(As posted at the other/temp site) This weeks prompt is: sword Have at it!

Red Impulse paused a moment, then slid into the driver's seat. Jun likewise sat down and they slammed the doors shut before Red Impulse answered. "The truth of the matter is this -- money is what makes things happen, good and bad, and business and politics go hand-in-hand. It's an endless loop, a double-edged sword. In order to have money, you need business and in order for business to make more money, they need the help of the politicians. For the politicians to get into office and stay there, they need the money of the businesses." "So what's all this have to do with Hakase? I still don't understand how he would know what's going on with Parnell and why would he care, beyond the fact that they're probably somehow linked to Galactor?" Red Impulse gazed out the windshield a moment, his eyes scanning the convenience store parking lot and the gas pumps. Jun followed his gaze. There were only a couple of cars parked and another three at the pumps. All were being driven by perfectly ordinary people living out their perfectly ordinary lives and running these perfectly mundane tasks. It was bizarre to the extreme that she should be sitting here with a man she only knew by a code name after they were being followed by spies while they chased after an international organization that was trying to take over the world. The whole thing struck Jun as so absurd that she nearly started to laugh. It was Red Impulse's next words that sobered her. "Hakase would care more than you think," he said, his eyes still staring forward. "He has investments in many companies -- large ones -- and when a merger of this magnitude occurs, it will usually affect stock prices. Some times good, other times, not so much. Most importantly, it lets him know just how much information to give certain boards, how far he can trust them." "Well, he shouldn't trust Parnell at all." "But he can't just stop talking with them," he countered. "It would tip our hand and let them know that we know. Right now, he needs to act as though everything is just fine but keep it in the back of his mind that they are playing both sides against the middle. In the meantime, he can poke around, discreetly asking questions of certain board members, just to see how far Galactor has penetrated. He needs to watch his step and now he knows for a fact he has to." Jun was silent a moment, turning over all that he just said. "So Hakase has stock in Parnell?" Red Impulse shrugged a shoulder. "I have no idea," he answered honestly. "Wouldn't surprise me if he did. In fact, I'd probably bet on it that he does. Or, at least, did. It's probably where he got the whisper of Galactor insinuating itself in, in the first place." He reached over and turned the key. The engine caught and rumbled to life. "Especially since that's not exactly something that's given out with the quarterly reports." He put the car in reverse, backed out of the parking spot, and pointed them back towards the road. Jun watched the miles slip by, first one, then another, before she turned towards Red Impulse. "Can I ask you a question?" "What's that?" Jun braced herself. Just ask the question, she told herself. Just put it out there and waited for the inevitable explosion. She took a deep breath and said the words quickly. "How did you become a spy?"

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