Eventually the sounds of battle died away, leaving only ominous silence. I reminded myself that I had every confidence in the outcome. As the length of silence grew, I found it necessary to remind myself several times.
Finally the door opened, and the four Tues filed out laughing and chatting together.
"Cute," I called. "Don't hurry or anything. I can worry out here all day."
One of the white team ran up and gave me a hug and a kiss.
"Sorry, handsome. We were having so much fun we forgot about you."
"Um... could you do something about the disguises before you kiss me again?"
"Whoops. Sorry about that!"
The taller red team member closed his eyes, and the Tues were gone. In their places stood Aahz, Gus, Tananda, and Chumly. That's why I hadn't been worried... much.
"Nice work, Gus," I said, nodding my approval. "But I still think I could have handled the disguises myself."
"Have you ever seen a Tue before?" Aahz challenged.
"Well... no."
"Gus has. That's why he handled the disguises. End of discussion."
"Used to have a secretary named Etheyl," the gargoyle explained, ignoring Aahz's order. "She was a big fan of the wrestling circuit."
"A secretary?" I blinked.
"Sure, haven't you ever heard of a Tue Fingered Typist?"
"Enough!" Aahz insisted, holding up his hand. "I vote we head back to the Yellow Crescent Inn for a little celebration. I think we've thwarted the Mob enough for one night."
"Yeah," Tananda grinned. "That'll teach 'em to pick on someone their own size."
"But you are their size," I frowned.
"I know," she winked. "That's the point."
"I say, are you sure, Aahz?" Chumbly interjected. "I mean, we gave them a sound thrashing, but will it hold them until morning?"
"If they're lucky," my mentor grinned. "Remember, once they wake up, they're going to have to report in to their superiors."
"Do you think they'll try to recoup their losses with another stab at gambling?" I asked.
"I hope so," Aahz said, his grin getting broader. "The next big betting event oh the docket is the unicorn races, and we've got that covered easily."
"You mean Buttercup? You can't enter him in a race. He's a war-unicorn."
"I know. Think about it."
Chapter Twenty:
"Figure the last thing you would expect the enemy to do, then count on him doing precisely that!"
-RICHEUEU
THE Mob did not try another gambit right after their disastrous attempt to move in on Deva's bookies. In fact, for some time afterward, things were quiet... too quiet, as Aahz put it.
"I don't like it," he declared, staring out the front window of the Yellow Crescent Inn. "They're up to something. I can feel it."
"Fats says they haven't been around for nearly a week," I supplied. "Maybe they've given up."
"Not a chance. There's got to be at least one more try, if for nothing else than to save face. And instead of getting ready, we're sitting around on our butts."
He was right. For days now, the team's main activity had been hanging around Gus's place waiting for some bit of information to turn up. Our scouting missions had yielded nothing, so we were pretty much reduced to relying on the normal Bazaar gossip network to alert us to any new Mob activity.
"Be reasonable, Aahz." Chumly protested. "We can't plan or prepare without any data to work with.
You've said yourself that action in an absence of information is wasted effort, eh what? Makes the troops edgy." Aahz stalked over to where the troll was sprawled.
"Don't start quoting me at me! You're the one who usually argues with everything I say. If everybody starts agreeing with me, we aren't using all the mental resources we can."
"But you're the one saying that we should be planning," I pointed out.
"Right," my mentor smiled. "So we might as well get started. In absence of hard facts, we'll have to try to second-guess them. Now, where is the Bazaar most vulnerable to Mob takeover? Tananda, have you seen
... Tananda?" She abandoned her window-gazing to focus on the discussion.
"What was that, Aahz? Sorry. I was watching that Klahd coming down the street dressed in bright purple."
"Purple?"
Massha and I said it together.
I started to race her for the window, then changed my mind. What if I won? I didn't want to be between the window and her mass when she finally got there. Instead, I waited until she settled into position, then eased in beside her.
"That's him all right," I said out loud, confirming my unvoiced thoughts. "That's Don Bruce. Well, now we know what the Mob's been doing. They've been whistling up the heavy artillery. The question is, what is he doing here at the Bazaar? When we get the answer to that, we'll be able to plan our next move."
"Actually, the question should be what is he doing here at the Yellow Crescent Inn," Gus commented dryly from my elbow. "And I think we're about to get the answer."
Sure enough, Don Bruce was making a beeline for the very building we were watching him from. With his walk, it had taken me a minute to zero in on his direction.
"All right. We know who he is and that he's coming here. Now, let's quit gawking like a bunch of tourists."
Aahz was back in his familiar commander role again. Still, I noticed he was no quicker to leave the window than any of the rest of us.
"Everybody sit down and act natural. Skeeve, when he gets here, let me do the talking, okay?"
"Not a chance, Aahz," I said, sinking into a chair. "He's used to dealing with me direct. If we try to run in a middleman he'll know something's up. Sit at this table with me, though. I'm going to need your advice on this one."
By the time Don Bruce opened the door, we were all sitting. Aahz and I at one table, and two others accommodating Massha and Gus, and the Chumly-Tananda team respectively. I noticed that we had left two-thirds of the place empty to sit at adjoining tables, which might have looked a little suspicious. I also noticed we had reflexively split up into two-person teams again, but it was too late to correct either situation.
"Hi there," Don Bruce called, spotting me at once. "Thank goodness I found you here. This Bazaar is great fun to wander, but simply beastly at finding what or who you're looking for."
"You were looking for me?"
This was not the best news I had heard all day. Despite his affected style of speech, I had a healthy respect for Don Bruce. From what I had seen of the Mob, it was a rough group, and I figured no one could hold down as high a position as Don Bruce did, unless there was some real hard rock under that soft exterior. Friendly greeting or not, I began to feel the fingers of cold fear gripping my stomach.
"That's right. I've go? to have a meet with you, you know? I was hoping I could speak with you in private."
The last thing in the world I wanted right now was to be alone with Don Bruce.
"It's all right," I said expansively. "These are my friends. Any business I have with your . .. organization we're in on together ... I mean, can be discussed in front of them."
"Oh, very well."
The Mob chieftain flounced onto a chair at my table. "I didn't mean to be rude, and I do want to meet you all. It's just that, first thing, there are some pressing matters to deal with."
"Shoot," I said, then immediately wished I had chosen another word.
"Well, you know we're trying to move in on this place, and you know it hasn't been going well... no, don't deny it. It's true. Shai-ster has mentioned you often in his reports, so I know how well informed you are."