We had spent 5 hours so far going back and forth, arguing amongst ourselves and not any closer to finding the Reindeer than when we had first got here. No one could decide the best way to go about finding them, Hiriam had tried her best, we had been given two names of Leprechaun's having been seen in the area acting suspiciously, but all we could narrow it down to was a small area of streets just outside of Tokyo itself. It would take us too long to go through them all one by one, Tokyo was a very compact city, lots of narrow streets and tall buildings, and unfortunately far too many places to hide things that you didn't want people to find. Hiriam had left us to alone to go and talk to one of her contacts, sitting here waiting for her to return Id never felt more helpless. The others were relying on me and I had no answers. I started to doubt if I could find the Reindeer in time, I didn't want to let anyone down, that wasn't me, but could I do it? Could I save them before it was too late? I took a deep breath and focused again on what was going on around me, I couldn't afford to have doubts, not now that wouldn't help anyone.
"Ive told you three times already we cant do that" said William shaking his head from side to side in frustration.
"Why not?" asked Michael leaning back in his chair and taking a sip of his soda
"Because its illegal that's why!" William replied beginning to lose his temper
"You do know who we are dealing with don't you?" asked Billy trying to keep his temper in check
The last thing we needed was to all fallout with each other but the lack of progress was starting to get to us all.
"I am well aware of the situation thank you very much!" William said sarcastically
"Then let us do this then, its the only way" Michael replied finishing his can, crushing it and tossing it towards the empty bin on the other side of the room.
"You cannot go around kidnapping people off of the street then threatening them with food that Grace and Jamie have given you to make them talk" William said pointing his finger at him
"Well when say it like that it does seem a little harsh" Billy smiled knowing he was annoying William but doing it anyway
"A little harsh? A little harsh? Have you bumped your head? You'll get us all arrested and then what are we supposed to do? I cant help you get out of a local jail if I'm sitting next to you in a cell can I!" William had, had enough now his face was going red and he was losing his tie.
"He has a point" Emily shrugged trying to calm the situation down a little
"How do we even know that they are involved?" I asked nodding at William to show him I understood what he was saying
"They were seen buying Reindeer food how much more evidence do you need?" Jacob said impatiently "A big arrow above where they are keeping them saying "hello we are here come and get us?""
"How about a little bit more than what we have?" Emily asked "Hiriam has to live here when you lot all leave you cant just do what you want when you want it doesn't work like that. You have to respect the laws of the country we are in. That's just common decency and the boss would go mental if he knew you were just crashing through here and causing more trouble than we need to, we have to be discreet about it remember?" Emily lent over and gently touched Jacobs arm trying to reassure him that although she may have agreed with him in principal it really want the course of action to take right now.
"Look she's worried and we appreciate all the help she's given us so far, she's been brilliant, all of her team have been, but this is the only leads we have and we are running out of time. If we asked her do you think she would find out where they live?" I asked the others
I looked at us all sitting around her office, a mixture of friends and work colleagues, all in a strange land, trying to make sure that Christmas still went ahead and not knowing whether to press ahead and face the consequences or wait for more information. Pictures of Hiriam adorned the plain brick walls, famous actors, singers, presidents, even some Elf Royalty adorned the walls, people she had helped and protected, we knew we were asking a lot but this was all we had. As we waited for someone to speak Hiriam came back into the room, talking on her phone.
"Okay you're sure? We cant afford for this to go wrong you know that don't you? Okay, Okay Ill tell him, thanks, yeah I know be careful, aren't I always, okay, yeah okay bye". She stood there smiling at us
"Well?" Tommy asked impatiently
"I've located them to a small building on the far end of a street that leads away from the centre of town. I have people watching the place now as we speak, We have to go right now, otherwise we maybe too late". She walked to her desk and took something from the draw but I could not see what it was.
"Are you sure?" asked Tommy
"I trust the people there, they haven't let me down before we have to go now or we may miss our chance". She said walking towards the door.
"Well lets got then" said William standing up from his chair looking a little calmer than he had a few moment ago.
We made our way quickly and quietly through the streets of Tokyo, streets packed with people, roads filled with cars, people going about their business and paying us not the slightest bit of attention. We were walking quickly and trying to keep up with each other. I glanced up every now an then to look at the skyscrapers reaching into the night sky, lights lit up rooms and I wondered what the people in them were doing, just going about their business completely unaware of what we were planning to do. It was people like these that made the job we all did worthwhile, Normal people, leading normal lives and looking forward to Christmas morning, presents under the tree and children's facing shining brightly at what Father Christmas had delivered to them whilst they slept. Huge bright neon lights illuminated our path, people with face masks hurrying past us on their way to their destinations. We had crossed numerous streets, each getting busier and busier until Hiriam stopped us abruptly by holding her hand in the air.
"Over there is the entrance" She said quietly, "Are your sure you still want to do this? Once we start we have to see it through, we have no choice is that understood?" She spoke quietly trying not to bring too much attention to us.
"Yes" I said "We know the risks"
"Good lets get going then" She lifted her arm close to her mouth and spoke into the watch on her wrist "Anything changed?" she asked softly
"No" Came the male voice "There has been no more movement"
"Okay stand down well take it from here. Make your way back to the office and Ill see you there in a little while if all goes well" She said
"Okay" Came the reply and she lowered her wrist and looked at us all. "Ready?" she asked
"Well we can't just go and knock on the door can we" said Tommy
"Why not?" asked William "That would be the polite thing to do"
"Really?!" asked Jacob sarcastically
"Yes" really replied William "I'm here to make sure that you don't contravene the law of the country that we are in, I hope that's not too difficult to understand" He stood straighter and started to walk across the road
"William we appreciate all that you are doing honestly we do" said Emily softly as she grabbed his arm to stop him "Its just that sometimes we may not be able to stay within those lines"
A whistle blasted from across the street as we looked to see Liam waving towards us a huge grin on his face
"Were in" he called "Come on quickly lets be having you"
"Oh my days" said William the colour draining from his face
"Come on" I said to the others "We better not keep them waiting"
Hiriam went first and we followed one at a time running across the narrow road and pressing our backs up against the wall when we made it.
"Not too hard to be honest" said Jack smiling
"Just a flick of the wrist really" said Liam and they both burst out laughing
"Come on then, quietly though" Hiriam said ignoring them and slowly walking through the door.
We all followed her lead, Liam holding the door open and looking very pleased with himself. The first thing we noticed was the smell, we all quickly placed our hands across our mouths to try and stop breathing it in, rotten eggs mixed in with sewage just about covered it. If there had been any light I'm sure there would have been a blue haze floating in the air. The concrete floor below was wet and sticky, as we slowly made our way deeper into the building, Hiriam had flicked on a torch that she had grabbed from her desk and was leading the way.
"What is this stuff?" I asked pulling my feet up as I tried not to become stuck to the floor
"I don't know but I think it maybe some sort of security system to slow us down" said Liam
"My feet are beginning to stick to the floor" said Billy grabbing his right leg and pulling it up roughly from the floor
"Mine too" said Jacob struggling just as much
"Quickly! Move I know what this is!" Hiriam called a fear creeping into her voice
We rushed towards the stairs in front of us, Hiriam's torch beam jogging up and down our feet sticking more and more as we tried to move through the ever thickening liquid on the floor. I grabbed for the had rail and pulled myself forward onto the bottom step, my feet feeling like they were being sucked down into the ground. I was closely followed by William, Emily, Tommy, Jack and Liam. I turned and saw Jacob and Reece stuck not able to move any further. A resigned look on their faces.
"Don't fight it!" Hiriam called urgently "You'll just make it worse"
"What is it?" Jacob asked still trying to release his feet
"Its a form of mucus, it was developed by a group of Leprechaun's many years ago and they tried to sell it to the government, hoping to make their fortune, but the smell was so bad they were turned down. They carried on developing it, without the government knowing, and sold it to the highest bidder, the more you struggle the harder it will become until it sets, if you stand still it will eventually become liquid again in about 20 minutes and you can then go back the way we came and meet us outside". Hiriam said softly trying not to worry everyone.
"You sure?" Reece asked "It seems to be getting thicker" as he wriggled from side to side
"Don't move I told you!, you'll be okay trust me well meet you outside when we are done". She said encouragingly
"Okay" Jacob said resigned too going no further
We slowly edged our way up the stairs, concrete steps cold and hard beneath our feet, passing floor after floor until finally we could go no further. We walked onto the landing and saw a grey metal door to one side closed tightly
"This has to be it" I said waiting for the others to reach me.
"Okay everyone be careful we don't know whats waiting on the other side of the door". Hiriam said
"Here use this" said Billy handing me a long piece of metal
"What is it?" I asked taking it from him
"Its an Elf telescope, it allows you to look through any solid object if you place it on it. Here let me show you", he said taking the metal pole back and walking past me towards the door
I looked at Tommy who just shrugged and nodded for me to let him try.
"You place it like this", said Billy placing the end of the against the door, a suction sound came from the end as the metal pole attached itself to the door, "Then you look through here"., he said pointing to the end and moving to one side
I slowly edged towards it and placed my eye on the end of the tube. It took a few seconds for me to be able to focus, but as I looked closer I could see the other side of the door and what awaited us. There was a table in the middle of the room with three Leprechaun's and an Elf sitting around it playing cards, in the far corner I could see the Reindeer, tied together and something hanging from the necks, their heads were bowed down and they looked incredibly sad. I hated seeing them like that, that wasn't how it was supposed too be. They were so full of life and mischief this time of year, excited to get on and do the job they were born to do, now trapped in a room and away from their friends it was time to get them back.
"What do you see?" asked Hiriam standing next to me
"I can see them" I said whispering excitedly
"How are they?" asked Jack a concerned look on his face
"They look okay" I lied I didn't want to worry him anymore than was necessary. I pulled the metal pole from the door and handed it back to Billy
"How are we going to do this?" asked Emily
"How about we just rush in there and get them?" said Michael smacking his right fist into the palm of his left hand
"That wont work" I said "We wont all get through the door at the same time and they will be able to pick us of one by one as we go in"
"Do you think they are armed?" asked Tommy worriedly
"I don't know, they don't look to be, but I cant tell" I said which was true as they were all sitting down around the table
"What are they doing?" Emily asked
"Playing cards at the minute" I replied
"Allow me" said William pulling the door open and walking through it
"William No!" said Hiriam but it was too late he was gone and was closing the door behind him
William walked towards the table in the middle of the room and the Leprechaun's and Elf stopped what they were doing and slowly put their cards down on the table. William loosened his tie as he got closer to them, he took a big deep breath to calm his nerves and walked towards them slowly closing his hands into fists to stop them from shaking.
"Who are you?" asked the eldest looking leprechaun, a little surprise in his voice but trying to hide it, to show that he was still in charge of the situation. His nose was huge with a boil down one side, his teeth yellow and stained and a gap in the front top row where there were one or two missing. He stood up his jumper pulled tightly around an expanding belly the shirt not quite covering it all. His trousers looked tight around his waist and didn't quite reach his ankles.
"Yeah!" asked the others as they all started to stand up as well
They must be related William thought as they are all incredibly alike and just as ugly. The Elf started to make his way across the room to the Reindeer hoping that William hadn't spotted him doing so.
"I appear to be lost" William said "I was trying to find Hare and Sons the solicitors, I have an interview with them and I seem to have taken the lift too far up I do apologise" he smiled
"There's no solicitors in this building you must be mistaken" the Leprechaun said angrily moving towards William
"Yes, you appear to be quite right" William replied "Its just that, well my curiosity has got the better of me and I see you have some Reindeer over there, are they lost?" he asked as innocently as he could
"Lost? Why what makes you say that?" asked the youngest Leprechaun starting to move towards William from the left side of the table.
"Oh I don't know" he replied "It may have something to do with the fact that they appear to be on the top floor of a building in Tokyo, which appears to be a little way away from home for them. Do you mind if I go and say hello?" William said walking towards them and around the Leprechaun in front of him.
"I wouldn't if I was you" replied the eldest Leprechaun placing his thick fingers on Williams chest
"Oh whys that?" he asked placing his hand onto the Leprechauns and feeling the coldness in his hands, the skin rough and calloused
"You don't belong here, I suggest you leave before you get hurt" The youngest one said almost side by side with the Eldest one now.
"Your right, how silly of me to intrude upon your game time, let me apologise for my actions and wish you a good day" William said doffing an imaginary hat with his free hand
They looked at each other and started to smile it was at this point that William struck. He gripped the Leprechauns hand tightly and twisted it upwards quickly at an angle, the Leprechaun let out a yelp of pain as William pushed him hard into the one standing next to him, making them both fall over. He quickly moved towards the other one who had bent down to help the others up and kicked him hard in the butt forcing him on top of them. With the three of them on the floor William grabbed the table and placed it on top of them all pinning them to the floor.
The door flung open and the others came pouring into the room amazed at what they were seeing.
"Wow!" I said "That was impressive" patting William on the back
"Why thank you Sammy" said William straightening his tie and pulling his jacket down
"Where did you learn to do that?" Emily asked smiling proudly at him
"I had a good teacher didn't I John?" he said looking at the Elf who was standing next to the Reindeer
"That you did" he replied now help me get these chains off of their necks before they come to any harm.
"You two know each other?" I asked walking towards John with William
"Of course" said William "You didn't think we would let you go into this unprepared did you? We've had a network of Elf's around the world infiltrate groups of Leprechauns that were known to be criminal and who used to have a loyalty to Carl. It was all the Boss's idea to be honest and he decided that the fewer people that knew about it the better. If they didn't cause any problems for us then we would let the local police forces deal with them. So far we've done okay, but that could change at anytime so lets not take things too much for granted".
"Of course" I said trying to keep the surprise out of my voice at this sudden change of events.
"Well it took you long enough" said Comet shaking his head
"I didn't think you was ever coming" said Prancer straining at the chain around his neck
"Stop that, don't move okay?" said John all of a sudden
"What's the matter?" Hiriam asked walking towards him
"The chains are linked together, it looks like connect to a device behind them, hold on a minute let me have a closer look". He knelt down and started to follow the chain along the length of Comets light brown fur, slowly running his hands around the chain. We all stood together watching him, no one said a word, he slowly reached behind Comet and started to shake his head.
"Well?" asked Prancer trying to keep looking straight ahead and not make any sudden movements
"Theres a device here at the back, its a small box and the chains from both of you are connected to it. I think I can remove it but I'm going to need some time. Prancer and Comet don't fidget and try not to move too much, when I start to undo the chains I'm going to need you to be perfectly still okay? Liam, Jack I'm going to need your help".
"Yes of course what can we do? Asked Jack moving slowly towards him
I felt my phone start to vibrate in my pocket, I tried to ignore it but, I couldn't it wouldn't stop vibrating.
"I need to take this" I said it may be urgent as I pulled my phone from my pocket.
I looked at the screen but didn't recognise the number, I pressed answer and held the phone to my ear.
"Hello Sammy, glad you could take my call" the voice was gloating and full of malice.
"What do you want Carl?" I almost spat the words into the phone
"It appears you've found two of the reindeer, I'm just ringing to congratulate you that's all, but also to tell you not to touch the box behind them until you've heard what I have to say". He then burst into laughter and I pulled the phone away from my ear anger swelling up inside of me.
"Are you still there?" he asked "I hope we haven't been cut off!" he laughed again
"No I'm still here what do you want Carl?" I tried not to allow the anger I was feeling flow through my voice
"Sammy now that's not very friendly is it?" I didn't respond, "Now I'm going to give you some more information" He continued "You didn't think that it would be that easy did you? That you would find them and take them home? come, come now Sammy you cant be that naïve surely?"
"Get on with it Carl!" I shouted the others not paying too much notice to my call but hearing me raise my voice they now made sure I had their full attention.
"If you disconnect those wires you will kill the other Reindeer, Father Christmas and his Wife. You see, you have to disconnect them all at the same time, which means you have to have someone next to every box around the world at the same time. If anyone tries to disconnect the wires separately well then its boom time and we have Reindeer soup for the next year. The only way is my way Sammy, and I'm going to up the anti a little because you've done so well so far, and I feel you need a reward. You have one week to find the others. Not one second more. Your time starts now!"
And with that the line went dead and a clock appeared on the device that the chains were linked to counting down the time we had left.
To be continued............................
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