Adelfried
Federico adjusted the pillow on his bed and eased back into it. Adelfried sat on a chair beside the bed and read the note.
Ying is safe here, for now. The Wreckies still want the information in her head. But getting her out will be a fight that I don’t think you are ready for. Yet! We don’t want to risk her life trying right now. But I will get you ready for that if it comes to it. I have A LOT!! more information to share with you two, but not the Wreckies. We can’t talk here. I suggest we come up with a reason to leave. We can regroup at my place and go and get your kids. I know the Spader society very well. They will need our help. Especially where they are!
Adelfried handed the paper to Jim who had finally put his shield down and slung his rifle on his back like it was his new toy he wasn’t ever going to part with. He started reading the note as Adelfried tried to sort through it all. Leave Ying? Minna’s biggest motivation really was getting Harold and what better way than to pick her brain. But what would they do to her to get it?
Adelfried cleared his throat. The fact that he had to ask this question revulsed him, but he had to know. “Do the Wreckies...torture?”
Federico curled his lips inward. “Not as a practice, no. But that isn’t to say they won’t make you uncomfortable. But...” Federico glanced towards Ying’s room. “...this is not a normal situation. I would argue that being sedated is not the same as being shocked or beaten, but it is its own form of torture, in a sense. I would like to believe that you have sway over Mistress Kreeg and therefore how they treat her, but I do not truly know if that is wishful thinking at this point. Let’s be honest, they are as confused as we are about what is going on with Ying. There is no precedence for this. Trust me, I know. Wizards are my area of study.”
Jim handed the paper back to Federico and nodded in agreement. “I’m going to go say my goodbyes,” he said with both pain and a sense of determination. “I’m sick of this place anyway.”
Federico returned the nod. He wadded the paper up in his hand and dropped a pile of white paper ash into the trash can like he had disintegrated the paper in his hand. Oh, the magic Federico must know.
“I am tired. I need rest,” Adelfried announced, making sure anyone listening would be able to hear. It was the truth after all. It had been over, how many hours now, since he last slept in... Egypt, was it? A real yawn found its way out. “Do you know somewhere we can stay?”
“Why yes, I do.” Federico’s face lit up. “You two can come back to Casa de Federico!” He rose from the bed and went back into Ying’s room. Adelfried followed.
Jim sat in a chair next to Ying leaning over her, stroking her hair, his face crinkled with pain. That poor man, he’d been through so much.
Federico said, “Excuse me, Nurse.”
“Yesss,” she said dragging it out clearly irritated. Good.
“Do you know where my clothes are? We’ve decided to leave, and I don’t want to walk around with my privates dangling about. It wouldn’t be civilized. So, if you could tell me where—”
“Uh...” The nurse got up from her chair. “I don’t think you are supposed to leave. I’ll have to check with the Colonel.”
Jim kissed Ying on her cheek. “It’s not a request. It's what’s going to happen. So why don’t you give the man his clothes, yeah?” He rose from the bedside and picked up his shield. “We’re leaving now.”
The nurse sat back down at her desk. “I uh...I don’t know where they are...uh, can you just wait here a minute?” She grabbed the phone from her desk and dialed.
Adelfried leaned in close to the nurse. “If anything happens to Ying. And I mean anything. I will hold you...” He glanced at her name tag. “Nurse Lykins, and everyone in this place responsible. Do I make myself clear?”
Nurse Lykins nodded.
“Now how do we get out of here?”
“I really need to call this in.”
“No,” Adelfried said trying not to let his temper flare. “You need to tell me how to leave, or I will make my own path.”
Nurse Lykins nodded again. “Follow the signs to the Garage. From there you can go anywhere you want.”
“Thank you,” Adelfried said, forcing his words to not sound menacing.
With that they were off, Jim with his shield and rifle, Federico with nothing but a gown and socks, and Adelfried with his determination to make it all right. If he could. But he had so much to fix. So much.
After leaving the hospital wing, they wound their ways through the drab corridors of the Wrecht Order Headquarters. They got some surprised stares and double takes, but no one tried to stop them. They found a map near an elevator bank. A short elevator ride up and they ended up at the cavernous garage from where they had first entered this complex. Waiting for them the Colonel stood flanked on either side by a full detail of officers dressed in riot gear.
Why was nothing easy? Adelfried stepped out first. “I don’t want to fight. But we are leaving.”
The Colonel unfolded her hands. “Your daughter wanted you to stay here...for your safety of course.”
“And I suppose that is what this armed detail is here for. My safety.”
Federico whispered. “Don’t shoot those shields, ESH bounces off them.”
Jim raised his weapon and yelled, “Let’s cut the crap. We’re leaving. Are you going to try and stop us or not? Because I’ve been itching to shoot someone and you’re the only one here who’s holding my wife. It might as well be you.”
The Colonel didn’t flinch. “I am just following orders.”
“Said every Nazi and evil henchman throughout time. Bullshit. So, are we doing this or what? Because every time you open your fucking mouth, I really want to shoot it. Oh, and I know how to use a MEAR. And I know maximum setting will at least get a wizard’s attention. So, I’m curious what it will do to a mage such as yourself.”
Damn, Jim had been paying attention.
The Colonel took a step back. Her eyes widened. She put her hands out to the side. “Okay, okay,” she said in a more conciliatory tone. “Just be careful, the Sovs are out there. The Warlock of Stonehenge is out there. They will be looking for you. You must know it’s not safe for you to leave.”
Jim lowered his weapon. “We’ll be fine.”
Federico paraded forward, gown flapping behind him as his butt cheeks hung out. "Now I have always wanted to drive one of these.” He passed the row of Wreckies and stopped at the third parking spot. He put his hands on a sleek black car with lines so smooth and black Adelfried’s eyes just seemed to roll off the back of it. It had jet black tinted windows and blacked out tires and even the chrome trim appeared black. It was stunning. Absolutely gorgeous.
The Colonel protested. “You can’t take that. That car is reserved for dignitaries and—”
“Just stop,” Jim yelled. “He’s the boss’s dad. If that doesn’t scream dignitary, then what does? It’s not like you’re going to stop us anyway.”
Federico walked around to the driver’s side of the car and opened the door. “Guess you should have given me something to wear because now you’re going to have my sweaty butt all over your upholstery.” He smiled and climbed into the driver’s seat.
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Adelfried smirked and followed Jim to the car. Jim climbed in the back and Adelfried took the seat next to Federico in the front.
The insides were chrome and white leather. Small detail lights made the cabin glow soft green. Pure luxury. Adelfried sat back in the supple leather seat. It gripped him in a plush hug. The roof was solid black with tiny pin pricks of white light, like an evening sky.
Before he could close the door behind him the Colonel put a hand on the door. “Here.” She handed him a phone. “For emergencies, or if you want to share anything. We’re supposed to in this together” She turned to leave but paused looking back. “Be careful out there. The Sovs will be gunning for you.”
“Bye!” Jim said slamming his door shut.
Adelfried didn’t say anything and closed his door.
Federico started the car, its engine purred like a massive mechanical cat. What a beautiful sound. The engineering in this thing was...well, it was amazing. Oh, how he wished he could take it apart and examine every single piece. Someday maybe, someday.
Federico back the car out of its spot and they left. They followed the signs, first to Europe, then Spain. As they continued, the hum of the car, and the comfort of the seat took their toll on Adelfried’s eyelids. They started to droop and soon he was asleep.
Red
Reggie and Red swayed from a rope in the middle of the Crystal Palace, a cave large enough to fit a small office building. Pearl white crystals jutting out from the walls around them sparkled in lantern light as Leviathan Crystal Centipedes swarmed over them.
Red’s thermal suit, now perforated in several spots, no longer cooled effectively and he could feel blood pooling in spots from his shoulder wound. Sweat covered his face and back. His shoulder burned, probably more from the bite than the actual heat, but he had no way of healing without using ESH. Since the rope they had planned on using to finish their descent was somewhere on the cave floor, options were in short supply.
Red kept pressure on his wound with his good arm. “How close will the rope we are on get us to the bottom?”
No immediate response came. That wasn’t good. “Reggie, how close?”
The overconfident, obnoxious, pompous, and extremely capable Reggie, spoke with what was without a doubt concern in his voice. “Not close enough.”
“Okay...” There had to be options, besides fall to their death or getting eaten like bait on the end of a fishing line. “Let’s say we figure out a way to get to the bottom of this room safely, then what?”
Again, no response.
“Reggie! Talk to me.”
“Sorry...” Reggie’s voice was muffled. Was he crying? “There’s a passage at the bottom of the room...it leads south. There shouldn’t be any crystals or bugs there. But there aren’t supposed to be any here either.”
Red scanned the room through his purple-blood tinted visor desperate to find any surface in reach. To the left of their swing, a crystal pillar several meters wide crawled with centipedes. Behind them a reddish-brown outcropping of rock was a few stories below them. The pillar could be reached if they were able to add enough momentum on their swing, whereas the outcropping would take a leap of faith and a hard fall.
Shit.
Perhaps a controlled blast of telekinetic energy against the rock outcropping would slow the fall, but it would just as likely cause them to miss the small surface. Plus, according to Reggie, any use of ESH would damage the suits. This left the pillar of incensed centipedes as their only real option, but they would be mauled as soon as they landed.
Shit.
“Red?” Reggie’s voice was low.
“Yeah?”
“If we don’t make it— “
“Shut up Reggie. Now is not the time to talk about if we don’t make it.”
“You shut up,” Reggie’s voice was sharp. “Now is exactly the time. I need to clear the air. Can’t you at least let me die with a clean conscience?”
“Nope. We aren’t dying. Now here’s the plan, we are going to swing to that big fucking crystal to the left until I can get my sword into it. Then you’re going to cut the line. You should swing down, catch the crystal with a climbing axe, and we climb or slide down together. Hopefully fast enough we don’t get mauled as we do.”
“One small problem.”
“What Reggie?”
“My climbing axes are in the haul bag.”
Of course they are. “Well then it will be on me to hold both our weights. Shouldn’t be a problem if I get the sword in deep enough.”
Reggie huffed. “You only have one good arm, there’s no way this is going to work.”
He was probably right. “Okay, I'll lash the safety line to the handle of the sword, so I’ll only have to hold my weight.”
Reggie’s tone brightened. ‘That...might work...but I really want to say something before we do this.”
“No, shut up. We either live or you take the turd of guilt to the grave.” Red cinched up the lantern light and cut a piece of rope off it before reattaching the lantern. Using that length of rope, he tied his sword handle to the safety line with Reggie. If all this worked as expected, the weight of Reggie’s huge ass would be directed to the handle of the sword until he could get his own grip on the crystal. Then it would be a simple matter of climb-falling down without getting shredded by the centipedes.
Reggie huffed. “You know you are so hard to work with or like or anything, you know that?”
Red started to kick his feet to build up momentum in the swing. “Yep. That’s by design, because in case you had forgotten, or hadn’t noticed. I don’t like you.”
“And why is that Red?”
With every swing of his legs forward and back the wound in his shoulder throbbed. “Not now, Reginald!”
As their momentum grew the centipedes on the crystal started to gyrate, swarming ever more fiercely each time they neared. This wasn’t going to work. Red was going to get shredded the moment his sword reached the crystal.
Reggie started to blubber. “Look, I’m sorry I dragged you down here, okay?”
Were they really going to do this now? “Goddamn it, Reggie. I agreed to this. That’s not on you. Now I’m going to try something to hopefully prevent us from getting torn up when we get to the crystal. This would have been a lot easier if you had just let me bring a MEAR.”
“Nothing screams outsider more than an assault rifle, you ignorant jackass.”
Red sheathed his sword and carefully pulled his backpack over his head. His wound hurt less and less, probably because he was going into shock. Fun. After carefully orienting his pack upright he dug around with his good hand until he located the dimmest Bizzy Battery in his bag.
“What are you doing?” Reggie’s voice had grown concerned.
“These old batteries are just bundles of ESH. If I throw it hard enough it should release some ESH and make them scatter which should hopefully be enough to clear a landing spot.” Red closed his backpack and pushed it back over his head.
“Oh, please don’t tell me you are going to waste an entire Bizzy Battery to piss of some centipedes.”
“You have a better idea?” They swung a few times, but Reggie didn’t respond. “Yeah, I didn’t think so. Okay let’s get our momentum up.”
“Okay...but seriously Red, I need to tell you that—”
“Shut up and tell me when we land.” Red continued to pump his legs. He had his sword in his good hand, and the battery cradled in the crook of his hurt arm. On the next swing towards the pillar, he was nearly in sword reach. “Now as soon as I get that sword in, cut the line. Don’t hesitate. Are you ready?”
“I... uh...”
“Damn it Reggie, are you ready or not?”
“I’m ready.”
On the next close pass Red slashed his sword twice splitting two centipedes that had reached out. They fell. As they swung away from the crystal Red sheathed the sword and said, “Here we go. Next approach I’m throwing the battery and planting the sword.”
As they reached the farthest part of the swing away from the crystal and began their final approach, Reggie screamed, “We could have gone another way, but I needed centipede eggs. I’m sorry, Red”
Fucking Reggie.
They swung towards the crystal. Red threw the battery. It smashed into the crystal with a muffled boom and pulse of bright yellow. Three centipedes closest to the impact fell. Others screamed in pain and skittered away.
Red pulled his sword, the grip tight within his grasp. His shoulder tensed. The crystal face neared. He held his breath and stabbed the sword in. The ESH charged blade hummed as it sank into its hilt.
His bad shoulder screamed with pain as his whole body flexed, but he had stuck the landing. He held the blade close, but nothing happened. Reggie hadn’t done his part. “Cut the line, you fat fuck!”
“Are...are you sure?”
“Yes, do it now!”
The tension on the safety line sagged. It dropped as Reggie fell and slammed into the crystal. He spun and flailed.
“Ow!” Reggie barked. He grabbed at the crystal but couldn’t get purchase on its smooth surface.
The sword jerked downward and stopped. Then it did it again. The sword’s specialized cutting edge was slicing through the crystal. A gash opened as the sword started to slice downward. Red tried to adjust the angle of the blade to stop the sword from cutting through, but only succeeded in pulling the blade out part way. The blade sped up, as their descent went from a slow drop to a pirate falling through a sail with a dagger speed.
As their speed increased, they bulldozed through dozens of centipedes tossing them aside like a snowplow clearing the road. Red dug his feet into the crystal. The metal cleats on his boots hampered their dive but they were still in a chaotic fall. Reggie screamed as he bounced around below like a poorly thrown yoyo. Karma, motherfucker.
Red’s legs buckled as he hit the ground with a loud crunch. His right knee slammed into a rock, and he ended up on his back, but...he was okay. The impact didn’t hurt that bad surprisingly. He hadn’t even had the air knocked out of him. But there was a crunch. Had he broken something? He looked around, the darkness only held at bay by his headlamp. Below him crushed centipede bodies lay in a pile of purple stained pieces. Convenient.
“Reggie? You, okay?”
Static blared over the speakers in his helmet.