Janet and Andrea filed into a small conference room with a group of strangers. They spotted Jagathy and Daksha across the room but weren't able to sit near them at the large table dominating the room. The sisters sat side by side across from them.
In the event that some unforeseen occurrence cut their training short, Jagathy wanted them to have some facts about the target at their disposal. To that end, he had arranged for an abbreviated mission briefing. He felt it would also give them ample time to mull things over and get their questions answered.
Janet leaned forward with her elbows on the table, eager to finally see this elusive target. Andrea sat back in her seat, arms crossed, looking bored and gazing distractedly around the room. She failed to see what those people could possibly say that would be helpful.
In her experience, you just sort of thought fast on your feet because people were unpredictable. Going into a fight with a lot of preconceived notions made you overconfident. She had only decided to attend the meeting in order to see what they guy looked like.
Andrea and Janet sat in silence, listening to snatches of the conversations buzzing around them. All at once, the room got quieter. They looked up as a distinguished looking tall, dark-suited man with salt and pepper hair took his place behind the podium on the small raised platform at the front of the room. He surveyed the room momentarily, waiting for a few remaining conversations to subside.
"Good evening doorkeepers, As most of you know, my name is Thomas. I am the resident spiritual psychologist here and I will be conducting the target profile portion of this mission briefing. We have a lot to discuss, so I'm just going to get right into it. Feel free to interrupt with any questions that come to mind. Will someone please dim the lights?"
The lights went down and Thomas activated a laptop projector. A photograph of an affable looking, bespectacled, middle-aged man was projected upon the screen on the wall. Janet was surprised. She wasn't quite sure what she expected him to look like but this wasn't it.
He looked so...so...harmless. Janet imagined him smiling benevolently at a group of intent college students bent over their notebooks. He looked too mild-mannered to pose a threat to anyone.
"His name is Charles Sheffield. He is a professor in the department of near eastern languages and civilizations at the University of Chicago in Illinois. I interviewed many of his former co-workers and students while creating this profile. The general consensus was that he is a privileged, self-indulgent and manipulative predator who is completely lacking in empathy for others."
Thomas paused and scanned the audience for raised hands before continuing, "some of his former students expressed concern that he developed inappropriate relationships with some of his more worshipful students, gathering after hours to discuss the dark arts. There are rumors circulating about off campus ritual sacrifices."
Thomas moved on to the next slide, "his thirst for knowledge about Egyptian magic is quite voracious. Hence, his fevered acquisition of and search for Egyptian artifacts, most notably the talisman which is in our possession. Charles dabbles in the dark arts and has a very specific purpose in mind for the talisman. As always, the seven deadly sins are key to building your forensic profile. Anyone care to take a stab at which one drives his behavior?"
Someone from the back of the room piped up and said pride.
Thomas' solemn expression was momentarily cheered up by a boyish grin, "Correct. He sees himself as superior to others. As you have probably surmised, compliments and criticism of his abilities are key to verbal sparring with him. Overblown confidence in his knowledge and abilities is both his strength and his Achilles heel. Overconfidence makes him immune to most psychic attacks since most are only as effective as their ability to capitalize upon the target's fear."
Another audience member spoke up, "if psychic attacks are out then what can be done?"
Thomas held up a restraining hand and clarified, "Psychic attacks can still work but you must be creative. His overconfidence is Achilles heel in that it is often a blind spot which prevents him from recognizing his limitations. He may initially underestimate the threat you pose but he is cunning and will quickly switch tactics once he discovers his mistake. Any questions? No? Well, you know where my office is if something comes to mind later. At this time, we will move on to discuss the potential forms of opposition which may be encountered."
Comments (0)
See all