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In the Hands of the Enemy by meckinock	10 Review(s)
lindahoyland	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 9/10/2005
I guessed Roly was up to no good though he had me fooled in the last chapter.The ranger boy's death and Aragorn's grief was heartrending.Totally gripping. Author Reply: Rolly's fate was an open question even to myself for a long time. I knew, of course, that he was Teburic's master, but he was also a kid who had been warped by an extremely bad influence. He came close to making the right decision.

Caroline	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/14/2003
You know I was really hoping that Rolly might judt turn out to be a good boy...but what the hey....Another fabulously engaging chapter. I really liked the twist at the end, I must aadmit that I though the vile would just knock Aragorn out and allow Rolly to drag him off somewheere so I think the idea of mking him all confused and forgetfull is excellent! And poor Aragorn, I loved the flashback sequence as well. Some of my favourite characters in fan fic are the sons of Elrond and wha little we have seen of them here I think is wonderful. Hopefully we can expect more? Please? And thankyou for stickying a little of Halbarad at the end I was beginning to despair. "Of course I can track them" Perfect! Author Reply: Hi, Caroline! You're not the first person I've had to apologize to for giving Halbarad so little to do in this chapter. You know, when I started to post, he had even less "screen time", but he was so favorably received that I've actually been trying to expand his role as I go along. Rolly just got in with a bad crowd, poor kid. I think I might have originally planned on doing exactly as you described (dragging Aragorn off), but the only problem with Rolly dragging Aragorn anywhere is that the kid is pretty shrimpy and I don't think he could physically handle a 170-180 pound adult. That may have actually been why I had to come up with option B in the first place, I can't remember! I'm really glad you enjoyed the flashback sequence. Since I've been alluding to that event since Chapter 1, I thought it might be effective to re-live it with Aragorn, through his eyes, just as he experienced it. I have to disappoint you - no more E/E in this story - it will have to wait for the (saints preserve me) sequel! meckinock

Nilmandra	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/14/2003
Wow! So much good stuff in this chapter again! I read it last night, but was suffering from jet lag and had to reread it this morning so that I could fully appreciate it. Aragorn is good - he gets the post free and clobbers Teburic. And then Rolly kills him! Hard to believe this mere boy is who control Teburic! Aragorn knows Rolly is not to be entirely trusted, but holds out for redemtpion. What is this stuff that Rolly drugged him with? Some sort of concoction to make him confused, a little short term memory loss? A little like Versed? Fortunately, Halbarad and Gandalf are close and not easily led off track. They have to catch Rolly, and while I am all for giving him every last chance to be redeemed, it cannot be at the cost of Aragorn's life. Interesting to see what happened in the cave. Aragorn has guilt too, over Baranir's death. And he didn't listen to his brothers, the best orc hunters ever. Poor Aragorn. May I hope that you will give him some time, soon, in Elrond's care to recover from all this? Author Reply: Hi, Nilmandra, Right, I caught somewhere that you were in... Denver? Hope you had a good trip. Teburic knew what side his bread was buttered on, even if it was a pipsqueak holding the butterknife - also I figure the boy learned psychological manipulation from the best...and he never really saw another option for himself before he met Aragorn. Aragorn wanted so much for the kid to see that humanity had a good side. Yeah, short-term memory loss, enhanced suggestibility, something like that! Don't worry, Halbarad doesn't give an orc's behind about the kid's redemption! LOL about ignoring the twins' wisdom re orc hunting at your own peril! I don't know what Aragorn was thinking! Regarding your last suggestion, that one's going to be a hard sell...

The Karenator	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/14/2003
Drat it all! I knew I misspelled Babs name! I even looked it up and I guess the search engine just returns all the web sites that have it misspelled! I hate it when I stumble in the morning after and find that I spell worse than a novice witch that skips class to watch reruns of Charmed. Even at 1:30 in the morning I knew it didn't look right...Drat! Drat! Drat! We won't even go into the other typos and mistakes.....now where are those twins?.....I need a hug sandwich.....:>( Karen Author Reply: That's all right; I misspelled "Scotchgard" in my reply. If you're willing to stay up until 1:30 AM crafting these masterpieces I'm not going to quibble over a few typos - I was in bed by 10:00! The twins say they need their hair braided... Author Reply: With you posting at 1:30 AM and me posting at 5:00 AM it's a wonder we're even writing in full sentences...

fliewatuet	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/14/2003
There's nothing like a good cup of tea and another chapter of 'In the Hands of the Enemy' first thing in the morning. I was relieved when Aragorn finally managed to yank that dratted post free and even fell Teburic with its help. But, alas, it is as I feared, Rolly stands on the wrong side. But I quite like him though. He must feel a deep love for his master that lets him endure what is necessary to set the trap, like receiving a convincing beating from Teburic. And it is an elaborate trap, indeed. Cudos to you for devising it! I was puzzled at first when Aragorn woke again, and I briefly thought that Rolly's betrayal might have been just the result of a somewhat paranoid and fevered dream of Aragorn. But Halbarad and Gandalf finding those shards of glass ... And before I forget: Thanks for revealing the details of the Ranger's attempt to rid that cave of the Orcs. Aragorn must have been somewhat desperate to reach them given the way he drove his men onward, ignoring even his brothers' warnings. BTW I loved your description both of the cave (narrow, slimy, dark - reminded me why I would never venture into one unless forced to do so) and the way the Rangers fought. I had so hoped that Aragorn might escape this time, for I think it is about time that he were given the opportunity to curl up in a nice comfortable bed with a hot cup of soup and have his injuries treated (breaking his sword-hand was a mean thing to do!). But I fear that he is still further away from safety than ever (which makes for a more interesting story grin). However, keep up the excellent writing, fliewatuet Author Reply: Hey, good morning (afternoon?), there is nothing like a cup of tea and your review first thing in the morning (though somehow I suspect our mornings are a little out of synch since the closest thing I have to the Baltic is Lake Michigan). Thanks for staying with me even though reality is getting a little confusing (especially for Aragorn) -Rolly's role was kind of the jailhouse informant concept taken to extremes...glad you liked the orc cave sequence, although I may be stretching credibility to suggest that Aragorn is so far into the hunt that ELLLADAN, of all people, has to weigh in as the voice of reason! Don't worry, Aragorn's going to be getting some much-deserved rest soon! I just felt that I had to let him get himself out of the jam he was in, and still leave Halbarad and company something useful to do! I know I was mean to break his sword hand, but I needed a little injury with big implications. Sorry!

strider's girl	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/14/2003
I'm still not sure about Rolly - he seems that he wants to help Aragorn but that he's really working for someone else. He's a very complicated character and I am totally surprised at what he is doing. I was half-expecting Gandalf and Halbarad show up and save them but I suppose there is still more angst and torture for Aragorn still to come. Great chapter. Author Reply: Rolly's about 90 percent gone, but you never know! It's never too late to make a right choice and all that Dr. Phil stuff (as Karen would put it). I think Aragorn's all tortured out, but the kid's not finished throwing around those little yellow Mardi Gras beads (oh, my Gosh, I'm stuck in a bad imitation of Karen's review). Gandalf and Halbarad had some transportation issues, as you know, but I think they're back on track now. Thanks!

The Karenator	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/14/2003
Aragron Estel Elessar Thorongil Elf-Stone Telcontar, son of Arathorn's monogram looked like a pre-schooler's schizophrenic attempt at the alphabet, so most of his friends just called him Strider...or other monikers he wouldn't want repeated in polite company. But he was no where near little prim pinky tea ladies when Tubby T took the spotlight again. It was plain as Tubby T's ears, side flippers that stuck out like both doors open on a Volkswagon, that Tubby was still driving down the same dirt road with the radio crackling out a tune so over played that Strider was getting an ear worm. A guy with more names than the Mormon Tabernacle Choir didn't need to wait on the Midnight Train to Georgia to see that the only chance he had of giving this beasty boy the slip was to hand him a lie that was such a smooth move that Tubby would have to take a few Car and Driver's to the port a potty and read up on exhaust systems. Just to get the hunk of burning love's heart swivelling to the beat of The King, Strider dangled a few nuggets of carat into the tale. When Bunny Belly hopped off to get a map, the Rolly kid put on his pitiful peasant face and begged the ranger to spill the cookies. But this ranger was not one to go off half baked and told the kid to get back in the oven before the Big Bopper came back and thumped him into a tortilla. Even though Strider was dizzier than a ditzy dame on How To Marry a Millionaire, he two-tonned the post out of ground as hard as an orc's hide and bowtied Blubber Mountain. Just as he's making new paved roads in Tubby's tale, the kid ups and offs the doughboy with a knife through his jelly belly. Everything drops into place like a roulette ball hitting seven and Strider gets a Kodak moment. The kid is the brains behind this operation! Rolly's too smart to let the ranger get a toehold in 'his' Birkenstock's so he drops a stink bomb that smells worse than Halbarad's feet after riding the borders for six weeks in the summer. Strider takes another unscheduled trip down nightmare alley to find himself bumping shoulders with cave walls so dark and dank that he thinks he's stumbled into a game of Dungeons and Dragons with a bunch of computer nerds that only wash when the moon is blue. It's one bad scene after another from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as he mixes it up with ping pong ball brained orcs and with no one to back him up but baby rangers that still have Pablum on their chins and elves that repel dirt like Scotchgarded Chippendale dancers. After Strider takes a arrow hit to his knee, he sees the kid ranger get run through with a blade big enough to spit venison. Things couldn't be any worse than if he had brought along a troop of Cub Scouts to rid the world of Dr. Evil. Then he's left to deal with double dose elves that are the hybrid cross of Austin Powers and James Bond. This king-in-waiting gig is starting to wear as thin as Glad Wrap stretched over lava rocks and he figures if Edward can abdicate for a date, he can surely drop kick the crown before he takes a barrel over the falls and sinks like an opera singer at a Led Zeppelin concert. But Strider doesn't get a chance to give away all the family jewels before he finds himself back in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter is perched at his side with a look of concern that would melt Mother Theresa's heart. He doesn't know any more about how Tubby got turned into a pin cushion than he does about how Madonna gets road cones to stay on her chest, but he does know he feels like he was on the losing end of a fist fight with a Mac truck doing ninety. Suddenly, the kid has gotten a burr under his saddle and is ready to start a chorus of Happy Trails, but the ranger is feeling lower than a snake's hind leg and can't think about riding off into the sunset until his stomach gets off the tilt-a-whirl. Even though his head is mushier than a month old jack-o-lantern, something about the kid doesn't match up any better than pinstripes and polka dots on a church lady. Still, Strider figures that putting some distance between them and the Horror Holiday Inn might give him time to clean out the attic and see if he can find a lightswitch. He can only hope that the power's not been cut. Johnny Halbarad, PI, is not a man to give up easily and when he finds that his quarry has taken the Last Train To Clarksville and all that's left is a wiff of stink and a corpse blowing up like the Michelin Man, he angles his trained eye on Mr. Spock, hoping the forsenic wiz will be able to star date this ransacked residence of evil. Old Gandalf has a nose for cooking labs and it doesn't take him long to call bingo on the stash of sugars someone's been using to make potion pies. When he can't make head nor tails of the recipes, he gives the nod to Halbarad to get on with the game. Gandalf works just as good on the fly as he does sitting like a rotting log in front of old Quincey reruns. When the sly science slick pumps Halbarad about his hound dog scenting, the ranger's short hairs on his neck draw up so tight his eyebrows fly up like a window shade with a bad spring. Halbarad could bloodhound the Enterprise through Federation Space with both feet on terra firma, a Milky Way in each hand and a tape of 'Nimoy Sings Striestand' blaring through his headphones. Gosh, meckinock, this was one of your best chapters and probably the most difficult to Chandlerize. It was rich with such good imagery and story line that I had a hard time doing the detective lingo. It was like Raymond Chandler interpreting the Bible. It felt blasphemous it was so well done and well...serious. There is no other way to say it other than it was just a terrific chapter. Poor Strider....the headache of it all! I don't think I've ever seen him so battered and bruised and now drugged into partial amnesia. I knew that little snip of a Rolly kid was doing a bad Oliver. The little twirp! And Aragorn still has hope the kid will do the right thing...yeah right...and I'm gonna plant marshmallows on the moon! The dream or remembrance of the cave and Baranuir's death was so moving and gives us a glimpse into the guilt that Aragorn feels for the loss of the boy. But the twins looked nice, a gentle breeze fluttering through their hair as they adjusted their perfectly tailored and spotless tunics....Oh! that was me...not what you wrote....sorry. The whole chapter was interesting to read and moved the story forward so that now we can get our heros to resolving this whole mess. I think we still have some surprises about Rolly to come. And hopefully, Aragorn will resolve his feelings about Baranuir's death. You have done a wonderful job of showing us the weight of responsiblity for a leader. Excellent...just excellent! Carry on....:>) Karen Author Reply: Scotchguarded Chippendale dancers? YOU WISH!! By the way, glad you liked the Elf tresses, I put them in especially for you. Blasphemous? Hardly, but if so it was such a delightfully guilty pleasure, wasn't it? Once again, I'm speechless. "Thin as Glad Wrap stretched over lava rocks?" "Nimoy sings Streisand?" You are a wonder and possibly a national treasure. I would just sit here and shake my head and sputter tea and scare my dog under the bed but look - I have to go to work and be with normal people all day! I am taking this with me, but today could be the day they finally call Employee Assistance on me...if I don't post again by Sat night we'll know who to blame..

grumpy	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/13/2003
All this time I have been hoping for Halbarad and Gandalf to rescue Strider, from the mean and nasty Teburic, and he did it all by himself, not only that he was not totally fooled by the kid. ( I will have to go back and read again about the white rock) Now I will have to go back to hurrying Halbarad and Gandalf into rescuing Strider from some kid who is into flinging, mind altering drugs at him. I really love this story, so glad you included the part about what happened in the cave with the orcs So where is the kid dragging him off to now? And who is behind it all? can't wait for more Author Reply: Oh, you know I had to let him do it himself! It's like watching a little kid try to tie his shoelaces, isn't it?? You want to help him so bad... Where is the kid dragging him... hm... someplace neither he nor Halbarad is going to want to set foot into! You actually won't find a ref to the white rock in Chapter 3 because the fact that the kid threw it did not immediately convince Aragorn that he was bad. Aragorn knows the kid is working with a gang of highwaymen, after all, so it probably would have been his job to throw it, and even after the kid saw how the fight ended up and decided to change sides, he might have been simply afraid to own up to it. So it was still an open issue in Aragorn's mind, something he just filed away in his "Rolly" file along with the other little things that didn't really add up. I didn't want to belabor the rock in Chapter 3 because I was afraid readers would think it was a bigger clue for Aragorn than it was (and the readers all figured out the kid threw it anyway).

AM	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/13/2003
This just keeps getting better and better. Love your writing, some wonderful phrases. Constantly checking for updates ... Author Reply: Thanks, your comments are very generous and very welcome! I am still hoping to get Chapter 11 up on Saturday.

daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 11/13/2003
Halbarad is still my favorite (of course he can track them!), but the Aragorn scenes were also fascinating. The death of the 15 year old ranger was horrible. I can see why Aragorn blamed himself even though no one else would blame him. I liked Elladan and Elrohir and the understated family angst you are exploring with Aragorn. Nice, delicate touch there. Rolly is very tricky. I cannot imagine what will become of him. Author Reply: Sorry, Daw, Halbarad kind of got squeezed out of this chapter! How about I'll make you a trade - an Eilian bathing scene for Halbarad in your choice of situations! I was enjoying E/E very much, too. Love that brotherly stuff. I see Rolly as a very tragic figure.

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