Agatha H. And the Clockwork Princess by Phil Foglio, Kaja Foglio Page A

“politics,” it was had something to do with Klaus yelling at her. “It’s not my fault if I’m always sent to deal with unreasonable people.”
    Gil remembered that he had once tried to determine what kind of person DuPree considered “reasonable.” Thanks to an experimental variant of self-induced shock therapy, he no longer remembered the details. “Just find her.”
    “Hmf.” DuPree considered stabbing Gil in the eye, then rolled her eyes and told herself that it probably wouldn’t shut him up anyway. “That’s what I’m trying to do.”
    They stopped talking as they approached the crowd, attempting to present a united front 13 . The crowd had sorted itself into two distinct groups. The first was made up of the audience, who appeared to be trying to hide behind the local Burgermeister. The second comprised the members of the circus, who were doing the same thing behind Master Payne. No one had been foolish enough to run. Of the two obvious leaders, the Circus Master was the most impressive looking, so it wasn’t surprising that he was the one Captain DuPree chose to approach.
    She stood for a moment studying his clothing and nodding in approval. It would be hard to slip a knife through all those layers. On the other hand, if she was going to kill the guy in charge, it would be to make a point. In which case, she’d want to be spectacularly flamboyant anyway, so politely slipping a knife between his ribs was already right out. She grinned at the thought. “You look like you think you’re smart. Who’s in charge here?”
    Payne looked at Abner. Abner looked back. This appeared to be a trick question, and was most likely just an excuse to use harsher interrogation methods.
    “Er… you are.” Payne ventured.
    DuPree beamed. “Wow! You’re so smart—” her arm snapped out and snagged Abner by the collar, “I’ll have to slap this guy around instead!” Abner rolled his eyes.
    Gil cleared his throat. “DuPree—”
    Annoyance flitted over the Captain’s face. She tucked Abner’s head into the crook of her arm. ”I’m working here,” she said in tone of strained reason. “Do I come to your lab and tell you how to torture rats?”
    Gil thought back to last week. “Frequently.”
    DuPree nodded. “Yeah! That’s ’cause I know what I’m doing. Now stand back, and let me prove it.” She roughly hauled Abner upright.
    “But what do you want? ” Payne shouted desperately.
    DuPree paused. With Gil around, certain tiresome, bureaucratic hoops did have to be jumped through. Oh, well. “We’re looking for a girl. Young. Sort of blondie-reddish hair. Healthy. Wears glasses. Caused a lot of trouble on Castle Wulfenbach a few days ago. The Baron wants her.” Abner rolled his eyes imploringly at Master Payne, who shrugged. Bang continued. “Everybody here is going to line up, so we can look them over.”
    Payne tried to explain. “But she isn’t here. Besides, I’m only in charge of the circus. The locals won’t—”
    “Too many details!” DuPree sang out. “Lesson time!”
    She flexed the hand that held Abner and a powerful electrical jolt danced through him. When it cut off, he dropped to the dirt.
    DuPree grinned and held up her hand. It was wrapped in a small machine that was still sparking slightly. She touched a dial and waggled her fingers. “This thing is great!” she remarked, grinning sideways at Gil. He angrily snagged her hand and examined it.
    “That is a medical device! I made it for you to fix your hand! You aren’t supposed to use it as a weapon !”
    DuPree laughed and jerked her hand back. “So I tweaked it. I like it better this way.” She glanced down at Abner, who was jerkily trying to sit up. “Trust me. If I’d just used my bare hands, he’d be in way worse shape.”
    Gil opened his mouth. DuPree cut him off. “Look—Is this the girl?”
    “Of course not!”
    “Is he dead?”
    “I said no one would be harmed! ”
    “If they obey.”
    “Give them a