Inconvenient Messenger

"To be honest, he seemed a bit rattled. The first time I recall seeing him like that."

"From what you describe, chances are it goes deep. A relaxed demeanor morphs quickly into something … out of character."

"Precisely."

Heretofore the pattern was seldom verbalized and when it was, only in example form.  The generic pattern, though common, was seldom communicated with words alone.

"What can we conclude from observation of the tiger? Few in number, large global influence, much of the power asymmetry vis-a-vis its international context derived from private secrets. One would think whistle blowing would be more of a threat. Small size helps. Advance technology helps. Anything else?"

"Trading cards.", she whispered without looking up.