London.
Ghost Street.
The guys in the mail car stopped in the alley.
Steve turned off the car and spoke.
— We have arrived... Just let's do it without incident today, as we usually like.
— It's after this phrase that we usually have accidents... — Chise reminded him.
Steve looked at the girl with a haggard look.
— Just don't start, please... Let's just go into the trashed room with activated traps and find a note with Zelda's new address, meet up and calmly go punch this asshole in the face!
— At least that's it... — Lawrence said.
The guys got out of the car.
The fog was blurring down the street.
The guys took turns approaching the house, looking around.
Steve carefully climbed the steps, looked at the guys, and then knocked on the door handles.
After waiting a few seconds, Steve opened the door.
There were broken threads on the inside of the door, and shards of broken glass and remnants of red spots on the carpet on the threshold.
— Who was obviously unlucky. — Lawrence spoke from behind her.
— It's not good for us. — Steve took out a small metal candlestick and lit it.
— There is no gas... — Steve added.
Chise and Beatrice looked at Steve with displeasure as Lawrence carefully walked inside.
The boy walked down the corridor, went to the doorway to the hall, he took out a revolver, removed the safety, abruptly entered the room.
Apart from the overturned furniture, there was nothing in it. Lawrence lowered the revolver and went to inspect the corners.
Beatrice and Steve came in behind him, and Chise brought up the rear, looking around all the time.
Lawrence, rearranging his things, spoke.
— It's like there was a party, not a shootout.
Beatrice, examining the sofa, suggested.
— Maybe she managed to cover her tracks?
Chise picked up an old book and shook it, and a piece of paper fell out.
— Somehow I covered it up very selectively, there's blood there, but there's just trash lying around.
While examining the piece of paper, Chise suddenly looked out the window.
Beatrice asked.
— What's in there?
— No, nothing... It just feels weird, like it happened.
— It's called Deja vu.
— How's that?
— De-ja-vu. The Aquitanian scientist has deduced the term as if it seems to you that this has already happened, but in fact it's just your brain messed up.
— I see...
Chise read the paper again.
— "Don't forget to pick up things from the laundress..." It doesn't make sense.
Lawrence picked up another piece of paper and began to read.
— You don't make sense? "Don't forget to buy rice and fish." It's not evidence, it's a to-do list.
Beatrice walked around and dusted off the dresser, which caused her to sneeze involuntarily, the dust flew apart, and a piece of paper flew into her hands.
— "Don't forget to wipe the dust." Apparently Zelda is quite forgetful, since even hints don't help her.
The guys continued to search until Steve went out into the hallway.
Looking back, he saw a staircase and another door.
Steve came closer, shook the dust off the railing, and then walked to the door.
— Hey, baby birds! There's clearly evidence here!
The guys came up, and Lawrence spoke.
— Do you think this is evidence?
— Not just a door, but a closed door! — Steve said, trying to open the door. — Well, let's not stand on ceremony.
Steve kicked down the door.
— Maza..
The guys went into a bloody room, everything was splattered in scarlet blood.
Beatrice covered her face and turned around.
— It smells terrible. — Lawrence mumbled, covering his nose.
The guys moved on.
— Oh my God, there's all this blood here.
— It's going to take us a day. — Chise said. —Beatrice, where are you?
—I'm... coming.
Beatrice crossed the threshold, she opened her eyes a crack, but immediately closed them, then opened them again and spoke.
— Hey, look.
The guys turned around and approached Beatrice. Lawrence asked.
— Where to look?
Beatrice pointed her finger at the blood trail that formed the word "old."
— The old... — Chise said.
— So what? — Lawrence asked.
— That must be a clue. It's only from the "old" that the Duke and Her Majesty come to mind.
— I think so... Dorothy once said that the current control headquarters is far from the first, and there have been "older" before it. — Steve said.
— And the place... — Lawrence didn't have time to finish.
— And Ange let out the address, but at the same time said that there are more traps in it than there are people on the planet of Black Lizards.
— Okay, let's eat and look at it, maybe I'll embellish it.
The guys ran to the car.
— Hmm... Are there any people on this planet at all? Chise asked.
— I don't remember, I need to check the guidebook. Beatrice said.
— Do you have one?
— Yes, I do it myself, sometimes it's interesting to hear what Ange is talking about.
The guys got into the car and drove to the place.
Around this time.
Dorothy wakes up, but she can't see anything and can't move.
The bag is removed from his head. The bright light blinds the girl. Dorothy was tied to a chair.
— Well, hello, beautiful.
— Eh?
— I hope you're more talkative than your girlfriend.
Dorothy finally saw the face.
— Johnson Carter...
— Bull's-eye! — Carter said, laying out his tools.
— I thought you were running a business somewhere in prison.
— I was fishing. Until my new business partner came to me. — Carter picked up a crowbar and began to polish it.
— Let me guess, is the red-haired guy with glasses muttering something about revenge?
— Heh, he really does. Well, he keeps his promise, so I'll keep mine, as soon as I find the blade...
Dorothy tried to pull away unnoticed, but she couldn't reach the knot.
Carter, noticing this, spoke up.
— However, we can do without it.
Carter ran his fingers over Dorothy from the waist up to her head, then grabbed her face, examining her.
— You'll be more interesting than the little one.
Dorothy immediately became angry and stepped on Carter's foot with her heel, which caused him to jump back and accidentally hit the other leg with a crowbar.
Carter staggered back, dropped some tools, then knelt down and began to moan in pain.
— Well, everything is beautiful... but I wanted it in a good way.
— It must have turned out badly.
Carter got up listlessly and walked towards the girl with a crowbar.
Approximately in the same building.
The man opened the door to the cell, threw Ange in and closed the cell.
Ange was tied up in a half-torn dress, with disheveled hair and a drop of blood on her face.
She breathed softly through her nose, but immediately spat the blade out of her mouth.
Ange untied herself, then cleared her throat and lay down on the floor. The girl sat down heavily, leaning her back against the wall, and examined the room.
There was only a bed and a toilet hole in the cell.
Ange crawled to the door, listened, and then began picking at the lock with the blade.
A minute later, the lock gave way and the girl cautiously opened the door.
After making sure that no one was there, she went out and quietly walked down the dark corridor that was in the basement.
There were steps leading up to the top of the corridor, and in front of them was an open door from which light was coming.
Ange poked around there. Suddenly, a man with a rifle came out of the room and headed towards Ange, while the girl quickly hid between a box and some material.
The man passed by. Ange walked on and got closer to the room.
A noise was coming from it.
— Right now the shift shift will come, then I'll go.
— You've been saying that for three days now, and you're still losing, either now or I won't play with you anymore.
— Okay... — the man said, slamming on the table.
A man's voice spoke, and then footsteps began to be heard.
Ange took cover again, and the man went up the stairs. The girl approached the threshold and cautiously looked inside.
There was another man sitting at a table in the room, picking up the scattered cards. Under the lamplight, there were drawers and several shelves.
The man reached under the table, then Ange crept closer, took the first thing that came to hand and hit the man on the head with a frying pan.
He fell unconscious, and the girl started rummaging through his pockets, but she found nothing but a revolver.
Ange went up the stairs to the floor above, there was already a light in it.
The girl quietly walked down the floor towards the sounds.
Ange approached the iron door, as it began to open. The girl immediately pointed the revolver forward, and Dorothy, who had come out of the door, did the same.
Ange lowered the revolver and exhaled, and Dorothy hugged her friend with the words.
— What are you doing? My poor girl, she must have been through a lot.
— Don't... i.
— Don't do what? There's no living place on you! Come on in!
Dorothy took Ange's hand and led her into the room. Closing and propping the door, Dorothy spoke.
— Well? Did this one drive you crazy?
Ange saw Carter tied to a chair with a bloody nose.
The girl came closer and looked at Carter with an evil look and a clenched fist. But she calmed down quickly.
Dorothy came up and said.
— You won't? Then I'm for you.
Dorothy hit the man in the face with a crowbar.
Ange spoke up.
— Interrogated?
— Mgm... We're just a couple of streets away from the theater where Lowe was hosting Mary's concert. The area is not pleasant.
— Where are the others?
— He says he doesn't know, but there's a red-haired guy's office here. I wanted to pick you up along the way, but I see you found your own way.
— I see...
Ange looked at Carter, but she just laughed.
— He told the truth about you...
— What's that?
Carter cleared his throat.
— Try to prevent him, eliminate him. And then you pursue your own intentions.
Ange thought about it.
— Then I should finish you off with the boy.
Ange raised her head, took a crowbar from Dorothy and loaded it right between Carter's legs, he already fell off the chair, but held back a scream.
Ange dropped the crowbar and walked towards the door with a serious face. Dorothy whispered with a grin.
— Well, that's it, we brought the lizard.
Ange and Dorothy headed towards the warehouse, hitting and shooting at the attackers along the way. Unarmed at the same time, just throwing them away.
Once they were equipped, they noticed the absence of the key ball, but they went to the top floor anyway.
Getting up, Ange threatened the girl with a gun, she threw the keys and ran downstairs.
Ange threw Dorothy's keys away, kicked down the door, and pointed the revolver.
There was not a soul in the darkened room, Ange immediately checked the floor for traps, and then went to the table.
Dorothy followed, looking around the room.
— I thought Low was living in slops, but this is just wild.
Ange was examining the marked map, and after looking through the drawers, she noticed a pocket flashlight, which was already blackened from work.
Ange picked up the lantern, but immediately threw it away and rushed at Dorothy.
The lantern detonated, triggering a chain reaction.
The girls broke the glass, jumped out the window, and barely managed to get together and landed in the alley.
The floor of the building was on fire.
Ange and Dorothy decided to hide. Dorothy asked.
— Did you even get a look?
— Yes.
They got into Carter's car.
— You don't think it's a trap?
— If it's a trap, that's a good thing.
Dorothy started the car with a smile and a soft laugh.
Ange was puzzled.
— What are you laughing at?
— I'm glad that my friend is finally coming to her senses. I don't feel like I'm from Casablanca at all... No, of course you had a quirk before, but then it was sincere, and this... not so in general.
Ange listened in silence. Dorothy grinned at him.
— To be honest, I think we could use a longer rest...
— Now we need to deal with Richard...
— Of course... — Dorothy rolled her eyes.
— But after... I think we can rest for a week or two. We didn't scrub the estate for nothing.
Dorothy smiled and pressed the accelerator to the floor.
Around the same time on a strange street.
In the alley, the guys were standing near a brick wall, Steve opened the entrance.
Beatrice lit a candlestick. The boys started down the steps, Lawrence asked.
— How do you know the entrance?
— Ange says that sometimes... which I'd rather not know.
Steve put down the key and opened the door to the hallway.
Beatrice covered her nose.
— It smells even worse than blood.
Chise spoke up.
— Of course, it's new there, but it hasn't been cleaned for 20 years.
The boys walked down the shabby corridor. Lawrence took out a revolver, Chise took out a katana, and Beatrice held a candle holder with shaking hands.
They walked around the room one by one until they saw the light from the crack in the door.
The guys were quietly approaching her, and a metallic creak could be heard from the room.
The guys stood in front of the door, Steve nodded his head, everyone nodded. The mechanic exhaled and kicked the door with all his might.
The door flew off its hinges and fell apart, the guys abruptly entered the room and saw Zelda sitting on a chair with a cup and spoon.
The spy looked at the guys disapprovingly.
— I understand that you also kicked down the door in my house?
Lawrence pointed the revolver and spoke.
— Don't move and don't make any sudden movements.
Zelda stopped stirring the tea, Beatrice whispered.
—Ange said she's for us.
— You never know what, everything can be expected from her.
Zelda spoke up.
— Can you finally let go of the gun? I heard you hit me in the head from 200 meters away.
Lawrence lowered the revolver. Steve spoke up.
— Let's get to the subject, do you know Richard's plans?
Zelda sipped her tea.
— No.
Steve put his hand to his forehead and sighed, Lawrence shouted.
— What do you mean, no? Then why is everyone hunting you?
Zelda shrugged her shoulders. Chise came up and threatened with a katana.
— Tell me now.
Zelda pushed the katana aside with a spoon.
— Well, okay... There's nothing to do here anyway.
An hour passed.
Lawrence was pouring something on the counter while the others sat in a circle and discussed the plan.
Steve held his head with both hands, then covered his face.
— And so that's what we have... Somewhere in the city, one lunatic has huge reserves of explosives, which are enough to blow up the entire capital and a couple of forests... He has many bases where he can hide, he has his own people in almost all the outskirts of the city, and we are... We sit in an abandoned base and hide from all this while another part of the team transports the queen... I don't think we've ever had this shit before!
Lawrence, holding a glass in his hands and hiccupping, said.
— I agree... maximum fire... twice.
Steve looked at Lawrence tiredly, and then sighed.
Zelda spoke up.
— You can't just despair, do you know how many times I've been on the verge of death? And nothing, I'm sitting in front of you.
Chise spoke up.
— Well, give me some advice. Do you work with him? What is his next step?
— Listen, he was already showing signs of some kind of psychological abnormalities at the time of the deal, and after you ruined the whole plan for him, he probably went nuts, so it's impossible to predict his actions.
Steve slammed the table.
— Great, beetroot! What should we do? Driving around the streets shouting "Richard, where are you?".
— Great idea! — Lawrence hiccupped.
— No shit! We'll be shot on the spot, fire us! And anyway, give it here. Steve walked over to Lawrence and took the bottle and glass away from him.
— Should we go help the others? — Beatrice suggested.
— So that Richard can walk around to the right? And after all, we are the only ones who care about this at all, why doesn't the whole control deal with it? — Chise was interested.
— Hmm... "A" and "D" would say that they already have a lot of worries, but I'll tell you this - they don't care. In principle, the top is not an unambiguous structure. Zelda was telling me.
There was a silent pause.
Chise stood up.
— We need to do something, we can't just sit and wait.
— I support you, we're not doing much good here. Steve said.
— But where are we going? — Beatrice asked.
— Hmm... Let's go to the Duke. And what? It also concerns him, especially if he is in danger.
— The guys started getting ready, Zelda continued to sit and drink tea. Beatrice was surprised.
— Aren't you coming?
Zelda laughed.
— I'm not a hero or a fighter for justice, so leave me alone. But I can give you supplies.
Zelda opened one of the drawers and handed over a pair of smoke bombs and hooks, after which she handed the rifle and cartridges to Lawrence.
The kid reached out to pick them up, swaying, but Zelda quickly changed and gave them to Steve.
— You'll be better off when you come to your senses.
Chise took out her candlestick. The guys have already gone out into the corridor. Beatrice looked at Zelda as everyone left. Zelda sighed irritably.
— Okay... But only because you're cute.
Beatrice came closer with a smile.
— It's certainly not a key ball, (terrible name), but also nothing.
Zelda handed something to Beatrice.
— Now run to the adults, don't bother.
— Thank you!
Beatrice said, hugging Zelda. Zelda felt uncomfortable, Beatrice ran away, waving her hand.
Zelda mumbled, then pushed the door open.