Author's Note: Happy National Newsies Day everyone! Here's the next chapter – and it's really beginning to start answering the questions. I have so much fun with the dialogue between Jack and Kloppman so, yeah, this is probably one of my favorite chapters. I hope you guys feel the same. And the scene with Diana, yay. Not to mention Tony… gah. Go ahead and read. You'll like it.
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor stake any claim, to any of the original newsboy characters – they are the property of Disney. The main characters Stress and Diana (among others) belong to me. Any other character, when noted, is property of their respective owner.
Translations: a Maldição de Diabo translates to "a devil's curse" in the romance language of Portuguese.
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a Maldição de Diabo
January 15, 2007
A devil's curse. An unsolved murder. 4 generations.
At the brink of his own destruction, he traded his life for 100 years to find out what exactly happened that night.
If that wasn't strange enough, what exactly he will find out during his quest is.
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PART THIRTY EIGHT
--
Diana let Jack's words sink in before shaking her head fervently. "What? I mean, are you kidding me?"
"I wish I was," he said, drawing the unlit cigarette from his mouth and keeping it between his middle and forefingers of his right hand. "But I know this smell. You had some company last night, kid, and it weren't the good kind."
She opened her mouth to deny Jack's claims – or, at least, ask him to explain his reasoning even further – but, before she could get any words out, she remembered something. It was quite vague, fuzzy at best, and she only held onto it for a few seconds before it was gone, slipping through her consciousness like sand through a sieve.
She was not alone. She was staring up at a young man who wore faded brown slacks, a grey button-down shirt, and a darker colored vest. There was a black bowler hat atop his head that kept his short, dark hair hidden from view. He was glaring down at her, a small, evil grin detailing the wickedness of his features..
"Who are you?"
"I am whoever you want me to be, Diana."
The words echoed through her head. And she shivered.
"Miss Mason, are you all right?" Kloppman asked, concerned. The young girl had started to speak but, before she started to reply, her eyes went blank and she shivered violently, though there was no sign of a chill.
Diana blinked once, then twice. It was almost as if she had blacked out for a few seconds; she could not remember what had just happened – there was a momentary barrier in her mind preventing her from recalling anything other than what Jack had told her. "Yeah… I'm fine. I'm just a little confused. You see," she began as she nervously ran her fingers through her now-dry curls, "I was alone last night. Nobody else was in this room but me."
That's not true, Diana.
"Yes it is," Diana said defensively, glaring at both the elderly butler and the ghost boy. It bothered her that one of them had the nerve to contradict her. "Why would I lie about something like that? I stayed up with Aunt Ria and ate ice cream before going to bed. I was alone… and, wait a second…" she said, as an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach began to grow. As soon as she had started to assert her answer, Kloppman and Jack had shared a look before turning back and staring at her in confusion. She only just realized that the voice she heard was not male but, instead, female. And very close by. "You guys didn't tell me that I was lying, did you?"
Jack shook his head. "I mean, you've got to be lying since I can still smell Delancey's stink but I didn't get a chance to say it."
"He's right, Miss Mason. Neither of us said anything at all. Are you sure that you are all right?" Kloppman was much gentler than Jack – and more patient (though, if one had to live to be one hundred and seventy five years old, that's pretty much a given).
"I… I think so." Diana covered her face with her hands for a moment. Just when she thought that things could not get any weirder, all this happens. If she had known that, when she woke up that morning, Jack would all but turn on her, Kloppman would answer a quiet summons, she would be told that some guy was in her room (without her knowing) and she would hear voices again… well, maybe she would have just stayed under the covers instead. "But I'm telling the truth. I didn't see anyone in here last night."
Oscar's black magic was holding tight onto her memories. He kept his presence masked from her, as well as the vision she had seen of Les and Rhiannon Jacobs. However, there was one thing that the demon had not reckoned on when he assaulted Diana's subconscious the night before. And that something was well rested and ready to help fight him.
Diana, you were not alone last night.
The girl heard the voice again and, though it – and the message it gave – frightened her, she did not show it on her face. It was one thing to be having a civil (or not-so-civil) conversation with a ghost. She could handle that. She was just not so sure she could handle hearing voices coming from inside of her, too.
I want you to go to the bathroom. Make your excuses – Jack and Kloppy can't know about me. I'll explain everything to you then.
Though she was well aware of the way that both of the two men were staring at her – maybe she was not doing as good a job concealing her emotions as she thought – Diana nodded to herself. If the voice inside of her was promising an explanation, she was willing to go anywhere to hear it. She was even prepared to gloss over the fact that the voice referred to Alfred Kloppman with the same nickname that Jack felt inclined to call him.
"Listen, I – I have to go to the bathroom," she blurted out, not really all that good with the tact. She could see her unexpected outburst made Kloppman embarrassed, and made Jack smirk, and groaned inwardly. This was definitely not the way she thought the day would go; at this point, she would almost fancy a round with Jack's stack of photographs.
Jack waved the hand that still held the unlit cigarette. "Go right ahead. Just don't take forever – we still have a bunch to talk about. Like what Oscar was doing in your room."
With a faux smile on her face, she bowed her head. "Sure thing, Jack. I won't be long, promise." And, as quickly as she could escape the bedroom, she made her way to the bathroom. She wanted some answers.
--
Ariadne stood up from her desk, a true smile of delight on her face. "Tony? What are you doing here? I thought you were going out of town this week."
The short, dark haired man, clad in his dark Armani suit, strode into the office with an air of importance, though his smile was quite the friendly one. He sat the steaming cup of Starbucks coffee down on the corner of her desk before leaning in to give her a kiss. It was a chaste kiss, pressed gently on her lips, but, when he stepped back he could see a bit of color staining her fair cheeks.
He laughed and rubbed her left cheek with his hand before taking one of the leather chairs opposite of her desk. "I was supposed to but, at the last moment, my boss decided that it was prudent that I remain in the City this week. It seems it his goal to complete an acquisition as soon as possible and, though he has another partner working on the deal, he needs me to be on hand and do my part if necessary."
Ariadne was glad to hear that. She had enjoyed her time at the theatre with Tony on Saturday night and felt that she had garnered the approval of both her sister and her niece. It was very important to her that her family liked him before she furthered their relationship. After all, she had only known him for a few months.
"It's good to see you, then, Tony."
"I could say the same, Ria. I thought I would have to wait a whole other week to see you again," he said, quite suavely, before gesturing to the coffee cup. "Come now, drink up. As soon as I heard that I wasn't going away this week, I stopped at the closest Starbucks and picked you up a gift. Black, just a bit of sugar. Just the way you like it."
It amused her that Tony knew her tastes better than her identical twin sister. She lifted the cup up to her lips and blew on the top, sending the steam wafting in his direction. "Do you know how much I like you?"
"About as half as much as I like you?" he offered back, his dark eyes beaming as he winked over at her. "Did you have fun Saturday night?"
Ariadne nodded as she took a delicate sip of her coffee. Once she had swallowed, she answered him. "Very much, Tony. You must pass my compliments onto that friend of yours. The film was quite… entertaining."
"That it was, Ria. Who would have ever thought that a movie about seeing ghosts would be so fascinating?" Tony chuckled and stood up from his seat. He walked forward and placed his hand out. He waited until she had followed his lead and placed her small hand in his to continue speaking. "The only thing I regret is that we did not get to see each other after it ended."
She felt a bit embarrassed at his words. "I'm so sorry, Tony, but my niece was feeling ill. She didn't want to go out to eat so we just returned home for the evening."
"Well, I hope your Diana feels better then."
Ariadne nodded, her face flushing at his prolonged contact. Whenever she was around this man, she felt like a young schoolgirl with a crush. "She does."
Tony squeezed her hand. "I'm glad. In that case, I would like to see you again." Before she could say anything, he continued. "I know you are watching your niece this summer, and she's only just arrived, so why don't the three of us meet at your place for dinner? If you don't want to cook, I can bring something with me."
She was taken aback at the directness of his request. After all of the few, brief dates they had shared, neither of them had set foot into the other's apartment. She was a little hesitant to agree without asking Diana first; he was right – the girl was her charge for the summer. Would it be fair to invite Tony over and impede on the time they had together?
However, she did not get the chance to give him an answer right away. Just before she could respond, there was a crackle and there cozy (and confused) moment was interrupted by Rachel's voice. "Ms. Cearr?"
Ariadne took her hand back gingerly and pressed the intercom button on the phone. "Yes, Rachel?"
"Mister Fletcher just buzzed up to remind you that your meeting starts in ten minutes."
With Tony's arrival into her office, she had forgotten entirely about the meeting. "Thanks, Rae. You can tell him that I will be right down in the conference room."
"Right away, Ms. Cearr."
Tony watched as she made the exchange with her secretary. When the girl on the other side of the intercom finished her end of the conversation, he looked back at Ariadne. He did not say a words but his hopeful expression repeated his earlier request.
Ariadne lifted her finger off of the intercom and smiled apologetically at Tony. "I have to go. But I guess I'll see you tomorrow…" She let her voice trail. She was still not entirely sure how Tony had exacted an invitation from her for dinner. Not that she minded, of course; in a way, she was actually looking forward to the meal. She just hoped that Diana would not mind.
He leaned in again and left a second kiss on her cheek. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
--
Kloppman waited until he heard the closing of the bathroom door down the hall before turning to look at Jack. "What do you think that was about, Cowboy?"
"I ain't too sure, Kloppy," he replied before lifting his cigarette upwards to his mouth. He placed the tip to his lips and blew once. By channeling the essence of the black magic of Hell that Oscar had unwillingly left behind, he was able to incinerate the cigarette without even striking a match. He had been waiting for the girl to either turn away or leave the room before doing that; he did not want to explain, just then, that her late night visitor had been one of the Devil's own servants. "But something don't smell right about this… and I don't just mean Oscar's odor."
The old man nodded, his glasses slipping down his nose. He took a moment to push them back up. "I don't get it, Jack. There's never been a sign of the Delancey boy this early before. The fourth generation girl has only just arrived."
"Yeah, well, maybe it's because of the deadline, eh?" Jack asked, taking a drag off of his cigarette. All of this talk about Oscar was unnerving him; it just kept returning his mind to the demon's offer. But, of course, Kloppman did not know about that. With everything that had happened these last few days, Jack had never had the chance to tell him about anything (including Les's damn book.)
Kloppman, after over a century of knowing Jack, and watching out for him, could always tell when the boy was keeping something from him. He cleared his throat and watched as Jack winced – he knew what was coming. "Jack, you told me the other day that Oscar visited you but you never told me precisely why. Do you think that this might have something to do with Miss Mason's unexpected visitor last night?"
The boy choked, but it was not because of the smoke. He had not expected Kloppman to be so astute. "I told you. It's because I broke one of the rules by saying her name. That was it," he lied, trying to cover his own ass. After Oscar had left that night, Jack had wanted nothing more than to tell Kloppman about the Devil's proposition but, now that he was actually considering accepting the one-sided deal, he did not want Kloppman to know.
Kloppman looked down the edge of his nose, his eyebrows raised. "Boy, you think you can lie to everyone around you but you can't lie to me," he said, the pleasant servile voice gone; in its place came the hardened voice of a man who has seen too much. This was the voice that Jack remembered on the nights that he had been caught trying to sneak back into the lodging house. "I know when you're lying."
I should have known, Jack thought. He sighed and flicked the ashes of his cigarette onto the floor of Diana's room. "You always could see right through us, Kloppy."
"Comes with a lifetime of watching young boys," he agreed. "So, you want to tell me what Oscar really said?"
With his left hand, Jack rubbed his forehead. Just like playing with his hair, it was another nervous habit. "Fine. Oscar came to me and told me that the God damn Devil decided to change the stakes. It seems he don't want her anymore – wants this girl instead." He dropped his hand and scowled. "So either I hand over Diana and she goes free or all of us go to Hell. Not to mention he thought it'd be funny to cut the time in half. We don't got two months anymore. We got just the one."
Kloppman let out a long breath. That was not what he was expecting though, really, he should have been. The Devil was not known for playing fair. "What happens if you and Miss Mason find the answer, Jack? There's still time." He tried to sound supportive and was fairly successful.
"Yeah, if we figure it out," Jack said, exchanging his scowl for a low laugh. As supportive as Kloppman attempted to sound, he could see that Jack was having a hard time believing he meant the words. "If we figure it out, with the bit of time we got left, then the original terms stand. We all are free. But, come on, Kloppy… do you really think it's gonna happen with only a month left?"
"You have to try."
Jack stuck his cigarette back in his mouth and turned around. He walked over to the bed and scooped up the pictures that were resting in the center. Once they were in his hand, he turned around and waved them. Speaking around his cigarette, he said, "Oh, I plan on trying. What I didn't plan on was coming into this here room and being hit with Delancey's brimstone stink."
The old man removed his glasses and rubbed his watery eyes. There was so much going on – so much at stake – and, after nearly a century of living with the Devil's Curse, it seemed to all be coming to a head right now. The three other generations of Daite girls had all been predictable and similar (with the obvious exception of the Cearr twins), but Diana Mason was different in so many ways.
His eyes still closed, Kloppman thought back to Saturday afternoon, when he entered this room only to find the girl… asleep, or something very closely resembling sleep, with the singular exception that her eyes were wide and staring. She had looked so much like Stress that day, much more than any of the other girls had. Briefly, he wondered if he should mention this to Jack before deciding immediately against the idea. The specter was upset enough as it was, what with Oscar's unexplained presence and the shortened deadline; he did not want to cause him any more worries.
Instead, he opened his eyes and re-donned his glasses. "How do you think Oscar got here?" he asked, sounding very tired all of a sudden.
"The better question is why do you think Oscar was here?" Jack said before snapping his fingers and vanishing away the spent cigarette. Normally he did not like to show off too much around Kloppman but, the more he stood in this room, the antsier he was getting. Besides, he was annoyed that the cigarette did not have the calming effect that he had been after. "She didn't seem to know that he was here. What did he do to her? I mean, I already know that the Devil's got his eye on her for some reason. Could that be why he was here?"
Kloppman wished he had the answer for Jack. "I don't know. The only one who would know that is Miss Mason but she seems a little… confused at the moment."
"Yeah," Jack answered, preoccupied. "Hey, Kloppy? She went to the bathroom. Do you think I should—"
"No." Kloppman, thinking back to the debacle from the other morning, shook his head before Jack had even finished his sentence.
Jack smirked. "You don't even know what I was going to say."
"No. And I don't want to. You and me are going to wait right here until that child comes back. Only she has the answers we need and I will not have you angering her again," Kloppman said, almost scolding the boy. "Besides, you've already caused me greater grief today and we don't need to add anymore."
"What do you mean by that?"
Kloppman lifted his weathered hand and folded it so that his pointer finger was extended. He wagged it at Jack. "Oh don't play innocent with me, boy. How do you plan on explaining to that girl how I was able to hear your call and come right to you if I'm supposed to be just her aunt's ordinary old butler?"
Whoops. Jack lifted his hand up and placed it on his neck. He looked extremely guilty. "Yeah, about that. We might have to explain why you can't leave the building either. It… uh… kind of slipped out when I was looking for you."
The old man just shook his head. Almost one hundred years of keeping the secret and now Jack decided to let it slip. Wonderful.
--
Diana hurried into the bathroom and made sure to close the door behind her. Out of a newfound habit, she locked the door before speaking aloud into the empty room. "Okay, someone needs to start talking right now." She felt awfully silly speaking out loud to herself but, she figured, if someone she could not see could speak to her, then it was only fair that she talk back. Besides, silly went out the window the moment she exited Patrick Conlon's cab the first time and met Jack Kelly.
Turn around, Diana.
The voice was still coming from inside of her but it sounded much less clear than before. Nevertheless, she did what she was told. Diana spun around and came face to face with the mirror that hung over the bathroom sink. She was quite accustomed with this mirror, having stared into it every time she had gone into that room during her stay in her Aunt Ria's apartment; however, this time, it was different
This time, when she stared into the mirror, someone else was definitely staring back.