My plan was simple. We were going to find out where that dark passage led. Those men I had seen at the wharf were clearly trying to keep a low profile. That meant, if we could find out what they were up to, we had something to sell. Either our silence or our knowledge. I didn't care either way. Who ever paid more worked just fine for me. We had made a pretty penny a while back when we had stumbled upon a counterfeiting ring a few years ago. For the right price, our lips were sealed and our palms crossed. In fact, that was where we had first met Jules. She was the brains behind the operation and had figured out how to turn lead into gold. Unfortunately, the effects proved to be temporary but Jules and her cohorts were long gone by the time that had happened. Jules turned out to be a good resource over the years. She always had some invention that wanted testing. Most of the time, her ideas fell on the wrong side of the law which was just fine by me. I figured before I headed back to explore the tunnel, I'd line my pockets with a few of her handy devices and see what, if anything, she had heard..
By the time we reached her neighborhood, dawn was breaking. Jules worked under a printing shop. She claimed that the sound of the printing press as it pounded out copies of the daily rag gave her inspiration. All it gave me was a headache. We reached the stairs that led down to her rooms just as the sun breached the horizon.
"Um, Raz, do I gotta?" Umberto had balked at the top of the stairs. He had resumed is shuffling and hand wringing. I stifled a sigh. Umberto didn't like Jules. Jules didn't like Umberto. They were water and oil, cats and dogs, and any other over used cliche you could think of the described to forces that did not play well together.
"Yes Berto," I replied patiently, "we got to. You lost the money, now we have to find more. Jules is the way. Sorry big guy." I patted his arm and turned back to the stairs, taking them two at a time. Umberto followed much slower.
The door was unlocked but I knew better than to open it. Instead, I swung the metal message flap up and hollared out, "Hey Jules! It's me! Is it safe to enter?"
There was a loud crash followed by what sounded like a buzzing noise and the door was pulled open and out of my hand. Jules looked disheveled but grinned up at me. She was a tiny little thing. Maybe five foot one on a good day. But if you knew Jules, you knew height meant little. Her smock was blackened with soot and she held a strange device in her hands. It was covered with gears and grease and what looked like small opalescent orb floated in air above it. I didn't even try to wrap my mind around what it was. It was out of my league.
"Razzie," grunted and frowned up at me. "You have the worst timing," she said as she turned and walked into her lair. I grinned at the back of her retreating figure before following but was stopped by Umberto tugging on my shirt tails.
"Please Raz? Please?" he asked in a whisper.
"Oh, you brought It with you I see." Jules turned and looked at Umberto. Her head tilted to the right a bit and her eye lids lowered down to slits. Then she smiled. It wasn't friendly.
"Hey now, hey now, lets not do this Jules," I stepped between them, blocking her line of sight and felt Umberto growl behind me. "Berto, why don't you go guard the door for me while I talk to Jules, ok?"
Jules had lowered her gaze and was fiddling with her device. It began giving off sparks as the orb began rotating at an alarming rate. With a grunt, Umberto turned, slammed the door and stomped up the stairs. Now it was my turn to glare.
"Really, Jules? Really? Do you have to do that? You know Umberto is harmless? Why do you have to rile him up so?" I asked and I settled myself in the nearest chair.
Jules shrugged and tossed the orb device into her desk where it sputtered to a stop. "Just can't help myself," she sighed, and she untied her smock and soothed her wrinkled dress. She glanced at me now with lowered lids and that same head tilt I had learned to watch out for.
"What are you up to Razzie? You never visit me anymore unless something is going on. Spill it. What mess have you gotten tangled up in now." She settled herself in a chair next to me and began fussing with a tray set for tea. She passed me a delicate cup and saucer then sat back with her own while I explained the situation. When I was done, she had finished her drink and was on her feet rummaging through her desk drawer.
"Ah, here it is!" she exclaimed as she pulled forth a small metal box. She opened it carefully and then spun it in her palm so its contents faced me. "This is a little gizmo I designed for a, er, client. He never claimed it so it's been gathering dust for the last few months but I think it is just what you need." Gently, she lifted a flat metal disc from the box and placed it in her palm. The disk had a large raised stone set in the center and with her free hand, Jules gentle tapped the gem. A soft glow began to emanate from the set jewel. It grew in strength until Jules tapped the gem a second time. Now the glow was a steady green light that illuminated her face in a ghastly manner. But it was strong.
"One tap on. Two taps to set. Simply turn it over," she quickly flipped the disk in her hand and the light was extinguished "and it's extinguished." She smiled at the look on my face and tossed the disc into my lap. "Really, Razzie, you are so easily amused! It's merely trapped ether magnified and focused through the facets of a crystal. Amateurishness, I know, but sometime I like to try my hand at the easy things," she sighed breezily. She sat back down in her chair and leaned across to me, her playfulness dropped away and her gaze was serious.
"But Raz, this business by the wharf, are you sure you want to poke around in it? I haven't heard much but what I have isn't good. People have been disappearing which isn't new but something happened to turn up the heat. I heard the Runners are looking into it. You don't want to mess with them." She shuddered and leaned back in her chair.
That was not good news. The Runners were the known for their tenacity and their incorruptibility. If they were poking around this scheme I would have to tread lightly. But it also meant that whatever was going on was big if it had grabbed their attention. My chances for a payout were looking better and better.
I stood up and smiled at Jules. "No worries, my dear. I was born careful. I promise not to blunder into the path of a seeking Runner. And with this little gem," I added, flipping the disc in the air and catching it again, "I am set to learn a little more about what has the Runners in such a bother."
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