The Circus King

Epilogue

The three had decided to meet at Dolly's place for dinner at the end of the week. David had instigated it while hoping to clear up some things and answer questions. Specifically, about a certain someone's interests.

"Over here!" He called, waving them to his spot around the gaggle of people. "I know, its a mite crowded."

"A mite?" Katie parroted, amusement cresting her tone. "It'd be helpful if we defined 'a mite'."

"Oh, its worse at rush hour in Brooklyn." He gave a tired smile. "But, what can I say? London is something else, I mean, what ding-head decided to put the cars on the wrong side of the road??"

"Don't go to Hong Kong, then." Ruhne chuckled.

"Appreciate the warning."

"This is off topic but, whatever happened to Bree??" Katie put in.

"Yes, she was sentenced with attempted murder, conspiring with Willy and theft." "Theft..?"

"Would you believe she was trying to get rid of Ruhne?"

"She what??" Katie blurted.

"W-...why?" Ruhne added. "What did I do?"

"Existed, I guess." David shrugged. "I think she felt threatened that you had so much power over so many people that she needed some of that power herself." "Thats why she attacked me in the alley, not Katie. And it would have been Willy who kicked her off the shelf."

"Precisely."

"Wow." Ruhne ran a hand through his hair, messing it slightly. "A little unsettling." "What are we going to do now?" Katie asked, her gaze flicking between the two of them.

"We start over." Ruhne stated. "We'll be leaving London soon."

"Really?" David straightened up from his slouched position. "I- I didn't know it was so soon."

"We'll be back next year." Katie gave him a sympathetic smile. "Same place, same day."

"Oh, I can't wait that long. Its me."

"What?"

"I'm being called back to my unit. Apparently Poland was attacked and they want to get the Americans out of Europe."

"Is..is this war again?"

"It could be if Hitler isn't stopped." David sighed. "I'm afraid I won't be seeing you guys for a long time."

"Um.." Katie started. "What ever happened to that jewel case? The hardest one?" "Oh, that! As I said before, it was the cleanest case I've ever come across. No finger-prints, no broken anything, nothing. Turns out, the lady had a glass 'diamond' which she advertised as real. It was all a scam, of sorts. She eventually admitted it when someone confronted her about it. Apparently, she was one of

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the top people in a huge black-market business in east Europe. She was sentenced to life two years ago."

"Interesting." Ruhne nodded. "And did you gain any popularity form this??"

"Nah, some higher major got it all. I was mentioned in the report but thats it."

"Did that finger-print run ever show anything?"

"It did, in fact. That note was written by Bree. I have a strange feeling she and Willy were more than just conspiring with each other. But as of now, she is being held in the jail for now. I think they'll ship her to a detention center next week." "That must be hard for Mark." Katie thought out loud. "I wonder if he'll do anything about it."

There was a long silence between them, almost to the point of awkward.

David watched the two, Katie's fingers gently brushing over Ruhne's, that gleam in his eyes.

"You've got to be kidding me." He choked a laugh. "Are you two..?"

"What?" Ruhne snapped his gaze back to David, as if he didn't hear him. "Sorry?" "You heard me. Its evident, even for me."

Katie burst out in giggles. "Yep. We're more than friends now."

"Well, I give up. She's all yours."

"Whats that mean" Ruhne questioned.

"I'll admit it," David sighed. "When I first saw you," he looked at Katie. "i had thought I saw an angel from Heaven. Now that you two are...together, I gues we're just friends now."

"You silly." Katie giggled. "I will say, I thought you were very handsome when I saw you, as well. To be honest, I don't think we'll ever forget each other." "Likewise." Ruhne nodded, extending his hand to the inspector. "You're always welcome here."

David shook it heartily, grinning. "As they saw in show business, the show must go on!"

~

As the sun set on the last day of the circus, Katie watched from Ruhne's side. He had shown her his secret spot below the stands. It was secluded yet one could see all that happened from the vantage point. It was an abnormal show, the audience participated by creating a light show with candles. The soft light from the sunset's rays flitted inside the tent's seams with shadows dancing across the sandy floor. It was an epic performance.

"I wish every night could be this beautiful." Katie smiled, leaning on Ruhne's shoulder.

"Agreed." He whispered back. "We'll be leaving London in the morning." "Really? Where are we going?"

"America."

"Wow. Chicago?"

"No, better, New York."

"Oh, wow! How long will we be there?"

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"I'm not sure." He sounded hesitant. "All the fighting around us is not good. I'm concerned for all the others, Art, Angel, Candy, the twins. They don't have another home."

"Maybe America will have more opportunities for them." Katie tried to sound optimistic, but inside she knew it was going to be hard.

"We'll be okay."

She hummed in response.

"You know something?" He looked down at her, his gold eyes illuminated in the dark.

"What?" She grinned.

"You're adorable."

"Oh!" She gave him a playful shove. "Really!"

He let a laugh she had not heard him ever let out. It was from the heart and full of amusement, no hanging worries lay behind it.

"Its funny, here we are talking about America when I'm thinking about giving up this position and handing the circus on to someone else. Someone with better dreams than me."

"Huh," Katie mused. "Anybody in particular?"

"I'm thinking about asking Art. He's a good guy."

"True. He's very enthusiastic about everything." She chuckled, watching the lion tamer crack his whip, the sound resonating throughout the tent. The lion snarling but cautious.

"He'll take good care of this place."

"What about you?" He asked, gaining an odd look.

"Me?" Katie repeated.

"Will you stay and keep performing, or.." he trailed off.

"No. No, no, no. Not on your life, I'm with you till death do us part, you hear me?" She stepped on the toes of his boots, wrapping her slender arms around his neck. "Any other thoughts, your majesty?'

"Nope." He smirked. "Care to be man and wife?"           THE END