“I’ll be honest,” Rylee said, “I’ve never had a request for a property like this one. Don’t get me wrong – I think it’s awesome that you’re into eerie, dark castles that would make great supervillain bases for no reason in particular. It’s just a bit unusual. Expensive, too.”
The strange man adjusted his round sunglasses. She wondered how he could possibly see in this gloomy castle, but he seemed absolutely fine. “Oh, don’t worry madame,” he said with his light German accent. “You can rest assured that I will be able to pay the full amount upfront. I have recently taken up work that pays me quite well. Yes, quite well indeed.”
“That’s good to hear.” Rylee led him through the dark foyer, up the stairs to the second floor of the grim castle. “I’ll put you in touch with a conveyancing lawyer from Cheltenham who can help you out.”
It would be a life-changing amount of money to bring in. Even though she liked it, she’d be able to move out of that horrid city apartment and get something much nicer. The commission was enough that if she wanted to take a year or two off from work, that was a completely viable option. Maybe she’d look into vigilante work again, just for something interesting to do.
“Yes, when I went to some local real estate agencies they told me there was no such property for my purposes. Don’t even get me started on the conveyancing! Malvern has these fine conveyancers, but they said they wouldn’t even work with me because I’m employed by the Conclave of Mechanists, designing their latest robot model!”
Rylee froze in place. This quaint little German guy was a Mechanist? Oh, no. That just wouldn’t do at all…
“I think you’ll like this first room,” she said. “It’s a kitten room.”
“I love kittens! So adorable!”
Opening the door, Rylee let the man step inside. As he looked around for the kittens, she planted her boot into his back, sending him flying forward, into the pool of starving crocodiles.