Prisoners In The Tunnels

JP with Jaxx and Cindy

May 13, 1889
Tunnels under Paris
Mid-morning

Several hours passed without much happening. Occasionally guards would stop by with food, drinks or to just check up on the prisoners.

The French mage, Pascal, stopped by to reinforce the magic keeping Dr. Jackal asleep and the chains reinforced.

Wayne didn't speak much, he didn't really know what to say to his daughter. In his mind, their faiths were sealed.

However, when just enough time had passed that the tension was mixing with overwhelming boredom, the door opened once again.

"Well, if it isn't my former employer and his spoiled child," the familiar voice of Nigel Baddington, the former butler of Wayne, chaperone to Lily, and the reason why the two were in this mess.

Lily tensed up when she say Nigel enter the room and speak up. She had to fight the urge to throw something at him. However she managed to keep herself in check as she replied, "Come to gloat or are you our new guard Mr. Poopington?" Lily had a snarky smirk on her face.

"I wouldn't lower myself to the task of being your guard." Nigel responded. "I just wanted to see you in captivity for myself. Well, actually I do have some business with you - Lily. If you cooperate things will go much easier for both you and your father.”

Lily glared at Nigel for a bit then spoke up. She asked, "What? You need to steal more of my jewelry? Are you planning on stealing my clothes as well? Wow Nigel I would have never guessed you swung that way. That would explain why you are still single at your age." Lily raised an eyebrow at Nigel as he gave him a condescending look.

Nigel wasn't bothered at all by the comments, he just found them to be childish.

"What do you want, Nigel?" Wayne asked, with an annoyed tone.

Nigel turned back to Lily, "I want to know what Lady Elizabeth knows? You have been staying with her. You can tell me why someone of her status is bothering to investigate the Children.”

Lily decided to play ignorant with Nigel since she was not in the mood to share with him. She replied, "Well Lady Elizabeth was kind enough to welcome me as a guest once you and your cronies kidnapped father. As her guest I did aid her in her charity work with children, so investigating the orphanages was a normal thing. We found some of them were not real orphanages but sweatshops or they didn't even have any orphans on the premises. However I am at a loss as to why you seem to care for poor children?" Lily looked at Nigel as if he had passed gas in a church.

"Orphanage?" Nigel seemed to have no idea what Lily was talking about. "You do know lies will not help you."

Nigel went to the door, opened it and called in three rather large men. "Grab him." Nigel pointed at Wayne.

The three men grabbed Lily's father and practically threw him into a chair. Holding the man there, they chained him to the chair. Nigel then turned back to Lily, "Last chance before unpleasant things start happening to your father.”

Lily was startled and a bit scared as she saw the men roughing up and chaining her father down. She complained with anger in her eyes, "HEY!!!! STOP THAT!!!!" WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE???" She glared at Nigel and then yelled, "I thought this was supposed to be a kidnapping for ransom!! Lady Elizabeth took me in out of pity since I had nowhere else to go. Then she gave me odd jobs to keep me busy to keep my mind off you kidnapping my father!!! For crying out loud all I did was handle some of her mail!!! Seriously, I just finished Finishing School!!! What kind of job do you think I will get from a noble like her???? Even a backstabbing bone head like you should know that much!!!" Lily was so mad she had spit drooling down her chin. After all was said and done she had enough of all this cloak and daggers mumbo jumbo.

Nigel shook his head, "Originally, this kidnapping was about the money. Then we found out that Jackal was in town, it also became about retrieving the doctor. Now, however, we know that Eldren has been investigating us, sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. We want to know why. What does she gain by it?" Nigel nodded towards the men in front of Wayne. One of the men punched Lily's father across the face. It was hard enough that bruising would start forming soon, and his lip started bleeding. Nigel then held up his hand and turned back towards Lily. "Are you sure, you have no information to divulge?”

Lily was not happy to see the men assault her father but Nigel was clearly a fool if he thought she would betray Lady Elizabeth who gave her friendship, a purpose and a place to belong to, as opposed to her negligent father who clearly forgot what day was her birthday more than once. She balled up her fist in anger as she replied, "ARE YOU DAFT, DEAF OR SIMPLY DUMB???? If I had that kind of connection I would not be trapped in this forsaken place with you smelly old geezers!! You are just looking for an excuse to bully my father and I at this point!! It's ludacris that you want to pin your insane actions on a teen girl!! You know, I have met some dumb geezers in my life, but you take the pudding, pal! Only a senile old goat, has-been butler would kidnap us and then blame us for the law looking for them! You're as Brilliant as a broken lightbulb, bonehead! If you had brain one in that huge melon on top of your neck, you would be trying to figure out which of your brainless goons screwed up and left a trail of breadcrumbs to your front door!" Lily crossed her arms as she glared at Nigel in disgust.

Nigel was unfazed by Lily's words, then got a quizzical look on his face. "The law? Is that it is Lady Elizabeth working with the law?" It was only sort of a question, but Nigel was watching Lily to see her reaction.

Lily raised an eyebrow at Nigel as if she was talking to an idiot. She replied, "Who knows? Did it ever occur to you that kidnapping people tends to get attention, especially from the law and anyone connected to the victims? Are you really that dumb? If anyone one is looking for you bloody "gits", its because you are pissing them off with your criminal acts. Are all criminals as daft as you all? Did you really not think even for a moment that if you kidnap us they way you did, that no one would care or come looking for us? Heaven knows how many people you pissed off by kidnapping my father alone. All his business partners that are depending on him to turn their investments into profit would not hesitate to hire some mercenaries to hunt you all down like a pack of dogs hunting a fox." Lily was frustrated as she ran her fingers through her hair in disgust.

Nigel raised a brow at Lily. "That doesn't explain why Lady Elizabeth would care enough to get that involved, and not just leave it to the law." He glanced towards Wayne and the two men that had roughed the man up, then back to Lily. "Well, if you don't know that. Then answer me this. Why did Lady Elizabeth take in Dr. Jackal? Is she aware of his other half?”

Lily rolled her eyes up and huffed as she shook her head side to side as if she scolding a child. She replied, "Dr. Jackal was working for Lady Elizabeth before she took me in you dolt! Did it ever occur to you that she would come looking for her employees after you kidnapped them???? Seriously is this your first time kidnapping someone???? If you want the answer to that question why don't you wake up the good doctor and ask him yourself? Or is there a reason you have him chained up and sleeping? Don't tell me you are afraid of him???" Lily sneered at Nigel as if to dare him to wake up Dr. Jackal.

"I assumed you would know the reason," Nigel responded. "It does not matter, I couldn't wake him even if I wanted to. I haven't suddenly developed magical abilities.”

Lily looked annoyed at Nigel after his comment. After a dramatic pause she sneered at Nigel as she replied, "Oh yeah cause I am the type of girl everyone flocks to when they have a secret huh? I just warms the cockles of my heart to know both you and father paid little attention to me! For crying out loud you know more about my father than I do! Who knows how many secrets you both hid from me! On top of that I had no friends at school, much less any to share any secrets with! Now all of a sudden you expect me to become popular overnight and learn everyone's secrets??? Are you really that big of a GIT??!! I am an heiress with no connections, no friends and barely any family to socialize with. Lady Elizabeth took me in because she felt sorry for me after you bloody nimrods took everything away from me!! Other than standing there and looking pretty for father's presentations, the only thing I am good at is spend his money!!" Lily was angry as she ran he ringers through her hair as she growled in disgust. She muttered, "I am literally surrounded by idiots!”

Nigel continued to be unfazed by Lily's words. "Well, then tell me this. Does Lady Elizabeth have an Orc staying with her?”

Lily sighed and rolled her eyes up at Nigel in annoyance. Then she decided to do some exaggeration to get a rise out of Nigel. She replied, "Seriously? She has a few of them working for her as security. Believe it or not, many of the nobles hire those big guys for their muscles, since they are lacking in the brains department. Granted they are hard to have a conversation with, but they do come in handy when moving furniture." Lily waited for Nigel to make a comment then blurted out, "If you want their names I can't help you there. They all look alike and their names sound like noises you make when in pain." Lily had an annoyed expression as if Nigel was a true git.

NIgel seemed to get the information he wanted or Lily had managed to successfully convince him that she didn't know anything. Either way he ordered the guards to unchai Lily's father.

"You better not be lying," Was all Nigel said to Lily, before he left with the guards behind him.

Lily let out a sigh as she rubbed her face in exhaustion. Her act was was exhausting and terrifying at the same time. Luckily she had been exposed to a lot of worse trauma with Lady Elizabeth, which helped her deal with this moment. After regaining her composure she looked at her father and asked, "Are you alright father? I was worried they just wanted an excuse to hurt us. Maybe they are just paranoid from attracting to much attention committing crimes." Lily looked at her father to see if he was wounded.

"Yes, I am alright. I don't believe I was injured much." Wayne didn't know how much it would hurt in a few hours but for now it was more a sting than anything. "They are paranoid, it is like they believe Lady Elizabeth is up to something nefarious and you know all of her secrets. I have known the Ellingtons for a long time, I would never use the word nefarious to describe any of them." Wayne paused. "It's more like our kidnappers are the nefarious ones.”

Lily replied, "Well it appears they are clueless to being criminals. It's bad enough they are kidnapping us for money, but now they want to kidnap children on top of what other crimes they are committing as well. The bizarre part is that they seem surprised that they are getting attention from the people they are messing with, as if the world is clueless to their greed and stupidity. I would not be surprised if they brought the entire city police on themselves by now. Seriously father you if we get out of this place alive you really need to do a background check on your employees." Lily seemed annoyed as she sighed at her father.

"The ignorance of people who believe themselves to be righteous." Lily's father quietly said. "I do wonder how long Nigel has been a part of this. There were no signs. None.”

Lily pondered the thought a bit and then replied, "Well if he was recruited during his employment we should have noticed a change in his personality or actions. My guess would be he was a spy from the beginning and sent here to learn all your secrets. I bet he was going to blackmail you if he got any good dirt on you." Lily gave her father a shrug.

"Very likely." Wayne glanced over at Dr. Jackal. "It seems as if your friend might be stirring.”