The Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved Babylonian law code, dating to ca. 1700 BC (short chronology). It is one of the oldest deciphered writings of significant length in the world. The sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi, enacted the code, and partial copies exist on a human-sized stone stele and various clay tablets. The Code consists of 282 laws, with scaled punishments, adjusting "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" (lex talionis) as graded depending on social status, of slave versus free man.
source: Wikipedia

lex talionis /lɛks ˌtalɪˈəʊnɪs/
- (noun) the law of retaliation, whereby a punishment resembles the offence committed in kind and degree.
source: Concise Oxford English Dictionary ? 2008 Oxford University Press


"I'm fine, in a bad mood."

He didn't need to be an empath or have preternatural abilities to know it hadn't been a good night for the red-headed Toreador. She carried it in her almost militant stride and reflected it on her features. Kate in a bad mood was not a good way to start the evening. Any evening.

Even after a few hours at the inn of good natured ribbing and banter, when he asked if she was still in a bad mood, her reply didn't match the bright smile that accompanied her remark. "I will be in a bad mood until I can shoot something or blow something up."

"Well let's go about finding something you can blow up, then," he had asked flippantly.

"...We could go blow up something of Howe's?"

After her accusatory statement the conversation shifted to more mundane things. Houses and living arrangements, modifications that would need to be made to any home either of them lived in.

While they spoke Lucien had pulled out some folders, opened them and started going through the papers there. As the housing conversation waned he flipped over the first couple stacks of pages that were various reports he'd collected over time on the DCH. Then he finally got to the city map where the DCH had their offices with the location marked in red. He opened it up for Kate to see. "This is where they have their offices. Just down the block from the Courthouse."
Kate might also notice that the DCH offices were across the street from the Barrister's townhouse and offices.

She craned her neck to the side as she looked, blinking at the location. "So can we blow up the offices?", that was the only reason he?d be showing her the map and bringing the conversation back to Howe.

He pointed to all the other buildings surrounding the offices. "Too much collateral damage, Kate. I don't want anyone else hurt.? The sting of his loss from Howe?s attempt still weighed heavily on him. ?It's too close to the Courthouse and the Marketplace." Not to mention his own residence, but that was the least of his concerns. "It needs to be a surgical, precision hit."

The look he got was increduluous, "You think I can't do it? I blew up part of a house during a party, no one knew it was me and I was there. You tell me where and how much and I betcha anything i can do it." She was sure, confident, and she wasn?t afraid to show it.

A brow quirked at her reply and a grin crooked at the corner of his mouth. "Alright." He folded the city map and revealed a cruder drawn map of the building. "This is the last known layout of the partners offices." He pointed to a room that was circled in red. "This is believed to be Howe's office." He looked up from the floor plan to Kate. "Security is tight. I want only Howe's office taken out. This way, he and the other partners understand that, they can also be hit any time."

The door was opening even farther, this time she didn?t hesitate, didn?t ask, she just barged right through, demanding his attention and his approval of her involvement. "Then we only hit interior walls, make sure we don't take out anything that holds anything up. Controlled burn, honestly we should take out most of the paper and flammable stuff so we can control it a little more." She pointed to two walls on the office. "Those two, if I do it right we can just hit his side, it might scorch what's on the other side of the wall but shouldn't burn it." She wasn?t going to let him freeze her out, he apparently realized that as his gaze fell back to the floor plan as Kate laid out the plan.

He nodded as she indicated the two target walls. "What about security? How do you suggest we get in and get out?"

Her mind started working, going through ideas both possible, impossible, and downright crazy. She decided to just be honest, talking it out with him rather than trying to take full control. She had to admit that where Howe was concerned she knew next to nothing about the situation.

"I'd say a spell but I'm assuming they have that covered. We might get in from the roof, that's how I broke into Alain's house." Her lower lip was pulled between her teeth. "Have they had work done on it?"

A brow quirked at her mention of breaking into the Detective-Baron's house. "I don't know,? he admitted, the brow remaining quirked. "The intelligence slowed after the partners had been hurt. They laid low for a while."

It made sense, Howe was a target, the other?s in the office were more than likely targets too. If one was hit then they all would try to not bring attention to themselves. Her thought process started off slightly linear, they needed eyes inside the offices. "Send someone in for a consultation? They are a law firm right? Have them drop something that gives us an opening? Or at least something that will let us know what kind of security they actually have?"

He rubbed his chin, weighing the suggestion, then nodded. "Alright. That sounds like a good idea. It would have to be someone who has no obvious ties to us."

"I'm sure we could find someone. " She smiled a little "Then we break in and BAM!" Even though she sounded confident she wasn?t so sure about the idea of using someone else. He distracted her with his next segue.

His grin returned and he nodded. "Precisely." Then he chuckled. "Good to see you smiling again."

"You too Bear. Does this make you happy?" She glanced at the plans again. "Do you think we should find a place to hide after this or flaunt it?" Yes he had drawn her attention away from the plan but she forced herself away from the flirting and back to the plan at hand.

"I find myself smiling often when I'm around you." He returned his attention to the plans and chuckled. "That all depends," he began in reply to her query. "How much trouble did you want to stir up?"

Somehow they continued to carry on their dual conversations, keeping track of both as they spoke. "Well I hope they're happy smiles." A hand reached over to ruffle his hair. "Well we can either go run back to Seramanc or we can carry on as if nothing happened." She smiled, her face looking all innocent. "Why no, I have no idea what you're talking about, why would you think *I* Had something to do with that Mr. Howe? I hardly know you. and Bear was with me the entire time so I don't know why you'd accuse him either."

A wry grin crooked at she ruffled his hair, then played the innocent card. "Mmmhmmm." Then he laughed as he pictured Howe's face turning beet red and blustering and a satisfied smile bloomed. "Yeah, better to stick around as if nothing happened at all."

They had promised each other they were going to blow up Howe?s office. She didn?t know when but she knew in order to get things right she had to start working on the explosives and detonators. She also had to work on the calling card she wanted to leave for the Fat Man.

Lucky had his own things going on, he returned to the castle just at nightfall after getting things prepared. The day was spent taking care of a few things with the courts, getting his reports on Howe and a dozen others, and checking in on the townhouse and the shipyard. He got a contractor hired up to get started on the house on the island and took care of a few other things. By the time day turned to dusk he was heading back to the castle.

She was in the lower bowels of the castle, part of it was still set up as dungeon and holding cells, but the vast majority of it had been converted into storage. There was a cavern looking room full of what appeared to be antique furniture, a larger one that held clothes, rack after rack of dresses that she'd worn over the many many years she'd been around. Neither of those rooms had her inside of them, instead in a third, smaller room there was a light on and some rather loud music spilling from inside.

And there was Kate, in the weapons room, standing by a table in the middle of the racks of weapons stored there, guns, explosives, knives. Her hips were swaying to the beat of the music, causing the hem of her short kilt to jump, and while she wasn't singing she was mouthing the lyrics to the song as she bent over the table and started mixing something.

When he arrived at the castle, he was immediately directed to where Kate was. He didn't have to search far, he could hear the music resonating from within. He stood in the doorway, arms crossed and a grin crooked at the corner of his mouth as he watched her swaying and moving to the beat of the music. He tilted his head to the side to get a better look as she bent over, looking with great appreciation at the view.

He didn't say a word, just stood there watching her for a while with that grin.

Whatever she was mixing had her full attention, she stopped mouthing the words to the song, pulled her lower lip between her teeth, and narrowed her eyes as she worked.

A few minutes later she seemed satisfied and slowly straightened to look down at it. With a nod of her head she turned away from the table, stopping short when she saw him, for some reason she hadn?t expected to see him standing there. "Bear"

"Evening, Princess." He greeted her with a smile. "You look like you're busy. What are you up to?"

"Salve Bear." her shrug and the slight lift of her hand would be in place if they were talking about nothing important. What she actually said though negated the banality of the gesture, "I'm mixing up explosives for the Howe thing. What were you up to?"

He pushed up from his lean and closed the distance between them. A glance snuck over to the table where she had been bent over working. Cool blue gaze returned to her as he snaked an arm around her waist and leaned in to brush a kiss to her lips. "Just coming back from taking care of things around town. Picked up new recon on Howe."

On the table there were various colors of powder, a few jelly like balls, and some lovely grey clay like stuff. She first leaned into him as his arm went around her waist, then she tilted her head up for that kiss.

"You happy with how things were taken care of? Happy with the Howe recon? Can we go blow his stuff up now? Please?" She couldn?t help asking, even though she wasn?t ready she was still holding out hope that they?d get to go blow the bastard up soon.

He noted the things that were on the table with a quirk of curiosity. Then he nodded in reply to her query, his attention returning to her. "Yeah. Things are going smoothly at the shipyard, got some direction to a few associates regarding some filings. I haven't gone through the recon yet, Princess. I was busying taking care of a few other things."

?Other things? in Rhy Din was a loaded statement. "Good other things or 'Oh my god we're all gonna die' other things?" That made her smile.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Good other things. Or at least I hope they are good other things." He tipped his head to the table. "Are you done here for the moment, or are you still in the middle of things?"

"Its all stable, we're good." Turning her back to him she grabbed a few towels, setting one on top of the explosives on the table and using the other to wipe her hands off.

When she turned around, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and peered over her shoulder. "I was thinking we might go out to the lake."

She turned her head to the side so she could look at him. "Now that would be fun. " The towel was set down and she leaned back against him.

A kiss was pressed to the corner of her mouth when she glanced back at him. Arms tightened around her when she leaned back against him. "I was hoping you'd say that." Another kiss, this time to her lips as he loosened his arms from around her. "Shall we, Princess?"

Rolling up on the balls of her feet she turned in his arms, gave him a big kiss and nodded. "Yes, lets go."

A smile bloomed and he turned, one arm remaining around her as he started for the door with her. He glanced over his shoulder at the table, then back at Kate. "You are a woman with many talents, Princess."

"This surprises you?" Laughing she pulled him through the door, turning to close and lock it.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Not in the least, Princess. Not in the least."


The thread continues here: Exploding Truth.