Shanahan looked at their backtrail. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Morehull and Whitehouse would be showing up at the Shaper's place sooner, or later. They had to finish their business before that happened.

“Vasily has control of space,” said Wyndham. “Any rock he touches, he can turn into something that affects distance. This allows him to make things bigger on the inside than the outside for example. The weapons he can create can distort things to pinch the target into nothingness. The Shapers primarily use him to create vault boxes and make things for traveling.”

“All right,” said Shanahan. He had seen Doctor Who. The guy they were about to deal with was capable of building TARDISes. How fast could he build one when someone had their hands around his neck. That was the trickier question.

“I don't feel Morehull, or Whitehouse near by,” said Wyndham. “The impression I'm getting is they are still back at the bridge waiting for us to try to cross.”

Shanahan waited. They didn't have a lot of time, but he needed Wyndham to be ready in case he needed her to cover his back.

“I'm going down there to get the door open,” said Wyndham. “As soon as I do that, you'll only have a few seconds to enter and take him out. You can hide down by the slope to the place so he can't see you.”

Shanahan looked down at the area she indicated. It was doable. He would have to launch from there to break the door in the target's face. He figured it would take him seconds to get there.

He would have to be careful so he didn't punch the guy's head off with his newfound strength.

Did the Shapers transfer their powers like the Weapons? He needed to know that before he did anything else.

“What happens if he gets killed?,” asked Shanahan.

“He dies,” said Wyndham. “Another Shaper will be born to take his place. They have a lot of vast personal power, but replacements take years since they need a baby to be born in a particular place so the power can be passed on. All of his stones would still be here for anyone to use until the replacement came up to speed.”

Shanahan nodded. If he had to kill the guy, they could make things work out so they could still get home.

It would probably be easier in the long run to kill the guy. He didn't know what kind of problems that would cause with the rest of his organization. He wouldn't be here to worry about it. And they wouldn't be able to look for him for years in the future. He would be dead by that time, or too infirm to care.

He decided to leave that with Wyndham. She knew the ground better than he did. If she wanted the guy to live, then he would abide by it.

On the other hand, if the guy pulled out one of those weapons that pinched a target in half, he just made himself fair game.

Shanahan wanted to go home, but he wanted to go home in one piece.

“Go ahead,” said Wyndham. “I can't sense any kind of tripwire for him to sense us out here.”

Shanahan nodded. He kept low as he jogged to the indicated spot. He sank down as much as possible to lower his profile. He felt he could pull himself forward faster than he could lurch to his feet and run at the door.

He wondered what would happen if he punched a hole in the shack Vasily used as his home base. Would that cause the tiny place to expand into a giant castle in the middle of nowhere. He had the urge to find out, but throttled it down. He didn't need to wreck more than necessary to get what he wanted.

His thoughts turned to just throwing the place up in the air as high as his strength would allow. What would happen when it hit the ground? Would it dig a crater out of the mesa on impact? Would it kill him and Wyndham if he tried it?

He decided to put all of that on hold. He had to get inside and get the gate stone from this guy. He could experiment on the house after they did that.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

He didn't need the answers to his questions. He just felt an itch and he wanted to scratch it even though he knew he should just let it go.

Wyndham waited until he was buried in his cover before she started down the main road. This was the gambling part of their semi-plan. Would the guy do something to hold her for Morehull, and his boss, or would he do something to keep Wyndham locked down and deny she had showed up?

Everything depended on Shanahan being able to cross the gap and knock him out of the fight before he could do anything to either one of them.

Shanahan wanted a pistol. That would make this so much easier in his opinion.

Wyndham walked up to the place. She pulled a bell rope next to the door. The thing chimed in the open air.

How long would it take for the guy to open the door? Was he home? Did he have guests? How much time did they have before they had a problem?

Wyndham waited for a bit. She pulled the bell cord again. She watched the road as she waited. The door opening warned her to face her enemy.

“Seera?,” said the Shaper, opening the door to take a look at his visitor.

Shanahan exploded from his spot. His weapon spirits pushed him forward like a bullet. The Shaper turned to look at the weapon charging across the grass. He started to close the door. A fist to the throat pushed him back as Wyndham slammed into him with her full weight.

Shanahan arrived a moment later while the two of them were struggling. He paused as Wyndham started slamming her victim's head into a hard wood floor that didn't match the exterior shabbiness of the place. He stepped inside and closed the door.

Wyndham didn't stop head banging until Shanahan grabbed her arms. She couldn't pull out of his grip. She looked up at his stern face through tears.

“Find the Gate Stone,” said Shanahan. He lifted her up. “That's what we need right now.”

Wyndham nodded. She wiped her face on the sleeve of her jacket as she stood. She gave the Shaper one more kick to the ribs as she called on her talent.

Shanahan pulled the man to his feet. He looked around and found a metal rail on a set of steps leading up out of the grand foyer they stood in. He pulled the rail off and twisted it into manacles on their captive. He made sure the guy wasn't carrying anything so there wouldn't be any surprises.

“I don't know what she told you, but you're in a lot of trouble,” said the Shaper.

“I know,” said Shanahan. “You're in a lot of trouble too. She might want to finish what she started. I might let her if you keep talking.”

The Shaper fell silent. He smeared some of the blood on his face with his bound hands. He sat on the steps. He just had to wait for his chance. He could bargain his way out of this somehow.

Wyndham came back with a burlap bag. She draped the strap across her body. She pulled out the gate stone and looked at it. She looked at their captive.

“I don't understand, Vasily,” Wyndham said. “I came to you in good faith. You drugged me, raped me, dumped me in another world without even clothes. What made you think it would be a good idea for me to come back here? Did you think I would forget you, and what you did?”

“Morehull said he needed you to do a job and they knew that you had visited me,” said Vasily. “I had to give them the gate stone. Morehull threatened to cut off my hands. I can't work without them.”

“They wanted me back for a finding job?,” said Wyndham. “What kind of finding job?”

“I don't know,” said Vasily.

“The next lie you tell me, Mister Shanahan will rip one of your arms off,” said Wyndham. “What kind of finding job?”

“I don't know,” said the Shaper. “They just wanted to get you back before Grandview returned from dealing with the Wu Chi. I guess whatever they wanted you for had to do with that.”

“And it never crossed your mind I would kill you for what you did?,” said Wyndham. “That wasn't very smart of you, Vasily.”

“It's supposed to be a one time thing,” said the Shaper. “Morehull talked about sending you back when you were done.”

“You don't know Emil very well,” said Wyndham. “He never releases a tool. He uses it until it breaks. I think I should kill you so he can't follow us back to the other place. He'll have to wait for your replacement to get another gate stone to find us over there.”

“There are treaties in place,” said Vasily. “You can't just kill me. The others would fall on Grandview for the violation.”

“I don't work for Emil any more,” said Wyndham. “It doesn't matter to me where the violation falls. And your brothers won't be able to follow me without you around to help them. It's a winning solution as far as I can see.”

“What about this job?,” said Vasily. “You can't turn it down.”

“That's exactly what I'm doing,” said Wyndham. “I have a new place that I like a lot better than staying here. I actually help people now. I don't see a need to stay here and wait for Emil to think of something he needs me to do.”

“Please don't kill me,” said Vasily. “Please. I'm sorry for what I did. Please let me live.”

“So you can send Emil after me again?,” asked Wyndham.

“I won't,” said Vasily. “I won't make another gate stone. I swear. You'll never hear from me again. Let me live.”

Shanahan grabbed his head and the back of his neck. He twisted his hands. A snapping rewarded him.

“I didn't think you would do that,” said Wyndham.

Shanahan looked at her. He was in the same boat if Grandview arrived in New York looking for them. It was better to cut the thread now than wait until he made another gate stone to follow them.

A large man wearing leather armor appeared in the foyer. He looked around, frowning behind his massive mustache. He paused at the scene.

“Hello, Seera,” he said. He put his hands behind his back.

“Hello, Emil,” said Wyndham, placing the gate stone in her bag.