The World Of Steam

52

We arrived at The Great Tower, still in one piece, arriving at our final destination. We disembarked from the motorbike and Jennix let it fall, it not being of any use to her anymore. She pulled the mask down, stuffing it back beneath her coat. We entered through the glass doors and walked through the large, empty reception. There was no security at the doors, but the cameras were still on, observing everything on monitors. With all of the events that had transpired, I was sure that the security guards had all long left their posts and had gone into hiding. We had no worry of being tackled to the ground for trespassing. We were probably the most dangerous people in the building. The reception stood trashed, tables were flipped over and chairs were scattered all over the place. The mobs had attacked the building, but found nothing of use so instead took great pleasure in destroying the place. Pressing a button for the lift, we stepped inside and I pressed the top button. The doors closed and we began to ascend through offices, small hotels and restaurants. The Great Tower had it all, the result of a two billion pound budget. If only the rest of the income tax wasn't spent on cancer-inducing machines and weapons of mass destruction. Suddenly, the elevator cables shook slightly as we heard the deafening explosion of the Zeppelin. We both looked up at the noise instinctively and then back to the lift doors in front of us. The lift suddenly stopped and the doors opened up. A businessman in a sharp suit and tie went to walk inside, but stopped himself after he saw the two armed, blood spattered people staring right at him. He looked at us in fear, frozen in place, trembling slightly. I slowly reached over to the top button again without breaking eye contact with him and let the doors close, resuming our journey.

"So this is it then, huh?" My companion asked me as we waited to reach our destination.

"It should be." I replied.

"But there is still a war going on."

"I doubt that it is going to last long at this rate."

"It has been eight days."

"And yet, a single Zeppelin and a tank which are both now destroyed, have decimated both of the armies. It will be over in four days, maybe even less if we're lucky."

"How are you so sure about that?"

"Because everyone is going insane over the cure – which I have. They will soon find out. Plus, The Black Mark have probably caused the downfall of The Council Of Gold by now."

"What about Karzen? We just left him there."

"He told us to. Besides, he knows what he's doing. He's a smart man."

"I never thought that I would hear you say that."

I merely grunted. Jennix sighed and shook her head sadly.

"Christ. Millions wiped out in a matter of days."

"All because of one cure that no one was ever going to get. Welcome to the human race."

After our journey was complete, we stood at the roof, two thousand feet up in the sky. Dark clouds loomed over us, looking like they were going to strike us dead with lightning at any moment. My coat waved in the wind, flapping up and down furiously, looking like I was going to take off at any second. Suddenly, the acid rain began to pitter-patter down onto us, giving us a light shower. I took the test tube, which was amazingly still intact, and opened it. Without hesitating, I poured its contents down onto the city below, letting the wind disperse it, letting it mix in with the rainwater. Once the test tube was empty, I chucked it down onto the roof, letting it smash.

"So it's done." Jennix said.

"Not quite."

I entered Karzen's laboratory and proceeded to put any flammable substance that I could on the floor. Insulation, clothes, whisky. Anything that I could get my hands on. Jennix instantly noticed what my intentions were but made no advance to stop me. Only her eyes followed me about, observing everything that I did. If her face had not been deadpan, I would have said that she was happy with my decision and supported me. Standing at the doorway, I struck a match against the sandpaper and flicked it into the room. We both stared at the laboratory as it burned to a crisp, destroying Karzen's work for good.

I returned to what was left of the Lord's laboratory and took the briefcases that I had hidden. Undoing the clasps, I went over to a window and opened it, threw them both out. The money spilled out everywhere, littering the streets like rain. People scrambled about, grabbing whatever they could.

"What are you doing?" Jennix asked me. I turned as I threw two more briefcases out.

"There is more money here than we can spend in two lifetimes. The people need to be given something back. Maybe I am giving them something for their troubles. They at least deserve that."

She gave me a warm smile. "I'm proud of you."

I took four briefcases in my hands and exited the laboratory, walking over to a nearby train station. I put them all into a locker and locked them up, taking the key. Jennix frowned at me slightly. I turned to her and looked at her reaction. "I'll be back for them later."

She gave me a small smile and let out the softest of chuckles. "I'll take a couple myself once this war is over. They are not going anywhere."