Robert paused for a moment as the waiters brought their food.  He smiled and saw that wine was poured for everyone.  When they had privacy again he finished chewing and nodded. "We should start this very afternoon.  Bessie and Em are trustworthy and we can probably rely on some of the contacts we made in the constabulary to help us if need be in looking at immigration records and such.  Can you describe what happened, how your cousin was taken?  We'll start from there."

"We were shopping in the British Quarter, at a boutique along the Imperial Way, when Yenay was overpowered and put in a hansom cab. They drove off westbound, toward the Old Barracks."

"I know the place," Louis says. "It's two doors down from the haberdasher's you like."

That business is a half-mile north of the Explorer's Club. It's evening, and there is about two hours' of daylight left.

Robert took another bite and chewed slowly as Lucinda spoke. "Who exactly overpowered her?  Did they use... powers... to do so?  Also, did you see anything of the hansom?  Lastly were there any witnesses, especially from the businesses around there?" He nodded to Louis; "Yes... I might stop by the haberdashery and chat with them about the abduction."

"Yenay is a small woman, and her powers are more benign," Lucinda explains. "I saw two men put her into a regular hansom, just like all the others for hire. They were discreet, so I'm not sure if anyone else took notice."

"Time is of the essence, then," Meghan says.

"I can send a message to Em and Bessie while we finish here," Louis suggests.

Robert looked about and waved a waiter forward.  "There are runners that are trustworthy here.  Write a quick note and we can get something to Bess and Em right away."  He took a last bite of steak and washed it down with a long swig of wine and then stood.  Robert moved over to help Louis with her chair.  "Let's go then.  We can hire a fast cab ourselves."

"I'm so sorry about your dinner," Lucinda says as she rises.

"Oh, hush," Meghan says as she steps over and envelops the other woman in a hug. "We will help you as much as we can. Now, go with the Commander."

The three of them step outside and are soon ensconced in one of the city's cabs. "Do we need to go by our flat, first?" Louis asks. She pats her pocket containing the small 36 she carries routinely.

OOG: You can decide if Robert is carrying a weapon.

Robert sends a note to Em and Bess via a messenger from the club and then joins the women outside.  When Louis mentions home and pats her pocket he nods.  He has a blackjack and a smal pistol similar to what Louis carries as well.  "I think so.  We're not fully prepared for the kind of trouble we may get into."

The cab deposits them at Robert's flat, and they are soon inside. "Very nice, Senora," Lucinda says as she looks around.

"Thank you. Are you proficient with firearms?" Louis asks.

Their guest shakes her head. "No, I am not. I use my ability." She draws a hatpin from her hair, and looks at it. The pin flashes from her hand like a bolt, and buries half its length in the wall across the room. "I'm sorry about your wallpaper."

Louis glances wide-eyed at Robert, and then she grins. "I hope you have a good supply of hatpins."

OOG: Robert and Louis have had ample opportunity to purchase any weapons they might want, and they were even offered a pair of the new Winchester rifles and revolvers they recovered in their last adventure. Before, they were using Webley revolvers and Mauser rifles.

Robert raised his eyebrows at the results of the hat pin trick.  "Rather impressive, a useful ability Miss."   He pauses for a second or two and then chuckles.  "I have a dozen or so in my dresser I think.  This will be far more useful in keeping things quiet than our guns."  He frowned.  "Can we expect such things from our foes Lucinda?"

OOG: I think the Winchesters would be the best choice but not sure if Webleys are still the ideal heavy pistol.  They both will have a pair of smaller pistols for sure and a blade or two.

Louis picks up her brand new Winchester Model 1886, chambered in .45-70, along with a Webley Mk 1 revolver that she carries in a belt holster. She also has her pocket pistol and a small knife.

Lucinda nods as they arm up. "This is all that I can do," she explains. "Most people have only one ability, although we are all generally healthy."

"And smarter," Louis puts in with a grin.

"Eso también," Luisa's grin matches hers.

Robert picked up a matching rifles as well and his trusty Webley.  He brought along a double handful of ammunition, the small pistol and a knife carried under his coat.  As he readied himself he listened to Lucinda.  "That ability alone is terribly deadly especially if one doesn't expect it.  What was your cousin's ability?"

He matched the grin of the two women as they joked.  "And don't forget more beautiful and spirited."

The pair has 80 rifle rounds and 100 pistol rounds between them. Louis stores hers in a small backpack that also contains food, a shelter half, a coil of light rope, and a canteen. She steps into their bedroom and changes into her adventuring clothes, as she calls them. When she emerges, she picks up her pack.

"My cousin can heal people," Lucinda replies.

"Where do we start?" Louis asks once they are packed and ready.

Robert changes into more practical clothing and brings a satchel to carry light gear as well.  His eyes widen a bit at Lucinda's words.  "A very useful talent that..."  While they were readying themselves Robert also offered Lucinda food and water or stronger drink.

"Let's start where the abduction occured.  We may find witnesses that might lead us further."

Louis looks at Lucinda. "While that is a fetching outfit, I don't think it will do for active work."

Lucinda looks down. "Of course. While you who sleuth about, I will buy more appropriate clothing."

It takes a few more minutes to hail a cab, and then they arrive at the place where Yenay was taken. Lucinda steps into a ladies clothing store, leaving Robert and Louis on the street in front of the haberdasher's establishment.

"They know me in the shop.  Let's see if anyone there saw anything."  Robert will head into the shop and approach the head clerk to ask about anything they might have seen.

Robert hears a second-hand account of a young Oriental woman being pulled into a hansom cab by a pair of burly, but fashionably dressed white men. They left headed westbound.

Robert thanks the clerk and his helpers and promises to be back.  He heads out and informs Louis and Lucinda.  "This matches with what you saw Lucinda.  Let's hail down a couple of cabbies and see if they noticed anything as well.  A strange hansom cab in their territory would be noticed.  We'll pay them a fair for their information.  Next we can try the local urchins.  They'd notice things that would surprise you."

Heading out to the street Robert proceeded to hail a cab and have a chat.

After fifteen minutes of talking, Robert finds a cabbie with some information. "Me mate dropped off a woman and two men over in the Harbor District, and then he hightailed it out of there. Said the men told him to shut up and go home, and he did."

Robert thanked the man and tipped him handsomely. "Did he say where he picked the two men up originally?"  He will get a description of the cabbie and cab/horse so that they can do a bit of digging at the other end if possible.

"Can you take us to the Harbor district to where your friend made his drop off?" He motioned to Louis and Lucinda.  "Let's follow the trail while we can."

OOC: And luck with local urchins or such?"

"I will take you to the main intersection, and it's another three blocks, but I'm not going a foot further," the cabbie says.

Everyone else they speak with doesn't offer any new information.

Robert shrugged.  "Take us as far as you will then Cabbie."

"This place is dangerous at night," the cabbie says as he opens the door to let them down. "I see that you're prepared, but be careful, all the same." With that, he remounts and turns to hansom east toward the more hospitable side of town.

The Harbor District is as Robert remembers, but he has not been this far west. These buildings are not as close to the canal, but are instead served by a small railway system that carries goods to and from a series of docks to the north.

The sun has sunk below the horizon, and there is about thirty minutes of daylight remaining.

Brent helps the two women from the cab and pays the driver handsomely.  "Thank you for your help," he says as he tips his hat.  Turning back to the two women he looks around. "This is a rough place and we'll likely be tested by ruffians that don't see only beauty and don't know of the steel beneath the silk.  Let's stay wary and look into what we can find."

"I understand," Lucinda says.

Louis simply nods and unlimbers her rifle. Clearly, she intends to present the look of a woman not to be taken lightly.

The trio heads west down the sidewalk, following the westbound street toward the Thieves Way, the main road that passes west of the Harbor District, though there are now several blocks of buildings beyond.

They arrive at the cross street where the cabbie said he dropped of the three. The gathering dusk is met by the yellow gaslights, although they are few and widely spaced in this part of town. The smells of coal dust, manure, and the ever-present Martian dust compete for top billing, and a light wind rustles down from the north, bringing with it a flurry of discarded papers and other light trash.

Brent smiles approvingly at Louis' martial display.  He looks around and sighs. "If there is no one around that might know anything here let's find a tavern and see if anyone saw anything."