The Dancer & The Magician (Hisoka Romance)

Chapter 7: Plan B

We head downstairs right by the door to examine it. Kurapika bends down to sniff the small indentations. "It smells like smoked pork and algae."

I touch the indent of the footprint. It has the exact mold of the Belgian block. How do I know that? It's been years since I went to that district, but I remember Ging, an ex of mine, took me there once for my birthday for dinner and a shopping spree. He told me about the stones on our way there. Suddenly the name of the district hits me. "Given the erosion of their shoes from the stones, they're likely somewhere in the Tenderloin District."

Melody's face frowns up. "Isn't that part of the city known for drugs and prostitution?"

Kurapika shrugs and purses his lips. "Seems befitting for criminals."

"Yes, but they're probably going to be hidden in plain sight. Some hole in the wall or abandoned building." I think about the golden map I saw and it outline of the streets and river. "Let's go look at the map upstairs."

We go back up and find the Tenderloin District on the map. "Kurapika said he smelled algae, which means the spiders' hideout is around the river."

"But it's bordered by the Judson and West rivers. How do we know which one they're near?" he asks.

I inhale remembering the smell of smoked sausage, chorizo, a Portuguese meat. Ging and I went to a Portuguese restaurant near the Chester Market. My finger moves along the map until I see where the market is located. "The sausage you smelled is sold in this market, which is," I look next to the strip of land, "on the south side of the Judson."

Melody nods. "Great, but there are a million brick buildings that all look the same in that area. We don't have time to look at all of them, so we should narrow down our search before leaving."

We're all quiet for a moment as we think. There's a wrap at the entrance door. I look up and see some cops signaling for us to wrap things up.

Kurapika exhales and runs a hand through his hair. "Is there some symbol or emblem you saw the troupe members wearing?"

I close my eyes, start pacing, and think about each of the spiders. I remember seeing a picture of the spiders a while ago and then seeing 3 of them in person tonight. Their weapons and clothes could be from anywhere in the world. The only symbol they have in common is a spider tattoo which is hidden under their clothes. They'd never put that on a building, it'd be as obvious as sending up the Bat Signal. I think of their faces, the background of the photo, their jewelry...Wait. Chrollo has an inverted cross tattooed on his forehead. When I was fighting Shizuku tonight, I noticed she had on a golden necklace with an inverted cross too. And the night that I fought Hisoka in Heaven's Arena, he had on a slender chain belt that had the cross at the end of it.

I turn around to face my team. "Several members of the troupe wear inverted crosses. It's just a hunch, but my guess is they're stationed in an abandoned church with that cross as its symbol."

Kurapika shakes his head. "An inverted cross symbolizes the anti-christ and occult. I don't know of any satanic churches that'd be out for the public to see."

I nod at him. "Yes, but an inverted cross is also the cross of St. Peter. The story goes that after his sentence to be crucified, Peter, one of Jesus's disciples, asked to be hung upside down on the cross because he felt unworthy of being in the same position as his Lord and Savior." I knew all that time in mission school when I was a child would pay off someday.

Melody's brows furrow. "So what does that mean?"

I tie my hair up and look at the map one final time. "It means we need to find St. Peter's Church."