At the foot of the stairs Fate heard the trap door being closed above him as the room darkened, followed by a scraping sound that was no doubt the heavy chest being dragged over the doorway again. As he stood, his eyes became accustomed to the gloom and he saw that he was in what once must have been an abandoned cellar. A narrow slit of light from a horizontal window near the ceiling along one wall was the only illumination, providing just enough light to see a small wooden table, some chairs, and a man sitting quite still against a wall.
"Come to torture me again, Baron? I still won't tell you" the voice said.
"Whoever you are, we are in the same boat my friend" Fate grumbled. The man got up and carefully limped over to the new arrivals. He looked at Max without any recognition, but when his glance turned to Fate there was a spark of recognition. The professor spoke first, asking "General Kuhster?"
"Used to be," he said with the slightest hint of a smile that showed a broken tooth "until I got on the Baron's bad side. Before, I just thought he was cold and calculating - but now I believe him to be quite mad. He forced a select number of us to work for him by threat against Prince Hapnick, and when that plan didn't work he has been sitting stewing and planning ever since. Now I'm just Hans."
"Well, Hapnick is king now so he should be able to take care of this Baron - shouldn't he?" Fate asked.
"Not even under ideal conditions, I'm afraid. The prince was a drunkard and clown; the public loved him, but he was in no condition to run the kingdom. He had no idea what the Baron was doing - basically the mind of a child, really" Hans lamented.
"Well then, why...wait...you said 'was' in no condition. Why do you say 'was'?"
"Maybe he got smarter" Max suggested.
Hans looked upward for a moment, and then leaned forward to speak with a lowered voice. "The king is dead. Drowned in his bathtub, the fool. Only the physician, myself, and two guards know the truth. If news of this gets out it will spread a certain degree of panic in the people; more importantly, if the Baron found out he will seize the opportunity to take power and his rule would certainly not be benevolent." Relieved of no longer holding the burden of the secret, Hans limped back to his seat and collapsed upon it. "I couldn't really hear most of the conversation above, but I suspect the Baron will try to use you again one way or the other."
Fate started to make a retort, but held himself in check as conflict began to churn in him. Being shown up by Leslie was one thing; the man was his rival, but immensely talented. To be used as a pawn by someone else, on the other hand - that was worse. Much worse. Fate actually started to feel bad for the kingdom, and then got mad at himself for feeling that way.
"Not much we can do down here" Max said, looking around before setting himself into one of the chairs. "Do they feed you here?"
...
Two hours later Fate was still engrossed in his own thoughts when they heard some dull noises above. "New arrivals" Hans said softly as he quickly hobbled to the bottom of the staircase and motioned the others to join him. They could hear the Baron speaking, and familiar voices of a man and a woman.
"That's Leslie and Maggie" Max announced.
"Shhh!" Fate commanded.
The exchange above was much briefer then theirs had been with the Baron before they could hear footsteps and the case being drug across the floor. They scurried to their chairs and waited as the trap door opened and two people emerged through the ceiling to walk down the stairs before the door was closed again. Knowing that it would take a few moments for the new arrivals' eyes to adjust, Fate started to say something when he was interrupted.
"Well Professor, we seem to be roommates for the time being" Leslie announced. "Hello Max. And it's General Kuhster, I believe?"
"How the devil can you see us?" Fate sputtered. "I can barely see you right now."
"An old trick. I kept one eye closed when I saw where we were going and when the lighting changed I switched eyes."
"Devilry" Kuhster exclaimed.
"No, piracy actually" Leslie corrected "although some would say the same thing - it's an old trick. I believe we're all acquainted already, so let's sit down and see where we stand."
...
After a short time everyone was brought up to date on the situation, with nothing new left to add to the discussion. Outside, the light was beginning to fail as the evening fell upon the land. Hans dug a lone candle out of a box and placed it on the table and lit it. Soon the room was illuminated only by the flickering of the flame; the heaviness of the silence reflected that of their hearts. Even Leslie, the most optimistic of the lot, sat quietly.
"Why do you hate Leslie?" Maggie suddenly asked, shattering the quiet.
The professor was taken aback with the question. "I don't hate him!"
"Yes you do. I've heard you say it yourself" she insisted.
"You have, boss" Max seconded. "But then again, he hates everything. Especially mornings."
"My question stands - Why do you hate Leslie?"
Fate sighed. "Because he's always winning. Because he's right and proper and clean. Because people look up to him. Because – he's great" he said, emphasizing the last word with contempt.
"That happens to be a title for me chosen by others; I didn't name myself that. You have a title - Professor."
"He got his degree through the mail" Max snickered.
"Ahem" Fate interrupted. "It was by correspondence yes, but I did all the coursework for it."
"So let me see if I understand so far" Maggie continued. "You hate him for his title, but you have one too. You hate him for being clean, although I've seen you spotless yourself - just in black, not white. You've held almost as many records as him."
"Yes, but he breaks my records" Fate interrupted.
"And others will break his in time, as you will see. He doesn't always win; I seem to recall a race recently that he DID lose. And people look up to you too."
"Name one" the professor said, trying to understand.
"Max. He looks up to you."
"That doesn't count; Max works for me so he has to."
"No I don't" Max disagreed. "The professor here is the smartest guy I know. I bet he's smarter than Leslie!"
"Bah, I'm not."
"I disagree" Leslie chimed in. "Those inventions of yours are pure genius. I simply use what technology is available, but you invent. I can't do that; if you were to put your mind to it you probably could start your own car company."
"So, the way I see it, you and Leslie aren't that different when it comes down to it. Your approach is different maybe, but you're both showmen and risk takers. If you hate Leslie, maybe it's because you hate yourself" Maggie suggested.
"I don't hate myself!" Fate exclaimed. He searched to find a hole in her reasoning. "There is a big difference between your new husband and me; I have a mustache. More importantly, women throw themselves at him!"
"USED to throw themselves at me. I'm married now" Leslie quickly said, heading off any possible criticism from his wife. "And as an emancipated male, I have no need to prove myself with other women. Maybe you don't want women to throw themselves at you, Professor."
"Of course I do...well, theoretically. I don't have the time right now; they'd just distract me from what I'm doing."
Hans, who had been listening to the conversation in silence, spoke up. "You could relax and settle down someplace where you could start a car company. Someplace that would be happy to have your talents as a scientist and...as...a...leader."
"Oh no. No no no no! I'm not Prince Hapnick. King Hapnick, either. I'm not going to be a puppet to Baron Von Stupid."
"Not a puppet. We get the Baron out of the way and you take over. The King's advisors were mostly running the government anyway; after helping the Queen for so many years they were better qualified than the new King himself. Most of the population doesn't even know anything happened the last time you came through. It just has to be until things are stabilized in the country."
"What's the difference if I'm doing it for you or the Baron?"
"The Baron doesn't have a body right now. Once he has you, all he needs is a convenient 'accident' and poor King Hapnick lies in state while the kingdom mourns and he consolidates power."
"Oh yes, the choice sounds so very simple while we're stuck down here in a cellar. Either way I'm going up against the Baron and his men" Fate assured them before being interrupted by some voices from above. "NOW who do they have?"
"Dinner maybe" Max said. "I'm starved."
"They've only fed me in the mornings" Hans countered. The sound changed to the chest being dragged. Although he considered charging the stairs when the door was opened, Leslie thought better of it and waited to the side with the others.
The door opened and a torch was thrust down into the space. "Boss? You down there?" a voice asked.
"Hezekiah!" Leslie shouted as he rushed forward to greet his friend and former mechanic. The two men pounded each other on the shoulders in a brief reunion. Leslie looked around. "I think we're all still acquainted."
"But boss..." Hezekiah started to object on seeing Fate and Max.
"No, they're okay" Leslie told his friend. "I'll vouch for them." Fate, somewhat stunned, bowed in recognition. "The reunion can continue later; we need to get out of here now."
"The guards upstairs are, ah, sleeping off a knock on the head" Hezekiah explained. "I figured this place was guarded for a reason when I came looking for you."
"Let's go" Hans suggested. "There may never be a better time."