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Archives: A FAIR WARNING
Advised: The use of all technology invented or advanced after the
year AD 1900 has been abolished. All citizens are required to surrender all
such technology at the nearest branch of the Office of the Reformation. If
there is any doubt as to whether an item is forbidden, the local officer can
advise citizens upon presentation of such an item.
Example Items Proscribed:
·
Any device for the generation, storage, or transmission of a
sustained electrical current.
·
Any device using internal combustion, as well as the fuels for
such a device (gasoline, diesel, distilled ethanol)
·
Any synthetic materials, such as plastics and certain alloys
·
Any electronic device
Although there will be instances (such as the use of a
piezoelectric igniter) where an allowed device will fall close to the line,
citizens are advised not to test that limit. When in doubt, your local
Reformation Office will be happy to determine an object’s legality. A simpler
approach is to destroy doubtful devices. Safety is the number one priority.
There will be a grace period for the next 6 months, upon which
time, penalties will be instituted. Possession of an illegal item will result
in imprisonment or fines. Selling or producing an illegal item will be
considered treason, and punished accordingly.
The Reformation Office recognizes that all citizens are eager to
do their part to ensure the prosperity of our great society. We thank you for
your cooperation in this matter.
--Posted in all major newspapers and public spaces. January 1, 2
T.E.
Chapter 3: Wednesday
The team
was assembled for the first time for a meeting in a disused subway station
under the mostly abandoned former financial district of the city. Higgs was the
last to arrive. He had spent the last minute before leaving his apartment
trying to find a red flag of some sort to hang in his window. He hated to be
late for a meeting he’d called, but he was pretty sure the others would survive
a few minutes to themselves.
As he came
down the stairs, the station was lit by a couple of oil lamps. The flickering
light cast eerie shadows around the abandoned rail station. The walls were
decorated in mosaic tiles long since covered over with countless layers of
graffiti. The tracks sat silent and dark, as they’d been since the last
electric train rolled out of the station to some scrapyard outside the city.
Higgs reflected that the setting lent an appropriate underworld ambiance to the
meeting.
Anabelle
and Dr. Montebanque were having some kind of light conversation on a bench
against one wall of the platform. She reached a hand out to the Doctor’s
shoulder and touched him lightly. Even here, she couldn’t turn off the charm.
That would be useful, Higgs was sure he wouldn’t regret it. The inventor didn’t
seem to be susceptible to her charms. He looked distracted and distant. He fiddled
absently with some kind of trinket in his hand.
Near the
tracks, he saw Phineas standing, hands in pockets. He wore his usual dapper
suit and hat, once again donning the pollution mask to filter the damp and
musty air of the station. He was looking down the dark tunnel shouting
Charlotte’s name. Presently, she came sauntering out of the dark, a broad smile
plastered on her face. She planted a hand on the edge of the platform and
vaulted herself up next to Phineas. “Take it easy, Finn. It’s not my first time
in the dark, you know.” She slapped him on the shoulder and walked her way over
toward Higgs.
Kostas
was, unsurprisingly, by himself at the other end of the station. He was
fiddling with some kind of old storage closet. He jimmied the door open and
stuck his head inside. “Bah! Is only boxes of junk.”
Higgs
hailed Kostas, “Kostas, why don’t you bring a few of those boxes over here,
we’ll get started.”
Kostas
slid a couple of the boxes over to where Higgs was standing and they formed
them into a makeshift table. The others circled around, Anabelle and Dr.
Montebanque on their bench, Kostas and Charlotte seated on the floor. Phineas
stood casually behind Charlotte. Higgs set down a couple of large paper tubes
onto the table. Stepping back, he surveyed the group, satisfied that he had the
best team around.
“Thank you
all for being here.” Higgs started, “I’m sure you’re all a little curious about
the heist we’re going to pull off. I’ll get to that in a minute, but I’d like
to begin by introducing each of you to the group and let you know why I’ve
chosen each. You each play an essential role in this operation.
“I will
start with Dr. Everton L. Montebanque. Dr. Montebanque is a true genius. His
work is at the forefront of gadgetry. The devices he provides to the team will
be critical to meeting our goal. Not the least of which is his wingsuit, which
will be piloted by Charlotte Avalon. Charlie is our resident daredevil. She’s
the best airbike pilot I’ve ever seen, and if her reputation serves her right,
she’s got many other skills that will come to some use in the coming days. Her
dexterity will be depended on to get us through more than a few tight spots in
the plan, I’m sure.
“Seated to
my right is Kostas Stavraki. Kostas is, as far as I’m concerned, the world’s
foremost expert in burglary. There is no such thing as a locked door for
Kostas, and I’m sure that applies to safes, walls, and train cars as well. To
my left is Miss Anabelle Devereaux. Not to state the obvious, but Miss
Devereaux is a beautiful woman, and you would be amazed how many hairy
situations can be solved by a beautiful woman. I think you will learn in time
that there is a great deal more to Anabelle than meets the eye, but I won’t
give away her secrets.
“This man
behind you is Phineas Derbyshire, a very old friend of mine. He remains the
greatest con man in the business. His ability to talk his way out of a
situation makes him one of the greatest negotiators I’ve known. He also has
some connections that will likely prove invaluable. He will be providing cover
for our operation. As for me, I am Thurmond Higgs, but nobody calls me
Thurmond. I am merely a simple thief who has fallen into a very fortunate situation.
Shall we get down to business?”
Higgs
opened the tubes and unrolled the maps and drawings that he had made. He laid
them out on the table in front of the group. “So at its most basic, this is a
train robbery. I have received a tip that there will be a train arriving at the
end of this week. There will be an armored car on that train that will be
carrying some very valuable cargo. The train will be coming into the city on
the southern line, and will enter the Southgate tunnel before making its final
stop at Victory Terminal. Once the train enters the tunnel, we will have no way
to offload the goods, so we need to have the entire thing completed prior to
that.
“I have laid
before you a schematic of the armored car model that will be encountered. I
have no doubt that Kostas can get us into this car. From that point, we will
offload the goods and get out of there. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.
Before we can do that, we need to be on the train.”
Charlotte
jumped in. “No problem. I can catch that thing with my airbike, or I suppose I
could use Monty’s rocket suit.”
“Won’t
work.” Dr. Montebanque interrupted. “An airbike would not keep up with this
train. It is too fast. My creation, the wingsuit, can do it, but it cannot be
launched from the ground. The suit will provide ample aspiration for you to
fly, but it cannot take off from a standing position. You must be already
moving when the rocket is engaged in order to stabilize the flight.”
“Neither
one will work.” Phineas said calmly. “Think about it. If we get Charlotte on
the train, then what? Charlie can’t get into that train car without Kostas to
help. So we could put a rocketman suit on Mr. Baklava, and he could get on the
train too. So our two dexterous friends are now on the train, but they have no
way to offload the goods. I can’t imagine we plan to just toss the gold and
jewels out of the car, scattering them throughout the countryside.”
Higgs took
control of the conversation again. “Phineas is right. We need a way to safely transport
the goods. And there’s no point in detaching the car. We’re trying to do this
without being noticed, and detaching a car from the train is a bad way to go
unnoticed.”
“What
about an airship?” Anabelle offered. “We could load everything on an airship
and just fly away.”
Dr.
Montebanque laughed, “I’m sorry, sweetheart. An airship could not keep pace
with a train. And even if it could, it would need to be one large airship to
carry the kind of cargo we’re talking about.”
“What
about the Spartan?” She pressed
“That’s
one big ship!” Charlotte’s excitement was visible on her face.
“I took a
ride on it last week. It is a very big ship. The cabin’s at least as big as a
train car. Certainly room for the cargo.” Anabelle said.
“Let me
guess, the fare was paid for by a wealthy gentleman.” Phineas said
sarcastically. Higgs gave him a stern look, while Anabelle just smiled.
Dr.
Montebanque shook his head. “Yes, I’m sure the cabin is big enough. But it is
not meant to hold the kind of weight we are talking about. It is meant for
passengers, not cargo, and certainly not a traincar’s worth of gold. It simply
will not lift.”
“What
about hydrogen?” Charlotte asked, “Heavy class races use hydrogen instead of
helium in the balloons. They can make the balloons a lot smaller and still hold
the heavy duty rockets.”
“Good
point, Miss Avalon.” The doctor replied. “Hydrogen might be able to lift it
all, but it is, shall we say, a potentially explosive situation.”
Phineas
continued to be the contrarian. He paced around toward where Higgs was
standing. “Ok, let’s assume that the blimp is an option. So not only do we need
to rob a train, but we also need to steal the largest and most deluxe airship
ever built. We need to fill it with hydrogen, and then by some amazing feat of
engineering, load the contents of a train car into the ship. We need to do all
of this while the train is moving, and without blowing ourselves up. Did I get
that right?”
“Do you
have a better plan, Phineas?” Higgs asked.
“No. By
all means, continue.” Phineas waved his hand dismissively and stepped back from
the table.
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