Chapter Seventeen

The next market in the lower end of Portside just so happened to fall on the day after Millie revealed her plan. Madame Mo and several of her cohorts had been given the opportunity to help but there was not much that they could do considering the knowledge on the notorious killer was relatively sparse.

No one had died in the days since Mr Clancy’s death which set the trio of friends on edge. The killings were usually only days apart which meant that they were searching now for the next victim. They all just prayed that instinct was right and the Ripper would be watching them all at the market – where else could the killer find its next target with ease.

Standing on the edge, under the cover of Madame Mo’s stall, Millie hid herself under her own cloak. He own secrets had been revealed in days as some nosy kid who often worked at the printing shop for the newspaper had decided to follow her onto the other sides of the tracks. Now the lowers knew that Portside royalty often walked among them which made people more perceptive than normal. At least they hadn’t figured out that their loose pursed customer was actually one of the wealthiest women in England. It would not bode well for her costs as people would try to take advantage of her – more than they had before.

Shaking off such mundane thoughts, Millie sat down beside Mo and thanked the old crone when she handed her a flask of bitter alcohol. She took a few sips and was grateful for the burn that ran down her throat. She may not have been raised on this side of the tracks but slowly she was learning how to drink like them. Times like these a person needs a drink, Millie thought as she released a sigh of approval.

Her eyes scanned over the crowd and felt her brows rise up until they had almost disappeared into her hairline. People seemed to be dressing up more than usual and it took her several minutes to figure out why. It was the winter solstice. Not generally a holiday celebrated universally but the poorer half of town never passed up an excuse to celebrate. Millie supposed it was good then that she was wearing a silver beaded corset with steel boning running inside courtesy of her seamstress friend. It was beautiful and dazzling to look at but would protect her from any blade.

She didn’t tell her friend that it would not work against the powerful hand of an automaton. There was no point scaring the woman about just what exactly lurked within the human shell of the Ripper. For it was a shell, they were not human and even with the fake heart – they would never be.

Humanity was more than looking human – a lesson her father had never understood.

It was nearly two hours later, when the clockwork enthusiasts were getting ready to show their wares, Millie included, that she first got a glimpse of gold. It had been a flash out of the corner of her eyes but it had drawn her attention in an instant to the figure lurking on the edges. A strand of hair was peeking from the edge of the hood. It was pale like Millie’s but instead of being so white it was almost snow – this hair was the colour of spun gold which glinted in the cold winter sun.

Her eyes quickly moved away looked for Percy but he was already ahead of her, discreetly assembling the others so they could close off the exit routes for the killer. Now it was Millie’s turn to make her move.

Striding to the front of the group, she did something she had never done before, she volunteered her, Percy and Stretch’s design to be shown and critiqued first. The tall lanky man, who had spent many hours perfecting the exoskeleton brought it forwards under the cover of the cloak. It was hard to manoeuvre the automaton as it was turned off and would not start until someone turned it on by winding it up or placing in its heart.

At first people frowned at the cloaked form but when it was pulled off to reveal the masterpiece beneath they were awed and confused. The automaton, except for being made of metal, looked too much like a real living person. Every feature on its face had been created to look human even though the skin was obviously metal. There had never been one so life like in looks. All manufacturers of clockworks worked under the assumption that the automatons, though human like in forms, must always look like a machine. They must always be separate from humanity.

“What’s this, you’ve brought a metal statue? It looks pretty but it will not be anything special at the clockwork’s fair.” A bug like man sneered from across the way. His bug-like looks were only strengthened by the goggle resting idly on his head and by his long thing limps that were nobbled. He reminded Millie of a stick insect which she had seen in her late grandfather’s travel books.

“It’s not a metal statue. It is a fully working automaton. And it has multiple functionalities.” She informed him smugly as she came to stand between the man and her work protectively. Not that the words could actually be heard by the automaton in its current state but she did not want to take any risks.

The man opened his mouth to send a rebuttal but the words struck through his sticky mind causing his mouth to drop open. When he could think of no other response, he folded his spindly arms over his chest and turned his nose up at her.

“Prove it.”

Bowing her head so low that her head was almost touching the floor Millie let out a mocking laugh. She hated people like bug man but there were snobs in all walks of life and the lower half of Portside was no different. There was always someone who thought they were superior.

Standing upright once more, she let her eyes rove through the crowds and saw that Ripper still lurking on the edges. They were watching her and the young blonde felt her artificial heart skip in response. Did the ripper know that the woman they were staring at held their heart? She doubted it but that did not stop the Ripper’s unwavering interest in her.

Spinning away, millie winked at her tall lanky friend before pulling down her hood. A few people whispered, they knew Mimi from their previous encounters and were already bubbling at the show they were about to see. Pulling a necklace over her head, she used the pendant handing on the end, which was a small heart, to unlock a panel in the clockwork’s chest.

The murmurs picked up around her, she could hear a few exclaiming about the empty space in the clockwork’s chest. She smiled and yet felt pained. She would be bringing a consciousness to life only to destroy it moments later. The young woman shook her head to remove such thoughts. It would do well to dwell on the certainties of what was to come.

Pulling the string of her cloak, she shrugged it from her being so she could see her hands as she unfastened a discreet pocket that had been sewn into her dress to conceal the heart. It would not have boded well if someone had picked their pockets and stolen the heart before the big reveal.

She retrieved the heart, her fingers caressing over the Latin that had been inscribed over the exterior by stretch. He said the words were meant to ward away evil and evil thoughts. She only hoped that his words were enough to drive the evil intentions away from the Ripper.

Cradling the heart delicately between her hands she held it up so that everyone could see it, the metal contraption that glowed with a blue light.

“Before it can work, we much give the man of metal a heart.” She shouted, making sure her voice carried over the nattering crowd and grasped the attention of the Ripper. And it worked.

The hooded figures head snapped robotically around to stare at the woman whose hair and clothing glowed in the sunlight just like the body of metal behind her. But then its hands fell upon the heart within her fragile grasp and its weak human heart thudded within its chest. It was already faltering and would need replacing but its salvation was there held within the grasp of that insolent teen.

They moved forwards, hands coming out from under the cloak and stretching towards the heart. And then as quickly as they had moved forwards, the Ripper retreated. This was not the time or the place. There were too many witnesses and if the Ripper got the heart they did not want all of these people to know their face. For some reason, the ghost of a voice in the back of their mind told them they would need their anonymity to survive and live the life their heart promised to them.

Millie noted the hand that had outstretched to them and felt a small smile grace her lips. The Ripper was hooked on their bait. All they would have to do now, was complete their work here and then lure the Ripper to somewhere remote – away from potential victims that could be used as leverage. The Ripper would be caught if it was the last thing that she did.

After making sure everyone had seen the strange heart created of metal, she turned and placed the heart into the chest. Several attachments had to be made but as each clicked into place there was a strange curious hush which fell over the spectators. At first nothing happened and many looked around, smiles forming on their lips and disappointment finding its way into their eyes.

Stretch rolled his eyes as he let go and the clockwork remained standing. The distance between the watchers and the automaton meant they could not hear the gentle ticking occurring inside of that hardened metal skin.

Several more seconds passed and then the arms were rising above the robot like a person would stretch after spending too long in one position. It shook its shoulder and turned its head side to side as its artificial eyes adapted to the light and colours and tried to process them into images and thoughts. It was much like a baby opening their eyes for the first time and trying to understand the new world that was available to them.

Finally the automaton turned its gaze to the beautiful shiny woman before him, with clothes the colour of silver and hair so white it glowed. Cocking its head to the side in a jerky awkward movement before the clockwork stretched out its hand and stroked a cold metal finger down her cheek.

“Beautiful.” It rumbled in a deep baritone that shook the floor beneath their feet. She smiled up at the metal man and covered its hand with her own.

“Thank you. My name is Mimi, what is yours?”

“Name? My name is…” The robot paused and looked down at the floor. She could almost imagine the frown that would be on the robots face if it was human. “My name is titan.”

“Nice to meet you Titan.” With one more smile at the giant robot man behind her, Millie tried not to feel bad that she would turn him off soon.

Turning to the crowd, she held her arms out to the side feeling like a ringmaster drawing the attention of the audience to her with her enigmatic personality and twinkling grey eyes. And yet she did not feel any triumph as she watched the metal man stumble about as he learned to walk – attempting to understand what it meant to exist. Guilt rampaged through her heart but she reassured herself with the truth – that she could build another heart and revive him. Their work would not go to waste. Besides, the gentle giant deserved the chance to exist.

Immediately voices became raised and people were shouting out questions, exclaiming over the miracle they had performed while a few were cowering back from the hulking mass as he bent down to peer curiously into the eyes of children. The fascination between the two was enough for Millie to believe in miracles. No matter what some of the more orthodox believers might think, there was nothing wrong with this being. There was nothing heretic in those plates of metal that people could use as evidence. And they would find it difficult to convince everyone one of those facts which they warped from the divine teachings - though some people would still try.  That was the only thing against working in this trade which Millie despised. There would always be some lunatic trying to drag the clockworks through the mud despite the proof lumbering around before their very eyes every day. After all, how many of those lunatics owned a clockwork operated coach?

Nodding her head to Stretch and Percy, the three of them quickly guided their invention away from the flock of spectators. This was met with groans and sighs of disappointment, but they needed to keep the Ripper on the trail. Millie knew that they could not expect that the Ripper would wait around all day.

Thus with coaxing words to the automaton they walked down several side streets until they reached an unused storage unit.

Now all they could do was wait for the Ripper to strike.