20. Messenger

Alan Gramme had always been a man of few words; fewer still after he stripped his body of the apparatus allowing for speech. But he was always remarkably good at making himself understood.

The message was clear.

He knew what she'd done, or rather, undone, and found it unacceptable enough to fix it in his own way.

He was the only one who could have done it, with the display case and all. The only one who'd worked close enough to Bonesaw to replicate her work.

A pang of guilt traversed her, thinking about the victims.

Had she made things worse by trying to rescue them and inadvertently drawing his attention? She'd thought for sure that healing them was the right thing to do at the time, but now, she wasn't so sure.

She tried to focus on what she could do now. On Mannequin's message.

Was it a challenge? Telling her where he was, to see if she would take the bait?

Was he ready for their showdown? She certainly wasn't. Other things had taken priority, and he had seemed like a distant enough threat to comfortably procrastinate any preparation on her part.

Liminal was still talking, apologizing profusely for dragging her into this.

"It's fine," Riley tried to reassure her. "Nobody could have predicted that this would happen."

"It's happened before. They've targeted people who tried to help their victims. There are several healers who ended up becoming victims themselves after drawing their attention. I should have warned you."

"Still, you didn't force me to do anything. I wanted to help."

"I know, and I don't want you to beat yourself up about it. It's not your fault."

"It's not yours either. It's nobody's fault but Bonesaw's."

Riley smiled sadly, her eyes prickling.

"Listen," said Liminal, "we can protect you. We can place you in protective custody, away from the city."

Riley hesitated, not knowing what to say.

"You won't have to reveal your identity or anything. Please, it's the least I can do."

"I'm staying with some friends outside of the city," Riley answered. "I'll lay low for a while."

"That's not… They might still find you. They're good at it. I've seen… Those three that you healed, that was tame compared to some of the stuff the Nine have done."

The prickling in her eyes got worse, and Riley squeezed them shut.

"I know."

There was a long moment of silence before Liminal spoke again.

"The offer still stands if you change your mind, no strings attached."

"Thank you."

"Can you at least check in every once in a while, so I don't worry?

"Sure."

After hanging up, Riley went to make some tea, which was always a good first step to any plan.

After putting the kettle on, she sat down at the table, waiting for the water to boil.

How to counter Mannequin?

He was largely unfazed by biological warfare, and could replicate her biocide recipe.

It put her in mind of her fight with Jack. Fighting an enemy who could use her own work to counter her almost perfectly.

Almost.

Like with Jack, she could use something inorganic, like a sticky foam, to impair his mobility, but it would have to be resistant to any solvent he could whip out on the spot.

Unlike with Jack, she had some time to prepare.

She could make a counter to the biocide, then create an organism that would eat through the ceramic and metal from his body. She had samples of the materials, so she could do it.

She removed the kettle from the stove and poured water in the teapot.

Yes. She was reasonably confident that she could rise to the challenge.

Armed with a cup of tea, she prepared to go to war.

The sun was up by the time her preparations were ready, and so where Cherish and Mimi. Their cheerful mood made her uneasy, given last night's conversation.

"Coffee?" Offered Cherish when Riley exited her room.

"It's not as good as Shatterbird's, but it's still pretty good," added Mimi.

"No thanks. I prefer tea."

She poured herself a bowl of cereal, with the rare luxury of milk, and sat down across from Mimi.

"How'd you sleep?" Riley asked her.

"Like a baby," she said, looking indeed well-rested and torment-free.

She didn't reciprocate the question, so Riley didn't have to lie.

Why did it bother her so much that Mimi wouldn't confront the guilt by herself? It wasn't any of her business. Was it because Riley had had no choice in the matter? Because she had worked so hard to turn the guilt into something positive?

Riley mechanically ate her cereal, paying little mind to the irritatingly inane small talk between Cherish and Mimi.

Maybe it was because deep down, she knew that confronting the guilt was necessary to meaningfully starting over, and respecting Mimi's free will on the matter grated her because she knew it wouldn't work long term.

"Are you going to tell us what is going on, or do we have to guess?" Asked Cherish.

"Mannequin's in Burlington," Riley answered.

"You sure?"

"Positive. I healed some people while I was there, and he… unhealed them, then displayed them in public."

"Why'd you heal them in the first place?" Asked Mimi.

She looked cheerful and genuinely intrigued at the thought, in a way that twisted Riley's stomach.

She mentally reached for Mimi's safeguards, turning them on, and Cherish shot her an annoyed look.

Mimi blinked, then frowned.

"Sorry, but that was getting a bit too much," said Riley.

"It's okay," Mimi said meekly.

"So," Cherish cut in. "Are we going to Burlington?"

"It's almost certainly a trap," said Riley.

"But you still think we should go?"

"I do. I've prepared everything I need to take him down, and I think he was also signaling his position to Shatterbird, after seeing her sing. I think she might go to Burlington too to meet up with him. We can lay down a trap for her too."

"A two for one? I'm down," said Cherish.

Riley looked at Mimi, who looked lost and was staying out of the conversation.

"Then I guess we're going on a road trip."

They packed their belongings into the truck, as well as the food they'd bought, and headed out.

"Any sign of him?" Riley asked Cherish once they reached the outskirts of Burlington.

"Not sure. His emotions are muted enough that I'd have to get closer."

"We're not risking an ambush."

She opened the door, and the dead raven flew out, a half-dozen spider boxes skittering behind.

"Where are you sending them?"

"To the obvious rendezvous point: the place where Mannequin displayed the victims."

The raven flew above the town until he reached the building with the flying monkey sculptures, and perched on the roof after making sure Mannequin wasn't hiding there. It gave her a view of the unbreakable display case Mannequin had built, that the authorities had covered with tarp. The spiders took longer to arrive, and scattered around the nearby buildings.

The only hint of Mannequin's presence was the rolling fog covering the ground. Biocide, of course. He was expecting her, but she was ready.

"Now, we wait."

And waiting they did. They stayed in the truck the whole day, Mimi lost in thoughts, Cherish whining and playing games on her phone, and Riley tinkering.

The sun was long gone by the time Cherish's head snapped to her left, like she'd heard something.

"Shatterbird just arrived," she said. "There's two people with her. They fit with what I know of Perfect Storm and Noyade.

Riley checked the video feed on her phone. Sure enough, a few minutes later, a car parked across the street from Mannequin's display case.

Shatterbird got out from the passenger seat, followed by a hazy silhouette Riley identified as Perfect Storm, then the blue-clad Noyade.

"Be ready," Riley told her minions. They remained still. Their components were all shatterproofed, but that didn't mean Shatterbird couldn't feel them. While it wasn't out of the ordinary to find silicone chips and cameras around a city, they were rarely able to move on their own, so it was better to wait until the very last second to avoid drawing her attention to the trap.

Mannequin emerged from a window on the last floor of the building across, climbing down the wall like a spider, then pulling himself to his feet and walking to join the others.

Once he was close enough to them, Riley signaled the spiders, who released the capsules she had entrusted them with. First, a counter to the biocide. Then, a plague tailor-made for Shatterbird, a knockout gas for her two allies, and a bacteria that would feed on Mannequin's custom made ceramic. For good measure, there was also sticky expanding foam to keep them in place while the rest worked its magic.

The capsules exploded on the pavement around them, different shades of smoke filling the air and obscuring her view.

She waited for it to clear, eyes glued to the screen.

Shatterbird and Perfect Storm took to the air, above the cloud of smoke, which they shouldn't be able to do because of the foam.

Unless Mannequin had anticipated the move and filled the air not just with biocide, but also with a counter for her foam, preventing it from expanding.

Wind blew away the smoke, presumably Perfect Storm's work, revealing Noyade and Mannequin's combat stances.

Riley didn't hesitate to set the spider-boxes on the group, but a wall of wind and glass quickly surrounded them.

Cherish started the truck, Mimi looking bewildered.

"What is going on?"

"My plan didn't work," Riley answered.

At once, the spiders broke through, only to be dispatched by Mannequin's waiting blades.

It left only the raven, watching the scene from the train station's roof. She left him there, not wanting to draw Shatterbird's attention on him.

She was talking animatedly, pointing in the direction the girls were headed.

The group of four regained the car, Mannequin squeezing himself on the backseat.

"Do you think they're coming after us?" Cherish asked.

"Duh! Fuck! I think the truck drew her attention by leaving, with the timing. We should have stayed put."

"Language!" Cherish admonished her. "There are children present!"

Riley shot her a dark look.

"Not the time."

"Should we ditch the car?"

Riley thought of Mouse Protector and Ravager's growing bodies, in the bed of the truck.

"No. Go faster."

Cherish went as fast as Manton's old truck would let her, but the others were gaining ground faster.

Mimi was covering her face in her hands, taking deep breaths.

"Looks like replacing the windshield and windows wasn't such a good idea after all," Riley said. "At least there's not enough glass left in the city to reverberate her song and reach us."

"For now."

That gave her an idea.

"Slow down."

"Make up your mind," Cherish replied, but she complied.

Riley opened her window, the remaining half-dozen spider boxes climbing on the roof of the moving truck. From there, they spread out, one on each window and two on the windshield. They worked in coordination to remove the trim around the glass, then used the tools on their legs to pop the windows and windshield. They then did the same with the mirrors, then climbed back into the truck.

She emptied her pockets and kit of any glass, giving the vials and jars to the spider-boxes.

"Give me your phones, and anything else you have with glass or silicone," she ordered the two other girls.

They did, Mimi also giving her the vial she'd made to turn off her power, and Riley handed them to the spider-boxes, as well as her own phones. Her minions promptly jumped from the truck and scattered in every direction.

"Hey! I had some really good selfies in there!" Cherish protested.

"They'll bring them back later. For now, we need to shed everything that can allow Shatterbird to trace us."

"What about your little project in the bed of the truck?" Asked Cherish.

"The tanks are metal, plastic and ceramic. There shouldn't be anything else she can track us with."

Cherish took a few consecutive turns to shake off their pursuers now that nothing would betray their position.

"What happened?" Asked Mimi.

"I think Mannequin anticipated that I would make a counter to the biocide, so he changed the recipe, and he had a solvent ready for my foam."

Mimi gave her a blank look.

"He had something to counter everything I threw at him."

Had she had more time, had she started to prepare after his warning at the previous hideout, had she not been sleep-deprived while she made her plan, she might have succeeded. Victory against another tinker hinged on preparation, not only anticipating what they might do, but also what they thought you would do and how they would try to counter it. She really was rusty, not to mention that Mannequin was maybe the one who knew Bonesaw's work the best.

She made a mental note to start preparing right away for their next showdown.

"Oh. So we just let them go?" Asked Mimi.

"Not much of a choice there."

They headed South while the others stalled at their last known location, and kept going long after Cherish declared she couldn't sense them anymore.