The Wars at Home

by ashiqtnt

"Ladies and gentlemen, step right up and behold, the most amazing animatronic creatures ever created! From steam-powered swan to the gear-filled gorilla, this is truly a sight to see! You don't want to miss it!" The salesman was standing on a huge block outside the rather large carnival type tent and shouting at the top of his lungs. He was dressed in a black suit with a hat making him look more like a businessman than a salesman. Red shook her head with a smile when she saw him and decided to check it out. Despite the war she felt that little indulgences were allowed. Since her right hand was a prosthetic with a retractable blade she always felt an odd sort of connection to such creations and shows. When she approached the tent entrance, she saw a pretty woman in a similar suit who charged her to even see the merchandise.

Inside she saw various animatronic toy creatures including the aforementioned gorilla which was only about a foot or so long but had so many gears and levers inside its tiny body that it looked like a living robot. There were only about a dozen other people, all dressed well. She was in her usual wine red cloak tied at her waist with her corset and pants and knee high boots. She was silently looking around before noticing a middle aged man who was explaining the features of the various creations to the people. She joined the small crowd and listened to him as he spoke in a low voice but was highly knowledgeable and made sure to explain the nuances and working of what he called his creations. After his short presentation, some people were making purchases while others were haggling over the prices. Red decided to quietly leave but she caught the eye of the old man who smiled warmly at her. He winked and she smiled and waved at him.

He walked over to her.

"Did you see anything you like?" He asked in slightly accented English, Red couldn't quite place it but it was definitely foreign.

"Oh. I like everything, it's all so marvelous. The gorilla is very clever."

"Thank you, madam. It took many long hours and cost a lot of money. But I would say it was all worth it. By next year I can probably build a system to control it remotely. Wouldn't that be grand?"

"That would be very amazing."

He was called for by a rich industrialist; he excused himself politely and went to attend to the man.

At that instant her communicator beeped. She parted her cloak slightly and retrieved it from her pant pocket discreetly. Not many people owned one and anyone owning one was highly suspected of being an enemy spy, a government agent or very rich. She stared at the screen briefly and scrunched up her nose as she read the message.

'Broken Arrow. One hour. J'

She quickly put it back in her pocket and looked up to see the old man studying her even though he was speaking to another man. He smiled again but Red saw that his eyes were making other calculations.

She quickly waved again and left the tent. After making sure that she was not being followed, she headed towards the Broken Arrow, the pub so called because it had a literal broken arrow embedded in an outside wall.

She found Sir Jack sitting at his usual table in the back writing into a thick book with various scrolls and books on the table. There was also his communicator and what looked like a big screen with buttons and knobs on the side.

She signaled a drink to the bartender and pulled a chair and sat opposite Sir Jack.

"Don't you do anything else other than write?" she asked him.

He did not answer right away. He wrote for another fifteen minutes while Red was served her drink and a bowl of chips. She was half way through the chips and on her second drink when he put his pen down and looked at her. She was looking at him crossly. Jack had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"Sometimes I read," he said.

"Huh?"

"You asked me if I did do anything else."

Red sighed exasperated, placed her drink on the table and put her head in her hands. Jack could not see her face but she was smiling. If there was anyone who could put her in her place, it was him. She looked up to see him smiling at her.

"Okay, Sir Jack. I yield. What mission dost thou have for me?"

Jack laughed at this for a moment and then suddenly turned serious. He let out a deep breath, Red saw the worry lines form on his face as he tried to calm himself by running a hand through his salt and pepper hair.

He pulled out a book from under a small pile on his table and placed it in front of Red. She turned it around with her free hand and looked at the cover. FRAY was written on top and it depicted a girl fighting some monster with the words "The Thrilling Conclusion!" in a catchy font. Turning the pages she made out some vague storyline and pictures. She put it back on the table, shrugged and raised an eyebrow at Jack.

"What you just leafed through was actually an intelligence report from an undercover agent. A friend of a friend acquired it and passed it on to me. Apparently a former agent had a sister jailed behind enemy lines; they used her to spy on a colonel. This was her final report."

"This picture book is an intelligence report?"

"Yes. Though it doesn't look like much, it is very clever. Anyway, our friends in the Agency seem to think that her missions were a complete failure, given that it did not have any major impact on the war. But I've been able to piece together three bits of additional information from this rather hurriedly done book and it would show that her mission wasn't a complete failure as initially believed. One, Gattacus is building dragons that can fly. Now, I do not know whether this is literal or figurative for some type of technology. Two, there is a traitor in our midst. And, three, the girl knew that she had been compromised by this traitor but decided to act through to protect her collaborator."

Red had listened attentively and sat back in her chair when Jack did so. Red saw the corner of a pack of cigarettes peeking out from under a book on the table. She pulled it out.

"Ecrivain's Specials. I thought you had quit," she said.

"Some occasions call for it."

She retrieved one cigarette, lit it with his lighter and took a long pull.

"So where do I come in?" she asked.

"We have identified this mole, he is a Major Brown in his majesty's thirsty seventh royal infantry battalion. Though not occupying a very high position in the military, he is seen as influential as he has the ears of a quite a lot of his superiors. We believe Brown was responsible for the sabotage and explosions at the Number eighteen aircraft facility in London, which means he has also acquired the plans for our new long range aerial fighters that were being developed there. Getting to him is tricky as we can't prove any of this and he has friends in high places. I am pretty sure that he may have passed the plans to someone. You need to find out who he passed it on to and get it back if possible."

"And Brown?"

"Eliminate him. Once you get the information from him, he is of no further use."

"That's easier said than done. I'm pretty sure that he has got people watching him, protecting him. No to mention, he is still an officer in his majesty's army. That would mean at least a few soldiers around him all the time."

"He is hosting a grand lunch tomorrow. I will procure an exclusive invitation. Infiltrate the party, extract the information and get out. Now, go find a dress and some manners fit for a lady," he said with a chuckle.

"What's wrong with what I wear?"

"This is a big affair filled with politicians, bureaucrats and military. No cloaks and corsets, only dresses and suits. Now, go."

She snorted and got up deciding to get a drink at the bar before leaving. She sat on a barstool and waited for the bartender to get her drink. She very nearly snatched it out of the man's hand.

"Easy there, Red. You almost spilled it."

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to," she softened after a swig, "he wants me to wear a dress for the next mission. A dress! Argh!"

He laughed good humoredly and rubbed his chin.

"You know Red, sometimes we must let go of our pride and do what is asked of us," he turned around to wash some glasses and arrange the bottles. Red stared at his back, the man was wise for his young age.

When Red returned the next morning, Sir Jack handed her an electronic scroll that parted midway to reveal a name and picture. He also handed her an invitation in the name of a Lady Catherine.

"That's your target. Good luck," said Jack.

Red cursed inwardly at the frilly dress she had to wear with the sleeve and the gloves; she couldn't even throw a decent punch in it.

When Red returned late in the evening, Sir Jack was nowhere to be found. She sat at his regular table , removed her cloak and placed it on the chair next to her and ordered some food. As she was almost finishing her meal, Jack pulled out a chair and sat opposite her placing a big bag on the floor.

"I would have an appetite too if I'd created a ruckus like that," he said.

"I had no choice. He took me into his private room and threatened me. I had to pretend to be some poor confused lady and then took advantage of him. Plus I stole some money and jewels, so that it looks like a robbery."

Jack laughed, "of course. Did you find out anything useful?"

"He said that he handed the plans to someone called Geppetto."

At the mention of that name, Jack sat back in his chair with a distant look. He was silent for a while but Red could discern that he was thinking hard.

"We do not know exactly who this Geppetto is. It is an alias. All we know is that he is a European information broker. For the past two years his name has been popping up with Gattacus, which would mean that he has been in the exclusive employ of Gattacus for at least that period of time. If Gattacus gets his hands on those plans, it would be the end of the war. He will win."

"Come on, Jack. We are the British Empire. We are not going to go down to a madman bent on world conquest."

"You don't understand Red. Nobody knew how Gattacus was able to forcibly unite the Germanic states. It was a tightly guarded secret. Until we caught a Prussian spy last month. He had been trying to steal documents on our troop movements. Anyway, this man claimed that Gattacus has flying tanks. Can you imagine that? If he gets his hands on the plans for our long range aerial fighters, he could combine it with his fleet of flying tanks and fly right across the Channel. We have to uncover this Geppetto and find out what all that he knows and what all he has sent to Gattacus."

"Like that's happening," said Red between a mouthful. "You don't know his real name, what he looks like or anything else about him really."

She put her utensils down and reached for her glass of water.

Jack exhaled defeated, "that is true. All we know is that he is European, middle aged, has contacts all over the continent and here, and he has a weakness for clockwork toys."

Red stopped drinking at that.

"Say that again," she said.

"He is European, middle aged, has contacts-"

"No, no," Red interrupted, "about the clockwork thing."

"The clockwork toys? Apparently the man has a weakness for clockwork toys. The French almost got him last year but he escaped at the last minute. They traced him to a clockwork toy workshop on the outskirts of Nice. By the time they got there he was gone, the workshop was littered with animatronic and clockwork toys in various stages of completion. It was owned by an old reclusive Frenchman, his body was found buried in a corner of the workshop, dead of natural causes. Geppetto had cleverly hidden the fact that he was dead and introduced himself to the local populace as his apprentice and used his workshop. Geppetto hasn't been heard of after that escape. The word from that same Prussian spy was that he was hiding out in England. I should have linked the Brown case to him."

Jack stopped talking when he saw that Red was just staring at him with blank eyes. She was holding her glass of water a few inches from her face.

"Red? Are you OK?"

"Clockwork toys," she muttered. "I have got to go, it could be him," she said louder.

Red stood up and put her cloak on quickly. She stood at an angle so that only Jack could see what she was doing. She made a movement with her prosthetic right hand that released the blade concealed within with only light motorized sounds. Satisfied that it was smooth, she was about to leave when Jack held her hand. He dug into the bag with his other hand and pulled out a small gun. It wasn't bigger than a teacup. Red raised an eye at that with a crooked smile.

"It's more dangerous than it looks," he assured her looking serious.

She collected her throwing knives from the bar and strapped it to her thighs, pocketed the little gun and smoothed her cloak. Giving a last glance and nod at Jack, she hurried out.

Red almost ran towards the tent that she had only visited the day before. She wasn't sure whether she was right or wrong. If she was right, she would have Geppetto. If she was wrong, well, she could buy one of those toys with Brown's money. She slowed down as she got nearer, almost in tiptoes as she got very close. The area around the tent looked deserted, it was as if the entire area had been abandoned for a while. There was no sound apart from the howl of the wind in the air. The silence was broken by a muffled hum. Red ducked instinctively and rolled to her side. Something hot passed by above her, in the space where head had been less than a few seconds ago.

She looked up to see the pretty woman from the day before except she was not dressed like she was then. Red thought that she could see a part of herself in the woman. What caught Red's attention wasn't the red corset and skirt with knee length gloves or what looked like a small clock strapped on her head, or the bullet chain around her waist. Even the big dangerous looking gun with a thick cable going into itself and knobs didn't shock her too much. The woman had a hat with a long feather protruding from her head, Red couldn't place a utilitarian or aesthetic use for it and that confused her.

"Any last words before you die?" The woman asked in slightly accented English.

"What the hell is that on your head?"

The woman was taken aback for a second. She muffled a laugh and smoothed the feather with one hand, "that is what bothers you? It shouldn't. But this should."

Saying so, she took aim and fired at Red. Red was anticipating it and rolled to her side again but this time she completed the roll into a stand and threw a knife at the woman. She barely managed to block it with the gun rendering it useless as the knife punctured the protruding cable. The woman shouted in frustration and pulled out a handgun and fired at Red. Red was already ducking and running erratically. The woman ran out of bullets and Red stopped running to catch her breath. At the same time, the two men from the day before emerged from the tent pushing what looked like a mini cannon outside and pointed it straight at Red.

"Goggles down, and the cannons up," shouted the announcer from the previous day as the middle aged man pulled his goggles down over his eyes and pressed a button on the cannon. The mouth turned a fiery red before shooting a fire ball at her.

"Bloody hell," Red managed to say before jumping out of the way only a second before impact. The earth beside her exploded and the shockwave turned her in the air and she landed awkwardly on her left shoulder. She managed to roll over behind the cover of a tree.

"I like you," the presenter from the previous day shouted, "well, maybe not really like you. I respect you, you're good. It's going to be an honour to kill you."

The explosion had kicked up a lot of dirt and the trio could not pinpoint Red's location. Red sat up behind the tree and felt her left shoulder, it was dislocated. She managed to pop it back in biting down to stifle the groan as the pain hit her. Exhaling sharply she pulled out the gun that Jack had given her.

"You better be as good as he said," Red said to the gun.

She peeked out from behind the tree and saw that the two men were intensely peering out to see if they could spot her, the woman was nowhere in sight. Taking careful aim she shot at the cannon. The small gun did pack a good punch, the recoil threw the gun out of her hand. The cannon was hit with a heavy energy blast and exploded throwing the two men off balance and hopefully knocking them out.

Red stood up from behind cover and was suddenly charged at by the woman who lashed out at her with a sword. She blocked her with her right hand. The woman took a few steps back confused at the metallic sound instead of Red's scream. Red gave her a smile and pulled off her cloak revealing her prosthetic arm. She threw it aside and took a fighting stance.

"Fascinating," said the woman, "I will rip that arm off and beat you to death with it. It will adorn my wall when I buy a big house and settle down."

"Dream on, Geppetto," Red stopped to assess the woman's look of surprise. "You know, I thought it was that presenter guy at first but when you started mouthing off, I realized it's you."

"Clever girl," said the woman and charged at Red. Red couldn't bring out the hidden blade in her prosthetic as she was busy blocking attacks from Gepetto. However hard she parried, Red couldn't help but notice that the woman was holding back a little. At one point, Geppetto's frustrations got the better of her and she went in for a wild attack. Red expected her to make a mistake and capitalized on it by moving in closer and going for a kick in the mid-section, disarming Geppetto and throwing her over her shoulder in one swift motion. Geppetto landed on her back and had the wind knocked out of her. She lay on the ground trying to regain her breath.

"Get up, on your knees," commanded Red. Geppetto complied and took a hard long look at Red.

"I can still beat you and escape," said Geppetto.

Red flicked her right wrist and held it steady. Geppetto heard the light motorized sounds and the blade emerging from Red's hand. She smiled.

"You are full of surprises," said Geppetto.

The middle aged man appeared some distance behind Geppetto with a gun pointed at Red.

"Let her go!" he shouted.

Red could have moved in front of Geppetto so that she could use her as cover but she did not, although she kept her blade at the woman's throat.

"Give up! I have her by the throat! Literally!" she shot back.

"I will shoot," he threatened.

"Robert!" shouted Geppetto, "it's over. We have been made."

"We can still escape," he countered, "Mikhail is almost dead, he does not know much anyway. We can get away."

"And go where? By tomorrow morning, everyone will be looking for us, we won't even make it out of the country," Geppetto said calmly.

"I will not give up!" shouted Robert and raised the gun. A shot rang out from behind Red and hit Robert knocking him off his feet. A few seconds later, Red heard footsteps approaching their position.

"I was wondering when you would show up," said Red.

"Sorry I am late, had to round up some friends for this show," said Jack. Red saw soldiers carrying Robert and Mikhail away on stretchers.

Jack looked at Geppetto, "hello Geppetto. I have heard a lot about you."

"All good things, I hope," said Geppetto without looking up.

"Not really. But I am hoping we can correct that," said Jack.

By then more soldiers had come and some of them stood a little distance away observing the three of them.

"We can probably cut you a deal and let you live in exchange for all the intelligence you have on Gattacus and his army," said Jack, "it's going to be a tough sell but I have some friends who can help us out. What do you say?"

Geppetto let out a long breath and looked up at Jack. "OK. I surrender and I will fully cooperate with you. But I have one condition: my partners should not be harmed."

"I am sure that can be arranged," said Jack. Jack motioned for Red to pull Geppetto to her feet and she did. They were walking to a vehicle followed by four soldiers.

"Who did you sell the plans of the new aerial fighters to?" asked Jack.

"No one. I haven't sold it to anyone yet. Gattacus still owes me from last time. So I withheld this one until I got paid in full."

"So, it's all about the money?" asked Red.

"Yes," replied Geppetto, "that's always what it is. Nations fight for resources, essentially money. People fight for profits and salaries, money again. That's what it all ever is: money. Everything else are just words of war."

"Not always," said Jack, "sometimes it's about doing the right thing."

Jack handcuffed Geppetto and led her to the back of the vehicle. Red stood in front of Geppetto. They were very much alike, noticed Jack.

"Can I ask you something?" said Red.

Geppetto nodded reservedly.

"What's your name? Your real name?"

Geppetto was taken aback at this and did not answer straightaway and sat down in the vehicle. Before they closed the door, she looked at Red and smiled.

"Anna. My name is Anna Lynds."

The vehicle drove off escorted by two other army vehicles.

"In another life, we could have been friends. Or more," said Red.

"Probably," said Jack, "but right now, we have work to do. Let's strip that tent down and find everything of value. Flying dragon plans, traitor lists, battle tactics; it will be an intelligence mine."

Jack hurried towards the tent excitedly. Red stopped to pick up her cloak and put it on. She saw Geppetto's (no, Anna's she reminded herself) sword gleaming in the moonlight. She lifted it off the ground and wiped it. She looked at it for a few seconds, let out a deep breath and followed Jack to the intelligence mine. 

The Winter War: Part Two

by bloodsword

Balt frowned as he stepped into Leicester Square to the sounds of a steam calliope. Considering that a steam-powered animatronic circus was playing at one end, hearing a calliope playing wasn't all that surprising. It was the song that it was playing.

'Something Wicked That Way Went?' he thought with a frown. Could it be coincidence that the circus music-filled song about shadows and menace would begin to play as soon as he stepped into the square?

It wasn't a little ironic that the song also described how he was feeling about their current situation. While Balt couldn't say Gattacus von Brandenburg, Prince of Prussia, was evil per se, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that the man was power hungry and ambitious. Von Brandenburg had ruthlessly quashed opposition at home, deftly unified the various Prussian states into a powerful whole via military conquest and broadened Prussia's borders at every opportunity. And that had brought him into direct conflict with Her Majesty's interests on the continent.

Balt had faced the Prussian warlord a number of times over the years that Britain had been at war with Prussia. Most recently the two of them had taken the field at Antwerp, Belgium where he and the Steam Rifles managed to outmaneuver the highly skilled and well-trained Prussian army to claim high ground and push the enemy back before they could seize the strategic port city.

It was a bid to control even more of the southern coasts of the North Sea, giving Prussia a stranglehold on commerce and traffic moving through the busy seaway. A bid that the Steam Rifles narrowly thwarted. Unfortunately for the Empire, reeling from a number of smaller losses to Prussian assets across the continent, the grim and determined Prussian noble was far from being done.

"I like this song," a deep voice rumbled, sounding more like an avalanche than a man talking. Eyebrow lifting in curiosity, Balt turned towards the speaker. And found himself looking at a massive mountain of a man in an engineer's coveralls, a sleeveless tunic, with a welder's mask propped up on his bald head and a bomb tattooed on his left shoulder.

Catching Balt's eye, the big man nodded in greeting before going on.

"Especially the part about the old gypsy with the sewn closed eyes still able to tell the future," he rumbled. "And the Shadow Show."

"You always had an ear for strange music, Sully," Balt said with a chuckle. He stepped forward to take the big man's hand in a firm grip. "How are you? And Mrs Sully? She well?"

"Not bad," Sully replied. "The Mrs is good. You should try it, Balt."

"What? Marriage??" Balt smiled. "I'm married to queen and country, you know that, Sully." He sobered. "So where's Eloise?"

Sully motioned towards the animatronic circus with his head.

"The gear gorilla brought out her Kate side." The big man looked back at Balt. "Better, though, if you want her to look at those plans."

The colonel patted the pocket he had the plans stuffed into.

"I do, indeed," he said. "You coming or standing watch?"

A big wrench came up to rest on the big man's shoulder, it's bottom end held ready in a meathook hand.

"Watch," Sully replied. "Lots of trouble kicked up by the mole's fall. Somebody needs to watch your backs."

"Fair enough," Balt said, giving Sully a comradely slap on the shoulder. Then he was turning to make his way towards the tent that was marked by a sign with a giant gorilla on it.

As the tall career military man drew closer to the circus, he could hear the barker call out the various acts in a well-carrying voice:

"Ladies and Gentlemen, step right up and behold, the most amazing animatronic creatures ever created! From the steam-powered swan to the gear-filled gorilla, this is truly a sight to see! You don't want to miss it!"

Catching sight of the barker himself, a rail-thin fellow in a long, black coat standing out in front of the Swan tent, Balt let himself listen to him as he went on to detail other acts, like a giant, wall-climbing steam spider, and steam-propelled birds that actually flew. 'Imagine sieging a castle with that spider,' he thoughtfully considered, the momentary distraction from the issues currently on his mind a welcome respite. Then he was at the gorilla tent.

"If the Steam Engine be the most powerful instrument, in the hands of man, to alter the face of the physical world, it operates, at the same time, as a powerful moral lever in forwarding the great cause of civilization," a woman's voice was saying as he stepped into the tent itself to the sound of whirring gears, twanging cables, and heavy metal limbs moving.

Hearing that voice, he smiled. That would be Eloise's Kate personality, a tinker and a scientist with skill and ability matched by few. Kate had always believed in the power of technology to advance a society as a whole, but she never let that belief get in the way of her building and using some pretty fantastic weapons.

In fact, the first time he met the Kate personality, she was using a weapon like nothing he had seen before, to save their collective asses. He could remember it like it was yesterday, ...

Ears ringing from the explosions going off all around him, Balt staggered into a blast crater and fell to one knee.

"Do you see him, Bill?" he shouted at the man in the same Royal Infantry uniform that he wore, which had staggered into the crater just behind him.

"No," Bill shouted back before being momentarily lost in a swirl of smoke. When the smoke cleared, he was surrounded by grim Prussian infantry.

There was a slight pause as they assessed each other. Then, shouting and growling, the Prussians grabbed him. Grimacing in dismay, Balt yanked out his sidearm and dropped three of the enemy soldiers as fast as he could pull the trigger. The fourth, however, managed to plant a bayonet deep into his friend's side.

"Bill!" he cried even as he shot the fourth in the face, pitching the man back. Then he was throwing himself forward to drop beside his stricken comrade.

"Stay with me, mate," he desperately urged as he jerked the long blade free and pressed his hand against the wound in an attempt to stop the blood. "Stay with me! We'll get you out of here to a medic. Just hold on!"

Gravel kicked into the crater pulled Balt's attention off the groaning Bill and back up to the crater's edge. And he felt a chill wash through him to find a full squad of Prussian infantrymen standing there, weapons pointed right at them.

"Damn," he said hoarsely, unconsciously bracing himself against the hail of bullets that was about to come. Then, with the hiss of escaping steam and the buzz of a rapidly spinning cylinder, a nearly steady stream of bullets hosed across the Prussian squad, scything them down before they could react.

Twisting towards the shooter, Balt found himself looking in astonishment and relief at the figure that stood on the crater's back edge, a portable steam rig on their back connected to the long-barreled weapon they held two-handed via a handle on top in addition to the stock grip. Sitting at the barrel's three quarter point was a cylindrical drum that spun around the weapon's central axis thanks to the pressurized driver that cradled it. Even as his eyes fell onto it, a lazy coil of smoke climbed out of the muzzle opening.

Their rescuer was clad in a welder's jacket and hood to protect against the heat coming off the rig, with thick pants, engineer's boots, welder's goggles and heavy gloves finishing off their kit. Then they were talking.

"Don't just sit there gawking, soldier!" the figure shouted, revealing itself to be a woman. "Grab your friend and let's get the bloody hell out of here!"

"I still have a man out there!" Balt shouted back. "I can't just leave him to the Prussians!"

"Not much choice, friend."

The woman paused to turn and send a stream of bullets screaming towards something large and clanking nearby before going on.

"Things have gone rather pear-shaped here, if you hadn't noticed. If we don't go now, we aren't going at all!"

Balt could feel his teeth grind in frustration at that. Then, as careful as he could, he hoisted Bill up onto his shoulder, keeping as little pressure on his wounded side as possible. That done, he risked one last look out over the crater-covered landscape. 'Damnit, Leopold, where the hell are you??' he wondered.

"C'mon!" the woman barked. "We've got tanks converging on us!"

Nodding, Balt turned and carried Bill to where the woman was waiting.

"I'm Balthazar Steele and this is Bill Smith," he said a bit breathlessly as he came to a halt beside her. "My missing man is Jeremiah Leopold. We were here with, ..."

"That doesn't matter now, Steele," the woman fired back before hosing another streamer of bullets into the smoke. "Prussians have Leopold now, if we don't. Time to go." Then she was turning to quickly run into the smoke, forcing Balt to run after her or get left behind.

From there their mysterious benefactor had led them to a small stealth dirigible that she had secreted nearby and together they used it to escape a battlefield that had been completely overrun by the Prussians' superior force. It had taken nearly three days after that before he had discovered the name of their rescuer from her massive mechanic, the implacable Sully. And several months after that to learn that Kate was only one of the handful of personalities that had taken up residence in the young woman's rather complicated brain.

Balt frowned as the memory continued to play out, reminding him of how they learned of Jeremiah's capture and subsequent torture at the hands of a brutal man named Hohetzen, who answered to a Prussian officer known only as the Colonel. Torture that not only psychologically marred their former comrade, but took his leg as well.

"Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?" a quiet woman's voice asked, interrupting his reverie.

Blinking, Balt found himself looking down into Kate's warm brown eyes, glinting with intelligence as they studied him, a bare hint of a smile on her oval, honey-colored face.

"And aren't you a little short for a mad scientist?" he retorted, the wit earning him a chuckle. Then she was hugging him.

"The assassin would've killed you for that, you know," she said against his chest.

"And Eloise would've rolled her eyes, I know," Balt replied without missing a beat as the two friends unreservedly mentioned two more of the personalities that lived inside the woman's head. Then he was gently disengaging and stepping back.

"It's good to see you, Kate. I just wish it were for a better reason."

Kate's smile became melancholic.

"As do I, Balt," she said, looking up at him for a moment. Then, with a sigh, she held out her hand. "Now show me those bloody plans, will you? I'm afraid time is no longer our ally here!"