[[This is a little late for Bloom Week. Honestly, I struggled with what to write for this one. In the end I decided to mix this oneshot with a prompt from the Black-Raven-Crow Group on Deviantart: "Auctions held deep underground". Yeah, it may be cheating and it's a weird combination, but you could say I'm killing two birds with one stone. Geddit? 'Cause the Black Ravens are birds? ...I'm sorry.

Spoilers: Regarding Bloom, the Black Ravens and possibly Last Spectre.

Set: After LS but before Miracle Mask.]]

Underground

According to Scotland Yard, Detective Inspector Leonard Bloom was visiting Misthallery for the week to help select a new Chief Constable. The town's former corrupt chief of police, Levin Jakes had been caught aiding the scientist Jean Descole in his plans, which involved terrorizing the place in search of an ancient relic.

In reality, Bloom was here to gather intelligence on this Descole character and the legendary 'Garden of Healing' for Targent's benefit. (Targent couldn't just come marching into Misthallery on a whim.) Bloom was extremely subtle when it came to extracting information. For some reason, the villagers were reluctant to discuss the 'Golden Garden' as it was called here. But they eagerly complained about the masked man who had ravaged their homes with his evil 'Spectre Robot':

"We had to evacuate our street!"

"That brute nearly broke my prized boats!"

"SMASH, BOOM, BANG! And our house was gone! Heh- heh- heh!"

"Thank goodness the market children helped rebuild the town..."

"Those kids sure are tough— they protected the Grand Plaza with Professor Layton!"

When he was through training the incompetent constables one afternoon, Bloom went to investigate the old factory in southern Misthallery where Descole's machine had been stored. Bloom was surprised to find the robot was still there, seemingly in working condition. (With this sort of technology, Descole could be a bigger threat than they'd originally perceived...)

"Hey! What're you doin' with the Spectre Bot?" The lazy accent belonged to a rumpled russet-haired boy behind Bloom.

Bloom turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "I'm examining it to garner clues about its creator."

The boy relaxed, probably recognising him as the officer who'd come to aid his town. "Ooh, you mean that Descole guy, don't you?"

"Indeed. Would you happen to know anything about him?"

He shrugged, grabbing a wrench off the floor. "Nah, I don't know nuttin' 'bout him. But he sure made cool machines!"

"And you enjoy tampering with them?" Bloom watched as the boy went to fix a bolt on the crudely named 'Spectre Bot'.

"Yep! I'm Socket, the best mechanic in the Black Ravens... Uh, just forget I said that last part."

"The Black Ravens...?" Bloom repeated. (It sounded like some sort of cult.) "What is that?"

"Nuttin', nuttin'!" Socket dodged guiltily. "Just... just a bunch of us kids livin' in the Market. Nuttin' special."

Perhaps these were the illustrious market children Bloom had heard so much about. To Socket's relief, he simply shrugged and didn't push the subject further. However, the inspector decided the Market would be his next stop. If the children had played a role in thwarting Descole's schemes, he needed to question them.

Bloom found he disliked Misthallery's marketplace; it was a slum of jumbled stalls and clustered constructs lacking order. Most of the penniless youths here spent their days digging through garbage. Had he really expected anything more? (They could have at least shown some sophistication...)

When asked about the 'Black Ravens', the kids believed Bloom was referring to a strange 'dark bird', but they didn't elaborate until he'd solved their riddles. Apparently, the Black Market was controlled by an elusive figure who called himself the Black Raven, and in order to gain access to his shady establishment one had to pass a test. It didn't take Bloom long to locate the four medals scattered around the Market. Once that was done, he presented the medals to a street urchin and completed a picture of the Raven's body. Then Bloom was in.

Who would have imagined there was a hidden tunnel beneath the haphazard Market, or an underground auction house? It was almost as impressive as a secret Targent base.

The infamous Black Raven was waiting for Bloom onstage. (What the Shadowy Manipulator didn't know was that he was about to be manipulated.)

"Quite an ingenious set-up you have here," Bloom commented, "Few would suspect a group of children of running the Black Market."

The Raven groaned and said in a young voice, "You're not the first one to get it right. What gave us away this time?"

"The fact that there are little to no adults at the Market, the local kids are so informed... and one of your team members let his tongue slip."

There was an exasperated sigh. The Black Raven revealed his true self – a boy with dirty blonde hair and a blue cap. "So, what d'you want?" he demanded, putting a hand in his hip. "You may be smart, but we don't do business with just anyone."

"I'm not interested in your wares," Bloom replied coolly. "I seek only knowledge. Rumour has it that the Black Ravens defended Misthallery in its hour of need. And as the leader of the Black Market, surely you must come into contact with some unsavoury characters... What do you know of a man called Descole?"

"That Phantom of the Opera Wannabe who tried to destroy the town?" the Ravens' leader drawled, "How should I know what was going through his crazy head?"

Bloom could detect even the greatest of liars (being an expert liar himself). The boy feigned indifference, but at the mention of Descole there'd been a telltale flash of fury and panic in his expression... and another emotion. Shame, perhaps?

"If you value your identities," Bloom warned, "You'll give me nothing but the truth. I could easily have your little business shut down." As a Targent spy, Bloom recognised better than anyone the value of maintaining an identity.

The Raven boy's eyes widened. Eventually he gritted his teeth, admitting quietly, "B-before the Spectre attacks, someone came here to buy all the scrap metal we'd foraged. I've got no idea if it was Descole, but he was obviously building something big. He was looking for something... the Golden Garden, probably."

"I see," Bloom nodded. This confirmed his suspicious— Descole had been after Garden, just like Targent. "And do you have any inkling where the Garden is?"

"...No."

He was lying again, but Bloom didn't call him out this time. Perhaps it was because Bloom saw his younger self in this boy; a child with intelligence far beyond his years but also the tendency to put work above all else. No, Bloom wouldn't destroy their Black Market society. It had too much potential.

"Very well," Bloom concluded, turning to leave. "In future, I advise that you retain a straight face when under interrogation."

-0-

Crow released a breath as the blonde-haired man made his exit.

"I-is he gone?" Badger and the other Ravens peeped out from behind the curtain.

"Yeah, he's gone." There were multiple exhalations of relief and the gang joined him on the stage. Crow peered at each of them suspiciously. "Alright, who ratted us out?"

"Bet it was Gus," Scraps muttered. (Gus's jaw dropped in protest.)

"Nuh- uh!" Wren shook her head, pointing accusingly at her brother. "It was Socket! He was boastin' about the Black Ravens again!"

"It was an accident, honest!" Socket gulped and looked at their boss with a woebegone pout. "Please don't be mad, Crow!"

"We all could've been a bit more careful giving out information," Marilyn admitted.

"But did you see that guy?" Louis said. "He sure had cool clothes anda way with words!"

"I think he's an inspector," Socket added.

Wren stared at Crow in concern. "You told him about the Golden Garden... What about Arianna?"

Crow scowled. "It's not like I had a choice, is it? If that guy is an inspector, he could easily have the Black Market shut down. We wouldn't get any sympathy just 'cause we're kids."

"But without the Black Market, what are we to do?" Nabby fretted. "No more sales, no more money..."

"No more candy..." Gus looked as if his life would end right there. "Oh boy, he won't shut us down, will he, Crow?"

"I really hope not."

[[This could be seen as a prequel to my earlier Black Raven & Targent oneshot 'Move Along, Kids'.]]