Nyssa, Mike, and Dr. Muriler took the couch with the rat scientist in the middle. Splotch sat on Nyssa’s shoulder, watching everything with wide eyes. Jemima and Augustus stood together by the door, each with their weapons in hand. Leo stood apart from them, unarmed, as he leaned against a wall.
Nobody looked happy as he explained his plan.
"So, let me sum this up," Jemima said while sharing a look with Nyssa. "You want to use the gas from the few cores you have left to cause chaos. While the people on the street are panicking or rioting or whatever, we slip inside."
"Yes," Arthur said. "But—"
Jemima cut him off as she continued. "Once there, we make our way downstairs using an ID card you got from a woman you bullied into working for you. After that, we watch your back while you do a magic ritual to take over the building."
"Well, sort of. But—"
"And then we all go home?" Jemima finished. "That about it?"
Mike raised a hand. "You left out the part about everyone going along to help."
"Ah, yes," Jemima said. "So I have one question?"
"What?" Arthur asked as he slumped back in his seat. The coin in his hand flicked through his fingers as he watched Jemima tap a hand against her gun.
"I get to shoot people, right?"
Leo snorted, but Nyssa looked aghast. "You can’t tell me you’re going along with this? This is madness."
"No," Arthur said. "It’s not. It’s not the best plan in the world, true. However, we don’t have time to make this perfect. They’ll be going to pick up the cores from The Greenhouse tomorrow. We need to do it before they find out that we’ve poached Lisa from them."
"No, I’m not going." Nyssa said, and beside her, Dr. Muriler squeaked in agreement.
Mike raised his hand as well. "Actually, boss. I’m with Nyssa on this one. I’m not really comfortable destroying someone else’s business like that. Besides, you’ll need at least some of us to stay. What if they send a squad while you’re out?"
"Anyone else have an issue with the plan?" Arthur asked as he leaned back in his chair.
Augustus and Leo both shrugged before Leo spoke up. "I want your word that we’ll try to rescue Miss Heady while we’re there."
"Of course, though it’ll be on the way out. There’s no point dragging her into the defense of the Orchard with us."
Leo nodded. "In that case, my second question is: do we have enough cores to make this plan work?"
"We do." Arthur smiled as he spoke. "Dr. Lisa was kind enough to pack a small sack of them. It should be enough if we’re careful. Plus, we have the scooters, the truck, and the rickshaw. We’ll be able to transport everyone fairly easily."
"How many people are going?" Nyssa asked as she got up, with Dr. Muriler following suit.
Arthur shrugged. "That depends on what George and the others say. I’m thinking a sizeable amount. It would have been nice if we could have gotten the knights to come, but I haven’t seen them since the explosion."
"Question?" Mike asked, still sitting on the couch. "How are you going to avoid having the gas affect you?"
"Oh, that’s easy enough," Arthur said as he clicked over to the trade network section on his computer. "We can buy what we need fairly easily. Plus, the cores are easy enough to crush, so that won’t be a problem. Anything else?"
"No, boss," Mike said.
"Great, then Jemima, can you see about getting those in the sewer to come up for this? I want to be ready to go by sunset."
"On it," Jemima said.
Arthur watched them as they filed out before setting up his order from Jessib. As a pest control specialist, she needed to work with chemicals. He hoped. To his relief, he saw a dozen rebreathers for sale. They were cheap too, not that he was worried about the price.
A quick trade for more of Dr. Muriler’s chemical concoction sorted that out.
That limited how many people he could take, however. With that in mind, he moved over to buy some medical supplies. He wanted to make sure they had them on hand for the trip.
***
The sun was setting as his team packed into the back of the truck.
He was driving, as one of the few who knew how, with George sitting next to him. Around their necks, a small plastic tube hung on a string. The rebreathers that he’d purchased from Jessib. She’d promised they’d work, and he hoped she was right.
Not that he expected to deal with the gas himself. His job was to get in with Jemima, Augustus, and Leo and head directly to the Orchard. Once there, he hoped the chaos upstairs would cover them well enough for what they needed to do.
Small squeaks from the boxed elementals sounded up from the back. He hadn’t liked that part of the plan. None had wanted to go, but he needed them there for the ritual. Thus, he grabbed a half-dozen of each as Pydes watched on.
"Are you ready?" He asked as he turned the keys to start the truck.
"Yes, boss," he heard from the back of a truck.
In his wing mirrors, he noticed the few people on scooters start them up. This included Benny, who’d been spending time in one of the company houses. Leo had been keeping an eye on him. From what he understood, the gangster helped out and kept his head down.
Benny looked so different now that he’d had the chance to clean up and wasn’t wearing a suit anymore. He even scored a pair of sunglasses, which Arthur never remembered stocking. Not that it mattered; it would help keep him from being spotted.
With all his checks done, he pulled his cap down to help hide his face. The idea was that they would see the truck and the scooters and not bother looking into the cab. It wasn’t his best plan, but it would do for now.
Engines rumbled as he pulled away from the store and towards their destination. The scooters surrounding him stopped in rows, as though flanking the truck. They kept their speed steady, wanting to look as though they were in a rush.
The light of the fading sun peeked out between the buildings as he drove closer to his destination. They slowed down when they saw the fancier buildings, passing the golf course fence at a crawl. The few groups of people they saw got out of the way. He did his best to examine them as he passed.
Multiple armed gangsters stood around, all armed. One or two demons stood with each of them, imps and the red muscular demons being the most common. From the back, he heard Jemima snap her teeth as Augustus let out a low growl.
Jeff threw a cloth over the box containing the elementals to help muffle the squeaking.
"Keep it together," Arthur called back as he continued on.
As he drove, he noticed the lack of people completing the store’s quests on the road. A few were about, but not nearly the amount as the first time he’d been here. The gangster groups kept near each of them, as though guarding them from something.
"You all ready?" He asked as he parked near Diaboli Theatrum’s front door.
Around him, the scooters stop, acting almost like a barricade for the truck. As they stopped, the two guards at the door and their demon companion walked over. It was one of the big, muscular ones, and Arthur clutched at his cane.
With the other hand, he grabbed the handle of the door and waited. From the back, he heard someone shuffle. Neither of the guards paid the scooters any mind, each walking up to the truck. Both of them were fairly average and looked confused more than angry.
"What are you doing here? The delivery’s not till tomorrow."
For a moment, Arthur considered lying. Then he realized what a total waste of time that would be. Instead, he kicked open the door of the truck, smacking the nearest guard in the face.
"Now!"
The demon screamed as a blast of electricity hit him in the back, and the other guard dropped outright. Arthur climbed down, his cane swinging at the demon, as he heard the back of the truck burst open. Jemima laughed as she fired her handgun. Someone screamed.
Arthur raised his cane and struck the demon that lay on the ground. Jeff and two others joined him, each making sure it didn’t get back up. George hung around nearby, hunched over a squeaking crate.
Once the demon stopped moving, he stuck his hand on it and took its core. That done, he grabbed Jemima and Leo as he pulled them toward the door. The others followed, with Augustus catching up to him. He had blood around his mouth—red, not purple.
"Rebreathers on!" Jeff yelled as they pushed their way into the store.
He did as he was told, watching as multiple eyes turned on them. The demons that acted as mannequins moved, but not fast enough. All around him, people tossed down corpses and stepped on them. Plumes of mist filled the air.
That was when things started getting crazy.
Augustus and Leo hustled Arthur over to where the elevator was as the shoppers laughed, scream, cry, and attack. Allies and enemies pummeled the lanky demons with fists and display pieces.
He hadn’t realized how fast-acting the stuff was. One minute, people screamed for calm. The next, they were acting crazy. Someone knocked over a display, and he caught a purse flying overhead.
"Come on, come on," he thought as he stabbed at the elevator button.
A light turned on, and he pulled Lisa’s ID card out of his pocket. The light turned green, but there was no sign of how long it would be. It seemed he would need to hold this position.
With a grin, he raised his cane and pointed out into the chaotic mess. Heat filled him; the locket on his throat was red-hot but not painful. There was only one course of action that flooded his brain.
Arthur roared!
"COME ON THEN! LET’S SEE WHAT YOU GOT!"
The room obliged.
***
As though to match his volume, a blast of sonic waves came from the side of the room.
Arthur’s ears rang as he turned to see the boombox demon getting off the small stage. It’s a single ugly eye staring at him with Malice. It turned, opening a mouth, but before it could scream, Jemima was there.
Her gun was raised high as she fired three of those powerful rounds into the demon’s hideous mouth. She barely reacted to the recoil as blood sprayed from the creature. As she ran towards it, still firing as it crawled away, he lost track of her.
He was too busy swinging at a gangster who charged at him. The man was crying and swinging wildly. Arthur smacked his arm, and he bolted. Another came, and Arthur broke the man’s guard with ease, breaking his nose.
Leo was beside him, screaming for people to run outside and get away. No one listened. Augustus was squaring off with a lanky demon dressed in a gown. His bat crushed into the side of its head, knocking it into a display. A shard of glass cut into it, bursting its head. More purple gas filled the room.
It wasn’t the first.
The air was thick with the stuff now, and Arthur slammed his hand against the button again. They needed the elevator as more demons came in. The gangsters outside started shouting at each other to stay back. Imps fluttered above them, hurling bits of glass and screaming insults. Arthur did his best to swing at them, but they simply moved out of reach.
Leo hurled a knife he’d taken off a fallen body at one. It screamed, its wings damaged, as it fluttered to the ground. A muscular demon charged at them, but Jemima hit it from the side. Her teeth dripped purple blood as she snapped at the new demon’s face.
While it lay distracted, a shopper smashed it in the back of the head with a display stand. Arthur ducked a swing, smashing a gangster in the knee. He checked the door and saw it opening.
Unable to speak with the rebreather in his mouth, he shoved at Jemima. She turned, and he jerked his head toward the door. With a nod, she turned to grab the others as he made his way towards the elevator—weapon first.
There was someone inside, and he swung at them. Ready and willing to dispatch any opponent who stood in his way. A sword caught his cane, deflecting it.
"Arthur, what are you doing?" The Hero asked as he stepped out into the room.
People Arthur recognized came out after him—those who’d gone missing. They blinked before he saw the effects of the demonic gas take hold. To his surprise, The Hero didn’t appear affected. Still unable to talk, he simply shoved The Hero inside, pushing past the group streaming in the other direction.
None of the rest of his team was gentle, either. Each shoving passed before they entered. George carried the crate that held the elementals. The elevator creaked under Jemima and Augustus’s weight, but Arthur ignored it. A person The Hero rescued got on board as well. Their fingers scrabbled at Arthur’s throat.
With a swift punch, The Hero knocked them out.
"What is going on?"
As the door closed, Arthur took out his rebreather for long enough to shout.
"Orchard. We’re taking it over. Who’s closest to the panel?"
"I am," said George.
Arthur passed him the card. "Take this, whatever the lowest floor is. Do it quickly."
A familiar sensation of movement filled him with delight as they descended. His locket burned, and the heat spread through him. Even as they descended, he could hear the madness of the floors above them.
"If they didn’t want things to get that crazy, maybe having gas canisters as mannequins was a bad idea," He thought as the elevator opened its doors to a new room.215Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR42vFNskwM
