Chapter 4.
"Jim! Get over here!"
"Y-yes, sir? What can I d-do for you, sir?"
"Where is he going?" the older man demanded, pointing out the window to the man strolling along the sidewalk nearly four stories below.
"I do believe he is going to the east side of Metropolis, sir . . . He does have a meeting to go to over there, if you would remember."
"Yes, yes . . . Those meetings . . . Quite unacceptable."
"Shall I ask him to cancel?"
"No . . . But you can follow him."
Rath looked both ways to make sure no speeding cars or trollies would run him over and then stepped off the sidewalk. Aid ought to be around the next block, waiting for him. But Rath couldn't ignore the feeling tugging at the back of his mind . . . The one wanting to convince him someone was following him.
He put that matter aside and soon enough was accompanied by his friend Aid. They made their way silently into Back-Alley VII and then came out Back-Alley IV to the eastern part of Upper-level Metropolis. Only a few minutes after that, the two young men were approaching the tower.
"We're late," said the blonde-haired man, his eyes resting on the clock perched underneath the window of a tower a short distance away.
"Yeah, I know . . . Jack won't mind, though. He probably hasn't noticed." Rath looked at Aid, pretty sure of himself. He tugged at the front of his cap and then pushed the heavy, glass door open. They were just about to start up the stairs when Jack and Anne, a short, blonde woman (his sister), came walking down them.
". . . And I'm positive it's nothing!" the woman was saying, but Jack cut her off as he caught sight of Rath and Aid.
"Oh . . . Yeah, I nearly forgot about the meeting. Anne, why don't you . . . uh, go see what Halo's doing . . . or something. I've got business to tend to."
"Yeah, fine." Anne walked past Aid and Rath and disappeared into a doorway to their left. Jack, Rath, and Aid continued up the stairs.
Jim looked in from the window. Rath, Aid, and some other man were standing in the middle, speaking about something, then they turned to walk up the stairs. When they had gone a little ways Jim slipped in the door to follow. He kept himself well out of sight, edged up against walls and tucked behind corners, dodging things in the cramped halls and trying not to make any extra squeaking noises that weren't in sync with theirs.
The men walked into a door to their left, leaving it open behind them. Jim sat just outside, trying to catch most of their conversation.
". . . General Davies isn't too pleased, Jack," Rath said solemnly.
"I know. He's not too happy with us going back out to the Zigguraut so frequently, diggin' up parts. Hell, it don't do no good to tell us off for it, we won't stop."
"Jack, don't you understand?!" Aid interjected. "Davies has a lot of power in this city. If Red were still here he'd probably be an even bigger political symbol than even him! He could have you executed for butting around where you shouldn't."
"I know that. They know that. And she knows that. But I can't afford to not go back to the tower. Besides, she still has some . . . stuff to do."
"Who is 'she'?"
"Halo. She . . . isn't . . . well, she isn't too comfortable. It seems that people are blaming her for the incident concerning the Tower. She thinks she might have some good evidence to prove she didn't do it, but we're not sure."
"Evidence? What kind of evidence?"
"Halo said that Duke Red has a dead daughter and he made a replica who was there and witnessed everything. If we repair her, her memory in the least, then we could prove she's innocent of blowing up the Tower. If we can do it soon, then that's best. The sooner she leaves Metropolis the better."
"Halo Kane, huh? Yeah, heard of her from Davies as well . . . You know he's put a reward out on her? Five hundred if she's brought to him alive, seven hundred dead," explained Rath.
"'Course, five to seven hundred bucks isn't a lot, for what she's worth." Rath elbowed Aid immediately.
"Dammit, Aid, why you gotta think like that all the time?" Aid only grinned. After a moment, though, they heard voices and laughter from just outside the door.
"Heh heh heh. He looks pretty rich to me!"
"Yeah, I say we kill him!"
"I say we don't kill him!" Jack, Rath, and Aid stepped outside the door. Aid grinned an even wider grin at Rath the time. "What the hell are you doing?" Jack demanded of the five men that had been playing poker earlier.
"Nothin', Jack, jus' havin' a little fun," one man said as innocently as he could.
"Get him out of here," ordered Jack. Rath and Aid looked down at the man, huddled, frightened, against the wall.
"Well, if it isn't Jimmy!" Aid said, grabbing his upper arm and heaving him from the floor.
"Come on, Jim, tell us you wasn't eavesdroppin'!" said Rath in mock surprise.
"All right, Jimmy-boy, empty ya pockets." Aid sighed, let go of Jim, and patted him twice on the back. Jim, shaking an awful lot and afraid to refuse their orders, quickly reached inside his pants pockets and turning the pockets out. Coins and cash fell to the wooden floor. Aid laughed. "That's a good boy."
"I'll do it," Rath said, taking Jim by the arm and forcing him down the corridor. The guys were laughing at Jim the whole way down the hall, then they disappeared down the stairs. The heard a loud whimper, then a crash, then a "Hey! What the hell are you doing?!" Jack walked to the top of the stairs and looked down. The man they referred to as Jim wa laying unconscious against the far wall. Halo was on her knees, staring angrily up at Rath, who stood in the middle of the large hall staring over at Jim.
"Now, look what you did!" he said, trying as best he could to be serious without laughing. "You knocked the poor guy out!"
"Well, it's your fault!"
"What happened?" Jack interrupted immediately.
"I came running out the door because I heard ya'll beatin' up on that guy and ran into this oaf here-"
"And she knocked poor Jim into the wall." Aid, now beside Jack, began to laugh. Jack only sighed.
"Don, Lin, go do somethin' with that guy. Rath, Aid . . . I guess we'll have to talk some other time." Jack turned away from them and walked back the other way. Don and Lin disposed of Jim and Aid continued down to Rath, who's eyes were lingering on Halo. Aid began to usher him toward the door.
"And I will see you tomorrow night," Rath teased, walking from the building.
"Ya jerk!" was all Halo could say as he left. Her voice echoed around the hall.
"General, why in hell did you send Jim after us! If he had come in and exposed us we'd all have been done in and we wouldn't have achieved anything!"
"Calm down, Rath. I didn't intend for him to get caught, I was merely asking him to see what all your meetings were about. When I assigned him that mission I can assure you I don't know if I was drunk or what but I can guarantee it won't happen again. Now . . . Do you know where they put him?"
"Who was that guy?" Halo said, looking at Jack across the hall.
"Rath. He's . . . kind of a friend."
"So you don't know too much about him?"
"No. Not really. Only enough to know that he can get some good information for us."
"Information for what?"
"Doesn't matter to you. You won't be here for it." Jack walked away, leaving Halo there to ponder. After a few seconds she went into the room right in front of her. She walked down the hallway, turning into another room where Anne was smoking a cigarette.
"Anne, you know the things that go on around Metropolis, don't you know anything about Rath?" Halo asked, sitting down on the couch next to Anne.
"Rath? Yeah, I know a bit about him. He worked for the government when I did, under General Davies. Metropolis department. Wasn't a big fan of the Marduks, either. I don't think he liked the Duke. I dunno if he still works over there or not. He was when I got fired."
"You got fired?"
"Yeah. I got caught channeling a bunch of information to a secret society of people . . . They wasn't too happy about that."
"Who or what department did you work under?"
"I worked with Rath under General Davies, but I was also under Zigguraut. Got fired about six months before it blew." Anne put her cigarette out.
"So . . . Do you know any of Jack's plans?"
"As much as I try to avoid getting into the affairs of the former rebellion leaders, I have to say I do know but I am kinda sworn to secrecy, if you know what I mean. Sorry kid." With that, Anne stood and walked up the stairs, pausing only to say, "Get some sleep," and then continuing.
Author's Notes: It's a little shorter than I had planned . . . But when I plan it turns out wrong so hey, this is an improvement . . . sort of . . . I didn't really mean to do this, but this did end up as a kind of filler chapter. Hang with me. r/r!