favor, but whatever it was would be worth it.
The Times spoke of more war in Asia as the Imperium annexed another bunch of islands he'd never heard of, Herbert Hoover looked like he was going to be trounced by Governor Roosevelt (not that Cornelius minded, since he had donated plenty of money to both sides), and more general lawlessness and moral decay around the country. Most of the news was old hat for a man who had informants everywhere, but one item caught his attention.
'Well, I'll be…' he muttered around his morning cigar as he studied the photograph. It was a grainy shot of one of the Imperium's new tri-hulled, super-dirigibles, taken over some Dutch colony. It would look like a big blurry blob to most viewers, but he recognized the design because it had originated amongst the Cogs employed in his engineering department at UBF.
He disliked Cogs, just as he disliked all magical people, himself and immediate family excluded, but he had grown fabulously wealthy from their brilliance. Every Cog was already a genius in their own way, absolutely fanatically brilliant at something, but then they could occasionally use their Power to push them over the top, to achieve the most brilliant of all creative achievements. The Imperium's new Kaga-class flying battleship was a perfect example.
Nine hundred feet long, with three separate hydrogen-filled hulls, each hull cordoned off into ten separate armored chambers, the Kagas were the biggest thing to ever take to the sky. Hydrogen was far more dangerous than helium, but provided more lift. The Imperials had asked for hydrogen in the specifications probably became the main source for helium in the world was unavailable to them in Texas. With the redundant mechanical and magical provisions, the Kagas would be virtually indestructible, with armaments that outclassed the best dreadnoughts of the Great War, but with four times the speed, its own parasite air force, and a virtually unlimited range.
The picture was a bit different than the blueprints he had seen, more bulbous. The Imperials had added a few things that he did not recognize, but that did not concern him. UBF had been paid to provide the hull and engine design. His eldest son had arranged the deal while serving as the ambassador to Japan, may God rest his soul.
The government had forbidden the sale of superscience to the Imperium as part of the embargo, but Cornelius Gould Stuyvesant knew that laws were to keep the lower classes in line. Whereas, he did what he wanted, but did so in secret to avoid the hassle of know-nothings' petty harassments. The embargo forbid UBF from the construction of any warships for a foreign power. Cornelius was currently overseeing the construction of the Emperor's personal flagship at the UBF plant, but since it was officially a diplomatic and scientific vessel, it was perfectly legal. The warships, like the Kagas, on the other hand, were quite illegal, but with the economic slump, the Imperium were the only people with money to burn.
He'd sold them the Kaga design a few years ago. He was just surprised to see that the Imperium had gotten the bugs worked out so quickly. Once they started using their new super-dirigibles to further their domination of the East, the U.S. Navy would be forced to come to UBF for their own next-generation airships.
Cornelius loved a good arms race as much as the next robber baron. Chicago, Illinois The Grid Iron Club was usually quiet on Sunday mornings, but today was the exception. Lenny Torrio was pacing up and down the bar, throwing bottles and whatever furniture he could pick up in a fit of rage.
His remaining seven men were standing around, waiting for the bout to pass like they always did. These spells had earned Mr. Torrio the nickname of Crazy Lenny, but they always eventually subsided. They'd lost five boys last night, shot to death, and poor Amish tossed out a window. The old Rasmussen Hotel had been evacuated right before the boiler had exploded, and they'd just got word that the city inspectors were saying the building was unsafe and was going to fall down. They all knew that it was a mess and the public outcry would bring the law down on them hard.
Mr. Torrio was going on about how Al Capone was sure to move in on them, when some new faces arrived.The first was another Japanese, this one younger than the last one. It made the men uneasy when they saw how unnerved the new arrival made their boss.
'I'm sorry about your friend,' Torrio sputtered. 'Really I am. Please, give your Chairman my full respects.' The Japanese did not speak or move.
Another man entered behind the Asian. This one was white, tall, muscular, with a badly scarred face and one milky white eye. Apparently, seeing him really shook Mr. Torrio. 'Whoa, hey old buddy, been a real long time. I'd heard-'
'Heard wrong,' he grunted. 'Call me Mr. Madi now, Lenny.'
'Is this about last night? About Jake? Look, I'm sorry, 'cause I just did what I was told…' Torrio looked back and forth between the two newcomers, apparently confused. 'I didn't know you were working for the Chairman now.'
The big man with the bad eye shrugged. 'I don't care about Jake. I go where the action is, Lenny… Your sources find anything on these other guys the Chairman's lookin' for?'
Torrio raised his hands defensively. 'You know how it is with demons, man. You got to sort out what's true and what's not… but that device you were looking for, that your-' he nodded respectfully toward the Jap before continuing-'dear deceased associate showed me the drawing… it's in California. I saw a skinny girl on a train, not far from where I found that old Portagee for you. She was easy, 'cause she don't know about Finders.'
'Turns out that bit ain't so important. What about the others?'
'They've hidden themselves too good, but I know Christiansen was last in the mountains and Southunder was on the ocean somewhere. I'll track them down for you, I promise.'
'Well, that narrows it down a bunch.' Madi turned to the other man and spoke real slow in a language that none of the men understood. The Japanese gave a quick reply. Madi asked a question. The Oriental nodded once, and the big white man went back to Torrio. 'My associate doesn't think we need your services anymore and that you brought too much attention.'
'Aww, come on Madi,' Lenny begged. 'It ain't like that. Where else are you going to get another Finder as good as me?'
'Oh, somebody else told us where to find them already, and if we need to summon any critters… I figure we'll get by,' Madi answered as something strange moved in the shadows of the warehouse rafters. Everyone looked up as the Summoned fell from the ceiling, spread its eight-foot wingspan, and settled gently to the floor. It hissed at the men with both heads and they instinctively stepped back. Claws clicked on the hardwood as it scuttled around the end of the bar and out of sight. Something squealed, and the dragon came back with Mr. Torrio's imp clenched in one set of jaws. The other head came around and snapped onto the creature's legs.
'Mildred!' Lenny shouted as his imp was ripped in two. 'No!'
The dragon kept chewing as the imp's body dissolved into smoke. The whole crew was so distracted by the sight that they didn't see the man called Madi reaching for his shoulder holster.
Ten seconds later Crazy Lenny Torrio and his entire gang were history. San Francisco, California It was all a little overwhelming, and all Faye could do for her first few minutes in the big city was gawk like the country girl that she was. There was an astounding number of people packed everywhere, scurrying along in every direction. The train station was easily ten times the size of the station in Merced, and there were more human beings milling around the platforms in those first few minutes than she had seen cumulatively in her entire life.
The air smelled like diesel, and humanity, and all sorts of unfamiliar perfumes. She tried to shrink down, uncomfortable, not used to moving through a crowd. The people were so packed that they moved in waves, almost like a herd of Holsteins, only far more colorful.
Many of the men were in suits, some were in work clothing, and Faye saw military uniforms for the first time. One handsome young man in white (Gilbert had said that meant Navy) winked at her as he went past, and Faye looked down, blushing. The young man was elbowed in the side by one of his friends and they all had a laugh.
The women were astounding, their dresses so pretty and flashy that Faye instinctively felt drab and boring in comparison. Their hair was all done up in ways that she had never even imagined, while hers was just flat. Many of them had jewelry and more wore furs, and almost everyone had a hat far nicer than her simple straw one.
Feeling underdressed compared to the other women, Faye paused long enough to put on the only piece of jewelry she possessed, the gold and black ring from Grandpa's bag. It wasn't nearly as fancy as the big things with all of the sparkles like the others had, but Faye figured it would do. The ring was too big and flopped around on her finger, but at least it was something.
She made her way through the masses, walking in the direction that most of the other debarking travelers were heading. Somehow she ended up inside a building with really tall ceilings and big stained-glass windows and then she was swept out onto a sidewalk along a street where more fancy cars than she had ever imagined were
