AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Arthur looked down at his creation. One switch, Mabel knew, and it would tick down to destruction. “He’s a bad man. The whole system’s rigged and rotten, Mabel. We need to send a message.”
“Not this way.” Mabel stood firm. “I’m not leaving, Arthur. If you set that bomb, you’ll kill me, too.”
“Mabel. Please.”
“Once, you saved me. In Union Square, remember? Pulled me into an alley and into your world. Now I’m saving you.”
Arthur teared up. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “It’s not a good world, Mabel.”
“Yes, it is. It just needs a lot of help.” Mabel was crying
, too. “We can do that, you and me. I still have hope, Arthur. I can’t give up on the world just yet.”
Arthur looked at Mabel. He was tearing up again, and Mabel fought the urge to comfort him. He swiped an arm across his eyes. “Sometimes it feels like…” There was a catch in his voice. “Like the world has given up on me.”
“I haven’t given up on you,” Mabel said.
Tears slid down Arthur’s face as he reached out and gently stroked Mabel’s soft cheek.
“Okay,” he said.
“Okay?”
“Okay.” Arthur knelt before the bomb. He lifted his face to Mabel’s. His eyes were red. “For you, Mabel Rose.”
Footsteps pounded toward them. Arthur leaped up. Mabel moved to his side. The four Pinkerton agents entered the room, guns drawn. Brown Hat was at the front. “Make a single move and I’ll shoot you where you stand! This is the only warning you get.”
“Put your hands up, Mabel,” Arthur said gently.
“Well, if it isn’t Mabel Rose. And what do we have here? A bomb. Looks like you delivered after all, gutter rat.”
“Mabel has nothing to do with this!” Arthur said.
“It isn’t what you think. He was just about to destroy it,” Mabel explained.
Brown Hat smirked. “Sure he was.”
“Please. If you could just listen for a minute…” Mabel took a step forward.
“Mabel, don’t!” Arthur shouted.
It happened very fast. The first bullet grazed Mabel’s right arm; the second found its home in her belly, exiting through her back, severing her spinal column. Mabel felt a searing heat, followed by cold, and then she felt nothing as she fell to the ground.
In the Grand Pavilion, the radio men made sure the wires were secured and tested the microphones.
“Just get right up on it, Miss Snow,” one of them said.
But Sarah Snow knew exactly what to do. She’d waited a lifetime for this moment. As she took the stage, she smiled at the vast sea of tiny, waving American flags and wished that her parents could see her standing here. A lump rose in her throat. She couldn’t afford to tear up now. After all, Jake Marlowe needed her. He’d asked her to take charge, and take charge she would.
Sarah raised her arms. “Brothers and sisters, citizens, welcome. What a glorious day the Lord has made!”
The tiny flags agitated like electric current.
“Here, in this great city in this great nation of opportunity, the American dream is alive and well. Jake Marlowe is bringing us the future. And, oh, what a glorious future it is, indeed! Do you feel that? Do you feel that future inside you? Do you feel it in your hearts, brothers and sisters?”
The flags answered affirmative.
Sarah Snow. Chosen. Anointed for greatness by the Almighty.
