Hello, readers. In case you didn't read the last chapter, there was a new development (Z-14 Raven) that I put into the story, so you might want to read that before you read this one. Enjoy the chapter
"Pardon? Madame Kabra is, you say, dead?" A woman in a dark suit wearing spectacles and the tightest of buns blinked at Ian and Amy, her red lips pursed in confusion. She had led them to her private office, marked 'M. Dabria', when they had arrived at the Lucian stronghold, and now stood in front of the door, towering over the visitors in her heels. She had told them nothing at this point: not her position, first name, or even what she planned to do.
"...Yes, we believe so." Ian replied heavily, swallowing as the words came out. Amy noticed how well he was suppressing his emotions. Her own cheeks were damp from tears, and this was just a girl who she never really liked and a boy she had known for less than a week. Nellie had her arm around her shoulders, and Dan was using the restroom. Alistair was...somewhere. "She was lost in the English Channel when our plane went down during our escape after our estate was attacked."
"What was the approximate time of death?" M. Dabria asked, taking a seat behind her desk. Her immaculately manicured burgundy fingernails were instantly poised over her keyboard.
"Roughly around forty-eight h-hours ago, or so we th-think. If they didn't...die upon impact, then they would've succumbed to hypothermia..." Ian trailed off, and immediately realized his mistake. But M. Dabria was quick as a serpent.
"They?" she asked, her fingers dancing across the keyboard. "She was with somebody else?" She turned toward Ian and Amy and Nellie, her dark eyes boring into each of them in turn.
Ian shot Amy and Nellie a glance. It was no use lying. As good he was at it, Lucians were expert lie detectors. And, even if she failed to detect the truth, her perfume bottle sitting on the desk was an ideal and likely place to store truth serum.
"Yes, a...Madrigal." Ian replied, raising his eyebrows at Amy and Nellie when M. Dabria turned back. Nellie shrugged. She had never thought about it much, but Zai had never mentioned what branch he was from. And, judging from his range of skills, it could've been any one of them. But because he had been living at the Madrigal headquarters, it was a safe bet.
"Very well." M. Dabria stood, tapping 'enter' on her computer. Amy guessed she was sending a message to the Madrigal leaders, one of whom was-unknown to her-in Vesper custody, and the other hospitalised.
Uncle Fiske...
M. Dabria stepped back around her desk.
"I've informed Mr. Cahill and Mr. McIntyre about the incident." she said, her clipped tone unwavering. She looked at Ian. "Please accept my condolences. Your sister was a fine young woman. The Lucians will grieve her for decades to come."
"Thank you." Ian choked. M. Dabria nodded. Amy wondered if the woman was capable of feelings, let alone sympathy. Having nothing more to say, M. Dabria gave a brusque nod and turned back to her computer. Amy, Ian, and Nellie turned and walked out of the room, and into the next phase of their journey.
...
Dan stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, rubbing water over his face. He inspected his reflection, shocked at how much he had changed in the last week. He looked...hollow. Gaunt, even. When he had been taken by the Vespers, he had been bundled into a plane and handcuffed, despite his cries and pleas. They didn't tell his where he was going, but he didn't care. But, when the plane arrived, he heard a snippet of conversation between the pilot and the control tower, and, with his limited knowledge, identified as a variation of Chinese. Mandarin or Cantonese, he had no idea. But it was a start. But when he had heard the word 'Hong Kong', he relaxed slightly. After that, it was easy. He had asked where he was being taken, and they told him, point-blank. He knew, now, that the Vespers wanted Amy and the rest to find them.
Probably so they can take us out all at the same time.
They had almost succeeded twice, in Hong Kong and in England. But now, they were separated again.
But not for long. They drew us together with bait-me-and they still have leverage over us.
Eventually, they would meet up again, and that's when the Vespers would strike.
Dan dried his face and opened the door. Presently, he felt a buzzing in his pocket. Removing his phone, he saw a Facebook message appear on the screen.
Hey, Dan, it read, my name's Nyla Zaviera, I'm thirteen, and I'm moving to Attleboro from Boston. I LOVE collecting stuff, especially old knives and weapons. Some of your friends told me that you know of some really great places to find stuff in around here. Any suggestions?
The message was accompanied by the girl's profile picture, which depicted a girl with shiny black hair pulled back and large sunglasses. Dan took a moment to wonder if he should reply.
The Lucians will know if I send a message in their stronghold, but so what? I'm not revealing Cahill secrets; this has nothing to do with the Clues.
Dan typed a quick reply and hit 'send'. He then wandered off to find Amy and Nellie, thinking he'd just done a nice thing.
...
"Do you smell that?" Natalie wrinkled her nose in disdain while she waited for Zai to reply.
"No." he scowled, inching away from her and huddling deeper under his hood, even though the air did carry the distinct smell of sewage. Or a durian. Whichever was worse. But he was in no mood to be conversing with Natalie at the moment, especially due to the growing throbbing in his head caused by the jostling of the crowded bus they were currently riding. After the run-in with the Vespers at the mall, Zai and Natalie stayed in public areas, and made sure to surround themselves with un-Vesperlike people. Which was very difficult, because Vespers were trained to look un-Vesperlike.
"Where are we going exactly?" Natalie continued. "I don't want to spend the rest of the day riding around this godforsaken town on a reeking bus."
"Really?" Zai replied. He sucked in a slow breath, feeling the cold metal of the remaining three carving knives press against his sides.
If only I could get my hands on a gun.
At that moment, he saw what was causing the unpleasant smell: A scruffy, middle-aged man standing near the front of the bus was toting a basket of rotting fruit, and the disgusting smell was diffusing through the small area.
"I have to get off this bus." he muttered. As the bus pulled into a stop, he got to his feet and made his way to the door.
"This is where we're getting off?" Natalie whined, standing up.
"No, this is where I'm getting off. You're more than welcome to join me, though."
Sighing, Natalie pushed through the crowded bus behind him. Zai smirked in his head.
"Now what?" she asked as they disembarked into a busy square, surrounded by quaint building and pushing throngs of people and a sign above their heads that read: Aéroport de Cherbourg - Maupertus, or Cherbourg airport.
"Well, that depends. Do you want to see your brother again or not?" Zai asked. It occurred to him that he was being fairly rude, but he couldn't summon the ability to care. Right now, he was only focused on a few things, and making sure that an annoying Lucian was happy was not one of them.
"Fine. So we go into the airport, find a plane, and get to Poncho Bizarre."
"Namche Bazaar. Show it a little respect, it is the place where we'll most likely meet up with the others." And, the place where I'll most likely find what I originally set out to find...
...
Elizabeth angrily stabbed a command on her command screen, cursing as she chipped a nail. Instantly, the round, anxious face of her highest-ranking scientist, Prof. Moon, appeared on the display.
"Well?" Elizabeth demanded, glaring at the scientist. "Is it ready?"
"Y-yes, Madame, the...weapon is currently prepared for deployment. We're just awaiting your orders."
"My orders? Here are my orders! Deploy the Raven now, understand? Those Cahills need to be stopped, and I will not let your unfathomable incompetence stand in my way! Send more agents after them!"
"Yes, my apologies Madame. Deployment of the weapon will begin immediately-"
Elizabeth cut the link and sank back into her chair, pinching the bridge of her nose. When this was all over, she was spending a week in her spa in Fiji. The stress of attaining world domination had a way of bringing out frown lines.
...
Later, as Zai and Natalie walked through the Cherbourg airport trying to find a private pilot to take them on the first leg of their trip, a pair of dark, calculating eyes hidden beneath sunglasses and layers of detailed disguise carefully tracked their movements, watching their actions like a hungry snake.
Come on, Cahills, come to us...