The Brothers Locke, page 8
“So we’re not getting paid for this either,” Mouth grumbled, crossing his arms.
“I believe being able to keep your life is payment enough,” Horsefly replied.
“They’re not doing it,” Dana said loudly.
Everyone went silent. The cargo hold full of sweaty men all turned their eyes towards Dana, who had wisely kept silent during most of this exchange. She did not want to call attention to herself in this situation, but this deal was too much for her to keep quiet about.
If Bulk Brown’s interruption had annoyed Captain Horsefly, Dana’s had infuriated him. How dare she, this girl on his ship, dictate what could and could not happen? Either she was insanely brave or simply just insane to challenge him in such a way. He stomped towards her with his eyes wide and his chest out. Dana didn’t flinch, and if that was what he expected of her, he was going to be disappointed as well as infuriated.
“I don’t take too kindly to females on my ship to begin with,” Captain Horsefly scolded her, his voice so low and deep that barely anyone else besides Dana could hear him. “So girl, I suggest that you keep those pretty little lips of yours together. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that I am, in any way, a gentleman if you know what I mean.”
Were this another place, Dana would have no trouble having a go at the smelly captain of this airship. She was not intimidated by him in the least and wanted greatly to rip every single ring from his lower lip.
It was then that something most unexpected happened. Sharp stepped between her and Captain Horsefly, the look on his face even more hostile than hers. The room of Air Brigands chuckled at his show of chivalry and Captain Horsefly himself started to laugh at the boy.
“What have we here? Your boyfriend I assume? A little young for you don’t you think?”
Dana had an answer for him. “This boy is more man than you could ever be, Horsefly. It’s easy to throw your weight around when you have six dozen men backing you up. It takes real … guts to stand up against the same six dozen.”
The grunts in the cargo hold continued to chuckle at the scene but Captain Horsefly did not. One thing he did respect was bravery. He had to admit that what Dana had said was true. This kid did show amazing guts to do what he just did, and out of respect for that display of courage, he backed away from both of them, wagging his finger as he did.
“Well seeing as we don’t have much of a choice, how long do we have to get them ready?” Bulk Brown asked.
“Parmele!” Horsefly shouted to his helmsman. “How long until we’re at the warehouse?”
“Not long sir! Ten minutes or so sir!”
Horsefly turned to Bulk with an unsettling smile. “You heard him. Ten minutes to get them ready. We’ll leave you to it, yes? And Bulk … do not think of trying to concoct some way out of this. The Locke Brothers should know that if anything goes wrong: if they flee, if they take the gold for themselves, if they sabotage this in anyway, it’s your team that will suffer for it.”
“You overestimate their loyalty to us,” Bulk said. “We just picked these kids up. We’re not friends, we’re just working together.”
“I know the arrangement you have with them,” Horsefly countered. He glanced again at Sharp and Dana as they were in their own private conversation. “I don’t think loyalty is an issue you’ll have with them now.”
***
So much of the West was comprised of dusty wastelands and dilapidated buildings that Egen Station could have easily been missed. There was nothing remarkable about the structure. It was a simple two-story building surrounded by a cyclone fence, giant containers and utility vehicles. Security was not a priority here, at least from the outside, as two men patrolled the area. Two rather lazy men, at that. One was sleeping in a shadowed area near the back of the building while the other appeared to be more concerned with a magazine than guarding the facility.
What a quick and simple job this would be. Make sure one guard remained distracted while the other sleeps, enter the facility, bypass some minimal safeguards and acquire the gold. Not a problem for even a beginner thief. While the Locke Brothers hadn’t been thieves for a long time, they were clearly not beginners and this wouldn’t be difficult.
Which is exactly what made all three of them concerned.
The Crimson Corsairs had dropped the triplets a good distance from Egen Station. They were far enough to not be seen but not so far that it would be difficult for them to reach it. Even though they were not in the custody of the air brigands anymore, they were not totally free of them. Horsefly’s men had attached a device on each of their collars; crude looking pieces of technology, but clearly made to track the whereabouts of the wearer. If that wasn’t enough, there was still the issue of Solas all being aboard Captain Horsefly’s airship. The pirate made it extremely clear that the fate of Bulk Brown, Dana, Bando and the teens was entirely based on the brothers retrieving the gold.
“It’s too easy,” Echo said to his brothers as they approached the building.
“You mean it looks too easy,” Mouth corrected.
“Ha ha,” Echo sarcastically laughed, noting his brother’s slight jab at Echo’s poor eyesight. “I mean this feels funny. Why would some random thieves stash this gold here, in a place owned by The Miscellany?”
‘What are you trying to say?’ signed Sharp.
“It feels funny, that’s all I’m saying. Plus, how are we supposed to make off with a stash of gold coins? Gold tends to be heavy you know.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Mouth said as he pointed towards the building.
The guard who was engrossed in his magazine began to sit up and stretch. He rolled the magazine up and placed it under his arm as he walked out of sight. This was the best chance the brothers would have to enter the facility.
“Ready?” Mouth asked.
“As much as I can be,” Echo answered.
Sharp nodded in agreement and with that they slowly approached the building. Huddled close together the brothers could barely be seen in the low light of Egen Station’s perimeter which itself was already cast in the darkness of the West’s evening sky. Tonight the moon was a sliver, struggling to throw its silver light through the murk of clouds above.
The mission was easy at this point. Each brother would utilize their special skill to gain entry into the station and disable any security measures that were in place. It was a routine they had practiced dozens of times in their careers as burglars.
Echo took care of any electronics attached to the doors. They were easy enough to disable through a series of circuit breakers just to the left of where the guard had been. Sharp used his vision to see any hidden traps or cameras that normal eyes would not notice. There were none.
It then came down to Mouth as he fiddled with a series of small, needle-like tools in an attempt to open the door. His task was taking longer than expected.
“The longer we’re out here, the more likely we’ll get caught,” Echo muttered to his brother.
‘The other guard is turning around and heading back this way,’ signed Sharp.
“Any time now, Mouth.”
Mouth stopped his work on the door momentarily and let out a sigh of frustration. “If the two of you would stop bellyaching I could do this a bit faster,” he said to them.
“Right,” said Echo with a smile.
“I’m serious. You guys have the easy stuff to do. Cutting wires and keeping an eye out. I have to do the real stuff.”
‘Enough,’ Sharp signed to Mouth after tapping his shoulder. ‘The guard is coming back.’
“I got it. I got it.”
The lock on the door clicked and with the tiniest of groans the door crept open. The triplets slid inside and closed the door behind them, engaging the locking mechanism again so no one would notice the door had been compromised.
“Well, that wasn’t too hard,” Echo whispered.
“That has to be the gold. There’s nothing in here but that box,” said Mouth.
It was now clear why the station was so lightly guarded. The only thing within this large chamber was a single container made of weathered wood and stained iron. The brothers cautiously approached the box. This all seemed a bit too easy and an ambush of any kind could happen.
Sharp looked around to every corner of the empty square room but no cameras and no sensors were visible to his enhanced vision. Echo heard no electrical currents running through the floor or within the walls outside of the ones that powered the harsh white lights above them.
“Let’s make this quick then,” Mouth said as he laid a tentative hand on the top of the container.
The wood felt splintered and rough against his palm. This was indeed the treasure box of the Crimson Corsairs, their emblem etched on either side of the box. Two gold rings joined side-by-side with three vertical slits beneath them — which gave the appearance of an artistically drawn skull — had been hand carved into the wood.
“Make sure it’s in there,” Echo said to his brother.
Mouth took a deep breath, placed his left arm over his face in case something unexpected were to leap out from the box. With his right hand he unhooked the latch and slowly pushed the lid of the box open. A stale metallic smell rushed from the container as he did but inside he saw what Captain Horsefly was so eager to retrieve, but it was far less than what Mouth had anticipated.
“That’s it?” Mouth exclaimed as he lifted a single gold coin, no larger than a dime, from the inside of the box. “He sent us in here to get one stinking coin?”
“There has to be more inside. Look closer brother,” Echo said.
“There’s nothing else in here. The sides aren’t thick enough to hide anything else. Just one gold coin.”
‘Perhaps there are other boxes?’ signed Sharp.
“Look around,” Mouth protested, “there’s nothing else in this room. This is it! One stinking, useless, worthless coin!”
“Well don’t take it out on the coin Mouth,” Echo said with a smirk.
Mouth pocketed the coin and closed the lid of the container. Sharp was already about the business of finding an exit. On the far side of the room was another door hidden in the shadows of the room. He marched over to it and pressed against its side. Easy enough, he thought. The door opened and they were back outside the compound.
Once they had cleared the giant spotlights of Egen Station the triplets headed south to the rendezvous point where the Corsairs would be waiting for them. It would be a half hour journey through the dark to get there. Just enough time for Mouth to have second thoughts.
“You know what I think?” Mouth started.
‘No,’ signed Sharp.
“Sharp’s right. No more bright ideas from you Mouth. We got the coin, let’s give it back and get the heck away from these brigands.” Echo was done with trying to rob robbers, it had caused them nothing but trouble.
“This is different brothers,” said Mouth. “One gold coin? There’s something that ratty beard pirate isn’t telling us. This coin is special.”
“Even if it is,” Echo countered, “what do we care? I mean, really! We’ve had enough mystical trinkets for one week. I don’t need another McGuffin in my life, Mouth.”
‘I agree,’ signed Sharp.
“You really think he’s going to let us go if we give it back to him? This is our bargaining chip.” Mouth took the coin from his pocket and waved it at his brothers to emphasize his point. “No, we hold on to the coin and give it to him after he lets us go. Maybe we can even get those knuckleheads from Solas set free too.”
‘I thought you didn’t care about Bulk and the others,’ Sharp signed.
“They’ve grown on me.”
Echo found a fault in his brother’s logic. “Even if we try to bargain with the coin, what’s to say he and his fifty thugs won’t just take it from you.”
‘Or kill you?’
“Or kill you and then take it from you?”
“All right, just relax there you two. Let me worry about how to bargain with this goon. I’m the mouth of the group, remember?”
The three walked in silence for a moment as Sharp and Echo considered their brother’s idea. He did have a point. Crimson Corsairs weren’t really known for their word. What they were known for is being murderers. Perhaps Mouth was right this time.
“Stop,” Mouth said, causing his brothers freeze. “I think they’ll be coming our way soon to meet up with us. Let me do all the talking.”
“Why is my confidence in this plan already wilting?” Echo said sarcastically.
“Trust me Echo. An idea just hit me on how to handle Captain Horsefly and his little gold coin here.”
The Brothers Locke
Episode 4: You Get Soft, You Get Killed
Bulk Brown had found himself in worse situations before. This also wasn’t the first time he had dealt with Air Brigands. This was however the first time he had dealt with The Crimson Corsairs. They weren’t as disorganized as they appeared nor were they to be taken lightly.
What he hadn’t anticipated though was being tied up. The entire group was tied to the wall of the cargo hold under the watchful eye of the younger brigands. They sneered at their captives, hurling insults every so often to build up their confidence and swagger, each boy trying to outdo the other.
Dana was not impressed.
“How much longer do we have to take this?” she complained between clenched teeth to Bulk Brown.
“Just relax. We’ll be out of here before you know it.”
“You just hope we’re out of here before I slam one of these little jerks into the side of this ship!”
“I know girl, I know.”
“Did anyone say ya’s could talk?” one of the slimmer brigands shouted wildly at Dana and Bulk.
Dana threw another look to Bulk as if to ask ‘Can I please feed this obnoxious boy a fist to the mouth?’. He shook his head to keep her from doing so which didn’t please Dana one bit. She sighed and rolled her eyes as the young brigand kept mouthing off.
“I’ll say one thing,” she started. “When we get free, you’re the first one I’m going to knock out.”
***
Captain Horsefly wanted to oversee the hand-off of the gold personally but he wasn’t a fool. If the brothers decided they wanted to make off with the gold themselves or pull some sort of trick he would be prepared. As his airship descended to the ground he could see from the upper deck the three young boys walking towards the meeting location.
“Keep your eyes open,” he said as the plank lowered to the earth. “Especially on the five in the cargo hold.”
Six of his men responded simply by nodding and headed back to the cargo hold with weapons in hand. Shindar and Mundlar, the two pirates that originally set the trap for the brothers and Solas in the desert, followed their leader off the plank and into a stripped down vehicle that was a cross between a van and a tank, adorned with the same symbol the Locke Brothers had seen on the container holding the gold. Two golden circles with three black vertical slash marks just beneath them that resembled an odd skull had been painted on either side of the transport. The three men entered the vehicle and made off at a quick speed over the rocky terrain towards the meeting place.
Three silhouettes could be seen coming over a nearby hill and Captain Horsefly stopped the vehicle. The three of them got out and on foot walked towards the brothers. In the middle of this plot of land was a large boulder that was dotted with patches of light-green moss and a series of twigs growing from its peak.
“Fine work boys,” Captain Horsefly greeted the triplets. “Fine work indeed. You are living up to your reputation.”
“I think that’s a compliment,” Mouth muttered.
“Now, hand over the coin,” Horsefly said with his arm outstretched and his hand open.
Shindar and Mundlar simultaneously aimed their weapons at the brothers. The threat did not cause the Locke Brothers to raise their hands but it did stop them from advancing any closer. They kept the boulder between them and the Crimson Corsairs just in case they needed cover.
“Here we go,” Echo whispered to his brothers.
Mouth didn’t hear his brother but knew it was now time to perform. They had worked out a rough plan on how to free themselves and their friends in Solas from the Crimson Corsairs. This entire string of events was one disaster after another, each time with the Locke Brothers being a pawn or tool or surrogate for someone else’s ambition. Not this time. Captain Horsefly was certainly not going to let them go free after they delivered the coin — he is a pirate after all — and the brothers had no intention on being slaves or worse.
“What are you talking about?” Mouth responded to the pirate. “What coin?”
“Not a time for games little boy. I am pressed for time so hand it over so we can be on our way, and you can be on yours.”
Mouth turned to his brothers and shrugged his shoulders, “Do you two have any idea what he’s talking about?”
“Not the foggiest,” Echo said.
Sharp shook his head coyly. Mouth then turned back to the pirates and with as much false sincerity as he could muster, offered up another lie to Horsefly.
“I think you have a few things confused sir,” he finally said.
Horsefly had a brief moment of anger, his face flushed with blood from a flash of rage the surged through him. He was quickly able to quell the emotion, taking in a deep breath and smiling as best he could.
“Okay, fun game boys. Fun game. You three have heart, there’s no doubt about that. But now, seriously, give me the coin.” He paused to see if there was any capitulation from the brothers, but when none could be found, his anger returned. “Or perhaps I can have these weapons unloaded in your faces and just search your corpses for the coin before we bury you out here in this wasteland.”
“Ah, that wouldn’t be a good idea!” Mouth shot back quickly. “We’re very important people you see.”
