Banished Mystery

[Boris_amj]

1 - Hiding

- [pinching his nose in disbelief] Define "disappeared"

- Er... "nowhere to be seen?"

- Well, yeah, I know. That's not what I meant. I was just ... Oh, never mind. When did this happen?

- Oh eight hundred hours, sir.

- Ok. Contact HQ. I want the best sharpshooter. No, make that two.

- Yes, sir. I anticipated the need. They are already here: @slink and @shannon

- Are they? Good grief. Are you telling me our best shooters are women ?

- Yes sir. Er, just between you and me, I shouldn't make any comment on that. They are quite ... how shall I put it? ... sensitive
about it.
Corporal @Boris_amj is still in hospital after that "delicate flower" incident [shudders]

- Anyway, to the matters at hand. Can you give me a brief overview of the situation?

- Yes, sir. He's definitely hiding in that village. We have the area surrounded. There is no way he can escape now.

- So, what's the problem ?

- The problem is, he has blended so well that he looks exactly like one of the villagers. We cannot tell him apart from the others.
We have been watching everybody's behaviour to see any pattern discrepancies. So far without luck.

- We have to be careful here, lieutenant. This is a legally protected community. We don't want to disturb their way of life.

- Yes sir.

- Assemble a Special Ops team. I want sergeant @CityBuilder coordinating the effort on the ground. He's got a good eye for detail. Have the team in my tent by eleven hundred hours.

- Right away, sir.

[Boris_amj]

2 - In position

- Right, men ...

- [aherm]

- ... and women. We need to flush out this individual with zero disruption to the community. Any ideas ?

- Well, sir. We need to infiltrate the village in a discreet manner. I suggest we plant someone using a Nomad cover.

- That's a very good idea, sergeant. You had someone in mind ?

- Well, sir. My team is the best. Any of them could do the job. But in this case I'd like to propose private @nmid, sir. Reliable lad, he is. Keeps his head cool in sticky situations.

- Good. Yes, what is it, lieutenant ?

- Sir, Dr @solarscreen is here.

- Who?

- The psychological profiler, sir. General @TomDuhamel insisted. I thought you knew.

- Hah! Why would anybody tell me, I'm only in charge here !?. Damn interference from HQ, if you ask me. Tell him I will be with him in a minute.

- Yes, Sir.

- Anyway, sergeant. Let me know as soon as your men ...

- [aherm]

- [damn!] ... and women are in position. Do not make any move without my explicit instruction, is that understood ?

- Yes, sir.

- Ok, let's meet this quack from HQ, lieutenant.

[Boris_amj]

3 - A profiler and a tragedy

- Well, we certainly have a problem all right.

- I don't need a doctor to tell me that, doctor.
- [icily] Delimiting the problem is the first step to solve it, colonel. No need to be hostile. I'm on your side.

- [sigh] Sorry, doctor. To be honest, I'm not quite sure what to do here. Perhaps we should place the whole village under military law.

- We must be subtle here, colonel. Let's examine the situation in detail, shall we ?
The way I see it we are looking for someone who doesn't belong. Someone who acts differently from the others.
Have any of them been acting suspiciously ?

- They all act weird. In fact, they don't make any sense. They seem to constantly change their mind. One minute they're farming, the next they decide to become the local quack. No offence, doctor.

- Hm. You're right. That is strange. What we need to do here is think of a way to tell our man apart.

- Excuse me sir, doctor. There's been a development. Erm ...

- Yes ? Out with it, man!

- Apparently, private @nmid has been found back stabbed, sir. No one saw it happen. We suspect our man may have spotted the plant.

- That's a damn inconvenience.

- (Especially for private @nmid ...)

- That's enough, doctor. Right. Lieutenant, call HQ. Tell the damn couch generals we're going in.

- Hold on a second, colonel. I think I have an idea ...

[Boris_amj]

4 - Caught

- The fugitive is now in custody, sir. Two of my people discreetly snatched him while he was pretending to be a hunter, just as the doctor said.
The village was told a stone crushed him.

- And they believed that ? Oh well. Please congratulate your men ...

- [aherm]

- ... and women for a job well done.

- Thank you, sir. If that'll be all ? ...

- Yes. Thank you, sergeant.

- Well. A happy ending, isn't that so, colonel ?

- All right doctor. You can wipe that smug smile now. How did you know, anyway ?

- It was easy, colonel. You just had to put yourself in his place.
Consider this from his point of view: he is a man on the run. He's trying to fool everybody he's been living in that community for years.

- So ?

- So, we had a list of suspects. You know, some didn't seem to know how to hold a wheelbarrow. Others were going past a stack of food but never stopped to get it. Hunters apparently idling in the forest ...

- I see

- So, while they were away, we inspected all the suspects' houses.

- Hold on a sec, doctor. I thought we didn't have anyone on site. Who did the searching ?

- Ah, colonel. Your naivety is charming.

- Damn HQ! They didn't think I was competent enough to handle this situation ?

- Don't take it personally, colonel.

- So, you found something, did you ?

- On the contrary, we found nothing.

- I don't understand.

- It's what wasn't there what gave up our man, colonel.
Only an outsider would pretend to be a deer hunter and not have a diving suit as part of his equipment ...