Lord Day and Lady Night

21. In the Dark of the Night

Wait—just what he did! Loved what he did! Not him! Definitely not!

"I could not agree more," Karim growled, hand clutching his sabre. His eyes were focused on Whitlock in a way that made the man cringe on the floor.

Amy's eyes flicked from Flo to Karim to Patrick, and if they lingered for a little bit longer on the last one, that was pure coincidence.

He was right. They were all right.

They now knew who their target was. All that was left now was one thing—attack!

"Da lazy, eh?" Amy cracked her knuckles. "Well, I sure 'ope 'e ain't too lazy about security. Otherwise, 'is 'ead is gonna end up on a platter very soon." She cast a glance around once more. "Got all ye need?"

Patrick nodded. "Lord Abrehan? Aye, I can find 'im!"

She grinned. Again, not a bad accent. Not bad at all.

"Spiffin'! Dan let's skedaddle!"

She turned away—then froze, and turned back to look down at Whitlock one last time. "Before I forget...dose people be'ind you..."

"I don't know who dey are! I swear!"

"Oh, I know. Nobody in deir right mind would trust a rat like ye. I ain't gonna try and squeeze out of ye what ye ain't got. I just want ye ta give dem a message from me. Can ye do dat?"

"Of course! I promise! I swear!"

"Excellent! Den..." Amy smiled, and—suddenly, her foot lashed out, smashing into Whitlock's balls. Rather energetically, in fact. The man was thrown back against the wall and, a moment later, he hit the floor, unconscious. "Be sure ta deliver da message just like I gave it ta ye, won't ye?"

For some mysterious reason, there was no answer.

"Let's go." Stepping out of the interrogation room, Amy gestured for the children to follow her. They all did, even the big, stubborn one with the turban and the sabre. "Dere's nothin' more for us 'ere."

They left the house through a back entrance, slipping into the shadows, although she was quite sure there were no observers around. Any that had been, had long since fled from the racket of the night raid. In the East End, curiosity killed the cat, stabbed its owner and squeezed protection money from his family. People knew to mind their own business.

Still...better not stay 'ere too long, Amy, or someone might show up who actually considers dis deir business. And meetin' dose kind of people probably ain't gonna be a nice experience.

"Dis way!" Grabbing Aggy, Flo and another girl by the hands, Amy dragged them down a dark alley. With the two men bringing up the rear guard, they dashed into the darkness.

After a while...

"Why..." Karim gasped, huffing and puffing like a steam engine, "did we...have to...park the coach...so far away?"

"If we...had parked it...in this neighbourhood...do you think it would still...have been present upon...our return?" Patrick panted.

Amy couldn't help throwing him a grin. "Smart man!"

Maybe 'is brain is bigger dan a pea after all. Ye never know.

"There it is!" Rounding a corner, finally, the coach appeared in front of them. Rushing forward, Patrick tore open a door. "Get inside, all of you!"

"W-what...us too?" The children stared up at him—then at the fancy coach, as if they had never seen such a magnificent vehicle before in their lives. And, considering the quarter they lived in, they probably hadn't.