scans_daily

Links to the previous comicbook storyline,
https://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/6071012.html
https://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/6088576.html

Spoilers for books 1 through 5 of the book series.

The storyline begins with a group of Russian gangsters attempting to spring a woman from a prison transport. Unfortunately for them she has an invested interest in remaining in police custody.

Varvara blasts the man who grabs her, blowing a hole in the police van and causing the guy's flash-frozen arm to snap off. Afterwards, Varvara tells our heroes at from the Folly (the section of the British police which is responsible for magical matters) that she doesn't know who the men were other than they were Russian, which leads her to believe that member they work for her homeland's special forces and they were attempting to bring her home against her will.

See, Varvara was part of the Soviet army's attempt to weaponise magic against the Nazis, but was captured and shipped to the occupied Channel Islands to work as slave labour with a bunch of mundane POWs (she pretended to be a regular soldier as the Nazis killed non-affiliated magicians on sight). From there she managed to escape with the help of the British islanders, before moving to the UK after the war. At that point she assimilated to her new country, only to discover in the mid-1960s that she'd started to age backwards, much like the head of the Folly, Thomas Nightingale.

With a new lease on life, she got involved with the less legal side of the British magical community, eventually leading to her becoming an enforcer for the franchise's Big Bad, an "ethically challenged magician" called the Faceless Man. After her arrest in the book Broken Homes, she decided to stick with the Folly as the alternative is getting shipped back to Russia (where she faces either getting a medal or getting shot), or her old boss catching up with her and expressing... annoyance at her defection. And since he's a guy who once set a man's bones on fire for stealing from him, she feels she's safer in prison.

Later, the Russian billionaires who hired the gangsters to try and free Varvara decides to follow through on their back-up plan and just talk to her in prison.

She tells them to go to the police, saying that they have people who can help with this kind of thing, but the billionaires storm out, taking her rejection as her not caring about their kidnapped kid.

Varvara calls Nightingale to explain what happened, and we get some background details on the billionaire Nestor Ivanovich Yakunin. Short version? He became rich during the 1990s with his friend Semyon Petrovich Zhidanov (who handles the less legal side of the business) during the post-Communist economic boom, but Kakunin emigrated to the UK following the rise of Putin to avoid having his assets seized.

It's while the Folly are uncovering all of this information that they find out that Yakunin has ties to a company which is owned by the Faceless Man (long story, it's covered in Broken Homes). And since Varvara won't help them, and they won't want to involve the Folly, Yakunin decides that the Faceless Man is the best option for getting his daughter back.

That's Lesley May, she's series protagonist Peter Grant's best friend/sort of love interest, who was unfortunately disfigured during the events of the first book (she was possessed by a ghost which caused her entire face below the eyes to slough off), which lead to her joining the Dark Side in Broken Homes when the Faceless Man promised to return her old appearance.

Next issue, we get a flashback to the second book, when Peter went to visit Lesley in her hometown in Essex, while in the present she makes her pitch to the Russians to pay her and her boss for help instead of approaching the Folly.

That's Beverley Brook, the goddess of a river in South London that Peter started seeing in Foxglove Summer.

Back in prison, Varvara explains to Nightingale what a Leshy is so he can scout out around the Yakunins' estate to see if he can find it and the girl it kidnapped.

Meanwhile, the Russians' henchmen attempt to abduct Beverly in order to force the Folly to help them on their terms... This is unwise.

Again, she's a goddess. She can compel people to do whatever she wants, which is partly why it took Peter and her five or so books to finally get together. Meanwhile, after scouting out the area Nightingale finds the Leshy (or British equivalent) only to find that it's like three foot tall and easily overpowered by his terrier, Toby. So it's not likely that spirit took the kid.

Later, after doing all of Bev's housework, the Russian henchman agree to never tell anyone what actually happened. Deciding to say that she's got connections to a Nigerian counterfeiting ring, and THAT is the reason why they're going to leave her alone.

Lesley finds it hilarious when the Russians relay this "fact" to her, and she tells them that the individual members of the Folly are too powerful for them to handle, which is why they should put pressure on them via their civilian connections. She leaves (after magically setting fire to a car), and the Russians decide that there are other ways to compel Nightingale to go what they want...

Next issue, Peter receives a message from the Russians, a video from Nightingale explaining that the Russians have kidnapped a family, and have threatened to have the killed if he didn't agree to be their hostage. Molly, the Folly's maid and Nightingale's best friend, doesn't take it well...

...Unfortunately the agoraphobia which has kept her from leaving the building keeps her from going to the rescue. She's lived in the Folly since the early 1900s, and after WW2 killed almost the entirety of British wizardry, Thomas is really all she's got.

Peter gets Varvara out of prison to assist in the case, and they immediately go to the Russian's mansion to look around the place for the missing girl and Thomas. Yakunin's enraged wife calls him to yell about the police looking around their house, which is exactly the reaction the police wanted, as they've started tapping their phones to see if they reveal any info on where Thomas is.

Peter and Varvara begin investigating the kidnapping, and get confirmation from a source that the Russian goverment wasn't behind the girl's abduction. Although they do find out that there is a Russian spy outfit in London being run by another of Varvara's old war compatriots.

Varvara goes off to check out one of her old safehouses, only for Lesley to approach her with an offer.

The issue closes out with the imprisoned Nightingale staying put and doing a crossword, and getting approached by one of the henchmen. He asks the magician, "What kind of fairy tale creature sends a ransom note?"...