"Sisters, huh?" Brittney gasped, trying to talk and run at the same time.

Mary took a sharp left turn, with Brittney right behind. "Yeah. I'm not sure what got into me."

Both girls rounded another corner, and turned into an alley by the river's bridge. Brittney held out her hand to stop Mary from starting to run again. "Can't we just rest for a moment?" Brittney said in between large breaths. "I don't think they're following us; they're to busy with the wall to even notice we're gone."

Mary stopped running, but kept all her senses alert. "What happened to the wall, anyway?"

Brittney wasn't breathing as hard now, and could talk in clearer sentences. "I don't know. It just sorta...blew up."

"Do you think Greyson thinks we blew it up?"

"Probably. Especially after we took off right away."

Both girls fell silent, considering their situation. Brittney struggled to start another conversation. "So we're sisters now?" Mary had told her everything while they were running.

"In futuristic New London: Yes."

"Does that mean my last name is 'Christmas'?"

Mary thought about it. "Umm... I guess, yeah."

"Cool!" Brittney tried it out. "Brittney Christmas... has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

Mary gave a little laugh at Brittney's silliness. Her nerves relaxed a bit in the company of a friend, and she teasingly answered Brittney's off-topic question. "Yes," she responded with rolling eyes, but a joking grin. "You and the name were made for each other."

Brittney smiled at Mary, who smiled back. She finally got to meet someone from the board. And she couldn't have picked a better place! Suddenly a thought struck her. "Hey, Mary? Umm... if you're here, and I'm here, than who else from the board is here?"

Mary opened her mouth to respond, but was interupted by someone calling their names. Both girls spun around to find Maureen a few yards away, dripping wet. "Maureen!" both girls called back in unison. They ran toward her eagerly.

"Oh my God!" Brittney couldn't help but hold her nose as she approached Maureen. A mixture of soap and dead fish surrounded her. "Maureen! What happened?! Hope you don't go to work smelling like that!"

Mary shot Brittney a warning glance, and Brittney realized immediately how rude that was. But Maureen discarded it with a laugh and gestured toward the polluted river. "No, I don't go to work like this, though it is one of my favorite perfumes." The girls giggled. Maureen suddenly became serious. "I was taking a walk, when someone pushed me into a pool of water and held my head down. When I woke up, I was face-down in the river." And so Maureen told her story to the eager faces by her. She made sure to let them know every little thing she did in New London so far, including the little girl who thought she was a Lowtech.

"So someone tried to kill you?" asked Brittney, amazed. For some reason, she felt like a little girl now, always asking questions.

Maureen nodded her head. Brittney bit her lip, a recently begun habit. "Whatever for? What did you ever do to anyone else?"

"I don't know."

Mary focused on Maureen's face. "Any suspects?" When Maureen shook her head again, Mary replied, "Sounds like a case for Sherlock Holmes."

"We should go find him!" Brittney said suddenly.

"Huh?" Mary had been lost in thought, but was now snapped back to reality br Brittney's sudden shout.

"Sherlock Holmes! We should go find Sherlock Holmes and see if he can help us. I'm sure he'll believe us! I mean, he once lived in a different century, too, before Lestrade brought him here!"

"Sure!" Maureen said. "I bet he's at New Scotland Yard! Let's go!"

Mary and Brittney exchanged nervous glances. "Umm... I don't think so." Mary spoke up.

Maureen gave them a funny look. "Why not?" she asked.

Brittney gave a silly/sheepish grin. "We're sorta wanted criminals." And the two girls explained their side of the plot to the ever-faithful Maureen.

---

there! hope i didn't mess up anyones plan for the next part. if i did, then i'm terribly sorry. and if i had you say something that you definently would never say in real life, i'm sorry about that, too. it's really tricky doing dialogue for myself. sorry again if i offended anyone!