Live and let Drood sh-6 Page 10

  Probably looters, Molly said cheerfully.

  Oh, almost certainly looters, I said. The poor bastards. I am just in the mood to beat the crap out of some bad guys.

  By the time we got to the front of the Hall, a whole line of really big trucks was storming up the main gravel drive and heading for the front entrance. All the trucks were huge, oversized monster-storage jobs, the kind you hire to move the whole contents of really big houses. They were heading through the grounds like they had every right to be there, and I was really looking forward to making it clear to them that they didn t. They had no right to be on Drood territory, menacing my home. They had to know what had happened to the Hall and my family, or they d never have dared be so brave. Made my blood boil Show one sign of weakness in this world, and before you know it the vultures are turning up with knives and forks and their best bibs on. That s what those trucks were. A convoy of scavengers. Come to loot and ransack whatever was left of the ruined Hall while the charred timbers were still warm.

  I ran out into the main drive and stopped, taking up a position between the lead truck and the Hall. I struck an authoritative pose and held up one hand to signal the driver to stop. Did he, hell. He just sounded his horn and kept on coming. So I called up my armour. I didn t need the old activating Words; I just had to think, and there it was. The rogue armour swept over me in a moment, sealing me in from head to toe. I didn t cry out at the cold this time. I was growing accustomed to the new armour. I wasn t sure whether that was a good thing or not, but with a massive big truck bearing down on me and showing absolutely no signs of slowing, I was glad to have the armour about me.

  The driver in the lead truck took one look at the Drood in his armour who d just appeared out of nowhere right in front of him (when presumably he d been promised he d never have to face any such thing) and slammed his foot hard down on the brake. The truck skidded to a halt amid screams of burning tyres and unhealthy-looking smoke issued out from under the wheel arches. Gravel flew in every direction as the front of the truck skidded back and forth, the driver fighting to bring it under control. It finally slammed to a halt so close to me, I could have reached out a hand and prodded the radiator grille. There was more screeching and skidding from all the other trucks farther down the line as they were forced into equally sudden halts.

  I folded my golden arms across my golden chest and studied the white-faced driver in his raised cab. And then Molly Metcalf stepped out into the drive to stand beside me, and the driver looked even more upset.

  For a long moment the driver stayed in his cab, looking down at us, clearly lost for what to do. I m sure he was hoping that if he just sat there long enough, we would disappear or go away but when it became clear that wasn t going to happen, he sighed heavily, turned off the engine, opened the side door and dropped down into the gravel to join us. He looked back at the long line of suddenly parked trucks, took a deep breath and walked slowly and very unhappily forward to face Molly and me. An average height, average weight, middle-aged guy with male pattern baldness and a sickly smile, wearing a much-used workman s outfit. He crashed to a halt right before me, his uncertain smile losing confidence by the moment.

  Hello! he said with desperate conviviality.

  Nice to be here! Isn t it a great day? Very summery! Yes. I m Dave Chapman, head of Plunder, Incorporated.

  Oh, bloody hell, said Molly, cutting across his words mercilessly. I know who this is. You used to be the Road Rats, didn t you?

  Chapman winced. We did operate under that trade name, yes, but we have recently upgraded. Gone upmarket, as it were. He was trying for dignity and not even coming close. Might I enquire whom I might be addressing?

  I m Molly Metcalf. She gave Chapman her very brightest and most dangerous smile, and all the colour dropped out of his face.

  Oh, shit.

  You ve heard of me, said Molly, pleased.

  Chapman glanced back over his shoulder, clearly debating whether to just break and make a run for it, and then he reluctantly stood his ground and looked at me.

  And I am Edwin Drood, I said, not wanting to be left out of the intimidation. Chapman made a high whining noise and looked even more upset, if that were possible. His feet shifted nervously, disturbing the gravel, as though he desperately wanted to be excused.

  Oh, shit, he said, miserably.

  Well, quite, I said. What are you doing here at my home, on Drood grounds, Mr. Road Rat Chapman?

  Given his piteous condition it was hard to stay mad at him, but worth the effort. I had only to look at the long line of trucks come to haul away my family s heritage, and my blood started boiling all over again.

  Chapman gave up looking at Molly and me and looked down at his steel-toed workingman s boots currently digging little holes in the gravel, as though he hoped to find some answers there. Or at the very least, a large and comforting hole he could disappear into. He glanced up again, saw that Molly and I were still there, and shrugged glumly. He looked unhappily back and forth between us, as though he couldn t make up his mind which of us unnerved him most.

  Well, sir and miss, of course, he said finally. Strictly speaking, you shouldn t be here. We d been promised no one would be here. We were, in fact, informed that Drood Hall had been blown up, set fire to and generally reduced to wreck and ruin. He glanced past us at what was left of the Hall and seemed to draw strength from the confirming vision.

  We were told the Droods were no more, that the Hall and its grounds were no longer defended, and that there were rich pickings for everyone. Or at least for whoever got there first. So I rounded up the boys, fuelled up the rigs and put the hammer down all the way here.

  How did you know where to find us? I said.

  Drood Hall isn t on the map. Any map.

  Chapman swallowed hard. Whatever it was that was hiding you, it s gone now, sir and miss, of course. We were given a sat nav that brought us straight to you. In fact, I think you can be pretty sure there are a lot more plunder-orientated organisations already on their way here, eager to get their hot little hands on Drood riches. We just got here first because we re more professional than most. We are, after all, the best in the business. The old firm, picking up unconsidered trifles and selling them for big profits, for centuries. We re a family business, just like you!

  No, I said. You re nothing like us.

  Road Rats, said Molly. Never met a disaster you didn t like so you could take advantage of it.

  You got here first, so you ll make a fine example to all those who come after you, I said cheerfully to Chapman. A thought struck me. You said you were informed that the Hall had been burnt down. Who informed you?

  We keep our electronic ears to the ground, sir. And miss, of course. We monitor all the unusual frequencies for occasions such as this.

  So you can kick people while they re down and take what little they have left? said Molly.

  Best time, said Chapman, regaining some of his confidence. A chance to loot a place like Drood Hall only comes along once in a generation. If then. The minute we got the word, from a very important gentleman, we were off and running. In fact, he went so far as to say we d be doing him a favour if we were to strip the place clean from top to bottom. He guaranteed he d buy everything we brought him. No matter how unique or dangerous the item might be. He has connections everywhere, you see. Well! Couldn t turn down an opportunity like that. Could we, sir? And miss, of course. How could we say no?

  You should have, I said. You really should have.

  Yeah, said Molly. She cracked her knuckles, a sudden loud sound in the quiet, and Chapman actually jumped.

  You re facing a Drood in his armour, I said. And the wild witch of the woods. Hell, you should be grateful we got to you before the scarecrows did. You have heard of the scarecrows yes, I thought you might have.

  Bollocks to this! Chapman said abruptly. He turned and ran back past his truck, yelling to his people farther down the line. Sod this for a game of soldiers! Get them, boys! There
s only two of them! A nice little bonus to whoever brings them down first! And get a bloody move on, before the scarecrows get here!

  A whole bunch of large, muscular young men appeared out of the cabs of parked trucks and headed straight for us. Most of them hard, cold-eyed thugs, in grubby T-shirts and jeans, the better to show off their gym-sculpted torsos. They advanced steadily on Molly and me, carrying various nasty-looking weapons. Twenty, thirty, forty of them, looking tough and highly motivated. Anyone else would probably have been impressed. Chapman stopped at the far end of his truck and grinned unpleasantly back at me.

  You re not the only one with a family business! You Droods aren t the only ones who can do the hard stuff, if it comes to it. We re the Road Rats!

  Thought you were Plunder, Incorporated, said Molly.

  That s just for appearances! When there s dirty work to be done we re still the Road Rats, and no one does it better than us! Right, boys? We don t take no shit from no one. We do the taking! Boys, peel that arrogant tosser out of his gold shell and pound him into the ground! Whoever takes him down first gets first go at the girl!

  Optimistic little soul, isn t he? I murmured to Molly.

  And obnoxious about it, said Molly. Girl? Girl? I ll give him girl I will make him wish he d never been born. In fact, I may even make a raggedy-edged hole in the side of his truck and use it to reenact his birth, only in reverse.

  Poor bastards, I said. They haven t a clue what s about to hit them.

  I have, said Molly. And I m going to really enjoy it.

  Me, too! I said. But I want Chapman alive and intact and still able to answer questions at the end of it. He knows who s behind all this.

  I looked the Road Rats over as they drew nearer. They looked surprisingly confident. They d clearly heard enough about Droods to know our reputation, but not enough to take it seriously. A lot of them were carrying energy weapons, both magical and superscientific, presumably looted from some previous site, and they were carrying them like they knew how to use them. Others had really big guns that looked entirely capable of firing a hell of a lot of bullets in a short time. Others had knives and swords and glowy cutting things. With anyone else that would probably have been enough.

  I ran straight at them, gravel flying as I charged down the path at inhuman speed.

  I swept past Chapman in a moment, before he could even give the order to open fire. By the time he did, I was right there in and among his boys. They all opened fire at once, hitting me with everything they had. The bullets just ricocheted harmlessly off my armour. (My old strange-matter armour would have absorbed the bullets; less danger of any damage to innocent bystanders. Not that there were any of those here, of course.) The energy guns opened up, bathing me in a whole series of vicious and otherworldly destructive forces, and not one of them could touch me inside my armour. They glanced harmlessly off or detonated in the air around me. The knives and swords and glowy cutting things broke and shattered against me.

  I slammed into the midst of the Road Rats, slapping the energy weapons out of their hands, crushing their guns in my golden hands and lashing out at everyone within reach. I punched in faces, cracked heads and sent hard young thugs staggering backwards, desperately gasping for breath, because I d caught them with a crafty back elbow under the sternum. I knocked them down and trampled them underfoot, and it felt good, so good. To be striking down my enemies.

  A lot of them just turned and ran rather than face me.

  Others produced new, heavy-duty magical weapons. One thrust a Hand of Glory at me, only to cry out as the Hand s malign influence was reflected straight back at him and all the fingers rotted and fell off. Another of them had an aboriginal pointing bone. He pointed it at me and the bone exploded, filling his hand with sharp bony shrapnel. One of them even had an elven wand, but when he pointed it hopefully in my direction, the wand took one look at my armour and faded quietly away, disappearing out of the Road Rat s hand rather than get involved.

  Lesser weapons took their turn and destructive forces and energies blazed and howled around me, none of them able to touch me.

  I kept moving, pressing forward, throwing nasty young thugs this way and that, breaking bones and smashing heads, raining savage blows on my enemies and loving every moment of it. I could hear bones breaking, see blood flying, and the screams of horror and suffering brought joy to my heart and a smile to my lips behind my featureless golden mask. They were no match for me, and they knew it. The drive was packed with horrified young thugs running for the gates. I took my time with those who didn t, doing a good and thorough job on them. It felt so good to have an enemy I could get my hands on at last. They might not be the ones responsible for the destruction of the Hall and the loss of my family, but they were there. They d do.

  In the end, I just ran out of people to hit. I stood alone in the middle of the drive, surrounded by the wounded and the unconscious. Blood dripped thickly from my heavy golden gauntlets. Molly was standing to one side, looking at me. It had all happened so quickly, she hadn t had a chance to get involved. I didn t recognise the expression on her face, but I didn t like it. I looked round sharply at the sudden roaring of an engine behind me. Chapman had fired up one of the trucks farther down the line. He pulled it out of the queue, revved the engine and drove the truck straight at me.

  I stood where I was, to give him a sporting chance. The oversized rig loomed up before me, growing larger and larger, as he gunned the accelerator for all it was worth. I could see Chapman s pale, determined face glaring at me through the windshield. At the last moment I turned and showed him my golden shoulder. The truck smashed right into me. The grillwork collapsed under my shoulder. I d dug my heels into the gravel, but even so the sheer impact pushed me backwards, my heels leaving deep furrows in the ground. I didn t feel a thing inside the armour. The truck skidded to a halt despite itself, the engine still roaring, until I drove a golden fist right through the collapsed grillwork and smashed the engine.

  A sudden silence fell across the grounds. I carefully withdrew my arm, stepped around to the side of the cab, ripped the door right off and threw it away. I beckoned to Chapman to get out. He dropped down onto the ground and stood shaking before me. His face was bloody from where it had smashed against the windshield, for all the inflated airbag had been able to do to protect him. He looked at me with wild, shocked, startled eyes.

  What are you? he said, in a cracked, almost hysterical voice. You re not human! Look what you did to my boys! Look what you did to my truck! Nothing human could have done that!

  Yes, said Molly, coming forward to join us.

  How do you feel about that, Eddie? About what you did to his boys?

  I looked around me at the broken, bloodied bodies. They had it coming. I didn t kill any of them.

  Oh, well, then, said Molly. That makes it all right, then.

  I frowned behind my mask. What are you so upset about? I ve seen you do far worse in your time!

  Yes, but that s me. Not you.

  Are you defending these scumbags? After what they came here to do? What they would have done to you?

  No, said Molly. They had it coming. Deserved everything they got. I m just interested in how you feel about what you did. Because I am reminded of what you did in another place. In the Wulfshead, not so long ago.

  I didn t lose control here, I said.

  I didn t Oh, hell. It s the armour, Molly. It s affecting me.

  Is it? said Molly. Or is that what you want to think?

  I don t have time for this, I said. I turned my featureless gold mask to Chapman, and he scrunched up his face as though he wanted to cry. Pick up your boys and leave here, Road Rat. And don t ever come back. If you meet any more of your kind along the way, tell them what happened here. Show them what I did to your boys. Because if I have to do this again, I ll make a real example out of the next bunch.

  Don t think you ve stopped me, said Chapman defiantly. We re a big organisation. A big family. I ll set an arm
y against you, if I have to. You can t stop an army, just the two of you.

  He doesn t know us very well, does he? said Molly.

  And there s still the scarecrows, I said.

  We ve got weapons for things like that! said Chapman. There s all kinds of good stuff waiting in the Hall, and we re not giving up on it!

  No one steals from my family and lives to boast of it, I said. I stand between the Hall and all who would violate it.

  And, for all my many reservations, I stand beside him, said Molly.

  Thank you, dear, I said.

  You re with him, said Chapman. And they re with me!

  I looked beyond him at a small army of Road Rats hurrying up the drive towards us. Dozens of them, with more weapons and magically charged things. They must have been kept in reserve until Chapman could work out the lay of the land and call them. They all looked pretty annoyed at what I d done to their fellow Rats.

  I looked at Molly. Since I am clearly far too violent to be trusted with this encounter, perhaps you d like to

  Love to, said Molly.

  She reached down and pulled up her dress just enough to reveal the gold charm bracelet around her ankle. And for a moment, I actually felt sorry for what was about to hit the Road Rats army. I d seen Molly pull charms off that bracelet before and make highly destructive use of them. Everything from a Vincent motorbike to a full-sized dragon. Molly pulled one delicately carved charm off the bracelet and held it up for everyone to see. It was a charming little silver monkey. Chapman looked from Molly to me and back again. He couldn t work out why we were both smiling.

  Molly threw the charm onto the ground before her. There was a puff of dark smoke (for purely dramatic reasons), and when it cleared, the drive now held a massive, monstrous killer ape. A good fifty feet tall, and muscular with it, the ape roared once and then charged down the drive at the advancing Road Rats. It was in and among them before they could get their wits together enough to run, and then the huge ape set about them, picking them up, crushing them and throwing them away. Beating them into the ground with huge fists and trampling them underfoot. Punching them so hard they travelled twenty feet and more through the air before they hit the ground. Road Rats tumbled end over end through the air, making piteous noises of distress. Before plummeting to earth with enough impact to make even me wince. The huge ape charged back and forth, doing horrible things to Road Rats and enjoying itself immensely.