?How long has it been , Samuel?? A massive man with skin the color of pitch -- or no skin at all, it was difficult to tell at the best of times -- wondered aloud from his seat behind a large and well furnished desk. The smaller, more effeminate man sitting in one of the chairs before it, presumably Samuel, crossed one leg over another and laced his fingers together. He?d only just gotten over how nice his suit looked, and had to consider before he could comfortably answer.


?Thirty-four years, Liege.? A contemptuous sneer twisted Samuel?s overly thin lips; they were the only thing about him that seemed cruel. ?Thirty-four years, and seven months.?


?And you?re certain you?ve found him? I wouldn?t want a repeat of Amsterdam.?


?Yes, Liege. Positive.?


Grisly smooth, laughter boiled up in the larger man?s throat. ?Excellent. Take Bate and.. What?s the little one?s name, Samuel??


?Hank, Liege.?


?Yes. Take Hank, as well.?


?Yes, Liege.?

?Samuel, we?ve gotten a positive identification.?


?Is that so.? Samuel sat in the lone chair of their rented out flat, high end parts of town; East End crowds to melt into. ?And just where did you see him, Bate??


?Well I haven?t done as much myself, yet? But he?s been seen in the company of a woman, on occasion. One Madison Rye, has a big bounty following her from some place called Lofton. Looks like she?s a murderer.? Bate was a heavier set gentleman, but it did nothing to detract from the fearsome power his body looked every bit the bearer of. He sported shoulders nearly a yard across, a waistline big enough to wrap a teen around, and more muscle than the biggest bodybuilders you ever did see. He was a whopping five foot eleven, to top it all off.


?And how can we use this to further our goals in any fashion?? Samuel?s voice had an almost southern drawl to it, at times like this.


?She?s his Wellspring.?

?Hank,? Samuel?s voice crooned out the little command of the boy?s presence.


?Yes, Mister Samuel?? He stepped into the living room of the flat they all called home base. Short, handsome, and nowhere near as hardened as he should be to get stuck with a task like this, Hank was the baby of the three by any stretch of the imagination. Had his uses, though.


?Have you or Bate come across anything useful, yet??


?Yes, Mister Samuel.? He could nearly feel the gratitude washing over him, once he?d tell Samuel what a gem he?d found. It?d get him in good with Liege, too. Maybe, if he was lucky. Liege was as high up as they went, after all.


?And just what would that be??


?I found an old man, said she used to work for him. Gravedigger. Name?s Tieg.? Hank straddled the chair backwards, happy hazel eyes on Samuel. He done good, wanted a pat on the head or his shoulder to get a warm little cuff. Wasn?t a terribly bright kid, in the figuring of things.


?And?? Distaste and displeasure were thick in the tall, pretty man?s voice. His lips twisted down.


?She killed his f*cking kid, Mister Samuel! Shot him right in the f*cking head! He?s our key, I?m telling you. We find how to get her for him, he?ll know how we can find them together. He?s done. Reed's a mount on Liege's wall.?


There was, for a moment, a stunned kind of silence. It was followed with a sigh.


?And here I?d thought you were going to tell me you?d taken care of everything. Get Bate, go back to the old man, and arrange for a deal.?


Another moment of silence.


?Yes, Samuel.?

?He?s gone, Samuel.? Bate?s too deep voice broke the intense silence that had taken the office.


?Where has he gone?? Samuel?s hands curled against the ledger he?d been working through, knuckles bone white and face contorted into a mask of unfathomable rage.


?We thi-? Hank was cut off by a hand bigger than his head closing over his shoulder.


?He?s gone to Lofton. Someone claimed the bounty on the girl last night, managed to get her right outta that den all the freaks gather ?round. He walked in late, then left with another woman. Our contact saw him leaving, came to us immediately.? Bate was level, collected; a rock.


?Contact the old man and get a pair of coaches. We?re going on a trip. If he?s gone to get her, then we?ll go to get him.? The chill hatred coursing through his tone was more than enough to keep Hank from adding his two cents. Bate, however, didn?t seem affected.


?We?ll be ready in two hours, give or take. Meet us downstairs.? He steered the youngest along with him, out of the room and out of the building.


They left the sounds of flying paperwork and the stabbing clack of numbers on a phone behind.