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He hated the prospect that he might've allowed himself to be betrayed by someone he hadn't trusted--or even seen, for that matter--in decades. The idea that he might have allowed childish feelings to interfere with his judgment...

But no. If it had truly been a trap, Morgunov probably wouldn't have said all those things he did. The Mad Demon seemed to have some lingering resentment for Germal--which wasn't terribly surprising, really. The madman had known that they were secret partners for ages, now.

Frankly, Parson had no idea how Germal had managed to stay alive all this time as a member of Abolish. Why hadn't Morgunov killed or exposed him years ago? Parson remembered asking him that very question many times before their final parting, but Germal had never given him a straight answer.

Parson had his theories, of course. Maybe Koh was somehow able to protect him from Morgunov. Parson had seen what that monster was capable of firsthand, so it wasn't out of the question. But even if that was the case, it didn't explain why Morgunov hadn't simply exposed Germal's treachery to the rest of Abolish.

And while it was true that Germal worked under Dozer and not Morgunov himself, that fact alone couldn't explain it. Surely, Dozer would listen if Morgunov told him that one of his most trusted subordinates was a traitor.

Then again, maybe he wouldn't. Dozer and Morgunov's relationship was a centuries-long subject of mystery--even to the rest of Abolish, Parson suspected.

Agh. He couldn't see the whole picture, and he hated that. He doubted that any good might come out of this disaster, but if it did, then perhaps it would arrive in the simple form of answers to questions that he'd harbored for what seemed like a lifetime now.

If he was actually going to see Germal again...

Hmm.