First Target, an acrobat

Both women stopped talking and approached the backstage. Their footsteps were getting louder. The Queen was not prepared to take on the detective as she was now, she needed to get away. She ran behind the curtains that separated the stage from the backstage, went prone and then rolled under them just as Laura and the other woman were about to spot her.

The fake acrobat found herself in the sandy circle of the main stage. She stood up and dusted the dirt off her body. Now she knew were her target was but had to sneak there without being spotted by her rival. Her mission just got a whole lot more interesting.

Before she could do anything else, a hand grabbed and pulled her towards the ladder that lead to the trapeze. “About time you got here, I thought you chickened out. Come on, we have to get the routine ready before the show. ” The Queen looked at the person dragging her. She was an Asian woman. She was tall, slender and a complete beauty, at least in her eyes. Like the Queen, she was wearing a red leotard and had her brown hair tied into a ponytail.

The Queen remembered her. The woman was Shu Ya, a Chinese acrobat and half of the Streaking Ladybugs duo of performers. Sadly, her partner twisted her ankle and the two-woman act was currently a person short. To infiltrate the circus, the Queen originally convinced her that she was an up-and-coming gymnast that could replace her partner for the night. It was why she was wearing that horrendous leotard in the first place.

Ugh, she simply didn’t have the time, or skill, to play trapeze artist right now, but running out would seem very suspicious. She needed to find another way. The Queen grinned a wicked smile, she got a terrific idea to get out of her predicament.

The fake acrobat played along and ascended the ladder. She reached a small platform that towered above the main stage. In front of her was the suspended trapeze and below was the safety net. A group of mimes sat down in the gallery to watch their exercise.

“Don’t worry about them. They take their craft very seriously, you won’t hear a pip,” yelled Shu Ya from a platform opposite to hers. “We made a bet that you would fall at least once during practice. Ready?”

The Queen made an ok sign with her fingers. An audience might increase her chances of getting caught after her stunt, but it would also make it more fun, so she kept going. She grabbed something from her bag and smeared it onto the wooden bar.