by J. C. Staudt
I triggered my solenoid and vaulted onto the deck in one long leap as the first few shots landed around me. Trudy’s guys were already in hot pursuit, so I rattled off a few wild shots with the hand pulser as I was running up the quarterdeck stairs. I shrugged off the wooden chest, setting it down beside the controls, then got the boat up and running in a heartbeat, flipping switches and turning dials like I was born doing it.
Cole and Barnaby were climbing the chain-link fence as I lifted off, their bodies full of craters. Two of Trudy’s men managed to catch the Galeskimmer’s railing and clamber aboard. Somehow, I’d have to deal with them and fly the ship at the same time. I was a one-man operation at the moment, unless Nerimund decided to wake up from his wooden nap and start working his miracles again.
“I’m not a Civvy,” I shouted, knowing Henderson hadn’t heard me but hoping these two would. “You’ve got the wrong idea.”
One of them shot his rifle at me. The laser bolt bored a black hole into the wooden control console.
“Hey, you trying to bring the whole boat down?” I yelled, returning fire. I missed, without the man having to move a muscle to avoid the burst. “That was a warning shot.”
The men hunkered down and started shooting back in earnest. I jammed the clinkers loose and we shot upward, keeping them down for a few precious seconds. Seconds I used to take careful aim at one of their hiding spots. By the time he popped his head out again, the medallion was already sending my trigger finger the right message.
The pulse surged over him. He went stiff and fell over, dropping his rifle. Meanwhile, the other guy snapped off a clean shot and nailed me in the shoulder. It felt like a thousand candles had just ganged up on a spot the size of a lima bean. I made a sound that was half growl and half scream.
“Hey, you dim-witted muscleheads. I said I’m not a Civvy. That guy was my prisoner. I’m on my way to turn myself in to the Civs right now, so unless you’d like to accompany me to jail”—I ducked as a laser bolt flashed past—“you’d better get off at the next stop.”
Another shot fizzed by, so close I could feel the vibration in my left eardrum. Trudy had not hired these men for their skills in verbal comprehension.
“Will you quit that?” I shouted.
The city was a carpet of distant lights twinkling below us now, so I set the clinkers and eased the turbines to neutral. We were hovering in place—a platform in the air, something any well-built streamboat could pull off without a hitch. I covered myself with a few ill-aimed shots toward the man firing back at me. The one I’d pulsed was coming to his senses. If they weren’t going to listen to reason, I’d have to make them understand me in some other way.
I darted out from behind the control console as another laser blast nicked me in the side. It hurt like hell, and I couldn’t help but let out another pained grunt. He got another shot away as I dove down the stairs, returning fire. I took up a position behind a nest of empty crates at midships, which the Civs had pried open during their search and left in disarray.
Caught in the open, my adversaries began to fire more rapidly, their laser bolts burning holes through the wood. I sent pulser bursts back at them and managed to hit the deck between them, giving them each a partial dose as the burst spread over the planks. Seeing my chance, I stood and fired a series of well-placed shots, more careful than usual because I knew there was the chance I’d hit the runners from this angle.
Both men were writhing on the deck by the time I got to them. I tossed one laser rifle overboard and scooped up the other one. “Give it a rest, you jerks,” I said. “I’m not a Civ. I’m about as far from a Civ as anyone can get, matter of fact. My name is Mulroney Jakes. Maybe you’ve heard of me.” I pulled off Dennel’s top-hat, flipped up Thorley’s eyepatch, and ripped off Sable’s mustache.
“You’re the guy from the wanted posters,” said the bulkier of the two men.
“That’s me. Now get on your feet.”
“Are you gonna kill us?” the other asked, standing.
“I most certainly am.”
“Please don’t.”
“I don’t want to hear the wife and kids excuse. I don’t want to hear about what we have in common. And I will kill you on principle if you tell me you’re too young to die. Nobody who ever had it coming got on my good side by making excuses.”
“He ain’t bluffing, Murdoch,” said the first. “Muller Jakes has killed hundreds.”
“Less than two dozen, actually. Not counting other species.” It seemed rumors of my greatness had been exaggerated, and I was pleased with the outcome. “Who wants to die first?”
They pointed at each other.
“Okay. Same time, then.”
I gave them each another pulse, then bound their hands behind their backs and stood them up beside the railing, facing it. “Last words, anybody?”
“Please reconsider,” the man said, his voice trembling like a leaf.
The men were both trembling, scared out of their minds. These were hired guns, paid to work security for an underground crime ring that dealt in the black market. Probably they hadn’t done anything worse in their lives than I had. But I wasn’t a priest. I wasn’t interested in giving them second chances. And the medallion was speaking its dark words into my soul, that growing evil I didn’t yet understand. I was the reckoner, and I drew no lines between my desires and its desires.
Even so, I hesitated for a long time. Too long for someone with my reputation. But now that these men knew who I was, I had to keep up appearances. They were going to die, and I was going to remain the subject of their children’s nightmares for years to come.
In that long moment, the other man made the decision to try his hand at dissuading me one last time. “Please don’t do this,” he pleaded. “Out of the goodness of your heart… please.”
“I don’t have the slightest clue what you’re referring to,” I said. I planted a foot in his lower back and pushed. He toppled over the handrail, screaming, and fell away into the night. I did the same thing to the second man without pausing to reflect.
Each time I killed, I felt a dark twinge of pleasure and regret—a wicked mixture that was as satisfying as it was frightening. I didn’t know why I’d done it, aside from the call of my self-preservational instinct. But I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to do it again until someone else got in my way.
I had thought murder was supposed to get easier the more you did it, but I was finding the opposite to be true. Instead of building up my tolerance to it, it felt like I was adding a lead weight onto an already heavy burden that I carried around with me everywhere I went.
The Galeskimmer’s engines purred to life. I flew out to the moorlands and spent some time burying and concealing the chest full of money, saving out what I needed for the task ahead. I had just turned about and started off toward the hospital in the center of downtown when my bluewave comm went off.
“Greetings and salutations,” I said, sounding less joyful than the statement might’ve indicated.
“Mulroney Jakes?”
“Who is this? Thomas, is that you?”
“I dare say, it is.”
“Are there still Civs listening in?”
“Good heavens, no. They released me just now. They won’t prosecute Rindhi either, since we weren’t complicit in your criminal activities before we met.”
“I’m on my way to the hospital now, so I’ll see you in a few minutes, if you’re still there.”
“No. Do not come here, whatever you do. You must make for the jetty. I’ll meet you there. We have to get to Darigal.”
“Sorry, ol’ chap. You’ll have to find another ride. It’s the end of the line for me. I’m going away for a long time.”
“No, you are not.”
“Uh… come again?”
“Sable has asked that I urge you to do otherwise.”
“Sable’s the one who just helped convince me to turn myself in.”
“She was coerced… as were we all. T
he Civvies offered them reduced sentences if they helped, and threatened them with obstruction of justice if they didn’t. But Mr. McMurtry knows better. He knows that the most they’ll end up with when this is all over is a year or two in jail, if that. They’ll be tried as your unwilling accomplices and, if convicted, given light sentences. While the constables weren’t listening, Sable begged me to encourage you to continue the quest to free her uncle. She obviously cares very much for the man, and she doesn’t believe the Civs will let her and the others go when you turn yourself in. Frankly, neither do I.”
“I wish I could say I disagreed with you. But I don’t even know what this Angus guy looks like. How am I supposed to find him—knock on Maclin Automation’s front door and ask to browse their secret debtor’s prison like it’s an animal shelter?”
“I’ve heard worse ideas in my time. Fortunately, Sable mentioned someone who can help us on that score.”
“Who?”
“Her grandfather.”
“As in, Uncle Angus’s father?”
“Estranged father. But yes.”
“Tom, I think you’re a pretty sketchy guy. Generally speaking, your judgment is worse than mine—and mine’s pretty bad. How do I know the Civs aren’t putting you up to this?”
“I promise you, Mulroney… this is real.”
“What about Rindhi? Aren’t you two joined at the hip?”
“I’ll come back for him when he is well. He’s not in any danger here.”
“If you say so.”
“Also, there’s something I was wondering whether you might do for me.”
“Ah, so the ulterior motive comes out,” I said. “Like what?”
“We’ll speak more of it in person.”
“Okay. But we’re not meeting at the jetty. Just in case this is a trap. I’ve dealt with enough of those for one day. Meet me outside the Goldenrod Resort.”
“Very well… Where might I find it?”
“Ask someone for directions. Just be there.” I hung up, feeling somewhat bewildered and doubting whether I knew what I was doing anymore. A few minutes ago, I’d resigned myself to living out the rest of my life in prison. Now I was doing just the opposite—making a run for it and taking Thomas with me. It didn’t surprise me to know the Civs had tried to trick me. It was just like those dirty law-lovers to use a guy’s own friends against him.
I flew to the Goldenrod Resort and set the clinkers, leaving the Galeskimmer hovering a thousand feet above the ground. I zoomed in and watched the entrance until I saw Thomas approaching. I bluewaved him.
“Hello?”
“Tommy, it’s me. Change of plans. Get someone to give you directions to Rothchild University. It isn’t far. Head to the campus and wait for me on the green.”
Thomas gave a loud sigh.
“Tom, my boy. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but… I don’t trust you. And I especially don’t trust the Civs. I’m watching you, Tom. If you pick up that bluewave comm to call anyone, I’ll see. Walk quickly, and don’t stop until you get there.”
Thomas reduced his voice to a harsh whisper. “Allow me to emphasize again that I am acting alone, Mr. Jakes.”
“Allow me to emphasize that I’m not taking any chances, Tommy.”
“I understand your reluctance, but I must say that all this running around has me quite out of breath—and frazzled, besides.”
“Look, Tom, I’m taking your word for it that Sable wants me to carry on without her. Even I can admit that she and the others don’t deserve to be locked away like criminals when I should be the one in prison. So believe me when I say I’m doing this for her, not you. And unless you follow my instructions to the letter, you can find another ride to Darigal, because I’ve got places to go and things to get done.”
“Alright, alright. I’m coming.” Thomas hung up.
From my vantage point above, I watched him speak to a man passing by in a khaki-colored fedora, then start off toward the University. I crossed to the opposite railing and watched him stroll quickly down Laniman Street, turn north on Weihr Avenue, and cross over to Arrow Lane’s southwest sidewalk. When he entered the campus commons through its high wrought-iron gates, I scanned the surrounds for signs of Civ activity. There was none that I could see, so I took the controls and guided the boat down onto the grassy field at the center of the commons.
Passing students raised their eyebrows and frowned their disapproval at whatever knave might have the audacity to land a ship in the middle of their precious sequestered environment. I waved back at them, smiling. A campus security officer sauntered out to the boat and asked me just what I thought I was doing.
“Giving someone a lift,” I said. “Ah, speak of the devil—here he is now.”
Thomas was walking down the long path between two gray stone buildings and crossing onto the grass. He appeared to be much more embarrassed about my parking job than I was. When he got to the ship, I opened the gate and helped him aboard. His wrists were bandaged and his broken nose looked like a turnip, but there were no Civs with him.
“It is against the policy of this University to operate vehicles of any kind on the campus commons, good sir,” the security guard was saying.
“Oh dear, how dreadful of me,” I said, returning to the helm. “Never let it be said that Mulroney Francis Jakes is a man to go against the rules.”
The guard did a double-take. “Mulroney Jakes, did you say?”
I fired up the turbines, then doffed my top-hat and gave him a sweeping bow. “The one and only!” I shouted, lifting off.
He scowled and shook his fist at me when he noticed the scorch marks the turbines had left in the grass. “I hope they catch you and put you away for good and all!”
“Not today,” I said, even though I was the only one who heard it.
“Your middle name is Francis?” Thomas was beside me. He sounded far worse now that his voice wasn’t coming out of a little box I could shut off whenever I wanted.
“How have you managed to miss every single one of the ten billion wanted posters plastered all over the stream with my name on them?” I asked.
“Nobody reads the names on wanted posters,” said Thomas. “It’s the portraits they look at—so as to compare the likeness to their next-door neighbors.”
“Not so… apparently that security guard reads the names.”
“That’s his job.”
“What’s your job, Tom? To be a thorn in my side until my dying day? What’s your angle? What possessed you to set foot on this boat again once you’d found out I was a cold-blooded murderer?”
“It was precisely that attribute which possessed me.”
“I don’t get you. It’s not like the Civs were gonna take my word for it that I’d turn myself in. They aren’t just waiting around at the hospital for me to show up. There are probably sloops tailing us right now. Let me see what’s under your coat. I bet you they stuck a bluewave beacon into you so they could track our movements. Spit it out now, if you’ve got it, Tom. Or squeeze it out, if that’s the way they put it in there. I’ll cut you in half if I need to. I’ll make you do a full cavity search on yourself if you don’t come clean right now.”
“For the last time, Mr. Jakes… I am not in the Regency’s employ!” Thomas was angry now. I liked him better that way.
“Prove it,” I said. I had no idea how he could’ve proved it. I just wanted to see what he’d do.
“I am at odds with the Regency in more ways than you know,” said Thomas, taking off his jacket. He followed with his waistcoat and his shirt; then his shoes, socks, and trousers. When he was done, he stood in his BVDs and gave me a twirl. He was pale, and a little chubby around the edges.
“Are you trying to seduce me? Because it’s working.”
“I’m trying to prove to you that I’m your ally,” Thomas said, showing me his underarms and his back. “See? No augments. No hidden compartments. No bluewave beacons stuffed into my ears.”
“You can stuff a
bluewave beacon in plenty of places, Tommy.”
He sighed. “I assure you… nobody has stuffed anything anywhere I haven’t already given you a good look at. What more can I do to prove to you that I am telling the truth?”
“Put your clothes back on, for starters. We can talk about the truth without your hairy nipples being in my face. We have no crew now. It’s just you and me and Nerimund, and that makes me the captain by right of experience. Nerimund does what he wants, so he doesn’t count. That means that if you want a ticket for this flight, you’ll have to make yourself useful. You’re going to be doing the job of three people on your own until we get to Darigal.”
“I suspected I might be in for a bit of a rough voyage,” Thomas said, getting dressed. “Might we speak in a more private place about the other matter I had in mind?”
“We’re in the open sky. There’s no one around. How much more private can it get?”
“Nonetheless, I would prefer not to be witnessed by any prying eyes or ears.”
“I’m with you there, Tommy. I’ll just hand off the controls to my invisible friend Bob here while we go inside and have a chat. Or better yet, I’ll knock on wood and let Nerimund drive. How does that sound?”
“Oh… right. There isn’t anyone to take over, is there.”
“You’re getting used to this one-man crew thing already,” I said. “We can’t go below to talk unless I stop the boat, and since I know with the utmost certainty that there are Civvy sloops from Everwynd coming right now to fetch us back, I’m not stopping the boat. So talk.”
“Before I get to my part, we should set a course for Kilori.”
“Why would I ever go to that rathole?”
“Because it’s where Sable’s grandfather lives.”
I wrinkled my mouth. “Setting a course.”
“Right then. No sense beating around the bush about this any longer. I want to hire you for a job.”
“I have an easy answer for you: I’m not looking for a job. I’ve got plenty of money already, thank you.”