Agatha H. and the Airship City

mimmoth. These pests, the result of some unknown madboy’s tampering, had infested most of the known world, and frequently fouled machinery. It honked at him. He spoke without looking at her. “I hope you found your quarters comfortable, I—”

A wrench was thrust into his face with a commanding “Here.”

Startled, he turned and saw a sullen Agatha regarding him, the wrench in one hand, the other hand upon her hip. A look of annoyance settled upon his face. He briskly tossed the mimmoth into a container and stripped off his work gloves. “Right. So much for small talk. Let us have this out right now. Sit down.”

“There’s nothing—”

Gil’s head swiveled towards her and he fixed her with an icy stare. “Sit. Down,” he commanded.

With a thump, Agatha found herself sitting upon a small bench seat.

Gil regarded her warily. For the first time, he seemed to notice her outfit. Agatha saw the direction of his gaze and squirmed in embarrassment. Her outfit creaked in protest.

Gil realized his mouth was open slightly and shut it with a snap, then shook his head and spoke calmly. “Miss Clay, I’m really sorry about Dr. Beetle. I know he was important to you, and I agree that his death was a complete waste, but—”

Agatha looked away and interrupted coldly, “But he threw a bomb at you. Yes, you’ve said.”

“NO!” Gil’s fist crashed down and a startled Agatha saw him staring at her intently. “I think he threw a bomb at you!”

After the first shock, Agatha felt herself getting angry. “Dr. Beetle loved me! He wouldn’t—”

Gil ignored her. “He wanted you out of that lab. In retrospect I can see that he was terrified of you being there. Why? What is it about you that could have gotten him in even more trouble with my father than his hiding a Hive Engine?”

“Nothing! There’s nothing about me!”

Gil leaned back and regarded her seriously. “Then what about your parents, the Clays?”

Agatha’s sudden start caused a tight smile of satisfaction to flash across his face. “Yes, that hit a nerve.”

Agatha rallied. “Wrong. My parents are simple, normal people.”

Gil nodded agreeably. “Did you know that you have been asleep for around thirty-six hours?”

Agatha felt off-balance at the change in conversation. “What does that have to do with—?”

“I can’t find these ‘simple, normal people’ of yours.”

A small smile curved Agatha’s lips. “Oh, really?”

Gil leaned forward. “And that doesn’t surprise you. It certainly surprises me. We had the town sealed and they still got out. How did they do that? More important, why did they do that? At the very least, one would think that they would inquire about you, their only daughter, but they never even returned to their home. Should we be worried about them?”

Agatha bit her lip. These were legitimate questions. The idea that Adam and Lilith could actually be in a situation where they needed assistance was a foreign one, but there was always the possibility. “I don’t know.”

Gil studied her for a moment longer and nodded. “I see.” He smiled. “Now let’s talk about Herr von Zinzer.”

Agatha looked blankly at him. “Who?”

Gil’s smile widened. “Moloch von Zinzer?”

“I’m afraid I don’t—”

Gil continued, “The man you help build clanks with? While in your underwear? Your boyfriend? Your lover? The reason you’re here? Ring a bell?” he asked innocently.

Agatha flushed. “I never! He’s n—” Too late she caught Gil’s look of satisfaction. She quickly shifted mental gears. “He’s… nnnice!”

Gil looked at her askance. “Nice?”

Agatha nodded inanely, scarcely believing the drivel pouring out of her mouth. “That’s what I call him. Herr Nice. I don’t even think of him as… as…”

“Von Zinzer.”

“Von Zinzer. Yes.”

Gil raised an eyebrow. “Ah. Well then, you’ll both be happy to know that you’ll be assisting… Herr… Nice, with his next clank.”

“Oh. But… Good,” she finished weakly.

Gil smiled. “And I’m sure you’ll be relieved to know that we have a very relaxed dress code in the labs.”

Agatha stiffened. “You know, as much as I’d miss Mowgli—”

“Moloch?”

“Herr Nice, I’d rather just go home and help look for my parents.”

Gil got serious. “I assure you, Miss Clay, we’re doing everything we can to find them. Unless you can think of somewhere in particular we should look?”

Reluctantly, Agatha shook her head. A sudden clink made her look around. A small blue claw appeared over the side of the machine, holding a delicate delftware teacup. Agatha reached out and took it. The tea within smelled delicious. “Thank you,” she murmured.

The claw then grabbed onto a protruding grommet and Zoing hauled himself upwards. Up close, Agatha still couldn’t penetrate the gloom under the little creature’s hat. Feeling her eyes upon it, Zoing looked back briefly, then reached inside a wide sleeve and pulled out a sugar bowl, which it offered graciously. Agatha declined. Zoing shrugged, and deftly extracted several sugar cubes and popped them inside its coat. Satisfied crunching noises followed.

Gil’s voice brought her back to the conversation. “Anyway, I’m afraid my father won’t allow you to leave just yet, he considers you his guarantee to Herr von Zinzer’s good behavior.”

Agatha felt an uncharacteristic flare of temper. “You can’t just keep me here.”

Gil had the grace to look slightly embarrassed, but he shrugged. “We can actually. It’s not like you could walk out the front door, you know.”

“Why not?”

“We don’t have one.” His face brightened. “You don’t know where you are, do you?”

Agatha blinked. Gil grabbed a control box that was attached to a long cable that went up into the ceiling. He grinned and stabbed at a button. “Let me show you!”

Agatha heard a squeal of alarm from Zoing, and then with a great CLANG! the floor split into two massive panels that swung downward, and the machine they were sitting in dropped. A quick look over the side caused Agatha to think she’d gone mad, as the ground was easily several thousand meters under them. A few farms nestled beside a river, and a vast forest covered much of the land. “What have you done?” she screamed against the uprushing wind.

Gil was busily manipulating the controls of the machine. He grinned again. “Ha! Watch this!”

He threw a large switch, and the motor behind them coughed twice and then stopped. Silence surrounded them as they fell. Agatha crossed her arms. “Oh. It’s a Falling Machine. I’m so impressed.”

Gil looked annoyed. “Weird. It worked perfectly on paper…” Simultaneously the both of them swarmed over the engine.

“How’s it work?”

“Fuel here. Spark here. Main shaft. Boosters.”

“Interesting. Should this be loose?”