London

After this rough start, the automobile runs smoothly for a while as we ride. As we go along, Lupin explains to Nemo our situation and what had happened to us.

"Hmm. So I'm hearing this right, Lupin, then you've set yourself up as the hero to this poor soul." Nemo says. "I'm so jealous! Trade with me!"

"Is that all you heard from this?! There was a lot more that you should have been surprised by!" Lupin says.

The conversations between Lupin and Nemo always seem to go this way.

I can tell that they get along quite well.

From time to time, the car screeches and releases a cloud of steam.

Nemo's endless chatter and Lupin's arguing serves to lift my spirits. Although, it lets out some steam from time to time, it never breaks down again.

According to Lupin, it's something of a miracle that it runs so smoothly.

Nemo's talk continues like a river, keeping up a stream of conversation.

Lupin chimes in occasionally, but I catch her nodding off once or twice.

The sun is now high in the sky.

Lupin, who had been staring into the distance from the passenger seat, suddenly stretches. She yawns. "It's coming up."

"What is?" I ask.

"Once we climb this hill, you'll get your first glimpse of London."

A short while later just as Lupin said, London appears in all its glory. The city that sprawls ahead of us is nothing short of a metropolis. It's far larger than the London from my world. Possibly rivalling the New York in my world.

It also has a 50 meter wall surrounding it and another 50 meter wall in the centre.

I saw it when I came here before but I had only traveled to the docks to warn Small that Holmes wasn't going to catch upon him soon. I haven't explored London itself.

"It's amazing." I say.

Any words used to describe it fall short.

"A city of steel, protected not only by a Great Wall, but by a ring of turrets. That's London." Lupin says.

"Isn't it fantastic, Mister Caleb? Even greater surprises await you inside!" Nemo says. "It has a fully functioning sewer system, and thanks to the gas lamps everywhere, it's bright as noon even in the darkest night. The high-class distinct have airship mooring posts everywhere, sticking up from the rooftops like trees in a forest!"

"The king was probably in a rush to showcase Britain's power by transforming his capital into a massive fortified city." Lupin says. "Britain has many enemies on the continent. Taking such an obvious posture like this has likely prevented war across Europe."

I continue to look across the great city as I listen to Nemo and Lupin.

"As you can see, 50 meter walls divide the city into three regions." Lupin says. "The forests and shipping docks surrounding the walls is known as Outer London. Beyond the first wall is Inner London. It has a mess of towns, and factories. It is where London's steam engines are produced. There are some poorer areas. Beyond the second wall, in the centre of the city, is Central London. That's where politicians, the rich, the powerful, and nobles reside. We live in an area inside Inner London. We're basically burrowing some space from a certain aristocrat."

"An aristocrat?" I ask.

"I'll introduce you to him later, Caleb. For now, please wait here with Nemo." Lupin turns her back on us and gathers her hat and coat to leave.

"What's the matter, Lupin?" I ask.

"I'm going to scout the area."

"You're going scouting? Whatever for?" Nemo asks.

"There are teams off inspectors along the wall. I'm going to check them out. It's possible they may be looking for Caleb."

"You can see the wall from here?" I ask.

"Remember this, Caleb. It takes good eyes--"

"--to be a good thief'. How many times have the trotted that old chestnut out?" Nemo asks. "You keep an eye on Lupin, Mr. Caleb. She'll lecture you to **** if you let her."

"That's because you refuse to stop being stupid. I'll be back in an hour or so. Just stay alert, and be careful."

"See you later." I say.

Lupin waves to us and leaves.

"Alone at last, Mr. Caleb." Nemo says. I nod, watching Lupin's residing back getting smaller in the distance. For some reason, I suddenly feel lonely. "Why don't we discuss something interesting, like the news model steam engines that were on display at the London World Expo? It achieved 700 horsepower using four 52-inch cylinders. Isn't that incredible? The design is also light and compact. Science is soo beautiful, right?" Nemo suddenly reaches out, as if to stroke my cheek with her hand.

I flinch back. "Nemo. There's something I'd like you to tell me. What kind of person is Lupin?"

"You want to know about Lupin? What about me? Why don't I tell you about my hobbies?"

"I don't understand. Lupin saved me. I don't know why. That's what I'd like to know."

"I'm impressed that you could blow me off so casually. That's great, Caleb! I can get into the 'frigid cutie' thing! Hey, I'm kidding! I'll tell you! Those cold eyes of yours will make me cry! Stop looking at me like that! Lupin didn't say anything? I suppose she didn't want to confuse you by telling you everything all at once. All right. As a gift to commemorate our new friendship, allow me to enlighten you. That woman is more or less a hero."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. She's too embarrassed to admit it herself. Pretorius created a special task **** known as Progenitor. You were captured by a British army squad, but it was supposed to have been soldiers from Progenitor on that mission. But, the plans changed somewhere and those guys came instead. That's good for us, because Progenitor has the elite forces. If she'd have had to rescue you from a Progenitor squad, she may have been in some real danger. We got lucky, that's all. According to Lupin, Progenitor is planning some kind of massive terrorist act. And the first step in executing that plan is getting their hands on you, isn't it?"

"Me?"

"It's all just hearsay. But once Lupin heard about that, she decided to do whatever she can to stop it. That's why she's looking for Septima, the woman behind the whole operation, and why she saved you. See? Isn't that heroic? Even for a thief!"

"I see."

Just knowing all this makes me very happy.

"So Lupin's not a bad woman." I say.

"Hey, now... Did you think I was evil?" I turn, startled, to see Lupin behind me. "It sounds like you told him everything. Well, that's the long and short of it. It was probably someone with power in the government who gave the order to abduct you. Of course, government official or not, I have no intention of giving you up. I'm sorry to involve you in this, truly I am."

I shake my head at Lupin's words. "I can't find the right words to say it. But, meeting you... I think it was a good thing."

"I see. That's good." Lupin says.

"Um... I'm sitting right here." Nemo says.

"Oh, and Lupin?" I say.

"Again with the ignoring me!" Nemo says.

"I want to know about Pretorius and Frankenstein, too." I say. "There's so much I need to ask them. Why did Pretorius leave? What happened to Frankenstein? Why did they make me? I need to ask them face to face."

"Then our goals align. Let's make our partnership official." Lupin holds out her right hand. The second handshake.

I shake her right without hesitation.

"Partners! Right! Put 'er there, Mr. Caleb!" Nemo firmly grasps my other hand. Her smile is the brightest I've ever seen."

"Back to business, I scouted out the checkpoint. Take a look at this." Lupin pulls up some papers from her jacket.

"Wanted... Crimes against the state... Victoria Frankenstein..." I say reading them.

"Let me see... 'Vicious terrorist wanted grave robbery and the creation of a homunculus who killed twelve people." Nemo says. "Yikes, that's one dangerous woman."

"She was the daughter of a wealthy and politically connected country squire and a descendant of Johann Konrad Dippel. She was formerly a student at the University of Oxford. One of the best. Until she was exposed for grave robbery and creating a homunculus that killed multiple people. Her career is ruined now." Lupin says.

Frankenstein seemed kind. She didn't seem vicious at all. It doesn't pay to judge a book by its cover.

"So, what's so interesting about this poster?" Nemo asks.

"The extra security on there checkpoints is to catch this girl. It has nothing to do with us, but we should still be careful." Lupin says.

"Makes sense. We are a couple of kidnappers on the run right now." Nemo says.

"I'm sorry to cause you trouble." I say.

"You needn't apologise, monsieur! Doing this was our decision."

"Yeah! Don't worry about us, Mr. Caleb!" Nemo says. "Well, then would it be better if we stayed out of London until things cooled down a bit?"

"No, London is overflowing with people. Once we're inside, we'll be hard to find. We're better off entering the city quickly." Lupin says.

"Then what will we do?" Nemo asks.

"They don't have any pictures of us, and those men last night were from the Royal Guard. They wouldn't be manning checkpoints." Lupin says. "We'll pass through easily if we falsity our identities."

Nemo and I nod along with Lupin's plan. They give me a map to the mansion in case something happens to separate us and I have to go alone. To be even more cautious, in order to avoid the three of us being captured together, we decided to split into two groups.