A/N: Second chapter! I'm on a VFD kick!
Kit took her eyes off our the cheap, thin paper which resided in VFD's telegram machines. "I'm not going to be seeing you for a very long time, I'm afraid."
"What-why? What's going on?"
Kit wasn't looking at Lucy, however. Something crazy seemed to have kicked in and she was dashing around the room, grabbing objects and extra clothing.
"Kit," Lucy said, her voice sounding a little more harsh than she meant it to, "What is going on?"
Kit passed her the Volunteer Factual Dispatch, "Read it! And quickly, we don't have much time!"
Lucy took it, and let her eyes travel across the paper. At first glance it appeared to be some nonsense about nothing significant, but on reading it the second time she spotted the crucial word: Ring.
The entire thing was in Seabald code. "I can't read this!" she exclaimed, holding it up.
Kit gave her a look that was faintly disapproving before continuing to dash around madly.
"I, mean," Lucy corrected, "I know Seabald code, of course I do, but it would take time to decode this. Counting words….and circling…have you got a pen?"
"No time!" was Kit's response, "You'll learn to read Seabald code instantly- it all comes with practice! It details the details of your assignment."
"Assignment?"
"Yes, your assignment at Café Kafka. Unfortunately I can't be there….have to sort out some tricky business at Anwhistle Aquatics…..but my brother will be! You'll get along like a house on fire…oops, I really shouldn't say that, but you get what I mean?"
When you use the expression "my head is spinning" you do of course not literally mean that your head is spinning, rather you are confused. I have experienced both- confusion on my first assignment, and when I was forced onto the rollercoaster a Caligari Carnival. Lucy was the confused type. A million questions were spinning around her head, instead she said:
"I thought you hadn't heard from your brother in a long time?"
"Yes," Kit replied, "I meant my other brother! Jacques Snicket? Have you heard of him?"
Lucy shook her head.
There was more silence as Kit continued to grab various items from around the room. Lucy was just about to offer to help, when Kit straightened up. "Now," she said, breathing heavily, "Step outside, keep your expression back. Take this-" She held out a small sum of money, "This will pay for the cab fee to Café Kafka. The taxi driver will know where he is going, but remember: a taxi will pick up anyone who needs one. If the taxi driver is a volunteer, all will go well, but if he is a villain….all is lost. Make the right decision. If you do, you will know what to do."
"What? I don't really understand-"
"Make the right choice!"
And before she knew it, Lucy was standing on the pavement, outside the anonymous city building dresses in her long coat and dress, carrying a small brief case. She felt utterly venerable.
A taxi just happened to be passing. Thinking quickly, she ran and held out her arm. As the vehicle pulled over she got a good look at the driver.
Lucy climbed into the taxi's back seat. "Where to?" the driver asked in an unfathomable voice.
"Café Kafka, please," Lucy tried to sound confident, but her voice was shaking. She hoped, in adding something as small as "please" the man would realise she was a volunteer.
The driver nodded and begun to drive away. There was silent in the cab for about ten minutes as the sped out of the city. Lucy watching the buildings go by, and bit her lip so hard it begun to bleed. Was this man who she thought he was?
After ten minutes the taxi driver spoke. "So, what brings you to Café Kafka all the way from the city?"
Lucy deliberated over her answer, but managed to respond quickly enough so as not to arouse suspicion. "Complicated circumstances…."
"Oh," he replied, no emotion in his voice, "I didn't realise this was a sad occasion."
Lucy fought back a gasp. If that sentence meant what she thought it did- it meant he was a volunteer! She had been right! Lucy considering responding, but said nothing. Nothing more was said throughout the journey.
After forty minutes the taxicab pulled to a halt out front of a Café in a small alleyway with a few shops. Lucy was about to pay the man and get out, when he turned around in the driver's seat to face Lucy, in the backseat. He removed his low hat, "Hello L, I'm Jacques Snicket."