Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce= middle-aged lady Me= 15 year old girl Therefore: Me and Tortall Paraphernalia = Lawsuit
"OH HELL NO!" Rhazier exclaimed furiously at the request Loni had just asked him.
Loni sighed. "Rhazier, you only have to wear it for a couple of hours."
Lila watched the scene before her with a smirk on her lips. It had been two weeks since Luke and Trows had successfully gathered information on the enemy's trade routes and schedules. From that information, the Rebellion had been given a new life. They were able to ruin, destroy, or put to good use almost everything that came through those trade routes. However, that had not stopped a shipment of blazebalm from getting through. Two fires had taken place at the homes of two known rebellion operatives. Luckily, no one had been killed, yet.
This problem had been the one that had led to the fight that Lila watched with such amusement now. They had received some intel from one of their agents about an unknown shipment that had not been cleared with the Crown. It had arrived yesterday, and had been taken to a noble's apartment here in the city. They shipment was supposed to change hands tonight at a party.
The security on this party was extremely tight. Getting agents in would be a huge problem, if it weren't for Lar'n. Lar'n was an old friend of Loni's who worked as a bodyguard for the noble, Lord Sareth of Valleyview. Lar'n and Rhazier didn't exactly get along, however, making Rhazier very stingy in the first place. Lar'n's directions were the last straw. Rhazier was to dress up as a Bazhir woman. Normally, he wouldn't make such a loud protest, but the garb Lar'n had chosen for him was...less than desirable. It was a sickeningly bright shade of fuchsia with gold sequins and a slit up the side.
"NO BAZHIR WOMAN WOULD WEAR THAT!" Rhazier protested vehemently.
"Well, um, maybe they aren't that up to date on Bazhir culture..." Loni trailed off weakly.
Rhazier's look became suspicious. "What do you know?" he growled.
Loni tried to look innocent. "I know just as much as you..."
"LONI!"
"Well, you're supposed to be a...a..." she said as her voice dropped to almost a whisper, "a woman of ill repute."
"I AM NOT PARADING AROUND AS A WHORE!" Rhazier yelled in outrage.
"Rhazier," Lila interrupted, "there are more important things on the line here than your pride."
"Why couldn't anyone else do it," Rhazier retorted sullenly.
"You were perfect for the role since Bazhir women usually wear veils," Loni explained. "We didn't want anyone to be recognized."
"When I get my hands on that little..." he trailed off as muttered the horrible means of torture he intended to inflict on Lar'n.
He stormed out of the room just as Luke came in with Lalasa. "What did we miss?" he asked with his eyebrows raised.
"Ugh, don't ask," Loni replied as she plopped down ungracefully in a chair.
"Where have you two been?" Lila asked Lalasa.
"I went to visit some of my employees," she explained. "We lost quite a few dresses in the fire, and I have to keep the shop open. I gave them their assignments and told them where our new shop would be until the old one is rebuilt."
"Which would be ...?" Lila asked.
"Here," she replied.
"Here?" Lila said surprised, "won't that be a little too crowded."
"No," she replied. "They're only bringing the dresses here after they've completed them. They make them at their houses, and I check up on them to make sure everything is going smoothly. As for myself, I have ample room for dressmaking."
"It'll be good to have her around," Luke said as he grinned and looked at Lalasa.
Lila and Loni both noticed the light pink blush on Lalasa's cheeks before she turned away. They shared a glance, but didn't say anything.
"So Luke," Lila began, changing the subject, "when are you going to tell Rhazier your role tonight?"
Luke's face broke into a smirk as he replied, "Why don't I keep that a surprise."
Lord Sareth's party was indeed elaborate. It seemed the noble had spared no expense for his party. Expensive silk drapes furnished the walls while the room was scented with jasmine from Carthak. Food was plentiful as the female Bazhir servants roamed the room with trays of rich food and wine.
One of these servants could barely contain her anger, or rather his anger, as yet another guest leered at him. Rhazier wondered how long it would take a prostitute to be able to retire if they only worked gatherings like these. By the offers he was getting, it didn't seem like very long.
'Where the hell is Luke?' thought Rhazier as he glanced around the room.
As if on cue, an elaborately dressed man bedecked in gaudy jewels strolled into the room. He grabbed a glass of wine as he walked in (not his first apparently) and sauntered over to where Lord Sareth stood with a group of nobles.
"Lord Sareth," the man slurred, "excellent party."
Lord Sareth looked at the man with slight disdain. "Why thank you mister...?"
"Gabundy," the man said with a lopsided grin, "John Gabundy, merchant extraordinaire."
"Really," said Sareth with a slight air of disbelief that was intended to be insulting. "I've never heard of you."
"Well now isn't that a shame..." he murmured with a slight frown. Seconds later however, he burst into a smile. "Well it's a good thing we met then!" he proclaimed as he suddenly stumbled forward into Sareth.
"Really Mister Gabundy, I think you've had enough to drink," Sareth spat out in disgust as he grabbed the wine glass from his hand.
"Now, now just let me finish my bit and I'll be on my way..." he replied easily as he took back his glass. Suddenly, he caught sight of Rhazier, who had been staring at the commotion for quite some time.
"Excuse me gentlemen, I see a pretty young lady who needs my attention," Gabundy said as he pointed shakily at Rhazier.
"For the right price, she will pay you all the attention you need," Sareth said as he turned his back on him.
The man walked unsteadily toward Rhazier who surveyed the man with carefully concealed amusement. "May I be of service to you?" he asked sweetly.
The man took her arm and led her to the stairs. "I hope so," he replied with a leer.
The guards, recognizing Rhazier as a servant and the man as a guest, led them to one of the many bedrooms their host had put aside for his guests. Once inside Rhazier turned to the man. "You could really be a great Player you know that?"
Luke snorted. "Yeah, and you would be great in a harem."
Rhazier laughed. "I would probably make more money that way."
Luke grinned as he put the glass a table. He then took a key out of his pocket. "Well that was the easy part," he remarked as he handed the key to Rhazier. "Getting his fingerprints and the key to the room is probably going to be the easiest part of this whole thing."
Rhazier nodded in agreement as he listened for any noise outside their door. Hearing none, he opened it a crack to see the empty hallway. "You ready?" he whispered to Luke.
Luke nodded, and the two crept out of the room and down the hall. They had both learned the floor plan inside and out, and had several escape routes planned out if the mission failed.
Guards lined the walls of the adjacent hallway. They were alert as they guarded the shipment of blazebalm locked inside the room at the end of the hallway. Rhazier and Luke hid in a small room right by that hallway as they waited.
'Any minute now,' Luke thought. Just then, a loud explosion was heard outside the house. Wild yells could be heard from where Rhazier and Luke hid. They could also be heard by the guards apparently as well. All of them except three ran down to see what was going on.
"Here's our chance," whispered Rhazier as he slipped out the door and around the corner. Luke followed quickly as the remaining guards shouted in surprise. A mere few seconds later, the guards were lying unconscious (killing was to be limited if possible) on the floor, and Luke was unlocking the door to the room.
"Spread out," Rhazier commanded as he walked towards a line of bookcases. "We're looking for a secret compartment."
"Really?" Luke said mildly as he walked towards the other side of the room by a desk, "I thought it would be out in the open with a sign saying Blazebalm."
"Haha," Rhazier said dryly as he continued searching on his side. They only had a short time before the guards came back, and moving that crate of blazebalm was not going to be easy.
"Found something," Luke said as he knocked on a floorboard. Removing the rug that was over it, he pried up the floorboard with a metal file he had hidden in his sleeve. Underneath rested an unmarked crate.
"Don't touch it," hissed Rhazier as Luke eyed the crate.
Luke rolled his eyes. "Really Rhazier, I'm not an amateur."
Rhazier ignored him as he took out the thin layer of translucent wax that had once coated Luke's wineglass and now contained Sareth's fingerprints, and pressed them on a slightly lighter part of the crate. The crate briefly glowed blue before turning back to normal.
"Let's go," Rhazier said as he picked up one side of the crate while Luke picked up the other. They walked to the window where Luke opened it and peered out. A flash of gold could be seen below in the alley. "Alright, they're there," Luke said as he secured the crate with a length a rope he pulled from his clothes. They lowered the crate until someone tugged on the rope below.
Loud shouting could be heard from the hallway. "Looks like we better go," Luke said with a grin. As the guards outside tried to force their way in through the locked door, Luke and Rhazier begin to scale down the rope to the ground below.
"What the hell are you doing?" Lila hissed up at them as they neared the ground.
"Escaping," Luke replied as he hit the ground. He then pulled out a throwing star from his sleeve. "Now to take care of some loose ends." Throwing the star, he sliced the rope from where he had tied it, so it fell to the ground. The throwing star rebounded back to him as put it back up his sleeve.
"Let's go," Rhazier said sharply as the volume of the voices increased. The crate had already been loaded in a carriage and was now on its way to a Rebellion safe house. The three melted into the shadows as the commotion in the noble's house continued.
"Are you certain? I would hate to punish you for any misleading information."
A small man in a rough brown cloak with quite a few patches nodded his head nervously. "Yes sir, he is from the rogue in Tyra."
The first man's mouth twisted in a smirk that did nothing to hide his cold eyes. "Well then," he said, "I suppose we'll just have to give him a little shock from home."
DADADUMMMMMMMMMMM!!!! The suspense is almost too much to take! There is a way to handle it though, but it's kinda risky....but, well....for your own good....you have to...................
PRESS THAT LITTLE PURPLE BUTTON WITH A SMILE!