The Gadget: The Rondon Chronicles Book One by V. Timlin (speed reading book .TXT) 📕

like at the hen party years ago when you descended from the cliff top using a rope. You did it three times and had fun. This is no different. Only the rope is replaced with a drainpipe and Nat said it’s sturdy. So, piece of cake.”

Her knees shook when she flipped her legs over the gutter. She kept her eyes fixed on the pipe, avoiding the terrifying drop below. Turning on her stomach, she lowered her body inch by inch, clutching the edge of the metal, her knuckles white. When she reached the pipe, she pressed her feet against the wall and started to walk down, alternating opposite hands and feet. The pipe groaned and her forearms burned, but neither of them gave out. None too soon Nat touched her legs and supported her down. Her whole body shook for the second time in under ten minutes when she stood on firm ground.

“I didn’t think I would make it.” Her voice was raspy.

“It looked like you’ve done it before,” Nat said, amused.

“Sort of. With a rope.”

“You’re full of surprises, Miss Herring.” Nat patted her on the shoulder. “But we better get going if we want to avoid the rat-catcher and Madam Valeria’s man.”

They jogged to the junction of the alley and Roister Street. Nat waved Anouk to stop. He peeked around the corner. In an instant he pulled his head back. “Fuck. They’re coming this way.”

“I see, I’m a bad influence since you now curse like me.” It was Anouk’s turn to be amused.

Nat’s eyes crinkled. It was hard to tell if he gave her a smile or a scowl because of the half mask over his mouth. “Follow me.” He darted back along the alley.

“Please, don’t say we’re escaping using the sewers again,” Anouk groaned, running after him.

Nat called over his shoulder, “We can if you insist, but I had another route in mind.”

“The other route is good.”

Nat led the way through the labyrinth of smaller streets. Anouk kept glancing back but saw no sign of pursuit. A small spark of hope invaded her psyche. Maybe they had managed to lose them but then doubt seeped in and the spark died. They surely knew the area as well as Nat and might anticipate which way they had gone.

They reached the far end of Roister Street. Nat waved a taxi that had stopped to drop off a passenger. The driver held the door open for them but when his eyes caught the rat cage swinging in Nat’s backpack, his polite expression turned into a scowl.

“I’m not taking rat-catchers on board,” he said, and closed the door with a bang.

“Not even if we’re willing to pay double?” Nat removed his mask.

The driver hesitated, but then opened the door again. “Very well, but you’re not taking in that cage.”

Nat eased the bag from his back and unstrapped the trap before tossing it into the gutter. “I’ve no need for it now anyway.”

The driver lifted his eyebrows and looked after the cage. For a moment Anouk thought he would salvage it, but he shrugged. “Where to, sir?”

“Royal Restroom.” Nat climbed in, Anouk in his wake.

When the carriage joined the other traffic, Anouk dared to give a sigh of relief. Against all the odds, they had survived the rooftops and shaken off their pursuers. It had been a small victory, but they still had a long night ahead of them.

Her thoughts returned to the meeting with Lila in the alley. What Lila had told them made Anouk’s skin crawl. She knew if Stalo got hold of another Gadget, he would return to her world for the purpose of acquiring women to work as prostitutes for Madam Valeria… that was horrible. The madam wouldn’t have taken much persuasion to accept Stalo’s offer. Being the businesswoman she was, she saw the opportunity to grow her business and gain advantage over her competitors. After all, although the Gadgets weren’t every man’s commodity and they were hard to get, these people knew about aliens, unlike in Anouk’s world.

Then Rose… Anouk winced with guilt. Rose got involved with their investigations only because Anouk went to chat with her daughters. If they hadn’t met, Rose and her daughters would have continued leading their normal life, oblivious to everything that was happening. Now, instead, they were separated; Valintina and Danja as Madam Valeria’s hostages and Rose wherever she was taken by Captain Biddulph and used to set traps for bounty hunters.

Anouk was appalled. Everything was coming together, forming a gruesome maze of cold calculation, greed and extortion. It was like watching one of Owen’s low budget horror movies, but she was in it.

Forcing herself to calm down, she turned her attention to her partner. “What do you think about Lila’s version of events? Can we trust her?”

“She was telling the truth. But can we trust her?” Nat paused and sighed. “It remains to be seen.”

“I wonder if she went back to the brothel. She vanished from the roof pretty quickly.”

“Aye.”

Anouk chewed her lower lip. “Those two little girls Lila mentioned have to be Rose’s.”

“Aye,” Nat grunted again. “She probably got caught sending that warning to us.”

“What are we going to do now? We know where Stalo and his henchmen are, but we’re also supposed to meet Rose at midnight. And if we don’t go, she might get into even bigger trouble. There are only two of us, we can’t deal with both. At least, not on the same night.”

“No, we can’t. There is only one logical step.”

“Let me guess,” Anouk growled. “Arrest Stalo.”

“Exactly. We have to move fast. This is our chance.”

The rational side of Anouk agreed with Nat, but leaving Rose to deal with her problem—that they caused—didn’t sit well with her. “Arresting Stalo and Biddulph requires more planning and resources than helping Rose. Besides, we might learn something that’d be essential for capturing Stalo.”

“It could also warn him off, and we lose our chance. Furthermore, we don’t even know where Rose is. It’s unlikely she’ll actually be at the