Torham Zed: Meat Broker Jeff Long Episode 5 Running a hand through his long, dark brown hair, Torham Zed sat uneasily in the comfortable plush chair in his office. Ignoring the sounds of the one-man-band that was marching up and down the street beside his building, he was waiting anxiously for the arrival of Het Farvil. He had suspected for some time that His Majesty Mylius III, King of Zalk, had finally decided to take some action against him, and perhaps the arrival of Het would give him the answers to his questions. At that moment, the door swung open, knocking a painting off the wall, and the blond-haired Het Farvil entered the room. Dressed all in black, and draped in a shadowy cloak, the petite woman gracefully crossed the room to sit in a chair across from Torham's desk. She said only one word: "Avengers." Torham Zed nodded grimly. "I thought as much," he mused, half to himself. Bending down to rub some wax on his shoe, he asked: "Any report on what exactly they're up to?" "According to my sources, they went into a bar and kidnapped a red-haired woman in plain sight." Torham snorted contemptuously. "That's the Avengers alright. Subtle as a rock." He paused for a moment, before adding curirously, "Do you know who this woman was?" "I'm told her name is Seri Flamehair," said Het cautiously. Torham Zed rose from his chair and walked slowly over to the window. "Hmm . . . Seri Flamehair . . ." he mused while peering down at the street below. Strange. He hadn't noticed that barber shop across the street before. Then suddenly, he snapped his fingers. "She's married to Bob Nightwielder, isn't she? They must be trying to link me to Jarod Nightwielder." Suddenly focused and business-like, he turned to Het. "Contact Bain immediately. I want to make sure that he has nothing to link Superfresh with hiring those assassins." Het Farvil rose silently from her chair. "It shall be done, Lord Zed." Then, as quickly as she had come, she was gone. Torham Zed walked over once again to the window, staring out over the City of Zalk. "I will get the better of you yet, Drake Giltheas. Just wait and see . . ." * * * * * The members of the Avengers sat anxiously about the barracks, all of their eyes focused on the black-cloaked man who sat in the centre of the room. Ganz Oryon casually flipped a dagger, but his eyes gave away his nervousness. Theerin Baine drummed his fingers on the table in an annoying fashion. Goerl Ulades sat on one of the bunks, sort of bouncing up and down at a rapid rate. "Can't you stop that?" growled Kaith Stonebreaker to the short, dark-haired man. "I gotta use the bathroom!" Ulades whispered back. Kaith just grunted sourly. Meanwhile, Drake Giltheas paced up and down the room, his gloved hands clasped behind his back. "I think we have a chance to get the jump on Torham Zed, but we'll have to move quickly." Giltheas' voice was even grimmer than his face. "Now, tonight we're going to have to split up into two groups. The first and larger group will go to Bob Nightwielder's house, in an effort to capture his brother, Jarod. The second will attempt to infiltrate Bane Bladecrusher's office and get their hands on any financial records that could link Superfresh Meats to Jarod Nightwielder's band of assassins." Ganz Oryon nodded solemnly, while Theerin Baine changed the rhythm of the drumming of his fingers. Goerl Ulades managed to look even more agitated than before. Without warning, Drake Giltheas whirled about to face the short man. "Oh, go use the bathroom, Goerl!" he shouted. Goerl Ulades leapt to his feet and dashed out of the room. Giltheas then turned to the rest of the Avengers. "Alright, men, let's move." * * * * * A half-dozen dark forms hurried through the dim streets of the city of Zalk, shadows of death on the hunt. Any citizens not already snug in their homes quickly hurried off the streets at the approach of the black-cloaked men. A door slammed shut as a mother pulled her children inside. A merchant quickly slammed down the shutters of his shop. A bum standing in an alley whistled a cheerful tune. An old woman leaning out of her window mumbled grumpily about ‘young hoodlums'. All of this served the Avengers' purpose all the better. The cloaked figures slowed and came to a stop as they neared a small but well-kept house near the edge of town. The lead figure held up a hand, and then motioned for all the men to huddle together. "So far so good. Now, first we encircle the house, to make sure that no one gets out. Kaith, you take the back. Rilge, Tred, each of you take one of the streets to either side. Goerl, you're on roof-duty. That leaves Pancho and myself for the front." "What about me?" asked the bum who had just come sauntering up the street. "You stay out of this!" snapped Drake Giltheas angrily. He turned back to the rest of his men. "Next we need some sort of diversion to get into the house. Any ideas?" "Singing telegram?" grunted Kaith Stonebreaker inquisitively. "Yes, that will work," said Giltheas, rubbing his chin. Then his muscles tensed. "Come on, let's move!" In a flash, the shadowy figures dispersed throughout the night. * * * * * Meanwhile, inside the cozy house, three figures sat leisurely around the dinner table. A warm fire crackled merrily in the hearth, and an aromatic smell floated from the kitchen. "What's the matter, dear? Not hungry tonight?" Bob Nightwielder asked his wife. Seri Flamehair shook her red curls. "Oh, I don't know. I . . . don't feel very well." "Well, this is sure a great dinner you've prepared," hissed Jarod enthusiastically. Like usual, the man wore no shirt, with a strap of curved daggers across his chest. A headband kept his black hair from getting in his ominous red eyes. Right now, he was serving himself another portion of lima beans. "Well, thank you, Jarod," Seri replied, still sounding tired and nervous. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Singing telegram!" called a rough voice, just before the sound of hideous singing filled the night air. Bob Nightwielder covered his ears with his hands. "Blood and beansprouts, this is awful!" But Jarod Nightwielder's eyes widened in shock. "Only one man could possibly sing like that," he hissed darkly. His narrow gaze quickly swept the room as if seeing it for the first time. "It's the Avengers." Without wasting another moment, the sinister assassin leapt for the fireplace. Ignoring the burning fire, he started to scramble up the chimney. Seri, meanwhile, started trembling in fear. "A..avengers..?" she stuttered, and fainted dead away. * * * * * Outside the house, Drake Giltheas stopped his singing to whisper to the black-cloaked man beside him. "Pancho, no one's answering. They must be on to us. Let's break down the door." Pancho nodded and pulled out a large spiked mace. With a single blow, the wooden door splintered and fell inward. Almost before it hit the ground, the two Avengers were springing through the opening. They rushed into the sitting room to find Bob Nightwielder leaning over his unconscious wife, who was now on the sofa. Drake Giltheas' commanding voice echoed through the room. "Surrender in the name of the King's Defenders! Where is Jarod Nightwielder?" Bob Nightwielder looked up at the Avenger Captain with his squinty gaze. "Get out of my house, you filthy goons!" he shouted angrily, just as he pulled out a rapid-fire crossbow from beneath the couch. "Boss! Look out!" yelled Pancho. Drake Giltheas dove behind a plush leather chair just as three crossbow bolts whistled by right where he had been standing. Meanwhile, Pancho pulled out a full-sized body shield and huddled behind it as Bob let off another round of deadly bolts. "ENOUGH!!" Drake Giltheas roared in anger. For an instant, Excsymyr glinted in his hand, splitting the chair in two. Then, with a mighty leap, the black-clad man cleared the chair and landed in front of Bob Nightwielder, his sword splitting the crossbow. Snarling fiercely, Giltheas then smashed his sword-hilt into the man's face. Bob Nightwielder's eye rolled upwards, and he slumped to the ground. "Where do civilians GET weapons like this?" asked Giltheas wearily, kicking at the remains of the crossbow. Pancho just shrugged. * * * * * The wind stirred the corners of Goerl Ulades' cloak, as the short man absently watched the shadows dance across the almost-full moon. Why did he always get stuck on roof duty? It was drab, boring, and on top of that, he was scared of heights. Not that Bob Nightwielder's house was very tall, but it was the principle of the thing. Suddenly and without warning, a man practically flew out of the chimney to land softly on the roof-slates. Goerl whirled around in surprise, his hand going to his dagger. But before the Avenger could even draw his weapons, Jarod Nightwielder leapt forward and kicked his black-cloaked opponent in the ribs. Eyes glinting dangerously, the Nightwielder pulled out one of his long, curved knives. "Say goodbye, Avenger!" the man hissed evilly. "Goerl! No!" yelled Kaith Stonebreaker from where he stood behind the house. Quickly grabbing a hand-ax from his belt, he hurled it at the dark assassin. However, Jarod dove out of the way, and the ax hit a passing hang-glider, who, screaming in terror, plummetted to the streets below. The Nightwielder rolled to his feet and darted toward the fallen Ulades. Suddenly, a bum dove out of the night and tackled the evil assassin from behind. "Ugh! Get . . . off of me!!" choked out Jarod as he and the bum rolled across the roof. Goerl Ulades rose to his feet and rushed over to join the fray. Screaming savagely, Jarod Nightwielder managed to kick the bum in the chest, and he went flying backward to collide with the approaching Avenger. Wasting no time, the dark man rose and quickly leapt to the roof the house next door. Looking down, he saw a tall figure emerge from the front door of his brother's house. The figure's cape swirled about him, and the wind blew back his tousled brown hair. "Giltheas," whispered the assassin, an evil grin appearing on his face. He pulled out another dagger, and prepared to hurl them at the Avenger captain. Just then, a throwing dagger flew from the hand of Goerl Ulades, and embedded itself in the dark man's shoulder. Howling in agony, Jarod Nightwielder stumbled backward and toppled off the rooftop into the river that just happened to run behind the house. Seeing the man fall, Kaith Stonebreaker rushed over to the edge of the river. But other than the barber who was sailing a boat down the middle of the river, there was not a soul in sight. "Blood and beansprouts!" the giant man swore. Silent as death, Drake Giltheas stepped up beside the red-haired man. "It seems our mission was a failure. Let's just hope that Ganz and Theerin had better luck." As quickly as they had come, the black-cloaked Avengers dashed off and faded into the blackness of the city of Zalk. To find out how Ganz and Theerin are really doing, join us next week for another exciting episode of: Torham Zed: Meat Broker