They have reached the museum and joined in the tour. The Clink does have its fair share of fascinating things to see like paintings of people being burned at a stake, statues of prisoners being tortured, and records of the harlots and thieves that had been jailed in this cobblestone cage.
Mina's personal favorites were the torture devices hanged in display. In case something goes wrong, they could easily draw these things.
"I've always wanted to learn what a sword feels like. I wasn't allowed to join the war as the youngest, so I'm the only one who never held a weapon before." She said.
Harker chuckled. "I'm not skilled with using weapons either. I prefer to fight with my fists."
Roland was actually listening to the tour guide with interest. "It's still baffling how many of these cases are unfair or based on pure speculation. If these poor people only had someone to represent them, they wouldn't have to suffer so badly."
"Oh, trust me. They still would have. And the one that tries to represent them will get cooked in a fire too." Joan said cynically.
She looked at the gruesome fates of the prisoners. "It's funny how these 'harlots' were the ones that got in jail when they were being peddled by their parents at a young age to sick rich aristocrats that treat them as sex slaves. And how thieves and pickpockets have their hands hammered for stealing food because the jobs only pay them for a loaf of bread a day."
Harker agreed. "They say people like these will go to hell, but it's already like hell here on Earth, so what's the point? As my mom would quote: 'Hell is empty and all the devils are here'."
"The Tempest, isn't it?"
Someone else suddenly joined their conversation.
It was a funky-looking guy with pinkish hair. He was wearing a black leather jacket with spikes, a spiked collar, and even spiky boots. He has a scar on his right eye reaching from above his eyebrow all the way to his jawline, rendering him blind. He looked to be in his 40s or 50s, but still maintained a pretty muscular form.
Once Mina saw him, her eyes flashed with that deadly energy.
"Never thought I'd find fellow fans of the Bard in a gloomy place like this. I wasn't a big fan of literature, theater and all that nerdy stuff myself. But after living for so long you'd have to pick up a hobby eventually, am I right?" He said.
Harker immediately knew who he was from that scar alone. He also glared at the man and put himself in front of his friends.
Joan and Roland were left confused, but they could also tell this man was bad news.
"We can't start a fight here." Roland whispered. "There's too many people."
"Should we lure him to somewhere else, then?" Joan suggested.
But before they could make any decision, a young girl who's probably around 14 or 15 came to the man. She was holding a sketchbook and a pencil, and dressed like the artsy type with a black beret and a scarf over his colorful shirt.
"Uncle Tao! You promised we'll be going to Fashion Week's gala tonight! It's already 4 pm, we'll miss the red carpet premiere!"
He chuckled. "Alright, alright. But we have to get you back home early, alright? I only slipped you out since your Uncle Clement and I was here for a business trip. We need to make sure your Mum and Dad won't even notice you ran away."
"But I didn't even run away!" The young girl pouted. "I am researching fashion!"
"Yes, you are, dear. Let's take the bus, Clem is waiting outside."
"Finally! What are you even doing in the Clink, Uncle Tao? I don't like this place, it's rather minging." She grimaced at the images of torture around her. "Most people who go here are just hammered blokes who want to spook themselves and laugh at people getting gutted. Or teenagers trying to spook their girlfriends. Either way is terrible."
Uncle Tao excused: "Just a little business-related detour. I was asked by the big boss to check up on something…."
He gave the group one last side eye before leaving with what seemed to be his niece.
"It's him. That dog." Mina gritted her teeth. "He's a tiangou, so he's even faster than me and stronger. Their first ancestor ate the moon itself. Plus his name 'Tao' could mean 'peach'."
"Peach and the other's Clementine. They sure like to keep things fruity, from metaphors down to their own fucking names." Harker thought.
Mina looked like she really wanted to follow them. "They're going to the Fashion Week gala. London's a big place, this may be the only chance we have to know where they'll have the congregation….."
Harker looked back at the people, but then noticed that Joan and Roland were already far off and looking at a certain statue of a woman in shackles weeping as guards seemed to be forcing her to move to the gallows to be hanged.
"Harker, look! This statue had been moved recently. You see this boxy mark because there's no dust? That's where it must have used to be."
Harker tapped his shoe at the spot, and he did hear that this certain space sounded hollow. In fact, it didn't sound like concrete. It sounded more like….
Bang!
Harker stomped the space hard and sure enough, it was actually made of wooden planks painted to look like concrete. There were stairs leading down to it.
"Well that was pretty fast." Roland blinked. "Why would they be so careless to leave that mark behind?"
"Because they know virtually no one else would notice unless they're specifically looking for it. They know that we're the only ones who'll find it." Harker moved below. "Victoria knows. After all, she only sent Legion to distract me enough."
"It's a trap, then." Mina clung to his arm. "Maybe we shouldn't go there just yet. We could go next time with bodyguards and—"
"And let them escape? Mina, I know it's a trap." Harker put his hands around hers. "And I'm already in it. It's too late for me to back out now, but…. Not for any of you. This is my battle, none of you needs to get involved."
"No way in hell, Jones." Joan went down the dark staircase too. "This is my sister we're talking about. I need answers. I need to hear from her directly why she's doing this."
Roland suggested. "Then how about I send my men to be ready in this area, while Mina and I follow those An Xin members?"
"Just the two of you?" Harker frowned.
"We can manage it. We'll just be spying on them anyway, while you would be having a full on battle with a bunch of mad scientists and zombies, or who knows what more experiments and potential threats they developed. You'll need all the help you can get." Roland said.
He nodded at Alejandro's direction who was dressed as an old lady perusing the wax figures of piked heads on the wall.
Mina looked at the two about to go inside, then to the exit where she last saw 'Uncle Tao', and sighed.
"Be safe, Harker." She said, placing a kiss on his cheek. "We'll meet up again by morning, right? Promise me."
'We will. You promise me that you'll be safe too." Harker replied.
"Of course. I can't promise that no one else would get hurt though." She made a pretty scary smile. "I have several bones to pick with that Tao after what he did with mine."
"Don't fall from extreme heights again." Harker reminded her. "I love you. See you later."
"See you later." She waved, and soon left with Roland for the bus.
Still, Harker couldn't feel at peace. The dark staircase looked like it was leading to hell itself, but then again, hell is here. The devils he must worry about were above ground, not below.
And so, he summoned his clone again after giving him his objectives just as they did last night... not aware that he was summoning a devil himself.
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