Forgetting that I would have a round about way to have to go to the meeting place, I was behind on time if I did not get my legs in gear. I rushed, scrambling to make sure I was dressed, armed and had the tungsten securely hidden on me. My heart was already racing, but as I slide my mask on after securing my wig, I could hardly hold my hands still I was shaking so bad from the anxiousness in me.
As I entered the alleyway, I pinched myself hard to dampen my nerves. I scurried down the alley way, slowing down once I was on the sidewalks, quickly ducking into the alleys that would get me to the lift in Mr. Atwood's office the quickest route possible. I knew I needed to be careful and do some zig-zagging through the alleys, but decided my time would be better spent doing that through the undercarriage. As I slip into the alley next to Atwood's office, I make sure to drop some snaps. Our little booby trap devices that sound like mousetraps going off. Most people won't think twice hearing that sound in an alley as long as they were in pain, but to us in the cogs, it was the sign that someone was following us.
After pressing the brick that would let me inside the building from the alleyway, I hastily close it up to wait and listen for the snaps. My heart is racing so hard, I can't get the sound of it out of my ears. I take a few deep and calming breaths before straining to try and hear anything.
'Nothing.' I release the breath I was holding and make my way to the lift taking it down to the undercarriage. Once there. I change my top layer of my dress from the clothes closet, into one that won't gather too many looks my way. I exchange my hat for a shawl, draping it over my head to cover part of my masked face. Glancing in the mirror I nod in approval at myself. Glancing at the clock again, I grab a basket and throw in the bread and a couple of the vegetables that someone left out.
My adrenaline is coursing through me so high that I'm having trouble calming myself down.
'Damn it! I don't think my body was ready to come out and handle this after all.' My breathing is heavy and I'm feeling light in the head and heavy in the limbs. I take some more breaths to steady myself and once my lightheaded feeling fades, I'm stepping out into an empty alley.
I still have a little over an hour to get to the meeting place, so now I move towards the factories of the district, taking the main thorough ways because down in the undercarriage there is more fallacious people to worry about. The alley's can be beneficent to any one needing to disappear quickly, yet I remember all too well the stories of women and children that went missing taking the wrong alleyway.
I hurry along blending in with plenty of other pedestrians that are still working and going about their lives here. Many are hungry and malnourished, you can see it by their gaunt cheeks and pot bellies on some. I need to bring a donation of food to the Elements Temple soon. The lives of those in the undercarriage are bleak, lately they have been worsening.
This puts me up on higher guard as I move, knowing that someone may be desperate enough to attack someone in the more populated streets. I have a blade ready up my sleeve, trying to remain alert and not seem conspicuous. I go through some of the short alley ways moving in such a way if I was being followed they'd have a hard time keeping up. A few of the alley ways one or two men would try to stop me, but a quick flash of proficiency with my blades made them turn around. They wanted easy prey, not one that they would have to put up a fight for.
Once I get into our Cog territory, all I have to do is hold my masked face up and no one steps out to block my path or bother me.
I make it to the safe house to meet Leo, who is already there.
"In all the years of you working with us, this is the first instance you've never been exactly on time. You are early my dear." Leo says surprised but his smug smile quickly blossoms across his face.
"Why did you rush? Could you not wait any longer to see Mr. Chambers?"
Disgusted at his assumption, I voice my disdain. "Stop joking around, Leo. That is the last thing on my mind that I am concerned about and I do not look at him in any way except for business purposes. Now, shall we continue or may I rest a moment?"
Leo takes a stand and pulls at the lapels of his overcoat, "Sit down here and rest, we have something new to try out for you."
Wary of what I could be trying out, I question Leo, "What would that be?" I take the seat offered when Holly, the wife of a baker from the works, comes in setting down a small basket.
"Don't worry love, just move your mask to the side so I can see your cheek. I'm going to show you a thing or two."
She begins to pull out some uncooked dough and some pigment powders adding them quickly to the dough and working them in. She pulls out a small jar and hands it to me.
"Put this on your cheek love, it'll make this stick and do not fret, it washes off."
Hesitant, I open it up and smell it. 'Flour Glue? alright....' I smear it on my cheek not sure how much to put on.
"That's good love, now hold still while I do my work." She takes and stretches the dough that now is close the color of my skin. She stretches and layers the dough across my cheeks, gently patting more glue on between each layer. It only take a few minutes, before she is fanning my face while dabbing some fruit preserve in the corners of the dough and fanning again.
"Go ahead and look." Holly hands me a mirror and I gasp in horror.
"I look like a burn victim!" I exclaim to her. "Won't my mask wear it off though?" I ask thinking about the contact.
"Touch it." She motions for me to do so.
Tentatively, I give it a soft pat, only to find it's hard already from the glue. I pull down the mask all the way and pull it back off, the applique does not budge. It also feels smooth, mimicking the texture of scarred skin.
"You're amazing!" I compliment her, enthusiastically.
She blushes, "Just doing what I can for the cause. You all put yourselves into danger to try and make our lives better. I wouldn't be with my husband if it wasn't for the help you all have done. If I am able to help out in making your disguises more believable and may help you out of a jam... It would help me sleep a little better at night." She shrinks back humbled by her own confession of emotions.
I reach out and take her hands in my own, "I am grateful for all that you do and have done. I appreciate your ingenuity too." I tell her with the utmost sincerity.
Leo sighs sounding annoyed and impatient, "Yes thank you, Holly. Now, come Lady Cog. We do have somewhere we need to get going to be."
Holly curtsies before taking her leave, silently taking the obvious hint that she was keeping us. I joined Leo and we made our way to the back door of the house, walking towards the factories, arm in arm.
As we leave the Cogs territory, Leo acts like he is my father with simple paternal like conversation. We will be right next to Bootlegger territory, the other gang that's risen to have some power here in the undercarriage. We are both on edge, since they would have a right to harm us, if we cross into their territory.
As we walk, the eerie feeling of being watched runs over my body making me shudder. Leo not missing the reaction, keeps a warm smile on his face and pats my hand.
"We're almost there, my dear girl. No need to get anxious, you'll see your beau soon enough."
He whispers, his mustache covering his lips that barely move. "We are being watched. Not in there territory, so we are okay for now. Just be calm."
I notice faces appear and disappear from windows and door ways from the corner of my eyes as we pass them. I clutch my basket tighter to me, telling Leo, "I hope he is satisfied with what we've brought him to eat. It's not much, but I do try to take care of him."
As we get near the looming cylindrical stack that is one of the smelting towers, we notice Mr. Chambers walking ahead of us with none other than his father, who sits in a wheelchair, but there is an extra person present. The large bulky frame pushing the wheelchair, tells us that he is presumably a hired guard.
"What the fuck is this?" Leo mutters as a stray stone is sent ricocheting off his boot, alerting Mr. Chambers party of our presence.
"Oh!" Derek turns and excuses himself from his father for a moment, rushing over to us.
Shaking Leo's hand he whispers quickly, "My fathers personal guard, he's loyal to us, he'll be outside as soon as my father is situated inside."
Derek turns to me and bows, "Clara, always a pleasure to see you my dear." He takes my hand and kisses the back of it, making me have to act like a giggling girl in love. Inwardly, I'm rolling my eyes at this whole act. Necessary as it is, I despise the deep webs of lies and deceit that we must commit to all the time.
"Come, we can have supper inside before you leave me to my work. Clara?" Derek offers his arm, and I take it hesitantly while his father and guard watch me doing so.
As we walk closer, Doctor Eli, his father, chuckles, "So you're the gal who put my son in his place. Good job, my dear. I was looking forward to meeting you prior and I am glad my son didn't completely ruin his chances with you. I'm glad you have forgiven him." Doctor Eli pats my arm as we enter inside and the guard lifts the doctor, wheelchair and all and takes him with us as we climb two flights of stairs.
I'm amazed at the strength of the guard. After walking up two flights of stairs, carrying the doctor, he did not seem out of breath or even break a sweat. He set him down and Doctor Eli dismissed him, having him turn and head downstairs. Once the door was shut downstairs, Derek quickly locked the door to the floor of the smelting room.
"Okay, let me get the tour out of the way first. Leo, if you would please sit and wait with my father while I take Clara on a tour. We'll be back shortly." Derek still holding my arm in place on his, motions for Leo to sit and join his father. Leo taking the cue, does the only thing he can. He smiles and nods, taking a seat.
"You two take your time. Derek, remember what I told you!" Doctor Eli reminds Derek as we walk into the smelting floor.
Derek leans over and whispers, "Where's the ore? I have to put it in a crucible."
I check to make sure we're out of sight and I lift my skirts, making Derek go wide eyed and turn. I know I saw his cheek flush and I couldn't help but chuckle from his awkward reaction. I had only lifted the top two, reaching in under my bustles boning structure to remove the bag with the ore.
"Here you are." I push the bag into his hands as he tentatively turns, revealing his red face.
"You know, Mr. Chambers, I wondered how you became a contact for this type of work. You seem far too innocent to be caught up with us." I whisper to him as he adds the ore to a crucible, dusting the contents with a white powder substance.
He sticks the crucible in the kiln, where there's flames constantly burning, regulated by the gauges that feed the flame with gas. He takes my hand and walks me down to the other side of the room, checking the larger kiln. He's adding the white powdery substance to a giant spoon that he sticks into the kiln and quickly deposits it in a large crucible of molten metal.
"We can talk more easily over here. However, the same could be said about you. As the shop owner, you're the epitome of a good, innocent, hardworking woman. Yet, you moonlight for the Cogs, and you keep it from your beau. I'm not judging you, just stating the fact." He raises his hands up in a non hostile gesture when I take an audible breath to defend my actions. I keep quiet, because he's correct.
Seeing that I am remaining silent he continues, "I became open to working with you all, because of my mother and father. This job and his rounds make us live comfortable, but my dad can't continue to do it forever. My job alone can't pay the taxes that we would be responsible for each year in our home. So I'm doing what I have to, to ensure they are taken care of and so is the house."
Chewing on this bit of information, I wonder, "Why don't you take up your fathers rounds when he is unable to?"
"I did not take the medical classes to be certified as a doctor. They are too expensive and require too much of my time. Someone has to pay our servants which is just our cook, housekeeper, and then our guard. The cook and housekeeper do the laundry between the two and the housekeeper doubles as a caretaker for my mother when father and I are not home. When I'm home, I do what I can, where I can, in the house."
I'm impressed and humbled. 'HE took time to meet and have dinner with me, when he has all of those responsibilities on his plate?'
"When do you sleep and rest?"
Derek, warmly and unrestrained, laughs at my question. "When ever I can. I would normally be doing it right now."
"My apologies for keeping you up." I look at the kiln seeing dark pieces forming on top of the molten metal in the larger kiln that we are in front of. "What is that forming on the top?" I point as I question him
Derek checks and informs me, "That is what we call slag. It is the impurities that are in the metals that when I add this powder, or disodium tetraborate, it makes it easier to remove it later."
Taking my hand, he takes me over to the smaller kiln with our ore in it, I see it's starting to red hot, but not melt yet. Derek takes another scoop of the white powder and using a long pole, pours the chemical onto the ore.
"Come let's see what's in your basket." Derek suggests warmly.
I quickly ask him, "Your father doesn't know what we are doing, does he?"
Derek gives me a wink and says nothing.
'What in the Elements is that supposed to mean?!'