Over a day had passed since the devastation inflicted by Vandenberg’s monster, as well as the revelation of Professor Goodwin’s unforgivable secret, and the VS Rosanne 7 had made her way around to Kings Island and was approaching the port to be restocked. Elsie, sitting at the breakfast table drinking her tea, still felt bad about leaving those sailors behind, however it was too late to help them now, and she figured that the professor was absolutely right – Vandenberg’s creature would have annihilated them if it had the chance.
Over breakfast, Professor Goodwin summoned another meeting and they began to design their new strategy. Now that they had proof of the creature’s existence they needed to discover a way to destroy it. That being said, it was Riley who reminded them all of Jack’s initial plan B, which was to kidnap Mr. John Backhaus from his office in Edith Post and force him to reveal the monster’s weaknesses – given that it had any. Jack then pointed out that although it seemed like a good idea at the time, kidnapping Backhaus probably wouldn’t have been their best move. For starters, the VS Rosanne 7 was hardly welcomed in the port of Edith Post, not after humiliating Backhaus in such a manner. Jack’s second point was that kidnapping John Backhaus would require a very large operation – something that they simply did not have the time for. Their discussion then shifted away from Backhaus and more towards the giant brass vault that was so inconspicuously placed within his office. “If Vandenberg were to come into strife,” Jack explained, “then Mr. Backhaus would certainly suffer for it as well.”
“And you think that whatever he has hiding in that vault could be used against them,” said Doctor O’Donnell.
“Exactly! What better way to protect Vandenberg’s secrets than in his very own vault.”
The professor contemplated this. “But you do realise that this plan may be just as difficult as the last one. For God’s sake, we’re scientists not bank robbers!”
“We could take this to the military,” Mr. Dunstan suggested. “Now there’s one enemy that Backhaus wouldn’t be able to defeat.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” said Jack. “As we all know, John Backhaus is very powerful amongst his friends at Edith Post, and probably has his own people in the Edith Post Police Department. Furthermore, getting the military to act against him will take a hell of a lot of paperwork, and incidentally, a lot of time. But with that being the case, it’s starting to look like we won’t have a choice. It’s like the professor said; we’re scientists – mostly – not bank robbers.”
Elsie stood up. “So let’s just find a bank robber,” she declared, as a very interesting idea came to life in her mind. She turned to her friend Tilly, saying, “Tilly, pass me that newspaper,” and as she had thought, her ‘bank robber’ was still making the headlines. She read it out aloud: BLUE BANDIT STRIKES AGAIN! And she pointed to the shadowy figure that they used to portray the thief. “If we can get this man on our side I bet he can get us into that vault.”
Jack gave her a glance border lining between confused and impressed. “You want us to go all the way to Warren City to track down a criminal – who no one has yet been able to identity – and get him to join our crew.”
Elsie nodded. “Well there has to be someone in the city who knows who he is.” She turned to Doctor O’Donnell. “Fiona, when you were a doctor there did you get to know your way around the lower ring?”
In response the doctor smiled and downed her juice. “Not only that, I can point you to a few contacts while we’re there. It shouldn’t be too hard to purchase a little information from the locals.”
Professor Goodwin shot her a solid glance. “We can’t waste any time, Fiona. Are you certain you can help us find this Blue Bandit?”
She assertively poured herself some more juice. “Absolutely.”
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