Here it is, good ol' Chapter Two. I haven't been able to get to a computer for a while, so this one took a bit, and I'm also working on another fic (not in this category, though). But it's finally here, like it or not. And so, without furthur delay, I present Chapter Two:Ignorance Isn't Bliss.
Disclaimer: Do I look rich? Do I look like I own this? Do you need to keep bugging me about this? 'Cause all I own is the plot and my original characters. All the other stuff belongs to someone else. Go bug them.
Chapter Two
Ignorance Isn't Bliss
"Oh, look what you've done,
You've made a fool of everyone.
Oh, well, it seemed like such fun,
Until you lose what you had won."
-Jet's "Look What You've Done"
"You WHAT?"
Dylan's grin faded a bit, but he kept his posture upright and proud with startling determination.
"You heard me," he said gleefully, rubbing his hands together. His eyes shone in the dank light of the cellar. "I pounced on the little bugger, and then I took care of him."
Kitty glared at him, gritting her teeth.
"Why?" she asked, exasperated. Her shoulders sagged tiredly. "Why on earth would you kill a magician, and then, if it weren't already horrible, leave his body right there where any idiot could find it? You are such an imbecile!"
"Why?" Dylan replied icily, voice filled with malice. "Why, you ask? Because I wanted them to know that we're here, I wanted them to know that we're watching their every move. I wanted them to fear us. Right now, we're just a nagging flea to them, something they can swipe away in an instant."
"So why would you change that?" Kitty exclaimed, tucking her hair behind her head nervously. Dylan made no response. "Why would you let them know what we could do? This is exactly what I was talking about when I said you were overeager! We need to bide our time until we have enough strength to rebel! We need to wait until they're so stretched that it's a fair fight!"
Dylan shook his head.
"I don't get you," he spat angrily. "I mean, I thought we were in this to overthrow those damn magicians, not just pester them! But, for some reason, you're too scared to take a risk! It's not like they're super-geniuses, or anything. They're idiotic magicians! We can fight them!"
"No, Dylan, we can't!" Kitty shouted. The others watched on in uneasy silence. "How many times do I have to say it before it penetrates that thick skull of yours? You can not underestimate them! The last Resistance did, and that's what led most of us to our deaths! No doubt Mandrake'll be on this, too. Damn it, Dylan! What the hell were you thinking?"
He shook his head again and turned around with a huff, kicking a chair angrily.
"I've had it with this load of useless junk!" he growled, walking towards the door. No one made a move to stop him. "I'd be better off on my own."
"Fine, go off on your own, let's see how long you last," said Kitty, regaining her composure and sitting down at the table. "I give you two, three days tops until they find you and bring you to the Tower. They'll probably have found some way to trace it back to the shop you work at. Then, it's just a matter of time. You've descended to their level; now they'll go even lower. They'll torture you until they get what they want, and the Resistance will be crushed."
Dylan hesitated at the door, and Kitty sighed.
"Come back in here, you oaf," she ordered calmly. Grudgingly, he turned around and plopped down onto the ground. She looked him in the eye and set her face as she thought a leader would. "This is what you're going to do: you're not going to show up at work for the next week. If they come calling to the shop, we'll know. Ernie can keep watch over it. If they do visit the shop, you're off to Russia, no questions asked, at least until we can think of an alternative."
"Got it," he said quietly. Kitty smiled.
"Don't worry, it'll all be okay," she consoled him, patting his shoulder. "It always is, right? I haven't led you wrong yet."
He smiled a bit.
"I guess not," he agreed. She nodded, satisfied, and looked at everyone else in the room. "Besides that, any unusual activity?"
A young woman named Clarice raised her hand.
"It seems that, from what we've heard, that young Mr. Mandrake has directed his full attention towards us, even without the murder," she stated. Smirking, she continued. "And it seems his assistant wants to impress him, or possibly even his superiors. He's been dabbling around in the black market lately, buying a few trinkets of interest. I sensed them on him and did some research. He's also bought an advanced book of summoning from Hyrnek's; no doubt he's going to summon something powerful, or at least try to."
Kitty stared at the ground thoughtfully before speaking again.
"Could you keep an eye on him?" she asked. Clarice nodded.
"Of course, no problem."
"Good," said Kitty, turning to a young teenager to her left. "Jack, you go with her. Keep an eye out for the spirit he summons and give us any information you can about it."
"Got it, boss," Jack saluted her with a goofy grin. She rolled her eyes.
At least he's enthusiastic, she thought to herself.
"What about me, Kitty?" a middle-aged man piped up from a corner of the room. Kitty stroked her hand through her hair, concentrating deeply. "I've been trying to follow Mandrake, but the little bugger seems to have spheres or a nexus around him. I can't do shit when I'm blind."
"Fine, Glen, take Joel with you," she sighed wearily. "Yasmin, keep an eye on the shop. See if any magicians enter it and follow them in for information. Katherine, Thomas; both of you need to continue recruiting. You've done a good job with it so far. Keep an eye out for spirits and agents, though."
The girl named Katherine, only a little younger than Kitty, grinned. "We're always careful, Kitty. After all, we don't want to wind up floating down the Thames."
"Good, good," Kitty said. The only one that hadn't been addressed was a man that looked to be in his twenties. "Elliot, you and I will gather information, as always. Keep an ear open, too. The magicians will be talking about it."
He nodded obediently and Kitty smiled in spite of herself. All in all, this had been a productive meeting, even with Dylan's… problem.
Clapping her hands, she looked out at the team cheerfully.
"Well, then, let's get to work!"
-
Kitty labeled the books carefully and slowly, sure not to make a single mistake. After what had happened two weeks ago, old MacGregor would fire her in an instant if she messed up again. She was on probation, and she could not afford to lose this job. It was too important to the Resistance.
The busy-work of a library assistant got to her sometimes, and she occasionally wished that she was back with Stanley (yes, Stanley: he was annoying, but anything was better than this clerical work) and Fred, on a mission, searching for their target. But every time she found herself desiring such a thing, she firmly planted the image of the dead bodies of her former Resistance colleagues into her mind. She couldn't have a lapse of concentration now.
"So, did you hear about ol' Ross kicking the bucket?"
Kitty's ears perked up. No doubt that was the magician Dylan had killed. Silently, she crept from her position in the aisle to a position further down the row where the voices were coming from. She made a small separation in the books and pressed her ear against the shelf. The men talking were in the aisle next to her.
"Yeah, that's a shame. I did some good business with him."
Good. These men obviously knew the magician; maybe she could get some information from this.
"Yep, Ross was a good man, bless his soul."
It took all of Kitty's self control to keep from snorting at this remark. No matter who they were, she doubted that any magicians were good men. They were all corrupt and greedy for power. It wasn't just an opinion, it was a fact.
"Some say it was a commoner that killed him." The man said "commoner" with particular disgust and loathing.
"No way! Really?"
"Really. I've got some sources on the inside- some reliable sources, mind you, not those little children you pay to spy on people- and they say that Mandrake suspects the Resistance."
Kitty's breath caught in her throat. Mandrake suspected them. This was definitely not good.
"Oh, Mandrake's on the case? Well, no worries, then. Ross'll rest in peace yet."
"Yep, Mandrake's a brilliant little bloke. At the office, we've got a pool going on who'll succeed Devereaux. Mandrake's the favorite at four to one."
The other voice laughed.
"Yeah, we can relax. Mandrake's good, damn good. He'll crush the Resistance like flies in no time."
"Yeah." The man speaking chuckled. "They'll be crushed, alright. The only question is if Mandrake'll slowly pick them apart before taking care of 'em."
Kitty did not feel easy until the voices had walked away, and the sounds of their conversation could be heard no more.
-
Kitty returned to her flat in a downcast mood, and the rain pouring outside did nothing to raise her spirits. Throwing her coat onto the hanger next to the door, she flopped down onto the sofa, grabbing the remote and turning on the television monotonously. She needed something to take her mind off the growing presence of John Mandrake. He was getting rather annoying.
Bored with the evening programs, she dragged herself into the kitchen, grabbing cooking materials from the cabinets and putting a pot over the stove. As if on autopilot, she began to prepare her dinner, all whilst her thoughts were pre-occupied with something else.
How had Mandrake deduced that they had done it? Dylan hadn't left a business card at the scene, after all. (If he had, Kitty would make sure to it that she wrung his neck before the government could get to him. They didn't even have business cards.)
Most likely, it had been a lucky guess. When in doubt, blame the Resistance. And it wasn't like they were a secret organization or anything. Everyone knew about them from the first Resistance, and when small attacks or thefts occurred, everyone knew it was the Resistance. This was no different, she supposed. After all, they were the usual suspects. But they hadn't ever murdered anybody. Ever. Until now, that is.
The ringing of the telephone broke into her thoughts. With a dejected look at the mess that would be her dinner, she sighed, hurrying over to it and picking it off of the receiver.
"Hello, Margaret Johnson speaking."
After her encounter with Mandrake, Kitty had been forced to adopt an entirely new identity. Margaret Johnson (what a horrid name) was her alias, and she'd had to take other preventive measures, such as wearing different colored contacts and dying her hair, changing the style in the process. Johnson was close enough to her last name that she remembered it easily, and she had gotten used to the name Margaret, although she didn't particularly like it. But hey, she could take it up with Mrs. Hyrnek if she ever saw her again. It was always good to be prepared.
"Hey, Kitty?"
"Not on the phone, you dolt!" Kitty hissed into the telephone. She shook her head. "What is it, Yasmin? It'd better be urgent, I'm about to have dinner."
"It is!" Yasmin exclaimed from the other end of the line. Kitty's eyebrows furrowed worriedly. Yasmin sounded desperate. "It's the magicians! They went into the shop, and I followed them in, like you told me to. I watched them ask the manager for the list of employees, and he gave it to them, and then they went into the back, to interview the workers, I think. They mumbled a bit there. And then they came back out and asked if any employees had been missing and he gave them Dylan's name! And then, to make things even worse, he gave them plenty of background information on him. Oh, we're in deep trouble, Kitty!"
Kitty bit her lip. This wasn't good at all.
"Alright, just remain calm-"
"Remain calm!" Yasmin squeaked. "Easy for you to say! You're not the one putting your life on the line following those blasted magicians! They're going to find us, Kitty, I know it. Oh, damn that ignorant boy! I'll kill him, I swear I will-"
"Okay, forget what I said about remaining calm," Kitty said hastily. "Just calm down a bit, okay? Take a few deep breaths or something, I don't know. Do some yoga or pray, whatever floats your boat. Tell everyone to meet at the cellar. Got it?"
Yasmin took in a deep breath at the other end.
"Okay, got it. I am going to kill him, though! That little twerp! Dylan should burn in hell, I'm telling you!"
-
Kitty stepped down the wet stairs to the cellar deliberately, pulling out her key and sticking it into the keyhole of the door at the bottom. With a yank of the key, it unlocked, and she pushed it open, careful to close it behind her.
"Hey, Kitty!" greeted Clarice. Kitty waved.
"Hello," she said, surveying the group. "I believe you all know why we're here."
"Because of that idiot boy, that's why," Glen muttered darkly. Kitty pretended to ignore him.
"Anyway, to our first matter of business. Is everyone accounted for?"
Jack raised his hand guiltily.
"Actually, everyone but one person is here," he admitted sheepishly. Kitty looked at him confusedly.
"Who's absent?" she asked. He smiled apologetically.
"Uh, Dylan."
She sighed and rubbed her forehead anxiously.
"Where is he?"
"I don't know, really," said Jack sadly. "He was hanging at my place, but when we got the call from Yasmin, he freaked out and ran off. I have no idea where he went."
Kitty shook her head and resisted the urge to bang her head against the wall angrily.
Damn that ignorant boy. Damn him.
-To Be Continued-
Author's Notes: This chapter didn't really have a lot of action, but that's because it's the start of a story. But it did have a bit of tension and mystery, so I really liked that bit. Kitty seemed in character to me, but I'm not so sure. If you can't tell, I'm having a lot of fun with my original characters. Don't worry, if you can't tell, Chapter Three will make it very obvious. Speaking of which...
Next Chapter: In Surrounded by Fools, Nathaniel has to deal with not only this case, but a promotion for our favorite lab technician, an idiotic clerk, an imbecile assistant, and yet another murder. And did I mention that Ms. Jane Farrar herself makes an appearance? Not to mention the return of a certain wisecracking djinni...