“I’m sure there are still people in this city that do. In fact, one of them works for you and always has her hair drawn up in a bun,” she smirked. “Though she wouldn’t be able to charge me with much. It is pretty apparent, isn’t it, that the figures are us?”
“Yeah, I was thinking the same. You and I both seemed to be on a search for something or… someone to fill in a hole in here.” He pointed at his chest. “Lucky I think we might have been successful at it.”
“Yes!” she said excitedly. “Hence the turmoil in our lives, represented by the dust storm, was sent away and the skies cleared when our eyes locked!”
“You’ve confirmed it for me: you are quite insane,” Jesse said as her enthusiasm flowed over him. “And I mean that in the best way possible. So, let’s say that it is indeed us, that still doesn’t explain how the dreams were exactly the same, and the timing of…”
“Who cares?” Jenny said bluntly. “Why are you looking at me like that? You said it yourself, back at the garden. Why must we know the answers to everything? Perhaps, this is nothing more than destiny.”
Jesse smiled and said, “If it is destiny, then it is everything. Do you believe in that sort of thing?”
“Well, I…” she hesitated, looking away to the east where the Gulch used to be. “I can’t say that my life has been full of blessings to make me think so. Do you?”
Jesse took in a deep breath, exhaling as he watched the climbing sun.
“My life has been the opposite of yours, its journey full of wealth and blessings beyond the lives of many down there. Yet, it was empty until I found myself here on the roof of my building, eating breakfast and talking to you, thinking that I must dreaming while knowing that I am awake.”
Jenny took her hand and rested it gently on her chest as a light breeze billowed in her hair.
“We have both walked different paths through our rather mechanical lives,” Jesse continued, “doing our daily routines, forever locked on a track that we think is inescapable – for fear of breaking ourselves, for failing, or losing our way. But for me, destiny is arriving where we arrive regardless of the path we take. Those of us who have not only mind and body, but spirit enough to be unbound can do it. I’d like to think that no matter what happened to either of us along the way, we would still have ended up here.”
“What are you saying, Jesse? That we are destined to be together?”
“I’m saying let’s not lose sight of the gift that’s been given to us; something no contraption or timepiece can ever hope to possess.”
“Love?”
“Yes… love,” Jesse said, about to kiss her. “I guess that was my way of saying yes, I believe in destiny…”
“Isn’t that the most sickening thing I have heard in a very long time,” came a deep voice from behind the two of them. “Although I must say thank you to you both for being in the same place and making these fine gentlemen’s jobs easy. Rangers, please, do your duty and place both of these murderers under arrest.”
TWO HARDENED RANGERS tipped their broad hats at the man between them, then approached Jesse and Jenny with their dusters kicking in the breeze and badges glinting in the sunlight. Seized by the arm, unfeeling cold steel clamped over the couple’s wrists and they were jerked to their feet, unresisting.
“Lucas!” Jesse shouted. The ranger holding him tightened his grip in case Jesse planned on lunging. “What is the meaning of this outrage?”
“Murderers?” Jenny exclaimed. “What are you talking…”
Frost sent a single finger skyward from his otherwise gloved fist, then brought it to his lips.
“Shhh… men are talking.”
“Don’t talk to her that way!” Jesse snapped, a shot of anger rising from his chest into a dagger-like stare.
Jenny shrank, her shoulders dropping, and looked down as Frost edged forward, each footstep clunking on the roof until he stopped mere centimeters from Jesse’s nose. His golden eye glimmered with enjoyment as he looked down the bridge of his nose at his longtime rival.
“The meaning of this ‘outrage’ is to see the two who conspired against the goodwill of this city and its citizens – the wonderful Winthrope and his wasteland whore – punished for their crimes. The mayor is dead, found in Sucio with a gunshot wound to the face. As if you did not already know…”
Frost’s words were dripping with an awful coat of gratification.
Both Jenny and Jesse looked at each other, lost for words. Jenny’s expression turned from one of confusion to panic, having heard stories about Frost but seeing him in person was a different matter, never mind her first meeting being one in which he was having her arrested for a crime she did not commit.
“Dead? Shot?” Jesse mumbled, his mind racing and revolted at the images it was conjuring. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Lucas, but we need to actually get to the bottom of this!”
His sincerity fell on six deaf ears.
“Ah but you would say that, wouldn’t you? Throw us off to prevent others in your little, or perhaps large, web of conspiracy to be discovered? Mark my words, if they are there, they will be found. I have already started the process to have your friend from Lagos investigated in this matter. What was his name? Duncan?”
“He’s innocent, and you are jeopardizing this water trade deal with them!”
“Then he should have no fear of an inquiry,” said the ranger holding Jenny.
“You seem more concerned about that deal and your pocketbook, Jesse, than the fact our people are suffering, potentially at the mercy of raiders. Then again, it all makes perfect sense as a motive when coupled with the taxes the mayor was going to levy on your expanded mining operations, themselves leaving us more vulnerable to wasteland ruffians like this woman beside you.”
“That deal was not for my pockets, it was for the people! The same ones you claim I do not hold respect for!” Jesse shouted, his words rightfully spilling over each other in a near ramble. “And Jenny’s own town was destroyed by raiders; she would do nothing to help them!”
“Is that wholly true, Miss Boone?” asked Frost. callous and unyielding.
“I would never help them,” Jenny shot back.
“But one did help you,” Frost said innocuously, looking right at Jesse when he did it. “Am I wrong?”
Jenny didn’t answer that question and by that, Jesse’s mouth drooped half-open, clearly shocked at the revelation.
“I’ll explain…” said Jenny regretfully, on the verge of tears.
Jesse glared at her, about to say something when Frost cut in.
“Tsk, Tsk, Jesse, you really should be more careful with who you choose as friends, especially those you end up bringing into your little inner circle.”
JESSE AND JENNY were forced down a long hall with heavy metal doors lining both sides. It was dark and would have been entirely black if not for a single circular window at the end, positioned high as to let a shaft of light in to see, but afford no view of what lied outside.
The lead ranger stopped outside one of the doors about two-thirds of the way down, unlocking three massive padlocks then sliding three substantial deadbolts to the side. Each made a ringing clang as it opened.
“Get in,” the trailing ranger ordered and when neither Jesse or Jenny moved, he shoved them both hard.
They stumbled into a room nearly as dank as the hall, with its own slender window that was too high to look out of. Before they could thank their escorts’ hospitality, the solid door shut with an echoing boom.
“What is going on?” Jenny asked now that they were alone, shading her eyes as the light from the window gleamed right into them.
Jesse turned around and leaned on the wall; it was wet and he didn’t want to think long on why. Moving away, he dropped to the floor and sat there with both of his hands on his head, fingers drumming.
“You tell me,” he muttered while his shackles rattled.
“What? You think I had something to do with this thing and
Frost?” Jenny asked, heart cracking from stress and sadness, breaking her from the inside out.
“Not this, Jenny, what Luc… what Frost said. About a raider helping you. That’s the last thing I expected, if what you said about your escape was true.”
Jenny’s lips bowed and she sighed, trying to smooth the ends of her hair with her fingertips.
“Is it true? About the raider?”
“Yes,” Jenny replied and Jesse’s face went flat and empty. “But it’s not what you think!”
“What else could it be, Jenny?” he bellowed, writhing as if an itch had taken over every part of his body and he couldn’t ease it. “Did you conspire with them? Plan all this to use against me?”
“I’m in here, too!” she cried. “In case you haven’t noticed.”
Although it hurt to be accused of such a thing after losing her life out there in the wastes, she dove into a detailed, if not jumpy, explanation of what happened that night after the attack. She described how Aftershock helped her escape, provided shelter, and even escorted her of his own accord to Pitchfork.
“So, you see Jesse, he isn’t like other raiders,” she emphasized, leaving out the personal details he’d told. “I thought he was at first – like you and everyone else does – but spending time with him made me realize I was wrong. Frost can say what he wants to try and use it against you, but if not for Aftershock, I wouldn’t be alive. I owe it to him to stay true to that.”
Jesse seemed swayed, but then insisted with a last-ditch effort that, “He had to have an ulterior motive. Wanting things from you.”
“I can safely say the answer to that is an indisputable no,” she answered, a bit coyly and in different circumstances would probably have giggled. “Besides, you should be the first one embracing someone that doesn’t fit into society’s mold, since you manage to avoid getting lumped into a shiny, elite box so well.”
Unable to deny that, and sensing the passion in Jenny’s words, the tingle in Jesse’s nerves started to fade away. He could breathe a little easier, although the musty room presented its own challenges.
“Thank you for that,” he said softly, rubbing his head one more time before looking up at her. “When you first told me the story in the garden you stopped right after the attack. Now I understand why you had your reasons for not mentioning Aftershock before. But, since you’ve confided that information to me, that trust goes a long way.”
Jenny smiled, and that drove away Jesse’s torment, at least for a little while.
“What happens now?” she asked, getting closer to him but remaining standing.
“Being in the core boroughs we’re lucky; even you not being an elite.”
“Thank goodness for being in the right place at the right time,” Jenny said.
“With the right person,” Jesse clarified as he looked ruefully up to her. “I know that sounds egotistical, but it’s not meant to be; they literally have to go through the process since you’ve been accused alongside me. That clearly assumes whatever is happening here is legitimate. If it is, there will be a hearing first, to see if there is enough evidence for a trial before one of the city’s magistrates. With Frost trying to involve Duncan in this, and limiting his travels, I know that it’s a blatant move to keep his legal prowess at bay.”
“That’s not good for us…”
“No, not at all…” Jesse said, trailing off worriedly.
“Something more?”
“Yes,” Jesse answered a moment later, troubled. His eyes had been shifting quickly, as if he was reading through a set of documents in his mind. “The more I think on it, the more I think there isn’t going to be a hearing.”
“Even with your resources and influence they’d be so quick to put the noose around our necks?”
“We’d see the gallows by the end of this day if they could. All it takes is someone willing to pay more Gears than the other party to tip the balance in their favor.”
Jesse’s eyes started moving again as thoughts consumed him, the silence lasting a few minutes.
“Anything else?” Jenny asked with baited breath.
“Frost. I don’t have any proof, I have a feeling he has something, if not everything, to do with this.”
“I’ve been thinking the same thing in the back of my mind.”
Jesse let out a frustrated grunt and Jenny jumped, startled by the suddenness of it. Standing back up, Jesse grasped Jenny by the shoulders and hugged her. He could feel her stirring restlessly in his embrace, so he kissed her softly on the forehead to take some of the worry away.
“We need more time,” he told her, “a delay, anything to help us get the evidence we need to –”
Jesse stopped mid-sentence; he could hear someone scuttling around outside the door.
Did they hear us? he thought, wondering if they had been overheard. Looking around for a holorecorder or microphones, none were immediately visible.
Regardless there was jostling…
Followed by three ringing clangs…
Whoever it was coming in and doing it fast.
“Jenny, get behind me!”
Before Jesse had finished getting into position, the door flew open and hit the wall of the cell with a deafening bang. The duo slammed their hands against their ears for all the ringing that continued.
In front of them was a man, draped in a hooded cloak that covered his head and a dark, loosely buttoned shirt.
“Mr. Winthrope, Miss Boone, you must come with me!”
Jesse didn’t recognize the voice, frantic but also boyish in tone. He thought, for a silly moment, that he might have even seen flickers of blue light coming from beneath the hood.
“Why would we go anywhere with you?” he asked firmly, keeping an arm positioned to guard Jenny.
The man immediately pointed to the open door.
“Well… um… okay…. then who are you?” Jesse pressed.
“Mr. Winthrope, please, there isn’t much time. My name is Aero and I promise to answer your questions, but along the way! We must leave before…”
The alarm klaxons started sounding and the area was filled with a shrill whine that came and went in a repeating pattern.
Aero flung his cloak aside and tossed each of them a pistol; they were bulkier than normal with large barrels and rectangular ends.
“These are non-lethal,” he told them. “But do pack a punch.”
“Are theirs non-lethal?” Jesse asked cynically, eyeing his gun as if it were a toy.
“No, of course not. They’re Rangers,” Aero replied, “which means they would not have additional and legitimate charges filed against them should they kill any of you. Now come!”
Without another word, Aero tore down the hall.
“Self-defense is always a good go to,” Jesse added, giving a quick look to Jenny. “Right?”
“I don’t think that applies when you are escaping from a jail.”
Giving each other a swift kiss, the pair bounded out of the cell, nearly stumbling on a body just as they came around to the left. They ran past several more Rangers lying on the ground as they ran, unconscious if Aero had used either of the pistols he off-loaded.
“Seems like our savior has been busy,” Jenny said with quickened breath.
“Yeah, he has, though I’m not sure he’s one of us, if you know what I mean.”
Jenny’s expression told that she wasn’t sure, and when she answered “No” with great puffs of air, Jesse chuckled.
“You’ll see.”
Aero had stopped up ahead at an intersecting row of cells, three more Rangers coming through the door in front of him. As they raced down the hall, they fired their deadly rounds and he managed to nimbly evade them, leaving pockmarks in sections of floor that had been occupied just seconds before.
Jesse snatched Jenny and heaved them both to the side, striking the wall just in time for stray bullets to whizz by.
Aero continued to dodge his attackers gracefully, almost acrobatic in his sk
ill. At one point he saw an opportunity, leaping up and off a wall, flinging his cloak off in mid-air. The heavy garment draped itself over nearby ranger, which gave Aero just enough time to land, spin, and kick him into the opposite wall.
Jenny could now see what Jesse meant as Aero continued his ballet. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and along his forearms was a peculiar material that looked very much like skin, but carved lines separating it into plates broke the illusion.
Step by bullet-dodging step the two of them managed to get closer, at last retuning fire on the remaining two Rangers. They hit their targets after a brief exchange, the big ammo knocking them unconscious. Reaching Aero, they saw that he was not tired nor sweating like they were.
“Where to now?” Jesse asked, resting with a hand on his hip, taking in the strangeness of a bot helping them.
“We will be outnumbered and out of ammo if we go through the main entrance,” Aero stated. The sound of more footsteps was in the distance; a lot of them. “Yet, we will also be pursued if we are seen going down either of these side pathways.”
“Where do they lead?” Jenny asked, quickly looking at her shoulder, which had a dull and burning pain. A bullet must have grazed her, Jesse flying over to tend to it.
“Pardon me,” he said, ripping off a large portion of her sleeve before wrapping it firmly around the wound to stop the bleeding.
“Could you get that any tighter?”
“Nope,” he said while admiring his handiwork and her lopsided outfit. “There you are, all mended and setting new end-of-century fashion trends.”
A quick series of beeps emanated from Aero and then he said, “To the left is a cafeteria and the right the garage; both have access to the city. I recommend that we head to the left; there will likely be fewer encounters.”
“But won’t that keep us on foot? There are vehicles to the right, correct?” Jesse asked, hearing those footsteps get closer with every word.
“Yes. That is often what you place in a garage.”
Jesse sputtered and tried not to look annoyed.
“Well, do you think we can commandeer one and get out of the building? Possibly out of the city?”
The Steam Tycoon Page 20