Chapter 20:
Parking her car in the short-term lot, Sarah climbed out and popped the trunk, even as Baba Yaga slipped out of the passenger seat. "Sure you won't stay," Sarah murmured? "I wish I could," the witch responded, "but the next plane going my way is in a month." She couldn't be away from the bomb that long.
Blowing out a breath, Sarah nodded. Though she could've sneaked the saucer out of its storage hanger, she'd been endeavoring not to take advantage of Bonnie's trust. More to the point, until they had the man-rated rocket tested and proven, the saucer was far too valuable to dick around taking it on a joy-ride.
The witch thanked her for the ride, and Sarah hugged her. Kissing her on either cheek, Baba Yaga murmured, "I'm counting on you to help Nadezhda, Sarah. We're doing good work. Things are getting better. Stay the course."
Nodding, Sarah promised that she would indeed. "I don't like the snot-rag, but I like her idea of trying to find the missing colonies," Talia murmured. "Tell your husband that I encourage this." Nodding again, Sarah promised that she would indeed.
With a jaunty wave, the witch snapped open the handle of her bag and started walking towards the terminal. Sarah watched her go until she'd slipped inside before climbing back into her car.
Back in the capitol, an unlikely visitor walked into Saunder's Social Club. The chunky bee-person was far out of place in this town, as everyone knew that her kind kept to themselves in their forest in the south. The severe gown the stranger wore, with its fussy lace details, brocades, and pearl buttons told the world that she was a woman of rather substantial means. The dark black stripe across her face suggested she was the victim of an unfortunate birth defect that would've reduced her chances at a mate if not for the wealth she owned.
Her measured step took her across the crowded commons, as various folk looked on in interest, their conversations going quiet at the sight of her. "Who's the stiff," asked Liz Mertens? "A customer," Simone retorted, as she brushed her pale hair back.
The 'older' sister gave Liz a significant look. She'd prevailed upon her employers to let Liz work here, smiling and offering all sorts of delights that she had no intention of ever giving up to get the old man who owned the place to agree. She was not prepared for Liz to lose that job right off the bat by trying to lift that woman's purse.
"Doin' it again, huh," Liz sighed, as she glanced away? "You can't help it," Simone rumbled. "Can't I," Liz muttered, as she turned away? There were other tables to bus, and she strode across the room, putting distance between them.
Oblivious to their curiosity and conversation, Condeleeza Hammond strode through the door and into the hall behind the main salon. Her steps sure, she made her way down the gloomy corridor to the third door on the right and rapped twice on the oaken panel.
Moments later, a big, chocolatey brown eye glared out at her through the gap between door and frame. The plump aristocrat glared back. She wasn't here to have her time wasted, after all. Finally, the door opened and the plump bee strode in.
"Mr. Rainicorn," the chunky woman rumbled. "Mrs. Hammond," Kim Kil Wan responded. "It's Miss Hammond," Condeleeza retorted. "My husband took my name. You went through an awful lot of trouble to have my cousin's daughter summon me."
"Yes," Kim responded, "poor Peter. That was a shock to us all..." Waving dismissively, Condeleeza retorted, "another child-diddler. What was it that you wanted? I have important business to attend..."
"Yes," Kim chuckled, "trying to peddle that toxic treat, while you dodge the Mafia Princess. Sooner or later she's going to figure out where that's coming from. Bitch has an unhealthy obsession with my uncle."
The plump woman's eyes narrowed. Though they kept up the appearance of being oh-so-dignified, it seemed anger and hate wasn't far beneath the surface. The way her fists clenched, suggested she was tempted to try stinging him.
After studying her for a few moments, Kim nodded to the chocolate bar next to the door. Reaching under his jacket, the bulky fellow drew out a folder. "Dirt on your little problem," Kim announced.
Condeleeza frowned as she took the document and began reading. Her frown only deepened. "Is this real," she asked? "All of it," Kim retorted. "I've been collecting it for a while. Insurance. You understand."
Looking up at him, the fat woman muttered, "and what do you expect...?" "A favor," Kim responded, "to be named later. Right now, the odious Vampire King acts to keep your whore of a ruler on her throne, while you were hoping to be rid of her in favor of her heir."
"Have a care," Condeleeza grated. "Dangerous words," Kim asked, with a chuckle? "Maybe you fear he'd beat your head in?"
Condeleeza subsided, her pinched face suggesting anger, though Kim sensed fear. "He doesn't know who the late Consort answered to," Kim chuckled. "He only knows that he was in league with the Bandit Princess. You can relax. He doesn't know about Barton's... other dealings. The honey-skimming. The selling of... distilled liquor... He certainly doesn't know that you were double-dipping."
"You've a point to make," Condie growled. "Get on with it." Leaning forward, Kim said, "I'll give you an excuse to break the alliance... to even sanction your Queen. I have... friends who can take up for where the grandees out of Engagement Ring Kingdom leave off after the current scheme gets severed. I have other associates who can help you with your little project."
"And what do you get," she asked? "Money," Kim responded. "My associates are making moves against him. Money will help that. You also have that distilled venom. We could use that too."
The fat bee glanced away. No-one was supposed to know about that. It cut close to even her morals to be doing that. She'd rationalized it as just a few drones. Given the rate at which the peasants died in the poppy fields and the fertilizer plants, it hardly seemed to matter if one or two more disappeared.
"You don't have much for chemists in your homeland," Kim chuckled. "How do you think your agents obtained the equipment they needed?" Condeleeza grimaced. He had her by the throat just now.
"And when do you plan to drop this...," she asked? "When would it hurt him," Kim asked? Condie glanced away, her expression showing calculation.
Turning to face the dog-icorn once more, the fat woman responded, "there's an announcement to be made within the week. He's... he's laying claim to the bastard he sired on the Queen. He's going to marry her. The Council was going to sweep the business under the rug..." With a sinister grin, Kim responded, "perhaps we can change their minds..."
Elsewhere, Catalina slipped into the grand palace the King of Ooo called home, wearing irritation like a coat. She'd been getting used to living in the castle up in the hills on His Majesty's generosity. The fact the bastard never seemed to manage coming out to the castle to see his erstwhile daughter just made the living experience better, as there was no odious male there getting under foot.
Sounds of folk moving about indicated that the afternoon audiences were getting underway. A corner of her mind suggested that she may have screwed up on that front. She was supposed to be here securing the Confederation's advantage, and she'd basically spent the time enjoying the high life.
Muttering curses, the curvy nymph checked the room numbers above the doors in the hall, finally arriving at the appointed place. Slipping in through the door, she shut it firmly and turned to face the wench who'd summoned her.
Remembering Cenobia's experience in Tequila Kingdom, her eyes flicked left and right to find that there was no-one here with a weapon, which at least made them equal. Melosia could throw her weight around, but that should be it.
"Well," Catalina rumbled. "You've got my here. What do you need?" "The High Lady needs you to go home," Melosia retorted. Catalina's eyebrow climbed a notch.
Coolly, Melosia declared, "your mission and your mandate are over. I'm taking over the matter." "Your master has come close to botching this," Catalina retorted. "I've got things under control." "Fair enough," Melosia responded, "but nonetheless, your mandate has been rescinded. This now involves the High Lady's house and line. It's not a matter for you to deal with. As her factor, I'm responsible for concluding the business."
Sliding a packet across the table, Melosia announced, "the High Lady is not unappreciative of your efforts. You're granted a patent on a piece of choice land..." Catalina felt her face flush, and she had to stop herself from rushing forward.
Taking up the packet, she asked, "where is it located?" "On Basseterre," Melosia responded. "You've been at odds with Lady Daria over this parcel for some time. The High Lady has put her finger on the scale as a reward for your service." "Well," murmured Catalina, "that's much better. It's good to see Margarida coming to her senses."
Slipping the packet into her purse, the treacherous noble said, "I've left things in a good state. The child is doing well. She's spoken her first words, in fact. I've kept her and her mother isolated. The mother's... troublesome. You may consider doing away with her at some point." "I'll take it under advisement," Melosia agreed. "You'll find a first-class ticket on one of those airships in the packet. I'm sure you'd like to get home to your lands."
Licking her lips, Catalina nodded. She didn't much like all that flying through the air. At the same time, she didn't like leaving her idiot children in charge of business at home, either. Offering Melosia a slight bow, the nymph turned and got on her way.
Late that day, Breakfast stepped forward to close out the day's audience. Business had gone well, with the fractious princesses actually working together instead of bickering. Though he knew it wasn't a condition destined to last, it helped Finn's state of mind. A day without strife was a good day.
"We have now come to the conclusion of the scheduled business for today," the tasty treat announced. "The floor is now open for any business that the members of the council would raise prior to the next session..." Silence reigned, and Finn could see that a fair number of folk were fidgeting in their seats, suggesting that they wanted to get out the door to whatever social engagements they had that evening.
Good enough, the King thought. We get them out the door, and we can relax. And hopefully, they'll be too busy getting their shop on or stuffing their faces to be looking for trouble.
No sooner had he had that thought than the door opened at the end of the hall. A strange creature made of clumps of vegetation came strolling down the aisle. Finn groaned, as he realized just where such a creature would've come from.
Silence reigned. When the guards might have intervened, Simone commanded them to stand aside. Moments later, the creepy creature reached the lectern. Seeming to take heed of Beeps' look of utter terror, the creature stopped.
"It's holding a piece of paper," Bonnie burbled. Her eyes flicked to Finn, as she said, "I think this might be from Baba Yaga." Finn beckoned for the thing to step forward, but Jake Jr got in its way. The strange thing paused, then one of its tendrils reached out, holding the paper out to Jake.
Jake took the paper. "It's... a letter," she burbled, as she glanced back at Finn. Nodding, Bonnie commanded, "open it, Ms. Rainicorn." With a sigh, Jake slit the seal, finding a small card within. Glancing back at Finn, she turned and handed the card within to Breakfast, who took hold of it in a two-finger grip.
Laying it on the lectern, the breakfast cutie announced, "the Great Baba Yaga hereby summons El Presidente to parley in the Court of Mother Nature. Come prepared with tools and pizza. There is a great deal that needs to be discussed. You are expected within one week." Message delivered, the strange plant shuddered a moment, then blossomed into beautiful pink flowers, filling the throne room with a pleasant fragrance.
"Well," muttered Bonnie, "that was special." Simone commanded, "Princess Breakfast, please complete the dismissal of the Privy Council. We will speak of this matter in private."
Thankfully, the hunger to get out of that meeting prevailed over the various royals' curiosity about what was going on with Baba Yaga. There was only a little muted rumbling about the strange messenger. Rising, the Royal Family turned and slipped out through the door behind the throne.
"I don't get it," rumbled Breakfast. "What does she want?" "To collect the favors fearless leader owes her," Nadia chuckled, "hence the tools..." Finn flushed to his hair. "This isn't a good time," muttered Bonnie. "There's lots of work to be done. We don't have the time to indulge a witch's whimsy..."
"Better start making time," Maja declared, as she rounded the corner. "You're back," Finn burbled! Before the witch could utter a word, the big man snatched her off her feet. "Put me down," she sternly commanded, though Finn did no such thing.
"I take it you were successful," Simone remarked. Katsumi agreed, "got it finished." As every eye in the corridor flicked to hers, the Nine-Tailed Fox drew out a small package. Drawing the lid off, she revealed an ornate ring done in gold chased with platinum filigree. It was the sort of thing a wealthy person might wear for a wedding ring, and it wouldn't have looked out of place on the finger of a 'prince'.
Stepping forward, Simone hugged her daughter-in-law fiercely before kissing either cheek. Katsumi giggled. Knowing she couldn't have done it alone, Finn kissed Maja, whispering, "thank-you, my bad old woman..." The witch gave him a harumph.
Glancing around her, Maja murmured, "where's Fionna?" "Here, M's," Fi responded. She'd just come down from the gallery. Striding up, she too snatched the witch off the ground, earning a torrent of profanity. Weathering the storm, she hugged the stuffing out of the nasty old woman, causing the rest of the family to howl laughter.
Retiring to the dining salon, the family gathered around the feast that Frenchie had prepared and dug in. While they were eating, Sarah slipped in the door and took a seat near Jake Jr, earning a frown of puzzlement from Bonnie.
What's that about, thought the pink princess? As one of the senior members of the family, Sarah's place was at the head table. Why was she hidin' out in a corner? Not angsting again, Bonnie thought? An oblivious Finn was too busy grousing about having to go repair Baba Yaga's apartment to notice. I'll investigate when dinner's over, thought Bonnie.
Meanwhile, out on the high seas, the Eastern Star sailed through choppy waters. Up in the lookout, Loli took a sighting off the distant bulk of an oblivious freighter, measuring range and bearing. They'd been hunting an isolated victim for days as they made their way along the coast—one that wouldn't take them too far off course.
It felt wrong to do this. They were about to murder a lot of people. There could be dozens of people on the other ship. At the same time, they needed something to test their weapon against. Her family was on the hook to prove that this weapon could suffice against their foes. The wax-people they shared this ship with were growing more anxious by the day as they suffered more and more reverses. Keying the microphone, Loli began calling out readings to her husband and son.
Down in the deck-house, Chicle toggled a switch, causing a steel panel to cam open, windows and all, revealing the space they'd carved out of the deck-house. Grinning, he turned to help his father adjust the azimuth and elevation of the laser-weapon in response to his mom's readings.
He could imagine the sour look on her face. She hated doing things like this, even if it was absolutely necessary. He'd never understood how she could get so caught up in worrying about the assorted weirdos around them in the world. In the world they'd been born into, if you weren't a taker, you were the taken, so what used to worry about the morality of it all.
"Target lined up," Gumbald declared. Nodding, Chicle locked the weapon in place, even as he drew his protective goggles into place over his eyes. "Firing," Gumbald declared. "Brace for shock and flash."
A tremendous surge of energy flooded out of the banks of capacitors they'd built up inside the deckhouse. That energy surged in a cascade through the rebuilt circuits of the laser-weapon, emerging out the other side as a tremendous burst of light.
The laser bolt licked against the side of the target vessel, killing or blinding crew on the deck, even as the laser burrowed deep into the hull and then out the other side. The target burst into terrifying flame, even as the ocean surged into the gutted hull, snuffing the propulsion system and all hope of fighting the fire or pumping out the surging sea.
As his father switched off the weapon and re-aimed it, Chicle grinned maniacally. This was like shooting the proverbial fish in the proverbial barrel. Again his father toggled the weapon on, sending the last burst of energy from the capacitors into the weapon. A second bolt of light, weaker than the first, licked out, devastating the bow of the ship, smashing the lifeboats, and ensuring that no-one on the freighter would get out alive.
"Yesss," hissed Chicle, as he leaped into the air! Fist-pumping, he capered about in glee, at least until his father glared at him. "Right," the youth giggled. "Closing the door." Turning to the panel, he toggled the switch for the hatch, causing the side of the deckhouse to cam shut once more. "We're in business, pop," he said, as the door slammed shut. Nodding, Gumbald agreed, "yes, Chicle, we are."
Elsewhere, Charlie Rainicorn strolled into Jomo's diner to find her brother waiting on her at a corner booth. Looking better than the last time I saw him, the curvy pup decided. TV had shed some of the weight, and he no longer looked like a bum. It was a delightful change for Charlie, suggesting he'd changed course.
There was a part of her that couldn't help wondering if Finn's visit had contributed to the change in direction. You all wasted the opportunity of a lifetime to have something real with him, she thought. How much better would their lives have gone, if they hadn't let rage against someone else destroy their relationship with Finn?
Slipping down the narrow aisle between the two sides of the restaurant, Charlie settled into the seat in front of her brother. "TV," she greeted him. "Charlie," the slacker-pup responded. His eyes told the tale. Instead of the usual yoga-pants and tank-top, Charlie was dressed to the nines in skirt, silky blouse, and heels.
I'm a king's mistress, Charlie thought, as she took in her brother's reaction. Jr was right. Her world had changed when she climbed on this particular horse.
The waitress came over as soon as her ass hit the seat. Charlie ordered something light alongside water to wash it down. Belying the weight he'd lost, TV ordered something typically awful. In spite of the distance between them, TV was a lot like their dad.
As the waitress left to put in the order, Charlie opened with, "so what's up?" "Was going to ask you," he replied. "Heard from mom and Vi that you'd come back. Ma said you had some kind of dinner thing with Finn and some stranger named Roselinen." "Our aunt," Charlie responded. "Sort of..."
She couldn't help wrinkling her nose at that. Ain't we a tangled web, she thought. She was no more sure what to call Finn than any of his various ladies. A part of her would always think of him as her uncle, though a part of him was starting to calm him something far different.
"Sooo," TV burbled, "I uh... Ma says you'n Finn... Uh... you're..." Charlie barely checked herself from rolling her eyes. "You were married, but you talk like you're a kid," she responded. "I have a relationship with the man who used to be our adoptive uncle before we kicked him out of the family."
TV had the good sense to blush. Resting her chin on the heel of her hand, Charlie murmured, "what'd you actually call me for, anyway?" "Just wanted to see my sister," TV lied. Charlie didn't call him on it.
The waitress returned with their dinners, and Charlie moved the conversation onward, talking about her time in the far east and her old place near Sonbong. She'd more or less lived in the Rainicorns' ancestral homeland—a fact that blew TV's mind. Not even their mom had been there.
"Dad was there," Charlie sighed. "Finn too. They rode over there with Lamprey Princess." "Sounds like a really fun place with lots of good food," TV murmured. With a sigh, he admitted, "I miss mom's kimchi." "You could've had plenty of that," Charlie chuckled. As TV listened in obvious envy, she talked about the restaurant where she'd worked when she first landed in the east.
Frowning, TV rumbled, "it sounds like an awesome place to live... I don't get why you came back. "Prophecy," Charlie responded. "Finn's... While he was visiting there, he tracked me down. When he hugged me, I got a surge of the Quicksilver Curse. I saw the father of my son."
"Wow," TV whistled. "You get a zap of prophecy by simply touching him..." Twirling a lock of her hair around her finger, Charlie responded, "it's not like that. Nearly as I can tell, it was triggered by worry. He was worried about me, which triggered the curse. Fight-or-flight, I guess. I don't really like to think about that..."
A half mile away, Kim Kil Wan hurled the headset for his bug away in irritation. Dammit, thought the businessman. That was bad news. He still had no idea what his ultimate fate was going to be. He'd gotten out over his skis, and he still couldn't tell if it was he that was meant to be Prince of Dogs. He was heading for a collision with his uncle, and he needed to know what the outcome would be.
He'd hoped to figure out just how it was that Finn had triggered his sister's premonition. Unfortunately, the news she'd just delivered was anything but good. I don't see where he'd be worried about me, the tycoon thought.
As his brother and sister chatted about Viola's idiotic fantasy of starting a kingdom in the burned-out wastes beyond their uncle's wall, Kim strategized how to go forward. Unfortunately, a lot of the paths open to him involved somehow getting Charlie to give him a prophecy. Given the current condition of their relationship and his sister's liaison with their uncle, it was starting to look suspiciously like kidnap was in order.
Don't make it about Finn, Kim, the rogue businessman thought. Make it about the dog homeland. Make it about providing a stable place for her bastard.
As he pondered what to do, his phone rang. Toggling it open, he announced, "go..." Gordon Wells responded, "success, Mr. Rainicorn. The package is running." Kim sat up straight. "When can we move," he asked? "What do we need to do next? "The package has to get scaled up," Gordon responded. "We need more capacitors and wiring and some other materials." "Get John Hersey a list," Kim said. "I'll get it, whatever it is." "Of course," Gordon responded, just before he hung up.
Well, Gumbald finally has his super-weapon to attack the Empire of Ooo, and Kim Kil Wan continues to fuck around. At some point, he will probably 'Find Out'. Baba Yaga summons Finn, and the Nine-Tailed Fox has finally finished the 'save Billy' device.