A/N WElcome back to another chapter! Sadly I do not own The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Enjoy!
The first mate led all of them to their rooms and assured them that all of their effects had been brought up. He also informed them that dinner would be served in the dining hall on the next deck.
Adeline breathed a small sigh and set to work unpacking her bags to help the bland but grand room feel more comfortable. She even set up all her tools on the nearby desk to tinker with in her spare time, if she had any. Despite the rooms placidness it amazed her that a seemingly ordinary city-like room was actually currently charging across the channel to Paris at God only knew what speed. She made a mental note to ask Nemo how he managed to have built-in plumbing in the wash room.
A few minutes later she attempted to find her way up to the dining hall but somehow managed to get lost amongst the sea of hallways. She turned a corner abruptly and ran into someone. Adeline stumbled but luckily the person caught her. She looked up and met a pair of deep brown eyes. Sawyer. "Oops, sorry, wasn't looking where I was going," Sawyer apologized steadying her.
Adeline felt her face heat up slightly, "Um, no, it was my fault."
Sawyer gave her a smile, "You as lost as I am?"
"How'd you guess?" Adeline replied with her own smile.
"Well, you know what they say, two heads are better than one. Maybe we can find the dining hall together." Adeline nodded and the two set off and eventually did find the dining hall and were the last to arrive.
"Ah, Mr. Sawyer, Miss Fogg, we were beginning to wonder where you two had gotten off to," Gray said as the two sat down.
"Sorry, got a little lost," Sawyer explained as some of Nemo's men brought them their food.
"So, what is the plan for our hunt in Paris?" Quartermain inquired.
Adeline took a sip of her water, "Well, that depends do you intend to corner or capture him?"
Mina gave her a look, "Is there a difference?"
The younger girl nodded, "Slight. It all depends on how ferocious or unwilling our recruit will be."
"Chap's said to be quite vicious, so I've heard," Skinner supplied.
A small smirk crossed Quartermain's face, "Then we'll set a trap."
Adeline thought about it for a moment, "If you and Sawyer could steer him in a certain direction, we could lay out a simple, weight pressurized net that would catch him and pull him into the cargo hold."
"From there my men can hold him whilst we attempt to reason with him," Nemo added swallowing a bite of his dinner.
"Very well, Nemo, Adeline, the construction of the trap will be up to you and Sawyer and I will be the bait," Quartermain announced.
The following evening Nemo and Adeline, as well as a number of Nemo's men waited inside the cargo hold for the trap to be sprung. Nemo and Adeline had calculated that if anything over eighty kilograms, or a hundred and seventy-five pounds, as they had to translate for Sawyer, stepped or landed on the woven net it would recoil and pull their recruit into the cargo hold. Shots were heard in the distance as well as the muffled voices of Quartermain and Sawyer. Suddenly, a very large, ape-looking man fell into the trap and was pulled aboard the Nautilus.
However, their new recruit did not take kindly to being captured and fought off Nemo's men as they chained him to the steel walls of the cargo hold. Still, apparently the man was incredibly strong and managed to break a few chains but more were added. Sawyer and Quartermain entered the room soon followed by Mina, Gray, and Skinner. "Stay back, if you value your life," Quartermain warned the new occupants.
Nemo's men pointed spears at their recruit but he just swung at them and made them fly into the walls. Adeline heard Skinner get knocked to the ground by one of the chains and looked back to see Gray help him up. Just as she was turning back she felt someone pull her down and narrowly avoid one of the chains. "Thanks," she told Sawyer as they straightened.
He shrugged, "Anytime."
"Well, this is nice," Gray observed sarcastically.
"Mr. Hyde," Quartermain shouted causing the giant man to pause, "You've done terrible things in England. So terrible that you fled the country." The man, Mr. Hyde, growled as he began to pace. "And I'm ashamed to say that Her Majesty's government is willing to offer you amnesty in return for your services. Do you want to go home?"
Hyde gave Quartermain a withering look, "Home. Home is where the heart is, that's what they say. And I have been missing London so. Its sorrow is as sweet to me as a rare wine. I'm yours." Adeline relaxed just a bit but Sawyer remained stiff at her side. Hyde noticed that most of them were still tense, "Don't be afraid."
"Who says I'm afraid?" Sawyer replied cockily.
"You do!" Hyde howled, breaking one of the chains off the wall nearly hitting all of the league members had they not ducked out of the way. "You stink of fear!" Adeline smirked slightly at Sawyer and he rolled his eyes at her.
"Quite the parlor trick," Gray announced in his usual demeaning tone.
Hyde glared at him, "You wait till you see my next one." Hyde suddenly groaned in pain and began convulsing. His body began to morph and shrink. Within seconds he'd transformed into a much thinner man that was gasping for breath.
"Well there's something you don't see every day," Adeline muttered in astonishment.
The man grasped as his pants to keep them from falling as the chains fell off of him, "Dr. Jekyll at your service."
"So, the league is set," Quartermain announced.
A bell suddenly dinged and Nemo went to retrieve a strip of paper, "So is the date of the conference. We have three days."
"Three days," Sawyer restated doubtfully. "Can this canoe do that?"
Nemo turned to Sawyer, "You underestimate the Nautilus, sir. You underestimate her greatly."
After Dr. Jekyll was settled into his quarters the other league members went to sleep in preparation of their quest in Venice. The following morning over breakfast, Nemo told Ishmael to give Adeline a tour of the ship, to which the young girl accepted excitedly. The tour was absolutely fascinating and Ishmael was good company.
As the afternoon turned to sunset the league members gathered above deck to relish the last few hours above sea before they would be diving. Adeline leaned against the railing near Quartermain and Sawyer reading a book as Quartermain cleaned his gun and Sawyer stared at Mina as she stood at the opposite end of the deck.
Quartermain noticed Sawyer's stare, "She's out of your league. You may want to focus your attentions on someone a bit younger." Adeline felt her cheeks grow warm but feigned an inability to hear them.
"Fortune rewards the bold," Sawyer insisted as he approached Mina.
"But not so the idiotic," Adeline muttered. Quartermain chuckled at her comment as they both glanced over at Sawyer's attempt to flirt.
"If you require any help during the voyage Mrs. Harker, just let me know," Sawyer told the woman.
Mina gave him a curious, but withering look, "I'm curious as to how you think you'll assist me, Agent Sawyer."
"Heavy lifting," Sawyer replied opening the ship door. "Light banter. I'm a useful kind of guy."
"You're sweet, and you're young. Neither are traits I hold in high regard," Mina stated as she brushed passed him inside. Gray walked over and patted Sawyer on the shoulder with a false look of pity.
"The solar panels are fully charged. We'll be diving in a moment," Nemo announced as all of them were ushered back inside.
Later that evening before dinner, Nemo, Sawyer, Quartermain, and Adeline met to discuss the plans for when they reached Venice. "The plans the Fantom stole," Nemo said holding up a leather-bound book, "These are copies. Da Vinci's blueprints of Venice, its foundations and waterways." Nemo flipped through the pages as Adeline studied the schematics.
"The foundations of the city are set upon columns built under the water, with enough pressure they would give way," Adeline announced. "If placed below the conference…"
"So he'll attack the conference by sea," Sawyer summed up.
Nemo patted his beard, "We'll have to sail as far in the city as possible and my divers can locate the explosives."
Quartermain nodded, "The rest of us will scour the city for the Fantom. With any luck, we'll be able to apprehend him and keep the conference from sinking."
The four nodded and set off back to their rooms. Sawyer and Adeline fell in step together as their rooms were near each other. "So Adeline, how old are you?"
She gave him a look, "That's an odd question to ask? Are all Americans this forward?"
The blonde gave her a small smirk, "Some of them maybe, but where I come from if you want something, you do what you can to get it."
"Hmm, America sounds like an interesting place. And I'm twenty," Adeline replied.
"I'm twenty three, just so we're even," Sawyer returned causing Adeline to giggle a bit.
"So why did you join the Secret Service?" Adeline questioned.
"Oh, so we're getting into the more personal questions now?" Both of them grinned. "I like a little adventure, a little excitement. Why did you join the League?"
The dark haired girl shrugged, "I've always wanted adventure and I guess, I wanted to get out of my uncle's shadow. You know, after traveling all around the world and becoming the Minister of Science, I wanted to do something to set myself a part." Adeline stopped rambling, wondering why she was telling him this, she barely knew him.
Sawyer nodded, "So, you got a man back home?"
Adeline laughed, "No, all the boys back in England think and talk about is money. They don't care about the world and all that it has to offer. And I think it's fair to assume you don't have a girl in America either after your flirting with Mina earlier."
The blonde chuckled and rubbed the back of his next as he turned slightly pink, "Yeah, that was embarrassing."
"Look, Sawyer, the thing you need to know about women like Mina is they don't go for the handsome, young boys with a thirst for adventure. She is more attracted to the dangerous, older gentleman. Just be careful with her, alright?" Adeline advised him as they arrived at her room.
"Yeah, okay, thanks," Sawyer said looking a little sad.
"Well, I'll see you at dinner," Adeline said opening the door to her room. He gently kissed her hand and smirked before disappearing down the hall.
Adeline closed the door behind her softly, a grin spreading across her face. "So, Sawyer?" a familiar voice said startling her.
She whirled around to find no one in the room. "Skinner! What are you doing in my room? Get out!"
"Easy, Addie, just wanted to catch up with you," Skinner replied pulling his coat on. "Noticed you flirting with Sawyer and wanted to gab."
She rolled her eyes, "Put some trousers on for God's sake!"
"All right, keep your hair on!" Skinner rummaged around in her drawers. "Don't you have any trousers for men?"
"Of course not! The only trousers I own fit me, borrow a skirt or something then."
"Fine!" He pulled on a long black skirt and sat down in the chair by her desk. "Now tell me all about Sawyer!"
"Alright, A) I am not telling you anything, B) It is none of your business, and C) Me potentially fancying someone does not give you the right to corner me in my own room!" Adeline growled at the invisible man.
"So you do fancy him!" Skinner said slyly.
She grabbed a nearby book and threw it at him, "Shut it! You dare say a word to anyone I will castrate you and hide your invisible body parts in the Sahara!"
Skinner shrugged, got to his feet and walked out the door, "You can't deny it, Addie. It's written all over your face."
She rolled her eyes and shut the door. It was then that she noticed some sort of dust on the floor. She crouched down to pick some up and inspect it, she sniffed lightly to resolved that it was most likely magnesium phosphorus, due to its color and smell but she'd have to run other tests to be sure. She shook it off, chalking it up to something she hadn't noticed before and went to bed.