The Mastermind ~ Cliche Chronicles ~ Book One

Chapter Four

In Which the Villain Commits an Unexplained Villainous Deed

"Did you get him?" Tristan had been waiting impatiently for his henchman to return from his elimination mission, well kidnapping, but Tristan clung to the hope that the hero might have been killed in the process.

Because of this, the henchman had been questioned by his waiting boss before he even made it in the door. He walked slowly towards his work bench, "I didn't see anyone who fit the typical hero description. I doubt that she would be walking around in the open after discovering her ice powers anyway."

Tristan looked at his henchman questioningly, "How do you know all that? I thought we were operating under the assumption that the hero was a dude. I also never told you what I discovered about the power that came from that rock." He stared at his henchman, waiting for him to worm his way out of the accusation.

"Fine. I did see her. She was perfectly cliched in every way, she was attractive and the brain in her head doesn't always work the best. Unfortunately, she got away before I could capture her." The henchman turned away from Tristan, waited for his reaction, and tried not to smile at the thought of the hero.

However, the henchman didn't have to wait long for Tristan's reaction. Even though the man wasn't hugely tall, he crossed the room in less than half a minute and boxed his henchman's ears. "You stupid man! How could you miss that opportunity? In case you forget, henchman, your job was to capture the hero and bring her here. There was no room for you to fail, now you have delayed my plans. Remember that you work for me, and I don't approve of failure."

"How could I forget, sir. And actually, catching a hero would be too much work." The henchman suddenly clapped a hand over his mouth as he realized that he had dropped his vulnerable act.

"What did you say henchman?"

"Nothing, Mr Toll!"

Satisfied Tristan turned around to look at the rock, "So is this when I do a long monologue about how the hero won't win and I will prevail. That my power is far supreme to that of any little girl who obtained her powers from space junk."

The henchman looked pleased at his boss' sudden interest in committing to the right cliche at the right time. "Actually, that monologue should be placed anywhere in the next few plot rises, but now is probably the best time, so full steam ahead." The henchman chuckled quietly over his joke.

Straightening the black leather collar that was flopping lazily against his chin, Tristan cleared his throat. "Alright then, I shall begin." He started circling around the space junk in the middle of his warehouse, "No one is allowed to mess with my plan, and anyone who does must be removed from the equation. There'll be no one who challenges me when I wish to be the best that I can be. This rock may have created my enemy, but it also holds the secret that I can use to create that enemy's downfall." Tristan stopped walking and turned to see his henchman's reaction.

"Um... That was... okay. But honestly sir, I think you can do better than that. Not that it was bad, it just wasn't good..." Trailing off, the henchman looked at his crestfallen boss, "I'm sure you'll get it right next time. As the villain, there are plenty more great monolouging moments left. Try not to fret about this one time, okay?"

Tristan nodded slowly. He truly was upset that he had once again failed, but tried to distract himself by looking to the clock. "Seven o'clock? Monologues take forever! I'm gonna go get some food."

"No you won't."

"Why not? Okay, no bakery... then I'll go rob the bank... or maybe the post office... Which one's better?" Tristan looked truly perplexed by this problem, as though it took more reasoning than he possessed to decide whether the bank or post office had more cash.