Gravewalkers: Glory for the Dead

By Richard T. Schrader

The story begins three hundred years after an unfortunate archeological discovery has unleashed a rage-virus plague outbreak that transformed the population of the Earth into infectious ghouls. These zombie-minded 'infected' hunt and kill natural humans on sight. In this future, the last remnants of mankind survive in orbital space aboard their ultra-secure technological habitats. Even with their superior science and hard won experience, mysterious accidents and inexplicable disasters continue to thwart humanity’s attempts to restore a permanent foothold on their now hopelessly conquered and quarantined murder plague planet.

The main character, Captain Critias of the Marshal Service’s Virgil Ludus, and his combat android Carmen, they adventure on the front lines of this conflict. Critias discovers a closely-guarded secret, that among the feral-brained filthy ghouls are intelligent asymptomatic carriers known as Watchers. These cunning immortals have been the source of many unsolved calamities. They do whatever is necessary to ensure that men never retake their conquered planet. Hidden in the impenetrable reforested wilds of Earth’s ruins are thousands of these ancient immortal ghouls that still retain their former human intelligence. They jealously defend their world against humans that have become unwelcome interlopers.

Mankind only narrowly dodged extinction because of the fabled leadership of their legendary King Louie, the man that first united the last tribal holdouts of human survivors during the first few years after the outbreak began.

Critias and Carmen, monster fighting super cops from the future, encounter a prodigy physicist that opens a quantum teleportation portal into the King Louie past. They travel back nearly 300 years to experience the Dying Time era, about forty months after first infection. Critias and Carmen join the great King Louie and his huge world of heroic characters. In the past, they will find the answer that ends the ghouls and allows mankind to finally reclaim the Earth. Along the way, both discover the real wealth in humanity that makes it worth saving, Critias from the perspective of the system regimented man, and Carmen from the vain ambitions of science becoming a rival to god.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard T. Schrader
• Release date: Dec 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310598661

Richard T. Schrader

Suicide Squad 2 and Peacemaker are adaptions of characters from Gravewalkers.The helmets from before are stolen from here. If you liked the show you will love this.Audiobook versions with subtitles are available on Youtube. I will eventually have all 12.For those of you who felt something for my characters, especially my beloved and misunderstood autistic sidekick, that means a lot to me. I wish I could have gotten out of this permanent shadowban through some way other than plagiarism.It's ok that you were only curious. This is a video world now.@RichardTSchrad1 Twitter

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Gravewalkers

Book Five

Glory for the Dead

Richard T. Schrader

Copyright © 2013 Richard T. Schrader

Copyright © 2022 Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved.

Contents

Bringing Out the Dead

Requiem

Golden Clothes

Ambassadors from the Sea

Where Angels Dare

The Red Right Hand

Last Flags

Kings and Barristers

Master Cometh

Glory Roader

Games

Chapter 1: Bringing Out the Dead

At about an hour before midnight, Critias called for George and then he waited at the door of the city library for the Big Joe semi-tractor transport to come by and pick him up.

Andy radioed ahead before they arrived and then slowed down enough as they drove past for Critias to run up behind the truck’s trailer to jump onto the back. The rear door was already open and someone had hung out the naval deployment netting so that Critias had something to grab ahold of when he pulled himself aboard.

Hatchet and Malcolm were in the back of the truck to help Critias climb in to join them.

Once they had him safely inside, Malcolm used the intercom to tell Andy to get them on the move toward their next stop. They were on the way to Romeo’s motel where they would recover the prison box that contained the Watcher President.

The presence of Hatchet was a pleasant surprise to Critias, What are you doing here?

Hatchet thumbed toward the front of the truck, Jim and Kevin are riding along up in the sleeper. Kevin stays updated from Carmen. Jim wanted to come out himself to ride along on this; so here I am. It’s nothing to worry about though. They have some kind of plan, so I’m just enjoying the ride. It’s nice to get out on the streets, to get the scent of them again.

Critias went everywhere in a mechsuit. He had a special respect for people who faced the harsh world while they wore only survivor gear, some nice gloves, and carried a clutch of weapons.

Carmen, Verloc, and Critias had been out on the streets earlier that night when they chased Cutter and killed his two pet hunters. The unsuppressed gunshots they had made had agitated the local infected. There were plenty of them out searching for people they could bite.

Andy used a honk of the truck’s horn to lure all those ghouls away from the area around the motel. Big Joe moved slowly enough that the furious infected kept up their chase as Andy continued further west.

Once Andy had taken them far enough away, he sped off at speed to lose the ghouls and then circle back around by a circuitous route. They eventually ended up back at the now desolate Romeo motel.

Critias had kept careful watch for the right room number on their first pass of the motel property. While Andy drove them around to lose the ghouls, Critias reviewed the visor recording at his leisure. He located the correct door to the room they wanted and also got a good idea of what the neighborhood had to offer as far as potential problems.

When Andy brought them to a complete stop at the motel again on the second pass, Critias jumped out.

Malcolm followed Critias to provide him with some gunner cover security.

His weapons of choice were a pair of sound suppressed .22 magnum automatic pistols that protruded custom-welded double-length magazines.

Weighty wadcutter bullets flew off of Monkey Dan’s specialty propellant. A dash of flash powder quickly burning a relatively modest subsonic charge of smokeless powder – combined, made for a distinctively subdued suppressed gunshot.

Hatchet came along too. He served as a second set of eyes and also offer free hands that could help move the President’s container. Hatched was armed as well in case they actually did need to shoot their way out of a difficult situation.

Once the three of them were on the street, Andy moved off again to make another circle with the truck. He would keep the ghouls distracted and then swing back around a third time to pick them up again after a few minutes.

The Big Joe transport made an appetizing target with all its noise and bulk. If Andy had just stayed parked at the motel, that would have caused more ghoul trouble than it would have relieved.

It took only thirty seconds for Critias to rush into the correct room and then locate the metal prison box inside the bloody bathroom where it rested still strapped to the cargo dolly.

Hatchet proved he was still a cool operator when he went to clear the rest of the motel room. A single female infected was on the floor behind the bed where she licked the dinner plates from the President’s last meal.

When she stuck up her head in the dark to try and see what the noise was, Hatchet reached over to rap her in the skull with his namesake camping axe. The deathblow had the natural ease of an experienced carpenter putting down a sixteen-penny nail with one sure strike.

After the ghoul was down, Hatchet gave some attention to the crime scene around him. He noticed all the blood everywhere and the mutilated body of a young infected man that was still on the bed.

That male ghoul had suffered too much damage to be active anymore. Hatchet dispatched it again with his axe just to be sure he had put the mutilated thing out of any lingering misery.

While he was in the bathroom, Critias checked behind the shower curtain to make sure that nothing lurked back there. In the tub, he found the other victim of the President’s handiwork. It was well beyond appalling since the bite marks left little to the imagination as to what had taken place.

The gruesomeness of the body made it impossible for him not to reconsider what Carmen had told him about her desire to build the President a private Hell. Critias didn’t even want to imagine what the President had done to those Denver women who still lived. He didn’t have to know to be infuriated anyway.

As much as Critias detested the prospect of Carmen’s involvement, he would turn the President over to her pitiless retribution. There was just no way he could let that evil tyrant get off easy with just a bullet.

Critias would also make sure that there was no chance that one day in the distant future the President would once again get free of a prison box and then repeat the diabolical acts like those he had performed on the female infected in the motel room’s bathtub.

The President needed to go to Hell, literally, and Critias would feel glad as he punched the bastard’s ticket to send him there on his one way trip.

The total darkness of night was full on by that late hour. The few ghouls that remained in the area were all but blind, which made them easy prey for Malcolm’s accurate headshots. George’s gunner preferred his right hand when he took steady aim at longer ranges. The from-the-hip style of his left hand had the real artistry with its eye-popping medium range surgical accuracy.

Critias wheeled out the President’s prison box just as Andy pulled up again and then the three men lifted the container into the back of the truck. Once they were all set, Andy drove them away.

Instead of going to the military museum to load the truck with Verloc’s stuff, Andy took them back to the library.

Jim radioed ahead to have some of the Gravewalkers wait at the door to provide extra security while everyone went inside.

Carmen and Romeo also came out of Judas’ conference room to meet the new arrivals.

When everyone met inside the south entrance, Jim commented, This old library is holding up much better than I had hoped. It’s a lot cleaner and more organized than I ever expected.

It has a caretaker, Carmen told him. Romeo’s friend that he spoke of is dedicated to the task. It is an oddly convenient, she was about to say madness, but changed it to, commitment to be sure.

Jim glanced about, Is that caretaker here now? I would like to meet him.

Carmen shook her head no, He is away at the moment. We have not seen him yet either. Romeo tells us that he is an amiable fellow.

She introduced the man, This gentleman here is the Romeo you have heard about. His companion Verloc is still asleep on the couch in the butterfly collection room.

This is more than excellent, Jim praised the success of their mission. We will keep her asleep for the time being. There is a lot that we still need to get done.

Romeo interpreted Jim’s statement as a possible threat to Verloc, What do you mean you will keep her asleep? They promised me that Verloc would be welcomed and protected.

His rapid flush of panic and frustration was obvious to everyone.

Jim raised his hands in a disarming gesture as he told Romeo, We are not going to harm your Verloc in any way; of that I assure you. Since this is our first meeting, I want our relationship to be based on honesty.

I did have plans to kill you both along with Jinglebells when I thought you wouldn’t keep up your end of our bargain. Things have changed now that I already have the box with the President and you have committed yourself to helping us deal with Jinglebells.

You have kept your end of the bargain in good faith, so here I stand before you fully prepared to fulfill my every obligation to you both.

The time for us to betray one another has already passed us by, good Romeo. This is the stage of our relationship where you should negotiate your terms for greatest advantage. We have a long friendship ahead of us, very long since you are immortal and I am still young.

Carmen spoke up for Romeo’s benefit, This is King Louie, the Jim I told you about, leader of the Agency. This is as high as our ladder goes. Whatever it is you want from us, now is the time to tell him.

Verloc’s future needs brought Romeo back to focus. He asked, Will she have electricity and hot water? What about air conditioning during the summer and heat in the winter?

Jim pshawed at those trifles, Our community will provide Verloc with far more than the basic necessities. She shall live as a respected Captain of the city. We will spare no expense to make her feel appreciated and comfortable.

The entire floor of a high rise building will be your luxurious private apartments. You will eat chef prepared catered meals and have access to every amenity our engineers can possibly provide. I did not come here to offer you the status of some refugee seeking mere sustenance.

We will welcome Verloc in the manner she deserves, as a savior and protector of every human left in this world. While we are born and die for generations, the two of you shall live on, forever young, forever admired, and properly respected.

In return, it is my request that the two of you assist in our continued survival. As humanity prospers, the two of you will have security, purpose, and civilized companionship.

The extravagant proposal pleased Romeo immensely thus far. He asked, Will Verloc also have exciting and important missions to accomplish as Agent Shield? She needs to truly matter and not just imagine that it is so.

Indeed, Jim assured him. The gratitude she receives for her critically important activities will be entirely genuine. The people will speak of her as a beloved champion and you will be by her side for all time. You will live to see me grow old and die, and still you will have each other and a defining purpose worthy of her sensibilities.

You are no longer one of the unfortunates, Romeo. Yours will be the dream of all lovers throughout the ages. Your romance shall never die, never wrinkle, and never fade, as immortal and shining as the sun itself.

Jim had masterfully demonstrated why he was King. He made genuine promises that were easily within the means of his community, and it had Romeo ready to do anything they required of him to make all that come true.

For Romeo’s part, his love for Verloc was ever vigilant against possible deceptions that might do her harm.

He offered Jim a sincere pledge, We will fulfill all that is our part, but in your terms of our bargain, mark ye me; do not cavil her on even the ninth part of a hair.

Jim looked to Carmen for some clarity.

She translated the literary reference, He expects us to fulfill those lofty promises in the strictest interpretation to the finest iota of detail.

In that case, Jim tugged his glove on tight and then offered to handshake on it in good faith, We shall not cheat you of so much as a grain of rice. You have my word that what you both shall receive will exceed your expectations.

Romeo believed that his dreams were on the verge of fulfillment such that until he felt they had betrayed him, he would be Jim’s loyal man. The Watcher shook Jim’s hand to seal their bargain and then stood ready to demonstrate his conviction.

What would you like me to do first?

Jim instructed, I want you to go with Carmen. She will drive the truck as the two of you go to this home Verloc has made for herself. Take everything from there that Verloc would value so we may deliver it to your new home. It will likely take a couple of days for us to get everything prepared for her, even with all the manpower I will put into these labors. The sooner you get started, the sooner you will be finished.

The threat that Critias had made about them killing Verloc if she awoke in an agitated state was something that remained fresh in Romeo’s mind.

I can’t leave Verloc here without me. If she awakes while I am still away, you might murder her because she does not yet understand that you are friends.

She will not awaken prematurely, Kevin promised Romeo. I have brought all that is required to keep her sleeping peacefully until such time as we are ready to awaken her.

I am a medical doctor. You have my promise that she will get the best possible care. In all likelihood, a long sleep will do her a great deal of good. It has been years since her mind has had an opportunity to rest. Try and think of it as a brief vacation from all of her worldly troubles.

Romeo looked to Critias with an expression of lingering doubts.

You know me to be honorable, Critias told Romeo to put him at ease. You have my word that no harm shall come to her. Make haste on gathering her things. That is the best service you can do for her in the moment.

While Carmen and Romeo went out to pack up Verloc’s home, Jim went on ahead with Kevin to see Verloc where she still slept on a couch with some of the Gravewalkers to stand guard around her.

Jim took a moment to study her before he said, She is rather attractive.

His wife Jessica came up to stand beside him, She is dangerous too. We saw her have a martial arts fight with Carmen and win.

That seemed unlikely to Jim, Carmen let her win?

Maybe, Jessica admitted. That was not really my point. If you had seen how she moves, you would know what I mean. I have to admit, I like her.

Kevin set up an intravenous drip of the sedative to keep Verloc unconscious until they were ready for her.

The infection has a remarkable capacity to optimize her physiology, Kevin explained as to why Verloc was so capable. I am interested in learning what affect it has had on her cognitive processes. It is possible that their ability to learn and maintain new knowledge has considerable enhancements comparable to my own.

Lacking the need to sleep combined with irrational enthusiasm would allow her to devote a lot of time into cultivating her interests.

One can easily imagine what a Watcher might accomplish if their consuming interest was a form of artistic expression or something esoteric like quantum mathematics. Their genius could surpass the expectations of any natural human without even factoring in their vastly increased lifespan.

It might be harder to imagine than you might think, Jessica couldn’t envisage it.

Jim told her, He is saying that a Watcher could be like Amadeus Mozart, only he lived forever, never slept, and all he thought about day in and day out was writing better music.

With a brain that was always operating at maximum alertness without fatigue or diminished motivational enthusiasm, Kevin added. They are splendiferous creatures.

She understood that, Verloc might be a kind of Mozart of butt-kicking and she will keep getting better.

She is a top-drawer acquisition, Jim confessed in light of his previous request that Critias should have killed her instead.

It was the right move to invest as much into this as we have. The dividends of this operation are going to be extraordinary.

For Verloc and Romeo, the ghouls are no threat at all. They can go anywhere without concern and collect anything we like. I would be prepared to pay them far more than they are asking in return for their services. We can happily make good on all our promises because the recompense Romeo is asking for is next to nothing by comparison.

Jessica asked, What kind of genius would that make Romeo?

Romeo has constructed a situation where our whole city is going to devote itself to making Verloc comfortable and happy, Jim answered her. From his point of view, he is not sacrificing anything to us in return for getting her everything. I won’t underestimate him. Any treachery on my part could have disastrous consequences.

Based on Romeo’s objectives, he has played us masterfully. We will profit greatly from them joining us, far too much for us to betray them. Romeo made a lot of intuitive decisions to get this far based on very little information and I don’t think it was luck. He is a cunning fellow and we would do well to remember that in our dealings with him. This arrangement has an equitable balance from which all parties will feel more than satisfied.

Carmen and Romeo went outside to the transport. They paid no attention to the ghouls unless one came too close and then a few rough smacks from Carmen sent it away. It was her mindset that dismissed them offhandedly as being unimportant that served Carmen best as her immunity shield akin to gravewalking.

The ghouls readily picked up on emotionalism when it involved sensations like fear or other softer human feelings like elation or compassion, which were all things no true ghoul ever felt or displayed. It was such things that made the infected question the genuine ghoulishness of others.

Even while being inhuman and inedible, Carmen could easily trigger aggression from the infected if she revealed too much human feeling, at least of the kinds that ghouls did not possess. As things were with only Romeo as her companion, Carmen had no cause for strong emotion such that she paid the infected no mind at all.

Big Joe’s seats and cab interior were all made of the same smooth molded plastic that was hard enough to be serviceable and also extremely repellant to contamination. The decontamination workers could conveniently sanitize the interior even after dirty crewmembers had gotten in and out of the cab during a messy field operation. Once they were both in their seats, Carmen started the truck.

Romeo advised her, Drive slowly and just let them come get comfortable with us. The excitement antagonizes them as much as anything else does. Verloc and I drove about the city all day and they were not a problem.

She followed his advice by taking her time as they drove slowly around the block. When the first ghouls started to shriek at the truck with their usual aggression, Carmen stopped entirely to let them do whatever they wanted.

Some of the ghouls climbed onto the truck’s running boards to peer into the cab. When Carmen and Romeo did not react, the ghouls promptly lost interest and then dropped off to wander away.

When enough disinterested ghouls stood around the truck, the rest of the infected in the area interpreted their general atmosphere of non-engagement as reason they should do the same.

It wasn’t long before no infected bothered to chase their truck at all. After that, Carmen just slowly motored around to the nearby military museum and then parked with the back of the trailer in a convenient position for their loading operation.

Romeo used his key to unlock the door and then once inside he lit an oil lamp to provide some illumination.

The interior of the museum still had all its former displays of military history. A more impressive presentation was the modern exhibits of functional military hardware. Romeo and Verloc had collected weaponry for years as they took it from all over the city.

Verloc had enough plastic explosives that she had made tables from the stacks of containers.

Carmen had to ask, Where did you find all this?

Romeo replied, When the disaster first struck, the military had a contingency plan where they intended to demolition all the bridges over the river. Their plan would have theoretically prevented the crazed plague victims from spreading their disease further east across the country.

The demolition plan never took place for a host of reasons, though I assume it was primarily due to the obvious fact that fleeing refugees had transported the illness well beyond the border of the river already. All their effort would have accomplished would have been to cut themselves off from their own means of escape out of this city.

That plastique didn’t even include the other explosives that Verloc had in abundance. She had cutting charges for more delicate destruction, breaching charges for the removal of doors, and large mines of assorted varieties.

Carmen saw large numbers of hand grenades, mortar rounds, and grenade launchers. Verloc’s gun collection was in the many thousands of pieces along with innumerable boxes of ammunition, both civilian and military.

After she took it all in, Carmen exclaimed in amazement, Holy crap, Romeo; you two have been busy. Wasn’t there anything else you could find that explodes?

Romeo pointed towards the next display room, The gunpowder and fireworks are in there with the heavy machineguns and the 84mm rocket launchers. There are plenty of other things around here.

It is as you said; we have been at this for a while. I felt that Verloc would be safer if we could ensure that none of these things ever fell into the hands of someone who might try to use them against her.

That much made clear sense to Carmen, You wanted to stop my people from using this stuff on you while reserving the contingency that you may need to use them on us.

That was correct and Romeo didn’t apologize for it, I did warn your husband about the magnitude of your danger if that despicable President or Bellman had managed to mislead Verloc into attacking your Tower. She would have had considerable firepower at her disposal, though such barbaric methods are not generally her style.

Carmen felt curious, If we had killed Verloc, would you have used this stuff on us?

I am a man of classical values, Romeo explained himself. I shudder to think where my grief would have taken me. I consider it only because you ask, and in that, I think I would have wanted you all to know my pain.

Perhaps I would have eliminated all your means of transportation and production, and then sat back to listen to you starve.

She understood quite well, I share the same sentiment. To make the point, she quoted, Had all his hairs been lives, my great revenge had stomach for them all.

That made Romeo smile, "Othello, act five, scene two. Does he mean that much to you then?"

Carmen confessed, Even now, that is where my thoughts dwell. I disappointed him tonight when he heard my designs to put a proper punishment to that villain that did us both so much displeasure. My husband is like you, a man of classical values, and he thought less of me when I bent to a baser nature.

I’d prefer he beat me so I would then stand restored in his esteem. Instead, he marks it down to memory, keeping a permanent tally of the times I made him discontent.

I would make my head a pillow for his foot, but even the depth of my devotion shames him. It is his wish that I embrace the freedom he forces upon me, so I fail him in that regard as well. Freedom to me is like him putting me out of his house and then closing the door.

Romeo advised her, Such is the price for you to love someone greater than yourself. Suffer for them because it is your place to do so knowing they flower best when rooted in dung.

All things come measured in contrast. The hero is nothing without cowards to outshine. It is the deprivation that makes the eventual caress so sweet. Were we to have it every moment, it would diminish its value.

There was a time, Carmen pointed a finger into her head, that I had a device here that made me always obey. I had no faults then, only his will was at play. Any failing in me was for lack of his command. I could not feel alone or unwanted. My pleasure was to serve him well and my sorrow was not to serve him enough.

Now that it is gone, I know Satan’s grief. It is no easy thing to bask in God’s love as his favorite companion and then you find yourself exiled from Heaven. Even in banishment, you still have his love, but you have to earn it.

Your flights and rebellions are mere tantrums to draw the attention of his pity and compassion. It is better to feel the schooling of his whip to put an end to my misdeeds than to feel the separation from his presence. The greatest lie the Devil ever told was that it was better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven. He would gladly return to his leash and so would I.

Romeo appreciated her feelings that in many ways mirrored his own for Verloc, Then you do understand what it means to be given a soul. He gave you that, the freedom to rise or fall by your own devices. When you stumble, he feels the pain and when you soar, he feels the elation.

The shining Lucifer was God’s only blunder; he made a rock too heavy for him to lift. What else but ultimate contrariness could properly debate against the wisdom of the great design? You can choose to accept the wisdom of his decisions however painful they may seem.

Then Lucifer was right, Carmen said in anger about Critias. How can freedom be love when all I want is his love and I do not want the freedom?

Romeo walked over then hugged her to prove his point, Of what special esteem is his embrace if you can never leave it? Shall we not work with extra diligence to earn our way back into their good graces?

He let her go so that they could start loading the truck, I will start packing up her room.

Getting back to Critias and having his praise was what Carmen needed. To attain that, she had to do a good job where she was.

Her first priority was that there were enough dangerous materials around to vaporize the whole building and then some. If they loaded it all into the truck and there was some kind of accident while parked out front of King’s Tower, the blast would demolish the building.

Carmen decided to call Jim on the radio and once he responded, she asked him, Do you want the military hardware?

Absolutely, he replied without hesitation. Anything we don’t use, we can take apart later to make something else. How much is there?

She looked about before saying, "If there is an accident, you won’t have to bother to come looking for me. You won’t have to come looking for Big Joe or this building either."

Jim told her, It is all going to Radio City anyway. She has managed to live with it for this long without blowing herself up or us either.

You must have some knowledge on those kinds of things. If some of it is improperly packaged or unstable, you should just leave it behind, otherwise grab whatever you can. It’s not as if we don’t already store enough munitions to blow us out of our socks. Does she have ammunition?

Oh yes, Carmen confirmed. You want to know how much by the ton or the cubic meter?

Jim instructed, We need the ammunition more than anything else, especially the 9mm. Be careful with it. Make more than one trip if you need to. Deliver it to the Radio City garage. We can secure that and provide you with all the help you need for unloading it.

An APC from the Castle will be taking us home from here. Tell Romeo that Verloc will be with us and she will be perfectly safe.

We should have a load ready by sunrise, Carmen predicted. I’ll keep you updated.

Alfred and Derek back at King’s Tower had managed to complete the new Smugglers’ Passage lightrail depot. Under Jim’s new edict of overtime labor citywide, they had applied all the manpower that they could fit to the task down in the underground.

The new hydraulic rock hammer that Critias had procured for them proved to be just the tool that they had required to cut into the underground section of the lightrail’s existing subway tunnel.

After they made test bores to attain exacting measurements, Alfred achieved their final breakthrough using a flawlessly executed precision controlled blasting.

The new connection between the Smugglers’ Passage and the subway tunnel came with the added benefit that it let through a refreshing rush of air that promptly sucked out the cloud of suffocating dust that even their water spraying had failed to contain.

While the workers shoveled up the muck from the blasting, Commander Derek personally welded the gated boarding shaft into place. Once complete, the extendable bridge would grant them secure docking access against a lightrail car’s side doors.

The report of the breakthrough for the depot reached Jim around the same time that the armored fighting vehicle from the Castle was on its way to pick up all the personnel from the library.

After he got the news from Hatchet, Jim told Critias, It seems that our double-duty work shifts are paying off. Derek and Dynamite Al have the new lightrail depot open. It still needs a lot of fine finishing work, but once we get back to the Castle, we can take the train directly home.

When we get back, I need you to lead a squad into Radio City. They are already getting set up now to blast their way into the basement from the underground as we did for the Garden Building.

Once they have it open, you will be in charge of securing that tower. Your stunt with the lightning already roasted most of the ghouls that lived in there and that hotel next door, so it shouldn’t be too bad. Whatever the conditions are, I am sure it is something you can handle. Requisition what you need and then see it done quickly.

Hatchet asked Jim, Are we taking some of that wine with us?

It belongs to that friend of Romeo, Critias warned. It would be best if we didn’t disturb anything. We might lose a future friend and make him into a future enemy.

What’s his is his, Jim told Hatchet. We leave everything as we found it. You can pass the word around in case anyone was being clever and stuffed some trinket in their pocket.

"I don’t want to offend this character, especially after he worked to protect all these books. That alone earns him our respect and makes us guests. If we are lucky, he will know we were here and didn’t touch