What? No. Jump under the bed like the nice man says.
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Self-stabbing would likely either not work, or kill us for real. No real reason to risk it.
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Vote changed to this
Let's get under the bed. Brucey Beard probably knows what he's doing.
You scramble under the bed, pressing yourself to the far back corner where it abuts two walls, hiding yourself as much as possible while still being able to peek out. You can only see people's feet and shins from this angle, but its better than nothing. A few seconds after you stop moving Bruce opens the door with the same annoyed and uncaring attitude he originally greeted you with. Esme starts to speak but before she can say anything another person shoves their way past her and into the room. Black military boots and metal shin guards over dark pants.
"Hello Bruce." The same female voice from before. As she says this more people come in. Four in total now, all dressed like the first. "How goes the work?" The question is overtly friendly but there is clear threat in the voice.
"Quicker when I'm not interrupted," Bruce growls before quickly amending a forced "Commander Ellis." to the end.
"Yes. Speaking of which, we found this woman outside your door. Do you know her?" As Ellis says this the other people with her are slowly moving out through the studio. You can tell from their movements that they're searching, stopping here and there, rustling papers and shifting objects before moving on.
"Yeah. Name is Esme, from the Mortibund library. Wanted to contract me to restore some illustration or other."
"Oh? What illustrations would those be?"
"Sacarel's Green Book, plates 3, 8, and 22." Esme replies without hesitation. "Our copy was water damaged and it would be easier to restore than try to find another."
You hear the sound of a metal folding baton extending and Ellis moves towards Bruce, only to slowly walk past him and over to the desk. You hear the metal rod push things on the desk around.
"You remember the stipulations of your agreement with us, I hope."
One of the other men moves near the chair where the woman is sleeping and there is muffled noise of surprise. Bruce turns towards it and even from just his legs you can sense the restrained anger in him.
"Of course." Is all he can say, through gritted teeth.
"Any breech of that agreement and I'm afraid we'll have to start looking for that traitorous daughter of yours again."
A strangled cry from the woman on the chair and the sound of struggling.
"I'll-!" Bruce starts, moving towards the chair. Ellis turns and you hear the rod strike flesh. Bruce drops to one knee and you can just see part of his face. He's holding the side of his head as blood dribbles between his fingers and onto the floor. You lock eyes with him and for a moment, then he closes his eyes and shakes his head in a barely perceptible way.
"You'll what, exactly?" Ellis says, voice calm but with an undercurrent of threat once again.
Bruce gets up. "I'll be careful." He says, "Wouldn't want to force you to have to do unnecessary work, after all."
"Very thoughtful of you." Ellis says, and you can hear the smile in her words. Then her voice changes into one of authority. "Anything?" She asks, apparently to the other men in the room.
A chorus of negative replies.
"Well. We had best let Bruce go back to his work." Ellis turns back to Bruce "We expect a new poster next week, remember?"
Bruce make a vague acknowledging noise.
"Good." You hear the baton fold up and the booted feet move to the door. Esme closes the door behind them and secures the bolt before sliding down to the ground, her back against the door. You're about to crawl out when she seems to notice you and motions for you to stay put. Bruce moves silently over to the kitchen sink and you can hear the water running. The woman on the chair, who now seems much younger then before some how, moves to him and stands closely next to him. You hear them whispering but can't make out the words.
You wait; its easy to do. You don't breathe, you don't move, you just lay there utterly inert, watching. Bruce eventually comes back over and sits at his desk while Esme and the woman sit on top of the bed. The woman is quiet but Esme and Bruce talk at length about the Green Book and those plates. You think its about an hour until Esme suddenly stops and asks, "Are we clear?"
"Should be," Bruce says, obviously exhausted, "No watcher is gonna sit here for an hour listening to printing jargon."
"Alright," Esme says, her hand reaching under the bed a bit and gesturing to you, "Come on out."
Author
Topic: The Left-Hand Path (Read 118414 times)