The Tomb of the Maharal Part 2

The Templars have been hired to track down a pair of grave robbers before they meet their end. A simple job, more than likely not, nothing is ever simple for the Templars.

(2)

 

A week earlier…

 

“Come on, Charlotte,” Richard moaned from the other side of the iron door. They were in their home away from home the airship USS Mjolnir, captained by Isaac McCullough and kept in the air by Augustine’s money. The Templar family was, if not the richest family in the world, one of the top richest families in the world but they liked to keep out of the public light building their wealth in the shadows. Wealth, Richard wasn’t sure where they got it from and doubted their glob jumping adventures brought in the money.

            “Hurry up,” He snapped, banging on the door.

            Charlotte Draper shot the door open with her normally loving golden eyes

            (Those are eyes even beautiful when they are mad)

Were screaming at him with annoyance now. Her button nose crumbled up, and her arms shot down to her sides. “Calm your horses,” she snarled at him. “I was getting ready.”

            “For an hour,” Richard said as both of them walked the ship, “we are going flying, not to a dinner party.”

            “Like anyone would want to take you to a dinner party,” Charlotte said, crossing her arms. For the first time this whole trip, they were allowed to take the plane out. Richard had become quite the pilot while Charlotte had been more or less brought along against her will to go flying.

            “Like I would go,” Richard had already came bored at the idea of any dinner party. He would rather be out in the woods hunting, fighting for his life in some far-off place, anything else but being forced to sit at a dinner party with boring old people doing nothing but talking.

            “And you better not do that barrel roll thing,” Charlotte ordered him, punching him in the shoulder, “again with me in the plane,” and then she pointed up at him. “I mean it.”

            “I won’t,” he lied, trying to hide the smirk on his square face.

            “I swear, Richard, if yo ---“

            “Richard and Charlotte report to Lord Templar’s quarters,” a voice boomed over the speakers in the hall.

            “What did you do now?” Charlotte asked with a cocked eyebrow.

            “I don’t know, nothing,” he said, following her up the stairs to Augustine doors. They didn’t bother with knocking on the door; if they were being summoned to Augustine’s quarters, then he was expecting them. Charlotte opened the iron door to the small office room with an Indian rug on the floor (he got from a powerful family) cherry wood bookshelves lining the walls and a large desk sat across the crimple room where the Lord waited.

            “I didn’t do it,” Richard said before stepping fully into the room but stopped speaking when he saw his bald uncle leaning on his walking cane, stroking his long gray and black beard looking at them both. In front of Augustine stood a short fat man with oily black or brown hair, Richard couldn’t tell due to the dirty hair. The man smiled with yellow teeth at the two newcomers.

            “Hello,” the man said with a nod of his head.

            Augustine stood as giant next to the short man looking to be the two extremes between what a man could look like, and Augustine had been the better of the two. “This is Master Trudeu,” Augustine said nodding at the man.

            “Nice to meet you,” Charlotte said, sticking her hand for him to shake, but the greasy man kissed the top of her tiny hand. She fought back the disgust and stepped closer to Augustine, almost standing behind, as Richard crossed his arms next to his uncle.

            Master Trudeu looked between the two men and asked,” Did you have spikey blonde hair too, Lord Templar when you were younger?”

            “Richard is my nephew,” Augustine said coolly, not liking this man either. “Now, Master Trudeu what can we do for you?”

            “Well,” Master Trudeu said, walking over to a chair in front of the desk and taking a seat, “I need your help.”

            “Let me stop you there,” Augustine said, walking around with a heavy limp he got from a battle in Nicaragua when the United States occupied the country. He went there with the army after coming out of West Point. He stopped on the other of the desk but didn’t take a seat. “I know who you are Master Trudeu and I know what kind of circle you travel in �"“

            “What circles are those?” Richard whispered into Charlotte’s ear, and she shrugged the ‘I don’t know,’ but it couldn’t be good. Augustine wasn’t known for turning down work as long as it was above board.

            “And I’m afraid I can’t be seen associated with your kind of work.”

            Master Trudeu hide the snarl under a well-practiced smiled, a smiled he used on all the villainy of the underworld, and he said, “I understand, Lord Templar, but the job isn’t so much for me as it is for saving some of your old friends.”

            “Go on,” Lord Augustine said, eyeing Richard and Charlotte then going back to ghoulish villain sitting in the chair.

             We are going to be forced to toss that chair out, Richard thought, maybe with this guy in it.

            Master Trudeu smiled, making their skin crawl at the sight of his teeth. Augustine frowned with him, saying, “I’m sure you know the Halos.” Charlotte shot a look back at Richard with a worried gaze knowing whatever trouble the Halos were in, it was not going to make their lives any easier.

            “I have worked them before,” the Lord said.

            “And been betrayed by them, I’m sure.”

            “If they have backstabbed you, then that is your problem, not mine,” Augustine said, “and I will not pay for their crimes.”

            “Oh no, no,” Master Trudeu waved the words away,” they wouldn’t dare betray me, and if they did, I have people who can handle that sort business.”

            “Then what did they do?”

            Master Trudeu sighed and said softly, “They have gotten themselves lost.”

            “Lost?” Charlotte asked, pulling the dirty eyes of the man to her. She regretted almost instantly with the way his eyes crawled over her

            “What do you mean?” Augustine asked, pulling his eyes back to him.

            “I hired them to find some objects for me -”

            (He meant to say grave robbing for him)

            “and they were supported to meet me in Prague a week ago but never showed.”

            “You want us to find them?” Augustine asked.

            “Yes, I can pay you if you like,” Master Trudeu said.

            “I don’t need your blood money,” Augustine said, letting the vile sneak out, “just let me know where you sent them.”