The After Party (2)

"LORD BENINGHAM!" Alicia said and jumped down from the balcony leaving a small crater where she landed.

"Ms. Alicia, may I kindly ask as to why you are so intent on breaking apart my house?" Lord Beningham inquired.

The crowd started whispering amongst themselves but Alicia was more concerned with something else.

"The files. Are they safe?" Alicia asked in a hurry.

"We aren't supposed to mention the files so openly" Lord Beningham said in a hushed tone.

"Oh for the love of God. Who even cares about secrecy if the very safety of the files is at stake" Alicia snapped at him.

"I can assure you that they are right here and perfectly safe" Lord Beningham said and took out the envelope with the files.

Alicia snatched the envelope and opened it only to find just a single piece of paper inside.

'Dear Alicia,

I assume you are fuming right about now. Which is completely understandable. Although don't you agree that this is the best way to make an impression on you? Well since I fancy you if you can find me, maybe I will take you on a dinner date to some fancy restaurant? And if you can't find me, then alas I might loose interest in you.

Yours truly

Noah

On a side note, I just realised how awkward it would be if someone else read it first instead of you. '

Alicia in anger proceeded to tear apart the paper as she screamed at the top of her lungs

"YOUUU FUUUCKINGGG BAAASTARDDD"

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"Achoo" Sneezed Noah "I wonder who's thinking about me so passionately" He said to himself and chuckled.

As he walked through the downtown alleyways various sights are on display for Noah to see.

A beggar, a prostitute flirting with some chump, another beggar, a suspicious looking guy hiding drugs in his coat pockets and last but not least another beggar.

As he ducked and weaved through the low hanging pipes and avoided stepping on the gutters he turned a corner and finally reached the shop he was looking for.

"Oh would you look at that, you aren't dead." The shop keeper, Gilbert said seaten inside his shabby barely held together shop which was just a glorified shack with a few cigars and lighters on display behind him. Noah noticed the floor boards bend under the weight of the shopkeepers well developed middle region along with visible cracks.

"I am surprised myself, I was sure for a second that I was a goner. But alas I lived" Noah said opening his top hat and running one gloved hand through his black hair.

"Well I for one am glad you haven't croaked just yet. After all you are a valuable customer" Gilbert said with a slimy smile as he itched his voluptuous abdomen. "So? How many cigars do you want to buy today?"

"2 please." Noah said as his eyes traced a moth flying around the only lamp which lit up the shack.

"Premium brand or standard?" Gilbert asked looking through the cigars on a side tray.

"Anything goes"

"Lit or unlit?" Gilbert asked holding an unbranded cigar in one hand and a lighter in his other.

"I will light it myself thankyou very much" Noah said and took the cigar and then proceeded to throw it away.

"I know you don't smoke, but can you not waste a good cigar?" Gilbert asked in an annoyed voice.

"I don't think it's the cigar that's important. Anyways I want any information you may have on Alicia Lockhart." Noah said in a pointed tone.

"The Alicia Lockhart?"

"Who else could I possibly mean?"

"Of course. Because you wouldn't be satisfied with a single brush with death."

Gilbert said and searched around the counter in front of him which contained a lot of folders. His expansive waistline made it a bit hard for him to reach the one he was aiming for but after a bit of a struggle he managed to pull it out.

"Alicia Lockhart. The vice captain of the Anti Envoy Division, a special branch of the government which monitors and regulates the activities of Envoy's"

"Everyone and their mother knows that. What I want to know is the real details, her friends, her family members, places she frequently visit, people she's willing to sacrifice her life for in a heartbeat, stuff like that" Noah demanded.

"Hmm... She's an orphan who's parents were killed in a car accident, she was taught how to fight by some Bartitsu Master. She doesn't have any friends by the looks of it, atleast none outside of the AED. Places she visits frequently include her home which is located about 2 blocks away from the AED headquarters on 14th Silver lane. She also frequents The Drury's a cafe quite often which is famous for its pastries and last but not least she visits a Bartitsu Dojo almost every other day to meet her teacher. That's about all the information we have on her personal life."

"A Bartitsu Master huh?" Noah said to himself with an intrigued smile.

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"THAT FUCKING BASTARD I HATE HIM SO MUCH" Alicia said as she threw a punch at the man in front of him.

"Control your anger" He said as he redirected her punch away from his body with the palm of his left hand. He then grabbed her wrist with his left hand and her gi just above her shoulder with his right hand after which he proceeded to turn around and using his behind as leverage he slammed Alicia's back on the floor

"Would it kill you to be a little gentle, Aaron?" Alicia snapped at him.

"That was me being gentle" Aaron replied as he run his hand through his shoulder length brown hair and tied it into a tight ponytail with a black ribbon letting only a few loose strands of hair to fall down his face. His green eyes scanned over Alicia for any injuries that he may have caused and then gave a satisfied huff knowing that nothing he did would bother her for more than a week.

The room they were in had padded floors. A large glass door lead to the garden which contained a variety of flowers like iris, columbine, cornflower, forget-me-not and last but not least a few hollyhock's scattered here and there. A folding door led to a quaint living room which contained a sofa along with a table on top of which was two porcelain cups and a kettle which contained steaming lavender tea.

Do you know why you lost?" Aaron asked as he helped Alicia to her feet.

"Because I was angry?"

"No, being angry is ok. But you also need to learn to control your anger and divert it towards the opponent while at the same you must also not let it cloud your judgement. Divert your anger into strength, focus on your opponent and then release it" Aaron said demonstrating it by punching the air so hard that the movement of the air column made the wind chime ring in the distance.

"You make it sound too easy" Alicia said with a defeated sigh

"Are you sure you are not the one making it hard for yourself?"

"... No? Maybe? How in hell am I supposed to know?"

"Introspection I suppose."

"Much thanks for that informative suggestion" Alicia said sarcastically.

"Alright, so to sum up, you met a fellow last night. He tried to get close to you, then he stole some top secret files from Lord Beningham. You fought, and he ran away, but you discovered that he left a note for you disguised as the stolen files in Beningham's coat pocket. Correct?"

"Yes also in that note he said something about if I can find him he will take me on a dinner date? Like what even is his motive?"

"Maybe it's just an elaborate scheme to woo you?" Aaron joked as he thought 'Although, why do these antics seem familiar?'

"Oh don't even joke about it. By the way it almost slipped my mind but I am supposed to meet with Claire tomorrow"

"The captain of the AED? I suppose it's regarding Beningham and the files?"

"You guessed correctly. I am not looking forward to it at all. She gets really cranky and not to mention her razor sharp tongue. But I suppose this time I deserve it, considering I let the culprit get away."

"Well accepting one's mistakes is the first step in becoming better. I would say you will be able to catch him soon."

"I sure hope so. I just can't wait to punch that smug grin off of his face" Alicia said as she balled up her right fist tightly with her knuckles whitening.

"Wait, I just realised something. You never mentioned his name. The guy who stole the files" Aaron said as he sat down on the sofa and poured some tea in his cup and took a sip.

"His name is... Noah" Alicia said "Noah Rozelle"

Aaron suddenly choked on his tea as he heard the name, having a small coughing fit afterwards.

"Uh...are you alright, Aaron?" Alicia asked

"Ah yes, I am fine... I simply misjudged the temperature of the tea thats all" Aaron said quickly regaining his composure 'Surely it's not him... Right?'

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