Henry's heart was beating harder than he could remember ever feeling it before.<em>A real catgirl... Neko</em>, he corrected himself. And he'd just<em>bought</em>her, like some sort of slave market. Was she even... sentient? He'd never heard her say anything, but she also hadn't been prompted to, either.<br/><br/>It took another twenty steps before the enormity of it hit him, and he nearly stopped dead in his tracks. He'd<em>bought a slave</em>. This was damn near what he was trying to<em>stop</em>, one of the reasons for his becoming a detective, aside from the whole "find the supernatural" thing - working to save people who needed saving. For a moment, he considered just walking away from it, but he couldn't. That insanely ugly man would have her, otherwise.<br/><br/>His stride lengthened again. This could be a clue that would help him find the missing family. He went over the details he knew - first, the oldest daughter had disappeared when the parents thought she was in her room. Then, the youngest daughter the next day, again while she was believed to be in her room. Then the son, then the husband, and finally the wife. Except for the wife, they all had the same situation - removed from home when they were known to be there, and when others were also there. The wife's disappearance was reported by the detective, Jackson, that had stopped in to check on her. All of the doors of the house were open, and nobody there.<br/><br/>Unless... what if they<em>were</em>still there, and just couldn't be seen? He stepped up his pace again, his fast walk turning into a sprint, as he worked his way out of Underside. As soon as he was out, back on the familiar streets again, he pulled out his cell phone and called the office. Working his way through the automated forwarding system, he finally ended up connected to Jackson. "<strong>Jack</strong>," he ordered hurriedly, "<strong>I've got a hunch and I need you to recheck the house. Walk every inch, look for anything out of the ordinary... no, I have no idea what you're looking for, but I think it's possible that the Rook family is <em>still there</em>, just not...</strong>" He hesitated to explain it - while several of his staff knew his interest in the supernatural, none of them took it seriously, and he didn't want to have that argument right now. "<strong>Look, just do it. I would do it myself, but I've got a new, urgent problem to deal with, and the clock is ticking. I've got to go.</strong>"<br/><br/>He hung up the phone at the same time he returned to his car, out of breath. Sitting down, he worked to control his breathing, and made another call. "<strong>Tony, it's been a while. I need to call in a favor... yeah, I know, but that'll have to wait. I need three million in cash or prepaid cards, and I need it by tomorrow. We can work out terms, but this is urgent. You know I'll be good for it. ... right, tomorrow night will work. Bye.</strong>"<br/><br/>With the two biggest problems on his books taken care of, Henry did the one last thing he needed - went home to sleep.<br/><br/><div align="center">- = * = - </div><br/>Two and a half days later, Henry descended into Underside again, and made his way to the auction house. The place seemed empty, deserted, and his heart started racing faster as he thought that he'd been conned, somehow. Then a guard stepped out of the shadows and beckoned him to follow to a different location. Twenty minutes later, he was stacking up the money - a hundred thousand in cash, the rest in disposable prepaid cards of varying quantity. The shriveled elf at the desk counted the money, then growled, "<strong>You're still short fifty dollars. Room and board for your pet while we waited for you.</strong>"<br/><br/>Henry groaned. Of course there was going to be unstated conditions. It was pretty much expected in any illegal dealings. Flipping out the cash in his wallet, he counted out $42.87. "<strong>Surely this is enough,</strong>" he offered, grinning. The elf scowled, then pointed. "<strong>Watch make difference okay.</strong>" With a sigh, Henry untied the chrome-plated watch he'd been given as a present for graduation, so many years before. He could replace that.<br/><br/>The elf took it gingerly, making a test touch first to make sure it wouldn't hurt him, then grabbing it greedily. "<strong>Pussy in cage in back. Tell guard you paid. Pussy has key, but can't use it.</strong>" He leaned forward. "<strong>Trick to key is put in, then take out and turn. If try turn in lock, you fry.</strong>"<br/><br/>Henry worked his way through the broken explanation and nodded. "<strong>Okay.</strong>" Moving into the storage area, he spotted the cage and stopped to reassure the guard that it was all taken care of. Approaching the cage, he looked for Kitty, and saw her asleep on the bottom of the cage. Slapping the edge of the cage with his hand, he shouted, "<strong>Wake up!</strong>" He paused for her to come to her senses well enough to understand him. He<em>hoped</em>she'd understand him. "<strong>Give me the key,</strong>" he ordered sternly, "<strong>and then we can leave.</strong>"