MA05 Myth-ing Persons Read Free Page A

Guido said pointedly.
    That took some of the wind out of Aahz’s sails. Despite himself, he shot a nervous glance at the door.
    “Well ... a good thief with a lockpick working from this side ...”
    “Some of these locks weren’t picked, Aahz.”
    I had been taking advantage of their discussion to do a little snooping, and now held up one of my discoveries for their inspection. It was a padlock with the metal shackle snapped off. There were several of them scattered about, as if someone had gotten impatient with the lockpick and simply torn the rest of them apart with his hands.
    Guido pursed his lips in a silent whistle. “Man, that’s strong. What kind of person could to that?”
    “That’s what we’ve been trying to get you to tell us,” Aahz said nastily. “Now, if you don’t mind, what were those customers like?”
    “Three of them ... two men and a woman ... fairly young-looking, but nothing special. Klahds by the look of ‘em. Come to think of it, they did seem a bit nervous, but I thought it was just because they were coming to see a magician.”
    “Well, now they’re on the other side of the door.” Aahz scooped up one of the undamaged locks and snapped it into place. “I don’t think they can pick locks, or break them if they can’t reach ‘em. They’re there, which is their problem, self-inflicted I might add, and we’re here. End of puzzle. End of problem.”
    “Do you really think so, Aahz?”
    “Trust me.”
    Somehow that phrase struck a familiar chord in my memory, and the echoes weren’t pleasant. I was about to raise this point with Aahz when Nunzio poked his head in the door.
    “Hey, Boss. You got visitors.”
    “See?” my partner exclaimed, beaming. “I told you things could only get better! It’s not even noon and we’ve got more customers.”
    “Actually,” Nunzio clarified, “it’s a delegation of Deveels. I think it’s the landlord.”
    “The landlord?” Aahz echoed hollowly.
    “See how much better things have gotten?” I said with a disgusted smirk. “And it’s not even noon.”
    “Shall I run ‘em off, Boss?” Guido suggested.
    “I think you’d better see ‘em,” Nunzio advised. “They seem kinda upset. Something about us harboring fugitives.”
    Aahz and I locked gazes in silence, which was only natural as there was nothing more to be said. With a vague wave that bordered on a nervous tick, I motioned for Nunzio to show the visitors in.
    As expected, it was the same delegation of four from the Devan Chamber of Commerce who had originally hired us to work for the Bazaar, headed by our old adversary, Hay-ner. Last time we dealt with him, we had him over a barrel and used the advantage mercilessly. While he had agreed to our terms, I always suspected it had hurt his Devan pride to cut such a generous deal and that he had been waiting ever since to pay us back. From the smile on his face as he entered our reception room, it appeared he felt his chance had finally come.
    “Aahh, Master Skeeve,” he said. “How good of you to see us so promptly without an appointment. I know how busy you are, so I’ll come right to the point. I believe there are certain individuals in residence here that our organization is most anxious to speak with. If you would be so kind as to summon them, we won’t trouble you further.”
    “Wait a minute, Hay-ner,” Aahz put in before I could respond. “What makes you think the people you’re looking for are here?”
    “Because they were seen entering your tent less than an hour ago and haven’t come out yet,” said the largest of Hay-ner’s backup team.
    I noticed that unlike Hay-ner, he wasn’t smiling. In fact, he looked downright angry.
    “He must mean the ones who came in earlier,” Nunzio suggested helpfully. “You know, Boss, the two guys with the broad.”
    Aahz rolled his eyes in helpless frustration, and for once I was inclined to agree with him.
    “Umm, Nunzio,” I said, staring at the ceiling. “Why