Chapter 6 - Machine Gun Noises

“You uh…” Alex swallowed and looked up and away at something in the distance. “You look good. Really good.”

“Thanks,” Rayne muttered, as she tossed her hair behind her shoulders and adjusted her ribbon. She hadn’t worn a dress since leaving home. Since leaving the North. She’d come so excited to the East that the day after she arrived they’d gone on a shopping spree for modern clothes.

In the Northern Kingdom, at least once a week she was in a dress, attending aristocratic parties with her parents. In a way, it was a return to form, and it had been long enough since she’d worn one that she didn’t quite mind.

It was a simple purple dress, hanging from one shoulder, and tied at the waist with a golden cord. The dress stopped at mid-thighs, and she wore a pair of sandals that laced up to the knee. It was a small reminder of her life before.

The dropship hit a small bit of turbulence, and Rayne stumbled a little, cursing under her breath as she caught the edge of one of the chairs. The contrast of her memories about the North, and now flying across the East in a dropship was jarring to think about.

“Here,” Marcus said stepping over to her, unphased by the ship’s shaking. He offered her a small case and inside was a small circular object.

“What does it do?” Rayne asked, peering over her glasses to examine it. It was clearly some Eastern tech, but not any she’d seen before.

“It’s an earpiece,” Marcus explained. He took the object and gently pressed it into her ear. It felt odd, and she adjusted it a little until it fit. “Now, you’ll be able to hear our voices in your ear without drawing too much attention to yourself. We’ll be up on the roof, the museum has skylights, and it’s perfect for our observation. We can feed each other information.”

“Wait,” Rayne’s brow wrinkled. “You can talk to me? And I can talk back? How interesting. It’s so small. Much smaller than a cellular phone.”

“Phones can do a lot more than just calling people,” Alex said, except she heard him both nearby, and in her ear. “These are only for communication.”

“One more thing,” Marcus said, tapping at his own ear. “These have a little button on the side. If you press and hold for five seconds, it gives us an emergency signal.”

“Press and hold,” Rayne breathed out, starting to feel a little nervous. “Five seconds.”

“Don’t you worry,” M’natherine said as she lounged in her seat. She was wearing some dress pants and a loose-fitting shirt with a deep V-neck and lace choker. “I’ll be down there with you, and I’ll only be mildly intoxicated.”

“That’s… reassuring,” Rayne winced. She looked at Marcus. “Why aren’t you coming with me?”

“Do I look like a party person?” He asked, his deep voice, hulking figure, and sour expression indicating that no, he was in fact, not a party person.

As the ship began to cruise down to a landing zone, Rayne looked out the window and was able to make out the museum and it’s grounds below. The main building was surrounded by a small park. Patches of trees here and there, with some open space for various sports, and carved stone fountain in the center. The ship landed in one of the open spaces, the ramp humming as it came down. The museum was in the distance, bright beams of light shooting into the night, and a gold glow from the large glass skylight at the top of the museum.

“Are we bringing all of the weapons?” Alex asked as he shouldered his rifle. “Or are we only bringing like, half the weapons?”

“All of them,” Marcus answered. He sheathed his own huntsman knife, and loaded a large revolver. Alex nodded and grabbed some extra knives and bullets, filling his pockets.

“What exactly do we need all the weapons for?” Rayne asked, a little unnerved.

“I told you, Rayne.” Marcus brandished her own gun case. “The council gave us a job to do. This is serious, because we don’t know exactly what we’re going to run into.”

Rayne swallowed hard, but she nodded. She understood better than anyone how crazy things got around David Echoe. Being overprepared wasn’t going to be a problem.

Even so, the idea of David being shot at… Wounded. Bleeding. She shook the thought from her head. She couldn’t get sympathetic now. He had the Oasis Spark, and if they didn’t retrieve it then things far worse than she was imagining could become a reality.

Marcus and M’natherine knew what they were doing. Rayne had to trust them. She did trust them.

“Here, take this to the roof as well,” M’natherine said as she handed Marcus her massive black Errington sword to Marcus. He took it in both hands, and even Rayne could see the tightening of muscles in his jaw as it was heavy, even for him.

M’natherine pocketed her crystal gloves, the ones that allowed her to swing the sword with ease and checked the time on her phone.

“C’mon, Rayne my girl,” she said, putting her arm over Rayne’s shoulder. “It’s showtime.”

The gala was in full swing when they arrived. The front doors were opened by a pair of waiters to reveal the crowds of people from every different island, the many tables of food, and the decorations for the Alkania exhibit. It was quite different than what Rayne was used to. In the North, the aristocratic parties were for the upper class only.

But in the East, everything was a mix. There were men in dark suits like her father wore on business trips. There were others wearing robes and sashes. Some wore tall leather boots, with brass buckles and top hats so tall you couldn’t reach the top. Some women wore more sensual dresses with rich colors, and others wore men’s styled clothing and caps. Each person seemed to retain a level of cultural difference, whether it be in how they dressed, how they greeted one another, or how they sat. It worked, somehow. The cultures didn’t clash, but rather complimented one another in a harmonious way that made Rayne’s heart warm.

“Alrighty, kid,” M’natherine nudged her arm and jerked a thumb over to a table with stacked glasses of champagne. “I found what I came here for.”

“But…” Rayne started to say, but the woman ignored her and stepped into the crowd. Rayne frowned to herself, she was practically alone. She started to feel nervous then, this wasn’t just a gala, it was a mission. She had to be on her guard.

She looked up, and above her in the roof was the skylight. Due to the museums lighting, she couldn’t quite see the night sky, but she could just make out a couple of shadows by one corner, looking down on her.

“Don’t forget,” Alex’s voice said in her ear. “We’ve still got comms.”

At hearing him all of a sudden, Rayne squeaked in surprise and went stiff before covering her ear with a hand and looking around anxiously.

“Can… can you hear me?” She asked tentatively.

“Sure can,” Alex chimed in again. Then it was Marcus’ turn to speak.

“Don’t act so obvious, the mics are sensitive, just speak normally and we’ll be able to hear you.”

Rayne nodded, then answered aloud, making sure to speak in a regular tone. She shifted her posture, and her expression in such a way that her mother would have directed. She began to walk the edge of large room, getting a feel for the layout and the tables, and even the emergency exits, just in case.

“Can you see anything up there?” she asked, pretending to browse the selection of food. Sausages, cheeses, an eclectic variety of fruits, and bread. She wasn’t hungry though.

“Nothing,” Alex said, “hold up. Wait a second, I do see something.”

“Is it David?” Rayne asked, glancing around the room.

“No, the other one.” Alex tapped on his earpiece. “Oh, what’s his name…?”

“Rick Everett O’Brien,” Rayne answered. “He’s here?”

“Yes, and he seems to have brought a date with him, a girl. They’re near the entrance.”

Rayne turned, scanning the crowd again, and she caught sight of both him and the girl. She recalled her conversation with him back at the Explorer’s Headquarters. All Rick had wanted to do was take a necklace to the girl he liked. Maybe that was her, standing next to him.

She was beautiful, in the way that a marvel statue was beautiful. She had loose blonde hair, and some of the brightest blue eyes that Rayne had ever seen. Then she caught herself. The girl looked oddly familiar, but Rayne couldn’t quite place where she had seen her.

“Hey, Marcus,” she asked, forgetting for a second that he wasn’t nearby. He was on the roof above.

“Don’t speak so loud,” he cautioned. “I can hear you, what do you see?”

“The girl that Rick is standing next to,” Rayne said, a little softer this time. “Why does she seem familiar? Blonde hair, blue eyes?”

“Congrats, you just described half the girls in the East,” Marcus said. “We’re going to need a little more than that.”

“She matches the description,” M’natherine’s voice chimed in. “The Explorer’s Database. David was searching for someone that matched her description, and her name starts with the letter M.

Rayne’s eyes widened at the realization. It couldn’t be a coincidence, Rick, the girl, an exhibit of Alkania… the only thing that was missing that could tie everything together was David and—

There he was in the center of the room making machine gun noises.

***

“Oh, hey pal,” David said as Rick approached, opening his arms wide. He was wearing his usual attire, blue ball cap, blue shirt, and khaki pants, but this time instead of a hoodie, he was wearing a brown sports blazer. “I was just catching up with the mayor of the city, and the president of—”

“What are you doing here?” Rick hissed.

“Relax,” David waved him off, “I told you that I wouldn’t cause any trouble.”

“You…” Rick emphasized, “…are the trouble.”

“Okay, you know what?” he shrugged, “fair enough.” David stood up on his tip toes and peered across the crowd. “Hey, weren’t you supposed to be bringing your girlfriend? Tanner or something? Where is she?”

“Yes, I did,” Rick sighed, “and her name is Taylor. She’s grabbing something to eat.”

“That’s what I said.” David squinted, as if he was still looking for something. Then he brought his attention back to Rick. “Look, seriously this time, I’m not trying to cause any problems I just want to see…” He looked past Rick again, and this time his eyes widened. “Oh shoot!” He ducked down behind Rick.

“What?” Rick whirled around. “What, what is it?”

“Glasses, five o’clock.” David hissed from below.

“I don’t…” Rick squinted and scanned the crowd. “Speaking of which, where is Dust—?”

“Five o’clock,” David grumbled. “Do you even know your clock directions?”

“My five?” Rick asked, “Or your five?” Even before he had an answer though, his eyes landed on the girl with the glasses entering the museum.

It was Rayne, her plum shoulder length hair wrapped in her ribbon. She was wearing a dark lipstick and earrings that matched her silver eyes. She had on a Northern tunic that was rimmed gold at the hem and sleeves and neck. It was a pale purple and came down to her knees and was tied at the waist by a small cord. She was also wearing flat leather sandals that were laced up to the knee.

As soon as he realized it was her, Rick tried to look away, but not before she saw him. He remembered that gaze, cold and determined. She was the type of Explorer to get what she wanted at all costs.

“Why is she here?” Rick tried not to scream. It was hard. When he turned around, however, he was gone. David had just disappeared.

“Break me,” Rick swore. He had been so worried about the Explorer’s coming to arrest him, but they hadn’t. They’d left him alone, and with his type of luck, were probably going to, but now that he was in the same room as David, they would no doubt see him as an accomplice again.

That’s when Rick stopped for a moment. No, he couldn’t be worried about that. Something else was going on, and it wasn’t about him. It was about… His eyes landed on a banner on the wall.

Welcome to the grand opening of the Alkania exhibit.

It was about Alkania. How, and why? Rick wasn’t sure. He just knew that maybe he needed to find Taylor, and maybe they would need to take their date somewhere else.

He instinctively looked up for Taylor and caught Rayne’s eye again. She was closer this time.

“Come on,” Rick hissed in frustration. He turned away and started walking, trying to lose himself in the crowd. “Please, please, please…” he dodged a waiter and slid between a couple, apologizing as he did before hiding up against one of the pillars under the mezzanine.

“Hey, Rick,” Rayne said, poking her head around the pillar. Rick squealed in surprise. He did so in a most undignified and flailing manner that caused everyone around to glance in his direction.

“Break me.” Rick swore with gasping breath and clutching at his chest. Rayne crossed her arms and waited for him to recover.

“You okay?” She asked, thinking for just a moment that maybe she’d scared him bad enough to have a heart attack.

“No.” Rick sucked a breath in through his nose and breathed out through pursed lips. “No, no, I am not. I am not okay. Look…” He took another breath before speaking. “Before you begin, I can explain.”

“So, you can explain what you’re doing here?” She raised an eyebrow. “With a certain mutual friend of ours?”

“Oh, so you saw that… You saw David?”

“Rick, I wear glasses, I’m not blind.”

“Okay, so look. I can actually explain.” He cleared his throat.

“You remember the necklace?” She nodded. “I made that for a girl I like, her name is Taylor, and she’s great. Anyway, David was trying to apologize for getting me involved, which is nice I guess, anyway, he gave us tickets to come here. So, we’re here.”

“He got you tickets to a museum gala?” Rayne’s eyes narrowed. “And that wasn’t a little strange?”

“I mean…” Rick paused. He hadn’t really thought about it. “I guess he could have bought us pizza or something but—”

“But instead, he brings you to a museum full of Alkanian artifacts.” Rayne took a step back and surveyed the crowd. She reached up and pressed a finger to her ear, where Rick noticed a small earbud. “Yes, I saw him, but he disappeared, I don’t know where he’s at now.” She said, still searching the room.

“You guys are all over this place, aren’t you?” Rick squeaked, his eyes widening. “I should have known this would turn out bad.”

“It’s not a coincidence,” Rayne said, “it can’t be.” She gave Rick a side-long look. Her eyes examined him the way that they had in that interrogation room. Studying him. Her gaze was long and thoughtful, and her stone-colored eyes finally softened.

Rayne reached out and grabbed the front of Rick’s shirt, pulling him close enough that he could feel her breath.

“Promise me,” she growled, tightening her grip. “That you really are as stupid and as lost as I think you are.”

“Not exactly something I want to admit to,” Rick winced. “But I promise.”

“Then that means he’s been using you,” Rayne pushed him back and he fell against the pillar he’d been hiding behind, just barely catching himself. “The same way that he used me.”

“Using me,” Rick shook his head, “I don’t… what could he possibly be using me for? There’s nothing I have, there’s nothing I can do.”

“That necklace you had,” Rayne snapped her fingers, “the one that I thought was important, what happened to it?”

“It broke, got destroyed by the skeleton guy,” Rick grumbled. He was still a little peeved about that. “David gave me a locket, afterwards, because he felt bad.”

“And did that locket have a small crystal in it by chance?” Rayne asked.

“Yes, but I didn’t think much of it, because it was almost the same color as—”

“Rick,” she interrupted, “did you know that David was breaking into the Explorer’s Headquarters, accessing a database that profiles every citizen of the East, whether it’s a modern island, remnant island, or alt island, it doesn’t matter. He was looking for someone. A girl. A girl whose name begins with May. Perhaps Maybel, or Mayweather. He filtered through the matches looking for only the ones with fair skin, blonde hair, blue eyes, and they were all adopted from orphanages in Old York City. Does any of this happen to ring a bell?”

“There’s…” He blinked. Once. Twice. “There’s a lot of people that probably look like that.” Even as he said it, he didn’t believe it. Taylor didn’t look like anyone else. She was a statue carved out of stone, her skin the color of desert sand, and her eyes the blue of an oasis.

“I didn’t believe you at first,” Rayne said. “I thought you were helping David, because you were constantly around him, constantly swept up in his mayhem. I understand now though. You’re not the constant Rick, your girlfriend is. I think that there is more going on here, and we need to find her, now.”

“She uh…” Rick fumbled his thoughts. “She went to get… get some food. I uh…”

“I need you to get it together,” Rayne grabbed his shoulders and shook him a little. “Go out there, find her, and when you do bring her back here, okay?”

Rick nodded, and Rayne ducked back into the crowd, leaving him alone. He felt shaken, no, his legs were actually shaking. He was breathing fast, but he couldn’t get enough air, his heart was pounding in his ears, and he felt weak.

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a few deep breaths. Counting to ten like Vivien had taught him. It didn’t fix him, but he was able to let go of the pillar, and start his search for Taylor. When he checked the banquet table however, she wasn’t there. She wasn’t sitting at any of the tables either. Where had she gone?

“Come on,” Rick hissed under his breath. “Please let me find you.”