Red Death Redemption

MillieGriffin  Pyrogue

The next morning was cloudy and threatened to rain. At seven thirty Millie returned to Ezekiel's door and knocked on his door. Pyrogue  MillieGriffin

“Come in,” he answered.

MillieGriffin  Pyrogue

"Morning.." Millie entered with two umbrellas and a box of freshly purchased pastrys. "I brought you these," she handed him the box, "is everything packed?"

Pyrogue  MillieGriffin

“Good morning. And yes, I’ve packed.”

He took the box from Millie. “You didn’t have to...” he said honestly.

MillieGriffin  Pyrogue

"It's your breakfast. It's not good to move to a new place without the calories, that just makes things more depressing then it needs to be."

Pyrogue  MillieGriffin

“Thanks,” he smiled, before grabbing his two suitcases.

“I’m ready to go.”

MillieGriffin  Pyrogue

Millie nodded and the two of them made it down to the stairs to out the front door. Low thunder rumbled across the cloudy sky. "Here..." She took one of the suitcases from him and gave him an umbrella. As they walked to the Bedford hotel rain drops started to drip down around them which meant it was time to use their umbrellas.

"I haven't stayed in this hotel before but it seems very nice, is around a lot of nice shops, and it literally just around the next corner." She assured him.

Pyrogue  MillieGriffin

There was silence for a few minutes as they walked.

"Look, er, Millie..." he began eventually.

MillieGriffin  Pyrogue

"Hm?" Millie asked before her attention was viered off the conversation, "Ah! We're here."

As soon as they entered the lobby of the hotel and out of the rain, Millie went straight to the front desk where the clerk was bidding some new checked out guest good day.

He noticed the two approached and gave them a polite smile, "Welcome to the Bedford hotel, my name is William, how may I help you?"

"Uh, this is Mr. Hollis..." Millie introduced starting to feel a little flustered but still trying to keep her cool, "he's come for a room..."

"Ah, yes! His reservation is right here." William said glancing down at the book infront of him before turning around to get the key for his room, "Normally we can't book reservations on such short notice but it seems you timed it just right." He turned and held out the key to them, "your room is 217."

Pyrogue  MillieGriffin

He took the key. “Thank you. Which way is room 217, by the way?” he asked the man.

MillieGriffin  Pyrogue

"Your room will be on the second floor." William tapped on a bell which summoned a young bellhop to them. "Hello, my I take your bags, Sir?" The boy chirped.

Pyrogue  MillieGriffin

"Thank you." He handed his suitcases to the bellhop.

Ezekiel went to follow the bellhop, then turned back around to face Millie. "I'll be ready in a moment."

MillieGriffin  Pyrogue

Millie nodded and let him go.

"We hope you enjoy your stay!" chimed William.

As soon as he went upstairs with the bellhop Millie turned to the clerk. "I'd like to pay for the nights in advance."

William blinked down at her, "The most we can do on an advance is a week, Miss." Millie nodded and paid the bill for the week.

_ _ _

"Here is your room, Sir." Pronounced the bellhop as they reached the room 217.

Pyrogue  MillieGriffin 5 months ago Ezekiel gratefully took his suitcases from the bellhop and unlocked the door.

"Do I need to know anything else before I stay here?"

MillieGriffin  Pyrogue

"Well..." the bellhop trailed off as he rubbed his thumb and fingers together, subtly requesting a tip.

Pyrogue  MillieGriffin

He slapped his forehead in embarrassment and searched around in his pockets for coins. "I'm so sorry, I completely forgot..."

Eventually, he found a few silver coins and handed them to the bellhop.

MillieGriffin  Pyrogue

"Cheers Sir! Free breakfast for guests down stairs." Said the bellhop before scampering off.

Pyrogue  MillieGriffin

He entered his room and took in the surroundings.

MillieGriffin  Pyrogue

It was a clean, nicely furnished room that was clearly meant to accommodate one person, with all the amenities of the modern of the day (for the late 19th century) a quite lovely room just his size. The large window that looked out over the street he walked in from showed it drizzling outside.

Pyrogue  MillieGriffin

Ezekiel sighed and went to sit down in a chair. Immediately, he began thinking about how to get back into the Society.

I could try to find a cure for something and prove that I can help people. But then I don't have anywhere to work.

I could try and persuade Dr Helen that I can stay. But she seemed certain when she dismissed me. I doubt she'd change her mind.

What about the man who sold me the sample? Dr Helen had shown interest in locating him. Maybe I could try to track him down instead? I mean, I've seen him before. I could recognise him on sight...

He opened up the box of pastries that Millie had given him.

MillieGriffin  Pyrogue

Since Millie didn't know his preference there was one of everything, tarts, Danishes, puff pastries, scones, cakes, muffins, and pocket pies both sweet and savory.

Pyrogue  MillieGriffin

He smiled and took one. To find the dealer who’d sold him the sample of the virus, he would need to visit the bar he’d first met the man in.

He finished the box of pastries and stood up, grabbing his coat and getting ready to go out. Jekyll1886

As it turned out, Lewis, too, had decided to go look for the seller. Weir'd tried to locate him the previous night, but to no avail.

After catching a few hours' sleep--and checking in with Helen at the Society that morning--Lewis headed back to the pub Ezekiel had mentioned.

he has to turn up sometime.

Pyrogue  MillieGriffin

He caught a cab to the pub.

When he arrived, Ez paid the driver and strode up to the entrance.

Jekyll1886  Pyrogue

To both of their surprise, Ezekiel strode up to the door at the exact same moment as Lewis.

"Hollis?" said Weir, straightening back as he took in this unexpected development. "What are you doing here?"

Pyrogue  Jekyll1886

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “The same as you, it looks like. I’m trying to find the seller of the Red Death...”

Jekyll1886  Pyrogue

"Aye, but to what end?" came the immediate question, concern evident in Lewis's tone.

Pyrogue  Jekyll1886

“I’ve certainly learned my lesson from last time, so I’m not buying,” he explained. “I’m looking — trying to find him, since you seemed to be so keen on locating him earlier.

“Are you coming in?”

Jekyll1886  Pyrogue

"Indeed," returned Weir--and did so.

"In point of fact," he whispered surreptitiously to Hollis once they were inside, "I went looking for him last night as well, but to no avail. Is there a particular spot in this establishment where he secrets himself?"

Pyrogue  Jekyll1886

“Well I can’t say I’m an expert since I only met him here twice, but he seemed to prefer sitting in that back corner.”

Ez pointed to the back left corner of the pub.

Jekyll1886  Pyrogue

Weir nodded.

Indeed, the man in question was here today. At this odd hour, no less.

Then again, for all Weir knew, the seller might be the owner, or a relative of such.

"Mind introducing me as a fellow scientific researcher?" Lewis asked Ezekiel quietly. "I'm curious whether he's still selling the stuff."

Pyrogue  Jekyll1886

"I... I suppose so...?"

Ez approached the seller.

Tairais  Jekyll1886

The man appeared to have positioned himself in the back corner so as to be able to see any who might enter the building. He raised an eyebrow at Ezekiel's approach, gaze sliding to Lewis with the same sort of lazy caution befitting a lion as he gave them both a once-over.The way he sat half-hunched over a drink, his green cloak covered most of his dark attire. It was as if he were a moss-covered boulder, equally as indifferent, equally as stoic, equally as vigilant.

He only spoke once Ezekiel and Lewis stood by his table, his gravelly whisper the same as it had been the first time.

"You are back. You have brought a... friend."

The tone of his voice made the statement as much question as it was observation.

Pyrogue  Tairais

Ez cleared his throat nervously. “I have.”

Jekyll1886  Pyrogue

Lewis, for his part, looked equal parts curious, intrigued, and slightly uncomfortable--the last presumably from being in these surroundings, meeting with a man who was more than likely a member of the criminal class.

"I, ah...heard you might be the man to ask about rare scientific specimens of the, er...viral variety," he ventured quietly. "I'm conducting research into certain of them," he explained, "and, when I saw what my friend here had hold of..." he glanced to Ezekiel, then back to the seller, "I couldn't help but ask him if I might get a sample for myself. So...here we are. Do you think you can help me?" he asked, his expression a study of hope just winning out over caution.

Tairais  Jekyll1886

The man stared at Lewis for several long moments, occasionally glancing at Ezekiel as he did so. Whatever he was looking for, he was soon satisfied, as he leaned back to sit up slightly straighter.

"I could, yes. First, however, we must negotiate the price."

He went on to name the price he had offered Ezekiel, firm in his demands. He seemed... reluctant, at the very least, to drop the price any lower.

He seldom blinked as he watched for a reaction, a snake lurking in the half-there shadows of the room.

Pyrogue  Tairais

"You... you wouldn't be able to offer it to us for a lower price?" Ez asked tentatively.

Jekyll1886  Pyrogue

"What if I bought more than one sample?" offered Lewis. "Would you be able to give me a price break then? I've several experiments I wish to run, and it would save me the time of growing new cultures. A win-win scenario, I should think."

Tairais  Jekyll1886

The man frowned slightly, blank stare brokering no amusement. He locked eyes with Ezikiel for several moments, unblinking, unflinching, unwavering, before he rose to his feet and downed the last of his drink in a single gulp.

"I will talk to my superiors about the matter. You will return here in three hours' time."

He flipped a coin onto the bar and offered a nod to the bartender, waiting for agreement from his would-be partners in this agreement.

Pyrogue  Tairais

“Alright.”

He looked at Lewis with apprehension.

Jekyll1886  Pyrogue

"Very well," Weir nodded his assent. He pulled out his pocket-watch to check the time, calculated when to return to the pub, then put the timepiece back in his waistcoat pocket.

Tairais  Jekyll1886

The man cast a final cautious glance about the room and nodded once more, slinking away without another word.

He left the bar like so much disregarded smoke, without so much as a farewell from the other patrons.

Pyrogue  Tairais

Ez turned to Lewis. “Do we come back in three hours, then?”

Jekyll1886  Pyrogue

"Aye," said Lewis, then lowered his voice to a whisper, "unless you're particularly good at tailing people."

Pyrogue  Jekyll1886

“W-well, I’ve never really attempted it... But I imagine it would be difficult. Why, are you suggesting we should follow him?”

Jekyll1886  Pyrogue

"Yes," replied Lewis. "At least one of us should, if we wish to learn where the Red Death is coming from."

He considered a moment.

"Since you've not attempted it before, I'll do it," he volunteered.

"See you later, I suppose?"

Pyrogue  Jekyll1886

“Alright. I’ll wait here,” he agreed.

Jekyll1886  Pyrogue

Lewis nodded, exited the pub, then made haste to surreptitiously catch up with the seller.

When he had the chance, Weir ducked into an alley's alcove and took steps to alter his appearance--mussing his hair and doffing his waistcoat, among other things.

Tairais

The seller himself cast a surreptitious glance over his shoulder in time to miss Lewis by the heel of his shoe. Thinking himself unwatched, he proceeded upon his journey with nonchalant haste.

He cut along Commercial Road East in the docks district, winding and slinking his way between person, horse, and carriage alike with all the practiced grace of a cat. He then ventured further into the labyrinthine spread of dismal alleys and crowded bystreets that made up part of London's East End. Going further still, he pressed into a mess of industrial and commercial complexes that did its best to merge with a wharf to strange effect.

Here the man paused to watch the gulls in the sky with an almost wistful look for two minutes exactly. Once that time was up, he veered toward the Burdett Road Bridge along the road for which it was named, finally, finally arriving at a building that had definitely seen better days.

The sign declaring the building to be an "East Indies Emporium" was likewise battered, and went unnoticed by the seller as he slipped inside.

Jekyll1886  Tairais

Through the dingy window near the roof of the place, Weir was just able to make out the seller and some other figures. Those in what passed for sunlight were of dusky complexion and wore turbans. There were other figures in shadow that he couldn't quite make out, but they all seemed ranged in a group, and appeared to be conferring.

At one point, they all turned toward the shadows and looked to be listening, as if someone Weir couldn't see due to the angle of the window were addressing them. There followed nods of agreement or understanding, after which a rectangular box or case was handed from shadow into light. One of the turbaned men opened it to reveal small objects that glinted when the sun struck them.

To Lewis, it looked for all the world like a chemist's travel kit, complete with glass vials.

Who are these people?

The man who'd opened the box looked once more into the shadows, asked a question, and nodded at the reply. He then carefully wrapped and handed the seller three of the vials.

There had to be at least six more still in the kit.

The man with the case closed it and handed it back to its source.

The seller, meanwhile, pocketed the vials he'd received and walked toward the door.

Lewis abandoned his position of peering upside-down through the top of the window and fully retracted himself back onto the roof. From this new vantage, he was able to watch the seller from behind as the latter exited the emporium and slipped into the streets.

Weir, for his part, continued to tail him. The foreigner stopped by sundry other establishments and made other sales, though none of the packages exchanged looked like the ones housing the Red Death samples.

Eventually, the appointed time drew near, and Lewis was forced to cease his pursuit and change into something more recognizable. He re-entered the designated pub and found Ezekiel only minutes before the seller returned.

"We've a lead," Weir whispered to Hollis. "I'll tell you more after the sale."

Tairais  Jekyll1886

The seller slinked into the bar neither a minute too early or a minute too late of the third hour. Upon noticing Lewis and Ez, he nodded and took his usual seat, beckoning them closer.

It seemed he would not speak until all parties were at the table. The bartender slid him another tankard that went unheeded for the time being.

Jekyll1886  Tairais

Lewis approached and took a seat. His expression conveyed apprehension overridden by eager anticipation, as if on the seller's decision rested the fate of all the world--or at least Weir's purported scientific research.

Pyrogue  Jekyll1886

Ez returned to the back table and sat down next to Lewis. He shifted anxiously in his chair. Tairais Pyrogue

The seller nodded to both of them before steepling his fingers and leaning forward.

"I have obtained permission for the two of you to purchase three samples at a discounted rate. Naturally, neither myself nor my associates assume any liability or responsibility should you or others come to harm or consequence by... whatever you might end up achieving with these."

He went on to list a more affordable price, taking care to emphasize that any fault that came as a result of the sale would be solely on Lewis and Ezekiel's heads. He sipped from his tankard languidly, casting a glance over his shoulder or over his surroundings every so often.

Jekyll1886  Tairais

"I...accept your terms," agreed Lewis.

He pulled out the appropriate amount, but didn't lay it on the table just yet. Instead, he waited for the seller to produce the samples.

Pyrogue  Jekyll1886

Ez's eyes darted from Lewis to the seller as he tried to appear nonchalant about the deal. He waited for the dealer to show the samples.

Tairais  Pyrogue

The seller's eyes darted back towards Lewis and Ez as quickly as a pair of vipers. Equally as quickly, but with a great deal more care, he pulled out the three vials and slid them to the table.

His hand remained on them as he gave Lewis a pointed look.

Jekyll1886  Tairais

Fingers still touching the money, Lewis slid it to the middle of the table, just beside the vials.

"Do we let go at the same time, then?" he asked, as if he knew nothing of such matters.

Pyrogue  Jekyll1886

Ez watched as he held his breath, waiting for the exchange to occur and staying silent.

He figured that if he spoke, he would probably ruin the entire plan.

Tairais  Pyrogue

The seller paused, then chuckled, a low and rumbling thing. The light in the tavern caught to his crooked smile and stayed there, laughing in his eyes.

"Indeed. On three, if you will?

"One...

"Two...

"Three."

On three, he removed his hand from the vials, but was not so foolish as to remove his hand entirely from the table.

Jekyll1886  Tairais

Lewis did likewise with the money, hand now poised to pick up the vials.

"Shall we take our respective dues on three as well?" he suggested.

Pyrogue  Jekyll1886

Again, he waited until the exchange was complete.

Tairais  Jekyll1886

The seller nodded, counted down again, and each party got their half of the bargain with no further incident. He pocketed the cash and downed the rest of his drink for a second time, standing up abruptly.

"It was a pleasure to do business with you. You know where to find me should you require more... samples."

And with that, the seller left for the crowded city streets, swallowed up by London's sea of anonymity.

Jekyll1886  Tairais

Lewis very carefully pocketed the samples.

Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"That went...decently well," he remarked, sounding almost surprised.

Pyrogue  Jekyll1886

Ez nodded, standing up from the table.

“So what do you plan on doing with the samples now?” he asked.

Jekyll1886  Pyrogue

"Naturally, I intend to inform Helen the source of the Red Death still exists.

"Beyond that, I imagine the samples themselves will need to go into Millie's care, given she has the expertise to keep them contained. They'd certainly be good to have on hand, should London ever need more doses of the cure--which, given how easy it was for us to acquire these samples, it very well may."

Pyrogue  Jekyll1886

“So you’ll be going back to the Society then?”

Jekyll1886  Pyrogue

"It seems the logical thing," he said with a shrug, "but I'm open to suggestion. Have you another idea?"

Pyrogue Jekyll1886 "No. I suppose I'll let you leave," he said, as he made his way to the tavern's exit.

Jekyll1886  Pyrogue

"Do you wish me to apprise you of whatever comes of it?" asked Lewis, aware of Ezekiel's helpfulness in finding the seller and introducing Weir to him.

Pyrogue  Jekyll1886

"I, er... I suppose so?" he replied. "I'll be at the Bedford Hotel on Southampton road if you end up needing to contact me."

Jekyll1886  Pyrogue

"Ah, very good," returned Lewis.

After the two had gone their separate ways, Weir returned to the Society. He was soon at the door of the day manager's office.

"Helen?" he called as he knocked thrice. "Have you a moment?"

Helen Jekyll  Jekyll1886

“I’ve always time for you, Lewis,” said Helen with a smile in her voice, the quiet shifting of dishes coming from beyond the door, “Please, come on in.”

Jekyll1886  Helen Jekyll

He did so, realizing he'd not yet eaten any lunch.

"Thank you. I went again to that pub today--the one Hollis mentioned.

"In point of fact, we nearly got to its door at the same time. He'd apparently had much the same idea we did, and was most helpful in pointing out the seller to me. He pretended we were colleagues, thus enabling me to approach the man in question without him bolting. I pretended to be a fellow researcher who needed as many samples as I could lay my hands on."

Helen Jekyll  Jekyll1886

“Oh?”

She blinked at Lewis before shifting her attention towards locating a blank sheet of paper and a pen.

“I must say, I wasn’t expecting him to continue assisting with the matter.”

Another glance up to him, the latter utensil poised to write.

“Is there anything of significance to report from your investigation?”

Jekyll1886  Helen Jekyll

"Nor was I," admitted Lewis.

Helen spoke again.

"Indeed.

"We spoke with the seller--I never did get his name--and it was agreed he would check with his supplier as to how many samples he could sell me and how much they would cost. We agreed to meet back at the pub in three hours' time.

"I followed the man--Ezekiel stayed behind because he had no experience with this sort of thing and didn't wish to give me away.

"The seller went various places in the East End, but eventually came to a building near the Burdett Road Bridge, far up the Limehouse Cut. It was marked as an East Indies emporium--and perhaps that is its cover; I did see a few Indian trinkets about.

"There were several people inside--seven, including the seller, that I could see from my vantage point at the window. There were perhaps three in shadow, none of whom I could see clearly. One of these felt passing familiar, though I couldn't place it.

"In any case, the ones I could see appeared to be of north Indian origin--they had beards and wore turbans. I'd not be surprised if the seller himself were Brahmin caste or perhaps even half white, though some of his features still mark him with the stamp of the subcontinent. The rest, though, appeared to be Sikh--they had their wrist bracers and daggers--definitely kshatriya--er, warrior--caste.

"The group of them conferred with someone in shadow, after which a case that looked for all the world like a chemist's kit was produced. From this, the seller acquired three vials, which were wrapped with assiduous care before he left with them."

Lewis very carefully extracted them from his waistcoat pockets and unwrapped them on Helen's desk.

"Behold, the Red Death--enough to kill all of London three times over. Purchased in an East End pub for five pounds."

Helen Jekyll  Jekyll1886

Helen took care to note his account of the events diligently, brow creased in quiet concentration.

Only when a movement of Weir’s caught her eye did she glance up and notice the vials, her expression growing rather grave and pale at the sight.

“Oh dear...”

She turned her gaze to him.

“I don’t suppose you’ve any sort of containment unit for these to prevent another outbreak?”

Jekyll1886  Helen Jekyll

"Unfortunately, no. I thought I should ask Millie about it, as it's her bailiwick--if she feels up to it. I know yesterday took a toll on all of us."

"I also thought I might ask Griffin if he'd be willing to get a better look inside that emporium. If those people would sell to Hollis and me, whom else might they sell to? Can you imagine if someone like Moriarty had gotten his hands on this?"

Helen Jekyll  Jekyll1886

“Frankly, I’m afraid to—It has the potential to wipe out so much life...” Her voice threatened to break on the last word. “Such a crime shouldn’t have even the slightest chance of being committed.”

Helen shook her head, then rose from her chair.

“We’d best find the pair of them,” She said, referring to Millie and Griffin, “The sooner the vials are stored safely, the better.”

Jekyll1886  Helen Jekyll

"Agreed," he concurred as he stood.

With the utmost care, he re-wrapped the vials and stowed them back in his pockets.

Helen and he left her office and were soon at the door to Millie's room.

Lewis knocked thrice.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Millie answered the door promptly. Past her they could see Griffin at his desk frustratedly scribbling figures on some notes and comparing papers.

Helen Jekyll  MillieGriffin

“Hello again, Millie,” greeted Helen with a pleasant smile and dip of her head, “May Lewis and myself come in? We’ve a rather important matter to discuss with you.”

Jekyll1886  Helen Jekyll

Lewis noticed Griffin behind Millie as she and Helen spoke.

He doesn't look in a very good mood, Weir observed silently.

"It's regarding the Red Death," he said to Millie in a hushed tone.

MillieGriffin  Helen Jekyll

There was a twinge of nervousness her stomach over what they meant by 'important matters to discuss regarding the red death', but she wasn't about to jump to conclusions just yet.

"Of course, come in." She said simply as she opened the door wider for them.

Helen Jekyll  MillieGriffin

Helen nodded her thanks and stepped inside, moving to stand just past Millie.

"I'm sure none of us have any trouble recalling Mr. Hollis nor his actions here at the Society," She began in a low voice, looking at both of them searchingly, "Am I correct?"

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Through his serious mien, Lewis did look relieved once the door had closed behind them. After all, this was a fairly private matter.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Millie nodded with understanding while also trying to keep anything too snippy towards Helen to herself. "It was literally just yesterday..."

Griffin's attention moved from his work to the conversation with passive aggressive interest.

Helen Jekyll  MillieGriffin

"Indeed it was--Hence why I made the assumption," She agreed with a dip of her head, "And with it in mind, I can be certain that we're all on the same page.

"Now, using the information given to me by Mr. Hollis regarding how he acquired the virus, along with having the benefit of some assistance from the man himself, Lewis has managed to acquire three more vials of the Red Death," Helen went on to explain, "We were hoping that you might have a safe place to store them, so that others will be unable to use the samples for ill and they'll be on hand, should we ever--God forbid--have need of them again."

Jekyll1886 Helen Jekyll

"Sorry to ask this of you, Millie," apologized Lewis, "but I dare say they'll be much safer with you than in my waistcoat pocket." He patted the last ever so lightly, obviously not keen on carrying the samples about.

"Thank you, by the by, for saving everyone's lives," he added as he held Millie's gaze, his eyes conveying earnest gratitude. "It goes without saying I'm most appreciative." A quick glance to Helen and back. MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Millie nodded and held out her hand to take the samples.

Griffin watched everything silently from his spot. Helen Jekyll  MillieGriffin

"Oh, most certainly," Helen agreed, nodding to Millie, "Your cure managed to prevent a tragic loss of life, and for that, I'm exceedingly grateful."

"I truly hate to even consider what may have happened to the city, should the disease have spread..."

She shook her head.

"Regardless, thank you very much for your help. I trust you'll be able to handle the remaining samples safely."

Jekyll1886  Helen Jekyll

With great delicacy, Lewis removed the bundled samples from his pocket and placed the diminutive package in Millie's palm.

MillieGriffin Jekyll1886 Millie didn't respond to what Helen said as she took the samples from Lewis and delicately examined them.

looks like I get an early Christmas present this year... she dryly quipped in her head.

"Right, If you'll excuse me, I'll just put these in a much safer place." She said looking up at Lewis before leaving to go down to her secret lab. Helen Jekyll  MillieGriffin

"Err, hold on for just a moment, if you'll please," Helen requested of Millie, turning to extend a hand towards her as she stepped forward, "What do I tell the co-founders, regarding where you're going to store the vials? They'll likely wish to know their location, considering the danger of them falling into the wrong hands or being damaged."

Jekyll1886  Helen Jekyll

Lewis nodded in response to Millie.

His gaze turned to Helen when the latter spoke.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Millie paused and glanced at Helen a moment, still struggling to find the right words that aren't too snippy for her.

"..... The Co-founders already know the location they'll be stored. Just tell them that I have locked them in the safest place for the microbiology field in the society, and leave it at that."

With that she left, closing the door behind her with a bit of emphasis.

Helen Jekyll  MillieGriffin

"Alright then," Helen said with a nod, dropping her hand back to her side.

It was all she could do to not wince when the door shut a hair louder than usual, a brief look of worry crossing her expression before she turned her attention back to Lewis and Griffin.

"Well, I am happy to have that taken care of." Jekyll1886  Helen Jekyll

"Indeed," agreed Lewis.

"Though...I'm afraid the source of the illness is still out there. Until that's taken care of," he briefly met Griffin's gaze as if seeking the answer to an unspoken question, "we all remain at risk."

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Griffin reared up a little at Weir's look, and for a moment did nothing before letting out a deeply exasperated sigh and flopping the paperwork in his hand on the desk. He stood up straight crossing his arms.

"Where am I going to find it...?" He grumbled.

Helen Jekyll  MillieGriffin

Blinking slightly, Helen glanced from Lewis to Griffin and back during that brief moment of silence.

She appeared somewhat perplexed by what had transpired, but refrained from asking any questions for the time being.

Jekyll1886  Helen Jekyll

"I can show you," answered Weir. "I just couldn't get in the door in broad daylight without being seen," he explained. "Once the cultures are safely away, it won't matter if I am. I could even provide a distraction, if you like."

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Griffin nodded. "That will be fine." He said a little less irritably.

He was able to say something to Weir but remembering Helen still there, he didn't. Helen Jekyll  MillieGriffin

Helen shifted her hands behind her back, clasping them together as she gave a smile tinged with a touch of nervousness.

"Perhaps I should... leave you two to planning things out, then?"

Jekyll1886  Helen Jekyll

"If you like," agreed Lewis with a fraction of a nod, a hint of apology in his voice as he addressed Helen. He, too, had noticed Griffin's reluctance to speak in her presence.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Please..." Griffin added politely.

Helen Jekyll  MillieGriffin

"Of course!"

Helen gave a little half bow, then turned to leave out the door Millie had taken.

"I wish you both the best of luck handling these matters."

And then with that, she was gone.

Jekyll1886  Helen Jekyll

The sound of Helen's footfall grew fainter.

Weir looked to Griffin and, with a nod, said, "I'm listening."

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Well, this has little to do with the reason you came here but since you're here— it's about our business... Sells are down, unnaturally so..." He picked the notes back up and handed them to Weir.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Weir's eyes went wide as he looked over the figures. His brow furrowed as he reread them, turning the paper in the light to make sure he hadn't misread the numbers.

"Bloody Hell," he said at last. "What on Earth--?"

He shook his head, then looked up at Griffin.

"Are you certain you've not misplaced a decimal point?" asked Lewis, holding out a slim sliver of hope his business partner might have miscalculated. It wasn't likely, he knew, but these numbers... How had things gone so far awry, so very quickly? Another month like this, and they'd be in debt!

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Griffin glared his business partner in the eyes with his arms crossed as he sternly said, "Weir, I have checked and rechecked six times already. I even used the calculator on my mobile a couple of times. The numbers are correct!"

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Lewis tilted his face toward the ceiling and closed his eyes, as if asking for strength or doing his utmost not to fly off the handle.

"Right," he said after a moment, having schooled himself into an appearance of normalcy--save for his fingers, which drummed at his side. His gaze returned to Griffin. "We shall have to get to the bottom of this. Has someone shorted us the money, or are people simply not buying?" The former, he knew, could be taken care of with a mix of cajoling and threats. The latter would present a trickier problem to solve.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

He sighed and shook his head. "No, I tail our sellers varying days every week and I make sure they know what happens to anyone who'd try to cheat us, I keep those idiots paranoid. People aren't buying for some reason!"

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"Damn."

Lewis knew of no recent crackdown, no new law banning their wares.

"I do hope the decline in sales doesn't stem from some fresh moralistic campaign.

"Hm.

"Let me check round with some of the toffs I used to sell to directly. They may be able to give some insight.

"In the meantime, we should probably see to the Red Death's source before another idiot nearly wipes out the city. Once that's done, I'll be at liberty."

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Griffin nodded with a bit of reluctance, "Right... I suppose I'll get ready then..."

He went to get his coat before stopping short in a revelation, "Oh!"

He quickly went back to his desk, "I remembered this time..." He mumbled t himself.

He pulled out a fat envelope and gave it to Weir, "Here!"

He then got his coat and started to slip on his boots.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"Oh," said Lewis in surprise as he accepted the unexpected envelope.

Not standing on ceremony, he opened it then and there.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

It was full of Bank notes of tens of thousands of pounds worth.

After putting on his boots Griffin put on his hat, for a moment he debate whether he should bring his invisible shield then decided to be better safe than sorry and took it down off the wall.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

MY CUT!!! thought Lewis with all the joy of a heavenly chorus. He'd been starting to think Griffin had forgotten, or perhaps spent the money himself. Weir's happiness was rivaled only by his relief as he closed the envelope and tucked it safely into an inner pocket.

"~Thank you~," he managed to get out through his newfound giddiness.

With a spring in his step, he opened the door and went out into the hall, eagerly awaiting his business partner.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"uh-huh..." Griffin said coming out of the room while picking the last of the brightly colored magnets off the invisible shield and putting in in his pocket.

"Well lead the way." He said with a sweep of his hand towards the way out.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"Indeed I shall," said Lewis with a smile as he led Griffin out. Things were looking up. They'd squelch this Red Death business at its source, get to the bottom of the sales drop off, fix that problem, and be free and clear.

I might even be able to buy the flat! thought Weir, his mind brimming with possibilities. Or maybe a little place in Soho--just for old times' sake. Or...

His good mood continued all the way to Burdett Road Bridge, where he took the opportunity to point out a dilapidated emporium.

Schooling himself into a more serious mien, he whispered to Griffin, "That's the place. I managed to get a peek through one of the windows earlier--there were several men I could see, and at least one person in shadow I couldn't make out." From the casual manner in which he spoke, it seemed Lewis didn't think it the least bit odd the windows he'd looked through were all on the upper story of the building.

He went on to describe the case in which the Red Death cultures were kept, as well as the last place he'd seen it.

"I was thinking I might pretend to be a customer--I did see some genuine spices in the emporium--just to get a foot in the door, as it were. You could slip past and get the case; I'd cover your exit, even if it meant making a proper nuisance of myself. How does that sound?” Avatar MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886 2 days ago "Sounds fine." Griffin said taking off his coat and hat aftra he took off his boots and stuffed the in the inner pockets. He held the coat up in front of Weir to croodly measure the two of a moment then handed weir the coat and hat.

"Here, wear these for me."

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"Very well."

Lewis donned the garments, which fit decently enough.

"There we are. Shall I?"

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"By all means." Griffin calmly said just before clicking the button on his watch and blinking out of visibility.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Weir broke into a grin.

This is going to be fun.

By the time he knocked upon the emporium's door, he'd adopted the demeanor of a frazzled but efficient shopkeeper.

He tried the door, which was locked.

"I say," he called, knocking loudly upon it, "are you open?"

There was no response save a hushed stirring inside.

"I do say, 'tis most urgent!" he called out, banging on the door this time.

Muffled conversation issued from within.

"Is this or is this not a spice emporium?" Lewis nearly shouted. He gave the door a resounding kick.

Shortly thereafter, the sound of a bolt drawing back let Weir and Griffin know they were about to get their chance.

A swarthy man in a turban cracked the door open, at which point Lewis said, "About time! Sorry to cause a fuss, but I'm in desperate need of some spices, or Lady Pemberly's exotic soiree will be ruined!"

"We are closed," said the man.

"Poppycock! Closed, at this hour? Come, come! I've money in my pocket and you've spices on your shelves, yes?"

"Yes, but--"

"Then it's settled," said Weir, kicking the door open and breezing past the man. The latter took a moment to recover, leaving the door wide for precious seconds.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Griffin took the precious chance to slip past the two and into the building like a shadow.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Inside, shelves lined the walls. Spices and incense sat upon many, but those toward the rear of the structure held crates and packing straw. It was in one of these that Griffin would find the Red Death in its case. The only problem being...there were easily two dozen crates. Not only that, there were seven men sitting around a table playing cards. Four were visibly armed with long daggers, while one had a pistol tucked in his belt.

Lewis's entrance arrested their attention. Two of the men moved to confront him, but were met with rapid-fire verbiage.

"Oh, good--do come here," said Weir, gesturing for the doorman and them to assist him as he approached a shelf of spices near the front. "I'll need a pound of peppercorn, two cups cayenne, approximately five medium-sized green chili peppers or their equivalent, three-quarters of a pound of anise, four cups cumin, and as much saffron as you have in stock."

A pause.

"Do you sell rice, by the by? It would save me a trip elsewhere."

Once the men had a moment to register that he was not an apparent threat, they stood in the middle of the emporium, looking at him as if deciding what to do with this strange man.

"Well?" said Lewis with all the entitlement and irritation of a busy professional to a lazy servant. "Don't just stand there--assist me!" MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Griffin did his best not to make too much noise as he took advantage of Weir's distraction. He checked the crates as subtly as possible while Weir talked by just sliding a corner of the lids askew enough to stick his arm into the straw, and looking down the gap his arm made.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

In the second crate Griffin checked lay the case Weir'd described, the straw only just covering it over.

The doorman hesitated and looked to the two of his compatriots that were standing. One drew his dagger, but the other merely tilted his head from side to side to indicate his indifference.

"I'm not interested in the knife," said Lewis, as if the man hadn't understood him, "though I'm certain it's quite lovely. Lady Pemberly has her own silverware, thank you."

The remaining five men had returned to playing cards.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Ah–hah! Griffin started to slowly, steadily move the lid to the side as quietly as possible.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"You English, always so smug," spat the man with the knife in a foreign accent as he advanced, brandishing the weapon threateningly. "You will not speak to me this way."

Seeing their compatriot’s intent, the other men moved to join him--a welcome distraction for Griffin, but an escalating situation for Weir.

"Now see here," said Lewis. "There's no call for violence. I'll have you know I'm Scot--"

He cut himself off as he noticed the others headed for him.

"Oh, bother."

Hurry, Griffin... thought Weir as he tightened his grip on his walking stick.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Griffin had gotten the case out of the box silently by now, not bothering to sweep away the straw on the top that loosely hung over the sides. As he had taken out the case he noticed somethings in the remaining straw in the crate, incense and,bottles of opium.

why, those little— He was cut off mid-thought when he noticed Weir's distraction had started to work a little too well. well, f*ck it! he thought as he picked up the crate, so much for subtlety...

In not even half a moment the crate sprung up into the air, flew over from behind the Indian closest to the back of the group, lifted itself slightly higher than smashed down on his head letting all the contents fall out of the bottom. Not even a second after that the knife from the assaulted man's belt had unsheathed itself and the now floating knife lunged into the ribs of the man with the gun as his weapon was ripped out of his fingers and was now fixed in mid-air.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

As Griffin had set the case of samples down behind an inlaid urn, they were in no danger of breaking.

Weir gave a very convincing cry of fear and pointed with trembling hand at the hovering firearm.

"Gh-gh-gh-ghost!" he got out, eyes wide with seeming fright.

All but two of the men turned to look...and went immediately pale.

Chaos ensued, Hindi and Urdu mixing indistinctly with Punjabi as six of the men fled from the warehouse, never to return.

The stabbed man, meanwhile, could do naught but clutch his side, a stream of foreign invective issuing from him.

The man who'd been hit with the crate, however, was made of sterner stuff. His turban had to a degree mitigated the blow; he was soon on his feet and wielding a portion of the mangled crate as a makeshift shield.

Lewis dropped his act and took the opportunity to throw his cane in a horizontal whirl at the man's knees. The CRACK of the resultant impact reverberated off the emporium's walls as the fellow buckled and fell to the floor.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

The Gun then turned on it's former master and fired between the eyes and then aimed itself at the other fallen man's head ready to shoot again.

"Move and you're dead." Said the voice in a low menacing tone.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"Kill me, you English dog, and I go to God or reincarnate," spat the Sikh, his dark eyes shining with defiance.

Nevertheless, he didn't move.

"[For the record]," stated Weir in Punjabi as he made his way over to them, "[I'm not English. My clan fought against them during Scotland's last rebellion.]"

The man briefly paused, surprised a Brit knew his language, but recovered quickly enough.

"[Then why do you aid this English dog?]" he asked, clearly not buying whatever Weir was selling.

"Because I happen to reside in London, and I'd very much not like to die, thank you," countered Lewis as he slipped back into English. "I hope you do know that's the Red Death you're dealing. It'll kill an Englishman and a Sikh just the same."

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Of course what's life to you if you reincarnate? I'll enjoy squashing whatever bug you come back as." The voice said then added, "diseases aren't the only thing your cast spreads around, is it?" He referred to the scattered bottles of opium that lay around the man with straw and incense.

Jekyll1886 MillieGriffin

"People do not return as animals, you ignorant goat," the man tried to goad, staring past the gun to where he guessed his assailant might be standing. "And opium is a small pestilence compared to what your people have done to my country." Briefly turning his head to Lewis, he continued, "The Red Death is the only way to stop the English. If I die, it is a small price to pay for my countrymen's freedom."

Christ, a fanatic! thought Lewis, even as he saw the fellow's point.

"But when it gets out you did it, the spiked boot heel of the English will come down all the harder. On your people especially," countered Lewis with a shake of his head. "What freedoms you presently enjoy will be stripped away."

He could see the man's skepticism.

"You think I don't know where of I speak? I'm Scottish!" exclaimed Weir with a feeling of old wounds opened afresh. "They slaughtered our women and children! Our armed forces were banned! We weren't even allowed to wear kilts for three dozen years! They bloody well eviscerated us, and all we'd done was fight honorably! Think they won't do worse to you, with your biological warfare? Victoria lost some of her own children to cholera and--bang!--London got a new sanitation system. Her scientists have already found a cure to your Red Death, and they'll distribute it. What do you think the Queen's army won't do to you and yours, when they get wind of this?"

Though the Sikh still had a look of defiance about him, it turned sullen as, for the first time, the Scotsman's words gave him pause.

The Indian narrowed his eyes.

"You are bluffing," he ventured, the uncertainty in his voice belying the strength of his words.

Lewis turned to Griffin.

"Tell me, Vincent--is anything I've said the least bit untrue?"

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Weir detachedly noted that the Sikh didn't seem to find Griffin's invisibility the least bit odd--which was itself rather an odd reaction.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Oh, it's quite true, Boyd. All of it. And the scientist that found the cure I can guarantee is ten times better than whoever you got to create your viruses." The voice replied.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"[She did not create--]," the man began, but cut himself off.

"'She'?" echoed Lewis. He'd seen no women here, after all.

Wait a minute...

One of the energies he'd sensed on his earlier outing here had been passing familiar, though he'd not been able to place it.

Now, however...

His eyes widened.

"[Tell us who gave you this virus]," he said in a whisper. "[If we find her, you're free to go, no questions asked--I'll make sure of it.]" He took the Sikh's hands. "[Please, by the life of my son in Jaipur, I swear it! Just tell me her name! If it's who I think it is, then I fear this entire ordeal has little to do with England or India, and everything to do with her vendetta against me.]" If Weir wasn't desperate, he was certainly doing a magnificent job acting the part.

Taken aback, the turbaned man seemed to actually consider it.

"[How do I know this isn't some trick?]" After all, if an Englishman could lie...might not a Scotsman?

"[Look me in the eye]," said Lewis, his expression at once concerned and pleading, as if he feared for someone more than himself.

The man did so.

"[If she's here]," said Weir with utter sincerity, "[my entire family is in danger. To a one.]" He continued, "[Raj and Khul and Mahinder--even little Anita. She'll hurt them--God forbid, kill them--just to get at me. She's ruthless. Amoral. Wicked. She tricks men into doing what she wants.]" He slipped back into English with the emotion of it: "If they don't comply...she ruins them. If they fight back...well, let's just say this entire scheme is right up her alley for revenge. Did she tell you to sell the opium, too?" he asked, picking a bit of it up off the floor.

Hesitantly, the man gave a nod.

"She is...very persuasive," he said at last, as if struggling internally. "I..." He blinked, hard. "I cannot..."

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"You're afraid of 'her'?" Asked the voice the gun still aimed at the man.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"I...no. Not afraid. I cannot... Even if I wished to speak her name, she..." The Indian man shook his head. "She is...she has forbidden..." he struggled to get the words out.

"When she forbids you," asked Lewis quietly, "does she hold your gaze? Do her eyes look strange?"

"Yes!" blurted the man, as if relieved to do so. "They are...not the same color as before."

Weir looked in Griffin's general direction with a muted expression of alarm or, at the least, perfectly warranted concern.

"Well. That certainly rings a bell."

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Though neither of could see it Griffin's eyes widened at the relation that finally struck who they were talking about. "Bloody 'pacifist' my arse..." He muttered.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"Well said," seconded Weir. "Perhaps she conflates pacifism with indirect slaughter." It wasn't lost on him that not just the Society but all of London--the city from which she'd been exiled--could have died. Of course, knowing her, she likely has an antidote or a simple immunity.

"I fancy you can't tell us where she is," conjectured Lewis as he turned his gaze to the Indian man. "What's your name, by the by?"

"Rajpal Singh Chaudhry," he answered.

"Any relation to the Malout Chaudhrys?" asked Weir.

"You know them?"

Lewis nodded as he broke into a smile, and was about to speak further.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Is She the reason my invisibility doesn't bother you? Do you know any other like me?" The gun drew closer to the man as the Griffin spoke.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"She told me you exist--I know no other like you," he got out quickly. "She said it was science, but said not how."

He turned his gaze to Lewis, then back in Griffin's vicinity.

"I know not where she goes, but when she comes. This I can tell you--she never said not to.

"I have decided: I want to live--I will not die some pawn for an Englishwoman. Science-witch," he spat, as if it were anathema. "I will tell you if you let me go--I will even stay and open the door, if you do not trust me. I never wish to see this cursed country again," he finished with a mixture of disappointment and disgust.

Weir looked to Griffin as if to say the deal seemed fair enough to him.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

The gun lingered over the man for a beat and it started to shack, "Fffffffffffffine..." Griffin reluctantly said through clenched teeth as the gun tilted back, the little hammer on it clicked back to its disarmed state. As the gun moved away they could hear mumbling along the lines of, 'Guess now I have to clean up the bloody place instead of just burning it down nice and easy...'

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"Very good," Weir said with a nod to signal his agreement to the arrangement with Rajpal.

Lewis extended a hand to help him up.

"'Sorry about the knee," he apologized with a sheepish look.

A clock in the emporium chimed loudly.

"She comes in one-half hour," said Chaudhry with a look to it.

"Bloody Hell," said Weir. "We haven't much time."

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Fuuuuuuuuuck..." Griffin groaned, "where the bloody hell am I supposed to put him then?" The gun pointed at the other Indian that lay dead on the floor, "I don't think quick lime would work fast enough... Is there an empty trunk or a closet...? Well I'm going to need a mop for the blood too— Dammit!"

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"I'll see to it," Lewis volunteered as he handed Rajpal his cane.

"[I'll be respectful]," he added for the latter man's benefit.

Weir was quickly at the body. True to his word, he closed its eyes and lifted it as if he were carrying a fragile princess, even though it was rather heavy.

He disappeared behind some shelves, came back out, and picked up one of the dozens of crates.

"If you wouldn't mind seeing to the rest..." he asked Griffin.

Chaudhry, for his part, hobbled over to the table and took a seat. Once there, he did helpfully point out a mop and bucket.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Griffin put the gun in the pocket of his invisible trousers as the went to grab the mop and bucket. Grumbling the whole time, he started cleaning up the blood off the floor and picking up the straw, incense and opium.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Lewis took the crate behind the shelves, then repeated the process with another. And another. And another.

Before long, he'd stacked an impromptu pyramid of crates around and over the deceased.

Rajpal, though he didn't rise, chanted from his holy book, as was proper to do for his fallen comrade.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Griffin purposely ignored the other two as he gathered the splintered crate up to put in the rubbish bin.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

After a time, the chanting and the cleaning concluded--and not a minute too soon, if the clock was anything to go by.

"Given I'm not invisible, I suppose I ought to hide," Weir stated rhetorically.

"She may recognize that cane, though," he warned Chaudhry.

The latter hobbled to the door and leaned on it for support.

"Take it," he bade Lewis.

Weir did so, then promptly hid behind the corpse-covering crate pyramid.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Griffin put the mop in Chaudhry's hand, "Here, you can say you slipped while mopping." Then with that he went to the table and the gun that was at hip level lifted up and then set itself down on the table as a chair slid out and made a creecking sound.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Chaudhry leaned on the mop for support as the other two readied themselves.

It wasn't long before a key turned in the lock of the door to the emporium.

In walked an all-too-familiar scientist.

"Hello, Dr. Radcliffe," said Rajpal as he stepped aside with the aid of the mop.

She'd seemed about to say something, but stopped short when she saw the lack of henchmen about.

"Where've the lot gone?" she more accused than asked, wheeling on him with a stare as she pulled a small device from her pocket.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Griffin had slipped around the table with the gun and behind Rajpal. As soon as he saw her pull something out of her pocket the gun sprang out from behind the Indian and shot her right in the shoulder joint. in another split moment she was barreled over to the floor landing on her chest and pinned down with the sash that was snatched off Rajpal in the struggle pressed against her eyes.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Radcliffe cried out as the bullet ripped into her shoulder. Her gas-dispersing device clattered to the floor as Griffin tackled her; it landed well away from Chaudhry, him, and her.

"Get off me you daft idiot!" she shouted through the pain, struggling with her good arm to rip the sash from her eyes. She tried unsuccessfully to kick Griffin with her heels.

"No," said Rajpal, eyes narrowed at her prone form. He pressed the mop against the back of her head and leaned on it, forcing her face to the ground.

"I really would lie still, if you fancy drawing another breath," said Lewis--who'd suddenly appeared behind Griffin--as Weir hooked the crook of his cane around her neck. Between it and the mop, and with Griffin's weight atop her, all Lewis would have to do was pull up a bit more, and she'd have no airflow.

Foolishly, she continued to struggle.

"MMMMMMFFFFFFFFFF--GH--!!!!!!" she cried in frustration; the sound cut off as Lewis lifted the cane.

She tried to kick again for good measure, knowing full well it was futile--the action was more akin to a child pitching a fit than it was a true struggle.

Eventually, she went still.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Griffin put his ear to the back of her torso between the shoulder blades, he could still hear her heart beat.

"Alright."

The gun put it's barrel to the other shoulder joint and fired. He then sat up and tied the sash properly over her eyes.

"She should be harmless now."

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Chaudhry moved the mop aside so Griffin could tie the sash.

"Good," he said with a mix of vehemence and relief.

Weir removed the cane from its place against Radcliffe's throat, allowing air to flow freely once more.

It wasn't long before she was breathing again, if faintly.

"I probably ought to patch her up at least a little--as I've questions for her, it wouldn't do if she bled to death just now," said Lewis.

"I have questions also," put in Rajpal.

Weir laid down his cane, rolled Radcliffe onto her back, and set to work removing the bullets, glad for her current unconscious state.

He'd soon finished patching her up.

"Right. That's that," he pronounced.

He picked up the cane with his left hand and took smelling salts from a waistcoat pocket with his right. These latter he held under Radcliffe's nose.

She sat up with a start, disoriented. She went to grab at the sash on her face, but found her arms simply wouldn't obey her. More than that, they hurt like Hell.

"Get this bloody thing off me!" she demanded as she remembered what had happened.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Griffin had pulled up a chair before Weir woke her up. "Nope." She felt a hand grab the back of her neck and she was lifted up. "Have a seat." And she was roughly dropped on the chair. "Hello, Ariadne." Griffin said as he placed his hands firmly on her shoulders keeping her back against the back of the chair.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"Griffin," she said with disgust, then added, just for good measure, "--the false one."

"Don't forget me," chimed in Lewis.

"I am also here," Rajpal reminded her. "You have much to answer for."

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Mm-hm, Aheheheheh, better make it quick, luv... We're not 'pacifists'." His hands tightened on her shoulders.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Radcliffe winced at the pain. She turned her head to where she thought Griffin might be, as if wishing to affect him despite the impromptu blindfold over her eyes.

"You have played me!" Chaudhry exclaimed. "You told me you would help my people, but you endangered us all! Tell me why!"

"Because you're gullible, you idiot!" she yelled back, finally accepting the jig was up.

"This was about us," Weir stated as if she'd just confirmed a pet hypothesis.

"Oh, you put it together? Bravo," she said, her words dripping with sarcasm. "You're the ones who did something to Hawley!" she leveled at them. "I know it!"

Rajpal looked decidedly confused at that.

"Who is 'Hawley'?" he asked.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"He's just a ghost now." Griffin answered a bit ominously.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

By Griffin's tone, Weir wondered if he didn't mean it literally.

"Someone who tried to sell us out to Moriarty--a man who wished to be crime lord of the city, if not the world," answered Lewis.

"Ha!" scoffed Radcliffe in a strained voice--she had, after all, had no painkiller. "He was a real man," she asserted as she turned to Griffin. "Not like you, you cheap imitation! He was going to double-cross Moriarty and take over London--with me at this side!"

"This is all to do with criminals?" said Chaudhry, almost to himself, as if he couldn't believe he'd been duped over a petty underworld squabble. "[You English are crazy.]"

Weir's eyes went wide at Ariadne's revelation.

"Is that what he told you?" He broke into a laugh. "Ohoho, you bloody daft coo! Hawley? And you?" He fell into a laughing jag and couldn't stop.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Griffin gave a short chuckle before leaning into her ear. "I can tell you from experience, he cared nothing for you. You were just a skirt to hide behind to get out of trouble. You were nothing but a shield to him and a flimsy one at that. You failed." He stood up straight again, "Now! How about those questions you should be answering?"

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"You're wrong!" exclaimed Radcliffe, though a tremor of doubt in her voice let Griffin know his words had hit home. "Hawley loved me! I saved him from a beating! I took over some of Moriarty's operations when Hawley disappeared," here she turned her head in Weir's general direction, "at your treacherous hands! We're going to rule London together just as soon as he comes back!"

"You speak to me of treachery?" said Lewis, whose incredulity at her words had finally stopped his laughing. "Have you even met Hawley? I'd call him a snake, but that'd be an to insult ophidians everywhere. He endangered the entire Society for no reason at all--even after he'd been given a second chance! He beat a man's sickly son to death just because the poor lad didn't have the information he wanted! He was more mad dog than cool crimelord--he'd've turned on you the second you ceased to be of use to him."

Chaudhry shook his head at the whole situation.

"Why did you choose me and my cousins to trap in your schemes?" he asked at last.

"Because you're all idiots," snapped Ariadne with a smug sneer. "You were easy to manipulate."

Incensed, Rajpal struck her in the face as he cursed in Punjabi. His repeated blows had the unfortunate effect of dislodging her blindfold, which fell to the floor. Chaudhry's expression reflected the vertiginous drop he felt in his stomach as Radcliffe's eyes changed color and she opened her mouth to speak.

In the blink of an eye, Weir'd interposed himself between the two...and made the happenstance mistake of letting her gaze find his.

Even better, she thought with a smile.

"Kill the others," she commanded him, "then yourself."

The green near the outer rims of Lewis's irises pushed itself toward the pupils, shrinking the brown and black. Then the reverse happened, the dark center pushing outward at the expense of all other color. Lastly, his eyes returned to their normal green-hazel-brown-black graduation of hues.

"You really are daft," he concluded.

For the sake of prudence, he pulled out his handkerchief and handed it to Griffin, though Weir really didn't see what all the fuss was about.

Mind-control eyes, my arse.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Griffin had the gun out and was about to shoot either Ariadne or Weir when he saw Weir's eyes change but started to lacks a little when his business partner taunted her and held out his handkerchief, which Griffin hesitantly took.

As he tied it around Radcliffe's eyes he threatened in her ear, "Try anything like that again and I personally make sure you meet your little crush again in a second."

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Wha--? Why didn't it work? thought Ariadne with a mix of surprise and anger.

Griffin threatened her as he covered her eyes again.

"I can't try it with a blindfold on, can I?" she retorted, as if he were an ignoramus. Yet beneath her bubbling bravado lay the beginnings of a very real sense of loss. The way Griffin and Weir spoke of Hawley, she was coming to realize, her love might very well be gone--no bluffs, no tricks, just...dead.

"She should meet him now," opined Chaudhry. "My cousin's death," here he looked briefly in the direction of the stacked crates, "is her fault! Honor demands her death in return."

Technically, isn't it Griffin's fault? Weir silently questioned, but knew better than to say. They didn't need Rajpal at their throats, and Chaudhry didn't need to die by Griffin's gunshot. Ah, well. If he wishes to interpret it in his own way, so be it.

"Before she does," put in Lewis, "I'm curious where she got the virus in the first place--and whether there's more than just the case of vials here."

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Radcliffe taunted.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Well," Griffin said as he circled around to the front of Airadien, "I suppose it's time to stop playing nice.” He then put his hands on the side of her head and placed his thumbs over the parts of the blindfold where her eyes were.

"You have until you feel a rather nasty popping sensation to tell us what we want to know."

And with that said Airadien started to feel pressure on her eyes growing more and more into something painful as he started to squeeze.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"Eeyah! Stop, you bloody lunatic!" shouted Ariadne, anger mingling with panic as she felt the pressure increase. "Stop! Stop!"

"The information...?" prompted Weir.

"Stop! Fine--I've two more cases! Damn you all!" she cried.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"And they are where?" Griffin asked still keeping the exact level of pressure on her eyes.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"In my flat!" she got out.

"And the original source?" questioned Lewis.

"A bloody boat off the coast of Bombay!"

"The ship of death," said Rajpal in a hushed tone as he put the pieces together. Eyes wide and wary, he muttered something in Punjabi as he drew back from Radcliffe.

"She should not be alive," he said with a haunted look.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Where's your flat?" Asked Griffin, who was starting to get tired of this by now.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"If I tell you, you'll kill me!" protested Radcliffe.

"If you don't, he'll make it a slow and rather painful death," countered Weir as he took out his journal. He wrote something on a blank page, tore the note out, and held it where Griffin--but not Chaudhry--could see it:

May I kill her slowly when we're done?

Reply MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886 3 hours ago Griffin considered the silent request for a moment. Hmm... I thought the brutal murder and such was my job... then again, if Lewis has that big of a grudge against her I don't see why I should get in the way... Oh, and what about the Indian, he obviously wants revenge too, are you going to take turns and share Weir? Aheheh... Oh whatever! so long as the job gets done. "...Yeah." Was all he said.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

To Radcliffe, it simply sounded as if Griffin were agreeing that he would, indeed, cause her a slow and painful death if she didn't give them the information they wanted.

"I can show you," she offered, hoping to weasel her way out of their clutches--or at least the blindfold--on the journey. "Otherwise, how will you know I'm telling the truth?" Even in her desperation, she never lost that last bit of smugness at her own cleverness.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Or I could just pop out your eyes right now and break every bone from your toes up until you tell us the truth..." Griffin said flatly dead pan.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Radcliffe weighed that possibility.

"White Horse Street off Commercial Road East," she said at last with an air of reluctance. "Two doors south from the Ratcliffe Schools."

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Hmm..." After a long moment Griffin finally let go of her head. He then said an invisible hand on Chaudhry's shoulder.

"You know of this ship of death, do you know if we can we get to it?"

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"The authorities burned the ship in the water before it could reach the dock to make us die," answered Chaudhry. "I did not know anyone but one official had gone to it." He cast a superstitious look at Ariadne. "Much less survived. For he did not."

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Well one less thing to worry about then." He said a little cheerily then handed the gun to Weir.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"I suppose I should stay here and guard her," Lewis suggested as he accepted the firearm, "on the off chance she's lying."

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Of course! And I'll do what I said I would do to her if she is laying." Griffin agreed, "Now give me back my coat."

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Weir did so, handing Griffin the hat as well for good measure.

Lewis then addressed Rajpal.

"And you?"

"I will make a pyre for my cousin," Chaudhry stated. He looked at Ariadne with a shiver, then used the mop to hobble over to some of the crates. These he began to splinter for kindling.

"Best of luck," Weir bade Griffin.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Mm-hm..." The sleeves of the coat flattered one at a time before the coat was stood full, "And if she tries to escape, give her a little reminder of Hawley by shooting her legs." With that the Invisible Man put his hat on and left for the location.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Weir couldn't help but guffaw at Griffin's poetic suggestion.

Once Griffin had left, Lewis leaned in and spoke in a low voice to Ariadne.

"You know, sometimes I wish Hawley weren't dead--just so I could have the pleasure of ending his miserable existence myself."

Her response was a cry of rage as she attempted to headbutt him.

Weir's response was to immediately lean back and shoot her in the shin.

"[Is she dead?]" asked Chaudry as he poked his head up from the crates.

Radcliffe's response was to curse them a blue streak.

"[No,]" Lewis stated the obvious, "[but I imagine she'll soon wish she were. By the way, did you want to do the honors, or...?]"

Surprisingly, Rajpal shook his head.

"[She's unnatural. I might taint myself by contact. If I'm allied with you and you do it, then honor is satisfied.]"

Weir nodded.

"[I'll do it. You have my word]," he promised the Sikh.

* * *

A westward route on Commercial Road East led Griffin past the Ratcliffe Iron Foundry; a quick turn north took him up White Horse Street. The Ratcliffe schools for boys, girls, and infants were each marked as such by faded signage, their paint cracked and peeling--this wasn't exactly the choicest of neighborhoods.

Two doors south of the southernmost school was a narrow little two-story building crowded in by its neighbors. The battered-looking door with its worn, iron knob wasn't even locked. Persons toward the lower end of working-class passed through it on their ways to and from shifts at the foundries and factories nearby.

Inside were stairs leading to the upper story and the basement. Doors with numbers long ago painted on them lined the halls on all three floors. Each portal led to its own one-room apartment. With six per floor, that made eighteen in total.

Radcliffe had neglected to tell Griffin which was hers.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Griffin did take this into account before the got there, he had brought a half dozen of his "employees" to help search the entire building for the two cases.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Despite the buildings' denizens, they conducted a thorough search...but came up empty-handed.

* * *

Chaudhry, in the meantime, had finished putting together the funeral pyre but had yet to light it.

Weir had treated Radcliffe's leg, though she did try to kick him in the face more than once.

She'd also unsuccessfully attempted to escape, and wound up bound to the chair for her trouble.

Both men couldn't help but wonder what was taking Griffin so long.

There was also still no sign of the six Indians who'd earlier fled the scene.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

After a while Griffin came back with his six men and one of them was wearing his hat and coat.

"Well we searched the whole building and found nothing." Said the voice sounding frustrated and tired.

Griffin walked up to Radcliffe, "So as I promised..." He grabbed the sides of her head and plunged a thumb into one of her eyes.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Ariadne's scream echoed off the emporium's walls.

Given what often occurred in this part of town, however, any potential outside witnesses opted to mind their own business--just as they'd have done with the earlier sounds of gunfire. It was an added irony that Radcliffe herself had paid off the three policemen who walked the local beat to ignore any such suspicious sounds.

Lewis shook his head.

"He did warn you..." he said of Griffin.

Ariadne would have clutched at her bleeding eye socket, but she hadn't the use of her hands nor arms.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Now are you going to tell the true location of the cases or do you want to loose the other eye?" Griffin asked with a growl in his throat as he placed his thumb over the other eye.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"Hhnnnngg..." Radcliffe desperately wanted the pain in what had once been her right eye to stop, but even more desperately wanted to avoid repeating the experience with the one she had left.

"North corner of Upper Baker Street and the Allsop Mews," she managed through the agony. "Upper floor."

"I think she's telling the truth," put in Lewis with an air of surprise.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"We'll see..." Griffin said ominously.

Griffin then went over to the men he brought and clapped three of them on the shoulder, including the one wearing his coat. "You, you, and you are coming with me. The rest of you can stay here, Boyd's in charge while I'm gone." With that he and the other three men left.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

The new address Radcliffe had given them was clear across the city.

Griffin and the trio arrived to find a well-kept building, freshly whitewashed. The brass-handled door was both sturdy and locked.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Hmm..." Griffin pondered as he held the doorknob.

"Why don't we just go through a window?" said one of the men before he started to go around to find a low window.

"Hey, be careful!" Griffin said after him, "that sl*g's crazy, she might have booby-trapped the windows."

With a nod the man went off to find a window.

"You think she'd really do that?" The man wearing Griffin's coat asked.

"I wouldn't put it past her..."he replied, "does one of you have a lock pick?"

"I never leave home without one." Said the other man as he took out his lock picking set and started to get to work on the door.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

The man who'd gone round the corner to the window was able to spot and avoid triggering a tripwire Radcliffe had rigged to it. There was no way to open the window without doing so, and the next was outfitted the same way.

To make matters worse, there came through the misty distance a patrolman walking down Baker street. Though the lackey standing by Griffin didn't notice the policeman, Griffin certainly did. It appeared the cop hadn't yet caught sight of them.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

As soon as Griffin saw the patrolman he tapped the two men on the shoulders. "Cop, hide!" He hissed and the other two quickly went around the corner of the building. The lockpicker cursed the rotten luck.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

In due time, the patrolman passed by. He remained oblivious to the presence of Griffin and his men.

At Baker Street Station, the policeman turned left onto Marylebone Road and passed out of sight, the sound of his footfall fading gradually away.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Griffin stood in front of the door as he waited and watch the policeman go around the corner before calling the all clear to the others. The two men came back around the corner again and the lockpicker went straight back to his work. Soon after came the third man back around grumbling.

"D*mn, the Invisible Man was right about the windows," he said, "bloody b*tch's gottem rigged..."

"Well at least that means this is the right place..." Griffin said. *

"And nearly there..."said the lockpicker.

"Better hold your breath and cover your nose." Griffin warned

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

With a click, the bolt slid back.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

As the lockpicker opened the door feeling very proud of his skill everyone looked down and saw a tripwire just past the door.

"Oh, wow... That's subtle." Said the man in Griffin's coat sarcastically with an amused smirk on his face.

"Yeah, Very amateurish." Said the lockpicker as he put away his tools and just stepped over the wire.

"It was like this in the windows too," said he third man as he stepped over it as well, "all you had to do was look in, and low, there was a trap as plane as day!"

"Well they kept you out, so it must've worked." The lockpicker mused with a sly grin before the man smacked his arm causing him and the man in the coat t chuckle.

"That's enough," ordered Griffin causing them all to be silent, "we need to find those two cases. You remember what I told you they'd look like?"

The men nodded in unison before one of them spoke up.

"Can we keep any loot we find?"

"I don't care. Just so long as we find those cases and you be careful not to break anything. That women works with some poisonous gasses."

"Right!" All three of the men said at once before splitting up. The man in Griffin's coat closed the door behind them before searching.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

In the course of searching the place, no one found anything of value before there came a thunk from upstairs, followed not ten seconds later by another.

The locksmith had run afoul of a chemical trap when opening the locked drawer of Ariadne's nightstand. He'd attempted to get out of the way of the cloud of gas that'd bloomed forth, but he'd been only partially successful. Still, he was merely unconscious, and would wake in a few hours.

The man who'd been at the windows fared much worse. He made the mistake of opening exactly the wrong cupboard in Radcliffe's lab, and was rewarded with a dose of poison gas potent enough to kill twelve men. He held his breath...but this poison was absorbed through the eyes, the ears...any orifice. He was unrecognizable as he fell to the floor, dead.

The man in Griffin's coat, meanwhile, encountered nothing of interest in Ariadne's downstairs study.

Griffin himself hadn't run afoul of anything, either.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

As soon as Griffin and the other heard the thuds upstairs the man in the coat was about to go up to check on them before Griffin grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Don't you dare you fool!"snapped Griffin, "not until we find some protection!"

Reluctantly the man agreed and continued to such the downstairs study before he found a couple of gas-masks.

"I found something!" He called. When Griffin saw the masks in his hands he felt a bit relieved.

"Good," Griffin said as he took on of them, "with these we can go upstairs a little more safely now."

They both put on a mask before going upstairs.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Thankfully, the exposure of the gas in the lab to oxygen had quickly condensed it to vapor, then liquid. It now sat in harmless-looking little droplets on the floor around the dead man.

The locksmith had received a bruise or two upon impacting the floor, but was otherwise none the worse for wear. His breathing was shallow but steady.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Oh God..." The man in the coat muttered as he looked down at his dead friend.

"Just focus on finding those cases." The floating gas-mask ordered as it was looking around, "then we can worry about those two."

Griffin then looked in the now opened drawer that the locksmith got knocked out by and the other man looked in the deadly cupboard.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Inside the lethal cupboard was one case of the equally lethal Red Death.

The nightstand drawer contained a checkbook, some periodicals of a scandalous nature, and Radcliffe's personal journal.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

The coated man carefully took out the case. "I got one of them!" He said triumphantly.

"Good work," Griffin said as he took the contents out of the drawer and placed them under his arm, "just one more to go."

The man nodded but then looked back down at his dead comrade as the thought struck him.

"I'm going to get a long stick or something." He said as he put the case on the floor and went to grab the poker.

"Now you're thinking..." Griffin off handedly commented while still looking around, "get me one too!" He called.

After the man returned with a poker and an umbrella Griffin took the poker and they used the tools to continue their search for the last case.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

It took some doing, but they finally found the second case in the rear of a kitchen cabinet, behind a large tin of prunes. There was no booby trap--Radcliffe must have counted on its odd placement to keep it out of others' hands.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Finally!" Griffin sighed in relief as he took the case out of the cabinet. "Alright grab the other case and let's go."he ordered.

"What about Pursy?" The coated man asked.

"Who?"

"Pursy. The one that picked the lock and was knocked out...?"

"Oh, him... I'll arrange for him and the other one to be picked up later, for now we worry about getting these cases back."

".... Okay..." said the coated man reluctantly.

After he got the other case and Griffin stuck the masks and other things in the coat pocket, the two of them headed back to the spice shop.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

By the time Griffin and the coated man returned, Chaudhry had lighted his cousin's pyre and finished the chanted benedictions. The Sikh kept watch over the controlled fire, waiting for the body to burn completely. The warehouse was of such a height that the smoke wasn't really a bother at ground level--at least, for now.

"You're back! Did you find the cases?" remarked Lewis when Griffin and the henchman returned. "Oh, where are the others?" Weir wondered when no more walked in.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"One of them is still alive..." Griffin answered in a low volume so Radcliffe wouldn't have the satisfaction of knowing her cases was at the cost of one of his men. "Here are the cases!" He announced as he took them from his laky and presented them to Weir.

"Along with other things, Aheheh." He said pulling out the checkbook, the scandalous periodicals, and Radcliffe's journal of the coat pocket.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Weir's brows rose at the mention of the dead man.

"Oh. My," Lewis said equally quietly.

"Oho," he said with a growing grin when Griffin gave him the cases. "That's good news indeed." Weir very carefully placed them on the card table, well away from the pyre.

He turned to see what else Griffin meant and was surprised at the items in question, particularly the periodicals.

"My, my, Doctor Radcliffe..." he teased as his accent hewed Scottish, "aren't we the naughty lass?"

Radcliffe naturally had no idea what Griffin had returned with save for the Red Death.

"Go to Hell," she retorted on general principle.

Lewis had to laugh at that.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"I suppose even a one-eyed crazy b*tch has her needs too, Aheheh."

Griffin casually sauntered over to Airadien as he spoke, "Well, since you finally decided to cooperate, I decided I won't kill you."

Then he grabbed her head, "I'll just do this." And he plunged his thumb into her other eye.

"There, now they match." He quipped

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Radcliffe went from disbelieving relief to utter agony in a mere handful of seconds, her shriek drowning out the crackling of the fire.

[These English are savages], thought Rajpal, even though he had no love of Ariadne.

DAMN IT, I WANTED HER TO SEE ME! thought Lewis as his face contorted into a silent snarl. His fists clenched so hard they shook.

He tried to calm himself, to take a breath, but was so perturbed the exhalation came out a low, whispery, animal sound from the back of his throat, akin to a warning growl.

"Animal" wasn't inaccurate--his body language resembled nothing so much as a predator defending its kill, tensed to lash out.

By a staggeringly difficult effort of will that went against his every instinct, he forced shut his eyes--which he knew to have changed--and remained where he was.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

As Airadien shrieked in pain Griffin guffawed at the awful trick he played. When he looked back at Weir and saw the look on his face, his laugh started to die into a chuckle then to a half hearted laugh as his expression (though no one can see it) turned from jovial to a confused half grin.

What the hell is his problem? I didn't kill her, I'm leaving that for him... he thought before shrugging it off.

"Oh, quite whining!" He said to the now blind woman, "Just look on the bright side, you won't need the blindfold anymore." He purposely chose that phrase, "I'll leave you to the good doctor now." With that he went to his four men to relay orders on getting the two fallen men back.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

The blind pain of her ruined eyes put Ariadne right on the edge of breaking down; Griffin's last revelation pushed her over it. Through the blood and tears running down her face, she managed a desperate cry:

"No! You said I would live!" She well knew Hawley had vanished after Weir'd given chase. How would she ever get her revenge if Lewis did to her whatever he'd done to her love?

Griffin's words naturally had a much different effect on Weir. They came to Lewis as if from a great distance; it took him a few seconds before they sank in. When they did, a wave of ecstatic relief welled up within and rolled through him. His posture relaxed as a smile sprang to his lips. His breath held a regular rhythm, even if it did come and go in a light pant.

"Finally," he managed. He cleared his throat and opened his eyes, blinking thrice for good measure. "I was beginning to fear there'd be nothing left."

Belatedly, he remembered the gun in his waistband. 'Good thing I didn't have that in hand a mere moment ago, he reflected with a shake of his head. I don't need Griffin as my enemy.

He wondered at his own temporary lapse of self-control, but reasoned it shouldn't, in hindsight, have come as a surprise--the past few days had been especially stressful, and he was only human, after all.

His gait a study in efficiency mixed with exhausted relief, he strode over to Radcliffe and removed the dirtied, black blindfold.

She was, to say the least, rather gruesome to behold.

He tsked at the sight, then sighed.

"You certainly did a number on her," he remarked to Griffin, though Weir's tone made it difficult to tell if he meant it as a compliment or a criticism--perhaps a bit of both.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Hm?" Griffin's attention was mostly on getting his coat back from his lacky before all four henchmen left, after a second it registered that Weir was talking to him.

"Well I didn't say, 'I’ wasn't going to kill her." He replied, "Just wanted to get a last good one in before handing her to you."

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"Fine, fine," Weir waved it off as he prepared a syringe he'd pulled from his pocket.

He administered an eighth of its contents to Radcliffe's neck, but it had no visible effect.

He checked the speed of her pulse as Ariadne protested her situation.

This done, he gave her another dose, twice as large as the first.

Her pulse and breathing slowed as she once again faded into unconsciousness.

"That's better," pronounced Lewis when she'd fallen silent. "Anything I need to help with here, as far as clean-up?" he asked Griffin.

"[Is she dead?]" Chaudhry asked with hope on his face.

"[No, but she soon will be]," Weir assured him. MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"I don't think–" Griffin was about to answer Weir before Chaudhry came back. "What about him?" He asked referring to the Indian, "He is a witness..."

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"True, but I doubt he'll he go to the authorities, given his own part in this business," whispered Lewis with a shrug. "He asked me to promise I'd kill Radcliffe for him--not that I needed convincing--since she's 'unnatural' and he thinks her mere touch might taint him. He even said he's allied with me and honor will be satisfied that way. From all I've seen, I believe he's telling the truth."

He pondered a moment.

"But, if you're still uncertain, it might be better if he packed off to India. Would that be amenable to you?" he asked in a crisp, businesslike manner while keeping his voice down.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Griffin glanced between Weir and Rajpal for a moment. "Fine, whatever!" He said flippantly as he put on his coat and boots. it's not like we aren't already losing money in our business, just throw money at any Indian you like... He thought sarcastically as he put on his hat then looked at Chaudhry.

"You! Rajpal...? Was it...? What's the strongest incense you have I can rub on these? He asked picking up one of the cases. "I don't want the scientist I'm giving this to know where and who it came from."

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Weir had no earthly idea why Griffin was so upset.

Isn't this the best outcome for all parties? No one to pay off, no additional body to dispose of--Hell, with any luck, Raj'll take his cousin's remains with him and save us that trouble, too.

He shook his head. If Griffin was in a mood, that was the man's own doing.

"Yes," confirmed Chaudhry. He made his way to and rummaged through a sack in the corner. He shortly produced more than enough incense to get the job done and handed it over.

"[By the by, Rajpal, what do you think you'll do after we finish things here?]" asked Lewis, as if he were merely making conversation.

"[I...don't know.]" The Sikh shook his head. "[I want no more of London, that's for sure.]"

He stroked his beard in thought.

"[I think]," he said after a bit, "[I'll find my other cousins and we'll go home. It's been too long since I've seen my sister's children.]"

He looked to the pyre; the fire had nearly run its course.

"[I'll also tell my cousin's widow the news and scatter his ashes]," he declared solemnly.

Weir nodded soberly.

"[Safe travels, my friend]," he bade the Indian.

That, at least, prompted a smile from Chaudhry.

"[Stay well]," returned Rajpal.

He went to attend to the waning fire.

Lewis informed Griffin of the situation.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Okay, fine." Griffin said offhandedly as he grabbed a handful of the incense from the bag and started rubbing it all over the cases. "We'll give him enough money for the tickets..."

Then the thought struck him.

"Oh, or Radcliffe could..." He suggested picking up the checkbook off the table. An invisible grin formed on his face.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

It hadn't occurred to Lewis that Griffin would even consider paying for the Indians' passage home.

"That's a grand idea," Weir agreed regarding Radcliffe as a lopsided smile spread across his face.

"All we need is one signature and we can use her checkbook freely--I'm a decent forger, if I do say so myself."

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"And you have her personal diary for examples, Aheheh..."he added now picking up the diary.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

Lewis came over to look at the book in question.

In large handwriting on the inside front cover was:

This journal is the personal property of Dr. Ariadne Radcliffe. If found, return promptly and do not read.

Weir broke into a laugh.

"Would you look at that!" he exclaimed.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

"Aheheheh, yeah." Griffin chuckled as he continued to rub the incense on every inch of the cases. The invisible grin was still on his face.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin 3 hours ago It wasn't long before Lewis had practiced enough to get Radcliffe's signature right. He wrote a check large enough to cover passage to India for Raj and his cousins.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

By the time Weir had forged the check Griffin finished making the scent of all three cases. "That should do it." He said wiping the leftover incense that coated his hands with his own serviette.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"Right then." Lewis handed the check to Rajpal. "This should be more than enough to get you and yours home."

Chaudhry gave his thanks and began to gather up his cousin's remains.

When this was done, he bade Weir and Griffin goodbye and set out to find his family.

"That's that," proclaimed Lewis.

"Anything else that needs doing, or shall I take Radcliffe elsewhere before she wakes up?"

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886

Griffin had turned his hologram back on after Chaudhry left, when Weir asked if there was anything else that needs done Griffin just walked over and grabbed a whole jar of ginger. "This is mine now." And with that he picked up the cases and other things and left.

Jekyll1886  MillieGriffin

"Right."

It occurred to him then that he was in a warehouse...into which no one could see...alone with Ariadne, who had the key in her pocket.

"Huhuhuhuhehehehehoo," he laughed to himself.

He took the key and locked the door, then went back over to her and untied her from the chair. Lastly, he injected her with adrenaline.

Her eyelids fluttered open as she woke with a start.

"Hello, dearie..." he said with a nasty grin.

MillieGriffin  Jekyll1886 Griffin took a cab back to the society after picking up some food from a nearby shop, since he hadn't eaten since that morning and he was finally 'off the job' as he would put it. He felt an immense relief to see the society come into view through the cab window. After paying the cab man he walked up the steps of the society to it's big green doors. With the ginger, the food and the three cases his arms were too full to enter himself so he started kicking the door with his boot until someone answered.

Helen Jekyll  MillieGriffin

Less than half a minute later, the door swung inwards as Helen opened it, her eyes widening a touch the sight of an overburdened Griffin.

“Oh! Here, let me help you with that,” She offered, reaching out to help carry some of the items.

MillieGriffin  Helen Jekyll

"Sure. Here." He let her carry the food and the big jar of ginger as he walked in.

Helen Jekyll  MillieGriffin

“Where should we bring everything?” asked Helen as she shut the door behind him and walked with him into the main hall, holding the food under one arm and the ginger under the other.

MillieGriffin  Helen Jekyll

"That is going to our room." He instructed pointing at the food and ginger, "I have to get these straight to Millie" he said referring to the cases.

Helen Jekyll  MillieGriffin

“Of course,” Helen replied with a nod, “Should I wait for you there for your report?”

MillieGriffin  Helen Jekyll

"If you must..."he said with a sigh as he went off to find his neice.