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Chapter 2: Tuesday
Higgs took
a seat in the packed grandstand. It seemed like half the city had come out to
the stadium at the edge of the city. The sun was shining as light cottonball
clouds drifted across the sky, casting shadows on the grassy track below.
Beyond the stadium, the city’s skyline towered like some amalgam of early 21st
century and Victorian architecture. Many of the old glass rectangles had been
fitted with more “Traditional” facades to fit in with the current trend. At the
fringes, factories churned black smoke into the air, adding to the smoggy haze
coloring the horizon. Overhead, airships drifted leisurely across the sky,
transporting passengers across the city and giving a bird’s eye view of the
stadium.
The racers
were making their way to the starting line, airbikes in tow. The not quite
lighter-than-air racers were the reason people came out in droves. The racer
was little more than a long, streamlined helium balloon with a bicycle attached
below. The balloon itself is not large enough to lift the machine. In order to
achieve lift, the balloon is heated to increase buoyancy. The remaining lift is
provided by directing the downward angle of the solid fuel rockets. Each bike
had 8 rockets, fired in pairs throughout the race. The trajectory of an airbike
is swooping, traveling upward when the rocket is firing, and drifting downward
between thrusts. When in full thrust, the bikes could travel at more than 100
mph, and were notoriously difficult to control. It was the spectacular crashes
that provided the primary thrill for the crowd.
Higgs
watched as 8 racers waved to the crowd and climbed into their minimalist cockpits.
This race was unique in that it featured Charlotte Avalon, the only female
racer on the circuit. Traditionalist society was far from equal, so some tracks
wouldn’t allow her to race. Any time she did, she was sure to attract a bigger
crowd, so the tracks were getting more and more lenient all the time. Her
balloon was a little smaller than the others, able to carry her lighter weight
with less lift.
At the
sound of the gun, the racers were off for their two laps of the 4 mile track. 8
pairs of flames flared behind the bikes and the balloons launched themselves
upward toward the first curve of the track. The racers swung their balloons into
the first curve and around the series of tall poles marking the inside of the
track. Charlotte’s bike was ten feet higher than the others, allowing her to
swing above the fray and avoid the inevitable bumps and pushes below. The pack
streaked around to the back stretch and the lead racers fired their second set
of rockets, shooting them forward down the stretch.
The second
turn saw the first crash, as one of the racers was on a downward trajectory,
and another competitor fired his rocket from below, causing them to collide in
mid-air. Charlotte jockeyed her rocket downward to barely avoid the collision.
As she swooped below the wreckage, another racer’s rocket singed the fabric of
her balloon, but it seemed to remain intact. As she came into the home stretch,
she was sitting in fourth position. She fired her second set of rockets,
throwing her forward and upward toward the leaders.
Back
around the first curve, the leader’s starboard rocket came loose sending him
and his airbike hurtling into the net in front of the crowd. The grandstands
erupted in screams and cheers as the leaders entered the back stretch.
Charlotte was now in third, with half a lap to the finish. She aimed her bike
downward, allowing gravity to pull her forward. The other racers were firing
their third set of rockets, leaving Charlotte trailing.
“Fire your
rocket! What are you waiting for?!” Higgs stood and shouted as he watched her
get left in the dust behind the other racers. Then he saw that her balloon
seemed to be getting somewhat smaller. Apparently the near-crash earlier had
created a small leak in her balloon. She was shooting downward toward the
ground quickly as she approached the final turn.
Finally,
she fired her third rocket, sending her shooting into the turn. She expertly
banked and drifted her way through the turn. She shot forward down the home
stretch faster than Higgs had ever seen an airbike move. The rocket thrust was
barely enough to keep her wheels above the grass track below. She reached down
to her side, snapping one of her rocket levers off the machine. She swung the
lever toward the balloon, puncturing a hole in the balloon just behind her feet.
The helium
began to shoot out of the balloon through the newly made hole, and the bike
started to skim the ground. She fired her fourth rocket before the third was
finished, and she shot forward even faster. Her wheels were spinning against
the ground and her balloon was deflating rapidly. She shot past the other
racers just as she reached the finish line and her rockets shut off. The crowd
erupted in cheers at the exciting finish. Higgs smiled as he looked down at his
ticket with Avalon printed on it at 3:1 odds.
Just then
he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see a familiar face. “Phineas,
just the man I came here to see! Have a seat, buddy.”
“Hey
Higgs, good to see you.” Phineas Derbyshire sat down next to Higgs. Phineas
wore his usual three piece black suit and coachman hat. A pair of brass-rimmed sunglasses
sat perched on his nose above a well-trimmed mustache. He gave a warm smile
that Higgs knew had gotten him out of more than his fair share of tight spots.
It was the perfect reminder of why Higgs needed him on his team.
“Phineas,
how are things? How’s business?”
“Been
better, to be honest, but I get by. I just dropped my oddsmaker last week. That
fool put me in debt, and that’s just the boxing matches. Don’t get me started
on the races. A guy can only smile his way out of so many debts before he has
to start paying. You know what I mean?”
“Yeah. I
do. Say, you interested in a job? Could be fun, just like old times?”
Phineas’s
face dropped into a frown. “Higgs, I don’t know. I’ve got a business to think
about now. I can’t risk getting myself into trouble. I’ve got a good thing
going now, a real legitimate business, good clients.”
Higgs
laughed, “Look at you. You’re a big deal, Phineas Derbyshire, bookie to the
Vickie aristocracy.”
“You’d
better believe it, Higgs.” Derbyshire laughed heartily and slapped Higgs on the
shoulder. “But finish your pitch. What’s the job?”
Higgs
handed him the freight manifest. “I could really use a guy with your
connections, Phineas. But I understand.”
Phineas
dropped his jaw as he read through the list of what was on the train. “There’s
a lot of good stuff on this list.”
Higgs
reached for the book, “Well, I won’t take any more of your time, Phineas, I’m
sure you’re busy. I’ll need a different fast talker. Do you know how I could get
a hold of Grimes?”
“Just drop
a few coins, he’ll find you from the sound, greedy bastard.” Phineas laughed.
Higgs
smiled and said nothing.
“Wait, you’re
serious? You’re going to get him in on this?” Phineas held back the book and
took another look at the list.
Higgs
smiled and said continued to say nothing.
“Say—what
are you planning to take? Any number of these things would be huge.” Phineas
leafed through the manifest, nodding at certain items.
“All of
it.”
“All of
it?”
“Can I
have my book back?” Higgs grabbed for the book, and Phineas pulled it back.
Phineas smirked,
“You know, I might be able to spare some time to help out a friend.”
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