So I have made my way to the address on the paper Mr. Atwood provided. I'm surprised that his location is in the Undercarriage. His offices are right next to one of the thirteen massive pillars made out of Graphemnium. These pillars that tower a mile above the slums, hold up the foundations of the upper echelons of society. Each tower has  several lifts and the majority of the piping that feeds water, gas, and electricity to the upper levels. As a result of being so close to one of the pillars, the steam and mist that came off the pipes is heavy in the air. It is too late now to prevent the steam and water from dampening my clothes and hair.

I walk into the office resembling a puffed up poodle, instead of as presentable as I could make myself.

The middle aged, stern faced woman behind the counter was quick to ask, "Can I help you Miss?" She is polite but I can see her skepticism, in the arched brow directed at me.

"Yes, I'm here to speak with Mr. Atwood. He told me to come ask for him and show you these." I hand her the paperwork and she scans through it quickly and hands it back to me.

"One moment, please."

She pulls out a talking tube, sticking the detachable wired cone to her ear, and holds the the other cone on a stick, up to her mouth.

"Mr. Atwood, there's a young lady here to speak with you. You told her to come by? One moment. What's your name again, Miss?" She turns to me both brows raised.

"Rakara, Rakara Langridge."

"You heard that sir? Okay. Yes, well...." She looks me up and down again before returning to her attention to the speaking tube. "She's not presentable for the works..... Apparently the repairs on those water pipes have been postponed again.... Yes, sir..... Alright sir.... Yes... Good-bye."

She stands and walks over to the door, slides a latch over and locks door.

"Follow me, I have to find something for you to wear while you're up in the works. Otherwise they'll know you are from the Undercarriage and any chance at a future reputation for you will crumble if anyone recognizes you later. I hope you brought some money with you. While in the works, you should buy you some ready made pieces of clothing to wear. Mr. Atwood will explain all this to you later, I must hurry so I do not possibly leave other clients to get soaked at the entrance."

She pulls me into a small dark room at the end of the hall.

"Now where is that stupid..." She mutters shuffling in the dark. "AH HA!" The clink of metal and glass precede a soft, yellow light slowly warming brighter as my eyes begin to adjust.

"My name is Eleanor, Eleanor Bagstock, by the way." She says looking me over with a discerning eye, lips pinched in thought.

"Nice to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Bagstock." I respond looking around the room noticing open closets full of different clothes. Male, Female, children's, shoes, hats, purses, and other accessories  in different styles that had me giggling.

"What's so funny?" Mrs. Bagstock inquires pulling out a few undergarments and handing them to me.

"Do people really wear things like this?" I pull the sleeve of a sheer dress out that's covered in chicken feathers, with rooster feathers on the shoulders puffing out like a suit of armor.

"That style of dress was all the rage last year, people pay a lot of money the higher up you go, to look absolutely ridiculous. You'll see soon enough. Here, take off those clothes and I'll help you with these undergarments and dress."

Soon enough, I had washed my face, neck and hands, brushed out my unruly curly hair as Mrs. Bagstock did the buttons up my back to a beautiful yellow and cream high neck dress.

"How will I get out of this later?" I ask her.

"You''ll come back here and I will help you out. That's why I'm advising you to purchase some ready made garments while you're up there. They're easier to take off by yourself and so you can return these to us. You're not the only one who borrows these clothes. Now, pin up your hair and pick out some accessories. I need to get back to the front." She heads out the door, calling out over her shoulder, "Don't forget to put your clothes together for when you return."

With that, I'm left to figure things out on my own. I look at the hats, not really seeing much that I like. I end up with a set of cream gloves for my hands and a shiny, dark blue purse that has a long strap that I stick my money and papers into. Looking around and shaking my head at the strange way of preparing to head to the upper level, I grab my clothes and head back to Mrs. Bagstock.

She takes my clothes and puts them into a box in the closet. She looks me over, her mouth set in a thin line. "You'll do fine. I believe. You'll take the lift right there." She points to a metal door to the left. "You'll be directly in our offices in the works district. Now hurry along."

She gives me a little encouraging push,  and I take a steady breath as I stand at door, looking for the handle.

"Press the button, love."

I blush embarrassed and press the button. After a minute the door slides open and I hear from Mrs. Bagstock, "Press the number four to go up dear."

"Thank you." I tell her, before stabbing the button marked with a four with my finger. I'm in a metal cage with a rail around the middle of the walls, two lights and a panel with numbers. My stomach twists up into knots and I feel sweat starting to form on my brow.

'How embarrassing.' I mumble as the lift starts to move up. My heart starts beating like a hammer against my rib cage thinking of how high I must be going. There's only the sickly orange and yellow lights at the top of the opening for the door illuminating the inside of the lift. My stomach begins to settle as the lift keeps moving up. I'm wondering if this will ever end, as it feels like I've been going up for half an hour.

I hear a creaking groan of metal and a light screech, making the lift bounce and lose my balance.

Reaching out, I clutch the edges of rail, barely keeping myself upright. I giggle like a nervous old mare, before the lift finally slows to a stop. I straighten my self up and try to look normal as the door opens and Mr. Atwood is there smiling.

"Miss Langridge! I see you are looking well. Come, let me show you to my office." He directs me where to go and continues talking along the way. I look and see the soft plush rugs that run the length of the hallway, light green wallpaper with wood paneling lines the walls. Electric sconces adorn the beams with paintings in the blank spots of the walls that are not taken by doors.

"How was the ride?"

"It was different." I say blushing from embarrassment.

"Oh don't worry, I don't care much for riding in those things either. However, having the one that leads directly to my offices, it's worth every penny. Did you read those letters?"

He stops in front of a ornately carved set of red wood doors, opening one and motioning me inside.

"I did, but... I had some trouble with a few words. I didn't understand their meaning or if I was pronouncing them correctly. I was hoping you could help me with them. I circled them so I could find them easily."

I pull out the letters from the purse and hand them to him.

"Alright, Please take a seat." He motions to the green velvet padded chair.

"Okay, let's see. Oh, yes. Identification, that is referring to your legal paperwork you will receive that tells some one else who you are... Down in the undercarriage, they don't bother with it other than a marriage and birth, but only the legal offices have the copies. Here in the works, you have to have identification papers, to prove who you are for certain things. Do you understand it now?"

I nod ashamed, the heat of it tinging my ears red.

"Don't feel embarrassed my dear. How far did you get in your school studies?"

I shake my head, "I couldn't go to school sir. Momma taught me basic arithmetic and my grammar. Mrs. Vathy taught me more of science and she said, it was basic principles."

"That's fine, I can find a tutor for you if you wish to learn more."

I nod, "Thank you. I would appreciate that. As long as it's not too expensive."

"Don't worry about the cost, my dear, I know of one who would be happy to do it for free in their spare time. Now, moving on. Moral imperative, that's like an obligation, or a debt that you should pay back. So this is saying that once the shop is cleaned and set up, you are to do business with the people mentioned here, as they helped in procuring the building for you. You're to pay back for a total of five years, thirty eight percent of your earnings every month. That seems a little steep...."

He trails off reading on and asking, "Have you ever heard of these names? Or know these people mentioned, miss Langridge?"

I shake my head in answer. He takes his forehead in one palm, rubbing it with his fingertips as he sets the papers down.

"Do you know of the organization the Bloody Cogs?"

"Yes...Mrs. Vathy explained some things about them. Didn't the army break up and imprison the members?" I inquire innocently.

"Ms. Langridge, Rakara. Do you mind if I use your first name?" I nod and shrug at his question, he takes that as his sign to continue. "Good, Rakara. This property is yours in name and legally standing they can't take it away from you. However, the Cogs still exist and they're stronger than you realize. It seems Mrs. Vathy is having you step into her old shoes and wants you to not only run the shop and use it as a front for the Cogs black market items, but to actively participate in 'broadening your self defense in both physical and mental to become the confident woman of respect and power you need to be.' Rakara, I don't understand why Doris would bring you into this organization with out telling you more about it."

"This organization? Are you part of it too, Mr. Atwood?" I sit up straighter not knowing where all this information was about to steer me.

"I am, Rakara. Are you wishing to accept the offer than?"

"May I ask a question first?"

He nods to go ahead.

"You do not seem to be a bad man, part of a notorious gang, but you are. Why would you be part of something that concerns you, when it comes to my own possibility of future involvement?"

He chuckles, amused and that twinkle in his eye is lit up brightly as he smack his hand lightly on the desk.

"You're smarter than you pretend to be, Rakara. I like that, you could fool the king out of his castle, I believe."

I just simply smile at him as he begins to explain how the cogs do business, and why.

There's a lot of work to be done in cleaning up the shop and apartment, but I'm more than excited to handle the task. All of my personal belongings were here, which wasn't much after the furniture. Looking around at the small, dusty, shop, full of cobwebs, dead bug carcasses, and more debris of an empty building, I couldn't help but be proud of what I now owned.

Mr. Atwood had been kind enough to suggest some movers last week when I had finally made my way to his offices.

I gave every free second for thought to what Mr. Atwood had said. I realized that I needed to improve my life in all aspects to truly attain what Momma had wanted for me. A good life, where I was not worried about food, money, working so hard, but having little comforts to show for it. My surprise inheritance is the perfect opportunity for me. Plus the guaranteed business with the Cogs, even if I had to pay 38% of my monthly earnings. I'm out of the Undercarriage, and I'm on my way to becoming a better person.

Momma would be so proud.