Toma shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he gazed around the crowded Barcelona concert hall
Toma shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he gazed around the crowded Barcelona concert hall. Keep your eyes and ears open, and if anything strange happens, use the telephone and call headquarters. In most cases, it's just imagination or coincidence playing strange tricks on people, but in some cases, these phenomena are the result of Innocence. That was all the instruction he had received when he had offered up his life to the Black Order to become a Finder. The small, quiet young man was no longer dressed in his standard-issue canvas coat, and his wireless telephone was hidden away in his room in a nearby inn, but even in his evening wear (clean, but obviously cheap and ill-fitting) he kept the words of the supervisor in mind as he waited for the performance to begin. This was one of the least likely leads he had followed so far in his short career, but after several failures, he figured he could take a mission where he might he able to enjoy himself a bit as well.
The gas lamps around the theatre dimmed, and in a minute the only thing Toma could see clearly was the stage. Amidst a chorus of applause, a tall woman in a voluminous black dress walked to a small stand in the center and arranged her sheet music. Her appearance was striking: long black hair and dark lips emphasized fiercely confident eyes and expression. Maria de Lourdes, Toma thought, rolling the program in his hands so that her name was all he could see. The Deadly Diva…arrested for chanting revolutionary anthems, and then given the chance to study opera because the jailers who heard her defiantly singing them in prison were entranced by her voice…but every performance she makes is marred by death…
The woman on stage made a slight nod to the conductor, and the orchestra began a slow, melancholy tune.
Toma closed his eyes as he savored the sweet tones of Maria's deep, powerful voice. For a moment, he forgot his duties, the war, the akuma, the Millenium Earl, the Innocence he could search for but never wield. The music swelled and Toma smiled happily.
Suddenly, a scream came from the audience and Toma came to with a start. The conductor cut off the music with a swift motion, but Maria continued singing. The hysterical woman jumped out of her seat and ran for the door. A few steps down the aisle, she shuddered strangely and fell, and Maria stopped abruptly. Toma, from the balcony, heard the gasps from the audience and watched the woman's escort hurry to her side. After shaking her and feeling for breath and a pulse, the man stood up, horrified, and placed his hand over his mouth in shock. He exchanged words with the the usher, who had rushed over to see what was going on, and he ran to a telephone in the corner. Toma could see his mouth forming the word morta. The man on the phone motioned for the other usher to come to him, and after a hushed conversation, he took the stage beside a silent Maria and addressed the audience.
"Senyors i Senyoras, we are very sorry to announce that there has been a death here tonight in the audience. The police have been called, and for everyone's safety and the sake of the investigation, we request that everyone remain in the concert hall until they have been cleared by the police." A worried murmur rumbled throughout the building, and Toma stood up surreptitiously and walked down the stairs from the balcony to the main floor. Another usher stopped him at the bottom and asked him to go back to his seat.
"I'm a priest," Toma said. "This man needs the comfort of God in his time of need." He supposed that was true, in a way.
"I'm sorry, senyor, but no one may leave…"
"I'm not leaving, I promise you. Follow me if you wish, but I must talk with that man."
"I'm sorry, you'll have to wait for the police to come." The usher held out his arms to block Toma's way, but the Finder simply shook his head and went back up the stairs. He would have to wait, but that was fine; if anything, Toma was patient.
The police arrived several minutes later and took the body away on a stretcher. A man with a notebook took the woman's escort aside and Toma watched him talk as the detective jotted everything down. Behind him, the curtain to the balcony was pushed aside and a uniformed man announced that everyone was to line up single file and give their name and address to him as they left. Toma rose quickly and slid through the crowd of impatient concertgoers, gave his information to the policeman, and hurried down the stairs. On the ground floor, he saw his target tip his hat to the detective and head to the exit. Toma followed close behind.
Outside the air was cold and bracing. The cabbies waiting on the street rushed to ready their horses in response to the flood of people coming from the hall. The man called out to one, and Toma ran to reach it before the man stepped in.
"Perdona, senyor, where are you going? I need to get home quickly, and if I could share a cab that would be most appreciated," Toma said, hoping that his Catalan was not too suspiciously accented.
The man nodded sympathetically. "La Ribera, Carrer de Lafont."
Toma feigned happy relief. "My hotel is near that" he lied. His inn was in a shadier part of town, and he would have a long walk back, but he had to get this man's story to confirm his suspicions. "Gràcies, senyor," Toma said as he mounted the cab. The cabbie waited for the door to close, and then snapped the reins and sped away.
The man put his head in his hand and stared out the window uncomfortably as Toma settled in the opposite seat.
"Are you all right, senyor?" Toma asked. "The woman who died. Was she your wife?"
The man shook his head. "No, she was my sister-in-law. My brother, her husband, died a few weeks ago. She hadn't been out of the house since it happened, no one even saw her for days. I thought a concert might cheer her up."
"I'm sorry," Toma said. "It's not my place to pry."
"It's all right, thank you for your concern," the man said, and then fell silent again.
Probable effects of Innocence: death likely that of an akuma, Toma thought. They sat without speaking further. Toma watched the buildings roll by, then, looking ahead, chose a likely-looking inn a few streets ahead. Leaning his head out of the window, he called to the cabbie. "allà, si us plau." Horses snorted lightly as the cab bumped to a stop over the cobblstone street and Toma opened the door. After handing his fare to the cabbie, he walked into the inn and watched the carriage roll away. That man's kind heart could have killed hundreds of people at that concert. He was lucky. And so was Toma. His first successful lead! He sat down at a table and ordered a glass of beer from the waitress. He lifted the amber liquid to toast his accomplishment to himself.
He pulled the evening's program from his coat pocket and studied it. Maria de Lourdes. She would be singing for a different battle now, whether she wanted to or not.
Authors' notes: Yet another collaboration between Quercus and La Romanesque.
This one is all Quercus, though. My stuff's not till later. She would like to note that she did her best with the Catalan, and that Toma is awesome. Maria's name and her prison story are loosely based on the life of a 19th century Catalan opera singer.
Thanks for reading!
-La Romanesque
