At long last, the pub renovations were almost complete. The foundations had been pretty sound, so all that there was to do was to build up on top.
Looking like a Georgian shop front, with square lead windows, black walls for the ground floor and buff walls for the upper, it looked fairly innocuous, and already had a sign outside saying: The Penance Tavern now open. Under new management! Welcome all!
Inside, it was dark and gloomy, with wooden chairs and tables, a pool table (that also doubled as a poker table) dart board and solid oak bar, manned by an odd looking fellow whom Tesslar had met in the market, called Smiler Mcpsycho (So called because, when he smiled, he looked as though he was about to kill you! And most probably was!)
There was also a stage and poles for Tesslar's performers to entertain the guests with while they had a drink or a gamble... And a few had already started to check the place out! However, when they asked Smiler about putting anything on the tab, he simply smiled his ghoulish smile, held up an axe and said, “Give us yeh fingers. Yeh can av em back when yev paid!”
Everything was going to plan. Ok, so it wasn't quite the Slick Cassino that he had in mind, still, it was better than nothing!
Making his way to the combination of steel and reinforced concrete warehouse, Tesslar opened the door with a wave of his paw and entered, the door closing behind him. “Anything happening out there, Narkskull?” he asked.
The cyborg turned away from the wall of screens in his swivel chair and shook his head. “No sign of the escapee or the friend she was with, Sir. We're monitoring every camera in the city though, so it's only a matter of time. He can't hide forever, and Evilyne will be watching when he comes out of his hole-!”
At that moment, there came a frantic bleeping! It was coming from the super computer itself! Narkskull hurried over, punched a button on the keyboard and a map of the city appeared on the monitor, a red dot flashing in the area where the hospital was situated. “Target 254 identified and located!” Evilyne announced in her monotone voice. “Mobile phone signal detected at Wing City Hospital, Level 6. Now can I go back to sleep?”
“No you cannot, you wretched box!” Tesslar snapped. “Get the Hospital up on screen, this instant!”
Seconds later, the screens on the far wall flashed up with images of Wing City Hospital, and Tesslar eagerly zoomed in on one of them. He smiled avidly when he saw a familiar cat woman talking to a strange man outside the Pharmacy. “Found you, my pretty!” He chuckled.
“Warning!” Evilyne chimed in. “Detecting Aschen technologies! Detecting Aschen technologies!”
“Oh no! Not those bastards!” Tesslar groaned, taking up his staff. “Rats! A call to arms! Lawrence! I'm opening a portal to level 6 Wing City Hospital! Find the traitor! Kill her before the Aschen get their stinking mits on her! And I want her properly dead this time Lawrence!!!”