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May-28-2008 15:41

To celebrate 1 year on The Intelligence Agency we are holding a couple of Birthday Party contests!

The first one is an Arch Villain Hunt in 50 Words or less.

Heres the Idea: You are hunting an Arch Villain. Using a given opening line, you must write a story that uses 50 words or less.

The opening line does not count toward your word total.

Jun-14-2008 06:09

Shangri La:
The howl of the train broke through the ever quiet land of Shangri La.

I'd returned, villain in tow, expecting a fanfare, but instead was handed another mission and hurried straight back out of the Palace. The platform was empty as the train pulled in. The chill wind swirled my jacket. In one pocket, a photograph; the other, a pistol. I prepared to board.
-------------------------

New York:
5th Avenue and 42nd Street... a place so familiar to me, but I still lost him once again.

I'd almost had him too... until I awoke with a concussion and vague memories of a runaway fruit cart. Hunting the Professor was a dangerous business, but I had bills to pay and a reputation to keep. Well, debts to pay and a reputation to salvage.

Better luck next time.
-------------------------

Delhi:
I could tell the Holy Man knew something.

And it wasn't just the path to enlightenment. He looked at me with the look of a man who knew more than he wanted to. His eyes told the whole tale.

"My family..." he croaked. I nodded. Some things didn't need saying.

"London," he whispered.

Without a word, I left.
-------------------------

London:
Big Ben struck 12 and the Professor turned to the door.

Hesitating, he turned back. "The detective is close, I'll be lying low for a while." His companion nodded, eyes averted, her trepidation clear. It was time for him to get out of town.

"I'll be at the Oasis," he lied. As the door closed, he heard the sigh of relief.
-------------------------

Shanghai:
I watched a sampan make its way along the Yangtze.

It was a balmy evening, perfect for sipping mai tais on the veranda. I'd chased the Professor around the world, but now, in the care of the Prince's men, he couldn't run any more.

"Waiter!" I called, leaning back and putting my feet up. Shangri La could wait till tomorrow.

Jun-18-2008 06:15

Thank you all for your entries!!!
Sorry for the delay, but TIA have been on a little cruise which made it hard for us to do our judgement thing :)
We'll be announcing the winners soon!!

Jun-25-2008 17:26

Suspense, suspense. :)

Jun-29-2008 17:33

lol tick tick tick

Jul-2-2008 10:27

it must be the energizer bunny because it keeps ticking and ticking and ticking. ;D

Jul-9-2008 20:03

Still sortin' through the paperwork and the red tape, huh? Yeah, big reason why I got outta the business. Well, let us know when y'all get things sorted out, okay? Good luck!! ;-)

Jul-10-2008 14:29

Hi all,

Thanks for your wonderful stories on what was quite a challenging competition. It was a difficult one to judge too, because it was obvious that some time and effort had been spent in these stories. Fortunately we get to choose 2 winners! Yay!

Firstly, the best single story. We decided that Ctown28's story about Delhi really struck a chord with us all... but I couldn't help wondering what would have happened if he kept getting repeats of "Is a man"...

Our second prize goes to the story that we thought really captured the idea of being on a Villain Hunt, linking the story and keeping the theme in such few words was a tough trick to pull off. In the we loved the mention of Cairo in the ending too. ;)

Jul-10-2008 14:48

So, the second prize goes to Anikka ;)

Jul-10-2008 23:53

Congratulations, Ctown and Ani!! Nicely done both of you!! Thanks to everyone at the Intelligence Agency (no, the Sleuth one ;-), for doing this contest. Great idea and wonderful contest!! ;-D

Jul-11-2008 11:13

Congrats, Ctown and Anikka!!! You both deserve to win!

Thanks TIA for the contest! :D