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Anais Nin
Anais Nin
Thespian

Feb-15-2009 01:09

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

I glanced up at the large clock again. Each tick and each tock drove my mind farther back into the past. A past I had left behind ten long years before. A past I was facing now.

But first came the waiting. I hate waiting.

I glanced around the station again. Deserted. Not a soul in sight. Strange, considering that this used to be a bustling train station ten years ago. I pulled the letter out of my shoulder bag to look at it again.

"Anais, Be at Winchester Station, Platform 7 at 23.00, 2/15. ~Lisette"

Lisette. Could I really face her after all this time? Well, I was about to find out. With a shaking hand, I shoved the letter deep into my bag. Where was she? It was 23.17. Lisette had never been late in the twenty plus years I had known her. What was going on?



Replies

Acemaster
Acemaster
Well-Connected

Feb-18-2009 19:45

So, they thought they were so safe. Uh huh. Right.

Ace sat by the window. They didn't see him there, but he was listening. He could barely make out what they were saying, but he could hear some of it.

"I placed a t___ bo__ __ ___ docks and it ex______." Ace recognized this voice as Vulkies.
"We also ___de a thir__ f__t jump at a wa____-out brid__!" A man's voice exclaimed.

Amongst the other chitchat, Ace finally heard what he'd been waiting for. A female voice spoke up.

"Every___, I foun_ the code!"

Anais Nin headed towards her sister. She whispered into her ear, telling her the new found code. Everyone, including "Bambi", stood up.

Now was the time. Ace took out his tommy gun, firing violently into the room. Everyone ducked down, but someone had been hit. Joseph fired off a few rounds towards the window. Ace returned fire, managing to hit Joseph's gun. They all stumbled towards the door, dodging fire, before racing down the hall.

Ace thought he had failed, he noticed that there was a bunch of blood. He tried to look in, but all he could see behind the table was a puddle of blood.

He slowly went in, only to find the body of Bambi behind the table. He was happy... Bambi was never liked by the mob. Unfortunately, Anais Nin got away. Again.

Joseph Zeo
Joseph Zeo
Tale Spinner

Feb-19-2009 00:56

"Everyone over here!" I hissed.

Lisette took a look and her eyes widened "No no no no NO!"

Vulkie pushed her forward, "Don't be such a sissy!", she said. Hesitantly Lisette entered, followed by Anais. Vulkie kept herself last in line to watch our back. I took out my spare pistol from the holster tied to my leg.

"First you put us in with the freakster, now THIS?" Lisette complained. I didn't answer her and kept my eyes on the lookout. Will this girl ever shut up? I was seriously rethinking our relationship, but a promise is a promise. Let us get through this mire first.

We walked on quietly, single filed.

After 40 minutes, I was sure we weren't being followed. "Okay, we can stop for a while now." I said quietly, but my voice still echoed a little bit. Sighs of relieve were heard from behind me.

"Now that we have the code, are you going to open it?" Vulkie asked.

Lisette looked at us. "It's a bit dark in here." I turned on the flash light. "You had that all along and you only take it out now?" Lisette gave me a blaming look. Did this woman have to contradict me on everything? Our relationship was not going to end well.

I think Lisette read my expression. For the first time she remained quiet, and turned her attention on her statuette. After a few turns here and there, a crisp 'click' was heard coming from the golden figurine.

Acemaster
Acemaster
Well-Connected

Feb-19-2009 10:45

"Wait!" A voice called out to them. Vulkie recognized it immediately.
"Ace???" She shouted, her voice echoing through the corridors.
"Shhh!" He crept towards them.
"Don't come any closer! I have a gun!" Joseph said.
"You're surrounded by the mob. They know you have the statuette."
"What?" Anais gasped.
"Don't listen to him, he works for them!" Vulkie spoke.
"If they didn't know where you were, then I wouldn't be here, would I?" Ace queried.
"Why are you here?" Lisette snarled.
"Fredo is dead." Vulkie gasped at those words. Ace continued, "I killed him, but they don't know it yet."
"How do we know you aren't lying?" Vulkie asked.
"Well, I suppose you'll just have to trust me."
"Trust you?" Vulkie shouted, "You shot me! You tried to kill us!"
"Well, you really are surrounded by about 60 mob members, and you won't make it out alive, let alone with that statue. I can get you out of here, but you have to trust me."
"And if you are lying..." Joseph spoke up.
"If I am lying, then you all die." Ace interrupted, "But Vulkie knows as well as I do that if I was lying, then the mob wouldn't be standing outside, because I would try to kill you myself without calling them."
"Yeah, he's right, I suppose." Vulkie started.
"And, look here, out the window."

Joseph peered out the window, only to see a man holding a gun.

"Yep, they're out there."
"What do we do?" Lisette freaked.
"There's a secret passage under here that LCN doesn't know about."
"How do you?" Anais asked.
'My mother lived down here after it closed and she lost her house. I decided not to tell Fredo."

Ace led them to a panel. He pushed on two blocks, and the panel gave way. After pushing on it, they found a secret room, full of weapons.

"This is a bunker. A crazy smuggler used this room to store his guns for Armageddon day. Grab a few, we might need them."

After stocking up, they went down a trap door, with a long tunnel underneath.

((Continued))

Acemaster
Acemaster
Well-Connected

Feb-19-2009 10:55

"This tunnel leads to a cave in the forest. Everyone thought a bear lived in here, and everyone stayed away. It was really the smuggler. My mother and some of her old friends that moved down here with her found this place."

As the exited the cave, Ace beckoned to Joseph. Joseph hopped up and peered over the cave, and he could see the building... with about 20 people standing around it.

"Well, Ace, I guess you weren't lying. How do we get out of here?" Joseph asked.
"Oh, this tunnel system isn't finished yet! See that cave?"
"Another one?" Anais asked.
"Oh, this is ridiculous!" Lisette hissed.
"C'mon, group." Ace ran towards the other cave.
"This one was also supposedly inhabited by bears. The old coot who lived down here did a good job of making those stories."

Ace navigated the cave well, avoiding all traps, dead ends, and problems along the way.

"This place is amazing!" Vulkie remarked, "How do you know it so well?"
"Haven't you seen me look at the map yet?" Ace chuckled.

After walking for what was apparently two hours, the cave ended.

"You led us all the way down here for a dead end?" Lisette shrieked.
"Nope!" Ace pushed on the wall. "Crap, it's stuck. Gimme a hand, Joseph!"

Together the men pushed through the wall. It went right into none other than the New York subway system. The fivesome walked through the tunnels until they reached a station, and they were back on city streets!

Vulkie3
Vulkie3
Haynes

Feb-19-2009 11:08

''Well Ace,I got to hand it to you,you sure know how to escape.'' I said,when we were back on the city streets. ''Ehmm,Ace'' I said. ''Yes Vulkie?'' he said. I didn't continue,but kissed him on the mouth,passionately. ''See this as a thanks gift Ace'' I said. Ace blushed and we continued to walk. Ace knew a good place to hide,starting at a shiny new bar. Ace said that this was a bar owned by the crazy smuggler and Ace inherited it.

''Open that statuette Anais.'' Joseph said. Anais opened it carefully and it contained a note,saying: ''To obtain what you seek,you must follow these steps. First,go to the Lion's Den and find the secret compartment. Second,when you have obtained the next clue,follow it.'' Lisette already made a cosy fire and I grabbed the paper and threw it in the fire,making sure it was destroyed. Something still bothered me. ''Ace,why did you kill Fredo?'' I asked. Ace again blushed and said he wanted to protect me from Fredo. Was I falling in love,or does this guy seemed like the ultimate catch for a girl like me?. When we grabbed a beer or an other refreshment,we heard some noises. ''They're here somewhere,I'm absolutely sure.'' I knew that voice. It was Fredo. I stared towards Ace,who also was astonished.

I barricaded the door and Ace escorted Lisette,Anais and Joseph through the back door to a car,standing ready for departure. Everybody was inside the car. I was driving,Ace was sitting next to me with his hand on my lap and Joseph,Anais and Lisette were sitting tight on the backseat. I started the car,but it wouldn't start. At the fourth turn,it started,just as Fredo came stumbling out of the door and shot Ace in the arm. I drove away,and Fredo shot his gun empty. ''I will get you,no matter what,I will beat death eventually'' Fredo yelled.

Ace bleeded badly and everyone was taking care of him. I took my shirt off(Luckily I had another shirt on) and Joseph used that to ''bandage'' Ace.

Where we headed,I didn't know,but Ace knew....

Anais Nin
Anais Nin
Thespian

Feb-19-2009 17:51

Through all of this, one question had been running through my mind. I hadn't had the courage to ask Lisette when I first saw her, and no time had ever seemed like the right time to ask. And, even without that excuse, I was scared of what the answer might be. Even as Ace was shot, I couldn't seem to focus on him. My present seemed distant, while my past seemed alive. 'There will never be a right time, will there?' I asked myself silently. 'Nope' came my answer. I took a deep breath and turned to Lisette. "Lisette? Where is Poppa? Why isn't he helping with this?"

Lisette froze. Her back stiffened, her head snapped forward, so she was no longer looking at me, and her hands clenched. "Father is dead," her voice chilled me to the bone, it was so devoid of emotion.

"Can the pair of you discuss this later? We are trying to stay alive right now," Joseph was bandaging Ace's arm and was not in the best mood.

"Lion's Den..." Ace muttered. "Lion's Den... I've never heard of it."

"It's another code. It has to be," Lisette's voice was still cold.

"Wait, I'm trying to recall...I've heard it mentioned before, but..." I thought hard. "Poppa used to say something about it when I was really little. He would kiss Mummy, and say, 'I'm off to the Den!' and she would reply, 'Not the Lion's, again, dear? Please, don't!' The Lion's Den. He stopped going when Mummy died. I was eight. Lisette was three..." I trailed off, lost in memories of my youth.

"Anais! The Lion's Den? Where is it?!" Vulkie screamed at me.

I jumped. "Oh, it's not actually called 'The Lion's Den'. It is a part of the country club just out of the city. The club, at least, it used to be there...I wonder..." I trailed off again.

"Anais!" Ace sounded exasperated and in a great deal of pain.

"Sorry! Windham Country Club. The lounge there was called The Cougar Lounge," just then, we hit another big bump, and I hit my head hard on the ceiling. Out I passed again.



Anais Nin
Anais Nin
Thespian

Feb-19-2009 23:03

(((Vulkie was complaining to me about having to drag me around when I'm in a faint or have been knocked or or such... so, I just wanted to let ya'll know I'm not that heavy, only bout 120lbs, so you shouldn't have to strain your backs dragging me around. ;D teehee. now, that's the end of my little spiel here...)))

Joseph Zeo
Joseph Zeo
Tale Spinner

Feb-20-2009 05:04

Lisette was stone silent after mentioning her father, as usual. For some reason she never like to talk about him. Vulkie knew the area well, but it still took us close to two hours to find the secluded site. Anais slowly woke from her latest coma, and recognized the ancient building although she rarely visited the place. The Windham Country Club had a very British air to it. It was way past midnight, and I decided to pick the lock. There's no need to wake the staff, or the guests, or anything in between.

The front door creaked open after two trials.
"Where do we go?" Ace asked quietly.
"I... can't remember... left, maybe?" Anais replied.
We prodded along, going from room to room. Finally, my flashlight fell upon a piece of wide animal hide with a fake cougar head laid in the middle of the room.

"This must be the 'Lion's Den'!" Vulkie whispered excitedly. "So, where is the secret compartment?" The five of us spread out and searched in the dark, after an hour, we still found nothing. I looked around the room again with my flashlight. The Lion's Den. The Lion Den. My flashlight fell back on the animal hide with the strange patterns on it.

"Of course!" Lisette said, walked toward the centre piece and flipped the animal up. There was nothing under the rug. Ace and Vulkie tested every piece of floorboard, but nothing came loose.

"Maybe we're in the wrong room." Vulkie was exasperated.
Anais pondered quietly, then it dawned on her. "Maybe it's not UNDER the Lion!" I took up the animal hide and examined the head. There, underneath the jaw, was a tiny slit. Lisette inserted her long nail into the slit and pushed. The little secret compartment popped opened and small piece of paper fell out.

Joseph Zeo
Joseph Zeo
Tale Spinner

Feb-20-2009 05:05

Vulkie picked up the piece of paper, unrolled it and read: E46.458
"What is this?" Lisette asked, puzzled. Vulkie flipped over the piece of paper, a strange pattern of lines crisscrossed over it. We all looked at this for a while, nothing came to us. I was tired and looked away, and spotted the strange patterns on the animal hide.

“That looks familiar.” I pointed at the rug. We flattened the animal hide again, and tried to match the pattern on the piece of paper with the ones on the rug. Finally, we located the exact same pattern in the lower centre area, a few inches below a big rectangular shape.
“Now what?” Ace asked.

Anais was quiet for a short while, and then she said, “Doesn’t this look like… Manhattan Island?” We all looked at the piece of oval animal hide in new light. Anais ran her finger across a diagonal line, “There, Broadway Avenue.” She was right. Slowly, I recognized the big rectangular shape in the middle as the Central Park, there’s Lexington Avenue, and even a spot off the lower left corner representing the Statue of Liberty.
“So, what does the piece of paper supposed to represent?” Lisette questioned.

Ace examined it for a while and exclaimed softly, “It’s the New York Public Library! It’s on Fifth Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets.”
“But what are we supposed to find there?” Lisette asked.
“A book, of course!” Anais replied.
“Which book? There are more than one million books in there.” The younger sister sighed.
Anais smiled, “We already have the catalog number: E46.458”

Dawn was breaking and the house began to stir. We quickly left the country club and returned to our car.

Acemaster
Acemaster
Well-Connected

Feb-20-2009 08:14

We sped over to the Library. Ace had finally stopped bleeding, so he went in with them.

"Wait." Ace started before they got out of the car, "This shirt's really bloody. All in favor of not scaring everyone by making Vulkie give me her other shirt, say aye."
Jokingly, Ace and Joseph said aye.
"Dangit. Oh well, I'll use mine."

Ace was also wearing two shirts, the top one blood spattered, but better than nothing.

They went in and quickly found book E46.458: 101 Yoga Poses. Ace chuckled at that. Anais grabbed it, and immediately began decoding it. Well... it seemed more like she was reading it.

"Anais!" Lisette whispered, "We don't have time for you to improve your yoga skills!"
"Sorry!" She apologized, and then began flipping through the pages.

"Wow!" She finally exclaimed, "Looks like not many people want to discover the joys of yoga!" She carefully pulled out four, delicate, pressed leaves.

As she searched through the rest of the book, Vulkie examined the leaves. The last one she picked up, a maple leaf, was apparently not a leaf at all.

It was a tiny booklet full of weird codes. "Anais, I think this is your territory." She said, handing the booklet to Anais.
"Oh, great. This will take me forever!"
"Let's go get a hotel with a radio." Joseph suggested, "You can think, and we all can get some shuteye."

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