"Ooh, what a place for a hideout," Zack commented while crossing the dark
subway tunnel.

Ivy elbowed him. "Stop sniveling and look for a wall with four cracks. "

Carmen pointed. "Like that one?"

The section of the wall had four small cracks. At the base was a small brick.
Carmen tapped it. The wall slid open, the three 'criminals' entered, and the
wall closed behind them.

"Whoa," Zack muttered. "Check out the scenery! It looks more like the inside
of a country club tavern than an underground hideout."

Carmen nodded toward a young woman of about nineteen years of age. "Look.
That must be Lillie Schweitzer."

Across the room, Lillie was talking to a conductor who stood before an
ensemble. "OK, Melody, when Lloyd walks in--"

"I know, I know," Melody cried. "I strike up the band!" She waved her baton.
The musicians started to play.

Lillie snatched the baton and struck Melody's hand with it. "Not yet!"

Melody took back the baton. "Sorry." She turned to the band. "Why can't you
guys get organized like that?"

Carmen gasped. "Melody Outtakey and her Off-Beat Ragtime Band."

"Oh, swell," Ivy said sarcastically. "I thought she was Sergeant Pepper."

"Ivy, Be niiiice," Zack's sticky-sweet voice whispered.

Lillie had now turned to a skinny man in black clothes who led a black
labrador. "Now, make sure nobody says the b-word."

"Dippy Dawg," Carmen noted. "And his dog, Pandemonium."

Lillie was now talking to a group of similarly dressed gangsters. "Now, new
recruits. When you work for Lloyd Schweitzer--"

"But we've never seen your brother, Miss Schweitzer. How will we know if it's
him?"

Lillie smiled dotingly. "Oh, he'll have a twinkle in his eye and the sweetest
smile you ever did see." She growled. "And he'll be wearing stripes, you
lunkheads!"

"I have to hand it to you, Carmen." Ivy commented. "You managed to get Lee
Jordan to work for you. And now, you turned a young child into a crime boss."

Carmen trembled. "I never thought she'd turned out like that. As a nine year
old, she seemed so sweet and innocent."

"Well, look out, because that baby's all grown up," Ivy snapped.

"Now, Lilliput," Lillie was now speaking to a large man about six feet tall
and about half as wide. "You are going to be the bouncer if anything goes
wrong."

The door slid open. Lloyd Schweitzer entered.

"Cue the brother," Zack joked. "Look at his coat. It looks like a small piece
has been ripped from the hem."

Lillie approached Carmen, Ivy, and Zack. "And who are you?"

Carmen looked her in the eye. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Miss
Crimson. And these are my friends, Iris and Mack."

Lillie raised her eyebrows. "Well, allow me to introduce one of the greatest
criminals of all time, my brother, Lloyd Schweitzer. Also known as Pretty Boy
Lloyd."

Iris approached Lloyd. "You don't look so pretty."

Lloyd stuttered. "Uh, Reasonably Attractive Floyd didn't have the same ring
to it."

To be continued...