“Really?” Alexi asked. “What would you have done so differently that would change the position we find ourselves in now?”
“I would have thrown the gadget overboard,” Zoya said, fidgeting with her hands.
“And the moment my father found out, you'd be whipped, beaten, maybe killed,” Alexi said. “Sure, we did actually need more crew, especially an engineer. But if you destroyed that piece of junk he's been searching for his entire life, you could kiss any semblance of kindness goodbye.”
“So why didn’t he just take it? He had plenty of opportunity to search our bags.”
“He did search your bags,” Alexi said. “He found the gadget, then put it back. My father enjoys manipulating people to get what he wants. He didn’t want to take the gadget from you. He wanted to build your trust; he wanted you to offer the gadget to him.”
“That’s messed up,” Nikolai said.
“You’ll get no argument from me,” Alexi replied.
Zoya sighed and let her head fall back against the wall, closing her eyes. The captives fell into a tense silence.
A few moments later, the door to the room swung open. Adam and Igor rushed in, holding on to a barely conscious, well-dressed man. Gotfrid and Pyotr followed behind them. They opened Demyan and Nikolai's cell and shoved the man in to join them. Without a word, they left.
Groaning, the newcomer pushed himself up and leaned back against the wall. His black hair was an absolute mess, and both lenses of his small brass spectacles were cracked. He groaned and held his head in his hands.
“Who are you?” Demyan asked. The man glanced around trying to piece together where he was.
“Am I in jail?” he asked slowly.
“You're in the brig of a pirate ship,” Nikolai said.
“Pirates?” the man said. “Pirates! Oh, those bloody pirates!” He winced and raised a hand to his head. “They came into my shop, and they kidnapped me.”
Zoya stood and walked to the front of her cell. “Why did they kidnap you?”
“They said they needed a navigator. I told them I don't do navigation work anymore. I'm just a cartographer. But they didn't care.” Alexi stood up, looking alarmed.
“A navigator?” he asked. “Why? Where are they going that they need a navigator?”
“Mirgorod,” the man replied.
Zoya gasped and looked at her friends with wide eyes. “Are you sure?” she asked him. “We're going to Mirgorod?”
The man nodded. “I'm Yeremiy, by the way,” he said. The others introduced themselves in turn.
Yeremiy looked curiously at Alexi. “Why are you in a cell by yourself?” he asked.
“Because he can't be trusted,” Nikolai said. “Because he's a pirate, just like them.”
“You know you're all pirates now, too?” Alexi said, folding his arms.
“Only because we were kidnapped,” Nikolai replied angrily. “You kidnapped us! All of this is your fault. It's all on you.”
“Nikolai, stop!” Anya shouted.
“No!” Nikolai shouted. “He says he wants nothing to do with the gadget? But he must have known when he first saw Zoya. He knew who she was; he knew she might have it. And he decided to kidnap us. He brought us on his father's ship. And now he's gotten us kidnapped by his aunt.”
“Who's bringing us to Mirgorod,” Zoya said.
“I feel a bit confused,” Yeremiy said. “And I don't think it's the concussion I likely have. What is this gadget you're talking about?”
“It's nothing,” Alexi said. “None of your concern.”
Snezhana entered then, smiling widely.
“Yeremiy Robertov, is it?” she asked. “I'm Captain Snezhana Krupina. It's lovely to meet you.”
“The feeling is not mutual,” Yeremiy replied. “You need to return me to town at once. I have a shop to run, and a fiancée. I'm to be married this weekend!”
“Oh, my boys left a note. Your lovely fiancée will know that you've been employed for a bit. The wedding will have to be postponed, but you'll get back to her. If you cooperate, that is.”
Yeremiy spit at Snezhana's feet.
“Everyone always wants to do things the hard way,” Snezhana sighed. “Just as well, that's more fun.” She pulled out her pistol and pointed it at Yeremiy.
“Stand up,” she said. “Put your back against the bars with your hands together. We'll bring you up to our pilot house, so you can give us a heading.” Yeremiy didn't move a muscle. Snezhana sighed in feigned annoyance, yet continued to smile.
“Very well,” she said. She pulled the trigger, shooting Yeremiy in the kneecap. He screamed and fell to his side, his hand pressing against the wound.
“You're crazy!” he said.
“I suppose you may have trouble walking now,” Snezhana said, ignoring Yeremiy's cries. “That's fine, my men will escort you up.” On cue, Adam and Igor entered the room. They opened the cell and pulled Yeremiy to his feet. Then they dragged him out of the room, closing the door behind them. Before they did, Snezhana smiled at her other captives and winked.
The captives sat in stunned silence, all sitting on the floor in their cells.
“I can't believe she just shot him,” Lilia said.
“In the leg,” Alexi replied. “He'll be fine.”
“Could you possibly be more of an arrogant idiot?” Nikolai shouted at Alexi. “Oh, it's alright, she just broke his kneecap with a bullet. That just happens. That's life.”
“Calm down,” Alexi replied. Nikolai climbed to his feet, clenching his fists, but Demyan grabbed him and pulled him back to the floor.
“We're all going to die,” Lilia said.
“No we're not,” Anya replied. “We're going to be alright.”
“How can you say that?” Lilia asked. “You certainly can't be basing that on the rest of our lives up to this point. We've all lost everything we ever wanted and everyone we've ever loved. The cave-in at the mines, the airship crash, the plague, murder. We always lose! And now we're going to die!”
“No we're not,” Zoya said. “Lodninsk was the source of all the pain we've endured. That's where we lost our families. But we're free. We make our own luck now.”
“Our luck has landed us in iron cells,” Nikolai said. “On the ship of a crazy person.”
“My aunt is not crazy,” Alexi said. “Or at least, she wasn't the last time I saw her…”
“Oh, that's comforting,” Anya said with a snort. “Thank you.”
“We need to get out of here,” Demyan said, glancing around.
“How?” Nikolai asked. “We're locked in here. We don't have any weapons.”
Zoya sat up with a jolt.
“I do!” she said, grinning. She glanced at the door, then reached down to her boot. A moment later, she produced a small dagger.
“Where did you get that from?” Demyan asked.
“I lifted it when we were on the Ocean's Legend, as extra protection,” Zoya said. “I completely forgot I had it tucked away in my boot.”
“No offense, Zoya,” Nikolai said, “but that little dagger isn't going to do much against pistols.”
“No, but it should be small enough to pick these locks.”
Zoya stood and began working on the lock of her cell.
“But what happens once we're out? They'll just throw us back in again,” Anya said.
“I doubt they're even guarding this room right now,” Zoya replied. “We're supposed to be locked in. They're probably busy trying to get Yeremiy to cooperate. Plus, most of the crew is probably still in town.”
“That's a lot of assumptions,” Alexi said. He sat on the floor of his cell and made no move to get up.
“Do you have a better plan?” Zoya asked.
“Yes,” Alexi replied. “Sit down.”
Zoya opened her cell door. Demyan and Nikolai stood and walked to the front of their cell.
“We're with you,” Demyan said.
Zoya unlocked their cell door as well.
“
If you want to get shot,” Alexi said as the friends headed toward the door, “you’re going about it exactly the right way.”
Zoya placed her ear against the door. She nodded to her friends and opened it.
Outside the door, Gotfrid sat at a small table, reading a book by lamplight.
“Did you think we'd actually leave you unguarded?” Gotfrid asked without looking up. He licked his finger and turned a page in his book.
“You're outnumbered,” Nikolai said boldly, raising his fists.
“And yet you are the ones who are outmatched,” Gotfrid replied. He closed his book and stood. Zoya pointed her dagger at him, her hand unwavering.
“Put that toy down,” Gotfrid said, pulling out his pistol. “Make note of this: we always have a gun. At least one gun. Now, get back in your cells right now, and I won't tell the captain about your pathetic escape attempt.”
Zoya, unable to admit defeat, lunged at Gotfrid and grabbed his gun. Gotfrid yelped and fell toward the wall. The pistol went off, blowing a hole in the small table. Zoya's friends rushed to join the ambush.
Just as the friends turned to run up the stairs, Pyotr, Adam, and Igor appeared with guns drawn.
“What's going on?” Adam asked.
“We've got a feisty bunch here,” Gotfrid replied, straightening the glasses on his face and wrenching his pistol back from Zoya. “Thought they'd try to escape.”
“Oh really?” Igor said, smirking wickedly. “Captain won't be pleased about that.”
“Get back in your cells right now!” Pyotr demanded, his voice cracking.
“Move it!” Gotfrid yelled. The friends shuffled back into their cells.
“Shake out your coats,” Gotfrid demanded. “We need to make sure you're not hiding anything else in them.”
“Here!” Anya shouted, removing her coat and shoving it into the cell bars. She spread the coat as wide as she could, shielding Zoya from the pirates' view. “See, nothing in my coat!”
Zoya took advantage of the distraction. She shoved the gadget between her back and the wall then held up her coat.
Gotfrid and the other pirates, satisfied, left the room. They closed the door behind them and locked it.
“That was close,” Zoya said after a few moments. Alexi laughed.
“I told you,” he said. “But hey, I guess you didn't get shot. Yet.”
CHAPTER SIX
“Crew!” Captain Edmund Sokoll shouted as he approached the Ocean's Legend on the docks. “Come down and give us a hand, will you?” The men with him carried crates full of food, coal, and fresh clothes.
When there was no response, Edmund yelled, “Fyodr! Ira! Samuil!” With a grumble, the captain stormed up the ramp to board his ship.
“No!” Edmund froze as he spotted the bodies of his crew. “Who did this? What bastard son of a—“
“Oh Eddie, quiet down,” Snezhana told him. “You're not very good at being inconspicuous, are you?” She sat on the edge of the starboard paddlebox.
“You!” Captain Sokoll said angrily. “What are you doing here?”
“Now, is that any way to greet your sister? It's been so long, Eddie.”
“What have you done? What are you up to?”
“So accusatory,” Snezhana said. “Why do you assume I'm up to something?”
“Give me a reason to believe otherwise,” Captain Sokoll growled.
“I simply wanted a nice reunion with my nephew,” Snezhana said. “He's grown so much! And he's made some lovely friends, too.”
“What have you done to them?” Edmund shouted, drawing his sword. “Enough with your games. Get to the point!” Edmund's crew drew their swords as well.
“You're still so old-fashioned,” Snezhana said, standing. “Always going for the sword instead of the gun. You know I’d best you at both. Well, no need to worry about your son or his friends. They're safe and sound, on my ship.”
“You kidnapped part of my crew?” Edmund asked. “You kidnapped my Alexi?”
“I've simply borrowed them, dear brother,” Snezhana replied. “You'll get them back when I get what I want.”
Edmund charged toward Snezhana, followed by Oleg and Olya. With a laugh, Snezhana leapt off the ship. She landed in a dinghy below. The Hell's Jewel had already sailed away from the dock.
“Sorry, Eddie!” Snezhana shouted as she rowed. “You've lost this round!”
Edmund sheathed his sword and grabbed his pistol. He shot at Snezhana and missed.
“Tonia! Get those engines moving! Pavel, get in the pilot house, now! All hands on deck! Let's move!”
Zoya sat on the floor of her cell, holding the gadget in her hands. Absentmindedly, she continuously rotated it, her gaze fixed beyond the object.
“You should keep that hidden,” Alexi said. “I'm sure my aunt or one of her crew will be back in here at some point.” Zoya nodded and shoved the gadget into the pocket of her coat.
“So we’re stuck in here until we get to Mirgorod,” she said. She heard the engines of the Hell's Jewel whirring nearby. The ship had left the port of Nanowrinsk hours ago.
“I guess so,” Demyan said.
The group sat in uncomfortable silence, standing, sitting, and lying down in turn. Every surface was cold and hard, though the constant chugging of the ship's engines was almost soothing. Alexi feel asleep, snoring softly.
After a few more hours passed, Adam and Igor burst into the room, followed by Gotfrid and Pyotr.
“Where is it?” Gotfrid asked.
“Where is what?” Zoya replied.
“You know what,” Adam said, moving to stand in front of the cell.
Zoya looked up at him. “No, I don't.”
“Stand up,” Igor commanded. “All of you!” The captives did as they were told.
“Alexi,” Gotfrid said, walking over to his cell. “I know that you know why you're here. We already searched their luggage. Where is the device?”
“Sorry.” Alexi shrugged. “I'm afraid I'm as confused as they are.”
“You're a wiseacre and a terrible liar,” Gotfrid said. Alexi didn't respond.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Adam said. “Tell us where it is.”
Zoya stepped to the front of her cell. “Tell us what it is. A gadget, you say?” Adam lunged toward her, his arm reaching into the cell to grab her neck. Zoya stepped back quickly, just out of reach.
“Hey, leave her alone!” Demyan shouted.
“Don't be like Yeremiy,” Gotfrid suggested. “We don't need anything from any of you except information. So tell us: where is the gadget?”
“That's pretty vague,” Anya told him. Pyotr pointed his pistol at her, his hand wavering.
“Give us what we want!” he demanded.
“Whatever this gadget is,” Lilia said. “We don't have it. We don't have a clue what you're talking about.” Adam reached into the cell and grabbed Lilia's arm, pulling and slamming her into the bars. She shrieked. Gotfrid and Igor pointed their guns at Zoya and Anya.
“Now you listen,” Adam growled into Lilia's ear. “We're being nice. This is your last chance, before you and your friends start losing body parts.” He grabbed her by the hair and looked into her face. “You and I could have a lot of fun,” he told her with a wicked grin. He grabbed the keys to her cell and began to open it.
“What do you think you're doing?” Snezhana demanded as she entered. Adam froze.
“We're interrogating them, Captain,” he said, his voice shaking.
“And what interrogation tactic were you about to use?” Snezhana asked. Adam's face turned white.
“I was…nothing. Nothing, Captain,” he stuttered.
“Nothing is right,” Snezhana replied. “Unlock Alexi's cell and bring him to my cabin. I need to talk privately with my nephew.”
“Aye, Captain,” her men replied in unison.
Igor unlocked Alexi's cell then pulled him by the arm toward the door. As Adam passed by Snezhana, she pulled out her pistol an
d whacked him in the back of the head. Adam fell to the floor with a yelp.
“Get up,” Snezhana said. Adam scurried to his feet and hurried out the door. The rest of the pirates left after him, closing and locking the door behind them.
Zoya lay on the ground, willing herself to sleep. She had lost track of how long it had been since they last saw Snezhana or her crew. Without a clock or a window, she found herself trapped in an eternally dingy twilight. One of the sconces on the wall had run out of oil, further dimming the room.
Zoya removed her jacket, bundling it into a ball to serve as a pillow. She turned on her side, her back to the door, and held the gadget in her hands. The device gave her an odd sense of comfort, despite being the apparent source of their troubles. It's interesting, for sure, but what exactly is so special about it?
Zoya hugged the gadget to her chest, remembering her grandmother's words. Keep it safe. If you protect it, it will protect you. But what did that mean? At the very least, it means I should protect it from these pirates. She let her eyes close, still hugging the gadget, and slowly drifted into sleep.
Zoya crept through the snow, doing her best to keep her footsteps silent. Large, fluffy snowflakes drifted down around her, gently building upon the already thick white coating of the stone scenery. Lilia crouched behind a low wall, trying not to be seen.
As Zoya rounded the corner of the alley, she saw Nikolai attempting to grab the bottom of a retractable ladder. When he saw her, he put his finger to his lips. Just then, Demyan appeared in the alley, standing between them. He looked at Zoya first. She backed away then directed Demyan toward Nikolai with a glance. Demyan followed her gaze, spotted Nikolai, and with a burst of energy began sprinting toward him.
“Dangit, Zoya!” Nikolai yelled with a laugh. Demyan chased Nikolai to the end of the alley before tackling him into a snowbank.
Standing and pumping both fists into the air, Demyan declared, “You're it!”
Zoya awoke with a smile on her face, comforted by the happy memory. The low hum of machinery brought her only half-way to consciousness. Then the ship shuddered.
Grigory's Gadget Page 9
