The Inexplicables (The Clockwork Century 4)

“I wonder what’s inside that wagon,” Angeline said. Rector barely heard her—the noise of the machine’s engine made everything sound shaky and faint.

“Supplies for making sap?” he guessed.

The engine cut off, and the mayhem of its clatter died down. It settled into near-silence, except for a few pings and whistles as the motor cooled.

Caplan reached down to the seat beside him and picked up a mask, then put it on and opened the door to let himself out. He stepped down to the ground and slapped the door shut again, then stomped forward to shake hands with Isaac West and his companion.

“It’s about time,” West greeted him. “What do you think of the place?”

“I think it’s a shithole if I ever saw one,” Caplan said disdainfully, and if he weren’t wearing a mask, Rector thought he might’ve spit on the ground for emphasis. “But if Yaozu can make it work, we can, too. I won’t be outdone by no goddamn yellow Chinaman who thinks he’s better than everyone else. ”

Angeline snorted quietly. The snort spoke volumes, so Rector was unsurprised to hear her mumble, “This one dresses real nice, but he talks real trashy. Says everything I need to know about him, don’t it?”

“I expect it does,” he agreed.

Otis Caplan said, “Anyone else around, or just you two?”

“Jay and Martin are upstairs. ”

“Go get ’em. These things are heavy, and I can’t leave them sitting in the back. That part ain’t sealed, and the air will corrode them ’til they’re useless. ”

Isaac West ordered the man with the scraped-up leg upstairs with a bob of his head. He sighed, but didn’t argue—not in front of Otis Caplan. Instead, he slowly turned and went through the white gate. Just out of sight, Rector heard a door open and shut with a soft scraping noise. It made him think of the seals on some of the underground doors. This impression was confirmed as he eavesdropped further and Caplan asked, “How’s the tower coming?”

“We got the interior drained, cleaned, and closed up. It’s practically a fortress in there, and it goes down to a basement level we didn’t know about. We got that dried out, too, and we’re checking its integrity now. ”

“But is it airtight?”

“Not yet, but we’re working on it. Up top, we almost got it sorted—all we need is a little more glass and some better sealant. Then, of course, we gotta find a way to pump the bad air out, and pump good air in. We can get it as tight as we like it, but that won’t do us no good if we can’t breathe what we’ve trapped. ”

“The people who live here have got something figured out. ”

West nodded. “They got pumps, coal-fired or steam-powered. They send these big waxed tubes up above the Blight line and pump down fresh air that way. ”

Otis Caplan struck a pose for pondering, with his hands on his hips and his head cocked to the side. If he could’ve reached his beard, he might’ve stroked it in a villainous fashion. “Could we swipe one of those tubes?”

“I doubt it. They’re awful big to make off with. Besides, the tube’s no good without the pump. ”

“Could we steal a pump?”

“No idea,” West told him.

Angeline said to Rector, “Now that’s a man who’s lying. He’s just afraid of telling his boss no too many times in a row. Any damn fool knows you can’t steal a pump. They’re as big as a whole room. ”

Rector said, “Otis ain’t never seen a pump. For all he knows, one might fit in a wheelbarrow. ”

From within the tower came the sounds of footsteps and grumbling, descending the spiral within—and using more caution on this trip than they’d shown before. Rector heard, “Watch out for that step. It’s broke,” as the creak of decaying metal made a straining sound that squealed all the way out into the park.

“Here they come. Help me unload,” Caplan ordered West. Together they went to the wagon’s rear, and Otis released a latch that dropped the back end open. “I’ve got the glass you asked for, and the closest thing to a sealant I could find, which is tar. I hear nothing works better against this gas, but it won’t be pretty. As for the rest of the stuff, I brought enough to start a war. ”

He reached into the cargo area and withdrew a crate. It scratched across the floor until he had it in his arms, then, with some help from West, he put it on the ground. Isaac West said, “Too bad we ain’t got an army. You can bring us all the guns you want, but without anybody to shoot ’em, they don’t do us much good. ”

“It ain’t all guns, West—though if it matters to you, I’ve got more fellows coming tomorrow night. We don’t need an army to bring this place down to the ground. Or … farther into the ground. I don’t know, I guess we can send it straight to the devil with what I brought. ” Caplan pulled a pry bar out from the wagon and gave it a twirl, then jabbed it into the top of the crate. “Get a gander at that, would you?” he suggested proudly.

Angeline, Rector, Houjin, and Zeke all craned their necks.

“Hot damn, Mr. Caplan. That’s a lot of dynamite, ain’t it?”

“This? This is only some dynamite. I’ve got a lot of dynamite packed up in the back along with the guns. I’d like to think of the guns as a last resort, really. It’ll be less trouble if we can just plug up the holes, cave in the tunnels … less work for us, and nobody on our end gets hurt. ”