EPISODE SEVENTEEN

'mingling with devils'

part 02

AS SOON AS we fell in on ourselves outside of the ballroom, we adjusted to the darkness, the moonlight giving enough light for us to see each other, wide-eyed and still shocked from the way things escalated.

"That was - " I gasped, trying to breathe. Running in heels was one thing; running in this dress, careful not to trip all over the curled fabric at the bottom was another.

" - surreal," Leon finished, breathing as hard as I did. "We need to get in shape."

I laughed, despite myself. Then turned my eyes toward our exterior. The balcony had a staircase leading down, outside into an enclosed garden walled by the former theatre's walls. There was a delicate fountain in the middle and browned and orange plants in reverence to the autumnal season. Standing bizarrely by himself was the doctor, leaning against the fountain as if he was ill, looking around as if he never intended to move.

I shared a look with Leon before I quickly descended the stairs, trying not to show my excitement or awareness of the situation. I came down first, adjusted my expression, and then touched his shoulder.

He jumped; light eyes wild behind glasses. "Goodness!"

"Oh, I'm so, so sorry!" The worry was at least a little real, seeing as how distorted and pale he looked. "I just thought you seemed rather ill, sir, so I was going to ask if you need help?"

"O-oh, how awfully kind." He took a deep breath, once realising a woman was no danger. "Really, just. I was standing inside just a second ago then darkness - and suddenly I was grabbed by - by the guards." He swallowed. So he thinks it's Moretti. "Told me I'd be safer here. Oh, but I think I must've ate something weird, my apologies for worrying you."

I smiled softly, an idea forming in my head. "Not at all. Actually, Miss Nakamura asked me to take you somewhere a little safer than outside in the open here. After you've cleared your head. A bit of a mess inside, is all."

"Aoi?" He blinked, then stood up, nodding. At the mention of the name, I noticed he went two tones paler. He was afraid of her. "O-of course."

"Alright." I tried to sound warm, sincere. Trying to imagine the slip of a girl with the dark hair, dark eyes, and the palest skin with her usual hardened expression in most photographs I saw and flipped my attitude from hers. Testing if a warmer person, a kinder tone would make the doctor much more malleable.

I offered my arm. "You can take my arm, doctor, if you're still feeling unwell." I wasn't going to flirt, that wasn't my intention, but laying it on thick seemed to work. He stopped blinking apprehensively and even smiled a little, taking my arm.

"This seems rather discourteous," he said, voice stronger. "A lady taking the arm of a gentleman."

I smiled. "Not at all. Leon? Show us the way."

I didn't actually know if Leon knew, I was hoping since I had no idea where it'll be safer to talk to the doctor, but Leon emerged from the bottom of the stairs - Dr. Hamel in tow in a black suit and black turtleneck. The light showed his dark hair was cut shorter and he looked a little more annoyed and exhausted than the last time I saw him, but it was him. And he looked good in his outfit.

He nodded towards a red door at the other side of the balcony. There were several doors, leading to other ends of the place, but I followed orders and led the doctor to the smaller door, aware of the cold breeze, his unsteady weight from a likely unnatural food poisoning, and the quiet hammering of my heart.

Before I could open it, the doctor did, opening it wide even with his unsteady movements, smiling like a gentleman. It was really a shame; he had such nice eyes and kind features.

"Ladies first."

I smiled warmly. "Thank you."

He didn't see Quinn because he was staring at me, blinking, dizzy and pale, as my best friend struck him with a needle.

His eyes went wide before they rolled back behind his head, collapsing to the ground just as Dr. Hamel, Quinn, and I caught him mere inches to the marbled floor.

I dropped my smile. "Jesus Christ, Quinn Fong!"

She laughed, exhilarated. Her long, black tresses were swept up in a ponytail, the ends coloured in a bright, neon pink as it moved around her black suit. Yes. She was also wearing a black suit.

And for some reason this outfit, this scenario, fitted her so well. A character she was long to play.

"I missed you too, best friend!"

A rumble of footsteps and Dr. Hamel hurriedly closed off the door, pushing all of us further inside. He looked painstakingly pissed and stretched beyond his wits. "We should go to the room, those are his guards. They're going to sweep the perimeter and I'd rather not be here with the guy they were paid not to lose their sights on. Unlike the events these past three days suggest, I really like where my head is at."

- - -

They led the way as if they had the hallways burned on the back of their heads. The two males totted the passed out doctor while Quinn held my arm and half-bounced as we laboriously half ran after them. I was gripping the edges of my gown and sanity, but I couldn't stop the grin on my face.

When Quinn noticed my mouth stretched into wild exhilaration, a mimic of what she wore before, she burst into fresh peels of laughter. "Extraordinary, isn't it? You've got to thank posh kid's sister for all this."

Leon stiffened, half turning towards us before Dr. Hamel told him to get a move on. "My sister monopolised all of this?"

"Terrifying, huh? Not as terrifying as her blackmailing my company, made me come all the way to our London HQ in a faux problem, and lo and behold, found myself knee deep with my new partners in crime."

Dr. Hamel snorted quite ungracefully, almost viciously. "Crime doesn't even cover the shit we've done. If the board knew what I did, only the mercy of Allah will stop my mother from shipping me off back to her homeland and marrying the next decent girl she gets her hands on."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic, doctor. We'll be fine. We're rich now too. I mean, I've always been rich, but now I can comfortably say even my grandchildren would never need to work in their entire lives."

"This isn't about the money!" Dr. Hamel hissed.

"I know it isn't, it's about friendship and loyalty and being awesome at our chosen professions!" she shot back hotly.

"Wendy?" Leon asked.

"Yes?"

"Do you know what's going on?"

I chuckled. "I was hoping you'd fill me in."

"No bloody idea."

Our procession slowed in front of a black door lined similarly like soldiers with those beside it. It was a small hallway, nothing but black and white tiled floors and low lighting.

"Knock four times, pause, then knock four times again, but this time at the higher section of the door," Dr. Hamel ordered.

He was turned to Quinn but Quinn smirked and nodded at me. "You do the honours."

"But I -" Dr. Hamel growled. I glared. "Alright, alright, my god." I did as he told and the door swung open. I stepped back at the figure who opened the door.

James Brackham. In the flesh

And he was glaring.

"'Bout fucking time." He took Leon's side of the doctor's weight and they both pushed forward to a room that looked like a library; all four walls covered in thick bookshelves brimmed with nothing but books. There was a desk at the far north of it, with twin sofas facing each other in the middle.

Quinn closed the door and hopped on the edge of the desk where I now took note of at least three desktops and two laptops, as well as Quinn's favourite energy drink in a messy litter, Engine Blasts in almost every other corner of the desk.

"Welcome to our little lair," Quinn said proudly, arms spread out in pride. "We've been holed up in here for the last three days, only occasionally going outside when need be."

"That was us," James said archly. His jacket had been gone and he was now unclasping the buttons on his hems and moving up his shirt's sleeves. His hair was also cropped at the back and artfully styled and waved at the top in a formal twist, but he did look a little worse for wear. He bent down the door and checked his breathing before sighing and dropping on the opposite sofa.

With closed eyes, he said, "You never once left this godforsaken room."

Quinn jutted her tongue.

"I saw that."

"As you should, pompous prick." Quinn sniffed. "Only because I had the important job of fixing everyone's goddamn profiles. I didn't just go around deep webs for the suspects - even in the deepest shit, they covered all their blimey, slimey little tracks. I had to go around every possible acquaintance, lover, one night stand, mailman and the dogs of those seven bloody suspects to get as full profile of each and everyone of them as I could. I directed both of your movements for maximum efficiency so you could go around asking the right people. All thanks to your sister of course. But me. Mostly me. But yes your sister too."

Leon pointed at himself, looking as flabbergasted as I felt. "Me?"

"Yes, you. Who else has a sister like yours? Your sister's devious." Quinn sighed dramatically. "If she wasn't so into her midnight thief then I might have a chance, but alas. The heart is only fond when it is far and twisted."

"That's not new to me," Leon grumbled. "My sister being devious, not you, er, liking her. But you!" He jutted an accusing finger at James.

He cracked an eye open. "What?"

"Were you really - with the girl - " Leon made a face.

James glared at him, voice rising. "I wasn't! It was the distraction! Your sister said I had to seduce the nearest easy girl - " he winced. "No, she's not easy, just, uh, gullible." He winced again.

Quinn snorted. "Good job trying to save her honour."

"Listen here, you little - " James half rose.

"Hold up, back up." I raised both of my hands, palms outward, eyes closed, mind digesting. "This is what Cordelia has you doing? All of you? Getting an extensive background on all of the suspects?"

Dr. Hamel stood quintessentially in the middle, face as serious as I remember while the other two glared at each other until Quinn stuck her tongue out and James scoffed in disbelief, going back down with a shake of his head.

"We all knew nothing about them," Dr. Hamel continued as if nothing happened. "Nothing, of course, that the world already knew, and most of those are fabricated lies. Nothing of importance. Cordelia hired the three of us to do the digging." Quinn cleared her throat. He rolled his eyes. "Miss Fong was hired to do the digging. She is quite especially fond of breaking into places she shouldn't break into, a great cyber thief if you will."

Quinn sighed, dramatically putting a hand on her forehead and tilting back her body. "Oh the flattering, how good it feels."

James groaned, leaning his head back at the headrest, staring at the ceiling as if willing the hand of God to snatch him by his waistcoat. "We had to deal with that for three days. Three days."

"White boy you love me and you know it." Quinn went behind her desk and motioned for the two of us. "It's not that I'm really good at computers, I just really don't like people telling me that I can't climb a firewall or get through tough security measures. I have a habit of proving people their fences suck."

"Like NASA, Pentagon, MI-bloody-fucking-6..." James trailed on, massaging his eyes.

Quinn pulled me closer, whispering, "Threatened to send me to jail, the lout." Then at a normal tone, "But it helps them tighten their security, you know, so I'm really doing them a solid."

"So you just... you break in?" Leon asked, marvelled.

Quinn nodded. "Yes, it's so fun."

"'Fun'?" James echoed incredulously.

Dr. Hamel sat beside him and settled a hand on his shoulder. The grip must've been hard if James winced. "Leave it. For God's sakes, leave it." When he looked up, he stared at me. I had to survive this shit for three days. I almost giggled. Really, I wanted to laugh.

The situation was so absurd I was ready for a total meltdown.

Instead, I trained my eyes on several screens glaring back at us. And it was a minefield, an explosion of secrets and lies and baring truths. All our suspects spread out in different photos, in different times, different places. An accumulation of dirty deeds uncovered.

Or most of them.

"This is what we got," Quinn said proudly. "It's not a lot, mind you - sons of bitches really buried all their fucked up shit - but this is what we got. First and foremost, I'd like you to welcome Thomas Caleb Weir." She clicked her mouse around and a blurry picture of a person behind a window flew up in the centre. Leon and I unconsciously leaned our heads forward, eyes narrowing. "Pretty shitty picture, huh?"

It was a man on the top edge of bed, his hair, light, messy, taking up most of the space about him. An arm was over at the side, toned.

"Can't see his face," Leon mumbled. "It is a he, right?"

In a wider look, it looked like a painting of a naked man on the edge of the bed. Draped lovingly against it, with the blanket covering only half of him. "Who is he?"

"Maybe this picture is better," Quinn muttered. She clicked one key and the picture that came out brought a sharp intake of breath from Leon. I blinked. "Really a better picture, huh?"

It was the same building, I think, but it was now a wider shot and not a close up shot of a window. It featured a balcony and an opened French door. There, the familiar, blurry outline of a cherub face with messy, blond curls. Painfully hunched over, smoking. Staring at the camera. Bags under his eyes and skin tightly cinched to his bones.

And it was Dominic Prince.

- - -

NEXT

EPISODE EIGHTEEN

THE HAUNTING OF THOMAS CALEB WEIR

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