-I have a great urge to finish this fic quickly and get back to my greatly neglected Star Wars one. I also added the time changes. SO…2nd chapter in 2 days is here-SF12

Despite Hornet's protests, Prosper managed to convince her that they couldn't leave just then. Quickly he scribbled a note to Ida and Bo, telling them not to worry, and what he and Hornet planned to do. Meanwhile, Hornet fetched all of the thousand lire notes saved from their allowances.

Adding a signature to the note, Prosper nodded to Hornet and they headed toward Castello, Venice's poor slum section. The family motorboat would easily wake Bo or Ida, so they had to walk. Halfway across Venice.

It wasn't so bad, since; after all, they walked all over the city when scouting for Scipio. But, despite this, they were still dog-tired by the time they reached Hornet's former home.

It was a dilapidated building, with a strong smell of mildew around the door. It's barely habitable for a rat, much less a family of four Prosper thought. Wellhe reasoned as Hornet raised a shaky hand to knock, in Castello it's probably a dream home.

They held their breath, waiting for the door to open.

But it didn't open.

They sat there for several moments, before knocking again, much louder. No response.

"Hornet? I-I don't think they're here." Prosper whispered.

She nodded. "One more try, and we'll…" she stifled a yawn. "And we'll try someplace else. Prosper nodded and reached up to knock…

"Aaaagh! Yeh not gonna find anyone there, they've been gone fo' months. Now, will yeh please leave so I can get some rest!" An aggravated voice startled the pair, making them spin around.

An unkempt, squat man looked irritably at them from the side of his shanty, the one next to the Grimani's old house.

"You said they moved? Where to?" Hornet said hurriedly.

Noticing the urgency in her voice, the man said. "Hmm. Yeh know, it depends. How much money do yeh have?"

Sighing and muttering "Vagrants…" Prosper pressed a few thousand lire notes into the man's palm.

"'Kay, they moved to Greece. Don' ask me where, but it's a big city."

Hornet nearly fell over in despair. "GREECE?" It's out of the country…

"Now will yeh get outta here?"

Scowling at the man, Prosper led an upset Hornet away from the neighborhood.

"We can still find her, Hornet."

"What? But, how?"

"I don't know, but we will." Prosper said determinedly. "Anyway, we should find a place to stay for the night. That warehouse where Mosca and Riccio live isn't too far, and I'm sure they'll let us stay the night. Can you make it there?"

"Of course." But her actions proved her words false, and she soon couldn't keep up.

"Sorry, Prop. I just-I didn't get any sleep and-"

"Here, this might work." He scooped her up into his arms and began walking again, ignoring her sleepy, half-hearted arguments.

It was harder to walk supporting two people, but after a while they arrived at the old, abandoned warehouse that Mosca and Riccio now called home. It took some very loud knocking, but eventually a very tired-looking Riccio answered the door.

"Wha? Prop? What are you doing here?" said Riccio, taking in Prosper's appearance from the exhausted expression and the sleeping Hornet in his arms.

Mosca had enough sense to help the two onto some mattresses, though Riccio continued to bombard Prosper with questions, which were all answered with a "Tomorrow, Riccio…"

10:00, the next day-the warehouse

Prosper awoke feeling afresh despite the escapade the night before. He got up to find Mosca sitting on a makeshift bed of blankets, having given Prosper his own mattress, mending a tool.

He looked inquiringly at Prosper and asked, "Why are you and Hornet in Castello, anyway?"

"Erm… long story, but Hornet and I are on a trip, you might call it. A very important trip, especially to her."

"Ah, but important to you, also. You've got that same look in your eye when you were so determined to make sure Bo was kept away from the Hartliebs. Now you're focused greatly on helping Hornet with whatever it is you two are doing. And I think I know why." Mosca gave a sly head-jerk toward the soundly sleeping Hornet.

"Oh, be quiet, you." But Prosper was grinning through his blush.

"But, anyways," Mosca said, adopting a more serious tone. "Do Ida or Victor know this 'trip'?"

This comment wiped the smile off Prosper's face. "I left Ida and Bo a letter, but…"

Mosca sighed and ran a hand through his short, frizzy hair. "If I know Ida, she'll understand. She'll be worried sick, and she'll try to follow you, but she will understand."

"Yeah, you're right. We'd better get going soon. Do you think I could borrow some money? I hate to ask, but we've got a long way to travel."

"Of course. Just relax, and wait for Hornet to get up. You'll be on your way soon, and I hope your journey goes well."

So did Prosper.

11:00, the same day-Casa Spavento

"Prosper! You've been sleeping in long enough! Come on, Lucia made jelly-filled croissants…" Ida's statement ended when she saw that Prosper's room was empty.

He's probably talking to Hornet. She thought, not immediately worried. But when she saw that Hornet's room, was empty, she began to fret. As she turned to leave, a slip of paper caught her eye…

Dear Ida and Bo,

Hornet and I have to leave now, or rather, need to. She wants to find some things from her past, and I'm going to help her. Don't worry; there shouldn't be any danger. We'll be fine.

Love,

Prop

Ida wasn't fooled. No danger, her foot. No, something was going on. She knew that, while Prosper was probably telling mostly the truth, Hornet's past was no fairy tale. There was danger somewhere. She went downstairs, and told Giaco, who was just leaving, to find her fiancé, the detective Victor Getz. He could help.

Once Victor was on his way, Ida allowed herself a small, secretive smile. While she was still worried about Prosper and Hornet…she would've given quite a lot to see what events unfolded between them…

-Done and done! Now, I'll graciously allow you to review…'please'-SF12