From the tone of Aahz’s voice, I knew the moment I had been dreading had arrived.
Chumley didn’t have to worry about a disguise at all, as trolls were not uncommon in this dimension. Tananda also insisted that she looked enough like a vampire to pass with only minimal modifications. I hadn’t seen any vampires with green hair, but she claimed that she had, so, as always, I yielded to her greater experience in these matters. I was also on the “minimal disguise” list, everyone agreeing that no one in Blut had gotten enough of a look at me to fix the image in their mind. While I wasn’t wild about being so unmemorable, I went along with it ... especially when I saw what Guido and Massha were going through. The problems with those two notables have already been mentioned: troublesome, but not insurmountable. Then there was Aahz ...
“Is there something wrong?” I asked innocently.
“You bet your dragon there’s something wrong!” my partner snarled. “And don’t try to play innocent with me! It didn’t work when you were my apprentice, and it sure isn’t going to work now.”
Aahz’s disguise had presented us with some knotty problems. Not only was he the most wanted member of our party, he was also easily the most distinctive. After the trial and his time in jail, it was doubtful that there was a single citizen of Blut who wouldn’t recognize him on sight. I mean, there just aren’t that many scaly green demons wandering around any dimension ... except possibly his home dimension of Perv. It was therefore decided ... almost unanimously ... that not only would we change my partner’s color with make-up, but that it would also be necessary to change his sex.
“Does this, perchance, have something to do with your disguise?” I inquired, trying to keep a straight face.
“Yes, it has something to do with my disguise,” he mimicked, “and, so help me, partner or no, if you let that smile get away, I’ll punch your lights out. Understand?”
With a great effort I sucked my cheeks in and bit my lower lip.
“Seriously, though,” he said, almost pleading, “a joke’s a joke, but you don’t really expect me to go out in public looking like this, do you?”
In addition to the aforementioned make-up, Aahz’s disguise required a dress and a wig. Because of the size of his head (a problem Vilhelm had wisely down-played as much as possible) the selection of wigs available had been understandably small. In fact, the only available in his size was a number called “Lady Go-GoDiva,” which involved a high blonde beehive style offset by a long ponytail that hung down to his knees. Actually, the ponytail turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the dark blue dress Vilhelm had selected for my partner turned out to have an exceptionally low neckline, and the hair draped over his shoulder helped hide the problem we had had finding ample or suitable material to stuff his bosom with. “As my wise old mentor once told me when I was faced with a similar dilemma,” I said sagely, “what does it matter what people think of you? They aren’t supposed to know it’s you, anyway. That’s the whole idea of a disguise.”
“But this get-up is humiliating!”
“My words precisely when someone else I could name deemed it necessary for me to dress up as a girl, remember?”
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Aahz glowered, peering at me suspiciously.
“Well, there are a couple of other options,” I admitted.
“That’s more like it!” he grinned, reaching for his wig.
“You could stay behind ...”
His hand stopped just short of its mission.
“... or we could forget the whole thing and pay the fine ourselves.”
The hand retreated as my partner’s shoulders sagged in defeat. I felt no joy at the victory. If anything, I had been half hoping he would be embarrassed enough to take me up on my suggestion of abandoning the project. I should have known better. When there’s money involved, it takes more than embarrassment to throw Aahz off the scent ... whether the embarrassment is his own or someone else’s.
“All right, everybody,” I called, hiding my disappointment. “Are we ready to go?”
“Remember your sunglasses!” Tananda added.
That was the final touch to our disguises. To hide our non-red eyes, each of us donned a pair of sunglasses. Surveying the final result, I had to admit that aside from Tananda and Chumley, we didn’t look like us. Exactly what we did look like I wouldn’t venture to say, but we sure didn’t look like us!
“Okay,” Aahz chimed in, his discomfort apparently behind him. “Does everyone have their marching orders? Vilhelm? Are you sure you can track us on that thing?”
“No problem,” the little vampire nodded. “When things get slow around here I use this rig to do a little window peeking right here in town. Covering the streets is even easier.
“Remember,” I told him, “watch for our signal. When we catch up with this Vic character, we’re going to want you to get some responsible local witnesses there chop-chop.”
“Well now,” Aahz grinned evilly, “you don’t have to be too quick about it. I wouldn’t mind having a little time alone with him before we turn him over to the authorities.”
My heart sank a little. Aahz sounded determined to exact a bit of vengeance out of this hunt, and I wasn’t at all sure he would restrict himself to Vic when it came time to express his ire.
I think Tananda noticed my concern.
“Ease up a little, Aahz,” she said casually. “I don’t mind helping you out of a tight spot, but count me out when it comes to excessive force for the sake of vengeance. It lacks class.”
“Since when did you worry about excessive violence?” Aahz growled, and then shrugged his acceptance. “Okay. But maybe we’ll get lucky. Maybe he’ll resist arrest.”
I was still worried, but realized that that was about the most restraint I would get out of my partner.
“Now that that’s settled,” I said, producing Luanna’s scarf, “Pepe, take a whiff of this.”
“Enchanting,” he smiled, nuzzling the piece of cloth. “A young lady, no? Eef ze body is as good as ze aroma, I will follow her to the end of ze world whether you accompany me or not.”
I resisted an impulse to wrap the scarf around his neck and pull.
“All right, everybody,” I said, retrieving the scarf and tucking it back into my tunic in what I hoped was a casual manner. “Let’s go catch us a renegade vampire.”
IT WAS ONLY a few hours short of sunset as we set out on our quest, a nagging reminder of exactly how long our efforts at physical disguise had taken. We had agreed to avoid following Pepe as a group so as not to attract attention. Instead, we moved singly or in groups of two, using both sides of the street and deliberately walking at different paces. The faster walkers averaged their progress with the slower by occasionally stopping to look into shop windows, thereby keeping our group together without actually appearing to. Tananda pointed out that not only would this procedure lessen our chances of being noticed, but also that it would maximize our chances for at least some of the group’s escape if one of us should be discovered ... a truly comforting thought.
Even though Luanna had claimed to have been watching for us at the Dispatcher’s, it had been so long ago I fully expected her scent would have long since dissipated or at least been masked by the passage of numerous others. As such, I was moderately surprised when the werewolf signaled almost immediately that he had found the trail and headed off with a determined air. Either her scent was stronger than I had thought, or I had grossly underestimated Pepe’s tracking ability.
The trail wound up and down the cobblestoned streets, and we followed as quickly as we could without abandoning our pretense of being casual strollers who did not know each other. For a while, our group made up the majority of the beings visible, causing me to doubt the effectiveness of our ruse, but soon the vampires began to emerge to indulge their taste for the nightlife and we became much less obvious.
I was paired up with Chumley, but the troll was strangely quiet as we made our way along. At first I thought he was simply concentrating on keeping the werewolf in sight, but as time wore on, I found the silence somehow unnerving. I had always respected Chumley as being one of the saner, leveler heads among our motley assemblage, and I was starting to have an uneasy impression that he was not wholeheartedly behind this venture.
“Is there something bothering you, Chumley?” I asked at last.
“Hmmm? Oh. Not really, Skeeve. I was just thinking.”
“About what?”
The troll let out a small sigh.
“I was just contemplating our adversary, this Vic fellow. You know, from what’s been said, he’s quite resourceful in a devious sort of way.”
That took me a little aback. So far I had considered our vampire foe to be everything from an annoyance to a nemesis. The idea of studying his methods had never entered my mind.
“What leads you to that conclusion?”
The troll pursed his lips as he organized his thoughts.
“Consider what he’s accomplished so far. The entire time we’ve known of him, he’s been on the run ... first from the Deveels, and then from Aahz, who’s no slouch at hunting people once he sets his mind to it. Now, assuming for the moment that Vic is actually the brains of the group, he was quick enough to take advantage of being left alone in your waiting room to escape out the back door. He couldn’t have planned that in advance, even knowing about the door. He probably had some other plan in mind, and formulated this new course of action on the spot.”
We paused for a moment to let a small group of vampires cross the intersection in front of us.
“Now, that would have sufficed for an escape in most instances, but they happened to pick an exit route that left you and Aahz responsible, which set your partner on their trail,” Chumley continued. “With nothing to go on but your reputations, Vic not only correctly deduced that he would be followed, but he also managed to spot Aahz’s weakness and exploit it to frame him and make it stick ... again, not the easiest task, particularly realizing it involved convincing and coaching his two accomplices in their roles.”
All of this was doing nothing for my peace of mind. I was having enough difficulty forcing myself to believe that we were really hunting a vampire, the sort of creature I normally avoid at all costs, without having to deal with the possibility that he was shrewd and resourceful as well. Still, I had learned that ignoring unpleasant elements of a caper was perhaps the worst way to prepare for them.
“Keep going,” I urged.
“Well,” the troll sighed, “when you stumbled on his hiding place at the Woof Writers, he didn’t panic. He waited to hear as much of your plans as possible, all the while taking advantage of the opportunity to assess you firsthand, then timed his escape so as to catch you all flat-footed.”
I digested this distasteful addition to the rapidly growing data file. “Do you really think he was sizing me up?”
“There’s no doubt in my mind. Not only was he gauging your skills and determination, he was successful enough at second-guessing you, based on the results of his studies, to be waiting to sound the alarm when you busted Aahz out of jail ... a particularly bold move when one realizes that he was running the risk of being recognized, which would have blown his frame-up of your partner.”
“Bold or desperate,” I said thoughtfully. “That’s probably why he waited until we had actually sprung Aahz and were on the way down before he blew the whistle. If we had gotten away unscathed, then the frame would be useless, so at that point he really wasn’t risking anything.”
“Have it your way,” the troll shrugged. “The final analysis remains that we have one tough nut to crack. One can only wonder what he will do when we catch up with him this time.”
“If he’s performing up to par, it could be rough on us.”
Chumley shot me a sidelong glance.
“Actually, I was thinking it could be rough on your lady fair ... if he has managed to observe the feelings you have for her.”
I started to protest, then the impact of his theory hit me and my embarrassment gave way to concern.
“Is it really that apparent? Do you think he could spot it? If so, he might already have done something to Luanna for having contacted us.”
“It stands out all over you to anyone who knows you,” Chumley said, shaking his head. “As for someone watching you for the first time ... I just don’t know. He’d be more likely to deduce it from the information you had ... such as his name. That kind of data had to come from somewhere, though there’s an outside chance that with your current reputation he’ll assume that you gleaned it by some magical source.”
I barely heard him. My mind was focused on the possibility that Luanna might be hurt, and that I might indirectly have been the cause. A black well of guilt was rising up to swallow me, when I felt a hand on my shoulder.
“Don’t tune out now, Skeeve,” Chumley was saying, shaking me slightly. “First of all, we’re going to need you shortly. Secondly, even if Vic’s figured out that you’re in love with her, I don’t think he’ll have hurt her. If anything, he’ll save her for a trump card to use against us.”
I drew a deep ragged breath.
“... and he’ll be just the bastard to do it, too,” I said. “I don’t know what I’ll be able to do, for us or for her, but I’ll be ready to try. Thanks, Chumley.”
The troll was studying me closely.
“Actually, I wasn’t thinking that he was such a blighter,” he said. “More like a clever, resourceful person who’s gotten in over his head and is trying his best to ad-lib his way out. Frankly, Skeeve old boy, in many ways he reminds me of you. You might think about that when attempting to appraise his likely courses of action and how to counter them.”
I tried again to weigh what he was saying, but all I could think about was what the consequences of this hunt could mean to Luanna. It was difficult enough for me to accept that we would have to force Luanna and her cohorts to answer to the authorities for their indiscretions, but the thought of placing her in physical danger was unbearable.
I looked around for Aahz, fully intending to put an end to this hunt once and for all. To my surprise, the rest of the group was assembled on the corner ahead, and my partner was beckoning us to join them.
“What’s going one?” I asked, almost to myself.
“Just off-hand,” Chumley replied, “I’d say we’ve reached our destination.”
A cold wave of fear washed over me, and I hurried to the rendezvous with Chumley close behind.
“We’re in luck,” Aahz announced as I arrived. “Guido here says he saw Vic entering the building just as we got here. It’s my guess they’re all inside right now.”
“Aahz, I—I want us to quit right now,” I blurted, painfully aware of how weak it sounded.
“Oh?” my partner said, cocking an eyebrow at me. “Any particular reason?”
I licked my lips, feeling the eyes of the whole group on me.
“Only one. I’m in love with one of the fugitives ... the girl.”
“Yeah. Now tell me something I didn’t know,” Aahz smirked, winking at me.
“You knew?”
“All of us knew. In fact, we were just discussing it. Remember, we all know you ... and me probably best of all. It’s already been pretty much decided to let your love-light go. Think of it as a present from us to you. The other two are ours.”
Five minutes ago, that would have made me deliriously happy. Now, it only seemed to complicate things.
“But Chumley was just saying that there’s a chance they might hurt her if they find out she helped us,” I explained desperately. “Can’t we just let them all go?”
“Not a chance, partner,” Aahz said firmly. “In addition to our original reasons, you’ve just m
entioned the new one. Your girlfriend could be in trouble, and the only way to be sure she’s safe is to remove her partners ... Fast.”
“Believe him, Skeeve,” Tananda urged. “It may not be nice, but it’s the best way.”
“Really, Boss,” Guido said quietly. “Unless we finish this thing here and now, you’re never goin’ to know if she’s safe, know what I mean?”
That almost made sense, but I was still worried. “I don’t know, Aahz ...”
“Well I do,” my partner snapped. “And the longer we stand down here, the more chance there is that they’ll either get away or set up a trap. If you’re uncertain, stay down here ... in fact, that’s not a bad idea. Massha, you stay down here with him in case they try to bolt out this way. While you’re waiting, watch for the witnesses that Vilhelm’s supposed to be sending along. Tananda, you and Chumley and Guido come along with me. This is a job for experienced hard cases. Pepe, we appreciate your help, but this isn’t really your fight.”
“But of course.” The werewolf grinned. “Besides, I am a lo-var, not a figh-tar. I will wait here to see the finale, eh?”
“But Aahz ...”
“Really, partner, you’ll be more help down here. This isn’t your kind of fight, and we need someone to deal with the witnesses. You’re good at that kind of thing.”
“I was going to ask if you had given the signal to Vilhelm.”
“Signal?” Aahz blinked. “How’s this for a signal?!” With that, he tore off his wig and threw it on the ground, followed closely by his dress.
“Think he’ll get the message? Besides, no way am I going to try to fight in that getup.”
“Now you’re talkin’!” Guido crowed.
In a flash he had discarded his cloak and was pulling on his now-familiar trench coat.
“Where did that come from?” I demanded.
“Had it with me all the time,” the bodyguard said smugly. “It would have been like leaving an old friend behind.”
“Well, if you and your old friend are ready,” Tananda murmured, “we’d better get started.”
MA05 Myth-ing Persons Page 13
