- 14.5
The unusually large rodent charged Mary Ruth. She rushed backwards and put a crate between her and the rat.
Do rats even get this big?
The rat tried to circle around to get at her but it knocked over the flood lights. The shadows shifted around the room threatening to envelop her.
In the poor light the rat is monstrous. It creeps around as the shadows shift.
Are its hands human hands? Or are those just normal rat hands? It seems smart, does it have human intelligence? How did it get so big? Are there more?
Mary Ruth’s mind takes her back to the training yard. A sword competition. Combatants wore full padding and face gear. She won a blue ribbon for her classic form.
Our swords had rubber tips. I’m not trained to fight this monster.
The rat moved unpredictably lashing out from a low angle and hopping around her guard. Mary Ruth had to leap backwards onto the excavation gear to avoid its long claws. She barely kept her feet under her as she scrambled over rubble, tools, and cables.
My training and footwork are for fighting other men. Not monsters!
The rat skittered after her without tact. It charged headlong towards the beating heart in her chest.
She swung wildly and sliced open its face causing it to retreat to the corner.
It’s mortal, it bleeds. I can hurt it enough that it may run away.
She fumbled with her ammunition purse and retrieved two rounds. The rat did not give her time to reload. It barked before it charge in again.
“Damn you monster!”
She waited for the charge and sliced it across the face again, peeling back its cheek and neck. Blood ruptured out sporattically.
It twisted back and turned to run, brining its long tail around. It was as thick around as her leg. The tail swept her off her feet, tripping her.
She fell down and the monster clawed at its mangled face and screeched.
Mary Ruth picked herself up and sprinted behind the stack of crates again. She swiped aside the tools on top of the crate to make room for her purse of ammunition.
With more space to work with, she reloaded her pistol and fired at the rat’s flank. Both shots hit and it writhed in pain.
She quickly grabbed two more rounds to reload but she tripped on the cluttered mess behind the stack of crates knocking some saws and a flashlight onto the ground.
The rat scurried to the opposite corner and Mary turned quickly to keep it in view. The sudden turn made her drop the round she was trying to load.
“God dammit.” She swore.
The rat barked again, scrambling to charge her. She fished out another round and reloaded her pistol.
The rat charged straight at her but slid to the side as she fired. Her shot missed and she aimed again as it zig zagged back towards her.
“You damn monster!” She shouted.
Her second shot hit it in the eye blinding it. The unusually large rat crashed into the floodlights, getting tangled in the wires.
She reached for her ammo purse but knocked it off the crate onto the floor. She scrambled around on the ground for it while the flood lights flickered, threatening to go out.
There was a loud buzz and the rat screamed.
If I get trapped alone in the dark with this thing I won’t last a minute longer.
The smell of burnt fur filled the cave. Mary Ruth holstered her pistol and brought her saber forward again into the ready position.
Where is that rat?
She searched for the rat in the flickering light.
I don’t hear it moving. Can it move that quietly?
The floodlights flickered off and on again and Mary caught sight of the flashlight she’d knocked over before.
She quickly stooped to pick it up, holding it in her off hand. She flicked it on and scanned the room for the rat.
Where are you dammit? Don’t change up your attack pattern now that you are about to lose.
Mary crept over Johnny’s mangled corpse, her flashlight did not waver on him for a moment. The circle of light moved left and then right until she found the rat.
Oh you have got to be kidding me.
The rat was tangled up in the cords of the floodlights. Dead. Roasted by the electric voltage as it tried to chew its way out.
“No you damn monster!” Mary yelled.
She stomped over to its corpse and stabbed it twice before she realized she was yelling.
“Damn you!” She swore again and wiped her eyes and nose with her sleeve. “That is what you get going after a Cramer!”
-
Mary leaned against the metal gate at the top of the old stone stairs.
She had lost track of time since she had killed the rat.
The fight played itself over and over again in her head and she couldn’t get it to stop.
Enough Mary! Get your act together. Think!
Mart sat up straighter.
How to open this gate.
During the fight… there were tools!
Mary Ruth tried to get up but her legs ached and they wouldn’t respond.
Ha! Look at me now. I barely survived and it’s killing me. There’s too much to do. If that monstrous rat couldn’t stop me the this gate won’t stop me.
Back in the cavern, Mary Ruth searched through the rubble around the crates.
It was here somewhere.
She found a butane torch.
“Thank you god for small favors.” She said. “I’m going to church first thing in the morning.”
Johnny’s corpse caught her eye.
“You utter baboon! Getting mixed up in this and then killed before I could bring you to justice.”
Mary Ruth searched the man’s corpse. She found a license and registration for the Happy Egg shipping company.
What’s he doing with this? Eddie works there.
She looked at the mural on the wall. It depicted the legendary Dwarven city next to another towering skyscraper.
“Thats a new one.” She said to herself. “Was there a second Dwarvish city?”
She inspected the large crevasse in the side wall. There was evidence that the rat clawed its way through there.
“Johnny’s blood pooled and wound its way down bringing the monster up from below.”
I need to leave before those Castellanos come back.
She used the industrial butane torch to cut open the lock and step back out onto the rails.
“Thats right you rusty gate! No giant rats, or rusty portcullis-“
A train flew by nearly running her over mid tirade.
Giddy with adrenalin Mart Ruth yelled at the train. She threw the torch at the retreating train and broke down laughing.
This is absurd! Giant rats can’t be growing in the Underground.
Mary Ruth leaned back against the wall and took stock of herself.
I am covered in blood, my pants are split too. And my saber is a mess.
“My sword instructor would be ashamed to see me like this.”
-
She hailed a cab and went home. She was lost in thought, ruminating on discoveries of the evening.
There are giant rats in the lower levels of the underground. The Castellanos are bringing artifacts down there for some reason. They are killing people to keep the something secret.
What are they looking for? What are they hiding?
Is father involved?
The cab dropped her off at the employees entrance and she went in the back door of the parking garage.
She stopped by her car and shed her bloody shirt and vest for her spares she kept in the trunk.
Nothing to do about my pants. I’ll have a secretary pick up a new set tomorrow.
She threw a long coat over her shoulders before closing the trunk and heading inside.
She took the stairs up to the second floor to avoid waiting in the lobby in her current state.
The elevator doors opened and the cabin was empty. The ride up to her suite was uninterrupted.
Mary Ruth took a shower. The hot water scoured the blood and grit from her body.
She used an ointment for the abrasions on her knees and hands to speed up the healing process.
A door opened and closed in the suite and Mary Ruth went ridged.
It’s a rat!
She sprang into action throwing on whatever clothes were at hand. She scooped up her saber, freeing it from her black scabbard.
“Ruthie? Are you home?”
“Father!” Mary Ruth called back.
She left the saber naked on her bed and ran down the hall.
She slowed her pace as she neared the living room.
What was I going to say to him? Did I think I could cry into his shoulder and the large rats would pack up and move out west?
She paused to check her appearance in a mirror.
Atleast I am clean. Fix your face Mary Ruth. You are a Cramer, you run the largest manufacturing company on the island.
She composed herself before her father entered the room.
“My dear, how was your day?” Asked the Duke.
“It was exceptional.” She replied tactfully.
He may know something of my whereabouts.
They discussed the outcome of the board meeting. Mary Ruth gave him the high points of her residential project idea while she mixed him a drink.
Heavy pour of bourbon, a sugar cube, and cocoa bitters.
She gently swirled the old fashioned around in the glass so the ice could sweat before she delivered it yo her father.
“Excellent.” He said after taking a sip. “What did the analysts say in response to your new queries?”
Damn if I had been here talking to the machine I wouldn’t have nearly died.
“I am meeting with them tomorrow. There are several parameters that the machine is inclined to… What’s the right word? Disregard?” She replied. “It’s strange.”
“I remember when Von Baron first presented it to us. None of us believed it could do what he said it did. Why the first doubters even tried to prove there was a man inside, but they took the machine apart down to its smallest components and never found out how he might have faked it.”
Mary Ruth paused while he sipped his drink. She recognized that he was halfway through a monologue, and knew to let him run it’s course before interrupting.
“When he delivered our thinking machine, our analysts took weeks of training before they could set the parameters correctly. The Baron sat with the analysts for days training them to talk to the machine.”
“Our empire was young then, and many families were already seeing rapidly increasing profits from their thinking machines.”
“Now, patience with the machinery is the key. And approaching the issue from multiple angles.” He concluded.
“Are you staying in for dinner?” She asked.
“No, unfortunately.” He smiled. “I’m dining with the governor tonight.”
More likely he’s meeting his associates. How many of them are cousins?
“Just as well, I intend to go out.” She replied and made to leave for her rooms.
“Meeting any friends?” He asked innocuously.
“I remember when you were at university, you would go out to sporting matches, out driving, or dancing. You were happy then, before I burdened you with my seat on the board.”
“Oh, Father. You always put such a romantic spin on things. I have been preparing to bear this burden for years. Ever since…” Mary Ruth paused.
“Since your mother passed. It was a turning point for me too.” He said and downed the last of his drink. “Go out and be carefree, have fun and dance. Make your father proud.”
“Yes father.” Mary Ruth replied, trying to keep the fatigue out of her voice.
“Just don’t end up on the front page news tomorrow.”
Does he know what’s going on with the Castellanos in the Underground?
“Yes Father.”
-
A young man hung out of the window of his commercial shipping truck. He had made his deliveries in good time and was paid well. He was thinking about about a night of revelry and possibility of finding a woman to spend time with when he noticed someone waiting outside his apartment.
A woman was waiting at the front door. She wore a black leather jacket that came midway down to her thigh. Her hair was tied back in a no nonsense bun high on her head. What stood out to him most was the way she commanded the street with just her body posture alone.
He almost whistled at her but caught himself at the sight of her saber.
“Mary Ruth. To what do I owe the benefit of your presence?” He called out.
“Eddie Fisher. Would you be surprised to hear I simply wished to ask how you are doing?”
“Not that i doubt that cousin, but if you need a favor then I am your man. Just say when.” He replied jumping down from his truck.
“I’d like to know what you have been hearing around lately.” She replied walking over to give him a light hug. “And I know a lovely spot with these most amazing steamed buns. My treat.”
“I’ll need a couple minutes to get ready, you’ve caught me just after work. Long day of delivering produce. You know? Got to wash up.” He laughed and opened the door to the building. “Care to wait inside?”
-
“And that’s the whole story.” Mary Ruth said, ending her recap of the fight with the giant rat. “Ever heard anything like that?
“If anyone else told me that story I would find it hard to believe them, you are serious then.” He replied, steamed bun all but forgotten in his hand.
They were sitting in Mary Ruth’s car across the street from Washington Square Park. The buns had been fantastic. An Asian style steamed bun made of rice flower and seasoned pork and veggitables.
Eddie ran his hand through his hair and took a bite of his bun.
Now is when the questions will start.
“What are you going to do next?”
“I’m going back down there after this, I need to get the artifact, get Johnny’s body for his family, and get the rat’s body as evidence. Might even get it stuffed and mounted on the wall.”
“Shouldn’t we call the police?”
“No, not yet. You and I are more than enough for a dead giant rat.”
“I’m not so sure. Rats tend to move in packs. And this is serious business. You are going to make waves with the Castellanos.”
She packed up her things and headed for her car.
“Mary! How can you just charge ahead like this! It’s dangerous down there at night for a woman. Even one with a sword.”
Mary turned her smile on him and drew her revolver from the sling under her armpit.
“Well I do have a gun.”
-
Eddie let her into the warehouse for his shipping company. While he drove a truck on the 2nd level, they had access to the 3rd and 4th level rails. The warehouse was on the other side of Washington square Park. Mary Ruth was not looking forward to the long walk ahead of them.
Instead of following her, Eddie went left and pulled up a garage door to reveal a company MMV.
“Thought we would take the MMV.” He said with a kit smile.
“That’s brilliant.” She said.
The MMV flew down the track towards the Castellanos’s dock. Mary Ruth planned to find her way from there and then use the tools in the MMV to cut through the gate and the winch to haul up the giant rat’s carcass.
The MMV was a mobile main fence truck with its own gas power, a winch, and flatbed area for working on signal boxes etc. Each group was responsible for maintaining the rails around their warehouse and had specialized crews for grinding rails, replacing beams, etc.
The Castellanos tunnels were well maintained and Mary Ruth easily navigated the turns to find the old iron gate again.
“Are you sure we should be out here?” Asked Eddie. “It’s not too late to go get the police.
“We will be in and out and then I’ll have the evidence for the police. And we need to acquire the stolen artifact before the bastards return.” Mary Ruth said.
She hopped down from the MMV’s cab and grabbed a plasma torch to cut through the gate.
The torch made quick work of the gate’s hinges and the light from her cutting illuminated the walls around the gate.
They clawed and chewed at the stone around the bracings. These rats are smarter than they appear.
The gate fell away with a clang and Eddie flinched.
“Lets go.” Mary Ruth said. “Bring the wench hook.”
“Did you really go down there and fight a giant rat?”
“Come along Eddie!” She called.
She took the steps two at a time, stumbling once on the mismatched stonework. She burst into the cavern to find nothing.
“What?” She said. “The artifact is gone, Johnny is gone. The tools and work areas are gone.”
She took a cursory look at the mural on the wall.
At least that’s still here.
The wall still showed the legendary sunken city of the Dwarves. Rumored to be home to a whole empire of Dwarves. And the strange black tower of the second city.
It’s almost like a map. How far down does the Underground go? What is down here? There have never been any dwarves shafts in New Amsterdam, why is this Mural here of all places. It should be out west.
“Tough luck Cousin.” Eddie said, then he took a long look at the carvings on the wall.
“That’s an odd mural.” He said. “I can’t quite put my finger on it…”
“There’s two cities.” Mary Ruth said as she walked away to the crevasse to check for more rats.
“Oh yeah, now I see it. Wild.” He reached up to trace the outline of the monolithic city. “It doesn’t look Dwarvish tho does it.”
“What?” Mary Ruth asked.
“Oh nothing. Hey. We should get a scholar down here to have a look.”
“A look at what? They packed everything up!”
“We need a Scholar.” The cousin said. “I met one a while back, the smartest one around, knows all about the Dwarves. Nice clean apartment on the east side, He throws a good party too.”
“I do not think we should bring other people down here to the Castellanos’s secret cavern.” Mary Ruth said.
“Well you brought me down here?” Eddie said. “Let’s go by his place tomorrow once it’s light.”
“Alright you have me there.” Mary Ruth said. “I’m meeting with the police first thing, then I have some business to take care of.”
”Are you free after lunch?”