Chapter 1, Episode 8

A plan is hatched. One last question is asked. A story ends.

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Written and performed by Michael Meinberg @meinberg13

Script editing and logo design by Erin Hawley at geekygimp.com and @geekygimp on twitter

Tracks “Spider’s Web” “Blue Feather” “Gagool” “Inspired” and “Awkward Meeting” by Kevin MacLeod of incompetech.com

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

SCRIPT

Frederich gazed up at me, wanting the rest of the story. I offered him cash in response, but he shook his head. If he was going to give me a bomb, he needed both cash and the rest of the story. He wouldn’t toss a tool that powerful into the hands of a person who was plotting a scheme he didn’t approve of.

And so I told him. I told him everything, everything I’ve told you up to this point. To his credit, Frederich took in all the details, severity crossing his face. In the end, he told me to go rest. There was a break room that I could use. He’d confer with his people and get back to me in the morning.

And so I slept again. The chase had worn me out more than I cared to admit, and so I crashed on the tiny mattress and slept as well as I had in the plush hotel room.

I awoke later that day, not sure when exactly, judging from the light streaming in from the windows. As I turned to stand, I found the door opening and three familiar faces stepping in to talk to me. I had been expecting Frederich and even Jasper, but Alex’s presence came as a shock. Jasper explained that Alex had been looking for me, and they had been crashing at Jasper’s place.

Frederich had brought them up to speed, but they all wanted to know what my plan was. I explained that my plan was quite simple. I would head to the factory that held the device making the nanomachines and I would blow it up. I could stop any of the puppets by reuniting their minds with their bodies.

Alex asked what I would do if I ran into trouble on the inside. I didn’t have a good answer for that. So Alex asked Frederich for a shock cannon. I guessed that’s what the big guy used to knock out the crowd. Frederich nodded and I protested that I didn’t want anyone to tag along. They ignored me.

Jasper told me that stopping this was too important to leave unfinished. Everyone could tell that things were getting worse. Everyone in the back alleys went around armed, and kept on guard for those with the wide-eyed stares of those in a communion. But that wouldn’t be enough if the city exploded into chaos.

Frederich muttered something about not being ready, but I didn’t follow up on that. I recognized that Jasper was right, that this was too much to leave to chance. With my sigh of acceptance, Frederich brought forth the bomb.

It was a metal sphere, divided in half, about as large as the space created by bringing my fingertips together and branching out my palms. He explained that if I turned the halves in the right way (he mimicked turning the top half clockwise and the bottom half counterclockwise), it would click into place. At that point, I had five minutes before it exploded, so I had better get running.

I slid the bomb into a satchel which I slung over my shoulders. Meanwhile, Alex hefted up the shock cannon, the device looking far larger, and no less menacing, in their hands. I began to offer my thanks to Frederich and to Jasper, but Jasper cut me off and said I could thank them when I came back. Jasper added that she had taken payment out of my pocket, so we were square on that.

And so, I said goodbye and I