She sat back down next to me, smoothing out her skirt. "All right, so you actually got it?"

I nodded. "Where's the conductor?"

She waved a hand dismissively, "Don't worry about that. I made sure that no one was going to bother us."

"How?"

She glared at me. "I didn't kill anyone, if that's what you mean." She then snapped her fingers. "Wait! Before I forget." She got up quickly, reaching into her jacket—and I reached for the gun in my belt. She didn't notice though, and with her back to me, pulled out a little leather bound book and fountain pen. She scribbled in the book, and then tore out the page, sticking it in between the door and the frame. She then spun and walked to the other door, doing the same. While she was doing that, I tried to get a peak at what she wrote. For a minute, I really thought she just wrote "Please do not disturb," but I couldn't read the writing on it at all. The marks were strange, and not in any language that I knew. They looked like something that would be etched into the stone wall of an old temple. When I heard her returning, I leaned back as I was before. We both resumed position on the bench, and she said, "There, no one can disturb us now."

"What'd you do?"

She smiled wryly. "Locked the doors."

"With that?" She nodded to me.

"All right then," I said, leaning close to her. "Yeah, I got it, and intend to keep it, unless I can be persuaded to do otherwise."

She nodded slowly, with her eyes closed. "Yes, we figured that would be the case." She opened her eyes, and for a second, I thought the pupils were a faint, dark purple inside her green irises. She seemed to notice my stare, and looked away nonchalantly. "It would only make sense that you would try to be shrewd after pulling something so reckless. Otherwise, what would be the point?" She smiled. "We're willing to negotiate, however."

"Who's 'we?'"

She put a hand on her chest, delicately. "I represent an interested party that would do anything—anything reasonable, that is—for that item, whether it's monetary, a guarantee of safety, or whatever else you may desire."

I folded my arms. "I just want out. I've seen more than I want, and ever wanted to, and I'm sick of it. It's only been the better part of a week, and I've been nearly killed too many times already. I'm used to rough stuff, but this is pushing it pretty far. A decent chunk of cash would be nice, too, that way I have a head start on starting a new life."

"As well as a new identity, I would presume?"

It was my turn to blink this time. "Come again?"

She waved her hand again. "What good is that ordinary name to you now? Don't tell me you've become attached to it."

I swallowed. "Yeah, you do have a point, this name is more a target than anything else. But I'm somehow doubtful a girl like you can pull something like that off for me, no matter how bad I want it, and how suddenly proper she talks."

"Things can be arranged. I... my benefactor, actually—has some far reaching influence, and some very good friends that would be ready to do her a favor on a moment's notice."

"Well, then. She married?"

Sarai smiled at me sweetly, "She's currently engaged, in a matter of speaking, but the word 'engaged' is not used the same as in your way of speaking."

"You have a very special way of talking in circles, miss." I reached out another smoke. "All right, but to be honest, I'm at a bit of loss as to who all the players in this thing are. I have some rough ideas and guesses, but that's about it. I'd like some confirmation." I puffed smoke and licked my lips.

"Well, that sounds a bit odd. I thought you wanted out from all this, preferably immediately?"

"I wanna know if you represent the people trying to kill me." I shrugged. "Fair's fair."

"Mr. Reed, I can assure you that neither I nor my employer wish any will on you."

"Yeah? And just how can you assure me? You got me locked in here, sweetheart, remember?"

"Despite that, I've had numerous chances to do something to you, and haven't."

"Really?" I leaned in at her again. "Would that be just tonight? Because I got this thing, and maybe impressed a few people while getting it? Have the circumstances changed in this big, winding set of gears that I just happened to fall face first into?"

"I haven't a clue what you mean."

I held up the pack of cigarettes. "Something's off, you see. You could have seen this brand tonight, or any other time. And things have been odd ever since I've left the mansion. Here's some things: first is, no one's hunted me down like the dog I am yet. Except you. And you freely admit to being at the station. Granted, I took the train here, right?"

"Yes."

"Left earlier in the day, right? Around seven?"

Nodding, she said, "That's corr...," and then she stopped. For a second, she looked a little pissed.

I smiled.

Sarai composed herself, "And how do you know we weren't watching the mansion, waiting for the right moment?"

"Why wait it out there, and why'd you let me sneak in? The people inside were all jabbering about something, regarding the owner's son, and about how they'd been broken into already. They wanted out, and the slightest provocation might have had them fleeing to the hills. The only reason they were staying was because the old man was waiting for word from his son. I might have spooked them if I screwed it up." I studied her hard after I said that. She just looked back at me. I licked my lips and tried to keep calm, picking my words and lies carefully, "I heard them whispering that the son was in danger. The father was taking it kind of hard, staying up all odd hours waiting for him. I heard the head of his security talking to the owner at some point, that they could all meet up together someplace else, not wait around for something to happen."

Sarai brought a hand up to her chin, letting it hover there before she just scratched it and dropped it back into her lap. "So," she said at last, "the whole family was in danger, then?"

I kept my spring-loaded smile down. She didn't know I never heard the owner talk to one guard. She, and whoever else might be with her, stayed outside the mansion the whole time—if they even made it on time to when I first snuck in. That might mean something. It might not. I didn't fuckin' know. "You tell me. Just who were those people?"

"The owner's name is Phillip Laidlaw..."

"Was."

"Pardon?"

I lit another smoke while leaning back for dramatic effect. "I've got good reason to believe he's dead."

Sarai's eyes narrowed. "How unfortunate." She studied me.

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I laughed and held up my hands. "I didn't do it. I was just a little fly on the wall."

"With sticky fingers."

"Old dogs and new tricks, you know how it goes."

"Hmm."

I shook my head a bit, trying to keep dizziness at bay. "But let's not change the subject. Second thing is that I was the only person inside the mansion besides a whole platoon of pissed off guards and one little sneak-thief. This little kitten had got herself stuck, you see, and no one except me seems to care at this point. You haven't mentioned her, either." I wondered how long this chick could have been watching the mansion—watching me.

Sarai looked at her nails. "Probably expendable. The smart move would to be to anticipate where Laidlaw was going and get him there, with is son, if that was at all possible. With or without your 'kitten.'"

"Is it?"

Sarai shrugged, with a blank look on her face.

"Fine then. Third..."

She interrupted me by putting a hand gently on my knee, "Is there a point to all of this, outside of showing how little you know in particular, and therefore showing how worthless you are when compared to the thing in your pocket?"

"Who says I have it on me?"

Sarai went to talk, but ended up clicking her teeth and looking me over. "Don't give me some yarn about mailing it to some address where you could get it."

"So then you've been watching me?"

She smiled. "The mansion, Mr. Reed. We've been watching the mansion, remember?" She patted my knee again.

“Tch. Whatever.” I stood up, dropping a stare on her so hard it could have cracked the sidewalk. "I've taken about all I can from you people. I've been run out, run down, and run over, and I don't even know exactly what for. That might not seem like much to you, but don't forget that I have what you people want, and it's up to me who gets it now. Go ahead, and try to take it. I killed one of you earlier tonight, all by myself too, like a big boy."

It didn't have the effect I intended, but the girl did look at me a little more warily. Not scared, just more carefully. "What happened to just being a fly on the wall?"

"Don't kid me. If you've been watching so carefully, you at the very least heard the shots. Their girl got loose, and she went after me. I took her down—after I took some of those men inside down. It wasn't pretty, but I did it, and godammit, I'll do it again if I have to."

"You... you killed her yourself?"

"I took her fuckin' head."

Sarai slowly stood up and faced me. Whatever it was that she had a moment earlier seemed to have left her. Now she seemed to have empty and flicking eyes, "S-so, you're threatening me?"

"And what was it that you call what you were doing earlier? What you did with the doors?"

"Alex," Sarai said while holding up her hands, her face now soft, and only just able to keep the waver out of her voice, "Please listen. I don't work for those other people, the people who've been hounding you, okay? There's more than just those people out there..."

"Then who the hell are they, and who the hell are you?"

Sarai fidgeted with her fingers, and saw that it was making me jumpy. She lowered her hands back to her sides slowly, "We honestly don't know. We're actually here to find out who they are, and what their plans are."

I laughed in her face. "For someone who supposedly holds all the cards and was just mocking me for knowing so little..."

"Alex!" Sarai was getting all riled up again, like she was before. She moved her arms about while speaking, completely ignorant to the fact that if they went anywhere near her coat, I was going to lunge at her with all I had left. "There's a whole damn world out there! A world you know nothing about," she was getting frustrated, almost looking like a kid. "I get that you're stuck in the middle of it, but you have to shut up and listen! Please!"

Dammit, the cute, pleading girl was hitting me where I shouldn't have been able to be hit. "Fine. Talk. But fast."

"Not here. I can take you to someplace safe..."

I laughed, and walked a small circle, holding my forehead and shaking my head. "No, nah, nah, nah. I don't think so. That would be a very poor idea."

Sarai wrung her hands. "Oh, come off it! What the hell is this, the big strong man is going to just... just... brave all this and coast by on his bravado? You're in the shit, Alex. I know you're tired of taking the piss, but just stop and listen! You know what the Ascended Dead are, right? Especially if you were able to kill one, correct?"

I nodded.

"All right!" She stood a bit taller. It kind of looked like your little sister telling you off. "They're not all in it together, okay? Now this group, whoever they are..."

I scoffed at her.

"As I was saying! This group is at odds with ours. We've been sent here to investigate who they are, and how they screwed up our plans."

"Wait a minute, your 'plans?'"

"Let me finish!" She took a deep breath, and went to speak, but then choked back her words. She held up a finger to me, and took another breath, closing her eyes. I gave her the time she needed. When she opened her eyes, she was calm again, with that weird look in her eye. "These Ascended are traitors. They stole valuable information right from under our nose, and are trying to make something of it. We're here to stop them." She pleaded at me with her eyes. "This is a very secret world, Alex. What these Ascended are doing is breaking almost every rule our society has, and just to get something quick."

"Get what?"

"That orb." She seemed withdrawn now.

"Yeah? What's it do?"

"I can tell you when we have reached our sanctuary."

I spit at the floor. "This again. No. I think I'll take my chances elsewhere, or maybe at a later date, when things look more advantageous to me." I shook my head. "I'm sorry, but walking into someone else's turf with what they want right on me seems like a bad idea. Negotiating over the phone would be better."

Sarai smiled back. "Haven't you heard? You're wanted."

I huffed. "Not coming from them. The guys at that mansion, I mean. They didn't call the cops."

She nodded. "You're right. You're wanted for the killing of that Morris person."

I licked my lips.

After a minute, I asked, "How bad is it?"

"There's some kind of 'reliable source,' but to be honest, I think the police are going with it because it was such a public killing and they have no leads. It makes them look bad if they have nothing, and it's the kind of thing that will be dragged out around election time. There were a few traffic collisions as a result of it. Scarred passers-by, that sort of thing. You can be linked to Morris, they can make up enough details to please the papers so they can make an entertaining story, and you have no connections right now. You make an excellent fall-guy."

"Yeah? And who did it? You? Kinkaid's friends? I'm doubting anyone in the mansion has any idea who he was. They haven't a clue who I am, and have no reason to. I can already figure who you represent isn't their pal—and they'd, Laidlaw and friends, probably want the orb back."

"We had nothing to do with it. And with Laidlaw dead, who would you negotiate with?"

"But you're already moving to capitalize on Morris. Thanks, but no thanks. I can dodge cops, and maybe find the son."

She took a step closer. "No, you can't..."

I jerked the gun out. She sighed and shook her head, "Are you really sure you want to do that?"

"Why not? I've got nothing to lose. The real question is are you ready for this? We're not alone on this train. There might be a sleeping passenger or two, and there is definitely someone driving the damn thing. Lock as many doors as you want, it won't do jack. Besides," I said with a shrug, "a .45 is a lot of gun to have mad at you."

She took another step. "Not only do I think I can get that away from you, but don't you think, if someone is going through all this trouble for a frame, that they might have tipped the police to be waiting for you at the station? And do you really think they will be trouble for me? What are you going to tell them? I'm a door-locking witch?"

I snorted.

She smiled. "We can make that all go away. You're boxed up. Finished, Alex. All we want is for you to hear us out."

I relented, putting the gun away and sitting down.

She started to walk over. I chuckled a little, "You know, you really are a sweet little thing, aren't ya? You have a pretty head that's pretty quick."

She sat down next to me without looking, smoothing out her skirt and looking prim. "Don't try to butter me up Alex. It won't work."

"Yeah? Apparently I'm a pretty hot commodity these days. What makes you say that?"

"I'm a lesbian."

I leaned back while frowning.

Well.

That settled that.