Chapter 3

 El-Dorado in the clouds

The space elevator that links Rio Grande to El-Dorado is attached to that famous long cable, that pierces through the bedrock that forms the roof of the city. The elevator entrance lies at the center of the city and from there, streets leave in all directions like a spider web, giving shape to the city. Of course, the elevator shaft rising up to the bedrock is visible from everywhere. 

I arrived at the entrance full of sweat from carrying Billy on my back, who I now throw down on the ground to take a break. El-Dorado is a small city, it would take no more than 40 minutes to walk from one end to another. Even though the bar is located (or should I say was located) on the outskirts, it's therefore still a relatively short walk to the center. But in this pounding heat, and carrying someone on my back, even this short distance is quite a pain. 

"Thank you for the hard work."

Melfina said, while holding the sun umbrella over my head. 

"Mel, you're looking quite fine don't you. You're not sweating even a tiny bit!"

"Oh, right, it looks like my artificial metabolism has no problem coping with that level of heat."

In an elaborate humanoid android body like Melfina's, countless nano-machines are at work regulating vital functions and maintain optimal conditions at all times. So it appears that this feat can be accomplished even without Melfina consciously acting on it. 

"That's high-performance for you. I'm jealous."

I said this innocently but I immediately regretted it. Mel is sensitive to the fact that, while looking human, she's not one. If humans looked weird and completely different from all the other aliens out there, she probably wouldn't be much concerned. But anyone would take it sourly if they we told they're just some imitation of everyone else, therefore there's no helping it that she would feel this way. Nobody has a choice over their birth, but everyone can choose the way they live. The same goes for any intelligent being. That's why I think anyway, but no matter how much you try to explain it, if the other cannot acknowledge that, then it doesn't really help anything. 

"Well, there's also the type like Suzuka, who you could throw into a fire and she would declare serenely 'That's good for training'. Geez, what kind of training is that woman going through.."

Melfina smiled a little. Looks like I made it out of the tough spot. 

"Alright, shall we go then?."

I picked up the unconscious Billy. He's been unconscious for a while now and as I began to wonder whether he's really been badly hurt, I hear him starting to mumble about god-knows-what. Looks like it's just all the alcohol he drank after all. 

"Shouldn't we wait for Jim and Ms. Suzuka?"

I never thought we'd be done so soon with that job, so we ended up checking in earlier in a hotel. So I tasked Jim and Suzuka to go pick up our luggage and check out.

"We can just wait for them aboard the Outlaw Star. They should be able to catch up quickly. If the sheriff was right about what he said earlier about Howard's goons, we really have to get out of here as soon as possible."

I'm actually concerned about the situation. Of course we should reach the Outlaw Star as soon as possible, but even before that, we really should get to Rio Grande before those goons have a chance to reach us, or it's gonna to get troublesome. 

"It would have been great if we could have come all the way here with the Outlaw Star..."

"Right, but there's no spaceport."

That's, in fact, the only problem. Regular spaceships can't reach this place because of the dense atmosphere and strong winds, but the Outlaw Star is different. Not only is its hull incomparably stronger than regular ships, we've recently altered the ship's structure to provide high-pressure resistance in case we ever need to make an underwater escape. Therefore it would have no problem to withstand the conditions in a place like El-Dorado. By the way, the reason for this structural rework was because we were persuaded by an eccentric old dude to dive into the atmosphere of one of the Heyfong star system's gas giants in search of a treasure. After great effort we did find that treasure, but the ship rework's costs were so high we ended up just breaking even. That's why I really need Billy's capture reward, even if it's only a part of it. 

"Anyway, no time for wishful thinking. Let's get moving."

"Yes."

Just as Melfina replied, the ground below our feet started to shake lightly, accompanied by a low-pitch noise. Not shaking that will make it hard to stand, but still. The tremor lasted 5 seconds or so, then vanished progressively. 

"What could that have been..?"

"Beats me. But I have a bad feeling about this."

Right now, there's no point pondering about that. I headed for the ticket office, Billy still on my back. A skinny, middle-aged woman is sitting behind the booth's plexiglass, whose lingering beauty traits hint that she must have been quite popular with the boys in her prime, but on who this world's vice and sorrow has taken a toll over the years. Her mostly white hair, that must have been ash-blond, speak of the harshness of the passage of time. 

"Two.. no three tickets to Rio Grande please."

"That's not possible."

The lady replied, in an utterly unfriendly tone. Her gaze is set on the disturbing 'package' on my back. 

"What?!"

"Are you deaf or something? I can't sell tickets."

"And why is that?"

"The elevator is currently out of order."

"Wait a minute, we're not talking about some building's elevator here. This elevator is this city's lifeline!"

The lady turned her look to her monitor and said:

"A moment ago, we received a directive from the management office. There appears to be something wrong with machinery and elevator operations have to be stopped for safety, until thorough inspection."

Shit, so that's what the noise we heard was about. The elevator was stopping.

"When is it expected to resume service?"

"That wasn't specified in the notification."

"It's a good thing we haven't check out yet, then, is it not."

Melfina added, in her usual nonchalant tone, while I was thinking about the fact that it's too much of a coincidence.

"Say, the management office's boss name isn't McLaglen by any chance?"

As I asked, the lady stared back at me with piercing eyes.

"The name is Pat. He's Howard McLaglen's oldest son... Look, I won't say anything. Leave that 'package' of yours here and run away. If you manage to stay hidden until the elevator is functional again, you might make it out of here alive."

"That's funny, just a while ago the sheriff told us pretty much the same thing. I see that outsiders are treated with the uttermost care.."

"Idiot. If the young lady here gets involved in all this it's would be quite a pity. I don't know how you tricked her, but she's just too innocent to be the travelling companion of a scoundrel like you."

The lady turned to Melfina with distant, nostalgic eyes. 

"Thank you very much for your concern. But I'm alright. I made a promise with that person."

Melfina said with a broad smile, in a bright, worry-free voice. That's pretty much what I would have said. Though the lady stared at me with increasingly resentful eyes. I bet she's talking me for a marriage swindler or something like that. Suddenly, Melfina's expression became serious.

"Gene, three airborne objects are approaching from the south. Maybe armed helicopters."

"So they're coming after all."

I pull out a shotgun from my coat's hidden pocket and hand it over to Melfina together with a handful of bullets. 

"In an open-space like that we're heavily handicapped. I'll start searching for some narrow alley, but I have this guy on my back, so please cover for me."

"Understood."

Melfina secured the shotgun under her arm in an experienced motion, while the booth lady looked at her with eyes open wide of astonishment. I told her:

"We'll follow your advice and go in hiding then."

"They're here!"

Melfina said in a light scream. I could indeed start to hear the quickly growing noise of the helicopters. A formation of three small-scale ones, approaching fast. 

"Mel, cover you eyes and ears!"

I fetch 3 shock-grenades from my belt pouch. Waited until the helicopters were very close, pulled the pins and threw them in their direction. Even with out eyes and ears covered, we could perfectly get a feeling of the intensity of the light and the loudness of the sound. When I uncovered them, white smoke was beginning to fill the surroundings. These are weapons I normally resort to when dealing with a gang locked up with hostages. It doesn't really have destructive power, but is designed instead to overwhelm the enemies' senses. Additionally, particules mixed in the smoke absorb infrared light, rendering lasers and infrared visors ineffective. They're expected to be used in small, confined spaced, as their effectiveness in open spaces is quite reduced, but in our situation, it's much better than nothing. 

"Go!"

I shouted and dashed forward without looking back. I'm aiming for what I recall to be the closest alley from our last standing point. I can hear the characteristic high-pitch sound of pulse-lasers, as well as several shotgun shots.

As soon as I reach the alley, I pull out my raygun from my chest holster, and take cover behind the porch of a run-down house. I see Melfina also making her way out of the smoke cloud, shotgun in hand. Next, I can make out the faint shape of the helicopters across the smoke. I'm taking aim at those vague shapes and let out a round of shots. I don't know about damage, but anyway the three helicopters immediately retreated further into the smoke. I'm changing the  battery pack of my raygun and already I can hear their heavy sound getting louder again. 

"This situation isn't really getting better, is it?"

Melfina said, as I grab her hand and start to run further down the alley. 

"You could say that. Although I'm guessing they want Billy alive, so probably they can't get too reckless."

"Jim mentioned in the past..."

"Let me guess: 'don't get too confident when Big-bro says probably'?".

I let Billy off my back, point my raygun straight above, and wait. The moment I see the first helicopter's bottom, I empty my ammo on it. With the power of a raygun's bolts fired at such close-range, the combat helicopter's hull gets melted and its engine pierced. The helicopter explodes in a mighty noise, sprinkling parts all over, while it falls to the ground further down the alley. 

"It's like summer bugs getting attracted by the light of a fire and then getting burnt by it. You got too close, guys!"

Two left. Logically, they would cover the width of the alley by approaching in parallel on both sides. As I thought, that's how they make their new approach. A salvo of pulse-laser shots comes from both side of the alley. Blow holes are appearing all over the ground where the laser bolts hit. 

"kyaaa!"

Melfina is being flustered by the raining fire. 

"Stand still! No need to worry, that's just intimidation. They can't afford to hit Billy by mistake."

That's why they've been exclusively using beam-weapons instead of real-ammo weapons. They're scared a bullet might bounce off and hit Billy.

"They're so by the book, it's laughable!"

I change once again my raygun's battery pack, aim at the closest helicopter's cockpit, and shoot. I'm pretty confident in my aim, but this time, the helicopter is quite further away. Because of that, it looks like the laser got scattered too much, reducing its power, and it didn't seem to do much damage. But even then, maybe the pilot got scared by that since the helicopter disappeared behind houses.

There I go with my 'probably' again, but probably that if we can hold 2-3 more minutes, backup should arrive. While changing my raygun's battery pack yet again, I turn to the other helicopter on the other side of the alley and get into shooting position. But then I hear Jim's lively voice in my communicator. 

"What are you doing, Big-bro? As soon as take my eyes off you that's what happens."

And at the same time, I witness how the helicopter gets sliced up in two, then falls to the ground in an explosion. Behind the flames, I can glimpse at the figure of someone standing, holding in one hand what seems to be a sword. Suzuka. And close to her, a smaller figure rushing towards us. Jim. In the end, not even two minutes - they were already here. Reliable as always, partner!

While thinking that, I see that Jim is holding on to something and I shout:

"Jim, is that the caster?"

"That's right. Catch!"

And he throws at me a fairly large hand weapon. I catch it by the cross and ask:

"What about ammo?"

"It's loaded with a #7."

Satisfied, I turn away to find the last helicopter poking its nose far up the alley.

I point the caster at it: "bring it on!". I pull the trigger. For an instant, I can feel something flowing from my body to the weapon, then from the weapon to the ammo. The bound spell that makes up the ammo of the caster is cast into a mass of energy that rips the air upon release, and dashes forward, towards that last remaining combat helicopter. Upon hitting it straight in the flank, the unbound spell's energy forms a fierce undulation that wraps around the helicopter. The next instant, the entire helicopter is glowing red, then is blown away into tiny bits. Unlike the other two, no trace of this one remains. That's a hint of the true power of a caster.

Casters are ancient weapons that date back from a time where magic existed everywhere. Magical power was sealed into a kind of ammo that a caster can use, in order to unleash offensive magic upon an enemy. Those weapons are named after the mages that used to cast spells ('casters'). Their power is tremendous, but since they were made by a civilisation of magic-users that has been extinct for over a century, they are kind of antiquities, that's the catch. I acquired this rare weapon through the course of chance events, but I'm always short on ammo, those are really hard to come by. Needless to say, there's more chance of finding some in an antiquity store than in a weapons store. 

While discarding the used ammo, I see that Jim and Suzuka have regrouped with us. Jim pulls my gun belt from the suitcase that contains all our luggage and hands it over to me. 

"Oh,  thanks!"

I put in on and sheathe the caster. Since we're always so low on ammo, it's really only for last-resort use, so there's no point carrying it with my all the time. But events like today's sometimes makes me reconsider. 

"You were quick to get here!"

"Well, you caused so much ruckus... there's really no other like you."

"Suzuka, regrettably, there's been a change of plans. Those guys shut down the elevator."

Ignoring Jim's persiflage, I informed Suzuka of the situation. 

"It's a siege, then."

"You could call it like that. We're trapped here until we find another way out."

"Moreover, they were able to dispatch three such combat helicopters. The enemy is not to be underestimated. And the fact that we're stranded in such a mediocre place.."

I interrupted her while putting up a smile:

"About that, I think I have an idea."

"Baah... I'm feeling sick."

While were were talking, Billy apparently woke up, and is looking sort of greenish. 

"Are you alright mister?"

Melfina, while holding the shotgun in one hand, is patting Billy on the back with the other. 

"What's wrong with you? You've only been bouncing a bit on my back."

"It looks like that didn't sit right with him."

"Is he motion sick?"

Jim and Suzuka immediately jumped in. They never miss an opportunity to fool around.

I was about to reply something but Melfina's expression became serious again. 

"Gene, this time I can hear the sound of many vehicles."

"The second wave.. they're really organized, aren't they."

I pick up the still-giddy Billy and load him on my back again.

"Let's move."

Saying so, I start to walk to where the alley merges into the street and take a peek. There's a cloud of dust coming from the city's southern suburb. A group of about ten vehicles are roaring down the street in our direction. In each one, groups of dodgy guys their head out the windows, weapons in hand. 

"Looks like they brought the arsenal down a notch.."

"Maybe, but the problem is their numbers. We are way outnumbered."

Suzuka replied, in a tone seemingly devoid of concern."

"I guess you're right. Jim, Melfina! You have the luggage?"

"Yes sir!"

"Yes, we do."

"Well then, let's make a run for it!"

I broke out into the street. Opposite to the incoming squad, of course. 

"ahhh... somehow it's the same pattern as when we first caught Billy repeating itself all over again."

Jim shouted while running, to which I replied:

"Save your breath... there's no helping it."