Liberty

by Lindsay Buroker

  “Definitely not pirates,” Kali muttered.

  Having never traveled outside of the Yukon, she had no idea what the military uniforms of the world looked like, but she guessed those were U.S. soldiers. Though she hoped they were here for something unrelated to Cedar, she feared that another Pinkerton detective had been sent to retrieve him, this time with backup. And Cedar would be easy to retrieve from a jail cell.

  She thumped her fist against her thigh and growled in frustration. A man walking down the boardwalk with a hired girl on his arm gave her a curious look.

  Kali nodded at them, then started walking in the opposite direction. It wouldn’t be good to have passersby remember that she had been lurking about, studying the Mounties’ building. The streets were still busy, people flush with gold ambling into hotels, bit houses, and dancing halls.

  While Kali walked, she mulled over how to get Cedar out. She had nothing but the tools on her person. Even if she could cut a hole in the wall with them, it would take a lot of time. Under normal circumstances, she might have found that time in the middle of the night if the town lay quiet, but the area around the building was well-lit, even the muddy alley out back, and the soldiers on that airship might remain on patrol around the clock. What if Cedar had already been taken up there, and the soldiers planned to leave in the morning?

  She fished into her pocket, wrapping her hand around the now cooled lump of flash gold. It might be used to power a tool, if she could find a place to work and some scrap parts so she could make such a tool. Her heart grew heavy at the idea of using the last piece of the energy source that she had, but she couldn’t imagine freeing Cedar without some extra help. Besides, it wasn’t as if she had an airship she needed to save the substance to power anymore.

  Kali turned down the street that led to the boarding house on the outskirts of town where Cedar had a room. Where he’d had a room. If word had gotten out that he had been arrested, the mistress who ran the place might have already sold his goods and given the room to someone else. Kali hoped that hadn’t happened and that she could retrieve his belongings while she considered how to distract those soldiers. Unfortunately, everything that came to mind involved destroying things—publicly, loudly, and perhaps with flames. Cedar hadn’t wanted her to become a criminal to help him, but did she have any other choice? If only her completed airship was anchored outside of town, the envelope full of gas, the craft ready to take off. Without it, the best scenario she could envision was being on the run with Cedar, fleeing into the Canadian wilderness with winter on the way.

  “One problem at a time,” she murmured, slipping through the back door of the boarding house.

  The owner or one of her helpers would be up front, and Kali wanted to avoid being seen. Even though she had been here numerous times, she did not want to explain if the lady asked about Cedar being in jail. Already, she felt like a criminal skulking around as she stepped quietly on the wooden boards of the stairs.

  She found Cedar’s door locked and grumbled to herself, digging out a set of watch-repair tools that she used for the fine work required to put together her smoke nuts. The hallway stood empty as she set to picking the lock, but voices sounded through the walls, and she broke out in a sweat, knowing someone might come out at any moment.

  “You’d think a man interested in porch sitting with a lady would give that lady a key to his place,” she huffed, even though she knew Cedar had only been given one key to the rented room.

  Footsteps sounded on the stairs, floorboards creaking under someone’s weight. Kali bit her lip. She almost had the lock.

  “Yes, Sergeant,” the proprietor’s voice came from the stairway, “you’re in luck. We have two rooms available.”

  A sergeant? A Mountie sergeant? Kali nearly broke off her improvised torsion wrench in her haste to thwart the lock. The fragile tools weren’t meant to withstand much pressure.

  “Good,” the man said, his uniform hat coming into view.

  The lock thunked. Kali shoved the door open, practically tumbling into the room. She resisted the urge to slam it shut behind her, instead closing it softly and leaning against it. The footfalls grew audible in the hallway, steady and methodical. She listened, her heart thudding in her chest, afraid the pair had seen her unorthodox method of entry and would push the door open at any moment.

  As she stood in the dark, the footsteps came and went. She let out a slow breath, willing her heart to settle down.

  “You almost wet yourself picking a lock,” she told herself. “That bodes well for the jailbreak.”

  Shaking her head, she groped her way to the lantern on the small nightstand. She shuttered the windows before lighting it, then hurried to collect Cedar’s things. Most of his weapons had been on him when he’d been arrested, but she found a knife and a Remington 1890 revolver in the nightstand. His pack, canteen, and oft-patched Euklisia Rug hunkered in a corner. She stuffed everything into the pack before slipping out again. She tried not to feel like a thief as she padded down the back stairs and into the alley.

  Next, she headed for the mills near the river, avoiding the street that would have taken her by the charred remains of the one she and Cedar had inadvertently lit on fire. It was a wonder she wasn’t in jail alongside him.

  On the next street over, she found the repair shop that she’d had in mind, one that specialized in mining equipment and steam engines. Everyone should have gone home for the day. She ought to be able to find some scraps to make a tool. She wished she had taken the time to get to know the people who worked there, so she might have simply asked to be allowed in instead of having to pick another lock. But no, that wouldn’t have been good. Then she would have risked incriminating someone else. From here on out, she had to work alone. Once she had Cedar, she would have an ally again, but until then, she shouldn’t talk to anyone. Even poor Tadzi.

  In the darkness behind the repair shop, she worked on another lock and reconciled herself to the fact that she was about to become a criminal. No doubt this time. She had wanted to leave the Yukon for a long time, but it was strange to think that she would be forced to leave now.

  “It’s worth it to get Cedar,” she whispered, and slipped inside.

  • • • • •

  Kali’s hands shook as she tried to light a match. Full darkness had fallen, and she could barely see the end of the fuse she had laid, one that ran down the alley, up charred stairs, and to a pile of chemicals she had borrowed—stolen—from the repair shop. It was a very explosive pile of chemicals. She felt bad about starting a fire in the mill that had already half-burned to the ground, the one where she and Cedar had fought Conrad and his men, but it seemed a better target than any other in town. She had already checked, and nobody was inside. The roof had burned, leaving the stars visible to one standing on the charred floor in the middle of the building. Another fire would hardly matter.

  “Exactly,” she muttered, “so why can’t you light this match?”

  She glared at her shaking fingers.

  “Kali?” someone whispered from behind her.

  She jumped three feet, dropping the match as she whirled toward the speaker. By the time she landed, her brain caught up to her instincts, and she identified the speaker as Tadzi. That didn’t keep her heart from trying to pound its way out of her chest.

  “What are you doing here?” she whispered, her voice coming out harsher than intended as she searched for him in the shadows.

  “Looking for you.” He limped away from a wall, his small form coming into sight.

  “Should I be depressed by how easily you found me?” How was she going to avoid the Mounties once she was a criminal when she couldn’t dodge an eleven-year-old boy?

  “I don’t know. Isn’t depression bad? I was going to Cedar’s room to look for you, but then I saw you sneaking out of that shop down the street, and you had something big on your back. Is it a new tool? Does it have flash gold? Can I see it?”

  Kali stepped into the shadows a
cross the alley from the mill and waved for him to join her. Even though there weren’t many people walking around in this part of town this late at night, she twitched every time she heard a noise.

  “I think you just saw me carrying Cedar’s rucksack,” Kali said when he joined her. She looked up and down the alley, making sure nobody else lurked nearby. “But I did make a new tool.”

  “I knew it!” Amazing how the kid could sound so perky this late at night. “What’s it do? Does it have an engine? Like your SAB?”

  Kali winced. Her self-automated bicycle had been in the cave workshop, along with everything else.

  “Nothing that big. It’s a simple tool, a type of saw, and it’s going to cut a hole in a wall.” It was going to cut a hole in a wall quietly, she hoped.

  She also hoped that all the Mounties in town, as well as the soldiers on that American airship, would rush over to investigate the fire she meant to start in the mill. Ideally, nobody would be around when she cut into the wall of Cedar’s cell. Alas, she doubted circumstances would be that perfect.

  “Is it for breaking Cedar out of jail?” Tadzi asked, his voice louder than she would have preferred.

  “Yes, but put a brick on your tongue, will you? We don’t want the whole city to know what we’re planning.”

  “What we’re planning? Do I get to help?” Tadzi lowered his voice but not his enthusiasm level.

  “Weren’t you going to ask the Hän if some of them would be willing to help move those boulders?”

  “Yes, and I did that. Kéitlyudee said she could get her brothers and cousins to come tomorrow morning. There’s plenty of time for me to help you tonight.”

  Kali hesitated. It would be better not to involve him or even talk to him. If she got caught, the last thing she wanted was for him to be in trouble too. Still, she could hear his clothes rustling as he shifted about, excited by this clandestine activity.

  “Why don’t you stand at that corner over there and let me know if anyone is coming?” she said.

  “Way down there? I won’t be able to see what you’re doing.”

  Kali knelt and patted at the muddy earth until she found the fuse again. “Safer if you don’t. Trust me.”

  He made a disappointed noise, but did as asked, shuffling down to the corner a block away. Kali took a deep breath and finally managed to still her hands enough to light the match. She touched it to the fuse, then shook it out and grabbed Cedar’s pack. The flame sped away. Even though she had laid a long fuse, it wouldn’t be long before the detonation.

  She raced down the alley, the rucksack and her tools clanking. She couldn’t worry about silence now. There wasn’t time.

  Just as she reached Tadzi, the explosion went off inside the mill. Enough of the structure remained that she couldn’t see the flames, but she had no trouble hearing the boom. If she had laid everything well, a good fire should start up, a big enough one to create flames and smoke that would be visible for blocks.

  She patted Tadzi on the shoulder. “Hide someplace safe. I have to get Cedar.”

  Shouts of alarm sounded in the aftermath of the explosion, people awoken in hotels and boarding houses on the other side of town. Kali hurried through the alleys, making her way toward Mountie Headquarters. Unfortunately, it wasn’t anywhere close to the mill.

  A whistle blew a block away. Horses thundered down a main street, heading in the direction of the mill, and Kali glimpsed red Mountie uniforms. She kept going in the opposite direction, checking the sky, hoping to see that airship drifting in the same direction as the horses.

  When she reached a corner, she glanced back and spotted a slight form limping after her. She shook her head. Tadzi was determined to get himself in trouble right along with her. She wished she had shooed him away.

  Then she came to the alley behind the headquarters building, and she couldn’t worry about him. Lanterns on hooks burned all through the area, leaving it as well lit as the street out front. Apparently, the Mounties didn’t want to encourage skulking behind their building. Even more troubling than the lanterns, the side of the hull and envelope of the airship were visible above the alley. The craft wasn’t floating directly above it, but anyone near the railing on that side of the deck would be able to see her walking through the area. As far as she could tell, the airship had not moved since earlier in the night.

  Kali paused in the shadows and unfastened the saw she had crafted. As she worked, two more men in uniforms jogged past the far end of the alley. Neither of them looked in her direction. She could smell wood smoke, but couldn’t decide if it came from the fire at the mill or the various chimneys around town.

  Up on the deck of the airship, a soldier with a spyglass walked into view. He leaned against the railing, his gaze toward the mill. Kali eased closer to the wall of a building. Even if his attention was focused outward, movement could make him look down. As she willed him to go away, two more soldiers joined him at the railing, followed by a man in a suit. She rolled her eyes. What were they going to do? Have a tea party at that railing?

  More people strode down the street at the end of the alley, a man and woman in civilian clothing followed by a trio of young men. It looked like the whole city was heading to view the fire Kali had created. Or maybe they meant to help put it out. She hoped it wasn’t in danger of spreading to other buildings. All she had wanted was a distraction. She glowered up at the airship, annoyed that those men weren’t suitably distracted.

  Minutes ambled past while they chatted about the fire, or perhaps gambling and women. One frowned down at the alley, and Kali held still. She hadn’t stepped out of the shadows yet, but she couldn’t be certain they wouldn’t see her. There wasn’t a roof overhang or anything for her to take cover under. She eyed the flash gold case on the body of the saw. For now, the little lump remained hidden, but she was well aware of those streaks of lightning the substance liked to create when power was drawn from it.

  More whistles sounded, this time on the other side of town. The men on the deck pointed at something new. Maybe Kali would get lucky and some crooks would take advantage of her diversion and stage a nice bank robbery to keep the authorities busy.

  Finally, the soldier lowered his spyglass, and the group of men moved away from the railing. Kali did not hesitate. She jogged to the far side of the alley, so the wall would protect her at least somewhat from their view if they came back. Then she risked trotting toward the back of the headquarters building. She glared at the lanterns that hung at either corner of it, cheerfully illuminating the spot where she gauged Cedar’s cell to be.

  Another group of men strode down the street at the mouth of the alley. One glanced at her, but he didn’t stop. A Mountie probably would. She grimaced at how out in the open she was, but what could she do? Move quickly. That was it.

  She did take a few seconds to drop Cedar’s rucksack so she could stand on it to reach those lanterns and cut them out. Someone looking down from above might notice that the light level had changed, but that was better than being seen outright.

  As she put the pack back on, two horses trotted past the mouth of the alley, their riders peering around alertly. Kali leaned casually against the wall, trying to look innocent as she second-guessed her choice to light that fire. Maybe it would have been better to do this without a distraction. Too late to change her mind now.

  As soon as the way was clear, she pressed the tip of her tool’s serrated blade against the wooden wall, the end designed more like a drill bit than the tip of a saw. She flicked the switch and held her breath. Even though she had tested it on a board before leaving the repair shop, she worried until the blade started whirring, cutting in and creating a trickle of sawdust. The grinding noise seemed torturously loud, and she couldn’t decide if that was worse than the blue lightning streaking along the body of the tool. The damned flash gold always had to show off.

  The wood gave as the drill pierced the wall. Kali widened the hole while looking left and right, hoping those going t
o see the fire had already left. She also hoped Cedar stood on the other side and was ready to go.

  Movement to her left, in the opposite direction of the street, made her freeze. The shadows stirred at the corner where she had been hiding earlier. Tadzi? She hoped so.

  “Doing a lot of hoping tonight,” she whispered, flicking the switch to turn her tool from drill mode to saw mode.

  The blade surged in and out, cutting into the wood. She maneuvered it, groaning at how slowly it progressed through the boards. With the flash gold powering the tool, it was far faster than a handheld saw would have been, but she worried about the time she was taking.

  As she reached the halfway point in her ragged circle, she began to believe that it might work, that she might finish her hole before anyone discovered her. She leaned into the saw, urging it to work faster.

  “Go, go,” she whispered as she reached the three-quarters mark. The tool hummed happily, blue streaks of lightning coursing along the metal body. “That isn’t necessary,” she muttered.

  “Wait for me, Ted,” someone called from the mouth of the alley, someone in a Mountie uniform. The man bent over to tie his boot.

  Kali cut off the saw and willed the streaks of lightning to go away. A few indignant sparks erupted from the casing. She used her body to shield them from the street. The man was tying both boots. What kind of dolt ran outside before attending to his laces?

  A soft knock sounded, and Kali flinched, nearly dropping her saw. It came from the other side of the wall. Cedar?

  “Not now,” she whispered, watching the Mountie.

  The man stood up and, as he adjusted his uniform jacket, glanced toward Kali. She did not move, and her body blocked her tool from his sight, but that glance turned into a longer look. She couldn’t tell if he saw her in the shadows or was concerned about the lanterns that were out.

  “Just a minute, Ted,” he called, then took a step in her direction.