​     Gramps had to bend over to peer into the panicked eyes of the six council members.

     He turned to Noel. "Go ahead," he said. "They're listening."

     "I am blind!" Noel yelled to make himself heard over the cacophony. "I cannot see you, but you need to trust what I'm about to tell you! Make physical contact with me in any manner, and you cannot be harmed!"

​     Gramps and Noel helped five of them to their feet. Only the American stayed crouched under the dais. He shot Gramps a look that said, I've never trusted anybody before in my life, so why should I trust you now? Then he watched as the falling debris bounced harmlessly off the seven people in Noel's group, and he realized what an idiot he was being.

​     He crawled out from underneath the dais. Gramps tried to help, but the American waved him away.

​     "What I do, I do on my own," he said.

     "Sir," Noel said. "The sooner you touch me, the sooner..."

​     The American rose to his feet. He went to touch Noel's shoulder. A metal fragment from a detonating grenade tore the top of the American's skull away from the rest of his body. He fell dead to the floor.

      Dipshit, Anne thought. 

​                                                        CONTINUE

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