“Such as?” I said, interested.
“I don’t know!” said Frankie. “They’re secret! So secret none of the people I talked to know anything about them! That’s how secret they are! And, they’re backed up by Parris’ personal security men, the Jackson Fifty-five. Remember them? Allowed and indeed actually encouraged to kill, maim, and dismember anyone they encounter who isn’t where they’re supposed to be!”
“Please,” I said. “Remember who you’re talking to. I have broken into places that don’t actually exist, to steal things you can’t even detect with human senses.”
“It’s true,” said Molly. “I haven’t seen them.”
“That was when you had your armour,” said Frankie, still looking around surreptitiously.
“I’m still a Drood,” I said. “A trained field agent.”
“And I’m still me,” said Molly.
“I’m not sure which is scarier,” I said.
Molly beamed at me. “Nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“Parris’ safe is bound to contain all kinds of useful information,” I said. “On the players, and the games. More than enough to move the odds in our favour.”
“Cheat codes!” Molly said happily. “Hidden back doors, blackmail information on the other Players, maybe even passwords to circumvent these bloody annoying null zones!”
“The safe,” said Frankie. “If there really is one in Parris’ office, which has never been confirmed, is on the penthouse floor. That’s dozens of stories above us! You’d have to defeat the defensive systems on each floor, one after another, all the way up. Which would take forever! And someone would be bound to notice!”
I looked at Molly. “Burgling the office is what my uncles Jack and James tried, back in the day. They thought it was a good idea.”
“Didn’t work out too well for them, though,” said Molly, judiciously.
“So, I think we’d be better off trying a different approach,” I said. “I say, start at the top. Break in through the roof of the hotel, and access the penthouse floor that way.”
“Brilliant!” said Molly. “How do we get up to the roof?”
“Still working on that,” I said.
“It does have the advantage of never having been tried before, to my knowledge,” said Frankie.
“There you go, then,” I said.
“That doesn’t mean it can be done!” said Frankie.
“Watch us,” said Molly.
“We are, after all, professionals,” I said.
“How are you going to get up to the roof?” Frankie said loudly. “You don’t have your armour to work miracles for you. The elevators are very heavily guarded, so Molly’s magic won’t work. Or were you perhaps planning to revitalise one of the dead Pteranodons, and fly up there?”
“Now you’re just being silly,” I said.
“He may not have his armour,” said Molly, “but he still has me. And the elevators are far too obvious anyway. I could teleport us up there, once I’ve got my strength back. There can’t be a null zone on the roof, or the hotel’s magical protections wouldn’t work there.”
“No,” said Frankie, very patiently, “but there are all kinds of nulls in the hotel, that could confuse your teleport, and send you somewhere else. And even if you could punch through the nulls, there are all sorts of protections in place on the roof, just to detect things like unauthorised teleports! You’d set off more alarms than World War III!”
“Keep the noise down, Frankie,” I said. “I’ve got a headache. And, I have an idea. We need to talk with the Scarlet Lady.”
“Oh, no,” said Frankie, miserably.
We sent Frankie off to do loud and annoying things in public to hold the Casino Security’s attention. Which he actually preferred to having to meet the Scarlet Lady again. Molly and I took the elevator down to the lobby. It played us orchestral versions of old Blue Oyster Cult standards, until Molly blew the speakers out. The moment we stepped out into the lobby, everyone there stopped talking and stopped what they were doing, to stare at me. Many of them openly took a double-take, and there were wide eyes and dropped jaws everywhere I looked. Apparently no one had expected to see me reappear this soon, let alone so manifestly uninjured and undamaged. A few people actually applauded. Others surreptitiously made signs to ward off evil spirits. I smiled easily about me, and headed quickly for the side exit, Molly walking haughtily along beside me. We weren’t in the mood to answer questions. Everyone hastily fell back, to give us plenty of room.
A private elevator on the far side of the lobby gave access to the underground car park. Exactly where Frankie had said it would be. The door said STAFF ONLY, but it opened easily to the access codes Frankie had provided. He really did know everyone on the hotel staff. An excellent example of the advantages to be found in good fellowship and generous bribes. The elevator descended rather longer than I was comfortable with, but eventually opened onto the private car park underneath the hotel. Just a large concrete cavern, with row upon row of parked cars, illuminated by harsh fluorescent overhead lighting. Molly and I had a good look round, before we ventured into the massive cavern.
“Where’s the Security?” said Molly. “I don’t see any Security people down here.”
“Most of these cars can probably look after themselves,” I said. “Frankie assured me there were only a few basic staff here, to raise the alarm if the automatic systems failed.”
“This is a hell of a lot bigger than I expected,” said Molly. “In fact, I would say this cavern is actually bigger than the hotel it’s situated under. Look at all these cars! How are we going to find the Scarlet Lady in the midst of all this?”
She had a point. Parked cars stretched away in every direction. I didn’t even know where to start looking.
“This is probably the result of bigger on the inside than it is on the outside tech,” Molly said wisely. “Pretty much comes as standard in the Nightside these days. It’s the only way they can pack everything in.”
“I do wish you’d keep out of that place,” I said. “You know I don’t approve.”
“That’s why I do it,” said Molly. “And anyway, you know you hate hen nights. Hey! I just noticed—there’s no null zone down here! Not even a low-level one, like in our suite!”
“Presumably because it might disagree with some of the vehicles here,” I said.
“I’ve spotted some basic security cameras,” said Molly. “And spelled them not to notice us. As long as we don’t hang around here too long.”
“Then we’d better get a move on,” I said.
I led the way through the maze of parked cars, being very careful not to touch anything, or even get too close to some of the more arcane vehicles. Depressingly, most of them were just the obvious muscle cars and restored classics. Typical cars of the super-rich and up-themselves celebrities. Overpriced, fancy, bought by people with more money than sense. Or style. A few really old makes that looked like they were held together by only faith and baling wire. And just a few seriously futuristic jobs, floating serenely in their parking spaces as though wheels were beneath them. But given the number of Major Players, there was nothing that really stood out. No pink Rolls Royces, or Black Beauties. And no sign anywhere of the Scarlet Lady.
“Shouldn’t there be chauffeurs lounging around?” I said vaguely. “Waiting to be called to bring the cars to their owners?”
“Hotel Security doesn’t allow other people’s staff to just hang around,” said Molly. “I asked Frankie. All personal staff are holed up in their own rooms till the Games are over. The guests have to believe that everywhere in the hotel is secure, or they wouldn’t come. Look at these cars . . . ugly, Technicolor monstrosities. Nothing here with a touch of character. Nothing worth stealing. Just, Look at me! I’m expensive! I feel like exploding the lot of them. Just on general principles.”