Halifax glanced over at Dragon and let out a low sigh. She hadn't moved from that spot since they'd gotten here. "Halifax!" Obbi snapped. "Stay focused. We can worry about her later." Halifax nodded and slowly looked away, "So, what do we do?" "We can play the same game as Banshee Barron. We just don't have to resort to murder." "But how? We don't have any friends in contact with the Mods." Obbi smiled, "We will." At Halifax's confused expression he said, "You think the regular members are the only ones attracted to women?" Halifax glanced at Dragon, "I'm not sending her in to try and woo a Moderator." Obbi laughed, "Of course not. She'd kill them before she tried to make any of them fall for her." He stood up and held his arms out wide, "But you know how convincing a woman I can be." -------------------- Fastmatt smiled appreciatively as the Mods congratulated him on a job well done. "Welcome to the group." Recon said with a smile. "We need all the help we can get." "Glad to be of service." Fastmatt replied. He let out a yawn and then said, "I'm really tired though and I was wondering if you could show me to my room." "Of course." Recon responded. He glanced at Pezza, "Take him to his room Pezza. We'll talk about our plans for the future of the Flood later." Pezza led Fastmatt up the stairs of the hastily aquired thread that they were using as their new headquarters until a new HFCS could be erected. When they reached the room Pezza glared at Fastmatt, "I want you to know that I don't approve of you being here. Mods were chosen based on how qualified they were for the job up until now." "I got Kritz didn't I?" Fastmatt said defensively. Pezza laughed, "There's a difference between shooting a dart in someone's neck and fighting off a whole horde of Spammers." Fastmatt couldn't help but say, "You can fight off Spammers, but you can't stop Halifax from blowing up HFCS?" Pezza's eyes widened. "Who told you about Halifax?" Fastmatt paused for a moment and then said quietly, "Recon did after I killed Kritz." Pezza nodded slowly. "I see. Well, make sure no one hears about it." "Of course." Fastmatt replied. "Now can I go to my room? I really am tired." --------------------- It wasn't hard for Obbi to find out where the Mods were staying. The men of the Forum could hardly stop staring at him while they gave him directions. When he entered the building, everything was quiet. Suddenly, he heard a gun click and turned to see Yoozel standing there with a gun pointed at him. "Who are you and why are you here?" Yoozel asked gruffly. Obbi smiled, "I just came to see what the Mods were like. I don't mean you any harm." He held his arms out wide, "You can search me if you'd like." Yoozel nodded and quickly came forward, patting Obbi up and down. "Alright." He said finally. "Now what do you want?" "I told you. I just want to meet the Mods." "We aren't a tourist attraction." Yoozel growled. Obbi laughed, "No, but you're popular enough that I believe anyone would pay just to see you." "Who's that?" Came a voice from behind. Yoozel looked up as Recon entered the room. "I don't know. Just some new girl who came to see the Mods." Recon laughed, "I see. Well, what's your name?" "You can call me Emma." Recon nodded, "Well Emma, I've been expecting you." Obbi's eyes widened, "You have?" "Yes. Your not the first girl who has come to us for refuge from the other members. It's tough being a girl in the Flood." "Oh no." Obbi said with a furtive glance at the door, "I wouldn't dream of imposing myself on you fine men just so I feel a little bit safer." Recon smiled, "Don't worry, we have plenty of room and there's always at least one person here who will protect you." Pezza entered the room as he was saying this and cleared his throat. When Recon looked over he said, "Can I talk to you?" Recon nodded and walked over to him. Obbi strolled over to the wall, pretending to look at some pictures while really just staying close enough to hear what they were saying. "Have you talked to Fastmatt recently?" Pezza asked. Recon shrugged, "Sure, why?" "Well, he told me that you told him Halifax was the one who destroyed HFCS." Recon pursed his lips, "Hmm, I don't remember telling him that...that's valuable information." Pezza nodded, "Exactly. So how did he find out?" Recon shrugged, "Well, we told everyone that Halifax and Dragon Eyes were a part of it too...maybe he just used deductive reasoning." "That's a pretty thin theory." Pezza said skeptically. Recon nodded, "I know. Keep an eye on him, but I don't want him to be uneasy about us so...try and be discreet." Pezza nodded, "Of course. And for the record, I think it was a mistake to kill Kritz like that." Recon sighed, "That was Yoozel's call, not mine." He then said loudly, "While you're going up, would you mind showing Emma to a room where she'll be comfortable?" Pezza looked at Obbi with disgust, "If I must." Recon laughed and turned to Obbi, "Don't worry, he'll warm up to you once you get to know him." Obbi was eyeing Pezza with a smile, "I'm sure I'll warm right up to him as well." Recon was laughing while Pezza, red in the face, took Obbi upstairs. ----------------------- Halifax sat quietly on the chair, looking at Dragon. She was curled up in a ball on the floor, sleeping fitfully. She let out a moan here and there, but Halifax was glad to see that she was getting some rest. Suddenly, the door slammed open. Halifax had his gun up and pointed at the door in a flash and didn't lower it when he saw the man who entered. "What are you doing here Impurity?" Impurity smiled and shifted his rumpled, ill-fitting jacket over his shoulders. "Can't an old friend come to visit?" "I'm no friend of the Mods." Halifax said coldly. "Former or otherwise." "Neither am I." Impurity replied. He strolled over and sat on the couch. He looked at Halifax's gun with disgust, "Put that away. You aren't going to shoot me." "I've already killed several Mods. I might be in the mood to kill an ex-Mod." Impurity nodded with a smile, "Yes, indeed you have." He glanced at Dragon and then up at Halifax, "And that's what I wanted to talk to you about." "How did you find me?" Halifax asked. "I've been following you ever since you came back into the Flood." He looked at Halifax thoughtfully. "Did you know I was blacklisted?" Halifax nodded, "I was just about to ask you how you got back in." Impurity chuckled, "You don't become a Moderator without learning a few tricks to the system." He shrugged as if it didn't matter, "But that's beside the point. What I want to know is why you are doing this." Halifax sighed, "I didn't want to kill any of the Mods...but they left me with little choice." "What do you mean?" "It's a long story." "And it's a cold night." Impurity said quietly, "I'm not going anywhere so you might as well tell me." -------------------- Obbi waited a few minutes after the door shut before he left the room, looking both ways to make sure the coast was clear. The hallway was dark, except for a dim light coming from the room ahead. He walked forward slowly, careful to keep his steps light. When he reached the room, he peeked around the corner of the open doorway and looked in. Fastmatt was sitting, crouched over a desk, perusing a piece of paper. He shook his head and stood up, turning to leave. Obbi stood up straight and walked past the doorway. He glanced in the room and waved when he saw Fastmatt. "Hello." He said congenially. Fastmatt glared at Obbi, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" "Recon said I could stay." Obbi paused as if trying to remember something. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers and said, "You're the new Mod aren't you?" Fastmatt nodded. "That's right." Obbi looked back and shivered, "Well, I'd be careful if I were you. This is a dangerous place." "I think I can take care of myself." He replied confidently. Obbi nodded, "All the same, I'm worried that Pezza has it in for you. I don't think he's too happy about you being a Mod." Fastmatt shook his head grimly, "No, he's not. But that's not my problem." Obbi came closer, "You know that it is. If the other Mods turn against you then it's a very big problem." "Well, there's nothing I can do about that right now. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my room." "Fastmatt." Obbi said grabbing him by the shoulder. "Just be careful. There's been too much death already." He stroked his fortunately feminine looking hands down Fastmatt's chest, "I'd hate to lose another Mod so soon. You guys are the only honest members left." Fastmatt gulped, his face growing hot, and then turned and walked down the hall. Obbi watched and smiled at him when he looked back before entering his room. The minute the door shut, Obbi rushed into the room he had just left and grabbed the papers Fastmatt been looking at. His eyes widened as he read the papers. Quickly, he left the room and headed back to his own bedroom, glad to see that the Mods had given him a phone. --------------------- "That's it." Halifax said after he finished his tale. "I didn't want to fight until I saw what the Mods did to Dragon and Kritz." He looked over at Dragon Eyes, "And now...I wonder if I'd be able to stop myself from killing one of them if I had the chance." Impurity nodded solemnly, "I don't blame you. Which is why I'm going to help." "How?" Halifax asked. Before Impurity could answer, the phone rang. Halifax quickly picked it up and said, "Who is it?" "It's Obbi. I found something." "Well, what is it?" "It seems the Overlord isn't in control. The Mods are feeding him misinformation.” “Like what?”