Joseph walked into the threshold of the office and rested his forearm on the door frame. “Cassy. It's here. Finally.”
“Excellent. Thank you.” Cassidy held out her open hand toward Joseph. “Gentlemen, this is my associate and good friend, Joseph Reilly. He stayed awake all night to get the horse here.” The trio all nodded their recognition to Joseph who nodded back.
“Speaking of that, I'm going to head home now. The boys will be able to get the horse... somewhere.”
“Thanks, Joe. Get a good... day's, sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Yep.” Joe gave a tired wave and walked slowly toward the front door, a slight hunch to his back.
“Would you allow us to look at that horse?” asked Roger, turning to face Cassidy.
“Sure. None of this is some valuable secret to me. I want to keep it, but only because I want to keep it. You can examine the hell out of it if you like.”
“Oh, yes,” Jebediah added, as he took off his spectacles. “Before we get into anything, and before I forget, there are two names that were frequently paired with yours. We initially thought they were kidnapping targets.” As Jebediah spoke, Roger gave Cassidy a strange look. “But despite the best efforts of Roger here, we couldn't find any information on either of them, so lord knows who they are. It's a long shot, but hopefully you've maybe heard of them. A couple of immigrants by the names of Georg and Anna Bragin. Maybe a married cou—“
“What?” Cassidy interrupted sitting at attention.
“Georg and Anna Bragin. They—”
“Are you absolutely sure that those are the names?”
“Those are the names that were mentioned. Do you know them?”
Cassidy stood bolt upright and looked at Gideon, the color drained from her face. “George and Anna. My friends. Their names were Georg and Anna Bragin until their parents changed their names after moving to California.” Cassidy turned to Jebediah. “How confident are you that they were a kidnapping target?”
“As confident as we can be, but when everything came up a dead end, we—”
“And do these people know where to find them?” Cassidy interrupted again.
Jebediah sat there, his mouth slightly open, a look of sympathetic concern on his face. “I don't know.”
Cassidy looked out her large office windows to the hullaballoo going on by the front door as the men unloaded the horse. She looked at every face. All were strangers. She then looked out, past her garden to the street leading off into the distance. “Oh god,” she said, her voice quivering slightly with fear. “JOE!” Cassidy bellowed at the top of her lungs.
“What?” Joseph yelled from the foyer.
“Where are George and Anna?!”
Joseph walked up to the office door. “We left them back at their workshop. Why?”
Cassidy turned and rushed over to one of wall book shelves. She grabbed an African-styled statue on the shelf and pulled it back, causing the entire assembly to slide open to the left and right. Inside, hidden in the wall, was a massive personal arsenal of hand guns, explosives, knives, swords, and large rifles. The mounts and wall were polished copper, gold, and iron. Gideon, Roger, and Jebediah's eyes all widened into dinner plates in surprise. She grabbed various holsters and weapons and strapped them on.
“Cassy, what's going on?” demanded Joseph.
“George and Anna are in trouble,” she replied. “Big trouble.”
“What?!” Joe, suddenly fully awake, walked over to Cassidy's armory and started arming himself just as she was.
Cassidy glanced over her shoulder to Gideon, Jebediah, and Roger. “If you boys are armed, I would appreciate any help you can give,” Cassidy said as she tightened straps and belts. “If you aren't armed, feel free to get armed.”
“Um, Miss St. Claire,” said Jebediah standing and walking toward her a bit. “Are you sure this is the best way to go about things. Charging across town, armed to the gills? All you're likely to do is elevate a situation that doesn't necessarily need to be elevated.”
“Mr. Ames, this situation became elevated a few days ago when it literally flew away. I'm not elevating the situation.” Cassidy holstered a revolver on her thigh. “I am shooting it the fuck down.”
9
The wooden door creaked open. Sunlight poured through the crack and into the dim hallway, bouncing off walls and boxes as dusty cobwebs blew in the breeze.
“George? Anna? You here?” Cassidy asked from the other side of the door.
The door slowly opened the whole way, revealing Cassidy on the other side, pushing the door with her left hand, her St. Claire Revolver raised and ready in her right. Behind her huddled Joseph, Gideon, Jebediah, and Roger. She paused, her eyes wide, her ears open. Cassidy glanced behind her to the group, they all nodded, and she then turned and slowly walked into the workshop. They inched their way up to the corner that turned right into the main area of the building. Junk and some knocked over boxes could be seen on the floor.
The floorboards creaked and groaned, echoing throughout the building. With each step, the group grimaced. Arriving at the corner, Cassidy glanced around the edge, seeing the whole of the workshop ripped apart. Many of the wooden dividers that had been separating the impromptu rooms had been knocked over; the contents of boxes had been ejected onto the floor; machinery was dismantled; paperwork was everywhere.
“George?” Cassidy said again, louder. “Anna? It's Cassidy. I've brought some reinforcements.” Cassidy paused to listen. The sound of pigeons flying away on the roof, visible through the still-present hole, startled the group. Cassidy turned back to the others. “Joe, Gideon, you come with me. The workshop is set out like a grid. Wooden dividers separate all of the rooms. We're down at one corner of the grid. Joe, Gideon, you and I will turn right and head along the bottom of the grid. Jebediah and Roger, you guys go straight ahead until you hit the wall, then turn right. Check all of the closets along the walls. Once we have the perimeter closed off, we'll check inside the work spaces. If you get shot at, find cover behind something other than the dividers. They won't take a bullet.” The others nodded. “Everyone all set?”
“As ready as ever,” said Joseph. Cassidy, Gideon, and Joseph went left, Jebediah and Roger headed straight.
The two groups crept along, low to the ground, guns drawn and cocked. As they reached doors on the walls, they slowly opened the doors, glanced inside, then closed the doors. At the edge of every divider, they would stop, look around the corner, then move quickly to the other side. The two groups reached their turns at about the same time, Cassidy turning left, and Jebediah turning right.
As Cassidy edged her way along behind a divider, she jumped slightly at the sudden sound of a crash and clatter on the other side of the building. She held her right arm behind her pressing Gideon against the wall in a protective motion. She waited, breathing heavily, adrenaline pumping. Everyone waited. The sound of loud footsteps moved into the divided rooms, causing a racket is they went as the mystery person knocked over metal, machines, and furniture. Then, from within the rooms, was Levi's voice.
“Hello? Anybody home?” he said loudly. “What the hell happened here?”
“Ugh, It's just Levi,” Cassidy whispered, coming down off of her fear. “Levi! What are you doing?”
“Cassidy? Cassidy? Where... Is that you?”
“Well who the hell else would it be. What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean what am I doing here? I stopped by the house and Margie said you all ran off to see the kids.”
“Cassidy?” yelled Jebediah. “Is everything alright?”
“Yes, Jeb! Everything is fine! It's my friend, Levi. Levi. Just stay where you are.”
“Why?” said Levi, suddenly right behind Cassidy.
“BUH!” Cassidy ejaculated. She pressed her hand to her face and sighed in annoyance as she came down from the surprise. “Never mind. If you were going to get shot, you would have been,” she said, getting up and holstering her gu
n.
“Shot?! What the hell is going on?!”
“Jeb! Feel free to come out. I don't think anyone is here.”
“Cassy, what is going on?”
“It's a long story,” Cassidy replied as the sound of Jebediah and Roger swearing and stumbling through the mess echoed through the building.
As Cassidy and Levi spoke, Gideon was focusing on something with a look of concern on his face. “Quiet for a second...” Cassidy, Levi, and Joseph all looked at him. “Did you hear that?” he asked.
“Hear what?” asked Cassidy.
“Hello?!” yelled Gideon. The sound of muffled yelling could be heard in the warehouse.
“Yes! I hear it!” said Joseph.
“Me too,” said Cassidy.
Jebediah and Roger walked up, their guns still drawn. “What's the news?” asked Jebediah.
“Shh!” said Cassidy, looking off into the building. “Hello!?” The sound of muffled yelling continued. Cassidy rushed out into the rooms. “Keep yelling!” As she jumped in and out of the various rooms, she focused on one of the center-most rooms: an area filled with junk, boxes, and machinery. “Here!” yelled Cassidy. “They're under here! Help me clear this stuff away!”
The group began frantically clearing away the junk. Tipped over filing cabinets, boxes, large pieces of metal and wood, and an entire divider were among the rubble. As they cleared away the last bits, Cassidy started frantically looking around on the floor. “How do I open it?!” she yelled down, pressing her face down on the floor.
Muffled but audible, George's voice came back. “There's a small hole between boards toward the back wall. Press down into it with a crow bar or something!”
“Got it!” Cassidy replied. “Find a crow bar. Find anything,” she said to the others. After a brief search, Jebediah produced an iron rod.
“Will this do?” he asked.
“We'll see,” replied Cassidy. She took the bar and walked over toward the wall, ambling back and forth as she searched the floor, finally finding the small hole. She pressed the iron rod into it and got nothing. “Joe,” she said, motioning to Joseph. “Give me a hand with this. Everyone else, step away from the opening.” Joseph walked over and they both put all of their body weight into it, causing the iron bar to suddenly click down into a mechanism. A loud metal thunk sounded out from underneath the floor boards. The floor where the voice had been clicked up slightly. “There!” Cassidy yelled, pointing. “Open it up!”
Jebediah, Gideon, and Roger all went over to the edge that had risen and lifted with a unified grunt. An area of floor supported by an iron framework, about ten feet square, lifted up on large, spring-loaded hinges. Down in the shadowy depths, about eight feet below, among a few boxes, were George and Anna. Safe and sound. Seeing this, Cassidy let her head fall back as she let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank you God,” Cassidy whispered to herself. “I am overjoyed to see you two alright. I completely forgot about these. Good thinking.”
“It was my idea,” said Anna, as Joseph lifted her out of the hole. “I store cheese down here.”
“I never thought I'd be happy to have these,” George said, still down in the hole. “Up till now, they've been nothing but homes for wayward rats.”
“Secret compartments?” asked Gideon, looking down into the hole.
“Yeah,” said George as Joseph helped him out of the hole. “This place used to be owned by opium smugglers until, well actually, until your guys took them out a few years ago. There's a whole bunch of great stuff hidden in here. One of the rooms was filled with liquor.”
“With the pleasantries out of the way, what happened?” asked Cassidy.
“When I got back from the Professor's house, Anna said she thought there were people around the building. That's not totally abnormal. We get weirdos wandering around outside all the time. But just as I was beginning to look around, we heard noises on the roof. I looked out through a window and saw some guys dressed the same way as the men who took the Professor — big leather coats and whatnot. They were standing right by the door. I didn't even bother checking the back door. I ran back to Anna and the only thing we could think of was to hide below. Anna's auto-cobbling machine was going, which provided good cover for getting underground. We heard them moving around and talking in German or maybe Dutch, for, what, four hours. They searched everywhere.”
“Yeah. I'm not surprised. They were looking for you,” said Cassidy.
“Us?” asked Anna.
“Yes, you. Both of you. Jeb?” Cassidy said, looking to Jebediah.
“Yes,” said Jebediah. “Intelligence information gathered by the U.S. Government indicated that you two, just as the Professor was, are kidnapping targets.”
“What? Wh...Who? Who would want to kidnap us? We're nobody!” said George.
“We don't know,” said Jebediah. “That's the problem.”
“And it doesn't matter,” added Cassidy, looking intently and seriously at the twins. “They want you and they will not get you. I'm taking you back to the house. We'll have armed guards surrounding the house around the clock. I'll build you a bunker if need be. You will be fine.”
George looked nervous. “Do we have time to get some stuff from here?”
“No. I'd rather you both just grab a few effects and get into the carriage.”
“I think we should call in some guards,” said Jebediah.
“Oh, I like that idea,” said Joseph.
Cassidy nodded. “How long would it take for you to get anyone here?”
“An hour, probably a bit less. None of them are fighters or soldiers, but enough men might scare off anyone with an idea to attack the carriages.”
“Where are they? The hotel?”
“Yes.”
Cassidy thought on it for a moment. “Yeah, do it.”
Jebediah turned to Roger. “Roger, take the carriage.”
“Yessir,” Roger replied before running off.
“Ok. Whatever you can gather in an hour. Do it,” said Cassidy to George.
By now, Cassidy had become aware of Anna, who had broken from the group and walked over to the work table in the corner of the impromptu room in which they were standing. On the surface was a pile of shattered chemistry equipment and machines. A reddish-brown fluid dripped from the table onto the floor with a pat pat pat. Anna stood over the devastation, her body sunken in sorrow.
George walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder.
“Six months,” said Anna. “Six months of constant work. Ruined.” Anna started picking up pieces and organizing the table.
“Anna,” George said.
“Just let me do it,” Anna said, quietly.
The group looked at the sad sight in solemn silence.
“Miss. St. Claire, can I talk with you for a moment,” said Jebediah. Cassidy looked at him for a moment before nodding. The two walked away from Gideon and Joseph to talk quietly.
“I'm sure that you would buy the best guards available,” began Jebediah, “but I seriously doubt that your house would sustain an assault by these flying machines.”
Cassidy stared back at him for a moment. “I see where you're going with this, and my answer is no.”
“Hear me out, first. They have some significant machinery. Secrecy is a better course of action than outright defense. As Roger mentioned, we've managed rather well to keep our own movements secret.”
“My blast rifle did some serious damage to one of them. If I were prepared...”
“Yes, but what if two, or four of those things showed up. And you don't know what kind of weapons they may have. I fear that the outcome of any conflict depends entirely upon their resolve.”
Cassidy nodded. “Alright. You've gotten the opportunity to at least give me your proposition. What is it?”
“Give them over to me.”
“What? That's it. Just give them to you?”
“Yes. I have a network of resources all throughout the country. I can k
eep them secret. Keep them safe.”
“Oh no. No, no, no. You're just as interested in them and their talents as our mystery assailants. I've worked with the government before. I know how you operate.”
“Yes,” Jebediah nodded. “Yes. I won't insult you by denying that. But even at our worst, we would never, never, consider kidnapping or harm. George and Anna will not disappear in our hands. We are not the bad guys. But even if we were, our primary interest in this is because our enemy wants George and Anna, and as such, we want to prevent that from happening. What you want and what we want are identical in even the worst interpretation of our motivations.”
“No. Just because you don't know why our enemies want them doesn't mean you don't want to know why they want them. And once you know, you suddenly stop accepting my telephone calls.”
“Please. I'm not doing this to get my hands on them. I'm doing this because I don't think that your house is safe. Chances are, we are being watched right now. I'd imagine that after they failed to find George and Anna, they left a scout here to watch the warehouse. They know that we are here. They know that we've been in here awhile.”
“I don't trust you,” said Cassidy.
“I know that. Please. Give me the opportunity to prove myself. My concern, my fear right now is protecting two citizens of this country and removing them from danger. You have worked with the government before, but you have not worked with me. I keep my word.”
Cassidy stared at him some more and then snorted out her nose. “Well what would your plan be?”
“We maintain secret cars, anonymous tickets, and random schedules to get people on and off trains without others knowing. We can have the two people in Los Angeles by noon tomorrow.“
Cassidy continued to stare at and analyze Jebediah, searching for any sign of disingeniousness. Jebediah stared back with pleading eyes. Cassidy finally broke the eye contact and sighed. “Alright.”
“Thank you!” Jebediah said, extending his hand. Cassidy looked at it, then looked at Jebediah with cold eyes. Jebediah withdrew his hand.
“This depends on whether Anna and George accept it, too. I'm not their keeper. You must make your case to them as well.”
Cassidy St. Claire and The Fountain of Youth Parts I, II, & III Page 19
