Hendrik lowered his binoculars and whispered to Christian, “There he is again, the ringleader. I wonder what nefarious plot he is hatching now, and look he has three minions with him this time. Of course, they pretend they don’t know each other, but I can tell by their body language, they’ve just left a planning meeting, and are about to wreak havoc on Heidelberg.”
Christian didn’t say anything, he often didn’t when he’s working with Hendrik.
“Which one should we follow?” Hendrik asked. “It would be obvious to follow the ringleader, but that would be counterproductive because he rarely does any of his own dirty work. I followed him the last few times, and all he did was go home and pretend to study.”
“Maybe we should follow the woman.” He mused. “Women have the strength and the depth to commit to a cause completely, then follow it to its bloody end. But then again, trailing a woman is very difficult, especially when they go to a bathroom.”
“Or maybe we should follow the last one. He’s not wearing a jacket or sweater, and he looks very fit. He must be the group’s muscle. If he is, though, it probably wouldn’t be wise to intercept him. It may get very rough, and I am just recovering from my last mission.”
“I think we’d better follow the one in the red fleece.” He said with assuredness. “He definitely doesn’t look too fit, and he walks like a mama’s boy. It’s too bad I didn’t check out a firearm. You never know what weapons he may be carrying under his fleece jacket; I really will be at a critical disadvantage if he pulls one out.”
“Oh, Oh, the ringleader saw me. He’s coming over,” Hendrik whispered to Christian. “Don’t say anything, let me do the talking. I’ll pass myself off as an ornithologist. There are a lot of magpies nearby, and I can pretend to watch and count them. I want you to watch my back though, make sure no one sneaks up from behind.”
“Hendrik, old friend, how goes things.” the ringleader called out as he crossed the street and walked up the embankment to where Hendrik and Christian sat. “You know you gave me quite a challenge during our last encounter.”
“You know you can never win,” Hendrik said in a defiant voice, “you’re evil, and I am the force of good.”
“Yes, yes, of course, Hendrik, but have you eaten? You know you must keep up your strength. Fighting evil is hard work, and it’s impossible to do a good job on an empty stomach.”
The ringleader then pulled two cookies out of his jacket pocket and said, “here, this will take the edge off.”
Christian, who was very hungry, quickly got up and snatched one, wolfing it down before Hendrik could warn him that it was probably poisoned.
Hendrik was about to retaliate and attack the ringleader, but Christian moved in front, blocking his way, wagging his tail and nuzzling the ringleader’s pocket, hoping to get another treat.
“Come, little brother,” the ringleader said in a kindly voice, “time to go home, you don’t want Mom to worry.”