Xaviers!

Hopping on the early morning train got Aisley to Enfield relatively early in the day.

Now he had to figure out how to find this Entwistle fellow. Unfortunately, he could smell Leo was already onto him so he couldn't ask too many more questions without arousing suspicion.

Luckily, UK phone books had been archived for some time and the elderly were much less likely to change their number, or have a cellular phone.

But he wouldn't make this move until he was certain he could better locate the elderly gentleman.

For now, he looked for a decent mark to frowny-face and look sad in front of here at the train station.

The morning rush was starting, so there were many people passing by or exiting the station. But nobody stood out as an obvious bleeding heart. However, the young woman stopping to actually clean up after her tiny dog had promise.

Ainsley was careful not to look like he was stalking her, typing out something on his cellphone while he walked, pretending not to be paying attention.

Then he bumped right into her, seemingly on accident. He acted started, and made an apologetic face, waving his hands.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going either," she responds, genuinely started. The dog is far less considerate. Filthy mouth on it, really.

Ainsley didn't tip his hand to the dog... yet.

He pretended to type again, and held out the phone.

Sorry! I am mute. I am looking for my uncle Entwhistle."

"Your uncle? Sorry, I don't know anyone named En... wait... why is that... Oh! That's Lord Scowlington!"

"'Sorry... just a silly nickname the kids use. Not very creative, is it?"

Ainsley shrugged.

"He doesn't text and I lost my notes. Can you direct me towards his building?"

"Sure, you just go..." she begins, giving pretty specific directions up until, " He's on the first floor, but I don't remember his flat number."

"That should help. Thank you." He smiled at the woman in question.

Then he returned what he was given by the dog, reminding it that it's human only loved it because it was cute, and to make sure he didn't do anything to make themselves less so.

Ainsley followed the directions given, but when he got to the building in question, he stood across the street to assess the situation.

He took out his sketchbook to look less 'sus'.

It was a nice building, many levels above the council housing in Lambeth. But it wasn't posh either. It was an older building in a style that didn't allow direct street access to flats. The front door had a buzzer system, so he'd have to weasel his way in. If he was lucky, he could sneak in with the two teens approaching the door.

Ainsley was casual as he stepped towards the door like he lived there. He reached into his pocket to grab a set of earbuds, and put them in as he crossed the street. Once he made it onto the stoop he reached out in hopes to catch the door behind one of the teenagers.

"Do you think Blackburn will even tell us anything?" the blonde boy asked the dark-haired girl as they entered the building, oblivious to the boy sneaking through the door behind them.

"It's worth a try Edward," the girl answered, "We owe him at least the effort to find out if he's okay... wherever he is. The hospital won't tell us anything."

Ainsley made sure he didn't tip himself off that he was listening to the two teens by keeping in his earphones, but whatever they were talking about didn't seem to sound like it was about Leo.

"Yeah, because we spent all that time looking for him before now," Edward said sarcastically.

The girl winced guiltily. "We were pretty shitty friends, weren't we?" she sighed.

"In our defense, he never made it easy," he answered as he stepped onto the stairs.

Ainsley furrowed his brow as they went up the steps, but stopped in the lobby, pretending to check the mail.

He was actually looking for a name plate marked Entwhistle.

It only took a few moments to find the name in question. He was in unit 1E.

Ainsley was delighted to know that this gentleman was on the first floor. That would make his job easier.

He then began looking for a custodial utility closet.

After a few minutes of searching, he located what he was looking for. It wasn't even locked.

Ducking into the closet and shutting the door as quietly as possible, Ainsley called out to any mice or rats in the nearby vicinity.

"Hello out there?"

A rat peeks out from a half-hidded hole along the floor.

"You not rat."

Ainsley his his own amusement well.

"No, am not. Rat friend."

Its whiskers twitched skeptically.

"What you want?"

"I've sausages.

You need to help first." The rat would know this to be true if he gave an inquiry stiff of the room, as they were in Ainsley's backpack.

The rat sniffed and considered the offer.

"What thing you need?"

Ainsley dug into the bag and pulled out a baseball.

A ball that he had forged David Ortiz's signature on. It was pretty good, all things considered. Art had paid off.

"I need a thing that looks like this, in the room with the old man. It must have the same marks on it. If it doesn't, no sausages."

"Yes yes. Wait here. Me get."

Time passed and, eventually, a baseball rolled out of the unusually large mouse hole. Two rats peek out expectantly.

"Human keep deal?"

"Let me make sure is right ball first." Ainsley replied, not going to follow through until he knew he has what he needed.

Unless these rats knew how to forge a signature as well as Ainsley, it was the right ball.

AInsley quickly snagged up the real ball, leaving the counterfeit one out.

"I'll give you one sausage now, but I'll give you some peanut butter and another sausage if you return this back." He said, leaving the sausage next to the counterfeit ball.

The rats took both and vanished back into the walls. More time passed and they returned from their rodent crime caper. Or, rather, one did.

"Old human had cheese. Was trap."

The rat was more frightened than anything resembling grieving.

Ainsley felt a pang of remorse, but it was fleeting.

It was, after all, a rat. A pest, no one's pet, and strictly speaking a short lived creature even in captivity. And he had gotten greedy, often the folly of such short lived creatures. Since the remaining rat felt nothing akin to grief, Ainsley couldn't beat himself up over it.

"I'm sorry about your friend. Use this knowledge and stay away from the old man. Tell your pups to stay away too, and have them tell theirs. The old man brings nothing but death."

Perhaps a bit dramatic, but true. To the rat anyways.

Ainsley provided the follow up resources he said he would to the remaining rat.

The rat gave a thankful squeak and disappeared with its reward.