Free The Scarlet Derby and Midnight Jay - Volume 1: Gallery of Rogues by Mike Cervantes Page B

funnel, which was buried into the sea floor, possibly protruding down several more feet into the ground. The two halves of the dome where fastened together by metal rivets, and it was from the narrow slit between the two domes that the chemical was leaking into the river.
    The Derby would have investigated further but at that moment he felt a strong hand grip his shoulder. He spun around to find two men in heavy diver’s suits on either side of him, trying to muscle him away from his discovery. The Derby managed to thrash away but it didn’t take long for the divers to grab him by his arm and leg, keeping him from moving.
    Obviously, the Derby didn’t have much experience fighting underwater, but these thugs did. The Derby nonetheless tried to thrash his way loose. That was the moment one of the helmeted ruffians put his fist through the Derby’s breathing apparatus. The Derby managed to hold his breath before any water entered his lungs, but regardless, he knew the fight was over.
    They took him to what appeared to be a silo built into the wall of the river. It was made of riveted iron and airtight. A large hose, just like the ones that attached to the hoodlums’ divers helmets, jutted out of the ceiling, providing them with air. The Derby was tossed into a corner of the silo as his assailants worked to remove the helmets from their heads.
    “What are you trying to hide down here?” The Derby jabbed, using the direct approach.
    “We are hiding you,” one of the thugs said, “From our progress.” Underneath their helmets they wore masks shaped like stopwatches, keeping their faces still obscured to the eyes of The Derby.
    O O O
    Mary Jane was led up to the third floor of the mansion, to a room that Hector Bellaco was staying in for the duration of his trip to London. Mary Jane looked past all the ornate decorations, paintings, and furniture to fix her eyes on the Spanish ambassador. He’d said nothing until they reached the bedroom on the upper floor. Once he was there, he placed his hand on the doorknob, twisted around towards Mary Jane and asked “My dear, how invested are you in the future?”
    Mary Jane shrugged. Thinking of what a proper heiress would say she suggested, “Enough to know there are investments in my future.”
    Bellaco leaned in. “That’s not what I meant. Do you think that if you saw something revolutionary right before your eyes, you would know it at first sight?”
    “There’s only one way to find out,” Mary Jane said, gesturing at the door. Bellaco looked like he had more to say on the spot, but instead he opened the door. The two of them walked into what appeared to be a mostly empty room, with the exception of a large bulging object in the center of the room covered by a white bed sheet.
    “I’m sure by now you wouldn’t be surprised if I told you I had a motive for being here besides being an ambassador from Spain,” Bellaco suggested.
    “I wouldn’t,” Mary Jane agreed.
    Bellaco moved to the sheet, holding a bundle of the still draped object in a loving embrace. “I have here, the single most important invention of the late 19 th century, something that will change the very nature of life as we know it.”
    “It looks like a bedsheet.”
    Bellaco gave a smirk. “You are certainly a witty one.” He pulled back the sheet. Underneath the veil was a very large object constructed of a silver metallic material. A machine.
    Mary Jane watched as Bellaco pulled a cord on the end of the machine, revving it to life. She saw the two protruding corners of the machine vibrate under a sequence of pistons which riveted so fast they made a linear blur in the center of the casing. For all its showmanship, though, the machine didn’t seem to do anything except run itself.
    “What is it?” The words fell out of Mary Jane’s mouth before she realized.
    “It is a revolutionary new form of engine that works about a million times faster than any coal-driven invention. It uses smaller