Moira threw her gloves onto table as soon as she walked through the front door. “I need a drink.” She and Danior went through to the dining room to fulfill that need, only to find a very self satisfied Silvanus smirking up at them from the dining table. Danior pointed at him. “Oi! Feet! Off the fecking table!” Still smirking, Silvanus glanced at his sister before lowering his feet and sliding out of his slouch and up the chair into a more normal sitting position. “Relax uncle,” he shared a conspirational grin with Shelta before continuing. “I’ve got something to show you.” Shelta giggled. “Guess what we found.” It was Moira and Danior’s turn to share a look, but this was more of a ‘what the feck have they gone and done now?’ kind of look. Moira spoke before her brother could get his sarcastic response out. “Oh? And what might that be Silvanus?” Silvanus leaned forward, crossing his arms on the polished table top. “Shel and I have Joe Spivey’s little red-headed burglar - locked up…” his rose to the ceiling “...upstairs.” Moira went white and, besides her, Danior let out a soft groan. “Oh fer feck’s sake.” Moira was more vocal. She took a step forward and slammed both hands down on the polished wood, making Silvanus jump backwards into his chair with a not-the-response-I-expected look on his face. “You’ve done what?!” Now the look the twins shared wasn’t quite so confident. “We got word that she was in Krook’s rag shed. I figured Spivey must have sent her in to…” The teenager struggled to come up with a reason for Finny’s presence in The Borough. “Well… she must be in The Borough for something.” His confidence returned, as did the smirk. “But me and Shel, we sliced our way through her minders and marched her through the streets like a little prize piggie. Now she’s upstairs playing Old Maid with Patrin.” Moira’s jaw dropped and Danior turned away to pray to the almighty. “Jesus Christ!” Moira was already heading for the stairs. This was bad; ‘marched her through the streets’?! And how long would it take for Joe Spivey to find that out? She turned onto the landing and reached a hand towards the key sticking out of Patrin’s bedroom door. She needed to get Joe’s protégé back to him before he stormed The Borough. But Moira’s hand stopped before it got to the door… which was ajar. She pushed the door slowly open to reveal the empty room. No little red-haired girl. A lump of cold, heavy something landed sickeningly in Moira’s stomach. No Bill… and no Patrin either. Finny turned slowly, her green eyes now narrowing and zeroing in on the bedraggled old man still whispering ‘he can’t be here’ to himself in an increasingly desperate plea to Bill. Not that Finny was paying any attention to the words. “You!” The whispering stopped and all eyes turned towards Finny, her hands clenching and unclenching into fists by her sides as if unsure if they were about to attack or not. “You!” She repeated, taking a step forward and not taking her eyes off Fingal. The old tailor swallowed. “You wish to say something… my dear?” Bill looked confused, Patrin was grinning – this was getting good. Finny took another step towards Fingal. “It was you, wasn’t it? It was you got me kidnapped?” Now Bill turned his head back to his Fingal who. despite the old pervert’s predilections. Had been his friend and accomplice for many years. “Told you she was smart, didn’t I?” Fingal collapsed back against the sofa. “You was never in any danger, my dear, none whatsoever…” He leaned towards the four feet and not very much of rising fury. “We just needed you kept out of the way for a little while is all… just that… so that…” He looked towards Bill, who gave the slightest of nods, before turning back with his most disarming rotten toothed smile. “See, my dear, we needed Joe to come looking for you… to rescue you… from the Golds, you see.” Now it was Finny’s turn to be confused, fortunately displacing the anger for the moment at least. “Huh? But it was the Golds wot rescued me from, well, you.” “That was a mistake, my dear…” “Stop calling me that. It’s creepy.” Bill spoke. “We needed Joe to come in and get rid of the Golds. But we knew he’d need a good reason, see, cos he wouldn’t risk a war with the Golds without one.” Fingal carried on. “But we know... well everyone knows... you’re his shining star, my... his protégé as it were. We knew he’d do it for you, to save you.” Finny glared at Fingal, then turned that glare onto Bill. “I want to go home.” Bill shook his head. “It’s too dangerous. If anyone saw us on the streets then they’re gonna tell the Golds.” Which reminded Fingal why he had been waving his spatula in the air instead of moving sausages with it. “So you brought them here?!” Fingal pointed the spatula at Patrin, who was enjoying the show immensely. “You brought HIM here? Bill? What were you thinking?” Fingal folded his arms, spatula pointing disarmingly up to the ceiling. “You can’t stay here with him; he has to go… far away.” The old man’s face assumed a sly smile. “Or you could…” The hand-across-throat gesture made it graphically clear just what it was that Bill could do. Patrin lost his annoying grin immediately. Finny went into Momma Bear mode and planted herself directly in front of the boy. “Don’t you dare!” “It’s alright my dear, you can stay here with me. Bill can take the boy away and… I don’t know, lose him somewhere... maybe?” “Oh I am not staying with you! You’re just way to creepy.” Finny folded her arms. “If he goes, then I’m going as well…” She stamped her foot. “And I’m going home.” The words came out in such a way as to suggest that the game was now over and Patrin was her ball. Bill was scratching his chin, weighing up the developing situation. The girl was right in a way. Both these kids were surely now being hunted, albeit for different reason, and getting them both out of The Borough would certainly be a solution. The Gold boy would then become the bargaining chip, rather than Finny. It would appease Joe Spivey, too. Leaving her with Fingal was only going to create more problems, not least of which would be that the Gold’s would likely get their hands on her again. Another thought wormed its way into the big man’s devious mind. And if the Golds were using manpower to search for the kids, then who would be protecting the Golds?. He turned to Fingal. “I’ve got a plan.” The Finny Stories In chronological order: 000 Finny Intro 001 The Locket 002 Rats 003 A Christmas Finny 004 The Secret Adventurer’s Club 005 The Secret Adventurer’s Club: Second Adventure 006 Finny’s Birthday 007 Union Candy 008 Then There Were Three 009 Then There Were Four Again – Sort Of (WIP)