Quesadillas Para Don Silvestre: Read the rest of the flippin story, it's GREAT! (All opinions expressed by author in this story are based on past reviews.) Nice job testing out the scam. Flippin perfect scams are what I'm known for… I like the prologue too.
Why didn't anyone else review? DX
Oh well. Onward!
Chapter 11
As long as there has been Varrock Guards, the Falador Knights, and the Ardougne Paladins, a small, and not as widely approved group of people has worked together to make sure these law enforcers had actually caught the right person. This nameless organization actually fought for the rights of innocent, captured people. This sort of work would, in later years, lead to the creation of the job of a defending lawyer.
But, of course, they had another division as well. This side of the organization gathered evidence and clues that would lead to the capture of still active criminals. Needless to say, both sides were pretty elusive.
An inquisitive girl by nature, Simetra had refused to believe Penhaligon and his crew had actually died in the crash with the tree. The whole thing was just too "iffy", and there were just way too many anomalies… Honestly, who could come across this kind of conclusion in this kind of accident? No, there were just too many questions to ask, and Simetra, as is her nature, had proceeded to ask them. After all, she had been on the Penhaligon case for longer than anyone, why give up now?
But her questions always met the same result. Like when she asked "How could they have been reduced to nothing but bones in such a short time?" she always got a form of "What if they were sick with a disease that caused them to do that?"
"How could they have died in a crash in a carriage, into a tree no less? No one can die at such a low speed…" was always answered with "Stranger things have happened in Geleinor."
She never had enough concrete evidence to conclude this as an actual death, and, as a member of, for lack of a better name, The 2nd Organization, it was her job to bring Penhaligon to justice. If this was a staged death, that job was still incomplete.
Her suspicions were proven true when Penhaligon was blamed for the death of Rin, and, yet again, he had remained un-captured. With a murder now listed on his record, the need to capture this threat to the pockets of Varrock citizens was now riding completely on Simetra's shoulders. If anyone could capture Penhaligon, it was her. After all, every tip she had given to the guards had been correct. She had always been closer to capturing Penhaligon than Rin himself. Some even thought she knew how Penhaligon thought. The truth was not that far off.
Still, it was a lot of responsibility to put on a 14-year-old girl.
---
Derah, after a quick trip to Varrock, for he was still the only unsuspected member of the group, had a lot of news to report.
"Someone's been asking a lot of questions around town…"
"Did you get a name?" Penhaligon asked, not even diverting his attention from the cooking fire. It was said to be impossible to divert his attention from his cooking.
"Yeah… Simetra."
Penhaligon's eyes met Derah, regardless of the pizza in the oven. A landmark moment.
"Simetra? Did you happen to get a good look at her?"
"No. Actually, I didn't even know it was a girl. How did you?"
But it was too late. Penhaligon was already lost in his thoughts, which he just happened to be voicing. "So, she's actually showing her face in public… This means she's getting desperate, probably because of the murder charge they're blaming me for… This means we'll have to be a lot more careful… If Simetra's out in public, mainly in Varrock, it could mean we can never even return to the city again…"
The rest of the group was listening to him intently, some trying to figure out just how much a threat this girl imposed, others curious about how their master thought. It was very rare that they would hear him thinking. His attention though, was already back at his cooking. Watching the fires dance around his meal seemed to help him think.
"Well, anything else?" He asked eventually.
"Yes, actually. Simetra is asking everyone in the general public to report any sightings. She even seems to know exactly what you look like…"
Penhaligon smiled. Of course she would.
"Derah, I want you to find her. I don't know how, post it somewhere that you have information on the case against me. Tell her, if she doesn't already know- Actually, even if she knows… Tell her about the old hide-out, and, I don't know, just keep her distracted. Eventually, once her attention is diverted, leave. At a key point in her questioning, too. But there's one more thing I want you to say. Actually, it's the only thing I want you to say. Say this as you are leaving. This is the only other thing you have to say. And it is…"
---
The Varrock guard office was usually a busy place, filled with un-easy citizens reporting crimes, usually pick pockets and gang fights. But it also had a bulletin board. Actually, it was more of a bulletin wall.
Posted on this wall, were all sorts of things. Tips, and assignments for passing guards, faces of wanted criminals, and news for the people. It was hardly ever looked at, even the people who it interested the most gave nothing more than a passing glance. Only one person scrutinized every detail and note posted on the wall.
Simetra stood in front of the wall, absorbing every detail. She smiled at the sign at the top right, put there at her request.
Scammers for hire!
By order of Penhaligon!
Apply within.
Apply within was weird thing to put on a wall that had nothing but open air on the other side. No one would know what that meant. No one but scammers, that is. It was also a weird sign to put in the middle of a guard office. But, after some convincing, the guards had agreed.
Simetra pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket, hopeful that some new scammers, idiotic enough to put their names in, had actually signed up. She knew experienced ones wouldn't sign up, noticing the trap in the irony of the placement of the sign. She pulled down the sign, and brought it to the front desk.
Splitting the paper down the middle was easy, for it was never really one piece of paper. What she was actually doing was pulling apart two pieces of paper that had been placed to look like one. Applying within a piece of paper wasn't something people weren't used to, since it was a code developed by scammers themselves.
To her delight, Simetra found a couple names in the list. She started to write them down on her own piece of paper.
Marco Iglesias
Frank Silesia
Mario Plumber
Meet me at the middle post, I have information on Penhaligon.
Simetra stared at the paper. A name, this was obviously not. She also understood the meaning behind the message. She put the two pieces of paper that made her sign back together, posted it back on the wall, and scratched the message that was obviously to be hers from her own piece of paper.
She handed it to the guard at the desk, saying "Find these men and capture them. If they want to be scammers, obviously they are no good to this town."
She turned her attention back to the bulletin wall. It was here that the message had told her to look, just, not directly.
It was strange that a civilian had not only noticed her trap, but had used it to send a message to her.
But the one thing that she had noticed was that the phrase "middle post" was without a doubt not a place. For one thing, it didn't have a time. Also, it couldn't be the middle light post of Varrock or the guard office, for they were both not shapes whose middles were easily determined. She looked at the sign posted in the middle of the bulletin wall. It spoke of a play, Saturday at 8-o-clock. She still had time to get a dress.
---
A flushed Simetra pulled up to the entrance to the Varrock Auditorium, inside the Varrock Palace. She pulled out some money for the ticket.
"Name?" A saleswoman asked politely.
"Simetra, I would like a-"
"Simetra? Follow me please."
A confused Simetra followed the saleswoman. She was being expected? The idea of a trap finally entered her head. But it was too late to back out now. Information on her convict was at stake.
The saleswoman led her to one of the front rows. Not bad, Simetra though, considering she hadn't even had to pay.
The play was a new one, Hamlet, by an up-and-coming play-write called Shakespeare. Five minutes into the story, the only empty seat was filled. Simetra looked at the person to her right, who had just sat down.
"I didn't think you'd come," He said
"I was beginning to think I interpreted your note wrong." She countered, "Why did you want such a private chat with me?" She asked.
"Well, seeing as how the captain of the Varrock Guard himself wasn't able to avert death at the hands of the person who I am helping you capture, I don't think it's wise to be so public about conspiring against him. Perhaps you should think likewise."
"I highly doubt he'd kill me…" Simetra retorted.
"Pride comes before the fall." Derah retaliated, hoping to dent her arrogance.
"Only when a fall is possible, which is not the case here. Now, are you going to tell me what you contacted me for, or should I just leave now?" Simetra said impatiently. It wasn't even a solid threat. Of course she wouldn't leave from a free play.
"Of course… But, first, I must ask, in the risk of only saying things you already know… How much do you know?"
"That is not something I am willing to divulge to someone I don't know, especially since you could be on his side, and just here to find out how much I know." Simetra said, turning her attention back to the play.
"Well, after some research…" Derah said, smiling, "I found out that the house on the side of the street, to your left as you walk away from Varrock and headed to Barbarian Village, was one of Penhaligon's hide-outs."
Simetra looked at him, "And how do you know this?"
"Ah, got your attention now, do I? Well, one of his aliases shows up as the home-owner…"
Simetra digested this information. Of course it made sense. All you had to do was go to the office of home sellers in Varrock and ask for the name of the person who owned it.
For the next 5 minutes, Derah spent that time revealing as much information as Penhaligon had said he was aloud to reveal. Simetra pretended to be watching the play, for the sake of the person sitting to her right, when, at last, he reached the end of his information. She smiled. This had gotten her somewhere…
"Oh, one more thing…" She started listening again, "Penhaligon sends his regards."
Her head snapped to look at the strange man to her right. But he was already gone.
---
Penhaligon watched Derah arrive back from the play. "How'd it go?" He asked the young boy.
"Pretty good… I told her everything you wanted me to…"
"So pretty much just the thing you said as you were leaving?"
"Pretty much just the thing I said as I was leaving…"
"Good boy…" Penhaligon said, looking at Derah. He noticed the troubled expression on the youths face. "Something wrong?"
"I don't know… Just… She reminded me of you…"
Penhaligon smiled. Of course she would.
---
Simetra sat in the Palace court yard, digesting the new information. Or, of course, the planted information. If the man had been a messenger for Penhaligon, then everything she had just had been false, or something Penhaligon had wanted her to know, meaning it was useless, since it would only be an advantage to him. But what if that was what he wanted her to think? Then that would mean she was casting aside information that was vital to the case, just as Penhaligon would want her to. But what if he thought of that too, and just wanted her to chase that information to no avail? It was, at the least, confusing…
"Good evening, Simetra."
Simetra jumped. Not only had the voice surprised her, she recognized it as well.
"What, surprised to hear from me so soon?" Penhaligon said.
"Oh shut up…"
"Oh, come on… You're not mad about my little message, are you?" Penhaligon continued, smiling.
"Why did you send it?" She asked, "Did you want to give me useful information, or did you just want me to chase it to no end?"
"You of all people should be able to figure it out, the people think you actually think like me, but I highly doubt that. But that is not the reason I came. How's Mom?"