There are more things in heaven and on earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. - Hamlet Act I, Scene V.

Epilogue

The Englishman called them to order. Not that this was difficult, as all that the American and the Asian had in common was their contempt for each other, and their fear of the Englishman, so there was no real small talk for him to cut through. Some would call this an unstable and inherently dangerous dynamic but the Englishman, as head of the Occulins Tribunal, found it... useful to his designs.

And amusing.

"So," he began, "who would wish to begin?"

"I believe that my esteemed colleague should give the report, my Lord," the Asian replied smoothly. "Sparks, after all, was his recruit."

"Indeed he was. Well, my friend?" said the Englishman, turning his attention to the American, who squirmed in his seat for a moment, but then steeled himself.

"Yes, Sparks was my recruit, my Lord," the American said, directing a glare at the Asian. "And, yes, he did fail in his primary mission. However, I wish to remind you both that, before the battle at the lair, he did transmit to us the Index to Drakken's Legacy."

"An Index," the Asian interjected angrily, "which Global Justice also claimed that very night!"

"My Panther teams are in pursuit of the Legacy, and will deal with Global Justice when the time comes," the Englishman said, waving a hand. "The two of you need not concern yourselves with that topic."

"Index or no, my Lord," the Asian continued, "the point remains that Sparks failed, as my esteemed colleague has admitted, in his primary mission: the elimination of Kim Possible! And now she not only remains at large, but at Prescot's school!"

"Good god, man, are you still going on about that?" the American groaned. "If there was anything hidden at BAU, I would have found it by now."

"We still don't know what happened to the Nightingale and its cargo, save that it sailed westward under an unknown Captain and with an unnamed crew," the Asian continued, undaunted. "You also know the stories they tell about Prescot, how he found his wealth, and if there is any connection-"

"Those stories," the Englishman interrupted, "are what the Yankees would call a 'tall tale', stories invented by peasant farmers who'd read one too many penny dreadfuls, and wished to elevate their new hero to 'larger than life' status. Nothing more."

"If it will put my esteemed colleague's mind to rest, my Lord," the American said before the Asian could snap off another retort, "I have something else to say.

"You both know that, a few years back, I revealed some of our innermost secrets to Sparks."

"An inadvisable move," the Asian snarled.

"Perhaps," the American allowed, "but I believe that it has proved useful in this case."

He reached up to finger his lapel pin, a pyramid, the top third of which floated above the rest and contained an all-seeing eye.

"Upon his first meeting with Possible, Sparks wore his own pin."

"He what?"

"It was a calculated risk. Possible got a good look at the symbol, but didn't make any specific note of it, according to Sparks. Of course, he was starting to pour on the pheromones at that point, but not the degree that would affect higher cognitive functions."

"In other words?" the Asian asked, settling back into his chair.

"In other words, even if Prescot knew something about us, and left that information at BAU, then Possible hasn't found it yet."

"And even if she does," the Englishman interjected, with a tone that indicated the subject would close, "what is it to us? If she discovers why this symbol is both the Eye of Providence and the Evil Eye, then how will she treat that knowledge? If she finds out what Eduard and the Templars brought back from Jerusalem, how is she to view that story?

"What are we, the Occulins, to her, gentlemen, but myths and faerie tales?"

He looked them both in the eye, until it was clear that they accepted the settlement of the topic, even if the Asian did so but grudgingly.

"Now, then," he continued briskly, "with the Index in our possession, and with Dr. Drakken, Dr. Dementor, and Lord Fiske incarcerated, we have both the tools we need and have removed all competing factors to our plans. We will need to decide which pieces of Legacy tech to dispense to our terrorist and revolutionary clients, and which to keep for ourselves, but I believe that..."