oh yay!!!

Are you taking final exams this week? No? Hmmm.

meh. plan? what plan?

*working working busily working away at the next scene.*

As Hugh moved forward after only a few steps he found himself able to stand to his full height. He looked around quickly, adjusted his expectations and perused his surroundings more slowly and carefully.

He had expected the dimness and the tight quarters. After Rob's password exchange he had even expected one or more persons to be hidden in the chamber below the alley. The wood paneling and deep, brown carpeting had caused him to reevaluate the area and his more thorough inspection revealed the ambiance as less oppressive and more private. The dim light was not lack of lamps, but a soothing glow from even dispersed candle sconces. The only other person in the room was not a door guard, but a woman seated behind a small marble topped counter. Hugh noted a tube that traveled from the wall by her desk to the ceiling. He followed its path with interest, turning to face the way they had come. He noticed that while the pipe went through the wall, there was no longer any visible exit.

The secretary turned a green-dyed kidskin leather ledger toward the two men, and slid a long, sharpened quill beside it. Rob signed the ledger with a flourish and beckoned to Hugh, who approached cautiously. There was a small inkwell sunk into the desk and he dipped the pen and began to sign. He suddenly noticed the signature Rob had used.

He turned his head to hiss at his friend. "T. B. Sheep?" He grimaced. "I've seen you use some odd aliases, but this one...."

Rob did not bother to modulate his laugh. "The Black Sheep, more properly" he said, in an explanatory tone.

“And how exactly do you expect me to sign?”

Rob scratched the back of his head for a moment, as Sasha jumped up on the desk and twined herself around the woman’s hand. Skyy was sitting politely at Hugh’s side, but keeping a sharp eye on the cat and the stranger nonetheless.

“Perhaps M. D. Boy?” He began whistling the tune of a familiar nursery rhyme, then recited the words. “Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool? Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full. One for the master and one for the dame and one for the little boy who cries in the lane.”

Hugh rolled his eyes, but signed the ledger firmly with the suggested name. The secretary blew across the wet ink, then stood and pulled open a door that was hidden in shadow behind the desk. When they had stepped through, Hugh grabbed Robert’s arm.

“You are not going a step further,” he said, still keeping his voice low, “until you have explained exactly what is going on here.”

Rob glanced around with a grin.

“Not what you were expecting? Come on, sit down and I’ll explain as well as I’m allowed.”

Hugh followed him a little ways deeper into the room. Filled with wing-chairs, a few sofas, and a scattering of card tables, there were men reading, men writing, men holding quiet discussions and a few men gambling with brass buttons as chips. Rob selected two burgundy colored chairs, nudging Hugh into one and seating himself in the other.

“You are in the,” here Rob slipped easily into an Australian accent, “Brumby club.”

“As in wild horses?” Hugh inquired.

“Aye. Founded for the express purpose of bringing down the Black Sheep Club.”

“Isn’t that what you called yourself?”

“I’m what you might call a two-facer,” Rob said, narrowing his eyes slightly as he became more serious. “I’ve finagled my way into the Black Sheepers, but only as directed by the Brumbies.”

Hugh ran his fingers through his hair and yawned deeply. “Forgive me Rob, but why does your membership in two different gentlemen’s clubs require rousing me in the middle of the night and dragging me down dark alleys?”

“The Black Sheep are more than a club, as are the Brumbies,” Rob continued. “We suspect the Blacks are being funded by Austria. They have been vandalizing properties and attacking persons, Germans, Swiss and their supporters. You may not know this, I don’t know how much clearance you had before your discharge, but our Chancellor has managed to arrange several meetings with the Germans. They show signs of being willing to support us, but this sort of thing is what could make or break a treaty. The Brumbies were set up to bring them down. We’re mostly discharged military, though we have got some civilians mixed in. Your friend, O’Keneally? Very verbal supporter of the Swiss government. He was attacked this evening. I’m not very high in the organization yet, but I know they were watching you as well. You’d make a good asset and you might have been in danger, so I got permission to pull you in.”

Hugh shook his head from side to side.
“I think I’m understanding what you’re saying, Rob, but it isn’t assimilating properly. O’Keneally was attacked?”

“He’ll recover, nothing too serious,” Rob said. “At lot of surface wounds and shallow lacerations. Why don’t you take a sofa and sleep for a bit? The boss should be in early this morning and he’ll want to talk to you.”

somebody else can take a turn now.

It just occurred to me how much time we have spent in this one evening. O.o

I don't think I've ever read one of those...

wow. i can't make any sense of that clock either. Bad clock. :P

Has successfully destroyed at least part of Trenchy's shiny new club she worked so hard on. hehe