Same italics as before.

Chapter 14: The Gears of Progress

Booker had promised them they were only a few hours flight away, but the Rocky Mountains slowed them down considerably. All in all, it was almost six hours before the outline of the mountain range that contained Kiln City came into sight. In front of her, Elizabeth saw Silas heave a sigh of relief. "It's in one piece."

"The volcano didn't go off in this world," said Booker with a shrug. "Looks like your home is still in one piece."

"And unquarantined," Elizabeth pointed out. "Look."

Below them, a sprawling highway system saw hundreds of motorized vehicles of various sizes and shapes making their way towards the tallest mountain in the range. Even from a distance, Elizabeth could see dotted holes near the base of the mountain where the traffic entered and left it. "Wow," breathed Silas, "this is gonna be trippy for me."

"Is there a place to park Meldoy?" asked Elizabeth.

"Even if there are, it'll be heavily policed," Booker pointed out. "Odds are they already have eyes on us just from getting too close to a city. Time to walk."

Silas blinked. "We're still ten miles from the city."

"Yup." Melody was pulled into a step dive and Elizabeth squeezed her eyes shut when she pulled up mere feet above the tree line. "In other worlds, this is a national park," Booker said conversationally as Melody dropped through the trees and landed on a nettle-covered forest floor.

"Still looks like protected woodland," said Silas nervously as he slipped off of Melody's back. "Is Melody gonna be okay out here."

"So long as we were discreet, I think she'll be fine," Elizbeth said as she followed him down. He offered her his hand and she graced him with a soft smile before accepting it and using it to nimbly hop off the songbird.

Silas patted Melody's neck with a grim look. "Alright, you stay here, girl, okay? Don't move a muscle." The giant cyborg chirped and nuzzled next to him.

Booker snorted. "Looks like you've got some competition, Lizzie," he said, patting her back as he slung his bag over his shoulder. Elizabeth whirled around, grabbed his wrist, and twisted. Booker didn't cry out in pain but did twist to try and break out of her hold with a tense grin on his face. "Oh you," he managed to chide. "Let go of me or I'll strand you back in the final seconds of a doomed version of Cosmopolis."

"You open a tear and my mother will find us," Elizabeth hissed. "You know, the one who has our powers who you still won't explain to me? The one with the Big Daddy that's been following us for three or four worlds now?"

Booker fixed her with a foul scowl, but after a few seconds, it morphed to a feral grin. "Trust me, daughter," he said, clearly taking no small pleasure in how the word made Elizabeth cringe. "There's no chance she survived Columbia. With a Big Daddy slowing her down and still searching for us throughout the city? No way she made it out." Elizabeth's grip loosened enough for Booker to rip his arm away. "The mountain is this way," he said casually, walking into the woods. "There should be a pedestrian entrance or a secret passageway into the city, depending on what kind of universe this is."

Elizabeth watched him walk for a moment, gritting her teeth until she was worried they might come loose. Silas walked up next to her. "Okay, so is it just me," he muttered, "Or is he getting somehow worse? He seemed sane back when I first met him, erratic but sane. Now he's killing people willy nilly and committing mass genocide?"

"When I first met Booker in Columbia, he was older," sighed Elizabeth as she started to walk after her de facto guide. "He didn't like to talk about his past. All I could gather was that he'd been in the military, he'd made a name for himself as a sadistic killer on the battlefield, and that what he saw out there changed him."

Silas glanced at her. "Into Comstock?"

Elizabeth pondered that for a moment. She'd often wondered in her decade-long inter-dimensional assassination spree just how her father's military service had shaped the psyche necessary to build the persona of Comstock. "Sometimes," seemed to be the most appropriate answer to the question. "When he tried to save me in Columbia, the first time anyway, he was much more…reasonable. He still killed hundreds of people while we fought our way through the city, but I could tell he was restraining something." She paused and smiled. "I remember how scared I was when I saw him kill someone for the first time. I…I had no idea how to process it. He was blunt when he explained to me that nobody was going to hesitate to kill him and imprison me so we couldn't hesitate either."

"Doesn't exactly sound like father of the year," said Silas.

Elizabeth paused for a moment. In her mind, she could feel the cool water pulling lazily at her calf, the rough leather of Booker's vest under her palms, the popping sound of the bubbles breaking the surface of the river, sending a horrified shiver down her spine. Booker had only fought for a brief second, in which Elizabeth imaged his life must have been flashing before his eyes. But after that, he had simply stared through the water with acceptance until he lay still in the water. "He was alright," she said softly. "He redeemed himself in some small way at the end."

"Not to sound like I'm trying to break up this little dream team," Silas began.

"By all means, continue."

"Why do we need this little sociopath again?" he asked. "You can make tears and can track the lighthouses better, right? And we know where Comstock is now, so he's kind of…unnecessary."

"Oh, I beg to differ," said a voice from Elizabeth's other side. "This version of Booker DeWitt is quite essential to the culmination of your journey."

She didn't even bother to look up and merely rolled her eyes. "Hello Robert," she said.

Silas arched an eyebrow at her. "What's that?"

"Oh, introductions," said Elizabeth. "Silas, the poly-dimensional time and space wizard who set me on the path of being a time-displaced assassin with daddy issues. Robert, Silas."

"Elizabeth," said Silas slowly, "are you okay?"

"Fine. Why?"

Robert coughed into his fist, glancing heavenward. "I'm afraid Mr. Ryan cannot see me."

"Wonderful," said Elizabeth, choosing to take the news in stride. "Now he thinks I'm crazy."

"Starting to," murmured Silas.

"Relax, Silas. I'm talking to a guy you can't see."

"Oh…okay?"

"Now," said Elizabeth, turning back to Robert. "What do you want this time?"

"Have you played the tape yet?"

Elizabeth patted her pocket. She'd had the foresight to transfer the tape from her old skirt to her new one. "No. Haven't found a cassette player yet."

Robert bit his lip and rubbed his hands anxiously. "It has become imperative that you listen to that tape as soon as possible."

"Or you could just tell me what's on it."

"Rosalind would-"

"Yeah, yeah, you're afraid of your better half, got it. Anything else?"

Robert took a deep breath. His eyes, normally calm, were now flickering all over the forest, tracking every sound. In honesty, his anxiety was disconcerting to Elizabeth. The Luteces weren't just omniscient, they existed in all time at all places. If something was making Robert nervous, it was cause for concern. "She's coming," he murmured to himself. "I don't have time to explain anything to you. All I can say is your mother is alive."

"I figured as much," said Elizabeth. "She can open tears. I imagine she escaped to another world."

Lutece cringed. "Actually, no," he said. "I helped her escape from Columbia after you were separated."

Elizabeth stopped completely to turn and glare at Robert. "I thought you couldn't interfere directly."

"I made an executive decision," said Robert crisply. "Rosalind has taken it as an escalation of our ongoing conflict. We are now in what could be considered open, inter-dimensional war."

"Oh yeah? How's that going for you?"

"Poorly. As we speak, she is currently fighting a version of me from the future who is keeping my sister occupied in another reality's past so I could have a chance to see you. I will lose the fight in about ten seconds and she will take an additional five to find me through the aether of the fifth dimension." He paused for a moment before sighing. "Forgive me," he muttered. "My math was off."

Reality in front of him ruffled slightly before Rosalind Lutece, her rich hair unkept and eyes wild, appeared mid-lunge. She tackled Robert with a cry and he grunted. They'd both disappeared before they hit the ground. Elizabeth sighed and slapped her hand to her forehead. Silas took a step back from her. "So…done talking to your invisible friend?" he asked hesitantly.

"Just because we made out doesn't mean you can patronize me," sighed Elizabeth.

"It was an honest question, given the circumstances."

Elizabeth shook her head. "Let's just catch up to Booker. Something about this world is throwing me off and I want to leave as soon as possible."

Silas nodded but still gave her a strange look. Together, they picked up their pace as they wove through the massive trees of the forest until they saw Booker's grey striped shirt not far ahead of them. "Silas," said Elizabeth before they got too close, "do you know where I can find a cassette player?"

Silas thought for a moment. "Cassette players?" he muttered. "In the old quarantine zone, there was a record store that once sold stuff like that. It was decrepit and empty by the time I was born, but if it were up and running…"

He left the thought stand and Elizabeth nodded. "Think you can find it in this place?"

"If the city layout is similar to the one I'm used to. I might not have been outside of the quarantine zone, but I studied maps of the city for years. I didn't have a lot of other reading material in my childhood."

Elizabeth offered him a small smile. "I know the feeling." She glanced up ahead. Booker was closer, but still out of earshot. "Here's the plan: Once we get into the city, let me know if you see any recognizable landmarks. Once you get your bearings, we lose Booker and head to the cassette shop."

Silas frowned. "Why do we need a cassette player?"

"Because," hissed Elizabeth under her breath as she withdrew the cassette and waved it in Silas's face. "My 'invisible friend' told me this will answer all the secrets Booker's been lining us up under. Whatever he doesn't want us to know is on this."

Silas glanced back and forth between her and the tape for a moment. "Are you sure?" he asked quietly. "I know I was just talking about ditching him a second ago but now that I've seen you talk to air, I'm pretty certain that he's the only one of us who knows what they're doing."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "So your choices are a lady you think is crazy or a guy who massacred millions."

Silas couldn't help but crack a grin. "Wow. When you put it like that it almost sounds like I have pretty poor and limited options."

"Then maybe you should go with the one who's made out with you." Elizbeth made a point of walking in front of Silas for a bit and adding an extra sashay to her hips. Silas groaned and tilted his head back. Elizabeth was not a stranger to using her feminine wiles as a tool, but this was the first time doing so made her blush.

"Fine," said Silas after a few long moments where his eyes never left the cleft of her lower back. "I know what you're doing, but fine. Booker's not being honest with us anyway." Elizabeth smirked. Constants and variables. Man in any universe were weak to the prospect of a woman wanting them. The only things that changed were the names and faces.

It was about an hour of walking before they reached the base of the mountain. For the preceding ten minutes, the terrain became progressively rockier and steeper until it eventually gave way to a cliff face. Once they'd reached the mountain, Booker led them on a slow trek around it. The sound of traffic got steadily louder until they reached one of the lower freeways entering the mountain. "Looks promising," said Booker, pointing to a sidewalk alongside the highway.

All they had to do was climb over a stone blocker to get on the path. It led to a wide, dark tunnel that included the busy highway. Wordlessly, Booker led them forward, snapping his fingers to light a fire between them. With him lighting the way, they stepped into the shadow of the concrete. As they progressed, the sidewalk became more and more narrow, leaving them pressed against the walls of the tunnel with cars stuck in a gridlock mere inches from their stomachs.

Suddenly, Booker stopped. "City Security!" he shouted over the sounds of engines and horns. "We need a way through!" Elizabeth poked her head out a bit and saw that there was indeed a security checkpoint up ahead where a small line of fellow pedestrians were being frisked by burly security guards in red and brown uniforms. Intriguingly, both people coming out of and into the city were being searched. As much as the guards wanted to keep something out, it wanted to keep something in.

"I'll open a tear," offered Elizabeth.

"No!" shouted Booker, turning back to her with a furious expression. "If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times! No tears!" He turned back and drew his firearm.

"Stop!" roared Silas. "Dammit Booker stop killing people!"

Booker glared back at him. "Say it a little louder why don't you."

"He's got a point," said Elizabeth, her eyes scanning their surroundings. "There!" she pointed across the highway to the other side of the tunnel. A service door was sunken into the curved walls. Silas nodded and started to creep through the cars. People honked at him in annoyance, but it was mixed in with the honks of impatient commuters tired of being at a near-dead standstill. Elizabeth came after him with a reluctant Booker following closely.

On the other side, Silas pushed against the door. "Locked," he confirmed when it didn't budge. Elizabeth gently pulled him back and took his place, taking a pin from her hair. A few locks fell in front of her face, but she could have picked a lock blindfolded at that point. Using the twin prongs of her pin, she felt each tumbler falling into place. The door clicked open.

"Not gonna lie," said Booker gruffly as he pushed past her into the darkened stairwell beyond. "Totally forgot you could do that."

"Shocker."

"Don't be fresh with me, young lady."

Elizabeth chose to ignore Booker's snide remark and climbed up the steel stairs in front of them. The stairwell was unlit, but Booker simply reactivated his vigor and lit the path. The stairs led up several flights until it reached a platform Elizabeth gasped as the world became lit by hues of subdued red and flashes of blue sparks.

They appeared to be in massive warehouse that stretched as far as she could see on either side. It was about a hundred yards wide and a little bit more in height. The platform came out to a catwalk system over looking the factory floor, where hundreds of people were rushing around fast moving machinery. The air was filled with the sounds of worried cried below and the constant clash of metal that seemed to come from all places at once.

"I read about this place," said Silas in awe, pulling up the rear. "It's a giant factory in the wall of the mountain itself. The heat from the lava powers all these machines."

"What do they make here?" asked Elizabeth.

"Everything and anything," Booker answered. "In most worlds, Kiln City is generally pretty stringent with security, considering what could be a minor catastrophe in any other city has the potential to be world-ending here. As such, they don't do a lot of trade with the outside world and prefer to produce all their own products here."

The three of them slowly made their way across the catwalk. When they were about halfway across, the screams started coming up from below. Elizabeth immediately realized they were not the frantic cries of a busy factory but the terrified yells of those witnessing terror. A few seconds later, an explosion ripped through the factory floor a few dozen yards to their right. The flames reached up to the catwalk, but didn't fly wide enough to burn the dimension-hoppers. The shockwave of the explosion, however, knocked Booker back into the far railing. He tumbled over it, but Silas shot out to catch him.

For a single, wordless moment, Elizbeth saw Booker stranded in midair, a look of surprise on his face. Silas's hand was outstretched, but it was unclear if he'd make it. In that split second, Elizabeth half-wished Silas would miss and Booker could fall into the flames. It would solve at least a quarter of their many problems. But then the moment ended and Silas grabbed Booker's wrist, quickly pulling him back to the catwalk.

"Good save," said Booker, brushing himself off with the casual demeanor of someone who hadn't just been in jeopardy of dying. "Now what the hell was that?" The explosion burned off, leaving a massive hole in the factory's outer wall. Twisted and half-melted machines were scattered in its wake, many still on fire. Through the smoke, Elizabeth saw two figures lumber through the hole.

The Big Daddy was unmistakable and the second, smaller figure was equally so once she clambered onto its head. "Huh," said Silas, swinging his sniper rifle to his eyes. "Perfect timing." Elizabeth's eyes widened and she shoved his gun to the side just as he fired. The bullet ricocheted off the Big Daddy's helmet and Eleanor, her face covered once again, swiveled to look up at the catwalk.

"That's my mother!" hissed Elizabeth. "She has answers! And might not even be your family's killer! I thought we had an understanding!"

"I know," whispered Silas, wrestling his gun out of her hands, "but he doesn't know that." Elizabeth glanced back to see Booker glaring daggers down at Eleanor. He held his hand aloft and threw down a Devil's Kiss fire grenade. Silas quickly pushed Elizabeth aside. With a single, fluid movement, he raised his gun and shot the grenade in midair. It exploded into a burst of napalm that splashed down on the floor of the factory in front of the Big Daddy and Eleanor.

"Hey!" shouted Booker.

"Sorry," said Silas with a shrug, readjusting his gun, "bad shot."

Booker narrowed his eyes at Silas for a moment before turning back. He yelped and leapt away from the railing just as the Big Daddy's drill smashed through it. He dodged the spinning metal by mere inches. "Son of a…" he muttered as the Big Daddy used the drill, now embedded in the roof of the factory, to pull itself up. Though it was rising fast, it was still slow enough to swing under the catwalk. "Come on!" shouted Booker, running down the path away from the Daddy. Elizabeth and Silas shared a look and started after him. By the time the Big Daddy and Eleanor reached the catwalk, they had reached the other side of the factory.

"There! A door!" shouted Silas, pointing to what looked like a windowed office in the side of the rock. Elizabeth kicked the door open and groaned to see the rest of the room was seemingly a dead end.

"There's got to be another way out of here!" she said.

Booker pushed past her, reaching into his bag. "There is," he said, planting a large piece of clay on the wall opposite the door. "The wall between here and the city proper is only about a half foot thick. So we'll need…" he paused and looked at the handful of clay in his hand. "A whatever amount of C4," he decided with a shrug. He took a second handful of clay from his bag and slathered a large portion of the wall in the stuff. He quickly waved Silas and Elizabeth out of the room and they all stepped outside.

Eleanor had abandoned her slow-moving Big Daddy to sprint down the catwalk. Elizabeth could see a knife flashing in her hand as she drew closer. "Might want to cover your everythings," said Booker casually as he drew his pistol. Eleanor had just about reached them when Booker fired at the clay and quickly ducked behind the door. The clay exploded in a flaming inferno. Silas cried out in terror, but Elizabeth grabbed him and yanked him to the ground before the fireball could scorch them.

Eleanor wasn't so lucky. She threw her hands out in front her of face, but she was running too fast to slow down in time. She was left standing directly in front of the door when the clay erupted. The fires surrounded her and the force of the explosion threw her back over the edge of the catwalk. Elizabeth heard her mother's screams as she descended to the factory floor below with a sickening crunch. Booker peaked out from behind the door. "Might have overdone it a bit," he said, looking into the office.

There was now a massive hole where the entire back wall of the room had once been. The desk and cabinets in the room were now splintered and scattered around, if not outright destroyed. Beyond the smoking hole, Elizabeth could see the lights of an active city. "Let's go," she said, dragging Silas behind her as Booker stepped next to the hole and looked out.

"But, your mom!" Silas said.

"Not thinking about it!" Elizabeth stated with firm conviction. "Now come on!" Booker looked back at her and gave her one of the most frightening smiles she'd ever received before leaning back and falling out of the new window.

Elizabeth leapt after him, not willing to look back. Silas, however, took a moment to glance behind him. The Big Daddy stood in the doorway. The giant helmet was turned away to look down at the factory floor. Slowly, the metal and glass structure swiveled to face Silas. He couldn't see the Big Daddy's face through the helmet, and he wasn't sure if the behemoth even had a face, but if it did, Silas was certain it was glaring at him in a silent accusation.

Silas took a step back and jackknifed out of the hole in the wall.

. . .

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