Gaslit Revolution

by Jason Gilbert

  “Kane Shepherd, I know you can hear me.”

  “Lovely,” Kane muttered. He focused on the direction of Chesterfield’s voice, focused his voice, hoping that he could project at will this time. “I can hear you.”

  “Good,” Chesterfield hissed through his breathing gear. “I request a meeting.”

  “Donuts?”

  Chesterfield grunted. “Come again?”

  “You can’t call a meeting without donuts,” Kane said. “It’s just good etiquette. And coffee.”

  “I find it interesting that I have your Hidden Valley in my grip, and you still manage to make jokes.”

  Kane shrugged as Tabitha looked at him and shook her head.

  “Okay,” Kane said. “Fine. Jokes aside. What do you want?”

  “Your surrender,” Chesterfield said, simply. “You are to accompany me.”

  “Why the Battle Cruiser? Can’t just come on your own?”

  “I’ve been told that you need incentive in order to comply with directions,” Chesterfield said, stopping as he looked around the street, his soulless goggled eyes wide and staring blankly. “I’ve brought enough firepower to make Hidden Valley a bad memory in this city’s history. Is that enough incentive for you?”

  Kane nodded.

  “Hold, please.” He turned to Tabitha. “You may have been right.”

  She huffed.

  “I’m always right.”

  “Okay,” Kane said, turning to Bette and Ralphie. “Okay. You two get upstairs and hide. Turn out these lights. You’re closed.”

  Ralphie stood tall.

  “I’m not runnin’ from nobody,” he said, flexing his considerable muscles.

  Kane stepped up to him.

  “This man can kill you without touching you,” he said, his tone dark. “He’ll drain every drop of blood out of your body until you rot away, then go after Bette.”

  Ralphie went pale, looked at Bette, and nodded.

  “Upstairs, heifer. Move it.”

  Bette nodded and ran for the kitchen door as Ralphie turned back to Kane.

  “I ain’t goin’ nowhere,” he said. “You need all the backup you can get, and I’m not about to let them come after my place without a fight.”

  Kane gave him a small grin, knowing better than to argue with him.

  “Alright, Ralphie. You got that rifle handy?”

  “Behind the counter.”

  “Stay put, pick a good vantage point, and try not to shoot me.” Kane looked back out the window as Tabitha began to plead with him. Ralphie went for the lever-action behind the counter.

  “Kane? Kane! What are you doing?!”

  “Okay, Chesterfield,” he said, focusing on the General again. “I’m across the street from you. Ralphie’s place. I guess you’re under orders not to kill me, so don’t waste time threatening to blow the place up with me in it. I know who you work for.”

  Silence, then an audible, frustrated sigh.

  “Fair enough,” Chesterfield said.

  “I’m coming out, we’re going to talk, then I’m walking back inside. I’ve got a man with a rifle and a woman with an ice spear ready for you.” Kane looked at Tabitha and nodded as she activated her amulet and cast her Ghostly Frost spell under her breath. “Tell your men to hold fire, and I’ll keep these two on a leash.”

  Chesterfield looked at the three soldiers with him.

  “Stand down. All three of you. Now.”

  They looked at him, then lowered their rifles. Kane looked from Tabitha to Ralphie as the cook readied his rifle.

  “Keep easy,” he said. “We’re trying to avoid a firefight, here. Just the same, be ready.”

  Tabitha and Ralphie both nodded. Kane took a breath and went to the diner door, grasping the handle.

  “I’m coming out,” he said, focusing on Chesterfield.

  He heard Chesterfield breathing, his gear amplifying the sound, making it hollow and deep. Kane opened the door and stepped out into the cool morning air, his eyes fixed on Chesterfield and his men. The three soldiers reacted, each taking aim.

  “What’s this shit, Chesterfield?” Kane said. “I thought we made an agreement. Or do the Rules of War not apply here?”

  “You were ordered to stand down,” Chesterfield growled at his men. The three lowered their guns, each keeping his masked face on Kane.

  Kane glanced over his shoulders, saw the barrel of Ralphie’s gun in the window, the blue glow from Tabitha’s hands behind the blinds. Kane motioned with his hands. Down.

  He looked back at Chesterfield as the general rasped at him.

  “You are to come with me.”

  “No.”

  “You act as if you have a choice.”

  “Why doesn’t Gentry want me dead?”

  Chesterfield cocked his head at the question, put his hands behind his back as he began to pace.

  “I follow orders, Mr. Shepherd,” he said. “I don’t ask the aristocrats their reasoning or agenda. Frankly, I find their games tiring.”

  “Sure as shit don’t mind working for them,” Kane said.

  Chesterfield stopped and faced him.

  “Duty is duty, Mr. Shepherd.”

  “Money bought your sense of duty,” Kane said with a snort. “Classic.”

  “There are greater things than money,” Chesterfield said, moving closer to Kane. His put his face close to Kane’s, the hose on the mask inches from Kane’s nose. “Above all: power.”

  “Over who?” Kane said. “The people? You already have that.”

  “We control them through fear,” Chesterfield said casually, turning away and pacing back towards his men. “Fear can only go so far. Men can be pushed away from it, can grow tired of it. Learn to resist it, face it.” He turned back to Kane, his goggled stare cruel and dead at the same time. “Overcome it.”

  “So you’re saying that you’re afraid?” Kane said.

  Chesterfield chuckled, the sound deep and hateful.

  “Not in the slightest.” He stepped back towards Kane. “Just as man can overcome fear, the fearsome can adapt. Create new situations. New threats.” He leaned in closer to Kane this time, so close that Kane could almost see his eyes through the goggles. “Fear is a lack of hope. If fear is threatened by new hope, then the new hope must simply be removed. And that, Kane Shepherd, is what I’ve come to show you. The hope you’ve given the people here in Hidden Valley is now gone.”

  “I’ve been on the run,” Kane said, shrugging, refusing to back down from the Blood Priest. “Gotten into a fight here and there. I haven’t done anything to give these people hope.”

  Chesterfield shook his head slowly.

  “You keep yourself blind,” he said with a growl. “You drown yourself in your own humility. Refuse to see what is directly in front of you.”

  “Right now, I see a psychopath being a good little puppet with William Gentry’s hand up his ass.” Kane looked him up and down. “Pretty accurate?”

  “You’re coming with me.”

  “Nope.”

  “You forget that you are alive right now because I have ordered these men to stand down.”

  Kane went right back at Chesterfield, his teeth grit as he spoke.

  “You think I’m stupid? The minute I’m dead, Gentry calls off whatever little arrangement he has with you and the Special Forces. The minute I leave Hidden Valley, you torch the place.”

  Chesterfield nodded.

  “You are only so accurate,” he said. “Hidden Valley is surrounded. Troops guard every feasible way out. Airships patrol the borders. No one leaves.” He raised his hand, his gloved finger pointed in Kane’s face. “Unless they are escorted by me. Willingly. You are cornered, Mr. Shepherd. Mr. Kane Shepherd. Hero.” Chesterfield spat the word “hero” as if he’d bitten off a piece of rotten food. “I will give you twenty-four hours to comply. Come willingly, cooperatively, and Hidden Valley will be spared. Force us to take you, and you will be handcuffed to the observation deck of that Battle Cruiser.
You will watch this place burn along with all of the people who live here. No one survives.”

  Kane stood stock still, keeping his hard stare on Chesterfield’s goggled eyes. He worked his jaw muscles, kept his mouth shut, his hands by his side to keep from grabbing the man, breaking him.

  The last thing he needed to do was start a fire fight.

  “Nothing?” Chesterfield said, humor in his voice. “No witty comeback from the great Kane Shepherd?” He grunted. “I see you manage to disappoint even your enemies.” He spun on his heal, his red cape flowing behind him as he marched away. “Twenty-four hours to either save this shit hole or watch it burn. Your choice. And choose wisely. I am not known for mercy.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  The air in Ralphie’s diner was thick, heavy with tension and uncertainty. Ralphie stayed at the window, his rifle aimed until Chesterfield and his men were out of sight. Bette was up in the apartment, also with a rifle aimed, and didn’t come down until after the Special Forces were gone.

  Kane sat in the booth, staring down at his half-eaten breakfast, trying to find a way to force himself to eat. He needed to eat. It’d been too long since his last meal. And yet, here he was looking at a plate of French Toast while airships hovered in the sky and troops waited for the order to lay siege to Hidden Valley and kill hundreds of innocent people.

  Thousands if they wiped out all the neighborhoods in Hell’s Kitchen.

  All because of him.

  Tabitha sat across from Kane, watching him, her expression troubled.

  “He means it, doesn’t he?” she said. “He’ll destroy this place? Kill everyone if you don’t turn yourself over?”

  “It’s crap,” Kane said, looking up at her. “He’ll level the place even if I do. Let’s not kid ourselves on that. That speech at the conference was just a nice way of letting everyone know that Hidden Valley’s days are numbered. The minute I’m gone, this place goes up.”

  “Why not do it while you were in Charleston?” Ralphie asked. “Would’ve made more sense.”

  “They started with that shipyard,” Kane said. “There was an uprising. They blamed Magicians. I thought it was just a tactic before, just a bullshit reason they cooked up to justify making an example using a lot of fire and dead people, but they may not have been lying entirely. They’ve put a lot of effort in creating a collective fear of anyone who can use magic. Chris’s group tossing blasts at the conference just sealed the deal on it.”

  “So it’s his fault,” Tabitha said, sitting up. She smacked her fist into her palm. “Bastard. I could’ve sworn he was trustworthy.”

  “Can’t really lay it all on him,” Kane said. “They would’ve found some other reason. Another way. Only difference is now they can bomb the hell out of the place without it being a public relations nightmare for them. Paint the place as a haven for the Magician threat.”

  “‘Put the enemy where we can see them,’” Ralphie said with a grunt as he turned away. “Shit. I got a kitchen to clean and bags to pack. Get me and Bette out of here before the shit storm hits.”

  Kane looked at Ralphie as the cook walked back to the kitchen, then turned his gaze to the Battle Cruiser.

  “See them,” he said under his breath. An idea began to form. “Right where we can see them.”

  “What are you thinking?” Tabitha said, leaning in. “Kane, I can almost hear your boiler swelling.”

  Kane looked at her.

  “We can see them,” he said. “The Battle Cruiser. The Soldiers. Everyone can.”

  “Yes,” Tabitha said, drawing it out as she raised an eyebrow. “Have you thrown a gear or something?”

  “Maybe,” he said, standing. “We need to get back to the coal yard.”

  “Evacuate?” Chris said, his eyes wide in disbelief. “Are you crazy?! Do you know what it would take to evacuate the entire neighborhood?!”

  Kane nodded, glancing around at the rest of the homeless who gathered to listen. He saw Wilhelmina standing over by her barrel fire, Lexi dutifully next to her holding the possum. The coal yard looked different in the daylight, the rust on the steel structures more visible, the shadows and hiding spots fewer. The area was still dimmer than it should’ve been thanks to the shadow of the Battle Cruiser hovering above.

  “There’s enough of us to get the ball rolling,” Kane said. “Spread the word.”

  “Word in Hidden Valley travels quick,” Tabitha chimed in. “It’d be a couple of hours before everyone knew what was going on.”

  “Brilliant plan,” Chris said, crossing his arms in front of him. “And how do you plan to get them out? Think Chesterfield will let them by if we ask nicely?”

  Kane nodded, not fighting back the sarcasm.

  “He might. Seems reasonable when I talk to him.” He eyed Chris. “Or we could sneak them out. We can see them plainly, so we know where not to be.”

  Chris pointed at the sky.

  “There’s a fucking big battleship up there with little battleships circling around it. Kind of hard to think they might not have eyes everywhere.” He uncrossed his arms and ran his hands through his hair. “The only place they wouldn’t see us is underground.” He caught himself, his eyes widening as he smacked himself on the forehead. “The subway!”

  “What?” Kane said. “What subway?”

  Tabitha clapped her hands.

  “Oh, I didn’t think about that!”

  Chris turned, his people giving way for him to pace as he spoke.

  “Before the turn of the century, Boston developed an underground train system called a subway. It was supposed to make traveling around the city faster. New Chicago started the same thing about twenty years ago. 1901. That was the beginning of the Steam Revolution. They abandoned the subway project in favor of airships. Cheaper, faster, and a lot more luxurious.” He turned to Kane. “But the tunnels were mostly dug before they abandoned the project. They’d only just begun setting tracks.”

  “Which means those tunnels should still be down there,” Kane said, catching on. “Maybe even reaching into the city.”

  “So that’s the grand plan you white men come up with?” Wilhelmina called from her barrel fire. “Travel underground like a bunch o’ rabbits?”

  Kane looked at her, his agitation rising.

  “Got a better idea?”

  Wil grinned at him and shrugged.

  “Nope,” she said. “I like it.” Her grin broadened. “Jus’ remember that rabbits can be trapped. Damn fools to think they don’t have that covered.” She reached down into the barrel fire, the waves of heat rising up intensifying as the flames seemed to move away from her flesh. She pulled a fistful of ash from the fire and flung it outward, the group stepping back as the burning embers hit the ground, swirled and began to form shapes. Buildings, streets, even carriages and airships, the ashes floating in place, the structures mildly transparent as the black particles danced in the air. Burning embers floated where windows would be, where lights on the Battle Cruiser and gunners would be mounted searching down as the smaller ships moved about.

  Hidden Valley. It was a living replica of Hidden Valley.

  Kane heard Tabitha gasp, clapping her hands excitedly.

  “Oh, that is so neat!” she said. “Can you do Paris? I’ve always wanted to see Paris!”

  Wil shook her head, muttering something about “fool child” as she moved over to the image.

  “This here a map,” she said. “A living map. Can look and see all. All ‘cept what’s underground. Ain’t been down there, so I can’t make no map of that.”

  Kane crouched down over the map, looking up and down the streets. The ashes formed people wandering out of their homes, looking up at the sky, pointing as they spoke to their neighbors. Mothers rushed children back inside, locked the doors as men gathered and talked amongst themselves. He saw the Walking Bridge, the soldiers moving up and down the area, armed with rifles and blunderbusses. He looked around the edge of the map, shaking his head.

  “
Look at the perimeter,” he said, pointing. “Troops at every exit street, and gunners flying over where they can’t set up guard.”

  “Looks weakest right at the streets leading into the city,” Chris said, pointing. He gave a bitter laugh. “Always easier to go right into the lion’s mouth than it is to try and go around him.”

  “It’s a trap,” Kane said. “The minute they see us coming that way, it’ll be a shooting gallery, and Hidden Valley will be wiped out while we’re dealing it those guards. Look.” Kane pointed to two groups staked out behind the buildings on either side of the street leading into the city. “Pincer attack. We’d be done before we even got started. We’re going to have to use your subway tunnels if we want any prayer of getting people out of here.”

  “Damn,” Chris muttered.

  “We need somewhere to hide everyone,” Kane said. “Somewhere they can hole up once we get them out.”

  Chris stood, stroking his beard in thought.

  “There’s a subway station underneath New Chicago. Big one. They’d meant to make it the largest, but it was abandoned along with the project. No one goes down there. I’m fairly certain it still exists.”

  Kane stood, shaking his head.

  “We can’t work with ‘fairly certain.’” He looked at Chris. “We need to scout those tunnels before we start leading innocent people down there. Make sure the Special Forces and the Templars don’t have the same idea we do.”

  Chris shook his head.

  “I doubt it. No one goes down there. Not many know about it.”

  “You do,” Tabitha said, chiming in. “Now we do. It doesn’t matter if only one person knows. It matters who knows.”

  Kane nodded to her.

  “She’s right. We need to go down there ready for a fight. They may have a few down there, they may have an army. We need to know that before we take people down there. Period.”

  Chris nodded.

  “Alright,” he said. “I’ll have some people start spreading the word, get the evacuation public. We’ll use word of mouth. Keep it out of print. There’s only a few hundred people left, so it shouldn’t take long.” He looked at Kane. “We’ll need a scout team to go down there. Magicians.”