Dangerous Games VII

“Perhaps it would be wise to deal with Ben before we deal with Isabelle,” Alice told me one morning. She was sitting at the bank of computers that had been installed in my room as her personal work station. My room, since I was the leader, had become our office. I was starting to think I should kick another sibling out of their room to make a real office. Maybe Bernie who lived right door to me, with a sledgehammer Luke could make a door between the two rooms and I would have my own space again.

“What’s Ben up to?” I asked. Alice’s main worry was about Isabelle and usually she didn’t say anything about Ben or Dan. I wondered what it was that Isabelle had done exactly to make Alice worry so much but knowing Isabelle it didn’t take much imagination. Isabelle was all about hitting people. She hadn’t chased anyone out of the house like Ben and I but she hadn’t had to. She only had to shove your head through a wall once before you wanted to be on her good side.

“Ben is trying to make an alliance, much like the one that we have, with Isabelle. That seems dangerous to me. Isabelle is resisting, she doesn’t work well with others, but the risk is high,” Alice told me.

“That doesn’t make any sense; he sets me up to take on Isabelle and then goes to team up with her?”

“I believe he is trying to destroy you, you are the up and coming leader after all. You made sure that Dan wasn’t a threat and then you were looking at the other two threateningly. It would only make sense if they decided to do something about you, like luring you into a trap. Right now if you attack Isabelle you will face both her and Ben and if you try and wait it out Dan will attack you. Pretty dangerous, I have to admit.”

“So what do you want me to do about it?” I asked. Once again my underlings were talking about problems and then thinking I could fix them, like I’m a god or something.

“I think we should attack now, while we can, before Ben finalizes what ever deal he is making with Isabelle and before Dan can gather strength to attack you,” Alice said firmly. Okay and when my underlings do make suggestions they are crazy and likely to get me killed. Attacking Isabelle without a plan could get me thrown off the roof. I couldn’t think of anything better to do though.

Sneaking into Isabelle’s room in the middle of the night was a really dumb idea. I will admit that. The idea was to catch her off guard so that she wouldn’t get a chance to pitch us out the window. That was all good but she had traps we didn’t know about hidden in her door frame. Smart of her, I wouldn’t have thought she was the trap type. I knew as soon as I was caught in the net that there was no way she had built it herself though. She’s my sister after all; she’s more into the maiming sort of trap if she likes traps at all. Nets aren’t her style at all.

The lights switched on and I looked around. Dan, Ben, Isabelle, they all stood there looking at me. I had been expected. I turned and looked at Alice and her husband; they had hung back so I would be the first to go into the room.

“Good job Alice,” Isabelle said. “Would you like his room? It’s bigger then yours is.”

“Don’t forget my husband,” Alice said. “He deserves as much credit as I do. He’s the only one in this house who could have built this sort of trap after all. I would also like to remind you that according to our contract you owe us a large sum of money.”

To be continued...