“A sham gathering such as this is hardly something you can fool me with.” he laughed, the pistol in his hand pointed at her chest.
“Then why are you here?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Watch him boss.” said Romney. “Remember. Last time you met him he was much faster than you.”
“Ah Romney.” said Topping. “I am pleased to make your acquaintance. Of course we have met before at the factory. But you did not know that I could hear you then of course. You are correct though. I am considerably faster than your mistress here.”
He jumped left and Victoria shot a blue pulse beam at him but he somersaulted into the air and landed six feet from where the ray exploded into the drive.
“Who are you?” she asked and he shot forward. Victoria changed her tactics however and she threw herself at him full on, putting all of her weight and strength into the thrust. She caught his arm with that was holding the gun by the wrist and squeezed as hard as she could. To a normal man such an assault would crush the bones, but Topping did not even flinch. He struck out at her with his other hand and sent her flying through the air and onto the grass. She spun in the air as she landed and turned to face him again, firing a bolt of blue energy that he stepped aside from, the explosion flying off into the night, illuminating the drive behind him.
“The gun!” said Romney and Victoria threw himself at him again, this time however she did not grasp his arm or wrist, but grabbed hold of the gun that was pointing now uselessly at the ground. He leaned in closer to her, his face only inches from hers now, the shaded glasses reflecting the moonlight from above. He gritted his teeth, his mouth curled in a wide sneer as she crushed the gun in his hand, the metal weapon disintegrating as she squeezed it. She released it quickly as she felt it break and reached into the holster for the other one and crushed it against his leg, the weapon sparkling and crackling as she destroyed it.
Such a manoeuvre left her vulnerable though, and he swung his arm out at her, knocking her from her feet and sending her sprawling through the air, landing in the centre of the lawn by an ornamental pond. Her systems were screaming at her, read-outs in her vision flashing red as he leapt through the air towards her and grabbing her by the neck dragged her towards the pond.
Here the lamps that lit the drive were far away enough for the lawn to be in darkness. The full moon above however was shining down, lighting the grass in a pale blue glow.
“I think Miss Neaves you are starting to make me angry.” said Topping, “Though I was very surprised to see you arrive at all. I thought that my clockwork ant device would have saved you the journey. Sadly, it was not to be so. I do hope it didn’t make much of a mess. Such frightful things to tidy up, bomb explosions I find.”
“Oh it was no inconvenience at all.” She snarled at him.
He yanked her forward and pushed her head down into the pond, holding her underwater. Her symptoms continued to flash red with damage reports.
“He does not know you can hold your breath indefinitely boss.” said Romney urgently.
“Shut down some of these damage alerts Romney.” she said, “I can’t concentrate with them flashing in front of my eyes. I don’t need to be told I am in trouble.”
“Well I know now that I can’t drown you. Thank you for the assistance Romney.” said Topping as he raised her from the water and threw her across the ornamental pond onto the lawn. She rolled onto her back and back flipped through the air, tearing a large brick from the edge of the pond as she did so, sending it flying through the air towards Topping on the other side of the small pool of water. Simultaneously she fired a beam of blue energy at him. He flung his arm an mashed the flying masonry away from himself and dodged the beam just in time. Yet he had no time to avoid the second beam she shot at him mere seconds after firing the first shot.
He barely had time to register it approaching and then it caught him in the right shoulder, a scream flying from his mouth as it threw him through the air, the leather of his jacket tearing, revealing bloodied flesh underneath.
“Good shot!” said Romney, but Victoria was amazed to see Topping rise back to his feet and shaking himself began to lope back across the lawn towards the house. Victoria broke into a run, watching him carefully as he leapt through the air to an astounding height, then grabbing hold of one of the window frames he began to clamber up the wall, swinging from window to window as if he were some sort of giant ape until he reached the roof and disappeared from view.
Victoria reached the wall and raised her left arm to the rooftop, and aiming carefully a small hook and rope shot from her suit and catching on the edge of the roof began to hoist her upwards. She gathered speed as she ascended until as she reached the rooftop she used the momentum to carry her above the roof, and she scanned the surroundings. He was not on the scan, being once again invisible, but she looked across to the row of large chimney pots and saw him running between them.
She fired again and bricks showered down across the roof as one of the chimneys collapsed. He paused slightly, lifting several bricks, throwing them through the air towards her at great speed. Victoria ducked and rolled away from the missiles, and Topping continued to run, reaching the far end of the roof and throwing himself over the edge. She increased her speed, launching herself from the rooftop to find Topping standing in the moonlight below. He stood beside a parked steam wagon, its engine and boiler silent and cold almost as if he was waiting for her.
“You really are persistent, Miss Neaves.” He smiled, stepping towards the steam wagon.
“Indeed I am.” said Victoria, walking slowly towards him and watching him carefully. “So why all the diamonds, Topping?” she asked, raising her arm ready to shot him again.
‘Oh I need them for a new device I am putting together.” he smiled, reaching the steam wagon and crouching down beside it. “A small device. Nothing too clever. Essential however, and the diamonds make it much more powerful.”
“I see.” said Victoria. Topping suddenly reached to the steam wagon and placing his hands in the centre of the carriage outstretched under it he moved quickly, raising the wagon into the air, then with more effort above his head.
Victoria stepped back, then raised her pulse ray towards him but Topping was a blur, so fast was he moving. With a roar of what sounded like a mixture of pain and rage he flung the steam wagon towards her, the huge heavy vehicle flying through the air as if it was no heavier than the lightest of objects.
She flung herself to one side, the vehicle flying across the lawn away from her. She saw Topping running further away from the night, the moonlight illuminating him as he did so.
“How the Hell did he manage that?” asked Romney as she raced across the grass, following Topping as he fled. She fired a blue beam at him but he avoided it easily until he rounded what looked like stable block and disappeared. She raced around the corner, not seeing him standing in the shadows and as she ran past he punched her once on the forehead then grabbed her by the shoulders and raised his fist to strike her again.
Victoria’s head was reeling, and new alarm warnings were flashing across her eyes now. She saw the second blow coming however and grabbed at the approaching fist, forcing it to a stop as she did so. Now she held his curled fist in hers she began to crush it but he smiled at her, the glasses on his face seeming to make him even more malicious than she knew him to be. She continued to squeeze his fist, and slowly she felt her grip on it loosening, the hand heading for her slowly but surely as his superior strength began to overwhelm her.
“Hardly the eccentric scientist now are you?” she spat at him and he grinned.
“Just an act that served a purpose.” He spat.
Victoria felt her grip loosening and moving her head back she suddenly moved it forward, head-butting the man with all her strength. He staggered backwards, shaking his head and she hit him with her other hand once, just below the chin, then with the other on the forehead, then back to the other, her speed increased, faster and fa
ster did she hit him, his head shaking backwards and forwards with each blow, now sinking to his knees.
“We need desperate measures, Victoria!” shouted Romney but she did not have enough time to answer him. He fell forwards, falling to the ground and she stood back, realising only at the very last second the mistake she had made as his foot shot out quickly and knocked her legs out from under her. He jumped up from the ground and grabbed her arm, raising her towards him and then with both arms raised her above his head, then violently flung her to the ground, the air rushing from her as she hit the grass. He rushed forward and lifted her again, then quickly flung her back to the ground.
She tried to roll away but he was too fast for her as he picked her up again and this time flung her to the ground with even more force. Alarms began to flash again, red lights filling her vision. She could not concentrate. From nearby she could hear raised voices and torchlight that seemed to be drawing closer.
“Not so clever now are we, Miss Neaves?” snarled Topping as he flung her to the ground again. She could not put up any meaningful resistance now, she was dizzy and her systems were obviously damaged.
“I shall never be as clever as you I fear.” she managed to say however and Topping laughed, kicking her across the grass.
“Of course not. How could it be so? I am faster than you, stronger. More intelligent.”
“Who are you?” she gasped as she tried to roll away from him but she did not manage it and he kicked her hard again. “I think you are a newer version of me. Technology has moved on.”
He laughed and shook his head, picking her up and throwing her to the ground once again.
“No. He said. I am much cleverer than that.” He laughed at her and from a pocket flung a business card down to her where she lay sprawled. She did not pick it up but saw it was the card that he left usually at the scene of his robberies.
She gasped as he grasped her by the head and moved to take a lock on her with his arm. Nevertheless, she still had enough strength left to taunt him.
“Oh I find one should never describe myself as being clever or brave. You will be found out.”
He smiled at her and moved to grasp her head, pausing as he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“What The?” said Topping as he turned. Before him stood a tall young man, his hair flopping almost rakishly across his forehead.
“Who the Hell are you?” said Topping as the young man before him balled his fist and raised his arm as if he was about to strike.
“Very accurate.” said the young rake, “My name is Sebastian. You can call me Romney if you like, however Sebastian is what I prefer to be called once I become corporeal.”
Victoria groaned as Romney hit Topping on the nose as hard as he could. It was a serious blow, but Topping smiled as it more or less bounced off him. His smile faded though as the impact of the blow shattered the metal bridge of his shaded glasses, snapping them in half and they fell off his face onto the floor. Romney screamed in pain and grabbed his fist with his other hand, shrinking to his knees instantly in agony.
The effect on Topping of losing the glasses however was instant.
Topping’s whole body spasmed. He shot to his feet as Sebastian stood back, dragging Victoria away from the Clockwork Thief. The huge tear in Topping's jacket revealed his body swelling, his chest growing in size, his clothes tearing as his arms and legs bulged, snapping the armoured leather from him, the holster snapping, the boots tearing as his feet grew in size. Hair was also growing all over his body.
Victoria stared at the shape of the beast forming before her eyes. His eyes however were pale blue, shining the same colour of the moonlight upon his face. The creature's arms grasped at the air, pain racking its body as it continued to grow, now rising in height until it was at least eight feet in height, its flesh now tearing, blood racing down its arms, the muscles bursting and splitting.
The creature turned its eyes to the sky, staring at the moon and howling loudly across the night as its chest burst, the skin no longer able to contain its growth.
“Look away Victoria.” said Sebastian as the creature howled loudly again. Yet from nearby came the crack of a rifle, followed by another and then another, and the creature fell to the ground, decreasing in size until when Victoria looked back the shape on the ground was that of Hugo Topping. As the policeman arrived Victoria took one last look at him. His clothes were torn to shreds, his body was split and bleeding, and in his chest around his heart were several small holes. Victoria looked away. She was never going to be quite sure what had killed him: the bullets or the strange effect of the moonlight once the shaded glasses were broken.
***
“Lucky for you the skimmer is fitted with a rudimentary systems cradle.” said Sebastian as he checked the readout on the wall mounted device that Victoria was strapped to. She had designed it herself from blueprints she had found on the data clouds in areas that the government had thought to be restricted but were no match for her. There was a much more complex cradle at her house but she thought that for now this one would suffice. It was already repairing broken cabling and bones painlessly, re-routing systems around problem areas.
“It will be enough just for me to complete our mission.” said Victoria.
“I thought it was complete.” said Sebastian, clipping yet another small wire to one of the few fingers that weren’t wired up already. “Topping is dead after all.”
“His workshop.” said Victoria. “I suspect that there are things there that we need to remove. We still do not know why he stole the diamonds for example. Or indeed whether he was acting alone.”
“What was all that with the moonlight, boss?” asked Sebastian. “I have never seen anything like that before.”
“I don’t know.” she said, “It is obviously the reason he was wearing those shaded sunglasses. To protect himself from the moonlight. The second they broke he began to transform into whatever that creature was.”
“I think he would have just exploded on his own if those marksmen had not shot him.” said Sebastian.
“Well I think it proves that he was not a more advanced version of the technology that the British government used on me.” she said bitterly, “I certainly don’t do that when the moon comes out.”
“I think I would have noticed,” laughed Sebastian, standing back from the cradle and letting her close her eyes for a moment. He glimpsed at the panel on the pilot's panel ahead of him where the autopilot was guiding them rapidly across the Berkshire countryside.
“We should be at the factory in about thirty minutes.” he said. “Sooner if we de-mist, but I think we will continue running silent in case anybody at the laboratory sees us coming that we don’t want to.”
He glanced at Victoria. She was already asleep.
***
The factory was deserted as Victoria and Sebastian made their way to the locked compartment that led to Hugo Topping’s laboratory. Victoria felt a little better now though she knew that it would take several days of being connected to the much more advanced cradle back at home before she would feel fully recovered. Quietly she was looking forward to the rest, but for now she knew she had to investigate Hugo’s laboratory, or workshop as he had called it.
“Door is security sealed.” said Sebastian, looking at the small panel on the wall, brass tubing running to it, looking as if they were the conduit pipes for the data cabling. He had declined to become incorporeal again until the lab had been investigated in case she needed him. Victoria knew he was doing his best to protect her and felt quietly pleased to have him there. It made a pleasant change anyway, if nothing else.
“I don’t have time to dawdle.” She said, pointing her hand at the door lock. A thin blue beam shot from her finger but this time it stayed, melting into the metal as she began to draw it in a circular pattern around the lock. After a few minutes it was done and she released the beam and leaning back, kicked the lock out of the door. She pushed it open and strode inside, lights illumina
ting the workshop as they entered.
“Be extremely careful of any security measures or booby-traps.” said Sebastian and Victoria nodded, edging into the huge workshop. More lights came on from the roof above as they penetrated further into the room.
Victoria examined the benches. Some contained chemicals in flasks, pipettes running about the worktops. She examined several closely, sniffed a few and moved on to the next bench which was littered with small clockwork parts of brass. Cogs and miniature pistons filled the top of the desk in no discernible order. Besides this stood a large forge, and although it had ventilation rods jutting from it it was cold and unused. She thought it certainly looked as if it had been that way for quite some time.
“Just wiring and tiny pipes here.” shouted Sebastian from the other side of the room. “Coal bunkers, steam engine and a series of pulleys and wires that seem to make this racking here rise and fall. All perfectly harmless.”
“We are missing something.” she said. “Okay we can see here all of the things he would use to make the ant or the spider, and no doubt many other bespoke items that have been requested. But why did he need the diamonds? Was it really just greed?”
“Keep looking.” said Victoria. “There has to be something here.” She moved away from the benches, large tarpaulins cast on the floor at this section of the workshop. She looked up at the curved roof before her. The building was a very curious design, the roof being so arched as to be almost semicircular, but there did not seem to be any particular reason for this. She looked at the walls, red rust lining one side of the wall in small patches. She walked across to one and ran her fingers through one, surprised to see that it was not rust at all, but a very dark red coloured dust.
She reached into her belt and pulled out a small jar. She put it up to the wall and scraped some of the red dust into the phial. Replacing the stopper, she stowed it in her belt pouch for analysis back home once she had a moment to do it. She walked a little further and found herself at a dead end, the walls curving here so that the continued back to the door through which they had entered. Tutting loudly to herself she spun on her heels and saw Sebastian on the other side of the room. He turned to face her and waved then vanished.
The Complete Adventures of Victoria Neaves & Romney Page 24
