In the two watchtowers he could see, there were watchers. They would surely raise the alarm if anything unexpected was to happen.And I have to get pas... all of these people without killing anyone. Because if I’m discovered before I get to Yayim he’ll just run or hide and I’ll fail. Lady have mercy on me.He looked around to find a good hiding spot, somewhere he could observe the keep from without being seen. There were some homes nearby, barges and boats with cloth hanging around them to create a. . who?”“That was my first thought as well,” she grinned. “AI, please give Dave the briefing I got.”“Of course, Supervisor Monitor Ashlann,” came a polite reply. “Lamolli is the senior goddess of the Ghilhanath Emirate who are currently undergoing a civil war. The High Priestess is a moderate voice in the slowly becoming dominant faction seeking reform in the Emirate. She has been poisoned with a slow acting neurotoxin and, although Emirate medicine is as good as Imperial medicine, the toxin. Being a CEO didn’t automatically qualify someone to be a brain surgeon, or a President.For the first time, I wished I was a Canadian. Justin Trudeau was so much better.At my side, Rory leaned against me, her head in the crook of my shoulder. She was sound asleep. Her stomach full, an eventful day, and she was gone to the world. Crickets’ nightly song reached me through open windows. A cooler ocean breeze was lowering the temperature, helped by the ceiling fan rotating silently above.I nursed a. " Nope, Grand Dad said half an hour," the boy shrugged as he released the straps and freed Mommy from her perch."Billy, I'm your mother, I said turn it back on!" Thirty minutes, no more no less," Billy switched off the video camera, removed the tape cartridge and dropped it into a padded envelope. "I've got to mail this," he turned and slunked toward the front door."Billy! Please," Kathy begged, "we need more." Don't try turning them back on, they have a half-hour cooling cycle." Bil-ly!?"See.