by V. J. Timlin
Nat eased the bag from his back and unstrapped the trap before tossing it into the gutter. “I’ve no need for it now anyway.”
The driver lifted his eyebrows and looked after the cage. For a moment Anouk thought he would salvage it, but he shrugged. “Where to, sir?”
“Royal Restroom.” Nat climbed in, Anouk in his wake.
When the carriage joined the other traffic, Anouk dared to give a sigh of relief. Against all the odds, they had survived the rooftops and shaken off their pursuers. It had been a small victory, but they still had a long night ahead of them.
Her thoughts returned to the meeting with Lila in the alley. What Lila had told them made Anouk’s skin crawl. She knew if Stalo got hold of another Gadget, he would return to her world for the purpose of acquiring women to work as prostitutes for Madam Valeria… that was horrible. The madam wouldn’t have taken much persuasion to accept Stalo’s offer. Being the businesswoman she was, she saw the opportunity to grow her business and gain advantage over her competitors. After all, although the Gadgets weren’t every man’s commodity and they were hard to get, these people knew about aliens, unlike in Anouk’s world.
Then Rose… Anouk winced with guilt. Rose got involved with their investigations only because Anouk went to chat with her daughters. If they hadn’t met, Rose and her daughters would have continued leading their normal life, oblivious to everything that was happening. Now, instead, they were separated; Valintina and Danja as Madam Valeria’s hostages and Rose wherever she was taken by Captain Biddulph and used to set traps for bounty hunters.
Anouk was appalled. Everything was coming together, forming a gruesome maze of cold calculation, greed and extortion. It was like watching one of Owen’s low budget horror movies, but she was in it.
Forcing herself to calm down, she turned her attention to her partner. “What do you think about Lila’s version of events? Can we trust her?”
“She was telling the truth. But can we trust her?” Nat paused and sighed. “It remains to be seen.”
“I wonder if she went back to the brothel. She vanished from the roof pretty quickly.”
“Aye.”
Anouk chewed her lower lip. “Those two little girls Lila mentioned have to be Rose’s.”
“Aye,” Nat grunted again. “She probably got caught sending that warning to us.”
“What are we going to do now? We know where Stalo and his henchmen are, but we’re also supposed to meet Rose at midnight. And if we don’t go, she might get into even bigger trouble. There are only two of us, we can’t deal with both. At least, not on the same night.”
“No, we can’t. There is only one logical step.”
“Let me guess,” Anouk growled. “Arrest Stalo.”
“Exactly. We have to move fast. This is our chance.”
The rational side of Anouk agreed with Nat, but leaving Rose to deal with her problem—that they caused—didn’t sit well with her. “Arresting Stalo and Biddulph requires more planning and resources than helping Rose. Besides, we might learn something that’d be essential for capturing Stalo.”
“It could also warn him off, and we lose our chance. Furthermore, we don’t even know where Rose is. It’s unlikely she’ll actually be at the bakery.”
Anouk’s shoulders slumped. “I hate it when you’re right.”
“These situations seldomly have fun choices,” Nat said warmly. “Besides, arresting Stalo will help free Rose and her daughters.”
“You sound awfully sure that will happen.”
“But of course. After all, we are two professional bounty hunters.”
Anouk snorted. “You might be, but I’m not.” She turned to look out of the carriage window into the darkening evening. “We better not fail then. Or else we will have more innocent blood on our hands.”
Chapter 21
The smell of burning wood greeted Anouk before she saw the familiar red-green caravan, and the elderly couple, sitting around their campfire. A soft crunching from outside the sphere of the glow meant the mare was grazing close. Her heart ached. The sight was peaceful and idyllic; a stark contrast to what the day had been so far and what the night would likely bring. She wished—instead of trying to infiltrate Madam Valeria’s brothel and capture Stalo and his henchmen—they could spend a nice evening around the fire, talking. But alas, that was not going to happen. Nat, of course, would let her stay, if she wanted. But as scared as she was, she would stay by his side and endure the vicissitudes of what was to come. This was the night that could resolve the problem that had ruined her life for the past week. And a few days later, depending how fast the Anglean justice system worked, she could return to London.
She glanced at Nat. Tonight could also resolve Nat’s twenty-year nightmare. Maybe she should invite him to stay in London for a few days to unwind and take his mind off bounty hunting. A mischievous thought crept into her mind. She grinned. And let him taste for a change what it is like to be an alien in a very different world. Her world.
“What’s so funny?” Nat asked.
“Nothing.”
Nat squinted his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but Anouk waved to Vari and Fitzwil and called, “Hello!”
The couple turned to look at them. “Ah, hello,” Vari answered and lifted a cup in her hand. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please.”
They joined Vari and Fitzwil by the fire. She accepted the filled cup from Vari and took a careful sip—the coffee was as good as ever. Still, something was missing. Something stronger than caffeine to keep her wits together for what was coming. Whisky, yes, that was what she needed right now.
“Was it a productive day?” Vari asked.
“It certainly was.” Nat blew into his cup. “We found out where Stalo is.”
“You did?” Vari’s white eyebrows flew up. “Where is he?”
“He’s hiding in Madam Valeria’s brothel with his men.”
“Why is Madam Valeria protecting him?” Fitzwil asked.
“He’s worked out a deal with her. She protects him and he kidnaps women from Anouk’s world.”
“And she whores them out,” Anouk spat, making no effort to hide her anger.
Nat nodded. “She gets a shiny new attraction, he gets a base of operations.”
“But he hasn’t been able to deliver any,” Anouk said. “The Gadget he stole got broken.”
Relief washed over their pale leathery faces. “That’s comforting news,” Vari said. “What happened?”
Nat relayed their meeting with Lila. Anouk took mouthfuls of her coffee, watching shadows dancing on their faces. The creases deepened on their foreheads when Nat told them about Stalo’s ulterior motives. Normally, she would have enjoyed the story time around the fire, but now was the time for an accurate account of what had happened. One thing bothered her, though. Nat didn’t mention the name of the murdered prostitute. She was just Madam Valeria’s girl, Lila’s friend, and the latest of Stalo’s faceless victims. Anouk knew Nat didn’t mean it that way, but Shannah deserved to be named, for her to get justice.
“Her name is Shannah,” she said, irritated when he had finished.
“My apologies. Yes, Shannah was her name.” Nat’s expression was a solemn one. He took a gulp from his cup before continuing, “Lila said two little girls were brought into the brothel late this afternoon. We think they’re Rose’s daughters.”
“Ah, the warning she sent,” Vari said. “She must have got caught and they’re punishing her. Or she has refused to do something else, and they took her daughters to make her more compliant.”
“Aye.” Nat nodded.
Vari and Fitzwil appeared to be quite tuned in with how the criminal mind worked. They had chased lowlifes for the bounty for decades. Being good at it and not getting killed required a skill set that had to include the ability to read between lines. That’s what one would call professional competence. But just as important as understanding how the criminal mind worked, was the ability to keep from
descending to their level. It took a strong moral fortitude to swim in the muck and not get swallowed. To have done it for as long as they had and still be good people, well, that was impressive.
Nat had the same trade. Having to deal with the dark side of their society was what bounty hunters had to do, and she was glad she was heading home as soon as this was over.
Vari gave a noisy sigh, bringing Anouk back to the present. “What’s your plan? Madam Valeria’s is a busy place.”
Chills ran down Anouk’s spine once more, knowing that she and Nat had agreed to move against Stalo; that was the only logical thing to do after all. After arresting him, they could yet still free Rose, a sting of guilt cut through her gut. They were letting Rose down. Being a bounty hunter’s wife, she would understand the choice and might even urge them to do so, but Rose was a friend, and they were putting her last. What else could they do? As soon as Stalo learned Rose had been freed, he would take his revenge on Valintina and Danja. No, Rose would agree, removing Stalo from the stage first was the only, and right, thing to do.
Nat glanced at Anouk. “We somehow have to sneak in unnoticed, but that’ll be tricky since I’m not welcome anymore.”
“Aye. Madam Valeria will have her men keeping an eye on the place. And then there are Stalo’s men,” Fitzwil said, his brows furrowing.
“I know a secret entrance into the house,” Nat said. “But Madam Valeria always has a trusted man guarding it.”
Fitzwil leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You, my son, need a diversion. Something that will keep the staff busy while you two are sneaking in.”
“I know.” Nat rubbed his chin. “Any ideas? We could always throw smoke bombs and knock out gas to create chaos, but Stalo would use it too and slip out of our hands.”
“What about asking Chief Constable Loka for help?” Anouk asked. The three bounty hunters looked at her like she had just announced herself by having marked their caravan dog fashion. She spread her hands. “There are only two of us, Nat. It’d be suicide trying to infiltrate a brothel that is now practically a fort since ‘Lord De Massive Arse’ is there surrounded by his throat cutters. Plus, we’d be assured of getting the reward.”
Nat was shaking his head before Anouk finished. “We don’t get paid if the constabulary takes Stalo into custody. And let’s not forget, we have to eat.” He shifted and gazed out into the night. “Besides, it’s not really about money. I…”
“I know, I know.” Anouk patted the air with her hands. “You want to arrest him yourself and get justice for your family.” As soon as the words came out, she wanted to take them back.
Nat gave her a dark look. She winced. “I’m sorry, Nat, I didn’t mean to…” Her voice trailed off and she winced again. She was too afraid of blurting another gigantic frog from her mouth.
“Anouk is right,” offered Vari. Nat whipped the dark look at her. “You need backup. This is too big when there’s only two of you. Besides, you’re letting your emotions cloud your judgement, Nat. You know that is dangerous.”
“I’m not letting Chief Constable Loka and his army of incompetent enforcers take credit for arresting Stalo,” Nat growled. “Even if they could manage to do that.”
“No one was talking about getting Royal Enforcers involved, at least not right away.” Vari’s delivery was calming. She turned to look at her husband and they stared at each other in silence. Anouk looked back and forth between the couple. What was going on?
“No, you are retired,” Nat said with a firm tone.
Anouk swallowed. As much as she would appreciate their help… “I agree with Nat. You’ve done quite enough. This isn’t your mission.”
A smile spread on Fitzwil’s leathery face and he winked at his wife. “The young ones here seem to think we aren’t up to a bit of fun anymore. Isn’t that so, my love?”
Vari grinned. “Absolutely. But they’re mistaken, as usual.”
“But…” Nat started.
“Now, now, my son.” Fitzwil wagged his thick forefinger at Nat. “We might be retired, but it doesn’t mean we should sit back, knitting and smoking a pipe all day long, does it?”
Anouk frowned. She wouldn’t call the night’s mission fun—going into an amusement park was fun, not infiltrating a brothel full of sadistic killers.
Nat snorted. “Neither of you knit.”
“That wasn’t the point.” Vari waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “You know what we mean. Besides, we’ll only be the support team. You two would still carry out the main action.”
“And if something goes wrong, you’ll need professionals to handle your rescue,” Fitzwil added.
Anouk turned to look at Nat’s ever darkening expression. She grimaced. Oh, he was going to love what she was about to say. “Vari and Fitzwil are right. Especially since you refuse to get help from the enforcers.” She paused when Nat narrowed his eyes into slits. “I would feel slightly less scared if they’d be our back-up team. I mean, we’re walking into a potential death trap.”
She chewed her lower lip, meeting Nat’s blank face. Damn, that man pulled that mask over his face every time she wanted to read his thoughts. She had learned during the past week that the mask often meant Nat was dealing with something he didn’t like, didn’t want to talk about or otherwise didn’t want to show his thoughts and emotions. Anouk bet in this case it was the first.
“You’re in a minority, Nat,” Anouk said. “This is a democratic ruling.”
Nat’s eyebrow twitched. “A democratic ruling?”
“You know, when more people are in favour of one thing than the other, the majority wins.”
Nat gave a snort of a laugh. “Ah, that kind of democracy. What I’ve seen is the one where guns set the rules.”
Anouk almost missed the flicker of pain passing across Nat’s face. This mission must be one of his hardest. She could well believe his old wounds were being torn open again and again. She wanted to lean in and give him a hug, but he shrugged and addressed his foster-parents. “Very well, but you stay firmly in the role of support team and only if things get out of hand will you step in.”
“That was the plan,” Fitzwil said.
“Good,” Nat grunted. “Alright, we have little time, so we need to come up with a plan now. Goes without saying, Anouk and I need to be able to sneak in unnoticed. As we know, the place will be busy. Madam Valeria has men keeping watch, especially in the gambling room.”
“How well do you know the brothel? Where could we enter without being noticed?” Anouk shifted in her seat. “It looks like a fortress. Doors and windows are out of the question. Neither could we devise a costume that allowed us to walk in unrecognised; we simply don’t have time for that.”
“True. It’s not an easy building to break in to. The roof is the best and only option.”
Anouk winced. Their escape through Flower Estate’s rooftops had been bad enough. She wasn’t looking forward to climbing again, especially if the only way into the brothel proved to be crawling down chimneys. “Wish we had time to talk more with Lila and see if she’d agree to help us.”
“Aye.”
Anouk took a deep breath and held it before releasing it slowly. “Nat, I’m not keen on running along rooftops again. I’d rather we think of a way to distract the guards to gain entry at street level.”
Vari looked at her husband. “Well, what do you think, Fitzwil? Could we create a diversion, so Nat and Anouk would get in unnoticed?”
Fitzwil rubbed his white beard. “We could try, but Madam Valeria and Stalo would suspect something fishy if they saw us. Both still remember us, that’s for sure.”
“Besides, it should be something subtle.” Nat gave Vari a pointed look.
Vari pressed a hand on her chest. “I can do subtle. And if you were referring to that mission a few years ago, all I can say is I did as you asked.”
Nat snorted. “I asked you to make a small explosion in the backroom, not to blow up the whole drinking establishme
nt.”
“Well, we got the crooks. Alive even, didn’t we?”
“Barely.”
Anouk knew what would work as a sufficient distraction. The thought filled her with dread, and she hoped they would come up with a safer one, but they were running out of time, and much as she hated it, her idea ‘had legs’. She drew a deep breath. “I have an idea. It’s not something I’m happy about, but I think it’s the only one that would work.” She paused and heaved another deep breath. “I’ll go to Madam Valeria and accept her offer of employment.”
“No.” Nat barked. “It’s too dangerous.”
“And climbing on roofs isn’t? Nat, please, just listen. Madam Valeria wants me, she has said so several times. And especially now, when Stalo’s Gadget is broken and there is no certainty he can keep his end of the bargain. She wouldn’t let him kill me either, I’m sure of it. I’ll spin her a story while you sneak in. Besides, you’re better at it, especially when you don’t have to tutor me all the time.”
Nat stared at her, his expression stern. Well, at least this time he didn’t pull that expressionless mask over his face.
“No,” he repeated with a clipped tone.
“You know that’s the only feasible plan.”
“No.”
Anouk pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration of his defiance. She was worried about the mission as much as he was, and the last thing she wanted now was to argue with him about her plan. More than anything, she wanted him to help her to figure out how to make it work so they would walk away unscathed. “Nat, it’s great you can say the word ‘no’, which is not an easy word to say without feeling guilty. But now, you’re just being stubborn.”
“No.”
“Nat, I hate this idea as much as you, but we need to get in.”
“Anouk’s plan might work,” Vari intervened.
“Yes. It sounds like the kind of hook Madam Valeria might swallow,” Fitzwil added.
Nat’s shoulders drooped. He took off his top hat and pushed his fingers through his curls. “Are you sure about this? It’ll be the most dangerous thing you have done so far.” He paused. “And they might ask you to do something… sexual. To prove you’re genuine. Anouk, if you walk in there, you’re not going to have a choice. They’ll kill you if you try to back out.”