Revolution
Chapter 24
Somewhere in the darkness, there's a hero
Waiting 'til the moment is right
Like a phoenix he'll rise, throw off his disguise
Bring us through the night
Into the light!
- Somewhere in the Darkness, Holmes!
The horse got excited and reared up, a great beast of energy. Tom was nearly thrown off, but he brought the stolen horse under control in time.
Tom knew that elsewhere, in the other Underground cells, similar unveilings of the flag of the Underground were happening.
When the Underground leaders were in London, Tom had summoned a Lois Cayley to the then-headquarters and let her make several duplicates of the flag. Skinner had been a bit miffed when he had been chased out of the meeting that took place later on, but it had been necessary. The flags were meant to be a surprise for the people and a point to rally around.
And rallying around him they were. The roar of a freedom suppressed had resounded around him, and now the people were spilling onto the streets around him.
"Run, Jonny, run!" Joe yelled. Jonny tore down the street as fast as his legs could carry him. He was a fast runner and soon disappeared from sight.
"Extra! Extra! Hear all about it! Underground declares war on empire! The Underground has declared war on the Second Reich!"
He raced down the street as the other newsies heard the signal and ran off, spreading the word around New York. "Carryin' the banner", as Jonny loved to say.
Joe drew his pistols in one swift motion and fired them into the air, his coat falling to the ground; the Underground members in the immediate vicinity charged, roaring with ten years of repressed rage.
Looking up, Joe saw the crow hovering around the scene. He tried to bring it down, but it was too fast and eluded his bullets, instead giving a shriek and zooming off back to Bevis.
"Damn," he swore, but turned his attention elsewhere. His flag-bearer would be here just about...Now, Joe grinned.
A small plane descended towards the ground, the Underground flag flying behind it. The two Wright brothers whooped and dipped low, so low that Joe could see the paint on the underside of the Kitty Hawk.
It then rose up into the air again and sped off to other parts of New York, carrying the banner of freedom.
"Bring her down," Robur ordered, and grabbed the railing of the bridge as the Albatross banked sharply and began a rapid descent.
Robur had had the Underground flag duplicated, with a few changes to it size. It adorned the side of the Albatross, proud and true. The flag that the Black Duke had given him was mounted on a pole just outside the bridge. It whipped around in the wind as the Albatross and the fleet bore down through the heavens.
Robur stood at the front of his bridge, his men at their posts. They had been trained to respond to such a situation and they were doing well.
He was at the rail as the Albatross and her allies broke the cloud cover, emerging like angels.
Robur fancied he could hear the jubilant cries of Russia beneath him.
"Raise the flag!" Ahab ordered. His men sprang into action and cheered as the Second Reich flag dropped from the mast, only to be replaced quickly with that of the Underground. The crews on the other ships also cheered loudly. "Onward!"
The great ship began to move forward, gradually picking up speed as all the sails were unfurled and the steam engines put to work. Behind and around them, the rest of the fleet advanced, the Pequod in the lead.
They raced through the water. The sea spray was cool and salty against Ahab's face as the Pequod raced through the water towards the shore.
His men were busy all around the deck. Ahab said to the quartermaster, "Ready the guns."
"Ready the guns!" the quartermaster shouted. The order was passed to the men below deck. There was a rumbling below their feet as the heavy canons were rolled out by the Pequod's side.
The fleet sped through the water, steadily gaining on the Second Reich ships. Ahab was at the front of the ship, enjoying the feel of sea spray against his weathered face. It might be his last time.
Jack came up to him, having quickly descended from the crow's nest. "Today's a good day to die, Captain."
"Yes, Jack," Ahab said solemnly, "It is."
Percy had already slipped away from his seat in the chaos. Quietly, urgently, he had strode through the streets to meet Tony at their agreed point. Tony held his gun and his scabbard strapped to his side.
The people had gathered behind him. Even more were spilling onto the streets, having ran back to their homes to grab some sort of weapon, be it a gun, sword or just a frying pan. Anything they could do to help, they would do.
As the first shouts of the chaos started, Percy drew his sword in one smooth motion. He raised it up in the air.
"Onward!"
They charged. As Percy joined them, he glanced up at the statue of Christ that overlooked the whole city. Marguerite, he thought, I do this for us.
There was a sort of scared silence in the city, but Sue knew it would not last for very long. She continued fanning herself, acting as if nothing had happened. Next to her, Mao fidgeted. He was eager and no doubt nervous.
People pointed up at the sky. Everyone looked up at the two red rockets speeding through the clouds. Sue gave a small smile; her fireworks men were right on time.
The fireworks finally reached their destination at the very height of their flight. With a loud boom, they exploded. Cries of amazement and shock rang through the crowd gathered below as the Underground phoenix formed in a shower of sparks.
At the same time, there were yells from her men; people looked to see what the commotion in the buildings was about. Right on cue, the flag was released and it slid down the lines that they had erected between two of the buildings. It came to a stop right in the middle of the square and the people started cheering as her men poured into the square.
Sue tapped her fan against the palm of her hand. It closed with a snap. Without a word, she turned on her heel and left the room. The revolution was on.
AJ drew his weapons as Erik dropped the magical lasso onto one of the guard's necks and pulled. The man was lifted a foot off the ground and he struggled, pulling at the sturdy rope around his neck. His efforts came to no avail. As soon as he went limp, the lasso was loosened and went onto another's guard's neck.
The hidden Underground members yelled and rushed forward. AJ noted that Madame Giry was leading another group of younger revolutionaries.
Erik was a blur of black against the rooftops as he ran along them to get to the flag. He grabbed it from it hiding spot and, hooking his leg around a pipe that ran along the length of the building, slid down like a fireman. He was halfway down when he flung it into the air. "Raffles!"
AJ looked over and caught the flag as it fluttered to the ground. He caught it.
"Vive la revolution!" Erik cried, reaching the ground and running off to kill more guards.
"Vive la revolution!" someone started to chant. "Vive la revolution!"
The ship cut through the water like a knife through hot butter. Black was at the helm, navigating the vessel himself. Raoul was dashing about behind him, shouting orders to the men.
The rest of the flotilla sailed next to them. They were making good progress as they neared shore. The Underground's flag flew brave and true on the mast of his ship, whipping around in the icy winds of the Artic.
Raoul was no longer shivering; the activity and adrenaline was warming him up. Frozen water got onto him as he helped the men, but he didn't care. It was his chance to liberate the people with the help of his captain and friends.
He would not let it out of his reach.
"Raoul! Guns!" Black yelled.
"Aye sir! Guns! Where are the guns!"
Mistoffelees leapt off Nikola's shoulder lightly. It disappeared into the crowd, heading straight for the police forces.
Nikola let his cat wander off, confident that it could take care of itself. He walked calmly out of the panicking crowd, as if he was taking a stroll in Hyde Park on a typical London day.
His men were capable; Hafiz was capable. The leader of his men would ensure that everything would proceed relatively smoothly, just like he had ordered.
Passing into one of the small streets, Nikola saw Mistoffelees pounce onto a guard and claw at his face. The man went down with a strangled cry as the first of the armed Underground men spilled into the streets.
They would take care of the small fry. He had a bigger fish to catch.
There was panic in the funerary procession. They had not expected this — Dante had believed any attack would be made during his own parade, not Zalma's — and there were not quite enough guards.
The altar boys were sprinted off and the guards tried to fight back, but the sheer number of people overwhelmed them. Their defense was half-hearted as well.
Damon was closer to the coffin than Tom had been, and he had led a mob towards it. He clambered onto the driver's seat — the driver had been evicted with a shove and a "Move" — and grabbed the reins of the horses, yelling away.
"Zalma deserves a proper burial! We'll give her one!" he yelled over the din of thousands cheering. Owen scrambled up the side of the hearse, hanging onto the coffin to make sure it didn't slide off. He was yelling revolutionary slogans as well.
"The kid's ain't gonna take it lyin' down no more!" He pumped his fist in the air. "No-one's gonna take it lyin' down anymore!"
Skinner shoved his way to them. The way parted as Damon urged the horses on towards the riverside. The plan was to safeguard Zalma's body at Somerset House, an Underground stronghold on the bank of the Thames.
Tom was working the crowd to an almost-frenzy. "We've had enough of the Second Reich! It's time for the people to stand up and claim what's ours!"
Damon spurred the horses on, Owen clinging to the edge of the coffin and Skinner beside him. They were quite a sight, with a runaway funeral hearse speeding through the streets of London, its living passengers shouting at the top of their lungs and a blond on a horse behind them, raising the revolutionary flag high up in the air. The crowd that followed them was huge, gaining people by the street.
"Mr. Archer! Coppers!" Owen yelled to the front. One hand was resting on his head to stop his hat from flying off, the other hanging on tight to the pall of the casket.
"I know!" Damon gritted his teeth together. They were nearing the rushed assembly of police constables, most of whom looked like they didn't want to be in the path of a raging crowd. Damon didn't slow, because he knew what was going to happen.
Blake and his ragtag army of armed men appeared from the alleys, chasing the constables with the promise of casualties. Damon risked a wave at the Underground's security chief as he passed, and received a quick salute in return.
A sense of wonder and awe filled him as they hurried through London. They'd done it. They'd started the revolution!