Chapter: Four: Nice Conversation

Author: Beck2

Maikafuiniel: Thank you! I was worried that it would royally stink, I'm glad you liked it. Heh, I need to work on my own evil laugh. People just look at me weird, they're never really scared.

Silent Bob 546: Thank you, I kind of feel bad for what I did to Sawyer, but it was still fun.

Graymoon74: The little turkey? Heh, that's funny. Haven't heard someone called that in a while. Thank you so much!

Asteria: I knew you'd catch it. Thank you very much!

Dr.Logana Jekyll: Thank you, It took me forever to put that dog scene into words, and everyone seems to like it, I'm so happy. And please tell me if I'm slipping in something. You're the first person to give me constructive criticism on this fic.

Ravyn Nyte: Yup, that was where the inspiration came from, I'm glad you liked it!

Clez: I'm glad you liked it! So as not to disappoint, I tried to get this chapter up as soon as I could.

Rayne: Oh, thank you! I was worried that I was getting them out of character, which seems to be a problem for me sometimes. I'll see what I can do about Mina.

Raven Silvers: Hope you're doing okay with that stitch. Thank you, I'm glad you like the dog.

^*^*^*^**^^*

"No bloody respect, I tell you, not a whit. Kidnapping me like this, it's a crime you know!"

"So is stealing." Henry reminded the grumbling boy.

The lad shrugged in response. "Details."

Back on the ship, crewmembers were rushing to and fro to fix the hull of the beautiful ship. Nemo had been livid when he saw what kind of damage had been visited upon his creation, and Henry couldn't blame him.

It had taken them an hour to take the fifteen minute walk back to the ship, mainly because the little scam artist managed to break away from him and took off down a side street, where he jumped a few crates and ran across the roofs. Luckily, Mina had managed to corner him and dragged him back.

This had furthered the boy's fear of the woman, and he did not attempt to run away again.

Henry kept a firm hand on his shoulder as he steered the boy to the meeting room. Mina was trailing back a bit, on the off chance that the boy would try to run off again.

But the doctor didn't really think that was an issue.

Captain Nemo wasn't in the room when Henry opened the doors, so he assumed that he must be on the deck, checking over his instruments.

Henry sat the boy down in a chair, where the boy began to take in his surroundings. He, in turn, took a closer look at the boy.

The suit he wore was clean and not ripped, but it was threadbare. It was brown, with a few patches on the cuffs. The person that wore them was very small, barely head and shoulders above his own waist. The figure was also very thin, almost ghastly. A light freckling across his face added to the very endearing look that had tricked them in the first time. The hair was straight down, an odd murky brown. But it was the eyes that struck him.  The eyes were green, and though they had obviously been used in a scam or two, they were full of an understanding of the world in general.

"Gettin' paid a lot for whatever it is you blokes do." The boy commented as he looked appreciatively about the room.

Mina closed the doors securely and sat in a chair across from Gilly. Henry kept standing in case the boy decided to run off again.

"When the rest of our group comes we'd like to ask you some questions." She locked gazes with the boy. The boy, as scared as he was of her, managed to hold her gaze a few seconds before breaking it, almost guiltily. He looked down at the table, suddenly very interested with the grain.

A couple seconds later the doors burst open as Captain Nemo strode in with Skinner in his usual black attire following.

"Eh, you caught the little bugger I see."

"Bugger you." Came the rude reply from Gilly. Skinner just grinned as he sat down next to Mina. Captain Nemo sat at the head of the table, as always, looking at the boy as he sullenly returned to studying the table. Henry sat down quietly in an empty seat that was usually across from Tom's. Now that there were other members there wouldn't be much of a chance the lad could make it out of his seat, much less out the door. And Henry felt uncomfortable standing while the others sat, it made him a focus of unnecessary attention.

"Is Tom still chasin' after that damn dog?" Skinner said, not wanting to wait in silence.

"It seems so." Mina said primly. Silence once again reigned.

*^*^*^*^*^^**^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Uncomfortable silences were never really his thing. Part of him was fighting down the urge to ask some stupid questions that would probably inevitably end up getting him tossed overboard, another part was trying to keep an outburst on his rights, however hypocritical that was, away from his mouth. Still another was battling with the choice of staying in his seat and waiting for whatever came, however bad it was, and jumping out of his chair and bolting for the doors and freedom.

The fact that he had just seen the lovely lady across from him drain Simon's men of all the blood they had was giving a very good argument on both sides of that inner conflict. He could jump up, get caught, and become a snack, or he could stay here, get questioned, and still become a snack.

Not the future he had planned for himself. Though he could probably brag to his ancestors that he died in a way they didn't. But somehow, he just wasn't eager to tell them much of anything anytime soon.

Then there was the guy sitting next to him, the one who grabbed him. He had no doubts he could take him, but anyone who travels around with a ruddy vampire must have something up their sleeves.

Unless they were American. Then they were just American.

Then there was the hideously pale guy next to lady blood-sucker. He obviously had something for her, like the man who had caught him. His face was almost pure white, and almost looked like he fell into a flour bag and never washed it off.

Then there was the man at the head of the table. Indian. He'd seen enough to be able to pick out the ethnicity. He had a large sword at his side, and his hand was resting on the hilt. His eyes were enough to convince him that he probably shouldn't mess with this particular man, but never before had Gilly allowed that to stop him.

Doing stupid things was part of his genetic code, passed down to him by all of his ancestors.

Now, the American had to be Tom, he mused.  Obviously that was who all of these people were waiting for.

But if he had gone after Clunky, then there was a fat chance he'd be coming back here victorious.

"ROWR! ROWR! ROWR!"

Speak of the devil. Gilly knew that bark anywhere. Clunky probably got bored waiting and went off to find him.

Beyond the doors there were Indian screams and curses. The people at the table looked at the door with amazement.

"GET BACK HERE YOU MUTT!"

"Tom's back." The pale faced man quipped.

Something hit the doors full force, breaking the door knob. A second later it burst open, with the large grey dog surging through it, their bag of savings still flapping in his jaws. Clunky took the table at a jump and lost his balance, sliding the length of it on his belly, ending up nose to nose with the Indian. A few seconds later came the American, taking time to lean on the side of the doorway, looking an absolute mess.

Gilly just couldn't keep the grin from breaking across his face.

*^*^^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*^**^*^*^

Captain Nemo glared at the massive dog on his table. The dog stared back at him, then wilted under his gaze, and slid off the side of the table to rejoin the young boy that Mina and Jekyll had brought in. The boy had a huge grin on his face at the state of Sawyer.

Sawyer looked awful, his face was dirty, and his clothes looked stained.

"Wot did you do to yourself, Tom? Go swimmin' in a vegetable garden?"

"I chased that dog through the market. He tricked me."

Nemo raised an eyebrow at that, but let Skinner continue the questioning.

"'E tricked you."

"Never mind." He shot the boy a glare. Apparently the chase did not improve his mood.

 The dog sat down next to the boy, bag still in his jaws.

Captain Nemo stood up. "What is your name, boy?"

"Gilbert Nesmond." The boy had guarded eyes.

"You gave Dr. Jekyll and Sawyer some information. That information turned out to be true. Now," He paused to consider his words , "was it just a coincidence, or do you know more about this ship? Or are you just some petty thief and liar?"

"I am a petty thief and liar. It is the basis of my business relationship, you know." Gilbert returned.

"That's true." Skinner commented. Nemo shot him a glare and Skinner swiftly shut up.

"The ship. What do you know about it?"

"It's made of metal, it floats, like all ships do, and it has a nifty purple insignia on it."

"I don't think you realize the severity of the situation." Mina's voice broke in softly. "We need information on that ship. And we will take it by any means necessary."

"Maybe you need a little info on who we are. We're The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and we are the only thing keeping you from World War." Sawyer broke in a little angrily.

"You? You couldn't even catch a bloody dog! What major contribution are you making?" Gilbert snapped back. The dog beside him growled. Jekyll started looking at it nervously.

"Don't push me." Sawyer growled and stood up. The boy jerked up and snarled "Or what?"

"SIT DOWN!" Nemo roared, and immediately the two looked at him, somewhat shocked. They both sat down uneasily, eyeing each other. "You, boy, will tell us what we need to know. The sooner you do, the sooner you may leave. Sawyer, you will control your temper." Nemo said strictly.

He beckoned the boy. "Speak."

"I have a friend." The boy began haltingly, then started again. "Lexington Marks. He said he worked on some ship for your average terrorist group hell bent on causing their share of chaos."

"So much for love of country." Sawyer snorted. Nemo shot him a warning look.

"Well, he ain't native here. He's actually American. So I guess you'd know his state of mind better than I." The kid returned smugly. Sawyer just glared, a little shocked.

"Where do we find him?"

"Rome. In Italy. Can I go now?"

Nemo mulled over the information. The Nautilus would be ready in a few days to sail. Rome wasn't that far when commuting in a ship such as his.

"No."

"What? You said-"

"You will be released, Mr. Nesmond. Just not yet. We will take you with us to find your friend. You can identify him better than we. Until then, you and your…dog…will be given quarters, and you will be treated as a guest aboard The Nautilus."

"Bloody lovely." Gilbert grimaced.

*^^**^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^*^

That was rather fun to write. I tried to incorporate a little more humor into it this time.

Please leave your input! I love to read your comments!