On Wed, 2003-03-12 at 17:54, Philip Hart wrote: > On Wed, 12 Mar 2003, Mark A Mandel wrote: > > > On Sat, 8 Mar 2003, Philip Hart wrote: > > > > #According to several books (well, _Jhereg_ and _Yendi_ at least) > > #it's the way of things that one assassin is assigned per job. > > #I think this was presented as a measure to avoid interference. > > #(Which wouldn't necessarily be at issue here, admittedly.) > > #And perhaps this indicates Dragaeran patience relative to Easterners. > > > > But when the Demon was hiring Vlad to take out Mellar, who was holed up > > in Castle Black, he told him, "If someone else sees a clear shot, they're > > going to take it", OWTTE. (sorry for the typos; my ISP is giving really > > rotten echo time). > > Your ISP seems to have mangled "or words to that effect" into OWTTE - > quite impressive. Ok, re your argument, this is a case that proves > (tests) the rule - the Demon explicitly tells Vlad this, indicating > that sending a second team is unusual. It's an emergency situation > calling for unusual solutions. And Vlad replies he'll shine anyone > who gets in his way - what I meant by "interference". And of course > the plot of _Yendi_ turns on this point. I'm AFB, but I don't think it was a second team. I think it was just that they needed Mellar dead before word of his trechery got out, so word was put out that if anyone sees Mellar, shine him on the spot and you'll get paid. So, that means just about any Jhereg who saw Mellar might take a shot, not just someone on a specified second team.