Pela watches Lone as he walks across the road and disappears down an alley. He didn’t even ask what he should do if Timothy takes a different route.

If it weren’t for her father, Pela would never have picked up any urban skills. Eyeing the front of a store, she spots a container of umbrellas. Using sleight of hand, Pela grabs a small umbrella while following Timothy. No-one seems to notice, so Pela opens it up, making sure it is angled to bury her face in the shade.

She begins to shadow from a safe distance, as Timothy isexplicitly checking for a tail. This guy is nearly as bad as Lone, she thinks. He makes it very easy to predict his movements. Good that it is past midday, as there are fewer people on the road.

As they approach Wall Boulevard, she sees Lone skulking in the shade of an alley. At least both of them are witless. She walks over to Lone, knowing very soon Timothy will do another obvious stop and search.

Lone waves Pela over. As she draws close to Lone, she speaks in a harsh whisper, lowering her umbrella. “Put your hand down. You need to follow Timothy until Gate Street, then I will take over. If he changes direction, follow him as far as you can, and I will find you.”

Lone looks injured by Pela’s comments. “I was a tracker and scout in the army. I know how to follow people.”

“Hush. Follow that boy, and we’ll talk about this later.”

With that, Pela walks past Timothy and heads down Gold Street, the umbrella obscuring her face.

🔹️ 🔹️ 🔹️

Lone waits until Timothy starts walking again. His assumption was correct: Timothy is heading to Wall Boulevard. There is always a bit of traffic on this road, but a few side alleys and streets let people move around the city while avoiding regular foot traffic.

Once Timothy hits Wall Boulevard, he speeds up. Not quite a jog but a fast walk. “Come on, moving that quickly will make me obvious,” Lone mutters.

Sticking to the backs of buildings and moving with enough speed to keep Timothy in his visual range, Lone grumbles a little as he travels. This is not how he wanted his day to be. He looks up; grey clouds have rolled in overhead, and the ozone smell means that rain will happen soon.

As he approaches Gate Street, he loses sight of Timothy as he ducks behind wagons coming in and out of the gate. Lone stops, then sees Pela motioning him to head down Lodging Road.

🔹️ 🔹️ 🔹️

Pela is glad she saw Timothy as he weaved through the entering wagon train. Seeing Lone, she points down Lodging and starts after Timothy. As she ditches the stolen object and hitches up her dress slightly for quicker movement, she is glad that she could keep her quarry in sight.

Not much further along, they start entering the Residential zone of Lake Merrin. It will be harder to follow Timothy here as there are many side streets and buildings that he could easily duck into.

Just for a moment, Timothy disappears out of sight. With that, Pela stretches out her stride into a quicker pace, only to see him moving down Board Lane. She keeps to the sides, and he turns again down Shelter Thoroughfare which connects to Lodging Road, where Lone should be. Pela will have a few words if he is not!

As she turns into Shelter, Timothy enters a building across the road. She hurries to the corner of Lodging and Shelter, and Lone walks past. Stepping up, Pela grabs his arm to slow him down. He reacts to the sudden contact with instant fury as if to attack her in defence, but then he recognises her. She’s relieved—Lone in defence mode was frightening!

Barely moving her lips, she whispers to Lone, “He just went into that building.”

Lone studies the building, which stands at four storeys high. Rusty bars block the windows of the first two floors, and the paint is peeling off the walls. Not a very attractive place.

Lone pushes Pela against the wall of another house, moving his face closer like he is going to kiss her. “We need to wait for a little, to see if he comes out. This could just be his home or a new lead.”

Pela’s arms and hands start to heat up again, with Lone so close. She feels weird. “Do you need to be so close to me?”

“What? I washed last night! If anyone notices us, they will just think we are two young lovers.”

Pela looks hard into his eyes, and Lone gulps. “Make sure you keep your hands where I can see them!” she says.

He just nods, turning her around so that he now has his back to the wall. “We will stay like this for one more moment and then cross to the building. Once there you will push me up against that wall.”

He points his chin to another wall that still gives a good line of sight to the building. With that, Pela steps back and starts to walk a little down the road with Lone close behind. Pushing Lone off balance, Pela shoves him up against the wall and then leans slightly in.

Lone gives a nervous cough, hoping that he doesn’t get overexcited, then rolls the position so that Pela is against the wall. Lone spies Timothy comes out with three other people.

Turning Pela slightly, Lone whispers into her neck, “Do you recognise his companions?”

Nodding, Pela replies in a low hush. “I used to serve them at Corbin’s.” Stepping out of Lone’s grip, Pela holds out her arm and says. “Come on, we need to head back.”

As the four men wander off, Lone leans over like he is going to kiss her. “I guess he does not live there. Who are the other three? You said you served them at Corbin’s?”

As they walk down towards Residential Road, Pela turns to make sure they are not being followed, then whispers back. “Yes, that is the Wilted Flower Gang.”

Nodding, Lone says, “Once we are out of sight of them, we will head back to the Hall.”