Editing Pachyderm & Packet

<br> <br>

''Air date: 28 May 2011''<br>
''Present: Andy, Jim, Ken, Kim, and Maer''<br><br><br>


'''Monday, January 20, 1868'''<br>
'''London, England'''<br>
'''In the middle of a jewel heist'''<br><br>


To sum up: Outside, Josephine has shot an anarchist on the warehouse docks looking to shoot off a rack of Congreve rockets across the river at the Banqueting hall. Three rockets make it across the river, one goes wild, one Dionysius shoots, one hits Big Ben.<br><br>

Inside the Banqueting hall, a darkness spell has gone off and when it lifts, there are multiple boxes with look-alike jewels in it. The queen has been hustled out.<br><br>

Do we flee? Stay?<br><br>

Ezekiel feels Lupin is still here, maybe we should arrest everyone who looks like him? They find a Beefeater. Ezekiel tells him there are six duplicates of the diamond and six duplicates of Lupin running around. E. gives him a description of Lupin.  They see one right away.  Katherine says we should catch him.  She and Ezekiel run after a nervous looking Lupin look alike.  Grappling ensues.  They succeed in restraining him, making him drop the box he’s carrying.  He will try to kick it next round.<br><br>

The Beefeater subdues the culprit with a rifle butt to the nose and drags him off.  Katherine and Ezekiel look around for more. They both see three more EACH of the imposters.  Ezekiel points out three of them to the Beefeaters.  “We’ll handle the others,” he says of the three left.<br><br>

The dropped box with the jewel is recovered.  Katherine calls her old acquaintances who are also present to come to our aid. She exerts her charm, despite the scene she’s creating by calling them out and snapping her fingers.<br><br>

(She'll find out tomorrow that Dionysius tsches-tsches over it and the Colonel chuckles.)<br><br>

Bertie gets one of the boxes and when the dust settles, we’ve got nine boxes and eight culprits.  Which one has the real diamond? Where is Ver Hagen?<br><br>

Meanwhile outside, the rockets have stopped firing.  One of the rockets exploded on the rack and took out the rest.<br><br>

The airship Pachyderm has already lowered its launch with the Napoleonic nephews Plon-Plon and Jerome. <br><br>

The police have shown up and are questioning Dionysius about his use of the rifle in his hands.<br><br>

Dionysius explains and talks his way out of being arrested. He walks back to the hotel to wait for the others before going home to Prissy. After all, the diamond is in the building and the nephews have landed. By his lights, his job is done.<br><br>

Josephine sees someone climbing up one of the launch ropes. It is someone in black dinner attire—just the thing for Lupin to wear at the reception. Is this him trying to get away? Who else would try to escape by such means? She aims. She shoots. She hits. Josephine sees bits come off him when the bullet hits.  He falls and lands in the water.  Josephine does not see him resurface.  She folds up her rifle and slings it across her back—if the man survives, he’ll come up and the police will fish him out. If he does not, nature will see he resurfaces later as a corpse. Either way, he’s taken care of.<br><br>

There are two more people in suits show up with boxes indoors.  They are collected in short order. The number of boxes collected in total is eleven, with eleven diamonds. Let the big dogs figure out where the real diamond is. Our job is done. Ezekiel goes to Big Ben to gather Josephine so we can all go home to the Savoy. <br><br>

The Beefeaters finally make it outside, but Dionysius is nowhere to be found. He’s gone straight to the Savoy to wait for everyone else to show up.<br><br>

The airship is passing by Big Ben and Josephine determines it must be detained for questioning. If they were in cahoots with the  man she shot trying to climb aboard, those still inside might have information the Colonel and the police need.  Tying one end of her rope to the tower, Josephine ties one of her boat hooks to the other end.  She spins it and lets it fly. She hooks the airship in the middle of its mass. It stops and starts drifting toward the clock tower. On the ground, people notice its arrested flight and stop to look and point.<br><br>

Katherine and Ezekiel are in their carriage. They see what is happening and Katherine orders her carriage to stop.<br><br>

Angry yelling in a language that sounds vaguely Spanish drifts from the airship’s gondola to Josephine. Josephine yells back in German, French, and English:<br><br> 

“By the power invested in me by the Crown I order you to land this airship and prepare to be boarded!”<br><br>

They yell there’s no place to land. Josephine spies a man climbing from the gondola onto the outside of the airship, obviously making for her grappling hook.  She ties a knot in the rope at her end, cuts it free of the tower, and swings over, trying to beat the guy on the outside.<br><br>

She swings. The rope reaches the maximum length and goes taut with a mighty jerk. It yanks the rope from her hands. Below, Katherine and Ezekiel start praying. Josephine falls, executes an aerial tumble, and lands on the gondola roof. A darkly handsome man grabs her arm before she can slide off. It’s M. Dumond, the airship impresario, and he hauls her in. <br><br> 

He says in accented French: “That is the most foolhardy thing I have seen, Madame.” <br><br>

She replies in French with Warrant Card in one hand and her pistol in another: “Perhaps it was, but it was exhilarating. Land this airship at Battersea.”<br><br>  

He counters he’s arranged to land at Regents Park. He has a picnic arranged there. She acquiesces and rides with him there. She will interrogate him on the way to determine if he is involved in any of the criminal activity on the ground.<br><br>

On the ground, Ezekiel and Katherine are gobsmacked. Ezekiel is incensed at Josephine’s stunt.  Katherine is relieved. They ride in their carriage to Savoy.  The airship lands and Josephine interrogates Dumond. She evades his advances and questions him as to his involvement in the incident.  They get written up in the tabloids the next day, having created a stir with their landing and subsequent picnic in the park. Josephine gives a full account of her actions and her findings to the Colonel as soon as she gets away from Regents Park and though he is displeased with her showy execution of her duties, he keeps her on the force.  She deals with the tabloid notoriety by ignoring it.<br><br>

When he gets home, Dionysius tells Priscilla of Josephine’s stunt and she laughs herself right into labor.  She delivers a healthy baby soon after.<br><br>


'''Wednesday, January 22nd, 1868'''<br>
'''London'''<br>

Katherine goes to her townhouse to fetch Jayshree from Mme. Saulnier.  But she finds a lupin on the doorstep of her hotel room. So does Bertie.  And Josephine finds one on the steps of her mews.  Josephine’s is crimson. Katherine’s was white. Bertie’s was blue. No clue as to how it got there beyond … Lupin himself? It’s his calling card, after all. <br><br>

The newspaper coverage of Josephine is a mixed blessing. Her face is now public, which will make getting any clandestine work done in England tough.  She will have to wait for public interest to fade and forget. The Colonel is furious over her stunt. However, the coverage does have the potential to give her private agent business a boost.<br><br>


'''Wednesday, February 5th, 1868''' <br>
'''Fifteen days later …'''<br> 


Dionysius and Priscilla are wrapped up with their new baby boy. Apollion is the baby’s name. Priscilla is hungry, ravenous, and she’s nursing.<br><br>

The world news is of Napier’s difficulty to keep going forward with his plans in Ethiopia.  There is also some weird business with rifle cartridges in India.<br><br> 

We are summoned to the Tea Shop connected to the Diogenes Club, since ladies aren’t allowed in the Diogenes Club, and are briefed by the Colonel on our new mission.<br><br>

The Colonel says he needs us to go to Abyssinia, via Trieste and Alexandria, Aden, and down to where Napier is assembling his forces to invade Abyssinia.  We are to deliver silver to him and once we’re done, we can spend time there at the Crown’s expense. (Katherine and Ezekiel can honeymoon there!) We will be taking Maria Theresa dollars—silver coin—since British coin doesn’t spend well down there.  The Austrians were convinced to mint 5 million silver thalers for Napier.  They will be packed into steamer trunks and placed on the ship to Alexandria and then shipped by rail to Aden.<br><br>

There will be a couple hundred sailors and soldiers guarding the money. We’re to see it gets done. We don’t expect any trouble.  We’re to get tickets for the boat-train and then go to Trieste.  All our expenses are paid for by the Crown, we’ll travel by British vessel. If we get to Alexandria and need more funds, apply at the British Embassy in Alexandria and at the Suez Canal.<br><br>

Katherine says she wants a camera to take pictures abroad and Ezekiel sends his servant Barrymore to buy their tickets. <br><br>

Meanwhile, for the past two weeks Flora has been dreaming of cats, cats, cats. And Egypt.<br><br>

Dionysius is staying home for the duration to take care of his wife and new son.<br><br>


'''Later that night…'''<br><br>

Katherine and Ezekiel are out to dinner and have invited Josephine to attend. The fog is thick that evening. After dinner, we’re all walking back to the Savoy and Josephine is convinced there is someone is right behind her about to stab her. She spins to confront him.  She attacks fog—no one is there. Ezekiel draws his sword in another direction and demands  whoever’s menacing him to step forward.<br><br>

Four dog beastmen run forward out of the fog.<br><br> 

The battle lines are drawn.  Two on Katherine and one on Ezekiel. And one on Josephine who is neatly flanked.  The assailants have knives.<br><br>

The one on Ezekiel attacks, Ezekiel counters and hits him with his sword for a palpable hit on his armor.<br><br>

Josepine suffers a hit from her assailant, thoroughly flummoxed by her reaction to the person who WASN’T there.<br><br>

One man on Katherine successfully grapples her.  The second man slaps a chloroform-soaked rag over her face. She inhales a big lot of it, smells clorine, and goes under. Her sword clatters to the ground.<br><br>

Ezekiel is using his sword against a pugilist with a knife. Ezekiel skewers him good.  The other man has armor and he’s still up, but damn, Ezekiel got him good.<br><br>

The assailant on Josephine hits her for more damage.<br><br>

Katherine is being dragged away unconscious.  Ezekiel sees this happening and charges the men carrying Katherine away, nevermind the bloke on him at the moment.  Ezekiel charges the man carrying Katherine by the head.  He hits.<br><br>

The assailants are very dexterous.  They are noticeably moving fluidly and as if choreographed.<br><br>

“Unhand my wife if you wish to live. If you do not, prepare for my blade again.”<br><br>

The dog beastie drops Katherine’s head. She falls limply to the cobbles, her head bounces and she gets cut for a little bleeder.<br><br>

Josephine counterattacks but misses, gets hit for more damage. She’s going rocky from the damage taken.<br><br>

Ezekiel notices a new player entering the game, a cobra-headed man is attacking the dog beastie holding Katherine’s legs.  Snake man picks up Dog man and literally throws him into the fog.<br><br> 

We have the man on Josephine, the man Ezekiel abandoned, and the man who held Katherine by the head still up. And the Snake man.<br><br> 

Ezekiel tries to disarm the man he abandoned and fails.  The armored man stands his ground and attacks Ezekiel.  Ezekiel dodges. The man that had Katherine by the head (and holding the chloroform rag) takes one look at Snake man and runs away. The man on Josephine attacks her. Dog beastie gets 3 more points of damage on Josephine. She falls back. Snake man grabs Josephine by the nape of the neck and throws him, not as far as the other guy but he hits the cobbles with a satisfying thud.  The man who has the chloroform rag runs away.<br><br>

The armored dog beastie is still up. Ezekiel tries to slap him against the head with the flat of his sword.  He misses and doesn’t hit.<br><br>

Chloroform Dog glares at Snake Man. Josephine manages to notice the two have their stare-off. There’s something weird about Snake Man’s eyes … magic? The Dog Man goes whites as a sheet and runs.  Snake Man hisses. <br><br>

Ezekiel disarms Armored Dog in a spectacular move, the opponent’s blade goes flying.<br><br>

“Stand down or die,” Ezekiel growls, breathing hard.<br><br>

“Madame, are you hurt?”says Snake Man to Josephine.<br><br>  

Josephine is frightened by his regard, incredibly so—she’s terrified and frozen on the spot. She’s injured and bleeding and the strain on her system is too much. She faints dead away.<br><br>

Armored Dog moves and Ezekiel believes the beast is trying to impale himself on Ezekiel’s sword, then runs.  Ezekiel moves to capture him and knocks him unconscious.  In fact, Ezekiel actually caves his skull in.  Done.<br><br>

He moves to Katherine and pulls smelling salts, waves them under her nose.  He also notices Snake Man looking concerned at Josephine and then taking off.<br><br>

“Sir, wait!” Ezekiel yells. “I want to thank you.”<br><br>

The Snake Man melts into the fog.<br><br>

Ezekiel sees the smelling salts are not working. He has to leave his wife to check on Josephine. She’s revivable and he revives her. <br><br>

“Are you hurt?” <br>
“I’ve been better.” <br>
“You’re injured, you need to get to a hospital.” <br>
“God, no, nowhere near those cutters.”<br>
“Flora then.”<br> 
“Flora’s good.”<br><br>

We get to the Savoy Hotel. The concierge whistles up the doctor on call upon seeing us. Nothing can be done for Katherine at the moment and Josephine vehemently refuses to go to a hospital.  Ezekiel asks a message be dispatched to Flora. It’s done and Ezekiel asks the doctor about Katherine. Is it magic? The doctor sniffs and announces Chloroform.  She should come to soon. About an hour.<br><br>

Ezekiel arranges to make his bride comfortable and has Josephine likewise seen to. If Katherine comes conscious before Flora gets here, she can start the healing.  Flora arrives and Josephine is healed partially.<br><br>

Katherine comes to and complains of a headache. Ezekiel tells her it was chloroform and dog men have tried to capture her. Whatever for, she asks.  We don’t know. We have no one to question.  She reaches for Ezekiel to be held. Ezekiel tells her of the fight. Of Snake men and Dog men, of bodies being thrown across the street.  Ezekiel thinks on it … and based on his knowledge of museum artifacts, he identifies the Dog men as being Jackals.  Is this connected to our mission to Abyssinia? Katherine asks.  But why? counters Ezekiel.<br><br>  

“Maybe for hostage, for the money.”<br>
“Would he pay it?” <br>
“I am his daughter.  Of course, he would lambaste you for not taking better care of me.”<br><br>

Katherine rest for an hour and heals Josephine a little bit more.<br><br>

“Should we let Neecey know?” Ezekiel asks then.<br>
“I’m terrified to,” says Katherine.<br>
“Then we should let him know.” <br><br>

She explores the knot on her head. Ouch. Ezekiel apologizes—she was dropped.  We rest up for the balance of the night. <br><br> 


'''Thursday, February 6th, 1868'''<br>
'''The Diogenes Club, London'''<br><br>

Ezekiel, Katherine, and Josephine meet the Colonel at the Diogenes Tea Room the very next day to report what’s happened. Our appearance, scraped up and bruised, startles the Colonel.<br><br>

'''Colonel:''' My god, what happened?<br>
'''Ezekiel:''' There was an attempt to kidnap your daughter. Jackal headed men.<br>
'''Colonel:''' Jackal headed men?<br>
'''Katherine:''' (warmly) I am quite all right, Father.<br>
'''Colonel:''' Indeed.  (to self) Anubis.<br>
'''Ezekiel:''' I would think so. A fantastic coincidence given our mission.  And there was a Snake man. He assisted.<br><br>

We find out that the incident is in all the papers, actually. We discuss it.  The Society of Anubis is in London, true, but they’ve been inactive for years.  Back shortly before the second set of Napoleonic Wars, the Society was originally set up as an archaeological society… but they had other things in mind.  Some of Colonel’s predecessors have taken care of them and they haven’t been active since the 1830s.  What would they want with Katherine?<br><br>

“Are they fond of human sacrifice?” Ezekiel asks.<br>
“Anubis? No.” The Colonel shakes his head.<br>
“They seemed interested in taking Katherine alive,” insists Ezekiel. “Is it attached to our Abyssinian—“<br>
“No,” the Colonel says. “Nothing connected to Abyssinia. It’s revenge against me and the club. Katherine’s grandfather was instrumental to their shut down. And it can’t be for the money destined to Napier. We don’t have it here.  Snake man you say?”<br>
“Yes,” confirms Ezekiel.<br>
“Odd,” says the Colonel. “They’re rare. Not sure there are any in Egypt.” <br>
“There’s one in England, apparently,” Katherine says.<br>
“We’ll send men out to find him, pat him on the back and shove him off our shores,” says the Colonel.<br>
“Don’t treat him shabbily,” Katherine begs.<br>
“We should question him.” Ezekiel cautions.<br>
“Oh we will,” the Colonel growls.<br><br>

Katherine urges restraint. Colonel says she sounds like her mother. Colonel says there might be a connection to the Thule Society and we should move up the timetable on our mission. The sooner Napier gets the money, the sooner we can bribe the Ethiopians to kill the Abyssinians. We leave now.  This will free the Colonel to track down Snake man and interrogate him.<br><br>

We make preparations to leave.  Ezekiel orders Josephine to never leave Katherine’s side without a gun. She agrees.<br><br>


'''That same afternoon …'''<br><br>

We leave on the boat-train that very same afternoon. When we are mid-Channel Evie shows up—she stowed away.  Too late to send her back. Josephine is secretly pleased at her initiative but cannot help but worry as to her reception when they hit Egypt.<br><br>

On the trip to Paris, Ezekiel is keeping a very watchful eye on Katherine … and the eyes on Katherine. He accosts a man for looking at her, but it’s for naught—Ezekiel was mistaken.  Katherine’s more observant and actually spots regular people watching her. She tells Josephine and points them out.  You can’t tell Ezekiel, Katherine implores.  Josephine agrees.  Evie confirms.  A short discussion on the nature of devotion, love, and protectiveness ensues.  Katherine will distract Ezekiel with a long promenade of the train—to keep him occupied in watching but keeping him from accosting innocent Belgian shepherds like that first one he’d forcefully warned off.<br><br>

Flora notices several different things.  First, she notices a couple of the members of the Surete (French National Police) keeping an eye on Katherine. Second, she is certain that there are people other than the Surete watching both Katherine and her. And there’s a lot of cats on this train. Five or six of them. Every once in a while one will jump into her lap. And make biscuits usually.  Certainly friendly.<br><br>

Evie has Animal Empathy and they are attracted to her too.  She shoos them away because she’s been dispatched to shadow Katherine and Ezekiel on Josephine’s order, while Josephine guards Katherine’s compartment.<br><br>

Evie successfully sneaks around and sees two non-descript businessmen, who Flora pointed out are the Surete. She notices that there are a lot of foreigners on this train, but that could be her inexperience in being abroad that colors that observation. She reports to Josephine in Katherine’s compartment what she’s seen.<br><br> 

The remainder of the ride to Paris is uneventful. We ride through the night and arrive the next day. Travel is fascinating to the street thief and her nose is pressed to the window the entire way.<br><br> 


'''Friday, February 7th, 1868'''<br>
'''Paris'''<br><br>

We change trains in Paris for Bern, Switzerland. Evie’s eyes are peeled as far as they will go. Evie tracks the Surete men. She surreptitiously overhears them handing her party off to a new set of Surete eyes, along with an entire account of our train trip and pointing out our trunks. They know we’re on official business and that we’re heading for Abyssinia. <br><br>

Josephine doesn’t like the sound of this. She cables the Colonel from the station with the news that their cover is blown.  '''Scrub the mission?  Should we? Stop.  Please advise Bern. Stop.'''<br><br>

She doesn’t wait but jumps back on the train.  Evie has to be warned not to pick pockets here and especially not once in Arab lands: THEY cut off the hands of thieves.<br><br>


'''Saturday, February 8th, 1868'''<br>
'''Bern, Switzerland'''<br><br>

It is two days to Bern, Switzerland by rail and Bertie is enjoying the trip on the Continent without the Hobbit.  Paradise.  He spends the trip on the rails in the gambling car, the dining car, and his compartment with Flora. We get to Bern and go shopping for supplies on the company dime.<br><br>

Josephine checks for a response from the Colonel once we pull into Bern: Continue mission. Then we board the train out of Bern for Trieste. We bypass Northern Italy—a war zone, thanks, and choked with the winter snow, making travel damned near impossible—and go through Switzerland and thence to Venice, twenty miles from Trieste. <br><br>

It took us two days to get from Paris to Bern, then four more days to get to Trieste, with a short stop in Venice, a mere hop away.<br><br> 


'''Wednesday, February 12th, 1868'''<br>
'''Trieste, Austria-Hungary'''<br>
'''Morning'''<br><br>

The weather warms and grows milder, comparatively speaking to the frigid Alps. The balmy weather of the Adriatic holds sway and people have built accordingly. As a result, Trieste looks like a Mediterranean city. What’s odd from our perspective is it’s got a decent size port but there’s a great amount of shipbuilding going on in it, steel ships and flying the Austrian flag.  Well, Trieste is a possession of the Austrians and the Italians are pretty sore about it.  Trieste used to be theirs.<br><br>

Speaking of odd-looking: We have a talisman for Flora to maintain her human appearance. Bertie’s social standing depends on it, so the money is paid to get it done by the mage-types.<br><br>

Bertie knows someone in Trieste. Mr. Speedicut, at the Consulate.  Also, Emperor Maximillian is in Trieste, just arrived from Mexico. Benito Juarez was less than successful with his plans.  We go to the British Consulate to pick up the money we’ve been assigned to deliver to Napier.<br><br>

Katherine wants to see the boats.  Ezekiel tells her we’re going to the Consulate first. Business before pleasure.  We arrive at the Consulate and arrange for the Austrian silver to be put on a boat for Egypt.<br><br>

Unbeknownst to us, Russian agent Kalashnikov is in the city of Trieste. He’s on his way to Corfu but he’s at the shipyards so as to supervise the construction of a boat—a trireme with mechanical rowers.  A bronze minotaur will beat on a drum to keep the ‘rowers’ in time. It’s called the Odyssey. <br><br>

We find out from Mr. Speedicut that the money isn’t actually down from Austria yet, it will be a couple of days before we can put aboard the Audacious. It’s a screw-driven, steam powered ironsides.<br><br>

We take Katherine to the docks to let her look at the ships—before she explodes. She spies Kalashnikov’s ship right away. Katherine spies Kalashnikov pacing the deck. Katherine waves and calls to him. Kalashnikov invites us aboard.  Josephine reluctantly follows. She does not want to be officially connected to the Russian. She and Ezekiel hash out her reluctance—she doesn’t want to jeopardize her standing by being seen to be a lover of an enemy of the Crown. Ezekiel convinces her he could be a prime source of intel and being his lover might be required to get it. Besides, Katherine is not under guard at the moment. He takes her arm and gets her aboard.<br><br>

Katherine cheerfully informs us Kalashnikov has invited us to dinner. On board. In imitation of the Romans, complete with vomiting over the side. In costume. Josephine is appalled.  And Katherine has to bodily put her friend’s arm in Kalashnikov’s when he offers it to escort her below decks so everyone can change.  We are to stay aboard for the night and board our own ship for Egypt on the morrow.  Evie thinks Josephine’s reluctance amusing.<br><br>

Dinner is overseen by a mechanical band invented by Kalashnikov. Evie is on her best manners. Josephine thinks that the DuBorgs have done stuff like this and thinks they did it better. She keeps it to herself. Kalashnikov admits he has diamond and sapphire mines on his estate and thereby funds his little projects.  In fact, Evie’s necklace is made of sapphires.  He’s very fulsome with his praise of her. Internally Evie thinks that the necklace is over a hundred times more than what she could raise on the streets on her own. Her future is assured if she could but nick that necklace.<br><br>

Kalashnikov questions Bertie’s apparent foray into commerce, quite against the aristocratic proscription against sullying their hands with making money.  The Dashwood fortune was made by the sugar trade (and other trades). Bertie freely admits it.<br><br>

Talk turns to Kalashnikov’s gallantry and selflessness during our Irish mission. We thank him and admit we owe him a boon.  Talk turns to having us visit Kalashnikov—actually, Katherine quite deftly invites us to see him in St. Petersburg after our trip to Egypt.<br><br>

Egypt? Oh, how delightful, he cries. He’s going there too. What is our business there?<br><br>

We tell him about the silver shipment and also our run in with the Society of Anubis of London.  Kalashnikov tells us of how the servants of Set are attracted to redheaded Eldren. Kalashnikov says us redheaded Eldren must stick together for mutual protection while in Egypt. For he is a redheaded Eldren too, only his eyes are the famous Romanov blue to Katherine’s feline green.<br><br>

Talk turns to the riches of both England and Russia—England with her navy and her liberal society and Russia with her vast wealth and untapped potential. Perhaps an alliance can be struck to our mutual advantage? Kalashnikov is a merchant but needs protection for his ships and England is powerful. Why, he and Bertie could come to some lucrative business partnership.<br><br> 

The accommodations on the boat are luxurious and Kalashnikov's invitation to sleep aboard effusive. Surely we will stay with him tonight? Katherine is all for it, like a kid at Christmas. Ezekiel is for it. Evie is all for it—this is like being in Ali Baba’s cave. Bertie thinks he’s on a wog boat in wog waters. He’d rather row himself by dingy to the Audacious thank you. But Flora has no problem with it and he acquiesces for her sake.<br><br>

During the dinner, Kalashnikov draws Evie aside to look at one of the marvels on his ship. He inquires she is Madame Arceneaux’s partner? Then that must mean she is an investigator like Josephine, yes? He has a lady of his acquaintance playing most hard to get. The implication is the lady in question is Josephine herself. Could he retain her investigative services to ascertain how best to win her affections? Here are two gold Maria Theresa coins. Please let him know when she’s discovered anything. Evie reverently takes the coins and bites them. Yep. Pure gold. Sure. They shake on it.<br><br>

Kalashnikov returns to the dining couches and talk turns to sleeping arrangements. All the Brits elect to sleep on the deck under the stars so incredibly bright. They reflect in the waters of the harbor, like liquid sky. Josephine paces the deck until Katherine snarls at her about her shoes rapping on the boards. Josephine throws the shoes overboard. She and Evie look at the stars until they are too sleepy to look.<br><br>


'''Thursday, February 13th, 1868'''<br>
'''''Odyssey'', Trieste Harbor'''<br>
'''Morning'''<br><br>

Come morning, Kalashnikov offers us refuge on his ship as camouflage for our mission, to better throw Katherine’s pursuers off her track.  We will have the money on the Audacious to Alexandria. It is crammed with soldiers and they would be better trained to keep the money safe than us civilians, no? We will follow in the Odyssey.  Audacious is a deep draft vessel and cannot go much farther with the money. Kalashnikov says he can take Odyssey to the First Cataract on the Nile, than go overland to the Red Sea, and thence to Abyssinia. Why not put the money on his ship? We can transport the money that way could we not?<br><br>

Five million in Maria Theresas, a million pounds worth of silver, is a lot to transport.<br><br>

“Then let me to accompany you to Cairo and see you on the train,” Kalashnikov says.<br>
“But the Audacious is a deep draft vessel and can only go as far as Alexandria. It will carry the money, will it not? How is it getting to Cairo?” asks Josephine.<br><br>

We decide to go as far as Alexandria on Odyssey.  Kalashnikov offers to take on the money on Odyssey if we wish. We need to oversee the loading of the coin onto Audacious. If that’s the case, than we have time to have lunch at Kalashnikov’s villa, do we not?  Why yes! Katherine is practically dancing at the prospect.<br><br> 

It is settled. Audacious will carry the money as far as Alexandria. We will follow in Odyssey. The money will be shifted to Odyssey there and carried down the Nile with us aboard it as guards.<br><br>

Kalashnikov’s sends Evie ahead to his villa to set things up for our luncheon so Kalashnikov can oversee the installation of his steam powered cannons on ''Odyssey''.<br><br> 

Bertie leaves with Flora to find a proper European hotel to stay in. Josephine leaves to oversee the installation of our trunks and effects.  She also cables an encoded message to the Colonel about the change of plans: '''Have found discreet alternative transport for the safety of your daughter. Stop. The money will be transported on Audacious. Stop. We will follow Audacious in discreet vessel. Stop. Will go to Alexandria. Stop. Will transfer funds to discreet vessel. Stop. Will continue down the Nile. Stop.'''<br><br>


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