The next morning Troy stood grasping the warm copper rail at the edge of the platform atop the Citadel where he could overlook most of Haven City and the riots. They were getting worse, reports of vandalism, looting and even murder becoming frequent. The use of force for protection was becoming more and more necessary.

Troy sighed as he leaned forward, the warm summer breeze blowing past him as he regarded the bustling activity of boats and airships all around the city. It was an attractive statement for anyone looking to make their mark in Haven where they could carve out a future for themselves. Unfortunately the recent influx of so many foreigners seemed to offset the availability of opportunities. As public opinion hardened against the riotous XuiGuani, their situation became that much more difficult. Troy admitted that the public’s increasing anger toward them was not completely unfounded. He wondered what the XuiGuani thought about that, or if they were even aware.

He wanted to talk to George about that confidential file…but did he have any business even asking about it? He wasn’t government—he wasn’t even law enforcement—just a war veteran turned PI. George was the elected Mayor of Haven; the people of the city had elected him. What right did a PI have in matters of state? He had his own opinions. But everyone had opinions.

Enough, he told himself. Focus on Raven.

He still felt miffed about what had happened last night at the Blue Lady. It was humiliating. Frustrated and having no clues as to where the old man might be hiding, Troy decided to place lookouts on various rooftops throughout the city. It was desperate. Getting the extra officers for the task had not been easy, but with a personal word to Captain Cogs, he was finally afforded a little extra manpower. Troy hoped the old general would try something, and so he had ordered that they wait as long as necessary, determined to stop the criminal. Whatever Karl was up to, he’d have to reveal his hand at some point.

You want the democratic freedom to vote away your freedom....

Karl’s ideas about the refugees were ludicrous. The PI shook his head. Haven was a republic that stood for freedom and unalienable rights, and even refugees had certain fundamental rights. Troy had fought for those things during the war, just as Karl had. Delusional or not, the general obviously believed what he was doing was right, which meant he would fight relentlessly for those beliefs, just like he had during the war. Dangerous, he thought, deciding not to underestimate the old boy again.

Jimmy joined Troy at the railing. “We’re all ready to go, boss. If we see Raven, he’ll be in for a rude surprise.”

Troy nodded absently.

“You all right?”

“Yeah, I just can’t get what happened out of my head, you know?”

Jimmy rolled up his sleeves, making his fancy purple vest stand out oddly. “I’m sure there’s got to be some kind of explanation.”

Troy hardly got any sleep that night as he told himself the same thing. Did he believe that, or was he just fooling himself like some kinda sap?

“What?”

“I was just—“

The landing access door slammed open and an officer jogged out onto the roof toward them, a look of alarm on his mustached face. A thrill rose inside of Troy. Had Karl been spotted by one of his lookouts?

“Sir,” the officer said, panting, “we’ve just received a report that the Haven City Gold Reserve is under attack. With the department spread out all over the city, there’s no way to contact assistance in time to save the gold!”

It was Karl. Had to be. Troy looked around, finding only one other airship beside The Water Angel on the roof. “Not even Captain Cogs or the Guard?”

“No,” the officer said. “The Captain isn’t here and the Mayor won’t let Walcox leave the Citadel under any circumstances.”

Jimmy whistled. “Perfect timing to pull something like this off. You think it’s Raven?”

“Probably,” Troy said, marching toward The Water Angel.

“He’s beaten us once,” Jimmy said as they entered the airship’s cherry paneled gondola.

“We’re prepared this time,” Troy said as he regarded Sargent Hanson and his men. They were inspecting their .45 caliber sub-machine guns. “Very prepared…”

Jimmy went to the helm and told officer Yanis to get on the boiler. The officer was a man of medium height, but strong and stocky, with broad cheeks and deep set eyes. “Boiler’s already blazing. We can take her up as soon as we’re ready.”

“Then let’s get a wiggle on, gentlemen!” Troy stowed his fedora where his jacket already hung, and then rolled up his sleeves and opened all the windows, welcoming the air on his face and forearms as his stomach knotted with anticipation.

The skyhook was released and they began their ascent amid the loud buzzing of the props on either side of the small airship. If it really was Karl out there, Troy thought, he wasn’t going to get away this time.

#

The conflict between The Water Angel and the Haven Lady had been short but intense. In order to capture Karl and his gang, they worked to overtake his airship by speed since The Water Angel was the faster ship.

Troy and Jimmy had wrangled the Haven Lady by utilizing hooked harpoon-style weapons designed for airship to airship boarding as Sargent Hanson exchanged sub-machine gun fire with her crew. Officer Dales had been responsible for keeping The Water Angel parallel to the other airship for boarding while officer Yanis managed the boiler. Actual boarding was impossible, but without lashing the airships together, there had been no way to stop Karl short of destroying his airship and losing the gold reserves.

After several failed attempts against the General’s determined crew, Troy and Jimmy finally succeeded in lashing the Haven Lady to their airship, and then Troy jumped to the Haven Lady with a volt assisted lurch. Once aboard, he threatened to blow the airship by dangling an explosive above an emergency heat release valve while spouting some patriotic sounding bravado. Surprisingly, Karl fell for it and then finally gave the order to surrender.

“So, what now?” the General asked. “You take me in even though you know the truth?”

Troy didn’t answer.

While he was distracted, Karl lurched for the crane’s manual release, smashing the lever down and disgorging the gold reserves. He sneered as the ingots clanked violently through the air before crashing into the vicinity of a suburban neighborhood.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Furious, Troy regarded Karl and his people; two men and a woman. He recognized them from the Blue Lady the night before, remembering how the woman had her gun trained on him without a worry in the world.

“Troy, think about what you’re doing!” Karl implored. “Without me, Haven’s days of freedom are finished.”

“Self-righteous bastard,” Troy spat. “And it’s Mr. Halloway. I’ve heard enough from you. I’m taking you back to the Citadel so you can stand trial for your crimes, of which we can add grand theft to the list. If you want, you can bring up George’s treason during your defense, but I doubt it’ll do you much good.”

Despite what he said, Troy was worried. But he wasn’t about to let this criminal know that. He called across to The Water Angel to let Jimmy know they were ready to head back.

“Gonna take us a while to get to the Citadel all tangled up like this.”

“We’ll make it,” Troy said. He turned to Karl and the others. “I don’t want to hear another word out of any of you.”

Karl scowled. “Why are you being so obtuse?”

Troy volted him to the deck. The General grunted, his compatriots protesting with anger and concern on their faces. “Shut up!” Troy snapped. “All of you! Not another word.”

Once they had arrived, Troy immediately dispatched a Guard airship to go back and retrieve the gold reserves before the ingots could be completely looted. Then he, Jimmy and Sargent Hanson escorted Karl and his people to Captain Cogs’ office, where they were booked and remanded to the city jail to await trial.

“So,” Jimmy said, taking Troy to a quiet corner. “Are you going to ask the Mayor about the file?”

He nodded, heading for the elevator. “You can count on it, Jimmy.”

Seven floors later, Troy put the confidential file atop the Mayor’s desk and George smiled satisfactorily. “Troy,” he said, chest swelling. “Excellent work, son!”

“Thank you, sir. But the gold—“

George waved a dismissive hand. “I’m sure the Guard you dispatched will bring it back safe and sound. He smiled again. “I have to say, I’m quite relieved to see this document back on my desk and that criminal in custody.”

“Just doing my job, George.”

“And you didn’t read the file, of course?”

He hadn’t planned on getting straight to that, but now that the Mayor brought it up, he had no choice. “About that…” The Mayor’s eyes widened, but before he could speak, Troy continued. “I’m sorry. Raven tried to use it against you. It couldn’t be helped.

George half snarled. “You could have shot him.”

Troy frowned. And skip due process? Even traitors deserved a fair trial. George grunted, sat back in his chair. Why didn’t the Mayor trust him? Could George really be corrupt? The PI didn’t want to entertain the thought, not even for a few seconds. But he needed to know. “That confidential file was quite the doozy…”

“That’s why it’s marked confidential. Damnation, man!”

“I’ve already seen it,” Troy said. “Can you just level with me, George?”

“You want me to explain myself? To you?” He had a slight edge to his tone. “Fine. I imagine you are quite confused, so I’m going to allay your fears, on condition you tell no one what I am about to tell you.” He jabbed a finger at Troy. “But only because I trust you, Troy. You’re about to be my son-in-law after all.”

Troy nodded solemnly, intense. Hoping.

George’s tone softened. “The agreement,” he said—his eyes shifting toward Walcox—“is legitimate. You see, we’re trying to lure the High Cleric out into the open so we can—“

Troy swallowed hard. He felt his face flush and his stomach churn.

George raised a placating hand. “I know, I know, it sounds horrendous. But it’s the only way to lure the XuiGuani High Cleric into a summit meeting where we can eliminate him.” The mayor got up, circled to the front of his desk where he sat down. “I know what you’re thinking. But it’s the only way to end his aggressive foreign policies toward Haven. XuiGuan has always been a danger to us, and with this High Cleric’s stance toward our city, I fear war is inevitable.” The Mayor rubbed his forehead, seemingly resigned. “If war is going to happen anyway, son, we might as well have it on our terms. Wouldn’t you agree?”

His words had an air of consolation about them, and his explanation was swell. Well…it would have been for some people, but flooding Haven with tens of thousands of refugees who wanted to reform the Republic’s fundamental laws on things like slavery would forever change the city. And not for the better. All to get at the High Cleric of XuiGuan? Troy shook his head. What a load of hooey! “George, Haven can’t defeat XuiGuan. Why start—“

The Mayor cut him off. “Son, I appreciate everything you’ve done; apprehending Karl Raven, getting my file back—nothing less than stellar. But why don’t you let the leaders of Haven decide what’s best for everyone, hmm?”

Troy stood there for a moment, feeling confused. Betrayed.

Angry.

George got up off his desk and politely but firmly ushered him out of the office, his hand on Troy’s back. “Look, you did a lot of good work today. Why don’t you take a break—go see Isabel. Have a night out on the town. And if we need you, we’ll call you, all right?”

Troy’s thoughts reeled.

“Excellent,” George said, smiling. “We’ll handle things from here. “You go have some fun.” The Mayor shook his hand, then turned and closed his office doors. Troy stood there for a few seconds, trying to take it all in as he realized he’d forgotten his fedora on the coatrack.

What George was doing was legal—completely so. Bringing in refugees into Haven on the grounds of moral obligation was completely normal. But it was an ostensible act, like Raven had said. The demographics of Haven would be forever changed; her politics would be forever changed. In allowing this to happen, XuiGuan would once again resume a more flourishing slave trade with the northern territories. Maybe not very soon, but it could happen. Eventually…

Could Troy allow that to happen?

The PI went back to the roof where Jimmy was lounging against The Water Angel. “I think we’re in trouble,” he said, stepping past the taller man into the small airship.

Jimmy followed. “What sort of trouble we talking about?”

Troy wanted to punch out a window. George was using the system for his own corrupt ends, a system Troy and thousands of others had fought and died for. Community may be tyrannical, he thought, but even they aren’t hell bent on destroying their country by ceding power to foreign groups with different political aims.

“Well, you gonna tell me what’s got you all mixed up or not?”

Troy sighed. “Karl Raven was right.”

“That’s…not what I expected to hear,” Jimmie admitted. “Are you sure you’re not just being paranoid, boss?” Jimmy always called him that, even though they ran H&L PIs in equal share together in the downtown part of the south district. They’d started the business about five years ago, shortly after the war; two friends working together. They trusted each other.

“His excuse was pathetic!”

Jimmy lowered his voice conspiratorially as Sargent Hanson and officers Dales and Yanis returned to the roof. “So what do you want to do? Troy, this is screwy!”

It was screwy. Even now as they spoke, hordes of refugees were rampaging about the city with near impunity, the Haven PD unable to stop them. George’s beast was out of control, and more ships were on the way.

Just swell…

Jimmy nudged his fedora forward as he paced the cabin. “I didn’t think it would be true…”

“Well it is.”

“So what can we do? The Mayor’s got the government on his side. You saw the District Chief’s signatures.”

Troy’s stomach churned. “Something, Jimmy! I already fought one war for this Republic. I’d rather not fight another one, especially if I can do something to—“

Jimmy glanced past him, thrust his chin forward, indicating Captain Walcox coming up onto the landing area, his dozen man airship team following him. “Speak of the devil. What’s he doing up here?”

Sargent Hanson came into the airship, murmured something about needing to take her to deal with refugees now that Karl Raven was in custody. Troy ignored him as he watched the black-clad Citadel Guard Captain and his airship team board the Sentinel. Before entering the battle ready airship, Walcox turned, glanced directly at Troy with what he thought an odd look.

“Something’s wrong here.”

Jimmy thought so too, because he said, “You can say that again.” He frowned, thoughtful. “Why would the Mayor allow Walcox to leave his side so soon? We just brought Raven in.”

Troy would have liked to know. He thought about it, going through the possibilities in his head. A Guard airship was already gathering the gold reserves, and the riots were being handled by the department. The way Walcox had looked at him had been the look of a man intent on dire action. On killing.

Troy had seen similar looks before—in the war. Did George see Troy as a threat now that he knew about the secret deal with XuiGuan? Another Karl Raven to get in his way? From his experience as a PI, he knew corrupt men tended to think that way.

So, Walcox had orders to kill them.

Swell.

“Troy?”

He should have trusted the General. “Jimmy, we need to get out of here right now.”