Shanahan paused to take care of personal business off the road he had been using. When he was done, he took stock of where he was. He had run through three towns so far. They seemed to be spread like rings with the tower in the center of the hexagon.

The stack of white stone had vanished while he ran under the canopy of the trees. He had taken sightings by climbing trees and looking around. The road wound through the landscape instead of forming a straight line. He didn't want to leave the road when he didn't have a compass to point him in a straight line.

As he got closer, the sightings revealed there was a small city around the base of the tower. A wall kept the city protected from invasions from the outside.

Shanahan noticed scratching on a tree as he made his way back to the road. It looked like his first name had been carved in the bark. He frowned at the uneven DAN before moving closer to examine it.

A faint arrow pointed down the trunk of the tree. The name had been meant to attract his attention without attracting attention from anyone else. The arrow was faint enough that you couldn't see it unless you were looking for it. He looked down. Another makeshift arrow pointed at a bush. He bent down and pushed the limbs of the bush aside. A note had been carved in the dirt.

“Mister Shanahan. I got free for a few hours. Whitehouse has a stone that can track me. Go straight right from this spot to the Shaper hexagon. Find Stephis Mioic. Get the Gate Stone to go home. Kill Mioic. Forget me. Hurry. They don't know you're alive yet. I don't know how long that will last. Go home before Emil returns to the Tower. SW.”

Shanahan wiped the note out with his boot. He considered the words. He raised his arm and pointed his finger in the direction the note told him to go. He couldn't see anything beyond the trees.

He knew he was on a timer now. They seemed to be waiting on this Emil. He had to get to the tower, get Wyndham, and get to this other guy's place before the big kahuna came home. Their chances would plummet if they couldn't get things done.

He headed in the direction of the tower. He had a name. Now all he had to do was figure out how to exploit it. Maybe he could run a fishing scam. It would be risky to do, but maybe the locals were scared enough of their bosses they might go for it.

He should have grabbed some local clothing to wear. He hadn't considered that before he had started for the tower. He would snatch something when he could.

How long did he have before Emil showed up? He had to get in the tower before Wyndham was hurt. Once she was out, and moving away, he could burn the place down.

He couldn't plan for anyone but the three survivors of the expedition to New York. They might all be there, some of them might be with Emil, some of them might be patrolling their mesa for guys like him. And he didn't know what all of them could do.

On the other hand, they didn't know he was alive, or what he could do. They were familiar with the horse, but not him, or what he would do win any fight. Some people didn't consider others being as ruthless as they were until they were shown.

It wouldn't be the first time he had done something to someone when the smarter thing to do was walk away.

A firearm would help equalize the odds, but there were things he could do if he could get in close.

The main problem from his perspective was he couldn't let the Weapons swarm him. He had to lure them into situations he could control. Fighting them when they had the numbers and unknown capabilities was just asking for a beating.

Shanahan didn't doubt the message that had been left for him. No one else knew his name except for Renfield. He doubted the oracle was playing both sides against the middle.

If he was, it would be more likely to find mooks wandering the woods looking for Shanahan.

Shanahan paused when he saw the white partition wall in the distance. The horse must have doubled his natural jogging speed. He had covered miles in a few hours.

All right. He was in sight of the outer edge of his goal. How did he do the rest? How did he get into the tower to get Wyndham back?

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

He jogged toward the gate while he thought about a plan to get him close to the tower. His scheming revolved around Whitehouse and the tracking stone. Getting the stone would help him track wherever they took Wyndham so he could eventually free her.

Getting it meant dealing with Whitehouse and taking it from him. There was a possibility that someone else had the stone. Once the man was dealt with, he could think about what he wanted to do next.

He considered possible ways to get to the man. He decided that maybe directness would be the way to go. He doubted his enemy would expect something like that.

He ran until he saw a gate in the wall. It was a massive thing of white stone like the rest of the wall. He could see the tower rising up above it. He wondered how tall that needle of rock could be. He ran toward the gate.

Shanahan didn't put on a friendly face as he ran toward the guards. His whole scheme revolved around the guards at the bridge not being able to send a messenger to warn the central authority that someone was coming. He hadn't seen anyone rushing on the road, but that didn't mean anything.

Any messenger from the bridge would know most of the shortcuts to get back to the main city to deliver their message. Then the garrison would be waiting on him to arrive and act all innocent while getting ready to throw him in the brig.

On the other hand, if they had been too lazy to send a warning, his stupid scheme might work.

Shanahan walked the last few yards to the gate. He tried to hide the fact he wasn't out of breath as he approached the men manning the checkpoint. The rest depended on what they did.

“Whitehouse here?,” he asked the first guard to approach him.

“What did you say?,” asked the guard. He turned to glance at his squad.

“I have a message for Whitehouse from Miocic the Shaper,” said Shanahan. “Is he here, or is he somewhere else?”

“I think he is up at the tower,” said the guard.

“Do you want to get him?,” asked Shanahan. “I'll wait.”

“We'll pass you through,” said the guard.

“So I go to the tower and ask if he is there?,” asked Shanahan.

“That's right,” said the guard. “You said a Shaper sent you?”

“Yeah,” said Shanahan. “Whitehouse borrowed a stone and hasn't brought it back, or payment for its use. You know how these things go. Do you want to send someone up there to let him know I'm here? I can wait for a return answer.”

“No, that's okay,” said the guard. “Go on through. Ask for Ramshead at the lobby counter. He'll be able to tell you if the Door is in residence.”

“What's your name so I can put in a good word for you?,” asked Shanahan.

“That's all right,” said the guard. “There's no need to mention us at all.”

“If that's okay with you,” said Shanahan. He waved at the guards and passed through the gate. He started jogging toward the tower, pushing through the traffic in the street.

He had a clear shot at getting into the tower now. And this Ramshead should get Whitehouse for him, or point him to the man. All he had to do was get to the target before he realized someone was in the building looking for him.

The flaws in his plan had to be if he could expect to be passed to the great man without a problem, or would he have to search the giant building for the person he was looking for, or if Whitehouse had already returned the stone to the Shaper.

The next link in the chain was getting around Ramshead. If he got passed through, or if Whitehouse was called down to the lobby, either would help him if he could kill Whitehouse and take the stone before anyone stopped him. It would be easier if he was sent through and given a pointer to where he was supposed to go.

He wondered if he could use the interior of the tower against Whitehouse. That would be great in his opinion.

He couldn't really expect any help for that. He just wasn't that lucky in his opinion.

He was more likely to run into the Three Stooges while he was looking for Wyndham, or waiting for Whitehouse to answer his summons.

He reached the massive front door that led into the lobby of the tower. Armored mooks came and went. Some checked in with the three guys behind the counter. He realized it was the equivalent of a desk sergeant's position back home.

He hoped the guard at the gate had steered him right with his recommendation.

Shanahan entered the lobby, glad that the main doors were open. A casual inspection told him that the residents could slam the doors shut and drop what looked like a set of steel curtains down to be locked into the floor.

Shanahan crossed the lobby to the counter. He recognized the three counter guys were vets. They had that look in their eyes, and wariness at his approach. He should have tried a better search for a disguise, but he hadn't seen anything on his way across the city.

“I'm looking for Ramshead,” said Shanahan. He threw a thumb back toward the partition wall. “The guards at the gate said he could point me in the right direction.”

“I'm Ramshead,” said the man at the far end of the counter. He had lost his hair to some kind of burn from the scars in view, had eyes like a hawk, and his hand rested on the hilt of the blade at his hip. “What do you need?”

“I need you to ask Whitehouse to come down here with the stone he borrowed from the Shaper,” said Shanahan. He hid the inner smile at the man's flinch. “I have to take it back.”

“I think that's a message better served in person,” said Ramshead.

“Then let's go talk to the man,” said Shanahan. “I have never been here. I'll need a guide.”

“Just go up to the twentieth landing,” said Ramshead. He pointed at a staircase entering a wall. “His rooms are there.”

“Okay,” said Shanahan. “I'll go up and come down if he's not there.”

“That will be fine,” said Ramshead.

Shanahan had hoped for an elevator after all the running he had done.