Of all adventures they could've ended up in, ending up in one where they dealt with a real possibility of them ending up buried next to Jimmy Hoffa wasn't something Lila pictured when she stepped out with Theodore.
Yet, here they are, looking like two yokels walking through the empty and heavily foggy streets of 1920s London, tracking down the infamous James Crane, and hoping to learn more about his issues with a woman known only as the Giant.
Why this mattered at all, well, considering it's his warehouse the TARDIS' in and the fact that they barely snuck out of the area in the first place, pretty good reasons why it matters.
Sneaking back's not an option, even with the psychic paper, and the fact that the TARDIS brought them here for a reason, well, didn't take Einstein to realize they don't have an option.
Al wouldn't send them somewhere if he didn't think they're needed, so that's that.
As for what they're supposed to do, well, that's the crux of the problem, as they quickly learnt the reason for their visit.
After searching high and low, they found a pub, filled with patrons, and the moment someone with a black eye came out of it, they smelt something that stripped paint jobs.
It's close to the warehouse district, it's Irish, good chance for them finding James Crane, maybe hopefully find someone who knows where he's located if he wasn't inside the pub, and the two went over their story.
"Okay, we're bums looking for jobs and we heard there's a beef between you and some woman we don't even know. How about we make a deal?" Lila summed what Theodore told her as they stood adjacent to the pub as they heard clamors coming from inside.
Nodding as his wild hair bobbed, Theodore replied that it's the plan, and that if he has to, he'll pull a fast card.
"Fast card?" Lila balked as she heard him come up with a questionable term until he pointed out that it's a card up his sleeve and he's playing it fast.
Lila asks him what he had in mind and he sheepishly told her that if things aren't looking great, he'll broach the idea of tracking down the Giant, bringing her back to James Crane, go from there.
"Theo, my friend, that's how you get diagnosed with death," Lila pointed out the fatal flaw to his 'fast card,' if they promise James Crane, they'll find the Giant, he's holding them to their words.
If they don't find the Giant, figure out the problems that led her leaving, get her back to him, then they're looking at James Crane holding them by their feet as he dangles them from a tall building, which's the clock tower.
"Another thing, Theo, I don't know if you realized this, but you're English and I'm American, I don't think he's going to find that amusing," Lila pointed out the way it looks, James Crane probably wouldn't want anything to do with them because of their origins. Doubly for Theodore.
Chewing on his inner lip as he's thinking on the fly, Theodore pointed out that while that's true, James Crane's likely to follow the same rules as anybody in his position.
Lila asks what he means and he replied with, "A couple of nobodies that's unaffiliated, needing money, he's able to send us to do the dirty work without dirtying his hands."
Basically, while their accents prove difficult, it's an advantage for James Crane, because he'll easily wave it away if they're caught or killed, since he'll just play a card from his own deck, saying he never employs anyone who isn't Irish.
It'd be foolish if he didn't think about that angle, it's a good angle, he'll keep his homogeneous gang and Theodore and Lila won't sleep with the fishes.
"This is gonna suck," Lila bemoaned as she reluctantly followed Theodore into the pub, already she smelled the countless lit pipes and cigarettes.
A cloudy haze clung to the ceiling, foul odors assaulted their noses, among the ambiance there's chattering people as they talked amongst themselves.
Scanning the area, Theodore's icy blue eyes searched for anyone matching the photo in the newspaper.
Didn't see him among the countless people, so Theodore played the part, paying with his last coin, wanting to find out if James Crane's willing to grant them an audience.
He found a barmaid giving unruly patrons refills of their drinks, chatting her up, she's immediately flummoxed by the appearance of Theodore, but he played his card to the hilt.
The barmaid hesitated, but when Theodore played the pity card, she pointed at a man sitting at the bar towards the wall with other men looking like they've seen better days.
Seeing the man, Theodore spotted that it's the infamous James Crane and the barmaid made it clear that it's his pub, that if they cause trouble, they're not expected to leave in one piece.
Assuring her, Theodore went with Lila clutching his arm as they're heading towards James Crane, who didn't look like a typical crime boss.
Scrawny, almost, but with visible muscle definition around the arms, wide shoulders, gaunt face, and something about those blue eyes just screams the definition of crazy. His smile embodies this as he shares a conversation with people around him while drinking from a large heavy glass as different barmaids fill it to the top every time they swung by his corner of the bar.
He emptied the glass in minutes and the barmaids struggled to keep it filled while he chatted with his subordinates, hardly cared about anything going on in his domain, a sense of security, or his reputation's enough that nobody thought twice picking a fight with him.
Barely paying any attention, a combination of the sense of security and the drinks he downed, James never saw Theodore and Lila coming towards him, barely registered their presence until one of his men sharply turned his head towards them as they're not even a hair's inch close.
This alerted James to their presence and he turned his head towards them, his blue eyes glistened under the dim light as his face contorts into an ugly scowl, looking at them.
Immediately, his gravelly voice rattled with, "What do you want?"
His eyes intensely staring into theirs, Theodore barely squeaked that they're desperate for work. They heard on the street that if there's anyone with jobs, it's him.
A loud snort came from James after he listened. A sharp look towards Lila and he commented that if they're desperate enough, there's always someone willing to pay for skin.
It took mental fortitude for Lila not to give him an insult back, reminding herself they're in a sensitive situation that any attitude from her's risking their heads. And she likes her where it's at, thank you.
Keeping his cool, Theodore protested, saying that if there's anyone who knew potentials, it'd be James.
Looking them over, James' blue eyes moved between them, his mind a mess that even Theodore couldn't even dream of peaking in without getting lost.
"I don't need any more help," James concluded as he's about to turn away from them until Theodore brought up that they heard rumours.
He asked if it was true, James' gang has a giant working under him, and James turned back to face him with a puzzled look.
Snorting again, James responded that they did, but she's of no concern to them, now, and Theodore inquired why.
Tilting his head, his gaunt cheeks and strong jawline making him look briefly like a skeleton under the dim light, James' became curious why Theodore wanted to know.
"Well, is it true, a woman took her away?" Theodore continued the charade as he's trying every little thing his father taught him as a child, trying his hardest avoiding ending up buried from the neck up with Lila out in a field somewhere.
His bizarre methodical charade seemed to have an impact, because they're still alive and James' hadn't sic'd his two bodyguards on them, yet.
His scowl returning on his face, James remarked that he should've killed her when he had the chance, but by then it was too late, Kira went with her, and he couldn't get her back.
"The Giant's a woman?" Lila managed to speak up as she's trying her best keeping the charade going and not ending up in a sandpit somewhere with Theodore.
Slowly nodding, James replied that they didn't even know her name, only by her height, only knew her name because of his aunt. She was the one who talked to Kira more than the others. Never really delved too deeply into her backstory, it wasn't James' style.
Only knew that she's Russian and a former carnie from a circus that used to travel Europe, but dissolved after the ringmasters ended up tortured and killed one night.
Nobody convicted, no suspects, a cold case.
"Who was the woman?" Theodore asked about the woman that took Kira from James.
An angrier scowl took James' face as he went and drank from his large glass before turning back to them with his eyes radiating anger as he told them.
One day, they're on a job, Kira's helping with loading the docks with their latest exports before the boats came in, and James' remembered a tall, even taller than Kira, slender woman with an hourglass body appeared out from the mid-morning fog.
Her pale skin, her ruby red lips, and her fitted silver dress barely moved as she calmly walked through the mid-morning fog, seemingly aloof that James' gang worked at the docks.
James' blamed himself, something rare for someone like him, for making the mistake of sending Kira, he figured that since they're both tall, she'd have more chances dealing with someone unaffiliated, even if the woman's taller than her by a metre, but it became apparent he miscalculated.
He couldn't overhear the conversation because he's dealing with problems among his subordinates, but when he turned his head, he saw Kira leave with the woman.
"Why would she do that?" Lila curiously asks why Kira would've gone with a woman that clearly none of them knew and subtly recoiled as James' grew irate as the memories flooded back to that day that Kira went off with the woman and hadn't turned up since.
He caught himself as he explained that he asked around and discovered that the woman appeared sometime during the funeral for his late aunt, clearly interested in Kira, and he guessed that she decided on that day to approach her.
Don't know what she wanted with Kira, but it's evident that James wanted her back, and yet, there's something underlying to what he's saying.
It's hard to tell since his voice's gravely from years of smoking and drugs abuse, but there's something about the way he referred Kira that set off alarms in Lila's mind.
"Why was she interested in Kira?" Theodore inquired why the woman sought her in the first place, but James didn't know, he couldn't find the woman to ask her.
Even if he could, it's clear that he's afraid of Kira, and this allowed Theodore to broach an idea with him.
Pointing out that they're fresh faces in the city, they're unaffiliated with anyone in it, not like they're able to join James' gang anyhow, but the fact that they have an opportunity of helping James' with his troubles.
"What's in it for you?" James' inquired with his fine brow raising as he eyed them with interest while asking what they wanted from this proposal.
They don't want money they can't spend; they don't want to risk going blind from drinking moonshine, but they prefer their lives.
"As someone of your caliber, if it's found out that you've been giving us money for our troubles, it might draw untoward attention," Theodore explained that while they're desperate for money, they're aware of his predicament, and desire keeping his hands clean.
Clean as a gang boss' possible, but clean nevertheless.
Coming up with something on the spot, Lila pointed out that Kira knew everyone in James' gang, she'll know something's going on if there's suddenly new people among the ranks.
"Asking her's risking it linking to me," James' pointed out that even if they find her and talk to her, she'll find out that something's wrong, she always does, and she's fickle about those things.
Thinking on the fly, Theodore asked if there's anything about the woman, her name, what she does, anything to concoct a reason to broach her, and perhaps figure out why Kira went with her.
Of course, Lila privately thinks of the reasons why, the way James' talked, it's evident he doesn't consider Kira anything more than an useful subordinate in his gang, but there's something else underneath it that's setting off faint alarms in her mind.
If she may boldly suggest this, there's hidden perversion underneath the anger of losing a viable subordinate.
"I asked around enough that I found out she's some noble lady. Lady Annika Sokolov, however the hell you pronounce it. All I know's she's a thorn and I want her pulled out," James' angrily described the woman after digging around for information.
No records of her showing up on a ship, nobody seen her until then, and she hardly makes appearances out in the open.
Lila asks if she's part of a gang, perhaps, but James' replied he checked for that, nothing.
Nobody knows anything about her, where she came from, all that James' knew, she wanted Kira.
Looking at them with his blue eyes squarely on them, James' gave them an order, bring back Kira, alive. How they do that, he doesn't care, but don't do anything that's permanent. Regarding Lady Sokolov, James doesn't care. Kill her if they must, but he'll throw in bonuses if they manage bringing her back to him alive, so he'll teach her manners for stealing Kira.
"She's mine," James stressed that Kira belonged to him with his intense eyes staring into their very souls, as he sat on the barstool with the light above him dimming, covering part of his face in darkness.