The Adventure and Woes of Gregory Smit - 3

A rather boring chapter...

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The day outside had improved greatly. The sun had come out at last and the many residents of Gregory’s hometown had emerged from their shelters to bustle about. Gregory pulled out the mysterious letter to read his next instruction.

“We need to go to...The Moor,” he said, glancing at Violet for a sign of recognition. Her face lit up slightly at the name.

“Right, right, got it! TAXI!” Violet shouted, causing Gregory to flinch away. Grumbling, Gregory slid in next to Violet and tugged in his duffle bag as Violet spoke to the driver. The taxi took off with a slight lurch, beginning to weave back and forth between traffic, while the driver chattered. Violet leaned in to Gregory.

“So what’s the story Mr. Smit?” she asked, playing with her white hair in a compact mirror.

“Ah…well, I’m doing a favor for a…friend of mine,” Gregory said, making up his thoughts as he went along, “He enjoys…games…so he left me clues of a sort…I think…” Gregory sighed heavily, and Violet didn’t push it any further.

Few know that ‘Taxi’ is one of the oddest words in the English language, along with ‘moist’, ‘kumquat’ and ‘properispomenon’. It is also one of the most dangerous. Insert it to certain sentences and you can bring nations to their knees. For safety reason, the government has forbidden me from telling you what those certain sentences are, which is a shame, because really they are very interesting.

Violet was explaining this in great detail to Gregory when they arrived at the restaurant. Gregory paid the driver and hefted his duffle bag over his shoulder. Together Violet and he walked to the hostess who gave them a toothy smile and led them to an outside table. She rattled of the specials as she handed them menus.

“…and we have a special deal today for couples,” she said, grinning down at the two. Gregory inhaled his water, resulting in him coughing for a few seconds before he looked horrified at the waitress.

“W-w-w-we’re n-not…y-you…”

“He’s my father,” Violet smiled, the lie rolling off her tongue easily, saving Gregory of having to reply. The waitress blushed, embarrassed, and fled after a hurried apology. Gregory took another sip of water, successfully this time. Violet shrugged it off, and continued to babble until a different waitress returned to take their order.

“Uh...I’ll have the braised Brussels-sprouts,” Gregory said, and after a meaningful look from him, Violet ordered the same. Their orders arrived quickly. Violet dug right in with out hesitation, seeming to love the dish. Gregory was a bit more hesitant, though he did manage to choke it all down. When the waitress returned to take their plates, Gregory waved her back.

“I’d like eight…eight and a half more please,” he said, and though the waitress gave him a odd look, she nodded. Violet raised an eyebrow. After a second, Gregory handed her the letter. She read through it quickly, the other eyebrow raising to mimic the other.

“Sounds like fun,” she said finally, her eyes glowing with excitement.

“Fun,” Gregory wheezed, disbelieving. He was about to give Violet a piece of his mind when the waitress returned. Instead of eight dishes of Brussels-sprouts, she held another envelope. Gregory stared at if as if it were a bomb, prepared to explode at any second. After a deep breath, he took it with shaking hands. He made to open but Violet raised a hand to stop him.

“Not here,” she said simply. Gregory nodded and stuck it in his jacket pocket. He paid quickly, pulling out his wallet. He played quickly, anxious to get to a safe place and read.

“How about the train station?” Violet offered, adjusting one of the scarves on her neck. Gregory agreed and followed her as she led the way through the crowd. The sidewalk was speckled with gum and other un-identifiable objects, though most were obscured by the multiple feet that treaded upon them. The two un-expecting travelers weaved in and out of human traffic, often earning strange stares from people. Indeed, Violet and Gregory made a strange sight, what with her way of eccentric dressing and Gregory’s large duffle bag. Gregory had begun to sweat nervously when Violet announced that they had at last arrived at the train station.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Gregory followed her inside, coming to sit on a cement bench. The roar of busy and impatient people surrounded them, pressing in like a giant bent on a hug. Violet stood behind Gregory, peering down to read over his shoulder as he shakily opened the letter.

Dear Mr. Smit,

Did you know that a goldfish has a memory span of three seconds? This information, however seemingly irrelevant, is something you should burn into your brain. I can’t tell you how many agent’s I’ve lost because they entrusted important information to their goldfish. I’ll trust you are now efficiently warned.

By now you probably have figured out how important this operation is. I know that you probably do not wish to do as I ask, and would rather turn around, go back home and drink your Earl Grey tea with Hal. Unfortunately, I do not really care what you wish.

You’re mission, if you choose to except it, is to deliver the book to me. In order to ward off any of the nasty villains who might be following you, it is necessary to send you to various locations first. Think of it as a sort of treasure hunt. Only a bit…larger. Here are you next instructions.

1. Go to the nearest airport. Buy a ticket to Cairo, Egypt.

2. Board the plane.

3. In the occasion that the plane starts to go down in flames, eat the book.

I thank you for your cooperation, and will be in contact with you soon.

Also, if you see any suspicious looking men in maroon fedora’s, its best to just ignore them. If they make an attempt to steal the book, dispose of them promptly.

Again, the letter was not signed.

Gregory leaned back, handing the letter the Violet to finish reading. While this letter had more information then the last, it left him with more questions then answers. The number one of which being, how did they know about his tea and Hal? Had they been watching him? And just who were these ‘they’?

Violet gave soft whistle as she finished reading the letter.

“Well,” she said, smiling in a senile sort of way, “I’ve always wanted to go to Egypt.”

It was right around there that Gregory fainted.

There are several very effective ways to awaken a person who has fainted. Slapping, loud noises, abundant water and shaking are all generally effective. They also are the most fun. However, they can tend to be dangerous to the victims health. Being a worldly ninja, Violet knew this, and so simply waited patiently for Gregory to revive himself. At last, he did so, groaning and standing shakily.

“What happened?” he asked, slumping into a bench.

“You fainted,” Violet said brightly, “Everyone stared for a while but then they went of back to their business. A doggy came and sniffed you for a while, perhaps considering eating, but decided you unsatisfactory, so ran off again. Then a hobo tired to steal you wallet, so I bit him.”

“That’s unsanitary,” Gregory moaned, rubbing his temples wearily. Violet smiled wider, skipping around to stand in front of him.

“Regardless, we should get a move on,” she said placing her fist in her palm, “If we hurry we can still make the red-eye flight.” Gregory moaned again, but stood and followed Violet anyway, replacing the letter in his tweed jacket pocket.

The airport was even busier then the train station, if that was even possible. The smell of luggage and sweat filled the large space, with a little fast food thrown in for good measure. Gregory and Violet navigated their way to buy their tickets. After a very long and headache inducing conversation with the ticket clerk, they moved into the long line to check in. The stream of people stretched far beyond the connected ribbons that held the hoards of people in place. As he took his place in line behind an elderly woman who was muttering to herself fiercely, he turned to question Violet.

“Don’t you need any luggage?” he asked, struggling with his own bulky bag.

“Nope,” she said perkily, taking it from him for a turn carrying the weight. He smiled gratefully and wiped his forehead of nervous perspiration. She shed two of her three scarves and added them to the contents, “I’m good.”

Gregory wasn’t sure what she was going to do without a change of clothes and toothbrush, but didn’t press the subject. Violet was already staring lazily into space.