“Could we have a bite before we go and see any of those doctors?”
“The sooner we crack on with the search the better.”
“I appreciate that, but I’ve eaten nothing this morning. I’d kill for a cup of coffee and some food.”
Nat cast a dark look at her. “Very well, but it will have to be quick then. There is a nice cafe just around the corner.”
They had cafes? What did that mean here? Food, obviously, but was it anything like her favourite cafe on Uxbridge Road? Well, that would be a bit of a stretch.
“Thanks. You have an admirable instinct for self-preservation.”
Nat looked at her, his eyebrows arched. “We can’t have you murdering people to get food.”
Anouk smirked. “Well, you said you wanted to see my sword fighting skills.”
“You’ll get to show me those soon enough.”
Her smirk faltered. “What?”
“Ah, here we are.” Nat opened the cafe door.
The bell chimed when they stepped in. A few heads turned towards them, but chatter continued unabated. The cafe was large and full of tables and only a couple were vacant. Four big chandeliers hung from the ceiling, illuminating the tables and cake-themed paintings on the purple walls.
Anouk stood still, blinking. The coffeehouse reminded her of the coffee shops back home—not that she had expected to walk into Mos Eisley Cantina, but something more alien at the very least. Would she ever get her head around the strange familiarity of Nat’s world?
Nat touched her shoulder and studied her with a concerned expression. “Is everything alright?”
Anouk forced a smile. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
Nat nodded, although his anxious countenance remained. “Please, order what you want.”
Aromas of coffee and cakes wafted to Anouk’s nostrils, pushing all her other thoughts aside for a moment. She studied the selection at the counter, her stomach rumbling. Pastries, cakes and sandwiches were arranged on large plates with wonderful artistry. None of them appeared familiar enough that she could have named them, but they all looked delicious—the ‘House Special’, a cake with purple icing and orange marzipan roses in particular. She suppressed her impulse, thinking it better to eat something light and savoury. Her gut was still a bit tender, but the nausea had subsided.
Nat gave her a quick tour of what was on display, and she ordered coffee, cheese and pickle sandwich and gazpacho-esque tomato soup. He took tea and a pastry.
Anouk dipped her spoon as soon as they sat, slurping the soup down, partly because she was famished and part because Nat was checking his pocket watch frequently to her annoyance. She studied him and the room while demolishing the sandwich and washing it down with coffee, which to her pleasant surprise tasted like proper Arabica. A question nagged at the back of her mind. What if they didn’t catch Stalo before he was fit enough to use his Gadget again? He must have seen quite a lot in his short visit to her world. How would he exploit that knowledge?
“Nat, do your people take inventions from the other worlds they visit?”
“Our scientists have brought samples to study further.”
“How many worlds have you discovered?”
Nat was silent for a while staring somewhere in the distance and drumming his fingers on the tabletop.
Debating how much to reveal to her?
“I’ve only been to one other in addition to yours, but I know scientists have explored more. There are, though, strict rules for who gets to use the Gadgets, and there is a code of conduct on non-intervention. We are simply to observe, and not, under any circumstances, let the instrument fall into the hands of the natives.”
“I’m glad it’s regulated,” Anouk said. Thank goodness the scientists in this world had the sense not to let any nut jobs get their hands on the machine. Although the system wasn’t foolproof, or Stalo-proof. “What kind of place was the other world? Were you hunting an outlaw?”
“I worked as a bodyguard for a scientist, but the planet was uninhabited.”
“Is that how you got your Gadget?”
“Yes.”
“And they let you keep it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Nat looked at her, his face expressionless. He didn’t reply.
Anouk frowned. If the devices were so strictly regulated, why did Nat have one? Why the secrecy? If he was allowed to keep it, what else did he do other than chase criminals? Nat’s unwillingness to talk about the subject made her insides churn uneasily. She wanted to know if it was something that might cause her more trouble. It was time to be cunning and try another approach…
“How does it work? You said something about crystals. What kind are they?”
Nat narrowed his eyes, but again remained silent.
“I’m curious.” Anouk shrugged. Damn right she was. These people, who lived in a world that reminded Anouk of late nineteenth century England, had somehow invented a machine that opened gates to other parts of the universe. What would scientists in her world be ready to pay to get their hands on the Gadget? A lot, Anouk was sure, if they believed one existed that was. She sighed and continued, “Well, don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. No one would believe me, anyway.” She paused to take a sip from her coffee. “What is its official name?” She nodded towards the box on Nat’s left glove.
“The Gadget.”
“Just the Gadget?”
“Yes.”
“Your scientists did all the research, modelling, building, testing and finally perfecting the instrument and they name it…” Anouk tilted her head. “…the Gadget?”
“What’s wrong with the name?” Nat looked puzzled.
Anouk put her cup down and propped her elbows on the table. “Did they drain all their ingenuity in inventing it, so when it came time to name the instrument, their minds went blank? Did they go like, ‘Nah, I can’t be bothered. Let’s just call it the Gadget’, and the others replied, ‘great idea’?”
“Possibly.” Nat winked and checked his pocket watch for the umpteenth time. A crease appeared between his brows. “If you are finished, we should get about our business.”
“Yeah, I’m finished.” Anouk sighed. They had been
