Sell you a Bridge chapter 258

June 4th 2016 The Nightside 1:00 PM EDT

The  inside of the Londinium Club was...fancy. That wasn't a surprise based  on what we'd heard about the place, but I had expected something like  Julian's place when they mentioned this club being a haven for the rich  and powerful. Julian's manor was one of the nicest places I'd ever been,  and everything inside it was carefully chosen and beautifully placed,  creating an elegant harmony that none of the manors or mansions I'd  robbed had managed to achieve.

This place was not like  that. Oh, it was tasteful, but in a colder, more officious sort of way.  While Julian's place was beautiful and beautifully decorated, it was  also lived in. Every object was well cared for and maintained, but also  well used. Julian treasured every one of his possessions, and it was  easy to tell that he'd put a great deal of himself into his furnishings  and decoration.

This place was also beautiful, but the  objects strategically placed around the room were NOT particularly worn.  While Julian's items were all carefully chosen to be indicative of the  personality of his house's owner, the person who had decorated this  place had done so specifically to make it as lavish and extravagant as  possible. This was the kind of fancy that people put under plastic  runners or kept in rooms they roped off. This was meant to be spectated,  not interacted with. Every glance around this building showed you how  well off the owners were, and that they were not friendly people.

Suzie  sniffed in annoyance as she walked inside. "I forgot how much I hate  this place. Poncy upscale showroom. A real club should be comfortable.  You should be able to walk up to the bartender and have a chat before  you order a pint. Even Alex is warmer than this lot. I'll never  understand why this place is attractive to anyone. I wouldn't be caught  dead belonging to a club like this."

A cool, upper crust  voice cut through the air. "I assure you that death is not nearly enough  of an improvement to qualify you for membership, as tolerable as I'm  sure it would make you in comparison to your current self. I suspect  that isn't exactly a tragedy to you. I doubt you would enjoy spending  your evenings drinking in an establishment where no one has urinated in  the corner." We all turned at the sound of the voice to see a man  walking casually down the steps in front of us.

The man  was...well I suppose the brits would call him dapper. He had on a bowler  hat, with a pleasant if forgettable face and a few too many pounds  under his immaculately tailored suit. Despite his unremarkable  countenance however, one thing stood out starkly. His eyes. Not shape or  color, but temperament. This was a man who was used to being the most  dangerous thing in the room, and used to everyone knowing it. He might  be putting on a front of civility, but I could feel the lie in that.  This was a veil of civilization draped loosely over a very dangerous  predator.

Suzie glared at him, obviously aware of his  identity and just as obviously unperturbed by it. "Walker, still a  smarmy twat I see. Don't you have some puppies to kick?  Or is the two  of us setting foot in your precious high society club ruining your  afternoon?" Her voice was calm, if somewhat annoyed, and to my surprise  that wasn't a lie. Not exactly. She wasn't sure she could beat  this...Walker, in a fight, but she was pretty sure it wouldn't be one  sided, and she didn't care too much about anything past that.

The  urbane man's lips twisted in a moue of distaste. "While your very  presence DOES raise the insurance premium on this building, that is not  my reason for meeting you down here. My presence is simply a guarantee  to the owners that you won't behave in an untoward fashion. They've  asked me to escort you for the duration of your visit, to make sure  everyone remains civil." He gave her a smile that wasn't really a smile,  but he didn't move out of the way, choosing to implicitly block our  path unless we agreed.

It was impressive that the average  sized man could block the huge red carpeted staircase that led down from  the top floor. His presence was much bigger than his form would  suggest, and despite the staircase branching off to either side just  past him and there being easily ten feet to the banisters on either side  of him, he managed to fill the space in such a way as to make passing  by him without directly interacting with his body nearly impossible,  despite me being able to literally pass through solid objects.

Taylor  stepped up, putting his hands in the air in surrender. "Fine, Walker.  We weren't planning to start trouble anyway." The suited man, who I was  fairly sure was normally unflappable, gave Taylor a disbelieving stare,  and the big detective shrugged. "Ok, I probably deserve that. But still,  this time it's true. No one here is going to start any fights for no  reason, even if we run into someone who might deserve it. We're on a  case, and it's an important matter. We were actually hoping to ask you  about that-"

Walked turned and headed up the stairs,  actively ignoring the detective's sentence. I snorted a bit at the  obvious disdain, but Taylor just rolled his eyes. I got the feeling  those two had known each other for a very long time. Especially since  unlike Taylor, I could feel the lie in the perception Walker tried to  project that he didn't respect Taylor. Walker cared, even if he was  extremely closed down about it.

With no real option to do  otherwise we just followed him up the steps, actively suppressing the  urge to call out to him to ask again about Kit. Worst case we could ask  him later, but for now having a guide would probably be more useful to  us as we searched. I shot Taylor a look, since he clearly knew Walker  best, but despite the byplay between them, I could tell he was genuinely  more comfortable with the suited man at our side. Whatever he claimed  when he was lying to himself, Taylor trusted Walker, at least enough to  believe we were safer with him than without him.

When we  reached the top floor of the club Walker stopped, not bothering to turn  to face us as he spoke. "Well, this is the main dining room of the  Londinium Club. Our members are enjoying their lunches. I'll allow you  to approach and ask questions, but should they express discomfort or  unhappiness at your presence you will be...asked to leave. Don't make  the mistake of thinking me to be on your side in this matter. I am  simply here to prevent any unnecessary conflict, I couldn't be bothered  to care if you get your answers."

Surprisingly though, I  could hear the lie in that statement. Walker DID care. Not a huge  amount, but he was trying to help Taylor in his own way, to keep him  safe in the only way he knew her. There were a lot of shades to that  lie, because it was an old one, one he told himself often. I could feel a  mixture of emotions blended into it in a slurry. Guilt, love, pity, and  a dozen other things I couldn't really parse. What I did understand was  that Taylor was important to someone Walker had loved, and who he felt  he had failed. Possibly multiple someones.

I did not, of  course, mention that. I hadn't had this new lie sensing ability for  long, but I'd been a liar for years. The first thing I did with my  powers was use them to lie, you could say my whole life was a lie even. I  knew that people didn't take kindly to having their lies exposed,  especially the ones they told themselves. Truth may be stranger than  fiction, but it was also much crueler. Deep down, everyone wanted to  live the lie. It was what made my power so dangerous, but that danger  cut both ways. I was sure if I ripped away the illusions of every person  I met I'd make enemies fast.

As we stepped into the  dining room Walker retreated slightly, letting Taylor take the lead. He  stalked forward with purpose, not even remotely intimidated by the  people here, at least on the outside. Taylor had built his brand off  being fearless, and it was what kept him safe. His reputation was the  lie he put the most effort into out of any of them, and it showed.  Several people in the dining room shifted uncomfortably as he passed,  but he didn't speak to any of them, heading instead for one of the few  people who didn't seem to notice his presence at all.

The  tall, dark haired man with shoulder length black locks was politely and  fastidiously tucking into a plate of chicken parmigiana, a napkin tucked  into the collar of his suit to protect it from debris, not that it was  at all necessary, since every bite was perfectly executed and neatly  consumed. The man was eating happily, seemingly unaware of what was  going on around him, until Taylor stalked up and stood next to the table  and cleared his throat. When the sound split the air the man paused,  looking up at the detective with an expression of pleasant surprise.

Taylor,  who had been slightly more at ease since we met Walker, looked tense as  hell now, and I could sense the lie that was what little calm there was  in his demeanor. Taylor was fucking terrified of this person. In my  limited experience with him, the things that terrified Taylor tended to  be bad news. Before Taylor could talk though, Tommy stalked forward,  shouldering the other detective out of the way to glare down at the man.  "I might have known you were in town, no wonder Walker was willing to  intercede on behalf of the Londinium Club. You couldn't call?"

The  tall man shrugged. "Who can keep track of what other people know. I  know everything I need to know when I need to know it. It's hardly my  fault you need me to hold your hand and spoon feed you basic knowledge  like whether your own brother is in the city. What kind of detective is  that?" Tommy bristled as the man, apparently his brother, casually  dismissed him, but aside from a venomous glare he didn't try to debate  the point. That in itself was amazing, Tommy was basically a walking  argument.

Taylor  cleared his throat again. "Not to interrupt this reunion or anything,  but I think perhaps we should focus on the issue at hand. If you're here  to talk to us this must be much more serious than we expected. Can you  fill us in?" That was pretty much the most respectful and polite I'd  ever heard Taylor bother being. Granted, the man hadn't offered him  insult either, I was pretty sure he'd have talked shit back no matter  how powerful the guy was if that had happened. As it was though, it  still showed a level of reticence that not many of the things we'd seen  hear drew from Taylor.

The  man's gaze flicked to Taylor, then to me. "Quite right. I am of course,  here on assignment. I'm hardly one to take vacations. I didn't do so  when I preceded Walker and I certainly can't afford it now. Still, this  is a special case for me, and I find myself intrigued. Since you've  caught my interest, I will introduce myself properly." The man stood,  towering over me as he withdrew the napkin and held out a hand for me to  shake. "My name is Hadleigh OIblivion, they call me the Detective  Inspectre, and you, my boy, have me in quite a pickle."