What waits at the top of the stairs

Had started this one about two weeks ago, now its finally finished!  Thank you Chrissie for helping bring two sides of the story together.

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Finnegan was in his high backed desk chair before any of the staff arrived.  The nightly showers had just ended, and a mist was flowing from the city streets out to the bay, its tendrils seeming to shy away from the rising sun.

A fleet of Runner's Runners had been kind enough to drop of box after box of missing person reports during the night, the boxes stacked neatly around his desk.  The boxes were now, in stark contrast to last night, strewn almost haphazardly around the office.  He had spent the better part of the last three hours pouring over only the missing cuttle children.  The Runner's so far seemed to have no leads.  All the usual trafficking outfits coming up as dead ends, one after another.

He straightened up and turned off the gas lamp on the table.  Early morning sunlight had started pouring in his windows.  His back spasmed as he stood up from the desk and he drew his breath sharply.  Finnegan had thought he had been able to avoid real work like this some decades ago.  He could still feel the censure buzzing in his skull each time he thought about handing off some of the files to an assistant.  The buzz would startle him at first, now it was a reassuring vibration behind his ear.

Finnegan walked over to a cabinet and grabbed a bottle of marsh off the top shelf.  He uncorked it and grabbed a small glass from on top of the cabinet.  This early in the morning he thought a scant minute longer before downing the dark blue liquid.

The squeak and groan of the wooden bench in front of the office broke his revelry.  Finnigan put down the glass and walked towards the front office door. No one was supposed to be there for hours yet.  He was halfway to the front door when he thought twice, backtracked and picked up a letter opener from his assistant's desk.  Putting his ear to the door he could hear the occasional creak and groan from the bench. 

Finnegan opened the door quickly and peeked around the frame, sitting on the bench at the top of the stairs, was a mountain of a man, the bench bending under his weight.  When the figure saw Finnigan he rose, head scant inches from the ceiling.  He was fully three heads taller than Finnegan and most likely at least twice his weight.

"Can I help you?"  Finnegan inquired.

For the man's size he stood like a child.  Head bowed, hands clasped nervously, feet pointed inward slightly.  The figures eyes closed and he began mouthing something obviously rehearsed.  Unfortunately there was no breath behind it and Finnegan was caught trying to read the man's lips.

"Ah, sir, you'll have to speak up I can't hear you."

That seemed to fluster the man who looked up surprised.

"Are you a golem?  If so, golem relations is one floor up.  But I don't think anyone is there yet.  Are you all right?  Is your hex wearing off?"

This seemed to prompt the mountian who finally found his voice:  "MynameisBertoandmysisterRaztoldmetofindthemanwhohelpsthechildrenandsaidyouwouldknowwhattodotohelpthechildren."

"Woah, woah, woah, slow down.  You're not a golem?"

"A golem?  No I'm Berto.  Raz told me to find you."

"Right, Raz?  Who is Raz?"

"Mysisteroraleastshesaysshe'smysisterandwegowayback..."

"Slow down.  Take a breath.  Why don't you come into my office.  You said something about the children?"  With that the buzz behind his ear intensified.  Finnegan scowled and said to no one in particular:  "If I can't ask about the children what use is any of this?"

Berto ducked under the office door and followed Finnegan to his office.

"Pardon the mess, I'm redecorating. I'm thinking of papering the walls with these and calling it 'early bureaucracy'"  He slid several files off of a second chair and motioned for Berto to sit.

"Now, you said something about Children.  Oh and can I get you anything?  A glass of water perhaps?  Take a deep breath and start from the beginning."

Berto took a deep breath and slowed down like Raz was always telling him to do, although it didn't look like this man was going to give him a slap to the back of the head like Raz did.

"I'm supposed to see the man who's looking for the children."

"What children?" Finnegan asked cautiously.  The buzzing behind his ear surprisingly silent.

Berto screwed up his face.  He was a study in concentration.

"The missing cuttle children.  They're so unhappy and scared."

"Who the children?"

"No the cuttle."

"How do you know?"

"That's what they were saying yesterday in the square."

"Right, yes of course, the cuttle in the suqare. And you speak cuttle correct?"  Finnegan said, grabbing another three fingers of marsh.

"Raz told me to say...  No I don't speak cuttle I just know anyway Raz told me to say"

"Raz, your sister right?"

"Right, at least I call her my sister.  We grew up together near the docks and we go on adventures together and we 'liberate and initiate the pockets of the unaware and the unrepentant' whatever that means.  Raz says its a noble calling."

"So your sister and you hang out on the docks and pick pocket?"

"Oh no no, pick pocketing is illegal.  We need the money so Raz says its the right thing to do and that the people would want to help us anyway, we're just saving them time!  We give it to our other brothers and sisters and buy them food!"

Finnegan sighed. 

"But that's not what I'm supposed to tell you. I'm supposed to say that we know who kidnapped the cuttle children!  All of them, not just the four you've sent reports to the runners for."

"There have only been four."  Finnegan lied.  The papers hadn't listed any of the other disappearances yet.

"No there've been a lot more.  The Cuttle said so yesterday, and Raz said to say that the Black Moths are involved!"

"The Black Moths?  Who are they?"

"They're the new gang.  Everyone's scared of them."

"Everyone?  Who is everyone?"

"Tom Chindle, the Ares Brothers, Benny Lopsided, Two-hits Linden.  Raz doesn't think I know but I pay attention. I really do!"  He looked so earnestly at Finnegan that Finnegan paused before pouring another glass of marsh.  He grabbed a pen and paper.

"All right, so Its the Black Monks?"

"Moths. The Black Moths"

"Right and the list of the others who are scared of these moths?"

He wrote them down assuming them to be a who's who of low level dock rabble.  At least he'd heard of the Ares brothers before, they had gone to the Refinery on a five year sentence.  Finnegan had been a witness at the trial in one of their lower level person trafficking schemes.

Had it been five years already since they were sent away?  Finnegan realized with a start that it had been much longer than five years ago.  He had born witness against them almost fifteen years ago. 

"Mr Berto. Is that your first or last name?"

"First, I don't have a last name.  Raz says some day we'll be adopted and we'll get that name.  That'll be a fun day!"

"Where is your sister now?"

"She had an appointment.  I don't know where she is but she said it was real important and that me coming to see you was just as important."

"So it was, so it was.  Do you have a way of contacting her?"

"No."  Berto hung his head.  He obviously hadn't thought this plan through far enough.

"Do you think she's doing something dangerous?  If so we should call the runners to help."

Berto panicked, eyes wide. "No!  No runners!  Runners hurt my friends!"

Finnegan had assumed as much.

"Do you have a way for me to contact you if I need more information?  I think I need to pay a visit the Ares brothers but I may need to talk to you or preferably with your sister shortly."

"no" Berto said quietly.

"Then you can either come with me, or stay here.  But I'm going to have to insist on one of those two options."

"I can come with you!  I haven't seen Furd in a long time!"

It made Finnegan uneasy that this giant seemed to be on a first name basis with a known criminal.

"Very well then, I need to write a quick report and send a message.  Would you mind waiting out in the front office?  I'll be ready to leave shortly."

"Yes!"

The mountain acted almost like a puppy, eyes wide, smiling at the thought of not having to be alone or make a decision himself.

Finnegan crafted a quick letter, addressed it to his cousin at the Citadel and put a time stamp on it so that his assistant wouldn't courier it for at least several hours.  Hopefully the runners would arrive in time and not make a mess of things but better to be safe than sorry.

"All right Mr. Berto.  Shall we be away?"

"From where?"  Berto asked getting up from the couch in the main room of the office.

"From here.  Lets go pay a visit to the Ares brothers."