They were here! All four of them! Sitting right here, waiting! As he brought the
Uzi up to blow the s.o.b.'s heads off, he was struck by the fact that they didn't
seem to be the least bit interested in his presence. He smelled no fear coming from
their brains! . . . . Something wasn't right. He climbed up into the trailer itself and
upon closer inspection he realized that all of them were semi-unconscious and immobile. They were seated, two on one side of the aisle and two on the other side. Around them electronic equipment hummed with activity, buttons blinking on
and off, casting different arrays of yellow, green, and red lights off of the computer
screens. For the first time also, he noticed wires running from circular plates on their heads to some sort of routing tree in the middle of the floor. Yeah, they were
all there! CMAN! ZANZIBAR! LOST SAILOR! and EARTHTONE! All of the
tormentors here together. The instigators! The cause of all of his rage and hatred!
His finger once again found the trigger on the Uzi and it took all of his concentration
to resist the temptation to pull. He yanked the gun barrel upwards at the last
second, sending a burst through the ceiling. He heard himself screaming as smoke
filled the air.

David slowly paced through the van, keeping is hand steadily on the Uzi. He didn't understand any of this. He looked around the room, then stopped suddenly.
If there all in here, then who the hell is in the house.
David ducked down quickly. He hadn't thought about being spotted. He looked at the faces of the scientists. What the hell are they doing?
He glanced out the small window on the side of the unit and stared into the house. The sun would be out soon, he had to get things done. David had an idea. He knew if they didn't hear the glock fireing, they wern't going to wake up any time soon.
He grabbed a book off a computer tower and ripped out a sheet of paper. He scribbled down a few words, enough so they would know who had been here. He then aimed the Uzi at the computer systems and fired some rounds. Sparks flew and flashes of busting glass and plastic ripped through the air. He looked at the men, still out of it. He smiled and proceeded to the house. Who's our little friend then?

Outside once again and in the relatively dark street, he stopped to get his bearings,
and then headed for the house. He sensed the Master's presence and for the first
time realized that he was apprehensive about meeting him here. Why?

Back in the trailer, the four instigators were regaining consciousness. They all
suffered painful headaches, but CMAN was the first to realize what had occurred
here. Someone had shot up the computers, freeing them! He stripped the plate and
wires from his head and began to help the others do the same. Finally, they all were able to stand and head for the door as the ravaged equipment around them
crackled with electrical shorts and small fires. A massive explosion blew them into
the street, where they lay until the deafening roar in their ears subsided.
EARTHTONE and LOST SAILOR helped CMAN stand up, then they all looked around
for ZANZIBAR. They found him twenty feet away, partially buried under the
rubble and debris. No one seemed to be seriously hurt, but they were pissed!
Someone had used them and they didn't like it! Used their thoughts and ideas.
Used their imaginative rage and hatred for evil purposes. Channeled it into the boy!
Made the boy, molded the boy, into a rampaging killing machine.

David walked into the darkness without hesitation. The Master waited for him,
watching him approach, feeling that he himself was still undetected.

He was not! David's detection of him had already occurred. David felt himself
becoming more aware, more powerful.

The house had stood here on the corner for sixty-odd years, weathering storms
and tenants alike. Three different families had lived in the house, two for more than
twenty years each. But alas, in the end, they all had moved on, until the house
stood vacant and alone, waiting for another tenant to bring life back into the many
quiet rooms. Two years ago a new tenant had moved in, but it hadn't been the same. It was no longer a vibrant feeling of life that circulated throughout the house,
but a feeling of un-embracing apprehension. Unease!
Methodical pulsing filled the air. The house had been poorly converted to a sort of
research laboratory that felt strangely negative, and smelled just as negative.
Here was the place the government had chosen to use as its' base of operation
for Project Channel Rage, (PCR). Five assigned scientists, along with the four
kidnapped writers from ATS, had wreaked havoc from this unassuming house,
destroying lives at will. . . . .and all in the name of science.
Of course the writers from ATS had no idea of the magnitude of their contributions,
as they had been sedated from the begining. Their creative minds had conceived
the hatred and the rage. The house, with all of its' advanced equipment, had
channeled it to the test subjects. And now the five scientists waited for the boy!

David walked right up to the Master and stopped. They began to laugh.
Together, they turned towards the house.

Behind the two mutants, the four writers from ATS scrambled to get away.
EARTHTONE headed for the nearest working phone to call the police and anyone
on line at ATS. CMAN looked around for some type of weapon just in case the two
down the street decided to come back and start more trouble. ZANZIBAR helped
LOST SAILOR move into the shadows behind the burning mobile unit. CMAN
settled for two three-foot pieces of steel rod and two smaller pieces of 2x4 wood.
He passed them along until they all had something solid in their hands. EARTHTONE
had returned to the group, telling them that she had notified the local police and
given them the approximate address. Together they talked quietly. They knew they
were responsible for some of the hate exuded by the mutants. They were pretty
sure the boy was their creation. "It was just supposed to be a frigging story",
whispered CMAN. "A damn story!"

Earthtone lit up a ciggerette, his hands shaking,
"How long has this freekin' mind game been going on? Who's behind this madness?"

Eathtones words grew louder,

"The military, Those evil swine, it's gotta be gotta be the godamn mi......"
Cman cut him off,

"Shhhhhhh! Keep your voice down will you," he snapped in a hushed voice, "we can talk about this later, right now we have to find somewhere safe to go to until the police arrive."

Earthtone swung his head from right to left, calmed himself and stepped in closer to the other three confused writers, whispering,

"You just wanna hide? You guys don't want to know who's behind this? This might be our only chance to know, or get any credible evidence against them, they'll cover this one right up the frickin' ass for sure man."

"What the hell are you suggesting,? We go back to house?" Zanzibar protested, "Count me out of that, God only knows whats in there."

"Whats in there Zanibar," earthtone cut in angrily, "whats in there is porbably our only ticket to freedom. If we get evidence then we have a better chance of getting protection; by exposing them...do you undertsand?"

The four began to argue, failing to notice sound and shadow heading in their direction.Step by step a small group of figures approached through the tangled maze of dead treets which encircled the house and it's enlcosure.

"Only fire on my command," A deep voice uttered quitely to the group behind him. "take formation now, keep down."

The men began to spread out foming a circle in the bushes adjacent to the group of unfortunate writers. When suddenly one of mens radios began to blurt out a crackly voice. The writers ears picked and they looked at each other for amount,

"Ah s*it," they all said almost simultaniously, a darted off in different directions, running for cover. Within a split second the mysterious troops reacted, "move, move, move," yelled the commander.

In their fear the writers where quick, their scrawney legs carrying them rapidly round towards the back of the house, their hunters losing site of them.

David and the Master climbed the porch stairs and walked up to the front door.
Putting the palms of his hands against his temples, David commanded the solid
wooden door to open; and it tore itself off of the hinges and lay against the outside
wall as if some invisible giant had angrily had enough! The Master was impressed.
He knew that the boy's power would get increasingly stronger, but for it to
happen this fast astonished even him! Approvingly, he let David lead the way in.

Around the back of the house, the four writers once again hooked up with each other. Gasping for air and exhausted from running, they took the time to calm each
other down, lightly patting each other on the back and swapping high fives. They
were sweating terribly, but it was probably the first time in years that they had so
much adrenalin flowing through their veins. They were hyped! Amped! Ready for
anything! EARTHTONE raised his hands one more time to hush them up. The men
in black were closing in!

Now was the time. Inside the house, hidden behind a reinforced wall, the five
scientists waited impatiently for the boy and his Master to make their way through the house. Terrified by every sound, they waited without moving a muscle. The
timing had to be just right, or they would lose this opportunity to spring the trap!

He smelled fear! He smelled their brains. Stronger now as they moved into another
room, filled with stark raving lunacy. His mouth watered and he began to
drool again. Out of the corner of his eye the boy saw the Master step in front of a
window just as lightning lit up the entire neighborhood. The Master was vividly
outlined, taking on the shadow-shape of a vulture. Weird.

Suddenly the floor gave way, tumbling the two rather rudely into a steel net.
Another net fell on them from above, and then another and another. The lights
went out briefly, and then popped back on. The boy and the Master had been
caught! Outside, in the early morning fog,the rain once again began to fall.

The boy and the master found themselves wrapped around each other, tangled and slightly confused. They both pulled back and became aware of what had happened. The master struggled with the netting.
'There's no piont' david scowled.
Footsteps could be heard approaching, as the door slowly creaked open. The scientists all methodicaly paced through, one by one.
Earthtone approached the net.
'Hmmm, worked perfectly, as i thought it would'.
He took the oppertunity to smile at last. Earthtone seemed to take leadership at this moment.
'You two have caused us alot of trouble' he whispered.
David slowly raised his index finger to his temple. Nothing happened. The netting had some kind of magnetic field. The master knew his fate, he saw it as soon as the netting fell. Earthtone pulled a small silver handgun from his coat pocket and raised it to the master's head.
'Goodbye, the one they call MASTER'
Three muffled shots were heard. At the same time three holes appeaerd in the room window. But the master did not feel any shots. Earthtone dropped to his knees as blood trickled from his cheast. A voice yelled out ' move move move!'
Masked men stormed the house. Smoke engulfed the room. David began to fell tired, he started to drift, not paying any attention to the bullets whirring through the room. Everything went black.

The rain fell onto his face, washing away the dirt of the past half-hour. Slowly he
tried to open his eyes, squinting to keep the water from blurring his vision. Somehow he had ended up back outside in the alley! How? Why? Who had moved
him here? Panic set in then and he bolted to an upright position, scanning his
surroundings for anything or anyone. Nothing moved, . . except the flames from
the burning house. He turned over on his side, then pushed himself on up to a
standing position. Rain pelted him now. The gray dawn gloom chilled him to the bone. As he glanced from one pile of debris to another, he saw the Master's body
for the first time. It lay about ten feet away, face down in a deep puddle. David
sensed that the Master was dead, had been dead for some time. He turned and
walked in the opposite direction.
The four ATS writers watched him slosh through the rain towards them. Yes, even
EARTHTONE was here, alive and well, along with LOST SAILOR, ZANZIBAR, and
CMAN. As David neared them they called out his name, beckoning him over to their
semi-dry shelter under some trees. Everyone felt apprehensive about this meeting,
but no one was scared. They had been through way too much in the last week or so to be scared anymore of their creation. David walked up to the group and
stopped abruptly. "I know you guys don't I?" He looked from one to the other.
"Yes David, you do know us", said EARTHTONE matter-of-factly.
"We're your creators!"

David let that sink in for a minute, eyeing them warily the whole time. Finally, he
spoke. "What do you want with me?"
ZANZIBAR responded quickly, "We're here to end it David. End it all."

"What do you mean?", asked David.

"He means", CMAN whispered loudly, "That we created you for a purpose and that
purpose has been fulfilled, and now it's time for you to disappear David, to go away!" "There"s been enough hate and chaos!"

"May I sit down?", David asked as he felt for the edge of the curb. As one, the
writers all said yes, and in fact looked for a place to sit themselves, joining him on
the wet curb. Only the rain made a sound until David cleared his throat and asked
another question. "Why did you kill my Master?"
"We didn't kill the Master, David, he was killed by his creators, the five scientists
in the house", said LOST SAILOR. "Helped along of course by the men in black!"

David looked through the mist at the burning rubble that had once been the house.
"Why did they have to kill him?", David cried.
"Because he was out of control David, way out of control!"

"But he was my creator!", David replied. "My father!"

"No David", said CMAN, "he was not your creator. We created you. We did. We
created you to get at him!" "He was not your father. He was just leftovers from an
earlier experiment gone awry. Leftovers that turned evil David."

"Did you create the Master?"

EARTHTONE looked over at the devasted house and said, "No David, we didn't
create the Master. The five dead scientists in that house over there created him.
They created him for sinister reasons that no longer matter. They created him
with rage and hatred so powerful they lost control of him as soon as his tasks were
accomplished, and he escaped." "And that's where we come into the picture, David. Those same scientists kidnapped us from ATS headquarters to help them
create you. They needed our imaginations of hate to create you. They believed
that once you existed, your presence would attract the Master, bring him out of
hiding. And it worked. He sought you out as a soulmate and fellow mutant."

"But the Master told me . . . . ."

"Lies David, all lies."

"So what happens now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .?"

David had alot of questions, but they would never be answered. He knew that. He evn knew his own fate. He could feel it, he could almost see it. The sientists looked at David uneasily. Earthtone put a hand on David's shoulder.
'David, you know what has to be done, don't you?' Earthtone said softly.
He nodded his head. 'I want it to be over as well.' his voice croaked.
Though David wasn't by any means a normal child, he still felt normal feelings. Now sadness, lonliness and above all, regret. Why did I kill all those people. Why?
He stood up and held in tears that burned in his eyes.
'Lets do this, lets get this done, I'm ready.'
None of the scientists could have imagined it would end like this, the boy was never supposed to care, just follow orders, OUR orders. Somwhere along the path David had identified with the Master, he became attached, he had forgotten his primary objective. Kill him, then yourself. Now it was in their hands. They had to take care of all this destruction. The group all walked towards the moblie lab. David went in first, he imagined the bullets ripping through his body, tearing organs from their veins and ventricles. The scientists waited at the door.
'What are you waiting for?' David asked.
Earthtone spoke 'David you have to do this yourself, instinct would most likely stop you from letting us kill you, we don't want to have to tie you down. It's safer if you do it, you were created to terminate yourself when your job was done.'
David extended his arm out as Lost Sailor handed him a large silver Magnum. It was heavy and cold. David closed the door. The scientists watched in deadly silence. An ecohing crack reverberated around the lab. It was over, David had ended it. Earthtone approached the gas tanks at the back of the unit and stuck a little flashing device on the top of one. They all walked away, still not one word spoken. Dramatic explosions and firework like sparks engulfed the street. No one looked back. Sirens could be heard in the backround, red and blue lights reflecting off windows caused a frenzy of excited neighbors.

[edit on 30-8-2006 by Apoplexy123]

Writers damn it! David remembered again that those that created him were the
writers. They had survived! The scientists were dead! His memories kept over-
lapping, and his confusion intensified. CMAN had come over close, and had looked
him right in the eye, . . .and he had seen himself in CMAN! And he remembered
CMAN saying, "I can't believe you turned out exactly like I thought about you.
You sure were a mean son-of-a-bitch!" And it was at exactly that moment that he
had planted the thought in all of their heads, . .that he should kill himself! His power
had grown, and it was really quite easy for him to project to all four of the writers
at the same time. When the time had come for him to "off" himself, he had made sure the door was closed and locked. EARTHTONE had given him a gun and said
goodbye, and that was that.
He had immediately sought the back way out, and finding it, he fired the pistol into
the floor. He was through the exit door in a heartbeat, and the explosions rocked
the ground like an earthquake. From his new vantage point he observed the four
writers walking away together, talking among themselves. He did not fear them,
but he did not want to make contact with them either. He heard them discussing
two other writers, and he wondered if he should find out more about them.
One named SIEGE and the other named APOPLEXY123. Were they new tormentors?
New enemies? " Hey, CMAN, have I "overlooked" anything ?", he asked to no one
in particular.

The tourment of Davids existence was this, in order for him to truely be free, he had to destroy those who kept him alive. He thought of them as the ultimate victims, his victims. He was sure he had their names. Those other writers, they wern't the ones, they had all but forgotten about David, they didn't realy care anymore. APOPLEXY123, SIEGE, they were the ones who had to get it. When they are gone, who else would carry on Davids existence. Now he knew. The two masterminds were discovered.

APOPLEXY123 sat at his computer on a hot New Zealand night. His eyes beggining to squint from the glare off his LCD flat panel. Only 10.54pm, still early for such a night walker. He put his headphones on and opened windows media player, the new Strokes album came into action. He stared, starting to sweat, a mix of the heat and the paranoia, paranoia from a certain ATS thread. It wasn't the same as normal threads, he felt compelled to keep coming back. He knew it wasn't right. Something bad was to come of it. He had heard of strange things happening. All it took were two dedicated writers, they created something, fantasy... just fantasy.....right..?...
APOPLEXY123 slowly raised the cursor to the thread and clicked. But something wasn't right. The screen appeard plain white. At first he thought his computer had crashed so he rebooted it. Nothing happened, still white.
'F#@K, stupid computer' he hissed
He switched the computer off at the wall, the screen still white. He jumped back, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Then it happened. Three words appeard in the centre of the screen. He got close, his mouth trembling. His heart skipped a beat and his face went pale. YOU ARE DEAD!

Hours later APOPLEXY123 had found what he was after, a phone number, the only phone number it was worth calling. It was another writers. A man who went by the name of SIEGE. APOPLEXY123, had become acustomed to this writer, hearing of his many talents in literature, a regular on the ATS society. He was his only hope, hell, his life is in danger too, does he even know yet. APOPLEXY123 never actualy knew where in the world SIEGE lived, he didn't even know if he existed. He was about to find out. He dialed the numbers he had managed to sifon from the net.
'Here goes nothing'
He kept the phone tight in one hand, in the other his grandpa's winchester rifle. The paranoia had become total reality. The phone began to ring...................

[edit on 2-9-2006 by Apoplexy123]

The window fan worked as hard as it could to suck in the cooler night air, but it
would be later on in the wee hours of the morning before it's job would be fully
appreciated by the man laying in the bed. It had been non-stop triple-digit heat and
humidity for four straight days, and nights. Muggy and extremely uncomfortable!
Sleep didn't come easy anymore, but in these miserable conditions it was almost
impossible. He lay watching the overhead fan circulate what little air it could.
He was wide awake and hated being so at such an early, early hour of the morning,
but that's the way it was. He had heard something, and waited to hear it again!
Nothing. . . . . nothing.
And then, . . .his dogs began to bark. Both of them together, and that was unusual.
He strained to hear anything other than the barking, but he couldn't. Giving in, he
quickly sat up and began to pull on his pants, feeling for his flashlight at the same
time. Making his way out of the bedroom into the living room, he met the dogs as
he walked to the front door. They were happy he was here now, but he sensed
from their erratic barking that they were still on to something outside. He did not
turn any lights on, nor did he use the flashlight. He knew that the darkness was
his friend and ally, and he intended to keep using it as an advantage.
Quietly he opened the door a crack and peered out into the night. Nothing.
Closing the door carefully, he went to the back of the house and did the same.
Nothing. He waited five long minutes without moving. Still nothing.
At last, he flicked on the flashlight and moved the beam from one spot to another.
He hollered at the dogs, telling them to quiet down. Satisfied for the moment, he
entered the kitchen, turned on a light, opened the refrigerator and poured himself
a large glass of iced tea.
Quiet silence returned to the house. He listened again now, but heard nothing.
As he lifted the glass to take another long swig the phone rang, scaring the
bejesus out of him. It rang again, beckoning him to answer. Setting down his drink,
he reached for the phone. It rang again.
"Hello?"
"Hello, is this SIEGE?" "Hello?"
Just as he was about to answer the line went dead. Then the lights went out.
He froze as the dogs began to bark again.

APOPLEXY stood there as he let the phone drop from his hand. 'Is it too late?'
He knew it was SIEGE, the sound in his voice told him.
'DAMMIt, what the f@ck do i do?'
He started raking his brain for ideas, nothing. As he stood there rubbing his head, something sinister was unfolding. Once David had destroyed the writers, what would he do next? Would he still want to kill himself? These thoughts shot through APOPLEXY's head like a bullet.
This wasn't a dream, he was sure of that. He knew what was happening. He just didn't know how it happened. The only idea he had would surley land him in jail. But it had to be done. He had to destroy the internet. He had to destroy the ATS website to be presice. Then he thought of were he needed to go. It almost seemed to coincidental. He was sure, yes, he was going. The intel University, the one not far from him. They had one of the largest internet power houses in the country. Alot of pros worked there. Police worked there too. But he would do what had to be done.

APOPLEXY grabbed a large leather jacket and wrapped it around the rifle. This was going to be done with force. He ran outside cautiously, flinching at every sudden noise. His car eagerly awaited him, or was it the other way around. Once in, he fierd the Mazda familia up and sped off. The car hummed at double the speed limit, all the while he kept on trying to ring SIEGE, hoping it wasn't too late.

He didn't panic in the dark like most people would. He knew that the dark offered
just as much protection as it did terror. If he was hard to find in the dark wasn't
that a good thing? Sitting perfectly still, SIEGE listened once again for anything out
of the ordinary. The dogs ran from the back door to the front door, and then back again. They became oblivious to his presence. Back and forth they raced, until one
of them let out a blood-curdling yelp and attacked something in the shadowy corner. Just like that the other dog joined the melee, his barks and snarls adding
to the chaos. At that moment SIEGE moved as quickly as possible into the kitchen
again and grabbed a chair with both hands. He swung as hard as he could at the
black shadow in the corner, and was surprised to hear the chair hit only empty
space and wall, breaking up into shards of wood and fabric. The crashing noise
was too much for the dogs, and howling loudly they retreated down into the living
room, saliva dripping from their jaws. SIEGE listened, and waited. . . . .nothing!
Maybe whatever it was was gone. Slowly he reached for another chair, quietly
lifting it towards his other hand. As he got ahold of it and started to raise it for
another go-round, . . . . . . . . .the lights snapped back on! He saw himself reflected
in the mirror in the hall and was astonished at the look on his own face. Mean!
Mean-looking. Menacing!
He slowly lowered the chair, trying to make the image in the mirror seem nicer
somehow, although it was purely subconscious reaction.
Once again the phone rang.

APOLPEXY was slightly shocked when somone answered the phone. He was still driving, his eyes were darting from side to side, trying to keep up with the speed of the car.
'Hello?' a voice said catiously
'Ahh, hello, SIEGE it's me, APOPLEXY. I'm from the...'
'I know who you are.'
'Then you know why I'm ringing?'
'Yes, I think so, I umm...'
'Well, SIEGE I have a plan, I'm going to...SH!T !!!!!' His voice was cut short, but SIEGE could still here what was happening. A loud screech of rubber against the road.
'Oh my god, oh no, oh sh!t' APOPLEXY paniced. SIEGE could still here everything that was happening. He picked up the phone again.
'ahh, I think I've just killed a little boy, what do i f@cken do?' his voice was shakey.
SIEGE din't know what to say.
'O.k, I'm going to go have a look.' he said uncertainly. SIEGE listened to the footsteps slowly calpping on the concrete, until it stopped. Then silence, until he spoke again. 'He's alive, I think.'
Silence returned for a short moment, then chaos unleashed. SIEGE heard a loud scream from the phone, then gurgling, with the wheeze of air escaping from an open space. SIEGE yelled out on the phone, but there was no reply. He kept on wating for some sighn that he was alive. He could hear the phone being rattled as it was lifted off the ground.
'Hello SIEGE, you are next! ' the evil voice let out a devilish laugh. Then the phone went dead.
He stood there as the phone dropped from his hand. Now more sure than ever of who the foe was.

[edit on 13-9-2006 by Apoplexy123]

He set the phone down quickly, and waited for the shakes to subside. It had gotten
APOPLEXY123! ! How could it have gotten to him an ocean away and still be present
in some form or matter here? Because he knew somehow that it was the same
evil! It wasn't a coincidence, it was the same savage evil, he was sure of it! How
could it be there and be here at the same time? Had its powers grown so strong that it was able to mutate again? Self-mutate? What was happening?

A week went by, and SIEGE wondered when it would come for him again, for the
last time. Three days ago he had found his smaller, older dog dead, by the side of the house. It had been cut in two and left to bleed into the ground. Yesterday, he
found the remains of his other dog, the bigger one. Cut up into pieces and hung on
the line like forgotten laundry! He could still see the Lab's eyes looking at him with
questions that would never be answered. It had all become too much to bear.

As the door opened behind him, he drew the blanket tighter around himself.
As it approached the chair he was sitting in, he could feel the hatred and revulsion.
As it reached for his throat, he moved the pistol closer. His breathing became futile.
His eyes watered as his eyes bugged out from the pressure. He saw only red.
As it raked its nails down the side of his face, he pulled the trigger. And as it
screamed in anger, the bullet killed him instantly.

His own suicide was a bit of an amazement to the creature.
It, wanting death and destruction, could not bare it being fulfilled
by others. The man's body lay on the floor, motionless, brains splattered
on the wall. The creature looked at the entire mess with vengeful and
jealous eyes. It wanted him dead, with its own hands. To slowly drench
the life out of his victim was but a fantasy. To be able to suck out life through
the process of suffocation was ever so joyous, and that man took it away from him.
His next victims, he thought, wouldn't get this chance ever again. He would be fast
and to the point, before they could take their own lives. The Writers that have executed him would pay, for he came back. Master is back, with a vengeance, for you cannot kill what is in one's head and projected onto the real world. master was infact the boy's imagination. And the boy, where was he? Who was he killing this time, who was he scaring? What was he eating? Drinking? Master needed to know, control was the only way, puting the boy on a tight leash was imperative before he would slip up again.

[edit on 18-9-2006 by Radekus]