Chapter 5
Lace and Red Curtains

The sound of the gun shot echoed through the pipe. Basil opened his eyes, his breath coming in short gasps. The first thing he saw was a shining nick in the metal where the bullet had hit… on the roof of the tunnel. He tore his eyes from the heavens and looked down the pipe.

The force of the shot had knocked Auburn to his knees. He sat there, motionless as a statue, with the smoking gun still pointed far above Basil's head. Their eyes met, and words became meaningless. For what seemed like ages, neither moved. Not even a blink of an eye interrupted their silent mirroring of shock. Then finally, so slowly it might have been painful, a sad smile crept onto Basil's face.

"You…" he began quietly. Still words would not come that could express what he meant to say.

But the spell was broken. The gun clanged to the floor. Auburn buried his face in his hands and began to cry.

Basil blinked back his own tears. He had seen death before, but never had it come so close, or let him go so purposefully. With some difficulty he stood, surprised at how weak his legs felt under him. He went to Auburn and kicked the gun away.

"Why didn't you kill me?" he asked. Auburn didn't even look up. "You could have been a hero," Basil continued. "You could have had your daughter back, probably had Ratigan providing for you both until Ginger's children hold their own babes in their arms." Basil paused, realizing how much his voice seemed to mock his enemy. It startled him. "You don't know where she is, do you?"

Auburn shook his head. "He said he wouldn't hurt her… said he'd return her… All I'd have to do was… was…" He nodded towards the gun. "I've never killed anyone before," he whispered.

"It's not as easy as it looks, is it?" Basil sat down in front of Auburn, who had taken a sudden interest in twisting his handkerchief into a tight knot.

"If the boss finds out, I'm a dead mouse!" Auburn cried. "Or worse! Ginger's doomed for sure!"

For several minutes, they sat together in near silence. The only sound in the tunnel was Auburn's stifled sobs and an occasional spark from the lantern's flame. Finally, Basil spoke.

"There is a way to save her still…"

Auburn looked up. "How?" he sniffed.

Basil grinned. "Why, by finding ourselves a dead man."

**

When Auburn stepped into the large open room, a cheer went up from the members of Ratigan's gang. Auburn approached his leader, who was seated on a throne at one end of the room.

"Well?" Ratigan said expectantly. Auburn held out a box. Ratigan took it, confused, and opened it. A grin spread over his face when he saw the contents.

"You have done well, my loyal friend," he said. Then he stood and held up the contents of the box for all to see. A soft murmur of hushed voices sailed through the crowd as they gazed upon the bloodstained hat and coat, both unmistakably Basil's. A new cheer went up, far louder than the first. When the room had quieted once more, Ratigan put the coat and hat back into the box and smiled at Auburn. "And now, I shall honor my end of the deal," he said. "Douglas! Alfred! Take him to the girl."

The two growling thugs who had taken Basil to his cell earlier now grabbed Auburn and dragged him away. Auburn knew better than to protest. This was fortunate, for if he had made a fuss, Douglas and Alfred would have followed previously given instructions from their leader and dragged him to Felicia rather than to Ratigan's personal rooms.

Once among the hallways normally kept locked and guarded against intrusion from the gang members, Auburn began to wonder what was really going on. He didn't have long to wait before he found out. Douglas and Alfred threw him roughly into a lavishly decorated room. Scarlet curtains were draped over every wall. Tables with snow-white lace coverings were piled with expensive trinkets. The door of the closet was cracked open, and inside was clothing made of the very best fabric. Beside one of the walls, Ginger sat on a tall stool. She had been groomed to look like a princess. She was wearing a gown as fine as anything the Queen herself would wear. Auburn tried to rush to her, but he was grabbed and held back by the two thugs.

"Ginger!" he called. "What happened to you??"

Ginger slowly turned her head and looked down at her father. A look of disgust came over her prettily made up face. "You are a foolish, pathetic man," she said haughtily. "I refuse to have anything more to do with you!"

Auburn blinked, not certain he had heard correctly. "What?"

"Take him out of my sight!" Ginger chirped to Douglass and Alfred. "He is not worthy even to kneel in the same room with me!" She looked at Auburn, her eyes glinting with a strange fire. "The Professor is my caretaker now. I'm sure she shall do a far better job of it than you have!" With that she turned away, nose in the air, and studied herself in a mirror.

Douglass and Alfred led the speechless Auburn out of the room. He stared down the hallway long after his daughter was out of sight.