It took longer than Diego anticipated to prepare to head to rescue their friends, but they couldn't just march to the square, open the door to the Grotto and let everyone out. Lawson was an extremist, but he wasn't stupid. So along with the medical supplies, Diego, Charlie and Isaac armed themselves and took as many weapons as they could carry in order to arm the prisoners in the Grotto in case Justice Corps squads should invade the square. Diego took a parrying dagger for himself, it would be smaller than his sword stick but he could put it in a holster and leave both hands free. It wasn't a scabbard, but it would have to do.
"It should be easy enough to get in," Diego said as they walked to the square. "I hear Blanton is on guard duty at the Grotto, and since he considers himself your devoted disciple, Isaac, you could sweet talk us into the dungeon."
"I will certainly try." Isaac said. Diego noted that Isaac was quieter than usual, and uneasy in Diego's presence.
"You did know I was bluffing back there, didn't you?" Diego asked. "When I told Smythe I would kill him, and (Name) went along with it."
"Were you? I saw the look in your eyes, Diego, and (Name)…I worry that their guilt over Adelia Baldwin would press them to do something they would surely regret later!"
"I'm not…I won't deny I have killed others. There were acts of self-defense, and the occasional duel…and I caused the deaths of five animals who pretended to be men."
"Caused them how, exactly?"
"I ruined them. I swindled them to the point of destitution, and most of them died trying to restore their fortunes. I have no regrets—I repeat, these were animals who pretended to be men."
"Mon Dieu! I never heard of such a thing happening here!"
"It didn't happen here, it happened in Spain, specifically the city of Barcelona. It was a long time ago, and while I don't regret doing what I did to them, I…I wish there had been a better way to make them answer for what they did."
"If those…people had broken the law, you could have gone to the police."
"I didn't trust the police then, especially not with a rape. They would have blamed her, say it was her fault when she was the one attacked."
"Why are you telling me this, Diego?" Isaac asked. "You're not one to share details of your life before Concordia."
"I thought full disclosure would be beneficial, given our circumstances." Diego said. "Try not to get used to it."
"Rest assured, I won't, but we will talk about this."
"Just as we will talk about your brother who died in a riding accident." That brought Isaac up short.
"How do you know about that?"
"Lawson has dossiers on the Flying Squad, I found them during archival work."
"Did…did these dossiers say anything else?"
"They question Viola's true paternity as she had admitted to Lawson that her mother's husband wasn't her biological father, and there was some question in regard to the murder of Rose's husband, plus monitoring of the families of the Flying Squad. It was why (Rank) (Name) had those family members brought to Prospect Gardens."
"I wondered why they were there." Isaac said. They reached the square, and unfortunately Blanton wasn't at his post. They were going to have to wait until his shift began, which Diego was nervous about; they could ill afford to wait. They hid in a nearby alley to wait for the shift change. An hour passed after their arrival, then two. Charlie watched over the stockpile of weapons and medicine while Diego joined Isaac at the edge of the alley to keep watch. Isaac was a little less tense than before, but still looked uneasy.
"This is very difficult for me to accept, Diego." Isaac said. "To know you destroyed others on purpose, and for a woman."
"I told you, they were rapists and someone had to make sure they answered for what they did to her." Diego said. "Do you disapprove of my actions?"
"I disapprove that you didn't try to find a way to make them answer legally."
"And have her denounced as a whore? After what she went through? No, she didn't need to be looked down on for something not her fault."
"What happened to her, after…?"
"She fell ill. Those animals broke her, for all intents and purposes killed her; her body caught up two years after the attack."
"How did you learn of the rape, Diego?"
"I was there, and was helpless to stop them."
"So you took revenge on those who hurt her. How is that any different from what Lawson is doing?"
"I stopped, Isaac. I stopped at the animals who destroyed her; Lawson won't stop, hellfire he's saving those brutes who murdered his fiancée for last so that they could see what's coming to them. He has to be stopped."
"He considered Miss Baines special to him. It's not so different from the woman you considered worth—"
"She was my mother!" Diego snapped. "And those animals held me hostage against her while making me watch her be violated!" Isaac's eyes widened in shock, and Diego was shocked as well. He barely spoke of his life in Barcelona, let alone of his family. Certainly not of his mother and what happened to her—even if the Squad didn't judge her, he didn't want their pity.
"Oh, mon Dieu!" Isaac said. "Diego…"
"I couldn't save her, Isaac, and was used against her so she didn't fight them, not that she had a chance against the curs. But when I was old enough and had nothing to lose that I knew of then, I damn well avenged her." Diego said. "So yes, because of that I know what Lawson is truly after and I know it will destroy him in the end because he refuses to see the price. I did, but not until it was too late. Now we need to stop him before he destroys others."
"What did you lose, as a result of your revenge?"
"My future in Barcelona. What I did to those animals were my first criminal acts, and I've been on that path since." Until he met a plucky police officer at a party in a lighthouse during the social season. They soon saw Blanton come to take his shift, and Isaac went up to the fool to talk their way into the prison. Charlie came up to Diego, the stockpile of weapons nearby.
"I know you're not thrilled that I left behind the tracking device," Charlie said. "But they came so suddenly and we had to leave before we were found. Dick was barely able to grab the medical supplies he did, and my lab was a good distance from the morgue."
"I understand. I don't like it, but I understand." Diego said. "Where's the tracking device, exactly?"
"On my desk in my lab."
"All right, I'll look for it when I get to the airship."
"Diego, no! The airship will be swarming with the Justice Corps!"
"And Eddie Lebold will do his duty to the administration and search the airship for any clues as to where the Flying Squad could have gone. Don't worry so much, Charles. They haven't found out about me so far, and hopefully that will remain the case."
"It's such a terrible risk…"
"It's our only option." Any further argument Charlie may have made was silenced by Blanton leaving his post and Isaac signaling them the coast was clear. Charlie and Diego picked up the weapons pile and laid those weapons down again when they reached Isaac.
"I convinced Blanton to take the night off," Isaac said. "Jaubert's death has thrown the Justice Corps into disarray, or so I told Blanton, so he has no idea that we're wanted by the Corps."
"Excellent." Diego said. "Did Blanton give you any keys he had on hand?" Isaac nodded and produced a key. It was the original skeleton key to the Grotto.
"You two head down and free the others," Isaac said as he handed Diego the key. "I'll stay up here and keep an eye out."
"Take this, just in case." Charlie said, handing Isaac a rifle. Diego and Charlie unlocked the door and headed down into the Grotto, which so far had lived up to its name. It was smaller than Diego thought, but then it was built during the days before Concordia became a city. Diego and Charlie started unlocking doors and opening them, telling anyone inside to head out.
"It's quite odd that there are no additional guards," Charlie said. "You would think Lawson would place some Justice Corps inside the dungeon to guard prisoners."
"He likely thought posting a single guard outside was enough," Diego said. "Especially if the Corps were under orders to abstain from 'carousing'." As Diego opened another door, he stared stunned at the prisoners inside. Charlie noticed Diego standing in the opened door.
"Diego? What is—oh Mon Dieu!" Charlie cried. "These prisoners…they look worse than the others! Why would the Justice Corps leave them injured?"
"My guess is these particular prisoners were 'interrogated' for information of some kind." Diego said. "Keep going, I'll catch up as soon as I can." Charlie nodded and moved on, leaving a few guns with Diego to distribute. Diego went inside and recognized his old fence among the injured; the others were priests and had been through quite an ordeal.
"Get up, Tradewinds." Diego said as he shook his old fence gently. "You still have business on this earth."
"Wha—" Tradewinds said, then smiled as he saw Diego. "Mister Wolf! As I live and breathe!"
"Hello, old chum. It's good to see you, though I wish it were under better circumstances." Diego said as he helped the old man up. "How did they catch you?"
"Justice Corps brutes went to the prisons, offered to release anyone who talked—excuse me, "will abolish the sentence of anyone who gave information on the enemies of justice." That's a party line if I ever heard one. Some gave names that may or may not have been true, others kept quiet."
"I see, and one of them gave the Corps your name. So was this lout killed before or after being released?"
"It was Bugsy Collins that gave them my name, I know because they brought him to confirm I was the fence he sold stolen goods to. He identified me, and they let him go…right after putting a bullet in his head." Tradewinds shook his head. "Poor Bugsy…git would sell out his own mother to get out of prison, and he was so desperate he didn't see the double-cross coming."
"Many don't. Still, selling stolen goods would have put you in prison, not here with the political dissents awaiting execution. Unless they found out your part in funding the resistance."
"Can't see how, I got your friend out the back way when the Corps came to the shop, dearie. But then, those sodding wankers—apologies for the language good Fathers—don't need proof of anything to make their arrests. As for ending up here, you can thank that harpy Dora Umbright for that! She was the one who interrogated me, and demanded to know who I did business with. Of course I wouldn't reveal my customers so they chucked me down here with these priests. Now, I can understand why the Justice Corps would target an old sinner like me, especially after Bugsy gave me away, but these are holy men, Mister Wolf! What's Lawson trying to do, purge Concordia of Christianity altogether?"
"He may be doing that, one district at a time." Diego said, looking at the priests who were listening in on them. "How many of you fine gentlemen have parishes in Sinner's End?" Every priest in the dungeon raised his hand; Diego wasn't surprised.
"I sense a story there, Mister Wolf." Tradewinds said. Diego just gave a smile and handed Tradewinds one of the guns Charlie left with him.
"I'll tell you all about it over tea and ginger biscuits," Diego said. "But for now, we need to leave."
"You get no argument from me!" Diego and Tradewinds helped the priests up and escorted them out of the cell. Thank God they weren't injured to the point they couldn't walk, but there were still injuries. They would have to wait until they got back to Prospect Gardens to see the full damage, since Diego doubted Viola would be in any condition to examine them.
"Diego!" a voice called. "Over here!" Diego turned and saw Charlie and the rest of the Flying Squad, as well as various members of the resistance or whoever Lawson considered an enemy of his regime, coming towards him. Viola had regained consciousness, but was supported by Evie and Katherine.
"Is everyone all right?" Diego asked. "Evie? Katherine?"
"We're fine." Evie said. "They put us straight here, and Katherine says there haven't been any "visitors" since being arrested beyond adding new prisoners, but that's all. I know that was what you were going to ask."
"Diego, have you seen George?!" Maddie asked. "Umbright took him after we were arrested—"
"(Name) is going to get him from St, Gerolamo's as we speak." Diego said. "Now, if everyone is properly armed, we need to get out of here." The group nodded, anyone who could use a gun was given one, and they all headed back to the entrance. They heard gunshots as they got closer, and rushed to the entrance where they found Isaac brandishing the rifle and holding off a group of Justice Corps that included a devastated Blanton.
"Why?" Blanton asked. "How could you, Detective Bontemps? How could you betray Mayor Lawson like this?!"
"How could Lawson betray Concordia the way he has?" Isaac asked. "You have to see that what he's doing isn't for justice!"
"Yes, it is! He's getting rid of crime in Concordia once and for all! He won't let anything stand in his way!"
"And is harming the innocent worth the "justice" he claims to be obtaining for Concordia?"
"Better than to have scum like del Lobo slip through our fingers every time because of loopholes in our flawed system! A system that the Mayor will tear down and replace with one of justice!"
"Shut it, Blanton, and shoot the bastard!" One of the Justice Corps said. He raised his rifle and was about to fire when a gunshot hit him in the heart. Diego glanced at Rose, who had her own rifle raised. By then, they all joined Isaac at the entrance with weapons drawn towards the Corps.
"Lower your weapons," Chief Wright said. "You're outnumbered and outmatched here; I suggest you surrender yourselves for treason against the state."
"No…" Blanton said. "I see now. It isn't your fault, Detective Bontemps, it's theirs! They twisted your mind! I'll save you from them!"
"No!" Diego shouted, rushing at Blanton as he raised his gun towards the group. Blanton fired just as Diego drew the dagger he carried and stabbed him in the heart. Several other gunshots followed, but Diego paid no attention as he watched Blanton, who stared at him in shock.
"You killed me." Blanton whispered as he took his last breath. Diego just looked at Blanton, poor stupid delusional Blanton. By then, the gunshots had ceased and the group of Justice Corps were dead. The priests were crossing themselves and saying Last Rites over the corpses.
"Yes, I did. I warned you I would if I had to." Diego said. "Is everyone all right?"
"I think so," Isaac said. "Maddie?"
"I'm fine." Maddie said, her waistcoat revealing the armor Rose made. "Blanton's bullet hit me, but didn't go through!"
"Thank God for that!" Charlie said. "And you, Rose, for making this armor in the first place!"
"Thank Maddie for wearing it." Rose said. "And the rest of us for being quick draws."
"Oh, God, we're really free!" Evie cried. "I could cry from happiness!"
"No time to cry now! The Justice Corps will surely be hunting for us, especially once they hear the shots! We've got to get out of here. But we can't all stay in a large group! We need to split up and reconvene at Lady Highmore's!"
"Perfect!" Charlie said. "Maddie, darling, you will be safe there, and (Name) will surely have gotten George back by now!"
"What about you?" Maddie asked. "Aren't you coming with us?"
"Of course I am! I just…I really need to get to the airship first."
"What?! But that's exactly where Lawson's goons will be waiting for us!"
"Believe me, darling, I wouldn't leave you unless it was really important, and I will come back to you and our son!"
"Charles, what you need from the airship, I'll get it for you." Diego said. "Go with your wife."
"You don't know what to look for, I do!"
"Then let me come with you at least!"
"All right. I'll meet you there." Charlie left the group then, leaving a worried Maddie.
"I'll see he stays out of trouble. You better get going; give us a half hour to get our contingency plan."
"A half hour." Maddie said. "Then I'm coming after you two myself." With reluctance, Maddie left the square with most of the others as they split into smaller groups to make their way to Prospect Gardens. Diego noted Tradewinds and the priests stayed, and were dragging corpses into the dungeon.
"No sense in letting them rot in the streets, dearie." Tradewinds said. "Figure this'll do until they get a proper earth bath."
"Good idea, clean the streets of corpses." Diego said, helping Tradewinds. The old fence was shaking his head.
"You know, I heard rumors you were workin' for the coppers, now I see they're proven true. I should be cross with you, but you didn't rat me out."
"We have history together, you and I. I never even told them of your existance until I knew your help was needed, and I only told the one I sent to you."
"True. Besides, after seein' that plucky ginger, I can't really blame you. She really is the jammiest bit of jams, isn't she?"
"Yes, she is. Raspberry." They finished stowing the bodies in the dungeon. "You better get going, old chum, before more goons show up."
"You owe me tea and ginger biscuits, Mister Wolf. And that story!"
"Which you'll get, honor bright." Diego left the square then, headed to Concordia tower and donned his disguise. He would head to the airship and play the role of Eddie Lebold one last time, and pray that (Name) managed to rescue baby George from the orphanage.
