posted 07-05-99 01:34 AM ET
Umbra and the native tumbled around in Umbra's bath. The native grabbed Umbra's scuba mask and used it to bang Umbra around.*Caught Off guard. Losing fight!* thought Umbra. *Have to resort to cheesy judo throw* Umbra grabbed the his attacker and heaved.
"Silly Man. Only works out of water. Hahahahaha.. cough cough cough..." Umbra's attacker had inhaled some of the water and was now choking and drowning.
Umbra swam over to the side of the tub and got out. Once he was out of the scuba equipment, he grabbed a tub skimmer and fished out the drowned man. Deciding he needed information, he relucantly gave the man CPR. After several tedious minutes, the man coughed up some bath water and tried to focus his eyes on Umbra.
"Well!?!" barked Umbra.
"Are you Umbra of the SMAC Forums?" the man weakly asked.
"What if I am?"
"I am from Strategy Gamer. You still owe us $24.95 for your yearly subscription."
Umbra stared at him incrediously. "You tried to kill me to collect the money?"
"(cough cough) I wasn't. I was down here on vacation and saw you go into the club pool. I went swimming out to see if I could get you to write a check. Your are my only outstanding account. You attacked me when you surfaced. Knocked me over and nearly drowned me, you crazy person!"
Umbra studied the man. Doctor Yin's ingenuity was legendary. "Are you putting me on? Strategy Gamer isn't Malaysian!"
"They moved most of their offices out here a couple of years ago. That's when my brother-in-law married my sister and moved out here. The American office is only to get around tariffs. Happy? How about a check? (cough)"
Making an excuse to call the man some medical help, Agent Umbra slipped away.
Umbra wondered how he would pass the time until he was to go meet his contact, HelloKitty, at midnight down at a local band performance.
Umber thought, *I better start getting prepared now. Where can I get a jar of peanut butter, 12 hamsters, and a roll of duct tape?*