Broken Silence

"There's the Douglass fellow you were asking about."

Kane's head snapped up at the sound of Virgil's voice and he looked where he was pointing. A twitchy, thin man was lurking near the back of the crowd. He spotted Virgil and paled slightly, scurrying away while Virgil scowled.

"That little rat owes me money," he grumbled.

"I can have a word with him," Kane said suddenly. Virgil looked amused.

"You going to become my hired muscle now too, Just Kane?"

Kane shrugged. "I'm just going to have a chat with him."

"Well have at it then," Virgil chuckled. Kane loped off in the direction Erwin Douglass had gone, ignoring the protest of his stiff muscles. He knew he was taking on too many fights. He didn't need to fight nearly every night but he did need to replenish his stash of money since he'd given so much to Lionel. Still, if he wasn't careful he was going to start losing. As it was he had taken a solid punch to the jaw today and had a nice bruise forming beside his chin. He caught up to Erwin as he swerved down an alley and headed toward a small house with faded paint.

"Erwin," he said cheerfully, grabbing the other man's shoulder and spinning him around. Erwin stared at him with wild eyes.

"I'll get Virgil his money!" he said desperately. "I just need a little more time, I swear-"

"Shut up. I don't care about Virgil's money. You just got sacked from the Blackbird Institute, right?"

"Yeah." Erwin blinked in confusion. "What do you care?"

"Almost a month ago a new patient was brought in. A young woman named Camille Warrick. Do you know anything about her?"

"Yeah, I remember her." Erwin bobbed his head. "She was brought in for stabbing someone. Hard to forget a face like hers." Erwin paused and winced at the hard look that came into Kane's eyes. Then he blinked again.

"Matter of fact, you look like her," he said. "You have those same half brown, half blue eyes. You related to her?"

"Where do they keep her?" Kane asked, ignoring his question.

"Why do you want to know?" Erwin frowned, eyeing Kane suspiciously. Kane balled his fist and swung, punching him hard in the gut. Erwin doubled over, wheezing.

"I'll ask you one more time," Kane said calmly. "Where do they keep her?"

"Third floor," Erwin choked.

"Are there guards on duty at night, or just staff members?"

"There are a few nurses and orderlies that are on during the night. There's usually a constable or two that patrol the grounds until sunup."

"Thanks, Erwin. You've been most helpful." Kane pulled out the money Lionel had given back to him and shoved it at him. "Use that to pay off Virgil, and then get your life together. And if anyone asks, all we talked about was your debt to Virgil Gleason. Got it?"

Erwin nodded, looking baffled as he gingerly massaged his stomach. Kane spun on his heel and marched away. He could get past a constable and a few orderlies. Once he had whatever contraption Lionel was creating for him, he should be able to get to Blackbird and find Camille without too much trouble. But he still needed money to get there and money to get them both back to Briarwood once he had Camille back, so he'd have to endure the fights a little longer.

Kane hurried back to his room at the inn to get cleaned up a bit before meeting Malina. As he was striding briskly toward the tavern where she worked, he noticed some little girls selling flowers and bought a dark purple one. He figured this one little unexpected expense was worth it. She was pacing outside the tavern when he got there, blushing in that sweet way of hers when she saw him.

"I hope you weren't waiting too long," he said. She shook her head.

"No, not long," she murmured. Kane revealed the flower with a dramatic flourish and she stood stock still, looking disbelieving as he tucked it gently behind her ear.

"What's this for?" she asked.

"I thought of you when I saw it." Kane smiled.

"Th-thank you. It's beautiful."

"Beautiful things go together, don't you agree?"

Malina ducked her head. "I'm not...you think I'm beautiful?"

Kane laughed. "I'm surprised you even had time to meet me, with the number of admirers you must have."

"I don't have any admirers," Malina said, raising her head slightly to look at him again.

"Then I consider myself exceedingly lucky that other members of my gender are either blind or immensely stupid."

Malina giggled softly. Kane offered her his arm and she shyly laid a hand on it as they strolled along the cobbled streets.

"Why did you come to London?" Malina asked finally. They had been walking together for over an hour and had wound up in a sprawling park and were now sitting on a bench people watching.

"Unexpected family matter," Kane said. She glanced at him, seeming to weigh her words before she spoke again.

"Did you...did you fight back home, too?"

Kane found himself hunching his shoulders with a faint grimace. He didn't normally care much about other people's opinions of him, and he certainly hadn't come to London in the hopes of creating a glowing reputation for himself among strangers. He was here for Cami. But he found that he didn't want Malina to think less of him or see him as a lowlife thug.

"No," he said quietly. "I've never done street fights before I came here. It's...complicated. I have a sister, you see. Camille. She's my twin and my best friend. She's in a bit of trouble, and I need money to get her out of it. The fights just seemed like the fastest way to accumulate enough of it." He glanced at her, noting a trace of sadness in her eyes at this information.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "That's terrible. That must be why you went to see Lionel," she guessed. Then she flinched. "I'm sorry if I'm being too forward. I shouldn't be nosing into your business."

"That's why I went to see Lionel," Kane confirmed, giving her a reassuring smile. "I can't blame you for being curious. I do have that air of mystery after all."

She laughed. "I hope your sister is all right," she said. "I don't know what I'd do if one of my brothers was in danger. Not that they can't take care of themselves, for the most part. They can be quite ridiculous and get themselves into trouble though."

"We men tend to do that," Kane nodded. "I think Camille would like you."

"I'd like to meet her someday."

"I'll make sure to arrange that." Kane smiled gently. "You should probably get home before your family begins to worry," he said reluctantly. Malina nodded slowly and sighed, looking equally as reluctant.

"I will see you again?" she asked.

"Of course." Kane helped her to her feet and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Good night, Malina Mouse."

"Good night," she whispered, cheeks pink. She still had the purple flower behind her ear. Kane watched her hurry away, a soft smile on his face. He was pleased when she paused once and glanced back at him before disappearing around a corner. As he walked back to The Smokes, he kept thinking about her soft laughter and he didn't even notice the cold.