The Lost Ballet

  Chapter 18 – Empty Handed Nev

  There weren’t any fireworks on stage later that morning. Nev didn’t put on an action performance, engaging Roger and the others in hand-to-hand commando combat. He didn’t have any weapons in his shoes or strapped to his arms. After Gwen, the woman, Selgey, and Bart arrived, so did Helstof and Gale. Henric, as usual, was out on the water. So there was Nev, surrounded by nine of his implacable enemies, all of whom wondered what they had gotten themselves into. Helstof had been part of the June’s invasion of Stirg’s home several months previously, and she had come to The Hall today, armed. Heeled. She sat down in a chair, said, “How ya doin’, Nev?” The last time Nev had seen her, she was standing in Stirg’s kitchen, wearing a bikini, and holding a gun. He didn’t answer her greeting.

  Gwen said, “We have a visitor this morning. Mr. Nev. Works for Mr. Stirg.” She looked at her husband.

  “He wants the Stravinsky score. Or rather, his boss wants the Stravinsky score. Says Stirg wants to take it back to Saint Petes; Stirg says that’s where it belongs; says he’s going to do the ballet there. Nev came early and asked the Ps for it. Then I showed up. The three of us talked it over and decided we didn’t want to give it to him. Decided this should be an American deal, here in Charleston. Didn’t we, boys?”

  The Ps nodded vigorously.

  “Nev started waving his gun around.” Roger took Nev’s gun out from his belt at his back, and handed it to Gwen. “So the Ps took it away from him. Asked him to sit in the chair, and be polite. Right, Nev?”

  Nev didn’t answer, but looked around at his nine adversaries. When his gaze found the woman, he said, “You’re the new one. The bean counter. You scared of guns?”

  The woman said, “If you had one, if you had your gun, the one you came in here with, rather than Gwen having it, and you were waving it around at me, yeah, I’d probably be scared. But seeing as you don’t, seeing as how two gay ballet dancers took it away from you, well, I’ll reserve judgment. That ok with you?”

  The Ps didn’t smile at this, but Gwen, Roger, and Helstof did. They liked the woman more and more. Guts.

  Nev looked at Selgey, and said, “You’re one of the dancers, aren’t you? Can I see your legs? I’ve been looking at ballet websites, and those babes have great legs. Do you?”

  So Nev had guts too, keeping his cool in the middle of this embarrassment. Gwen had to hand it to him.

  Selgey hadn’t met many commandos in her travels and associations within the world of the international ballet community. She was a little intrigued by Nev, knowing something of his background. She thought for a moment, stood up, walked towards him sitting in the chair, and when she was seven feet in front of him, took two steps, and jumped. Over him. Over his head. Landed en pointe behind him, poised with perfect balance, holding. Slowly Nev rotated his chair until he faced her. Looked at her. Looked at her legs. Looked at Roger. Said, “God.”

  Selgey stepped out of the poise, not looking at Nev, and walked across the stage into one of the offices at the rear. The woman followed her saying, “You want me to make coffee, Selgey?”

  Bart looked at Nev, said, “You should have seen her when she was really good.”

  And that was the end of the atypical start to the team’s work week.Gwen and Roger escorted Nev out of the building, and watched him walk down John Street towards King Street They now had another gun for their collection. Gwen said, “You want some coffee?”

  Roger shook his head, and they went back into The Hall and back up on stage. He said, “Are we ready to go public? Can I put the ad in The Times of London? We gotta get Townshend working on this.”

  Gwen thought for a moment, then said, “Let’s check with the woman, first. She gave us a pretty good description of what was going to happen when we did this. She said all hell was going to break loose. We better see if we are ready for that, or not.”