FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 26 - Burn Down the Tower

Click.

Click.

Click.

Nothing happened.

I stared at the gun in my hand and then ahead at Mordecai and all at once terror hit me like a train; I was going to die because I let anger get the better of me. I was about to take a step back as I saw something white emerge from the corner of my eye. It was Rut. In an instant, the white fox was there in front of me, his own gun poised up and firing with reckless abandon. The boom of the bullets being fired hurt my ears, and I felt Rut shove me aside as he crouched in front of me, firing at an empty hallway.

"You idiot!" he yelled, looking down at me. "What did I tell you?!"

"Not to pull--"

"NO! If you're going to use a gun, remember the goddamn safety! For fuck's--"

Rut looked up just in time to see the foot launch out and strike him in the chin, driving him backwards. Mordecai walked forward as I slid back and down a hallway. He ignored me and headed for Rut.

"I hate to admit this, but you and your brother are quite the troublesome pests," Mordecai said as he slammed his foot down on Rut's gun arm, making sure he couldn't lift it up and fire. Mordecai loomed over him and tilted his head.

"Your brother, specifically, was able to make me bleed. It took me some time to find out just who you two are, Mr. Perry. I found so many interesting little bits of information about you two. Why, the history of you two almost rivals in infamy with my own persona of Spring Heeled Jack."

Rut was trying to tug his arm up, but glaring, unblinking. I was crouched behind a stone potted plant. I saw my gun was on the floor -- I had dropped it when Rut had slammed into me. Another mistake he was sure to lash me for should we live. The only other weapon I had was a knife that Fiz had given me, but I doubted it would be of any use, since I knew almost nothing about knife fighting.

"The thefts in Cleveland, the stolen ship off of Richmond, the politician in Washington D.C. who claims a black and white devil assaulted him, and of course that big fire in Chicago. That was your doing, was it not?"

Rut didn't say anything. I saw him reach slowly down toward a pocket on his trousers but Mordecai made a tutting sound. "Mr. Perry, you and I are having a wonderful little chat. What good would it do to try something foolish like drawing another weapon?"

Mordecai brought his cane around and put the tip against Rut's chest. He sighed a little and pushed. I heard the pop of bone and Rut cry out in anguish. Mordecai had broken a single rib with that cane of his. Rut was wincing, panting, trying to breathe normally.

"As much as I am intrigued by you and your brother, you two must die tonight," the caracal said. "It is such a shame that I must kill you, but that is the punishment that you deserve for hiding my Simon from me." He signed dramatically. "Alas, I suppose I shall make do with your brother on the West Coast..."

"What...?" Rut muttered, eyes wide. Mordecai put the tip of his cane on the other side of Rut's ribs and pushed. Another pop and another scream of torment. I saw Mordecai grin down at my friend wickedly. That bastard was enjoying this!

"Warrior," Mordecai said without looking over at Gideon, "capture my Simon and bring him to me. But do not wound him, I want him as pristine as he is now."

"Yes, my Master," the wolf said as he advanced on me.

I knew better than to stay put. I was on my feet in an instant and running down the hallway. It was obvious that, the moment Mordecai had me, anything else was expendable. He would let the world burn once he had me. After all, the only reason he kept people alive in my orbit was because they were avenues to capturing me.

I didn't even look back as I slammed into a door and ran to the far side of the room, jumping and sliding over the desk, knocking various items and papers to the floor as I stood on the other side. I wouldn't let Gideon grab me, not without some kind of fight, or at least a conversation.

A quick look around told me that it was Mordecai's office--which seemed odd since he also kept an office on the fifty-second floor, where Rut and I eavesdropped on his conversation with Iron the other day. But then it hit me--this must be his second office, located on the thirty-eighth floor right above his hidden floor full of explosives, so that he could occasionally visit and keep an eye on his stash of deadly weapons!

Knowing that I didn't have any time to lose, I started tugging drawers open, hurriedly looking for something other than the knife I had in my hand to fight with. _ Why didn't the crazy caracal have a gun hidden in his desk like a proper psychopath?!_ I growled and threw more items to the floor and stopped briefly.

On Mordecai's desk was a picture. The picture Gideon and I took so many years ago in London. The gift from Bensley. I looked so small and Gideon looked so uncomfortable. We were just boys then. We were so stupid but we were also happy. I felt tears welling up as I picked the frame up, and at that instant, Gideon slammed the door open and entered the office. He calmly patted off pieces of glass from his suit jacket and advanced toward me.

"Gideon!" I yelled. "Stop! You don't want to do this!"

"I am the Warrior, Simon," was all he said in his cold, deep voice as he rushed toward me. I kept the desk between us, moving in a circle so I couldn't be grabbed or chased.

"No! You're Gideon Maxwell! The boy from London who gave me bread when he saw I was starving! Who taught me that... that... I could like other boys and not go to hell! That I wasn't evil or sick! Who gave me my first kiss!"

Gideon paused, looking at me with those ruby eyes of his. He swallowed and clenched his fists. I had a chance, I thought. I had to take it!

"Gideon!" I turned the frame toward him, showing him. "Look! Do you remember this day!? You remember how, even though we were scared, we were happy?"

"That was a long time ago, Simon," Gideon said with the slightest of warbles to his voice. "I was a boy. I was stupid--"

"YOU WEREN'T STUPID" I screamed at him, feeling tears trickle down my face. "You were brave and strong. You... you went up against something we were both terrified of."

Gideon chewed on his thoughts, looking at my face.

"You remember? The story you told me about Spring Heeled Jack? How scared you were? And then you didn't even hesitate, you engaged him... you got between him and me. You... you were ready to die for me. You didn't even consider yourself. You just moved without thinking because you're a good person."

"Master... he worked that out of me, Simon," Gideon said flatly. "The boy you knew? Gone. Lost. You don't know what he did to me."

My heart pained as I imagined what that monster might have done to him. "You're right, and I'm so sorry you went through all of that. I would take that pain and bury it in me if I could. I would give anything to make sure you didn't suffer because of me, and I can't imagine what you've experienced."

I looked back at Gideon to return his gaze. "But I want you to know that I'm your friend. I've never stopped being your friend. Please, Gideon. Don't let him kill my other friend out there. Don't let him do to me what he did to you. You aren't weak. The man I met at the Arc is still there, in you, Gideon."

"Simon..."

"Gideon!" I screamed. "Please listen to me! This is going to end. We signaled our friends outside. Nickel is bringing the police. He's going to find the barrels of explosives, and Mordecai is going to be arrested for planning to blow up the city. You're going to go down with him as his assistant. You'll be tried, convicted, and executed. Gideon, please don't be like him, be stronger than him! Please, don't make me watch my friend die!"

"Simon, who says we're fri--"

"Don't!" It took me all my effort to not explode with all the emotions whirling inside me. "We're friends. Don't fall back on whatever twisted things he did to you. You're better than that by miles. Stop and think for yourself and... just do what you want to do."

The wolf remained quiet, unmoving.

"Please don't go away," I begged, "please don't end up somewhere like in a prison or... or dead. Please, I don't want any more of my friends ending up dead..."

Before I could say anything more, there was a yell of pain coming from the hallway. It wasn't Rut.

"Master!" Gideon shouted as he turned and ran out the door. I followed quickly but hesitantly.

Out in the hallway I saw a sight I couldn't believe. Rut was standing with an arm holding his ribs, breathing hard but alive. In front of him was Fiz, his left arm outstretched in front of his brother as if to protect him and his right arm pointed toward Mordecai. In his right hand was a knife, with fresh blood dripping from its sharp edge. The black fox looked beyond angry, past the serene nature I had seen him fight in before. This was different, this was personal by the looks of things.

"So the twin arrives to save the day," Mordecai said, holding his arm. It was bleeding at the shoulder.

Fiz, so few of words, shot forward like a bolt of lightning. I had never seen someone move so fast and so agile. It was like watching a fox dance with a blade -- the glint of light exploding from the blade as he engaged Mordecai.

Much to my enemy's credit, the caracal was agile too. Felines always had that little one up on canines, and he was dodging and weaving, staying just out of fatal distance of the blade. The slices and slashes he couldn't avoid he parried with his cane, knocking the blade to the side and trying to get some room to strike. But Fiz stayed close, quick and fast, slicing with the deadly speed and accuracy of someone I knew to be a trained killer. He wasn't letting Mordecai get a chance to draw the blade hidden in his cane.

But much like how all Mordecai could do was dodge, Fiz was only able to give glancing blows. I saw shallow cuts on the cat's arms and chest, trickles of blood, but nothing serious. Fiz couldn't get a killing blow. All they could do was stand off against one another; the first to lose stamina would end up dying. And Gideon couldn't just run in between them to help Mordecai because of how swiftly the two moved. The wolf just stood there, nervously watching and waiting for a change to intervene.

"Fuck it," I heard Rut say as he drew a knife from his belt, looking it over. The hilt was black as pitch and the blade polished and beautiful. He looked at me and winked before he joined the melee.

I had always thought, up until that moment, that Fiz was the expert with close range combat and Rut was long range. I was wrong.

The twins were moving with a fluidity and familiarity that must have come from living together for so long, being close to one another and training together. They didn't even need to speak to each other since they always seemed to be aware of where the other was. When one went high. the other went low. When one circled behind Mordecai, the other stayed in front. They switched places, giving each other a chance to catch a breath and find an opening. It was a work of art to see them move like this, in a whirlwind of black and white fur.

Mordecai, for his part, was not doing too well. He was fine against one, but with two opponents fighting in perfect unison like a single creature, he was struggling. The look on his face of pure frustration was growing more and more as he did his best to keep the twins from stabbing him, but they were cutting him slowly, drawing blood and injuries, making him slow down and cover himself. Mordecai had even unclasped the cloak he wore for more ease of movement.

Rut was behind Fiz, trying to weave, but he was slower than his brother, his broken ribs easily slowing him down. He growled and drew his gun again and threw it into the air.

"Fiz!"

With that as his signal, Fiz threw his knife at Mordecai, who dodged it easily. But that was a mistake on the caracal's part. While Mordecail was dodging the blade, Fiz had plucked the gun out from the air and aimed it, firing just as his arm came down at the right level. Blood exploded from Mordecai's arm as he staggered backwards and against a wall, holding his arm. He growled loudly.

"YOU ANIMALS!" he screamed, seething as he turned just in time to miss being hit with more bullets. That gave Gideon the chance he was waiting for. The wolf slammed his shoulder into Fiz, knocking him off balance. Gideon dashed to help Mordecai, who was still cursing the twins, to his feet.

"You filthy peasants! How dare you hurt me, wound me, do this and stand between Simon and myself! You are cursed, all of you, and I will make sure you pay for every second I've existed here hurting and alone! You are nothing but dirt! Barely worthy to be walked on and certainly expendable enough to be dead! WARRIOR! HELP ME!!"

Mordecai backed up to the corner of the floor and jammed the tip of his cane into a small opening where the two walls adjoined. The wall slid open to reveal one of those pulley ropes I had seen at the secret floor. The cat grabbed one and panted, staring out at the lot of us. "This isn't over, you vile hellspawn. Believe me, you shall sleep with one eye open!"

I shoved past Rut who had been trying to hold me back and screamed at the wolf. "Gideon! You better come back alive! You promised!"

Gideon paused halfway to Mordecai. The caracal blinked and tilted his head. "What does he mean, Warrior?"

Gideon was standing between Fiz and Mordecai, who didn't have a clean shot. Fiz didn't shoot my friend, but I could tell he was considering it. Everyone else was watching what was happening in front of us.

"My Warrior, what does Simon mean?" Mordecai repeated through clenched teeth. "I have talked to you many, many times about every interaction with Simon, and he's never made you promise to come back alive. What does he mean?!"

"Master... I..."

"He betrayed you," I said to the caracal, hissing out through my teeth. "Gideon was the one who told me where Tin was being held. I freed him."

Mordecai was stunned, looking between Gideon and myself. The wolf stood stoic and strong, his fists clenched. "I...I went out and found Simon," Gideon explained. "I wanted to bring him back...but instead...instead..."

"You what?" The caracal's icy tone was hard to miss.

"I slept with him. I needed to. I needed to know if we were still--"

There was a scream of rage and Mordecai snarled, his teeth bared and glaring at Gideon with more hate in his eyes than I had ever seen him have. Usually his face, the few times I had actually seen it, showed apathy. This was pure hatred.

"You. How dare you. HOW DARE YOU UNDO MY PLANS AND CLAIM MY PRIZE!! I WILL END YOU LAST AND MAKE YOU WATCH AS I TAKE SIMON FROM YOU!! YOU WILL NEVER HAVE HIM AGAIN AND WHEN HE IS MINE ONLY THEN WILL I KILL YOU!!!"

"Shut up," Fiz said and fired. The shot hit Mordecai in the shoulder who stumbled back into the shaft. He winced and grabbed the pulley with his good arm... and hissed. He stepped back and fell to the bottom.

He had escaped.

"Run, Simon," Gideon said to me flatly. I was about to ask what he meant when we heard the sound of something popping and shaking behind us. Gideon looked at me. "That sound was the hidden fire starter. There are controls at the bottom of the building to trigger the blaze. Mordecai is going to--"

"RUN!" Fiz said and grabbed me by the arm, shoving me into the stairs.

Gideon stopped and scooped Rut into his arms, putting him onto his back and holding on to his legs. At that point we were running down the central stairwell two at a time. When we passed the hidden floor in the stairwell, I stopped to put my hand against the wall.

It was hot. Burning hot.

"We don't have long!" Gideon said, panting as he was still going down as quickly as he could.

And I hurried, closing my eyes briefly when something shook. The lights flickered briefly and I couldn't believe this was happening. Was Mordecai this upset that he would burn down his own tower?

We were nearing the bottom of the stairs. We met a few more groups on our way out. A few seconds later, there was a loud boom above us and the whole building shook. The lights went out and then came back on, flickering and flashing. Another boom, followed by another... and then a rumbling. We were all holding onto the railings, trying to hold steady while the building started to explode.

"HURRY!"

I don't really remember much about the last few floors. I remember my legs hurt and it was almost pitch black. I remember the explosions and the falling of debris all around us. I remember someone being struck in the head in front of me and needed to be carried out. But I could not remember getting to the lobby.

I remember I was suddenly on the floor in the dark lobby, smoke and rubble around me as the building boomed and shook. I saw a tiger in front of me scoop me up and hold me to his chest, running out into the cold night air.

The sound of people screaming. Explosions so loud it hurt my ears. Everywhere was chaos. I tried to look up but I couldn't. Everything was moving too fast.

I saw the carriages we were to use to get away. Everyone was looking up and behind us but I knew to not stop. I knew that if I stopped to gawk, that would be it, and I would be here until the whole thing was over. The only thing keeping me from turning around was that someone was carrying me. Tin. Tin was carrying me.

The door to the carriage was flung open and Iron, of all people, was standing there. I was handed to the slightly smaller tiger and put down on the soft bench. Rut was helped into the carriage next, wincing and coughing, with blood on his lips. His eyes looked tired, but he looked well enough considering his extensive injuries. Fiz grabbed the top of the door and swung himself in, sitting down on the bench across from me, his face serious as he looked at his brother. Others piled in, Tin last before Iron slammed the door closed. The others were clamoring into the second carriage at this time.

I heard the driver get the horses moving. I could feel heat to the back of my head and paused, exhaling, and finally turned around to see what was happening to Crossbell Tower.

In front of me, in a glowing plumage of orange and red, stood Crossbell Tower, a raging inferno that conjured mental images of damnation and Hell, a tower where Lucifer himself would feel comfortable living in, the effigy to hubris and vanity billowing smoke up into the clear night sky.

I watched as explosions erupted from the destroyed floors, windows shattering as fire ravaged the tower, glass and debris flying everywhere. The stone was blackening and crumbling, the whole thing was going down faster than I had imagined it would. When the final barrels of explosives caught fire, the whole building exploded, a roaring fireball of heat and energy rising up into the sky and casting the night city in a flash of daylight. The shockwave was enough to knock the carriage almost over, all of us holding on for dear life, people covering their ears with their hands, ducking down as the windows to the carriage exploded inwards, showering us with small shards of glass.

When I finally had the courage to look up and out the window, all I could see was a flaming pile of rubble where Crossbell Tower had once been. I swallowed hard and chewed my lower lip. Was it over?

We had, after all, burned down the tower.