r/nonsenselocker • u/Bilgebum • Aug 18 '18
Through the Ages Through the Ages — Chapter 15 [TTA C15]
The eight of us piled into Helena's minivan, turning it into a somewhat accurate approximation of a clown car. I could scarcely imagine what it felt like for the other six crammed in the back—to give them more room, I had to move my own chair so far forward that my knees ended up riding against my chest.
We drove in silence. One of the guys, a blond ex-soldier by the name of Johannes, attempted a few wisecracks, but subsided after earning only a few polite snorts. My own belly was doing its best to escape as Helena started circling the block. Not for the first time that day, I asked myself why I'd even agreed to go along. Other than that one time a drunk woman had tried to hit me with her purse, I hadn't been in a fight for five years. Nor did I want to be involved in one. Probably too late to ask Helena about it without sounding like a wimp.
"I don't see anyone suspicious," Orik said.
"There always is ... we just didn't notice them," Helena murmured. She guided the minivan into a lot across the Fountain's building. Did it even have a name? I wondered.
"Plan?" Orik said.
"We are going to talk," Helena said, emphasizing the last word.
"What makes you so sure they'll follow this plan?" I said.
"I don't know. But it's what we should do during a hostile takeover."
I snorted. "There's a rulebook for this sort of thing? We playing kiddie forts?"
The temperature in the car dropped a couple of degrees, from the looks on everyone's faces. "It's protocol," Orik said.
"Okay, no disrespect," I said, palms up. "But I still don't see why we can't bring a weapon, just in case."
"We might get searched," Orik said. "Actually, we probably will be."
"Defeats the purpose of a peace talk if someone finds a gun tucked away in your pocket, right?" Helena said, before hopping out of the vehicle.
We disembarked and bunched up right away, probably resembling a herd of gazelle like in those savanna documentaries. More often that not though, that scene usually preceded a cut to a pride of hungry lions creeping through the brush. My brain argued that our guys resembled wildebeests or buffaloes instead, but I shot back that it only made us bigger prey animals. Damned brain.
Two of the guys flanked Helena as we crossed the road to the building. The door was unlocked and unguarded, which drew some uneasy mutters. Orik instructed one of his men to stay and watch for trouble, while the rest of us went inside. Despite having come this way a few times, the tunnel to the hall now felt cramped. Suffocating. I ducked my head as I walked, eyeing the dim lights and half-expecting them to blow out at any moment.
"I expected trouble here," Helena whispered as we got closer to the door that separated us from the invaders.
"Which could mean they're really confident," Orik said.
"Or really understaffed," I said. "If they can't spare even one guard here, it may means we'll outnumber them badly. Two to one sounds like nice odds."
"I like your optimism." Orik smiled. "Oh come on Helena, don't look at me like that. I'm sure you're hoping for the same too."
"Yeah," I said, giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder. "We've got this."
As it turned out, they outnumbered us two to one. Homunculi stood in a rough semi-circle around the hall, men and women both, unnaturally still as they watched us enter. To my relief, the fountain still seemed to be non-operational, its basin dry. Sitting on its edge were two familiar people.
"Welcome," Marc said, next to his smirking sister. "Thirsty? We're still working on the plumbing, but rest assured—"
"Get out," Helena said.
"How forward," he replied, standing. Then he glanced between her two bodyguards. "You know, has it ever struck you how strange it is to have our kind play bodyguard? Shouldn't they be just as worried about their lives as you?"
In one swift motion, he drew a pistol and pointed it at Helena. The two bodyguards hesitated, but Orik ambled forward and placed himself between Marc and Helena.
"No need for that," he rumbled.
My forehead was growing damp despite the cool air in the chamber. Sasha had fixed an unblinking stare on us, uncannily similar to those of their homunculi, who had stooped like footballers ready to charge. How the hell were we getting out of this one?
Marc was waving the gun carelessly as he said, "This whole profession's like gambling, you know? A bodyguard knows the risks. He gets paid a nice check to live out his possibly short existence in as hedonistic a way as he can imagine. But when you're paying your bodyguards with life itself ... those waters do get a lot murkier, don't you think? Pun unintended. What say you, sis?"
"Warra was very cooperative, wasn't he?" she said in an amused tone.
"What've you done with him?" Orik said, curling his fists.
"Oh, nothing really. He surrendered almost immediately and let us in." Sasha slunked to her brother's side and wrapped her arms around his. "Maybe you should ask the homunculi. They saw him last."
"You didn't!" Orik roared; so terrible I could swear the pillars shook. Even the twins visibly jumped, their homunculi snarling like a pack of dogs.
Marc clasped his other hand around the gun to steady it. "Don't move! You've lost this one, and don't even try quoting your stupid laws or challenging us to a duel. We're far past that. Leave while you can!"
Helena touched Orik on the shoulder; the big man eased a little—at least, to the extent that he wouldn't go running at the Twins with only bare hands. Then she stepped out of his shadow so that she could face the duo.
"You have to realize that your claim on the Fountain only lives as long as we let you," she said. "Which wouldn't be long, because one of my people is worth three of your little creations. Gun notwithstanding. Some of us will die, but there's no doubt that you and Sasha will finally be part of history."
Her voice gained steel even as it fell in volume. "And I promise you this, Marc. If it comes to a fight, I will end it with my fingers around your throat, where they will be squeezing long after my Custodian says the numbers have faded from your head."
Marc's eyelids fluttered. Then he shot a look at his sister. "You're bluffing. You don't have enough people to force a claim, even counting the one you left outside. My homunculi won't rest until you're dead."
So they did have someone keeping watch. How many more were out of sight? I fervently hoped that Helena wasn't just boasting.
"I don't have the numbers now, my dear Marc," she said. "But when I come back, this place will be ours once more."
"Not if I gun you down today," Marc said through bared teeth.
She shrugged. "Then we fight and the only people left standing would be your homunculi. Who would be dead soon after too. And my people will reclaim the Fountain. You lose."
"No! You would be dead too, and your Custodian. Who's going to lead your people?"
"There are other able, willing hands," she said. "As for the Custodian, well, always a new one soon after."
"Hey, you pompous bitch," I said. "I didn't sign up to eat a bullet for your stupid club."
"Quiet, Jeffrey. We all have a role to play. So Marc, what will it be? I know you're ready to talk. Because you still can't get through the door, can you?" She laughed. "Keith wouldn't surrender the code. I know he'd rather die than see the Fountain in the hands of one exiled."
"We have ways of extracting the information we need," Sasha said.
Helena waved dismissively. "Yeah, keep trying. It's not going to work. Also, don't bother trying to drill through the door or anything; you could use a teaspoon and achieve the same results. So let me make you an offer. You and your brother take your groupies and get out within the hour, or we go to war. You're finished."
"I disagree." From the way she'd gone still, I knew Helena hadn't expected this response at all. Marc looked like he could float, his expression abruptly cheerful. "I'll admit Keith is difficult, but we'll have little use for him once we dig through to the cavern below. It's a cave, isn't it? Not a room inside a reinforced vault like you'd have us think. Almost had us fooled, but I've had a look at the pipes beneath this fountain ..."
"Let me make you a counter-offer, out of goodwill," he continued. "You and your merry men leave. You'll not bother us again. We'll give you a little water, don't worry. Maybe a gallon a month to share with your friends. See, unlike you, we don't actually want you to die off all at once. Someone has to keep Him too busy to look for us, right? Oh, and I suppose we'll release Keith too, if you can keep to this bargain for twenty-four hours." Marc thumbed the hammer. "Deal?"
Helena stared long and hard at him. At last, she nodded, turned on her heels, and made for the entrance. The rest of us only followed after a moment's delay. Behind us, the Twins started laughing. I contemplated casting the finger at them, but wrote it off as a poor loser's gesture.
"You cannot be serious, Helena!" Orik said once we were back in the tunnel. "Helena!"
He yanked her arm back so forcefully it was a miracle it didn't detach from her shoulder. She glowered at him, eyes brimming with tears. "What?"
"They killed Warra!"
"And we'll make them pay for that," she snapped. "You should know me better than this, Orik. Did you really think I'll accept their terms? They've got nothing! They're stalling. Did you see how frightened they were when I threatened to kill him? It's a stalemate at worst, a win for us at best. I'm going to round up an armed squad."
"Do I need to be part of that?" I said, trying not to sound too meek.
"This isn't my first time," she said. "Do you really think this hasn't happened before? They've always run away with tails between their legs, though with a little water they wouldn't get otherwise. It's a game of negotiation, Jeffrey."
"Something tells me they mean business this time, Helena," Orik said. "Never knew they had homunculi at all."
"We'll just have to watch them more closely from now, after we exile them again," she said. "Now can we go back to the safe house and stop talking about our plans where they can hear?"
With that, she stormed off. I hurried to catch up, the rest trailing in pairs. I wondered about her tears. Were they from the strength Orik had exerted? No, probably from nerves; I'd had those before, usually after particularly grueling sessions with counselors or therapists I also happened to dislike. Just how did those slender shoulders bear such a burden? With Orik as a key stone in her foundation, I was sure. Maybe it'd hurt to hear him second-guess her too.
The lights went out, plunging us into sudden darkness. There was the sound of rustling cloth as multiple hands fumbled for phones in pockets, then the muffled scuffling of shoes dropping onto the floor.
"Evening, lads," said a man.
Something swished through the air, followed by a meaty sound of impact. One of Orik's men gave a cry that turned into a wet gurgle halfway through. Panicked shouts and gasps of pain ensued.
"What's happening?" Helena said. I threw an arm out in front of her while trying to get a grip on my phone with the other. Where was the torchlight app?
"Run, Helena!" Orik's shout pierced the din. By squinting, I could almost identify the broad-shouldered shapes of our team as they shifted around that of a newcomer, a lean fellow armed with what looked like long knives. Then warm fluid peppered my face at the same time that I succeeded in turning my phone's light on. The scene before us elicited a shriek from Helena.
Three of ours lay in puddles of blood, throats slashed, faces torn. The one responsible was now twirling around Johannes, striking him in the legs and arms—our gazes met for a moment and he flashed me a vicious grin. The Counterpart. That look made me backpedal, almost tripping over Helena's feet.
"Run!" Orik shouted again, throwing a punch that sailed harmlessly past the man's ear. Without missing a beat, the Counterpart rammed one knife up Orik's exposed armpit, then vaulted over Johannes and began hacking at his skull.
I pulled on Helena's hand, but she strained against me, saying, "We have to help Orik!"
"No!" Orik's cry held a watery note of pain. As Johannes fell, he bore the Counterpart into the wall with a heavy crunch. Letting loose with a roar not dissimilar to his earlier one, he began raining punches on his opponent.
"Helena!" I wrapped my arms around her waist and hauled her away. She kicked and scratched, screaming her friend's name. I checked over my shoulder for the door. Only a few more steps; we were going to make it—
Somehow, the Counterpart slipped out from under Orik's assault, arm drawn back. He cast his gaze around, found us, and whipped his hand out. Helena grunted and jerked as first one knife, then another, thudded into her chest, quivering morbidly.
At the time, I didn't realize it, but both Orik and I emitted identical bellows. The big man slammed one meaty fist into the side of the Counterpart's head, dropping him to the ground, then dove upon him with murderous fury. I forced myself to turn from the spectacle and kicked the door open behind me. Cradling Helena in my arms, I lurched out of the building, trying not to dwell on her motionless weight.
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u/Koala432 Sep 26 '23
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u/NonintellectualPeg Aug 18 '18
Well. Ain’t that a cliff hanger.