The Ghost Rebellion (34 page)

He looked in the rear view mirror. The glow of the factory was growing dimmer by the second, but he couldn’t stop. Not now. They had to get to the extraction point.

“
Just stay with me, Ryfka.”

Chapter Thirteen

In Which the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Makes a Grand Entrance

After two nights on the floor with Eliza, Wellington could feel a muscle in his back twitching. Still as he looked across the Strategy Room to where she was studying the map of India, he could only smile as his eyes followed the curve of her backsides in the trousers she wore.
So improper and inappropriate that we would be exiled from the Empire,
she had asked of him.

What he was presently thinking was
highly
inappropriate, and he did not mind in the least. It was so satisfying to tell her the truth of how he felt, and just as good to seal their sharing the way they had. It had been very much worth it.

Wellington took a turn at the periscope to get his mind off of his lover and back on the mission at hand. Sweeping the landscape revealed green hills slipping by and open skies overhead. No peril on the horizon. He flicked the scope’s arms and sent it back into place in the ceiling. The train was an impressive feat of technology, ingenuity, necessity, and luxury...but it still bothered him: Why wasn’t it a hypersteam?

Sophia del Morte appeared in the entrance, rather incongruously pushing a tea trolley. At his raised eyebrow, she said, “Just making myself useful, and besides, the coffee was atrocious.”

Wellington observed the narrow form of a coffeepot right next to the one for tea.

“
Which would you like?” Sophia’s grin suggested both might be scandalous.

Wellington could feel Eliza’s gaze fixed on him, and for a moment he was torn.

“
You should have the coffee,” Sophia said, inhaling the scent. “Wonderful, a roast so dark”—she glanced up and shot the two of them a wicked look—“Like my soul.”

Eliza gave a little hiss of annoyance, but Wellington was relieved to see she didn’t reach for one of her pistols. That was an improvement, certainly.

“
I think I will have tea,” Wellington said, taking hold of the pot himself. “More my speed.”

Sophia gave a little shrug and poured herself a coffee. “I sincerely hope your director is right about this leisurely pace.” She took a sip. “Jekyll has given these insurgents an incredible power.”

“
Indeed they have, Sigñorina,” Wellington agreed, “which can sometimes give men—and yes, women—a false sense of confidence. From what we heard, Nahush’s confidence in electroporters must be what allows him to entrust his Ghost Rebellion to Jekyll.”

“
Perhaps after facing you at the Army & Navy Building, he is willing to work with Jekyll as the electroporter offers them an advantage.”

“
Tosh, my condition does not play in this whatsoever.”

“
Your
condition?”
Her left eyebrow raised. “Is that what you call it?”

Wellington felt himself clench.

“
Fan-bloody-tastic, Sophia,” seethed his partner. “You might want to consider helping him.”

“
I am,” Sophia replied tersely. “Instead of treating what happened as an affliction, Wellington should embrace it. What he can do is nothing less than astounding, and it will serve us well in the battle ahead.”

“
Not if I can’t control it,” Wellington stated.

“
But you can,” Eliza said, placing her hand on his arm.

He looked at her. So beautiful. So trusting. “How can you be so certain, Eliza?”

“
Listen to yourself right now, Welly. There is a control there.” She touched his cheek. “Jekyll does not have a hold on you. Neither does your father. You cut those ties many years ago.”

He placed his hand over hers. “And you said I was the one good to you. You are rather special to me, as well.”

“
Shall I leave you two alone?” Sophia asked with a tilt of her head.

Eliza kept her gaze with his. “Think of all the times I’ve gotten the better of that disciplined exterior of yours.”

He blushed. “Well, yes, you have me there.”

“
I know how strong you are, even if you do not.”

“
I believe,” Sophia groaned, “I am going to be ill.”

The two women stared at each other, but so far no one was throwing knives.
Maybe
, Wellington thought,
they were starting to actually like each other.
 

Maulik, flanked by Lieutenant O’Neil, rolled into the Strategy Room, thankfully breaking the tension. “Good morning, all. Rested and ready for an exciting day, I hope?”

“
So, what is the plan, Director?” Eliza asked, turning her back on Sophia. “Are we planning to stop somewhere in Jaipur City, or are we coming at the Water Palace from a different angle?”

“
You didn’t read the case file provided in your cabin?” Maulik asked.

“
I…” Eliza gently bit her bottom lip. “I lost track of time, what with all the excitement in leaving Bombay.”

“
Two days and two nights,” Sophia stated with a sly grin, “on a train, and you didn’t find a moment?”

“
She does have a point,” Wellington agreed…

…
and immediately regretted it. Eliza shot him a look that could have been classed as a lethal weapon.

“
I didn’t see you reminding me about any case file last night when we were naked and wrapped in one another’s loving embrace,” she snapped at him.

“
Eliza…” Wellington whispered through clenched teeth.

“
Oh Wellington, please, don’t act so shocked. Eliza Braun and I are powerful women and we have voracious appetites in all things.” She went to take a sip of her coffee, and paused. “I know of at least three of your Ministry agents, director, who are more than relaxed and ready for this mission.”

“
Yes, well, that is far more than I need to know about what is happening on my train,” Maulik said, clearing his throat. “Anyone else have anything to share?” He looked over his shoulder. “O’Neil?”

“
I’m trying to stay focused on the mission,” he replied. O’Neil’s grip tightened on his pith helmet. “I’m wondering if I’m going about this the right way.”

“
Eliza,” Maulik began, “to answer your question—our plan for today faces it first challenge in Jal Mahal’s location. There is a reason it is called the Water Palace.”

“
It is completely surrounded by Man Sagar Lake,” Wellington said, “so, Director, how are we going to get to the Water Palace undetected if the Ghost Rebellion may be there already?”

“
The solution is all about you,” Maulik said, motioning around him.

“
This train? We are going to catch the Ghost Rebellion off-guard with a train?”

“
That we are, my friend.” He wheeled to one side to face O’Neil. “Make yourselves ready.” The lieutenant placed his helmet back on his head and exited in the direction of the passenger cars. Moments later, O’Neil reappeared, followed by Ministry agents and British infantry. They filed through the Strategy Room, and proceeded towards the engine.

Once the last man disappeared, Maulik went to the map of India. He flipped a few switches, making the map’s tiles spin and flip, the image of India shimmering out of focus. The rotating tiles now slid up and out of view, replaced by other tiles forming a new map of the city of Jaipur, Man Sagar Lake, and Jal Mahal. Outside the city, a series of lines connected and branched off to points beyond the map.

“
We are here,” Maulik began, placing a small two-part woodcut of their train onto one of the railroad lines heading to Jaipur. A few moments later, it began inching closer to the city. “As you said, Wellington, avoiding detection is the trick.”

“
This train,” Sophia said, looking around her as if studying the Strategy Car’s integrity. “Does it have æthergate abilities?”

Maulik let out a sharp laugh. “I would never endanger my agents with any of the adverse effects of æthergate travel. I have something better in mind.” He pointed to a small junction the train magnet was approaching, then pressed two red buttons in his chair’s armrests. “I recommend you secure that tea trolley and hold on to something. We’re about to detach.”

Sophia pushed the trolley out of the carriage and returned quickly, an excited grin on her lips. Wellington had just fixed his grip onto the periscope’s housing when the train lurched. The magnet depicting their train split, the engine proceeding around the city perimeter while the second half—the passenger cars—continued to Jaipur.

“
The passenger cars will be picked up by Ministry operatives,” Maulik assured them. “Right now, our team await deployment in the next car up.”

“
Deployment?” Sophia asked, and even she looked impressed.

“
Since we are now considerably lighter, we should be in position in roughly half an hour.” He motioned to the seats fastened against the wall. “More than enough time for you lot to secure yourselves.”

As the three of them slipped into these chairs and accompanying harnesses, Maulik retracted the metal blinds covering the windows. Sunlight suddenly filled their car, blinding them for a moment. On the map, their train continued at a quick pace around the city.

“
Wellington, do you feel that?” Eliza said. “We’re on an incline.”

He nodded, though he didn’t have any time to reply, for moments later a low droning sound reached his ears, and the pitch grew the higher they continued upward. Maulik threw a switch on his armrest, and the door leading to the engine hissed shut. The whine was not as piercing anymore, but still present.

They were also slowing down.

Maulik looked over to the map as he locked his chair in a small nook next to theirs. “Right then, any moment now...”

The incline levelled out and then turned quickly into a decline. With that change came a sudden increase in their speed. A hard, sharp eruption roared from the engine, shoving them forward. The train shook and shuddered madly all around them, as if it would tear itself apart, but they were still continuing downward, although the present momentum felt different than before.

Then the sunlight disappeared.

Sand, soil, mud, and crushed rock smeared along the window. The odd pen or ashtray that thudded against the carpet now trembled its way across the room seemingly of its own accord as they rumbled their way downward into India.

“
You mentioned back in Bombay about the engine length being absurdly long. Longer than a hypersteam, but no, this train is no hypersteam,” Maulik said. “If it were, we would not have room for the drill bit.”

“
We are
drilling
our way to the Water Palace?” Sophia asked over the rumble of their excavation.

“
Thrilling, isn’t it?” Maulik let out a delighted laugh, but it stopped abruptly. “Granted we have never attempted a dig quite this far...”

Eliza glanced over at Wellington, and he patted her hand. Though she really didn’t look worried.

“
Hold on,” Wellington said. “A drill bit certainly isn’t enough to keep us moving forward.”

“
Always the tinker, eh, Books?” Maulik motioned to the front of the train. “The drill bit applies the principles of a hypersteam engine. We capture, recycle, and condense steam from the engine, and send it through the drill bit. The soil is softened, the bit catches, and we achieve forward momentum. To add to that, our wheels are now at a ninety-degree angle and assist in digging. When I commissioned this train, I had high hopes.” Maulik sounded pleased as punch. “R&D actually surpassed them!”

He’d become quite different in India,
Wellington observed.
Or perhaps he’s
always
been like this?
 

“
I would advise you all to stay secured,” he warned. “As we are dealing with geology, Mother Earth can sometimes throw rather nasty surprises when subterranean.”

On the map, their train approached the banks of the Man Sagar Lake. Wellington gripped the armrests, and now it was Eliza who reached over and brushed the side of his face.

“
No need to fret, Wellington. The lake is man-made, not terribly deep—only fifteen feet at the most. We have dug three times that depth. That should prevent cave-ins.” Maulik shrugged. “According to the math.”

Wellington swallowed and hoped the director’s math had been sound before leaving Bombay.

The train slowly progressed under Man Sagar Lake, until a yellow light set in the side of the map suddenly flared to life. “That’s the engine.” Maulik gripped the arms of his chair. “We’re about to slip underneath the foundation. Hold on to something.”

Wellington watched loose items dance over the floor again toward the far side of their car. They were definitely ascending, the angle growing steeper with their increasing speed.

“
We’re ready to breach,” Maulik called over the growing rumble around them. “The booster rocket should engage any moment now.”

The yellow light in the map switched to red, and they all lurched as a deafening roar came from the rear of their car. Wellington feared the Strategy Room would be torn apart, but the thrust lasted only a matter of seconds. A dull explosion ran through the whole structure before the carriage righted itself and became level with a sharp thud.

“
Well, that was exhilarating, wasn’t it?” Maulik said, releasing himself from the nook. “Shall we go?”

Wellington unbuckled himself from the seat and offered Eliza a hand. Once she came to her feet, he did the same for Sophia.

“
Always the gentleman,” Sophia purred as she stepped closer to him.

Eliza glared at the assassin.