The World Of Steam

19

My eyes fluttered as I woke up and I found myself being tied to a chair, a man sitting in front of me. The Lord stared at me, also sitting in a chair. Two of the Lord's gang members walked out of the room after making sure that I was not going to escape, leaving me behind with their master. I looked around the room and saw that I was inside what looked like a makeshift laboratory. A single microscope sat at a table along with some petri dishes. One of the dishes seemed to have something growing on it. I then looked back towards the only other person inside. "You." Was the first thing that I said.

"Hello, detective." The Lord said to me. "I have heard that you are in possession of something that I want."

"Well, it depends on what it is. You want cash? Go ahead, take it, but I doubt that you will find any use for it. You want to strip me of my title? Good luck with that, I'm self employed. You want more power? How would you do that? I am merely a pawn."

The Lord shook his head. "No, no, no, no." He said quickly. "I don't want any of that. I don't need any of that. I am talking about the cure that you have."

I scoffed. "You really think that there is a cure to this gas pandemic? You're insane."

"Then what has caused the war that is happening outside right now?"

I shrugged. "Mass hysteria?"

"I have heard that you have the cure for London."

"The cure? You – you really think that there is a cure?" I laughed and the Lord frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's gas. How do you think that there is a cure? The way I see it, you only have three options. One – you can just simply wait for the gas to disperse. Sure, it would take a decade or six, but it will disperse and the air will be clean again. Two – you can try and make a cure yourself, but I don't see you as a scientist, so you can rule that option out. Don't look at me, I'm just a detective, I have no idea how science works. And three – this is just a theory, but you could probably build a giant air filter. I'm not talking about an industrial sized one, I'm talking industrial sized times a hundred."

"So what you're telling me, is that there is no cure?"

"Not one. There aren't even any theories as to how to cure the country."

"What about that laboratory? That huge tower block?"

"That's been empty for years. Every single scientist in there has long given up. They're all probably dead from lung cancer anyway."

The Lord stared at me, as though he was reading every single one of my movements, however slight and then suddenly took out a dagger. He walked up behind me and cut away at my bonds, letting the ropes fall to the ground. He put away his dagger and gestured with his head. "Go on, get out of here. You're useless to me."

I stood up. "You're not going to kill me or anything like that? Send out a warning to the rest of the civilians?"

He shook his head. "I don't see the point in that. Trying to control eighteen million people is like trying to control a nuclear meltdown. There is nothing that I can do about the war. Get out of here before I change my mind."

"Why do you even want a cure anyway?"

"Why do you need to know? Get out of here before I change my mind about keeping you alive."

I shrugged and walked past him, sticking my hands into my trench coat pockets. "I've probably already got the answer anyway." I said quietly. The Lord snapped round.

"What was that?!"

I turned to him. "What was what?"

"You said something. What was it?"

"Oh, nothing, I'm just talking to myself."

"No, no, no. You can't fool me that easily. You just said that you already got an answer. Tell me."

"Oh, crap. How did that slip out?" I said casually. "Well, if you want the answer, then you're going to have to beat it out of me."

The Lord fixed up his bow tie, preparing for the brawl. "With pleasure." He walked up to me and I quickly drew my hands out of my pockets, blocking the swings that he sent my way. We began to fight each other, punching, jabbing and blocking. The Lord suddenly swung his arm into my throat, pinning me to the wall.

"Why do you need that cure?" I asked him. He looked at me and suddenly smiled.

"If you're going to die by my hand, then I'll tell you anyway. After all, dead men tell no tales. Bio-chemical warfare. I get to take over London and both the mark and the council will bow down before me. All hail the king."

I shot my leg up, kneeing him in the gut. He gasped, winded, and doubled over, releasing me. I stepped behind him and kicked him in the back. His entire body smashed itself into the wall and he turned round, groaned and cracked his neck.

"You're insane."

He smiled at me, seeming to enjoy my insult, not at all affected by the attack. "Well of course, most warmongers are."

We fought some more and I grabbed him by his lapels, seizing a chance, and smashed my gas mask into his forehead. He staggered backwards, dazed and confused. I delivered a shoe to his chest and it connected with his sternum, forcing him to collapse to the ground. I grabbed hold of a metal cabinet and heaved. The Lord screamed as it fell on top of him, crushing his entire body. His arms and legs suddenly twitched a couple of times as a large amount of blood began to pool beneath his corpse. I looked down at him. "Bio-chemical warfare my arse." There being nothing else to do, I limped away, leaving his corpse there.

I explored the abandoned complex, having no fear of being caught. Most of the gang were out fighting, killing people for the fun of it. It was wrong, yes, but at least they were out of my way. Making my way to the top floor, I found a large oak door in front of me. I cautiously opened it and found the Lord's office. It was spacious and lavish, complete with a large, lacquered desk. Finding a large single cupboard, I opened it. In front of my eyes laid numerous identical black briefcases. I took one and put it down onto the desk. Undoing the clasps, I lifted it open and looked at its contents. I tilted my head. Looking back up at me, where hundreds of bills, counting up to the tens of thousands. Closing it up, I put it back into its place and closed the cupboard, leaving the scene.