Chapter: Nine: Secrets and Thieves

Chapter Author: Beck2

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He opened the black book slowly, curiosity getting the best of him. He had seriously considered just leaving the book behind and jumping ship, getting away from all of this and back to his old life. But if the book had no real value, then he'd probably be in hot water anyway.

Inside were notes, written in scrawl that he had to squint to understand. There were so many loops it looked like half of one line was part of the line above it. Not only that, but side notes and scratched out corrections made the reading even more difficult.

"Damn Americans, they all write the same, no wonder no one can understand them." He gumbled.

Most of the lines on the first page were just dates scribbled into the space. He managed to pick out some words, like Rome, Italy, and London. But that told him nothing, really, so he moved on. He flipped through the pages until he came across a page written in deep scrawl, as if Lex had been upset or nervous when he wrote it.

'…Edgy…The ship is almost built…Commander Orick is ordering…more guns…less fortifications…fool, his desire for power….death…one day.'

The words he could make out were few and far between, but they'll told him quite a bit. He flipped forward in the book. Odd diagrams, scratchy sketches, passages like the one he tried to decipher…he didn't even know that Lex kept a diary.

No, most likely it was for blackmail. They tried to kill him, he'd tell them about the book. Then they wouldn't be able to unless they got the book, in which case Lex would slip away from them before it got that far. It had nothing to do with integrity.

A light knocking on his door caused him to snap the book shut quickly. There was no way he could find a place to hide the book in such a short time. He shoved it quickly and unceremoniously in his jacket.

"Ey, Kid!"

Skinner. Another thief.

And therefore more dangerous than the rest. He hadn't thought about it when he left the meeting room, but he realized it now-to any trained thief it would have been painfully obvious he had something in his jacket.

"What is it?" He guarded his words carefully.

"Just checkin' up on you, no need to get defensive. Open the door, mate!"

He opened the door slightly and looked at the white face of the invisible man neutrally. "I'm fine. What is it?"

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'Eh, that game's up Skinner, E's on to you.' Skinner thought when he studied the boy's face.

"We need to talk."

"About what?" The boy's voice got a little more defensive.

"I know that you know why I'm here, Gil. Or else you have some other thought as to why I'm here that doesn't quite match up with my idea as to what you should know about why I'm here, in which case—"

"Get to the Bloody friggen' point."

Ouch. Even the kid called him out. Did he never get any respect around here?

"Nemo asked me to get a hold of whatever you brought back from the apartment."

"And why would he want that?"

"Don't play games Gil, only so much can ol' Nemo take, you know. If it has anything to do with that ship wandering around-"

"The Aurelius."

"I don't even care what the bloody ship is called, Nemo wants anything that can give him information on it. How do you what it's called, anyway?"

"My friend worked on it, remember?"

"Why didn't you tell us the name? I'm confused." That seemed to be happening a lot to him lately.

"What would it have helped? Sure, there's a ship out there that you can't find, can't fight, and can't outrun in our current state, but knowing the name of the blasted tanker is going to give us an edge? I fail to see the reasoning."

"If you knew that, you could know more?"

"I thought you wanted the book, not to pick my mind."

"Ah, so there is a book!" He said triumphantly. The boy rolled his eyes.

"Yes, there is a book. I figure since we're both thieves we shouldn't be trying to hide the obvious from each other." He conceded that point to Skinner. Skinner almost couldn't keep the smirk off his face.

"So."

"What?"

"You going to give me the book?"

"No."

"Why not?" Skinner said desperately. He really didn't want to call Jekyll out here to have Hyde get him the book by force.

"Because I am still debating over whether I should give you the damn thing. I know Lex wouldn't want that."

"But if you give us the book, we probably won't need you and you could go home." Skinner was trying to appeal to the boy's sense of self preservation.

"Why do you think I'm having such a tough time deciding?" Gilly demanded and shut the door. There was a loud click as he locked the door.

Skinner stared at the door. It did not go the way he wanted. Perhaps he could sneak back later and steal the book. But in any case, he couldn't get it right now.

And why in bloody hell did Nemo give him a room with a door that could lock? Poor planning, perhaps, but he supposed it could always get to the point where Nemo would just have some of his men kick the door down if need be.

Might still have to do that.

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Very bedraggled and completely soaked, a large canine came loping through the halls with an empty bag hanging from his jaws. The bag had once been used to carry feed, but it had been liberated by the big dog for the sole purpose of bringing back to the young boy he had been traveling with. Bags were useful.

The big dog got several odd looks from crewmembers, who, thankfully, did not try to pet him. He didn't like being petted.

"'Eh? What happened to you? Take a swim before you came back, did you?" The strange man he constantly smelled but sometimes did not see peered at him. Clunky ignored him and kept going down the hall. Boy was waiting.

He reached the door but one sniff told him that visitors the boy did not want. So, he lay down at the door, till visitors were accepted.

And he waited.

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Well, he finally came back. Hope you all liked this chapter!

Asteria: Wait no longer! I hope you liked it!

A. L. Nowicki: Glad to be of service. Thanks!

Graymoon74: Yep, he is good at that sort of thing. And it might still happen yet. And yes, Gilly is sort of a jerk. But I suppose he has a little bit of a reason to be, in a way.

Clez: I saw it too! I hope they do a sequel, then we may actually see that connection become painstakingly visible! And everyone else can see it too!

Melanie: Err…as far as that goes, I'm just playing it by ear. That meaning romance. I'm glad you liked it!

Niani: Yep, this is a Skinner chapter! I hope you liked it!

Silent Bob 546: Well, just thinking of Tom cursing may traumatize anyone. His twelve year old image would be ruined. :) Glad you like it!

Anee: Well, I updated again, I hope you receive it just as well.

Please leave your comments on the way out!