Adventure! RPG: Heroes of Our Time - episode 3: Killer in the Rain (part 1)

[Dr. Mystery]

"Yes, I do imagine that knocking Mr. Cornish's teeth out might not be the best career choice for you."

John tenses for a moment, as Blaine's arm moves over his shoulder, but he quickly relaxes, smiling even, as the two of them head over to the bar. John nods curtly at the bartender.

"Gin and Tonic, please."

Turning to Blaine, he adopts a more conversational tone.

"You know, Arthur always used to drink Gin and Tonics, they're all I've ever had. Arthur Black was the first Dr. Mystery, as you might know. He has, er, had, quite a reputation."

John shrugs in a rather friendly manner

"No matter. I take it you are not particularly fond of Mr. Cornish either? I've never had much of a head for business, myself."

[Locky McKenzie]

Locky pays attention to the conversation, choosing to remain on the periphery, as the better-spoken members of the team defend the group.

[Blaine]

"Scotch on the rocks." says Blaine to the bartender. "So there's more than one a' you huh? Didn't know that."

"Eh. With Cornish, I just need ta' stay away from him y'know? He cuts my paycheck and all that, someone's gotta keep an eye on the store and all. I'm sure he's good at his job, and he's doin' exactly what he got hired to do. Keep track of the money, and moan and gripe about it. He's real good at that." Blaine recieves his drink and picks it up and looks at it thoughfully a moment. Then he turns to Dr. Mystery and holds up his glass.

"To the bean counters. May they never miss a bean! Especially when they're our beans!" he says with a slight smile.

[Andrew Murphy]

Jameson smiles warmly at Rhiannon. "Nothing, I just wanted to let you know that we'd all arrived and to ask how long this ... 'argument' has been going?"

Jameson finishes with a wry grin, almost a smirk. It's apparent that he finds the situation at hand amusing at best.

[Alex Craft]

Finding the situation far less entertaining, Leslie shoots Jameson an irritated glance. The audience, however, is enjoying the display more than ever - between Janos and Rhiannon's undeniable charm and the recent arrival of the more well-known members of the team (chiefly Jameson and Blaine, but even John and Brigitte get the odd flash of recognition), the argument is quickly degenerating into a Roman circus.

While taking in the new arrivals, Leslie notices Kate at Jameson's side and attempts to cover himself, asking in mock earnesty, "Ah, Ms. Schafer. Has there been any new progress on that device from Cairo?"

Blandly, Kate replies, "I'm fairly certain we're not supposed to be discussing that in public, Leslie," then, turning away, whispers to Jameson, "I really don't need this, so I'm going to go be noncommittal and talk shop with the boys. Come over when you're done with this nonsense."

Speaking up again, Kate tells the group, "Excuse me, but I have some business to handle with my people. No rest for the wicked, hm? Oh, and speaking of: Tony wants to see you Rhiannon. He should be in the study just off the main foyer."

Nodding, she walks off toward a cluster of men in a corner of the ballroom - a few of which might be recognizable as some of her subordinates from the raid on the New York lab. In response, Cedric Wing speaks up again, saying, "Hm, yes. Perhaps this entire discussion would be better reserved for more private conditions."

The group of businessmen begins to fragment as Wing and a few of his apparent backers circulate out into the party. Leslie looks inclined to continue, but hesitates - realizing that the remaining people (aside from the team) are already his supporters.

[Rhiannon Lewis]

Rhiannon gives Kate a grateful smile. "Thanks," she tells the scientist quietly, before giving the other people a polite nod and heading off to speak to Tony King.

[Dr. Mystery]

Quote:

So there's more than one a' you huh? Didn't know that.

"Quite so, although I did not become Dr. Mystery until he died of consumption. It was a pity, he was superior to myself as a performer."

Quote:

To the bean counters. May they never miss a bean! Especially when they're our beans!" he says with a slight smile.

"I can most certainly toast to that, friend. So, what did you do before becoming a part of this task force of sorts for Mr. King?"

John smiles jovially, drinking at a modest pace and using his hands to emphasize his speech as he drinks more, a bayou accent barely making itself apparent.

[Count Janos Rakozi]

The smile and nod that Janos gives Leslie is that of a man accepting a draw in a fight he should have lost. All and all, Janos walks away rather pleased with himself.

He heads over to the bar with Fredrick, Blaine, and Jameson.

"Vodka, straight," he tells the bartender.

Turning to the assembled team mates,

"So, how have you gentlemen been doing?"

[Andrew Murphy]

Citing "no further interesting conversation here" Jameson follows Janos to the bar where he quickly makes friends with the bartender by way of a well placed tip.

"So, how have you gentlemen been doing?"

"Hmm well that's a topic which we may want to speak of in more private surroundings I think," he says.

Jameson gulps down a glass of whiskey and quickly orders a second. "What I mean to say is that perhaps now is not the time or place, Anthony invited us here to meet some of the other players in the company.

"Your little discussion ..." here Jameson chuckles, "... makes it evident that it may not be as simple as that. I'd put money that he wants us to get some face time with as many people as possible and try to diminish the bad reputation that that little weasel Cornish is trying to spread about the group."

Jameson stops and seems to ponder what he just said nodding to himself before going on, "Not to say that the rather interesting events of earlier today don't merit our attention but I think the extra-curricular activities should wait until we eliminate the axe about to fall on us, if you take my meaning"

Jameson finishes his second whiskey and orders a third. Picking up the now refilled tumbler and grabbing a handful of cocktail nuts Jameson bids the other three a good evening and heads off to mingle with the other guests and track down Kate.

[Locky McKenzie]

Seeing the rest of the crowd disperse, Locky decides to move away from where Leslie's sitting, and begins to move around the crowd, keeping his ears open for any interesting conversations he can jump into, quietly whistling to himself as he moves in his distinct silent fashion from gathering to gathering.

[Blaine]

Blaine tosses the drink back and then puts the glass back on the bar, but waves off the bartender who seems about to refill it.

"Eh, you know detective work. I helped the cops nail Bam-Bam the Bootlegger, that was my last big case before King called me. Said he wanted me to do some security consulting or something. Sounded like easy money. Heh, easy. I ain't been shot at so much since the War."

Jameson and Janos arrives and Blaine holds out a hand to Janos. "Hey, saw you givin' Cornish over there a bit of chin music. Glad it was you and not me. I pobably wouldn't have made...the same impression." Blaine finally nods to the bartender, indicating he wants another scotch.

"Listen" he says after taking a sip. "Somethings have come up. Let's talk somewhere private, like Bradford said. Then we can shmooze with these folks if that's what were here to do."

[Alex Craft]

Rhiannon finds Tony embedded in a cluster of local politicians. She vaguely recognizes Maria Langley from her family's relationship with K.I.S., though this is the first time Rhiannon has seen her on Tony's arm.

Tony sees Rhiannon enter the study and nods to her - politely extricating himself from the group. Pausing to say a couple of words to his date, he leaves her behind for the moment as he takes Rhiannon aside.

Quietly, he asks, "You were going to dig up some information on that Luqmani character? How did that turn out?"

After hearing what she has to say on that, he tells her, "I hate to put you back on the job so soon after returning from New York, but I need your special talents. You might've picked up around the office that the Chinese office has been sending back questionable figures - it looks like someone might be skimming off the top. Leslie has done some number checking, and he believes that this would have to be done with the knowledge of some high-ranking employees over there."

"Most of the possible perpetrators are here for the reception. Find them and try to work out which, if any, of them are involved. Be fairly subtle, and here's a list. [slips Rhiannon a business card with four names handwritten on the back] Christian - the head butler - should be in the foyer supervising the servants. You'll have to ask him where these four gentlemen are. Will this be a problem? I don't believe I've had you do so much of this kind of thing in such a short time."

[Alex Craft]

Jameson works the ballroom surprisingly well - comfortably negotiating the pitfalls of the social arena and quickly charming more than a few of the guests. Most of the crowd is pretty easy to nudge toward favoring the field team after Janos and Rhiannon's showing, and - as those two had pointed out - the idea of the team is seductive in and of itself.

Most of the middle management can afford to get caught up in the romance of the team's potential adventures, but the bigger fish still run a range between caution and outright disapproval - they stand to face personal loss if this doesn't work out.

Jameson runs across Kate early on - as she said, she is talking shop with a handful of her subordinates. The topic focuses on projects with which Jameson has no familiarity, but there are a couple of mentions of Zorbo's flagship, which is apparently being repaired and altered to Kate's design. Still, Kate doesn't seem interested in spending the evening on business and breaks away soon after Jameson's arrival.

Between dances, the Jameson and Kate shoot the breeze with a few key company men, and Kate's familiarity with the upper ranks of the company does seem to help. Even so, Jameson never really gets wholehearted support - even in a brief conversation with Cedric Wing. The upper ranks tend to adopt a 'wait and see' attitude, at best.

Kate seems indefatigable, and her tolerance for alcohol is quite surprising. She has by no means been drinking steadily, but she has kept pace with Jameson - yet seems to be feeling it less (despite her petite frame). The two of them leave the ballroom eventually, and, in their wanderings through the mansion, come across King and Ms. Langley in the mansion's large entry hall, circulating though a fair crowd of guests.

[Count Janos Rakozi]

"Sure thing, Mr. Blaine."

Janos reaches over the bar and procures a bottle of vodka, then heads out of the ballroom.

"Follow me, gentlemen."

Once out of the room Janos comments,

"There's not much wrong with Cornish, really. He is a good man at what he's good at, but he fails to realize that the world is more than just money."

Janos snorts derisively.

"Just as it is more than blood and courage. We who fail to realize that the world is a complex place are bound to seem foolish in the end."

Janos leads the men down to the fencing room.

"We shouldn't be distrubed here. Before we begin, a toast."

"To comrades-in-arms," he says in nearly a whisper.

He raises the glass in a toast, but then swigs deeply from the bottle instead. Several gulps later, he lowers the bottle. He stares at it in profound disappointment.

He turns and faces the others.

"Now what's this new matter that's come up?"

[Alex Craft]

Locky is left relatively purposeless in all of this, quickly finding himself cut loose as first the argument and then the team breaks up - everyone moving off in various directions. With nothing particular to do, he wanders the reception - mingling surprisingly well, considering his lack of familiarity with this kind of setting.

Drifting around the ballroom doesn't turn up anything interesting, and most of the rest of the team disappears before long - the only remaining members being Locky and Jameson (who seems mostly interested in Kate right now). Given that Locky doesn't know ballroom dancing - though he could probably fake it - he leaves as well, silently wandering the mansion's halls.

Unfortunately, he finds a true dearth of interesting conversation. It seems that the reception is basically serving the purpose of a giant water cooler - a place for large numbers of K.I.S. employees and related businessmen and politicians to meet, mix, and discuss the less than stimulating business of steel distribution.

He is beginning to wonder if there's any real point to his continued presence as he steps into a small, wood-paneled study a little ways aside from the greatest circulation of guests. Half a dozen of men stand here in a tight cluster, discussing business in several distinct accents. These men aren't part of K.I.S. - judging from the various nationalities represented (mostly European, rounded out by an elderly oriental statesman), they might be ambassadors or other international emissaries.

A young woman (probably late teens) stands a little aside of the group of men, leaning carefully against an antique desk with an expression of clear boredom drawn across her face. She is a pretty young thing, well on the way to becoming a true beauty - and already knowing how to carry herself to added effect even in the pits of tedium.

[Rhiannon Lewis]

Rhiannon purses her lips. "I'll try more mundane methods first, Mister King, because my talents aren't exactly the sort you admit in public," she points out ruefully. "But I will try my best."

[Locky McKenzie]

As Locky sees the striking young lady, he grabs out a quarter, left in his pocket from his aborted plan earlier in the night. He flips the coin onto his knuckles, and begins walking it up and down his fist.

As he gets into his rhythm, he rests on the doorframe, just inside the room. A simple coin walk, while taking a considerable amount of time to master, was not necessarily the most impressive trick in his repetoire, but it was the one with which Locky had practiced the most, and with which Locky had made look the most seamless.

As he worked the coin through his fingers, he waited for the young woman to pay attention, discreetly looking up at the woman every so often.

Locky waits until he's fully gotten the attention of the young woman, then flashes a smile at her.

[Blaine]

Blaine grumbles and grouses as he tries to adjust his poorly tied bowtie. "Freakin' tie!" he finally exclaims and just undoes it, leaving two black bands to dangle from his collar, and he opens up the top button, allowing his thick neck a bit of breathing space.

"There!" he sighs, "Much better."

"Couple things. Baltimore's gonna get hot pretty soon. Mob war is brewin'. Some wiseguy I busted a year or two ago got sprung, and he's lookin' to pick up where he left off, plus fix me up for a dirt nap most likely. His old lieutenant doesn't wanna give up the desk he picked up when the boss was away. So, the lieutenant sent some muscle over to my place, couple a' guns from Chicago. Let me know that their boss can tell me where Crazy 8 is, the guy that got busted.

"Meanwhile, at the hotel where the new lady Brigitte was at with the Doc and Bradford, someone got whacked in the room next door to them, an old flunky of Crazy 8's. Here's my thinkin'. That flunky was spyin' on them to try and find me, and he got killed by another gun that Angelo, that lieutenant hired. So I got one mob boss, who's just plain psycho, who wants his old throne back, and to kill me (might be because I wrecked a bunch of windows with his face, I dunno). And we got another mob boss who wants to help me take him out, so he can keep his hands clean, and then he probably wants to kill me too to get me outta the picture. With me so far?" Blaine finishes with a slight grin.

"I got a way with people, what can I say? At any rate, I'm gonna set up a meet with Angelo to get the info, and I was hopin' I could get some back up. Between you Janos, and Bradford guardin' my back, and then the Doc keepin' an eye out for the really unexpected, I should be able to pull this off and not need major surgery or a fitting for my last suit. Basically I'm gonna call this Laundromat that they got and give 'em an address and tell them they get 15 minutes to get there or I'm gone. They get there, gimme the info, and that's it. From there I'll take out 8-Ball again."

"Oh. One more thing. Both of 'em probably got cops workin' for 'em."

[Alex Craft]

Tony begins to reply to Rhiannon, but is interrupted as he is hailed by an elderly gentleman who seems to have somewhat overindulged. Nodding to the older man, Tony tells Rhiannon: "As always, I trust your judgment. Excuse me - duty calls."

With a smile to Rhiannon, Tony steps away, collects his date, and returns to handling his guests. As suggested, Rhiannon gets the locations of the visitors from the Chinese office from the head butler, who - recognizing Rhiannon from earlier visits - also provides her with thumbnail descriptions.

These descriptions include nothing terribly surprising. The four men run a range from late thirties to late fourties. Three of them are Americans and one is English - poached from some Imperial interests in Hong Kong. One of the Americans is actually the regional supervisor, with the others being subordinate but highly ranked officials in the branch.

[Count Janos Rakozi]

Janos nods thoughtfully and gets a grim smile on his face.

"Sounds like a monarchy in crisis, Blaine. Nothing specially, really. In most such fight, its the 'little' people that get hurt the most."

He rubs his chin.

"I have to go to Europe in a few days, business for Tony, but I have no problem's dealing with these ... people ... as you see fit."

Janos flashes Blaine a wider grin,

"But this time, we might actually want to bring along somebody who actually knows how to drive a car. Let's not have a repeat of Cairo."

[Andrew Murphy]

Jameson is very much interested in having a good time and making sure that his date has a good time as well. As they wander through the mansion from conversation to conversation Jameson begins to lose the battle with the many whiskeys he's had to drink.

Though far from drunk Jameson has long since forgotten about swaying the guests to back the team and instead is simple having a grand old time telling stories from the war and his many adventures as well as dancing and simply mingling with the many many new faces.

As Jameson and Kate walk into a new room they find King talking with some associates. Jameson catches Tony as he moves between groups and commends him on a well thrown affair.

Jameson and Kate continue to mingle with the other guests returning occasionally to the ballroom to dance when the conversation becomes too boring.

[Rhiannon Lewis]

Rhiannon makes her way through the room, taking note of each of the men whose names she has received before going to speak to each of them individually. She (at the moment) chooses not to use her mindreading ability, but merely sounds them out over things in China, speaking of her own fondness for all things Chinese.

[Dr. Mystery]

John procures another Gin and Tonic before heading out with Janos and Blaine. He smiles politely, glad to be with those he is somewhat familiar with. He listens, to Blaine and Janos, finding a comfortable place to sit or lean.

[Alex Craft]

Locky isn't much of a performer (it's not a useful skill set in his normal profession), but his skill with his hands lets him handle the coin with reasonable flair. The task absorbs much of his attention, rendering him unable to keep track of the girl except for the odd glance up.

As such, he isn't sure exactly how long she's been watching when he glances up to see her looking on in casual interest. Flashing a smile, Locky (as yet unnoticed by the talking men) attempts to draw out a reaction - receiving an amused smile and arched eyebrow.

[Alex Craft]

Rhiannon scouts out the men from the Chinese branch before stepping in. Two are together in the foyer, discussing some detail of business while their wives wait on them in thinly concealed irritation (which is hardly reduced when Rhiannon approaches the men for a chat). Neither seems to be hiding anything - mostly concerned with various mundanities of their jobs. The third, in the ballroom, is likewise clean, though he does attempt to use Rhiannon's apparent interest in his job to cadge a dance.

The remaining man is Henry Nickleby, the regional supervisor - a middle-aged, unmarried New Englander. Rhiannon finds him smoking outside on a long, narrow porch in the Victorian style. He is telegraphing nervousness and discomfort, and Rhiannon would guess that he came out here specifically in order to avoid the rest of the party. Rhiannon's arrival on the porch seems to make him even more uncomfortable, though she can't tell if that is because he recognizes her or if he just doesn't want any company at all.

[Rhiannon Lewis]

Rhiannon gives Henry a brief smile as she walks up to him. "Forgive me if I'm interrupting anything, but I am interested in seeing if you could help me with something," she says quietly. "I have an interest in Chinese exotica, and I was just wondering if you would know of anyone in China who could make jewelry to match my comb?"

She touches the Jade Flower comb, watching Henry as she attempts to read his thoughts, a pleasant smile painted on her face.

[Alex Craft]

Before too long, Brigitte gravitates away from the party and toward King's garages. With most of the servants occupied with the guests, nobody intercepts her as she exits the mansion. The turnabout in front is cupped by the columned front porch and a long garage extension at right angles to the building.

It doesn't take Brigitte long to cross the turnabout and find entry to the garage, discovering a ridiculously large range of vehicles. From the ages of many of the cars, the collection must have been started quite some time ago - the beginings of which may even have been inherited by King from his father. The result sketches out what is basically a material history of automotive engineering.

She wanders down the double row of vehicles, curiously checking out the collection. Her eye is particularly caught by a convertible looking to be a couple of decades old. It has been taken care of reasonably well, but a history of repeated abuse is visible in patchwork repairs and more than a few iffy shortcuts and bypasses under the hood.

For some reason, the design looks familiar, and Brigitte figures out why fairly quickly - welded to the hood is a stamped metal insignia spelling out 'Lefevre.' The insignia isn't the same as the Lefevre company logo, but the car's design is somewhat similar to early cars manufactured by the company.

[Locky McKenzie]

Locky continues to walk the coin through his hands, as he quietly walks towards the young lady.

He leans on the desk next to her, continuing to walk the coin, until he gets comfortable and finally stops, the coin disappearing under his hands.

"You look about as bored as I feel!" Locky says quietly to the young lady.

[Alex Craft]

Henry replies on autopilot, still marinating in tension and more than a little fear. Turning to Rhiannon he answers in a somewhat unsteady voice, saying, "Ah, no ... no. I'm afraid I haven't needed to look into that kind of thing, Miss ... ?"

Henry is a comfortably late middle-aged man, probably in his late forties or early fifties. Even without reading his mind, it is obvious to Rhiannon that he is terribly frightened about something - and that he really has no skill at hiding his emotions.

Without guiding Henry's scattered thoughts in a particular direction, Rhiannon can't dig very deep, turning up only disjointed surface thoughts. This shallow contact reveals that he seems to be afraid of at least a couple of possibilities, though Rhiannon can't put any details to them.

[Rhiannon Lewis]

"Lewis, Rhiannon Lewis, Mister King's personal secretary," Rhiannon replies smoothly. She allows a faintly concerned expression to cross her face. "Mister Nickleby, are you alright? You seem a little off-colour."

[Alex Craft]

The girl watches with apparent interest as Locky approaches, meeting his overture with a brief, delighted laugh which draws a sidelong glance from an aging (fifties) member of the cluster of men. Smiling back at the older man, the girl replies in a stage whisper, saying, "Is it that obvious? Daddy always brings me to these affairs, and they are always just so ... the same."

She speaks with an accent - German or Austrian or something like that - but doesn't seem to have any hitches in her English (to be expected from the daughter of someone in this crowd). Turning back to Locky, she cocks her head and tells him, "I am Erica Lichtermann ... and now I think you have me at a disadvantage."

[Alex Craft]

Henry swallows abruptly as Rhiannon tells him her name, quietly panicking even before she tells him her role - he apparently knows her by name, if not by face. In fact, Rhiannon catches a fragment of a memory welling up in response:

... someone is talking to Henry - a handsome, athletic Chinese man speaking in heavily accented English. He is saying, "... and apparently he has added Rhiannon Lewis, one of his secretaries, to the team. I'm not sure why ..."

It suddenly crystalizes for Rhiannon that this man is one of the things Henry is afraid of ... and that Tony is the other. Rhiannon's presence has caused both of those fears to swell to great proportions, with his fear of this Chinese man being somewhat greater than his fear of Tony.

Glancing sidelong at the door onto the porch, Henry replies uncomfortably, telling Rhiannon, "Um, well. I have been feeling a little sick. Probably, uh, one of those illnesses you get when you ... you go abroad."

Definitely not a master manipulator.

[Rhiannon Lewis]

Rhiannon nods sagely. "I have a Chinese maid who is an excellent herbalist," she says quietly. "I have great faith in the effectiveness of the medicine. Perhaps if you were to describe your symptoms, I could ask her which herbs might help you the best. After all, you being so important to Mister King's enterprise, I could hardly not try to help you."

Her voice is low and sweet, soothing to the ear as she attempts to calm Henry.

[Alex Craft]

Calming slightly, Henry ad-libs, saying, "Ehm, well. I'm not sure, entirely. It could just be, ah, overwork, also. I'm always quite busy at the office. In China."

The man in his memories fades slightly into the background under Rhiannon's calming memories, and Henry's mind brushes against the image of a young Chinese girl - delicate, lithe, and very much the object of Henry's affections. However, this only touches off another surge in panic, returning him directly to his fear of that mysterious Chinese man.

"... and, of course, if something should happen to endanger your relationship with us ... well, I'm afraid little Mei is in a dangerous profession. As a businessman, I'm sure you can understand the difference between an asset and a liability ...

[Rhiannon Lewis]

"Then you should definitely see Li Mei," Rhiannon says quietly. "She knows plenty of good relaxants." She waits for the reaction from Henry at using the maid's name.

[Locky McKenzie]

Quote:

Originally posted by Alex Craft:
Turning back to Locky, she cocks her head and tells him, "I am Erica Lichtermann ... and now I think you have me at a disadvantage."

Locky feigns hard thinking, and then relaxes, and says quietly, "I would say you had me at the disadvantage all along, but I s'pose I'll play along. Lachlan McKenzie is my name, although my friends call me Locky. Let's say we get away from here out into the garden? It's gotta be better than in here..."

[Alex Craft]

Rhiannon's mention of Li Mei causes Henry to momentarily recall that girl of his again, but the reaction isn't strong - his Mei must not be of the Li family. Pulling out a wrinkled handkerchief, he wipes his forehead and neck, saying, "Perhaps I should. It might ..."

Trailing off, his relative calm falls apart again, the name Li Wan-Kin suddenly flaring in his mind. In a confused jumble of circular reasoning and premature conclusions, he connects Li Mei to the Chinese man he fears so much. He swallows hard and the nervous flicker returns to his eyes as he says, haltingly, "You know ... I really couldn't. I, ah, wouldn't want to put you ... to give you any trouble."

[Brigitte Lefevre]

Brigitte’s curiosity is most certainly peaked by the unusual car. She runs her hand over the logo, fingering the letters and then reflexively reaches up to her right ear for a pencil and her rear left pocket for a notebook. Finding neither her pencil nor even a rear pocket, for that matter, she gives her bottom a pat where the pocket would be.

With a sigh and a shrug she begins to give the car a thorough inspection, checking the engine, steering mechanisms and so on, seeing if she could place the date of the car by them and there place in the evolution of Lefevre’s designs…

[Alex Craft]

The girl - Erica - pins Locky with an arch look, matching Locky's reduced volume while saying, "Mr. McKenzie, I'm sure that would be entirely inappropriate."

She conceals a glance over at the cluster of men and, apparently after confirming that they haven't heard, gives a lopsided smile, adding, "... but you might be able to convince me. I think the first order of business would be to slip out quietly while Daddy is debating the finer points of the logging industry around Munich."

[Alex Craft]

The elderly vehicle is really a mess. Every mechanical system, from the engine block to the brakes and steering, has been patched and jury-rigged repeatedly, both for repairs and to tweak a little extra performance out of the machine. Closer examination of the patchwork repairs on the exterior shows evidence of collisions, bullet holes, and more - all carefully smoothed and sealed over.

What little Brigitte can see of the original engineering looks to be pretty much what she would expect in a car of the time (twenty years, give or take). She wastes some more time studying the original engineering before she begins to realize that she is looking in the wrong place. The underlaying parts are nothing special, but layers of jury-rigged modifications are.

A more thorough examination reveals a number of familiar elements - spit and baling wire versions of a number of the classic innovations found in the first Lefevre offerings. The car is filled with hastily crafted tweaks and bypasses that Brigitte has seen as more evolved forms in many of her father's early design notes.

In her investigation, Brigitte comes across something else of passing interest - a fading photograph taped to the dashboard, depicting two men and a woman. One of the men is a much younger Anthony King (perhaps in his late twenties) with an arm around the waist of a fine-boned Chinese woman. The third figure is a handsome, athletic Chinese man a little younger than King.

The open grin worn by King seems out of place to Brigitte, even after the relatively short time she has known him. Written on the back of the photo in sloppy print is the note: "Tony, Yue, and Wan - 1911"