by Marty Chan
“Edison’s boys are getting mighty close to finishing. We might need to slow them down a hair or two,” the scruffy technician said with a southern drawl.
“Whatever it takes, Hobbs. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, Captain Farrier. Whatever it takes.”
Ehrich froze. Farrier. The man with the wooden leg was the former commander of the hunters. He had betrayed everyone on Devil’s Island by making a deal with Ba Tian to enable him to invade the island.
The last Ehrich had seen of Farrier was in the battle on Devil’s Island where Farrier had allowed Ba Tian and his exoskeletons to slip past the defences. Farrier planned to let Ba Tian gain control of the Demon Gate portal and bring over his invading army. If it hadn’t been for Amina and Mr. Serenity, the warlord would now have the means to invade New York. In the melee, the traitor Farrier had fled the fight. Ehrich had assumed the man had crawled under a rock never to be seen again. He was wrong. Questions reeled through his mind. Why was the former Demon Watch commander here? What was his end goal? Why was he spying on the execution site? Ehrich moved closer to listen.
Farrier turned at the same time, revealing his battle-scarred face and menacing eyes. Ehrich tried to slip away, but Farrier’s eyes widened with recognition. “Weisz,” he hissed.
The CHASE
Farrier stood up, resting his hand against the chair. “You,” he hissed. “He’s one of them,” he said to the scruffy technician.
Two against one. Ehrich backed away.
“Spy!” Farrier yelled.
The patrons spun around.
Ehrich angled his body so he could keep an eye on Farrier and defend himself from the ruffians now rising from their seats.
“Back off,” Ehrich said. “This is Demon Watch business. That man’s a traitor to Demon Watch.”
The man with the eyepatch growled. “I hate coppers. Always sticking their noses where they don’t belong.”
Farrier roared, “Ten dollars to the man who teaches this mutt some manners.”
This was all the encouragement they needed. The ruffians advanced on Ehrich while Farrier and Hobbs headed to the exit. Ehrich wanted to tackle Farrier, but he had to run the gauntlet of thugs. He dropped the mug on the ground and grabbed a chair to defend himself.
“You don’t think I’m here on my own, do you?” Ehrich asked. “I have reinforcements outside. One whistle and you’re all going to be in Darby shackles by the end of the day.”
“He’s bluffing,” the man with the eyepatch said.
But the others were not so sure. A few backed away. Two advanced on Ehrich. He raised the chair, ready to fight.
Suddenly Dash screamed, “Fire!”
Everyone turned. Flames ran along the bar counter. The barmaids rushed to put out the fire. A few patrons joined in to help. Farrier turned around and urged the others, “Grab the kid. Don’t let him get out!”
No one was sure what to do. Ehrich used this momentary distraction to act. He hurled the chair at the man with the patch, then flipped over a table at a group of ruffians coming at his flank. “Dash! Go!”
A ruffian tried to grab Ehrich. He slammed into the thug’s chest and shoved him against the wall. Ehrich glanced back. Farrier and Hobbs helped the fallen man. Dash was stuck in the crowd of bar patrons. Ehrich had to lead the ruffians away. He bolted out of the pub.
Outside, Ehrich spotted Tesla and Amina. He veered toward them with four people on his heels. As he passed his friends he yelled, “Dash! He’s inside.”
Amina headed for the pub while Tesla joined Ehrich, leading the four men toward the beach. Ehrich outpaced the older man and had to loop back to encourage Tesla to pick up the pace. Each time he slowed, the thugs gained ground. Ehrich knew he’d have to confront them, but the odds were two to one in the thugs’ favour. He needed an advantage.
Ehrich settled on a large beach umbrella propped in the sand. He veered toward it and snatched it out of the ground, upsetting the two teenagers kissing under it.
“Head for the pier, Mr. Tesla!” he shouted. “I’ll slow them down.”
The lanky scientist huffed and puffed through the sand while Ehrich charged the ruffians with the closed umbrella. He popped the umbrella open, hiding behind it. The thugs slowed, splitting off two to each side of the umbrella. Ehrich waited until he saw their shadows on the beach then dug the open umbrella into the sand and swung it up and to the left. He blinded one thug with sand and sent the other one back a few feet. He closed the umbrella and swung it at the remaining two thugs. The umbrella cracked in half against a skull, sending the ruffian to the sand. He did not rise.
Ehrich speared the other thug. The force of the collision knocked the wind out of his lungs and he collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. Ehrich drove his knee into the man’s chin and knocked him out.
He glanced at the two conscious thugs. One was wiping the sand out of his eyes while the other recovered. It was the man with the eyepatch. He pulled a large cleaver from his belt and slashed the air. Ehrich backed away, holding up what was left of the umbrella to defend himself.
The man with the eyepatch chopped at the wooden pole, closing in on his foe. Ehrich backpedalled. The other thug rose up and flanked Ehrich. He was outmanned.
Then out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a figure charging fast toward the two of them. Tesla! The scientist flung something up into the air and a spider web flashed in the sunlight. A fishing net landed over the thug. Tesla slammed into the trapped man and knocked him to the sand. The man with the patch gaped at the scene, giving Ehrich an opening. He swung the remains of the pole across the man’s nose. Crack! the thug dropped his cleaver and fell to the sand, clutching his broken nose. Ehrich picked up the cleaver and waved it at his lone opponent. The man with the patch fled the scene.
“Good work,” Tesla said, clapping his hand on the boy’s back.
“I saw Farrier in the pub,” Ehrich said, trying to gulp in air. “The spy is working for him. I’m not sure why, but he must still be working for Ba Tian’s army.”
“We must alert Amina. Your communicator. Quick.”
Ehrich handed his mentor the device. Tesla clicked on the button. “Amina, do you hear me? Hello. Hello. Ahoy.”
No response.
He tried again and again, but the device remained silent.
“Perhaps they are out of range,” Tesla suggested, chewing his bottom lip.
.
Hours later, Ehrich and Tesla found Amina and Dash back at the performers village. They looked none the worse for wear.
“Where were you two? We’ve been trying to get a hold of you.”
Amina motioned Ehrich to sit down. “We tried to track the people who came out of the bar, but there were too many of them.”
“Did you see Farrier?” Ehrich asked.
She shook her head. “The one who betrayed Demon Watch?”
“Yes. The spy was meeting with him.”
“Why would Farrier be interested in the execution?” she asked.
“Who is this Farrier?” Dash asked.
Ehrich explained, “He used to be in charge of the Demon Watch. He oversaw the hunters, but he made a pact with Ba Tian. He was going to give the warlord access to the Demon Gate portal.
“Why would he side with a Dimensional?”
Amina answered Dash. “Because of what Ba Tian offered in exchange. The exoskeletons.”
Tesla added, “Farrier believed the south should have won the Civil War. With the exoskeletons, he could remedy that problem. He had a few sympathetic southerners on his side.”
Amina stiffened. “If Farrier’s watching the site, that must mean his deal with Ba Tian is still on, and that means there are some generals still at large.”
Ehrich agreed. “Farrier might be trying to rescue the rest of the generals so they can secure him the
exoskeletons.”
Tesla stroked his chin. “Possible. Now we must exercise even more caution. Enemies abound.”
“He was talking to the spy at the execution site,” Ehrich said. “Something big is going to happen.”
“They’re going to rescue the generals,” Amina said. “But they can’t do anything until the generals are at the execution site. That’s when Farrier will strike.”
Ehrich agreed. “We’re going to have to keep a close watch on the site. Make sure we’re ready for whatever Farrier has planned.”
.
Over the next few days, Amina, Dash, and Ehrich took shifts staking out the execution site while Tesla worked on the sabotage device. Amina kept Dash close, under the pretence that he had seen the spy and she had not, but she had another agenda, which was to keep an eye on Dash.
On the afternoon of the third day, the supervisor ran a test of the generators. They whirred to life and sparks flew from the donut-shaped heads at the top of the towers. The elephant trumpeted in panic while the appreciative crowd applauded at the mini-fireworks display. Time was running out with no sign of the spy or Farrier.
.
Later that afternoon, a larger crowd than usual had gathered around the generators and stage. Thomas Edison, the Demon Watch Commissioner, stood on stage, surrounded by reporters at the front of the platform.
“The equipment is test ready. We will demonstrate tomorrow with Topsy. She will be the largest creature ever to be electrocuted by alternating current electricity.”
Tesla lurched forward, forcing Amina to restrain him.
“Sir, we’ll have our chance to sabotage Edison’s plans at the execution. We have to let him think this is working.”
Tesla relented. “My apologies. My sense of justice tends to boil over when my reputation is on the line. I must redouble my efforts to complete the device.”
“Can’t we do something about it now?” Dash asked.
Ehrich patted the boy’s shoulder. “Sorry. We have to wait.”
“But the elephant.”
Tesla shook his head. “I’m afraid even if I wanted to do something, I wouldn’t have the device ready by the morning.”
Ehrich glanced once more at the stage where Edison lapped up the attention. Tomorrow promised to be an interesting day.
coney island chaos
The next morning, word about the execution had spread quickly. When Ehrich’s group arrived, nearly 300 people had gathered in front of the stage and watched the technicians prepare last-minute checks of the Tesla electrical towers.
Amina and Tesla veered off to one side of the crowd, angling toward the generators, while Ehrich and Dash headed closer to the side with the elephant. Hunters circulated around the giant beast as a technician hauled the cables to the shackled creature. Ehrich shuddered at the fate that would soon befall the animal. No one should ever have to suffer like this. He wondered if there was anything they might do to stop it, but he knew that any action might jeopardize their plan to flush out Farrier and his southerners. The elephant would have to be sacrificed for the greater good. Too bad the elephant didn’t have a choice in the matter.
Ehrich scanned the crowd behind him, looking for any sign of the scruffy man. Mostly, he saw gawking tourists, eager for the death about to unfold before them. Men and women alike seemed keen to witness the death of an animal. Ehrich had no idea what their fascination was. Perhaps it was the novelty of an execution with electricity. Maybe they were curious about death. Either way, they were drawn to this site in the same way his promise of risking his own life in the escape act brought people to the tent. People were morbid.
On the demonstration stage, Thomas Edison in a wool jacket wiped his brow. Though it was early morning, the man seemed to be sweating. Ehrich guessed that it wasn’t from the heat but the fear of potential failure. He directed the technicians, barking orders at them to check every contact point. Taking the stage, the dignitaries began to arrive. They were not high-profile officials like the mayor or the governor. They were lower level officials, most likely sent here to observe and report their findings to their bosses. If the experiment worked, they would tell their superiors to attend the execution. If it failed, they would tell their bosses to lay the blame at Edison’s feet. No wonder the man was sweating.
A few hunters lined up at the cordon, keeping the curious onlookers at bay. By the generators, there was the hum of activity as the technicians worked on the connections and the generators. Behind, more tourists gathered for the grisly demonstration.
“Stay close, Dash,” Ehrich said. He glanced to the side where his brother was supposed to be. He was gone.
Ehrich searched the crowd for any sign of the boy. He called out for him as he pushed through the crowd surging forward. His worst fear hit Ehrich square in the gut. Dash was Kifo and using this as a means to slip away. He had to find the boy and fast. He pushed a grumpy onlooker out of the way.
“Dash!” he called out.
No answer. He looked around, helpless and panicking.
.
By the generators, Tesla vibrated with a different kind of panic. He wanted to leap over the cordon and rip the cables out of his beautiful generators. The towers were not built for this abomination of a display. With Edison touting the dangers of alternating current electricity coupled with the demonstration, there would be no way that people would dare to use Tesla’s technology.
His reputation would be shredded with one flip of a switch.
Amina grabbed his arm. “Easy, sir. Not yet.”
Tesla nodded. “I must put an end to all of this.”
“I understand, but the risk is too great.”
He tried to pull away from her, but they both stopped when they heard Ehrich’s voice over the crowd.
“Dash!”
Amina strained to see over the crowd. She couldn’t see her companion but she was sure she heard his voice.
“Something’s wrong, Mr. Tesla.” She pushed through the crowd in the direction of Ehrich’s last position. The lanky scientist followed.
They pushed through the crowd until they found Ehrich at the far edge. Amina asked, “Where’s your brother?”
“I don’t know. He slipped away. We have to find him.”
Tesla shook his head. “The demonstration is about to begin. We have to stop it.”
“If Kifo has possessed Dash, we have bigger problems,” Ehrich said.
“Are you sure he’s not just lost?” Amina asked.
“I don’t know. That’s why we have to find him.”
The loud trumpet of Topsy the Elephant distracted them. At first, Ehrich believed the elephant was afraid of the crowds. Then when the people began screaming, he knew something else was at play. People scattered from the site as the angry elephant charged ahead, knocking hunters to the ground and trampling on the fallen.
Amina pulled at Ehrich’s arm. “The elephant is on the rampage. Run!”
Topsy knocked down a hunter. Another hunter fired her dynatron pistol into the creature’s hide. Big mistake. The elephant reared up and came down hard on the hunter. The crowd shrieked in terror as the elephant now knocked over the cordon and charged at them. People fled in all directions.
Caught in the mob, Ehrich, Amina, and Tesla surged ahead to look for Dash. Amina and Tesla were swept back. Ehrich navigated through the crowd and came out the other side. On the beach, he spotted Dash running toward the pier.
Ehrich sprinted down the boardwalk after the boy, worried Kifo had possessed Dash again. He wished he had a weapon but all he had were his wits. He poured on the speed and caught up to his brother, grabbing him by the collar and yanking him back. He prepared for a fight but Dash only squirmed and yelled.
“Let go.”
“Where do you think you’re going?” Ehrich demanded.
The boy pointed do
wn the beach. The scruffy man was jogging toward a boathouse.
“You were tracking the spy?” Ehrich asked. “You should have called for me.”
“I didn’t want to lose him. Once I knew where he was, I was going to come back to you.”
Ehrich let go of his brother and pulled out his communicator. He toggled the switch on and spoke into the device. “Amina, Mr. Tesla. Do you hear me?”
He toggled off and waited a minute, keeping his eye on the scruffy man.
“I … hear … you,” Mr. Tesla’s voice sounded from the speaker.
“Head to the boathouse by the pier. We have found the spy.”
“On our way.”
Ehrich pocketed the communicator. He and Dash headed down the beach toward the boathouse. Two men in demon hunter uniforms welcomed the scruffy man as he drew near. He could just make out their southern accents. They were Farrier’s soldiers in disguise. The traitor had to be near.
The spy entered the boathouse and Ehrich veered past it, pretending to be a wandering tourist. The hunters watched the two brothers. Ehrich didn’t want to alert the people inside, so he continued to walk past the structure, leading Dash away, but his brother had another idea.
Dash stopped and turned toward the boathouse. “I want to see the boats!”
“What are you doing?” Ehrich hissed.
“You promised I could see the boats. I want to see them now!”
“Come with me.”
Dash whispered. “You want to see who’s in there, don’t you?”
Now they had everyone’s attention. Ehrich grabbed Dash’s hand and tried to pull his brother away. The boathouse door opened and Farrier limped out. Ehrich had expected to see him, but not the man right behind him: Ole Lukoje.
The raggedy man’s eyes widened with recognition. “Get them!” he yelled as he pushed past Farrier.
The hunters chased the boys under the pier with Ole Lukoje sprinting to catch up. Three against two. The odds weren’t in Ehrich’s favour. He scanned the wooden posts around them for any way to climb up, but it was either jump in the ocean or fight.