Lessons from Underground (Master Diplexito and Mr. Scant Book 3)
knees were about to give out under me And then the silence was broken by a gruff and angry voice This way Mr Scant called I understood at once Mr Scant didn’t care about giving away our position There was no more need for silence I set off running after him Part of me was scared of what would happen when we found the miscreants miscreants but my relief from putting the shadows and phantasms out of my head was far greater The feel ing only grew stronger as the light grew brighter Mr Scant had adjusted the lamp allowing me to see the uneven cave floor and the bare rock walls But as yet I could not tell what had spurred him into action Still in his valet’s uniform with the infamous claw ready at his side he appeared to be running directly for a wall at the end of the rocky cavern with no sign of stopping I had already called out Wha when Mr Scant barged into the wall shoulder-first It gave way with a terrible cracking sound not brick at all but some sort of flimsy wood such as we used for the backdrops of embarrassing plays at school Mr Scant must have spotted the wall for a fake Through the hole in the false wall I could see someone swing a long heavy weapon a pickaxe or 4
even a sledgehammer Then the deafening report of a pistol echoed through the cave But I could also see Mr Scant jumping this way and that so the shot must have missed Once I burst through the gap my training took over I wasn’t the scared useless boy I had once been Many hard and painful lessons with Mr Scant had taught me what I ought to be doing in this sort of situation Mr Scant was to my right low to the ground because he had just kicked the feet out from under one of the thieves A small revolver lay nearby Four men in total were holed up in the small hideout surrounded by golden clocks chandeliers adorned with dragon statues and piles of expensive-looking fabric that were most likely curtains I worked out the greatest threat to me and my ally the biggest man who had propped himself up on his elbows after getting knocked flat He looked ready to grab a spade nearby With a fierce yell that came out a bit more high-pitched than I wanted it to I kicked away the weapon and then did what Mr Scant’s associate Dr Mikolaitis had taught me to do when fighting a bigger bigger opponent I jumped on him punched him in the 5
throat and then jabbed at his eyes with my fingers He gave a strangled howl of pain then made a grab for me Luckily I didn’t have to deal with the consequences consequences of my actions Mr Scant pushed me away and rolled the man over pulling his arms behind his back and tying them together Full of energy I jumped to my feet and shouted That’s the way to do it Mr Scant gave me a sharp look then set about lining up the subdued thieves One was unconscious but the others were merely dazed The biggest man who had the kind of bald head that connected to his body with no need for a neck spat out a tooth Try to get everything arranged before we take it out of here Mr Scant said I looked over at the pile of fabric The curtain falls on another ill deed I said and grinned Mr Scant wasn’t amused If there is a time and a place for puns which I doubt this emphatically isn’t it he said The arrogant arrogant man is always the first to fall With that he turned his attention to the gang of thieves He knelt in front of them resting his forearm forearm on his knee so that the claw was visible which is what he did when he wanted to be especially 6
intimidating As I set about trying to fold the huge embroidered curtains I listened to his interrogation I’ll have you tell me who put you up to this Who says anyone put us up to it said the oldest oldest thinnest man I could tell just from his voice that he was sneering He sounded like the kind of person who would spit on the ground a lot like what was inside him was so unpleasant he tried to get it out all the time You know who I am You know this claw You’re meant to be locked up said a different man who sounded more worried They didn’t get me said Mr Scant Now I’ve never been a true thief not like they made me out to be But I made it my business to study the criminals of note in this part of the world All the gangs and all the bosses But I don’t know you That means you’re new faces or you’ve never done anything worth noticing He’s got us there boss said the second man Mr Scant went on So what makes petty thieves decide to steal fineries that once belonged to kings Someone put you up to this Helped you inside told you what to take set up the transport for a haul this size 7
