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The Professor looked over his box of papers. Moran nodded but found his snifter a more interesting study.
"Yes, Colonel. These were the first building blocks of my syndicate that now spans the world. Blackmail was a good test of my ability to acquire operatives and move my influence out beyond a few transgressing fellow professors. But the actual work was sordid and unimaginative – sexual peccadilloes have not changed for centuries – and I required more interesting fodder. I left my high-ended work in this field to that little snake Milverton and moved on."
Moran had come here for an assignment, not to hear a biography. However, he knew better than to interrupt his boss when he was in a loquacious mood.
"However, I required anonymity. People knew who I was in that Sussex school. I determined to vanish from all English eyes and thus from memory here. I left, going as far as I could go and still be part of the Empire I planned to make my own.
Australia.
"Australia." A reptilian smile briefly thinned the Professor's lips without ever reaching the glittering eyes. "A continent full of criminals – who would notice one more? Especially one who eschewed outward crimes like stage robbery.
"When I first came to Victoria I had rooms in Capulet Street."
Moran choked on his brandy.