Adventure Beyond The Firmament [Heiscara]

Chapter 22

Lisa and Sandrone, of course, planned to sell the painting from the start. It was undoubtedly very beautiful, but even the most ethereal piece of art wouldn't justify paying such a large sum of money, at least that's how they saw it. Very quickly, they found out that there were many people out there that did not, in fact, share the sentiment. So, before even getting their hands on the painting itself, they had begun looking for potential fools to pass it along to, people that valued art above wealth, that would eagerly empty their wallets in exchange for the boost their status would receive.

It was truly unfortunate that the police found out about them buying it and would soon come knocking at their door, though, they were lucky they weren't already behind bars if nothing else. It would have been oh so perfect if they had enough time in their hands to bargain and reap as much as possible, but perhaps that outcome was too good to ever be true.

Lisa got back in the car, she was sat in the back, as always, behind her trustworthy chauffeur, who took the wheel, hit the gas pedal and off they were. Mentally, she made a list of the people she would need to visit. Ideally, the very first one would still be interested and offer enough money to cover their costs, so there would be no need to try her luck anywhere else.

As her driver hummed a tune and rhythmically tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, she, naturally, had nothing to do. So, the green-eyed woman let herself wind down for the rest of the ride, simply gazing at the passing sights outside of the car's window. A part of her feared that this would be her last chance to admire any kind of view before the police catches her and throws her in a cell, never to be seen again by anyone for the countless questionable things she'd done. Shops and houses alternated rapidly and were getting stirred into a borderline nauseting mix before her very eyes. But just as she was about to close her tired eyes for a moment and block out anything and everything that was going on around her, she saw a somewhat familiar face on the other side of the tinted glass.

Almost reflexively, Lisa asked her chauffeur to stop the car for a moment and, when the vehicle was no longer in motion, she opened the door.

***

The burgundy-haired man blinked a few times in confusion, utterly baffled by this strange twist of fate. Although he had only seen this car twice, he was able to recognise it, after all, he had last seen it less than an hour ago. If Heizou didn't think he was being insane when he saw the car, he definitely did when he watched it stop only a few meters away from where he was frozen in place. Though, when he saw the door open to reveal the woman they had sold the painting to with Delta, Heizou was brought back to his senses.

Lisa's gaze jumped from the former detective to the puppet beside him, before landing on the bloodied body in Scaramouche's grasp. "Oh my..." She let out. "Is he dead?"

"No, but I don't think he can last much longer. Help us take him to a doctor. I beg of you." Heizou pleaded, desperate as he was.

"Who do you take me for, darling? Come on, get him in the car. I know someone that can help your friend." She took a step to the side to make room for Scaramouche to place Delta in the back seat. Then, Lisa sat in the front of the car, next to her loyal chauffeur. "Change of plans. Do you remember the way to Tighnari's place?"

"Yes, madame." He replied as the two men got in the car. Once they were seated and the door was shut, he started driving again.

"How long will it take us to get there?" The puppet asked.

"Ten minutes, maybe less considering how empty the road is."

Lisa looked through the glove compartment- she used to have a first-aid kit stuffed in there, but she couldn't find it. She didn't remember taking it out, yet there was no time to dwell on its sudden disappearance. "You two." She addressed the two men beside Delta. "One of you should put a hand over his wound and press on it. That way he won't bleed out. Probably..." She whispered that last part.