“But all I have are some haughty-taughty, short and fancy pants that my Ma packed for me to wear fer' my Uncle.” I was fairly certain that even those fancy pants were most likely years behind in the world of fashion, judging by how much Bea kept in touch with the outside world.
Dorian insisted, “In this part of town, appearances are everything. I believe that Tesla intends to tour the falls as a tourist and then hide out there until the evening. That's what I would do. Then after it closes, he plans to do the deed. I plan to be there when he does it, whether he wants me to be there or not.”
Jeremy looked confused, but I couldn't tend to him at this moment, so I asked, “How can you be so sure that being implicated in this destructive affair is the right thing for us?” I asked.
“I can't explain it, but my intuition is urging me to follow this man. And let me say, my intuition rarely fails me in guiding me through life. I am, however, a bit nervous about the magsticks. Getting them in there might prove a challenge for him.”
“Not unless he has friends in all the right places,” I said rather snidely. Dorian merely nodded grimly in response. Then I added, “And another problem is that I don't have anything to wear to tour the falls. Since glamours just aren't my specialty, it might be difficult for me to pass as a tourist.”
Jeremy said without an ounce of shame, “You can say that again sister, judging by yer' smell.” I was affronted by his insult, but he quickly added, “No offense, ma’am .” Then Jeremy exclaimed, “Magsticks? The Falls! What about my Ma? Is she going to be all right?”
“Yes Jeremy, she should be in a tree right about now. She’s going to be just fine.” At least that is what the gypsy implied as long as she followed her advice, which I didn't say out loud, mind you.
His eyes lit up with mischief as he said, “Well all right then. Hey, are we trying to stop him or help him?”
Dorian replied, “Help him.”
“Well, if that's the case, let's go big or go home!” Jeremy exclaimed as he rubbed his hands together. I smiled and I thought to myself that he might be worth all the extra trouble after all.
I said to Dorian, “I am agreed... for now,” and then directed my attention back to Jeremy and said to him, “And just for your information, you've been in the sewers just the same as me, Jeremy.”
Jeremy leaned his head back, did his best to raise an eyebrow and replied, “Touché.”
Dorian tried to steer us to a more productive line of discussion and said, “Look, there is a dress shop just a few stores down and the hotel is just down there. You go and get a proper outfit and I will secure a room for us and arrange baths for us all. Upon your return, please ask for the room registered under the name of Henry Wotton.”
“Got it.” Then we split up. While changing my undergarments was high on my priority list, I was none too thrilled about dress shopping.
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The bad news was that the dress shop had little in the way of readymade outer clothing that would fit me well. The good news was that they had underclothing in my size, so I bought two sets, and a large, ladies reticule. It was almost the size of a portable sewing basket. It would double as an overnight bag to hold my extra purchases.
My big purchase though was the best fitting walking dress they had. It was made of an entirely sensible gray velvet with a blouse that was constructed with utterly ridiculous black ruffles and matching trim. The jacket had a double-breasted front with brass buttons. It was entirely not my style. However, it did fit the best. So with fifty less coins in my pocket, I pondered my money problems before leaving their establishment. I was counting on the Agora having deeper pockets than my own, in order to travel to the continent. I didn't fancy scrubbing the deck or the dishes to make my way there.
I decided to keep my original clothes, intending to scrub them in the bath water after I was done bathing myself. I didn't trust the owner of the bed and breakfast to launder them without the prerequisite questions. They did reek of sewer water and may have had a spot or two of blood still staining them.
I visited the facilities of the dress shop before I gathered my courage to confront the growing numbers of people littering the streets. Due to the guardian incident, the town was abuzz with gossip mongering. Once my face was clean, I began feeling entirely more human, and decided that it was time to leave.
With everything stowed away, along with some faux pearl drop earrings in a silver setting lanced into my lobes with a complimentary, matching hair ribbon set upon my head, I left the shop. When I stepped out, the streets were still busy with life, but now there were officers patrolling the area too. The trick to not getting caught was to not be in the same place at the same time that your enemy may be. My situation called for a little more tact.
Once out on the street, I almost ducked back into the shop. I could always feign that I left something behind, but opted instead to act as if I was not who they were looking for. I was rather keen on hiding in plain sight. I only wished that I could have dyed my hair, but my locks may work to my advantage, since there were many tourists in the area with artificially colored hair.
I made it to the bed and breakfast without incident, and asked the elderly woman at the front desk to please show me to Mr. Wotton's rooms. The woman introduced herself as Lady Gotham, whom I doubted very much was a lady of any registry. She informed me that she made the best pumpkin pie in the tri-city area. Then she informed me that she would not be serving it that night. I would have thought that odd, if she hadn't followed it with a request that if I could persuade my husband to stay on for another few nights, then she might be persuaded to make us one with our complimentary dinner.
I informed her that I would work on him. Lady Gotham seemed satisfied with my reply, and proceeded to ring a bell. A young girl popped out from behind a closed door behind the counter wearing a fancier maid's outfit than I thought appropriate for the caliber of this bed and breakfast. I might suppose that most men guests might think it totally appropriate with all its tucks and pleats. I was not amused, but at least she didn't sashay all the way to the room.
Once she showed me the correct door, she left, and I examined the rooms that Dorian had reserved for us. Currently the room was empty of life. It appeared that we had a three-room suite complete with a separate wash closet. There was a bedroom with a double sized bed and a small cot had been set up next to it, presumably for Jeremy. There was a drawing room and, of course, the object of my interest, the bathroom. I sighed. I was alone, for the first time... in forever. At least that was what it felt like.
In the bathroom, I went over and commenced the primitive method this hotel had of drawing hot water. No magical constructs here, so I fed the coal furnace and turned up the steam. After about ten minutes, I found myself luxuriating in bubbles, courtesy of the lovely Lady Gotham's complimentary lilac bubble bath. I heard the boys come into the drawing room, discussing quite clearly that Tesla had to be in a certain townhouse a block away. After listening to a bit more of their banter, I learned that he apparently had indeed taken a room in our bed and breakfast, but left shortly after he had checked in.
Once all the perfunctory parts were cleaned, I took a moment to get the worse of the sewer stains out of my old riding trousers and top. While the stains didn't show up on the black shirt so much, there was a certain telling stiffness that belied the stained nature of the shirt that needed to be removed.
Then I hung them up to dry. I dressed and approached the hairweavils. It was a standard en suite set, sitting in their sterilization receptacle. An even dozen winked their red eyes up at me, since I had turned them on just before getting into the tub. Once I settled on an appropriate up do, I pressed the corresponding button, and the lid slowly released the bots to setting my hair aright. These had a dry setting, an unexpected bonus, so they dried my hair as they wove it into a contemporary fashion. Once that was done, I reset the ribbon from the dress shop and then presented myself.
Dorian and Jer
emy both looked scrubbed clean and ready for action. Dorian's face lit up when I entered the room, whereas Jeremy’s seemed agitated.
“I know what I saw and it was the toff goin' into the house with the tree above its door, Sir.”
Drawing off Dorian's attention, he replied, “I don't doubt it, but we will need to wait before we can approach him.”
“Don't see why we can't jus' walk up, polite like, and knock. Then we can ask for 'im.”
Dorian released an exasperated sigh and looked to me for help.
I shrugged and replied, “Why not?”
“Because we don't know how radical the group of Estonians may be that he has fallen into. We might be shot on pretense, before Tesla could even identify of us. We do know he will have to come back here for the magsticks, since the bag with the bot is still in his room.”
“Whose skill set was utilized to discover that little tidbit of information?”
“His, ma’am. He got the maid to open up the room for 'im,” he said as he pointed his finger at Dorian, as if it could have been anyone else in the room to which he was referring.
Dorian had the audacity to blush. I gave him a wearied smile in return. He bashfully exclaimed, “I told you that I was rather charismatic.”
“I'm sure she was quite smitten,” I retort dryly.
Jeremy was the one to reply this time with an, “Indeed.”
I was most definitely not the least bit concerned with what Dorian did or did not do with the maid in that room with Jeremy in the periphery.
“I had plenty o' time to be a searchin' for ya' bag, ma’am , with all the giggling I heard coming from the parlor room.”
“I did nothing more than ask her a few polite questions,” Dorian insisted too ardently.
“We don't have time for this,” I stressed. “Our priority is to locate Tesla and persuade him to allow us to accompany him to the waterfalls, for the big boom tonight.”
That got Jeremy's attention and he was all eyes for a moment, savoring the anticipation. I wondered briefly, if I could take him to Europe with us when we left... when this was all over. But, he was not a stray puppy to take with us. He had to have some schooling before he could come play with the big kids.
“He has to come back for the bag, correct?”
Dorian offered an alternative thread when he said, “Unless he transferred the sticks to another bag, and took them directly to the Estonians. Jeremy claims that he did not have enough time to actually look in the bag, so we're not sure what was exactly in it.” So it was a brief interlude in Tesla's rooms after all. Jeremy was a firecracker.
I said, “I think that there is no way for us not to make a stop at this infamous townhouse.”
“I say let's just keep a close eye on the townhouse's door instead. We can confront him once he leaves,” said Dorian.
“What if he steps out of a backdoor or worse yet, there may be an underground tunnel?”
Dorian said, “I see that there is no way of persuading you otherwise. Be sure to keep your words close, and your weapons closer when we deal with the Estonians. Agreed?”
Both Jeremy and I said at the same time, “Agreed.” I even looked for Jeremy's fingers and noted that none of them were crossed.
As we prepared to depart, I scolded Jeremy by saying, “Never again waste a perfectly good opportunity to rifle through someone else's property.”
“I was only instructed to look for the bag, not what was in it... and mayhap the girl didn't giggle nearly long enough for a proper riflin', ma’am.” Or tupping, I thought wryly to myself.
I gave a sideways glance at Dorian. He turned and winked at me, and I smiled back.
Chapter 17
Estonians
“Thy enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
-Ancient Arabic and Chinese Proverb.
From Dorian's Journal of Memorable Quotes to Live By
Black, sluggish sludge framed the streets by the gutters. Foul drizzle dripped from the sky smearing the smudges off from the buildings. My rubber coat and hat protected my new dress from the worst of it, but my boots had seen better days. If I didn't wind up with trench foot by the end of this excursion, I would be surprised.
Jeremy lead us to a road with quaint, three story townhouses neatly set side by side that looked perfectly respectable, with their black washed stone facades. These were a row of recently renovated homes, so there were no windows in any of them, but there was a small balcony and door on each floor for emergency exits. These townhouses must have been constructed so that in the event of an industrial chemical spill, there would be fewer ways for the vapors to invade the home.
Fortunately, we didn't cross paths with any more soldiers, but there were quite a few people meandering for any early afternoon in a residential district. I heard one lady in a yellow dress and overcoat exclaiming that the guardian had been exterminated. Not my current business, so I didn't try to hear any more.
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The Tree of Life was etched beside the lacquered windowless door, which of course marked them as Estonians. It was hard to tell how many were inside, since there were no horses or carriages parked outside. I argued quite fervently with Dorian earlier that as a woman, I was less threatening than they would be, and since it was my bag that was pilfered, that logically I should be the one to make contact with Tesla first. After a rather heated discussion for fifteen minutes, I won. It was decided that Jeremy and Dorian were to stand outside in case things got hairy for me and only then should they could come and rescue me.
I left my pistols, Westinghouse, whip, and stilettos with Dorian, since I didn't want them removed from my person permanently. Then I removed the tip of my Widow and removed a few of the blue darts from its cache. The tip of the dart gun separated for close up blowing and it radically changed its appearance after I separated it from the rest of its body. No one would suspect it was a dart gun at all. In fact, most would think I had in my possession a very stylish fountain pen instead.
Dorian muttered, “I don't like this one bit.”
“It'll be all right. No full moon for sacrifices and all that.”
“That sounds right thrillin’,” Jeremy added.
“What are we going to do?” I asked rhetorically as I looked pointedly at him and added, “I plan on delivering you to your Uncle’s home, safe and sound.”
Jeremy slumped in resignation, while Dorian seemed just plain angry. I touched Dorian's arm and said, “I need you free to save me if things turn bad.”
“I just don't like the idea that I won't know precisely where you are. I don't know if they will kill you and then dump your body at the end of a sewer line or cut you up to bits to feed some otherworldly creature they may be keeping as a pet.”
I said, “You say the most romantic things.” I purposely kept to myself that Jeremy had a homing bot sewed into his shoes or else he might insist I wear it. Best if they kept their eyes to the exits, since I was determined to go in alone.
Dorian grimaced and whispered conspiratorially to me, “I think I may have another alternative to your Peter predicament, but it requires a bit of time on my part that we just don't have at the moment. Be vigilant and come out in one piece quickly.”
I knew better than to pin my hopes upon someone else. I learned that lesson long ago, so I simply responded, “But, of course.”
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After Dorian and Jeremy had receded back into the shadows, I lifted and let drop the wrought iron knocker on the front door and waited. I didn't exactly know what kind of experiences Dorian may have had to be so prejudiced against the Estonians, but I figured that an equally good many people were disturbed by the likes of the Agora.
The way I liked to approach it was the Estonians and I were essentially allies, with all that enemy of my enemy line of thinking. Besides, wasn't everybody in some sort of a secret society these days in the twenty-third century? I didn’t have anything to fear, or at least that is what I k
ept telling myself.
I had determined that I had waited too long between knocks and decided to rap on the door again until someone opened it. Rat-tah-tat-tat. I tried to stand perfectly still with a Poppins style smile plastered across my face. Finally, I heard several deadbolts slip out of their housings and I waited for my first introduction to Estonian society.
I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't what greeted me at the door. A beautiful young lady with dark glossy hair was wrapped up in a red velvet dressing gown stood before me. She looked me over and asked in a shrewd manner, “Who are you, and what do you want?”
“I believe that there is a man here that I have business with.”
She laughed and replied, “Don't we all.”
“May I come in?”
“Do you have a calling card?”
“No, may I come in to wait to see if the gentleman will meet with me?”
“Who might you be looking for?” she asked.
“Mr. Tesla.”
She looked me over again and replied, “Not here.”
“Let's not dally, Miss...?”
“How do you know he is here?”
Time to bluff. “Saw him come in, so you can bet that there are others who did too. They would be more of an unsavory type than myself, to be sure. I suspect that they will be coming up to your door all too soon. Best to let me in now, so I can get him out of your hair.”
She hesitated, appeared worried, and then looked left and right down the street. Then she stepped back hesitantly and let me enter.
The foyer was done in hues of eggplant. That color must have been chosen to hide the tracked- in, blackened deluges from peoples' dirty boots and coats, including my own. The scrubber kicked on and I hung up my overcoat on a coat tree resembling a lotus.
“Shoes off. You can use one of the spare slippers if you like.”
“No thank you. My feet need a good airing out, if you will.”
Tesla's Revenge Page 21