Adventures on the Lost Continent (Midnight Lass x Blood Red Romeo)

Watching Eddie get pinned, released, and pinned again was a bit satisfying, but also hard to watch. While Orson was much warier of him than before, he was still someone he had worked with an admired. Turned out not everyone he knew was as good as he remembered. Still, facing that reality was difficult. Even as Miharu demonstrated on him like he was a toy, Orson almost wanted to step in to help him. But siding with him over Miharu would be a stupid decision on roughly a million levels. Plus, if he was honest and removed his feelings from the occasion, he almost certainly deserved it.

That said, Orson carefully observed Miharu’s movements as well. He knew hand to hand combat, a mixture of standard military combat, boxing, and good ol’ street brawling. Pins like the one she was using were not in his wheelhouse. Judging by Eddie’s reaction, they were incredibly effective.

“Sure, we can do that,” he said to the girls. Honestly, he had been planning on taking the entire crew out to eat once the plans had been finalized for departure, but there was no problem in doing a preview. Plus, it was kind of his fault Eddie showed up. This would be his apology to the girls. That didn’t stop him from turning to the still prone man before they left. “Good luck with your research, Dr. Murdoch.”

Orson walked with the pair out of the university towards the restaurant that Miharu knew. It smelled amazing inside, meat and fried goodness permeated his nostrils. It was styled like the American diners he had been to back when he was in New York. However, there were enough differences that made it clear this was more imitation than authentic. Still, if the food was tasty, that’s all he needed.

He offered to pay for the three of them, encouraging the girls to get whatever they want. Honestly, he definitely could splurge now that Tarloff was helping with supplies. Orson would pay him back after the windfall the expedition would bring them hit. But for now, he appreciates the free stuff he was going to receive. But he did have a price that needed to be paid by the girls he was treating. Namely, Tamra, the sexy intellectual from America.

“Why do they call them French fries?” he asked, picking up one of the mentioned fried potato sticks from the plate. “I mean, I get the fry part, but what about this is French?”
 
Tamra was watching with amusement as Miharu attacked her meal with gusto. It always amazed Dr. Wilson to watch the other young woman, who looked so delicate, do the things she did, whether it was her combat skills, her outdoor skills, or consuming the latest craze from the United States. So engrossed was Tamra in Miharu's enjoyment that she almost missed Captain James' question.

"The original use of French fries was supposedly used by the American president Thomas Jefferson who, while at the White House, asked that fried potatoes be served in the French manner. However," Tamra added, dipping a fry into a puddle of ketchup, "was in the cookbook Cookery for Maids of All Work, published just before the American Civil War." Tamra shrugged. "What can I say, I know things. Speaking of knowing things, Captain James, how much room does your airship have for reference volumes?"

-----

While the sky captain, the tomb raider and the lady samurai discussed the etymology of the new classic American meal, Dr. Edward "Crazy Eddie" Murdoch was nursing his wounds in his own office. When he heard that still wet behind the ears Orson James was recruiting for an expedition to the Lost Continent, Eddie almost jumped for joy. His personal reserve of antiquities was almost gone. Worst, he couldn't hire anyone anymore, not since the Lady Houston fiasco. Lady Houston had probably the best collection of Lost Continent jewelry in the known world, and insisted on wearing all of it during her visit from London. So Eddie had hired six toughs to rob Lady Houston when the opportunity provided itself. It should have been a piece of cake, since Lady Houston only had one servant in attendance to her.

Unfortunately, that servant had actually been Dandy's little girl, who promptly overwhelmed the six attackers. To make matters worse, an attack on a visiting noblewoman with the stature of Lady Houston had caused a major crackdown on the city's criminal elements. Fortunately, the investigation hadn't found its way back to Eddie, but it had dried up his ability to recruit thugs.

Eddie thought about trying to get some muscle together anyway, to perhaps force Orson to take him, or to take Dr. Wilson out of the picture. But if Orson had Miharu along as a bodyguard, there was no way he could get past her, no matter who Eddie sent. And assuming the impossible happened and Eddie was able to neutralize Miharu, he still ran the danger of irritating men like Max and Dandy, who could, between the two of them, bring the island down on him.

But Eddie had to get on that airship. He had to.

And then an idea came to Eddie. Something that science said shouldn't be able to work, but just might.

-----

In a village near the eastern shores of the Lost Continent, a young shamaness named Kisu was organizing six stones in a circle in the dirt, in front of her hut. Five were round and smooth, of different colors, the six was a white piece of quarts. As she studied the stones, a colorful, poisonous frog jumped into the middle of the circle. Kisu studied the frog, then plucked a leaf from the necklace around her neck to shoo the frog away.
 
The next morning, Orson awoke feeling mostly amazing. His dinner with Miharu and Tamra had gone well, leaving him absolutely stunned by the amount of food the young Japanese girl could take in. It was cute, and it’s not like having a big appetite was a bad thing. In fact, considering where her weight seemed to go, he almost wanted to encourage it. But indecent thoughts aside, it was a nice night. They then walked Tamra back home, and then Orson escorted Miharu back to Dandy’s. The day had been an unprecedented success. Two yeses and three pending on their guardians’ approval was amazing.

So why wasn’t he completely over the moon? It had to do with his last stop of night. Not to recruit, but to snoop. He met up with an old buddy of his from the navy, Henry Chafetz. He hadn’t stayed in the navy too long, thought he did last longer than Orson, and had since settled in as a member of the city’s police. The two drank, laughed, and told stories. He also gave Orson more than a few strange looks when he told him about the expedition, especially the crew. Henry would’ve insisted on joining the crew to have a chance with just one of them women Orson had brought on if it wasn’t for the fact he was certain he’d die on the lost continent. He almost insisted anyway.

But then they got into the meat of why Orson wanted to meet up: Crazy Eddie. Orson asked him what he knew about the man, wondering what the police had found. Rumors and opinions of former colleagues were one thing. Law enforcement, while at times flawed, was another. And Orson trusted Henry to be straight, especially when it came to men.

Henry’s diagnostic? Eddie was scum and a crook. The police had kept their eye on him for a while as a person of interest. A few things had pointed at him, but nothing really damning. The real shift had come after the Lasy Houston incident. It had been such a scandal that the department had tried hard to find the one responsible. Rumors swirled around, more than a few pointing at Edward Murdoch. Henry had actually been part of a team specifically to investigate and take him down. But Eddie was smart. While the team worked their hardest to find any dirt on him for this or any previous incident he was suspected of being connected to, all they got was some third rate testimonies of he-said she-said and a collection of circumstantial evidence. After that, the department ended the investigation. It bothered Henry that a man he was certain was guilty managed to walk free, but he accepted that you can’t prosecute someone because of your gut. But the department still thought he was a guilty SOB and kept their eye on him. Eventually he’d slip up. And when he did, he’d go down.

So now Orson was left even more lost on the matter of Eddie. He really wanted to believe in the man, but everything he had heard and seen told him that was a terrible idea. He hoped he could put everything on the subject behind him, but he knew that was unlikely. After all, he was going to speak with Tarloff today on the subject of his wards. Odds are Eddie would be brought up. Sighing, Orson got ready for his day. He gave himself a few more minutes to mope, and then switched gears. The optimistic (mostly) and charming (not really) captain was ready for his day. Now to convince a protective man to let a pair of sexy twins come with him on an adventure to a dangerous continent on a mission many thought was suicidal. Easy.
 
The next morning found Eddie Murdoch in an almost forgotten storage room in a near abandoned wing of the University's Archaeological Department.The room was cluttered with small, seemingly insignificant finds from around the world. Eddie had been in the room, hoping to find something of worth, but had never discovered anything.

Well, he had found one thing, seemingly connected with the Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, but he had always dismissed it as nonsense.

Now, he was desperate.

He dug through different boxes, worrying that perhaps someone had located what he was looking for and had moved for reasons unknown.

Then he found it. It was a round glass capsule that held a common Oriental wasp.

Hoping against hope, Eddie began muttering in Old Persian to the glass capsule and ended it by muttering a name.

The capsule disappeared and, without ceremony, the wasp flew away.

Eddie couldn't help but grin. It had worked. It had actually worked.

And very soon, he'd have that smug ungrateful Orson James over a barrel.

-----

At about that hour that Eddie Murdoch had managed to cast an Old Persian spell, Doctors Ayisha Motwani and Tamra Wilson were having coffee at a little cafe not too far from where Captain James' airship was berthed, waiting on the good Captain to join them.

"So how would you say your accommodations stack up against dormitory living?" Tamra asked her friend with a laugh.

"Probably a little bit roomier," Ayisha said with a smile. The young Indian doctor took a sip of her coffee and asked her friend, "So if you don't mind me asking, Tamra, why are you going along on this crazy mission?"

"A number of reasons," Tarma began. "Primarily I don't want to get stuck at a base camp cataloging finds and playing translator. Or covering for other lecturers who are allowed to go out into the field. Are being stuck at the research desk of the library while a second rate scholar tries to convince me to give up my virginity behind the return stacks."

Ayisha almost snorted coffee through her nose over the last remark, which got both ladies laughing.

"Medical school is full of 'free lovers,' Ayisha noted, "Who tried to convince me to abandon my petit bourgeois values and my virginity at the same time."

After the doctors finished chuckling at the would be Lotharios in their past, Tamra asked, "So, Ayisha,what makes you want to go on this grand adventure?"

Before Ayisha could decide how she wanted to answer that question, she spotted Olson walking toward their outside table at the cafe.

"Here comes our benefactor now," Ayisha announced.
 
Orson was going over his proposal to Max as he walked out of the airship. He liked the fact that he didn’t need to get a hotel. Good for expenses. Plus he was pretty sure the mattresses he bought were better than any place he’d afford staying in. That’s when he was hit with the pleasant surprise of two beautiful doctors having coffee. Were they waiting for him? Or was it just a coincidence? Either way he was going over to speak to them. It’d be rude not to. Once he got closer to them, the girls appeared to notice him and didn’t seem displeased about his approach. So that was good.

He suddenly became a bit more conscious of his clothes. He had ditched his usual outfit for something a bit more...suitable. It was nice, regular clothes you could see being worn all over cities by regular workers. But it felt strange to the airship captain. This was not at all what he wore, and for good reason. Still, he thought it might show Max he was at least willing to put effort into convincing him. That would probably be worth more than the actual appearance.

“Dr. Wilson, Dr. Motwani, good morning to both of you,” he said as he reached their table. “What brings you two to this part of town this morning? Did you want to meet with more, or are the sounds of airdock workers cursing just music to your ears?” Almost as if on que, a nearby man let out a creative string of syllables that one could only guess as to the meaning of. Based on his tone, he was not happy.
 
Outside her hut, Kisu watched the frog hop away with a frown, before looking down at the rocks and the single leaf again. The five smooth rocks and her leaf were in the shape of the Ancient Eastern King's seal around the final stone, and that all and good, but she was not with the foreign travelers yet. The seal would not be complete if and when they arrived to where she was. Until that moment came, she would need a temporary solution.

Kisa dug into a leather pouch she wore on her belt and pulled out another colored, smooth round stone, and used it to replace the leaf she had used to chased of the colorful poisonous frog.

That should do for the moment, Kisu reassured herself. At least until they reach me. Which I hope is soon.

-----

As the dockworker let out a string of expletives, Tamra and Ayisha exchanged a look and broke out laughing.

"We appreciate your gallantry, Captain James," Tamra began, and Ayisha nodded, "But I've heard worse at an expedition base camp."

"And I've worked in our hospital's experimental emergency department," Ayisha explained. "It's a specialized trauma care center that a number of hospitals around the world have introduced. I can assure you, the language in there can be quite salty."

"Not that you should consider that an invitation to abandon your gentlemanly ways, Captain James," Tamra admonished with mock seriousness. "But as to our presence here, we did hope to see you this morning, though our primary purpose was to see how the twins were doing with the modifications we asked them to make to the ship's library. We've converted the doors to the library as sort of 'Murphy shelves.' The interiors of the doors have shelves overlayed on them, allowing us to put more books in the library. Which will allow me to bring on board Herodotus' Botanies, as well as all Seven of Sinbad's Voyages, just to name a few. And for the medical tomes Dr. Motwani will need. And the technical and navigational manuals the twins have assured as that the airship needs. Anyway, the shelves will need restraining devices for the books on them, for turbulent periods."

"I certainly hope you are able to get the de la Vegas as crewmembers, Captain James," Ayisha added. "Though there manner of communication takes some getting used to, they seem quite brilliant at what they do." A strange look came over Ayisha's face, prompting Tamra to ask, "Is everything okay, Ayisha?"

"It was the oddest thing," Ayisha said. "My quarters, attached to sickbay, have a berth, or that's what I believe you call it, for a physician's mate. With the amount of automation the twins are installing, I know you'll have a reduced crew size, Captain James, and I was going to ask the twins to remove it, to give me some additional room. But then, quite suddenly, I found myself thinking that a good nurse could fill that position, provided she had sufficient abilities to assist other members of the crew. A "Jill-of-all-trades", as it were. I was running through my head anyone I thought my have that sort of training, and I immediately thought of Bianca Costa."

"I know her," Tamra said. "She works at Air and Steam, not only as their company nurse, but also in their medical supplies division. Point of fact, she pretty much runs that division. And she's been to a base camp with me before. When she wasn't treating sun burns and insect bites from idiots who couldn't be bothered taking simple precautions, she made a fairly good assistant to me making sense and getting in order everything that was being brought out of the jungle."

"She's a very accomplished nurse, too," Ayisha added. "Holds herself well in the Emergency Department, when she does a rotation there."

"She's a very accomplished young woman, particularly considering her circumstances," Tamra explained to Orson. "Particularly considering her circumstances. She was orphaned during the wars that unified the Kingdom of Italy, and somehow got shipped to the orphanage here in the City before she could even walk, poor thing." Turning her attention back to Ayisha asked, "She's a very qualified individual, Ayisha. I don't see anything odd at all in suggesting her.

"That's the thing, Tamra. Nurse Costa is a very qualified individual," Ayisha began. "And I would heartily recommend her for any position she applied for. But until just a moment ago, I was specifically thinking about removing the berth from my quarters that I am now specifically recommending her for a position I considered superfluous just a few minutes ago. Very odd." Ayisha said with a puzzled look on her face.
 
Orson took a seat in the spare chair at their table, listening to them describe this nurse they knew. She sounded incredible. While the specialists he had gathered were amazing, it was always good to have someone who could be flexible and handle a number of problems. Plus, it was hard to have too many people with medical training on an expedition such as theirs. Plus, as a man with pattern recognition, he was hoping that Bianca would be a beauty like the women he had already signed on.

“That is strange,” Orson admitted. Ayisha didn’t seem like the type to overlook things like that. Of course, he had no way of knowing if that was really the case. That had only met yesterday. But she agreed with his analysis, at least. “But Nurse Costa does sound like an amazing individual.” It also didn’t hurt that he felt a certain sympathy for anyone who grew up with negligent or absent parents.

“I suppose this is where I come clean,” he jokingly admitted. “Dr. Wilson, I lied yesterday. We do have room for more people. The max crew size we could support would be a dozen, myself included. I simply said that in order to turn away Eddie without things getting violent. Clearly, it didn’t turn out that way, but that was my intention,” he explained. He didn’t want to appear like a liar, so he figured coming clean was the best course of action. “Dr. Motwani, would you mind introducing me to Nurse Costa?” he asked.

“Also, on the subject of getting the twins on board, that’s where I’m headed this morning. I’ll be talking to Tarloff to see if he’ll give them permission. It helps that you two have already agreed to join,” he explained. “Hopefully I’ll be able to make him my side. Though knowing his temper, I may not walk away without an injury or two.”
 
Tamra was about to make a witty remark about Max Tarloff when Ayisha pointed to a figure heading their way.

"I don't believe we will have to wait for introductions, Captain James," Ayisha told Orson. "There she is now. Miss Costa! Miss Costa!" Ayisha shouted as she waved at the approaching nurse.

A young Italian woman, her hair in a bun and dressed in the nurse's garment of the day, which were reminiscent of a nun's habit, approached the table smiling. There was a little daze to the smile, and in her eyes, as she approached the table. "Dr. Wilson! Dr. Motwani! What a pleasant surprise!"

"Indeed it is, Miss Costa," Ayisha said with a broad smile. "Have a seat! You look a little unsettled. And let me introduce you to a friend of ours, Captain Olson James. We were just singing your praises to him before you arrived."

"A pleasure, Captain," Bianca answered, offer her hand. "The strangest thing just happened. I had just finished talking to a member of our city's constabulary, Constable First Class Chafetz, about a murder that occurred two days ago. Constable Chafetz occasionally looks me up for medical questions. Well, he more than occasionally tries to chat me up, but I keep it professional," Bianca said with a chuckle. "Well, Constable Chafetz had just taken his leave when I suddenly felt an urge to have a cup of coffee. And not just any cup of coffee, but a cup of coffee here. And with respect, this isn't the best coffee in the City," Bianca added.
 
Wait, the was the Nurse Costa? The one that Henry started talking about four drinks in after all of the serious business had been handled? The one that he insisted was crazy about him but was too proper to give in and that he was detirmined to have? That Nurse Costa? Seeing her come over and discuss his friend almost made him laugh. But he maintained his professionalism. Not a great way to introduce himself.

He also couldn’t help but be a little suspicious at the timing. He had to guess that the girls were playing some of prank on him. That or they were contriving a way to be sure he offered her the job. Either way, it didn’t matter. They were both smart enough to only want to recruit capable people for such a dangerous journey. He’d buy into their little act.

Orson shook her hand, giving her a smile as he did so. “It’s an honor,” he said. “Well, you must have been guided by providence. You see, I’m currently assembling a crew for an expedition into the interior of the lost continent. The only members so far are the two doctors, though Miharu from Dandy’s tavern and the de la Vega twins are intending to join as well.” He had chosen to go the more honest route, briefly glancing at Tamra as he said this. “Your friends here were just telling me how capable you are and how you would make an excellent addition to the crews. Their endorsement is enough for me. So, would you be interested in joining us on this expedition?”
 
"Wait, you're Olson James?" Bianca asked. "The one that Henry is always talking about?" Bianca's face became even more confused.

"Aisyha, why don't you take Bianca on board and show her around, tell her what the good Captain is selling," Tamra instructed. The two medical personnel exchanged a confused look, but did as instructed. As soon as they were gone, Tamra placed a few bills on the table then asked, "Captain James, would you mind if I accompanied you to your meeting with Mr. Tarloff? Just for the walk over? There's something I wanted to discuss with you."
 
“The very same, unless there are two Henry Chafetz working for the police,” he told her. When she and Ayisha got up to leave, he added “we’ll talk more later. I’d love to know how I match up to his stories.” Honestly, considering who it was, Orson didn’t know what sort of stories Henry had told her, but he was curious.

“You’re more than welcome to,” Orson responded, getting up to walk with her. However, he couldn’t ignore the feeling of dread gnawing in his stomach. That sounded like serious talk. Was she going to rescind her acceptance onto the crew? Did she think about it overnight and change her mind? Things had been going too well lately, so maybe this was fate knocking him down a few pegs. If she did, that was bad as his only other contact in this field was Eddie. Orson had resolved to not go near that man. Too much was there, plus yesterday added some bad blood to the mix.

“So, what’s on your mind Dr. Wilson?” he asked as he began their walk, hoping his bad feeling was just nerves.
 
"Didn't it seem rather odd to you that Nurse Costa walked up to our conversation just as we spoke about her?" Tamra asked, tucking her arm through Orson's. "To be frank, it's the sort of thing I would do, if I were wanting to get a friend into a particular position, though I'd do it with a little more finesse. That 'chance meeting' was a little too stilted to be believable. Now, as I said, it's the sort of thing I would do. But then, academia teaches you more than a few things about being duplicitous. But it wasn't me. And I know Dr. Motwani and Nurse Costa. They're depressingly honest. And then there's you. But it was fairly obvious that you had never met Nurse Costa before, and I know you've just recently met Dr. Motwani. So this is something you didn't arrange. Which would mean that this was all just a fortuitous coincidence. And such things do happen. Except Dr. Motwani and Nurse Costa were acting a bit strange for a coincidence, don't you think? Something odd about the whole thing, don't you think? It's almost as if some unknown actor had arranged the whole thing, to the point that they could somehow...I don't know, not force them to do something against their will, but make them give priority to making a choice they might have deferred. Does that make sense, Captain?" Tamra asked.
 
On the one hand, Orson gave himself a mental thumbs up for predicting such a move would be in her playbook. However, the victory was hollow as he listened to her. It was disconcerting to hear her discuss these things. “I agree with you. It is strange. I had thought it was a play on your part, but didn’t really care as it was a way to add a skilled crew member. But hearing that it was a coincidence...”

Orson was quiet for a bit, thinking through the possibilities. It was true that Orson was reckless at times and he didn’t have a higher education (or much of a lower one for that matter), but he wasn’t stupid. At the very least, he was smart enough to delegate tasks to people smarter than himself.

“Let’s assume you’re right,” he said. “Something made Ayisha recommend a qualified person as that person was in the area, outside of her usual pattern. Neither is completely out of the ordinary, but both are unlikely. If it is just a coincidence, we worry over nothing. But if it’s not, we need to be careful. Because the most important question is why do that. Why control a person’s behavior to get her on our ship?” He was really struggling to try to reason all of this out. He needed more time to think on things. “Sorry,” he said with a groan. “I’m not great at super fast reasoning. But I agree, it’s suspicious. We should keep an eye on Bianca, just to be sure everything is okay with her.” He’d think on it more later. Hopefully he’d figure something out. “But what do you think about it?”
 
"I haven't been to the front lines of archaeology," Tamra began carefully, "But I have seen things that have...not defied the laws of science, but certainly stretched and bent them a little. But you're right, it's probably nothing to worry about. Just keep our eyes open. Although..."

Tamra paused, then continued. "I know this is going to sound very, very strange, Captain James, and please feel free to decline, but if you have no objections, I thought I might accompany you to your meeting with Max Tarloff and then afterwards....afterwards, you might accompany me to a tarot card reading."
 
To Orson, the idea of the supernatural wasn’t something he’d dismiss or view as irrational. In fact, he had always believed in some form of other powers, whatever they were. He had probably encountered or been subject to them at some point in his life. After all, he was alive. After some of the crazy and downright stupid stunts he had pulled, that would drive anyone to believe there was more out there. That said, he was still wary of writing everything off as magic. He just was willing to believe.

“I have no problem with you coming along. Pretty girls tend to put Tarloff in a good- okay, better mood. I don’t think anything puts him in a good mood,” he mused, laughing a bit at it. “As to the tarot cards, sure. I don’t see any reason not to.” Tarot cards were fun and sometimes helpful, at least in Orson’s limited experience. He did have some doubt at times, just because he thought that if someone could see the future, they’d do more than set up a roadside stand. But he had also seen enough from them to believe they at least had some sort power. “Is there a particular reason why? Do you think it’d explain the thing with Bianca?”
 
I...don't know," Tamra admitted. "The whole thing, the way Dr. Motwani and Nurse Costa were acting, it was just..." Tamra shrugged. "I'm probably just imagining it. It has been an eventful two days. Yesterday, I was tying in an Arabian myth to the Lost Continent, today, I'm an archaeologist...no, I'm the archaeologist on an expedition going to the Lost Continent. And, as soon as you get a full crew complement, we'll be sitting down, going over charts and legends and deciding where we'll go. So of course my nerves are heightened, and I'm seeing things. Still..."

Tamra paused, before adding, "I have a friend I'd like to introduce you too. Her name is Safa Basta. She runs a shop in the City's Eastern Quarter. Sells a lot of ingredients that the immigrants who live in the Eastern quarter use for their home remedies. She's also a...well, I wouldn't call her a mystic. Just very, very insightful. When I first came to the city, I was put in contact with her for her stories. Every story that Sir RIchard Burton brought back, she can tell you every version of it told from Timbuktu to Kathmandu. She speaks six different languages, but I'm afraid none of them are English, so you'll need to bring a translator along with you," Tamra added with a grin.

As the pair approached the main entrance to Steam and Air, Tamra asked, "So do you actually have a proposed destination in mind? Into the Lost Continent, that is?"
 
“Guess I’m lucky to have you for a lot of reasons. I’ve only got English and mediocre French,” he told he with a smile. “A storyteller and a mystic. You keep quite the variety of friends,” he commented. “For the record, I don’t think you are imagining it. There was something off back there. Granted, yesterday I was a guy desperate to find anyone to join my crew, and now I’ve got a full line up of ambitious experts to fulfill any job I need. I’m quite excited as well. But what are the odds both of us caused us to misinterpret one thing the same way?” Part of him was making a point, the other part was genuinely curious. “So I agree. If there’s something wrong, we should know about it, and this might tell us something. And if nothing is wrong, we’ll laugh at how paranoid we were and be on our way.”

“As to location, I’ve been plotting a course for a while, though I did need to make some adjustments yesterday,” he started. “Our first priority is try and make contact with some natives. I believe they can give us a cure to Chimera’s bite. This will save a friend of mine’s life and give us protection in case one of us is bitten. And just monetarily speaking, I’m sure there are businesses that would pay a lot for that information.” Expeditions and experts cost money. This would be a good way of offsetting all of their costs. “After that is where the real adventure begins. We’ll be crossing the Blue Mountains.”

The lost continent was not well mapped. The know areas were the northern beaches, about twenty miles in of jungle, and then a large mountain range known as the Blue Mountains. That was where expeditions stopped. No one who had ever crossed had come back. Still, Orson was confident they could make it. He was a good enough pilot to do it. And now that he had other people’s lives in his hands, he was even more certain. He had to be.

“As to the crew, we’re looking pretty good right now,” he explained. “All of the key roles I wanted filled are. If Bianca joins up, that would be even better. At that point, I think we’ll be good to make plans for leaving. That said, I wouldn’t turn away skilled help if we found some or one of us had another recruit in mind,” he explained. Things were looking good for the Midnight Curse.

The pair were almost to Tarloff’s building, forcing Orson to take several deep breaths. He needed to calm himself before going in. He had Tamra and ambition. They’d get Max to let the twins come with them. They needed them.
 
"I think I have an idea of where we can get a native guide," Tamra said as the pair walked into the Steam and Air building. She didn't have a chance to add where or how. As soon as her and Orson walked into the building, they were redirected to a large office on the ground floor. The office in question had been converted into a large oaken study, with a large table in the center and bar to the side, and used when Max had to meet important customers or VIPs from the company's main office.

Today the office was empty, except for Max and Dandy. Max had his usual dour look on his face, but Dandy's face was solemn, and not his usual jovial self.

"Sit you two," Max said, standing up and moving to the bar. "Can I get anyone something to drink?"

"I'm good," Dandy said, lifting his half empty glass of Scotch.

"I try to wait until at least the afternoon," Tamra said with a forced chuckle as she took a seat.

"Orson?" Max asked, lifting a decanter of brown liquid.
 
How the hell did she know where to find a native guide? This woman was something else, really. Was there anything she couldn’t do? Still, that was a conversation for later. Right now he needed to do some top level schmoozing.

He was kind of surprised to see Dandy was there. Clearly Max was taking this very seriously. Honestly, Orson was starting to be a little put off by the whole thing. Still, he wouldn’t let that show. “I’ll take a glass,” he informed Tarloff. He didn’t want one, still having a slight hangover from last night, but he thought refusing might annoy Max. One he had a glass in hand, he began to speak.

“Dandy, Max, this is Dr. Tamra Wilson. She has joined my crew as the archeologist for the expedition,” he said. “We’re hoping that you will let Miharu, Cimona, and Ninah join us on our expedition to the lost continent.”
 
"I know Doctor Wilson," Max said. "She's the one who purchases for the archaeology department any time they get an expedition together. She drives a good deal and knows her stuff," Max added, with perhaps a touch of grudging respect.

"So, we heard about yesterday," Max began. "And I updated Dandy on other things." Dandy nodded. "So what's your take on Eddie now, Orson?"
 
Orson paused, thinking on the right way to phrase it. He was facing people more experienced in business than he was. He was not going to lie. “I’m having a tough time rectifying the Eddie that I thought I knew with the one I met yesterday. I don’t know if I can say I hate him, too many memories, but I do think he’s dangerous. More than anything, I know he can’t be let near my ship or my crew.” He said all this firmly and with conviction. He meant it.
 
Max and Dandy exchanged a look, then Dandy looked straight at Orson. "Works for us. Our girls can go with you. My only question is, do you have a cook? Because I guarantee you, Miharu can pack it away," Dandy said with a laugh, extending his hand to Orson.
 
Fuck Orson thought. He hadn’t even considered the possibility of needing a cook in the crew. However, it did make sense. A good cook could stretch supplies much longer and keep morale up. Nothing motivates a person quite like a satisfying meal. He might end up needing to recruit another person. That or his crew might have someone capable of cooking already. He’d need to ask.

“I saw that yesterday when we went to dinner. She’s pretty incredible,” he said, reaching out and taking Dandy’s hand. Then he moved on to Tarloff, extending his own hand towards him. “Don’t worry. I’ll bring them back.”
 
Max grunted but still shook Orson's hand.

"Not to worry, gentleman, I've got a line on a possible cook," Tamra assured Max and Dandy.

"Looks like this one will need to be your first officer," Dandy laughed.

"If he's thought that far ahead," Max Groused.
 
Honestly, he had been thinking about that. So far, Tamra really was proving to be incredible. Smart, connected, beautiful. She was definitely his first choice to be his second in command.

“I’ll be lucky if she hadn’t taken over as Captain by the time we get back,” he joked. He stayed for a while longer, talking with the two about the about the upcoming journey. He also asked Tarloff to prepare an invoice for their return. He would pay back everything he owed.

There wasn’t too much more to talk about at the moment. Both of them seemed busy and they knew Orson was occupied getting everything in running order for the expedition. With a friendly goodbye, he and Tamra left the building.

“That was an effective meeting. It’s a good thing they didn’t try to stop Miharu and the twins from coming with us. Otherwise we would’ve been in a much worse position,” he mused. “So, you said you had a cook in mind. Who is it? And would you mind leading the way to the Tarot reader?”
 
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