by J. Stone
“Germ’s up,” she said. “He and Henry’ll be down in a minute.”
“What’s the plan?” Pearl asked.
“She comes in the front right?” she asked Pearl.
“That’s right,” she answered. “Oh, and we should just unlock the door. She’ll just break it down anyway. No reason ya need to fix it if ya don’t hafta.”
“It’s the practicality that I love about you, Pearl,” Erynn replied with a smile. She walked back to the front door and unlatched the lock, allowing it an easy entry for the operative. “Tern’s got that blade,” Erynn continued. “We all hide back in the kitchen, and see if he’s enough to take care of her. If not, we’ll use the gun. If that doesn’t work… I don’t know.”
“I am sure it will not come to that,” Rowland assured her.
After a few minutes, Germ and Brodie joined them downstairs. Waiting in the kitchen for the operative’s inevitable arrival, they explained the situation to the recently wakened pair. From the kitchen, they were able to keep an eye on the front door and Tern.
It had been so long staring at the door, waiting for it to creak open, that it seemed almost surreal when it finally happened. Tern raised his weapon, flicking the switch at its hilt and causing the current to begin to circulate around the metal core. Pushing in the door, Alice became visible. Like Pearl had said, she did look quite a bit different since the last time their paths had crossed. Her platinum blonde hair was cut much shorter, her eyes seemed to be absent of all color, and her skin was stitched together like some sort of undead monster.
She took two steps inside without saying a word, before Tern lunged forward. Reacting quickly, Alice mutated her arm into the bone blade she had once used against them and attempted to block the automaton’s attack. The electric current of the weapon passed through her bone arm, giving her a shock. Unlike how it had been used in the junkyard, the weapon was now able to cut into her arm. The force with which Tern wielded the blade was more than sufficient, however, to not only cut into her mutation, but in fact all the way through it. The mutated arm fell to the floor with a sickening splat, as it changed back to the original form.
Alice shrieked in pain from the dismemberment, clutching her absent limb to her stomach. She backed up, as dozens of her unnatural tentacles crept from below her dress. Tern moved forward attempting to swing the weapon yet again, but a handful of the operative’s limbs grabbed Tern’s arm, stopping his next attack. Though he was restrained, Tern was not in any way defeated. He had the electric weapon in his right hand, but he still had the concealed blade in his left wrist. Jutting it out like a switchblade, he swung at the tendrils grabbing him. Slicing through each of the tentacles, his other weapon was freed.
The operative hissed at him, seeing her limbs severed like that. Offering no remorse or cessation, Tern again attacked with the electrified weapon. The automaton swung cleanly across her neck. After the blade had passed through the operative, her body crumpled and her head fell with a thud to the floor, rolling some distance away. In the kitchen, they all held their breath, waiting.
“Is that it?” Pearl eventually asked. “Is she dead?”
“Mmm, no,” Erynn muttered. “That seems way too easy.”
A couple minutes passed with no movement from the operative’s body. Ultimately, Erynn decided that she needed to check for herself. She stood from where they had been crouching, and started to walk around toward the entryway.
“Don’t,” Pearl whispered.
Turning around and raising her hand, palm first, to her companion, she replied, “It’s okay. I’ll be alright.”
Pearl frowned uncomfortably, but Erynn continued forward. She had to see for herself. Tern still stood over the operative watching her body, but Erynn couldn’t tell if Alice were truly dead. She had, after all, come back from being dismembered by a train. As she got closer, her doubts were justified. Alice may have been down, but she was certainly not finished. A trail of blood had wormed itself from her severed neck to her dismembered head. The arm that had been cut off was slowly being pulled toward the body by a similar blood trail. In short, her body was regenerating.
“Oh, yeah,” Erynn noted sarcastically. “That seems reasonable.”
Chapter 35. Vincent’s Commitment
Vincent certainly didn’t have a lot of friends, given his irascible disposition, but that didn’t mean that he was absent of useful contacts. Many years prior, he’d met a woman by the name of Olivia Nightingale who now maintained a skyship she used to smuggle goods across the empire. Greasing the right palms, Vincent had managed to find out that her ship, the Halcyon, was currently in port. If he could convince her to give him the aid he needed, the Maynard job might not be as difficult as it could be.
He entered the skyport carrying a duffel bag of supplies that he would be needing with Cassie in tow. Whatever Maynard had done to alert the empire to Vincent’s identity, he apparently had not yet turned to the corps for help. The guards allowed him to pass with no restriction. He continued into the hangar, where Olivia’s ship was docked.
The bounty hunter found her standing on a stool and leaning over the open engine of the Halcyon, tuning it up in some fashion. The canary yellow tint of the ship was slowly fading and there were various scratches and holes that had been covered and filled in that looked to have been caused by bullets. The skyship had two sets of parallel wings that jutted out on either side of the cabin, each containing a circular propeller. In front of the nearly bald wheels was another set of propellers that she was leaning through to get to the engine.
Black lensed goggles were strapped over Olivia’s eyes, causing the rubber banding going behind her head to scatter her frazzled blonde hair in various directions. She wore a dark brown jacket, zipped tightly to her chest and a loose fitting pair of jeans. Wrapped a full time around her neck was a long green scarf with frayed edges that she’d clearly had for a long time.
“Hey Liv,” Vincent said.
Turning around but not bothering to come down, Olivia looked at him and lifted the goggles to her forehead. Her face was absent the surprise he would’ve expected from her. “Heard you were in town,” she replied.
“Mm. I guess that means you saw her,” he groaned.
“Yep. And she’s pretty mad at you, y’know,” Olivia said.
“She’s been mad at me for a long time,” he replied.
“Her anger is certainly overwhelming,” Olivia agreed. “This her?”
Vincent nodded. “Olivia, Cassie. Cassie, Olivia.”
“Hi,” Cassie said. “Who’s mad at him?”
“My sister,” the smuggler answered. “His wife.”
“Lucy?” Turning to Vincent, she asked, “This is your sister-in-law?”
“Yeah,” he said with a heavy sigh.
“Does that mean Lucy is okay?” Cassie asked the smuggler.
“She’s fine,” Olivia answered. “Currently resting up after acquiring the bullet in her leg though.”
“I told you,” Vincent said to Cassie. “She’s too stubborn to die.”
“I’m sure she won’t see it that way,” Olivia said. “So why are you here? I know it’s not out of any love for me or my little sister.”
“You still smuggling?” he asked her.
“Smuggling’s really not what it once was,” Olivia replied. “When nothing is outlawed or reviled, there’s really no reason to hide things. I’m legitimate now. Can’t say it pays as well.”
“Does that mean you don’t take any… fringe jobs these days?” Vincent inquired.
“I wouldn’t say I’m exactly risk averse, if that’s what you’re asking,” she answered. “What do you need?”
“I need a ride to the Sovereign Tower,” he told her.
“Is there something wrong with a taxi?” she asked, mockingly.
“I’m not trying to get to the ground floor,” Vincent continued. “I need something a bit higher up.”
“I assume they won’t be eager to let you in
either?” Olivia inquired.
“You know me,” he said. “I make my own entrances. In this case, on the twentieth floor.”
“The council floor?” she asked. “Why would you need to go there?”
“I need to get to Councilor Maynard,” he answered.
“Maynard?” Olivia asked. “You mean the confederacy leader?”
“Something like that,” he answered.
“I went back to Pendulum Falls and Chrome City after the rebellion ended,” she said. “There’s nothing left of the confederacy.”
“There’s a reason for that,” he explained. “Maynard had them all killed. Everyone that had any part in it.”
“Why?” she asked. “Why would he kill his own people?”
“As he put it, they had outlived their usefulness,” Vincent replied. “He didn’t want them getting in the way of his future plans. Apparently, he was put up to it by Viola Arkmast. The whole confederacy was her idea. Something about destabilizing her mother’s rule.”
“Well, if that’s all true, then I’ll concede that Maynard is a man worthy of your ire,” Olivia began. “But, all the same, you’re no rebel. I heard you worked with them during the whole plague cure affair , but that you abandoned them right after you were cured. Why would you risk your life to get at him?”
“He killed my husband,” Cassie answered. “Just because he could.”
Olivia was quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry to hear that, but you’ve got to know that revenge won’t bring him back.”
“Does that mean you won’t help?” she asked.
“I didn’t say that,” Olivia replied. “I can get you up there. I can even get you close. The rest, though, that will be up to the two of you. I’m not getting my hands bloody, and I’m not sticking around to see what kind of pain they bring down on you.”
“Thank you, Liv,” Vincent said.
“When will you be ready?” Olivia asked.
“Now is good,” he answered.
Turning and slamming the hood to the engine, she said, “Get in the back.”
Vincent slid open the cargo door and threw the duffel bag inside. Then he held out his hand to Cassie to help her climb in the doorway. When she was settled, he grabbed the railing and hopped in as well, sliding the door closed again. Meanwhile, Olivia had made her way into the cockpit through the front door and was already starting up the ignition sequence. From the back, Vincent could hear Olivia getting permission from the skyport’s tower to lift off, and within a few minutes, they were in the air.
“So, can we trust her?” Cassie asked over the turbulent sounds of the Halcyon.
“Yeah, she’s trustworthy,” Vincent said. “She did used to be a pirate though.”
“A pirate?” Cassie repeated. “That certainly sounds trustworthy.”
“It was a while back. That’s when we met actually,” Vincent explained.
“Does that mean you knew Olivia before Lucy?” she inquired.
Vincent paused a moment before answering, “Yeah.”
He must’ve taken a bit too long to answer, because Cassie got a particular expression on her face. In a hushed whisper, “You mean you and Olivia?”
The bounty hunter winced in reply. “Very briefly.”
“And then her sister right after?” she asked. “What were you thinking?”
Before he could answer, Olivia’s voice came over the intercom, “Get up here, so you can tell me what you’re planning.”
“Right,” Vincent said to Cassie. “You wait here and get things ready. I’ll go fill her in.”
“No funny business up there,” she told him.
“I should really just keep my mouth shut,” he muttered, passing her and moving towards the front cabin.
He found Olivia managing the various buttons, switches, and levers of her complicated dashboard. She had changed quite a bit since the days he knew her. Vincent thought that he was almost looking at a brand new woman.
“So what do you need from me?” she asked.
“Just get close enough to the twentieth floor,” Vincent answered. “I’ve got some supplies to get inside. You’ll just need to hold it steady, while we cross over.”
“You know, they do have people guarding the tower from the sky,” Olivia replied.
“Yeah, but a wily pilot like you,” he began. “I’m sure you can find a window, where they’re not looking too hard.”
“Flattery doesn’t really suit you,” she said. “Just be ready. Brilliant pilot or not, you’re not going to have long. You’ll have to be quick when I give the word.”
“We’ll be ready,” he replied.
“Oh. And I’m sure you already know, but Lucy’ll be more than a little upset if you get yourself killed,” Olivia reminded him.
“Yeah,” Vincent said. “She’s made that clear.”
He headed back to the cargo area with Cassie, to find her getting the supplies ready. Vincent had purchased a grappling gun to get them from the skyship and into the building. Attaching it to something in the skyship, they would shoot it into the tower, and then slide down the rope between the two points. All the complications of this endeavor made the simplistic bounty hunter yearn for tracking a target through the western wastelands or even a straightforward gunfight. Once they got inside the tower, though, that was likely to be exactly what he would get.
A few minutes passed before Olivia came back over the broadcast speakers of the small ship. “We’re getting close. Better be prepared for when I give the signal.”
Vincent swung open the cargo door of the Halcyon and was met with the freezing wind of the winter evening rushing past. He felt nearly like he was going to be yanked from the cabin, but he held firmly to the hand rail near the door with the strong grip of his mechanical hand. Not far in the distance, he could see the tower. They were relatively level with the floor they needed to enter at, but still some distance away. He nodded to Cassie to prepare the grappler inside the ship, and she looped the metal attachment through a rail of the cabin before ejecting the device’s limbs, firmly affixing it in place. He just hoped it would hold their weight on the way across.
He would soon learn for sure, as Olivia came over the intercom again. “As soon as the next patrol passes, I’m going.”
Vincent took the grappling gun from Cassie, while she prepared her rifle. He wasn’t confident that the force of the grapple would be sufficient to break the window into the tower, so before he fired his shot, she was set to take out the glass. They just needed the cue from Olivia. The skyship shook and swooped sideways, getting them as close to the Sovereign Tower as they could possibly be.
“Go!” Olivia shouted through the crackling speakers.
Cassie fired a single bullet through the glass of one of the windows, shattering it and giving him a sight into the building. He spotted a location to land the hook and took his shot as well. The hook seemed to land firmly, as it was snugly snagged on the frame of a door. He pulled back to test it and was satisfied with the results. Flicking a switch on the gun, it pulled in the slack from the rope, tightening it between the ship and the building. Detaching a small handgrip from the gun, he gestured for Cassie to join him.
“Here,” he said. “You go first, and I’ll follow.”
She nodded, and after throwing the strap of the rifle over her shoulder, she took the handgrip. She wrapped her hands around it and jumped forward, out the window. Sliding along the rope, Cassie quickly descended its length and wound up inside the building. Once she had safely landed in the tower with a bit of a forward roll and let go of the handgrip, he flicked another switch on the gun. The handle quickly rewound back to him, as he prepared himself for his turn. About halfway back, however, the handgrip seemed to malfunction and simply stopped. He would have to go without it. For the first time since he lost his arm, he was actually quite thankful for the mechanical limb he now had. He wrapped his metal fingers around the sturdy rope, and his other hand over its top.
Pushing himsel
f forward from the cargo hold of the skyship, Vincent skidded across the rope. If he’d had a flesh and blood hand, it would have been torn to shreds at the speed he was moving. Instead, the metal of his fingers scraped along the cord, causing sparks to fly off, as he went. Eventually, his hand banged against the handgrip that had malfunctioned, pushing it forward in front of him, but slowing him down, as he approached the tower. The malfunction ended up being beneficial, as the stuck grip made for a softer landing.
He dislodged the hook from where it had landed, and the gun pulled the rope back into itself. Vincent walked to the window and waved to Olivia that she was clear. She nodded from the cockpit and gave him a farewell wave of her own. He and Cassie were on their own now, but with the noise they had made getting in, Vincent suspected that it wouldn’t last long.
The hallways were fairly barren, as he hoped they would be. This time of night, most of the staff would have gone home. From what he understood of the council, though, this floor wasn’t fully used anyway. Five people for one whole floor seemed a bit excessive in his mind, but he appreciated the isolation it would provide him when hunting Maynard down.
Vincent and Cassie checked their weapons before setting off down one of the hallways. Neither having been there before, they weren’t sure exactly where his office was, but each of the rooms were clearly labeled. Despite their entrance, Vincent didn’t hear any alarms going off yet, so he expected that they still had some time before the corpsmen showed up on that floor.
After making their way down a couple hallways, they found a room labeled with the councilor’s name. He and Cassie took cover at either side of the door, and Vincent turned the knob with his mechanical hand and pushed it open. After the door had cleared, the bounty hunter peeked around the frame to see the councilor seated behind a desk. He had clearly been ready for them, as he had a gun pulled and aimed at them. Vincent ducked back to the side of the door just as Maynard fired a shot and splintered the wood of the wall.