The Sentinel sat in the back of the courtroom pondering the deepening and darkening situation. The lawyer was getting too close. Closer than she realized, he suspected. It was like watching a Perry Mason episode play out before your eyes. If someone had the sense to put all the pieces together…
There was a vague chance, however remote, that Maya might dodge the murder charge but still go down for arson. Or vice versa. Either way, her time in prison could be less than anticipated.
That was a disturbing thought.
The Sentinel had been following Maya, watching her, watching everyone associated with her, for a reason. She was a threat to all those future plans. And that was unacceptable. This was a decisive moment, not just for the Sentinel, but for everyone.
A new beast, slouching towards Bethlehem…
This minor disturbance could not be permitted to impede the plan.
The Sentinel had broken the shackles of convention before, in the most dramatic way possible, and would not hesitate to do so again. Fate could not be slowed by plebian morality or commonplace tropes. They had moved far beyond all that, never to return. A higher plane of existence awaited, for those who had the courage to walk the path. This could be the next step in human evolution.
This could be the time when everything changed. Because the Sentinel kept watch. Protected the populace. Guided the masses toward the beckoning horizon.
Assuming everything went the way it should in this courtroom. If it didn't…
Steps would have to be taken.
The Sentinel watched like a fly on the wall, the invisible observer, seeing all. Michael sneaking into the courthouse conference room. Brittany looking more like a kidnap victim than a daughter. The woman from the lab. The so-called wife. And so much more…
That was how the title “Sentinel” came to be. It belonged to the one who saw all, who had insight and foresight and profound powers of perception.
But you could never be certain who’d taken their thirty pieces of silver.
The Sentinel must be watching. Always watching.
And when appropriate, nudging the pieces into place. With a sledgehammer, if necessary. With the purifying flames of perdition, if that was what the situation demanded.
If the Sentinel had to kill again, so be it. Amen. Requiescat in pace.