Notes: Anne & Mira Sharpace are a reference to Desmond's family from MJ's fanfic, Bonds Left Unbroken. It's definitely one of my favourite PL fanfics and also contains my favourite portrayal of Desmond's partner and child, so I'd highly recommend it if you haven't read the fic already.


The morning after picking Umid up from the airport, the three Black Ravens and Becky set out with him to find the house that his had apparently been left by his friend. Even though it wasn't the furthest away from the Weathered Duke's Hotel that it could have been, the group still managed to wander into completely different territory than they were familiar with. The houses surrounding them were all tall and grand here, with no signs of even any shops nearby – purely a residential area. And it looked like the residents it housed were of a particular class.

"Are ya sure this is the right way?" Crow asked, as they all regarded the fancy houses in awe, "I bet a lotta streets in London 'ave the same names. We coulda wandahed into the wrong one."

"No, this is definitely it," insisted Umid. Though he did take a look down at the address he was holding before he replied, so even he was seemingly surprised by where they were.

"Ain't ya bin to this street before, Becks? Since ya live around 'ere," checked Crow.

"This isn't somewhere I've ever needed to go, so I've never really bothered," Becky dismissed.

"Then why are ya comin' now? If ya don't mind me askin'," Crow pressed, "The Becky I remember wouldn't skive off work if 'er life depended on it."

"I'm not skiving!" huffed Becky, "For your information, I've left Max doing my duties for today. He'll manage fine. And the reason I'm coming is so that I can have an idea where to find you all. We are still friends at the end of the day. And part of me does worry about Umid being under the influence of a pickpocket."

She doesn't elaborate on that last statement, but it's enough to confirm what Crow had said earlier about Becky catching him thieving. Whatever she'd done, it had clearly been enough to spook Crow from wanting to get caught doing his usual habits around her from now on.

"I promise I'll do everythin' in my powah to stop Umid from bein' corrupted by my wicked ways," swore Crow. He put his hand on his heart for emphasis; "Back to the mattah at 'and though, if this is where ya friend's 'ouse is, Umid, then I'm surprised 'e lives in such a posh place."

Scraps tutted; "I'm not. This guy's rich enough that he can give away what's essentially a holiday home to another person at the drop of a hat. Of course he's gonna have more money than sense."

"Then I'm kinda surprised ya wanna come along, Scraps. All things considahed," replied Crow.

"I might not like the rich, but I'm far from above taking advantage of them," Scraps reminded, "This is just a different way to how I'd normally do it."

"Perhaps I am being presumptuous, but I do think you would all like my friend if you met him," Umid cut in, "He's a good man who I do not believe anyone would want to take advantage of, especially not after the kindness he has shown me and my family."

"Where I come from we call people like that 'chumps'," Scraps chuckled. He was silenced by a swift elbow from Crow.

"I'm sure we'd all love to meet ya friend if 'e evah drops by!" Crow corrected.

"Once we have all got settled, perhaps he will. But for we should focus on getting to our new home. It should be around this corner, if the directions are correct," Umid said.

The small group peered around the corner and Crow let out a long whistle. Badger could only share his sentiment. There was no mistaking the house as being the one left to Umid on his notes, not least because Badger was later told that the unusual name, Sharpace Rest, was proclaimed boldly on a metal plaque above the gate. Everything about it stood alone from the other surrounding building. It was completely detached and even had it's own garden, albeit an overgrown one. The tall, black fence was both classy and defensive enough to let strangers know they were not welcome here. A large part of Badger couldn't help but wonder about the sort of person who owned a place like this. Well, before it had been given to Umid, anyway.

"It's not quite Barde Manor, but I guess it'll do," Scraps dismissed.

"It's close enough though," murmured Crow.

Umid unlocked the gate and the five of them made their way through. He was careful to shut it behind them again, since none of them fancied being followed by anyone who might be curious about this previously abandoned building suddenly being occupied once more. They walked the little way up the path to the front door, then Umid took a second key from the chain to unlock that as well. The air was silent as they all tensely waited to be through the door.

Their footsteps echoed on the wooden floor as they walked inside and, even though he tried to be careful about it, the door still made a loud thud when Umid pulled it shut behind them all. Just from this entrance Badger could tell that the house was too big for one person to live in on their own. It was maybe lucky for Umid that he'd ended up with three extra house-mates to fill this place up with.

"Fancy..." Becky whispered, voicing what was on everyone's mind.

"So, this friend o' yours..." Crow checked, "...Wot was 'e like exactly?"

"Like no one I have ever met before or since," answered Umid, "I doubt you would have ever met anyone like him either. Actually, that's him on that portrait up there, although he looks younger than he is now."

He was gesturing towards a large framed picture that dominated over the hallway. Upon it stood a humble-looking bespectacled man who Badger assumed was Umid's friend, along a woman who had a stern-but-kind face. Held between them was a young girl with messy hair. Perhaps this was his family, although Badger couldn't read the text below it. Not that he needed to, as Crow soon did this for him.

"Professah Desmond Sycamore, Mira Shapace an' their beloved daughtah, Anne," he read aloud, "Guess this guy was a pretty big deal to 'ave a fancy paintin' like this one."

"They look like they were a happy family," Becky observed.

"For a short time I believe they were," Umid agreed, "Unfortunately, by the time I met Professor Sycamore his partner and child had already passed away."

"That's so sad... Maybe it's why he didn't want to stay in this house," wondered Becky.

Although he couldn't speak for Sycamore, Badger knew that was exactly how he felt when his own mother left him. He and his dad had been lucky that soon after her passing his dad had found a job at the old factory in Misthallery, since he couldn't imagine staying in Manchester without his mam there...

"Well, his loss is our gain," Scraps hummed.

"Scraps!" Crow and Badger called out to him in unison. They looked completely mortified.

"Let's just... split up and have a look around," Umid suggested, before anything else could be said, "It's a big house, so it makes more sense for us to cover it at our own paces and then meet back here when we're finished."

"Works for me," Scraps grunted.

With that he was off down one of the corridors without so much of a backwards glance. Knowing Scraps he probably didn't feel bad about his tactless words, but was just eager to get on with checking out where they could be potentially living for the foreseeable future. In that respect, Badger couldn't blame him. Though he didn't personally fancy wandering alone in such an eerie place, so instead he waited for Crow to leave and followed him. Presumably Becky and Umid went their own ways after they'd gone.

"You've been quiet this mornin', Badge'," commented Crow, after they'd gotten far enough away from the others, "I mean not that ya ain't always quiet, but more so than usual."

"Just been thinkin'," Badger evaded.

"Fair enough, there's a lot goin' on to think about right now. But if ya... well, if ya need to talk, that's wot I'm 'ere for," reminded Crow.

"Thanks," mumbled Badger.

However, in truth Crow was the last person he could talk to about what had been on his mind. He felt incredibly selfish about his worries, considering that there was so much more important things going on right now and Umid was showing them an unwarranted kindness by letting them stay here. But the thing that was hanging around Badger's head the most was Crow and Umid. Even now Badger didn't feel comfortable asking Crow about his relationship with Umid, but he didn't need to for him to see that Crow was still smitten over him. As for Umid, his feelings were less clear, seemingly even to Crow. Umid hadn't been back in London very long, but so far the whole time he'd been surrounded by enough other people for the two of them not to have a moment to themselves. Part of Badger dreaded what might happen then they finally did get that moment together. Even if it was wrong of him to feel that away... Their business was theirs alone, right...?

He was snapped out of these thoughts when Crow suddenly stopped in his tracks, which almost caused Badger to walk into him. Crow muttered an apology, then took a step backwards. The floor creaked under his foot, but Badger didn't see a reason to be bothered by this. They were in an old house, of course floorboards would creak.

"Get off the rug, would ya, Badge'? An' 'elp me shift it," Crow suddenly said.

"Dunno if we should be doin' stuff like that in Professeh Sycamore's 'ouse, Crowlo," argued Badger. Not that his protests stopped him from following Crow's exact instructions.

"It's Umid's place now though," reminded Crow, as the two of them tugged the old rug away.

"Yeah, but then mebbe we should be askin' Umid 'ow 'e feels about... about... oh," Badger mumbled.

His words were stopped by the sign of an indent in the floor. It was unmistakeably a trapdoor that led to who-knew-where. And they had found it hidden under a rug in the corridor.

"Don't get many basements in 'ouses on this side o' the pond," Crow mused, as he pulled the trapdoor open, "Most people build up, not down."

"We should tell the othehs about this...!" Badger dutifully insisted.

However, by the time he said this Crow was already waist-deep into the trapdoor and grinning up at him. Badger gulped. He already knew how this was going to go.

"Where's ya sense o' adventure, Badge'?" purred Crow, "We'll let 'em know aftah we're done. An' besides, maybe they're already discoverin' tons o' othah secrets in this place all for themselves."

Somehow Badger doubted this, but he wasn't going to argue when it was obvious that Crow was set on checking this place out no matter what he said. As Badger followed him down into the basement he reassured himself that the house looked as if it had been empty for long enough that this basement had also gone without anyone checking on it, meaning it was unlikely that they'd find anything important in it. From his portrait, Sycamore didn't look like the sort of person who was hiding any skeletons in his closet. Perhaps he didn't even know that this basement was here.

"Shoulda brought a light," Crow sighed.

"Gimme a sec," replied Badger.

He reached into his bag and, after some fumbling, pulled out a small torch. It was thin and not very powerful, but it gave them a stream of light that they could see the room by.

"Cor, that's well-prepared o' ya," marvelled Crow.

Badger just mumbled in reply. Part of him felt that maybe he was too prepared, but now that they'd moved out of Misthallery he couldn't stop himself from taking Roddy's request to look after Crow all the more seriously. There were no safety nets now. If something was to happen then Badger needed to be as ready as he could be to deal with it. And carrying a torch around was a small way he could do this, given how clueless he was about whatever Crow intended to do here in London. You never know what you might need.

He spent a few minutes panning the light across the room, both of their eyes following it in silence. The sight that greeted them was a wreck. Whatever this basement might have been used for in the past, it seemed that the last person in it had cleared out in a hurry. There were scattered boxes, paper and other supplies all over the floor. It looked like a criminal's den, with anything particularly incriminating whisked away from unwanted hands. Honestly, Badger hadn't been expecting this.

"It's a total mess," he said, "But it doun't look like there's much in 'ere. Guess we can show the othehs lateh."

Crow didn't reply right away. The pause was enough to worry Badger, so he shone the light in his friend's direction. What greeted him was a manic smile, as Crow regarded the room with wide eyes. There was a plan brewing in that head of this.

"Don't ya see it?" asked Crow, turning to look at Badger, "Right 'ere is the base o' operations for the newest chaptah o' the Black Ravens!"

"Crow... what?"

But Crow had already turned to make his way back up and out of the trapdoor. A hapless Badger followed along behind him, feeling fortunate that his long legs meant that Crow couldn't get that much distance from him, even in this determined state.

"No, yer can't do this, Crow," Badger called, as he caught up with him, "This is Umid's home now and yer doun't wanna bring trouble t' 'is doorstep."

"It'll be fine," promised Crow, "I just need to talk to Umid and-"

Badger grabbed Crow's arm to pull him to a halt. He realised a little too late that they'd gotten close to the entrance again and Umid was watching them from where he was seemingly about to head upstairs. Becky and Scraps weren't anywhere in sight.

Swallowing his nerves, Badger pressed in close to Crow.

"This is a big risk!" he hissed.

Crow's body seemed to go limp from both being made to stop and from the impact of Badger's words. Whether or not it had fully dawned on him before, it was apparent now that he knew this was true. The Black Ravens had been a trusted secret between a small group of friends for years. And even if the secret had finally begun to leak out back home in Misthallery, here in London they were nothing but three people with far-fetched dreams. They would be essentially admitting to Umid that they were intending to break the law and who knew how a gentle soul like Umid would take that. Badger didn't know enough about Umid to be sure that he wouldn't throw them out, go to the police or worse still, tell Becky about it.

But then Crow looked back at Badger. His visible eye was brimming with a sort of hopelessness that Badger knew all too well. Crow was aware that this was a gamble, but even so he wanted to go through it anyway.

"Please, Badge'... I need to do this," he whispered.

With a heavy sigh, Badger let go of Crow's arm. Then he shrugged his bag off his shoulder and thrust it into the hands of an understandably confused Crow.

"...'ere, you should take that," Badger insisted, "I wanted t' be prepared for owt and there's summit in there you might need if yer gunna... tell Umid about us."

Crow smiled affectionately; "Thanks, Badge'."

"Is everything all right?"

Umid had started to walk over while they'd been talking. He looked concerned by whatever had caused Badger to grab onto Crow. Though, in his usual fashion, Crow managed to dismiss any worries with a wave of his hand and the right amount of attitude.

"Nothin' to worry ya pretty little 'ead about, Umid," assured Crow, "In fact, there's somethin' amazin' that I wanted to show ya."

"I can hardly pass up something amazing," Umid replied, with a small laugh. From the sounds of it, he was use to Crow's melodrama.

Perhaps at this point Badger should have let the two of them go off by themselves, but he didn't. There was no doubt in his head that Crow would spin words that painted the Black Ravens in a better light than they truly were and while he wasn't so sure about Umid, there was a good chance that he might agree to all this. However, this time Badger wanted to be exactly in the know about what had been said. He was sick of being strung along on Crow's puppet show with blind faith alone.

If Crow had any objections to Badger coming with him and Umid, he didn't voice them. Though given that he seemed to be in full showman mode, part of Badger suspected that he was just happy to have even more of an audience.

Of course Umid was surprised by the sight of the open trapdoor and maybe even a little miffed that they'd gone down into it without first checking with him, but all the same he followed Crow beneath the floor. Badger came along behind them, after a quick glance around to make sure that neither Scraps nor Becky had seen them.

"Is this what you wanted to show me?" Umid checked, as he peered around into the gloom, "I don't mean any offence by this, but it is... not actually all that impressive. Having a basement is nice and I'm sure we could find use for it once we clean it up, but I cannot see why you would get so excited over it."

"Nah, the basement is only the beginnin'," Crow answered.

He set the torch down on the floor so it was shining on one of the far walls. Both Umid and Badger watched the light as Crow rummaged around in the bag. Then Badger smiled. It seemed the Crow had found exactly what he'd been looking for.

A tall, hooded figure stepped into the light. The Black Raven peered over at them both through the wide eyes of its mask, arms raised dramatically. Umid let out a small gasp. When Crow spoke again it was fully in the creepy tones of the Black Raven, an exaggerated version of Crow's own voice.

"Welcome, my dear friends," proclaimed Crow, "I'm honoured to announce that I, the Black Raven, 'ave found my newest 'ome."

While Badger couldn't see Umid's face, he could only imagine the shock it held at the sight before them. It took all of his efforts to hold back a giggle.

"W-what is this...?" Umid asked.

It turned out that Badger didn't need to laugh, as Crow had descended into his own notorious chuckling that often came along with the Black Raven. They watched as Crow shuffled in the costume. He took off the mask and let the supporting props droop a bit, so the Black Raven seemed to deflate back down to Crow height.

"This is the Black Raven," informed Crow, "It's... kinda the job I was so secretive about the first time I stayed with ya in London."

"What kind of job has you dress up in such a strange outfit?" questioned Umid.

"Not one I'd be able to sum up easily, to be truthful," Crow confessed, "But... would ya believe me if I said that some o' wot I do is less-than-honest?"

"Somehow I'm not struggling to imagine that," Umid hummed.

"Y-yeah, well... the Black Raven is part o' that," Crow started, "Back 'ome in Mist'allery, me an' my friends, the ones I showed ya on that photo, we run our own black market. Nothin' that could 'arm anyone, mind you. We fix up junk we find an' sell 'em on as works o' art for a profit. We've kinda become a bit o' a big deal, if I'm braggin'."

"I see," murmured Umid, though it sounded as if he didn't see at all; "But then why would you come here, so far away from your successful business?"

Crow sighed, "That's the thing. We're doin' well, really well. So much so that I kinda feel like I've outgrown wot I could do back there. I wanted to challenge myself. An' luckily for me, Scraps an' Badgah decided to come along with me, so I don't get myself killed."

"Someone 'as t' look out fer you," Badger loyally mumbled.

"Okay, I can understand your friends not wanting you to get hurt," said Umid, seeming glad to finally have something in this conversation he could grasp onto, "But if I'm following your words right, it sounds like you are saying you want to start a black market business in my basement."

"Not just the basement. Back at the auction 'all an' even Barde Manor we 'ad to devote a lotta space to all the stuff that goes on be'ind the scenes. But mostly the basement, yeah," confirmed Crow, without even a hint of shame.

Even in the dark, Badger caught sight of Umid moving his arms to fold them across his chest.

"You have not yet explained to me why I should agree to this," he insisted. His voice sounded so confident and even held a touch of arrogance, not too far away from Crow's own. Suddenly Badger felt that he could see why Crow found Umid so attractive.

"I'm 'urt that ya wouldn't wanna jump in just 'cause it's me," whined Crow. The torchlight showed that he was smirking confidently; "All right then – if ya let me do this then I'll let ya in on the game. I'll let ya be a Black Raven. That'll mean ya get a cut of both the work an' the profits. An' believe me when I say this isn't somethin' ya should sniff at. We don't make these offahs lightly – the last two people who joined 'ad to work with us for ages before we let 'em in for propah."

"Um, 'e's not lyin' about that..." Badger whispered to Umid. Poor Arianna and Tony had certainly been strung along a lot longer than Badger would have done before Crow finally made their involvement with the group official.

"This is all what Becky would describe as dodgy," Umid pointed out, "So you're telling me that you had two people work very hard for you and only after that did you decide to let them be part of your business. Yet now you are asking me to join without even seeing if I can do the work you want me to?"

"Be be fair, 'e didn't fancy those otheh two like he does you," Badger retorted, before he could stop himself.

"Badge'!" Crow cried.

But Umid silence them both by holding up his hands into the light.

"The way this looks to me, you are left without any other choice," he reasoned, "If I refuse to agree to your terms, you will have no place to hold your black market and potentially also no place to live. It will set you back a long way if I do not join your group."

Crow shook his head; "Actually, ya wrong there. It'd only set us back to yestahday. We came to London without a place or a solid plan. We were gonna stay at the Dukes until we figured somethin' out an' work as 'ard as we could to get where we wanted to be."

"You certainly are determined," Umid replied, sounding at least a little impressed.

"I am," Crow assured.

"In that case, I guess I can agree to this. Perhaps it will take me a while to learn exactly what it is you are doing with this black market, but you are an interesting person and I am interested enough to let you, um... string me along, is it?" checked Umid.

Crow laughed; "Sure, that'll do."

"Welcome to my world," Badger grumbled.

"Now let's go find the othahs," instructed Crow, as he reached down to pick up the torch, "We can talk more about this latah, though if it's all right with ya, I'd rathah not tell Becky about it just yet."

"I understand," Umid agreed, "Although if this is anything like the last secret we kept from her I can imagine she will learn of it before too long."

"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it," dismissed Crow, "For the moment we 'ave a lot more to sort out. Startin' with getting' all our stuff 'ere from the 'otel an' then clearin' this basement out. I can already tell that Scraps is gonna love this."

The three of them climbed up from the basement and closed the trapdoor behind them as quietly as they could. In a silent agreement about keeping the secrecy for the moment, Badger and Umid both pulled the rug back over the top of it. Because otherwise there was a risk that Scraps or Becky might happen across it in their own explorations of the house, assuming they hadn't already. While they moved the rug, Crow made to stuff both the torch and the Black Raven outfit back into Badger's bag, mumbling about how it was a miracle Badger could get both outfit and props in there to start with. Though with a great effort he did eventually manage to fasten the bag shut once more.

"That's that then," he concluded, with a smile to them both.

There were nods of agreement, then the three of them set off to find the others or at least pretend to be having a proper look around the house as they did. But in their hearts they all knew that was definitely not that. Instead that was the beginning of something much bigger that was about to unfold.