I Found a Paternoster
hums constantly- spend our Christmas Eve murdering crustaceans
- we’re just two gals cleaning in our underwear
- Donuts are never morally sketchy
- escorted Violet and Harriet
Tune in next time part 413 Click Here for Earlier Installments
I found a paternoster before I found the stairs, and was glad of it. It was a long, long way up to the laboratory in the mountain peak where Jim had tethered the zeppelin. A paternoster is a series of doorless compartments on an endless belt that hums constantly along, carrying people up and down through tall buildings. Or, in this case, through the heart of an evil, mime-and-ventriloquist-infested island lair. I watched the opening in the wall for a few seconds to make sure I had the timing right, and was about to step into the briskly rising cubicle when two women appeared from behind a curtain. They looked startled to see me.
One of them was dressed in a beret and a black and white striped bodysuit. Her face was painted a deathly white. Her companion wore a tuxedo-inspired bustier, complete with top hat and bowtie. Before the curtain fell closed I caught a glimpse of a video monitor showing the crystal throne and the Mingus puppet, and a complicated set of joysticks.
I said, “Does Myndilynn know it’s you two controlling her husband?”
“Who us?” said the frightened tuxedo girl. “We don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re just two girls who spend our Christmas Eve murdering crustaceans.”
Her mouth stopped moving, but her voice continued, seemingly coming from the flopping jaw of her mime friend. “We’re just two gals cleaning in our underwear! Our names are Violet and Harriet. We’re ever so innocent, General!”
I should have recognized the sisters immediately. Violet and Harriet Donut came through the Academy a few years behind me, but their reputations… Let’s just say the Donuts are never morally sketchy — they are full tilt amoral, nothing sketchy about it.
It would be foolish to let them go, so I escorted Violet and Harriet onto the paternoster, and we began our long ride to the summit.
bonus points for using them in order
and extra bonus points for including a novel form of transportation