Into the East Trilogy

Chapter 5:

Chapter 5:

“We need to find out where that soldier came from. What if there are more? They will come searching for him and might find us.” Helena didn’t understand why this was so hard for the others—make that Doyle—to understand.

Doyle sat behind the table in the galley where the others had gathered to listen to the argument. “I think you need to understand, we are not in San Francisco, you are not fighting the Dracos, nor the Klan, nor some group of creatures wanting to harm others. This is the government of Germany. They might find it beyond impolite if you go sticking your nose into their business… Might I add, on an island we have no right to be on either? If they find out you were at the scene of that soldier’s death, they would be in their right to charge you with manslaughter, maybe even murder.” He stood from his chair and marched to the coffee urn. “If you go snooping around, they would be within their rights to shoot you as a spy.”

“Listen, he attacked me, I sidestepped, he fell. It’s not like I pushed him. We still need to find out what those lights are and what they have to do with the Germans.” Helena stood and rested her hands on the tabletop. “It can’t be a coincidence.”

Captain Cox lifted his mechanical index finger to a pipe, and a small flame ignited the tobacco. “It seems highly unlikely that a stray German soldier patrolled those cliffs unless he guarded something. Once the man fails to report, they will conduct a search. More than likely, they will find us. Once that happens, we stand to be boarded. I would not be willing to bet the Russians will allow their airship to be taken without a fight. More than likely, we will be caught up in the conflict.”

Doyle spun around. “Please, listen to your captain. This is not our battle. We have no dog in this fight. I’m not a copper. None of us has any power here. We stand to lose everything, including our lives.”

Captain Cox continued, “Please don’t put words in my mouth. I did not say there should be no investigation. I said the likelihood of us being embroiled in an international incident grows by the second, no matter the decision. Whatever choice you make, it needs to be made post haste, and we need to pull the airships to safety. The Germans have a reputation, rightly earned, for shooting first before asking questions.”

Helena studied the room. “Thank you, Captain. Our first responsibility is for the safety of the ships. Please contact the Russian captain and make preparations for getting underway—”

Doyle slapped his hand over his forehead. “Finally some sanity has invaded the room.”

Helena growled, “Now be so kind as to not put words in my mouth either, Mister Doyle. I intend to investigate this island further. I would like volunteers to join me. Captain, the ships need to leave in the next twenty minutes.”

“I will take care of your wishes, mistress.” Captain Cox moved his half-mechanical body out of the galley. His voice echoed through the passageway as he started shouting orders.

Doyle dropped his hand, looking on in shock.

Rosa raised her hand. “I’ve been in that workshop for so long I was ready to jump out of the crow’s nest for a change. I’ll go with you.”

Ludmila said. “I will go. I will teach Alexei to leave me behind.”

Doyle slapped his hand on the table, so hard the sound made everyone but Helena jump. “Damn it, has everyone suddenly gone insane?”

“Maybe… Everyone that’s going, you have fifteen minutes to meet me outside.” Helena walked out of the galley. She wanted to spend more time with the journals, but this was one of those times that called for action not careful planning.

Helena took to moving about the ship in the clothes she normally wore for adventures. All she needed to do was grab a few items left in her stateroom, and she would be ready to go.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed to prove something?” Doyle asked from the door.

“No, I’m trying to keep the ship safe and stop something.”

“Tell me, Helena, what are you trying to stop? Me reaching Tsang Mei?”

“You know… you know I’m doing everything to save her. I just have other things I need to do before heading off to China. I only have so much time.” Helena grabbed her goggles and her mother’s walking stick.

“I understand that feeling more than you will ever imagine, but this… this has nothing to do with your parents, the Way of the Soul, or tears of the Dragon. This is just a death wish. What are you trying to prove?” Doyle’s voice lowered to a near snarl.

Helena’s pack ready, she moved to the door that Doyle blocked. “If you’re going, you have about ten minutes before the ship leaves.” Helena was certain Doyle was ready to use force to stop her, so she had her mother’s cane sword ready to strike him in the crotch if he was overcome by emotion. Helena needed to use every ounce of will not to kiss him right in the hall—or kill him where he stood—she was unsure which.

“Fine.” Doyle stepped back into the passageway allowing Helena to leave. “Have it your way.”

Helena breathed a mental sigh of relief. She wasn’t sure what would have happened if the confrontation had become physical. Violent or romantic, either way, her emotions ran so high, once started she might not have been able to stop herself. Her first instinct was to run for the exit, but for a pause to catch her breath, she slowly turned and locked her stateroom door.

“I hope to see you outside,” she said as the tumblers clicked into place. She risked a glance in Doyle’s direction, and he was already gone.

Helena marched off the ship. She had recently scolded herself for acting rashly, but this time… this time she felt the need to investigate. She didn’t need to act here, but if this island wasn’t a safe haven, they needed to find out the size of the German presence and the risk to her ships and crew. Funny, she had started to think about the Russian ship as hers. Before she could finish that thought, Rosa came running up. She was easy to spot in the wash of cargo hold lights.

Rosa asked, nearly out of breath, “We’re the first?”

“It would seem so. The others… I’m sure they will be along shortly,” Helena answered. She hoped she was right. She placed her goggles on her head, not covering her eyes.

“Sorry about Doyle. I’m sure he will come around.” Rosa scuffed her boots in the dry earth.

Helena stiffened at Rosa’s comments, but she did her best to hide her temper in the dark. “We all have to make our own way through this life the best we can. We don’t always need to agree on everything.”

Ludmila and Gertrude came down the ramp next. More of a saunter than Rosa’s run. Helena equated the gait to a stroll in the park.

“Look who I found,” Ludmila said, as her arm hooked in Gertrude’s.

Gertrude looked to the ground and stammered, “I hope you don’t mind if I come along. I am so tired of being cooped up on the ship. I feel I need to stretch my legs. I need to see the outside.”

Helena took the young Chinese woman from Ludmila’s arm and hugged her. “Of course you can come along. This should be safe enough. We are just going for a look.” Even Helena needed to think about how many times she’d said that and the words turned out to be untrue.

The engines on the airship turned up. It shouldn’t be long before the ship got underway. The mooring lines had been singled up long ago. A few remaining men ran aboard, and lines were hauled up. As far as she could tell, only the bowline held the ship tethered to the ground. She took one last look at the ramp as it closed, leaving them in the dark. For the strangest reason, she thought Doyle would not abandon them to reconnoiter the Germans alone. It seemed she was mistaken.

In a cloud of kicked up dust, the airship lifted from the earth and left the four women alone next to the ruined olive grove. Helena watched as their escape left them. She knew they would return in two days’ time, but it still hurt to watch the ship and Doyle leave them stranded, even if by their choice.

“Look.” Gertrude pointed to where the bowline once held the Legend secured to a tree. A lone figure walked in the starlight dark.

It only took a second for Helena to lower her goggles, adjust them to night vision and spot the familiar shape walking toward them, Winchester rifle carried across his body.

“You don’t need to say anything about me coming,” Doyle rumbled as he walked up. “The captain needed someone to release the bowline.”

Helena knew he lied. The ship’s crew had become adept at bringing the ship in and leaving without any crew on the ground. Helena decided this was not a battle she needed to fight. “I hope you don’t plan on using that weapon. We aren’t going to war. We are only here to investigate.”

Before Doyle could answer, Rosa jumped in. “I asked him to bring it. I made some special ammunition… non-lethal ammunition. If we get a chance, I want him to test it.”

Helena was afraid to ask about the contents of Rosa’s experiment or how she bench-tested the rounds. Instead, she asked the next best question, “I thought all your time has been spent on the time machine?” Helena found it strange when the words slipped from her mouth.

Rosa’s answer was simple, “A girl needs some time off and a hobby, now doesn’t she?” Taking a deep breath, she slipped her mask down and adjusted the eyepieces.

Helena had tried that mask. It nearly suffocated her in Spain. She hoped Rosa made it easier to breathe in while wearing it.

Rosa ripped the mask off, sucking in a deep breath. “The lenses work great; the filters need a little work.”

Helena needed the levity. “Still more hobby?” Helena started walking in the direction of the hills separating the orchard from the sea. “This way, it’s three hills over. The walk will take some time in the dark.”

Rosa replied, “If not for the other work, I would have fixed these ages ago. I do need a few hours’ sleep every so often.”

Helena chuckled in a vain attempt to keep the mood light, but she failed. Doyle and the others remained silent as they picked their way up the hill and around the scattered boulders behind her.

They breached the first hill of the journey after midnight. Helena wasn’t sure, but the guards must rotate the watch and check in at intervals. They did on the Legend, so she assumed they did in the German Army as well. The man must have been reported missing long ago. Just over the crest of the hill, she paused to listen for the noise of men searching for the missing.

Ludmila came to her side and whispered, “Just remember I need darkness or at least shadows by sunrise, or my painting will be hell to repair. I am certain I will already need to repair plenty of damage from Alexei’s gallivanting about in the sun.”

“I will do my best, but I can make no promises,” Helena returned the soft-spoken tone.

“I came prepared for the sun, but nothing beats staying out of the direct sunlight.” Ludmila lifted a veil in one hand and a tin in the other.

The tin reminded Helena of the vile concoction Miss Hettie used to help retrieve the Smithy Stone when the air was so hot underground. She silently prayed it was some other ointment. If not, Helena might need to ensure they walked into the wind during the daylight hours. “I assume Alexei has some protection as well.”

Ludmila giggled. “You can always count on the count carrying protection of some kind.”

Helena smiled. “I figured you would say something like that.