Airship City

Chapter 36

IONE

The sound of Joseph crashing to the deck cut through her stupor.

“You’ve killed him!” She heard an hysterical edge in her voice, as if it were someone else screaming.

Blake glanced at her, shrugging. “Unlikely. But we’re not hanging around to find out. I’ve got to get off this flying bomb before she goes up, and you’re coming with me. A little insurance policy against any interference from Thornton’s men.” He stepped behind her and untied her hands, then jerked her to her feet. She could feel the muzzle of the little pistol pressing into the small of her back, hard and cold. “Let’s go.”

He propelled her roughly along the corridor and then into one of the passages that led between the two concentric corridors. Midway along it was a door. He hustled her through the door and up the stairs, two flights, and then out into a long, straight corridor which stretched away into the distance. The pressure of the pistol at her back was relentless, driving her forward, and she felt like crying, but she knew she had to stand up to him, somehow.

“You’ll never get away with this, you know.” She slowed down deliberately.

“Shut up and walk faster.” The pistol jabbed painfully into her ribs. She tried to slow down again, but Blake simply increased the pressure, until she gasped from the pain, and she had to speed up again.

“That’s better.”

OK, so force isn’t working. He’s too strong. Try something else.

“Why are you doing this, Blake? After everything my father’s done for you. How could you?”

Blake snorted. “Everything Howard Hughes has done for me has been out of guilt.”

She was flabbergasted. “Guilt? For what?”

“For what happened to my father.”

“What do you mean? Your father committed suicide, after he was found embezzling money from Toolco.”

 The gun jabbed into her savagely, and she nearly stumbled. “He wasn’t an embezzler! Your grandfather framed him. Your father knew it. That’s why he took me in, gave me an education and a job. But I always knew that one day I would have my revenge.”

Ione could scarcely believe what she was hearing. “He took you in because he believed that the sins of the father should not be visited on the son! He wanted to give you a chance. He trusted you, and now you are betraying that trust in the most horrible way.”

“Shut up, Ione. Thank God I won’t have to listen to your whining voice much longer. Don’t tempt me to make it even sooner.”

He pulled her roughly towards a door in the corridor, opening it with his gun hand, and pushing her into a sort of lobby. There were lift doors in the right hand wall, and he pressed the call button to go up. 

“Where are you taking me?”

Blake smiled thinly. “I already told you. We’re getting off this deathtrap. There’s a friend waiting with an airship up on deck.” The lift arrived, and he hustled her into it, pressing the button for Main Deck. The doors closed and the lift began to rise. Ione watched the indicator apprehensively until they reached the top. It seemed to take an age for the lift to make its way up the shaft. Blake fidgeted impatiently at her side.

At last the lift ground to a halt, and the doors opened onto bright sunlight. She tried to shield her eyes against the glare, but Blake impatiently pushed her forwards and out of the lift. She stumbled on the threshold and fell to her knees. Blake cursed, and tried to yank her roughly to her feet, but she managed to wrap her arms around his ankles, immobilising him. He swore violently and tried to kick his legs free. She hung on grimly, pushing against his knees with her shoulder, and with a shout of anger, he went over, falling heavily onto his back. The gun went skittering across the deck and out of his reach.

She jumped to her feet as he lay there, winded and unable to draw breath or move, panic in his eyes. She scampered across the deck, picked up the gun, and walked back to Blake, ending up standing over him, with the gun pointing at his heart.

He raised his head and looked up at her apprehensively. “You ever shot a gun before?”

“Sure have. Daddy’s taken me shooting a bunch of times.” She tried to make herself sound as confident as possible, because the truth was that it had only been the once, and with a .22 rifle, not a pistol. She wasn’t sure where the safety was on the little pistol, or whether the hammer needed to be cocked before it would fire. And had Blake already loaded a cartridge into the chamber?

As if reading her mind, Blake said “Can’t remember if I actually loaded the thing or not.” He gave a self-deprecating grin, then his eyes narrowed speculatively. “And it sure looks like you haven’t taken the safety off.”

It’s a trick. Don’t listen. She kept her eyes on him. “If you feel you can make your move without getting shot, by all means go ahead.” She tightened her grip on the gun and steadied her aim.

Blake stared back at her for a long moment, his body tense, and she held her breath, steeling herself to shoot if he made a sudden move. But after what seemed like an age, he let his breath out in a whoosh and slumped back against the deck, and relief flooded into her. Well done, Ione! Now you know the gun is ready to shoot. The knowledge was sobering, tempering her feeling of triumph, and she made sure to keep her finger resting on the trigger guard and not the trigger itself, the way her father had shown her. Don’t touch the trigger until it’s time to shoot.

“So what’s your next move, Ione?” His tone was needling, but there was no mistaking the defeat in his posture.

“I’m taking you to Security HQ.” Be decisive, and show him you’re in control. She stepped back a few paces, so that she could cover him as he got to his feet. “Get up and get going.”

But Blake simply lay there, completely unresponsive. 

“Get up, Blake! I’m warning you, don’t try me.” She heard a shrill edge in her voice. Be careful, Ione. If he thinks you won’t do anything, you’ll have lost control.

By this time he had actually closed his eyes. The sight made her furious, because he was underestimating her. She suddenly knew what to do, and she walked quietly towards him, feeling her confidence building with every step.

She knelt down carefully. While holding the gun near to his ear, she cocked the hammer in one swift movement of her thumb. Blake’s eyes flew open in alarm. She stepped back with alacrity and trained the gun on him again.

“Are you going to take me seriously now?”

“All right, Ione, you win.” He let his breath out in a big sigh.

“Well, then. Get up! Let’s go to Security HQ.”

Blake groaned, and rolled laboriously onto his side, facing away from her. His posture was one of a man defeated. She relaxed, and waited for him to rise to his feet. But instead he sprang to his feet and started sprinting towards the nearest airship, which was a dilapidated old wreck sitting on a landing pad a few hundred yards away.

Blake’s move was so sudden and so unexpected that several seconds ticked by before Ione could react. “Stop or I’ll shoot!” She shouted as loudly as she could, but Blake didn’t look back or even break stride. She shook her head in frustration and anger, and slipped her finger inside the trigger guard. It’s now or never. Before he gets further away. You have to do it. She aimed carefully at Blake’s retreating back, and squeezed the trigger as smoothly as she could.

Nothing happened. The trigger moved about half-way through its action and then seemed to reach a stop. The safety must have been on. By this time Blake was nearly a hundred yards away, and she doubted that anyone could shoot a handgun accurately over such a distance. She lowered the pistol in frustration and watched helplessly as Blake got away.