Spanner marched ahead, leading the way to the shining white beacon. As she walked, she adjusted her posture. Slowly at first, but more pronounced by the time they reached the foot of the tower, Spanner adopted an entirely new persona. She was proper, and almost graceful. The change baffled Maya, but before she could question it, the large double doors parted, and two guards appeared in the doorway. Spanner announced their arrival, in a voice Maya did not recognise, and could not help but turn a raised eyebrow to.
“Valar Rorden plus assistant, for Mikus Bel.”
The guards responded by stepping aside and holding open the doors. The inside of the tower was just as opulent as its exterior. The marble floor was polished to within a inch of its life, and the velvety green upholstery was lined with golden trim. Maya stepped in behind Spanner, slack jawed.
“It’s like a fancy hotel from a movie!”
Spanner ignored the comment and approached what must have a been a reception desk in this overly luxurious foyer. The man behind the desk was well dressed, well postured, and well spoken.
“Good day, Ms Rorden I presume?”
“Yes, plus assistant. I am here to see Mr Bel, regarding fittings for his boutique.”
“Yes yes, he warned us of your impending arrival. You’ll have the honour of using the service lift, much more private. Please, this way.” The man gestured to a door off to the side.
“Oh, we are fine with the stairs thank you.”
“Ms Rorden, I must insist. The staircase and main lift are for, guests.”
Maya winced at the implication, and watched for a reaction from Spanner. Instead however Spanner nodded, forced a smile, and stepped to the side.
“Of course.”
The pair followed the man into a small corridor and were ushered into the lift cage. The receptionist muttered the floor number to the lift operator who gave Maya a sly wink, and up they went. As they climbed out of ear shot the operator turned to them, still cranking the lift.
“Howdy Spanner. Got the Bel job eh?”
“Not yet, we’ll see how this goes. Should be fine, I’ve helped him before. How you been, anyway Cobe?”
“Ahh, shouldn’t complain, not that that stops me. Erin’s got back trouble again, so I’m pulling doubles.”
“Sorry to hear that, she’s a good woman.”
“That she is, puts up with me anyway.”
“Then she’s an angel!”
Cobe grinned and nodded at the floor counter showing five giving way to six.
“Good luck, and Spanner, if you need any heavy lifting on this job, put in a good word yeah?”
“Will do, look after yourself, and look after Erin.”
Cobe nodded and shut the cage behind them as they stepped into the sixth floor service corridor. Maya looked around, visibly disappointed at the lack of luxury on display behind the scenes. Though not in bad shape, the service areas apparently did not warrant the same investment as front of house.
“Who’s that?”
“Cobe, weren’t you listening?”
“Yeah I got that, good friend of yours?”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Not really.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Stand up straight.”
Maya straightened up without thought, as she followed Spanner out of the service corridor and on to the sixth floor landing. Once again, Maya’s jaw hit the floor as she took in the sheer wealth on display in the shop fronts around the landing. The first shop offered fine tailored suits and dresses that would not have looked out of place on royalty. The second sold all manor of antique looking furniture. Exotic polished woods, silk upholstery, and gold everywhere. The third sold cakes. At first it seemed out of place, until Maya spotted the gold in there too.
“There’s even gold in the cakes!”
“Ssshh!”
Spanner led Maya to the fourth and final shop front. Currently, this one was closed and had a large sparkling drape in the window blocking any further view of the interior. Spanner approached and gently pushed on the door, which swung open with ease. Inside, Maya was greeted by a musty old shop that smelled of tobacco and various burnt herbs. Before Maya had a chance to fully adjust to the gloomy interior, a squat man with large round glasses and a stubbly beard appeared behind the counter.
“Ah, Valar, welcome, you’ve brought a friend.”
“Mikus, this is my apprentice Maya. Maya, Mikus.”
Maya offered a sheepish wave. “It’s good to meet you.”
“And you. Welcome to my-“ Mikus lifted both arms and motioned at the shop in general “-new project.” He grinned and dropped his hands to his side with a thud. Spanner gave the shop a quick glance and screwed up her face.
“Project indeed. We’ve got a lot of work on our hands. I thought it would be already gutted?”
“Me too. They even left half their inventory. Not a smoker are ya? Got crates out the back I don’t know what to do with!”
“I am not.” Spanner took a deep breath in through her nose. “That smells not gonna come out easy. You’re going to need to strip the walls, carpets, everything. Start from scratch.”
“Yep. Not much choice to be honest. Even the counter’s got it in the grain.” Mikus rubbed a hand along the wood then inspected his fingertips. “I’ve got some drawings, rough idea of what I want, figured you’d make em all professional and tell me if anything is a stupid idea? Wanna see?”
Spanner nodded and stepped forward to follow Mikus into the back. As he opened the door, he turned back to Maya. “Why don’t you have a look around. Feel free to keep anything interesting, its all getting dumped anyway.” Maya shot a glance at Spanner, who nodded and left with Mikus.
The shop walls were lined with shallow angled shelves and glass cabinets. Maya curiously approached one wall that still appeared to house the former owner’s stock. Leaning forwards on the shelf were boxes opened and sat in their own lids to display the cigars within. Four fat cigars lay delicately in shredded paper in each of the thirty or so boxes, in three different styles. Maya glanced at the door through which Spanner and Mikus had left, and muttered to herself. “Well, he did say.” With that she lifted one of each of the three different flavour boxes, replaced the lids, and popped them in her bag.
Maya continued to peruse the walls and cabinets, the rest of which were largely empty. Content she had seen everything of note on this side of the counter, Maya lifted a hinged section of the counter, and stepped through. Behind it was much more interesting. Drawers and cupboards underneath and still full cabinets on the wall behind gave Maya plenty to keep herself occupied with, whilst Spanner and Mikus hashed out the details of the renovation. Over the next twenty minutes the pair emerged only once, for Spanner to strut around doing what she referred to as ‘pacing it out’.
In that time Maya found two more notable items and fully embraced Mikus’ instructions to keep anything interesting. The first was an ornate pocket watch. Though grubby, Maya could still make out a delicate leafy filigree through the grime. The second was a small box containing a lighter plus accessories. This lighter was similarly ornate in design to the pocket watch, though unlike the pocket watch, it still worked. Maya put it back in the box, and dropped the box into her bag.
“I didn’t have you down as a smoker?” Spanner appeared leaning over the counter top, grinning at Maya.
“I- I’m not, but Mikus said to take whatever.”
“I know, I heard him. Anyway, I’m done. Quicker than I thought, his drawings ain’t half bad. Shall we?”
Maya scrambled to her feet and lifted the counter flap once again. Mikus, now visible to Maya, gave her a nod.
“You find anything interesting?”
“Uh, yeah. Cigars, a lighter, and a watch.”
Mikus’ eyebrows pushed lines into his forehead. “Fair enough, I must have missed that. I’ll see you again soon I imagine.”
“Goodbye”
Spanner gave a wave, then pushed the shop door open and ushered Maya through. The cleaner air in the landing acted as a stark reminder of just how musty and thick the air in the shop was. The gleaming marble forced Maya’s eye to readjust, but it was welcome. Spanner patted Maya on the back.
“That gave me headache in there. Gonna have to work out some ventilation.”
Just as Spanner finished complaining, shouts came up the staircase from the floor below. “Sirs, I must insist that you conduct your business outside. This is a reputable-“
The voice of the receptionist cut out, and Spanner ran over to the banister to investigate. She froze for a split second then turned to Maya, panic in her eyes. “Back in the shop!” The urgency in her voice was immediate, and Maya knew what was wrong, Fylguard.