Alien Devices: Tesla joins crew to prevent alien zombie apocalypse (The Secret War Book 2) (11 page)

He just had time to duck and roll as the two bowler-hats flanking
Petrov’s sprawled body brought up their shotguns. The blasts went over Will’s
head. He heard the crunch of glass falling behind him as they shot out the
large windows lining the concourse. Still lying flat on his stomach, Hunting Owl
shot both of them before they could re-aim. He came up onto his knees, turning
to fire rapidly into the crowd of bowler-hats who were working their way free
of the other lift cage.

He saw that Guang was playing hide-and-seek with the hats,
trying to keep to the side of the lift out of the line of fire from those still
inside. He would dart out occasionally, sword taking one of them foolish enough
to stick an arm or head out.  Will brought down the last gunner in the lift as
a motion out of the corner of his eye caused him to turn back.

He bit back an exclamation as he saw Petrov back on her feet,
the holes where he had shot her clearly visible against her middle. She shook
herself all over like a rabid dog, and pulled out a long, double-edged knife.
With a scream, she charged at Will. His trigger-pull fell on an empty barrel.
He lifted his Bowie, desperately trying to meet her attack. At the last minute,
she surprised him by leaping into the air and sailing over Will's head. He
turned to follow her flying down the concourse to land in front of Abigail and
Saira, who were fleeing with Tesla and Chang. He cursed, turning back just in
time to catch a hatchet on the barrel of his revolver. His Arms master and a
British Scholar were on their own now against Petrov.

Abigail pulled up short as the woman from the hotel landed in
front of them, like a banshee out of a nightmare. She had landed like some
giant spider, crouching in their way.  The woman stared at Abigail with a mad
glaze to her eyes. Her pale blond hair was in wild disarray. Two large, pink-stained
holes in her shirt marked horrible wounds that should have killed her. Abigail
swallowed hard. The woman was like the evil abomination at the shack where they
had rescued Tesla.

“You!” The apparition pointed her knife at Abigail. “This is
all your fault, English bitch,” she spat out in a low growl. “I was running
everything fine before your meddling.” The tiny woman straightened up slowly,
knife aimed like a gun at Abigail's throat. “I will take back what you stole
from me after I feed you your eyes.” Without hesitation Abigail raised her gun
and fired.

The woman's limbs jerked. She screamed with a hair-raising cry when
the bolt hit her. To Abigail's horror, she shrugged it off and straightened up
again, pointing the knife at Abigail and smiled evilly. “You can't catch me
with that twice, you stupid English cow. Now it is your turn.”

Saira shouldered Abigail aside, facing the mad creature with
her own blades drawn. “I do not think so, Petrov,” Saira said quietly.

“Out of the way, mongrel whore!” Petrov made a screeching sound
that almost sounded like laughter. “Your half-blood witchery is nothing
compared to my power! Move aside, and I will kill you with mercy.” Saira
replied by raising her long knives, and waited for her move.

“So be it,” Petrov hissed. “Die!” With those words she sprang
forward in a blur. Saira matched her, arms blurring in their own speed. Sparks
danced as their blades met. Petrov disengaged, and started moving towards
Saira's left.

“You see?” Petrov snarled, her porcelain colored face twisted
into a mask. Abigail saw with concern a line of blood growing along Saira's
left arm. “You are too weak to hope to win against me.” Saira silently matched
the smaller woman's movements as they circled each other.

“The Masters have graced me with power beyond your
comprehension, slattern,” Petrov continued as she scuttled towards Saira, knife
weaving in patterns before her. “Your mind- tricks are useless against me. I
have greater speed than you can ever hope for, and I cannot die, unlike you!”
Again she lunged forward.

After another flurry of movement, she screamed and leapt
backwards. This time Abigail saw that one side of the blond woman's hair had
been sheared off her head, leaving her looking like a mangy cur.    

Abigail pushed Tesla and Chang behind her, electric gun raised
in a what she knew to be a futile gesture. The two women fighters seemed focused
only on each other. The others appeared to have vanished from their concern.
Abigail knew with a certainty only one of the two fighters would walk away from
this dance of death. Abigail, who did not believe in God, offered a silent
prayer for Saira.

Saira advanced, moving too fast for Abigail's' eye to follow.
Again the two met in a weaving of flashing blades. Petrov gave another
ear-splitting screech as her blade flashed.  Saira did an impossible backwards
leap, the severed white panels of her 'servants dress' floating to the ground.
She landed gracefully at the near end of the sky bridge several yards away, the
harsh light of the stations tubes glinting off her dusky skin. Abigail looked
agog at her friend.

Abigail had never seen such a leap in her life. It was almost
as if Saira had flown. Now Saira stood there as still and deadly as a statue of
a naked warrior Goddess. Abigail saw, with disquiet, that more of Saira’s blood
dripped from a line scored above her breasts.

For the first time Saira spoke, her words dripped with
contempt. “The Sages of old held that for the true warrior, the blade speaks
more clearly than the tongue,” she taunted.    

Petrov snarled in rage. Crouching, she sprang into the air
towards Saira, her blade pointed at the Arms master like a javelin. Saira leapt
to one side, knives spinning as Petrov passed her. Thick, pink fluid sprayed out
from the Russian as she crashed into the sky-bridge railing. With a loud cry,
Illiya Petrov tumbled over the lip of the railing, only to fall from a great
height down into the darkness. 

Saira swiped her blades down to her sides to clear them of the
thick, pinkish fluid. She raised the blades to the sky in silent offering.
Abigail stared in amazement at the blood-covered woman as if seeing her for the
first time. This was not the good natured, joking woman she had befriended on
the ship, nor even the fierce fighter she had seen earlier. This was a figure
of Death Incarnate. Abigail felt an atavistic chill run down her spine.  She
was pulled from her reverie by Tesla's cough behind her.

“The Captain and that Oriental man are running towards us,” the
Savant announced at her side. “It seems there are more of those bowler-hatted
men coming. Perhaps we should move towards the ship?”

Abigail turned to follow his gaze. Will and Guang were running
towards them. Will was waving his arms for them to go on. She glanced behind
them to see men both in the uniform of the constabulary and the
dark-suited-bowler-hats. Both groups were shooting at them.

“I believe you are correct, Tesla,” Abigail said, trying to sound
as easy and confident as Captain Hunting Owl. She grabbed the Savant's arm. “We
should move. Quickly.”

“Saira,” Abigail cried out. The pair ran up to Saira who was
just completing some kind of ritual gesture, facing the direction where her foe
had fallen.

“There are more of them coming,” Abigail said. “We have to go
to the ship!” Saira turned towards them.  Abigail gave a sigh of relief that
the face greeting her was that of her friend the Arms master, rather than the
inhuman killer she had glimpsed.  She hadn't known what to expect after what
she had seen.

“Go,” Saira said shortly. She gestured with one of her long
knives. “I will see if I can aid the Captain.”

Abigail had to grab Tesla again who was doing his best to look
anywhere but in the direction of Saira's bloody nakedness. Chang looked at the Arms
master with something akin to disgust written plainly on her face. Chang
reluctantly followed Abigail, who was waving her electric pistol at the
underworld figure to chivvy her along.

As they crossed the bridge, Abigail saw two crew members with
guns guarding the ship's entrance. One of them opened the hatch even as they
ran towards it, while the other pointed her gun behind them. She was calling on
them to hurry. They reached the doorway, only to have the ship guards open fire
back in the direction they had come from.  Abigail urged Tesla and Chang inside
the ship and then paused.

Abigail turned back to see Will and Guang had both reached
Saira at the far side of the bridge. After a moment of wild gesturing among
them, the Captain and Saira began to race across the bridge towards her.
Abigail watched as Guang stood there steadily facing the approaching enemy. The
Scholar saw Guang could not run across the bridge before their pursuers caught
him. Then, an amazing thing happened.

  Guang flung out his free arm. There was a series of flashes before
a thick smoke exploded between the attackers and himself, causing them to stop
in hesitation. Some of the pursuers fired wildly as the dense curtain of smoke formed
along the sky bridge. Guang turned back towards Abigail, tucked his sword under
one arm and raised his other over his head. Abigail could scarcely believe her
eyes as Guang seemed to float up in the air and fly across the bridge towards
them.

Guang came down behind Will and Saira as the airship pair
reached the ships hatchway. The pair turned almost as one, blocking the
entrance. Will pointed his gun at the swordsman, while Saira flowed into a fighting
stance, knives facing Guang.

“You didn't mention you could fly,” Will accused him.  Abigail
didn't understand how he the Captain could say it so calmly. “You're more than
An Fong's hatchet man aren't you?”  

“I am as you say.”  Guang bowed towards Will. He spoke with a
tumble of words. “I fear I have revealed myself, so I must ask for your
sanctuary. I assure you, Captain Hunting Owl, I am still your ally. The smoke
will not confuse them for long.” A bullet whined overhead.

“Alright,” Captain Hunting Owl allowed, after pausing to
consider what Guang had said. Saira lowered her knives, and after a moment
longer staring Guang in the eyes, Will lowered his gun. “But you and me are
going to talk.” Will turned back towards the hatchway and made a shooing motion
with his arms. “Everybody inside,” he shouted.

Chapter 13

L
awrence Rogers looked up in surprise at the
crowd that trooped onto the bridge.
The hatchway guard had reported over
the intercom that the Captain and his party had returned. The Captain was
indeed in the lead, Rogers saw, followed by Lady Hadley, dressed as one of
those London 'New Women' striding next to a tall white man in shirt sleeves.
Behind them came an older Oriental woman followed by Brighton, who was naked
and covered in blood. Saira held her knives ready, though that was nothing new
for her. The extraordinary group was finished off by the thug Guang, who had
lost his sword case Guang held his sheathed sword openly in his left hand. 
Rogers frowned; the tall white man next to Abigail looked familiar somehow.

“Captain.” Rogers greeted Hunting Owl calmly, keeping a wary
eye on the strangers. 

“Lawrence.” Hunting Owl replied, returning the nod. “ I have
the bridge,” The Captain said without preamble. “Is Giorgios back from the An
compound?”

“Captain has the bridge, Aye,” Rogers acknowledged. “Yes,”
Rogers continued, “Giorgios returned with Tiku some hours ago,” Rogers
replied.  “Currently he is with Wu in sickbay. Wu says he'll recover in a few
days. All other crew accounted for, and we are still on hostile landing stations.”

“I wanted to make sure about that” Will nodded. “Prepare for
immediate cast off.”

“We have neither clearance from Port Authority nor a Shield
opening,” Rogers reminded his captain mildly. 

“We will,” Will said confidently, “Do it.”

Rogers turned to Naomi and started issuing orders. A series of
chimes began to ring throughout the ship. There was the distant sound of
running feet as the crew leapt to stations. 

“Michael,” Hunting Owl asked the Aetherwave operator, “What's
the chatter on that airship courier that just came in?”

“HMS Mercury?” McGuire looked up from his station in surprise. 
“She says they're on a special mission. She is checked out to clear, but Port
Authority is pissed as no one seemed to know they were coming. I can try to
find out more if you want.”

“No, don't bother,” Will said. “That'll be someone else's
problem.”

“I see that we have some new passengers, Captain,” Rogers
remarked with careful patience. Jarro, the Helmsman and Mattori, the Elevator Controller,
raced to their stations. Will turned back towards Rogers.

 “Oh yeah,” Hunting Owl said to Rogers. He pointed over his
shoulder with his thumb. “That is Madame Chang from Chang's and the tall guy by
Abigail is Nikolas Tesla. We have been hired to get him out of Hong Kong by the
way. You know Guang. Everybody, this is Lawrence Rogers, best damn First
Officer ever.”  Rogers eyes actually blinked in surprise.

“So,” Rogers asked it in the same tone he would use if
inquiring about the weather. “we are fleeing Hong Kong on an unscheduled
departure, with one of the most important men in the world? We have a
sword-wielding member of the one of the most powerful criminal organizations in
the Orient, and another, even more mysterious, crime boss?”

“That's about it,” Hunting Owl agreed. “I will explain it all
to you later.” 

“I shall look forward to that,” Rogers replied solemnly. He
rocked back and forth on his heels in contemplation.

“Are we expecting to meet any resistance from the port
defenses?” Rogers asked almost musingly.

“All spirits grant, I hope not!” Will responded fervently. “Still,
best to be prepared.”

“Very good,” Rogers replied. “Mr. Watson,” he raised his voice
to address the Bridge Talker, “sound cast-off.”   

“Ship is ready to cast off,” Naomi Watson reported.

Will gave a nod to proceed to Rogers.

“Cast off.” Rogers called out. “Come about one eight zero
degrees, maintain altitude,” the First Officer ordered. A shudder went through
the deck as the ship moved out from the tower. Jarro and Mattori both repeated the
First Officer’s orders in sing-song voices and proceeded to carry out his
orders. The Towers fell away from the viewports on the bridge. 

“Port Authority grants us clearance on the following heading,”
McGuire reported, unable to keep the amazement from his voice. He read off a
series of numbers.

Rogers shot Will a silent question at McGuire's report. Captain
Hunting Owl shrugged, giving his First Officer a big smile.

“Guess we should follow Port Authority’s orders like the law-abiding
folks we are,” Will said cheerfully in response to Rogers’ surprised look.

“Navigation hazard,” one of the bridge lookouts called. “More
ships are undocking from the Tower.”

Rogers frowned at Hunting Owl. Rogers knew that no one simply
took off from a place as buttoned down as Hong Kong in the middle of the night.
Questions, and hopefully answers, would have to wait.

“Aye, Aye, Captain,” Rogers said, “Following like law- abiding
citizens.” After giving the necessary orders, almost as if it were afterthought,
he continued in the same calm voice. “Mr. Walters, sound action-stations, sound
ship-to-ground combat.” Having been stationed in Hong Kong when he was in the
Navy, Rogers knew that the city's air defenses were formidable. It would only
be prudent to expect that they had increased.  If they were to acquire problems
from the defenses, the situation would be dire. Especially if the Shield
remained closed. The ship had now turned full about and was moving forward.
Before them the simmering curtain of the Shield parted. They could see the
undimmed stars beyond.

“Shield open,” Rogers said to Will, not hiding the relief in
his voice. “What course Captain?”

“North,” Chang and Tesla both said at the same time. They
looked at each other with surprise.  Rogers looked at Will in consternation.

“'North I guess it is, Lawrence” Will grinned back at him. “Let's
grab some sky.” The ship moved forward into the night.

“Something more exact than north would be helpful at some
point,” Rogers suggested.

“I agree,” Will said darkly. He turned and looked at his
companions of the evening. They all looked as dirty and ragged as he felt.
Normally, he'd give an Away Group a rest period after a night like they'd had.
This situation wasn't anything remotely normal.

“I think that everyone should get cleaned up some, and meet in
my day cabin in twenty minutes,” Will called out. Before anyone could answer
this, Will pointed at Madame Chang and Guang.

“Not you two,” he said, “I think that you should both stand
back against the wall there and wait.” Guang silently moved back to stand
against the rear bulkhead of the bridge. After a moment, Chang did the same. “Lawrence,
if either of them moves, or says anything, shoot them.” He pulled at his torn
and filthy suit jacket, “I'm going to go get out of this monkey suit. You have
the bridge.”

“Aye, Aye, Captain,” Rogers acknowledged calmly. “I have the
bridge. Shoot the guests if they move or talk.”

Will looked at the other three who were still standing near. He
made a pushing away motion with his hands, urging them to leave. 

“Twenty minutes,” Will said shortly. He stalked away from the
bridge. 

“Well, we have perhaps time for a quick bath if you'd like to
join me,” Saira said moved to stand besides Abigail. She smiled at her and held
out her least bloody hand.  The smile froze as Abigail flinched away from her outstretched
hand.

“No thank you,” Abigail said, not meeting Saira's eyes. The
flinch had not been intentional, but it increased her awkward feeling around
the other woman “I should stay with Tesla as he's just aboard, I think. I'll
clean up later.”

“As you wish,” Saira said with a shrug. She lowered her hand. “But
when Cap'n Will says twenty minutes, he means just that. Do not be late.” When
Abigail didn't reply, she cocked her head at the Scholar for a moment, then
turned to leave. “See you at the meeting,” Saira said. Abigail watched her
naked form stride away, wishing that she was able to put into words the turmoil
that she felt.