Giant Robots of Tunguska (Doc Vandal Adventures Book 4)

by Dave Robinson

  Turning her attention aft, she saw that Doc had already cleared the first machine gun mount on the superstructure and was working his way around to the other.

  Not wanting to overshoot, Vic flipped the breech block up like a steel shield and ran aft. Ignoring the hatches, she smashed her way through the superstructure, the thin steel providing about as much resistance to her current strength as that much balsa would. The world flickered in front of her like a bad silent film. Rending steel drowned out the sound of gunfire as she broke through the far wall to see a dozen men huddled around the remaining artillery piece.

  One man turned towards her and dropped the shell he was carrying. His eyes went wide as it landed on his feet, turning his cry of warning into a scream of pain.

  Even as one part of Vic’s mind thought about how Ming would be coming to his aid whether he was trying to kill her or not, the bigger part focused entirely on the gun mount. Slamming the breech block into the side of the mount, she put all her strength into a single point on the side of the weapon.

  Men and metal screamed in unison as she broke the gun tube free of its mount and sent it careening towards the stern. Letting the gun wreak its own havoc, she took a moment to assess the situation. Only one aft machine gun mount remained, the other having been demolished by the gun mount’s passage. Doc was more than holding his own on the central island, and everyone sharing the rear deck with her seemed sufficiently cowed to leave the superhuman madwoman alone.

  Not wanting to give the last gun crew a chance to find their courage, Vic took a deep breath of the cordite laced air and leaped aft. More sailors scattered, and swung the machine gun around by the handles before sending it flying off into the waves. This was fun!

  The crack of a rifle from the deck below reminded Vic that it wasn’t just fun, it was also dangerous. A grin spread across her face, well it would have been dangerous for anyone else. Another gunshot cracked, and she slapped the sting away from where it hit her shoulder. Blood covered her fingers, but all she could do was laugh at the sight. As if a rifle bullet could stop someone who could rip a deck gun off its mounting bare-handed.

  Laughing madly Vic leaped back to the deck, hunting for the rifle. It only took a second to find the shooter, and she backhanded him into the deckhouse with her breech block. Everyone else seemed to have vanished, so she stormed towards the deckhouse intent on sinking the Q-ship from the inside. Blood pounded in her ears, with every beat of her heart sounding like a thunderclap at close range. Her vision flickered for a moment, the world flashing white and then black, but it couldn’t stop her.

  “Vic!” Doc screamed her name from above, making her stop in her tracks.

  “Give me a second to rip out the engines,” she called back. “I’ll just be a moment.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” he yelled down. “You got rid of the guns. We need to get back to our ship before they leave us behind.”

  “Fine, fine,” Vic grumbled. “If you’re too lazy to swim I guess I’ll carry you back.”

  After one last look around the deck, she leaped up to land beside Doc on the walkway behind the Q-ship’s wheelhouse. Despite all the damage Vic had done to the Q-ship’s armament, it looked to be in pretty good shape. Their own vessel looked much worse, with smoke rising from the deck in three places.

  Ming’s face flashed in front of her eyes, and without another thought Vic grabbed Doc and took three quick steps towards the railing. “Upsy daisy Doc!”

  A second later, they were in the air sailing towards their own vessel. This time, the rush of the wind hurt her ears, fighting the thunder of her heartbeat. The ship ahead started flickering, dropping in and out of her vision.

  Her vision blanked, turning the world white, and she hit the deck hard. Vic stumbled, falling to her knees on the deck. Pain shot up through her legs and she curled her arms around Doc, shielding him from the impact.

  Vic’s vision came back just in time for her to see Ming rushing towards her. She tried to rise, but her legs weren’t working. Pain shot through her right shoulder as she tried to meet Ming’s gaze.

  “I stopped the shelling, honey.”

  Ming’s eyes went wide and Vic wondered what was wrong with stopping the shelling. Ming was safe. Vic closed her eyes and gave a deep sigh. She could figure it out tomorrow; it was bed time. Ming was safe; that was the last thought she had before the world sank into a pillow of blackness.

  #

  “How is she?” Doc asked Ming as he entered the two women’s stateroom.

  Vic, the woman in question, lay unconscious on the bed. Doc was as always surprised to see how peaceful she looked at rest, with none of the active spirit that normally caught his attention. A heavy bandage covered her right shoulder. They were due to disembark in less than three hours, and he wondered how she would handle being moved.

  “She’ll live,” Ming answered sharply. “If that’s what you’re wondering. A rifle bullet hit her shoulder but she’s otherwise uninjured. If you have more of that magic mineral, I’d give her a shot now though. With any luck that should wake her up.”

  “That’s why I brought it.” Doc reached into his pocket and drew out the cylinder. He pointed it at Vic and slid the lever forward to open the iris.

  Nothing happened.

  He closed the iris and opened it again. Still nothing. Vic just lay there, completely unresponsive to the radiation.

  “Are you sure she didn’t drain it?” Ming asked, one hand on Vic’s wrist. “Her pulse didn’t change.”

  He shook his head. “No, I’m not. I was actually worried she might. That’s why I took the precaution of changing out the mineral before I came up here. This sample should have been more active. I have one left, let me go check this out and change out the mineral.”

  Ming nodded, her attention already back on her patient. “I’ll check her wound while you’re gone. Now, shoo!”

  Doc shooed.

  #

  Doc opened the case that held the remaining specimens carefully. Radiation was dangerous even for him, and there was only so much the healing factor the Archonate had given him could handle. Even through the thick leaded glass windows in the specimen tubes it was obvious there wasn’t much to worry about; they were all dull gray, not black.

  He felt the difference the moment he touched the first container. Where before it had been ever so slightly warm to the touch, now it was cold and inert. Doc had been afraid of this. The more energy Vic used the better she was able to draw it from the mineral, regardless of how much or little shielding was between her and it.

  Of the four specimens he had in the case, only one had any active element left. All the rest were dead. Somehow Vic had drained several months’ supply in less than five minutes. It didn’t make sense, none of it made sense. But, as his own scientific training told him, logical or not it was happening and the only way to work it out was to accept its reality. Anything else was pointless.

  First things first, he had to get Vic back and then see where to go from there. It wasn’t looking good for her.

  With practiced hands, Doc loaded the cylinder with the one active sample. Three or four doses, that was all it held. Vic had at best a week or two left before her inevitable descent into an iron lung.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Manchukuo

  “Give it to me straight, Doc, how bad is it?” Vic said from her bed. Doc had been able to get them rooms in the Hotel Yamato, the finest hotel in the city. Luckily he had arranged them before they left Japan, as Vic had been in no condition to deal with finding lodgings. She had been at best semi-conscious throughout the remainder of the voyage and for the first night in the hotel. This was the first time they had all been together and awake since the battle.

  Doc sighed and shook his head. “Ming was able to stabilize you before we docked, so I didn’t give you an exposure until this morning. If we’re lucky, there are two left.”

  “That gives me what? A week?” she asked, her fists clenched around
the hem of the blanket. Ming moved from her chair beside the bed and laid a hand on Vic’s shoulder. They were in a first-class hotel, so the bed was huge and apparently far too soft for Vic’s tastes. At least the chairs were comfortable, and Gilly had room to pace.

  “More likely two,” Doc replied. “We can keep you alive longer than that, but even in the best case you’ll be bedridden; that’s if you are even conscious.”

  Her face went even paler than usual and she reached up and clasped Ming’s hand with one of hers. Doc couldn’t help noticing that her movements were much slower than the Vic he was used to.

  “That’s not how I wanted to go, Boss. I always figured I was more the blaze of glory type.”

  “You tried,” Ming said, shaking her head. “I really thought you weren’t coming back when you attacked the Q-ship.”

  Vic grinned, though even Doc could see it was a strain. “Nah, it would have taken at least a battleship to stop me from coming back to you.”

  Gilly made a fake retching sound from behind them. “That’s enough of that you two.”

  “You’re just jealous,” Vic replied.

  Doc stifled a sigh. He really didn’t see the point of this. They needed to solve Vic’s dependence on this mineral, and these jokes weren’t going to help. Sometimes he felt like he and Ming were the only two adults, and everyone else was just an overgrown child.

  “What I don’t get,” Gilly said, “is why she took so much this time. I mean I don’t think she did that much more than at the Cathedral, but from what you’re saying she sucked even more power from the mineral.”

  “She didn’t get shot that time,” Ming pointed out.

  Doc nodded. “From what I can tell, she drew extra energy to heal herself when she got shot.”

  “I’m right here,” Vic muttered.

  “All right, you got shot,” Doc said. “Anyway, I think what happened was that when you got back from the Q-ship, your body immediately grabbed all the energy nearby and used that to heal you. Yes, you’re pretty much stuck in that bed, but your gunshot wound is almost completely healed in less than twenty-four hours.”

  “One hand giveth…” Vic sighed.

  “In the meantime, I’m going to go talk to the Japanese authorities and see if I can find out anything about the story your cousin told. With any luck, I’ll be able to find out where the mineral came from. I might even be able to get my hands on some.”

  “Good luck with that, Doc,” Gilly said. “You’re going to stick out like me asking the authorities for help in Alabama.”

  “I do have some Japanese contacts,” Doc replied mildly. “And not just in the restaurant business.”

  Deep down, Doc had to admit that Gilly was probably right. Most of his contacts in the Japanese government were in opposition these days, especially given the recent shift towards militarism. Still, it was worth a chance; he might even be able to get some local intelligence and that would help a lot. Hopefully, Shidehara still had some friends in the local administration who might be able to tell him something. Even out of office, he was still in the House of Peers.

  “Do you want company?” Gilly asked; his pacing having finally brought him into Doc’s field of view. There were plenty of empty chairs, but Gilly seemed to be having as much difficulty keeping still as Vic usually did. Not that it was a problem for her at the moment.

  “No, I should be alright on my own.” Doc smiled. “Besides, I think my formal Japanese is better than yours.”

  “Fine, I’ll keep Vic company.” Gilly gave a smile of his own. “Maybe I can teach her a real card game like ‘One-Eyed Jack,’ instead of cribbage.”

  “I’ve seen people play that,” Vic said. “Cutting up the extra deck for the board is too much work. I’d rather have Ming teach me Mahjong if I have to be stuck in a hotel room.”

  Ming’s eyes sparkled. “I’d love to do that. We spend too much time playing your games.”

  “You said you liked cribbage.” Vic protested, looking wounded.

  “I do,” Ming replied. “It’s just my turn to be the teacher.”

  “So are we really going to be playing card games while Doc’s gone?” Gilly asked, clearly disappointed by the idea of staying in.

  “No, Mahjong isn’t a card game.” Ming told him. Then she winked. “You are going to scare up a decent outdoor wheelchair and then you and I are going to take Vic for a ride through Ohiroba park.”

  Vic sighed. “I hate the idea of being wheeled around like an old lady. I’m too young to be my grandmother.”

  “We can leave you behind,” Ming suggested.

  “No, I’ll go. Anything’s better than being stuck alone in a strange bed.”

  “Good, I also want to see if I can find any local doctors who might be able to do something with your condition.”

  “I can probably get her into one of the Japanese hospitals,” Doc volunteered.

  “Why bother, they won’t do anything differently than the doctors would have done back in New York,” Ming shot back. “I was going to see if I could take her to a Chinese doctor who might be able to do something.”

  “How do you know it’s going to work on Vic?” Doc asked, “Especially if Shard’s right and she really isn’t human.”

  “That’s just a chance we’re going to take.”

  Doc looked at Gilly for support, but the younger man just shrugged; he was obviously going to stay out of it. Oh well, how much trouble could Vic really get into when confined to a wheelchair? A little voice inside his head told him that perhaps he shouldn’t have asked that question.

  #

  Getting the wheelchair had taken much longer than Vic had liked, and it was all she could do to keep her temper while she waited. It wasn’t Gilly’s fault, but from the sounds of things he had had to throw her title around a lot more liberally than she liked. It wasn’t like it really meant anything; not with the Romanovs dead and the Soviets in power for almost two decades now. Still there was something about a title that made some people jump that little bit higher, and she had quickly learned that when you’re stuck in a wheelchair most of the time you use every advantage you can.

  It was almost noon by the time she found herself rolling through the doors of the Hotel, and up against her first challenge. Stairs. The three front doors of the hotel opened onto a very small landing before stairs led down to a driveway where expensive cars pulled up to drop off visitors. In happier days, Vic would have danced down the stairs. Today she had to sit on a hard wheelchair seat and let Gilly slowly bump her down the steps.

  “Sorry, Vic,” Gilly said as he took two steps in quick succession. “I’m not used to this.”

  “I…can tell,” she replied in time to the jostling. “I’m not…either.”

  “Be careful with her.” Ming glided down the steps with a grace that made Vic jealous. No bumping for her, just a simple walk down a flight of stairs.

  A few moments later, Vic was on the driveway, with Gilly panting behind her. “I’m not that heavy!”

  “Maybe not, but that wheelchair sure is.”

  Ming laughed. “I should take the two of you out more often.”

  “Laugh while you can,” Vic muttered darkly. “One of these days you’re going to be the one in the wheelchair.”

  Ming didn’t respond directly; instead she turned and hailed a taxi. It took a little jostling, but Vic soon found herself wrapped in a blanket in the back of an open Peerless with her wheelchair strapped to a rack attached to the trunk. Ming slipped in beside her, while Gilly took a perch on a rear-facing jump seat.

  “We can go for a walk in the park later.” Ming paused and gave the cabbie orders in rapid-fire Mandarin. Vic liked to think she was good at languages, but all she caught was something about medicine.

  “What did you say?”

  “I just told the driver that we needed to get you some medicine.” Ming patted Vic’s knee. “We’ll check out the park later.”

  Vic growled deep in her throat and dropped h
er hand on Ming’s, trapping it so she couldn’t pat her knee. She wasn’t a pet, even if her arm did feel like it weighed a hundred pounds and her hand felt more like a paw.

  #

  Doc watched the clock as he cooled his heels in General Ueda’s waiting room. In one way he was lucky the general was here rather than in Hsinking, but lucky or not he was still spending a lot of time waiting. Like all the major buildings in Dairen, the Kwangtung Prefectural Office was built in a European rather than a typically Chinese or even Japanese style. Doc sat in a comfortably upholstered chair in a dark-paneled room looking out over the streets of Dairen.

  At least the time wasn’t wasted, as it gave him a chance to try and puzzle out what was happening here in China. Even though the Japanese had failed to install a new government in the Netherlands East Indies, it was clear that their territorial ambitions hadn’t changed in the slightest. They had invaded China and been involved in several border clashes with the Soviets. And now Ueda was in Dairen; where no Governor General had spent more than a few hours since the establishment of the puppet state in Manchukuo. Something was definitely up, even if Doc didn’t know what.

  A faint cough interrupted his musings, and he looked up to see a young lieutenant standing at painful attention. “Doctor Vandal, sir?”

  “Yes, Lieutenant?” Doc rose politely, putting his thoughts aside.

  “The general will see you now, sir.” The young man was sweating, obviously stressed about something.

  “Thank you, Lieutenant?” Doc probed gently, seeking to put the young man at ease.

  “Oda sir, Lieutenant Oda Hideki.

  Oda turned smartly on his heel and led Doc to the door. He knocked twice, and opened the door at a brusque command: “Enter.”