“I thought you had twenty soldiers, Major.” she said.
“Oh I think you will find that even three of my new augmented soldiers are more than enough, Miss Neaves. Besides. They are somewhat expensive to create. My knights are mostly automata of course. But they are also partly human, though shall we say not a great of them remains. So. Your sham inspection has come to nothing. Yet you shall serve as an amusement to me before we kill you I think. My soldiers require their training, and I am more than sure you will prove to be an excellent adversary for them. Their technology is much more advanced than yours of course, but I have heard you are very resourceful.”
“I think I have heard quite enough, Corrigan.” she said, and flexing her arms she made to snap the manacles that were holding her to the table.
Nothing happened.
“Scan them, Romney.” she said almost in a panic, “I cannot budge them even a little.”
“Impossible.” said Romney in a panic too. There was a pause and when he spoke next he sounded confused. “I don’t know what metal that is.” he said, “I have never seen it before.”
“Of course you haven’t.” said Corrigan, “Just like my soldiers here. Same metal. The misting device too. All new technology. Far more advanced than anything the government have.”
“What are you doing Corrigan?” she spat, “You have the British government to thank for having the Dependables in the first place. You are biting the hand that feeds you.” Corrigan turned crimson and ran towards her, towering over her as she sat unmoving, manacled to the table top.
“Oh yes.” he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice, “They retired me off and gave me twenty decrepit old men to run as long as I only marched them up and down the battlements. I have new masters now Miss Neaves and they are much more grateful than you can imagine.”
“Is that why the government want you dead?” she asked. “I don’t know what game you're playing Corrigan, but they are watching you. If I fail to return, then I would not place any bets against them using Micronics against you!” To her amazement Corrigan laughed at her, tears running down his face. About the walls of the hall the soldiers remained unmoving, staring ahead, not even looking at her.
“Not all of your seemingly conflicted government want me dead.” he laughed. He waved his hand above the table and a large sphere of air faded into view. Inside it was an image. Victoria struggled to focus on it but slowly a picture began to form within the orb. Inside it a well-dressed man stepped forward as if leaning on a desk. He frowned and peered down at her.
“Sir Charles.” said Victoria. “How sweet of you to attend.”
The minister smiled and then turned behind him, shouting filling the room in which he was standing.
“The same.” he smiled, “Many apologies Miss Neaves but time is not exactly of a premium here. Suffice to say that Corrigan there is an excellent fellow who will no doubt ensure that you are kept out of harm’s way on a permanent basis. The pit is secured, Major?”
“Yes Charles. It is.” smiled the major, “All ready and prepared.”
“Excellent.” said Churchgrove.
“You plan treason?” asked Victoria and the minister smiled in the picture.
“We serve a new regime now, yes. Our new masters have promised that those who join them will be granted wealth and power beyond our wildest dreams. I personally have always possessed a very strong imagination.”
“I will track you down.” spat Victoria. Churchgrove laughed, though as he stood smirking at her the room in which he stood visibly shook and the picture broke up for a second or two before coming back into focus again.
“I think you will be far too tied up for that.” he said. “Corrigan. See to her with all due haste. Already events are in progress.”
“Very well.” said Corrigan and Churchgrove nodded once and then the picture vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
“Romney. Remember the incident on my roof when the assassin came to find me?”
“Yes boss.”
“How long until a similar device could be brought online?”
“No more than sixty seconds I imagine.” said Romney.
“Very well. See to it.” she said.
“Your coded nonsense will not assist you now Miss Neaves. Our band of brothers insisted that you would prove to be problematic and so they insisted you be dealt with with all due haste. However, I would like to see just how good you are first.” he smiled.
“Oh I am very good.” she said and two of the robotic creatures leaned over and took a manacle each as if anticipating trouble.
“Well we shall see.” He said. “No doubt my compatriots would be distressed to discover that I am not obeying our plan to the letter, but it is my decision and therefore I have the initiative.” He waved his hand and the manacles slid back into the table, freeing her. As they did so however each of the two creatures holding them changed their grip to her wrists, one each side. She threw all of her strength into moving them but neither budged.
“Underneath where we sit I have created what I like to think of as a training ground. A labyrinth, if you will.” smiled Corrigan, staring at her as two of the Dependables held her in place.
“I think of it not just as a training ground but a proving ground too. There are all sorts of challenges down there. Some of my potential soldiers never make it out alive of course. Cleaning bills for the chambers below are considerable, as I am sure you will come to see. I think it would be of great interest to see how you do if you face my challenges.”
“Playing stupid games, Corrigan?” spat Victoria, still completely unable to move.
“Oh never stupid my dear.” he smiled, “Plus I will seed the labyrinth with several of my Dependables. It will make it much more interesting.” He glanced at his wristwatch. “Now, we still have another thirty-five seconds until you reach the minute to do whatever it was you were going to do, so we will get you on your way so to speak.”
“Ah well.” said Romney. “There’s the thing about giving away your plans. You really should study a book or two on subterfuge Major. I was lying about the minute. I only needed thirty seconds.”
“What?” asked Corrigan, a look of confusion on his face.
There was a sudden tremor in the air and a large electro-magnetic pulse erupted in the room. Victoria was at the epicentre of it and so was protected, but the two Dependables grasping her arms sparked and short circuited, falling heavily to the floor, releasing her. She rose to her feet as the other eight robotic creatures made to surround her but Corrigan leapt across the table and pressed a hidden switch.
Instantly the floor opened up below Victoria and she fell down into a deep black pit, falling for nearly a minute and she braced herself as the ground raced up to meet her. She hit the floor at great speed, her augmented frame protecting her. Yet she had no time to take stock for as soon as she hit the ground a huge stone slab slid over her head, sealing the hole shut.
She glanced around at the dark grey walls, granite blocks forming a prison of stone. The room was half lit and cold, but she had no doubt where she had fallen to. She was now entombed in the labyrinth.
***
Victoria stood, flexing her arms and legs as she ran a few diagnostic checks. Everything was working fine she was glad to discover.
“Are you okay, Romney?” she asked. There was a brief silence, but then she heard him sigh.
“Good yes. The EMP pulse did the job I think, though only to the two holding you. The others were too far away.”
“Headache?” she asked.
“You could say that. I won't be able to do that again for at least another twelve hours I think it’s fair to warn you.”
“Well hopefully we won't need to.” She said, “All we have to do is get out of this prison, find Corrigan and alert the authorities.”
“I think you underestimate the predicament you find yourself in, Miss Neaves.” said a voice that seemed to boom from the very walls themselves. It was Corr
igan.
“Plus now you have made the unfortunate mistake of making me angry. You seem to have permanently decommissioned two of my knights. Good men, both.”
“Oh I doubt if there is anything left of any man inside those suits that remembers anything of once being a man.” said Victoria. “Still. I am glad that I inconvenienced you.”
“We shall see how glad you are shortly.” said the Major. “Now. To familiarise yourself there is an inscription on the wall here. If you look around the room you will see three possible exits through each closed door. If you get the correct door, then you proceed to the next challenge. If you pick the wrong one, then the chamber will flood with a sulphuric acid gas. It’s very sophisticated I am told, and very, very nasty. If I were you I would be absolutely sure that your answer and therefore the door that you choose, is correct.”
“You are crazy.” She said, looking around the gloom of the circular room in which she found herself. The light was weak, half-hearted almost, but she could see that the chamber was circular, with three doors on the wall. All were currently closed. She walked a little way towards one of the doors and saw an oblong pressure plate in front of each door. She presumed that standing on the plate opened the door. Engraved above she saw a small hand that was shaped as if beckoning her on, and over the second door was carved a hand upright, palm face outwards. The final carving above the third door showed a flat horizontal palm, almost like that of a thin flat line.
“I am afraid that is the last help you shall receive from me, Miss Neaves. Yet I am watching intently. The manner of your demise is of great interest to me. Already my Dependables are deploying about the labyrinth by ethereal transportation. I think you shall find that they are ready and waiting for you.”
She waited for him to speak again, but there was now nothing but total silence. She looked around carefully. The walls were of huge granite blocks, thick lines of mortar and cement running between them. On the back wall was a flat square frame on the wall, in which there was a short inscription chiselled into the stone. Victoria walked away from the doors and approached the writing. She drew closer and read the message.
“MITTO TIBI NAVEM
PRORA PVPPIQVE
CARENTEM”
“Latin.” said Romney and she edged back a little as if to give it some thought.
“It is Latin I think.” she said, “I will access the cloud to translate it.” She began to search in her mind but stopped quickly, for she was unable to access the data cloud at all.
“Cloud access is being blocked.” she sighed. “I do wish I had listened just a little better in my Latin class.”
“Good job I am a third circle of hell demon then.” said Romney, “I was brought up on Latin. Well, not brought up as such. But you get the idea. It says, “I send you a boat lacking stern and bow.”
“I see.” said Victoria. “How odd.”
She paced backwards and forwards for a moment before stopping in front of the inscription again.
“So we have to combine this inscription with the three hand symbols there to see which one is correct.”
“Well yes.” said Romney, “But you know it may not be literal. It could be a play on words.”
“Very well.” said Victoria. “We shall concentrate on the inscription. “I send you a boat lacking stern and bow.” So the stern is the rear of the boat, the bow the front.”
“Take the front and back letters off the word “boat”.” said Romney.
““OA.”” she said, looking at the hand symbols over the door. “Well that doesn’t help us.” she sighed. “Doesn’t make any sense at all. We could always try blasting our way out.”
“I wouldn’t like to take the chance, boss.” said Romney, “I imagine that sulphuric acid gas is not too worried about what we were trying to do as it burns us down to nothing. I don’t think we have any choice but to play Corrigan’s stupid game.”
“Point taken.” she said.
“What is the Latin name for a boat then?” she asked.
“Navem.” said Romney, pausing slightly before chuckling. “It is in the inscription.”
“Navem.” she said.
“Yes.” said Romney, though this time he sounded as if he was trying to suppress laughter.
“What?” she said.
“Got it.” he said. “And it’s clever.”
“Well then?”
““NAVEM” is Latin for, “boat”. Take the stern and bow letters off, that is to say the “N” and the “M” then you are left with the word “AVE”.”
“Which means what?” Said Victoria.
“It is the Latin word for, “Welcome.” he said.
She turned around and looked at the three carved symbols above the door, which now seemed to make perfect sense.
“The upright hand is definitely “halt” or “stop” she said, and the flat palm is neutral. The final one beckons you in. That’s the one isn’t it? It means “Welcome”
“Ave.” chuckled Romney and she strode forward, stepping on the pressure plate on the floor in front of the stone door that had the welcoming symbol carved on the wall above it. There was a sound like chains being drawn up and slowly the stone door slid open, ascending into the recess in the ceiling above it. It reminded Victoria of a portcullis, albeit a solid one. She found herself tensing as the door slid into the roof and she stepped into the room beyond. As she did so the door behind her rumbled loudly and slid rapidly shut, the room echoing with the crashing of the slab back into its recess. She looked quickly about her but there was no way she could see any way of being able to raise the door open again.
The room she found herself in was square this time, and slightly better lit, though the walls were constructed of exactly the same large granite blocks that the previous one had been made of. At the far end of the room she saw another door, and zooming in with her enhanced vision saw a similar pressure plate in front of it. There were no other doors at all.
“Trap.” said Romney. “Be careful.”
“Well I have no choice other than to proceed. Scan for other pressure plates Romney.”
“Scans are being jammed too.” He said angrily.
She walked across the floor slowly, testing each square of stone on the floor as she crossed the long, wide flagstones. Nothing happened. She was halfway across the room when the air at the end of the room shimmered and rippled and the shape of one of the black Dependables appeared in front of her. She examined it closely, re-acquainting herself with the robotic nightmare. It looked like a suit of medieval armour. It’s metallic armour was all in black, but it was sleeker, more deadly somehow than just a man in an armoured suit. The joints in the armour showed small cogs and straps aligning the joints. The helmet was closed, the visor showing two evil looking pinpricks of red light which were currently focused on her. This she knew had very little humanity in it, if any at all.
As it finished being transported into the labyrinth by some means that she did not understand at all, it did not stand still for even a second. It lurched forward, raised its right arm and instantly two beams of red light shot towards her. She spun aside, the beams raking the stone wall behind her, sending stone and shale flying about the room.
“Impulse cannons!” shouted Romney, “Much more powerful than normal cannons!”
“Never mind that.” she said as she leapt in the opposite direction as two more bursts of fire leapt across the room. “It looks like the only thing protecting the way out of here is the dependable itself.”
“Looks that way.” He said. Get on the plate and the door will open. It closed so fast last time you could probably lock it in.”
“But it just appeared in the room” She said, throwing herself tumbling across the room and returning fire. Her impulse beams bounced off the creature’s armour as if they did not exist. “Who is to say it cannot move to the next room, doubling the challenge there?”
“I don’t think Corrigan thinks like that.” said Romney. “Each room has
its own challenge. It’s not a free for all. I suspect the mad old bastard is very much a stickler for the rules.”
“Okay.” she said, leaping through the air and trying to hurdle over the creature that was blocking the door. It moved to one side, avoiding her kick as she landed beside it, hitting it with all of her strength in the head. The helmet snapped backwards as her augmented strength hit it hard, but it grabbed hold of her by her other arm and threw her back across the room as if she was no more than a rag doll. She bounced across the flagstones landing in a heap on the side of the room where she began. As she made to stand she had to throw herself to one side as two more impulse cannon rounds crashed into the stone around her.
The one thing that really gave the Dependable a sense of brooding menace she found was its silence. It did not speak, whether by choice or not, and its movements were swift and sleek, as if everything was so well oiled it functioned in almost total silence.
“Get yourself over its head again.” said Romney as she threw herself again to one side avoiding impulse cannon explosions.
“Are you sure?” she grunted, somersaulting over the floor towards the creature that was aiming its twin cannons at her already. “It nearly had me last time.”
“Just keep clear and follow my lead.” He shouted and Victoria somersaulted faster across the room at blinding speed, the Dependable firing and barely missing her she reached it and flew into the air, pirouetting over its head and then grasping at its visor as she did so.
As she reached the top of her leap there was a slight pop in the air and she saw Romney suddenly become corporeal, his tall, floppy-haired form racing the last few yards to the pressure plate and standing on it. Instantly the door rumbled open. Victoria used her left hand to throw herself away from the robotic creature that even now was trying to seize hold of her, yet at the same time turning away to see that the door had opened, Romney standing on the plate watching her slide down the creature's chest as it turned to face her, and then she fell limply but quickly to the floor, and using the creatures armoured black legs as a pivot she shot through between its legs and slid over the floor towards the door, knocking Romney out of the way as she did so. They both tumbled into the room beyond, the stone door slamming down shut behind them, locking the creature in the room they had just left. There was a small popping sound again and Romney disappeared.
The Complete Adventures of Victoria Neaves & Romney Page 36