The Friday Society (25 page)

43

A Conversation

A
WATCHED KETTLE
never boils. So why was Cora staring at it so intently? She needed to fixate her mind on something else, something other than the frustrated thoughts and feelings she was thinking and . . . feeling. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t. They had a plan. It was going so well. It was going better than well. Michiko had copied two very intricate maps of the sewer and underground system for them. Had managed to deduce that there was a strong possibility the old Tower Subway was where the Fog was hiding himself and also the means by which he’d managed to get around the city so effortlessly. How clever of her. And, okay, so maybe neither Cora nor Nellie had really helped that much in their outings, but they were both still alive. That was something.

That was a big something.

“Thoughtfully making tea, I see.”

Cora looked up and saw the Magician standing in the doorway of his small kitchen. He was wearing more clothes than he’d worn during their first encounter, a lovely pale gray robe and matching trousers.

“Yes,” she replied, looking back at the kettle.

“Our cultures might be different in many ways, but we both understand the importance and pleasure of a good cup of tea.” He moved beside her and reached up into the cupboard, pulling out a very English teapot with purple and blue flowers intricately painted on it. He placed it on the counter. “Why is Nellie so upset?”

“She didn’t tell you?” She didn’t know why the Magician intimidated her like he did. She wasn’t frightened of him exactly, but he always made her feel a little nervous. And very much her age.

“I thought it might be the voice in the sky. I have been to many homes this afternoon offering comfort. But she said it was a secret. I respect secrets. But I think maybe . . . Who’s the Japanese girl?”

“Didn’t you meet her the other day?”

“No.”

“Her name is Michiko.”

The Magician made a sound of recognition. “The girl from the gala. The warrior.”

Cora nodded.
Yes. Exactly. The girl from the gala. The warrior.

“So, Miss Bell. Can you tell me the secret?”

It wasn’t meant for sharing. All the experiences they’d had, their plan for today. But it was all crumbling beneath her now. And for some reason she trusted that the Magician wouldn’t reveal their secret. Besides, even if he did, it didn’t really matter anymore.

So she explained what had happened to them. What they had discussed that afternoon, and their attempt at making a plan. She told him about what had happened to Nellie and that Nellie didn’t want to be a part of it anymore. She didn’t share just how disappointed hearing this had made her feel.

“You seem sad not to be risking your life to solve this mystery anymore,” said the Magician, sitting down at the table.

“I am sad. I don’t know why. I’m not particularly fond of risking my life. I just . . . I really believed all three of us together could do this. That we could save the city. Make a real difference.”

“That makes sense. I, too, think you could save it.”

“You do?”

“I think you’re all very gifted, though I don’t know you and the warrior girl very well. I think it is a risk. I think most would tell you not to do it. I know that’s my instinct as well. But I also feel something beyond that instinct. And it says . . . you’re right.”

“We don’t really have much of a plan,” said Cora, suddenly feeling a need to play devil’s advocate.

“Then make one.”

“And what do we do when we find the guy?”

“It will all depend on the situation. But trust yourself. You’ll know what to do when the time comes.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Because you’ve known what to do all those other times.”

Cora sighed long and slow. Even if she could do it, she couldn’t do it alone.

“Can you convince Nellie to come?” she asked him.

The Magician shook his head.

“It is not my place. Besides, I would prefer she stay at home. She is safe with me. But she can’t stay with me forever. You can convince her. You can find a way.”

“Why do you have so much faith in me?”

“Because it is clear you have a lot of faith in yourself.”

Well, I’m glad it’s clear to you. It isn’t to me.

The Magician rose and gave her a comforting smile. “Take care of yourselves. And take care of each other.”

Cora nodded. She had nothing to say, so she just stared into those dark, kind eyes and was a little mesmerized by them.

“Miss Bell,” he said.

“Yes.”

“The kettle . . . the water has boiled.”

44

How to Convince a Stubborn Magician’s Assistant?

S
HE POURED TEA
for all three of them and sat down in the chair in the corner. Nellie was still lying facedown on the bed, and Michiko was sitting next to her, gently stroking her hair.

“How’re you doing?” Cora asked softly.

Nellie sat bolt upright, making Michiko jump slightly, and stared at Cora indignantly. “How do you think I’m doin’?”

Cora shook her head. “Nellie, this is crazy. You faced the Fog at the Tower, no problem. You broke into a house in broad daylight. You escaped being bound and gagged and rendered three men unconscious. Exactly what are you afraid of?”

Nellie scoffed. “It’s one thing to think about dyin’ as a possibility, but to face it? That makes it a wee bit too real. Makes you realize just what a damn fool you’d been up until that moment.”

“So you’re scared.”

“Damn straight I am.”

“Would it help if I said I’m scared, too?”

Nellie didn’t reply. Instead she crossed her legs, balanced her elbows on them, and cupped her chin in her hands.

“Don’t you want to follow this through to the end? Don’t you want to complete this task? Damn it, Nellie, don’t you want to save the city?”

Still nothing, and Michiko just stared at her. Tough audience.

Cora couldn’t quite believe it. This was not the Nellie she had grown to know over the last week. That girl wasn’t afraid of anything. “Are you seriously saying we couldn’t do this? Truly? Do you honestly not believe we’re capable of going underground, hunting down that horrible Fog person, and bringing him to justice? Because I know we can. And I think you know it, too.”

And now I’m just going to wait until someone else says something.

It took a very long pause, but then, finally, Nellie sighed. “It’s not that I don’t see your point, it’s just . . .” She stopped.

“It’s just what?”

Cora could see the feeling rushing up inside Nellie, almost as if she were an empty glass being filled with water. It was rising so quickly, ready to overflow any moment. “Did you see what happened?” asked Nellie, gesturing toward the window. Cora saw that her hand was shaking. Just a little. “A whole building exploded! Did you feel it? The whole city shook. I thought it was going to swallow me up whole. And what about the five dead people? Five! And there were almost seven. You and me.

“We were almost killed. And do you think that we’ll just be takin’ on the Fog alone? I don’t think so. Dr. Mantis and Mr. Staunch, I bet they’ll be off to warn him about us nosing around. And who knows what else? I bet the entire system down there’s booby-trapped, just in case some idiots decide to play hero. It’s one thing to scale a building, to perform little magic tricks outside in the real world, but I don’t think I can take on a person like that. I don’t think I want to.”

“You’re being irrational,” Cora said. “You absolutely
can
take on a person like this. You already have. And you already took on his henchmen.”

Nellie stood up abruptly in a flurry of blond and pink. “I don’t think it’s irrational to fear someone with this fella’s power. And even if it is, so what? So what if I’m afraid? Emotions exist for a reason. They protect us from doing stupid, dangerous, life-threatenin’ things. I’ve never had it so good in my life, and I’m not about to lose it all now. Maybe a couple years ago it didn’t matter if I lived or died . . .”

“Are you saying, knowing what we know, that we should just sit back and do nothing?” Cora couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“We should let the professionals handle it.”

“Like who?” Cora stood in frustration. “The police? Your precious Officer Murphy? He’s the most competent of the lot, and he’s at the bottom of the bloody food chain. Or maybe there’s some secret organization that the Queen has, or something. As much as I’d like to think such a thing exists, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t.”

“Someone else has got to have the skills.”

“Who? Who exactly?” Cora was pacing now. “Who has ‘the skills,’ as you call it? No one can get out of a tricky spot like you, Nellie; you’re practically a cat, the way you just get in and out of places. As for me, well, I’m probably one of the best organizers and problem solvers there is, considering what Lord White puts me through on a daily basis. Plus, I’ve got a great number of weapons at my disposal. And anyway, who needs my arsenal when we’ve got the greatest weapon of all right there?” She pointed at Michiko.

“Cora . . .”

“We’ve already been pursuing this, each of us, in our own way. And somehow we always manage to help each other out. It’s fate. It . . . it has to mean something. Everything is connected. Right?” She turned to Michiko, who nodded, but it wasn’t clear if she was agreeing with Cora or just humoring her. Nellie still didn’t look convinced. Cora sighed and sat down at the foot of the bed. “Haven’t you always wanted to just do something yourself?” she asked, her voice softer. “To make a real difference? Not for anyone else. Not an assignment or a task. Something that you made the decision to do?”

“Don’t know, really.”

“I have. Yes, Lord White is the best thing that ever happened to me, but I don’t think I owe him servitude for life just because he rescued me as a child.”

“Well, you kind of do; you are his servant.”

“What I mean is . . . surely what I’m capable of, my brain, my talent, surely that wasn’t meant to be just some assistant. Surely I was meant to be more, and to do more.”

“You goin’ to quit your job, then?”

“No . . . I . . . I just want to do this. And I want to do it with the two of you. We can help each other. We can protect each other. Like we’ve already been doing.” She pushed herself along the bed, leaned her back against the wall, and felt exhausted. “I can’t do this alone. I don’t want to. Together we’re unbeatable. Apart, we’re just . . . assistants to men in London society. In other words, nobodies.”

She had nothing else to say. Nothing more that she could think of to use in order to persuade Nellie and Michiko. She closed her eyes.

“Yes.”

She opened her eyes.

“Yes?” She looked at Michiko carefully. It was hard to trust the Japanese girl’s responses.

“Yes,” Michiko said again. Well, she certainly did look confident.

“I don’t know if you understand what—”

“I understand,” said Michiko. She gave a small smile.

“You do?”

“I need help find Fog. You need help fight Fog. We help each other.”

Wow
. She really did understand.

“So . . . yes?” said Cora, leaning forward.

Michiko’s smile grew and she gave a little bow with her head. “Yes.”

Cora glanced at Nellie, who still seemed unsure.

“Oh, come on,” said Cora, throwing up her hands. “Seriously? I don’t understand the hesitation. It’s not like you’re some shy, retiring violet, Nellie. You’ve already robbed a private residence and infiltrated the Tower. You escaped being buried alive. You did. No one else. You did it all by yourself.”

“But it was such a close call . . .”

“Says the girl who allows herself to practically suffocate onstage.”

Nellie turned so that she avoided direct eye contact with Cora.

“Come on, Nellie, I can tell you want to. Deep down. You wouldn’t be fighting this hard if you were sure of yourself. If you were sure, it would be ‘no’ and that’s it. No debate. No passion.”

Nellie said nothing, but concentrated hard on the world outside the window. Then she finally thought of something else to say. Speaking as if she’d never stopped, just continued from her previous thought, she said, “And then there’s Raheem’s reputation. If I got in trouble, if I got caught . . . well, it wouldn’t look good.”

“Who cares?” said Michiko, rolling her eyes.

“I do!” Nellie snapped at Michiko. “I do. I know your boss is a right bastard, but I care about mine, all right?”

She spat out the sentence so fast that it sounded almost like one word, even to Cora. It was doubtful that Michiko had understood what she’d said. Still, the girl did appear apologetic.

Cora knew the Magician’s mind on the subject. But for some reason, she didn’t think Nellie would like learning that Cora and Raheem had had a conversation behind her back. She could tell that Nellie’s defenses were weakening. That she was seriously considering joining up with her and Michiko again. But Cora was all out of arguments. She needed another tactic. Another approach.

“Don’t you care about Lord White’s reputation?” asked Nellie when Cora didn’t say anything.

“Of course I do, it’s just . . .” Then it hit her. The new tactic. “You make a good point, Nellie. I hadn’t thought of that before.”

“Yes, see?”

Cora nodded and did her best to look thoughtful. “We do have our bosses’ reputations to think of. And we’re pretty well known in society as it is. What we need are . . . disguises.”

Nellie, who was now sitting with her arms folded across her chest and a heavy frown on her face, glanced up at Cora. “Disguises?”

“Yes.”

Cora waited. It was best when trying to convince someone of something to let the person think. To figure things out for themselves and let them speak first.

Which is what happened a moment later: “As in . . . costumes?”

Cora worked hard to hold back her smile. “In a manner of speaking.”

“To protect Raheem’s reputation.”

“And ourselves, of course. Look at Michiko. She’s got the right idea. Impossible to tell who it is under that whole getup and that mask.”

Nellie’s arms unfolded and she dropped her hands into her lap. “And maybe . . .” She squinted her eyes in concentration. “We’d need new names? Exciting, heroic-sounding names?”

Cora nodded.
Not a bad idea.
“Well, yes, that does actually make sense. We can’t just call out to each other as we are now. How silly would that be? Us all carefully hiding our identities and then I just call out, ‘Oi, Nellie, give us a hand!’ That would be downright silly.”

Nellie had undergone a remarkable transformation in the past few moments. Her face brightened, her internal tempo lightened, and she bounced up onto her knees with a big smile on her face. “Our names should match our costumes. That would make the most sense.”

“It would.”

“Oh!” She clapped her hands together in excitement. “I’d like to be Lady Sparkle!”

Cora choked on nothing in particular. “Lady . . . Sparkle?”

“Yes. It’s definitely heroic, wouldn’t you say?”

“Uh, yes. Definitely . . . something. How quickly you came up with that name, Nellie.”

“Off the top of my head. Jus’ like that.” She was flat-out grinning now, almost giddy with excitement. “That’s the way my head works, things just pop up in there. And . . . oh!” She’d bounded off the bed before either Michiko or Cora could say anything further. They watched her open one of two very large traveling trunks in the corner of the room and tear through the items inside, throwing pieces of clothing over her shoulder as she searched for whatever it was. “Ah! Here we go!”

Nellie spun around and held up a dark blue corseted top with what seemed to be a black shiny pattern of clock gears over it. “And there’s a skirt to match!”

“Is there?”

“I liked the clock theme. That’s why I got it. Best of all, it ain’t ever been seen onstage. Raheem thought it was too dark, not enough color to catch the footlights. It’s what I wore when I broke into Mr. Carter’s.”

“Well,” said Cora, “as long as you have some practical footwear to go along with it, and you won’t get too cold at night . . .”

“I don’t mind a bit of the shivers if it means I’ll look good. Anyway, breakin’ into that house taught me I need my legs easily accessible, not hidden under anything. Now, Michiko has her outfit . . .” She turned to the Japanese girl. “What’s your name gonna be, then?”

Michiko looked terribly confused. Finally and with deep suspicion, she said, “Michiko.”

Nellie laughed brightly and skipped over to her, sitting down at her side. “No, not your real name,” she said slowly. “Your hero name. Your name for fightin’. For . . . ” She noticed Michiko’s sword and pointed at it. “For that.”

Michiko stared at the weapon on the bed. She didn’t seem to be following. Cora could understand. The idea of a secret identity, of this dual-personality thing . . . , it was quite a complicated concept. And now she was thinking of Andrew . . . Great, she so didn’t need to think of that jerk at the moment.

“Name Silver,” said Michiko quietly. “Silver . . .” And she laid a hand across the left side of her chest. “Here. This. Here.” She was frustrated. “Silver,” she insisted.

Nellie looked at Cora, who shook her head. No clue.

“Here, right here. This here.” Michiko grabbed Nellie’s hand and placed it where hers had been.

There was a pause. “Heart?” asked Nellie.

Michiko smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes. Silver Heart.” She pointed to the sword. “For fighting.”

“That’s a great name!” said Nellie. “Ain’t that a great name, Cora?” Cora nodded, trying to match her friend’s enthusiasm. Nellie turned back to Michiko and, with deep seriousness, added, “It’s so noble.”

Michiko smiled, though Cora almost thought it was just to humor Nellie.

“And what about you, Cora?”

Cora had anticipated this moment, yet she wasn’t ready with an answer.

“I don’t . . . I haven’t really thought about it.”

Now Nellie was bounding over to her. Cora almost missed the sullen Nellie this wildly zealous version had replaced. “Neither of us did. Just the first thing that comes to the top of your head; trust your instincts.”

What was at the top of her head? Well, . . . Andrew really. Why was he there?
Oh yes, the whole duality thing, right.
His whole ridiculous obsession. Not so ridiculous after all, as things were turning out . . .

“Mr. Hyde.” She said it before she could even register that she’d thought it.

Nellie cocked her head to one side. “Really?”

This was ridiculous, Cora thought. Now Nellie was judging
her
choice? After choosing something as absurd as “Lady Sparkle” for herself? “Look, you said the top of my head. That’s what was there.”