"That's an easy way to put it. Fräulein Von Goethe might give us some trouble at the luncheon. She's awfully nosy for a woman. Her husband on the other hand is more lax, and openly invited us after Shay here, told him that he specialized in Egyptian expeditions." said Vera. She placed her elbows on the table and crossed her forearms, and leaning forward in her seat, narrowed her eyes at her brother, like a dog smelling a corpse.

"What's with the queer look, eh?" Sam asked. He could hardly tell what his sister had in mind nowadays.

"Silas is up to no good. Lobbing snow balls at unsuspecting people having a nice chat in their car." She said.

"What? Did he give you a good spook or something?" 

"Nearly gave us both a heart attack. Maybe you should tell the little bugger to skip out on packing ice in those snowballs, almost broke the bloody windshield." She relaxed her posture, and reclined back in her chair.  "So what was so urgent that you felt the need to call Shay and I away from the White Star so early? We were having a grand ol' time, time we needed to make our appearances look truthful. Deception is a hard game to play when you're being whisked away at the drop of a hat." 

"Two things. First, Shay, thought I'd let you know that old man Leonard down at the [i]Stitchery[/i], has apologized for his insincere words to you and my sister. He'll be paying us dues. I've spoken with Kirby, and the boys. They say, that if things go well with this mark, they'll give you a percentage from his payments, for your trouble at having to put up with such an unsavory fellow. Second, Vera, I put in your word of resignation with that jeweler of yours."

"What?! What do you mean you put in my letter of resignation?" She demanded as she rose out of her chair in anger.

"Like I said, I put in your letter of resignation. Now sit down," here he waved his hand for her to cool her fiery disposition. She reluctantly sat down, but some would say they could see steam pouring out of her ears. "It's not safe. The Adders, they know you're out of prison, and they want your head, and mine. I've taken the liberty of finding you a new place. Last night, there were four Adders waiting around the block, each were packing guns, couldn't say what kind in the darkness, maybe shotguns. Point being," Sam turned his calculated gaze towards Shay, "I cannot thank you enough for looking after my sister. Had she gone home last night, she probably wouldn't be sitting here before us right this very second. Whenever you're ready," Sam pushed a slip of paper towards Shay and Vera, on it, scrawled in cursive writing bore the address for Vera's new accomodations.

"How am I suppose to pay for this, eh?" She protested angrily. Vera liked her little attic flat, and despised the idea of having to move elsewhere just because a few bloody Adders thought they could scare her away. 

"Vera... You're with the Roughers now, Tommy has taken the courtesy of paying up for 4 months in advance. You'll make more money than you can dream working for us, especially the jobs we'll need you for.  There's already talk of another job, if you succeed in the case of the Von Goethe's." He reached for a carton of cigarettes in the pocket of his jacket, and lit one in his mouth with a strike match. Thick white smoke filled the air as he reclined in his chair eyeing the two of them. Something had changed, but he couldn't place it. 

"Fine." She sniffed, as if pained by the idea still.

"Right, so Shay, whenever you can, take my sister to her new place. Make sure no one is lurking about that looks like the unsavory type, hm?" Here he took a rather long drag of his cigarette, the ash growing with the deep inhale, before the smoke blew out of his nostrils like a bull.

"When is your luncheon with the Von Goethe's?" He had almost forgotten the most important thing.

"Today's the 28th? On the 1st, it's this Friday."

"Good. Keep the car until then, Mick. If there's anything you need, let me or the fellas know, we'll make sure everything is done proper. And remember, this luncheon, is for gathering information only, so no plundering until they are out of the house. Can't risk having you both identified."