The man's colorful introduction did nothing to calm Sarah's nerves. She pressed herself even more into the door. Maybe when Hawthorne pulled to a stop, she could open it and get out of there. After all, it sounded like he needed her to get the documents. If she fled, he might leave the others alone to go after her.

"Ms. Hidalgo, it would please me greatly if you moved away from the door." He wasn't even looking in her direction. "I don't fancy a chase through the streets of Kingsgrove at the moment, not that you could run anywhere one of my agents couldn't find you."

Sarah scooted a bit from the door, not that there was much room with the Thespian's massive bulk in the middle seat. It hadn't just been an exaggeration when they said that everything on the other side of the ocean was smaller and tighter back home. She wondered if he was larger than Toledo. His coat counted for some of it but how much?

"Since when were you into forgeries? Seems a bit below you." Dave held his cane closer to him and fidgeted with the handle. Sarah thought she saw a tiny glint of metal at the bottom of the handle before it disappeared. "Not exactly the most glamorous of crimes."

"Mr. Sherman, surely a man with your vision can see how lucrative of a business it will be. Visas and passports will be in great demand and the government won't be able to fill it fast enough. And if I can offer high quality forgeries, I won't have much legitimate competition. I'm confident I can play the role of a forger well."

Sarah could hardly believe that he was just admitting this to everyone. In her limited knowledge of organized crime (which came from books, radio serials, and the occasional newspaper article about the crime going on in a city far from her hometown), they usually weren't so blatant about their plans. And if they did, that usually didn't bode well for the ones they told it to. Was he planning on giving them all concrete shoes and making them sleep with the fishes?

No, if he was an immediate threat, someone would be doing something. Though if he was such a big name in crime, why was he by himself? She always understood that crime bosses had at least a bodyguard with them at all times. But they weren’t the ones doing the actual stealing.

“Not to put a dent in your plan, Thespian, but do you think they’re just going to let you walk into the Ministry without some kind of ID? I know you have agents there but even they have to at least pretend to do their job.” Dave was falling back on his best skill, talking. But Sarah had the feeling that this wasn’t a situation he could talk his way out of like he had done with the ruffians or the Colonel, seeing that the Thespian used similar tactics.

“I have that covered, don’t you worry, Mr. Sherman. You three just need to do what you need to do. You don’t have to worry about me. I will need the final documents though, just for a day or two. Then I will return them. We can’t have you going out of business just because some Syrealian Colonel wasn’t satisfied with your paperwork. I see big things in the future of your little company. Now if you would let me invest…”

Heather turned her head and glared at him. “No, we don’t want your dirty money. And before you bring up my father, he gave us a loan, which we paid off, plus interest. If we need money, we’ll get it from the bank.”

“You’ll find my rates are quite fair among non-traditional lenders. Just something to put away for later, Mrs. Letterman. I know you handle all the finances since Mr. Sherman would probably have the company ledger in the red with his spending habits.”

Dave grumped slightly and faced the window. Sarah could see that being the case. But she was curious how they all seemed to know each other. It would be one thing if it were just Dave and Heather, but the Thespian knowing Hawthorne was a bit strange. They were about a block away from the ministry when the Thespian spoke up once again.

“Ms. Hidalgo, I need your opinion on something. If I were an agent from the Liban embassy, which accent would be more believable, the neutral southwestern or one with a bit more western drawl?” He demonstrated both accents on the words southwestren and western.

“I would think either, though I don’t think a Aboloanian would notice the difference between the two. Maybe the southwestern would be safest.” The answer came out without her really thinking about who was asking it and why. Apparently, her studently instincts were still going strong.

“Thank you very much for your input, Ms. Hidalgo. I may have to set a lunch date with you so you can advise me on such things. I don’t know too many Libans, I’ll admit. At least not ones that qualify as regular people.”

Sarah decided it might be better for her to keep her mouth shut for the rest of the trip. It didn’t seem to be doing her much good at the moment. Even Dave had fallen silent and noticeably glum over this turn of events. In all fairness, he probably hadn’t expected this to happen. No one did. Finally, Hawthorne pulled up to the curb and everyone shuffled out. Dave was the last one out since he had to crawl out over the back seat and drag his cane with him. He kicked the door to the car closed once he got outside.

“All right, let’s get this over with. The sooner we can get the stuff, the sooner we can get Colonel Smear-nov happy. No, he’s a Syrealian officer. They’re never happy. We’ll make him… what’s the word…?”

“Contented? Pacified?” Sarah offered. “Satisfied?”

“Yeah, one of those words.” Dave grinned a bit. “Boy, the other radio operators are going to love you once you start broadcasting. They’re already an interesting bunch, adding a scholar like you is going to make it even more interesting.”

They had to survive this first. Even if everything went smoothly inside the ministry, she still wasn’t keen on handing such an important document over. There was no guarantee that the Thespian would keep his word about returning it. The man opened the door for them.

“After you, I insist.” Like with the car, Dave was the last one through the door. Sarah had a feeling he was placing himself between the Thespian and them as often as he could. She doubted his leg slowed him down that much.

They were stopped by a person in a uniform. It was slightly different than the Aboloanian military uniform, but it was obvious the man was some kind of soldier. He eyed all of them critically, but seemed to zero in on the Thespian as an obvious threat.

“IDs, please.” He stated, holding his hand out. “State your reason for coming here.”

This wasn’t the person at the desk, but Sarah figured that handing him the letter would probably do for an explanation. He looked over the letter and then their IDs. She had to wonder if the one the Thespian handed to him was stolen or a forgery. He nodded and handed everything back to them.

“Just follow the signs to the visa desk. Though you, Mr. Marks, will have to wait in the waiting area. Even if you are from the Liban embassy, there are certain places you can’t go unless you are vouched for by someone here and at the Liban embassy.”

“No problems, sir.” His accent was impeccable. “I’m just here to make sure they get to and from safely. Never been much of a paper work guy, myself. Too much trouble. I'd rather just do something and get it done."

Dave rolled his eyes and started in the right direction. He seemed to have less tolerance for this man than Yager. Probably because Yager was easier to trick and fool. The Thespian appeared to be much smarter in that regard.

"And before any of you get any brilliant ideas about telling someone about me when I'm out of sight, I have agents down at the docks watching your ship." He pulled a picture out of his pocket and showed it to Dave and Heather. They both froze at the sight of it. "Break-ins have been happening down at the ports. It'd be a shame of one occurred to your ship and it was damaged. After all, you just got the hull fixed after escaping from Captain Yager. And if any of your crewmates just happened to be on board…"

Dave slammed the bottom of his cane on the ground. The Thespian chuckled.

"Yes, I think you understand clearly. Though I must say, you are acting very rude, Mr. Sherman. Ruder than usual, one might say. Your leg must be causing you pain, keeping you up at night. If you want, I can start supplying you with something to ease the pain again..."

"I think this is the room." Sarah pointed out as they came to it, if anything to stop the direction the current conversation was going. While she had never met anyone with a missing limb before, she had met other people with things like limps or hearing loss, and they didn’t usually like to dwell on their conditions or for others to. And as irritated as Dave seemed to be in the man’s presence, it was probably good for him to focus on something else.

“Yes, you are correct Ms. Hidalgo. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long.” He opened the door for them. “Age before beauty.”

Heather gently pushed Dave in after Sarah entered before he could say a scathing remark about the Thespian’s age or beauty. Sarah went ahead up to the desk, showed the letter to the lady, and received a number in return. So they all sat in silence, glancing at the Thespian once and a while. The man appeared to be very relaxed. For a moment or two, Sarah thought he would fall asleep but he’d never make a rookie mistake like that. After a while (probably no more than twenty minutes), the secretary’s phone rang and she answered it. She covered the microphone.

“They’re ready to see you now.”

“Good luck,” the Thespian wished as the three of them got up.

They entered the office and the visa man collected all the papers and looked them over, paying special attention to Sarah’s. He then offered them a piece of paper.

“If you would sign your name first, Ms. Hidalgo.” She took the pen from his desk and signed her name. “Now whoever is actually doing the hiring needs to sign.”

“I do the paperwork, so just hand it to me.” Sarah passed the pen to Heather and she penned her signature. “And he’s an equal partner in the business.”

“I’ll have him sign as an agreeing member of the company’s managing rank. It’s really not a big deal since you’re a small business.”

“So this is just a temporary one, right?” Sarah asked while Dave took his turn with the pen.

“Yes. It will allow you to work while we do the process of filing the real one. I doubt you’ll have much trouble getting approved considering the circumstances but keep in mind that this has some terms you need to follow.” He accepted the paper and pen from Dave. “Mostly you have to show up at work everyday and you have to be employed for the duration of the process, so if you get fired during that time, it’s not good. I doubt any of that will be a problem.” Finally, he stamped something on the paper. “Now if you excuse me, I just need to take this back right quick and send a copy to the Liban embassy.” He left the office.

“Um, doesn’t he need us to sign that copy?” Dave questioned. “And if he’s going to send a copy, why doesn’t the Thespian just have the messenger robbed instead of palling around with us?”

“I suspect they’re using a facsimile machine to send it over the radio waves.” Heather replied. “A lot of government facilities are getting them. My dad looked into getting one for his company but it’s way too expensive at the moment. I’m sure that if I’m aware of that fact, so is the Thespian. Hence our current company.”

“Sending papers over radio waves, what will they think of next? Movie theaters at home?”

Sarah wondered if Dave knew that televisions were a thing. Granted, not a lot of people had them and she had barely even heard of them. The question went unanswered as the man came back with the temporary visa.

“Here you are, Ms. Hidalgo. Now hold onto it and if it’s stolen, report it right away.”

All she could do was nodded, knowing that the thief was sitting in the waiting area. She was afraid that if she said anything, that would tip the other off. Then there was no telling what would happen to the ship.

“All right, now that we have everything settled, I wish you all luck.” He shook each of their hands. “And be careful out there. Things are getting rather dicey.”

Sarah knew understatement when she heard it. The man probably truly had no clue, working in an office like this all day. He probably also didn’t know that there was a crime boss in the waiting area. But they all left the office on friendly terms. The Thespian stood up when they came out.

“Business all taken care of, I assume. Good!”

Back out they went to the car. But instead of Hawthorne being in the driver’s seat, it was someone else with his cap. He doffed the cap.

“Going my way?” He asked as he got out and opened the passenger door.

Heather narrowed her eyes and refused to get in. “What have you done with Hawthorne?”

“Don’t worry, ma’am. He’s not too far.” He pointed with his thumb to the trunk. “He’s just a bit...tied up at the moment.”

Sarah listened and there was a slight thumping coming from the trunk. Dave whirled around on the Thespian and pointed an accusing finger at him.

“Hey, we’ve been nothing but cooperative with you! But now one of your goons has gone and stuffed Hawthorne into the trunk! If you don’t think we won’t raise a stink now no matter what happens to our ship…”

Dave was silenced by a hit from behind by a man who had been hidden in the car. The Thespian caught him as he fell forward before he pushed him back to the man, who dragged him and his cane in while he was still dazed.

This time, Sarah obeyed her instinct to run while the Thespian’s back was turned to her. Maybe she could get some help for the others. She didn’t count on the Thespian’s tree trunk of an arm wrapping around her waist and lifting her off the ground. His other armed wrapped around her upper body, pinning her arms down.

“Now, now, everyone just calm down and get in the car. I will explain things.” The Thespian kept a calm tone, even as he stuffed Sarah, who found that her kicks weren’t doing anything to him, into the back seat like an uncooperative piece of luggage. Heather was kicking up a fuss as the one wearing Hawthorne’s hat forced her into the car. “Everything is still going to plan.”

The Thespian kept a tight grip on Sarah during the ride, not that she could slip away out of a moving car. At one point Dave regained enough sense to try and fight back, but the goon pinned him down, making sure to keep his cane out of reach. The driver parked the car in an empty, desolate street.

“Johnny, please escort Mr. Sherman to the back of this alleyway and remind him of his manners. But make sure none of his injuries will hospitalize him. Make it look like a mugging. Someone will be along to help you soon.”

Johnny nodded. “All right. Come on, Captain Sherman.” He smacked the back of his head hard against the floor to make it easier for him to drag out.

“And I must apologize to you lovely ladies for what I’m about to do. You most of all, Ms. Hidalgo. And Mrs. Letterman, do give Mr. Letterman my regards when you see him next.”

The Thespian opened the door with one hand and then threw Sarah face first on the concrete. Stars exploded in her vision. She could hear him give more orders, like to put a nail in the tire and to give Hawthorne a slightly similar treatment to Dave. Despite her aching face, she started to pick herself off the ground. She was sure some section was bleeding, though she wasn’t sure what. Heather gave a short cry as she tripped backwards over Sarah, sending them both down to the ground.

“I’m sure any police officer will buy your story of being mugged now.” He stated as he pulled Sarah out from under Heather and retrieved the temporary visa from her coat pocket. “We even gave you a good reason to stop in such a place.”

Sarah winced as her face throbbed a bit. Fortunately, it wasn’t her nose nor was it the side that was already bandaged. A hand caught her chin and pulled her head around.

“Hm, it doesn’t look too bad. Good, I thought I threw you too hard.” The Thespian let go of her and stepped over the both of them. “Johnny, it’s time to go! I think both of them have been roughed up properly. And don’t forget to untie the driver!”

“If you think that we’re going to let you get away with this,” Heather rose to her feet and delivered a hard right to the Thespians face. She got an elbow in the solar plexus for her troubles, which knocked the wind out of her.

“Mr. Letterman’s been giving you good lessons.” He commented as he rubbed where she hit him. “But yes, I think we will get away with this. You’ve put forth enough effort to stop us, so please don’t waste any more of your energy. Perhaps our next meeting will be under more pleasant circumstances.”

And then the Thespian and his cronies walked off, as if they were leaving a restaurant after a good meal. Heather sat up.

“Are you all right, Sarah?”

Sarah nodded, even though her face hurt and she was pretty sure she was about to cry. Heather nodded reassuringly. She touched her shoulder.

“Everything’s going to be alright, I promise.”

Then Sarah did cry. The events of the day and rumors had finally caught up to her and broke down what little of a wall she had built up. She just let Heather hold her in a hug as she wept.