"Two for lunch ladies?" inquired an awkward young man dressed in black trousers, a white shirt, black tie and an ill-fitting beige waistcoat.
Ally took the lead, feeling more comfortable standing in her heels, "We're expected at a table close to the tea jars, in front of the Canton Tea Company display."
"Of course, please follow me," said the young man in a cheery voice.
The Crocodile Queen struggled to look elegant, she wobbled, and adjusted her weight regaining her balance, as she perched precariously on her ridiculously high and uncomfortable shoes. She noticed how glamorous and polished Ally looked in comparison, Ally glided into the lounge with all eyes turning to her like a graceful gazelle. Staring at her feet, the Crocodile Queen weaved around the chairs and tables, she noticed the busy beige and white patterned carpet. They were led to a small circular table with two men patiently waiting for them, neither rose to greet them, preferring to remain seated. The Crocodile Queen remained standing, Ally followed her lead, the young man scurried to assist the Crocodile Queen with her chair, followed by Ally's chair, helping them sit gracefully.
They joined two men, one dressed in a classic black suit, white shirt and black tie, Ally thought he looked like a blues brother from the classic Dan Ackroyd film. He had spiky black hair, a thick neck, a fat face, and an unsightly scar running across his face. He was a large man squeezed into a small beige colored chair. He sat uncomfortably in the lounge with a tea pot and delicate china tea cup placed in front of him. The other man looked in his element, comfortable in his serene surroundings, as he sipped his tea elegantly. He was a thin, small man, elegant and polished, impeccably groomed with an expensive haircut, his face was narrow and smooth. He had small brown eyes that twinkled in the strong sunlight that streamed into the lounge through the floor to ceiling glass wall that separated the guests from the outside and the harbor.
He was dressed elegantly in a casual expensive way. He wore black Salvatore Ferragamo shoes, black socks, a leather belt, and expensive wool blend trousers. He wore a blue silk form fitting shirt, open at the neck. He wore his shirt cuffs rolled up like a hard-working politician that you'd see on TV, and although he was quite small framed, he seemed to command the space around him with his confidence and presence.
"Ladies," he said, gently placing his delicate teacup onto the white table cloth, "I took the liberty of ordering some Jasmine tea for you both," he said, sweeping his hand across the top of the tea pots carefully arranged. He glanced at his henchman with an annoyed look, finally he figured it out, it was his job to pour the tea, "Please," he barked. What followed was an embarrassing moment as they watched a nervous brute of a man, more comfortable bashing someone's head against a wall, trying to be refined as he poured Jasmine tea from ceramic teapots without spilling onto the white linen table cloth. Under that much pressure, he did a pretty good job, resulting in two cups of steaming Jasmine tea.
Ally followed the Crocodile Queen's lead; she flashed her million-dollar smile constantly at the small elegant man. Both ladies looked gorgeous, Mr. Flash was clearly enjoying the occasion.
He reached forward carefully moving a vase placed in the center of the table, adorned with white orchids to one side, this allowed him to observe the two stunning women that had joined his table, "I was asked to join you today, I was told that you had information that may lead me to a special artifact that I would most like to receive, is this true my precious doves?" he smiled in a condescending way.
Ally reached for the teacup signaling to the Crocodile Queen her compliance; she would not answer this question. As the Crocodile Queen sat, she’d gently placed the newspaper upon the carpet, extracting the clothed wrapped dagger and placing it upon her lap. This act had escaped Mr. Flash's attention, as he’d been infatuated with Ally's face, dress, and legs. "We do appreciate the opportunity to meet with you today," the Crocodile Queen started formally, "but you’ve been sadly mis-informed.” Mr. Flash studied the Crocodile Queen’s face, he didn't recognize her race, but he suddenly appreciated her round chestnut colored eyes, and instantly wanted her. He felt an energetic surge pulsing through his body. He wanted them both.
Ally shot a glance towards the Crocodile Queen, as she continued to hook him in, "We don't bring information today, we bring you something far more exciting, more tangible, and perhaps, even the object that you desire."
"Well, that would be exciting," echoed Mr. Flash, as his eyes dropped to her breasts in an unveiled attempt to unsettle her. The tactic backfired, as the Crocodile Queen didn't miss a beat, she instantly recognized the look of panic spreading across his confident face, as his eyes came to rest upon the necklace prominently displayed around her neck.
Mr. Flash’s cocky expression changed in an instant, Ally caught his eyes lingering upon the pendant’s insignia, ‘Good,’ she thought, ‘now we have his attention.’
The Crocodile Queen continued, "We’re reasonable people, so today we bring you a proposition, one which I'm sure we can both find profitable." She stopped, reached for the tea cup and let her words linger like the red hang-gliders sailing down on thermal currents from the tall surrounding mountain tops. Mr. Flash was irritable and impatient, fidgeting in his seat, a remarkable change from the comfortable laid back cocky attitude of the man they’d observed when they first entered the lobby. The Crocodile Queen had peaked his interest, the necklace was having its desired effect, striking fear and uncertainty into his heart and soul.
"Proceed," he said, rubbing his nose impatiently, "I'm intrigued," Mr. Flash’s voice crackled with uncertainty, like an old gramophone.
Ally smiled, she knew they had the upper hand, she marveled at how far she'd come. Once a shy mousy girl, trying desperately to blend into the background, dressed in shabby loose-fitting clothes, bullied and teased by the other girls at school. Look at her now, she felt like a model dressed in the finest clothes, sipping tea in a beautiful lounge in Hong Kong. She felt like a movie star playing a role in a fantasy movie, like a Bond girl. Her thoughts turned to Dan, pacing around in their suite high above them. Since meeting Dan her life had changed in so many exciting ways, and she felt grateful.
The Crocodile Queen retrieved the item lying carefully in her lap; she placed it gently upon the circular table covered in a crisp white Egyptian-cotton tablecloth. She smiled at Mr. Flash, "We bring you a gift for your co-operation, a gift from the order," she raised her eyes to ensure her reference to the order had registered deeply with his deep-seated fears and anxieties. He reciprocated by raising his eyebrows in recognition of whom they represented, "There’s a price for this gift, and I know you’ll be happy to co-operate with us," she leaned in and carefully unwrapped the brown cloth that covered the dagger. Mr. Flash scooted forward in his seat with anticipation; his henchman visibly stiffened expecting the worse. It took a few seconds before Mr. Flash could process the object before him; he recognized that magnificent dagger laying on the table in front of him.
"Is it real?" he gasped.
The Crocodile Queen nodded, "Yes, it’s real, the missing piece of your collection.
“Where did you get this?” inquired Mr. Flash, the excitement coursing through his strained voice.
“Does it matter?” responded the Crocodile Queen curtly, Ally smiled, watching her manipulate the greed rising within this weak man. “With most precious objects, there’s always a price, one that I’ll need to explain. You can have this, a gift, the fifth dagger of Xiang, you can walk away with it today, but in return, we want valuable information. Here's the catch," she seemed to be enjoying toying with her prey. Just as she appeared to have him in the palm of her hand, the Crocodile Queen did something quite unexpected, and out of character, she turned to the beautiful young woman sat quietly next to her, "my friend here is a talented white witch of the highest order, why don't you educate this gentleman in the conditions attached to this impressive dagger?"
Ally felt the men's eyes rest upon her, heat flushed into her cheeks; she needed to compose
herself, to act the part and avoid turning this meeting into a fiasco. She took a deep breath and flashed her most radiant smile, her eyes sparkled in the bright sunlight, and “The order has agreed to gift you this dagger, the last missing piece of your collection, as a show of good faith. The dagger comes with an honesty spell, I cast the spell personally upon this object." The Crocodile Queen watched Ally’s performance intently, she wondered where she was heading with this, and started to regret her decision to involve Ally.
"The dagger is yours, if you agree to do the following things; we require the letters that you purchased regarding the correspondence surrounding Merlin's necklace. We want you to tell us everything that you know, everything that you’ve discovered through your extensive research on this topic, and then the dagger is yours. Heed my warning though, if you try to deceive us, tell us half-truths or even omit important details from your research, the honesty spell will be automatically evoked. So be warned, if you accept the dagger, you must honor your pledge or ..." she let her words trail off for dramatic effect. "Well, let’s just say you may develop a particularly nasty skin condition again, this time it could be fatal, do you understand?" Ally flashed her eyes at the scared man sat across the table from her, she'd done well, he visibly recoiled remembering his previously painful experiences with the order.
Ally observed Mr. Flash as he weighed up his options, he stared longingly at the dagger, he studied the shape of the handle and inspected the jewels embedded into the curved design. The Crocodile Queen smiled, leaving the awkward silence to do the work, she turned to face Ally smiling her acknowledgment of a job well done.
"I accept your kind offer, ladies of the order, now push that dagger over here, and I’ll have the letter delivered to you as promised," Mr. Flash looked pleased with himself. A rare dagger in exchange for an old letter, and some information relating to a decade long chase after what he now considered fool’s gold.
"Tell us what you know about the necklace, and remember, don't hold anything back," insisted the Crocodile Queen as she shoved the dagger towards him. He stared at the artifact, memorized by its beauty, caught in his own trance he began to talk.
"The necklace of Myrddin, it’s believed to be Merlin's necklace, an interesting artifact containing wisdom, power over evil, and protection from the dark spirits. This necklace contains an amulet, it is said to be made from the claws of a Welsh dragon. I’ve studied the legends and rumors surrounding this necklace for a long time, I’ve not managed to locate its current resting place. The letter I bought at auction was supposed to contain a key, in the form of a riddle, to its current location; this riddle is what you seek and that's what I’ll deliver to you." Mr. Flash stopped to sip his tea and admire the dagger laying in front of him.
"In the 1800's, a Welsh boy was paid to deliver a wooden box containing the necklace to a man in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Walter Seams received the necklace containing the amulet, I can confirm this to be a fact. Walter was a stonemason by trade, but he served in the 10th Royal Grenadiers, number two-service company. I’ve had the good fortune to read other letters from Walter, complaining about the weather, the food, and a lot of sentimental thoughts while fighting the Metis Indians, in the North-West rebellion, in the Battle of Batoche, in Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1885, I believe. It appears our man Walter survived, but that’s where my trail goes cold. I know he worked in Toronto, and I know that he mentioned his deep admiration for his military officer. What was his name? ah yes, a Mr. James Mason. Walter fondly refers to Mr. Mason in several of his letters, how brave he was, how he admired him, and how he was severely wounded in the Battle of Batoche, where he lost a lot of blood but carried on fighting like a hero. I don't know if Mr. Mason has anything to do with the necklace, but his letters paint a grim picture of the desperate times this man faced. I bought one of his letters at an auction in London, the most important one of his letters, the one containing a cryptic verse. Many scholars have pointed to the verse as a cryptic message designed to tell his brother where he'd hidden the necklace forever. Many have concluded the necklace to be cursed, so I suspect Walter wanted to get rid of it. I still have the letter, and the verse, as agreed I will forward the letter to you sharing these clues. I will warn you, I’ve not been able to decipher the cryptic verse, not at all. I'm being honest, for me this was a poor investment, until now," he said, with wide eyes and a broad smile.
"Do you know anything else?" inquired Ally, curious if he was still holding anything back.
Mr. Flash thought hard for a moment, "No my dear, I don't. If I recall anything, any small detail, I will let you know, but I will hand over my file, giving you all my research and my notes and you can see what I have. Once the necklace makes its way over to Canada, that’s when the trail goes cold."
"Did you establish any connection to the necklace with South Africa?" inquired Ally hopefully.
"South Africa?" repeated Mr. Flash with a puzzled look, he glanced at his henchman who shrugged, "No," he shook his head, "no, not that I know of. This dagger is a priceless object that you are trading with, I'm assuming you know a lot about the necklace already, and the order has its own motivations for wanting to find it, but I'm sworn to be honest with you, I think this is fool’s gold, I gave up on this fruitless search many years ago. If the necklace exists, and it still could be an elaborate hoax, then it’s going to be hard to find. I’m hoping it’s still in one piece, I wish you luck because I think you'll need it. We have to go," he said, grabbing the dagger and wrapping it greedily within the brown cloth, "my files and the letter you seek will be couriered to this hotel today, an envelope will be waiting at the front desk for you after 5pm addressed to..." he waited.
"Jessica," responded Ally.
"Jessica it is," repeated Mr. Flash with a smile, "I’ve enjoyed our meeting ladies but, with respect, I don't wish to see either of you again, the tea is paid for, good day" and with his parting gesture of generosity, he marched out of the lobby with his henchman scurrying behind laboring to keep up. Mr. Flash wanted a fast exit before the ladies changed their minds and withdrew the dagger from the deal. Mr. Flash was excited and scared, he clearly felt that he had received the better deal, but he shivered at the thought of the pheasant swirling around the Crescent Moon. He knew how dangerous the order of witches could be and he shouted ahead, barking his orders for his Maserati to be waiting at the door. If he could only get back to his office in Central, then he would feel safer.
The Crocodile Queen seemed to relax, she slumped into the confines of the uncomfortable rounded chairs, "Let's enjoy our tea for a while, a sort of victory drink," she smiled and reached for the jasmine tea.
"You did well," affirmed Ally, reaching for her cup.
The Crocodile Queen rubbed the pendent between her thumb and her finger, "This thing really worked, did you see how scared he was? he turned into a completely different person as soon as he saw it."
"Yeah, absolutely, he's definitely going to follow through on his promise, I just hope we can make sense of this cryptic verse, for Kaan’s sake."
The Crocodile Queen moved her gaze aimlessly towards the tall windows, the bright sunlight reflected off the gleaming high-rise buildings, shimmered across the water, and illuminated the busy harbor below. "Fragrant harbor," she whispered. "Hong Kong, the fragrant harbor. There used to be wild flowers covering these hills, when the wind blew strong, flower petals would blow into the water creating a natural perfume, now look at it, and they call this progress. It has a different fragrance now," she lamented.
The Crocodile Queen seemed wistful, pensive, enjoying the calm, if only for a while.
Ally could sense the Crocodile Queen’s stress slipping away as she sipped the scented hot jasmine tea, "I know you think I'm just an inexperienced kid,” blurted Ally, “but this isn't all on you, you know. Dan and I are both here to help you, I’m fully aware that we don't know much, and we're both still learning, but we’ll do anything to help Kaan, and help you. You're not alone in thi
s, and we’ll help you find this damn necklace, Dan and I are resourceful, we both come from nothing, we’re survivors and fighters, and we won’t let you down." As soon as the words left Ally's mouth, she felt more defiant, empowered, and for the first time in her life, she felt like a mature adult armed with wisdom and responsibilities. Ally was dressed to the nines, she desperately wanted to flaunt her new look, but she felt guilty that Dan was waiting upstairs pacing with worry. She felt conflicted, she wanted to enjoy this relaxing moment, but she wanted to go upstairs and tell Dan that she was safe.
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