Chapter 3: Meetings

The rush of wind, whipping past, a light-headed: "sky high" sensation. The skyhook even makes me feel poetic and my arm sore. The anticipation as you climb, ratcheting upwards and then it peaks and rushes down the suspended track with only the sky above and below. All this only by clinging to a metal hook device strapped to the arm. As I approach with Moment Island, it occurs to me, that I will have to get off of this thing and I don't know how to stop.

Ah shit.

I should have asked the cop how it functions before I had to kill him. Though the temporary and strange appearance of the 'AD' mark on my hand forced me to accelerate the process of acquisition. I really don't understand how such marking temporarily flared onto my hand just as I was about to ask the cop for 'help'. It was very poor timing, now everyone thinks I'm this 'false shepherd'.

Had to kill him, his partner, the ten cops around the corner, their reinforcements, some fireball chucking fellow in a tin suit, an airship, a few automated turrets here and there-all and all a very draining. I didn't want to slog my way through so many people.

Right. Still haven't figured out the landing bit.

Just before the platform I pull a trigger on the machine, causing it to detach. Oh, herecomestheground!

A tumbling landing, I finally come to a rolling stop. Ow. Ow, I am getting too old to tumble like that. Bruises from the fight and the landing are not mixing well. Picking myself up, I check my possessions, still got the three skyhooks I swiped, revolver, lost the machine gun-it was jammed anyways, got ammunition, still have wallet, and that gift from our weird employers the Luteces that tastes awful, but as Anna has proved earlier-we DeWitts will drink just about anything.

Damn, the police are already here! A single hovercraft sits before the entry. I fought one shortly before running into the Luteces at the Blue Ribbon, if it hadn't been for the Devil's Kiss Vigor I got from that 'Fireman', I would not have made it.

Before I can start winging fireballs from my flaming finger tips Anna bops around the side and waves to me calling our Sioux code phrase to indicate the coast is clear.

I answer with the corresponding code in turn and then ask, "Why are you dressed up like a scientist...More importantly, why On earth did you steal a police hovercraft?!" I had expected a civilian craft. I figured she would take out the barbershop quartet and use theirs or some parade float. Next time I should just tell her to do that, poor instructions lead to Anna's more 'creative' answers.

"Crazy story Booker, I only landed about five minutes ago...are you alright Dad?" she says as she looks over my wounds, concern breaks her normally cocky expression.

"As soon as I raid the first aid kit onboard," I reply as I climb up. Ow, my shoulder still hurts from hanging from the skyhook on the ride over.

"But I couldn't find anything good," Anna asks climbing up behind me.

"Did you look below deck?" I ask as I pull open a hatch. Anna gives an embarrassed laugh, I sigh and look around below, "My god Anna, did you actually take a military airship?! There is way more weapons and gear than the one I split in half before the Blue Ribbon." Inside is enough weapons and ammunition and equipment to arm at least half the people I, had, to kill to get here.

"Whoa, that explains a lot, I mean it was parked out in front of a bank," Anna's eyes are like those of a child in a candy store. I can't believe her, a bank security hovercraft?! Our client in Russia was right. The girl is worse than the people who 'steal everything that isn't bolted down', she is the kind that would steal a wrench and get the rest. It would explain why she was able to handle shopping for her own clothing from age 17.

As I put on some salve from a kit she realizes something then looks at me and asks, "Wait, how did you split one of these in half?!"

"I fought a vigor user who could chuck fireballs, then used the same vigor to fend off his reinforcements. I would have brought their hovercraft, but it was filled with exploding ammunition and on fire, when I finished," I answer. She gives me a look that accuses me of being a hypocrite. I shrug, ouch-still sore. I have an excuse, I was in combat.

Done with the salve, I hand Anna her skyhook saying, "For you. Be careful, I discovered you can remove a person's head with it."

"Beats the wrench I have been lugging around for close quarters," she says studying the device, giving it an experimental spin. It twirls smoothly to her satisfaction.

"Well, I'm ready," I answer after looting some gear and shoving it all in a police haversack designed hold things even when traversing the Skylines.

"I think the place is abandoned, is she still even here?" Anna muses as we clamber out of the hovercraft and head into the monument.

I cock my new shotgun and reply, "Maybe, the girl seems too important to just abandon."

"Unless she only has one really good guard," Anna muses checking out her machine gun.

"What, like a Handyman serving as her 'Big Daddy'?" I ask, finding her idea absurd.

"Nah, those look to easy to stop, bullet to the heart, clearly displayed in a glass case. Probably a giant eagle to fit in with the psycho patriotic theme," Anna muses sounding annoyed.

On the thought of annoyances, "I got this from the Luteces." I hand Anna a flask.

"Wait so you can accept gifts, but I can't?" Anna huffs in annoyance before downing the whole bottle. She then proceeds to hack like a heavy smoker.

As we walk through the doors I point out, "People who offer me drinks are usually trying to kill me or pity me, often meaning the same thing. In your case, they have a more sinister agenda."

"What is this stuff?" Anna asks recovering enough to rasp.

"Creates a magnetic repulsion shield. It means you're now slightly bulletproof. Not sure how much though," I answer, the stuff and things we've encountered so far is basically magic.

Looking around-just what is this...?

"My god, this place wasn't a just a prison," Anna says as we walking through what can only be explained as a laboratory. Warnings about quarantine and safety procedures hang from giant machines that overrun the interior with tubing and readout prints.

"Research facility," I observe for her as we poke around beginning by searching every room.

We a spend a long time looking around, splitting up to search each floor. I found some voxphones and listened to them, this place sounds like it served less and less as a lab and more and more as a quarantine for the girl, whatever the reason. I can't make heads or tails of the chalkboards, but they were clearly obsessed with whatever was going on here.

Up one more floor, there are less rooms-I find a small theater with films labeled for almost every waking moment of this Elizabeth girl we are supposed to recover. Next room over is dark room that obsessively catalog her every pose.

"They were watching her. All the time. All the time," Anna observes as she joins me in here. She seems to have grown increasingly disturbed by this place. The resemblance of the two is far too uncanny. I merely nod and leave the room. After a moment she comes out and we enter through a steel door. It quickly closes behind us, must be an airlock of some sort. As we wait for the other door to open Anna asks in a forced joke, "Are you sure I don't have a twin?"

"I am certain, I was there, I helped deliver you, just you," I answer. It is a time I don't like to recall with 'her' death. I will never forget the moment that haunts the remainder of my life. The moment she left this world, I never thought I could fill the gap she held and I was right, only worse so.

"The resemblance is just a lot," Anna continues as the hatch hisses open and we proceed.

"Yeah," I answer. Now we are in a room with a sign labeled, 'No Speaking While the Specimen is Present'. Anna pulls the lever opening to reveal an empty room.

"That explains how they were able to observe her," Anna states pulling the lever and closing the metal shutter. We move on through to the next spot. Pausing to check the 'Specimen Tracker'. It lights up indicating the dressing room.

Anna leads the way as we pass through different observation booths for all the rooms you would typically find in a luxurious estate home. We finally reach the dressing room booth and Anna pulls the lever.

Thank goodness, she is already dressed. That would have been awkward to have walked in on with my own daughter.

We find the girl looking at us, or the actually the mirror. My god-the resemblance is even more obvious. She is putting her hair into a ponytail, quietly humming. She then gets up and twirls out of the room. The tracker display shows that she is going to the studio now.

Anna and I follow. In the hallway I state, "I have yet to see a way into her penthouse suite."

"And I am sure the girl would not appreciate us just bursting through what she probably thought was a mirror her whole life," Anna points out.

Entering the studio observation booth I add before pulling the lever to lift the blind, "I don't think a wrench is going to punch through that thick of glass."

It opens to reveal a series of artwork from a child's crayon work, all the way up to a beautiful and accurate painting of the Eiffel Tower drying on a canvas. The later products are worthy of sitting in a gallery if I was to judge.

Before I can crack a scheme for bailing her out to sell art, Elizabeth focuses on the wall opposite us and does a pulling apart motion in the air, oddly seeming to strain in effort.

The wall seems to rip, tearing apart and opening a hole into-Paris! I guess. Only the Eiffel Tower down the road gives any indication. It looks nothing like any Paris Anna or I have seen. Suddenly a siren from beyond the hole in the wall sounds and a massive horseless carriage rounds the bend, driving straight for us!

Elizabeth standing off to the side, panicking seems to pull the hole shut, but not before the thing smashes into the one-way glass! In panic she flees the room.

"What the hell was that?!" I ask having fallen down while backing up against the furthest wall.

Anna beside me replies, "She might expect us then...Since that burst through."

Getting up, we continue. Seeing that whatever tried to come through did not do more than crack the glass and dent some steel. Nothing we could push through. The next tracker shows her to have retreated to the library.

"Roof access," I say, finally finding a point for us to enter.

"Descending it is then," Anna agrees as we head out the door. Outside on the statue itself, wind billows by, half-blinding me as we move up the worker's access. Reaching the top, this platform is kinda unsta—whoa!

Ow. Ground hurts, thick carpet only slightly helps. Anna hangs above, having managed to grab onto the top of a bookshelf. Elizabeth peers over the ledge and cries out in shock. She ducks back.

Only to return with a book to whack Anna in the face causing her to let go and—OW! DAMN IT!

A man should never be hit there! Ow! Anna landed atop me with her carbine strapped to her back, hitting below the belt...

Elizabeth is now chucking books and Anna is yelling at her to stop. All of them ignoring me.

I shove Anna off of me and as Elizabeth rushes forward with a heavy looking hardcover. She stops seeing me and my shotgun next to me. Nervously she, sheepishly asks, "Are you guys for real?"

"No you're imagining things! Never mind the people with guns and the key allowing you to escape," Anna replies her voice dripping with annoyed sarcasm and twirling the key-I was given...When did I ever give her that?!

"You are real! What are you doing here?" Elizabeth asks dropping the book shocked.

''We are figments of your imagin-"

"Now is not the time Anna," I cut her off with my elbow to her side as I get up, "I'm Booker DeWitt and this is my daughter Anna. We're here to get you out of this tower."

At this statement there is the sounding of a whistle tune from a metal statue in the room. An alarm?! Anna in in reaction shoots the device with her machine gun, to no effect. Elizabeth cries in shock before saying, "This bad, real bad!"

"What?!" I ask, "Did we trip the alarm?"

"Yes, it's coming!" Elizabeth says, "You don't want to be here," she then swipes the key from Anna and starts working the large blast door open.

A loud high-pitched screeching rings all throughout the whole place. Anna and I rush over to help push the thick blast door open. The whole floating island suddenly seems to shake from an impact.

"Time to go now," Anna concludes, following the fleeing Elizabeth. We both give chase, weapons ready as something seems to be hitting the structure we are on. Each impact knocking loose dust and causing the lights to flicker. The occasional support beam snaps under the strain. I have to agree with the girls.

"So you two-were sent-to get me out of here?" Elizabeth asks between jarring strikes to the building.

"Yes, but what is attacking?" Anna asks as we easily catch up and keep pace with her.

"Songbird," she answers, rounding a bend.

"Hmm, I was close with the eagle guess," Anna shrugs-really now? I would face palm, but now is not the time.

Elizabeth pauses a second as we enter the observation booth for her bedroom, "They were watching me?" she half asks, half observes in shock.

"Yes, all the more reason for you to leave with us. There are some people who will not be overly pleased with your departure," I tell her, getting her to move on. Exiting the booth, part of the catwalk dips in and a wall has giant claws tear through. This only slows, not stop us. Reaching the elevator, I bark an order, "Call it!"

Elizabeth looks around confused, while Anna merely whacks the call button with the butt of her gun. Why did the damn thing have to go down while we are here?

Through the glass doors of the elevator that look out a window, we see 'Songbird'-Damn. A giant leather clad monster rush towards us. It tries to reach in, breaking the window and door.

I fire off my shotgun at its head-to no effect.

Its groping however cuts a cable, dropping the heavy elevator on its head.

"Hope this place is up to code, we're taking the fire route!" Elizabeth cries rushing for another exit.

"Not an exterior way!" I yell, "We need to keep out of its reach, and use the weapons on the hovercraft."

We're going to need a lot of fire power. Probably a small arsenal's worth.

Anna affirms with a huff and finds a small spiral staircase that twists down hopefully to the ground floor and our ship. Sooner the better, the bir- no whatever that thing is, alone is enough trouble. We only got this far because I was unexpected and everyone else were unprepared. I find it unlikely they'll give us the benefit of the doubt again.

Meanwhile it sounds as though Songbird has either left or died, seeing as the building has stopped shaking...knowing my luck...it chose neither and is waiting for us to come outside and then kill us.

"How are we going to escape Songbird?" Elizabeth asks as we reach the ground floor.

"My plan involves rockets and fireballs," Anna states.

"Same here, but I don't think I can use too much more fire," I point out, the vision of my hand melting or being on fire has been less prevalent since when I first chugged the bottle.

We stop and I look to see if the coast is clear...I signal to Anna and she brings herself and Elizabeth to the door. I whisper, "Looks clear, but I can't be to sure. I'll head for the hovercraft, you two follow when I signal."

I then make a break for the ship, reaching it with no trouble...Clear. Signaling, soon I am joined by Anna and Elizabeth.

While I scan the skies with my recently acquired telescope Anna starts up the hovercraft. The automaton pilot protests, but she silences it with after drinking some blue bottle and flicking her wrist Using a greenish ghost she forces the whole machine to obey her will.

"Take us to New York," Anna orders.

There is a pause and the machine answers, "I'm sorry. New York is not a programed destination. Perhaps you mean True New York District? If you meant a destination beyond Columbia, this hovercraft is not certified to fly more than a mile beyond the city limits or a major airship due to safety protocol. If violated this unit will shut off."

Anna curses at the thing, swearing in creative and derogatory terms asking why guardrails aren't a safety feature and how landing is not apparently a design feature. She uses words that I really hope she will quit using once we get stateside and her in college. I face palm as Elizabeth stares in shock/blushes at the sailor-worthy grammar and form.

"Damn, this would have been too convenient anyways," I sigh.

"Parachuting isn't an option?" Anna suggests.

"One would need a parachute to do so. None onboard," I answer, mentally running through the inventory, "And I don't think we can improvise," I add.

Elizabeth offers, "Parachutes were symbolically cast away after Columbia's succession from the US. The Founders reasoned that it would be better to fall from Columbia and die than survive in the Sodom below. Plus all Columbian parachutes were red, my history book indicated that the Vox were stealing all the parachutes for themselves anyway." Elizabeth speaks in a deadpan tone that Anna and I can both agree with—these people are fanatical idiots.

I ponder aloud, "I think we need a place to lie low for a bit."

"But shouldn't we leave now?" Elizabeth asks, "Danger only increases if we stay any where in Columbia."

"Oh, I see, everybody is expecting us to leave instantly or fail," Anna catches on to my plan.

"I have an idea, While I was in the Blue Ribbon, I found a map at the bar. It listed some fraternity run by the state being nearby. It looked out of the way and the area is off limits to nonmembers. Nobody would think us to go right to the powers that be," I state.

I mentally recall that I almost went there by way of the roof tops, but when I got that skyhook, I figured just changing tracks on that a bunch of times would better lose my pursuers. It did. I have had no issues and no encounters until a giant bird-thing.

"Order of the Raven Headquarters," I order the hovercraft automaton before pulling the lever. The pilot confirms and takes off. We got the girl, just need to bring her eventually to New York, and they will wipe away the debt.

[Author's Ramble:

Thank you all who reminded me of my misspellings in earlier chapters (paging Rev. COMBSTOCK). I will have the error fixed with the uploading of this chapter.

Your continued action of pointing out my imperfections (in grammar amongst other literary matters) will be appreciated. I know I do not do enough editing of each chapter, that won't stop me as you will probably will see.]