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Maria seized Randy’s collars and brought his face down closer to hers. “Sir, you’ve given me much to think on, and I only need a few more pieces before I settle this puzzle…is this Louisville-bound ship called the Clementine? And where is she located now?”
“The Clementine?” His expression said lots, much of which was confusing. “That old patchwork war machine? It’s moored at a transient dock outside town, where it stopped to rest, refuel and repair. Apparently the ship took some damage on the western trail; but she’s not the vessel that worries us. The craft in question is called the Valkyrie, and she’s stuck in the service yard docks. ”
“Are…are you sure?”
“Sure enough,” he nodded. “We need to sabotage that bird before she gets off the ground; we need to sort through her cargo, find out what nefarious piece or part is so valuable that it requires such a transport, and destroy it for the sake of the Confederacy—if it’s not too late already!”
“It’s not,” she blurted. “It’s not too late. Whatever they’re doing, it’s not been done yet. Just…” her mind raced, and her companion within the dining area was no doubt already wondering what had become of her. “I must go back inside and make my escape from the Pinkerton man,” she concluded.
“Escape? But you said you were working?”
She nodded vigorously and said, “I am. But the Valkyrie will be ready to lift in under an hour, and I’m working again, for my home. For my country. Stay here,” she told him. “I’ll be back in a moment. ”
When she reappeared less than two minutes later, she had retrieved her carpetbag and left Algernon Rice very perplexed in the dining area.
To Randolph Sykes she said, “Quickly, to the service yards. I don’t know the city here. You’ll have to lead me, and we’ll have to hurry. ”
7
Back at the service yard docks Lamar was torso-deep in the underside of the Union warship Valkyrie. Grunts that signaled the stiff-armed turns of a wrench echoed around in the hydraulics compartment, where the engineer was swearing and sweating despite the pronounced chill in the air. The wrench slipped from his fingers, fell to the ground, and was retrieved by Simeon—who handed it back with a smile that promised trouble was brewing.
From down at the folding bay doors, a fat white man dropped down onto the ground. Upon seeing Simeon he called out, “Hay Larry, is this guy some friend of yours?”
Lamar ducked his head out from the hydraulics compartment, realized who’d passed him the wrench, and said, “Oh yes. Friend of mine. Nobody to worry about at all. ”
To which the first mate said, “That last part might’ve been a little much. ”
In two long strides, taken so quickly that the other man barely had time to squeak, Simeon was on top of the other mechanic; and with a hard right hook the mechanic crumpled, hitting his head against the bay doors on his way to the ground.
From his position half inside the Valkyrie, Lamar said, “Hey Sim, I wish you hadn’t done that, though. ”
“Why not?” he asked, already dragging the heavy man out of sight, back under the craft and behind the pipework docks.
“Because this thing ain’t ready to fly yet, and his brother’ll be looking for him any minute now. He just stepped out a second ago, to chat with some guy who came up looking for the captain. ”
“His brother’s the captain?”
Lamar said, “No, but he went off to talk with him. I’m surprised he ain’t back yet. He walked off with an older fellow, hair going gray. Sounded like he wasn’t local. ”
Simeon dumped the unconscious man, dropped his feet, and returned to Lamar’s side. He ducked under the unfastened panel so that he was at least unidentifiable, if not invisible. For all any passersby might know, he could be another mechanic—as he could only be seen from the chest down.
He asked, “How long will it take you get her airworthy?”
“I’m almost done,” Lamar said, fishing around in his tool belt for a screwdriver of the correct size. “I’m fixing the last of it now, but I need a minute. And,” he added, shifting his shoulders to knock against the first mate, “I need more room. This hatch ain’t big enough for the two of us. Where’s the captain?”
“He’s right behind me—rounding up the Rattler and the last of our stuff off the coach. ”
The engineer said, “All right, that’s good. Give me maybe…maybe five minutes, all together. That’ll be plenty of time to wrap up and shut the hatch. ”
“How many other folks are aboard this craft? Who else do we need to worry about?” he whispered.
“Not sure. It doesn’t have a crew, really—or it does, of course, but those guys hit the red blocks two days ago and they won’t come back until tonight, when the bird is set to take off. There’s the mechanic, his brother, and a third fellow. I think he’s supposed to be an engineer, but he’s a shit excuse for one. He was acting like he couldn’t figure out what was wrong, when the bird’s leaking piston lube and control line fluid all over the place. ” Lamar sniffed with disdain and wiped his forehead with the back of his forearm.
“That’s three, plus the man you said came by, wanting a word with the captain. ”
“If he comes back with the mech’s brother, yes. That’s right. Now get out of the hatch and let me finish this up on the quick. If the captain’s timing is good, we might just fly off with this thing, easy as can be. ”
Simeon bent and squatted to let himself out, but he said, “Except for the service yard security. ”
