Chapter the Fifteenth
Chapter the Fifteenth, or “In Which We Go West”
Bluffton looks at the President as if he had gone mad. “Go west? But sir, Professor Espinosa and I are simply lawyers! What would you have us do in such a dangerous place?”
“See, that’s part of the reason I’m sending you two,” President Grant explains, making his way to his desk. He opens a drawer and pulls out a map of North America, where a small section of what looked like Nevada was circled. “Right now, there’s a small settlement known as Area 51 in the west, and I want you two to establish American law in the town. Now, we’ve populated the settlement with government workers and agents, so they’re orderly enough, but what I worry for are the outsiders.”
“So you called me up to shoot some redskins?” Applejack (or Jacklyn) scoffs. “Ah didn’t come here to waste my time, Grant.”
“No, we have a peaceful relationship with the Shoshone tribe in the area. In fact, they’ve been amiable hosts to our men! No, the person I’m worried about is someone you might recognize, Miss Smith.” President Grant pulls a small picture from his breast pocket and lays it on the table. It was a black and white photo of an ugly-looking soldier, with battle scars stretched over his droopy hound-dog face. Black teeth peek out from under a filthy looking beard, but his single most distinguishing feature was the fact that his eye had been replaced with a crudely constructed telescope.
Jacklyn scowled deeply at the picture. “Guts n’ Glory McCorey. What the hell does he have to do in all of this?!” The blonde demands.
“As you know, Mr. McCorey here is known as an ex-Confederate sergeant,” Grant goes on. “We believe that he might lead a mob of ex-Confederates to attack our settlement. That’s where Miss Sparks comes in,” the President adds.
“What do you mean, Mr. President?” Tina asks nervously.
“I’ve been playing close attention to your work, Miss Sparks,” Grant smiles, a fatherly twinkle in his eye. “You’ve proven yourself to be quite adaptable when it comes to developing technology and weapons. If your little group is to survive this trip, you’ll need heavy artillery, and we’ve got the best.” He pulls out something else from his drawer: A small train with several turrets and weapons attached. “Meet the Spirit of the Sky, a marvel of today’s modern technology!” The President beams. “It’s got state of the art weapons systems, a speed of nearly a hundred miles an hour, and an engine that only takes up a fraction of the coal of a regular steam engine!”
Jacklyn smirks and picks up the model. “Seems pretty small,” she quipped.
Tina snatches the model from the blonde and clutches it protectively to her chest. “This is the most advanced weapons carrier in the world! There’s nothing to laugh about!” She says indignantly. She turns to the president, clearly thankful for the opportunity he presented her. “I am so honored that you’ve given me the opportunity to see the Spirit, sir,” she says gratefully. “I know that it’s normally only reserved for the most important missions.”
“I’m glad you’re saying that, Miss Sparks, because you’ll be the one controlling its weapons system,” Grant grinned.
This was enough to send the girl into shock, shown by her jaw dropping and her eyes widening to the size of saucers. She lets out a series of unintelligible squeaks of excitement before closing her mouth and attempting to calm down.
“Careful, Grant,” Jacklyn smirks, obviously derisive at Tina’s ecstasy. “Ah think if you let her keep holding that toy of yours, she’ll shove it straight up her-“
“Miss Smith!” Bluffton exclaims indignantly. “Such language is impermissible for a young lady such as yourself!”
The cowgirl bursts out laughing. “Buddy, if you ain’t noticed, Ah ain’t no lady!”
“Obviously,” my companion sniffs in disdain. “Mr. President, is she absolutely necessary to this mission? Quite frankly, I don’t see the point in having such an uncouth woman in my presence!”
President Grant chuckles. “Regretfully, Mr. Bluffton, Miss Smith here’s the only reason I’m considering letting civilians like you and Professor Espinosa even go to Area 51. You see, for all her faults, Jacklyn’s the best gun in these United States. She’ll be the one keeping you safe through this trip.”
Bluffton scoffs. “No man needs the protection of a woman,” he says pompously.
Jacklyn bends over to stare straight into Bluffton’s eyes. “You ever killed a man, tubby?” She hissed in his ear.
Bluffton’s face begins to go pale. “N-n-no ma’am,” he stutters fearfully.
The blonde grins at the quivering man. “Then you best shut your trap, unless you’d like me to show you my expertise in the matter. Understood?”
Bluffton nods furiously, causing his neck fat to jiggle like gelatin. “Yes ma’am,” he squeaks.
The room stays awkwardly silent before the President speaks up. “Well, you’ve been quiet, Professor,” he says loudly in an obvious attempt at shattering the discomfort. “What are your thoughts on the matter?”
“Hmm? Oh, I was just thinking this whole situation over,” I explain. “I mean, this whole mission seems like a job for a US marshal, or at least a sheriff! Why us?”
“Because these aren’t just any citizens in this settlement! These are scientists, researchers, and geniuses of our time! The last thing they’d want is some gruff law man upholding justice with the barrel of a gun!” Grant chuckles. “They want some thinking men on their settlement, and you and Mr. Bluffton are men that they’d be willing to cooperate with!”
I think this over for a minute before nodding. “That seems to make sense. Alright, I’m in!”
“As am I,” Tina says eagerly. “I’d love to meet some of the scientists on the settlement!”
“Well, if they’re going to be civilized people, I’m sure I’d be able to work with them,” Bluffton agrees, glaring at Jacklyn.
The cowgirl doesn’t seem quite as enthusiastic about the idea as we do. “Me, babysitting a town of uptight snobs across the country? No thanks, Grant,” she scoffs, turning towards the door.
However, President doesn’t seem very eager to let her go. “Jacklyn, these people are the most brilliant thinkers in the country!” He called to her. “Imagine what McCorey would do if he got a hold of them!”
This causes her to stop from walking out of the room. With a sigh, she turns back to the group, obviously reluctant to join the mission. “When do we leave?” She groans.
Three days later…
As we wait at the station for the train to show up, I look around for something to do, as we’d been waiting for about thirty minutes. Deciding to strike up a conversation, I look to my left, where Jacklyn was sitting with her arms crossed in frustration. “So… You’re a mercenary of some sort?” I ask awkwardly.
“Ah prefer the term ‘hired gun’,” she mutters. “Sounds more honorable that way.”
“I see… So you do this sort of thing often?”
“Escort missions? Nah, Ah normally keep away from civvies like y’all.”
“So what makes this any different from a regular escort mission?”
The cowgirl sighs and gives me a tired look. “Ah’ve got unfinished business with McCorey,” she says simply. “Now, if you’re done with the interrogation, Ah’d like to stay quiet fer a bit.”
I get the message and get up from the bench, deciding to go to the opposite side of the waiting parlor to talk to Tina. Predictably, she’s got her nose deep into a massive book, this one titled Practical Engineering: A History. “Hey there, Miss Sparks,” I chuckle. “Starting on your train reading already?”
The tinker’s head pops up suddenly from her tome, looking a bit flushed. “Oh, h-h-hi Professor!” she squeaks nervously. “I’m sorry, what did you ask me?”
Something about her response didn’t sit right with me. “Are you alright? You seem a little… Terrified.”
“Oh, everything’s fine!” she laughs skittishly, slamming her book shut. “I was just, you know, reading my book!”
I glance at the book and notice a small page sticking out of the book, one that looked like it didn’t belong there. Curious, I snatch the page out of the book to find that it’s apparently some sort of record, all about me. “Are you trying to read up on me?” I ask more confused than upset.
She blushes deeply and nodded. “I just wanted to know a little more about everyone!” she says defensively as she hides behind her enormous book. “I mean, I have a right to know who I’m traveling with!”
I look at my record and then back to her. “You know, you could have asked,” I say with an exasperated smile.
Her eyes widen as if this was the first time the idea occurred to her. “Oh yeah…”
I chuckle as I back down at my record. Apparently, I can speak three languages. Neat! “Well, I guess I’ll leave you to… Research me, I suppose.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that!” she says a little too loudly. Pressing her fingers to her lips in embarrassment, she lowers her tone considerably. “I actually wanted to talk to you about something…”
I raise my eyebrow in curiosity. “Oh really now?”
Tina nods and beckons for me to come closer. “You see, I’ve been researching everyone, and I found out something really sad about Miss Smith,” she whispered secretively. “You remember that man, Guts ‘n Glory McCorey? Well, apparently he did some pretty horrible things to her family during the civil war!”
My eyes widen in realization. “So this is a kill mission,” I say slowly. “Well, that puts a damper on things…”
She nods solemnly. “The only thing we can do is hope that she and McCorey never meet…” She smiles sheepishly at me. “Sorry if I ruined the mood of adventure and all that…”
I give her a wry grin. “I had a feeling that you’d be a bit of a killjoy!”
“I am NOT a killjoy!” she says defensively. “I’ll have you know that I’m a very fun person!”
“Really? What’s the book you’re reading about?”
“It’s about the use of engineering from the Stone Age to-“
“Yeah, you managed to bore me in the first ten words,” I interrupt with a grin. “Don’t you ever do anything for pure recreation?”
Tina opens her mouth before closing it again, apparently having nothing to say. “Oh, that’s just sad!” I laugh teasingly. “As soon as this is over, you and I have GOT to do something together!”
A sly grin suddenly slides onto the tinker’s face. “Like what?” she crooned.
This catches me WAY off guard, so I stay silent for a minute before replying with a grin. “Why not a dance?” I ask suavely.
She giggles at this. “You’re very old-fashioned, aren’t you?” she asks.
“I’d like to think so,” I grin. We begin to get closer and closer to each other, our faces barely centimeters apart-
“Professor!” A voice calls out. “Professor Sebastian Espinosa!”
I inwardly curse the caller before turning back to Tina, whose face was positively burning. “Be right back,” I grin sheepishly before running over to meet the caller.
The person was the man that we had seen at the White House, the thin wimpy man who had complained about Jacklyn. Just as I’m about to tell him to piss off, I realize how nervous and frightened he looked. “What is it?” I ask, concerned.
“It’s about your partner, Mr. Bluffton,” he says hoarsely. “He’s dead.”
-----
The sight is truly a gruesome one: Bluffton’s severed head on a plate, a look of utmost fear on his face. I feel a cold aching sensation in my stomach, and the world begins to feel unbalanced. Within second, I was vomiting on the floor, nauseated by the horrible spectacle.
President Grant watched with mild concern as I threw up, obviously used to the occurrence. “Got it all out?” He asked off-handedly.
I wipe my mouth with a handkerchief I stored in my breast pocket. “I’m good,” I groan, pulling myself up.”
“Good. Now, we know for a fact that this is the work of McCorey’s men, and that they definitely were going for a kill, not a kidnapping,” Grant explains. “What I can’t figure out is how on Earth they chopped off his head so cleanly!”
Before I could respond, Tina walks in with a large brass projector-looking thingy and rolls it to the front of the room. She leaves it there and sits down next to me, apparently unsure whether or not to comfort me.
“Thank you, Miss Sparks,” the President says absentmindedly, not noticing what was going on between me and the tinker. “Now, as I was saying, we have no idea how he was decapitated, but this machine might help us figure out how.” Rolling up his sleeves, he takes what looks like an oversized scalpel and begins to slice into the back of Bluffton’s head.
This was way too much for me to handle, and I bend over and vomit once again. Grant, too absorbed in his work to notice, grins in triumph upon seeing that he had completely sliced through the back of the head, revealing the brain tissue inside. “Now, time for a little anatomy lesson: The optic nerves are what connect your eyes to your visual cortex, allowing you to see. It’s believed that the last thing that you see before dying is burned onto your eyes, holding the image perfectly.” He carefully carries the head over to the projector thing, connects two wires to the back of the head, and-
“Sorry Ah’m late, Ah had some business to take care of- WHAT IN TARNATION?!” Jacklyn yelped upon seeing my dead partner’s head hooked up to a machine.
Grant chuckled at her surprised. “Late as usual, I see,” he teased.
Jacklyn’s eyes remain wide open in surprise. “That is a man’s head,” she says slowly.
“Yes it is,” the President said patiently. “As I was explaining earlier, we found Mr. Bluffton’s head on the White House doorstep. We think hooking it up to the machine might reveal how the killers got him.”
Applejack keeps staring at the gruesome sight. “That. Is a man’s. HEAD.”
Grant sighs in annoyance and flips on the projector. At first, the only thing that’s seen is a blurry blob of color, but the picture begins to gradually clear up.
“Grant, with all due respect, Ah think you ain’t understandin’ what Ah’m saying,” Jacklyn says indignantly, ignoring the rapidly clearer picture on the projector screen. “THAT... IS. A MAN’S... HE- Wait a cotton-pickin’ minute…” Seeing the image for the first time, she walks up to it, squinting a little at the figure it shows. “That’s McCorey!”
Indeed, the same man from earlier was shown clearly against the light of a fire, holding what appeared to be a large circular blade. You could just barely make out the emblem of a black scorpion printed on the blade, and the tips were stained with blood.
“I know that symbol,” Grant says slowly, a look of genuine horror on his face. “Ladies and gent, you’ll have to postpone your trip for the time being. Go to the hotel and get some rest while my agents take care of this.”
We all stand there for a while, half-expecting him to be joking. After a few minutes of silence, however, I sigh in disappointment and walk out of the room.
-------
Man, that was bullshit… We didn’t even get to do anything yet! I pace the floor of the rather expensive hotel room the President had so graciously provided me, trying to think my way through the situation. So are things over, just like that?! I mean, come on! I didn’t even get to try anything cool in the steampunk train!
A knock on the door interrupts my thoughts. “Message for Sebastian Espinosa?” A young voice called from the outside the room.
Curious, I make my way there and open the door to find a boy (about twelve or younger) holding a small envelope. “This came in through the automatic tubing system,” he explained, handing it to me.
I take the envelope and thank the boy, trying to close the door. However, the messenger sticks his foot in the room, preventing said door from closing. “You wouldn’t leave a messenger boy out here without a tip, would you?!” the boy says in mock indignation.
Muttering, I pull out a dollar bill and slap it in the boy’s hand. Upon seeing the bill, the kid gives a holler of victory and runs through the hallway like a maniac. Probably over-tipped him, didn’t I? Shrugging, I flip over the envelope to find the same scorpion symbol that was on the circular blade from Bluffton’s eyes. Well, hello there you, I think in surprise as I open the envelope. Inside, there was an envelope that reads as follows:
‘You are cordially invited to Heartless Manor, where a masquerade ball will be had in honor of Ambrose Arthur Heartless III. Food, drink, and entertainment will be provided.’
Costume party, eh? I think to myself as I read over the card again. Well, at least that might turn out to be interesting…
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- InspectorSharpWit · 50k words · 197 27 · 3.9k views
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FIRST! Anyway, this totally looks like Bioshock.
I may sound creepy, but I want to see the decapitated head. (i bet people are doing this now: 
)
I'm thinking wild wild west
3301030 I agree, bioshock and steampunk for the win!
3302511>>3307444>>3301030 It's Wild Wild West, though there may be some Bioshock Infinte references later
Why is this canceled
3820077 One day, I was reading over the next chapter that I was writing, and I realized that I was turning Sebastian into a Mary Sue. Seeing as this site has too many of those, I leave while I was ahead and just move on to another fic. Sorry!
3820217 Who cares aout the Mary Sue thing? (no idea who that is, anyway)
We still like this story. PLEASE GO BACK TO IT! 
3820217 You do NOT make an awesome story like this and then just cancel the sequel! that is a REAL dick move to do bro! I mean come on, ive been eagerly awaiting for the next chapter only to be hit with this because of a stupid tjing sich as Mary Sue? So what? You have gotten more praise than negativity! Tch... thanks for making me feel like a hopeful idiot...
4161101 Eh... To be honest, it's been a while since I've actually done ANY writing at all... I dunno, I keep telling myself that I'll come back to this, but honestly, I have no idea how. It's one of those things where you don't see the story going anywhere else but down, ya know?
4163715 look at your like and dislike ratio! Does that look like down to you? Quit being such a party pooper. I can understand if real life is getting in the way, but stopping a story because of being insecure about it? Come on dude.
After so long... It's still cancelled...
reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/kill_myself_nph.gif