Artemis groaned as she slowed, and Seven dropped the throttle back. Artemis jolted and began to grind. Seven, thinking the number two engine was shot, disengaged the engine two drive gear, only to discover that Artemis then stopped accelerating and the grinding was still resounding loudly. The smell of burnt oil and hydraulic fluid stinging the air with its acidic aroma.
Seven instead shut off the number one engine, disengaged the drive gear and locked the interim differential and finally re-engaging the rear drive gear, jolting Artemis forward slowly yet steadily. The hiss of released fuel and vapors subtly audible, and the light metallic pinging of the manifolds as they cooled from the excessive overheating.
"That's strange, engine one failed even though engine two was the one with the injection." Seven muttered. Melrod scrambled up to where Seven was and grabbed him by the shirt, lifting Seven up and staring at him in anger.
"Tell me you don't have anymore of that shit!" Melrod practically yelled while man handling Seven. Seven pulled two more from his pocket and Melrod went to snatch them but Seven pushed Melrod off.
"I know you want to throw them, but if you do, and someone finds them, I'll still get caught. Now, there is a way to sneak them back in…" Seven looked at the hidden panel, but it was tilted and crooked, no longer a safe option.
"Correction, there was a way to sneak them back in." Seven turned back to Melrod. Melrod's face was mottled red with rage. Seven held up his hand, unscrewed both cylinders and held his breath as he downed both. Melrod's face went from furious to terrified.
"What in the hell are you doing?!" Melrod reached for the now emptied containers. Seven grimaced as the thick concentration slid down his throat with a sickening squelch as he forced a swallow.
"It's okay. If I vomit it up in twenty minutes, it can't hurt me." Seven stated with a shudder as he sat back down and drove Artemis up to the entrance into the city. As per usual, the two were stopped by the Law Enforcers guarding the entrance. Seven disengaged the drive gear and climbed out of the driver's pit.
"Seven? Melrod? It's a little late to be outside city limits, don't you think?" One of the lawmen, Hector, held his hand out expectantly. Hector was one of many 'Lawmen' that were in the pocket of the Thieves guild. He was a short, darker skinned fellow with greedy mud green eyes and a rat-like face, his hair always seemed dry yet greasy.
Seven fished out five minted copper coins and placed them in Hector's hand, the metal clink of fresh coin sounded enriching after the night they'd had. Hector, on the other hand, looked at the measly amount distastefully.
"Five? That'll only buy me four beers and a girl for the night." Hector complained. Melrod sighed and fished a shiny new silver coin and placed it in Hector's hand with a briefly malicious scowl.
"You better ignore the crates and give false statements to any officials that follow after asking questions." Melrod growled. Hector simply smiled, unfazed by the subtle threat.
"Coming back from the hillsides with a fresh batch of ores? Delivery to be made out to Ore N' Ork? Okay gentlemen, looks like papers are in order." Hector purposefully called out while simultaneously handing a falsified document over to the boys.
"You greedy fucking rat." Melrod turned furiously away and leaned against a wall while muttering, the lamps around the gatehouse flickered momentarily, a probable surge in electrical flow. The esthetic adding a dramatic flair to Melrod's upset.
The document handed to the boys was forged by Dr. Steam for his facade front shop, and Hector was most likely paid rather well to keep the documents for the boys' return. This reminded Seven of why Hector was considered heinous. His greed was utterly revolting, and the disdain in Seven's eyes was hard to hide.
"If that'll be all good sirs, we will be on our way." Seven stated with a false smile as he began to climb back up Artemis, only to be suddenly yanked back down and thrown. Seven scrambled to his feet and turned to face the perpetrator, only to meet face to face with the captain of the local Militia and the current 'Official in Charge'.
Seven shirked away from the woman's fierce gaze, of all officials to have in charge, she was not one to be swayed or lenient. Captain Santiana Decario, a tall, robust woman with a very muscular frame. Her hair was bright red, like the dying embers of a charred battlefield. Her eyes were equally as cold as her personality, silver with a hint of blue like the glint of a blade.
"Is there something you wish to say? What kind of contraband do you boys have this time? Documents?" Captain Santiana glared heatedly at Seven, who obediently handed over the documents to the woman. She opened the papers, read the contents and studied each word thoroughly.
"It certainly looks official. Is it in the database? Has this shipment been confirmed from the hillside?" Santiana demanded from the Lawmen, who now stood at attention. Hector looked pale with the slight cold sweat of fear dripping disgustingly from his greasy hairline
"This is the data we have as far as deliveries for tonight go." The other Lawman, on shift with Hector, stepped forward and presented an official list of deliveries expected to the captain.
She quickly took it and began searching. Miraculously, Dr. Steam seemed to have been quite thorough in his schemes. Santiana tossed the list back to the lawman and walked over to Seven, towering over the boy.
"I still don't believe you. Check their runner, every nook and crevice. If even one bit of contraband is found, I'll have you thrown in lockdown for the rest of your miserable life." Santiana ordered her men along with the lawmen to comb over Artemis.
Seven began to pale, there were several things to worry about. The revolver was sitting in his seat, the devastating weapon those soldiers used was laying on the floor beneath the seat, and two empty cylinders of the Celestial Condensate were still inserted in the slots beneath the maintenance hatch.
More importantly, it had already been fifteen minutes since Seven had swallowed the other two cylinders of the condensate. Seven watched as the group of men slowly combed through every nook and crevice, every hatch and loose panel.
By the time they reached the front of the runner, ten minutes had passed. Seven felt lightheaded, dizzy, hot, and heavy all at the same time.
"Captain Decario! Ma'am, there's traces of a firefight all over this Runner. We also found this highly modified point four zero revolver, and this odd object in the driver's pit. Nothing else seems out of place." A soldier presented the two weapons to the captain. She looked at each one with disinterest.
"Weapons aren't considered contraband anymore. Though the modifications are a rather gray area… no, I've been strictly commanded to seize any contraband, and those are not considered contraband. Fuck, return the weapons to the owner, and let them through." Santiana seemed to be in a bind between her orders, and her disdain towards the two suspicious individuals.
"Thank you kindly, Ma'am. We will happily oblige you and leave hastily." Melrod grabbed the weapons from the soldier and then began guiding Seven, who was now flushed red, sweating and breathing rapidly. Santiana stared at the boy in concern.
"Is he alright?" She reached out to grab Seven, not out of concern, but rather an odd curiosity. Seven jerked away from everyone, his heart was beating out of his chest.
"I'm fine, the… the firefight we had to get through… Bandits, the adrenaline wore off is all." Seven breathed deeply, his vision began to slightly sway.
"You fought bandits? No, I suppose that would in fact explain the damages to your runner. Alright, go. Get some rest then." Santiana dismissed the boys and Melrod grabbed Seven as he began to teeter.
"Hang in there Seven, I'll drive." Melrod led Seven up into the carriage and laid him against a crate. Melrod climbed up and into the drivers pit and engaged the drive gear, slowly driving through the city towards Dr. Steam's shop. Seven was now heaving, his vision was swimming, his body was broiling hot, and he couldn't focus. Finally, after struggling to stay awake, Seven slipped unconscious.
Melrod parked Artemis and the loaded carriage inside a large shop behind Ore N' Ork, where a well-dressed man in a black three-piece suit, white button up and black tie, roughly in his early fifties, stepped out. He was tall, well built with a strong aura. He had greying hair that was originally jet black, was combed neatly back and the sides were faded perfectly.
He had a mustache that was well groomed and slightly curled on the ends and a well-trimmed beard to accompany. He had grey eyes that shone with intelligence, and a face that betrayed nothing but calm elegance.
"Where's Seven?" The man asked calmly while waiting for Melrod to completely shut Artemis off. Melrod pointed to the carriage where Seven was slumped against a crate. His breathing was shallow, his body was red, and he was entirely unconscious.
"He's, uh, seen better." Melrod shrugged.
"He drank 'em, didn't he." The man sighed. Melrod looked up and away from the man, his actions answering the statement.
"Hah… Well, the best I can do is let him rest, or die… Let's get my crates open." The man approached the carriage and hopped up to the crates. He pressed on the front of the crate and a panel slid out and up.
"Alright, let me see what's… shit." The man cursed. The panel lit up with an unusually bright light as a screen appeared, and on the screen was a message asking for biological identification.
"Well, that seems rather inconvenient." Melrod couldn't tell what exactly the problem was, but he assumed it was enough of an issue to be inconvenient, as he looked on from the side of the carriage. The screen flickered briefly, most likely a result of the rough treatment it had received earlier that night.
"You have no idea just how inconvenient it really is. Follow me…" The man rushed off the carriage and began rushing towards his office, whilst Melrod followed closely behind.
"Now, I know I told Seven that Celestial Condensate is dangerous when ingested and that there was no cure, that was not a lie. Condensed variations are much worse, and never ingest condensed, it cannot be vomited. Apparently, he chose to stop listening shortly after hearing regular refined can be. Now let's see where it is…" The man entered a back office with the name; 'Doctor D.I. Steam'. Dr. Steam began opening filing cabinets, cupboards, drawers and refrigeration units in search of something.
"Ah! There we are!" Dr. Steam exclaimed as he grabbed a small vial of bubbling red liquid. The vial itself was only the size of a pinky finger.
"What's that supposed to be?" Melrod asked curiously. Dr. Steam ignored the question and ran back out to where Seven was slumped. "The only method to temporarily stabilize the ingestion of CC, or as I like to call, 'Crud', is by ingesting the raw concentrate of blood from at least five different celestial beast hearts, or Aetherate. If you're lucky to get it, it'd be much better to get a drop of dragon's blood, but that's nigh impossible. Thus, the five beast hearts." Dr. Steam explained as he opened the vial and dumped its contents down Seven's throat.
"Yeah, but Doc, I don't understand sciencey shit. Why do you always try to explain things to me?" Melrod looked even more confused now, than when he asked his question.
"Why do you always ask questions you know you won't understand the answer to?" Dr. Steam replied easily. Seven began to stir before opening his eyes and immediately looking at the two.
"Was I out long?" Seven asked groggily.
"You forgot something at the warehouse. Retrieve it you dolt!" Dr. Steam smacked Seven on the top of his head, jolting Seven awake fully.
"Ah! Fuckin… shit! The hell you do that for, you old Gasket?" Seven shouted angrily as he got to his feet. Seven paused, his body felt lighter for some reason, more so than usual.
"Hmm?" Melrod looked at the now confused Seven.
"I guess I successfully vomited before I woke up?" Seven muttered with a shrug.
"No, but you are stabilized for now. Now come here. I need you to memorize a photograph." Dr. Steam snapped his fingers and went back to the crate Seven was next to. Seven walked the two feet and watched as Dr. Steam pulled up a list with names on the screen.
"This one." Dr. Steam pointed at the photo of a nervous looking woman with glasses. She had dark brown hair tied up in a ponytail, her eyes were dull blue, and she was very thin.
"Meh, I'd give her a solid six, six n' a half." Melrod stated as he looked at the photo.
"Biometric security clearance required huh?" Seven read the words on the screen above the picture.
"So go get my clearance." Dr. Steam waved the boys away.
"Alright, well, let's take Art-" "No. Artemis is done for." Seven cut Melrod off and walked towards the shop's exit. Seven briefly looked back at his ruined runner with a sad expression before exiting the building
"Well, how are we gonna get thirty miles out of the city limits fast enough?" Melrod asked with a whine.
"You can't be serious." Melrod turned pale.
"What? It's a horse. Are you still afraid of horses?" Seven laughed as he mounted an all-black horse. The horse bucked slightly at first and threw its head back in indignation. Seven patted the horse's neck.
"Shhh, girl. Don't worry, once you get me where I need to be, I promise you'll be free again." The horses Seven was suggesting stealing, were fresh caught, not fully tamed, and barely approachable.
"Yeah, they bite!" Melrod backed away from the horses.
"Then walk. Forward!" Seven shrugged and then signaled the horse to move. But the horse just shook its head and stood still.
"You still don't know how to ride one, huh?" Melrod smirked in amusement.
"Shut up, like you know either!" Seven reddened in embarrassment.
"Pssh. Says you. To move a horse forward, you need to apply pressure with both legs. To turn, use one or the other to turn in the opposite direction. Super easy. Mix in a few clicks in a certain pattern and you can stop or slow the horse." Melrod crossed his arms and explained proudly. Seven cocked his head and then applied pressure with his legs to the sides of the horse.
"Like thi-IIISSSS!" The horse reared and shot forward in a full sprint towards a fence. Seven grabbed a hold of the horse's neck and held on for dear life as the horse launched into the air, over the ten-foot-tall fence. Melrod was busy shakily scrambling onto a horse and racing after Seven, having to open the gate first and leaving it open in his escape.
The black horse was fast, extremely fast. Seven couldn't release the pressure on its sides with his legs as he was busy trying not to fall off. Melrod's horse couldn't keep up, it fell further behind as the black horse ran at full speed. After around twenty minutes had passed, Seven eased up and relaxed, causing the black horse to slow to a steadier speed. Within the next five minutes, Melrod finally caught up.
"Damn, that horse is insane! I think it might be a Celestial Horse Beast. How'd they manage to catch it?" Melrod was still trembling on the horse, but he was gradually getting used to riding it.
"I don't know, but this horse is fast and unfathomably stronger than any horse I've seen. It's about as fast as half throttle for Artemis." Seven replied shakily.
"Well, at this pace, we should reach the warehouse in like twenty minutes. But, as soon as we get there, we need to hurry and get whoever we need to get. Dawn is in less than two hours, and then we're fucked." Melrod rushed his horse faster, Seven followed behind, learning how to direct the horse as they went.