Operation Persig

Silently he crept around the block, always drawing nearer to his domain, he listened and waited, until he heard a name, then he launched his gambit. The king fell and the knave assumed power, the missive was sent and all hell broke, loose pawns fell and the soft tuft, tuft of distant sounds filled the air. All lay still, all listened, all held their breath, not a sound was heard save for the calm intonation of a trusted authority. Empty houses were there, was it true, had he heard yet another plaintiff story to fill the day, he listened still and the calm air ricocheted against his ears. The silence was deafening, voices filled the evening darkness as they sought to fill the void made by the absence of many. Where had the voices gone, had they all perished in the mist, vanished into thin air, disappeared like a wraith in the night, who had solved the dilemma of the incessant litany of abuse.

“Done”, he heard the word and leaned over and tapped his iPad, 9:18, was the time, 9+1+8=18, 1+8=9, 999, the number of completion, bang on the dot, Operation Persig was complete, mission accomplished. “You can retire now”, intoned the voice, and he wondered what he would do after 44 years in the job, not that he had a job, didn’t get paid and didn’t have a badge, but he was still tasked with a mission, that mission was completed at exactly 9:18, 7/8/25.