Clockworks and Corsets (11 page)

“That rock there,” he said. “The one just a few feet away.”

Rose looked out at the small rock the young man pointed out.

“Keep an eye on it.” He poked the thin cannon between the wooden bars. A soft, low hum sounded from the barrel. Within moments, the rock beyond disappeared in a cloud of dust.

“Yebat!” Jax shouted.

“Holy cow!” Magpie yelled.

Jayne and Click cheered. Gabriella came to Atom’s side. He grinned when she laid her hand on his mechanical arm.

Rose smiled. She was impressed. “Do you have a plan?” she asked.

“I thought perhaps,” Atom said, “I could discreetly disassemble the cage and we could slip off, unnoticed.”

Rose considered this option for a moment. She leaned to one side, looking beyond Atom before she asked, “Do you think there is a chance we could?”

“Oh, yes,” Atom said.

Rose cocked her head at Atom. “I wasn’t asking you.”

“Ah,” Atom said, turning toward Jax who was behind him. “Sorry.”

“Perhaps,” Jax answered. “They seem busy with victory party. We might get away clean if we are careful and quiet.”

“If it helps,” Atom said, “I believe they are waiting for the moon to reach the other horizon before they begin. So we have about an hour or so.”

“Begin what?” Gabriella asked.

Atom turned back to the young girl. He sighed. “I’d rather not say.”

Gabriella’s nostrils flared. She put her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes at the man.

“You’d rather not? Well, I’d rather you did.”

Atom’s head rocked back at her words. He looked horrified. “It’s much too terrible for such delicate ears.”

“Delicate ears?” Gabriella squealed. She poked Atom in his naked chest. “I’ll have you know these delicate ears have heard more than you can imagine.” She gave him a curt nod.

Rose chuckled.

“If you insist,” Atom said. “They intend to have most of us for some kind of ceremonial dinner.”

Gabriella clutched her throat and winced.

“Most of us,” Jayne repeated.

“Yes,” Atom said. “Him…” He paused, lifting a finger to Click. “They intend to hang up by his...unmentionables. And leave for the animals to fight over.”

Click’s eyes went wide. He placed a protective hand over his precious groin. “Oi! What did I do?”

“Something about being a traitor, I believe,” Atom explained. “You…” He stopped again, shifting his hand to Rose. “Have a fate worse than all of us, I’m afraid.”

“The hair again?” Rose asked. Atom nodded. He opened his mouth to explain, but Rose held her hand up to stop him. “I’d rather not know,” she said.

“So you break cage apart?” Jax asked. “I can do that without sound.” She shoved a finger at Atom’s arm. “Why should that matter?”

Rose doubted that even Jax could get them out of this cage without raising the attention of their captors. “Because it puts us on even footing. If we can’t slip away unnoticed then at least we can go down with a fair fight. Isn’t that right, Mr. Loquacious?”

Atom looked unsure. “Captain, might I have a word?”

“Go ahead,” Rose said.

Atom glanced around at the crew before he added, “Alone?”

Rose sighed. She took Atom by the arm, his real one, and walked him to the far corner of the cage, waving the others away. They huddled across the cage with dejected looks.

“What’s the trouble, son?” she asked.

He traced the edge of his arm-cannon with a shaking finger. “I...I’ve never actually used this before.” He looked back at Gabriella and sighed.

“You seem to have the hang of it,” Rose encouraged him.

“No,” Atom snapped. He turned back to her. “I mean...I mean as a weapon.”

Rose grasped the underlying current. “Ahh.” She clapped Atom on his shoulder. Pulling him in close, she whispered, “You’ve never had to protect yourself?”

Atom shook his head. His eyes asked the question she was sure his throat couldn’t.

“No, I’ve never killed a man before,” she said. Her mind added, not officially at least.

“I don’t know what to do. I want to help.” He paused and eyed Gabriella again before he continued, “I want to help everyone, but I can’t bring myself to hurt anybody. The very idea of it makes me nauseated.”

Rose didn’t expect the young lab assistant to act any other way. “Jax might be the best person to talk to about this.”

“You mean she’s...” Atom asked in a half question.

“She’s had to. Jax has lived a hard life. The village she grew up in was a regular spot for raiders. She was raised with a sword in one hand and the head of her enemy in the other. Killing is in her blood.”

Atom turned green at the idea.

“You don’t have to hurt anyone,” Rose said.

“Do you think?” he asked.

“I would never ask someone to do anything that I wouldn’t do.”

This explanation seemed to please the young man. “That’s very wise of you, Captain.”

“Just get us out of here, and if need be, cause enough of a distraction to let us get away.”

“That I can do.” Atom turned back to the crowd. Rose caught him by the arm again and tugged him back.

“Atom,” she said. “Please take your time with Gabriella.”

“Take my time?”

“She’s kind of...sheltered. I know the impression that most men have of my crew, because of our unconventional lifestyle, and perhaps part of it is our own fault. After all we aren’t the simple mothers and homemakers women are expected to be. In this case... Guppy...she’s young.

Inexperienced. Just take your time with whatever it is you’re thinking about.”

Atom paused for a moment, his brow furrowed as if he was confused by Rose’s words.

Slowly, his face twisted into a mask of revulsion. He glanced at Gabriella, then back at Rose.

“Captain!” He motioned to the young lady in question. “I would never...take such liberties with...do such a thing...never!”

“Calm down.”

“I admit, I’m quite fond of the young lady.”

“And she’s taken with you.”

Atom seemed not to hear her. “But there is a certain propriety to these things. One doesn’t just assume that a lady acts in a certain manner based upon the company she keeps.”

Rose wondered at the veiled insult.

“It just isn’t done,” he continued. “I mean there is a well worn route that one must take when courting a young...” He stopped mid-lecture to stare open mouthed at Rose. “Wait a moment? What did you just say?”

Rose smiled wide. She wondered how long it would take for the assurance that Gabriella was interested in him to work its way past his brain and into his heart. “She likes you too, Atom.

I do believe she does.”

In an instant, the look of disgust slipped away under wave of tenderness, which included a goofy, but adorable grin. “Do you think so?”

Rose nodded and clapped him on the back again. “Just do right by her. That’s all I’m asking.”

“Of course,” Atom said. “Absolutely. This kind of thing takes planning. And effort. And preparation. And research.” He degenerated into a series of mumbles about the hours of the day and the days of the week.

Rose hoped she hadn’t gummed up the works too much.

“For crying out loud, you nitwit!” Jayne shouted.

“Sounds like the troops are back to the arguing,” Rose said. She looked back at Atom, wondering if it was a mistake to put everyone’s lives in the hands of a man who seemed so unsure of himself. In the end, she supposed she had to go with her gut, and her gut trusted the kid. She only hoped her little talk had given him enough courage to trust himself. “Shall we get to it then?”

“Get to what?” Atom asked, his mind elsewhere, most likely somewhere about Gabriella’s skirts.

“The part where we all get the hell out of here.” Rose gave him a wide smile.

Atom smiled in return. “Of course, Captain.”

* * * *

“Atom can break cage, then I can break heads,” Jax said. She cupped one fist in the other open palm.

Gabriella looked over her shoulder at Atom. He was arm in arm with the captain, whispering furiously about heaven knew what.

“That’s your plan?” Jayne asked.

“Better than staying around here,” Click said. He still hung on to himself in the most inappropriate manner.

Gabriella couldn’t blame him. Besides, she was growing immune to such scenes of vulgarity.

Her prim etiquette slipped away little by little with each boorish display she witnessed. Would Atom think poorly of her because of it? The thought depressed her. How could he not? She was covered in filth, hadn’t had a proper bath in ages, and was sure she smelled as bad as she looked.

Atom had been polite from the moment they’d met, yet Gabriella was sure that was just his way.

She eyed the whispering pair again just in time to see Atom look at her, then away, but it was too late, she had seen the look of disgust on his face and the way he motioned at her.

Somehow, she knew they were talking about her. Atom must hate her. After thinking about this for a moment, Gabriella decided not to care. He was the weirdo with the fake arm. Not her. Then there was the fact that he had lied to her twice already. Granted, he did lie for a good reason. He just didn’t want Gabriella to think ill of him. It was kind of sweet. Why did he have to be so sweet?

“You thinking about him?” Magpie whispered.

Gabriella, shaken from her thoughts, realized that Magpie was talking to her.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” Gabriella said under the ongoing argument of the rest of the crew.

“Sure you are,” Magpie said. “You got that look in your eye.”

“No, I don’t,” Gabriella whispered. She folded her arms across her chest and tried hard not to look like she was pouting. Even though she was.

“That boy is sweet on you,” Magpie said.

Gabriella lost the pout. She looked up at Magpie. “You think so?”

“Sure,” Magpie said.

“I don’t know—” Gabriella started.

“Oh, for crying out loud, you nitwit!” Jayne shouted.

Everyone jumped at the sound of her voice.

“He’s obviously infatuated with you,” Jayne said.

Gabriella blushed and ducked her head in shame. She hadn’t realized the others were listening.

“Yah,” Jax said. “He seems to like you very much.”

Gabriella’s face was hot enough, yet Jax’s words pushed the heat higher.

“I think he’s in love with you,” Click said.

Gabriella bordered on a whole new, previously undiscovered, shade of red.

“There,” Magpie said. “For once we all agree on something.”

Everyone was laughing when the captain and Atom rejoined them. Even Jayne.

“What’s so funny?” the captain asked.

“Guppy here—” Jayne said.

“Nothing,” Jax snapped, shutting Jayne up. “Nothing needs explaining.”

The captain raised an eyebrow at the women, then smiled when her gaze settled on Gabriella and her scarlet cheeks. The captain looked to her cabin boy for a possible answer, which came in the form of a knowing wink. Gabriella suspected she and Atom would be the topic of the pair’s pillow talk later that night. That was, if they made it out of here alive.

“Mr. Loquacious,” the captain said. “In your own time, please.”

“Yes, Captain,” he said.

Gabriella watched while Atom and his strange arm began to take the cage apart.

No Freedom without Sacrifice

In which we make a break for it, but at what cost?

They were almost home free.

Gabriella could smell the salt of the ocean, could nearly feel the sand crunch under her boots.

The canopy of jungle had thinned out, blessing them with a few slivers of precious light by which they ran. The natives had discovered the crew’s disappearing act and were in hot pursuit. Wild screams filled the air while the crew pushed themselves harder to escape unscathed. The beach was close, with the ship not much further...

Something clipped her blouse at the shoulder before it zipped past her into the darkness beyond.

“Everyone down!” Jax shouted.

The crew obeyed the barked command by dropping to the ground. Gabriella landed flat on her belly with a face full of leaves, mold, dirt, and something else she’d rather not think about.

Spears whizzed overhead like great black bees.

“Jax!” the captain yelled over the pounding of the drums and the screams of the wild men.

“You and Atom help me hold them off! The rest of you keep low until you reach the shore, and then run for it!”

“I’m not leaving you, my captain!” Click yelled.

“If you don’t go,” the captain shouted, “I’ll hang you up by your unmentionables myself!

Help Jayne and Guppy back aboard. If we don’t follow on your heels, you are to push off. That’s an order!”

Gabriella didn’t want to do as ordered. She wanted to stay here with Atom. It was then that she realized she was willing to follow him anywhere, despite the short time she had known him.

“Come on, girly!” Jayne yelled over Gabriella’s inner monologue. She pushed Gabriella from behind, encouraging her to crawl away from the battle, from the danger, from Atom.

“I don’t want to go!” she screamed.

Jayne slipped past her and crawled after Click toward freedom.

“Gabriella!” Atom yelled. “Get out while you can! Now!”

She had to leave. Through the haze of burning tears, Gabriella shot one last desperate look at Atom. In the thin moonlight he smiled at her for the briefest of moments, and she pressed that smile to her heart where she knew it would remain always. Crawling to safety, she silently prayed that her friends would escape.

Gabriella crawled on for what seemed like eons. Hand over hand, knee over knee, she scooted and scurried through the underbrush like some kind of wild animal. All the while she thought of poor Atom and how brave he was for risking his life. She also thought about how handsome he was. How clever he was. How wonderful his smile was. How she could see eternity in his beautiful copper eyes. With her mind on Atom, she was knee deep in sand long before she knew it.

“Come on, Guppy,” Jayne snapped. She dragged Gabriella to her feet. “Get your mind on the moment or you’ll end up with a back full of spear.”

Gabriella stood to face the second most beautiful thing she had seen that day—the vision of the Merry Widow awaiting their return. She never thought she would be so happy to see the old ship.