The Girl and the Clockwork Crossfire

by Nikki Mccormack

  She got to her feet slowly, wincing at the complaining of her knees as they moved off the unforgiving surface. Turning around, she stared out into the dark back the way she’d come.

  “I can’t. I have someone else I have to pay a visit.”

  Amos peered at her through shrewd narrowed eyes. “You’ve got a plan?”

  “I’m getting one. It’s not much, but it’s better than giving up.”

  “Care to fill me in?”

  She shook her head slowly. “You worry about the Bobbies. That’s enough of a job for one person.”

  “Dangerous, eh?”

  Possibly fatal. She shrugged noncommittally.

  He turned to face the same direction and peered into the darkness with her. “Guess you’d best tell me what I need to know then. I’m not about to let you down too.”

  She doubted he’d let Em down, but now wasn’t the time to argue about it. Instead, she called up the conversation Em and Wells had in the coach and began to recount it for Amos in as much detail as she could.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  The other survivors of the attack arrived as they were speaking. Wells knew enough, somehow, to direct the coach driver to the destroyed lurk. She didn’t ask how he knew. Though she was beginning to suspect he’d been an ally to the kids of the street before he chose to join the Pirates. His arrival was a somber one. The remaining Lits were killed, giving Wells and the coachman enough time to gather Em, Rueben, and the guard before more arrived on the scene. That meant they had to share the coach with their lost comrades if they were going to get back to the manor, and she needed to get back to the manor.

  She needed help.

  She needed Drake’s help most of all.

  Amos shook her hand, somber and professional, gave Macak a scratch between the ears, then headed out to catch a hansom to start his task of continuing Em’s work with the Bobbies. With a gut full of dread, Makeo climbed into the coach with Wells and they did their best to find seating amidst the three bodies.

  Tears ran quiet down her cheeks. She tried not to look at the dead, Em especially where they had propped her up against the far side, slumped into the corner as though passed out drunk. As prickly as the detective could be, she’d still been a mentor of sorts and a chance for a different future. The pain was fresh and raw. The stench of blood flipped her stomach and made her head ache. She had thought about riding up with the driver, but both she and Wells were too easily recognized by the people who wanted them dead and Macak was safer inside.

  “You’ve got a plan hatching,” Wells observed in a low voice, almost as if afraid to disturb their resting companions.

  It was funny in a horrible kind of way. It made her want to both weep and laugh.

  “I don’t know. I need to talk to Drake and…” she gave him a level look, “…and I think I need you to be there when I do.”

  Wells glanced at the bodies and something flashed in his eyes. Something cold and hard with a lethal edge. Good. He looked at her then, that hard edge remaining, and gave a single solemn nod.

  They didn’t speak again. The ride out of town was tense, both of them all too aware that any passing Lit might noticed the damage to the coach from the flying bullets. At one point the driver turned the horses suddenly and sped them up, perhaps to avoid such an encounter. Rueben, who was propped on her side, started to fall toward her and Wells jumped up, stepping over the legs of the guard on the floor to catch him with an almost frantic manner, as though her life depended on it. Even though she knew the dead man couldn’t bring her any harm, she appreciated the effort more than she could manage to say around the lump in her throat. When he sat back down, she tried to convey her gratitude in her expression. He averted his gaze.

  They didn’t make it far into the manor grounds before someone noticed the damage and alarms sounded, bringing people rushing out to meet the coach. Maeko had the door open before they stopped fully, hopping out with Macak in arms. Wells almost stepped on her heels as they both hurried to get away from the death within.

  They had barely gotten free of the coach before Drake manifested seemingly out of nowhere to beat everyone else to them. He took a quick glance inside the coach, a grim expression bringing that predatory look down over his features, making him someone to be wary of again. He pinned the two of them with the barbed arrows of his gaze.

  “We…”

  “…need to talk,” Maeko finished for him and turned to start walking toward the manor.

  Wells joined her without question or hesitation.

  Drake paused long enough to toss out some directions for the temporary management of the dead, then trotted after them and fell into stride next to her. Macak gave him a quick look and meowed a few criticisms of his own, earning a thoughtful look from the man. When a cat felt you needed a talking to, it was time to consider what you might need to work on in your life.

  Several people started to approach, their worried looks asking what had happened, but the stern expressions on the group as they made their way purposefully to Drakes office were enough to dissuade everyone except Crimson, who wasn’t dissuaded by much of anything from what Maeko had observed. Drake gave her a slight nod of acknowledgement, making no effort to discourage her joining and Maeko nodded to herself. It was as it should be. The two needed to be partners in this. She had no doubt that Crimson was good for Drake and, somehow, he was good for her too.

  Once inside the office, Drake stepped behind his desk, Crimson choosing a spot to the side of it, her position putting her a few inches closer on his side, but also neutral enough to be supportive of theirs.

  “What happened?”

  “We were attacked by Lits. They took out Em, Reuben and your man,” Wells explained. “There weren’t a lot of them. Few enough that we were able to take them down once we knew they were there and collect our dead, but they’ve gotten a lot bolder.”

  Drake started to curse under his breath.

  Macak extracted himself from her arms and curled around her shoulders, lending his warmth to bolster her confidence.

  “That isn’t the important part,” Maeko said.

  Drake gave her an icy glare. “Three of our people are dead. That seems rather weighty to me.”

  She drew in a deep breath and exhaled. “It is, but there’s more. They’re putting criminals, murderers even, out on the street with dangerous weapons. I recognized some I saw from the designs in Lucian’s study. They’re bent on killing more than just a few Pirates.”

  “Us,” Drake countered, dropping the weighted word between them.

  She looked at him for a long moment then lifted Macak with a shrug that somehow compelled the cat to press his head into her cheek and purr more loudly. “Us. I think they mean to exterminate us completely. Em suspected them of planning something bigger.”

  “A change of government?”

  “Perhaps.”

  He was looking at her thoughtfully now. “What do we do about it?”

  Now she stared at him for a very long moment. Soon she realized that Wells was also watching her. Expecting. Were they really asking her? How had this happened? The street rat was being asked for her advice on how to proceed in a battle that would end in death for some.

  “I need to get back inside the prison.”

  Drake’s features turned to stone. “You are not taking my airship in there again.”

  “No, I’m not,” she agreed, creating a fracture in his hard scowl. “Is the battleship ready?”

  “Very close.” Drake answered with a slow nod.

  “Good. I need at least 12 hours at the prison. Then you can attack the facility.”

  Crimson was looking more and more unhappy, but Drake was starting to look interested. Wells simply looked as though he wasn’t quite sure how to look, his gaze bouncing back and forth between the two Pirates.

  “How do you plan to get inside?”

  “I’m going to go to the Airship tower. I think I can convince the thugs Thaddeus has watchin
g that place to take me to him at the prison if I tell them you abandoned me after Em was shot and that I’m willing to tell them how to find you now.”

  Wells and Crimson were shaking their heads. At least Wells had chosen a side now, even if it was the wrong one.

  “Kitten, those men will kill you before you have a chance to make the offer,” Crimson objected.

  Maeko kept her gaze locked with Drake’s. “No, they won’t. Thaddeus is greedy and obsessed. He wants to know where the Pirates are. He wants to destroy every trace of them… us. He said he would let his thugs kill me, but now that he knows I’m in deep with the Pirates I don’t believe he’ll let them do so without trying one more time to get what he wants out of me.”

  Well’s spoke up this time. “Are you willing to bet your life on that?”

  Again, she kept her eyes on Drake, but she scratched Macak’s head to quiet the terrified tremble inside and nodded.

  “What if Thaddeus isn’t at the prison?”

  Something she had considered. “I’ll tell him Ash deserted with me and that I need to speak to Captain Garrett and see for myself that he’s all right before I’ll give them any information.”

  Drake was quiet.

  “What if they decide to torture you for the information?”

  Crimson’s question fed the tremble and it was all she could do to keep her voice from shaking when she spoke.

  “We have to stop their production at that prison or the Pirates will be destroyed and a lot of innocent people are going to get hurt in the process. I came upon a standoff between the Lits new forces and some Pirates in Cheapside. They don’t care who gets hurt in the crossfire. We’re running out of time. I have to try. Give me 12 hours to find a way to get Captain Garrett to safety. If I haven’t succeeded by then…” Now her voice did shake a little. “… then I was wrong about Thaddeus.”

  Drake met her gaze for a minute or more, unmoving, unspeaking, but saying so much. An understanding passed between them and she learned something about both of them in that moment. They were similar creatures, she realized. They were both determined to try and protect the ones they cared about to the point that they had trouble letting anyone care for them. They both knew they would put themselves at risk and that letting the ones they were trying to protect care for them in turn was likely to bring those individuals pain in the long run. It was the reason he wanted to tell her no. It was also the reason he would let her go.

  “I’ll need a coach to take me back into the city. Preferably not the one I arrived in. I don’t think I can…”

  Drake nodded, not requiring her to finish.

  “No.” Crimson and Wells spoke in unison.

  Crimson walked over to Drake, a hint of desperation in her imploring gaze. “You can’t let this happen. Thaddeus will kill her.”

  “Maybe I should go with you,” Wells suggested in a low tone, trying not to interrupt the hushed exchange now happening between Drake and Crimson.

  Maeko gave him a hard look and he flushed.

  “You’re right. That idea was bollocks.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, becoming an awkward boy for a moment.

  Maeko smiled at him, ignoring Drake and Crimson’s hushed, but heated words. The argument was irrelevant anyway. She was going.

  “I appreciate the offer.”

  He simply shrugged, his cheeks flushing a hint brighter.

  Maeko turned back to Drake and he held a hand up to silence Crimson, the gesture firm though there was softness in his eyes for her. “Have you considered asking Ash or Chaff to go with you?”

  She thought she was beyond feeling any more pain from loss, but that one sentence twisted the dagger in her gut twice. Em had been the future that was going to help her move on without them.

  Without them.

  Regardless, of where those relationships stood, Chaff and Ash were still alive, still relatively safe. She’d had to watch Em dying, she didn’t want to do the same with either of them. She had come more than close enough with Chaff all too recently. This time no one else was going to be at risk.

  She shook her head.

  “The battleship isn’t quite ready. Give me a day to pull a few things together. You can eat and rest. You’ll need to be at the top of your game if you’re going to walk into their hands and have any hope of walking out again, let alone any chance of rescuing Garrett.”

  Stubborn resistance swelled within her. If she waited here, she would have too much time on her hands. Time in which she might find herself dwelling on things, or worse, talking to people. There were people here she couldn’t bear to face. Words rose into her mouth and stormed over her tongue, marching for her lips. Bold words. Words of defiance.

  Macak rubbed his head against her cheek again, his purr a kiss of calm and reason. She deflated.

  Words born of fear and foolishness tumbled back down her throat.

  “One day,” she managed, then turned and walked from the room.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  It turned out that, after a good meal, getting some rest wasn’t such a challenge after all. Maeko crawled into the comfy bed in the room she shared with her mother and cried into her pillow, mourning a woman she had admired. Cared for in some way, despite her caustic temperament. A woman who had offered the chance of a future as something more than a dollymop. A woman who had accomplished remarkable things and deserved to be missed by someone.

  Macak curled up against her and began to purr until he soothed her to sleep with his warmth, a few tears still dripping to the pillow as she dozed off. She slept hard on through the rest of the day and most of the night, partly waking a few times during the day when Tomoe or Crimson came to let Macak out for a bathroom break, but somehow never when they brought him back. He would simply be curled against her again when next she stirred.

  When she finally fully woke before dawn the next morning, she could only assume Tomoe had slept in another room to avoid disturbing her, for she still shared the bed only with the warm cat who began purring the moment she opened her eyes, his big yellow eyes blinking as though he too had woken from a deep slumber.

  She felt rested. Not any less sorrowful or determined, but rested at least and less likely to make foolish mistakes for it. Not that walking into the hands of her enemies didn’t have many of the makings of a very foolish choice, but she had to try something. She had to give Ash a chance to have a happy family again and she was willing to risk everything she had to do it, including her life. Besides, she had a better chance of getting close to Garrett than anyone else did.

  As absurd as it was, she believed Thaddeus would talk to her. There was something between them. Some unintentional connection that drew him to her. He may have killed his own brother, but the tears he had wept on top of the airship tower had been real. She was a connection to the blood kin he had sacrificed to his ambition. A connection that he resented, but only because he felt some guilt over what he had done and that guilt made him hesitate when it came to eliminating her. There was also an unexpected respect in his regard when last they crossed paths, perhaps for her tenacity. If Bennett didn’t kill her on sight, then she could probably talk Thaddeus into at least letting her speak to Garrett. Getting Garrett out of the prison was going to be a different level of challenge altogether, but one she was willing to face.

  She forced herself to leave the warm bed and wash up at the basin. Then she waited until Macak took his place on her shoulders before heading out into the gloom of the predawn manor. Below, where the battleship and other projects were being finished in preparation for an assault on the prison, there would be an unending bustle of activity, but up here it was mostly servants moving about on their everyday tasks.

  She made her way out to the back gardens where Macak could find a private spot to do his business. As the cat began prowling about in search of the proper spot, occasionally distracted from his task by the odd insect or rustling leaf that needed slaying, she found a quiet spot on a stone bench. A mist obscured the vast
lands around the manor, making it feel as though the house itself and this garden were an island unto themselves in a vast sea of nothing. She closed her eyes, breathing in the moist, chilly air to clear her head.

  Her eyes snapped open when she heard footsteps crunching on the gravel walk and she glanced about for a place to hide, but it was already too late. Ash and Chaff were halfway between her bench and the back door and were very obviously coming her way.

  Wait. Ash AND Chaff? Together?

  There was something about them walking along side-by-side that made her uneasy after all that had happened. It would be bad enough to have to face one of them right now, but both at the same time? That was just cruel. For a few seconds, she considered wandering off as though she hadn’t noticed them. The odds of her making a successful escape, if she was indeed their goal, were slim though. Neither boy was the type to let her brush them off that easily.

  Sensing her sudden anxiety, Macak leapt up on the bench and plopped himself down on her lap. She couldn’t bring herself to toss him off, which meant she was stuck. She gave the cat a suspicious look. Perhaps he hadn’t jumped up there for her benefit after all.

  The two boys stopped a few feet in front of her, regarding her with a matching solemnity.

  “Mae,” Ash started. He faltered then, meeting her eyes for a second, before his gaze slid away.

  “Maeko,” Chaff stepped in, his tone somehow both formal and timid, neither of which suited him. “We came out here to apologize.”

  “Yes,” Ash confirmed. “We both owe you apologies.”

  Hope and a wealth of sorrow tightened around her middle like a corset being cinched. She said nothing. Speaking might break the moment, or wake her from this odd, awkward dream. She stroked Macak’s head and kept her own council for the moment. The mist drifted in between them and the manor, isolating the four of them in their own tiny sliver of the world.

  Ash swallowed hard. “I know you would have saved my dad that night at the prison if there were any way to do it. I was angry at myself more than at you because I felt like I failed, but I took it out on you. I treated you terribly when all you ever did was try to help me and I’m sorry.”