Challenge #00083: By the Book

The 5th oldest trick in the book and the simpleton who fell for it.

As kidnappers went, this fellow was not particularly bright. He’d definitely dotted on to the idea that one should grab the most vulnerable member and attempt to extort money from the remaining family.

He’d forgotten that the remaining family most convenient to this situation was an Augmented St. Bernard by the name of Nanny. Who operated on a schedule of events and was now in the custody of an Augment therapist/handler.

Shayde had been tailing him since the snatch and -yes- he was stupid enough to use a tourist map to find secret passages. He’d gone straight for a dead end with a ‘passage’ that was an inch in diameter. She took the emergency stunner off the wall and sidled up to the best vantage with the best cover.

“Bad man,” Julie was whimpering. “Bad man. I wanna go home.”

“Give it up, smartypants. I got you surrounded,” Shayde called.

“Surrounded? How the hell can you surround me?”

Shayde let him see her sharp-toothed grin. “Ever wondered why I’m called a shadow elemental?”

All the shadows on the wall shifted and moved into humanoid shapes. Then into menacing shapes.

“Drop her, and I won’t have tae fill out a bunch of paperwork.”

The menacing shapes crept ever closer to her new 'friend’. And, since he’d already proved himself a galactic-class antigenous, he had to try shooting the walls.

But it did give Julie a chance to break away and head for safety. Shayde popped out of cover and caught him with one good shot from the stunner.

Down like a sack of spuds.

Rael, of course, was on her in instants. “You did not have to do that. Security was tracking him. Well, to be exact, security was tracking Julie…”

“He had a lethal weapon and a scared kid,” argued Shayde. “I wasnae about t’ let that go sour. And he was an idiot. Fell for the fifth-oldest trick in the book.”

Rael sputtered. “The fifth?”

“The double-reverse backup bluff. Make 'em think yer bluffin’ about backup when you ain’t, but the backup’s just enough to get 'em shooting the wrong way.”

“How is that even the fifth-oldest…?”

“You ferget. I’ve seen The Book.”

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