London Darkness- Infernal Inventions

by Christopher Stocking

  Celia grunted and rolled over. “Impossible,” she grumbled.

  “It’s sad but true,” Ryker said jokingly. Celia rolled out of bed and sleepily opened the door. Wendell’s voice carried into the room.

  “I tell you, my father created the best damn—”

  “You’re not boring her with family stories, are you?” Ryker interrupted.

  Adelina, who sat resting her head in her hands, eyes half closed looked at Ryker. “Boring doesn’t even begin to describe it,” she said wearily.

  Wendell shot a scornful look at her and Ryker. “You just wait! One day my father’s legacy will be known-”

  “And the world will envy your gnomish intelligence,” Ryker finished for him. “Go get some sleep.”

  Wendell grumbled and limped into the back room, followed by Adelina who immediately fell onto the bed.

  Ryker disabled the Spear Bots and replaced them with two fresh ones, and then sat with Celia at a table. “Did you sleep well?” he asked.

  Celia shrugged. “I suppose. I’ll be glad when this is over.”

  Ryker nodded. “I’ll be glad to build a new lab. Although I don’t know how I’ll afford it.”

  “We’ll figure it out,” Celia replied. “You know you’re welcome to stay with me in the meantime.”

  Ryker gave her half a smile. “Thanks.” He pulled out his revolver and opened the cylinder. Six rounds sat comfortably in the slots.

  “Are you alright?” Celia asked.

  “I had a strange dream,” he said after a moment of silence. He paused.

  “Well, tell me about it,” Celia said.

  “Everyone was dead,” he answered grimly. With the flick of his wrist the cylinder of his revolver slid back into place. “Killed by Caiden. He even had me on my knees, gun pressed to my head. Just before he shot me he told me that justification was more important than worth. And, that I fought well.”

  “It was only a dream, Ryker. You know we’re going to win this.”

  “Do I?” he asked. “He had us all captured and sure, we escaped, but the Spear Bot didn’t kill him, and now he has it. He’s been one step ahead of us this whole time.”

  Celia put a hand on his shoulder. “We just need to find a way to get the upper hand. We can’t let him win the emotional battle, too.”

  “We’ll I’m running out of ideas,” Ryker answered. “I mean, he’s right, we can kill off his members, but he’ll just recruit more. Now he even knows what we all look like. He might even know where this very lab is.”

  “That’s the opposite of us winning the emotional war. Ryker, we’re ready to defend against anything he may send here. He’s clearly not stupid. He won’t attack us here. For all he knows, we may have Spear Bots all over the place. Like you said, he’s terrified of them.”

  Ryker looked up at the hovering Spear Bots. “Fear will have to be our offensive strategy.”

  The door in the back of the lab swung open and Adelina walked out. She sat next to Ryker and slouched in her chair.

  “Is everything alright?” Ryker asked.

  “I can’t sleep,” Adelina replied. “I just feel like I’m under so much pressure.”

  “We’re working on a plan now,” Ryker said. “We’re going to get this guy.”

  “What exactly did you have in mind?” Adelina asked.

  “Well, we were thinking—”

  Ryker was interrupted by a low rumbling noise and a short floor vibration. “What was that?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Celia answered sternly. She grabbed Wendell’s rifle from the table and walked to the lift.

  “Where are you going?” Adelina asked.

  “Topside,” she answered. “This could be an attack by Caiden.”

  “I’m going with you,” Ryker said. He walked to the lift and stood next to her. “Stay down here. You’ll be safe with the Spear Bots.”

  Adelina nodded as the steam filled the area around the lift and it slowly ascended.

  They reached the top floor and exited the apartment building. Celia pointed. “Look,” she said. She was pointing to a large plume of rising smoke in the distance.

  “Well, we know it’s not my lab burning down,” Ryker said grimly. “Come on.”

  As they neared the smoke, screams of bystanders and others who came to investigate rang through the air. “It’s the zeppelin landing docks,” Celia said. As they got closer to the docks they were forced to push passed crowds of bystanders and panicking citizens. They climbed onto the platform and jumped down into the large grassy landing field.

  The zeppelin lay in flaming ruin in the center of the field. Parts had flown from the gondola and were scattered everywhere. A large section of the field was torn up from where the zeppelin had crashed and slid, nearly hitting a large tower at the eastern end of the field.

  An arm protruded from the wrecked gondola and faintly waved. “Look! A survivor,” a voice cried.

  Ryker and Celia ran to the gondola and Ryker pulled on the arm. He pulled the blood-covered pilot from the wreckage and dragged him to a safe distance. “No, no, further,” the pilot demanded. “The gas bag inside is going to explode!”

  Ryker and Celia dragged the pilot up onto the platform and behind a steel safety wall, built just in case a zeppelin did crash and bystanders needed to be shielded from an explosion.

  “What happened?” Ryker asked. He peeked around the wall and a series of small explosions shot up to the top of the wreckage.

  The pilot coughed and spit up blood. “I don’t know. I was on my way here to drop off a shipment of parts for the League, and the next thing I know there is an explosion and my zeppelin is going down.”

  Celia’s eyes drifted down to the man’s midsection. A large chunk of steel was embedded deep in the pilot’s stomach, along with several other pieces of shrapnel stabbed into his chest and arms. “I don’t think he’s going to make it,” Celia whispered to Ryker.

  The pilot coughed up more blood and grunted. “Bloody bastard,” he grumbled.

  “You said you were on your way to deliver parts to the League?” Ryker asked. The pilot nodded. “Did you make any stops anywhere?”

  “I had to stop a few miles outside of the city,” the pilot answered. “I wasn’t sure if I had enough fuel to make it here, so I had to stop. And… wait… I remember someone sneaking around my zeppelin. I had to chase them off before I left. I’ll bet the bastard rigged my zeppelin. Son of a—” the pilot was interrupted by a fit of coughing.

  Ryker faced Celia. “I’ll bet Caiden is behind this,” he said quietly.

  “Who the hell is Caiden?” the pilot asked.

  “No one,” Celia answered quickly. “The Bobbies should be here any minute. Stay here.”

  “Where else would I go?” the pilot grumbled as Celia and Ryker ran from the scene.

  They entered the abandoned apartment building and approached the lift. “What the hell?” Ryker said. “The lift is down.”

  “Either somebody left, or somebody went down there,” Celia said. Ryker and Celia looked at each other, alarmed.

  Celia called the lift up and stood on it. “Do you think he’s down there?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” Ryker answered. The lift slowly lowered and a thick layer of steam clouded their view of the lab. “Adelina?” Ryker called out. His voice echoed across the lab.

  “Adelina?” Celia called. “Wendell?”

  They stepped off the lift and entered the main area of the lab. Adelina was gone, but the Spear Bots still remained where they had left them. “If he captured her again, I’ll—”

  “Ryker!” Adelina called out. She ran out from behind a pile of crates and wrapped her arms around him.

  “Adelina, what happened?”

  “Follow me,” she said. She led them behind the generator where a fat, unconscious man lay.

  “Denton?” Ryker questioned.

  “Why didn’t the Spear Bots kill him?” Celia asked.

  “Somehow he use
d the remotes to deactivate them.”

  “Interesting,” Ryker said. “I’m sure Terial wasn’t the home to many inventors. Caiden must have recruited some and altered the remote. This may have just been a test to see if the remote worked.”

  “But now we have Denton,” Celia added. “Help me get him up.”

  Ryker, Celia, and Adelina lifted the fat man onto a chair. Adelina grabbed a thick rope from a crate and tied it tightly around Denton. “He won’t be going anywhere,” she commented proudly.

  “Where’s Wendell?” Ryker asked.

  “He’s still sleeping. Denton didn’t make a whole lot of noise, and I’m pretty sure Wendell is a heavy sleeper, anyway.” Ryker nodded and almost laughed. “What happened outside?”

  “A zeppelin with parts for the League crashed at the dock. We’re pretty sure Caiden is behind it.”

  “Now he’s just showing off,” Adelina said angrily. “He knows the headquarters is closed down and evacuated. This is more about making his presence known I’ll bet.”

  Denton grunted and jerked his head to the side as he awoke. “Bloody-hell,” he mumbled. “Where am I?” His eyes slowly opened. “Release me!” he shouted.

  “Not a chance,” Ryker said.

  Denton glared at Adelina. “You! You bashed me over the head with a wrench!”

  “Shut up,” Ryker said angrily. He grabbed Denton’s chubby face. “What do you know about the zeppelin crash?” he demanded.

  Denton laughed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Very well,” Ryker said casually. He walked to his crate and took out Charles’s cane. “Apparently you insist on doing this the hard way.”

  “What?” Denton said sarcastically. “Are you going to beat me with that cane? I’ve endured worse—”

  Ryker pressed the tip of the cane to Denton’s chest and pressed the button, discharging the powerful electric shock.

  Denton screamed and convulsed in his chair as the shock coursed through his body and clutched onto his heart, threatening to stop it from beating. Ryker released the button, disengaging the cane, and stepped back.

  Denton breathed heavily and looked at the hole in his shirt. “What the bloody-hell is that?” he cried.

  “Just a little something I picked up from the League of Inventors,” Ryker answered. “I can do this all day, Denton. Now, what do you know about the zeppelin crash.”

  Denton sat in silence. He stared at the cane in Ryker’s hand, and then sniffed the air. The smell of his own burning flesh filled his nostrils.

  Ryker shrugged. “Fine,” he said plainly. “But this time I’m going for the kill.” He pressed the tip of the cane onto Denton’s forehead. He suddenly flashed back to being captured by Charles, and then exaggerated pulling his thumb way back to press the button.

  “Wait!” Denton cried. “Wait, stop, I’ll tell you.”

  Ryker lowered the cane and leaned on it. “Very well,” he said casually.

  “Caiden knew the zeppelin was scheduled to make a delivery today. He knew there were parts on it for the League, and he wanted me to make sure they didn’t get there.”

  “How did he know?” Celia asked.

  “He sent one of his little minions to sneak into the office at the docks and look at the ledger.”

  “Aren’t you one of his little minions?” Ryker asked. “Never mind. How did he rig the zeppelin to explode?”

  “That fellow Desmond. The first bastard inventor we killed—”

  Adelina smacked Denton across the face. Ryker and Celia stared at her, surprised. “You’ll watch how you talk about the people you murdered,” she said angrily.

  Denton spit and glared at Adelina. “Anyway,” he paused and stared at her for a moment. “That Desmond fellow was trying to get on our side. He brought us a mechanical bomb. It was set on a timer. You twisted a gear, and each click was one second. So, Caiden sent a guy to plant the bomb, and it looks like he did a pretty fine job.”

  Ryker bashed the cane against Denton’s shin, causing him to cry out. “Well, it looks like we have the upper hand now that we have you.”

  Denton snorted. “You think just because you’ve captured me that it’ll weaken Caiden? Don’t be ridiculous. Caiden doesn’t care about me. Hell, just before I left to come here he told me that he wouldn’t come after me if I was caught. He’s probably already got another lackey already.”

  “Damn,” Ryker swore under his breath. “How many more bombs are there?”

  Denton shrugged. “Who knows?”

  Celia turned to Ryker. “What are we going to do with him?” she whispered.

  “Turn him over to the Bobbies,” Ryker answered.

  Denton roared with laughter. “The Bobbies? That’s your solution? Please. Caiden has them wrapped around his finger. He just knows they’re a bunch of blithering idiots, so he doesn’t use them. Say, is Shamus still here? I’d love to see his body.”

  “I know what to do with him,” Adelina said angrily. “Help me drag this fat bastard.”

  Ryker, Adelina, and Celia grabbed the back of the chair and pulled as hard as they could. The metal legs of the chair scraped loudly against the floor as the chair slid, slowly at first, but then gained a little momentum.

  “Where are you taking me?” Denton demanded.

  “Just be quiet,” Adelina retorted. “Stop here.” She bent down and lifted a latch. A metal door swung open, revealing a dark, empty, hidden room that smelled like sulfur and rotting eggs. She stood to the side of the opening and grabbed onto the back of the chair, followed by Ryker.

  “What are you doing?” Denton asked frantically as his chair began to tip over backward. “No, wait, don’t!” The chair fell back and crashed into the secret room.

  Adelina kicked the door and it slammed shut. She secured the handle into a locked position and wiped her hands on her trousers. “That should hold him for a while,” she said cheerfully.

  The door to the back room swung open and a fatigued-looking Wendell limped out. “What’s going on out here?” he yelled irritably.

  “Remember Denton?” Ryker asked.

  Wendell rubbed his eyes and blinked at Ryker. “Yeah, Caiden’s fat pig.”

  “Well, he’s locked down there,” Ryker answered. He pointed to the trap door at his feet.

  “Bloody-hell,” he said quietly. “Did I miss anything else?”

  “A zeppelin with parts for the League crashed at the docks. Caiden had one of his lackeys sabotage it.”

  “Bastard,” Wendell said grimly. “Well, since I’m up, what’s the plan?”

  “How is your ankle?” Ryker asked.

  Wendell hesitantly put weight on it and shrugged. “It hurts,” he answered. “Get a little adrenaline flowing and I’m sure I won’t feel a thing.”

  Ryker turned to Adelina. “Did you ever work on those bombs with Desmond?” he asked.

  Adelina shook her head. “I never knew anything about them.” A hint of sadness shown on her face, “He must have been working on them specifically for Caiden.”

  “Do you think you could figure out how they work? Wendell and I could certainly help.”

  Adelina thought for a moment. “I have a few ideas. But I can’t guarantee we won’t all die in a fiery explosion.”

  “Well we’ll just have to do our best to avoid that,” Ryker answered.

  “What should I do?” Celia asked.

  Ryker looked at her. He could only imagine how left out she must feel. She wasn’t an inventor, so there wasn’t much she could do to help them out with the explosives. Also, there’s no way he was letting her go out on the streets by herself. Anyone could be out there waiting to ambush or capture her. The last thing any of them needed was to be captured by Caiden again. The rescue attempt would surely be more dangerous than the last.

  “Actually,” Celia said. “I think I’ll just go get some more rest. There’s not much I can do here.” She put a hand on his shoulder as she walked by and went into the back room
.

  Ryker turned around just as Adelina set a large box of various parts on a table near them. “Let’s get to work,” Adelina said. A hint of excitement filled her voice. She had never experimented much with explosives, and she was excited to see how it was done.

  Ryker, on the other hand, had dealt in explosives more than he cared to talk about. He’d had a couple accidents during his childhood while he was still learning about the world of inventing.

  “Hopefully this time Ryker won’t nearly blow both of my arms off,” Wendell added.

  Ryker smiled. “Shut up and hand me that wrench.”

  Chapter 26

  By midday, they had successfully completed three bombs. However, it didn’t go without several near-death experiences. On several occasions the bomb was configured so each click was less than half a second. However, Ryker was able to stop the timing gear just before it detonated.

  Adelina searched through the crate of machine parts. “That’s it,” she said. “We don’t have enough supplies to make any more bombs.”

  “So we only get three?” Wendell said; a bit disappointed.

  “I guess we’d better make them count,” Ryker said.

  The door in the back of the lab opened and Celia walked out. She had two revolvers at her hips, and a scoped bolt-action rifle across her back. Everyone stared at her as she approached.

  “Celia, where did you get all that stuff?” Ryker asked, his eyes wide with amazement.

  “Adelina told me about an armory her grandfather had built after the war. A lot of the stuff is still in surprisingly good shape.”

  “Do you even know how to use any of that stuff?” Wendell asked curiously.

  “I may have picked up a few things from watching Ryker in action,” she answered. She pulled the revolvers from the holsters and skillfully spun them around her fingers, and then aimed them at Wendell. She smiled, and spun them backward into the holsters. “I’m no inventor, but I sure as hell can provide some support when we take Caiden down.”