Disclaimer: 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' movie is copyright of 20th Century Fox. No infringement is intended.

PICKING UP THE PIECES

By Etcetera Kit

Chapter Twelve: the Clock Hands Turn

The next night, Tom found himself in the very same lounge with Skinner and this time Skinner had nicked two bottles of wine from the wine cellar. He could not imagine the mess that must have been in the wine cellar when M planted the bombs on the ship and he pitied the poor crewman who got to clean it up. The fumes enough probably would have made anyone feel quite drunk within a few moments. But he was glad that the wine cellar was full once more, although he was not quite sure how. Nemo had strange ways about him.

Tom took a long drink from his bottle of wine. He did not know why he was sitting around with Skinner drinking wine straight from the bottle. He never used to drink after seeing what Huck's father would do to him when drunk. Perhaps there was a Grand Canyon difference between sitting around with Skinner drinking and getting so drunk that he became violent. Even when him and Skinner and Jekyll were all stinking drunk none of them got remotely violent. Maybe it had something to do with the person.

"So why doesn't anyone call you Rodney?" Sawyer asked. He wasn't really drunk, but the question had just come to mind. Everyone else in the League was called by their first name most of the time by most everyone. No one except Nemo ever called Mina 'Mrs. Harker.' Even himself and Jekyll were known as Henry and Tom to most everyone. Again, the only notable exception was Nemo… and no one wanted to argue with the person who owned the ship. Tom didn't much fancy having to swim back to America.

Skinner shrugged. "I don't know. Would you want to be called Rodney?"

Tom shook his head. "No. I suppose not."

"The only person who ever called me that was my mother, God rest her soul," Skinner said in a reminiscing tone. "She died when I was ten. Dad died before I was born." He paused. "Don't remember much about them. Became a pick pocket pretty soon afterwards." He raised the bottle of wine as if to make his point. "There's a good living to be made in pick-pocketing."

"I'll remember that," Tom muttered.

"If you caught some arrogant fat cat with hundreds in his billfold- well, let's just say that was more money than I had ever seen in one place in me life."

"Seen any bigger sums?"

"Oh yeah!" Skinner scoffed dismissively. "In bank vaults."

"I don't want to know."

"Now," Skinner started, waving the wine bottle around again. He reminded Tom of his old schoolmaster- extremely drunk- trying to teach a lesson. "I know you were probably brought up in a Christian household and told that stealing was a sin. But me- I go by the Robin Hood mentality. The people I steal from aren't ever going to miss it."

"Rob the rich to feed the poor?"

"No!" Skinner corrected. "Rob the rich to feed me!"

Tom snorted. "Don't you think that's rather self-centered?"

Skinner shrugged. "As long as there's food on the table, I don't care where it came from."

Tom rolled his eyes and took a long drink of wine. There was something to be said for having Skinner as a close friend- his rather faulty circular logic could be very entertaining.

"What about you?" Skinner asked. "How'd you get involved with the Secret Service and end up all the way out here with us vermin of the universe?"

"Same way as anyone I suspect," he replied. "Went to college and then applied for the job. I got it. So did my friend. We were sent here together."

Skinner waved it away with the wine bottle. "So uninteresting. Sawyer, you need to think up some romantic daring plot you can tell your children so that they don't think their father is some stuffed shirt."

"I'd just tell them about the League."

Skinner thought for a moment. "That works." And he took another drink of wine.


He was still aboard the Nautilus. For some reason, it appeared deserted, the halls devoid of any life when they should have been crawling with crew members scurrying about their normal daily activities. He looked down one long white corridor. He recognized it as the one a person would have to travel down to reach his room or Mina's room. A flash of a long black skirt disappeared into Mina's room. Mina… As if in a trance, he walked down the corridor towards his love.

When he got to the room and peered in the open door, the scene was eerily familiar. Dorian Gray was still alive and was seducing Mina like he had all those weeks ago, trying to rekindle their old affair. He felt a quiet desperation and depression- knowing that he would never get any of her affections. He knew he should not be here watching this. It was private between two grown human beings. And yet, he could not help himself.

Then, Dorian faded and Mina was sitting at her desk, a pen behind her ear. She appeared to be analyzing something as she expertly manipulated the chemistry equipment. He marveled at the ease with which she moved amongst the test tubes and beakers. He had always felt nervous and out of place in chemistry classes, preferring anatomy and patients to lab work. Throughout all that anxiety around so much glass and chemicals, he had built his own lab and created the elixir. Very soon after, Hyde had destroyed the lab in an attempt to prevent him from ever coming up with an antidote for what he had done. He shook his head, watching her work.

She seemed to take no notice of him.

Uttering an inaudible sigh, he walked back down the hallway to his room and sat on his bed, trying not to feel dejected for circumstances he could not help. His eyes landed on the case holding the vials of his formula. The brown leather case sat on his desk- the only adornment appearing as forbidden fruit, something placed in easy reach that should be avoided.

And quite suddenly, he heard a voice in his head that he had not heard in weeks.

"Drink the elixir!" the low, harsh voice commanded.

His eyes went wide and his breathing quickened as he realized that Hyde was back in head, taunting him. He squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears.

"Yes, I'm back you worm!" he taunted. "Mina is down in her room alone and you don't even have the guts to say anything to her. You are a pathetic little creature!"

"No!" he whispered, his fingers tangling his hair and a fine sheen of sweat breaking out over his forehead. He would not give into this. His fingernails dug into the sides of his head.

"You thought you could shut me out forever! You were wrong. I will never leave."

"Why? What do you want with me?"

"I want you to know what I feel. What it is like to be utterly alone!"

"But you helped the League. Everyone saw your value!"

"Yes and then they shut me out. I should kill all of them!"

"No! They are my friends!"

"All the more reason to be rid of them! Especially that little minx you claim to love. She'll just leave you like all the others."

"Emmaline did not leave me! You killed her!"

"You don't deserve to love anyone!"

"Why? Why!"

"Because you can't even accept me!"

He shook his head, feeling the scratches he had left on his temples and his scalp. The sweat was now pouring off his face in rivulets as the tears ran down his cheeks. Why did Hyde have to come back now? Now? When everything had been so perfect? He had hoped and prayed that Mina would show him some affection, maybe even love him and Hyde wanted to jeopardize that. He wanted to take away all that he had achieved by stepping out of his reserved, introverted bubble. He buried his face in his hands and began to sob.

"Henry?"

Oh God! It was Mina. He could hear her voice somewhere far off. She did not need to see him like this. Hyde could get out and hurt her! No!

"Go away!" he whispered, not sure if it was to Hyde or Mina.

"Henry!"

He sat bolt right up from where he had been previously sleeping on one of the armchairs in the room. Mina was standing over him, shaking him awake gently. She looked worried. He reached one hand up to his forehead and felt the sweat, a wave of panic overtaking his very soul. Hyde was not dormant. Hyde was very much alive and well. But he still breathed a sigh of relief, glad that it had all been nothing more than a dream.


Mina sipped her tea, sitting in the sunny breakfast room of the hotel. Henry was still upstairs getting washed up and dressed. It had been the middle of the night when he awakened her, talking in his sleep to an unknown subject. She had sat up in the bed and looked across to the armchairs where he had insisted on sleeping as a proper gentleman. He was twitching and sweating and talking like he must have with Hyde. She had woken him up and calmed him down enough to put him in the bed and rock him into an uneasy sleep. When they got up in the morning, he looked as though he had no sleep at all. It almost made her wonder what he had been dreaming about.

She sighed as she buttered a crumpet. What in the world had caused that kind of night terror in Henry? He had Hyde under control or so she had thought. But she was also confident that if Hyde tried to attack her, she could easily escape him by taking to the skies. She was not the sweet church girl that Emmaline had most probably been. A worldly vampire would have been the apt description for Wilhelmina Harker.

"More tea, dear?"

Mrs. O'Malley stood over her with another pot of tea in hand. Her Cockney accent was almost refreshing.

"Yes, please," she replied and the portly landlady refilled her cup.

"Is your husband going to be down soon?" she asked.

Mina nodded slowly. "He will be shortly."

Mrs. O'Malley nodded. "Troubles last night?" she asked knowingly. Mina knew perfectly well what the landlady was implying and only wished she could explain to the woman what their real troubles were.

"You might say that."

"Well!" Mrs. O'Malley sat herself down at the small table. She leaned closer to Mina conspiratorially. "The captain told me you are going to hunt one of those… things. I want you to have this to protect yourself."

She laid a worn necklace on the table. It had a silver chain that was tarnished so it was almost black and a tiny crucifix on it. The image of the crucified Christ had always been one that Mina found appalling. Why would anyone want to dwell on that as a way of their faith? The vampire instincts flared and she had to suppress a growl.

"Morning!"

At the sound of Henry's voice, she gratefully turned to him. Mrs. O'Malley gave him a huge smile. "I'll fetch more crumpets for you and a cup of tea!" she gushed. "I was just giving your wife my old crucifix necklace since the wire from the captain mentioned there might be need of it."

"That's very generous of you," he replied in a genial tone, but the dark circles under his eyes did not go unnoticed by Mina and the general sluggishness about his nature. He picked up the crucifix necklace and put it into his vest pocket.

"Thank you," Mina whispered.

He shrugged. "She didn't know."

Mrs. O'Malley bustled over with another plate of crumpets, a smaller plate with some more butter and a cup of tea. "There you are dears! The carriage will be here for you in about half an hour. The train for Bukovina leaves at ten."

Henry smiled at her. "Thank you, Mrs. O'Malley. We will let you know if we require anything else." It was his polite way of telling her to go away. Mina smiled. Mrs. O'Malley bustled off, talking about the 'proper gentleman.'

"That was a good one," she whispered.

He gave her a genuine smile. "She was irritating." He took her hand. "Besides, I have a nasty feeling I am going to fall asleep on the train to Bukovina."


Sawyer blinked several times and looked at the cards in his hand. He was not drunk- Skinner had not nicked any wine because the cook threatened to take his head off with a rolling pin if he discovered anything else missing from the wine cellar. Skinner had decided against this rather cruel and unusual form of execution. He probably did not want Hasaan on his trail as well because the butler was known to hit people with towels when they annoyed him.

So, here they were, playing cards very late at night. Sawyer decided that poker was just no fun when there was nothing to bet with. However, Skinner was keeping a pretty accurate count of who won how many rounds. Although, Sawyer had a feeling that it was slightly skewed in Skinner's favor.

"What's on your mind?" Skinner asked, shuffling the deck. "Nemo says we've got about another day or two before we hit England."

"I know."

"Then why so glum? There's a million different pubs we could go to!" He paused. "Good beer, friendly company- can't beat it!"

Sawyer threw his cards on the coffee table between them. "I loved Mina and now she's off gallivanting around with Jekyll who couldn't stand up to anything!"

Skinner nodded and collected his cards. "So the truth does finally come out! And it is our beloved damsel! Look, Jekyll's got Hyde and Mina is a fierce scary vampire. I have every confidence that they will come out unscathed, even if they don't solve the Dracula problem."

"Yeah! But will Jekyll use Hyde?"

"You tell me!" Skinner began to deal the cards again. "Now stop thinking about them. I'm starting you think you spend every waking moment contemplating everything that could go wrong in Transylvania."

Sawyer snorted. "You're not wrong."

"So let's talk about something else." He thought for a moment. "Where were you born?"

"Missouri."

Skinner nodded. "Where was I born? London. Next question- occupation."

"You know what I do for a living."

"You're right. I do. What is something I don't know?"

Sawyer just looked at Skinner and laughed. From his Robin Hood theory to his reminisces of his old girlfriend, the invisible man knew how to make everyone laugh even if it was at his own expense. His idea that being a pick-pocket is the most lucrative occupation ever and how much money he saw in a bank vault… Perhaps he would visit some of the pubs in England with Skinner. It would certainly make for a good time- if they did not manage to get arrested for something.

"Can you cook?"

He snapped to attention. "What?"

"Can you cook?" Skinner repeated.

"No."

Skinner cackled evilly. "Excellent. We can harass the cook for cooking lessons- perhaps get on his good side and then we can freely nick wine because he will like us."

"I don't think anyone on this ship will voluntarily like you."

He shrugged. "Those are the breaks." He collected all the cards up again and shuffled them. "We should get Nemo down here one of these nights. It would be a good laugh to teach him how to play poker… course, he probably already knows if he's a pirate. Still, we could play with him. It would be fun."

To Be Continued...