Orion and the Clockwork (The Carmsborough Vigilantes #2)

Chapter 15

Alarms immediately blared. The Clockwork released the bindings that held Orion and the Gearmaster, and Orion grabbed hold of the Clockwork. He wasn't prepared for it to show up, but for once, he was glad it did. The Gearmaster, however, moved in the opposite direction.

"Where are you going?" Orion asked, incredulous.

"We have to get that stone," he said, leaving through the door and into the hallway.

"You can't be serious." Orion hopped off his steambot and raced after the aging man. Running right into the mess was the last thing that he had wanted to do today, especially when their escape was right there.

The Clockwork got the memo and continued smashing through walls and doorways to keep pace until it caught up to Orion. He once again hopped on its back, and the machine charged towards the Gearmaster, who wasn't much further ahead.

When a small wall of armed enemies rounded the corner, guns aimed, the Gearmaster finally shrunk down, hoping to get out of the way before the firing happened. He did at the last moment, and the bullets all pinged off of the Clockwork. Some went right back into the crowd, but most dug into walls.

It was a wonder they hadn't figured out that shooting the machine was a hopeless cause, but for the moment, they used the opportunity. The Clockwork lunged forward and swatted the remaining men, who hit the floor and walls so hard that a few cracks could be heard. With that, the area was quiet, minus the alarm still blaring.

"What is so important about this stone?" Orion asked.

"You heard the general talking about it. If they can use that thing to supercharge a steambot, they can take over the world without contest. It would effectively become a nuclear option, but Syndra is insane enough to try it."

"I have so many questions that you need to answer when we get back to base. Any idea where this thing is?"

"Back down in the armory."

Orion reached down to pick up the Gearmaster, who graciously accepted a ride on his own creation. He pointed the way for the Clockwork, who struggled on the sloped section because of his height.

Once they were back at the bottom, another group was waiting for them. This time, instead of guns, they had flamethrowers hooked up to tanks on their backs. Even if the Clockwork was somehow resistant to flames, its two human passengers were not.

It must have recognized this as well, because it raised its arm and fired some sort of blue laser blast that bounced between all five of them and dropped them to the floor. The Gearmaster watched with some sort of sick awe.

"What was that?!" Orion yelled. "And where was that before?"

"Was the Clockwork struck by lightning at any point, perchance?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Built-in plasma storage tank. Allows for a lightning blast. I just didn't have the chance to charge it before the ceremony."

The Gearmaster hopped off and entered the armory, which was now empty. The smell of burned skin wafted through the barely circulating air, and Orion felt sick, but followed him inside.

The old mechanic approached the back wall where Orion had grabbed the soldier's outfit and flipped a hidden switch. A panel in the wall revealed itself, and from it, he pulled the stone. It was no different-looking than any other stone from a distance, but up close, a signature 'S' symbol was emblazoned on it. Must have been the Syndra branding.

"I have an idea," Orion said, grabbing the stone from his pants pocket and placing it in the panel. He then took the stone from the Gearmaster for safe-keeping.