by M L Dunn
A cold gust of wind blew into the cargo hold when Stone threw the door open. Dino picked both the count and Tom up by the back of their coats and brought them right next to the open door. He stepped away as Mr. Slang held his gun on Count Vasili who stood looking out the cargo door at the ground passing below.
“We should be flying higher than this now,” Mr. Slang said noticing how close the Dauntless was to the ground, just a mere eighty feet above the frozen tundra. “I wonder what the problem is. Doesn’t matter,” he said aiming at Count Vasili’s head. He started to squeeze the trigger.
“Mind if I speak some final words?” Count Vasili asked and Mr. Slang lowered his weapon.
“Not if you keep it short and hopefully something memorable,” Mr. Slang told him.
Count Vasili peered down at the ground again. “I simply want to say…”
“Say what?” Mr. Slang said when Count Vasili paused to look out the open door at the ground passing just eighty feet below.
“Until we meet again,” the count said as he threw himself out the door.
Mr. Slang lifted his gun and fired, but he missed Count Vasili’s heart and hit him in the shoulder instead as he fell out the door.
“Grab Inspector Flynn,” Mr. Slang told Stone as he rushed to the cargo door.
Mr. Slang grabbed hold of a handle there so he would not fall out also as he watched Count Vasili fall through the air and splash into a river below, barely missing hitting a block of ice floating downstream.
“You magnificent count you,” Mr. Slang said under his breath, unable to control his glee at the superb show of cunning and daring. “We’re not high enough up for the fall to kill a vampire,” he told Inspector Flynn. “Damn clever of him. He was waiting for us to pass over the Kilga River. I should have realized that. Never the less I doubt he’ll live too long. The ice wolves will hunt him down. They like to follow behind the zeppelins. They’ll be after him before long,” he said looking out the door. “In fact I see some coming now,” he said pointing. “I’m afraid the fall will kill you though,” he told Inspector Flynn. “Vampires are so much lighter than us. I would put a bullet in your head to save you the agony of hitting the ground and being devoured by wolves, but I’m afraid it would just raise too many questions if your body was found.”
Mr. Slang looked at Inspector Flynn a moment then, admiring him.
“I’ve been watching you these last few days,” he said. “You’ve shown yourself to be a man of considerable qualities, but the game is ending now and you never quite understood the game you were playing. Never the less you played admirably. Maybe we’ll meet again in some other realm under similar circumstances. The best I can do for you now is hope that the fall kills you instantly.” He looked at Stone then. ““Throw him out.”
“Uh, sure, happy to,” Stone said lifting up Inspector Flynn, who began to kick, trying to free himself, but Stone had a strong hold on him.
“Go ahead,” Mr. Slang ordered Stone, but just as he said it a number of alarms went off and lights began flashing and then the ship seemed to list to one side.
“What’s happening now,” Mr. Slang yelled as he nearly fell over as the shipped pitched from side to side. “Get rid of him,” he yelled at Dino as he ran out the room to see what the problem was.
Chapter 50
“Throw him out,” Dino told Stone.
“Sure,” Stone said. “But let’s have a little fun with him first. Grab that rope there,” Stone told Trunk pointing at a rope left on top of a large box.
“What do you need it for?” Dino asked, “Just throw him out the door.”
“I want to have a little fun with him first,” Stone said. “Tie it tight around his chest,” Stone ordered Trunk. Trunk looked at Dino for instructions and Dino nodded that it was okay.
Tom didn’t struggle as Trunk wrapped the rope around his chest and made a knot in front. He wasn’t sure what Stone was up too, but it seemed slightly better than him just pushing him out the door. Both golems had a good hold on Tom even if he did try and escape.
“Mr. Slang told you to just throw him out,” Dino said nervously.
“I promised Inspector Flynn that if he scratched my car I’d drag him a mile a down a dirt road behind it, but I can’t do that now so I’m gonna dangle him out the door until one of the ice wolves snatches him,” Stone explained.
Stone let go of Tom then and grabbed the rope. He feed some rope through his hand so that there was about twenty feet of rope lying on the floor in front of Tom.
“Hurry and get this over,” Dino said as the alarms stopped ringing then. “Mr. Slang will be coming back now.”
“Fine,” Stone said. “Push him out,” he said motioning for Trunk to shove Tom out the door.
Out he went.
Tom had hold of the rope as he fell, and then after twenty feet the rope snapped and he stopped falling. Then Stone began letting the rope run further out, and Tom was dragged behind the zeppelin through the air, but the ship was traveling slow enough that he also drew closer and closer to the ground.
He looked up and saw Stone and Trunk leaning out the cargo doors, smiling down at him as Stone let more and more rope slide between his hands. Tom was being dangled behind the zeppelin like a piece of bait on the end of a fishing line and finally Stone had let out enough rope that he was flying only a few feet above the ground.
At first he thought this was a fortunate turn of events. That all he need do is slip out the rope and drop to the ground, but then he heard a growl from just below and behind him – Tom looked behind him and saw a pack of ice wolves chasing him.
They were larger than a normal wolf, with long fangs and a hungry look in their dark eyes. One of them caught up to him and leapt into the air trying to sink its teeth into his leg, and it would have, had not Stone pulled on the rope, causing him to fly a little higher. The wolf missed, but Stone - and Tom could hear him laughing all the way down there - lowered him down again until the lead wolf tried once more to snatch him, but Tom pulled his legs up toward his waist and the wolf missed.
He couldn’t possibly see this ending well.
For the next few minutes Stone’s using Tom as bait continued, but then Tom saw that this ordeal might just be coming to an end.
The Dauntless was coming up on a large river that was frozen over near both banks, but the rest of it was open water where the current flowed quickly, carrying blocks of ice along.
Tom thought that as soon as he came to the other side of the river, he could slip free of the rope, but just as he passed over the open water, Stone let the rope slip out of his hand, and Tom fell into the cold, fast-moving water like a seal diving off an iceberg.
The water was so cold it instantly stole his breath. He slipped underneath the water, but kicked his way to the surface and grabbed hold of a large block of ice floating by. He began going through the mental and breathing exercises The Great Vincelli had instructed him in, wondering then if Red had known this was going to happen. He wondered what more Red knew, or rather, what else he was not aware of, and he realized that Red had been withholding information from him just so he would not reveal it under the effects of the truth serum.
The wolves stopped when they came to the edge of the river. They crept carefully out onto the ice, but they did not come in the river after him. They began following him, moving down the bank of the river, as he floated downstream.
The Great Vincelli had instructed him to keep his heart above water in order to keep his body temperature from dropping too much. He would not succumb to the cold, at least not without a fight, and he began trying to kick his way to the opposite bank, steering the ice block toward there. Tom was part way submerged in the cold water, but he hung on, shivering as the block of ice made little progress toward the far bank of the river.
Chapter 51
“He done for?” Mr. Slang asked Dino as he, Stone and Trunk came out of the cargo hold.
Dino glanced at Stone before answering. “Uh, ye
ah, he’s gone. We shouldn’t hear from him ever again.”
“Good.”
“What was the problem with the ship?”
“One of the rudder cables snapped. That’s why the ship won’t lift higher. Someone must have pulled an alarm. We’ll be okay getting to the Vladivostok Station and we’ll stop there to have it repaired before we go on to the Royal City. Why don’t you three go get something to eat? I need to talk with the king.”
Mr. Slang walked down the hallway and knocked on the king’s door.
“Come in,” King Havel yelled.
We’ll be a little late arriving at the Vladivostok station. Just fifteen minutes or so,” Mr. Slang said as he came in the room.
“What were those alarms?”
“A rudder cable snapped. That’s why we’ll be a little late. We have to fly low and go a longer route.”
“When does the bomb go off?”
Mr. Slang looked at a clock on the wall. “2 pm, just as the Tempest should be approaching the Vladivostok Station,” he said resetting his watch to U.R.R.K. time then.
“Good,” the king said glancing at the clock. “The groundwork you’ve laid the past couple of years, recruiting misfits and malcontents to the partisans’ cause is finally going to pay off. When we present copies of the cables Count Vasili has been sending the past few months. He’ll be blamed for Princess Alexi’s death and the country will finally embrace its king.”
Chapter 52
Tom tried repeatedly to steer the block of ice toward the shore, but could not make any headway as the current kept dragging him back to the middle of the river.
The wolves were following him still, watching him, hoping the current would bring him close enough for them to snatch him.
He figured he needed to abandon the block of ice and swim for the bank and hopefully be able to draw his weight up onto the ice without causing it to break.
He was just about to attempt that when he spotted something out on the tundra moving toward the river. It was a man running as fast as he could. Luckily the top layer of snow was frozen and he could run across it without sinking into it.
He was already running fast, but when the wolves spotted him, he seemed to run even more urgently. The wolf pack started toward him. It was going to be close, he would either make it to the river before the wolves cut off his escape, or the wolves would tear him apart on the tundra. Even if he did make it to the river, Tom didn’t see how this would benefit him much, other than he could freeze to death alongside him. At least Tom would have some company in his last moments, since Death enjoys company as well as misery does.
The man ran. The wolves went to cut off his escape. When the man was a little closer, Tom saw it was Count Vasili. The cold did not seem to bother him much. His hands were in cuffs still and he had icicles in his hair, his coat trailed behind him, and his breath made a cloud of steam in front of him. He ran magnificently, gracefully, his strides long and sure like a gazelle. Tom could not help but watch in sheer amazement. No Olympic sprint was ever more exciting or would be as close. Certainly none had as much at stake. Count Vasili was running for his life.
“Run!” Tom yelled. “You can do it old man,” he screamed, lifting himself higher onto his floating, ice coffin. “Run, damn you run,” he yelled louder, feeling stronger. “Run you magnificent vampire you!” he screamed loud enough for Count Vasili to hear.
The alpha wolf moved out in front of the rest of the pack as Count Vasili neared the river. The beast ran with determination, with pride. It wanted more than to catch Count Vasili just so it could eat him – the beast wanted to defeat him.
Words cannot describe the sheer feeling of tension and nervousness Tom felt as the two opponents, both sprinting as fast as they could, approached one another. A single misstep on the slippery snow would cost Count Vasili his life. It was like watching a tight-rope walker run across his rope instead of treading slowly and deliberately. Finally their paths were about to cross.
“Come on!” Tom yelled, but it was in vain. The alpha wolf sprang off the ground and flew through the air as Count Vasili dove for the water, but the wolf stretched out and caught hold of Count Vasili’s leg. They both spun around in the air before landing on the ice near the shore and sliding toward the open water, but then the wolf, its teeth sunk deep into the count’s leg, dug its claws into the ice and began dragging Count Vasili back toward solid ground. The count dug his fingernails into the ice also, but the wolf pulled him backs still. Tom watched all this as he floated closer to them.
Count Vasili tried to turn over so he could kick at the large wolf with his free leg, but the wolf had taken prey down before and would not let him flip over. It continued dragging him back and then the rest of the pack arrived and cautiously stepped out onto the ice to help with the kill. Their howls and barking were unnerving, primal.
And then Tom heard a sound like twigs snapping just before the ice cracked. Jagged lines shot through it and then the ice broke into a dozen different shards like a mirror dropped to the floor. The entire wolf pack and Count Vasili plunged into the water as blocks of ice shot out of the water and bobbed up and down. When the alpha wolf surfaced, it had let go of the count’s leg.
Tom kicked toward the count, who was swimming toward him now. He reached out for him and pulled him close to him.
“Looks like you got dropped a little early,” he said smiling at Tom. “Stone was not supposed to drop you until you were on the other side of the river over dry land,” he said as he grabbed hold of the block of ice carrying them downstream and the wolves howled behind them.
“What?”
“I’ll explain everything once we are on shore,” Count Vasili said. “Hand me your rope.
Tom had forgotten about the rope tied around him. He lifted it out of the water and handed it to the count, who immediately began swimming toward shore. Tom let go of the ice and followed him. When the count reached solid ice, he was able to pull himself up onto it and then he stood and walked across it toward the shore.
When Tom came to the ice, he tried to pull himself up likewise, but the ice could not take his weight. Count Vasili began pulling on the rope, dragging him closer and Tom plowed through the ice until he finally came to a spot where the ice was thick enough that he could climb out of the water.
He began to untie the rope, but his hands were numb and shaking.
“Don’t undo the rope,” Count Vasili told him. “Wait till we get to shore.”
Tom held onto the rope as he tread lightly, following Count Vasili toward the bank, which was some thirty feet away still.
“I’m sorry,” Count Vasili said turning around to face Tom.
“What…for?” Tom stuttered just as he fell through the ice.
“That’s why,” the count said as he began dragging Tom up out of the water again. “Vampire premonition remember?”
He pulled Tom across the ice then like an Eskimo dragging a dead seal. Tom was embarrassed, but he would live. Assuming he did not die of hypothermia still. He was shaking uncontrollably.
Finally he was upon solid ground, but he lay in the snow unable to move. Count Vasili began massaging his arms and legs then, trying to keep the blood flowing. Despite Count Vasili being soaking wet, the cold and blowing wind did not seem to bother him much.
“We’ll have a shot of whiskey for you soon and then a warm cup of soup.”
“What...the...heck...are...you...talking...about?” Tom managed to ask despite his teeth knocking against one another. “We’re still going to freeze to death out here come nightfall. At least I am. There’s not any shelter for a hundred miles on this hockey rink you call a country.”
“Dante and Figaro will be here soon. Unfortunately I had to jump out the zeppelin before I’d originally meant to. So that Stone could drop you near this river.”
“Are you out of your freezing head? What are you talking about? Who are Dante and Figaro?”
“My cousins,” Count Vasili said standing up.
“I sent them a cable to meet me here,” he said helping Tom to his feet. “Here they come now,” he said pointing.
Tom looked. Off a ways he could see something black coming toward them. It was a sled, a large one, pulled by four horses. Count Vasili waved toward there. Tom would have too, if he’d been able to lift his arm, but it was completely numb.
“Our job is nearly done now,” Count Vasili said knocking small blocks of ice off Tom’s shoulders and out of his hair as Tom rose to a sitting position. “Other than having to over-run the defenses at the Vladivostok Station and take control of the Dauntless, there is little else that needs be done.”
“You and Red set this up?”
“Yes.”
“You knew they’d give me the truth serum, didn’t you?”
“We figured they would want to know what you knew.”
“What about the bomb on the Tempest?”
“Already been taken care of,” Count Vasili said helping Tom to his feet. “Mr. Slang tried to smuggle it aboard using Krakov’s casket, but Inspector Meriwether removed it before you two delivered it.”
“How’d he know it was in there?”
“Krakov is not dead,” Count Vasili told him. “He pointed Mr. Slang out at the courtroom and some of your fellow detectives followed him everywhere he went up to the time he placed the bomb at the Hotel Triumph. Inspector Meriwether knew there had to be a second bomb though, because we knew Mr. Slang’s true target was the princess, and in order to kill her he would have to place a bomb on the Tempest somehow. When he learned that Krakov’s body was to be returned to the U.R.R.K. he figured he knew how Mr. Slang would accomplish this. He wanted to make sure though, so he had Rebecca follow him from the Hotel Triumph, thinking Mr. Slang would not expect a young woman to be following him. Sure enough she followed him to the Sokoloff Funeral Home where Krakov’s body lay. Mr. Slang spotted Rebecca though after he left the bomb there, but Red knew he would not hurt her and instead would use her as bait to bring you onto the Dauntless without any trouble. We figured they would administer the truth serum to you to find out if we knew about the second bomb.”