The Bishop, the Knight, and the Queen

Chapter One: The End of the British Library

"The Gentleman is dead."

Special Agent William Bishop or "The Executioner" sat at his desk, continuing to type as if he'd heard nothing. He was so close. His mess of an office didn't matter. His graying lab coat didn't matter. The fact that he hadn't eaten in days didn't matter. His assistant's words didn't matter, he needed to keep working, he needed to find a cure.

A cure for death…

"Did you hear me, William?" she repeated. "Our leader is dead. And before long, this organization will die with him."

Bishop hadn't stopped.

It was not long ago that their agency's leader, the great Mr. Gentleman-the very personification of the British Empire-was showing signs of aging. His health deteriorated, and his life hung in a precarious balance. A cure had to be found.

It simply had to be.

"It'll be pointless," she continued, the concern in her voice almost painful. "They've dissolved the Library, every single branch will be shut down soon. Everything we once were will fade into nothingness."

Her gaze wandered through the lab. Her beautiful, memory-endowed lab. Was it truly meant to end this way? So soon? So tragically?

"William, come with me…Please…I still care what happens to you, don't you understand that?"

He shot her a venomous glare before returning to his work. "What I'd like to understand is why you seem so chuffed about this," he growled, never breaking his concentration.

She retaliated with an equally poisonous glare. "I'm not. This Library has been everything to me. It's my home…but it can't be anymore...And you will watch your tone with me, William. You know what I've sacrificed for you."

"Yes, I know, you hardly ever shut your mouth about it! If you've nothing useful to contribute other than that pointless bag of flesh in your womb, get out."

She could not believe what she was hearing. It was like he'd taken an icicle to her heart. Had he really just said that? In that gentle, deep, and comforting voice she once loved so much?

"What's happened to you? You're not the William I remember…" What's happened to my Will? She dared to reach out to him and place a hand on his shoulder. "William-"

"Get out, traitor," Bishop growled. The obvious warning in his tone was not lost on her.

Her arms dropped down to her sides, her spirit broken. The tears she'd held back now streamed shamelessly down her tawny cheeks. Wordlessly and without looking back, she turned on her heels and left, never again to return to the lab she once called home.

"I will finish this project," he seethed as the door to his lab closed shut. "…no matter what."

No matter what...