by S. S. Engle
“Back to the brothel I suppose. I’m not sure the palace is safe yet. You don’t exactly seem thrilled by my plan. Please, if you have a better one I’m all ears.”
“You’re just full o-o-of plans aren’t y-y-you?”
“Why don’t you just say what you really want to say Harlan? Get this out of the way.”
“You were very convin-vin-vincing tonight.”
“Thank you. I was trying to be. If you think because I’m not beaten up like you I didn’t have a hard night, then you have another thing coming. Now I’m going to walk my happy ass down to the brothel and try to get a decent night’s sleep and work on this code for the Codex. Which by the way, I found in Silas’ room. Yes, any ideas on how it got in there?”
“Silas’ room?!”
“Yes. But I have it now, so no harm no foul. Now the sooner we get out of here the better off we’re going to be. This little reuse of ours isn’t finished yet. I still need to tie up some loose ends. I’ll come back once we’ve got this code worked out and I know a little more about where we stand.”
“Why would y-y-you come back here?”
“I have things to finish.”
“Can I he-he-help?”
“Not if you’re just going to use it against me later on.”
“I’m so-so-sorry.”
“Sorry’s can only get you so far Harlan. We’re all making sacrifices here alright? We’re all trying to make things better for the greater good. Fight the good fight and all of that. Nobody said it was going to be easy, and it sure as hell hasn’t been so far. But we’ve put in too much to throw it all away now. So, to your earlier question no, I don’t want you helping me by coming back here.”
“Why n-n-not?”
“Because I’m the only person Asa is willing to break his own rules for. Look at what you did tonight, look at what I did. Now look at you and look at me. I’m physically fit to run back to safety. Can you say the same?”
“I’ll run wi-wi-with you.”
“Then let’s go.”
11
Under the cover of darkness Kassidy found herself running through the streets again. With Harlan hot on her heels the pair made it to the brothel without hitting anymore obstacles. Madame Chauvet was busy to tending to her customers and spent no more than a second or two noticing Kassidy and the younger O’Brien brother. They went upstairs to resume their duties of managing debts and payments. After locking the office door on the top story of the odd little round building Kassidy dumped the pillowcase full of paperwork out on the desk. The Codex landed with a thud. Harlan was immediately disinterested in working and went straight to getting himself cleaned up. Kassidy herself was still in the blood-stained dress stolen from Natasha, her regular clothes were waded on top of the desk now mixed with papers taken from Blue and Silas’ offices. She just needed to code though. The narrow slip of paper full of numbers. She found it! After having spent a little time with Luca’s notebook she was aware of the simplicity of the codes used in previous clues. It wasn’t ever the deciphering that was the problem. She began frantically decoding as Haran moaned to himself in the bathroom, trying to gain sympathy out of an old friend.
16-1-20-9-14-1 16-1-18-12-15-22-18
19-15-21-20-8
F 21-16
F 12-5-6-20
J:Q
16-1-7-5 FFF
“An-an-any luck Kass? There’s a lo-lo-lot scribbled down th-th-there.”
“I have the code. I’m just not entirely sure what it all means.”
“Tell me wh-wh-what you have.”
“The first line says Patina Parlour. Which to be honest, I’m not surprised it’s involved in the clues to find my father’s treasure. Had he known what would have ultimately happened to him there, I think this step would have been avoided. But nobody has that level of foresight.”
“Didn’t mo-mo-most of that place burn down?”
“It did. But they rebuilt it pretty fast as far as I was told. And some of it was able to be saved. I don’t know what part though, and I never knew how extensively it went underground.”
“Whatever we-we-we’re looking for, it co-co-could be anywhere.”
“That’s what worries me. But the code goes on to say South. And I know the south side of the building backs up into the alley. And the building is already on the outskirts of town. That alley could lead to the lava fields of Mt. Engia for all I know.”
“The parlour is a br-br-brick building, isn’t it?”
“It used to be. I haven’t visited since, well since I was there last.”
“I could ima-ma-magine why. I’ve been there a f-f-few times for Ringer even-ven-vents. But I don’t remem-mem-member anything odd.”
“You weren’t looking for anything out of place though.”
“No, you’re ri-ri-right.”
“But you may be on to something about the bricks. These next lines say 6 up, 6 left. That could be the location for a brick on the south side of the building. You think?”
“May-may-maybe. But the brick is o-o-only on the outside of the buil-buil-building. To get to the top, you’d have to ha-ha-have access to the roof.”
“Or a balcony. It still has balconies, right?”
“Yes. But I wou-wou-wouldn’t know if they would b-b-be where y-y-you needed them.”
“Another good point. I wouldn’t know until I was there. It’s a fairly large building. Even if the south side of the wall is its narrowest point, it’s still a lot of area to try and cover.”
“Wh-wh-what does the rest s-s-say?”
“I’m assuming it’s a time. 10:17. It could be morning or night. I don’t know why that was included. Unless the Ringers do patrols in that part of town on a regular basis and 10:17 is a window in which the brick could be accessed by us.”
“If it was in the mor-mor-morning there would be sha-sha-shadows in the alley.”
“But if it was in the night then the whole building would be dark. So, what does that matter?”
“There wo-wo-would still be shadows fr-fr-from the lights in the fr-fr-front of the building.”
“Well whatever time it is there’s something hidden there that we’ll need to read whatever it is that’s on page 666 in the codex. That’ll be our next clue. So, it’s imperative we keep this in our possession.”
“I kn-kn-know what y-y-you meant by that. I do-do-don’t know how Silas got his ha-ha-hands on it befor-for-fore.”
“That’s what bothers me. You don’t know how he got to it before, so you wouldn’t know how to protect it now.”
“Y-y-you don’t trust me, d-d-do you Kass?”
“You were the yelling about trust back at the mansion. I couldn’t tell what part of that was genuine and what part of that was all an act for the Ringers. Some of what you had to say back there, it sounded like there was a little too much truth behind it to make me confident about where you stand.”
“Y-y-you think I do-do-don’t trust you?”
“I think you’ve questioned it many times since I’ve gotten back. And I don’t blame you Harlan, really I don’t. But I need more than just our childhood friendship to rely on right now. I need to know for certain that you have my back.”
“It’s hard wh-wh-when the things y-y-you choose to do are s-s-so dangerous.”
“See I need certainty. I don’t need to know that it depends on what I’m doing. I just want a full-hearted answer.”
“Y-y-you honestly don’t think I ha-ha-have my whole heart in this?”
“I’m saying I can’t tell anymore.”
“Well, I’m s-s-sorry I’m not Lucky al-al-alright? Is that wh-wh-what you w-w-want to hear?!”
“Luca has nothing to do with you and I.”
“I can’t be-be-believe you think that. Y-y-you two flir-flir-flirted like lovers. It made me si-si-sick.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
“Am I?”
“Yes! Luca’s gone Harlan! You told me yourself he wasn’t even sure if he was ever coming back. Why w
ould I love a man who left me behind with the uncertainty if I’d ever see him again?”
“Do y-y-you love Luca?”
“What do you think?!”
“I think the fa-fa-fact you have tr-tr-trouble answering means y-y-you do.”
“It’s obvious you’re going to think what you want to think. I can’t do anything about the delusional reality to choose to live in.”
“Y-y-you want to know a li-li-little something about the wor-wor-world I live in?! It too-too-took me y-y-years to accept y-y-you were gone Kass. Y-y-years!”
“No!”
“No?”
“I’m not doing this with you too!”
“Too?”
“Do you think you were the only man that was upset with me when I ran away from Engia?”
“Do y-y-you know what it’s li-li-like living without-ou-out you?! Look at m-m-me!”
“I am looking at you!”
“No! Really l-l-look! I’m literally tor-tor-torn apart! For y-y-you! And I kn-kn-know y-y-you didn’t ask me to d-d-do that, but that do-do-doesn’t change things. I’d still d-d-do anything f-f-for you. You came back fr-fr-from the dead Kass.”
“I didn’t die. I just ran away.”
“Nobody here kn-kn-knew that. Y-y-you might as w-w-well have been dead. Wh-what was I suppo-po-posed to do with th-th-that? Wh-wh-what am I supposed t-t-to do w-w-with you?”
“Support me!”
“I’m try-try-trying to!”
“Then try harder!”
“Alri-ri-right.”
“Alright?”
“I’ll try har-har-harder. Just tell m-m-me what I c-c-can do to m-m-make y-y-you happy again. I hate it wh-wh-when you’re mad at m-m-me.”
“I hate being mad at you too. And it’s not so much you as it is the situation. We’re up against a wall here, and I hate to admit we’re on the losing side of things but…”
“We haven’t lo-lo-lost yet. What d-d-do you w-w-want me to do?”
“First things first I need you to keep hidden. Now Blue already knows we’ve been staying here. Maybe if you stayed at the palace for a while you’d be alright.”
“Wh-wh-what about the Co-co-codex?”
“Take it with you.”
“Y-y-you sure?”
“I want to be.”
“Wh-wh-where are y-y-you going to go?”
“I have to get back to the mansion. Tie up some loose ends.”
“I do-do-don’t feel good abo-bo-bout this.”
“When was the last time you felt good about something? Now go, while it’s still dark.”
“When w-w-will I see y-y-you again?”
“I want to be out of the mansion before tomorrow night.”
“Wh-wh-what if you’re not?”
“Don’t come after me.”
12
It was the middle of the night when Kassidy was abducted from the office in the brothel. By mistake she’d fallen asleep over the stack of papers on the desk. After Harlan left she locked the door behind him, but left the window open to let the cool air blow in and try to keep her awake. With little effort exerted on the Ringers behalf they scaled the brothel’s lower stories and climbed up the domed roof to get to the open window. They’d been on patrols around the railroad depot in the southern end of the city, and saw Harlan running across the tracks carrying a ack with him. Naturally because of the scene he’d caused earlier in the evening the mixture of new and old recruits were eager to know what it was Harlan was doing out of the confines of the O’Brien mansion. Knowing that Madame Chauvet was merciless to any and all gang members in her establishment the Ringers knew they’d have to be crafty to see what is was that Harlan was running away from. And when they stumbled across a sleeping Kassidy, it was just icing on the cake.
Kassidy was sedated with an injection to the neck. That made the struggle silent, and the return trip back to the mansion effortless. To be safe in case she woke up they removed the knife from her thigh sheath, only to see that it was none other than their boss’s personal knife. She must have stolen it. A veteran Ringer tucked it into his belt and instructed the new recruits on their first extraction. Kassidy was bound for good measure, her wrists and ankles tied together so she couldn’t run or hit anybody if she woke up. A bag was placed over her head so she’d be less identifiable if anyone was up at this odd hour of the night roaming the streets. A quick trip across the Steele River was all they had to accomplish. If it was news to them that Kassidy had left the mansion, surely Asa would want to know what was going on. Carefully the men hoisted Kassidy’s limp body out of the window and down the roof. Getting her to the ground was going to be the hard part. With all but one Ringer off the roof now they held their arms together and braced themselves for the fall. The last man on the roof rolled Kassidy off the edge and safely into the Ringers hold.
Walking through the front doors of the O’Brien mansion Kassidy wasn’t even awake to enjoy the moment. She was showing stirrings though that the sedative was beginning to wear off already. Asa was up in his private room on the fifth story of the mansion, sleeping alone as one would normally do at such a time of night. However, it was not uncommon for him to be interrupted for urgent Ringer business at any time of the day or night. When the knock came on his door he was annoyed, but not at all shocked. Usually Natasha would be in the room next door, and easily could have heard the knocking and commotion if not for the extensive amounts of champagne she had drunken hours earlier to try and numb away yet another wave of pain. With a wide-eyed smile Asa was eager to get Kassidy into his room and secured to something sturdy to hold her in place. He himself was not yet fully aware of why the Ringers had brought her to him, and he didn’t really care what series of events had caused such a glorious turn in the tides. He was smart enough though to take advantage of it. After the Ringers informed their boss that Kassidy had been apprehended at the brothel and that Harlan was loose on the streets they were dismissed. Kassidy was hanging by her arms, and slouched over on her knees. Asa had her handcuffed to a wheel on his wall that controlled the steam pipes to the entire mansion.
It ended up being the steam pressure that woke Kassidy up. As if the discomfort of losing most of her blood flow in her arms wasn’t enough she woke to find herself restrained again. She stood up slowly in the dark, trying to gather just where it was she’d been taken to this time. She’d never been in this room before. But by looking out the window she could tell she was up a ways. The moon was shining brightly, a full moon thankfully, and once
her eyes became adjusted a sudden sinking feeling overcame her. She realized she was too tightly secured to this wheel to do anything about turning herself around much. Her arms could only give her a certain amount of reach in any direction. The intense pressure of steam flowing through the pipes made them rattle and shutter against the wall. Placing her hands carefully a few inches away she understood how hot they were. That must have been why she was secured to the wheel in the first place. Kassidy was groggy and had a terrible metallic taste in her mouth that she just couldn’t get over. She had no idea what had happened to her, but hoped she hadn’t been hit into being unconscious. She didn’t feel sore. She really wanted to know where she was though. The feeling of being lost troubled her more than the fact that she was locked up to a wheel. The only comfort she had was knowing that she was alone.
“Oh good, you’re awake.”
The voice came from the pitch-black corner of the room. But Kassidy knew that voice well enough to know she didn’t need any light source to reveal who was in the room with her. Asa came creeping out slowly, with a steady walk and his cane in hand. His light hair was slicked back perfectly for being the middle of the night. She wondered if this man ever took his pack off to relax, or if he just hated around the clock, like a power source. He fed off of people being miserable around him. If there was a way that could be true it’d explain so much. As he got closer she tried to hide her discomfort and pull herself together with as much dignity as an
yone could have being handcuffed to a wheel that barely turned. She knew now that she was completely out of luck. Grappling with what was about to happen didn’t sit well with her. And as if Asa could see what she was thinking his grin spread across his face from one ear to the other. A terribly horrifying smile gleaming in the moonlight like a wolf about to pounce on his prey. But he stopped short of reaching her, keeping her at an arm’s distance. She screwed her face up in confusion. He eyed her up and down, pleased with his catch of the day. He steadied his gaze on her thigh sheath. She looked down momentarily, careful to try and not give in to what he wanted. She didn’t understand what he was so fascinated by. The knife was there, just where she had left it. The knife he had given her. What he wanted her to do with it she still didn’t know, but maybe he had plans for it tonight. He came up close now, placing his feet in-between her own so she could feel his breath race across her neck as she turned her face away from him. He seemed put off, and began caressing the scar on her cheek with the back of his hand. Obvious he was occupied Kassidy swiftly brought her knee up and planted it in his groin.
