Chapter 10: A Jaguar in a suit

Once again Lena woke up in the now familiar room. She went downstairs and found Jaguar still sleeping in the armchair. She was hungry so she rummaged through the closet and found a few pieces of chocolate.

Then she went over to Jonas and started poking him in the shoulder several times.

"Hey, Luv. Wake up."

"Is something wrong?"

"No. I just want to wake you up."

Jonas yawned wildly and showed his silver teeth. He opened his eyes for a moment, looked around for a few seconds and closed them again.

"You ate all the chocolate, didn't you?"

She stared at him with eyes wide open.

"How did you notice that? I don't have a chocolate stain on my face."

"You seem upset. Since I don't have any coffee, it must be the sugar. And since I can't see crumbs of cake or candy wrappers, it must be the chocolate. Elementary."

"Okay, Sherlock Jaguar. What's on today?"

"First, we're going to London to get ourselves prepared. Then tonight we'll go to the gala in Kensington, unseen, and squeeze Anton Moore."

"Sounds like an exciting plan." Lena admitted.

Lena and Jonas dressed, stepped out of the cabin and walked down the hill. After a few minutes they came to a car parked by the side of the road.

"It takes several hours from here to London."

"Not for us," Jaguar said, putting his ring on his finger and creating a portal. They drove through it and found themselves in the middle of London.

"Nice," Lena said.

"Damn."

"What's wrong?"

"My ring is empty and it takes several days for it to recharge."

"I see. Where did you actually get it?"

"I stole it. From Talon."

"Wow. Hey, can you give me a ride home so I can get my charger for my accelerator?"

After they got the device, they drove on towards to East End.Jaguar stopped at a somewhat remote, large house.

They got out and entered the house. Lena looked around excitedly and whistled.

"Wow. Not bad."

"Yes. As a pirate, I've...uh....uh.... built up a considerable fortune."

"Uh-huh. I see." she said with a sly grin.

"Did I mention that the house has a pool?"

"Really?" she said happily.

Lena ran up and down the house the whole time, checking every room. Then she found a shelf in a room at the end of the hall with a little wooden box.

Inquisitive as she was, she opened the box. Inside the box was a strangely shaped amulet with a chain.

"What is it? A talisman? Did he steal that from Talon too?" she asked herself.

She examined the amulet more closely. Then she touched a circular spot.

Then a pleasant but slightly hotter and exhausted female voice sounded from the amulet.

"Heh... heh... Hello... Um... I don't know how to say this. So... my name is Irene and I'm your mother. The bastards kidnapped me and locked me up. And now they're forcing me to carry you to term.

But, hey... that's not your fault.

They'll probably take you away from me after you're born. Turn you into a killer. And I probably won't live long after that.

I don't know if you'll ever hear that. I don't know what they'll do to you or what they'll call you, but I want to call you Jonas. Please never forget that. You are Jonas and you decide who you are."

Lena could hardly believe what she heard. She was close to tears. She went downstairs completely distraught and saw Jaguar sitting in an armchair talking into a phone.

"Believe me, it wasn't easy for me either. But I'm glad you understand."

A woman's voice replied:

"Of course we understand. But it still makes us sad."

A second woman's voice came up.

"Are you really sure about this?"

"I also wish there was another choice. But there is no other way."

"Have you told Tony and Lydia yet?" asked the first voice.

"No, but I'll do that later." he replied.

"Well...I wish you good luck, Jonas ." said the second.

"Thanks, Pia."

"Yes, farewell...big brother." said the first.

"Goodbye, foxy."

Jonas hung up.

"Well, did you hear everything?" he said and Tracer flinched.

"Just the end. Who was that?"

"Old friends... Come with me." he said and they went to a door and stairs down into a dark room.

Jaguar flipped the light switch and lit up a huge hall with countless different clothes. Jackets, trousers, rags, fine suits, wigs, make-up and so on.

"Wow." shouted Tracer. "Oh, yeah. Winston said you were a master of disguise. But what do you need all this for?"

"To go unseen, and for mine let's call them "pranks." Now, tonight is the gala, so let's dress up. The ladies and make-up department is to your left."

Tracer should dress up so nobody will recognize her. She walked through the rows and stopped in front of a red dress. She picked up the dress and put it on. In front of the mirror, she looked at herself.

"Hey, that looks really good on me," she said, then she took a blonde wig and sat on her head. Then she took some make-up and covered her freckles.

"Wow. Even my parents wouldn't recognize me like this."

She went up to the parlor and saw Jaguar in a gray suit over a purple shirt, using a long, thin brush to paint his otherwise silver teeth white with a special color. His otherwise pale face was also made up.

"Wow, you really are unrecognizable," he said.

"Thanks. So who do you want us to be?"

Jaguar cleared his throat and started speaking in a heavy Scots accent.

"I'm Andrew Clyde. Reclusive millionaire."

"Ha ha ha. That's funny. Let me try it!.....I'm Emma Hudson, a spoiled nouveau riche."

"Perfect."

TIMESKIP: TO THE GALA

Tracer had often seen many tall people at once, so she knew how to behave that way. She just had a conversation with a well-known environmental activist and asked her for an autograph for Mei.

Then suddenly, Jaguar in disguise pushed in between.

"I beg your pardon, but could I excuse Ms. Hudson for a moment... Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Andrew Clyde. I'm a big fan of your work. Personally, I'm an animal lover too. I put fresh cheese in the mousetrap every day."

They went off and left the woman completely confused.

"There he is," Jaguar said, pointing to a skinny man in a very fine suit. Everything about him said: arrogant prick.

"I never liked him," Tracer said.

One of the security guards pushed his way over to Moore and whispered something in his ear. Moore got this irritated look on his face. He apologised and walked out of the room.

"I gave him a message. Now go after him," Jaguar said.

They followed him to a room where two guards were standing. They knocked down the guards and stormed into the room.

Moore was so surprised that he sat on the chair in silence. Jaguar grabbed Moore by the head and held him down. He forced him to look deeply into his glowing eyes.

"You will remain completely still and not cry for help!" Jaguar said calmly.

"Yes," said Moore.

"Tracer, please go outside and guard the door!"

"All right. So he can hypnotize other people," she said.

After a few minutes Jaguar came out of the room.

"Get out of here!" said angrily.

Tracer would like to know what happened in that room. She knew he wasn't gonna give her an answer. But she could clearly see blood on the corners of his mouth.

Jaguar said nothing until he came out of the building. Then he angrily kicked a trash can down in the street.

"DAMN!" he yelled.

"What's wrong ?"

"The artifact, they call it the Eye of Medusa. It's hidden in the exact same temple where I grew up. All these years, it's literally been under my nose."

"Stay calm! This changes nothing. We must keep a clear head."

"Yes, you are right."

She was in the car, heading back towards the East End.

"So what now?" Tracer asked.

"It's almost midnight. We should go back and get some sleep."

"Okay. Well... I don't know about you, but I'm gonna need some really greasy Fish'n'Chips to get the nasty taste out of those oysters and caviar."

"Oh yes, you're speaking my mind." moaned Jaguar.

"My favorite snack bar is right around the corner."

After they ate, they were back in the car, heading for the East End.

"Oysters and caviar, these rich guys really have no taste," Tracer said.

"Did you know that here in England, oysters were originally eaten by poor people?"

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes. But salt and pepper were worth their weight in gold."

"Interesting. How that sort of thing changes over time."

"Yes. We should get some sleep."

"Good idea."