Em stopped and stood facing away from them, indecisive. Her hand fiddled with the clip on her holster.
Maeko was probably going to regret saying this, but she wasn’t going to let the trip into town be wasted. “The guards aren’t here for you. They’re here to keep me out of trouble.”
Several seconds followed in silence. The dark of the nighttime street wrapped around them. Fog crept up the side streets, rolling in off the river, promising to smother the city in its pungent embrace.
Em started to laugh. She laughed hard enough that she bent over and snorted several times. Maeko plopped back down on the seat and glared at the guard across from her whose lips twitched with the effort of not smiling. She was sorely tempted to knock on the roof and signal the coachman to leave, but she had an important task, so she stayed put, grinding her teeth and waiting for Em to control her mirth.
After a minute or two, Em regained her composure and walked back up to the coach. Her eyes glinted with knife edged humor. “I can’t imagine why they’d be worried about a sweet little bird like you getting into trouble. What’d you do to earn two burly nannies?”
Maeko gave her a sour look, refusing to dignify the comment with a reply. Macak squirmed and she eased her tightening grip on him.
Em considered the two men for a moment and smirked. “Since you blokes are just playing nursemaid, perhaps you wouldn’t mind stepping outside and giving us a little privacy.”
The men stiffened.
Maeko rolled her eyes. “Where can I possibly go?”
The two caught each other’s eyes, then one nodded and Em stepped to the side as they climbed out. She climbed in behind them and shut the door firmly enough to make Macak jump in Maeko’s arms.
“Where are Amos and Reuben?”
“Hiding out nearby watching the area. We’re all being hunted right now. Especially you, Pigeon. It’s best to practice some degree of caution. Why did you bring the bloody cat?”
Maeko shrugged, hating in that moment that Em had used the same nickname for her as Chaff did. As for Macak, the cat had moved up on her shoulders as soon as she let go and she’d thought nothing of having him there. In fact, she rather preferred it. If the opportunity to make a break came up, she wanted to take him with her, foolish as the notion probably was with nowhere to go and the fact that she was indeed being hunted. The first time out, however, her guards were likely to be too diligent. Perhaps, if this went well, the next time out they would grow careless. Assuming there was a next time out.
“I have to know. What did you do to make Drake feel that he needs to keep you under guard?”
The driving curiosity in Em’s gray eyes told here they wouldn’t get anywhere until they got this out of the way. “I borrowed his airship.”
Em smirked again. “Borrowed without asking I presume.”
Maeko scowled at the curtained window.
“And what did you need an airship for?”
“I used it to break Chaff out of the Lit prison.”
Em’s mouth dropped open in an uncharacteristic display of surprise. “You did what?”
“Broke Chaff out of the prison,” she muttered, eager to move to another subject.
“You never cease to amaze me. With everything you’ve survived, you must be the luckiest rat in London, or the cleverest, but I’m not willing to give you that much credit just yet. It’s almost a shame we aren’t still working together, but I suppose Drake has more to offer.”
Maeko set her jaw and stared at the woman across from her.
“All right. Seems you aren’t up for talking about your escapades with your new comrades. Do you have any more information for me? I need to give the Metropolitan Police Service something if I’m going to convince them to open this investigation into Mr. Folesworth’s death.”
“No.” Maeko swallowed. How far would Em go with her on this? How loyal was she to the Pirates she was working with? “They need to investigate all of that in time, but I think it’s far more important that they investigate the new Literati prison facility and I want them to do it right away.”
Em stared, her eyes boring into Maeko as if drilling for a deeper meaning behind the words. “You want? I take it by your choice of words that this isn’t what Drake wants.”
Macak’s warm body curled around the back of her neck gave her the courage to keep going. “Drake is planning to attack the facility with the battleship he’s building.”
Em’s eyes widened. Perhaps she hadn’t known about the battleship. Now that Maeko thought about it, that wasn’t too surprising if she had a tumultuous relationship with Drake.
“Thaddeus and the Lits are using the prison to run experiments on prisoners and develop dangerous weapons that they can use to take down the Pirate uprising. Drake wants to stop them before they can start using those weapons to round up the Pirates in the city.”
Em licked her lips slowly. “Why didn’t Crimson mention any of this?”
“Drake doesn’t want the Bobbies interfering. He thinks they’ll slow things down with their policies and procedures until it’s too late to stop Thaddeus. Innocent people will die if he attacks that facility, but Thaddeus does need to be stopped before he can wage a full-on war against the Pirates in the city and kill even more innocents. You need to get the Bobbies to investigate that prison and shut down their operations before either of those things happen.”
Em held up her hands and shook her head. “Hold on. This is an awful lot to dump on me. Why don’t you start by telling me who’s in that prison that you’re trying to protect? You got your beau out. I don’t buy that you just care about a bunch of guards and criminals that much.”
“I don’t want anyone to die needlessly, but yes, Captain Garrett is in there. They have him working on the weapons development, which means he’s likely to be spending most of his time in the buildings Drake most wants to destroy.”
Em rubbed her hands on her trousers as if trying to warm them. Her brow furrowed. “I’d say you were barmy, Pigeon, but I’ve seen a few things lately. A couple of strange blokes have been involved in Literati raids in Southwark the last two days. Big rough types, not the kind you want to run into on the street, each with a functional metal arm housing concealed weaponry. Remarkable appendages and disturbingly lethal. You just saved me a fair bit of risky detective work if what you say is true. But if Thaddeus and the Lits are going to the trouble to develop weapons that complex, I doubt shutting the Pirates up is the extent of their ambitions. They could be planning a coup on a much larger scale.”
Em began to clasp and unclasp the strap on her holster, her focus turning inward. Maeko waited quietly, scratching Macak’s head and letting the detective’s brain work uninterrupted. After several minutes, those gray eyes focused in on Maeko with a gleam that made her entirely uncomfortable.
“If someone could get inside that facility…”
Maeko shook her head. “I got in there once, but I had an airship and inside help. I’m not planning to go back.”
“Inside help?”
“Officer Wells.”
Em drew back. “I would never have guessed him for a turncoat. Once again, I am impressed by your resourcefulness. I imagine you gave him that special look you use to get your way all the time.”
Maeko felt her cheeks flush.
Em nodded. “I thought so. How much does he know about the prison?”
“Enough that he decided to switch sides.”
Em chewed her lip in thought for a moment. “He must know a fair bit then. Can you get me in touch with him?”
“I could arrange to have him come along next time.” Drake might go for it if she explained how much Wells knew about the events leading up to Lucian Folesworth’s murder.
“Perfect. Tomorrow night then.”
Tomorrow. “I don’t know if I can arrange it that fast.”
“Figure it out, Pigeon. You always manage.” Em reached for the door. “Remember those lives that are at stake.”
&
nbsp; “We could work together again,” Maeko blurted.
Em sat back and raised her brows at Maeko. “Drake’s hospitality not good enough for you?”
Maeko chewed at her lip a moment, weighing the warm meals and comfortable quarters against the intense misery of being around so many people who were either angry with her or simply didn’t seem to understand her.
“I don’t belong there.”
Em’s soft smile held unexpected sympathy. “I’ve always had trouble settling into society myself. Perhaps that’s why I do what I do.” She was silent for a long time, gazing at Macak as if some secret waited to be revealed in his half-lidded eyes. “Tell you what, Pigeon. Get me a chance to talk with Wells and I’ll see what I can do about arranging a place for you to stay as my assistant, but you bloody well better expect to work for it.”
Maeko nodded, solemn and determined. “I do.”
Em opened the door and climbed out without bothering with any departing niceties and Maeko stared after her until the guards ducked back into the coach. What the woman lacked in social graces she made up for in her willingness to believe in Maeko. Maybe Crimson was right. Maybe there was some respect there after all and, perhaps, though she didn’t dare hope for too much just yet, a future.
#
It was late when they returned and the manor was relatively quiet. Maeko’s guards left her once she was inside with Macak settled happy on her shoulders again, his warm body pressed against her neck.
She stood staring at the sweeping staircase with its vine-like railing and the magnificent rearing stallion sculpture in the center of the entry for a long time. The manor was luxurious in a way that even Lucian’s fancy flat in the Airship Tower couldn’t begin to compare to. Living with Lucian had been nice for a brief time, but even there she had fast begun to get restless. Perhaps she simply wasn’t made for this kind of life.
Her gaze wandered up the staircase and focused first on the hallway she knew led to Ash’s room, then drifted toward the one that led to where they had Chaff locked up.
Was it worth trying to talk to either of them or should she just quietly gather her things and make her exit after the meeting with Em tomorrow? Would Em be ready to take her on that soon?
It didn’t really matter. If the woman wasn’t ready, then she would find a way to take care of herself and Macak until she was.
Movement on the second floor caught her eye, metal reflecting the light of a gas lamp further down one hallway. She stepped back into the deep shadow beneath the statue and put a hand on Macak’s shoulders to keep him still. The cat froze, responding to the change in her bearing as much as her touch. A figure slipped through the shadows and down the stairs in near perfect silence.
Chaff.
She sunk back, putting the statue between them until his quiet steps moved away again. Leaning out, she spotted him sneaking toward a hall at the back of the entry that led to the rooms they had set up for medical supplies and tending urgent injuries. He was keeping to the deepest shadows, which made it rather plain that he wasn’t supposed to be out and about. Bad on Drake for underestimating the street rat, but then, it wasn’t a surprise given that he’d underestimated her more than once.
Chaff stopped at one of the doors, looked around once, forcing her to duck back into the shadows hastily, then he crept inside. Taking off her shoes, she padded to the room and put her ear to the doorjamb to listen. Soft rustling sounds came from within, the light chink of metal or glass objects bumping together, his unfamiliar metal hand perhaps causing trouble in what would normally be a silent process.
What are you after?
There was a sinking sensation in her gut before the thought even finished. Macak touched her cheek with his cold, damp nose and purred. She pushed down the lever to open the door, slow and silent, easing comfortably back into the familiar role of thief and pickpocket.
The low light of a barely burning gas lamp illuminated Chaff standing before a series of opened drawers and cupboards. He was so engrossed in what he was doing that he didn’t notice her slipping inside and shutting the door just as silently behind her. He stood drawing something out of a bottle with a syringe with his good right hand, but when he went to switch the syringe to the metal hand, he fumbled, dropping it twice and cursing under his breath before she got up the nerve to speak.
“What are you doing?”
He jerked and spun around, striking one hip on an open drawer and cursing again as his lip curled in a pained grimace. He stared at her for a long moment, rubbing his hip with his good hand. His skin was pallid, glossed with a sheen of sweat, and his muscles vibrated with small spasms. After what felt like at least a minute of silent scrutiny, his eyes narrowed.
“Help me with this. I can’t do it with this bloody arm.”
She took a few steps closer. “Is that morphine?”
“They didn’t give me enough today. I just need it for the pain.”
“I’m sure the doc will help you. Why don’t I go—”
“No!”
She took a step back. “I’m not doing it without talking to him first.”
There was barely enough time to leap out of the way when he hurled the syringe at her head. Macak tried to hang on, his claws digging gouges in her flesh before he finally gave up and jumped clear. The syringe broke against the wall.
“This happened because of you,” Chaff snarled, pointing to the false arm with his good hand. “The least you could do is help me deal with the pain. Bloody worthless twist.”
She winced as he turned his back on her and began digging through another cupboard. Then the sting of the cat scratches overcame the sting of his words and she stood up straight. Macak cowered under a chair, watching with big eyes as she strode partway across the room.
“I’m sorry about what happened. I really am.” He froze with his right hand in the cupboard. “But this isn’t you. The Chaff I know would be fighting this. He’d be learning how to use that arm and busting his arse to fight free of the drugs the Lits tried to drown him in. Look at yourself. Your better than this.”
She gave that a few seconds to sink in then continued.
“You don’t have to forgive me. That’s fine.” It wasn’t really. She knew that by the feeling of raw pain in her throat when she said it, but she forced herself to keep talking. “But don’t do this to yourself. Please.”
Chaff’s hand sank down slowly, coming to rest on the counter. “I taught you to survive. I protected you. I did everything I could to take care of you. I even let you go when that seemed to be what you wanted. When you came back, when Diggs and I saved you from that bludger, then I thought maybe you’d decided to stay, but I was never enough for you. The least you can do is give me enough consideration to let me go now.”
She stared at his bare back. At the muscles and the scars. At where flesh ended and the false arm began. The scratches on her shoulder stung, blood seeping into the fabric of her shirt. She turned and went to the door. When she opened it, Macak scurried out around her feet.
“I loved you.” His voice was soft, but clear.
Loved.
Maeko jerked the door shut on him, but the words hung in the air, heavy like the weight of the river closing over her head. He had saved her then too. He was right, he had done so much for her, and all she did was take advantage of his affection. There was little doubt that he would be better off without her there.
It was decided then. Tomorrow night she would go to meet Em again and she wouldn’t come back.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
There wasn’t much to take. Most of the clothes she’d been wearing were borrowed, so she put on the boy’s clothing Em had given her during their brief stint working together before Lucian’s murder and slipped a set of lock picks into one boot. In the other, she concealed a slender knife she’d pick up from the weapons stash down near the medical area. There were no guns small enough that she felt confident trying to conceal one considering that Wells would be along for the ride
.
The only thing she really regretted having to leave behind was Macak’s carrying case. It would be safer for him in a lot of situations, but he liked riding on her shoulders and had done so often enough that bringing his case along would draw attention and they would know something was up.
“Are you ready?”
She turned to see Wells standing in the doorway, his hands tucked into his pockets and his shoulders hunched. The posture made him look a lot younger than he was, almost as young as Chaff and, without his Literati uniform, he looked a lot more approachable. He shifted from one foot to the other and she wondered passingly if she might be the cause of that discomfort or if it was just the challenge of adjusting to the new environment. He had switched sides rather dramatically after all and wasn’t even close to being fully trusted by the Pirates.
She glanced at Macak and tapped her shoulder. The cat leapt up from the dresser and she clenched her teeth when he landed and began to knead over the top of the scratches from the night before.
“I’m ready.”
“You’re dressing like that?”
There was an almost disappointed edge in his voice and she gave him a sour look. “Yes. We’re just meeting Em, not some royal dignitary.”
Wells cracked a bemused grin.
“What?”
“If you only dress up for dignitaries, then I suppose I should be flattered.”
Maeko exhaled exasperation and rolled her eyes as she slipped through the door past him. “Dignitaries and gullible officers,” she muttered.
Wells only chuckled good-naturedly and gave the cat on her shoulders an odd smirk as they passed.
On the way to the coach, she spotted Ash working with the farrier to put shoes on a patient black mare. As she watched, the farrier finished a hoof and passed the tools to Ash, putting him to work on the next hoof. At least he’d found a productive way to spend his time when he wasn’t down working on the airship. She hurried up into the waiting coach to get out of sight before he had an opportunity to spot her and give her another of those heartbreakingly cold looks.
The Girl and the Clockwork Crossfire Page 11