“You reckon you can pick this manacle, Coop?” Lil asked.
“I reckon I got just the tool for it.”
He reached forward and grasped Nita’s wrist, then yanked it aside, pulling Linn off balance. With the chain taut, he put the muzzle of the rifle to the portion nearest to Linn’s wrist and pulled the trigger.
His rifle’s report was deafening, but it did its work, albeit messily. When the smoke was swept away by the whipping wind, the chain had been shattered and a large chunk of the nearest stair had been gouged away. The fragments of wood and chain took their toll on all in attendance, speckling and scraping the Wind Breaker crew and the hound, but taking their biggest toll on the warden. His arm and hand were bloodied horribly.
“So long, Warden,” Lil said, her voice raised over both the wind and the ringing in her own ears. “You trying to sic your dog on my brother makes me not feel so bad about all this.”
The Wind Breaker crew made their way to the rope ladder when it was once again brought into range. With a roar of engines, the captain lifted them up and away, finally reunited with their ship and crew.
Epilogue
Landing a prison turned out to be a rather challenging proposition. Balancing the support balloons by freeing the opposite one was indeed enough to bring the facility back to roughly level, but that was only the start. The crew dropped mooring ropes down and secured them to the deck, using the Wind Breaker as a woefully underpowered tug to keep the facility at least moderately stable while a few carefully placed rifle shots produced enough leaks in the remaining balloons to bring the place down completely.
Touching down was less than graceful. The prison skidded for half a mile and left most of its bottom two levels scattered across that distance, proving that keeping everyone away from the lower floors had been a wise decision. When it finally settled, the Wind Breaker crew cut the rest of the balloons free and made their way down into the facility to see about the inmates and guards.
Between the uprising and the landing, blood had been shed. Most of the inmates were shaken up by the landing, with every last one of them sporting bumps and bruises, and in the most severe cases a few broken bones. The only lives lost were those lost during the battle for the surface. Gunner, Coop, and Lil secured the facility while Butch saw to Nita’s arm and the more problematic of the fragment wounds. Then Butch entered the teetering prison to treat the injuries.
“Here we are! Knew they’d still have our stuff,” Lil said after kicking open one of the supply room doors on the second level. “They got your outfit and mine. A good thing, too. These are my best work britches.”
Nita knelt and picked up her goggles, slipping them onto her head. “I wouldn’t want to have to explain to my brother how I lost the goggles he accessorized for me.”
“They sure did hide these good. Glad we had to pick this place clean to fix up the Wind Breaker or we might never have found them,” Lil said.
“Lil? Nita? You in here?” called Kent from down the hall.
“Yep, we’re in here. Just getting our things,” Lil said.
“Your captain wants you outside. We’re done moving everyone to the surface.”
“Sure thing. We’ll be down shortly,” Nita said.
They finished reclaiming their personal effects, and at Lil’s prodding found a dark corner to get changed into their proper clothes, then navigated the wrecked interior to the makeshift gangplank they’d rigged to the third floor.
The prison had set down in a marshy field not far from the remnants of what had been a town prior to the arrival of the fug. This one hadn’t been repurposed by the fug folk and thus was almost perfectly intact, save for the wear and tear of the elements without residents to perform upkeep.
While the injuries were being treated, the storm had died down to a light drizzle, and now there was only the scattered patter of rain. The inmates were gathered around the captain, Blanche, and the grunts. The latter three had become something of the unofficial spokespeople for the group. To the side were the remaining guards, each outfitted with a set of shackles—after first being searched for spare keys. Both Linn and Blanc were among them. Linn’s hand had been heavily bandaged, but Butch seemed to have treated it well enough for recovery to be genuinely possible. Anthus was by their side, outfitted with a makeshift muzzle.
“Nita here got a message out to us saying you folks were different from what we’ve come to expect from your kind. Suppose I shouldn’t be surprised to find she was right. Does my heart good to know there’s a few of you down here that feel just about the same as we do about how things are being run,” Captain Mack said. “There ain’t room on the Wind Breaker for the lot of you to hitch a ride, and I don’t think we could afford to stay down here that long besides, so I reckon your first order of business with all this fresh new freedom you got is to figure out where you’re going to go and how.”
“I know where we are, roughly. About… a hundred miles up that way there’s a mine. Bunch of grunts like us’ll be working there. I guarantee I’ll know a few of those guys, one way or another. There’s always a few people in a mine like that who’ll be looking for a way to get even with the folks in charge. Shouldn’t be hard to get an ore barge down here in a day or two to pick up the inmates.”
“You reckon you can get to the mine on the steam cart?”
“My first job was operating one of those,” Donald said, nodding.
“I suppose the rest of us can spend a night or two in this ghost town until then,” Blanche said.
“And what’ll you do with the guards?”
“Just leave ’em here. We’re not so far from the old site of the prison that a search party won’t find them eventually. Maybe if they’re nice, we’ll even set up a flare or something for after we’re gone,” Kent said.
“That suit the rest of you?” the captain said.
There was an unenthusiastic but affirmative murmur from the rest of the inmates.
“And, Captain West, none of us are going to forget what you did here. One of these days, you’ll hear from one of us, I promise. You’ve got friends in the fug now,” Kent said.
“Lord knows we could use them,” the captain said.
Donald, Kent, Blanche, and the captain exchanged hearty handshakes.
“So long, grunts,” Lil said, giving the two of them each a hug and a slap on the back. “Meeting you two was the best part of being locked up.” She looked to Blanche. “You, I could take or leave.”
“The feeling is mutual,” she replied.
Lil twisted her head and stepped to the side to find a small, furry form clinging to Blanche’s side.
“What’ve you got there?” Lil asked.
“This is inspector 34097. Skykeep’s inspector,” Blanche said.
“These little critters sure do know how to survive the worst, don’t they?” Lil said. “You better take good care of her.”
“Him, actually.”
“All the same, take good care. I’m really getting a soft spot for those rascals.”
A few more good-byes were exchanged before the captain finally signaled for Lil and Nita to board the Wind Breaker.
“Get on in, ladies. Once the cart’s unhitched, we’ll be on our way,” the captain said.
Nita looked to Warden Linn. He seemed smaller somehow, with his hat missing and his suit torn. Nonetheless, he stood poised and with dignity.
“Just one last thing, Captain,” Nita said.
She touched Lil on the shoulder and coaxed her toward the warden.
“Warden, I want to say that I am genuinely, deeply sorry that it turned out this way. You are an honorable man, and—”
“Ms. Graus, do not apologize to me. We had opposing goals. I was to keep you caged, you were to rejoin your people. You, Ms. Cooper, and your crew bested me and my men. It is the way of things. If we cross paths again, I will be better prepared, and perhaps things will end differently.”
“Don’t bet on it,” Lil said. “Oh, an
d Blanc?”
She gave the assistant warden a vicious punch to the arm.
“That was for hitting me with your stick.”
Their affairs now in order, the ladies returned to the ship.
In deference to the ordeal the girls had been through, Gunner and Coop had done the requisite patching of the envelope. Lil and Nita were thus free to go directly to the galley after a short stop in the gig bay to fetch Nita’s book of letters and a box from her things. While they wouldn’t be able to remove their masks and eat until they were out of the fug, they wanted to be ready to eat their first proper meal in more than a week the very instant the fug drained away. At the moment, Butch was fetching some supplies in the storeroom, leaving Lil and Nita alone. They sat at one of the tables, dreaming of the meal to come.
“I can’t wait to get my hands on a big plate of Butch’s biscuits and gravy. Dreaming of them things was just about the only thing that got me through my time in the box sometimes,” Lil said.
“I don’t care what we get, as long as it is warm and fresh,” Nita said.
“You said it,” Lil said. She looked to Nita. “You know something, Nita… I… I don’t know if I would’ve made it through this if it was anyone else in there with me.”
“You would have found your way out. Or we would have found you.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. You… look, we’re all a crew. All us are like family. ’Cept Coop. He really is family. But you… aw, I ain’t good with words. I just feel like you and me… we’re good together, you know. I’d’ve fallen to pieces if you weren’t there. I feel like… you’re… you and me… aw, am I making any sense at all?”
“Perfect sense, Lil. I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Nita said, putting an arm over her shoulder.
“Shame we never got a chance to do that night on the town like I was planning.”
“There’s plenty of time for that. Maybe we’ll even be able to do it in Caldera. Father has been working hard to earn you all safe harbor there.” She took her hand from Lil’s shoulder and flipped the book open. “I didn’t get a chance to read her final letter. Perhaps it already happened.”
As she was scanning the page, Coop walked in.
“Here you two are. Figured you’d be looking for something to eat,” Coop said.
He sat beside Lil and pulled her close. “It’s going to be a long while before I feel like I can let you out of my sight again, Chastity.”
“Aw, you knew I’d be fine. And I knew you’d come get me,” Lil said. “What’s that you got squirming in your coat there?”
“Oh. That’s Nikita. She ain’t been out from under there. Little critter’s my buddy I guess.”
“And here I remember you being neck and neck with Gunner when it came to who hated Wink more. Now you got an inspector all your own. Don’t that beat all.”
“At least she’s a good one.”
“If that’s Nikita,” Nita said, pulling open the box she’d brought, “then this is for her.”
She held out a macaroon, reaching across Lil. Coop leaned back and tugged his jacket open. Nikita pulled slightly away, then sniffed at the treat. Finally she snatched it, rattling a quick thank-you on the table before tugging the jacket shut again to munch at it.
“Oh, speaking of gifts, Nita, might not be the time for it, but right before what happened happened, I picked something up for you,” he said, reaching into his pocket.
He pulled out the music box he’d purchased and set it down beside her book. It was a bit dented, but otherwise intact.
“You got this for me?” Nita said. She opened the cover, and an intricate ballerina did a graceful turn to a simple little tune. “I was thinking of buying one of these! How did you know?”
“Oh, I just figured it was pretty and such. And you’re pretty and such. It was pretty near the only thing you might like that we got.”
“That’s very thoughtful, Coop. Thank you.”
“I was gonna write you a poem too, but then what happened happened and it got so I was too busy thinking about what I’d do to whoever did whatever got done to you.”
“I’m sure it would’ve been a real nice poem, Coop,” Lil snorted.
“A poem?” Nita said. “You’re a poet?”
“Well, no, but I reckon it can’t be that hard. If I still get one writ, you reckon you’d like it?”
“I’m sure I’ll love it.”
“Well, maybe I’ll go do some thinking on it right now,” Coop said.
He stood, tousled Lil’s hair, and marched for the door.
“Oh, Coop?” Nita called.
He turned.
“Was it you who flattened a six foot length of pipe in the hall out there?”
“Yep!” he said, pride in his expression. “Fixed it all by myself.”
“We’ll have to have a word about the proper use of bypass and cutoff valves.”
“Sure thing, Nita. And I’ll have that poem for you soon as I finish it.” He stepped quickly into the hall.
“Don’t mind him none,” Lil said. “He’s not any better with his words than I am. Figures he’d be sweet on you by now.”
A familiar patter of little feet drew their eyes to the door. Wink scurried in and climbed up on the table.
“There’s our little hero. What’s the matter, did you see Nikita eating a macaroon and get jealous?”
Nikita got good food, Wink tapped.
Nita took the lid from the box and pushed it forward.
“And so will you. All yours. And I’ll make sure to get a box for you and Nikita each when we get back to Caldera.”
Wink didn’t need to be told twice. He scrambled into the box and grabbed a macaroon in each cunning little hand, then crawled down between the girls to crunch away eagerly.
“Won’t be long, either. Cap’n said we’re headed right to Caldera once we shove off,” Lil said. “Otherwise we might miss the low tide.”
“In that case, I should start writing my letter. Maybe you can help me. It’s going to be a long one,” Nita said. She picked up a pen.
Dear Mother, she began. Things have been exciting since I last wrote. I know that you worry about me and the trouble I’ll get into out here, and what you’ll read below will no doubt confirm some of your fears. But as you learn about what happened, please keep this in mind. I am safe. I made it through with the help of my crew, and with the help of a very good friend…
From The Author
Thank you for reading the second book in my Free-Wrench series. I hope you enjoyed the story! Steampunk has been a great deal of fun for me to write, and Free-Wrench has the distinction of being a series written entirely as NaNoWriMo novels! If you enjoy my writing, please consider taking the time to sign up for my newsletter. It is the best way to be certain you’ll find out about new books and projects from me as soon as they become available. Thanks for reading!
Discover other titles by Joseph R. Lallo:
The Book of Deacon Trilogy:
Book 1: The Book of Deacon
Book 2: The Great Convergence
Book 3: The Battle of Verril
Other stories in the same setting:
Jade
The Rise of the Red Shadow
Science Fiction Titles:
Bypass Gemini
Unstable Prototypes
Artificial Evolution
NaNoWriMo Projects:
The Other Eight
Free-Wrench
Skykeep
Connect with Joseph R. Lallo
Website: http://www.bookofdeacon.com
Twitter: @jrlallo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Book-of-Deacon/239647549418500
Tumblr: http://jrlallo.tumblr.com/
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