Skirmish (The Stork Tower Book 8)

by Tony Corden

  With that, Leah logged out.

  6

  December 27, 2073

  REAL WORLD

  Once back in the Tower, Leah logged out after asking Three to let her mother know she was free. Her room was empty, and there was no one outside her door. After showering and dressing, she made her way to the kitchen. Lin was there holding a baby that couldn’t have been more than six-months-old. The baby was shaking, and Three communicated that it was half crying, almost whimpering. To Leah, Lin’s face was almost emotionless.

  As Leah made her way to the refrigerator, Lin said, “L: John’s running out of people and I said we’d be OK for a while without the extra guards in this part of the facility. Are you OK with that?”

  “Absolutely, I like my privacy, and it’s hard to find that anywhere except in the Tower these days. Who’s baby is that?”

  “L: I don’t know the mother’s real name. People I talked with called her Spectre, but they named her after her drug of choice and a tattoo she had. She never gave them her real name. She was a prostitute at the Meatworks. She and her four-year-old son were killed, this is her daughter. No one knows what her name is. Apparently, she lived by herself in an old freezer and used one half for living and the other half for business. One of the first bullets fired hit the freezer. It went right through the wall and scared Spectre so much she grabbed the kids and ran. They were hit as she ran from the building. I doubt she was even twenty.”

  “Is the baby OK?”

  “L: Not really. She wasn’t hit but did get some scrapes when Spectre was hit and fell to the ground. She was born addicted to Spectre. I’m waiting for Mia, she’s trying to find out how to help.”

  “I thought Spectre wasn’t addictive.”

  “L: It isn’t in teens and adults, but is for kids if a mother takes it while she’s pregnant. Spectre dealt with it by using and breastfeeding.”

  “Mum, I can’t hear your tone, but something isn’t right. What’s wrong?”

  Leah felt her mother’s shoulders slump and then start shaking as she said, “L: Everything. Everything is wrong.”

  Leah stepped forward and put an arm around her mother, who put her head on Leah’s shoulder as she wept. After a few minutes, Lin shook herself and reaching for a tissue, wiped her eyes and nose. She then said, “L: Sorry, Ling, your father is helping John organise things, and I’m full of too many emotions.”

  Leah reached out and took the baby. After leaning it on her shoulder, she said, “Let me hold the baby, and you talk.”

  Lin gave a stilted laugh and said, “L: I wanted to see you because I thought you might need someone to talk to, not the other way around.”

  “You first.”

  “L: I’m struggling with a mix of too many strong emotions. I’m angry, sad, proud, ashamed, worried and disgusted, just to name a few. I’m ashamed I didn’t realise this young woman was living only three kilometres from me who had no one. She was trying to care for two kids, and no one even knew her name. I had more than I needed, and she and her little boy died alone. I’m so disgusted with our society, that we’ve let things get so bad in the country that this could happen. How was it that someone’s only way to feed her children and get them the care they needed was to sell herself?

  “I’m so proud of you for standing up to what is wrong and being prepared to go help protect people like this poor sick baby. At the same time, I’m sad that you had to go through what you did to stop the animals who shot Spectre. I know you killed them and I’m both proud and heartbroken that you did that. I’m angry at myself, at the government, at the world and at the people who thought it would be all right to shoot this child’s mother, who believed she had no value.

  “I’m worried that this isn’t the last horror I’ll see, or the last time you’ll do what needs to be done. I wish you had lived your whole life and never had to harm a soul. I’m overwhelmed when I think of the four people I know you’ve killed, and I can’t say anything except I’m glad they’re dead. I almost wish I could make them alive so I could kill them myself. I don’t know what to pray. I just feel so lost at the moment.

  “I prayed so much as you were growing up that God would protect you from Jimmy Loo and his kind. I asked him to turn your feet from violence and to convict you of the wrong things you’d done. I asked that he’d change your heart. Instead, he let you become the most dangerous person I know. I asked John, and he said you were the most lethal human he’s ever met. Not only that, but God’s let you be in situations where everything you learned is needed. Situations where your stealing and your violence seem like the right things to have and use in the circumstances. Even Jimmy has become exactly what’s we need in this moment. I am so confused.”

  Leah had to wait for the last of the words to type out on her finger, then she said, “Mum, I understand being confused, but what is it you wanted for me? What was the aim of your prayers?”

  “L: I wanted you to be safe, to be good, to be free and to trust in God. I wanted you to enjoy your life, to be content, to love and to be loved.”

  “Mum, God’s answered your prayers. I’m free, I enjoy life and I am content. I know love. I trust in God, and I’m trying to be good. He’s kept me safe, and even though I was shot and kidnapped, I’m still here, now, with you. It isn’t what we expected life would be like, but you’ve always told me God does things his way. I suspect God has no problem with our confusion. I’d even suggest he expects us not to understand what he is doing. What we can’t do is disobey and lose faith. Don’t hate. Do trust.”

  Lin sniffed and wiped her nose then looked up and said, “L: Thank you. I needed to hear that. I note you didn’t say you were good so I’ll keep praying about that.”

  “I couldn’t say I was good, but I do try to do the right thing.”

  “L: I know, sweetheart. I’m sorry I mentioned the people you killed.”

  “That’s OK, I assumed you wanted to talk about that. I haven’t stopped long enough to think about it yet, so maybe it’s best to leave that for later.”

  Lin nodded, then turned to face the doorway as Mia entered the room. Mia said, “M: I talked with Kevin and did some research. We need to wean her off the drug slowly. In kids this small they can die from the detox unless we’re very careful. They’re also able to die from an overdose.”

  “L: I thought you couldn’t OD on Spectre.”

  “M: Technically, adults can’t. Children under five have been known too. Addicted newborns are very susceptible. Jimmy is sending over a drug kit which will let us know what her levels are. Once we have her calmed down, we can measure the level and reduce it gradually over a few months. Jimmy’s also trying to source some Spectre. He didn’t allow it in the Switch, but he’ll send for some from Booval once the police leave. No one will say where Spectre got hers from.”

  “Probably from the guy they call Sherpa. He deals most of the drugs at the Meatworks. No one will give him up just in case Jimmy stops supply. I’m surprised Kevin doesn’t know, but I suppose he wouldn’t want to give Sherpa up anyway. Sherpa gets people what they want, and he can be violent if crossed.”

  Mia stared at Leah then said, “M: How do you know if Jimmy doesn’t?”

  “Sherpa’s kid, Devnand. I used to hang with him occasionally. Every now and then Jimmy sent me to the Blue Heeler to pass messages. Devnand did odd jobs and passed messages for his dad. Just a secret between friends. I haven’t seen Devnand for several years, but Sherpa is still around.”

  “L: Why didn’t you tell Jimmy, he’d have stopped this.”

  “Yeah, well, Jimmy’s attitude toward drugs is a bit biased. He supplies most of the Switch, and while he won’t deal in Spectre, it’s more a problem with the main supplier than any real problem with drugs. There are only two sources here in Brisbane, and while it’s complicated to make each batch, each batch is huge. The suppliers make so much they can sell it cheap and still make a ton of Virtuals. This drops the demand for the other drugs. So basically, it’s a
losing proposition for Jimmy.

  “Sherpa is smart and only sells to the Meatworks and a few other places not run by one of the bosses. People there can’t afford anything else and because it isn’t addictive, per se, if they cannot afford it they can do without. Most of the violence comes when the addicts need their fix, then they’ll do anything to get what they need. If Sherpa disappeared, Jimmy would fill the market with other stuff. As long as the violence stayed outside the Switch, and as long as no kids were hurt, Jimmy wouldn’t care.

  “Having said that, I’m certain Jimmy knows about Sherpa. He knows it’s safer to sell Sceptre to the Meatworks, so he turns a blind eye. He’d end it if it came out he knew, but until then this is the best deal for everybody.”

  “M: So, how do I contact Sherpa?”

  “You can’t. You’re too close to Jimmy. Jimmy will find out and have to do something. Besides, Sherpa wouldn’t deal with you. Best bet would be to ask Father Andrew to get you some.”

  “L: Get the Catholic Priest to buy drugs?”

  “Yes. Jimmy won’t torture a priest. Ask Father Andrew to talk to Aarav Abbott, the Hindu Pujari. Sherpa is Hindu, and going through the priests will stop anyone talking. I don’t think you should go, Mia, and it makes no sense if Mum goes. Ask Conner to do it. There’s nothing suspicious about a good Catholic boy talking to the priest.”

  “L: You want me to ask my teenage son to ask the Catholic Priest to arrange for a Hindu Pujari to ask a drug dealer to provide me with drugs?”

  “It sounds a little crazy when you say it like that, but yes.”

  Lin closed her eyes then looked down at the whimpering baby in Leah’s arms. She looked up at Leah and a smile formed as she said, “God surely has a sense of humour. OK, I’ll arrange it. Give me the child and go do what you need to.”

  Leah handed the baby back and said, “Give her a name. Every child needs a name.”

  With that, she grabbed some fruit and a drink and headed back for her room. After showering she entered the Pod.

  7

  December 27, 2073

  DUNYANIN

  Arriving back in Dunyanin, Leah found herself in the small room set aside for her, Wisp and Amy inside Severin’s house. She couldn’t feel either Amy or Wisp nearby but could sense Yürek standing outside the door. Yürek looked to be talking with Melez and Fetheden. Remembering she needed to check her messages about Clan Guàn, she asked Three to send unread messages about the clan to a braille reader. There were several hundred, and it took Leah almost ten minutes to browse through them all.

  Besides receiving over three-hundred-million Experience Points and almost twenty Diamond’s worth of coins, she also had her experience points bonuses increased by fifty-two-and-a-half percent and an extra 25000 Fame Points. She tried not to think of how many points she’d lost by being careless but knew she’d need to be more careful in future.

  Finally ready, Leah opened the door and stepped out of the room. Yürek stopped speaking and turned to Leah. “Y☼: War Leader, is everything OK? We expected you before this.”

  “Everything is fine, thank you. I’m sorry I’m late, but it seems like there is a war of some kind on each and every world I visit these days. What is happening?”

  “Y☼: The crafters used the time you were gone and managed to prepare the spells, potions and weapons needed by the army. Somehow Thad and Amy had word of your delay and your expected arrival time. Using the artefact, they decided to start moving parts of your army into position while we waited so we would be ready at your command. The three portable resurrection stones you claimed when you were in the Günahkâr lands have been placed as we discussed, as have the two additional stones brought by the clan. The last group is ready to relocate at your command.”

  “Thank you, Yürek. Have there been any changes to our general plans?”

  “Y☼: No, although the number of additional opponents is greater than we expected by a factor of five.”

  “What of my expectation that Demon Prince Mordesh might add warriors?”

  “Y☼: They have not been seen, although Melez found a cluster of dark priests with hundreds of captives. She believes the priests may sacrifice these to open a portal. I believe it to be a trap as they know you have a penchant for trying to aid the helpless and oppressed.”

  “It would be unkind to leave the question between the two of you unanswered. What do others think?”

  “Y☼: I believe the bookmakers among the clan are offering two to one odds that it is for a portal and three to one it is a trap.”

  “What are the odds it is both?”

  “Y☼: Five to one.”

  “That would be my bet. OK, let’s go.”

  Melez put out her hand and handed Leah the three pieces that made up a brooch for those in Clan Guàn. She said, “M: Wisp asked me to give you this. They have been enchanted so each member of the clan can recognise other members. Most spells that cause harm will be deflected if cast at a fellow member. To negate this, for example in the event of a traitor, you should touch the Darkness Diamond as you cast. They cannot be worn by those not of the clan. They will cause injury and even death if this is attempted when they are fully charged.”

  Leah added the brooch to her armour and was pleased when it attached itself without difficulty. She was asked to give permission for automatic charging of the brooch, which she did. Once that was done, Leah stepped outside where she teleported herself and the others to the staging area where Mĕi was waiting.

  Standing next to Mĕi were three Günahkâr. Beside İşaret and Yüzük was a Yalet who Yürek introduced as Melez’s bodyguard. Everyone except Leah, her guards, and Mĕi went to stand with the thirty or forty clan members waiting to be transported. The spell was cast and they all disappeared. Meanwhile, Leah and the elves climbed onto Mĕi. As Mĕi leapt into the air, Leah concentrated on a location several leagues above the centre of the battlefield and cast Teleport.

  As they arrived above the battlefield, Yürek sent the message to attack to Günahkâr in each of the different units. From their position, they watched as the five separate groups they’d placed around the enemy started attacking. In the end, the tactics weren’t at all complicated. The clan would attack from the outside and work its way inward while Leah and Mĕi attacked the centre. The flow of each group looked random, but using the Günahkâr the commanders shifted the direction they faced and the enemies they engaged to maximum effect. Because the Günahkâr were all connected, the information they gave encompassed the entire plain and included directions from both Leah and Yürek who shared the tactical oversight.

  Leah began by dropping hundreds of the seeds and crystals she’d made into some of the largest groups. This in itself killed thousands of players and created mass confusion. When any of the clan were killed, they resurrected at the portable stones and collected potions, new armour and weapons if they needed them. These came from stores provided by the crafters who had been distributed to each of the stones. Each group also had several runners. Their job was to collect harvested items from the dead or from players whose packs were full and take the material back to the resurrection stones. This was then sorted by the crafters and reused. They were all on fast, sturdy mounts and used these to ferry newly resurrected players back to the group.

  Being a Level Twenty clan included options for loot distribution which not only kept a complete record of who killed the enemy, but also what loot was collected and how it had been distributed. When resurrected, many of the clan re-equipped themselves with armour and weapons of better quality than they’d previously had. Mages received mana crystals fully charged or took spells to supplement areas they’d discovered they were weak in.

  After watching the battle progress for half an hour, Leah said, “Yürek, things are playing out as expected. I think the groups have a grasp on what’s happening. What do you think of having some fun?”

  “Y☼: What did you have in mind, War Leader?”

  Leah used her hand to indi
cate a collection of almost two hundred players who’d started marching when the battle started and were now less than a thousand paces from Thad’s groups. “What about those guys? I think Thad’s group could take them, but Mĕi and I want to play too.”

  “Y☼: Once you and Mĕi arrive, what is left for me?”

  “OK, I’ll teleport the hand down and let Mĕi take one pass to break them up then wait five minutes before we both join you.”

  “Y☼: Agreed, teleport us two hundred paces in front of them.”

  Without waiting, Leah teleported herself and the hand to the place Yürek had asked for, then focussed her attention on the sensations showing Mĕi diving toward the enemy players. Unfortunately for the players, their attention had focussed on Leah and the dark elves immediately in front of them. Recognising Leah, they started jogging toward her and some cast spells. With their attention on Leah, they didn’t see Mĕi. She came in at an angle with the sun behind her and pulled out of the dive just paces from the edge of the group. Breathing fire, Mĕi angled her feet to tear away the heads and shoulders of dozens of warriors. She positioned her tail under her like a wasp and caught another five or six. As she angled her wings to pull up out of her dive, the lower edge hit the heads of six or seven warriors, snapping their necks. With one or two warriors gripped in each of her four claws she rose out of the dive, and the formation shattered.

  As Leah teleported back to Mĕi, her guards attacked. As Leah watched, she could see all three using attacks she, Orta and Küçük had perfected among the Kemirmek. By the time five minutes were up Leah had decided not to join them as it was clear they didn’t need her help. Mĕi had killed or wounded over a third of the warriors, and the rest were so disorganised after the attack that they attacked her guards, who had spread out, in groups of two or three. It was a bloodbath.