Chapter 18: The Prisoners

Mabel leads us through blocks of abandon stores fronts and housing. She mutters to herself much of the time. Cursing me and mine. the day the kindred came. armies and foreigner in general. I pay it no mind. I can always kill her later.

"How much further?" Holliday asks as the sun over head starts to dip low in the sky.

"We are almost there. Don't worry I wouldn't be out on the streets come night, I am not that foolish." She adds glaring at me.

"I am not the one to speak of foolishness. I am the dangerous one, Please remember that." is my cold response to her jib.

"Ladies, please. We are all friends here, working to a common goal, of not upsetting Chronos any more. Right," he gives me a pointed look but jabs Mabel in the back with his gun.

"Right, play nice with Chronos. You know that threat is only going to work so many times before everyone is tired of it." she spits out and adds another non threatening glare at me.

"I know I am tired of it already." I answer back.

"Focus here, Nosis. Saul and the rest are out there." Holliday reminds once again.

I hold back my next angry retort. Saul's name and his plight should be my focus, Holliday is right.

Mabel gives a self satisfied snort but she too says nothing.

We follow Mabel for another few minutes before she stops in front of an old tenement building.

"This is one of our bases." She says. "You need to let me go first, the ain't expectin you."

"I wonder why not?" I mutter under my breath.

"No wrong moves Mabel, I sure would hate to kill ya. Now that we've got to be friends and all," Holliday warns her.

She snorts but says nothing as she approaches the building. She gives the door a couple of pattern knocks.

"Whose there?" a voice asks.

"It's Mabel. Damn it, let me in we got trouble," she swears at the door keeper.

I can't help but grin as I remember having almost the same conversation with Galahad. I glance at Holliday to see he is thinking the same thing.

The door slides open and as one Holliday and I push Mabel out of the way and storm through.

The hallway is dark but I can make out a couple of things. There is a long hallway with a rickety staircase taking up half the space on the right hand side. and a couple of forms standing by the staircase.

"Don't move," Holliday says and smoothing drawing his guns and aiming them at the two guards before they can move.

"Shut the door Mabel," I say, looking around for the door keeper.

He is out cold, the push against door knocked him out.

"Please, don't kill no one," Mabel now sounds scared.

"We were not here to kill," I remind her. "We came to help it was your people who set the ambush."

"Is he going to be alright?" Holliday asks about the door keeper.

"He'll be fine," Mabel says after she exams him.

"Wonderful," I growl. "Now gentle men," I ignite my sword and point it at them. "Where. Is. Marcus?"

The one of the right starts to whimper. The one on the left starts to shake.

"Maybe it is time for the good cop," Holliday whispers to me and pushes my sword arm down.

"Oh for heaven sake," Mabel snaps at us. "Raymond is Marcus up there with the prisoners?"

"Y y yes," Raymond stutters out.

"Fine, get some help for Jolly and Zach watch the door." she takes command and marches us up past the quaking guards.