Part Thirty-Three

Zora woke up to the smell of jasmine and she felt calm and secure, which in a way was pretty strange considering she was tied to a chair in what looked like a cellar. She looked around curiously, there was something she was supposed to remember, something... oh if it was important it would come to her she was sure of it.

A woman stepped out of the shadows near the stairs, half her face was covered with a mask but Zora still thought she seemed really nice and friendly and she smiled at her.

"Argyle really knows what he's doing... that's some powerful stuff right there." The woman said and Zora thought she might know who this Argyle might be but she couldn't quite place him.

"So, Zora... is Zora your real name?"

She thought a while before answering. "Yes, I think it is... I sometimes call myself other names but this one feels right."

"Who sent you after us?" The woman walked closer, her hips swaying a bit and making her skirt ripple, something that Zora found very distracting. The woman reached out a hand and tilted her face upwards. "Answer the question, Zora."

"Oh, uhm... it was a man. A tall man. He had a vest and very blue eyes." Zora smiled at the woman proudly.

"Does this man have a name?" She still held Zora's chin gently, looking into her eyes.

"I bet he does. Most people have a name, it makes it easier for others to call them. So he probably has one too." The woman sighed and released Zora's chin pinch the bridge of her own nose. She muttered something Zora couldn't make out.

"Ok, ok... what is this man's name?"

"He said to not call him Lord Amberfitch but instead tell everyone his name was Bob, I think it was Bob, could have been Rob. I'm not sure, my head is a bit fuzzy."

"And where did you meet this man?"

"He came to see me at the bar." The woman looked disappointed and Zora felt sad that she couldn't be more helpful.

"So you do not know where he lives?"

"No, he said he didn't want visitors in his airship so I couldn't come there."

"I see. Thank you." Zora smiled. "A final question. Where are you from?" Zora knitted her brow. Something felt wrong about that question, like there was something she should remember. But she really wanted the nice lady to like her so she shrugged.

"I was raised in the Temple of the Forgotten God." The woman nodded before taking something from a pocket in her skirt.

"Thank you again, Zora. Now sleep." Zora breathed in to answer but her nostrils filled with the scent of lavender and before she could utter a sound her eyes fluttered close and she fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

Part Thirty-Two

Argyle did indeed have a cellar, it was even mostly free from debris and broken machinery. They tied the woman they'd known as Zora to a chair and waited for her to wake up. Marie got restless quickly and disappeared upstairs, presumably to find something interesting to fiddle with. As she ascended the stairs she cast a meaningful look at Miss Sarah.

"How hard did you hit her?" Argyle looked slightly worried.

"Oh, not too hard. The stone wall did most of the work," Miss Sarah answered as she observed Argyle's reaction. The inventor hadn't been aware of her possessing that particular skill-set and she was curious of his reaction.

It was obvious he was having trouble combining his own image of the sweet caring assistant with this more violent one. Finally he seemed to give up and changed the subject.

"What will you do once she wakes up? I do not fancy you torturing her in my basement."

"Don't worry, we are just going to talk. Torture doesn't give good answers anyway - it's a filthy practice."

"Good, good... that's what I wanted to hear. In that case I have something that will help her feel like she can talk more freely. Just give me minute..." Argyle walked over to a set of drawers tucked away in a corner and came back with what looked like a stick of incense.

"You might want to stay away from the smoke yourself though... or you might start talking about things you don't want... her to know about too." The hesitation was barely noticable and Sarah smiled and nodded.

"I'll be careful. Thank you Argyle."

Part Thirty-One

The shadow landed a blow before either of them could find their bearings. It was aiming for Marie's head, hoping to drop the biggest threat first, but one didn't survive as long as Marie without some serious reflexes. The blow which would have swiftly rendered her unconscious had it hit full on barely glanced and she spun into a ready position, flexing her wrists to spring her small knives into her hands.

The shadow tumbled into the faint light from the gas lamps and Marie recognized the characteristic braids. Zora. No longer playing the role of the sweet waitress her face had hardened and her whole demeanor reeked of something completely different than before.

"You here to kill me or are you just the distraction" Marie taunted, hoping that Sparky would get the hint.

Zora only smiled before she exploded into action. Close combat was not one of Marie's preferred methods of combat but she could hold her own. Zora was in a completely different league. It took all of Marie's skill to keep on her feet and she knew her luck would run out soon.

Had Marie been alone in the alley Zora would a won, no doubt about it, but she wasn't, something the waitress-turned-thug/assassin quickly noticed when and elbow crashed into her back. She scrambled to get to her feet and narrowly avoided a slash of Marie's blades.

"What took you so long?" Marie asked as she dodged and spun.

"Damn skirt got stuck... you were fine though." Miss Sarah said as she blocked two blows from Zora and finished with her own counter-blow forcing the other woman back.

"Fine! I was fighting for my life!"

"... and since you are still alive and mostly unhurt you did fine. Your posture is still sloppy though so we should work on that." Sarah deflected a few more increasingly desperate blows before she got her chance. A misstep from the braided girl left an opening Sarah swiftly took advantage of and a solid elbow blow propelled the would-be assassin into the stone wall of the building, effectively knocking her unconscious.

After catching her breath Marie bent to check on Zora. "Out cold. She won't be moving in a while. Enough time for us to get the heck away from here."

Miss Sarah finished refastening the skirt she had gotten rid of for the fight."Sparky's already on the move. He bolted as soon as the fight started."

"Great. We'll find him later... now. Let's bring this one to a suitably scary place so we can interrogate her."

"We can try, but I recognize that fighting style and if she's what I think she is we won't get a word out of her."

"Well. We won't know until we get poking. Argyle has a cellar, right?"

Part Thirty

Marie stood up so quickly her chair fell backwards. She grabbed the teapot but found no microphone or transmitter, setting it down again she went for the sugar bowl instead. While she was looking the voice continued:

"... I guess even the fat thief finds a gem now and then. Unfortunately you are too late. My plan is already in motion and this little mishap won't get in my way." Sparky frowned at the insult and helped Marie look, when they found what seemed to be the little Talkie he gestured to her to keep looking for the microphone as the man on the other end, Lord Amberfitch presumably, obviously could hear them as well as talk to them.

"What, no snappy comebacks? And I heard you had such a great sense of humor Sparky. Is it the little gutter rat who's gagging you..." Miss Sarah finally located the Listener, the small brass oval were set under the table and she quickly got it loose before looking at Marie and raising a questioning eyebrow. Marie looked around before her eyes once again fell on the teapot. Lifting the lid she indicated to Miss Sarah to drop the Listener in.

"... you won't stop me. I have yo-" There was a crackle as the device hit the liquid and a small flash flared. "-u watched where ever you go, you can't hi.... wait, what did you d-" Marie dropped the Talkie into the teapot as well, her whole hand tingling with the thaumaturgy needed to send sounds, and the voice went silent.

"Let's get out of here. He's probably watching but maybe he doesn't know about the third door."

The three of them quickly gathered their things and went for the powder rooms, they slipped into the the men's room, Sparky entering first to cover the women as they slipped into the storage closet just inside the door. Well inside Marie found the switch that unlocked the secret passage and presses it. She breathed a little easier when it swung open silently and revealed the narrow corridor behind it, the three of them moved into it, as silently as they could, closing the hidden door behind them.

At the end of the corridor were stairs and after those and a damp cellar they could finally step outside. They were about a block away from Brodie's now, in an alley populated by stray cats and one or two rats. Marie cursed fiercely.

"I hate to have to run, and it's all I've been doing these last days. I'm tired of this." Miss Sarah hmmed her agreement as Sparky spoke up.

"Well, if you want I think I can find out where Lord Amberfitch is holed up..."

"Yes! Go, find out, then I can finally end this damned business and go back to the way things should be, nice and easy." Marie's annoyance still bled through and she wasn't properly paying attention to her surrounding. Therefore she was actually surprised when the figure detached itself from the shadows.

Part Twenty-Nine

Sparky looked like a cat that had swallowed a canary and Marie restrained the urge to punch him.

"Who?"

"Well, it wasn't easy to find out, if it hadn't been for my incredible intellects and amazing deduction skills we would still be fumbling about in the dark of unknowing..." Sparky made a rather flamboyant hand gesture.

"We are still fumbling, Sparky... unless you start talking more sense!" Marie tapped her fingers on the table while Miss Sarah hid her smile behind her tea-cup.

"Oh, OK then if you insist on being boring."

"I do. Might have something to do with the whole someone-trying-to-kill-me deal but I don't know..."

"Snark is really not your color Marie, really. Anyway. Remember Lord Amberfitch? He was run out of Chrysopoeia some years ago for sponsoring illegal experiments."

"Yeah, I remember, he wanted to re-invent time travel and where hiring inventor's and thaumaturges all over town to do it."

"Exactly. The Watchers found him out and not even his considerable fortune could save him. It did save him from execution though and he got exiled. No one has heard from him since... at least not officially."

"So, he's back then. But why would he want to kill me?"

"Because he still has the same plan, and still lacks the necessary skills to do the job on his own. He was more careful this time though, hired people to make parts without telling them what they where for and so on an so forth... Although, since he had to hire smart people, some figured it out and had to be eliminated. Which is what happened last night. Of course I can bet on him not planning for you to get away from the Sniffer like that. He probably thought you where one of those two-bit thugs other politicians like to hire."

"His loss. You really found this out by just getting into Forrester's papers?"

"No, of course not, most of this I've pieced together earlier. The things I found over there were just the glue to piece all the parts together."

"Excellent work, Sparky, excellent work indeed..." The voice was metallic and came from somewhere near the teapot.

part Twenty-Eight

Marie and Miss Sarah had just about finished their food and were choosing their after dinner tea's when Sparky entered the bar. He nodded at Zora and made his way to their table with is purposeful stride.

"Good evening ladies, I see you got my message..." Marie nodded and eyes the leather bag slung over the thief's shoulder.

"Since I now know time is of the essence I'll start by saying that my mission, of course, was a success but I come bearing both good and bad news. But before I start babbling I need tea." Sparky turned and caught Zora's eye, held up a finger and she nodded her confirmation. Marie could see her adding another cup to the tray the was preparing for their table.

"Good news and bad news you say... get the bad ones out of the way first then."

"OK, straight to the point, Councilman Forrest is dead - and has been for at least three days. Whoever sent you that assignment was using his doves and his types but it wasn't him. Unless he managed to become an unusually solid ghost and I doubt that. especially since he seems to have gone over at once and not lingered. There where no ectotrails anywhere."

Marie nodded and swallowed a curse. Forrest had been a good client, up until now, and she would miss his business.

Zora came over with the tea and the conversation stilled while she served them. When she turned to leave Sparky flashed her a brilliant smile and winked and the young waitress blushed prettily. The smile faded as soon as he turned back to Marie and Miss Sarah though. The latter one had her notebook and pen out and was taking notes in her spirally shorthand.

"What's the good news then?"

"I found out who's behind it all!"

Part Twenty-Seven

It was a bit passed dinner time when they stepped into Brodie's and therefore there where a few open tables. Most of the evening regulars had yet to come in and most of the dinner guests had cleared out. Zora the waitress was clearing tables and she nodded her head towards a booth, her many braids bobbing with the motion. Marie nodded back and her and Miss Sarah went to sit down. They didn't have to wait long before Zora walked over, hips swaying as she swerved between the small tables dotting the room.

"Hey there lovely ladies, what can I get you tonight?"

"Is Steve working tonight?"

"He is, want me to make him whip up a special?"

"Please do, tell him to hold back a bit on the onions this time, last time my breath was foul for a week."

Zora laughed. "Sure thing! Oh, right Sparky left a message for you, said he'd be back in two nips and a jiffy - whatever that means - and that you should wait here if you came in."

Marie smiled at the waitress. "Thanks Zora, strangely enough that makes perfect sense to me."

"Good, cause it didn't mean a thing to me." She winked. "The usual to drink?"

"Sounds good." Marie said and Miss Sarah nodded as well. When the waitress walked off towards the kitchen Marie fished out her pocket watch and flipped the lid open.

"Hmm... Sparky should be here in about an hour then. Plenty of time to eat!"