Alice, There!"

Alice, my main support, turned allowing us to the move I had wished. As we moved, Alice had forgotten the cries of the masses, allowing me to hear the call ever so slightly clearer. Venturing deeper, finding the source of the voice.

"...M...o..." Words vanished. "...m....o..."

I couldn't make sense of it. The scene beyond me, was that reality? Will I not wake up? Is this what the rest of my life will take as fact? Can I not find a fallacy, an error, so that I could wake up?

"Ugh..." Alice grunted, looking away, "I'm sorry..."

There she lay, her warm gaze upon me. One of her eyes missing, the other its eyelid slightly parted. Her mouth slit open, her nose no longer pointing. My eyes moved, studying the rest of her person. The arm within my view... No longer was there, as well as chunks of her missing.

I moved, forcing Alice to limp alongside me. She had wished to not step closer, she feared the reality before her. Eventually, she stopped, her feet dug into the ground, she didn't wish to approach.

I kept, able to muster a couple of steps, I forgot the ground I was walking on and approached her.

Her eyes kept on me, looking deep into mine. My reflection shimmered in its deep blue.

"Yous..." She forced, blood gushing in between her ridden teeth, "...Close your eyes, Yousef..."

She reached out her other arm, barely intact, caressing my face. Her fingers, weak and trembling, gently pushed my eyelids down.

She kept her hand on top of them, not allowing me to see her. To witness her disappear.

"Mom! Mom!" I cried, my wavering arms reaching out for her. As they make contact, I quiver, a sense of disgust. The touch of human meat, the wetness of blood, the scent of metal, and the feeling of death. 

I held her, I had to. Even with all the horrors of death that covered her, the warm embrace of a mother persisted. Her weak breathing, her tender hands, her soft build. I wanted to embrace her.

In the darkness of my mother's hand, I heard footsteps approaching. And then, a metallic sound. Alice had arrived, adjusting her rifle.

"No!" I cried, leaving the salvation provided by my mother, "Alice, don't! Please, No!" I cried, hugging my mother in closer.

"Yousef," Alice said, her wounded eye piercing, "Look at her. Wake up already... I'm sorry. But, she needs this."

I turn away from Alice, facing the body of my mother. Her slit lips, still smiling gently. Further down, her lower half had left.

"I...I did this..." I mused, After all, it was there, just a moment ago. It was only after I had moved her after I had picked her up. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'msorryImsorryimsorryimsoryimsorryimsorryimsorry" I continued to apologize to my mother.

Her chest rose and fell with each labored breath as she struggled to draw air.

She could no longer make words, only look at me.

Her eye, what's left of it, begged me. Did she pity me? A son she had left alone. Or envy me? The one who will walk out alive.

Once more, she raised her hand, unable to hover it over my eyes.

I dissolved into tears, my sobs and sniffles echoing my overwhelming emotions. I was utterly distraught, a complete wreck. I slid in, into her salvation. Covering my vision with the darkness of her palm, I let her out of my hold and laid her carefully on the ground.

 I gave my decision to Alice.

A metallic sound, with it, followed the sound I had made familiar throughout our stroll through hell. Hesitation could be heard, but, in the end, determination persisted.

With a bang, my salvation ended. Her arm fell, opening my field of vision. With it I heard it, the thud that played as her head impacted with the ground.

My state worsened. No longer had she suffered, but no longer had she lived. The thing in front of me was no longer a loving mother; but a cold corpse. A cold gaggle of organs. A cold mush of meat.

Unable to bear the darkness within me, I lash out at her, at Alice. I called her names, I threw her to the ground, and I continued to insult her. And, she accepted it. At first silent, then breaking down alongside me.

We were both children. Both naive, both clueless, both dependent. Beneath the blue sky, rid by smoke and sirens, among the gunfire and bombings, and within the stench of flesh and gunpowder.

Two children cried.

...

"Fireworks?" The man who had just lost said.

"Huh?" I open my eyes, "...fireworks."

The ceiling of the range had at some point slid open, and as the counter reached zero, fireworks popped.

I watched, mesmerized. My memories all back to me, my emptiness no longer an anchor, I felt free. I slowly raised my body, standing straight taking in the scene.

I had long ago made peace with the passing of my mother, her no longer existing in my life. The illness of my father, his state of unwell. But, it had always bothered me, the fact that I didn't know why, that I couldn't remember.

I sometimes hated my father, why would he hide it from me? But, now that I remember, I understand and am grateful.

Sadness welled within me. An empty sense, understanding that kind existence will no longer embrace me, that I will never be able to pamper her. That my father's laugh will never be the same, that he will forever be ridden on that bed, that I will never be able to enjoy a trip with him.

But, it was not despair. It was loneliness.

I watched, mesmerized by the trace of smoke left behind on each trail. Some red, some blue, some green, some yellow, some white, and some black. But, they all popped into existence and vanished.

"Congratulations," Kevin said, "you were overwhelming, I had no chance."

"I'm sorry." I apologized, As I had won, Kevin and Tabula are now the losers. They will have to face the punishment. "I understand that only one of us could have left a winner, but still..."

"Oh, um..." Kevin sounded, seemingly embarrassed, "A-actually... I have a pass."

"!" I turn, the fireworks still playing in the background, "Why didn't you say anything?!"

"W-well... I didn't really want to tell Tabula, I felt like he would eat me alive if he knew. He might have seen it as an excuse to use against me if I ever lost a round. Also, if we did end up winning, I didn't want to make you resent me when I had an escape." Kevin said, "It's not like I'm okay with losing just because I can skip the punishment."

With another thing off of my chest, I exhaled and watched the fireworks to their end.

10.2: The Protagonist.

 20 minutes after the members entered the range.

Standing next to the 'winner' I waited. The conclusion was upon us, and I was growing bored. If I were to compare it to something, then it would be having ordered and paid for your food, only to wait in line to pick it up.

And, to fill my boredom, I decided to make small talk.

"Hey, you," I called.

"Tabula," he barked, "What do you want?"

"Would you tell me your points?"

"...7." He said, studying his wristwatch, "What about it?"

He had seemingly not caught on yet.

"Well, before I tell you mine, I want to clarify something. Do you remember your points before the match?"

Giving him a quick side-glance, I can see the surprise whelming on his face, "It had raised by two points...?" He mused.

"You just saw that?" I asked in an attempt to annoy him, I was really bored, "How slow are you?"

"...It seems my anger had gotten the best of me," Tabula calmed himself, curling his lips, "Would you care to explain?"

"I shot myself," I replied, facing him my face neutral. I was slightly disappointed, I expected him to figure it out.

"Hmm..." He accepted it, "I hadn't thought of that, rather, I had no reason to. Would you care to elaborate?"

"It's simple really, I had something to prove, and I did."

"I see..." he slowly grasped the full idea, "And that 'something', would it be the fact of gaining multiple points?"

"Yup," I nodded.

The man chuckled, "I see. I very much do. Would you care to tell me, why the gamble?"

"Hm?" I rub my chin, pretending to fall into deep thought, "Well, at first, I called it a gamble myself, but now it definitely feels wrong."

"You're saying, you had a guarantee? That you knew how the rules played out?"

"Rather, I had a belief. A guaranteed belief."

"And, that was?"

"The kid. This game's rigged for him."

"How interesting. How truly interesting. You believe, that a facility like NUR, would dedicate themselves to a kid?" Tabula snickered.

"I doubted myself at first, but with what I had to work with, or rather with how much I had, I would be a fool to deny it."

"..." Tabula's smile disappeared, he had clearly fallen off his feet. His all-knowing confident air had disappeared, he was now beneath me, "Let's get back to that later, first explain to me; why did you shoot yourself?"

"I needed to show him, the worried kid, that winning was still an option, even with the difference we held."

"So, you gave my team multiple points, hoping to have him understand?" Tabula clicked his tongue, "A fool's game you played. You simply gambled and won."

"I already said this once, Tabula," I said showcasing my loss of interest, "I did not gamble. To prove that, I would like to tell you my own points."

Exaggeratedly, I raised my arm, closing the wristwatch to my face.

"10 points."

"Ludicrous!" Tabula barked closing in on me, he wished to confirm it himself, "That scum!"

"Calm down, there is no point in blaming your member," I said putting down my hand, "As I said, this whole game was rigged for him."

"Damn it!" Tambula stomped to the side, impatiently tapping his right foot, "Really? A game, rigged for someone?"

He bit his finger, unable to take the truth, he turned to me, the one seeming all-knowing "Why, or how, how did you know?"

"Multiple reasons," I started, "Firstly, the conditions behind the game."

Tabula listened in silence, his fidgeting showcasing impatience.

"I wouldn't consider myself knowledgable, but my previous experience had showcased a reason behind them. For example, In my first, it was due to plagiarism. While here, there was none. Making use of the one-week break, they collected students and pushed them into one. On top of that, into such a great game.

"Another reason, the kid. The moment I met him, he had showcased heavy signs of trauma. Shivering on the ground, shrinking in fear, he was clearly terrified. He had an ill, and it had to do with the setting. More on the kid, as he described himself to me, I could understand. This kid is a menace. I was glad I wasn't forced to face him, if it had anything to do with intellectual, or even physical, competition, that kid would crush both me and you without even breaking a sweat.

"But, something was holding him back, and that was that ill. I had heard once before, that there are 'Roles' in NUR. Special titles and benefits are given only to a certain few. I would believe that NUR gains from them as well, on top of finding or building them, themselves. With that, a part of me believed the following, 'This experiment will rid the kid of his ill, allowing a true menace to surface.' And, as we stand now, I believe I was right.

"Now, while I had made and set on my theory then, I still had to confirm it with every new piece of information we had gained. First, the team building, rewards, and punishments. Let's start with the punishment, 'The one closest to the participant's heart gets injured', or whatever it was. Such a punishment was clearly built with a person in mind. Not all hold their close ones to the same level after all, right, Tabula?

"Onto rewards, 'To be allowed to skip out on the next experiment they are placed in.' I believe this held no significance, as all found benefit in it. For the duo system, it was clear they had wished to bring someone close to the kid. Someone for the kid to use as support if he were to fall on hard times.

"Another point that I had studied, was the participants. But, sadly for you, there was no reason to. You both were simply worthless people thrown into this game, most likely to fill in space. One thing that might have made them choose you both over others, would be the punishment. As I have been explaining, this game is a kind of filler, existing simply to grow the kid. The higher-ups might've been so kind as to not wish to ruin their potential specimens in a trial of growth.

"For example, you, Tabula, you have no one to fill in the requirements of the punishment, right?"

He glared at me.

"Exactly. I will bet they will still torture someone, maybe a poor stranger you had once had a small talk with?" I shrugged. "Not like I would know. And, as for the other one, Kevin. I could make an assumption. This game's reward was 'Skipping the next game,' then it wouldn't be audacious to believe that one that allowed you to skip punishment existed as well. That's what I believe he holds at the moment."

"Damn it." tabula fell, "Damn it, to believe I, out of everyone, was used as a tool for another growth. Damn it... I will never reach him like this."

I glanced down at him, a pitiful 'winner' he was.

"And you!" He barked, glaring up at me, "Why are you so calm? How do you accept this situation, that you were used for another?"

I turned to face him. I didn't smile, laugh, twitch, or frown. My expression was blank, devoid of any emotion. I needed him to understand that what I was about to say was the truth.

"You are clearly misunderstanding."

"H-huh?" He shrunk back, afraid of my gaze. His eyes darted around, attempting to psychologically maneuver mine, but I persisted. I kept looking at him, no, right through him.

"This game might've been rigged for the kid, but it was prepared for me." I looked down at him, "It was only because I was here, only because I had attended, that they were able to make this happen. I wasn't picked to support the kid, the kid was picked to be awakened by me.

"Only I was able to understand the kid, Only I was able to awaken him. Let me ask you this. The kid is in his third year, yet on the very first semester I appear, they decide to awaken him. I have run on nothing but whims, yet they had all worked out, why? Because they were built with me in mind. This game, this experiment, this event, whatever you wish to call it. It existed to awaken the kid, and it needed me to find its outcome. Is that a coincidence? No, this place runs on nothing as such. I have seen it, and I will continue to. Everything here is for a reason, and I'm it's purpose. While true, the kid's awakening held the center of the stage, I had placed it there."

"You are sick," Tabula said, trembling, "How self-centered are you? To believe that they would rely on you."

"...Tabula, What do you think would have happened, if I had believed the game was not?" I asked, crouching down to his level.

"What...?" He asked, attempting to crawl back.

"I would've crushed it," I said, as our side lit, sudden bangs played as fireworks shot to the sky, "Simple as that. I would've denied their plans, ruined the kid, and destroyed their structure."

"Lunatic."

"Call me whatever you wish," I said, standing. "I simply hoped we both understood each other well. I do not want you to get the wrong idea, now."

"So..." Tabula said, pushing himself up, "You believe they are working for your benefit? What if they stop? What if today they did, and tomorrow they didn't?"

"I already said it, Tabula," I said, losing interest in Tabula, facing the range. A beautiful display of fireworks above it. "I would make sure they never work again."

"Maniac."