Caleb hefted the new suit out of the wardrobe. It was a lot heavier than the last suit.
William rolled back and forth in his wheelchair, clearly excited.
“I originally built the suit for me. For my escape. You’ll notice the hydraulic assists on the joints. With my back broken, and my legs all but useless, I needed a way to walk again. Since you have the full use of your legs, the hydraulic assists will give you increased strength.
“I made a few modifications to Ben’s original design. The jet packs on the back will enable you to fly for extended periods of time. No more just hopping around like a giant flea. It shouldn’t take you too long to get used to it. Should you crash to the ground, don’t worry. The suit will harden and you won’t get anything more than a few bumps and bruises.”
Caleb strapped on the pieces of armor while William helped him clamp the hydraulics in place. William focused on making sure every connection was sealed as he spoke quietly to Caleb.
“I think you should leave Dorothy here with me.”
He couldn’t do that. The Southern Marshal was adamant that Dorothy was needed to open the box that held the weapon.
“She’s important. She has to come with me.”
“I know what’s at stake here, do you?”
What a strange question. He never would have agreed to this if he hadn’t. “Of course I do.”
William glanced over at Dorothy, seated in a dark corner, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. “If she goes along…”
“She has to. She’s the key to all this.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. If you take her with you, you will have to make a choice.”
“A choice? Between what?”
“If I know her father, and I know him better than anyone, he locked the weapon inside a box that only she can open. As long as she lives, the world is in danger.”
He did not like where this was going. “You are not killing her.”
“I won’t be the one killing her. If you get them both together in the same place, you, and you alone, will have to decide which to sacrifice. The world? Or her?”
He looked down at the man in the wheelchair. “She doesn’t have to die.”
William looked back up at him, sadness written over his entire face. “You can’t save both.”
A final click, followed by a hiss of air, signified the suit was ready.
One of the biggest changes over the previous suit was the complete protection offered. From the gloves, to the boots, and every joint, the suit covered him completely with the same hardening material that the previous armored plates were made from. This time, none of him would be exposed. Even better, the helmet, with its mirrored faceplate, hid his face as well as protected his head.
Caleb grabbed the helmet. “Yes I can.”
He snapped on the helmet, locking it in place with a twist.
Tara flinched as the medic rubbed alcohol into the wound on her arm.
The High Priestess stood with her hands on her hips, her back to the roaring fireplace in the single-roomed house of the Oracle.
The High Priestess was eying her with suspicion. “You’re telling me that Melissa attacked you?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“That’s interesting. She told me that you attacked her.”
Tara did her best to look like she was controlling the rage building inside of her. “Who do you believe, ma’am?”
“I’m not sure which one of you to believe.”
Time to put her service record to the ultimate test. “Have I ever given you reason to doubt my loyalties?”
The High Priestess pondered her question silently.
Time to spread it a little thicker. “Who, single-handedly, uncovered and foiled a plot to overthrow you five years ago?”
“We never caught the one who planned everything.”
Time to drive the next nail in the coffin. “Who has turned down every opportunity for promotion?”
The High Priestess looked at Melissa, who leaned against the wall, still dazed from the electric shock. Even though she looked at Melissa, she addressed Tara. “Why do you think that is?”
“She claims it’s so she can stay close to home to care for her ailing mother.”
“She’s not the only one who has refused promotion because of the increased responsibilities and commitment to the organization.”
And… in for the kill. “It also means, there are no official reports on her activities outside the Banshees. Reports that you yourself requested after the failed attempt to end your regime. Refusing promotions kept her low enough in the organization to stay out of your reports. Her activities outside the organization might as well be a secret. A secret you should know.”
From the look in the High Priestess eye, she knew she’d finally touched a nerve. There was one last thing to add to distract everyone long enough for the Southern Marshal’s team to escape.
“And while you’re asking her about that, find out what she did with the Oracle.”
The High Priestess stormed over to Melissa and backhanded her across the face. “No more lies!”
Tara did her best to not let the smile inside register on her face. This was going better than planned. Everyone was so intent on watching the High Priestess interrogate one of their own, nobody noticed Tara slip out the front door.
In a massive natural underground cavern, torches burned brightly at intervals lighting up the entire space. Only deep crevices in the ceiling were still cast deep in shadow.
Caleb extricated himself from the debris of fallen rock. Moments before, he had slammed headfirst into a stalactite on the ceiling and plummeted to the floor of the cavern, rocks and chunks of earth raining down after him.
William was yelling from across the cavern. “Delicate movements! You keep over-correcting.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered to himself as he ended up smearing the damp dirt across the front of the suit, instead of brushing it off.
William was relentless. “I built it to respond to me, and I’m paralyzed from the waist down. You’re going to have to ease up on the controls. Try again.”
Caleb flexed his neck back and forth. The suit did an excellent job of protecting him from the abuse he was putting it through now. He resisted the urge to close his eyes as he tried to envision flying in his mind again.
William tried to explain to him that the suit used biometric input rather than the mechanical input of his previous suit. He didn’t need to crouch to activate this one. He just had to think about activating the flight jets, and magically it happened. William tried his best, and used big words in his attempt to prove it was not magic, about how electrical impulses from his brain were picked up by the helmet and amplified by any movement of his arms and legs.
No matter what William said, it still sounded like magic.
He thought about the jet pack integrated into the suit and rose a couple of feet in the air, hovering in place. He wobbled a lot less this time. Maybe he’d finally gotten the hang of it.
He eased himself forward and made a controlled ascent toward the ceiling. He tried very hard to concentrate on making delicate movements.
On the other side of the cavern, Dorothy held onto the handles on the back of William’s wheelchair. Together, they watched Caleb swooping back and forth through the air.
She couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice. “I think he’s got it.”
Right then, he clipped a stalactite with his foot and spun out of control, straight for the ground. He hit the ground with such force, the impact cracked the rocky floor.
William shook his head. “Close enough.”