specialty, and his was killing. He was ruthless and obsessed with the assignments that Hermes brought him from Zeus. All those chartered for passage across the River Styx completed their journey. He knew the other side very well and enjoyed returning from it alone and successful.
Like Charon in his passages.
A comment from a stewardess brought Kimberlain out of his musings, and he went back to the file opened on the tray table before him.
Upon his death, Burton Eiseman’s struggling TLP Industries was inherited by his three children. Two sons, Thomas and Peter, and his only daughter, Lisa. Company was named for first initials of his children, from youngest to oldest. The sons had no interest in taking over the business, so Lisa took charge .
Her first task was to deal with a hostile takeover attempt by the Wally Toy Company, then the nation’s largest. TLP board of directors was split on the decision, resulting in a boardroom struggle. By quirk of company charter, Lisa Eiseman was able to dissolve the board and appoint herself acting president and chairperson. Risked financial ruin and almost certain bankruptcy. Cash flow was reduced to nothing. Strikes were threatened, initiated, then quickly and miraculously resolved by Lisa Eiseman personally. Details not available. Shortly thereafter financing was received from an unknown source for interactive POW! project. Discovery perfected and patented. With buy-out of Wally Toys, TLP Industries has emerged as the most successful toy manufacturer in the country .
Kimberlain struggled to read on, but once again he found his thoughts wandering.
Something had changed during his final year with The Caretakers. It had happened gradually, and slowly became something much more complex than burnout. It started, he guessed, with his discovery of the existence of a network of assassins called the Hashi. Despite the evidence Kimberlain brought to him, Zeus refused to sanction their pursuit, and that refusal had started Kimberlain thinking. What came into his mind wasn’t pleasant.
He had survived and excelled as the Ferryman because he was able to tap into the same raw reserves called upon that night against the bikers in Barstow. He was the master of his emotions, and he used them as he did any other weapons. Pursuit of the Hashi seemed an extension of his role. When Zeus failed to see it that way, Kimberlain realized the truth: he was a hired killer and nothing more. His performance was unaffected, but inside he began to seethe.
His final assignment ended in the confirmation of all his fears. After a successful mission in the jungles of Central America he was abandoned: Zeus opted not to send in a retrieval team, leaving him stranded, and he emerged from the jungle three weeks later more animal than man. His three-year term was up, but the Ferryman wasn’t finished. His own abandonment led to further realization of the folly of his pursuits. To destroy evil he had become evil. Moreover, it was clear that Zeus was escalating his projects and his power. The Caretakers had become dangerous. By alerting the proper authorities, Kimberlain forced the issue. Having their existence revealed in the wrong Washington quarters was more than The Caretakers could take. They were dissolved as quietly as they had been formed. Zeus was plugged into an innocuous security position so the government could keep him under its thumb.
As for Kimberlain, Kamanski’s assurances that he would never have to worry financially turned out to be true enough, but that was the only area in which he felt secure. He found himself tense and uncomfortable in the presence of others. His paranoia drove him to the woods, where he built cabins to pass the time. With a pair constructed, he started up his hobby of restoring old weapons. Perhaps he could restore the feeling of more civilized times by absorbing the energy of the noble warriors who had wielded them.
None of it worked. He couldn’t sleep at night and spent
Like Charon in his passages.
A comment from a stewardess brought Kimberlain out of his musings, and he went back to the file opened on the tray table before him.
Upon his death, Burton Eiseman’s struggling TLP Industries was inherited by his three children. Two sons, Thomas and Peter, and his only daughter, Lisa. Company was named for first initials of his children, from youngest to oldest. The sons had no interest in taking over the business, so Lisa took charge .
Her first task was to deal with a hostile takeover attempt by the Wally Toy Company, then the nation’s largest. TLP board of directors was split on the decision, resulting in a boardroom struggle. By quirk of company charter, Lisa Eiseman was able to dissolve the board and appoint herself acting president and chairperson. Risked financial ruin and almost certain bankruptcy. Cash flow was reduced to nothing. Strikes were threatened, initiated, then quickly and miraculously resolved by Lisa Eiseman personally. Details not available. Shortly thereafter financing was received from an unknown source for interactive POW! project. Discovery perfected and patented. With buy-out of Wally Toys, TLP Industries has emerged as the most successful toy manufacturer in the country .
Kimberlain struggled to read on, but once again he found his thoughts wandering.
Something had changed during his final year with The Caretakers. It had happened gradually, and slowly became something much more complex than burnout. It started, he guessed, with his discovery of the existence of a network of assassins called the Hashi. Despite the evidence Kimberlain brought to him, Zeus refused to sanction their pursuit, and that refusal had started Kimberlain thinking. What came into his mind wasn’t pleasant.
He had survived and excelled as the Ferryman because he was able to tap into the same raw reserves called upon that night against the bikers in Barstow. He was the master of his emotions, and he used them as he did any other weapons. Pursuit of the Hashi seemed an extension of his role. When Zeus failed to see it that way, Kimberlain realized the truth: he was a hired killer and nothing more. His performance was unaffected, but inside he began to seethe.
His final assignment ended in the confirmation of all his fears. After a successful mission in the jungles of Central America he was abandoned: Zeus opted not to send in a retrieval team, leaving him stranded, and he emerged from the jungle three weeks later more animal than man. His three-year term was up, but the Ferryman wasn’t finished. His own abandonment led to further realization of the folly of his pursuits. To destroy evil he had become evil. Moreover, it was clear that Zeus was escalating his projects and his power. The Caretakers had become dangerous. By alerting the proper authorities, Kimberlain forced the issue. Having their existence revealed in the wrong Washington quarters was more than The Caretakers could take. They were dissolved as quietly as they had been formed. Zeus was plugged into an innocuous security position so the government could keep him under its thumb.
As for Kimberlain, Kamanski’s assurances that he would never have to worry financially turned out to be true enough, but that was the only area in which he felt secure. He found himself tense and uncomfortable in the presence of others. His paranoia drove him to the woods, where he built cabins to pass the time. With a pair constructed, he started up his hobby of restoring old weapons. Perhaps he could restore the feeling of more civilized times by absorbing the energy of the noble warriors who had wielded them.
None of it worked. He couldn’t sleep at night and spent
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