Tales of Old: Lafayette and Kalena pt.2 (Anniversary)

At the end of the hall they could hear a voice like grinding millstones. “Someone unlock the door. I want to get some sleep.” them rattling of the door, banging, then a thud. Lafayette chanced a peek seeing the man laid out on his back, he slowly shut the door. “Guess some fumes got around the door. Takes some of our time away thought.” he thought.

Kalena was already searching for the safe. Slipping her fingers under the frame of a tacky portrait on the wall she felt a button. Then another farther up. Clicking them in the painting swung out on hinges revealing a space behind the wall, a hidden safe. The safe was like nothing she’d seen before. Or hadn’t seen in a very long time. Lafayette appeared beside her. “It's an old model.” she hissed. “No combo. You need four keys.” she pointed. “How many lock picks do you have?” she asked.

“Enough, so long as we don’t break one.” he said, loosening the band on his arm. Handing her four, keeping four for himself. “And we hope it's not trapped.” Kalena pressed an ear to the safe as Lafayette slipped the picks into the first lock, “Slow.”she whispered, listening for odd tension on the lock that wasn’t pins or tumblers. Working in tandem to set them in place and together turning them. The door opened with a tiny click. Inside the prize they were seeking.

Inside the safe sat a small pile of documents held down with a round crystal paperweight. “All this for a few pieces of paper.” Lafayette whispered. Lifting the paperweight, and quickly flipping through the pages before finding one that was scribed with ‘Lowson, Kline’ “Got it.” Lafayette said, but his head snapped towards the door. “Merde…” he grumbled, as the door burst open from a large footed kick. A towering silhouette filled the doorway.

“Ha…” the man barely started ordering the two, to freeze when Lafayette, beating Kalena by a half second who was reaching for a knife, snapped his wrist in a wheezing arc, the object he’d hurled glinting for a moment was moon light flickered off it, crashing into the man’s head and he reeled back. Falling against the wall. “Window.” Kalena said, as the man struggled to get back up, blood covering one eye. Kalena grabbed the chair sitting near the desk and smashed it against the window, raking it back and forth to clear the glass to clear it out.

The two were out the window and they heard the steps running to the window looking down at them, as they vanished into the night. Shouting came from the alley and window as men yelled for them to halt. But they had enough of a head start; they were a street over before they heard more footsteps. In a near sprint they heard more voices coming from up ahead. Kalena and Lafayette skidded to a stop in the soft glow of a shop’s window, “Horo’s Curios”. Lafayette looked back then ahead, in rapid secession, before yanking Kalena into the alley. In silence he pulled her cloak off and then tossed them away.
“That's one of my good ones.” Kalena said, watching where it landed.

“I’ll pay to have it cleaned,” he said hushed, as footsteps started to approach Lafayette looked down to the entrance of the alley again. “You can be mad later.” he told her, turning her away so his back was to the way into the narrow passage and got closer to her. From behind it would look like a couple couldn’t control themselves and stepped out of sight to avoid prying eyes.

One of Randel Cartwright’s guards stopped looking down the alley, watching for a moment before another voice cut the quiet. “See anything.” the far away voice asked. “No. Just two love birds.” he said before moving on.

After a few tense moments Lafayette stepped away and had to keep himself from laughing “Fair Lady I can’t believe that worked.”

Kalena put a hand on his chest and pushed Lafayette gently to get more distance, with a slight laugh at how much like a Madam Jocelynn novel it all was. “Let’s avoid doing that again. It surely won’t work a second time.”

“Message received.” he said, scooping the cloaks up in his arms and offering Kalena her cloak back. “I’m sure Kline will still dislike me even after getting these papers, he would explode if he saw that.”

“Why do you care so much what Kline thinks of you?” Kalena asked.

“I don’t. But given the circumstances of being around you, meaning I’m around Kline from time to time I’d rather not spend entire parties feeling like the back of my head is burning with how he’s glaring at me. All over a little joke when we first met.” Lafayette shrugged. “Not like I think this will change much but he’s paying so…” he trailed off to not belabour the point.

“If Kline hated you a much as you think he does, he could pull some strings and you’d have a much harder time.” Kalena pointed out. “But I have seen him glare at you. Have you tried apologizing?” She asked teasingly.

“We’re not kids, if his skin isn’t thick enough to be teased about ‘getting the girl’ then that’s his problem.” he said as they made their way between side streets and alleyways avoiding any possible run-ins with Randel Cartwright’s men. Arriving at one of the finer inns in town, still slightly active despite the late hour. Though it lacked a traditional tavern on its ground floor there were a few seats for conversation and smoking of pipes. They already knew the room number and moved upstairs without speaking to the man at the desk.

Kalena knocked, and they waited a few moments hearing shifting inside. The door opened with a groan, just enough for Kline to peek out, seeing who it was he opened it fully. “Do you have it?” he asked. Looking down both ends of the hallway.

Lafayette nodded. Digging through the back, retrieving a stack of papers. Kline went to grab them, but Lafayette yanked them back.

“Don’t think you can strong arm me.” he said. “I am paying you handsomely enough already.”

Lafayette scowled. “I'll give them to you. But they're not all yours,’ he said. “I had to make it look like I was after more than just your paper,” he added. “Or else they’d just come after you off jump.” Lafayette thumbed through the papers, until he found the few for Kline. “Now…” Lafayette cracked a grin.

Kalena shook her head. “Lafayette don’t…” she thought. But his mouth was already running before she could stop him.

“What’s the magic word?” Lafayette said holding it back just far enough Kline would have to look like a fool lunging for the papers.

“Please…” he said through gritted teeth.

“Magnifique.” Lafayette said, making his accent thick, handing the papers over and Kline dropped their payment in his hands. “Pleasuer doing business. If you need our services again you know where to find us.” Lafayette said, taking a slightly mocking bow. And starting to walk away.

“Ignore him Kline.” Kalena said, staring after Lafayette as he walked away, “He’s just trying to get a reaction.”

“Well…its working.” Kline responded. “Have a good night Kalena.” he said, shutting the door.

Kalena caught up and let a laugh slip out. “You really don’t help your case with him you know that right?”

“He was grabby,” Lafayette said, “If he wanted to grab the papers he could have done it himself.” Lafayette said knowing it wasn’t true. “But he could have just asked to see them.” he added.

Kalena watched Lafayette putting the other papers back in the satchel. “You’re not going to be a hero and try and help all those other people are you?”

“Not for free.” Lafayette said, “I read some of those names. Not people I want to mess with even if they are in over their heads.” he shrugged, “Even if we got paid this was a favor. I don’t know those other people.”

“I don’t know about you. But I could use a drink.” Kalena said. “Do you still dislike Brandy?”

“I’ll drink whatever tonight.” Lafayette said. “And probably for the next few days. We might want to lay low.” he added.

“Probably.” Kalena said annoyed at the idea of being confined to her grounds even if it was self imposed and she probably wouldn’t have left anyway but it was the principle of the matter.

The two walked off into what remained of the night towards Kalena’s manor.