Robert chuckled and then turned more serious. "We can either pursue the agents of the foe further or go after the shards ourselves. I think we should do both but focus on the latter."

As Robert speaks, the cab pulls up next to a Martian-built building. A sign next to the door proclaims this to be the offices of Doctor F. M. von Steuben.

Robert gets out and looks around before helping Yenay out of the carriage. If needed he carries her to the offices, if not he helps her walk to the door. Robert will open the door after knocking and look about. "We have a badly injured woman that need to be seen immediately please." I

A dark-skinned, matronly woman of indeterminate heritage steps out of the back room, peering at the group over round glasses perched precariously on her nose. "I am Doctor von Steuben. What happened to this lady?" Her accent is hard to place, but it's still British English.

Robert bowed gallantly to the woman. "A pleasure to meet you Doctor." He seemed unaffected by her sex given she was a medical professional. It seemed his association with Louis had eliminated some of the worse male chauvinism. "The woman was attacked in the streets. I think she can give you the best estimate of her wounds."

The doctor takes Yenay to the exam room, and reappears a few minutes later. "She has some bruising and minor cuts, but she will be fine in a few days." She smiles tightly. "She wasn't forthcoming about how they happened. Were any of you responsible?"

Robert looked offended and shook his head. "No, if anything we prevented further problems by rescuing her. Lucy here is a cousin of my wife and a friend of your patient who turned to us for assistance."

Robert notes that Lucy is standing close enough to Louis to conceal her own injury.

The doctor is completely unruffled by Robert's unspoken reaction. "That matches what she told me. I have given her some medicine to ease her discomfort. Are any of you injured?"

Lucy shakes her head. "Yenay is the only one of us to required aid."

"Very well, then." The doctor turns on her heel and returns to her dispensary.

"That went well," Louis remarks dryly.

Robert nods slightly in response to Louis. "At least we foiled the kidnapping." He looked at Lucy and asked. "So can you both heal yourselves with these powers?"

"Yenay can," Lucy replies. "It takes a lot out of her, though. She will likely need a day to fully recover."

Robert looked thoughtful. "I think we should regroup in our apartments after Yenay is released. I think a bit more background on what to expect and how we can practically proceed to chase down these two shards and foil or preempt the competition is in order."

"I think we should contact Em and Bessie as soon as we arrive home," Louis suggests.

Robert nodded in agreement with the suggestion from Louis. "I can send the cab the takes us home to carry a message to them."

Yenay appears from the dispensary a few minutes later.

"Okay, let's go," Lucy says.

"I don't have my luggage,' Yenay reminds her.

"It might be dangerous for either of you to go back for your belongings," Louis remarks.

Robert considers the problem. "If you write a note to your landlord I can have someone pick up your belongings and bring them to the club. From there we can have a discrete delivery made to break anyone trying to track down where your belongings are taken."

"We go back to the club, then," Yenay asks.

Robert shook his head. "No, come directly home with us. We will have your luggage picked up, brought to the club, put in a different delivery vehicle and then sent to our apartment. That way no one watching your apartment can follow your luggage to our apartment."

The ladies agree to the plan, and so the foursome departs the doctor's office and, after a brief wait for a cab, arrives at home. The flat is as they'd left it, much to Louis' relief. "I thought that they might have come here first."

Robert makes a quick check of the flat and nods. He throws the bolt and chain on the door and draws all the curtains. "Apparently they've not yet made the connection but we can't count on that. I think we should move on to other quarters tomorrow morning to throw off any pursuit."

Louis picks up their telephone and speaks with the club's staff. After she ends the call, she turns to the others. "I have asked that they deliver your luggage here, and I arranged to have rooms for us ready in the morning."

Lucy and Yenay retire to the guest room to wash for dinner. Louis points to hers and Robert's bedroom. "Shall we?"

Robert sets out tea and some leftovers for the group while Louis is on the phone. Once he's satisfied with the arrangements he smiles and takes Louis' hand and heads with her to their room. "After you my darling and thank you for making the arrangements. Hopefully we can stay ahead of any pursuit."

Louis sighs as Robert closes the door. "I'm so glad none of us were seriously injured. You had a couple of close calls, though." She unbuttons her blouse and hands it on the back of a chair. Then, she pulls her undershirt off over her head, leaving her topless. "I thought we could rest before dinner." She bestows a winning smile on him, and Robert can feel her desire more strongly now that he is aware of her ability.

Robert takes off his jacket and unbuttons his stock and removes the tie. "We were very, very lucky." He fingered a few bullet holes in his jacket. When she removed her undershirt Robert turned and focused his entire attention on his wife. Stepping in close and firmly holding her by the hips Robert looked Louis in the eyes. "I think we could easily divert ourselves with a spicy appetizer before dinner. Your ability is quite strong and appealing my dear. We might be locked in the room all night."

After a most pleasant and spicy interlude, Robert and Louis dress for dinner. She had become misty-eyed when they spoke of their latest encounter, and especially about the holes in his clothing. "I came so close to losing you," she'd said.

Now, she turned to him, clad in a Martian-inspired evening dress. "Will this be suitable?"

Robert gave Louis a firm squeeze of the hand at the mention of the gunfight. "You were in danger as well with an even more precious burden. Fortunately we make a good pair in such an encounter."

When Louis turned to him Robert drew a deep breath and smiled. He leaned over and kissed the back of her hand. "That is more than suitable. None of the other ladies on Mars can match you."