The evening was drawing on fast, leaving the intrepid heroes limited time to finish their tasks.  Gruber was trudging along with Marianne and Brother Clary; he was wearing a rented tux and had his overlong hair slicked back.  The results were amazing; he cleaned up very well.  He'd asked his strange invisible friends to 'help', but what form that might take, if any, was vague.  Agents Peterson and Gattanack were also on site for assistance; Peterson proposed taking a waiter's uniform and going 'undercover'.

Meanwhile, Steve Cable had gone out to get assistance of his own, from Aunt Ayada, who owed him a big favour.

Marianne was suitably pleased with her escort. Upon entering the ballroom, she circulated around the room, trying to spot any known parties, whichever camp they belonged to, and the best location to observe the room.

Hans Gruber was drawing some admiring looks, which he didn't seem to notice.  He squired her around the room with grace and style, and only once steered her away from an empty table in the west corner of the huge room; and guided her towards a table that was partially hidden by two others - not a good location but it had the virtue of some shadows in which to hide.  "Soloman Grey is at that empty table," he said.  "But you can't see him right now, I am thinking, magic is heavy on him.   I don't know if he saw us or not."

Then the band started warming up, and the German perked up considerably. "Foxtrot !"  he said, and looked at Marianne with pleading eyes. "Will you honour me with a dance ?"

Steve entered the ball room and walked around the edge, observing who arrived. The preacher and the red-head were here with Gruber. He exited out the main entrance where he waited til two couples went in together so he followed them close ducking into the left corner to observe.

Marianne grinned. "You may tell me the truth, Mr. Gruber. You don't want Jasmine's aunt to find you. But I would be delighted. Let's make a sweep of the floor, shall we?"

As they danced, Marianne noted Brother Clary and the other two in position. She looked to see if she recognized anyone else she was looking for - the detective and his friends; Jasmine's father, the self-professed king of thieves; the Englishman with the vendetta against Gruber; and the mysterious character known only as the fox. What a cast of characters. And dragons in Chicago? This would be the book that would make her a household name -- if any of them survived the night, that is.

Steve Cable noticed a completely empty table in the far Southeast corner of the room; a prime location offering a good view of the whole room, though the dance floor in the middle of the ballroom would obscure the tables between the stage and the dance floor, once the dancers filled it up.

Hans Gruber expertly escorted Marianne to the dance floor.  "Jasmine is not here," he said, swinging her around the dance floor to the admiration of those watching; he really could dance quite well, so much so that he made anyone with him appear to be expert.  She got a good look around the ballroom as he whirled her in a stately spin; she saw three things of interest.  The Detective had entered the room and was looking for a seat.  Agent Peterson was now attired as a waiter, straightening his vest, and there was a tall blonde man in a tuxedo glaring daggers at Gruber, near the West side of the ballroom.

Steve pulled out Chang's stone for a third and last use, he sweeps the room quickly before it dies.

Steve looks through the rock at the busy room, giving it a thorough sweep.


Ali raised an eyebrow from his station near the door and the potted palm.

Steve rubbed Auntie's ring. Moves next to Ali and whispers.


"Also can you give this good and faithful , unh magic item a proper disposal."
He slips him the dead rock.

The boy nodded, folding his arms, and then the ballroom changed; the faint glowing lines curled up and fizzled like cobwebs in the sun, and suddenly Steve could see Grey at the table; looking furious, standing up and shouting - soundlessly.

"Too bad. We could have used her as the distraction, you know. It worked splendidly on Rashid last time," she replied with a smile. The disaster that was Gruber and Jasmine was oddly riveting.

Dancing with Gruber was a delightful experience. Even knowing what he was, she couldn't quite get over her surprise. "Oh, there's your mysterious Englishman in that corner. Something's got his goat, and I rather think it's you. That detective is here, too. He's going to muck it all up, no doubt, out of sheer contrariness. We've got to get going before any of them do. Swing by Brother Clary. Do you know when and how they plan to exhibit it? Any security precautions you can see?"