The Spirits Have Spoken

1. 
   

   Sky looks at the plans again. "So, we going to stuff this bird woman in a sack? It would be better to cool our heals until after the robbery is over and done, and she is spending money on a new hat or some other feminine frivolity, and sidle up and invite her out for a drink in Havana, and slip a Mickey Finn into her glass sly-like, so that she'z will be snoozing forty winks without more commotion.
   
   "I ain't hitting no doll. It's bad luck."
2. "Apart from Havana, I like it," says Richter. "Cuba's too hot. Or ... say, why don't we do the same thing here in Nebraska? If she's in town, Sky, you can make your play before they hit the bank!"
   
   "Let me just commune with the spirits ... same to you ... no! I told you no. Don't make me ... just a minute, Alclomdrexl, I'm talking to Hookreel right now ..."
   
   Richter's face twitches. He scowls. He stands up quickly.
   
   "Excuse me, won't you? This is going to take a while ... don't you talk that way to me! Smileworm, you see Hookreel, don't you? Well, Hookreel, as a mortal man I can't touch you, but you know Smileworm CAN ..."
   
   He leaves the salon, taking his portfolio. The bank diagram is still there.
   
   "Hey, boss," says the Filipino headwaiter, "he already signed the chit. Anything you want, it's paid for! But, uh, we're out of shrimp."
3. "I'd like more tea, if you'd be so kind." Janet said, setting down her her empty cup,then turned to address the knights, "Okay, let me make sure I got this. First, our we hiding at the bank to snatch them when they come, preferably after they've done their show and used up power. Or are we tracking them back to a hid out. And are we going for a fight, or can we slip in quietly to knock them out, because if we're doing that I bet I could get us some nice knock-out darts." The headwaiter came back with her tea, and after thanking him she continued. "But if there's going to be a fire fight I'm going to need a gun. All I got are my two good butchers knives, though I got pretty good with them carving chickens at the butchers shop. Although..." She added thoughtfully, "I suppose I could go gray to get through any bullets, have a handful of glass or rock or something, then stick my hand in and drop it somewhere inside them. That could distract them, or if I put it in the right spot kill them. But only it necessary. And we want them alive, correct?"
4. "We certainly wish the bank guards and the law-abiding citizens to be alive," muses Kaze.
   She does not touch what they call the tea.
   "And it is not clear if the young woman with wings is with them willingly."
   "Depending on the placement of the handful of rocks, you might cause a dire medical event. Perhaps an acceptable risk, depending on the nature of the mission? But it must be considered."
5. "They are also actively recruiting. Perhaps one of us could join them. Briefly."
6. Richter returns, wiping sweat from his face.
7. "I couldn't get them nailed down," he says, slightly out of breath, "but Hennesey, at least, is in Omaha already. Near the Fear Fields, whatever those are. If I ever get tired of speaking to people who use complete sentences without screaming, remind me how good I have it, okay?"
8. "But I did get in touch with Mr. Browning," he says. He raises his right hand to show the Grimnoir ring. "The winged lady's important, but it's more important to foil the robbery. So that brings us back to the bank."
9. "Sky, you and I and Sonny-Boy are going to be on the inside. We'll watch what develops and communicate to Michael, Janet and Kaze, on the outside. We'll park outside across the street, but you three will be on the other side of the vault, where you can hear everything. Michael, we've got a few hours; is there any way you can wire me for sound so you can hear whatever I say? That way, we can bring in the ladies at the best possible moment."
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