The Lost Cog (Nivansrywyllian, Ravenwoodwitch)

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"Is it still anatomy if there's no body?" Asked the tinker. He didn't appear to be making a joke, so much as asking a genuine question.

The knock upon the door was met with a moment's silence, before Bowler's voice called out. "Come in, come in."

Bowler's office was fairly well lit, and he had a book splayed open on his desk, and a tea-cup was held lightly in one corpulent hand. The ghost herself was hovering just to the side of the jolly man. She looked up from the book, which she appeared to be reading over the round man's shoulder. Metzger was sitting across the table from the two of them, as to be expected. She didn't often abandon a charge. "Please, join us!"
 
"Oh, thank you sir," Bolletta said, walking in. "Actually, um, I was hopping I could talk with Miss Haverstead for a moment."

That was new. The lady ghost's eyes widened, looking between Mina and Mr. Bowler for a yay or nay. When both seemed indifferent, the grey lady floated over and gently sat herself down on a nearby chair.

"Yes?" she asked, softly.

"I hate to drag up any old wounds, but..." Bolletta started. "We found something...odd, at the crime scene. And I wanted to ask if you can remember anything else about what you saw."
 
Ebenezar stood patiently at Boletta's side, as she posed her question to the specter. He gave Bowler a little wave, and included Wilhamina in the gesture. For his part, Bowler smiled. Metzger's eyes remained glued on the ghost.

Mrs. Haverstead looked as if she was about to faint. Could a ghost lose consciousness? Even so, she straightened her back, and folded her hands at her waist. She began speaking, but her voice was watery, as if she were about to burst into tears. "I remember a strange machine. It was fastened to the wall. It 'ad needles, and hoses, and they 'ad slid the needles into me arm. One was taking blood out. The other was pushing some strange liquid in. It was black, and it burned. I felt like I was detaching from myself. Like I was... Like I was becoming a ghost. Only it didn't work right. There was pain. 'Orrible pain. Then someone tore out the needles. My blood stopped runnin' red, and 'ad turned a grey-brown."

She paused, steeling herself.

"I must've passed out, 'cause when I woke, I was in a bed, and there was... There was a knife. So small. So sharp. It would cut, and I wouldn't feel it 'til 'e dug 'is fingers in where I was open."
 
Bolletta decided to spare the girl much more. She smiled and held up a hand for her cease, and turned back to Mina. "That match the machine we found?"

"Matches it exactly," Mina said. "Guess that confirms that theory."

"Damn," the thief, in a most unladly like fashion, swore and leaned back on the wall. "What kind of sickie spends money on a machine that would do that? It can't be that boring in high society."

Mina didn't respond to that, but kept to business. "What did Axibelle have on the matter?"
 
Mrs. Haverstead quivered for a moment, and then all the air seemed to go out of her. She slumped into a nearby chair, although her arms appeared to be resting two inches beneath the armrests. Pearly, ghost-tears rolled down her cheeks.

This time, it was Ebenezar who spoke up, and rather quickly. "Axibelle said that she knew of the runner that the buyer used to get some of the pieces for the machine. Hiro and Keeva are running him down now, and with any luck he'll talk. He's apparently famously indiscreet. Failing that, I'm sure they'll bring him back for questioning."

He paused to glance at his partner. "Did I miss anything, miss Boletta?" The kid was second-guessing himself.
 
"No that's..." Bolletta stopped, thinking it over. "Well...that's mostly it."

There was no need to bring up the attacking black sludge to scare Mrs.Haverstead. Instead, Bolletta tried to subtly motion that she needed to talk to the tinker, specifically from outside, and nodded to Mrs.Haverstead.

"We're close," she assured her. "I promise we'll have an answer for you real soon."
 
Ebenezar -while incredibly obtuse when it came to interpersonal communication- was getting better. He stared blankly at Bo for a moment, before realization overtook him. He nodded briefly, and gave a slight wave to the room. Only Bowler returned it.

The tinker quickly made for the door, and waited for his partner outside.

"Good luck!" Called Bowler, after his agents.

"What is it, Bo?" Asked Ebenezar, when she rejoined him.
 
"Sorry," Boletta said, opening with an apology. "I didn't want to scare her. Looked like she'd been through enough."

That said, the thief had a theory;one she wanted to run by someone clearly smarter than her...but less threatening that Wilhelmina. So, she settled on the man quickly becoming a good friend, and spoke in a low tone.

"That black sludge she mentioned," Bolletta said. "The one being pumped into her...do you...I think that sludge was the stuff we tangled with down there."
 
The tinker watched his partner expectantly. In response to her theory, he scratched at the back of his head ponderously.

"I... I suppose it might have resulted in the production of the monster. If it was an unexpected result, it would explain why whoever made the machine had to leave in such a hurry. It makes more sense than some goons hiring a sludge as a guard-dog for an empty house."

The tinker began to look queasy. "Why d'you suppose the took the knife to her? I mean... It had to have been once she'd been disconnected from the machine. D'you suppose the monster... Came out of her once they started cutting?"
 
(so very late, so very sorry)

The thief hadn't thought of that. The prospect made her stomach twitch a little, and she had to recollect herself behind her mask.

"Best not mention that one, methinks," she said. "She's scared enough...I just wish we had gotten a sample of that stuff before clearing out."

Boletta suspected the girl had simply wondered in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that still didn't explain how that machine had come into play. For now, all they had was a theory, and they'd have to play on that.

"We could test the machine using water," she suggested. "At least see if my theory has any ground in it."
 
"Well... We did get a sample. Sort of." Said Ebenezar, "I was doused in the gunk when it died. I've still got the clothes. They stink like extractor fumes, but I haven't had time to deal with them since we've been back."

Ebenezar ran a hand through his strawberry-blonde hair, nails scratching at his scalp. "I don't know how we'd test the machine. Folks need their blood for living, Bo. I don't know that we can justify hooking anybody up to it. Wilhamina will figure it out. She'd the expert on that sort of thing. There's a reason Bowler took her on, and it's because she's the best at what she does."

Ebenezar wiped a hand over his eyes, tiredly. "I'm not sure there's much we can do until 'Hiro and Keeva get back."
 
Sitting still; the one thing the thief hated doing above all things. Her left foot twitched in agitation, before she finally sighed in defeat.

"Okay," she said, slouching against the wall. "Try to get her that gunk too, see what she can make of it."

Meantime, she'd just have to sit on her hands. "Don't suppose you know anything to do in the meantime?" she inquired. "I hate doing nothing...makes me feel like I'm letting someone down."
 
"Will do." He tossed up a playful mock-salute.

"You're not letting anyone down, Bo. You're just waiting to be spectacular again. There's plenty to do, and we'll have more than enough action soon enough, I'm sure."

He began walking back towards his chambers. "You could read a book. You could go out for a drink with some friends. You could stay in for a drink with some friends too, I suppose. Masahiro always complains about the dramatically reduced chances of a barfight around the Cog, but I think he's joking."

He paused hesitantly, glancing at his partner. His cheeks mantled slightly, and he cleared his throat. "You could help me put together my robot. If you wanted, I mean." That was a silly idea. Girls didn't like tinkering. They liked flowers, and dresses, and puppies. Maybe if he made a dog-automaton... "Or you could go for a walk," He continued on, too quickly, as if trying to hide the suggestion he'd just made. "I hear there's a ball going on in the diamond quarter tonight. I doubt it would be terribly difficult for you to sneak in, if you like dancing."
 
He was stuttering again; something she was beginning to find increasingly adorable. With a smirk, she followed behind him, hands linked behind the small of her back.

"Dancing reminds me way too much of Violletta," she said, her nose wrinkling. "Girl used me as a practice dummy for that way more than I would like. Always found it kinda dull anyhow..."

But mechanical toys was something she could get behind.

"I'd love to help you, if I can," she said with a blush. "I have a basic understanding of how machine works...mostly from alarm dismantlement, but still."
 
"I was always too clumsy for dancing myself." Admitted Ebenezar. "Whenever I get that close to a pretty girl, words fly out of my head, and my feet won't go where they ought to. A few stepped toes and slaps later, and I look -and feel- like a fool."

It took him a few paces to realize that Boletta had in fact opted to see his machinery. He stopped mid-stride, and turned to stare at the woman, perplexed. "Y-you would?" A grin split his features, and he went back to striding toward his chambers, more quickly now.

"Fantastic. I don't know if you'll be able to fit inside my Titan. I made it to my specs, and we have different-" He glanced back at Boletta "-shapes. I can make adjustments though." He said.

He stopped outside of the room, and fished in his pockets for the key. He unlocked it, and passed through the threshold eagerly. "There's not a whole lot of protection inside, but it makes you strong. You could lift a steamwagon with it. I think. I haven't tried. But the mathematics should work. The joint-stress, pistons, and power supply are all individually capable of a sustained force of two tons. About."
 
((Than we shall))

God, why is she here again?

Bolletta really didn't mean Axibelle much harm, truely...and yet...

The thief tried not to stand on her tip-toes near the tall, lean, and lovely punk-princess, despite her inclination to preen her feathers. Apparently Hiro and Keeva had returned with their 'catch', something they had been pretty mysterious about. The thief was standing in the corner with a pout on her face, hood drawn over her head.

"They here yet?"

Right on cue, the doors to the conference room were pushed open...a with very scared looking teenager all but thrown inside. His hat fell to the side as he looked up at the others with wide, terrified eyes.

"Uh..."

"Here's your guy!" Keeva called, following inside. "Your runner, fresh from the copper quarter."
 
Ebenezar was lounging in one of the comfortable leather chairs, sitting crosswise in it with both of his legs slung over one of the arms, and using the other as a backrest. He had a book open in his lap, and he was doodling into a little notebook just beside it. Metzger and Bowler weren't in attendance for the arrival of the runner, each busy with some task or another. The two of them were seldom unoccupied.

When the doors burst open, and Hiro and Keeva shoved the runner in, Ebenezar looked up from his books ponderously. He pulled his legs down from the chair's arm, managing to juggle each book, the inkbottle, and the pen all without upsetting any of it. "Hiro," He scolded. "There's no call to be rough with him." Ebenezar set the books down on the floor, open, and stoppered the inkbottle before going to help the young runner up.

Ebenezar spoke calmly, and with a friendly smile on his face. "My name's Ebenezar Flitz. These here are friends, and colleagues. We're detectives, and we're looking for information. Now we're not going to hurt you, but we need some information, okay?"
 
"Um, I..." The runner shakily got to his feet. He was a fairly scrawny fellow, skin blotched red in several areas, with shaggy brown hair falling into scared green eyes. Fussing with his suspenders, the boy swallowed hard and spoke a second time. "I...I guess."

Bo's eyes suddenly widened. "Wait a mo.....Flynn?"

The boy froze.

"Flynn Johnson," she laughed, moving with cat like grace to a standing position. "So, is this what became of your attempts to go 'legit', or were you minding your own, 'legal' business yet again?"

"This woz perfectly legit," the cockney boy insisted. " 'e said e'd pay me post 'ast, he did. I woz jus following orders, I swear it by me mum!"

Bo chuckled, turning to the others. "You guys are looking at a former rival of mine; used to be the terror of the upper-side for about three years before the coppers finally caught him. Swore he went legit...though I'm unsure now."
 
Ebenezar's brows perked up when Boletta approached the young man. She knew him? Curious, Ebenezar stepped closer as well. Masahiro, for his part, only looked mildly embarrassed for the force he'd used in throwing the boy into the room.

"Interesting," Ebenezar said, the gears beginning to turn in his head. "And what- No, business comes first. Please, mister Flynn, we need your information. There was murder done, and the machine you carried parts for was involved. We need to know everything. Where you got the pieces, how much they cost, where you delivered them, and to whom you delivered them.
 
"Wha?" Flynn's eyes widened. "Yur kiddin'."

"There's a ghost in our office, Flynn," Boletta said dryly. "Do I look like I'm joking?"

The ex-thief swallowed about as hard as you could. There were plenty of things going on in his conniving head by now; mos of it worries over various threats and implied threats that were thrown in his direction. BUT, with all four detective baring down on him now, he decided now was not the time to be the coward.

" 'is name woz Benjamin Flesch," he said slowly. "Told me 'e needed parts for some 'experiments he was doing. 'e swore they woz legal, so I didn't think much of it..."

"What were they?" Bo insisted, as gently as someone like her could.

"Lots of doctor stuff," he frowned. "a surgical kit, some transfusion tubes, and lots, I mean LOTS of empty glass jars...don't know why. 'e told me to get most of 'em from this shop on the far end of town."
 
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