S. Fairy wings - Part 9

Adrielle sat on her perch and licked her lips and listened
to the gentle knocking that came from within her Tupperware lunch box.
The sound told her everything, it was all she needed to hunt by, with
her eyes closed and no smell to speak of, the sound alone would tell
her where each grasshopper was, when it would jump, how far and in
which direction, if they were loose in the room instead of imprisoned
in a plastic container the sound would be all she needed to catch them,
the sound made her mouth water.

Beyond the grasshoppers the room made noise, the machines ticked and
squeaked, the electricity buzzed, and the gas flames hissed and fizzed.
Outside the room the whole building hummed, a combination of a thousand
other machines and the continual thrum of the air conditioning and
water pipes. Occasionally when the wind was high the tower vibrated so
low that she did not hear it so much as feel in her bladder. Beyond
that were the millions of conversations carried through the walls and
the pipes, too many and too faint for even her to distinguish but part
of the general background noise she recognised and understood. And on
top of that Wallace the gnome's boots scuffing his trademark gate
across the carpet.

"Come in garden gnome." She shouted when he stopped
outside the door, no doubt with his hand raised ready to knock. She
grinned to herself a toothy grin because she knew he would have no idea
how she knew he was there.

"Err," said Wallace, "hello Adrielle."

"Hello Waldo. I mean Wallace son of err..."

"Never mind."

She thanked him so quietly she was all but silent,
just the movement of her lips. "I talked to the human last night." She
said out loud.

"Yes I know, you rang me."

"Of course. He wants to see the fairy at seven
o-clock today but he won't have the money yet."

"You said, it's in my locker."

"He'll pay seventy thousand."

"I know."

"He says he can have it tomorrow morning if the
fairy's good."

"Oh." Said Wallace. "That soon?"

"So he said."

Wallace looked at his feet and chewed his lip.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"No." He said. "It's just all a bit quick is all, I
might want to, you know?" He stopped.

"What?"

"Never mind." Said the gnome. "Seven o-clock
today?"

"Yes."

"I'll meet you in the lobby at quarter to."

"Okay, can you try and find us somewhere quiet to
go."

"Okay." Said the gnome. "I can do that."

"Okay."

"Okay." And he left the room. Adrielle closed her
eyes and listened to him walk back to the elevator.

Herr Manfred Bert Schmitt arrived at the foot of Schwarzwald tower at
precisely five minutes to seven. The place was still bustling with
people and the businessman in Schmitt briefly wondered what the
turnover was a day, only a few a day could use the skyhooks and the
rest must be tourists, who would have thought you could make money just
by building something very tall. He told his driver to wait and walked
to the entrance where the Nymph was waiting for him just beyond the
doors. She was dressed in exactly the same clothes as the previous day
but this time was carrying a small tattered briefcase.

She greeted him politely, even curtsying, and led
him through the vast lobby to a small coffee shop that had closed for
the day.

"They're letting me use it." Said the Nymph, opening
the door with the lower, little people's, handle. She nodded to the
human member of staff who was mopping the floor, he took his mop and
disappeared into the kitchen. Schmitt looked back, he was sure he had
seen a gnome following them.

She led him inside and to a corner table out of view
from the lobby outside, sat down on a high chair facing the wall and
beckoned Schmitt to sit facing her, he sat where she indicated.

"I take it you are still interested." She
said.

"I am." He said. "Is that the fairy in there?"

She placed the suitcase on the table in front of
her, flicked both brass locks open and raised the lid of the case so as
to present the fairy to Schmitt. Air hissed through Schmitt's teeth as
he inhaled sharply on seeing the fairy for the first time, it was
exquisite, far better than he'd dared hope. It was lying face down on a
bed of newspaper with its four wings spread out across the breadth of
the suitcase, each one was in perfect condition and matched the others,
there was even a subtle pattern discernible in the minute filigree that
was reflected perfectly top from bottom, left from right. Schmitt
stopped breathing and slowly extended a finger to hover just over the
fairy, not daring to touch it, he had never seen one so close
before.

"Pick it up if you like." Said the nymph.

Schmitt gently picked up the fairy by the ankle and
dangled it close to his face, so close he could smell the meat. He
heard a noise from across the room and for a moment thought he saw
something red disappear behind the cake stand.

"Is anything wrong?" Asked the Nymph.

"I thought I saw someone."

"Probably just the cleaner." She said.

Schmitt did not answer but did turn his attention
back to the fairy, from his pocket he withdrew a magnifying glass and
carefully examined the wings, working round the edge of each one
looking for cuts and dents, there were none. "It is pretty good." He
admitted.

"It is flawless." Said the Nymph.

"Not flawless." He said. "There are some areas where
the pattern has gone awry, and others where it does not match the other
wings."

"That is normal." Said the Nymph. "It is a wild
animal, no fairy has a flawless pattern."

"Still," said Schmitt, "I am not sure it is worth
all of seventy thousand."

"Please." Said the Nymph, leaning forward to push
the briefcase across the table. Reluctantly Schmitt laid the fairy back
on it's newspaper bed. "The price we agreed was seventy thousand." She
shut the briefcase. "If the fairy was in good condition. And it
is."

"I'm not so sure." Said Schmitt.

The nymph put the suitcase on the floor at her side.
"I have other interested buyers Mr Schmitt, I will not be jerked
around."

"Okay." Said Schmitt. "We did agree on seventy
thousand."

"Good."

"I will bring it tomorrow morning, at eleven
o-clock."

"I will ring your office." Said the Nymph. "And tell
you where to meet me."

"Danke."

As he walked out Schmitt was sure he saw the tip of
a pointy red hat poking up above the drinks counter, he would have
looked closer but the Nymph gestured for him to hurry out the coffee
shop door. She closed it behind him the second he left.

"You can come out now." Said
Adrielle.

Wallace stood up meekly from behind the service
trolley and looked across at the Nymph, she held her hands on her hips
and was looking at him like a disappointed headmistress. He said "You
saw me then?"

"Me." Said the Nymph, "I smelt you before I walked
in the door."

"And the human?"

"Oh him." She said. "I could smell him half a mile
away."

"But did he see me?"

"No. You got away with it. Just."

Wallace breathed a sigh of relief and for a moment
the two of them stood staring at each other.

"He'll come tomorrow at eleven o-clock with the
money." Said the Nymph sharply and turned on her heel and began to walk
away.

Wallace watched her go for a second before shouting
and running after her. "My briefcase." He said. She gave him the
briefcase and kept on walking.

Wallace stood in the lobby holding the briefcase,
feeling as if events were overtaking him, as if he were no longer a
necessary component but only a spectator in the process. From the
corner of his eye he saw Jim watching him. The moment Jim knew he was
spotted he marched over to Wallace, moving his little legs with fast
deliberate strides. Wallace remained standing exactly where he was. Jim
looked angry.

"What were you doing with that thing?" He
asked.

Wallace said "What thing?" and started walking
towards the exit.

Jim walked backwards in front of Wallace. "The
Nymph, what else."

"Nothing."

"It was carrying your briefcase with the... you
know."

Wallace briefly searched his brain for a lie but
didn't find one, it didn't seem to matter anyway. He said "She's
helping me sell it."

Jim stopped dead forcing Wallace to stop also.
"She's helping you what?"

"Sell it." Said Wallace directly, he was surprised
to find that he was not embarrassed.

"I'm helping you sell it Wal."

Wallace shrugged. "She offered first mate."

im spluttered with incredulity. "You bloody offered
it to me."

"And you said you couldn't move it."

"Yeah but..." Said Jim, his voice squeaky with
excitement. "I could though, I found a guy."

"What, Dimitri."

"Yeah Dimitri, he said you'd agreed."

"I didn't agree to a thing."

"But..."

"But nothing Jim. Adrielle is selling it for
me."

"Adrielle?"

Wallace said "Yes." Stepped quickly around the other
gnome and went on his way.

"A bloody Nymph Wal." Jim shouted after him. "A
bloody Nymph."