Penelope closed the door and looked towards the barn near the edge of the area. “I think we should check over there. We’ve looked at this place, and the one closer to town, but we should get the places near the edges done. We can then spiral our way around checking all the places.”
Smoke shrugged and began walking towards the barn at the edge. It was a place that hadn’t been checked. Though he didn’t exactly agree with Penelope’s reasoning, he realized he didn’t really care which barn they checked next. It was very likely they’d all have to be checked before they made their way back to the surface. He hoped against all reason that Blue had been trapped in one of the barns. He hoped against all reason she was still alive.
The more he thought about bringing Blue back safe the more he believed the act of bringing her to safety before the underground collapsed was a possibility. He found he cared less and less about the skins. He wouldn’t be able to do anything with the skins if he died down in the underground anyway.
The walls to the next area were coated with a form of steel that prevented the walls from collapsing if something big hit it, to carry the weight of the upper levels of the underground as well as to prevent people from tunnelling into the other areas.
He couldn’t imagine anything big enough to tear down the walls to the next areas being in the ninth below. If they happened to find a way to get all the required materials they would still have needed people with the intellect to build the contraption. Smoke highly doubted that would ever be a possibility.
The biggest risk was the people of the ninth tunnelling to the other side. The walls were almost a quarter of a mile thick to give the proper stability to the ceiling and the other underground floors. It was the thickest wall between of all the floors. If the tunnel happened to collapse while a person was half way through it would be enough to kill a person. It may not bring down the wall, but it certainly had the possibility. The steel that coated the walls were more a necessity than anything else.
The two approached the next barn until Smoke halted Penelope in her tracks. He placed his finger to his lips signaling her to be quiet as he listened. He could hear movement coming from within the barn. He motioned for Penelope to come close and whispered, “You don’t have a revolving pistol do you?”
Penelope shook her head, “I don’t. Don’t really need it though.”
Smoke resisted the urge to curse and pulled his revolving pistol from its holster. He slowly inched towards the barn. Penelope reached the door first and gripped the handle. Smoke motioned her to hold until he gave the signal.
He took in a deep breath as quietly as he could and gave her a nod. She opened the door and without thinking or hesitation Smoke came through the door with his revolving pistol cocked and ready to fire. The man inside stared at Smoke with wide and frightened eyes. His hands were up and he looked as if he were ready to speak. Smoke wouldn’t give him the chance. “Where’s Blue?” he asked forcefully, “You have three seconds to tell me something I want to hear before I put a hole in your fucking face.”
It was a bluff. Smoke wouldn’t have pulled the trigger on an unarmed man, at least not one who didn’t have his weapon in his hand. “I know where Blue is!” the man said almost too quickly to actually be words.
Smoke slowly moved towards the man, his revolving pistol ready to fire if he tried anything, “Say that again, slowly this time.”
The man took a loud deep breath and said, “I know where Blue is. I can take you to her. Just put down the revolving pistol and we can go.”
Smoke shook his head, “How do I know I can trust you?”
The man shot Smoke a smile, an action Smoke did not expect from the man; he didn’t know if it was nerves that were misfiring in the man’s brain or if he somehow found a small shred of bravery. “I’ve been waiting here for a long time Mister Callahan. I’ve been waiting for you. You’ve come a long way, but I’m afraid Blue is not here on the ninth below.”
This time Smoke did curse… loudly. All the time he had spent on the eighth and ninth below could have been spent going back up towards the surface to find Blue. She could be anywhere now. There was still the chance the man could be lying to him, Smoke decided he would hear him out first. “That’s still not a reason as to why I should trust you,” Smoke said loosening his grip on the revolving pistol, though not so much it would be noticeable to the man staring down the barrel. “You could have sought me out, could have sent someone to fetch me, could have done literally anything other than what you’ve done. You just expected me to stop by? This barn above all?”
“I knew you’d be checking all the barns. This is the ninth below, Blue could have been in any of them. Instead I chose a barn at random, set myself up for a few months and waited for you. When the exodus of the ninth below happened I resisted the urge to emerge from my place and here I stayed until this point. I’m glad you found me when you did. I was almost out of water. I’d have had to venture out to get more and I may have missed you.”
“So where is Blue? Which level is she on?”
“She’s not on a level Mister Callahan.”
“So she’s dead?”
“Not in the slightest,” the man said as his grin got bigger.
Smoke tightened his grip on the revolving pistol again; this man was pissing him off, “You better start speaking straight. Tell me where Blue is or I swear to whatever gods may still be out there that I will shoot you down where you stand.”
“You wouldn’t shoot an unarmed man Mister Callahan,” the man said as his grin disappeared, “That’s not who you are, at least not anymore. Blue isn’t on the ninth below or any other level of the underground. She is below the ninth level.”
“There is no tenth below,” Smoke said as he began to debate shooting the man.
“You’re right, there is no tenth below, if there were that would mean the public had access to it. No, where I come from is a place secret only kept by those worthy enough to see it. If you follow me I can show you.”
“Penelope, what do you think?”
He couldn’t see Penelope’s reaction to any of this. His eyes were locked onto the man’s every movement.
“I don’t know,” Penelope said with almost a coy tone, almost like a cat getting ready to play with a mouse. “It’s hard to trust a man when you don’t even know his name.”
The man nodded, “Of course, how rude of me. My name is Robert Hardy. I’m here to take Mister Callahan to Blue.”
“Should we let him take us to where he wants us to go?”
He could hear Penelope get closer to Smoke, “You know, I actually do. There is a chance he actually knows where to find Blue. This could be a good thing for you.”
Smoke’s eyes went back to Robert. “Alright we’ll go with you,” Smoke said with a steady pace. “First though, I want you to take your revolving pistol out of its holster and slowly place it on the ground. You try anything, and I do mean anything and I will shoot you down where you stand and wait for whatever power wants me to come find Blue to send another representative.”
“What makes you think they’d send another?” Robert asked as he furrowed his brow.
“They sent you to wait for me. They knew I’d make my way down here and what do you know, here I am. That means they want me to find Blue, they want me to go down to your secret tenth below. You however, may as well be expendable. So, place your revolving pistol on the ground slowly and Penelope will pick it up. Then, you are going to lead us to whatever masters you serve and then I am going to leave with Blue. You get me?”
Robert nodded, “Yeah Mister Callahan, I get you.”
Robert slowly brought his hand down to the revolving pistol and removed it from its holster using two fingers. He slowly knelt down and placed it on the ground. Penelope quickly rushed in and picked it up and pointed it at Robert.
“Alright,” Smoke said, “Move. Show us where you want us to go.”
Robert nodded and shuffled his way to the doorway and began wa
lking towards the wall. Smoke still didn’t trust the man, he didn’t believe there to be a level below the ninth. If there had, someone would have found it after all this time. Someone trying to escape from the ninth would have found it. Smoke himself had been all over the ninth a time or two and had never seen a lift that went any lower. This was as far down as it got. This man seemed to believe his own story though; Smoke chose to give him the benefit of the doubt. It was more than likely he was leading them to a gang who had been well hidden. The only reason he could think that could be true is if they were hiding Blue. His journey downward had been made common knowledge and the kidnappers would have known he’d find them eventually. On the plus side, this man would lead Smoke to Blue, and that was all he wanted, he could figure out the shooting part later.
He looked to Penelope who held her revolving pistol as if it were an extension of her own arm. The weapon looked natural to her and that made him feel more secure. It didn’t matter what went down or where this man took them - Penelope would be there to back him up and she wouldn’t be the sort of person to cower at the sign of danger.
As they approached the wall Smoke continued to expect people to jump out at them. Smoke looked the wall up and down and then down both sides and couldn’t see anywhere a person could hide. All he saw was a small combination spin lock fitted into the wall. A small lock easily missed by anyone not paying attention.
“What’s going on here?” Smoke asked.
“I’m taking you to the last place you’d ever expect to exist Mister Callahan. Though I’m afraid your compatriot is going to have to wait here.”
Smoke shook his head, “No, she’s coming with me. I don’t know where I’m going or what’s going to happen. The last thing I need is for there to be dozens of you against just me.”
“With the two of us we can feel safe,” Penelope said in agreement.
Robert shrugged and turned to the combination lock. He spun the wheel several times, more than what seemed right for a lock of that style and soon stood back. Steam poured from the wall as two large doors opened revealing a similar lift Smoke had seen in the tower. “Is that a hydraulic lift?” Smoke asked as soon as the awe of the spectacle wore off.
Robert nodded and took a step back. “After you two,” he said with a grin.
Smoke’s hairs on the back of his neck stood on end; he didn’t know if it was from his nerves reacting from the unknown or if it came from his growing distrust of Robert whose demeanor seemed to be becoming more and more relaxed no matter how many shots were ready to enter him. That alone was more off-putting than the unknown.
Smoke gestured for Robert to come in with him. He obeyed and entered the lift with them. The doors closed and Smoke could hear the steam fill the pipes and push the lift cart downward. “This thing go all the way to the surface?” Smoke asked.
“Do you recall seeing any other locks on any of the floors? No, this thing only goes to the ninth below.”
“You don’t have to be an ass about it,” Penelope grumbled.
As the lift moved downward Smoke relaxed his grip on his revolving pistol; he could see Penelope was still on edge, rightfully so. Once they got closer to their destination Smoke would get ready to start shooting again until such a time he felt safe.
He heard Robert take in a deep breath and let it out even louder, “You know Mister Callahan,” Robert said, cracking his knuckles, “you really should have listened to me when I said your friend should have stayed behind.”
Robert was fast. Faster than Smoke had ever seen a man move. He could feel Robert’s grip on his wrist, pain shot through his arm to his brain causing him to let go of his revolving pistol allowing it to fall to the floor. Smoke let out a sigh of relief when it didn’t go off. Robert then turned to Penelope, twisting her wrist into an unnatural shape. Penelope screamed in the moment, and gave Robert a vicious gaze after.
“Think about this carefully Robert,” Penelope said as she nursed her damaged wrist. “Think about this very carefully.”
Robert shot her an evil grin as he said, “I already did.”
The sound of the revolving pistol being fired went off like a sonic boom in the small quarters. Smoke could hear ringing that he knew was hearing damage. Several splotches of chunky red bits coated the side of the wall where Penelope’s head had been, a trail of red led downward. At the floor her lifeless body lay slumped into a folded mess. A small red hole just above her left eye seemed small in comparison to the crater in the back of her skull as the shot had erupted out the other side.
Her mouth hung open and her eyes were stuck in the look of angry surprise. A look she would carry on until the flesh from her face rotted or had been burned away. Smoke felt a tear fall down his face and rage build within him.
“You son of a bitch!” Smoke screamed.
Robert pointed the revolving pistol at Smoke and said, “Stand up, you’ll get blood on yourself and the person you’re about to meet will not want blood on you if possible. Your boots are fine, they’ll clean, but your clothes, I don’t think we could get that out.”
“You didn’t have to shoot her!” he screamed again, completely ignoring anything Robert had to say. Robert appeared to ignore Smoke’s words.
The lift stopped and Robert grinned, “Come Mister Callahan, it’s about time you met Blue. But first, you get the grand tour.”
The lights that poured into the lift were blinding, “The grand tour to what?” he asked in confusion, still feeling the effects of shock.
As his eyes adjusted he saw the contraption that spanned as far as his eyes could see. Platforms upon platforms filled with people spanned across his vision. Robert stood beside him and grinned, “The Engine What Runs the World.”
15
Smoke had never seen anything so vast or expansive. The cogs which spun in a synchronised pattern spanned as far as he could see. Hundreds of boilers sat on interconnected platforms manned by no less than three people at any given time. The pipes that brought water in and let out steam came from the ceiling. Copper wires were spread in every direction, giving the look of a chaotic, though intricate web. Several sprockets attached to the walls and platforms spun massive columns of chain that looked to be what rotated the gears.
Robert grinned at him and slapped Smoke on the shoulder. “Come with me. I have to bring you to my boss.”
Smoke could hardly hear him. It wasn’t that the noise had been deafening. The place was loud; it would have been neigh impossible for a machine this large to have been silent. He could have heard Robert perfectly if his mind hadn’t still been preoccupied with the machine. He tried to piece together everything that he could see to figure out what the machine did. To his dismay he couldn’t think of anything.
He turned towards Robert, “Did you say something?”
Robert grinned; this hadn’t been the first time he’d had to repeat himself to a person recently introduced to ‘The Engine What Runs the World’. He gave Smoke a slight chuckle and shook his head. “Every time,” he said before taking a long pause to chuckle to himself. “Everyone needs me to repeat this part. I always try to give enough time to adjust at least to a point but it never works. I said we should get going. I need to take you to see my boss. She will give you the grand tour.”
Smoke nodded, he wasn’t quite sure just what to say to that. He followed Robert through several narrow paths over the spinning gears and sprockets. One false move or even the lightest shove and a person could fall over into the gears. The body would never be found or reconstructed; the cogs would tear a body to shreds, leaving unrecognizable red goo. That hadn’t been a thought Smoke wanted, but it had been where his brain went and he was stuck with the mental image of himself being turned into the red goo on the floor beneath, the only distinguishing feature being the tattered remains of his longcoat and hat.
He didn’t trust Robert to not push him off the ledge. If he tried anything, he’d be taking the psychopath along with him. “How far is your boss?” Smoke aske
d, trying to break the silence between them, filled only by the sound of metal on metal.
“Not much farther,” he said, pointing towards a cliff standing several hundred feet upward. “We’re going there. It’s an easy walk, lesser men have made it, and so will you.”
Smoke gave a half smile and continued forward. He wondered what kind of person could run this sort of place. He wondered what sort of person could build such a place and keep it secret. He didn’t know just how long this engine had been running, but he believed it to be older than he could reasonably believe. Probably spanning centuries back.
He shook his head to remove the speculation and wonder to continue concentrating on putting his feet in the right places. The pathway had been made from closely-knit steel mesh that was melted together with intense heat.
As they stepped off the pathway onto the rocky island where the office sat on a small mountain, Smoke took a deep breath in relief. He was safe for now from the gears and sprockets. Robert continued on without looking to see if Smoke followed. He must have been sure the detective would follow; he was right in his assumption, though the urge to explore the engine was an alluring one.
Robert showed Smoke the steep stairway which spiralled around to the top of the small mountain. “This is where I have to leave you Mister Callahan. I am not permitted to enter the office. After this one meeting neither will you. You’ll be able to go anywhere you want, just not there. You get me?”
Smoke nodded, “Yeah I get you. I’m also going to be sure you’re punished for what you did to Penelope. You get me?”
Robert’s grin pissed him off more than he wanted. It was a look of a man who believed there would be no repercussions for his actions. “Best of luck to you,” he said before turning and going back the way he had come. Smoke sneered and made an obscene gesture with his hands before ascending the stairway.
As he climbed the stairs his mind continued to think of Penelope. Her face as she told him her fears of being stuck in the eighth below alone while she waited for his return. He thought of her stern look as she demanded he sleep. He rubbed the back of his head as he remembered waking from the sleep she had forced on him. Finally he remembered the look on her face as her body lay lifeless on the steam hydraulic lift floor. “I’m sorry I allowed you to come with me,” he said without realizing it.
The Engine What Runs the World Page 19