XXXI

Countdown

Roy, Doyle and Wang all leered down to the barges below the bridge. A thick crowd buzzed around them in a deafening cluster as they eagerly awaited the display.

"You two warn the royal family - I have to save Lin!" Wang said, stepping back from the bridge.

Doyle turned to watch him, "How on earth do you plan to do tha-…"

Wang rushed past him and jumped off the lip of the bridge. After a long fall, he landed on the ship and rolled to a soft landing.

Doyle and Roy stared after him for a beat before they turned their attention to the crowd. Tall, black hats stood out from the top, which Doyle had little difficulty noticing thanks to his own height. "It's hopeless…" He said with despair, looking to Roy, "There's no way we can get through that in time."

"Don't give up Artie," He said, enthusiastic as always. His eyes turned to scope the terrain, the crowds and finally to the constable on his horse… "I've got an idea."

Big Ben gonged out, singing a deep song for the midnight hour. Her breaths were short, hyperventilating as she stared out at nothing, completely overtaken with terror. Two steps and Lieu was upon her. He grabbed her hair by the roots and snapped her head backwards. The sharp pinch of a blade pressed against her throat.

Rathbone's face ran cold at the sound of the low chimes. The crowd went into an uproar. Stepping behind the statue of the balcony, he lowered his eyes and prayed. Suddenly piercing whistles erupted with streams of smoky lines, popping loudly into the sky and fluttering down an array of colors over the Thames. The fireworks had begun.

Lin's breath caught as she saw it coming. A small rope hoist swung down over her head. With a bang, Lieu was knocked flat on his back.

Wang tore down the steps toward her, skidding to his knees as he untied the gag and moved to her bound wrists next. Lin was already squirming to free her hands. The moment one was freed she struck Wang across the face – hard.

His hand covered his cheek with emotional hurt. "What was that for?"

"You were late!" Throwing off the bonds and sash she got to her feet.

The bells ended their toll, lost in the popping of fireworks. He listened to the awe of the crowd to his left and the gasps and applauds of his less than immediate family to his right. He did not watch the fireworks, however, and glared past the shoulder of the stone lion, his focus locked upon the barge. He waited for movement, a sign of Lin or anyone for that matter… any notion of what was to come.

The canvas parted, and Wu Chow looked about casually, marking a mental note of the targets ahead. He spotted Rathbone hidden behind the statue and moved to load his gatlin gun.

So lost in thought, he was startled at the voice that called to him.

"…Nelson?"

Rathbone wiped the focused frown from his face and turned to lock his gaze upon the Queen who looked expectantly to him.

"Why are you hiding yourself there?"

He snapped into an innocent smile and stepped from the statue…much against his will. A nervous glance toward the barge, he prayed Wu Chow would not gun him down… he prayed it would buy him time. Smiling to her, he stood just behind her shoulder. "I wouldn't like to impede your view, Ma'am."

"Nonsense. You've arranged all this. You should have a front row seat." She quipped with a smile.

Unable to hold his eyes steadily, he looked from the barge and back to the Queen herself. "I regret that, uh, respectfully I must decline…" Glancing back to his hiding place, he turned to her with a most betraying smile, "Besides. I need to keep an eye on proceedings."

Another burst of brilliant colors brought the woman to applaud and smile. She turned to her favorite cousin, "Nelson, you've outdone yourself!"

Then it slipped. "Wait until you see the finale."

He froze, completely ill at the words that slipped, but unable to remove the smile that was threatening to dwindle. With a last bow, he parted from the Queen and marched back to the statue, looking expectantly toward the barge. He slowed ever so slightly and turned his eyes to the Black Watch, "Keep an eye on those barges." He said.

The moment he stepped out of Wu Chow's sight, he pulled the trigger.

The balcony was filled with a deafening explosion of repeating pops and bangs. Stone chipped and everyone was screaming. Rathbone hit the floor, hands clasped tightly over his ears while bullets ricocheted all around. When the noise stopped, Rathbone sat upward, the dust of debris from a riddled statue falling down from his hair and shoulders. He turned to the chairs, and found them all empty. Everyone was upon the floor, crawling to safety by escort of the guards. The thundering he was now hearing was a flare of something rising in his chest.

Something snapped as he looked back toward the barge, glaring around the scarred shoulder of the lion. He need only catch the glimpse of Wu Chow engaging in some battle with a man he assumed was Chon Wang. The battle was on. He tore from the balcony to make his way into Parliament. Steps clicked down the hall as he hastily made his way to the guards outside. Barking orders, he pointed them in the direction of the barges. Aside from the men holding the crowd at bay, the rest obeyed and began their march.

Lin and Wang battled their way through the ship, taking down one boxer at a time as they came. She had knocked down one in her own combat when she heard skirmish from behind. Gasping, Lieu came at her, strategically wrestling her to the ground with a staff weapon. He pressed it to her neck, pinning her down hard against the deck.

"Wang!" She choked out. A moment later her brother flew overhead, taking Lieu with him in his tackle. Lin popped to her feet, and lifted the discarded staff just in time to see Wu Chow himself charging at her.

His face was malicious, and his speed far surpassed her own. Lin was thrown off to roll down a stack of crates and landed upon a sub-deck. Her head throbbed from impact and the flashing of colors lost any distinction as it all faded to black.

Time slowly sped up as she heard the sounds of fireworks. They startled her back to life and she sat upright. Her brother was now lost in a struggle with Wu Chow, who had twisted her brother into a position of helplessness. Lin clawed into a nearby box for some resourceful item – anything that would save her brother.

Wu Chow loomed over him, grinning with pleasure as he raised the dragon dagger, still stained with his father's blood. He was going to enjoy this…

"Wu Chow!" Lin called to him. He looked up, eyes dilating at the sight of Lin aiming an enormous rocket at him. The sparks hissed and whined, and the object whistled out of the tube, pushing him off her brother, off the ship and straight out into the dark of the sky. He quite literally exploded over the Thames.

Lin dropped the rocket and climbed to her brother, "Wang! Wang, I have to tell you something."

"Not now!" He said, waving her off as he jumped to his feet and ran.

"Wang, it's important!"

"Tell me on the way!" He called back to her as she followed his steps.

"You can't kill Rathbone," She started. Wang growled with frustration and shot her an annoyed glare just before he picked up his pace to outrun her, obviously not wishing to hear it.

"Wang!"

Rathbone marched back inside, his hand upon the hilt of his saber as he searched his thoughts for a swift way to get to the barges himself. As though a prayer had been answered, he heard the clopping of a galloping horse down the halls. Rathbone skid to a halt as a horse truly did turn the corner, rearing up to avoid hitting him.

The horse trotted sideways, revealing Roy and Doyle. "Hold it right there, Rath-bone!"

Rathbone looked to him with a smile of disapproval for such an immature insult.

"Judging by your hasty retreat your still twentieth in line from the throne!"

Rathbone's patience was thin with this one, "Tenth."

Doyle dismounted and straightened his brown coat.

"Inspector, arrest this man!" Roy said cockily.

The lanky man nodded, reaching into his pocket as he stepped toward the culprit. Rathbone panicked. His hand twitched, activating the device and the derringer launched into his hand…

"He's gotta gun!" Roy said, falling to the side of the horse for cover.

Artie Doyle did not move quickly enough. The bullet lodged into his shoulder, knocking him off his long legs to the floor.

Rathbone turned and ran down a second hall, stopping around the corner to wait for Roy…there were simply too many reasons why he wanted to kill the man.

Wang's voice called out down the hall, "What happened!?"

"Rathbone just took down Artie with a little sissy gun…"

"Sissy gun?" Rathbone repeated under his breath, with detest.

The voices were muffled, lost in the echoes of the room and the continuing popping of the fireworks outside. He flinched at a most familiar sound of scraping metal, and knew the sword display had just been dismembered.

Holding the hilt of his saber once more, he turned to dash into the nearest door and up a flight of stairs.