The Dark Lady

the Dark Lady.”
    “What do you have to do with the Dark Lady?” asked Venzia, eyeing him curiously.
    “My interest in her is purely financial,” responded Heath.
    Venzia looked surprised. “Financial?” he repeated. “How the hell can it be financial?”
    Heath smiled. “You asked a question. I answered it. Now I think it's my turn. What is your interest in the Dark Lady?”
    “That's for Leonardo's ears alone,” said Venzia.
    “I must remind you once more that you are a guest in my house,” said Heath, “and an uninvited one at that. If you continue to abuse my hospitality, I may have to turn you back out into the cold.”
    Venzia seemed to be weighing his alternatives. Finally he nodded his assent.
    “A wise decision,” commented Heath. “I think I'll fix myself a drink before we begin.”
    “I'll have one too,” said Venzia.
    “You're not through with your coffee yet.”
    “I will be before you're done,” answered Venzia, taking a large swallow and placing the near-empty cup down on a table.
    Heath shrugged. “As you wish.” He pulled out two glasses and began mixing a blue-tinted concoction. “You still haven't answered my question, Mr. Venzia. What is your interest in the Dark Lady?”
    “Simply stated, I want to meet her,” said Venzia.
    “State it in a more complex way, if you please,” said Heath.
    “I've got to speak to her,” replied Venzia. “She possesses certain information that I must have.”
    “ What information?” asked Heath.
    “You asked a question, I answered it,” said Venzia stubbornly. “Now it's your turn.”
    Heath finished mixing the drinks, handed one to Venzia, and took his seat again.
    “We could go on all night without accomplishing anything if we continue like this,” he said. “Therefore, I'm going to be perfectly frank with you, and I will expect you to respond in kind.”
    “Fair enough,” agreed Venzia.
    Heath took a sip of his drink, then leaned forward. “I am, due to circumstances totally beyond my control, a professional opportunist.”
    “What the hell does that mean?” demanded Venzia.
    “It means that I take advantage of opportunities wherever I chance to find them. Leonardo considers me a thief, but that is a very limiting definition.”
    “Are you saying you're not a thief?” asked Venzia, confused.
    “I most certainly am a thief, among other things,” replied Heath. “I rank among the very finest, I assure you. In fact, Leonardo and I are currently considering the most practical means of separating Malcolm Abercrombie from his collection.”
    “That is not true!” I interjected.
    “Are you indeed?” asked Venzia, ignoring my statement.
    Heath nodded. “I realize that Abercrombie has no items of any significant value, but nonetheless... ”
    “Oh, I wouldn't say that,” replied Venzia. “He's got a Skarlos, a Perkins, and three or four Ngonis, a Santini... ”
    “Does he really?” said Heath with an innocent smile. “I must have been misinformed.”
    “Get to the point,” said Venzia.
    “The point, Mr. Venzia, is that I am aware of Mr. Abercrombie's obsession with the Dark Lady. It is my intention to deliver her to him, in exchange for certain financial considerations yet to be negotiated.”
    “Lots of luck,” said Venzia.
    “You don't think Abercrombie will pay for her company?” asked Heath.
    “Getting him to pay should be easy. Finding her is the tricky part.”
    “We found her once. I'm sure we can do it again.”
    Venzia practically jumped out of his chair. “You've actually seen her? In the flesh?”
    Heath nodded. “We had her aboard my ship.”
    “Where is she now?” demanded Venzia intently.
    “I have no idea.”
    “Where did she disembark?”
    “You're going to have a difficult time believing this,” said Heath, “but she simply vanished while we were enroute from Acheron to Far London.”
    Venzia slumped back, dejected. “Then I've missed her again.”
    “You believe me?” asked Heath, surprised.
    “Why shouldn't I?” responded Venzia glumly. “Were you lying?”
    “No,” said Heath. “But if Leonardo hadn't been along, I wouldn't believe me.”
    Venzia was silent for a long moment. Then he finished his drink in a single gulp.
    “Shit!” he muttered.
    “You're not surprised that she was able to teleport herself off the ship,” said Heath, his face alive with interest. “Why?”
    “Nothing that she can do would surprise me,” said Venzia.
    “I've told you what you