Drowning Utopia

Chapter 26: A Bout for a Boat

As quietly as they could, the two women made their way back down the passageway. They found the others on high alert.

Mr. Wooster sighed. "False alarm. It's just Miss Copperfield and Dev Le-Ren." Several others appeared from cover behind pipes and nooks, as Mr. Wooster lowered his revolver, "Well? Did you find a way out?"

"No," Tessa said, "but we saw who we think is in charge of these renegades. He gave orders to round up the rest of the survivors and to kill anyone who resists."

Donny hummed as he leaned against his sword cane. "That's one way to deal with unwilling hostages."

Lonny pointed out to her brother, "People don't make for very good hostages if they are all dead."

The blond-haired rogue thought a moment on the rebuttal before shrugging. "Touché."

One of the other survivors accused the twins, "Are you serious? You two are taking this very lightly."

They looked at each other before asking simultaneously, "How so?"

Mr. Wooster asked, "What did he look like at least? Did you recognize him?"

Diana brushed her hair nervously looking back the way they came. "He was tall and very strange, claiming to be a Shinobo of the Nine Pillars. He looked as though he had been stitched together like a puppet. I certainly do not wish to meet him."

Noting that Gray and Xo-Xing had not returned, Tessa asked, "Where is Meriwether?"

"Still down the way," one of the women tending to the injured said.

Tessa looked at the row of survivors and wondered how they were going to realistically get them out. It was an amazing feat they got them as far as they had, but Tessa wondered how much longer their luck would last.

Growing concerned at how long they had been in one place, what with the Boomer patrols looking for survivors, Tessa said impatiently, "We need to get out of here and try to get help."

"From who?" Wooster asked, counting off on his hand, "The entire town is flooded, the airships are destroyed, the power is out, and if the fires down by the docks are any indication, all of the steamboats are sunk or scattered by the rising waters." But even as Wooster was listing off their grievances, they collectively heard footsteps coming from the opposite passage. Everyone took cover. Donny drew his cane sword, and Lonny hefted one of the rifles, peeking down the darkened passage. Tessa made do with one of her more substantial wrenches.

"Gray, is that you?" Diana called from her vantage point next to Tessa.

"Hold your fire. It's us!" The inventor appeared, followed by Xo-Xing.

There was a collective breath of relief as everyone relaxed their grips on their weapons.

Gray looked slightly annoyed as he said, "We have found a way out, but it won't be easy. There is a massive hole in the outer wall. It will be a bit of a climb, but there are a couple of the boats that the Boomers used to attack the town tied off at the waterline."

"Can we use them to escape?" one of the women asked enthusiastically.

But Dem Xo-Xing shook his head. "They are under guard."

"How many?" Tessa asked.

Dem Xo-Xing explained, "From what I could see in the low light, about three, but there could be more. They used the massive hole in the side of the tower as a means of entry into the lower floors, clearing away a portion of the rubble and airship wreckage to make a makeshift dock out of one of the fallen docking arms still above the waterline."

Tessa turned to the Marlow twins, but before she could even utter a word, Lonny held up her hand. "Do you even have to ask?"

"We're right behind you," Donny said with a mischievous grin.

Confused, Gray asked the three, "What exactly are you doing?"

"Commandeering those boats," Donny said, checking his sword cane. "Just a regular day at the office, really. A bit more water and security, but nothing we can't handle."

"Miss Copperfield, what are they talking about?" Gray asked with a raised brow.

Tessa considered coming up with an excuse, but given the circumstances, she figured all forms of discretion were out the window. "They are...we are a part of a circus troupe. The twins are escape artists and sleight of hand experts among other things, and I invent devices to make the acts more spectacular."

"I am aware," Gray said. "And before you ask, I learned as much from the private investigator I hired to find and deliver the invitation to you. But to the point, how are your skills as a circus act supposed to help with commandeering those boats?"

"Very much so," Donny said. "Those skills just so happen to be very handy when one wishes to sneak about unnoticed."

"Or taking things that do not belong to you, I should think," Gray said, his face suddenly framed with realization and a bit of contempt as he glanced at the three of them. "It would certainly explain a lot as to why your group should take an interest in Miss Copperfield."

"Hardly, my dear sir." Lonny gave a facetious glance to Meriwether, "She is an excellent performer. One of our best in fact. Certainly, better than you and your partner Higgins, and far more subtle."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Gray asked, crossing his arms.

Donny gave a slight bow. "I do believe my sister is merely pointing out that you should not cast stones in a glass house. At any rate, you should come by sometime and see some of our acts if we happen to make it out of here alive. It is quite the show."

Before he could respond, Diana grasped Gray's arm. "Perhaps this is not the best time for this."

"Certainly. We have a gig to pull after all," Lonny said before asking, "How far down the passage is it from here?"

"Around the bend. The gap is at least three stories high," Xo-Xing said. "Are you sure you don't want some of us to come with you?"

Feeling a bit more in her element as she followed the twins into the dark, Tessa reassured, "No. Keep the wounded safe and stay out of sight. We won't take long."