# The Wandering Shadow: Chapter Seven

Author: LucarioZer0
Tags: Canine, Character Development, Clean, Feral, French Language, Human, Magic, Plot Development, Violence, Wolf


7
As Will and
Jenna followed David through the winding streets back toward the port, Will
made sure to keep a close eye on the man. He knew that if David really wanted
to be rid of them he could be gone before they knew what had happened. But he
was paying attention for different reasons. He was trying to get a gauge for
what kind of person David was. It was obvious that the man didn't care about
much--if anything--outside of his own whims. He only seemed to care about doing
what he had to preserve his own existence. He also appeared largely unconcerned
about anything, a perpetual smile plastered on his face.
Outside of that,
Will couldn't read him.
As though
sensing Will's stare, David looked back over his shoulder and asked, "Are you
quite alright back there? You seem rather quiet."
Will nodded.
"Fine. Just don't have much to say."
"Right...well I
suppose I'll have to be the sociable one then, won't I?"
Will sighed. "If
you insist."
Will's vision
shifted and suddenly he felt a weight across his shoulders. David was standing
beside him, one arm draped over him. Yet another illusion. "So then, question
the first. Why in god's name are you wearing a cloak?"
Will slipped out
from under David's arm before he replied. "It's something from a friend back
home. It's meant to protect me from...well pretty much any weather."
"And how's that
working out?"
"Fine. Can't say
I've really noticed, but then I guess that's the point."
David nodded.
"Right. So then, why a gun and a sword? Seems like one would be enough.
Actually, can you even use either of those?"
Will rolled his
eyes. "Of course I can. Well, I can use the gun at least. Standard part of
I.O.M.E. training is the use of firearms. As for the sword...not technically. I
understand the principles...but I've never really trained with a blade."
David laughed.
"So basically it's just a meter long piece of decorative steel. Why do you have
it then?"
"Sometimes a gun
isn't enough to defend yourself with."
"Defend against
what exactly? The forces of practicality?"
"And what do you
use to fight then?" Will countered.
David let out an
amused snort. "Do I seem like the fighting sort to you mate? Cause I'll tell
you what, I'm a bloody coward. I'm not ashamed of it either. Cowards, we're the
ones who get to live to old age. Why fight when I can run while tricking a man
into thinking he's killed me? My illusions are all I need to survive."
Will shook his
head. "That'll only get you so far. You can't run forever."
"Well yeah, but
I can certainly try, can't I?"
"I suppose. How
do your illusions even work anyway? Is it light manipulation? Or do you
actually alter peoples' minds?"
David gave a
knowing smile. "Ah...trying to figure out the trick, eh? Well, honestly, it's a
bit of both really. When I just want to make myself invisible, I can work with
light. But say I want you to believe that...oh...let's say that London was on fire.
Well that's more complex. For you to believe it, I have to not just make it
look like it's on fire, but it has to smell, to sound, to feel, like the very
air around you is burning. For that I have to make your brain think it's
sensing all those things. It's easier on less intelligent people. The
complexity of the illusion also changes the difficulty."
Will nodded.
"Fascinating. I'd never looked much into illusionary magics, as the ability is
comparatively rare, but it seems like you have quite the useful power. If only
you would use it to accomplish something that was actually...useful."
David shook his
head. "Nah. Not my style. Being a criminal is so much more fun. Actually, I
take that back. I rather prefer the word 'outlaw'. I go where I want, do what I
want, and no one can say otherwise. And even if they try, I can just make 'em
think I've disappeared. No muss. No fuss. Just an enjoyable life with nothing
holding me down."
"I think I would
get tired of a life like that. Never having anywhere to call home. Always
running. I don't think I could spend too long doing that."
David shrugged.
"Different strokes, as they say. You do strike me as more of the 'likes to come
home to a wife and kids' type. I'd be willing to wager that even this trip is
more than a bit outside of what you're comfortable with doing."
Will nodded.
"You would win that bet. If it weren't for Jenna being as she is, we probably
never would have left home."
Jenna nodded in
agreement. She had always preferred the idea of going on adventures through the
written word. While part of her was glad they were traveling and seeing new
things, she still longed fro their simple quiet life back home, a sentiment
Will shared.
David groaned.
"God you two are so dull. I couldn't spend a day stuck in one place. Let alone
any extended period."
Will quirked a
brow. "Is that why you freaked out about the idea of going to jail?"
David frowned.
"I did not 'freak out'. It is perfectly reasonable to not want to be locked up
and have all of your freedoms taken away from you."
Will shrugged.
"I suppose."
"Lovely. Can we
change the subject then? Just thinking of jail cells get's me...nervous."
Will nodded.
"Alright then. Tell us about your friend. Maxwell was it? What's he like?"
"Ah...well, he's
not really like me at all."
Will looked to
Jenna and said, "That's a blessing."
Jenna made a
sort of growling snuffling sound that Will realized was laughter. He hadn't
heard her laugh since becoming a wolf. He hadn't even been sure she still
could.
David rolled his
eyes. "Well aren't you just hilarious."
Will smirked. "I
try. So you were saying?"
"Well what I was
saying was that Max isn't like me. He does travel around a bit, but he actually
has a job. He's an archaeologist."
Jenna canted her
head when she heard that. How will an
archaeologist be able to help us? she wondered.
Thinking along
similar line Will asked, "So how does an archaeologist know how to remove
energy from things?"
"It's just what
he does. He's what you might call a curse breaker," David explained. "He goes
into old tombs and ruins and things like that, and removes energies that could
be harmful to people. He actually spends a lot of time in Egypt based on what I
last heard from him."
Will's eyes
widened. "So you mean he may not even be at his home when we get there?"
David nodded.
"Unfortunately that is a distinct possibility."
Will stopped in
his tracks and grabbed David by the collar. "So for all we know this friend of
yours may not be available, and you could be full of shit, right?"
David smirked.
"For all you know he may not even exist. I could have just fabricated the whole
thing and could be planning to rob you as we speak. Not that I am, but my point
is that you don't have the luxury of knowing everything at the moment." 
Becoming a bit
more serious he went on to say, "You're going to have to trust my word,
difficult though that may be. If it turns out he's not in France, then we'll
track him down. I told you before, I never break a promise. I will get you both
to him, as long as you hold up your end of the deal."
After a moment
Will let him go and said, "Fine. But if you are lying to us...if you are screwing
us in any way...I will make sure you--"
"Yeah, you'll
make sure I regret it. Honestly, could you be more unoriginal?"
Jenna let out
another growly, snuffling laugh as Will's faced flushed slightly with
embarrassment. Maybe this'll be good for
him, she thought, to have to work
with someone so different. Might make him lighten up a bit.
Trying to retain
what dignity he had Will said, "It doesn't matter. Let's just keep moving,
alright?"
David fought
back the urge to laugh. "Yeah. Sure. Let's go."
The three of
them started down the street again, headed in the general direction of the
port. After a short while Will thought to ask, "By the way, what are we going
to do about the police here on London? Won't they be after us all by now? Even
though Jenna and I haven't done anything that's technically illegal."
David shook his
head. "Nah. I wouldn't be worried about it. Those two you ran into before were
complete twits. Trust me. They still haven't given up on catching me, and
they've been at it for weeks now."
"Weeks huh? I
though you didn't like to stay in one place for too long."
David nodded.
"That's true, but I can stay put for a while as long as I have the option to
leave when I want. Besides, out witting those two morons at every turn was too
much fun for me to really want to leave. Mind you, had they actually put
someone intelligent on the job I would have left a good while ago. But, they
thought I was just a pick pocket. I'd wager they regret that mistake now~."
"Fair enough, I
suppose. You're still an unconscionable criminal, but your reasoning makes
sense."
"Brilliant! Glad
you can see things from my point of view. That'll make traveling together so
much simpler."
Will smiled
tightly. "Right. Well let's not get too used to each other, alright?"
David rolled his
eyes. "So damn serious. Have it your way then."
From that point
they walked in silence. By the time they reached the port it was late in the
afternoon. It didn't take them long to learn that a ship would be leaving at
around sunset bound for the French city Le Havre. It seemed to be the perfect
opportunity, except of course for the fact that it would mean more money spent
that they really couldn't afford at that point.
David laughed
when they brought up the cost of tickets. "Don't worry about that. I can get us
all on board."
Will was more
than a little skeptical. "How do you plan to do that?"
"The less you
know the better. Plausible deniability, you know."
Jenna sighed.
She could already tell where this was going, and it wouldn't end well.
"Oh no you
don't. We go legitimately or not at all. I'm not going to let you commit any
crimes for any reason. I would rather use what little money I have than
compromise my own--"
"Tell me Will,
how much money do you actually have?"
"Well...uh...that's
not really the point."
David nodded.
"So not much then. That's simple. Tell me, I assume--based on what little I know
of you--that what you do have is pretty much all on your person at this moment,
right? Don't answer, I already know I'm right. So then, in order to preserve
what you have--at a time when you are not working--and maintain some financial
stability, would it not make sense to take advantage of every possible
opportunity to save a bit?"
Will hesitated.
It did make sense to save what they could. His greatest fear in all of
that--aside from the thought that they may not be able to reverse Jenna's
transformation--was that at the end of it all they may not have a home to return
to. He wanted to avoid that if at all possible. But was that worth deception
and what would likely amount to theft? Unable to decide he looked down to Jenna
and asked, "What do you think?"
She thought for
a moment, and came to one simple conclusion. They would need to utilize every
advantage they could to return their life to normal, even if it meant doing
some things that would be objectionable normally. She jerked her head toward
David then nodded. Whatever his idea is
we should go with it, she thought.
Getting her
meaning Will sighed. He wasn't going to enjoy this. Looking back to David he
said, "Fine. But we're not going to make a habit of this."
David smiled.
"We'll see. I've found desperation throws morals out the window. Let's carry on
then!"
As they set out
to find the ship that would take them out of the city another was just
arriving. Among the passengers to disembark from the ship was Logan, his form
shrouded by a high collared black jacket and a wide brimmed hat. After ten days
at sea he had finally arrived in London. Now he would begin to search. For his
sake he was hoping that his quarry was still within the city. He had only left
a day after them. He couldn't imagine they would have gotten too far. 
As he walked
along the docks he scanned his surroundings with his one working eye. Since
Carmina had given him his new power, the scarring on his face had faded away as
though it had never been there at all. His eye though was still damaged. Were he
still truly human it would have been limiting, but now even with one eye he
could see more clearly then ever before. The darkest shadows seemed bright. The
smallest details were clear to him.
Only a hundred
feet down the docks and he stopped cold. He had expected his search to go
quickly--after all, how hard was it to find a man and a white wolf? But this was
an unexpected gift. His powerfully enhanced vision could see them, just a few
hundred yards away. They were about to board another ship, accompanied by
someone else. He smiled. Luck was on his side. He kept his distance, watching.
After a moment
or two they went up the plank, boarding the ship in spite of not seeming to
have shown any kind of boarding papers to the official who stood at the base of
the plank. Logan scowled. He would have to follow them aboard the ship if he
was to carry out his Mistress's wishes. He didn't pretend to understand her
interest in these people, but he knew he didn't want to go against he orders.
Losing one eye had been enough.
 Once he was sure they had boarded the ship he
made his way across the docks, flitting from shadow to shadow until he reached
the same plank they had ascended. The port official standing there stopped him
from going any further, holding out an arm. "I'm sorry sir, but before you can
board I'll have to ask for--"
Logan gripped
the man's arm and began twisting it back, causing the man to gasp in pain. "I
don't have time to waste arguing with you."
A small tendril
of energy flowed down Logan's arm onto the official, tracing up to the top of
his head and disappearing, absorbed into the top of the man's skull. Logan
smiled. "You will let me on board, yes?"
The man gave him
a dead eyed stare for a moment then nodded compliantly. His voice had an almost
mechanical quality to it as he said, "Of course sir. Please enjoy your trip."
Logan released
the man's arm and smiled a bit wider. "You are most gracious. I hope it will be
enjoyable. It's certainly off to a promising start."
 Logan whistled quietly to himself as he
strolled up the boarding plank, while the port official simply stood there
grinning like an idiot with that same dead eyed stare. Things were off to a
promising start indeed.
***
"So...then...you
ever feel any remorse about lying like that?"
David canted his
head. "Like what?"
  Since
boarding they had distanced themselves from the boarding area at Will's
insistence. He didn't want to risk someone figuring out that they had used
David's illusions to secure passage. Now they were seated at one of the tables that
were situated out on the forward deck. Or at least David and Will were sitting
at the table. Jenna was lying beside Will's chair, as the seats weren't really
designed with a wolf in mind. 
Will jerked his
head toward the other side of the ship. "You deceived that man so easily. Don't
you ever feel bad about taking advantage of people like that?"
David shrugged,
leaning back in his chair. "It's kind of...a way of life really. I've gotten so
used to it I don't really have to give it a thought anymore."
"I might have
known. You probably started stealing at a young age, right?"
David nodded. "I
had to survive if you must know. I wasn't born a criminal. I just happen to be
good at it because of my natural talents."
He smiled. "And
of course I do find it more than just a bit enjoyable. But yeah, I started when
I was young. I grew up an orphan. Had to fend for myself you know."
Will quirked a
brow. "You know...plenty of orphans go through life without resorting to crime."
"Well, I'm not
one of 'em, now am I?"
Will sighed. "I
suppose not."
David nodded.
"Exactly. Crime is like my job really. It's how I support myself. Besides, at
least my work doesn't have the moral ambiguity of some jobs. Like say, for
example, police work."
Will scoffed.
"Excuse me?"
"Well, it's really
quite simple. I know what I am. I know what I do. I know that my morals are a
bit warped. But at least I know right and wrong in my life. But do you?"
Will scowled.
"Of course I do! I protect people. I make sure criminals are put away for
putting innocents in harms way."
David quirked a
brow. "Do you now? Do you really? Haven't you ever wondered, 'did I just arrest
the right person?' Have you ever spent a night at home wondering, 'is what I do
really right?' Have you ever had to make the ultimate decision as to whether or
not someone lives? How can there be any right answer to that? Have you ever
killed anyone Will? Even to protect others?"
Will remained
silent, mostly because he didn't want to admit that David was right. He had
taken lives over the course of his career. Sometimes it was unavoidable.
Sometimes that one life had to be worth taking to prevent more people--even
hundreds--from dying. It came with the territory, but that didn't make it any
easier.
Upon receiving
no response, David chose to speak again. "I feel I should add that I actually
do respect you for what you do. You have the courage to take those kinds of
situations into your own hands. It's something I'm quite sure I could never do.
We may not have the same views of the world, and in any other situation we
would be against each other, but at least we can respect each other's points of
view, right?"
Will nodded
slowly. "Right."
They were jolted
at that moment by the boat moving, finally leaving the port. The remainder of
their trip passed in silence as the ship traveled down the Thames, crossed the
English Channel and finally arrived in Le Havre some time after the sun had
set. Making use of David's abilities once again they procured a place to stay
for the night in a somewhat nice hotel, planning to begin heading south the
next day.
When morning
came the three left Le Havre behind, traveling on a boat down the Seine to
reach then city of Rouen.
They left Rouen on foot shortly after noon, following a road along the Seine
that quickly lead them into a forested area. After a few hours of walking under
the vibrant emerald leaves of the forest canopy a thought occurred to Will.
"Here's a question: why are we going to Paris on foot? Wouldn't it have made
more sense to stay on the river until at least that point?"
David nodded. "It would have, but I was growing
rather tired of your bitching every time I used my illusions to expedite our
travel."
Jenna laughed and Will scowled. "You're a prick, you
know that?"
David shrugged. "Think what you wish."
Will sighed. There was no point in arguing. The
situation couldn't really be changed at that point. "So where are we anyway?"
"We are in an
old part of the Forêt de Rouvray or 'Forest
of Rouvray', if you prefer. Most of the forest doesn't actually exist anymore,
having been clear cut over the centuries. But you'll find little bits of it all
along the Seine between here and Paris." 
Will nodded. "So
then how long until we reach Paris?"
David thought
for a moment then said, "As things are now it'll be about two days, assuming we
take adequate breaks and rest at night. Might be two and a half days."
"And what about
after that?" Will asked. "You've yet to tell me what our ultimate destination
is."
David nodded.
"Right, yeah. Well, after we get to Paris we're going to start heading south toward
the town of Arles. Max lives in the southern part of the city."
"Great. How long
until we get there?"
"If we get a
quicker method of travel we could be there in just a few days. On foot though...a
week, if not longer."
Neither Jenna nor
Will found that estimate to be very encouraging. Their trip was turning into
far more of a journey than they had planned. A few moments of silence passed as
they wondered how long it would be before they could return home. Those few
moments began to stretch on until nearly an hour had passed without any of them
talking. The silence led to a rather enjoyable peace, with nothing but the
sounds of nature intruding upon their thoughts.
Their peace was
short lived though, for the silence was broken by a woman's scream.
Will's reaction
was immediate, running off toward the source of the sound, leaving David and
Jenna to wonder what had just happened. Looking down to Jenna David asked, "Is
he always like that?"
Jenna nodded.
Will had an undeniable heroic streak. It often led to him charging into
dangerous situations without much thought for his own well being.
David sighed.
"We're gonna have to go after him, aren't we?"
Jenna nodded
again, and without waiting for David took off in the direction Will had gone.
David watched her go, reluctant to become involved in someone else's problems.
He sighed again. He was already involved in the problems of others. "May as
well add another then."
He followed
after Jenna and Will, catching up with them after only a moment or two. The two
were ducked down behind a cluster of bushes. Seeing this David started to ask,
"What the bloody hell is going--?"
Will motioned
for him to be quiet and come over to them. When David knelt beside them Will
said, "There's another road just past these bushes. There's a cart on the road
and it appears as though the owners of it are being robbed."
David quirked a
brow and pushed some of the foliage aside. It was as Will had said. There was a
four-wheeled horse drawn cart in the middle of the road. There were four people
around the outside. Two of them--a man and a women--were on the ground,
apparently bound. The other two--both men--were standing over them, arguing about
something.
Pulling the
leaves back into place David asked, "This isn't our problem, so let's get back
on the road, shall we?"
Will scowled.
"Not our problem? I--you know what, I wouldn't expect any different from you."
Without waiting
for a response Will burst through the bushes out on to the road. David groaned.
"There he goes again with the damn--"
He stopped as he
realized he was talking to himself. Jenna had followed after Will yet again,
leaving David alone behind the bushes. He gritted his teeth and said, "Dammit,
these two are going to get me killed."
With less fervor
than they had done he emerged from the bushes and stood beside them, much to
Will's surprise. Will didn't give voice to his surprise though as he was more
occupied by the two highwaymen shouting at him in angry French. The two had pulled
guns and pointed them at the trio. David sighed. "I knew this was a bad idea.
They're telling us to put up our hands, by the way."
Will glanced at
him. "You speak French?"
David nodded.
"Yeah, and they aren't happy. I would suggest complying...but..."
A few seconds
passed and the two men stopped shouting. David smirked. "That was easy. These
two are pretty dumb. They think we're being nice and compliant. They also think
we're standing about a meter to the left."
"Excellent. Keep
it that--"
All three of
them flinched as one of the bandits fired a shot to the left of them. Then both
of them started to laugh. Will turned to David and asked, "What was that?"
"Oh...er...they
er...well the one thinks he just shot at Jenna and made her jump about a foot in
the air."
A dark look
crossed Will's face. "Excuse me?"
"Well he..."
Will held up a
hand. "Don't even bother. He'll pay for that."
"Why? He didn't
actually shoot her. Or even at her?"
"He still made
the attempt." Without another word Will drew both his sword and his gun and
started walking over toward the bandits. When he reached them her pointed his
gun at the one who had taken the shot and placed his blade against the neck of
the other one. "David, drop the act."
"You sure?"
Will nodded.
Both of the men were rather shocked when they realized they were now at the
mercy of their would be captives. Will smiled tightly. "Now that I have your
attention...David, translate for me, would you?"
"What, like
verbally? Or would rather I just make them hear French when you speak?"
"The latter if
you can do it."
David nodded.
"Anytime you're ready mate."
"Excellent. Now
I want you two to listen very carefully. I'm going to give you a chance to turn
you lives around. Run. Leave this all behind you and you get away
unharmed...relatively. Am I understood?" Will asked.
The two men
nodded. Will smiled a bit wider. "Good. Drop your weapons."
They complied,
albeit with obvious reluctance. "Wonderful, now before you go..."
Will pointed his
gun straight in the face of the one who had tried to shoot at Jenna. "You
attempted to hurt the most precious thing in my world. That was a mistake."
The man started
shaking slightly, and Will laughed. "I'm glad you understand."
In one fluid
motion Will holstered his gun, pulled back, and slammed his fist into the man's
jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground. Will spat in the man's general
direction and said, "Now, get out of my sight."
The two men
exchanged a glance then the one on the ground stood and they started to walk
away. Will turned to David and Jenna. "That went smoothly. Let's get these two
untied, shall--"
"Behind you!"
Will managed to
duck just in time to avoid a punch thrown by the man he had laid out a moment
before. Taking advantage of his lower stance Will rammed his shoulder into the
man's gut, knocking the wind out of him and sending him reeling back. Using his
momentum to continue moving forward, Will wound up his arm before hitting the
bandit with a full force uppercut. The man tipped backward from the force of
the blow, landing on his back in the dirt.
What Will didn't
notice was the other bandit diving to the ground and picking up the gun he had
discarded. Jenna was the only one who spotted him as he pointed his gun at
Will. She felt a surge of anger, a surge of instinct. Her body acted on its own
without any real thought as she surged forward, her fur rippling as her muscles
moved.
A dark energy
began to flicker around her maw as she bared her teeth. It flowed out around
her body, her whole form cloaked in shadowy black energy. Reaching the bandit
she jumped at him and bit into his arm. The energy around her muzzled exploded
outward in ragged bursts and the man screamed in pain.
She released his
arm and jumped back, growling. Her whole body was tensed like a coiled spring,
waiting for what may come next. 
The man dropped
his gun and held his arm in close to his body. Trails of smoke were rising from
his flesh and the areas around the bite wounds were bleeding profusely. His
skin looked as though it had been burst open from the inside, rent and torn in
every possible way. His remaining skin was blackened, as though burnt.
The man had an
expression on his face that was part pain and part terror as he tried to push
himself away from Jenna. The bandit Will had been fighting with--seeing what had
happened to his partner--pushed off the ground and ran, avoiding another strike
from Will before disappearing into the underbrush without so much as a backward
glance.
The now injured
bandit did his best to stagger to his feet, nearly falling again as he started
to run after the other one. Once he was gone Jenna let out a sigh of relief as
the energy faded from her body. Then she tensed up all again, her eyes going
wide as she realized what she had just done. She had never hurt anyone before,
let alone so severely.
She turned to
look at the others. Will and David were both dumbstruck, and the bandits'
victims were watching her with unmistakable fear in their eyes. They were
scared of her. Even Will seemed nervous. She shook her head. What the hell is happening to me? What did I
just do?
Seeing her pain
Will rushed over to her, wrapping his arms around her an holding her close.
Looking over his shoulder to David he said, "Get those two untied, and make
sure they aren't hurt."
Seeing that
David understood, Will returned his attention to Jenna, who was trembling ever
so slightly. He remained quiet at first, searching fro the right thing to say.
Finally he simply said, "I know you didn't mean to do that Jen. I know you
would never mean to hurt someone like that. You're not...you're not responsible
for that. It's this...energy inside you."
She took a small
amount of comfort in his words, it was true, but she still felt horrible. He's right, she thought, it's not my fault...at least not entirely. But
I was still the one who did it.
She didn't have
much longer to think about it though as a wave of exhaustion suddenly came over
her. She passed out almost immediately, her body spent from channeling that
dark energy. Will was concerned for the briefest of moments when she went limp
in his arms, but breathed a sigh of relief she started snoring softly.
He picked her up
and carried her over to the cart, where David was standing, talking to the man
and woman who had been bound only moments before. "Are they alright?" Will
asked.
David nodded. "Yeah...uh...hold
on."
He continued to
converse with the two for a moment before turning back to Will. "Alright, so
these two--Jean and Chloe, I think--want to express their gratitude for us coming
to their aid."
Will nodded. "What
else? That seemed like a rather lengthy conversation for just gratitude."
"Yeah, well they
said they'd like to repay us in some way, so I said I would ask you how they
could do that."
Will hesitated
for a moment. As an officer he generally helped people just because it was what
he did. His first instinct was to send them on their way and to tell them they
owed no debt. But them something else occurred to him. "Ask...ask if they would
be willing to give us a ride to Paris. I can't carry Jenna for too long, and it
would make the trip a bit shorter."
David nodded,
turned back to Jean and Chloe, and after a brief exchange turned back to Will
again. "They were on their way to Paris anyway, so they would be willing to
take us. The one thing is...they aren't too thrilled with the idea of bringing
Jenna along. Which...I can't say I blame them." 
Will scowled. "That
would be a deal breaker. Tell them that Jenna won't be an issue for them. Be
convincing."
"You got it
boss."
Another brief
exchange of words followed. Judging by the expressions on Chloe and Jean's
faces Will was unsurprised when David said, "Alright, they agree to have her
along, but if anything goes wrong we're on our own."
"Good. One last
thing: ask them if they speak any English."
David started to
ask then turned back to Will. "Why?"
"Don't tell them...but
we need to talk about what just happened with Jenna...and I would rather not have
eavesdroppers."
David nodded. "I
understand."
Turning to Jean
and Cloe once more he simply asked, "Parlez-vous anglais?"
Jena
and Chloe exchanged a glance, clearly confused by the question. Though Will
could easily understand if everything going on was confusing them. After a few
seconds Jean shook his head. "Non."
Will
breathed a sigh of relief. That was at least one thing he didn't need a
translation for. "Perfect. Tell them we'd like to get moving as soon as
possible."
David
relayed the message, and the two nodded compliantly. Five minutes later they
were on the road again, moving at an appreciably faster pace toward their
destination.

Source: https://sofurry.com/view/784531