”Excellent!” I cried. “Elementary,” said he.
It was perhaps a bit of a cliché that Liana's favourite book series would be that of one Mr. Sherlock Holmes and his crime solving with his best mate. It stood to reason that she would be particularly interested in a series involving catching the criminals and going through the thrill of the chase. If she couldn't experience it personally, it would definitely not bother her to read about it. The idea, originally, had been thrilling and seemed particularly brilliant.
Now, however, she wasn't so sure.
Just as Sherlock was giving his monologue on the reasoning behind his deduction for the case, the door flew open, making her gasp and jump in her chair. The man gave her a quick, albeit strange, smile before glancing around.
“Morning...” She replied slowly, marking her page with the envelope she used for a bookmark; she wasn't about to go folding the corners of her pages like some schoolboy with little to no interest in the novel. No, she was far more careful and was hoping to sell the book eventually (just, maybe after all the other copies had sold. This one was quite diverting).
“Sir, I-” she attempted, staring at him as he lifted her pot and swung it at the next person to walk in the door. Was he barmy? Of all the things, breaking her decorations-
The second entrant to her store didn't seem the least bit phased, though, as his fist connected with the other man's face. Liana's jaw dropped. This most definitely could not be a good idea. And yet, she was thinking it, wasn't she? Wondering which one she ought to help? The real question, however, was how much she could get away with. Her wand was tucked into her boot, but something told her these men wouldn't react as usual Muggles would in the face of magic. Usual Muggles wouldn't fail to be phased by a planter whacking them across the face.
She slowly set the novel down and stood as he men stared each other down, both seemingly waiting for the sign to move once more. Luckily, it wasn't the first time Liana had been left to her own devices in the store – she knew full well that she would end up getting thirsty at some point, so had started stashing drink bottles under her counter. Plucking a glass bottle – one of those you might find Coca-Cola inside – she crept from behind the counter and held it at her side.
Years of training had, of course, prepared her for the idea that someone would be equally as trained in stealth situations as she, so Liana didn't waste the time of inching her way over. Instead, she took a couple cautious steps around behind the second man, then lunged and brought the bottle down towards his head, praying he wouldn't turn and make her miss. She couldn't say why, exactly, she had chosen to help the bloke who busted her planter, but something about him shouted 'good guy', while the man apparently alright with punching others certainly did not shout the same thing.
She didn't exactly expect the hit to knock the man down or even stun him, but hopefully it would do something. Distract him, even. At least she had training where the man she was helping might not. Even if the man had training of some sort, he almost definitely didn't have the training she had.