Chapter Three: A Sinister Alliance
With little effort, the unannounced visitor pushed open the intricately etched gold doors and strode through the throne room, disregarding the legion of heavily armed guards that lined the walls of the chamber, watching her every move with spite and loathing.
She was a slender, athletic woman, her face hidden under a pair of sunglasses and a black fedora. Her leather longcoat was opened and the collar turned up in the style of the American gumshoes. Underneath that, a tailored, black leather body suit hugged her curves, but revealed nothing.
"The Japanese pirates were intercepted over the Pacific and destroyed. Reports confirm the copied schematics to your atomic arsenals were destroyed with them," she said apathetically. "Your agents confirm that they were hired by the city in the sky to spy on us. The heist, however, was their doing."
The man on the throne took a deep sip of wine from a large goblet before setting it down and picking up his book. Next to him stood a massive, robed monk, his face hooded in shadow.
"Send a fleet out. Cripple the city, but don't destroy it. Business and all."
The woman nodded her head in acknowledgement, knowing full well he hadn't seen it. She paused, and then continued speaking.
"There is a problem. We have a new enemy," she said in a lifeless monotone.
"I wasn't aware we had an old one, my dear" he roared out from behind his copy of The Prince. "If you have a point to make, get to it."
"A squadron of mercenary aviators chased the pirates into the airships' concealment storm. They were all destroyed, but not before the leader of the mercenaries contacted his ally, Sky Captain of the Flying Legion. Even as we speak, Sky Captain travels to the city, no doubt looking for information concerning the pirates or your airships."
King Dantes Blackbeard the Third lowered his book and stroked his neatly trimmed beard, a sly smile parting his serpentine lips. He rose from his golden throne and approached her, his long mane of straightened black hair falling over his shoulders. At full height he was an imposing tower of restrained barbarity, a savage warrior dressed in regal Manchurian robes.
"I've heard of this Sky Captain. Fancies himself a hero, does he?"
He beckoned for the woman to join him as he walked of toward an anteroom behind his throne. The monk silently followed in tow.
"An incredibly resourceful and cunning one, my lord. His interference will complicate our agenda," she said, keeping steady pace behind his titan strides.
Blackbeard stopped suddenly, as if possessed by the allure of a deviant thought. His face darkened and he glared at her from under his eyebrows, unimpressed but curious. The warrior king clenched his granite-like fists, his laughter echoing throughout the vaulted marble chamber.
"Prepare us a ship to meet our fleet and send the Death Stalkers to intercept Sky Captain in the city. My agenda, my art, is genocide, woman, and it will not be stopped by some Yankee pilot."
Stay tuned for Chapter Four: The City of Lost Souls