No Fixed Address

“Watch out! Behind you!”  Daniel yelled out to Nic as they ran the gauntlet between West Kensington station and the Science Museum.

“Right!” Nic swung around and let loose a crossbow bolt into the forehead of a shuffling zombie coming up quick.  KA-THUNK.  It looked stunned for a moment and then collapsed, reanimated no more.

He took out another nanobot infected commuter before it could reach Daniel.

“Thanks Warrick,” Daniel puffed, running out of breath.  “Come one, I think we can dodge most of the rest.  We need to get into the museum.  There were many zombies still behind them but they didn’t have time to dispatch them all.  They had heard over a zombie police officer’s radio that the army was beginning to sweep the city.  Parliament had declared martial law; everyone had been encouraged to stay indoors to try and defend themselves as best they could.  Anyone left on the streets were assumed to be the shuffling hoards and were targeted for elimination.

They found their exit and looked out onto the street, there were still quite a few zombies out on the pavement but no military presence as of yet.

“Okay, we need to get to the staff entrance, quickly now,” Warrick whispered and took lead, followed by Nic and Daniel.  They moved quick and quiet and only had to dispatch a few more zombies before reaching their door.  Once inside, it seemed almost deserted but they could hear noises coming from inside the museum and so remained deathly quiet until they caught their breath.

“Right,” Warrick said, “I don’t know if he’ll detect all of us, I think he has some control of these zombies and so his telepathic control will be diverted.”

“But he’ll know something is wrong the minute we start killing his guard zombies,” Nic whispered.

“I know.  This is why I will distract him, while you go through the back way to the exhibition.  While his body is metal, his brain is still visible and relatively unprotected by the Perspex glass.  It’s Babbage’s only vulnerability.  I’ll distract him so you guys can slip in unnoticed.  You’ll only have a few shots with your crossbow before he’ll be able to overpower us, so make them count, Nic.”

“Sir, I…” Nic protested, “we can’t let you do this.”

“Yes we can, Nic,” Daniel put his hand on her shoulder, “it is the only way.  Out of all the people in London, Babbage might expect Warrick to return.  Either out of some deluded sense of service or revenge.  He won’t be expecting us.  We have to, it is our only chance.”

“Sir! You can’t, we just got you back,” Nic pleaded.  “There must be another way!”

“Promise me, that’ll no matter what happens, no matter what that undead monster says or does, that you will fire that crossbow.”

“Sir..” Nic started, wanting to plead with her boss that the plan was foolish.  But she saw that fierce determination and stubbornness in his eyes.  There was no way out of this.  She sighed deeply, “I won’t let you down.”  He smiled and looked at her and at Daniel with pride.

“Bloody foolish man!” She muttered, checking the sights on her crossbow.

“I still don’t understand how you are so good with that thing,” Daniel grinned.

“There are some things a woman does talk about in polite company,” she replied in as posh a voice as she could manage.

“I never knew that turn of phrase would have included proficiency in projectile weapons.”

Nic released the trigger to check the firing mechanism.  “A girl’s got to have her hobbies,” she replied.  She relocked the trigger and put in a bolt.  Hefting her cricket bat she nodded towards the museum floor.  “Come on Daniel, we’ve got an appointment with an undead mathematician.”

—–<<<<>>>>——-

Warrick made no attempt to conceal his presence.  He tried to take the path of least resistance and took quite a few of Babbage’s foot soldiers out before he could feel the mathematician reaching out to him.

“Oh Warrick,” he could feel the laughter in his mind once again, “I didn’t think you’d survive that explosion.  You are a source of surprise even now.”

He kept his mind full of anger and wrath towards the undead mathematician, in order not to betray his companions.

“You bastard,” he yelled “you used me.  You used all the scientific knowledge that you once worked toward for such a base and undignified purpose as revenge.”  Warrick’s plan was to make Babbage angry and therefore distracted; he needed to give Nic and Daniel the best possible odds for success.  There would be no second chances.  “You don’t deserve any of this.”

“I SUFFERED!!”  Daniel was assaulted with the force of those words in his mind and staggered into one of the displays.  The zombies also seemed dazed as well, with the force of anger and hurt rolling over them.

He ran straight into the Great Minds exhibit and saw Babbage sitting there, surrounded by other minds in jars. His head ached as it cracked into the wall as well.   Yet he still found the strength to stand up.  No longer a man of science but a freak of it.”

“Goodbye Warrick Hammersmith, I thank you for your contribution to science and damn you for your attempt to hinder it’s progress.”  He stood up again and grasped Warrick by his shirt.

“Hey!”  Nic called from the balcony behind Babbage.  “Big, shiny and stupid!”

“WHAT IS THIS!?” The surprise and hurt was a wave slamming into everything in the area.  Zombies fell over and Daniel had to catch Nic before she fell over.  Babbage turned to face the new threat, dropping Warrick to the floor heavily.

“This, you bastard,” Nic said taking careful aim, “is a perfect application of projectile geometry and mathematics.”   She depressed the trigger and watched as the bolt followed a perfect trajectory straight through the Perspex surrounding Babbage’s brain.

For a few moments, the towering hulk of metal stood upright before pitching forward and crashing to the floor.  The lights in the eyes went out and the fluid surrounded Babbage’s brain leaked out onto the floor.

“Nice shot, Leakey,” Daniel whispered, not daring to quite move yet.  Nic was shaking and could only nod.

“Nic,” Warrick whispered weakly, “you have shut down the difference engines!”  He gasped for air and coughed again.  “Hurry, Nic, there isn’t much time.

“We’ll be right down!” Daniel yelled, and shook Nic out of her reverie.  The zombies in the area seemed to have been taken out by Babbage’s last outburst and were not moving.  Nic, once down the stairs ran over to Warrick.

“Oh sir,” she whispered, shocked at the broken form of her boss. His breath rattled and he was barely moving.

Once the sequence had been entered, the thrum coming from the bomb disappeared and the museum was deathly quiet.   “That will stop the sequential explosions,” Warrick gasped, “though they’ll still have to be disarmed in the same way.”   In the distance they could hear the approach of military vehicles and gunshots.

“Ah, that would be the cavalry,” Daniel announced.  He pulled the walkie talkie they had taken from the undead police officer to try and contract someone so they wouldn’t be shot on sight.

“Sir,” Nic tired to make Warrick comfortable, “you’ll be okay, won’t you?”

It was over.

——<<<<<>>>>>——

Epilogue

It was the grand reopening of the Science Museum.  Nic was rushing around, busy with last minute preparations and placating donors and important guests.  It had taken a few months to clean the city of the infected Londoners and to restore order.  It had all gone so fast for Nic; between dealing with Warrick’s estate, getting the museum back in shape and attending special committee’s in parliament, the months had felt like days.

“Come on Leakey!”  Daniel called from the stage.  As the newly minted Collections Manager at the Science Museum, he was about to give his first official speech.

The lights dimmed and she found her place at the front of the room.

They had tried to put it behind them as best they could, acknowledging the fact that Evil Undead Babbage and his Differences engines of Doom would always be a part of them.

“Now! Daniel announced at the end of the speech, ”I would like to invite Ms. Leakey up to help cut the ribbon!”  Nic smiled and rose from her seat.  There were whispers and camera flashes.  They had become heroes in their own right and were well recognized in London society.  Nic and Daniel walked across the platform towards the entrance of the museum.  Daniel handed her a gold pair of scissors.

“The Science Museum is open to the public!”

“Glad you could make it Warrick,” Nic whispered when the applause had died down.  “I didn’t think you’d be back from America so soon.”  The cane was no longer for affectation, the last legacy of facing up to his monstrous creation.  A dignified and still frail Warrick Hammersmith shook Daniel’s hand and gave Nic a warm embrace.

“Ah Miss Leakey, you know I’d never miss this.”  Warrick smiled and surveyed the museum.  “Wounds have been mended, scars carefully hidden but we, my dear Nic, are here to remember the things that most will want to forget.”

“Well, tonight we are here to drink, actually,” Daniel passed them each a glass of champagne as the crowds began to disperse through the museum.

“To friends!”  Toasted Daniel.

“To the future,” replied Warrick.

Nic grinned, mischievous as ever, “to science and projectile weapons!”

“Cheers!”

——-

hee! i think that was my favourite episode!  please leave me comments on what you liked and didn’t like.  in a few weeks i shall start the next serial – Killing Inspiration!

Warrick screamed. The light filtering in through the window of his workshop was painful and the slightest noise echoed loudly in his ears. He felt himself surfacing once again, briefly freed from the power that Babbage’s brain held over him. His entire body ached and his head felt like it was going to break into pieces. Warrick looked at his hands, covered in scratches, dirt and his own blood. He felt wretched, like he had not slept or eaten in days; he shuddered at the thought that maybe he had not.

He felt the smoky tendrils of Babbage’s control sweeping over him and he wondered how long he’d have before being taken over once more. He looked over his workshop, usually quite neat and precise, now complete chaos. There were schematics in his own hand but he swallowed hard when he recalled what they were for. Warrick waited to have his will subjugated again but he soon realised the tendrils were retreating for good. Not even the tenuous links were left, he felt completely free. He started to weep and fell to his knees. Whatever had happened to him was finally over.

Then he heard the voice.

“You have done well Warrick, this pleases me.” It was a harsh, unhuman mechanical voice, electronic, not the English accent that had been controlling his mind for so long. It was coming from the direction of two glowing points in the darkness.

“Oh god, what I have I done?” Warrick whispered.

The glowing points, the eyes Warrick thought – they were eyes, stepped forward revealing a mechanical man, with Babbage’s brain clearly visible through Perspex glass.

“You have freed me, Warrick. Freed me from that terrible glass prison that had held me for so long. From all those people, who have gawked at me for over two centuries. Laughed and pointed. How I longed to be released from my prison. Either into death or,” there was a short burst of noise which Warrick could only interpret as laughter, “into this new life.” Babbage examined itself, looking at its mechanical arms and legs through its sensors for eyes.

“Yes, you have done very well indeed.”

—-<<<<>>>>>—–

Daniel and Nic pulled up into the drive of Warrick’s expansive house in West London. It was still early in the morning so it was not a surprise that the house looked quiet.

“Do you think he’s home?” Daniel asked, peering through the windscreen at the quiet manor house.

“Come on, I know where he keeps the spare key,” Nic said, getting out of the car. They made their way into the house but upon inspection it looked almost abandoned. There was no sign of the collection manager.

“I don’t understand it,” said Nic shaking her head. “where could he be?” They had circled through the entire house and met up with each other in the kitchen. “We should check out in the garden, just to be sure we haven’t missed anything. Daniel nodded in agreement but they had only a momentary glance through the windows to the outside before an explosion rocked the house. Glass from the windows shattered and Nic and Daniel took cover behind the counter.

“What the hell was that?!” Daniel managed to yell between coughs from the smoke and debris. They tentatively poked their heads above the counter to see what caused the explosion but only caught glints of light from inside the smoke. By the time it had cleared they could only see the side of the workshop ripped apart and a bloodied Warrick lying face down in the grass.

“Nic!” Daniel yelled as she took off towards her injured boss, “don’t be so foolish, you don’t know if its safe!”

“Warrick?” Nic called as she approached the prone figure, “sir?” She knelt down to check if he was alive. There was blood and dirt everywhere. She gently turned him over to assess the damage. He looked so tired and frail, so broken but he was still breathing. Daniel soon appeared at her side with clean cloths and water.

“Is he…”

“He’s breathing, but look at him, what happened?” Nic looked around at what was left of the workshop. There were more drawings like the one’s she saw in Warrick’s office floating around or pinned to the walls. There were bits of metal everywhere but no sign of Babbage’s brain, not that there would be after an explosion. She felt relieved that it wasn’t there, that her boss had nothing to do with its disappearance.

“Nic! He’s coming around!” He had made Warrick more comfortable and he was beginning to open his eyes. “I’ll go call an ambulance.”

“Warrick, its me, Nic, Nic Leaky,” she said as he opened his eyes, blinking at the light.

“What…” he tried to sit up but winced in pain and started coughing.

“Sir, you need to rest, there has been some sort of accident,” Nic tried to keep him still until the ambulance arrived but he became very agitated.

“It’s not an accident, Nic,” he looked up at her with tears in his eyes, “it is all my fault. I’ve doomed us all.”

“Nic!” Daniel yelled, “we have to go, there is something happening. The phone just went dead and the power has gone out!” He was carrying some make shift bandages and a jacket for Warrick.

“It has already started, oh Nic, can you ever forgive me? Will anyone be able to forgive me?” He sank bank to the ground and closed his eyes. Tears etched clean paths through the soot and dirt.

“Warrick,” Daniel said seriously, “you need to think clearly, you need to tell us what is going on.”

Warrick lay still for awhile, tears silently streaming down his cheeks. Off in the distance they could start to hear echoes of what sounded like more explosions.

“Warrick,” Nic placed her hand on his shoulder. He jumped slightly and winced again at unknown injuries. “Whatever it is we need to know what is going on.”

“My dear Nic,” he opened his eyes and looked up at the sky, “you were always there. I never deserved such devotion.” He sighed deeply. “I always heard the voice but I thought it was my own. Some strange compulsion, but no, it was always his, pushing for the idea to bring the two halves of his brain together. Once the two hemispheres were even in the same there was nothing I could do, he took over. It was like watching myself from behind a sheet of ice. Distorted, cold, distant. So I did what he commanded. I created his new body so he could have weak its vengeance upon all of us for keeping him caged for so long. I built everything and now the difference engines of doom will rain destruction upon all of London. I have wrought the ruin of the world, oh my dear Nic.” He coughed sharply from the effort and cried out in pain once more.

“What are we going to do?” Daniel whispered. They heard screams in the distance and more explosions. Boom. BOOM.

“Bugger all this.” Nic said standing up and dusting some of the debris off her clothes, “we are going to find that maniacal, undead mathematician and shove one of his difference engines up his mechanical arse.”

Daniel grinned, “and how exactly are we going to accomplish that?”

“You always have to start with the difficult questions, don’t you?” Nicole replied with a smirk. She was tired, worried and freaked out but something needed to be done. But first they needed to take care of her boss.

“Let’s get Warrick somewhere safe, I think he’s the only person who can really help us now.” Daniel nodded; Warrick looked frightened but did not protest as the gently guided him to the car. All he could hear was the explosions and all he wanted to do was run.

“Right then,” Nicole said, shifting the car into gear.

“Cry havoc and let loose the dogs of war?” suggested Daniel.

“London calling to the zombie’s of death,” replied Nicole, “we’ve got a score to settle.”

—–

ohhhh, so it starts.  i’m not entirely pleased with some of the sections of this but i hope you like it!  only two more episodes to go i think!  then a few short stories and then a new serial for yous!