The excitement over the Round Table tournament lasted through the week. Ross and Todd spent long hours every night creating more merchandise to sell at school. Each day they went with overflowing duffel bags, and each day they were sold out by the lunch hour.
When Saturday finally rolled around, the Toad brothers decided to head over to Mad Meriwether’s Gadgetry Shoppe. Between the merchandising and the Toad Reports, they had made a tidy profit, and they were ready to go on a shopping spree. That’s when they spotted Barnabas Glover and Titus O’Shea coming out of a pub called the Burning Boar. Both were known slavers.
“Let’s follow them,” Todd said as he pulled his collar up around his face and the brim of his hat down over his eyes.
“I don’t know,” Ross said. “Maybe we should let Ernie handle it. Remember, we don’t have superpowers like the other Agents of Justice.”
“Just until we know where they’re hiding out,” Todd said. “Then we’ll call it in.”
Ross agreed, and the brothers followed the slavers through the streets of New Victoria and into Bludgeon Town. They did their best to be inconspicuous, but it wasn’t easy. There weren’t many kids running around down there, so they stood out.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen,” a heavyset woman wearing a dress that looked to be at least four sizes too small said to the boys. Through the meager light from the gas lamp, the Toad brothers could see that her face was plastered with enough makeup that they wondered if she wasn’t an escaped clown from the circus.
Of course, they didn’t bother to say what they thought. It would have been rude, if not dangerous. She looked more like a professional wrestler than whatever she was supposed to be.
“Can I interest you in a bit of entertainment?” she asked.
Todd looked up to see the marquee that hung above the door. It read: THE SPOTTED KILT PROUDLY PRESENTS POLLY KNIGHT’S VAUDEVILLE SHOW.
“Thanks, but, um… well, we have somewhere that we have to be, don’t we?” Todd said as he nudged his brother in the ribs.
“Yeah, we gotta go,” Ross said.
The boys ran across the fog-drenched street before disappearing into the crowd.
“Did you see where Glover went?” Todd asked. He was craning his neck as a man with a patch over his eye bumped into him.
“Sorry,” the man said with a tip of his cap.
“He’s over there,” Ross said, pointing to a man who was standing beneath a gas lamp.
Glover turned to look at Ross, and then he frowned.
“He saw me,” Ross said before ducking into the entry to an abandoned store. The glass had been knocked out of the door, replaced by wood slats with knotholes. Ross looked inside through the window to see a rat creeping across the floor.
“You’re sure?” Todd asked.
“Of course I’m sure.”
Todd ventured a look at the street, but he couldn’t see much through the fog. Then he pulled back before taking a second look. “They’re gone.”
The boys snuck back out to the sidewalk and down to the corner.
“There’s O’Shea,” Todd whispered as he pointed at a man who was walking into a pub. Titus O’Shea was easy enough to spot, even in a crowd. He was a stout man with thick arms and a thicker neck. He always wore suspenders and a derby, but it was his waxed mustache that gave him away.
“And there’s Glover,” Ross said, watching a man walking down an empty street toward an abandoned brick building. “It looks like we found their hideout.”
An hour later, the Agents of Justice had gathered outside the abandoned building. Ernie split them into two teams. He was with Ross, Todd, Yi, and Denton behind a trash bin near the back door. Hale, Geppetto, Nadya, and Tejan were in an alley across the street, watching the front.
“How many others were there?” Ernie asked in a hushed voice.
“We saw two more go in, but we aren’t sure who they are,” Todd said. “They weren’t in any of the reports.”
“What about O’Shea?”
Ross shook his head. “As far as we know, he’s still in that pub.”
“We need to hit them while we know they’re in there,” Denton said.
“I know, I just don’t want any surprises,” Ernie said before speaking into a walkie-talkie. “This is Alpha leader, over.”
“Copy, Alpha leader,” Hale’s voice replied.
“Is there any movement out there?”
“Nothing.”
“What do you think?”
“The longer we wait, the tougher it’s going to get. Bludgeon Town comes alive once the sun goes down… not that you ever get to see the sun around here.”
“Let’s do it.”
Ernie brought his fingers to his lips to remind the Toad brothers to keep quiet. He slipped from behind the trash bin and darted toward the back door of the apartment building. With his back against the wall, he reached over and checked to see if it was locked. The brass handle clicked open, and Ernie gave the signal for the others to follow.
Todd tried to follow Yi and Denton, but he tripped over his pant leg and fell on his face.
“Those two are going to get us killed,” Denton said as Ross ran over to help his brother.
“They’ll be okay,” Ernie said.
The Toad brothers were huffing when they finally reached the wall. Todd’s pants were ripped at the knee, where he was bleeding.
“Sorry,” Todd said.
Ernie shook his head and pushed the door open. The hinges squeaked. His heart started to pound.
Denton dipped his head inside before pulling back. “Nothing.”
After a nod from Ernie, Denton ducked into the building. Yi was right behind him. “You two go next,” Ernie said. He grabbed Todd by the arm and pushed him inside.
“Maybe I should stay out here,” Ross said. “You know, as a lookout.”
Ernie shoved Ross into the building and followed him. When he pulled the door shut, everything went pitch-black.
“I can’t see anything,” Todd whispered.
Yi took the hint. His hands ignited like torches, pushing back the darkness as the others followed him down a long hallway lined with doors.
AMBUSHED
“You have the handcuffs, right?” Ernie asked as they stumbled through the half-lit darkness.
Todd nodded.
The hallway led to a foyer where errant strands of light streamed through broken windows. The floor was covered with plaster, along with the shattered remains of a crystal chandelier. There were overturned furniture and piles of charred paper, but no slavers.
Hale was standing with her team in the middle of the mess. “They’re not here,” she said.
“What about upstairs?” Ernie asked. He didn’t bother whispering.
“Unless they can fly, I don’t see how they’d get up there. Look.” Hale pointed to a curved staircase that rose over the front desk. At one time it must have been an impressive sight, but it looked like a bomb had taken out half the steps.
“The elevator doesn’t work, either,” Tejan said. He was standing by the open doors looking down the shaft.
“So where are they?” Ernie asked.
“Are you looking for me, then?” asked a man standing on the balcony. He had a distinctly British accent, along with a robotic left arm that reminded Ernie of Doc Trimble’s. The man was also holding a rifle with a grenade launcher attached under the barrel.
The changelings looked to Ernie, waiting for orders. Ernie, however, didn’t say anything. His breath grew shallow as his chest constricted. He licked his dry lips once, then twice.
“What’s wrong?” the man asked. “Cat got your tongue?”
“Maybe you didn’t notice,” Ernie finally said, hoping he didn’t sound nervous, “but you’re kind of outnumbered.”
“Ah, you must be the famous Agent Thunderbolt,” the man said, lowering his weapon before he leaned casually on the rail. “The name is Barnabas Glover, though I believe you know my brother, Tom. After all, h
e’s in prison thanks to you.”
“How does he like his cell?” Ernie asked. It was an attempt to match Glover’s relaxed tone, but nervous sweat trickled down his cheek, betraying him.
“Oh, I don’t think he plans on staying too terribly long,” Glover said. “Now which one of you is the shape-shifter?” His eyes roved over the changelings like a hog buyer at the county fair.
“It doesn’t matter, because you’re going to join your brother tonight,” Ernie said.
Glover laughed. “Is that so?”
Ernie gritted his teeth.
“Do you know how much money I could get for the lot of you?” Glover asked. “I could make enough money that my great-grandchildren would never have to work.”
“Come and get us, then,” Yi said. Flames erupted in his hands.
“Actually, I’m willing to make you a deal,” Glover said before removing his hat. Then he wiped the sweat from his brow before replacing it. “All you have to do is hand over the shape-shifter, and I’ll let the rest of you walk away. It’s as simple as that.”
“We don’t make deals with slavers,” Ernie said.
“This is your last chance,” Glover said. “I’d hate for things to get ugly.”
Ernie crossed his arms over his chest.
“Don’t say I didn’t offer,” Glover said. He reached into a pocket inside his duster jacket and pulled out a small device. After he entered a code, a red light started to flash. Then sheets of metal rolled down to cover the windows and doors, blotting out the light.
The changelings were trapped.
Yi hurled a fireball at Glover. It struck the railing and exploded, sending the slaver ducking for cover. Yi’s next shot burst across the ceiling, drowning it in fire.
“That’ll cost you,” Glover said as he rolled to his knees. He took aim with his rifle. When he pulled the trigger, a canister exploded from his grenade launcher. The lid opened up, releasing a net.
In a blur of motion, Ernie darted across the room to grab a lamp. He threw it like a spear so the net wrapped around the lamp instead of Yi.
“Thanks,” Yi said.
“More slavers!” someone shouted.
Ernie spun around to see dark figures running through the shadows. One snuck up behind Nadya, who was preoccupied with shooting ice at any movement in front of her.
“Look out!” Ernie shouted. He stripped his backpack from his shoulders and pulled out a length of rope. Within a second, he leaped over a couch, ran around a pillar, and reached Nadya, just as the slaver was about to inject some kind of tranquilizing serum into her neck. Ernie wrapped the rope around the man’s shoulders again and again until the slaver couldn’t move his arms.
Ernie was moving so fast that the man didn’t realize what was happening until he was tied up. “Don’t move,” Ernie said after kicking him to the ground.
Nadya turned on the slaver. “You look a little hot,” she said. “Let me help you cool off.” She inhaled before a stream of liquid ice spat from her mouth to encase the man up to his neck. “One down,” she said.
Across the room, another slaver was pointing a dart gun at Geppetto, but the changeling just smiled. “What’s so funny?” the slaver asked.
“I don’t think you want to shoot me with that,” Geppetto said.
“You don’t?”
“Nah, I think you’re going to shoot yourself instead.”
The slaver’s eyes shot wide when his hand started to shake. As the barrel of the gun moved from Geppetto to his own neck, the slaver started to whimper. “Get out of my head! What are you doing to me?”
Geppetto narrowed his eyes. “Bang!” he shouted.
The slaver pulled the trigger, and the dart shot into his skin. He crumpled to the floor.
At the same time, Glover fired one of his nets at Hale, but she morphed into a hummingbird before darting out of the way.
“It looks like we found our shape-shifter!” Glover said.
“Heads up!” Yi shouted through the pandemonium. “They brought clocks!”
Ernie could see the burning eyes of a clockwork moving through the darkness. Fire burned inside its chest as steam poured out of two pipes lodged into its back. Denton was closest. He took three steps before launching himself at the clockwork. The momentum sent them rolling until they crashed into the front desk.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Glover aimed at the hummingbird. He fired a series of errant darts that disappeared into the shadows, skittering across the floor or sinking into the wall. Glover reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a canister that he loaded into the grenade launcher.
The clockwork threw Denton into a burning couch. The machine rose to its feet, ready to finish Denton off, but Hale had turned from a hummingbird into a grizzly bear. She was standing on her hind legs, roaring as her massive paws stretched wide. The clockwork hesitated as a dart caught Hale in the shoulder. Then a second hit her stomach. She staggered before morphing back to her natural form.
“That’s it, boys,” Glover called out as Hale collapsed. “Let’s wrap it up.” With that, he fired a net that fell over the changeling. Energy surged over the surface, sending her into convulsions.
“No!” Yi shouted. His body was wrapped in flames, and the air around him bent under the heat.
The clockwork picked Hale up and tossed her over its shoulder. Nadya tried to hit the machine with a blast of ice, but it didn’t work. The heat from Yi’s fire was eating up the moisture. Without it, her changeling ability was useless.
“We have to get out of here!” Todd screamed as the inferno spread. He was hiding behind a broken sofa with his brother. “This place is going to blow!”
“Everybody fall back!” Ernie said.
“Where?” Nadya asked. Her eyes were wild. “There’s no way out!”
The sound of cracking wood echoed through the foyer. Ernie looked up as a beam snapped in two before it fell. The ground shook as burning debris whipped through the air. One of the slavers brought the leg of a chair down on Denton’s back. Nadya was hit in the neck by a dart. Then Tejan fell.
Ernie didn’t see Glover’s net as it spun toward him. It wrapped around his body, causing him to lose his footing. Ernie fought to break free, but somehow his power was gone. The net had stolen his speed. He stopped struggling long enough to watch the clockwork that was carrying Hale disappear down a trapdoor and out of reach.
JOYRIDE
It had been nearly a week since Monti was admitted to the hospital. His sickness had become a mystery that was proving impossible to solve. Blood samples and X-rays of his chest had been sent to specialists around the globe, but nobody could pinpoint a cause.
Some wondered if it was fatigue, others thought the coughing might be caused by acid reflux. There were suggestions of pneumonia and whooping cough, and one doctor wondered if Monti had contracted a fungal infection called valley fever. None of them were right.
The pressure to finish the portal scanner was more than he could handle, and more than once, Monti tried to escape. One time, a nurse caught him dressed in a janitor’s jumpsuit, pushing a bucket and a mop down the hall. If the sensor in his medical bracelet hadn’t tripped the alarm, he would have made it out. After that, the nurse threatened to handcuff him to his bed if he tried to leave again.
That left Harley alone in the workshop with Monti’s clockwork mechanics. Monti called him as often as the nurses would allow, which they soon limited to twice per day. He spent the rest of the time reviewing the scanner’s specifications as well as any results from tests that Harley had run.
Monti’s growing frustration only served to exacerbate his symptoms, so Doc Trimble prescribed medication that put Monti to sleep. Even then, his dreams were fitful. He thrashed and moaned, tearing the sheets from his bed. Nothing helped.
Harley wasn’t getting much sleep, either. Between homework and his new responsibilities at the workshop, there wasn’t much time for rest. Though the portal scanner ate up most of his
day, there were other responsibilities as well. Clockwork mechanics broke down, conveyor belts snapped, and pipes burst. In addition, gadgets coming off the assembly lines required testing.
Despite all that, Harley decided to throw a party for Max and Ernie late Saturday afternoon. Making the varsity Round Table team was an impressive accomplishment—especially for Ernie, who hadn’t been expected to survive the first round of the tournament.
Harley thought it was important for the Grey Griffins to celebrate together, and Monti gave his blessing to host the party at his workshop. Besides, Monti had decided to pay Harley for all the work that he’d been doing. For the first time in his life, Harley had spending money.
He assigned some of the clockworks to clean out an area big enough for a table loaded with cookies, punch, and a sheet cake that looked like the back of a Round Table card. There were balloons tied to folding chairs and a DJ booth manned by a clockwork with a digital music player and speakers built into its chest.
“You did this all by yourself?” Natalia asked.
“Jasper and some of the other clockworks helped,” Harley said, deflecting the attention.
“Well, I think that it’s brilliant,” Natalia said.
Harley blushed.
“Where’s Ernie?” Max asked.
“I left him a message, but I never heard back,” Harley said.
“He’ll be here,” Natalia said.
“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Max said.
“The pizzas are nearly finished, sir,” Jasper said.
“You made pizza?” Natalia asked.
“They don’t have pizza in New Victoria, so I brought some over from Leonardo’s,” Harley said. “They’ve been sitting in the freezer. Jasper is just warming them up.”
“How about some punch?” Jasper asked.
“I’d love some,” Natalia said.
“Me too,” Max said.
“Sir?” Jasper asked, turning to Harley.
“Sure, thanks.”
“Very well, then,” Jasper said. “I’ll be right back.”
“Maybe we should call Ernie,” Natalia suggested as the clockwork walked over to the snack table that Harley had set out.
Grey Griffins: The Clockwork Chronicles #2: The Relic Hunters Page 14