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“What’s the plan?”
The two individuals sat in the lone car. It was a sleek black 1954 Bentley R-Type Continental, one of 208 ever made. A tall building stood before them. To say it was old and run-down was an understatement. Overlapping graffiti spread across its walls. Most of the windows were void of glass. Bricks and concrete were decayed with age and large holes covered its surface.
The man seated in the driver’s seat adjusted his hat. “The plan is simple. We go in, catch the bad guy, beat him up, arrest him, and come back out. Easy.”
The woman sitting in the passenger seat sighed. “You know, I’m starting to think you never really think these plans through, Skulduggery.”
“Whatever do you mean?”
“I mean that every plan you come up with is always the same.”
Skulduggery tilted his head, as if in thought. “My plans aren’t always the same, Valkyrie. They’re always brilliant.”
“Like the one you had when we first went down into the caves?”
“It worked, didn’t it?”
Valkyrie looked at him. “We went in there half-cocked and almost got eaten by a monster. You didn’t even know what it was!”
“I knew what it was. It was a big , horrible monster . That’s all there is to know. And we survived without any one of us getting eaten. A job well done if I do say so.”
“I got snatched by a tentacle monster!”
“You got away, didn’t you? You handled it very well.”
“Yeah, but it was still a shocking experience… Hey, where were you during that time? I didn’t see you again until after I found Serpine so--.”
“Enough dwelling on the past. We have a bad guy to catch after all.” Skulduggery got out of the car. Valkyrie followed after him.
With a few taps on his collarbone, the flesh receded from Skulduggery’s face and a white skull was left in its wake. He took out his keyring from his pocket and pushed the button. The car beeped and the doors locked.
“I’m kind of surprised you still bring your car to these things.” Valkyrie said, arm crossed.
Skulduggery walked ahead of her. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Didn’t the mechanic say that there was nothing else he could do for the Bentley?”
“...Well, yes.”
“And that if it gets as much as a dent in it, it would fall completely apart?”
“...Yes.”
“And when that happens, it can never be fixed again?”
“...Yes.”
“So why do you still drive it around when we’re on cases? Wouldn’t it be safer to just leave it at home and use another car?”
Skulduggery looked at her. “This coming from the girl who complained the last time I used a replacement car?”
“That car was ugly, though!” Valkyrie grimaced at the memory of the horrid canary car. “You thought it was too, remember?”
“I remember paying a small fortune to speed the Bentley’s repairs…”
Valkyrie smiled, rubbing the back of her neck. “Good thing you didn’t need to eat any time after that situation.”
Skulduggery tilted his head at her, as if smirking. “Or ever.”