In Search of Secrets - (Bob)

[Zandelia]

Fall 17, Av 511 Zandelia had had a trying time over the last few days, the majority of them having been filled with danger, injury and confrontation for the most part – or at least enough o leave her both bruised and battered. She could not remember the last time she had had bruises and scrapes that covered nigh on half of her body. Still, a job was a job and her desires always held a risk of particular damage. In truth she was rather lucky to be alive, what with the scuffle with ‘Tucka and the fact that her new associations made her a prime target for inter-township warfare and espionage. She suspected much about her new position, but knew little – which was exactly how Tua liked it she suspected, which was frustrating. Still, at least it gives me the opportunity to gain something for myself she thought as she lurked in a side-alley just off of the eastern edge of Castle Commons, idly twirling her foot across the cobbles and leaning casually against the wall with one shoulder, her single green eye peering into the crowded throng there – trying to discern her target from the rest. She had learned much in the way of becoming circumspect, of the art of fading into the background and had joined the ranks of the quick-footed escape artists over the last few days – the school of getting the hell beaten out of you for being noticed a powerfully quick teacher. She now knew that stillness oftentimes made you near invisible, especially if accompanied with somewhere to partially conceal you and distracting atmosphere for the mark in question. This day was particularly fortuitous for the stealthy, the shouting and bustling able to hide an army of thieves and denizens of the dishonest variety. As she watched from her relaxed position, her body only just peeking around the corner of the side-alley, she caught sight of the man. There you are Degarde, there you are. And all alone too, just as I was told – though I don’t believe it for a petching second! she thought to herself as her eyes carefully locked to him, taking in his clothing and his mannerisms. She did not want to lose him in the crowd after all, and the distinguishing features would make it easier to spot him once more if her gaze was forced to roam. She took note of the flashing buckles upon his several belts and weapon holsters, but mostly took note of he green shirt and cloak – a rarity in colour for the Fall. “Are you the one? Did you order the strike? “ she asked herself under her breath, knowing there was only one way to know for sure – to shadow him and find an opportunity to ‘question’ him, or even better to find out where he resided. She let her gaze roam the crowd around him for a few minutes, always letting it come back to him to check his positioning. She was looking for bodyguards, or for hired men of the thuggish variety and sure enough they were there – three of them to be exact. They looked like any other whom might force their way through the dozens of stalls that plied their wares, but their constant close positioning to Degarde was too convenient, too forced. It was a hard thing to describe in words, it was a feeling in the deepest sense. The way they always held the same shape around him no matter where he walked, the fact that their eyes looked towards his part of the market, and in each other’s direction. Te discreet nods and hidden signals she did not see, she was sure. Add to that that Degarde did not gain status within the Slaver circles by being a fool and it was not hard to come to a conclusion. Patience Zandelia, it’s all about patience she told herself as she watched Degarde walk away from the Commons and out of it’s southern exit. Every fibre of her being craved to follow him immediately, to run up to him and punch him until her arms tired out. Instead she clenched her jaw tight and noted how the three she had picked out nonchalantly followed in Degarde’s wake – one by one. She smiled then and pushed herself up and away from the wall. She padded forwards, walking at her normal pace and looking around as if she were merely noticing things that she found mildly interesting upon her journey. She let them get ahead of her by a goof thirty metre, not concerned he would lose Degarde as long as she could keep track with his dogs. She did not attempt to keep to the shadows or act overly non-descript as she had learned that such things actually gave you away more than a casual walk and a smile. The game is afoot Degarde, and let’s see how we match up to each other she thought to herself viciously as she knew she was being led to outskirts of the Slave markets.

[Bob Barton]

Lalala, Bob was at the Castle Commons. Why was he at the Castle Commons? He was doing the same as everyone else. Buying food but it was not his food he was buying. He was buying food for Jinsen. Now Jinsen was a dog and its food was from Killroy's where Bob worked, lived and kept it in. But Bob ever the kind and generous master thought it was boring for his dog to always eat the same thing so he took it out for a treat. One day for it to choose what it wanted to eat.

So Bob allowed Jinsen to move around the stalls to sniff at the food. Some of the merchant gave him angry looks but Bob only said the most evident thing which would make them have to allow his dog to do what it wanted to. "Its your customer, not me. If you want my mizas you better treat it with respect" he said jingling some silvers in his hand in front of them. Jinsen's search continued until it reached a stall selling some nice smelling meat. Bob could smell it too and it was so tempting to buy one for himself too but it was still Jinsen's choice. That didn't mean he can't steer it to the right direction. "What's that Jinsen?" he asked as he held on to its slobbering face "you want some of that tasty meat?" Turning back to the owner he said excitedly "You heard the dog, give it one. Actually make it two. I need to keep it company" he said taking his own before walking away with Jinsen.

Bob and Jinsen were chomping on their quality meat over some quality bonding time until, some brat came and snatched his meat away. He should have taken the dog's. Now what was Bob going to eat? The kid might have been smart to know that no one should mess with a dog's food. A lesson that Bob learned the hard way and had some marks to prove it. But a lesson he would learn today is that you don't mess with Bob's food either. Bob tugged on the leash and pointed forward "Food Jinsen. You know you want it" before releasing the dog. Bob's dog was just like him. They both loved to live out their lives eating and playing and after so long Bob knew just what motivated it. Hearing the word food, Jinsen gobbled up his remaining meat and chased after the boy.

The boy hearing the dog's loud barking only went faster after looking back with a scream. Bob followed right behind shouting "Get him Jinsen, teach him a lesson he will never forget. That if you mess with Bob, you mess with his dog too!" That sounded wrong but that was the only encouraging thing that Bob could think of to encourage the chase.

All three of them ran through the Castle Commons. The boy proved not only fast from being able to keep ahead of Jinsen but strong as well. Somehow he was able to push aside the other pedestrians on the street. Bad manners, good for Bob. It provided him a clear path to run through as he tried to keep up with the chase. Running down one clear stretch, the boy turned. Bob was not able to see this seeing how far the boy was but his eyes was still able to follow the white indicator which was Jinsen that was in front of him. Following, he turned around the corner.

"CLANG!" A large trashcan hurled straight at Bob's feet bowling him over and falling on the ground only to see the kid making his escape. "Curse you!" he yelled out while looking around saying "Help!" to Jinsen first which stopped and ran over to him. But wait, he was a dog with no thumbs. Bob looked around only to see a group of men walking down the street. "Hey you guys, can you help get me up?" he asked. Of course they looked so important that they might ignore Bob altogether but still it never helped to try asking. The worst they could do is just leave him there. Actually the worst was that in Sunberth was they beat up and steal his mizas but bob rather keep positive now.

[Zandelia]

The shadowing was uneventful and dull, keeping her distance and acting as normally downtrodden as member of the Sunberthian populace could ever be, at first. It was a sort of peaceful lull, one within which she let her anger fester a little – trying to recall as much memory as possible within her mind, the faded pictures and muffled voices of time not giving her a definitive answer as to whether Degarde had been involved. She had been young when it happened, terribly young, and as such only fragments remained of that which had shifted her life onto a more degraded path – like a wheel popped out of the rut it had been stuck in. And she very much intended to find the wooden lever that had managed it, to sit them down for a little ‘talk’. Still, if nothing else I’ll have an interesting day honing my ability to follow people she reasoned to herself as a commotion came from behind, rapidly catching her up, and in point of fact racing right past her, narrowly missing knocking her down. She watched, with mounting curiosity, as a boy in his late teens tore away from her and was pursued by a dog – of a breed she was unfamiliar with – and a small man who pumped his legs as fast as he could but still lost ground upon his longer-legged quarry. His shouts told her that the lad had obviously taken something from him and the speed at which the lad was running told her that he was absolutely terrified. As far as she could tell the dog was merely enjoying the chase – the winner out of the three of them she had to admit to herself with growing amusement. It was only when the chase came to an abrupt end, the short fellow crashed into a trashcan thrown from the alley he had just entered, that she recognized the pursuer as an acquaintance of interest. “So the boy lives another day and was quick enough to get away” she mused, quoting a long-standing Sunberthian rhyme of sorts. “It’s not your lucky day is it, Bob?” she asked the thin air gently as she kept following Degarde and his bodyguards, whom ignored Bob’s pleas for assistance. She used it as an excuse to get that much closer to her marks, increasing hr footfalls to a rapid walk, urgent and with an air of polite assistance about it – playing the part of an unusually helpful stranger. She assumed that those she followed, if they even turned back to notice her movements, would merely think her an overly-altruistic soul who would soon enough learn the error of her ways. That would be an even better cover for her this day, to be considered a rambling tourist who had not yet been educated on the manners of Sunberth as of yet. She gained perhaps twenty meters on them in such a fashion, making a quick beeline for the crumpled Bob. “Oh my, are you alright man? Let me help you up! Here, come come, give me your hand. I insist” she spoke to him, her voice a large measure of affront that others would walk him by and surprise that he had been put to the ground in such a manner. She gave him a smile too, and a wink that might tell him more than such an act normally would. She heaved him to his feet and brushed him down, making a casually disguised nod towards the men she was following, a few more meters down the way now and gaining back the distance she had gained upon them – not that it mattered overly much. She would catch them back up soon enough. Her knowledge of the Sunberthian streets was getting better with experience after all, though she still had much to learn. She put her arm around his shoulders in a friendly gesture so that he was facing them before continuing. “Such a rude group of men I’ve never seen! If I were a rough sort I should want to go get them and show them a thing or two” she told him, fake scorn and frustration practically dripping from her tone of voice – but the meaning hidden there. Bob was an intelligent sort, he knew that if Zandelia were following them that she could not exactly openly speak about her task that day, that she was tailing them for some reason. Not whilst they were within audible range at any rate. No, for the next few moments Bob would have to try and decipher her words, though she did keep her eye on her marks to judge when such a moment would pass and straight talk was a viable option. She kept her arm around his shoulders and shepherded him into the alley he had initially tried to run into. “Right, now we can talk. What the hell happened to you Bob? I haven’t seen you since that evening in the Pig’s Foot and then you turn up roughed up and entangled in a trash can! You certainly know how to have a good time, let me tell you. Not injured are you?” she asked him, her voice quick and the words flashing at him – she did not have much time to waste after all. I have to get back on the trail as soon as possible if I’m going to catch that bastard she told herself as she checked him over with her eye for any sign of hurt.

[Bob Barton]

Jerks, they did not even bother to come and help Bob. The only one which bothered to assist him was of course Jinsen which was slobbering like some idiot not knowing what to do. That and some very pushy but helpful person. Bob did not expect someone like that in Sunberth. Or maybe she had some darker motives? But when he looked at her he was surprised it was Zandelia or as he knew her, Mok's lady. They made a pretty pair. The outcast savage and the scarred woman. A shiver was sent down his spine when she smiled and gave him a wink. Mok was going to kill him unless Bob tried to go against her advances. All he needed to do now was act naturally. It shouldn't be hard. "Thanks...it was pretty good you came when you did..." he said with a bland, flat, uninterested tone. Well, at least she got what she wanted from Bob even if it was a little bit strange.

Even as Zandelia was brushing him down which made Bob feel more and more dangerous, he noticed that her eyes was not on him. That was lucky, maybe Mok was not going to kill him after all. Following her gaze he watched her watch the group of men she was following. This woman was a greedy one. Bob may be a midget but he was worth hundreds of these Sunberth scum. He would have voiced out but then he would really be hitting on Mok's woman and that would get him hit by Mok.

Then she drew his attention to the group as he pushed him to that direction. She wants to show them a thing or two? That should be what Bob was feeling. He was the one they left there on the ground so what could Zandelia's motivation be? Bob thought for a while. Clearly she would not want to take revenge for Bob since they still did not know each other that well which could only mean that she had her own reasons. "You should? Why?" Reasons that Bob did not know and would be better off not knowing. Still he was curious of what this woman can do against all those men.

When her targets were out of sight, she finally threw off her ruse. Those were a lot of questions to answer but he only said "I'm fine. Maybe next time you can attend the parties in my place" with a little scorn at her words. Now it was time to get back to business. "So what are you up to today?" Something to do with those men he presumes seeing how interested she was with them. Jinsen who was still around got a little but excited with this new woman and started rubbing its body on her leg. "Stop that Jinsen. You don't know where she's been!"

[Zandelia]

Zandelia listened to Bob’s words intently, her mind as ever locked upon her true goals this day but making some small time for one whom was linked to the people who she thought, just perhaps, might be useful acquaintances in the future. To know a barbarian who could break skulls was a fortuitous card to be able to play in most scenarios. Few would argue with someone who came backed up with a man who could break your skull between the palms of his hands. Still, as she was well aware, time was slipping away by the second – the grains in the hourglass moving far too quickly for her liking. She ignored the tapping at her leg at first, until Bob drew attention to it and she saw exactly what was happening. At that point she pushed the mutt away, not hard but firmly, with her leg and gave a small growl at the canine in the hope it would forewarn him of further similar activities. Damned dogs, always wanting attention. Their like children without brains and cats without guile she moaned to herself privately as she tried to get herself back on track. “Where I’ve been is no concern of yours, except perhaps if you ever want to make some mizas. And keep that dog away from me before I give him more than a shove” she stated flatly as the canine made another advance towards her and she gave him a scowl, “I’ve got no time for messing with pups today” she continued with a snort. “As to what I’m doing, I’m following those bastards that saw fit to leave you on the floor back there in the trash. Three of them are guards for the other – Dagarde – and he is the one I want to…research…today” she told him quickly, her gaze glazing over momentarily at the last few words. She looked him up and down, flicking her eyes to the dog at his heels and made some rapid calculations. Whilst she had heard some others talk about Bob in a derogatory manner for his tendency to apparently disappear when conflict reared its head – behind his back of course – she could remember snippets of conversation that talked of his skills when it came to thievery, escapes and general nefarious activity. She tilted her head, as if listening to a voice from far away, and reasoned that two were better than one in the escapade she had planned. A distraction may be needed somewhere down the line for a start, and pick-pocketing was not a skill that came easily to her either – as essential as it could be sometimes. He could be of some use she admitted to herself, though grudgingly. She was not sure she wished others caught up within her web of affairs – personal as they were this day. “Perhaps, though, I could invite you to a party today. This party we are going to appear at uninvited, and it could lead us to some dangers – but the profit could be worth the troubles perhaps,” she told him, meeting his gaze with her own, but she could not stay any longer. “If you want in then follow me now, as I can’t wait any longer otherwise I might lose the petching fiends and then I really would be having a bad day. If you come then anything we gain I’ll split with you fifty-fifty – can’t say fairer than that,” she stated as she turned on her heel and began to leave the alley, “but decide quickly or you’ll not see me again this afternoon” she called in a whisper over her shoulder as she emerged back out into the larger street and began to trudge the same direction as Dagarde had gone at a medium pace. She would give him a minute or two to decide, and if he hadn’t caught her up by then, then she would increase her speed to further close the increased gap. If he arrived at her side, well then she would tell him what little she had to and leave him to figure the rest for himself.

[Bob Barton]

You can mess with Bob sure but no one messes with his dog. No one but Bob and Jinsen was only playing. She was lucky the dog that she was trying to shove away was Jinsen who was as fail as his master or she might have gotten attacked. Bob really needed to train it to become a lot more vicious. Just staring at Zandelia for her actions, Bob said coldly "You better watch it with the dog or you might get hurt." Maybe not but giving her the idea that she should respect the dog would help in the long run especially if Bob and Jinsen was supposed to follow her now.

Alright so Bob might not have been able to find out where she came from but he knew where she was going and that was anywhere Degarde and his posse were going for some research. Always the mystery with this woman. With her scar and personality of course Mok was trying to get it on with her. The opportunity to make some mizas sounded good, but Bob was going to need more information before he committed to anything. Just like playing a hand without knowing what the others are capable of. This situation is a surefire way of getting killed or worse.

"You never need an invitation for a party in Sunberth. You know that just as well as I do" since you either start the party, join in or end it whether everyone else wants you to or not especially if you have the strength to follow through. Better still the party is giving him a present in fifty percent! But Zandelia was too much in a hurry. Before Bob could ask or do anything else she was already down the street following Degarde.

Well, he could just follow until it was in his best judgement to run away just like what Zandelia had heard. "Come on Jinsen, lets go get us more meat. You like that don't you?" reminding the dog about food to get it to follow him. After a while, Bob finally caught up behind Zandelia who was still too busy with her Degarde. There was no better time to ask her about the job then. Maybe a few easy questions first followed by the hard ones once she was used to answering them.

"Sooooo, who is the client?" pretty easy and Bob didn't even care about it as long as he got paid unless they were one of the big players. Then he would have to decline since he didn't want to align himself with anyone just yet. After the client the best person to ask about would be "Degarde, who is he?" He is the target, Bob knew but there had to be more. The more Bob knew about the target the more things there would be to work with. Bob looked to the front to take a peek at Degarde to find if there is anything he could find out on his own. Three other intimidating people. Either Degarde was an important person or he was a really important person which just means the job was challenging.

Next of course would be what Zandelia had already told him. "What are you researching about him?" Right now they were just following which was a lot more better than all the other people Bob has already worked with. Those people normally ended the day with death or injuries on other people. As long as Zandelia stuck to researching, Bob could see no problems. Now on to the most important question. "How much is fifty percent?" Bob was going to get it anyway but the measure of the money would help him size up how dangerous the job was. That and who he was potentially working with if Zandelia neglected to answer the first question.

[Zandelia]

Zandelia hadn’t gotten far when the short man had caught her up, her slow speed easy enough for even his legs to keep pace with – degrade and his group now within visual range once again and taking their sweet time about going wherever they had a mind to. She mentally tried to calculate exactly which direction they would be going as she recalled the rough outlines of the main networks of streets and areas of Sunberth from the map she had bought, and carefully packed away for future use, from The Wizened Crone. As her gaze went distant for a few moments and she recalled the images to her mind’s eye she knew there were a few possible locations of note – but that all of them had to be accessed via a medium sized cross-roads perhaps two hundred metres from their current location. Let’s beat them there if we can she told herself as she tapped Bob’s shoulder and slipped into a dark alleyway to their left, knowing how the main street looked to curve to the right, but would eventually hook back to the left dramatically before finally reaching the destination she sought. If they made good time they would meet Degarde there pretty much as soon as he arrived. “The client, Bob, is a nothing – a ghost – and chooses to remain as such. I wouldn’t probe into things which might upset your relationships with Sunberth now. Take my advice and merely accept there is an interest here” she clipped at him as she led him around a right-hand corner and came to a long stretch of grimy, muddy alley. Best not to tell him it was for me, he might be less inclined to help under the assumption I don’t have much money she thought to herself, not even wanting to think about the fact he could find out much about her by following the connections from Degarde to her also. “As for Degarde, he is a middle-man slave trader with higher aspirations than his talents, but ruthless and as black a bastard as you ever met. No mistake about that,” she spat out to the side as they continued their quick route, towards the end of the alley now, “but he doesn’t know much about what I am doing today. As far as he is concerned he is pretty much untouchable” she continued, their route now blocked by a stack of large crate. “Petch me” she uttered as a curse, “come on, we can still make it ahead of him if we hurry” she informed Bob as she doubled back on their route until finding another small lane that would meander its way around the crates and join up with their route ahead of the obstruction. “In terms of research, I’m finding out where the fool lives so I can break in and take what I need, and some sundries besides. The fifty percent will be whatever is found that is of monetary worth, plus half what I’m being paid – which would be 50 gold mizas” she lied to him. She wasn’t getting paid as it was her affair, but fair repayment would be required and it might just buy his silence too. No need to band about my activities surrounding the slavers. That sort of thing could get me killed….or worse she thought to herself with a mounting sense of temporary dread. They finally weaved around several other corners and came to the crossing of the main streets of the area, and her gaze flicked around looking for her mark until Bob tapped her arm and discreetly pointed him out to her left – entering a large building, perhaps resembling a tavern to her eyes, and a small-time one at that. She nodded and motioned for them to stay put for now, her eyes still searching for the guards and finding them – taking up positions around the door in varying poses and mannerisms. “So,” she whispered to him, bending down slightly, “are you in or out. Now’s the time to say it as if this is where he does business or lives then that’s where we will be infiltrating. And it might not exactly be an easy walk through the muck” she asked him, her gaze locking to his now and searching for any slither of hesitation. There can be no half-measures this time. I’ve lost too much for mistakes to drag me back once more! she growled to herself with unshakeable determination and ruthless fury.

[Bob Barton]

Zandelia answered the questions though it did not make any difference. Bob does not know any ghosts so it was as if Zandelia said nothing about the client except for that little hint that some relationships would be ruined. That meant that the client was someone Bob knew? Now which one of those people would care about Degarde? Cade or Mok? Nahhhh, those two only looked for a good fight. Antar? That man will be too busy raising hell in Sunberth. Maybe the circus people if not for the fact that they were all still too busy building up to bother with people like this. Killroy? There would be more people he could hire other than Zandelia. So who? The question stayed in Bob's mind as he tried to figure it out.

Yeah Bob did not know anyone who would have a bone to pick with a slaver like Degarde. "As far as he is concerned? What about you?" It would be best if they continued to just following. Bob ran down the alley trying to catch up with Zandelia. Better than most alleys he had run through. At least for a change it was an easy one, but was it ever that easy? Like a taunt, Bob was forced into a halt when a large stack of crates was right in front of him. "You don't expect me to climb do you?"

No, she didn't. Bob had to run faster just to keep up with the woman who would not let her research subject escape. He followed her through the alley, turning a few times until they passed the spot with the crates. Was Jinsen there? "Jinsen?" Hearing the bark Bob could only conclude yes.

Whatever they found and half of fifty gold mizas? Bob was not going to complain about that. This ghost client of theirs must be a very important person to pay so much just for a research job. Who could it be now? One of the big players like Robern or the Night Eyes? That can't be right, those groups must have better agents to use other than Bob and Zandelia. Then it must be another person that Bob did not know about. Talk about luck. Now he had another reason to do the job. To find out about this new and mysterious, hopefully powerful client of Zandelia's.

Bob got out of the alley and ran into the main streets. He was getting so excited. The faster they finished the job the faster Bob might find out about the client but first he needed to find out about Degarde and stopped to look around for him. Can't be hard to miss, all he needed to do was look out for his group. That could be it! All four of them walked with an air of confidence around them like they owned the streets. What was taking Zandelia so long to follow? Tapping her shoulder, Bob pointed at the direction of the group to remind her of the job.

"What do you think?" He already followed her this far, he already knew all the details of the job. If he didn't want to, he could have just left earlier. "You're telling me. If his men are as good as you say I don't want to get caught" and get beaten up, killed or turned into a slave. Yes getting caught. Zandelia should be able to see Bob's unease about the idea. In the end it was her decision if she wanted him in the party or not.

[Zandelia]

Zandelia listened to Bob’s words, his counsel seeping into her skull and sloshing around – working its way into her thought processes. She had initially thought that perhaps a direct approach was a more favourable one, but having heard his words she realised that it might be classified more as suicidally risky and premature than skilled and genius-like in its simplicity. No, Bob Barton was correct, it would be far too dangerous to encounter Degarde’s guards if they recognized them and forced a confrontation. Her desires to get in and get Degarde’s information – with perhaps a good bit of doing him over too with Sunberthian grace – were now laid out for her as her own emotions on the situation infecting her reasoning of what would be the best approach. It stopped her cold for a few moments as she knew she would happily have walked into a wolves den if it meant getting things done brutally and quickly. I must be getting complacent in my hatred. I need to focus more, work things out in a sly way rather than with stupidity, even if he is a complete bastard she thought to herself as she mulled over their current situation. “No Bob, you’re right, very much indeed. Getting caught by his hired thugs would be far more trouble than it’s worth. We want to try and get in and out with as little notice as possible. The front would be too foolish. Still, perhaps there’s another way” she spoke to him, her thoughtful voice following the same intonations as her mind at the moment. She scanned the location of the building Degarde had entered, still unaware of what exactly might lay inside. She thought that it might be an inn, but it could equally have been any number of commercial centres. A shop would have been just as likely, with possibilities such as a brothel coming in at a distant second. She thought that the lack of girl and boys working the wooden entrance of the building made the brothel option less likely – but as sordid as Sunberth was it would be impossible to tell until actually making their way inside. Still, she knew the streets fairly well and thought there was a possibility of circling around to the back of the establishment – whatever it was – and trying to find a rear entrance of sorts. “Come on, I think I know a way to get around to the back without being seen. At least then we will be able to see if there’s any way of getting in without being noticed. I suspect there might be something of interest, at least, within” she told him, whirling around and leading him through the rabbit warren of alleyways until they were about fifty yards down the street from the building Degarde had entered and were crossing it and entering the alleys that would lead them to the rear of its structure. I bloody hope there’s something or it’s another damned dead end and Akajia’s tits I can’t face that again she told herself as she guided them to the rear and came to a stop. The alleyway here was secluded to the point where they had seen no other form of life on their way there, devoid of life to the point it made her uneasy. Nowhere in Sunberth held nothing and she knew there would be a reason for the uncanny silence here. Still, they had successfully not been seen and were free to mooch around for something to help them in their endeavours. She looked at Bob then, knowing his abilities for breaking and entering would probably be more honed than hers were. “Right,” she whispered to him as quietly as possible, “we’re at the back, though I’m damned if I can see a way in. Still, we’re here now and should at least investigate. I’ll check over by the corner on the left, if you take the right and give some sort of hiss or something if you find anything eh?” she smiled at him, a cold and empty smile that spoke of her desires to plumb the depths of degradation if it led to her goal in this instance. She set off to her task without so much as another word, her eyes scanning for anything that might be considered to be of use.

[Bob Barton]

That was where Zandelia was wrong. In fact, the front was Bob's favorite way to make an entrance. She was trying way to hard and that will get her noticed even more as much as she did not want to. But since she was the one who invited him to the party he will just follow her around to see what she would do. After that, who knows? Bob might continue doing whatever Zandelia wanted to do or he might just do what he thinks is better to do. It did not matter if she subcontracted the job to him, since the person who hired them would care about the results more than how it was done.

Bob followed Zandelia at the back where she was trying to find the entrance. While she did that Bob looked around for what the building could be instead. He knew so far that this Degarde person was a kind of slaver so what building could he have entered into. The slave market was a bunch of tents the last time he checked, not a big old building. Could be a tavern except that Bob has already been to nearly every tavern in Sunberth unless he had missed this one. Well, Degarde is a man first and a slaver next and most of his bodyguards or friends were men too when Bob saw them earlier. Maybe they were having a good time? But somewhere like Braga's or Ruby's would be better.

"Petch!" This guessing game is not going anywhere. Bob needed something solid he can work with. Bob started looking around the alleyway they were in. Creepy...it was like everyone avoided this place like a plague. There wasn't even any rats. Bob released his leash on Jinsen "You know what to do Jinsen" and allowed it to go sniffing around to find some interesting things for him. At the same time he looked around the alley himself. Looking under crates and in bins. Normal things like food "and you can have some later if you want Jinsen" to the downright bizarre things like "collars and whips. Reminds you of Killroy's eh?" Bob asked tightening one of the whips in front of him.

That would be the best guess Bob can have after seeing all this and thinking back to when they were in front he did see quite a number of people going into the place as well. Then he tried to recall what he saw. A lot of men...women...no children but they all looked too different. They acted a lot different too. There was nothing in common between them as Bob saw only that they went in the building. So it could be anything and if anyone is going in...

"Hey Zandelia, I got an idea. Why don't you follow me" Bob called out with his hand extended while explaining "I think I know what place is this. Heck, I even work in someplace similar" while handing over Jinsen's leash to the woman's other hand. "Just play along" he said pulling her over to the entrance. Bob needed his hands free to be able to use his weapon, the one he was holding on the hand which was not holding on to Zandelia. She didn't need a weapon, he already saw her in action with her fists the last time in the tavern.

Opening the door, he went in with Zandelia ignoring everyone else as he talked to her. "Well honey, I know your birthday is next week but I think choosing your present for you today would be better. Especially since I will be on a business trip next week." A big lie if anyone knew anything. Bob worked in Killroy's and there was no way his boss would waste money sending him anywhere. Like Killroy's Bob was still on the assumption that he was going into another place which supplies animals.

But a big bald tattoed person stopped them before they could get any further. "Can I help you?" Oh come on, Bob's act was not that bad was it? Think, think, what were they going to do? You know what? With any couple the woman made the decisions so Bob gladly allowed Zandelia to get into the role. Honey? Tell the man what you want."