~Theo~
The clouds refused to part after last night's storm, but the veil of miniscule droplets hovering about in the air could hardly be called a drizzle. Theo was appreciative of that fact as he adjusted his bowler cap, crossed the street, and stepped onto the grounds of the Wolfshead Brewing Company, his current place of employment.
The Blighters were rotated throughout London and stationed at various operation points- small cogs in the machine of the Templar's hold over the city. Theo had been stationed here for several months now, tasked only with keeping the rest of the workers in line- the ones who actually got their hands dirty- which included six child laborers.
The four story high brick edifice loomed above him, washed out in the gray light, and he had almost made it inside when old man Samuel accosted him.
"Hey, Sonny. Just a few coppers if you can spare 'em. I'm in a real pinch today," the homeless beggar proclaimed in his ground-glass voice. He was looking decidedly water-logged.
"More so than usual, huh," Theo remarked sarcastically, "Where did you stuff yourself last night, gramps? You'll start growing mold on you if you aren't careful."
"Now you see here, you disrespectful little bastard!" Samuel shouted, incensed, as he waved his tree branch cane in Theo's face. While the old man flew into a rant about how his current station in life was everyone else's fault but his own, Theo noticed the pair of policemen who routinely patrolled the brewery- and who had been paid off by the Blighters to mostly ignore their numerous breaches in regulations- where watching them with suspicion.
"Careful, Sammy. Don't think Jackson wouldn't have you hauled off," Theo smirked, which only set the old man off even more.
"Yeah, well this'll be you one day, Blackwood," Samuel grumbled, his hoarse voice beginning to fail him, "Once your Blighters have no more use for you…. That is if your damned head ain't busted open by a Rook's bullet first."
Theo scowled and brushed past the old man.
"You're such a sweetheart, Sammy. You know that? I'm sure you'll understand if I'm no longer in a giving mood."
"Wait, wait! I didn't mean nothin' by it, Theodore," the venom in the beggar's voice was instantly replaced by a growing desperation. Theo grunted as he turned around to face Samuel again.
This back and forth between them had become quite the regular routine, with Samuel practically waiting for him on every one of his work mornings for a handout. The fact that Theo always gave the beggar something did nothing but reinforce the cycle over the past four months. In that time, Samuel's threadbare cloak had grown looser and looser over the old man's shrinking frame. The hump on his back had grown more prominent, and there was always that pleading look in his fog colored eyes.
Theo sighed and reached into his pocket.
"You're using all of this coin I've been giving you to buy yourself breakfast, right? Or saving up for a new coat?" Theo decided to ask, despite knowing better.
"That's none of your damned business, Sonny," Samuel grumbled once the money was in his bony, shaking hands.
"Oh it's not, huh?" Theo retorted angrily, "I'm thinking I should start tossing my earnings into the Thames instead. Might as well for all the good this is doing."
"Look, lad," Samuel said quietly, "Thank you. No matter what I say, I'm grateful for what you've been-"
Theo waved a hand in dismissal and interrupted Samuel, "What do you know about these Rooks you mentioned?"
"You don't know?" Samuel's eyes grew bright, "Their name's been on the lips o' every Blighter in the city this morning. There were skirmishes on the streets all over the place last night."
"I bet," Theo muttered, turning away from the old man. Their little exchange was going to make him late.
"Thanks again, lad!" the beggar shouted and hobbled away down the street.
Theo ignored him and entered the Wolfshead. On his way to the third floor, Foreman Jackson met him at the top of the first flight of stairs.
"Good morning," Theo nodded at his employer.
"Blackwood," Jackson nodded in return. A man in his early fifties, he stood immaculate in his black top hat and white overcoat. Despite Theo's relatively high rank for a Blighter, Jackson was bound tightly within the ranks of the Templars that pulled the Blighter's strings. As such, he not only gave Theo orders, he was also responsible for the younger man's wages. "I'm going to need you to make a supply run after your lunch break," he added.
"Understood," Theo affirmed, "More barrels?"
"Barrels, yes, and also some supplies for the workers," Jackson stated begrudgingly.
"Wow," Theo's eyebrows shot up, "Didn't think you had it in you, Mr. Jackson," Theo winced slightly, regretting his words. He wasn't exactly chummy with his boss, and he figured sooner or later he'd say something that would get himself fired… which wouldn't be such a terrible thing. He didn't much like working at the dreary brewery.
"Well there are only so many regulations I can sidestep," Jackson replied, seemingly unfazed, "Besides, some new shoes for the little mongrels might actually get them to pull their own weight," he complained, and Theo pressed his lips into a thin line, "Keep them in line. It's what I'm paying you for, after all."
"Yes, sir," Theo said quietly and proceeded to climb the steps all the way to the third floor.
Upon seeing him, the child laborers greeted Theo as though he were one of them, as per usual.
"Mr. Teddy!" the curly haired Leah shouted and waved at him.
"Good morning, Leah," Theo replied after a small sigh. He had developed a reputation among the child laborers at the Wolfshead- as he had among the Blighters apparently, if his sister was to be believed- for being a bit of a softie. Unlike the four other Blighters working at the brewery, who either treated the children with callous contempt, or ignored them completely, Theo often allowed the children small breaks and interacted with them when the Foreman was away or wasn't looking. All of which was strictly against protocol, of course.
The six children, three boys and three girls, had all become fast friends bound together as they were in their harsh lot in life, and Thomas- their self proclaimed leader- stopped what he was doing and jogged over to Theo and Leah.
"Teddy, give us a hand, yeah? This bastard is bloody heavy!" The red-headed boy huffed, his freckled cheeks pink from exertion. Unfortunately he'd left the smaller Elliot to struggle with the full beer barrel that they had been trying to move.
"Tommy, get your ass back here!" Elliot yelled as the barrel began to sway. If it crushed the boy's foot, Theo would never hear the end of it from the Foreman.
"For Christ's sake!" Theo rushed over to stabilize the barrel before moving it over to the storage room, "Remember what I showed you. You guys aren't following my instructions."
"Yeah, but our way's faster," Thomas protested.
"But is sure as hell isn't safe," Theo scolded him firmly.
"Yes mother," Thomas teased, which made Theo frown and Leah giggle.
"Yeah, go ahead and joke, but if you end up with broken bones, I won't be the one taking you to the infirmary," Theo grunted, "Now pay attention."
Theo proceeded to demonstrate, for what seemed like the third or fourth time this week, the proper way to transfer the full beer barrels onto the moving cart and over to the storage room. All the while, he couldn't help but think that this was some ploy by the children to get him to do the heavy work for them.
"There, you see?" he huffed as he caught his breath. The fact that the barrels outweighed some of these kids always crossed his mind.
"Excellent work, boy," Thomas grinned as he did his best impression of an adult's voice, "Keep it up an' I might just increase your wages by the end of the month." The rest of the children laughed, except for Owen, the towheaded little runt, who let out an enormous sneeze.
"Bless you, Owen!" The three girls shouted in unison.
"What's all that commotion, Mr. Blackwood?" the foreman called out from an unseen corner on the ground floor. The building was largely an open space, and if someone stood directly in the center of the ground floor, they could see much of the goings on in the second, and third floors. Thus any sounds, especially high pitched laughter from the children, tended to carry quite easily throughout the brewery.
"Nothing, sir," Theo shouted in reply while giving the children an angry look. It was definitely only a matter of time before he was fired.
The children went back to their routines as the morning dragged on, all except for Owen, who constantly had to stop and wipe his runny nose with his sleeves.
"Here," Theo reached into his breast pocket, pulled out a clean, white handkerchief, and handed it to the little boy.
"Thank you, Mr. Teddy," Owen's voice was tiny and often difficult to hear, and he sounded like a drowning duckling as he blew into the handkerchief.
"No, Owen. That's yours now," Theo took a step back, shook his head, and grimaced when the boy tried to give the now slimy handkerchief back to him. Owen stood there, perplexed for a moment, before producing a tiny smile and placed the handkerchief into his pant pocket.
Come lunch time, Theo distributed a small bowl of soup to each of the children, which they all gobbled down in little time. The weather had improved slightly. It was no longer chilly, and small patches of blue sky could be seen here and there amidst the clouds. Thomas pulled out a little ball that he had snuck into the brewery that morning and bounced it to Elliot, which was most definitely against protocol.
"Hey, you know better than that," Theo admonished them.
"Come on now, bloke. Play with us," Thomas replied, catching the ball when Elliot bounced it back.
"Absolutely not," Theo warned, "Put it away, now, or Foreman Jackson hears about it."
The children all went wide-eyed, except for Thomas.
"You wouldn't," the ginger boy stated plainly.
"Oh?" Theo cocked an eyebrow, and without another word, he stood up and started down the flight of stairs, causing Thomas to go pale and the rest of the children to gasp and make small, worried noises. Halfway down, he turned and looked up at them with a smirk, "I'm stepping out for a couple of hours. Behave yourselves and there might be some new shoes in it for you."
~Jacob~
"Am I speaking too quickly for you?" Clara O'Dea asked, her pigtails swaying in the breeze.
"Oh, yes. Do slow down, Mam," Jacob retorted, giving the girl an ugly look.
"We'll do whatever we can to help the children of this city," Evie promised.
"Much obliged," Clara exclaimed, "There are a few places you can start: the Radclyffe Mill, Spindles and Looms, and the Wolfshead Brewing Company, just to name a few."
"We'll get right on that, Your Highness," Jacob called out to the child as he and Evie left the alley where she and a group of other children were having their 'meetings.'
The twin assassins had been gathering all sorts of contacts like Clara throughout the city, and more and more former Clinkers flocked under their banner. Their green and yellow garb could be seen sporadically in several different boroughs, and even now as they headed toward Sergeant Abberline's office, Jacob greeted a group of three Rooks who were strolling proudly down the street in a way that wasn't possible when they were still Clinkers.
Jacob couldn't have been any more pleased. He simply had to glance at Evie and flash a lopsided grin that said he had 'won.' The Rooks were a thing now, no matter how his sister or Henry felt about it.
Evie betrayed nothing as they walked. She could see her brother's blinding smile out of the corner of her eye perfectly well, but to pay him any heed at that moment meant running the risk of his inflated head not fitting through the police station's doorway. Couldn't have that now.
Truth be told, she wasn't even against the concept of the Rooks in theory. It was just that the idea of her manchild brother running amok through the streets with a horde of minions following his every whim tended to give her a small headache if she thought about it too much.
"Freddy! How goes it?" Jacob beamed once he spotted Abberline's profuse muttonchops amidst the rest of the policemen in the station's entrance.
"Sergeant. Abberline." Frederick corrected him wearily and futilely as several other officers stared, "Step into my office."
With the twins inside, Abberline closed the door to his office, motioned for them to sit, and took his own seat behind his desk.
"I have information that might interest you regarding Lucy Thorne," he stated evenly.
"Excellent," Evie replied, "We saw her just last night having a meeting of sorts. It would seem that tailing her would have been the optimal course of action."
Jacob gave her a sideways glance.
"I had contacts in the area where she retired during the wee hours of the morning. There was the briefest exchange between herself and one of her Templar escorts," Abberline continued, "Apparently Miss Thorne is after something other than the Shroud."
"What, another artifact?" Evie asked intently.
"I have no further details other than a name. But it does seem likely. What else could be as important to her as the Shroud besides another artifact?" Abberline's question was more rhetorical than anything else, and he removed his jacket.
"And what of this name?" Evie inquired.
"Blackwood. A surname, obviously. Apparently this 'Blackwood' is to search for whatever it is that Thorne is looking for. But I have no description or any other information on this individual to speak of," As Abberline adjusted his tie, he paused to stare at Jacob whose eyes had been wandering non-stop from corner to corner of the office since Abberline and Evie had started speaking, "Has something caught your interest, Mr. Frye?"
"Hmm? Oh, don't mind me, Freddy. Just checking to see if you had a special place where you kept all your disguises," Jacob mused.
Abberline exhaled loudly through his nose while shaking his head, eyes closed.
"Miss Frye, my admiration for your patience and tolerance grows more and more by the day," he remarked.
Jacob furrowed his brow.
"I've had twenty years to develop such talents," There was a knowing glint in Evie's eyes as she said it, and she tried her best to keep from laughing.
"Huh?" Jacob's gaze bounced back and forth between them, "Where's my compliment, Freddy?"
Both Abberline and Evie started chuckling, and the Sergeant rose from his seat to show the twins out.
"Oh, I see. You both are having a jest at my expense, aren't you?"
"No," Abberline replied evenly.
"Never," Evie agreed.
"Oh, one more thing before you go," Abberline added, "There's been heavy Blighter activity all morning around a warehouse two blocks to the Southeast. They may be up to something, or they may not."
"Finally, some action after all this flapping of gums," Jacob smiled at Evie, "Let's go say hello."
"No Jacob, I-"
"Oh, that's right. I forgot," Jacob interrupted her as he ran outside and signalled at a passing Rook to join him, "You have a lunch date with Greenie!"
~Theo~
Clobber was waiting for him with a growler carriage when Theo stepped outside of the Wolfshead.
"So you're my transport, eh?" Theo smiled as he hopped up into the front next to his burly friend.
"None other," Clobber remarked cheerily in his baritone voice. He had neglected to shave this morning, and Theo liked the way the man's stubble defined his large, broad jaw, "So where's my jacket?" he joked.
"Oh, about that…" Theo stammered.
"Don't worry about it, brother," Clobber chuckled, urging the horse to a swift clip through the streets, "How was the rest of your night?"
"Oh you know- I nearly drowned in the rain, some goons jumped me outside my apartment, a three-headed, fire-breathing Lucy Thorne haunted my dreams…. but other than that, it was fine," Theo replied brusquely.
"Wait. What?" Clobber started to pull the growler over, but Theo urged him to keep driving, "You were jumped? By who? Rooks? Are you alright?"
"It was nothing...," as he said it, Theo vividly recalled the woman's corpse staring at him blankly as she sank beneath the mud, "I'm fine. And yeah, they were...Rooks. I keep wanting to say 'Clinkers', but they're the 'Rooks' now apparently."
Clobber sat in silence for a moment as Theo fiddled with his bowler cap.
"So you've heard about their new identity too," Theo piped up once they were nearly at the supply cargo pickup site.
"Everyone has. There were fights breaking out across three boroughs last night after I dropped you off. It's all anyone's been talking about this morning," Clobber replied, affirming what Samuel had told Theo, "Shit, I should have driven you all the way to your front door like I was going to."
"That was my call. Don't blame yourself," Theo stated, "And anyway, you know who leads them? A Jacob and Evie Frye," The traffic was getting heavier, so Clobber kept his eyes on the road, but Theo could tell the other man was listening to him intently, "And get this- I saw this Jacob guy last night in the ring during the fighting match. Pretty sure the girl he was with was Evie, too."
"No shit?" Clobber asked, eyes still on the road.
"No shit. And to think I could've knocked his lights out last night if you hadn't gone and interrupted the whole thing," Theo chuckled and punched his friend lightly on the shoulder.
"Hey, I was just following orders!" Clobber protested with a smile.
"I wonder if Thorne knows about Jacob and Evie. It didn't sound like she did based on what she said last night. Someone should tell her if she doesn't," Theo thumbed the bridge of his nose as he spoke.
"About Thorne..." Clobber piped up, "Did you open that letter she gave you?"
"Huh? Oh… yeah. I did..." Theo trailed off without continuing.
"What did it say?"
"You really want to know, don't you?"
"I'm curious, I'll admit," Clobber smiled, but Theo could see that there was a worried look in his eyes.
"She scares me too, you know," Theo offered quietly, and Clobber nodded his head slowly, "There was a map inside the letter. She… wants me to find something for her and the map indicates where I should start looking… but I really shouldn't talk about it, Clobbs. She insisted I keep this quiet."
"I understand," the larger man told him, "But if you're in over your head and feel like you need help… Let me know, okay?"
Theo nodded slowly, grateful for Clobber's offer of support.
They reached the warehouse and hopped out of the growler. And wonder of wonders, the sun was starting to burn through the clouds.
"So what are we bringing back?" Clobber asked as Theo identified his cargo load among a myriad of others that were destined for various locations of Blighter operations all over the city.
"Supplies for the brewery, mostly, but Jackson assured me there were also some new work clothes and shoes for the kids," Theo explained with a smile.
"Oh...really?"
A rapid volley of gunfire interrupted Clobber's train of thought, and the two of them ducked behind their supply cart. The horses whinnied in a panic at the sounds, and Theo looked about quickly while pulling out his Derringer.
"Rooks!" he heard several of his fellows shout as they scrambled to locate the enemy and assemble a defense.
"Damn it all!" Theo cursed as he spotted roughly ten Rooks, all armed with pistols, fanning out to surround the warehouse. He took a quick shot before ducking back behind the supply cart, but missed his target.
There was return fire, and all hell broke loose. Screams began ringing out around them as Blighters and Rooks engaged in open combat. Theo fired his Derringer again as he abandoned cover, hitting a Rook square in the chest and dropping him instantly. He pulled out his knife and rushed behind another Rook busily engaging a Blighter, shoving the knife into the small of the Rook's back.
"The cargo! They're hijacking the cargo!" a Blighter screamed.
"Fuck!" Theo hissed, circling quickly to see a Rook clamor hastily behind the reigns of his supply cart. Theo opened fire, striking the Rook in his right shoulder just as the man had urged the cart's horses to move. Without thinking, Theo rushed the cart and managed to jump onto the side of it as it charged out into the street.
He turned his head quickly to catch a glimpse of the chaos enfolding around him as three other hijacked carts tore off in the opposite direction. The lifeless bodies of both Blighters and Rooks colored the pavement outside the warehouse red and green.
And then there was Clobber, getting smaller and smaller as he stood in the middle of the street, watching helplessly as Theo sped off.
"Just wait till I get to you, you bastard," Theo growled under his breath as he shimmied along the side of the rapidly moving cart. The injured Rook knew he was hanging on, because the man kept forcing the horses to make turns that were way too tight in an attempt to knock him off. Theo gripped one of the thick straps that secured the cargo as tightly as he could to keep from falling, which was challenging since he still had his Derringer in his right hand. He was halfway between the front and back wheels of the cart, and knowing his luck, an arm or leg would be crushed beneath the back wheel if he were to fall, nevermind his skin peeling off nicely as he slid and bounced along the street.
Theo shoved that pleasant thought aside and managed to hoist himself onto the top of the cart, lying flat on his stomach as he crawled toward the Rook. Said Rook turned to shoot at him, but the speed at which he was driving and the unevenness of the the street caused his shot to be wildly off mark, and he turned back around to avoid oncoming traffic since he had drifted into the wrong lane.
Theo had to put an end to this soon or else he and the cart would be dashed to pieces. He let go of his Derringer and it flew off the cart, glimmering in the sunlight as it ricocheted along the street behind him. He couldn't shoot the Rook anyway, not without risking a crash at any rate. With his right hand free, Theo grabbed a fistfull of the Rook's hair and tugged, yanking the man's head back. The Rook panicked and tried to pull away from him, giving Theo enough leverage to hoist himself even closer to him. Theo wrapped his left hand around the Rook's neck, followed suit with his right hand, and proceeded to squeeze, blocking the man's windpipe.
"Stop the cart!" He screamed, applying even more pressure around the Rook's neck. The man continued to panic, momentarily letting go of the reigns completely to try and pry Theo's hands away.
"Stop the fucking cart or you'll never breath again!" Theo roared, and to his relief, the Rook slowed the horses to a trot. He kept squeezing until the Rook passed out then shoved him out of the cart. Theo scrambled into the driver's seat, took a moment to get his bearings straight, and then urged the weary horses in the direction of the Wolfshead. He'd be damned if, after all this, he didn't make it back with the supplies.
But Theo didn't get very far before he heard a loud thud accompanied simultaneously by a violent shaking of the entire cart. The horses whined, and as Theo turned his head, he could feel his entire body going cold. Perched on top of the cart was a young man in a newsboy cap, fierce determination radiating from his all too familiar face.
Freaking Jacob Frye.
There was very little that Theo could do as Jacob grabbed him by the arm. He pulled away from Jacob to try and cause him to lose balance, but it didn't work. Theo was exhausted and had very little strength left in his arms due to how tightly he had been gripping the side of the cart.
"Damn you," he managed to utter as he put up what little fight he had left in him, but Jacob punched him squarely in the cheek and Theo was done. His head spinning from the blow, he lost his grip on the reigns.
"No hard feelings, mate," Jacob assured him in a low, silky voice, "And don't worry, we'll be sure to put this stuff to good use."
And with that, the leader of the Rooks pushed Theo out of the moving cart. Although it was moving at a slower pace than it had been with the first Rook behind the reigns, Theo still landed on street with a thud that knocked all the air out of his lungs and sent a bolt of pain through the back of his skull. He rolled several times before coming to a stop, and before his mind could fully process what had happened, Theo was up and sprinting madly after Jacob and the supply cart that had clothes and shoes for Thomas, Leah, Elliot, Owen, and the others.
He only made it ten paces before a wave of dizziness kept his legs from working and he collapsed in a heap on the side of the road.