She was forced to stop him then, gently laying three fingers across is mouth. “Randy,” she said with sadness that was not altogether calculated, “But I’m afraid it’s all true. Our boys sent me home, and-”
He grasped her fingers and kissed them, “I understand!” he declared. “Times are tangled enough that you must preserve the masquerade, even to me-I understand, I do, and I won’t ask you to lie to me further. But let me say, my dear, I am filled with such outstanding relief to see you here! And I know, that whatever strange duties you’re pretending to perform for the Chicago organization, you’re using the lot of them to sort out the terrible shipment bound for Louisville.”
“I…I beg your pardon?” she said, and then, before she appeared too ignorant she amended herself. “I only mean, this terrible shipment, bound for Louisville-I know of it, yes, and I’m here to address it, absolutely. But you’ve put me into a corner, and I must admit that my understanding of the menace is somewhat limited. Rather, I know that there is a Union craft flying for Louisville, and that it’s being pursued by one of the Macon Madmen, but I do not know what the craft is carrying. Oh Randy, if there’s any further information you can share, I’d be forever indebted to you. I’ve been…living under another name, in Chicago and out west for long enough that the trail of gossip and warning has stretched thin.”
Randy straightened himself. “I would be honored and delighted to assist you in any way you require! Though…” and he cast a sidelong glare at the Seven Sisters, “What is to be done about your companion?”
“My…companion. He’s only a professional contact, I assure you. He’s a Pinkerton agent, as you said; he’s helped ferry me this far, from Jefferson City. I can escape him before long, but not immediately. You must understand, I’m working. He must believe that I’m no longer affiliated with the Cause in any way.”
“Then I’ll be brief for now, and pray for further audience later.”
“Please do so, yes.”
“A western dirigible is making a delivery to a sanatorium in Louisville-where a devious Union scientist is constructing a war machine the likes of which could end this conflict by ending the South altogether. The nature of this cargo isn’t known, but it’s the final piece of a device called the Solar Radiant Beam Cannon, which is being assembled at the behest of a loathsome lieutenant colonel named Ossian Steen. Maria, for the sake of our Cause and the sake of everyone you’ve ever loved in Danville, this part must not reach the sanatorium! It must not reach the scientist, or the lieutenant colonel, or the machine that’s made to fit it!”
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. CAPTAIN CROGGON BEAUREGARD HAINEY
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.”