Lucie—master thief, infiltrator, and certified manipulator—sat crouched in an alley a score metres away from where Aleksandra stood, hidden among the shadows and doing her very best to stay as silent and immobile as she could. The sun had dipped below the horizon at least an hour ago, casting the alleys and narrow streets into darkness, save for what little yellow light streamed out from the windows dotting the buildings. It was enough to see by if ones’ eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness, but also little enough that it was possible to hide. 

In her hand she had Aleksandra’s sheathed sword, given to her for safekeeping. Her own weapons were concealed as well, a piece of cloth tied in front of her daggers to keep them from glinting in the light, but allowing her easy access to them should she need them. 

Her eyes flicked back and forth down the street, from where Aleksandra walked around aimlessly—like a confused tourist—to the other end of the street where it mouthed out into one of the larger streets of the slum, running parallel to the alley Lucie was currently in. They’d gotten here three quarters of an hour ago, just after the sun had started dipping below the horizon, and the twilight had begun, and set their plan into motion. Lucie had taken Aleksandra’s sword and disappeared into the shadows immediately as they stepped off not very far from where they currently were. Aleksandra had gone to the place specified by Lucie, an area she knew was likely to be deserted. It was a risk being here, as this was near the entrance to one of her ‘Father’s’ underground homes. Not a lot of people from the outside of the underground world expected an underground facility to have been made, large enough to house several families, but it had been accomplished. 

As it was, their plan was to simply wait for whoever it was that kidnapped people, but as it was no one had shown up. Not even a random drunk from a nearby bar had made it down here, a testament to just how careful people were around this place. Get too close to Filip’s home without being part of his “family”, and you weren’t likely to see the light of day again. 

She glanced back at Aleksandra without moving her head, watching her. [i]Here’s hoping it works.[/i]

Aleksandra plodded about the street, looking for all the world a befuddled tourist. She wasn’t overly thrilled about the role she’d been given in this scheme, but it would be worth it if it meant punching the reason for all this headache in the face. Her hand strayed down to the slight protrusion on her side formed by the grip of one of her pistols. 

Looking over at the location Lucie was, she made sure the woman could tell she was looking at her before looking away, down the street, and throwing her arms up in the air as if conceding defeat and acknowledging she was hopelessly lost in the urban maze. 

Lucie didn’t move as Aleksandra looked towards her, making no show of having noticed her gaze. Doing so would be dangerous, or at least jeopardize her position. As it was she was practically invisible, incapable of being noticed by just about anyone. She only knew of a handful of people who had been attentive enough to spot her even when she did her very best at hiding, and none of them seemed to be present at this moment. In spite of their vicinity to Filip’s hideout and her old home, they shouldn’t be here. At least not at this time. 

She let out a quiet sigh, little more than a simple exhale, and let her eyes roam the streets again. Someone [i]had[/i] to show up at some point. She refused to believe that they knew she was there. 

[hr]

No one showed up.

Another hour had passed during which Aleksandra had made no attempt to hide her exasperation at the current situation. Lucie herself was little better, feeling her legs starting to get sore from standing in the same position for so long. 

She groaned and, deciding that they weren’t going to get anything done this way, slipped away. Moving through the shadows she came out to the main street of the slums a few minutes later, then started strolling back towards where Aleksandra was. She removed the cloth from the front of her daggers, allowing them to glint in the light which gave Aleksandra something to notice when she approached. 

She stopped not far from where the Russian was walking, a very dissatisfied look on her face. “They’re not going to show up,” she said, having reverted to English. “This plan isn’t going to work.” She lifted the sheathed sword in her hand, holding it out to Aleksandra. “We’ll have to use other means. I know somewhere we can go.” 

Aleksandra took her sword, strapping it firmly to her waist with practiced ease. “I’m going to say this now, I didn’t think it would work.” She looked down at the other woman, “Our friends, whoever they are, aren’t looking for errant tourists - I suspect they have specific targets. I doubt they’ll just see a handsome devil such as myself and attempt to kidnap me.” She tapped her chin, commenting in her male voice, “Oh, if only I had a beard to pensively stroke.” 

“Tell me where this place we can go is, and we can discuss further tactics.” She paused, “Are you sure your contacts don’t know anything else?”

“I suspect you’re right,” she said quietly cocking her head towards the main street of the slums. “And I’m sure. I only have the descriptions of them, and their names: Ales, Hubert, and Jakob.” She motioned for Aleksandra to start down the street she’d come from, and, reluctant though she was to show inferiority, she followed a few steps behind Aleksandra, looking more like a hired bodyguard than a partner. She gave quiet directions whenever they were to turn a corner or walk down a certain street, making certain that only Aleksandra could hear them. “The only thing I’ve been able to discover as to the disappearances, is that there are three from… where I come from. All handsome and in good shape.” They walked by a thin road which, Lucie remembered, lead down to one of the most isolated districts of the town, the only way to it being this road, or through the Underworld’s hideouts. 

She narrowed her eyes briefly, taking hold of Aleksandra’s arm to stop her. “Down here,” she said quietly. “Dangerous area. Make sure your sword is exposed. If anyone’s looking, seeing us armed will deter them.” Not waiting to see if Aleksandra followed, Lucie made her way down the road, eyes flicking to and fro, up and below. She reached a small intersection, the road splitting into three, slightly larger, directions. One in front, and one to either side, all of them eventually meeting again later on. She chose the middle one, walking silently. 

For a long while she said nothing, simply walking. She eventually stopped and held up a hand to signal Aleksandra to do the same. They were in what posed as a small market district, only there were no stalls or shops, and it was barely twenty steps across. What’s more, it was the very centre of this district, and anyone who were looking for something would have gone through here. There were also enough streets running to and from this place that one could easily have hidden here and sprung upon unsuspecting prey. 

She sucked in a breath and kneeled down, placing her hand flat against the cold ground. Closing her eyes, she looked into the very core of this area, [i]seeing[/i] what it was, and what had happened. 

“Chase,” she said quietly, half a dozen images flickering through her mind’s eye as the word was uttered, all of them of adults running after street children for one reason or another. When that didn’t yield any results, she said, “Hiding,” directing her powers towards anything to do with somebody hiding. Another handful of images passed by, In one of them there was… something. She couldn’t tell what, but there definitely was something. 

Finally, she muttered the word “Kidnapped,” at which point a series of pictures sprang forth. She took a ‘Memory’ of each, and stood up, turning around to Aleksandra. “Three people here,” she said, grimacing. “This is where the three from my old home were kidnapped. They match the descriptions of the missing men I managed to dig up earlier today. One brown haired and bearded, one blonde and clean shaven, and a completely bald man. All of them handsome and healthy, and now gone.” She groaned, the sudden realisation of the amount of work they had before them coming to her. “This is going to be a long night,” she muttered.