Jack blinked. He had finished his meal of shellfish and slop and was polishing his precious daggers with a napkin. The fan was twirling around as slow and haphazardly as before, but the lighting was darker. Night had come, once again, to cover Manches in its cape. The gas lamps were burning brilliantly along the wall, bringing forth light needed by the sole customers, Falcon and his crew.
"It's been hours. Has any one come up with anything?" Accel asked.
"I'm still stumped." Rouge stated.
"Not me." Jack replied.
"I'm still working on how to fight him once he gets here." Galuda said.
"I have nothing." Ayame giggled.
"Well, I don't know about you blokes, but I happen to have one." Falcon smiled.
"Really?" Rouge asked.
"I can't wait to hear this one…" Accel sighed.
Falcon leaped upon the round table, cleverly using his athleticism to keep his balance. "Indeed I have! It's all elementary my dear friends, for you see Jack is with us as we speak."
The crew gave him an odd expression.
"Yea, we've known that. How's that going to help us find Other Jack?" Rouge replied.
"Ah, but have you put that information to use! Think friends, think. Jack said that Other Jack was like him in every aspect!" Falcon teased.
"So… that would mean they have the same flaws and weaknesses!" Ayame snapped her fingers.
"Yes. And since Other Jack's strengths have multiplied, so will his weaknesses." Galuda grinned.
"Exactly! Now we just to have to find out what Jack's weaknesses are! And methinks we already know two very important ones!" Falcon shouted.
"Bah. Jack, I, has no weaknesses." Jack turned his head away from the table.
Falcon crouched down on the table so he was looking the bandaged clown in the face. "Not so Jack. You have a soft spot for women!"
Ayame giggled. Rouge spoke. "A weakness shared by many men everywhere."
Falcon stood back up. "My point exactly. But Jack has a very profound weakness for it. Whereas Jack may have had a soft spot, so he says, Other Jack's soft spot should have grown at least ten fold. He should be obsessed with the poor shielas."
"And with Jack's sick mentality" Ayame was interrupted by a glare from the one eyed knife wielder. "Um, supposed sick mentality, that would explain why he rips them to shreds and steals their jewels and treasures."
Accel banged the table with his gun's holster. "I'm getting at what you're saying! We can lay out a trap and use his weaknesses to our use!"
"Very impressive." Galuda nodded.
"Yes, but using live bait is too risky. Does Jack have another weakness?" Rouge asked.
Everyone looked towards the dagger polisher, who immediately put his daggers down. After a few disturbing minutes, Jack finally caved in. "I have a weak spot for hehehehehe shinies."
"Shinies? The hell is that?" Falcon was puzzled.
"Shinies is what Jack calls jewels, gems, or other 'shiny' objects." Galuda pointed out.
"Ah, that would explain why these nobility girls don't have any family jewels on them." Accel agreed.
"So, we can lay out a trap with gems for Other Jack to find! That should lure him out!" Ayame said with enthusiasm.
"Yea, but we'll also catch every human being this side of Paris, plus some crows, rats, and magpies. Maybe an ostrich or two." Rouge added.
"True, true. Well Jack. Any other weaknesses we could put to use?" Falcon asked.
"As I said before, Jack has no weaknesses. Try as you might, you won't find one. Hehehehe." Jack laughed.
"Well, arrogance could be one." Galuda said.
"We can't really use that to trap Other Jack can we?" Ayame said.
"I guess we're left with nothing to use but plan A." Falcon jumped off the table.
"I forget. What's plan A?" Accel asked.
Falcon turned towards the group. "We're just going to have to use one of our highly trained warrior women here as bait. One he gets in range, we jump the fool."
"Now wait a minute! You can't be risking lives to capture him!" Accel argued.
"I thought you were a cowboy Tex. Did that kind of thing every day in the Wild West!" Falcon prodded his finger against the blonde American's chest.
"There's a difference. There I risked my own neck, not any one else's." Accel replied.
"Well guess what! If we don't do something, more innocent defenseless ladies are gonna end up without a head for who knows how long! If you don't want to get involved, leave it to the seasoned professionals who have actually seen a power stone!" Falcon roared.
"Excuse me Falcon! I know you have a point and all, but don't we get a say in this?" Ayame stood up.
Galuda glanced at Jack, who had become confused. The tension in the air was so thick, you could have cut it with a butter knife. Each member of the party looked to see who would make the first swing. Edward Falcon or John Accel.
"I've probably seen more action than you in one month of my life, Tory!" Accel gritted his teeth.
"Only in your dreams, American trash!" Falcon spat back.
"I've been taking your bull since day one. I don't know who made you leader, but they made the wrong choice in picking you!"
"And I don't know why you decided to tag along! Ever since you joined this little operation has gone south!"
"I'm staying because I believe I can help the people of this town, but you're making it hard as buffalo chips!"
"Than why don't you leave?" Falcon narrowed his blue eyes.
"Fella's! Please, it's been a long day and we've been up half the night! I think we need a break." Rouge interjected.
The two blondes were growling at each other like maddened wolves, snarling with ferocity. Galuda stood up and picked up Falcon in his huge arms. Ayame tugged at Accel's side. Rouge was left to watch Jack as they all headed back to their quarters back at Swan manor. Hopefully a nights rest would balance the humors inside both of their bodies…
** *
Sunlight dawned upon the rooftops of Manches once again. The pink sky rose in the heavens, shooing away the darkness like an old woman to a cat. Many of the townsfolk of this quaint town were still asleep, however, there was a small group about and stirring. In the marketplace they were, purchasing the goods they would need to bring a killer to his knees. Such items were to be bought carefully and cautiously, naturally making Rouge the foreman on purchasing mystical items. However, the pink sky was soon giving way to the gray clouds in the skies. It looked as if it were to rain this day. Clouds weren't the only things brewing in Manches.
"Tut tut, looks like rain." Falcon rhymed.
"Try to keep focused Falcon. I need you to find a pound of Kings wart. I'm sure they carry it somewhere here." Rouge handed the pilot a parchment.
"I'll find it, but exactly why do we need a pound of plants?" Falcon asked.
"Kings wart helps stabilize a wound." Rouge answered. That's all Falcon needed to know. He was soon off into the market place like a bat out of hell.
Galuda stepped forward. As a chieftain, he knew many herbal cures and remedies. Rouge turned to the giant, smiling.
"Ah, Galuda. I know you're perfectly capable of mixing up a broth or two, but I need you to get some net and pails of water." Rouge instructed.
"I know what you need them for. You are truly wise, lady Rouge." Galuda said.
"Thank you Galuda. Now be off with you, I have to deal with these three." Rouge nodded towards Accel, Ayame, and Jack. Galuda understood and trotted off.
"What do you want Accel and I to get Rouge? We can go all over Manches to get it! It's no problem!" Ayame squealed.
"I know you're just looking for some quiet time with your friend Ayame, but I actually need you to keep an eye on Jack. I have to run an errand only I can do." Rouge told her.
Ayame 's eyes darkened. Accel looked confused. After all, he thought of Ayame just as a friend. Jack was twiddling with his thumbs. He was not allowed to wield his daggers in public.
"Look. You three can go fetch me some chain, if you really need something to do. Rope won't hold Other Jack long." Rouge offered.
"We'll take it ma'am." Accel grinned. "Come Ayame, Jack, lets get going!"
Rouge could only smile as the cowboy, ninja, and clown sprinted down a third path through the market. For some reason, she felt motherly to Ayame. She wasn't that much older, yet she had the experience of a thousand ages.
"That's the price for being gifted I suppose." Rouge whispered to herself. "Too busy to have a childhood."
Rouge hopped up a flight of stairs towards the upper market place. She soon disappeared down an olden corridor.
The woman flicked hair from her eyes. Sure, she was an easygoing person, who would chuckle at every given opportunity. She even seemed like a child to herself, but she was now an adult. An adult who had been working all her young life.
** *
The streets were always full in Mahdad. It was an important stop along many trade routes that ran through the sands of the Middle East. The Arabic city was also a stronghold for the British, who held the area underneath an iron grip. Between the British, the tribal warlords, and the sultan life for Mahdads permanent residency was always full of chaos and strife. Thirteen long years earlier, in the midsts of the struggle between the Ottoman and British Empires, a family was starving on the street. It was not uncommon -don't be fooled- for a family to be on the streets. Persia's emergence into the modern world was not one of beauty and grace. There was a mother, wrapped in traditional robes and garments of dark purple, her face hidden as all women's were. The father had been long dead, shot in the street. There were four children, two sons and two daughters. One son was fourteen and working with the shepherds, tending to flocks of sheep. The other son was eight. He, too, was away at work, trying to earn a living for his family. The two girls were of seven and one. The infant was in constant care from her mother, leaving the family business to Rouge, the eldest girl. She had picked up the trade from her mother. Some thought it sad that such a young girl had to work. But then, times were hard.
One hot and dusty day, a man, dressed in the long robes and turban of a Bedouin, walked inside the young Rouge's tent. Rouge, much smaller than before, and with lots less hair, sat behind her mother's sole possession: a crystal ball. She smiled at the man, who neatly unwrapped his face as he sat down.
"What can I do for you, O mighty walker of the sands?" Rouge asked. "Would you like your palm read, your cards read, or your fortune told in a crystal ball?"
The man laughed. A hearty laugh it was. So loud and boisterous, full of cheer. She wished she could laugh like that. "I would like my fortune told to me inside this crystal ball, please."
Rouge darkened the tent by closing the door. She sat closer to the orb, waving her hands in front of it in a whirling fashion. After a few incantations, images appeared. Images of the man walking in fields of fire, without being burned.
"I see you walk through fire, unhurt." Rouge began. The man laughed. "And I see you dance in it. You dance not in the flames, but with the flames. I see… I see that you use these abilities to better yourself. You shall reap profits from your dance; you shall gain power and respect. I see that you are a leader among your men. To do the right thing, you must meet with a man who calls himself Laurence."
The man laughed again. "I had no idea that a simple fire dance such as myself would gain so much." He laughed once more. Rouge felt the ends of her lips rise. It gave her pleasure to make others happy. She never wanted to see anyone as miserable as her family. The man wiped tears from his eyes, but noticed the strange look upon Rouges face. "Is there something the matter, little one?"
In truth, Rouge had actually begun shedding tears, seeing the man laugh like that. She shook her head and sniffed. The man would have none of this. "Where is your family? Where is your father and mother?"
Rouge liked the man. He seemed to care where others had not. His smile was bright, and his eyes sparkling. "My father is dead …and my mother lives upon the streets, caring for my infant sister. My brothers and I help bring in food and clothing through our work, but it is never enough."
The man frowned. "That is no life for a girl such as yourself. You are much too talented and pretty to live the life of a street rat. Come with me. Your family would be welcome into my tribe of fire dancers. "
Rouge lightened up. "R-really?!"
"Would I lie to a girl as charming as you? I shall teach you the fire dance my self. If what your fortune says will come true, than the fire dancers path shall be placed upon you too!"
** *
Rouge wiped a tear from her eye as she walked briskly through an abandoned tunnel. She had become so lost in her thoughts that she lost track of where she was. Obviously this wasn't the market place. She turned her head towards her rear, gazing at just how far she had walked in. She must have been in here for at least ten minutes. She sighed as she turned towards the entrance. The only means of telling that this was the entrance was the presence of light. At least an hour must have passed.
"Well, what have I gotten myself into?" She asked herself as she walked out of the tunnel.
Little did she notice the lone red eye watching her from the darkened far end of the tunnel…
** *
