Kade Read online

  “Blechley deserved it,” she said. “I swear, Kade’s like a great big cat. He brings what he thinks are gifts to my doorstep.”

  “Sounds about right,” he said. “We have four decent sized Zones to run, now. Kinda makes you wonder what will happen when he goes on another rampage.”

  “Who knows?” she answered as she approached the door to the meeting hall and motioned for Poe to enter. “Shall we?”

  * * * * *

  Broken City

  Chapter 1

  I heard the mechanism begin to turn on the vault door, and I was moving. Not many people know the combination to my home, and I was going to be prepared if it wasn’t one of those few.

  I recognized the light step of Teresa and sat back down in the huge armchair the previous owner had graciously left for me. I slid the straight razor back into the pocket where it usually rested. I winced a little as I twisted and stretched the skin around the latest bullet wound.

  Gettin’ sloppy, boy, Childers chided me. Need to exercise more.

  And the tacos? Stephen Gaunt’s precise voice asked. What were you thinking?

  “Quit squawkin’,” I muttered. “Both of you.”

  Teresa Manora stepped through the door and looked at me with an eyebrow raised.

  “Arguing with yourselves?”

  “They’re givin’ me a hard time about getting shot again.”

  “I happen to agree with them,” she said.

  I’m not sure why Teresa has anything to do with me. I’m bat shit crazy, and she’s probably one of the most powerful people in the central city Zones. Not to mention beautiful and one of the best users of the katana she carried I had ever seen.

  Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail so as not to impede her vision, and she wore black body armor that couldn’t disguise the curves underneath. Her light step was silent as she glided across the floor toward me. Any noise she had made as she entered was for my benefit.

  I stood back up, and she was in my arms, our lips connecting. We stayed like this for some time.

  I took a deep breath as we parted and looked toward the train car in the center of the huge room.

  “Unfortunately,” she said after a long sigh, “I came with another purpose in mind. Although we might be able to get to that a little later.”

  “Promises, promises,” I said. “So what, besides my charming personalities, has brought your lovely self to my humble abode?”

  “Don’t speak in Gaunt speak,” she said. “It’s disturbing.”

  I chuckled.

  “The Mardins have sent an emissary to me,” she said. “They have a problem and wanted my advice about how to handle it. I suggested they hire you for a job. I came to see if you were healthy enough to take on a case so soon after the mess with Moreau.”

  “It’s possible,” I said. “Depends on the job.”

  “Investigating a string of murders that run from one end of the city to the other.”

  “Gotta love a good, old-fashioned murder investigation.”

  “They are particularly vicious murders,” she said. “If you want to take the case, I’ll be sending a few Squires down to assist you.”

  “I almost got Poe killed last time,” I said. “You sure you wanna send more?”

  “Blechley almost got Poe killed,” she said. “And I understand he’s a bit torn up about it.”

  “True enough.”

  “If you’re interested,” she said, “the emissary is still at the Chapterhouse.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “I think I am.”

  “Then get dressed and let’s get this show on the road.”

  I chuckled and entered my train car. There were two large rooms inside. I had them both set up as bedrooms. They were lavish rooms since they were built before I took over the place. The former Warlord had built it before Stiner killed him and took his Scraper. Stiner hadn’t known about the secret getaway, so I had taken it.

  I took my shirt off and unbuttoned my pants. Teresa’s hands slid around my waist.

  “On second thought,” she whispered in my ear, “I think they can wait a little while.”

  Our lips met again when I turned around, and we surrendered to the moment and tumbled onto the huge bed. We lost ourselves in each other for a time. Both of us have memories of terrible things we have done and terrible things done to us. But we could forget all of that for a while and just be together. Perhaps that’s why she stayed with me. She had found someone who was even more broken than she was.

  Afterward, we lay there looking at the ceiling.

  “How the hell did you do that?” she asked.

  “One of me is a very high-priced courtesan,” I said. “She knows all the right spots.”

  “She?”

  “Not all Agents were guys,” I said. “I got the whole database.”

  “How many are there, really?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Must be a hell of a thing.”

  “Not so much, anymore,” I said. “The Kade persona pretty much took over. The rest took a back seat, and they all gain from life experiences as we go. It’s a jumble sometimes, but we all get along well now. We’ve had seventeen years to get used to each other since the royal rumble in my head found a winner.”

  “So that’s why you know how to do so many things,” she said.

  “Yep. If you need somethin’, I got an app for that.”

  “App?”

  “Never mind.” I chuckled. “Old World humor.”

  “Figures.”

  “I think a bath would be nice before we go,” I said. “Care to join me?”

  “You didn’t think I would come to your place and not use that enormous bathtub, did you?”

  “You just use me for my appliances.”

  “My secret is out,” she said and kissed me quickly.

  She slid out of the bed and walked out of the train car. I thoroughly enjoyed watching her do that. I enjoyed the bath even more.

  Despite the fall of civilization as we knew it, there are times when I realize it’s ok to have a moment of joy in this Fallen World.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 2

  I took a new shirt from the closet and a new trench coat. My last one had taken a lot of abuse. I had several because the one before that had been mostly destroyed as well.

  A lady who traveled with the Farmers made them for me. Every couple of months, she would bring me a new set of clothing. She always tried not to charge me, but I would always insist. She was the mother of a young girl who had been raped and killed. I had found the person responsible for it.

  Teresa came back into the bedroom, carrying the harness that held my weapons.

  “You should use body armor,” she said.

  “Restricts my movement,” I said.

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  I slipped the harness over my shoulders and buckled the straps. I had added another holster to the harness to hold the second .44 I had picked up during the last case. There were some different guns in my vault, but the six shooters were good weapons. Ammo was hard to come by, so it paid not to have an automatic. By the time I had shot twelve times, they would be dead or close enough that I would need the blades. I had twelve throwing knives made of Old World metals and the ever present straight razor I had used for years.

  I went to the cabinet and took several sacks down and put them in various pockets. I opened one.

  “Jerky?” I asked and held the bag out to Teresa.

  She pulled a couple of pieces of dried meat from the sack.

  “Do I want to know what kind of meat it is?”

  “Nope,” I answered. “It’s not human. That’s all you really need to know.”

  She shrugged and tore a chunk off with her teeth.

  “Not bad,” she said, after chewing a moment. “Not too hard to chew, either.”

  “There’s an old survivalist in here,” I said, tapping my head.

  “Survivalist?”

  “O
ld World,” I said. “We’re all survivalists now. He knew how to make good jerky.”

  “You sure you’re up for this?”

  “I heal quickly.”

  “Poe’s gonna be pissed that he gets left out of this one,” she said.

  “He’ll get over it,” I said. “I almost got him killed last time. He should be tryin’ to stay away from me.”

  “He was doing his job, Kade.”

  “I should have killed Blechley the first time I dealt with him,” I said. “Instead, there’s a hundred or so people who died because of that damn bounty.”

  “You can’t retrain humans to be human if you kill them all,” she said. “You tried to give him a chance. That’s something you should do. I’m not saying to let it go on and on, but a chance to be a human again should be there.”

  “You make my choice sound noble,” I said. “It wasn’t. I thought it would be fun to see what happened.”

  “That’s what you tell yourself,” she said. “I know better. I’ve seen who you are, Mathew Kade. Sure, you have all those people inside of you, but I’ve seen you walk the streets and give to the poor. I’ve seen you help the helpless. You were paid to find Hap, not walk in and take on a whole Zone to free him. You did that because you couldn’t let what was happening continue. The same with that girl, Maddy.”

  I snorted as I opened the vault door to leave my home.

  “You still think you’re that guy who worked for Obsidian Corporation,” she said. “He did some terrible things for people who didn’t deserve the service he gave. You may not see the changes in you yourself, but those of us who have watched you over the last ten years have seen them.”

  “Hmph.”

  “You keep telling yourself what you want.”

  We walked out of the old bank building. There were people in the streets. Some were operating small stands. Across from the bank was a shack where a hammer on metal sounded a rhythm as Soba plied his trade as a blacksmith. We had lost a great deal in the Fall. Factories used to do what Soba did and much more. Soba made several things. He used light metals to make bowls and plates and heavier metals to make tools and weapons.

  I walked over and stepped into his shop.

  “Kade!” he said when he saw me. “It is good to see you, my friend.”

  “How are ya, Soba?”

  “Doing well, with the Farmers’ contract you got for me,” he said. “I never thought I would be making horseshoes.”

  “True,” I said. “Not a lot of horses in the city.”

  “I am still amazed they gave me the contract when the have their own blacksmiths.”

  “I’ve seen their guys,” I said. “They have three good blacksmiths. The youngest is nearly sixty years old. They use apprentices to do most of the work, now. You’re lucky you spent the time before the Fall doing fairs and things. You’ve got ten times the experience of the apprentices, and you’re better than at least one of their main guys. I wouldn’t be surprised if you landed a lot more work from ‘em in the future.”

  “You don’t say?”

  “You might even look into some apprentices, now, to be prepared.”

  “I don’t have the scrip to hire apprentices, yet. Perhaps after this contract is filled, I can.”

  “I know some people with a little scrip,” I said. “I’ve been talkin’ to a few, and they would like to make a little investment. Would you be interested?”

  “How big of a bite would they want of my business?” he asked. “I don’t want to be stuck working for someone else, here. I built this forge.”

  “Ten percent,” I said. “They’ll provide the scrip to get your shop moving and to support apprentices and guards. They want a little input on the contracts. Not much, just suggestions. Ultimately, the business is all you. They may be able to steer some contracts your way.”

  “And you vouch for these people?” he asked. “If you trust them, I would be willing to do it. But only if you trust them.”

  “I trust ‘em.”

  “Then my answer is yes, my friend.”

  I reached into my right coat pocket and pulled out a sack of coins. I extended it to a wide eyed blacksmith.

  “You were that sure of my answer?” he asked. “They sent scrip with you?”

  “This will get you started,” I said. “I’ll be your go between with these folks, and we’ll talk more later. I have a case at the moment, and it’s gonna take me out of the Zone for a bit.”

  “Jesus, Kade!” he said as he looked in the sack. “There’s a lot of scrip, here.”

  “Just a start, Soba.”

  “I’ll hire some guards, first, I think.”

  “I would suggest a couple of Squires from the Society.”

  He looked in the sack once more, “Yeah, I think so.”

  “Two will be on the way over in less than an hour,” Teresa said behind me. She had been quiet throughout the whole conversation.

  Soba’s eyes widened even further when he saw her and realized who she was.

  “Ma’am,” he said, with a respectful nod.

  “All right, Soba,” I said. “I’m off, and you’ll have guards very shortly. Keep that under wraps until they get here.”

  “That I will do, my friend.”

  “Tomorrow,” Teresa said, “I would like to see you about a contract for a few weapons, if you have the time to meet me.”

  “At your convenience, ma’am.”

  “Perhaps early,” she said. “So it won’t interfere with your work day.”

  “Gladly, ma’am,” he said. “I’ll be here at sunup.”

  “Agreed.”

  We exited the shop of a very excited blacksmith.

  “Investors?”

  “Yep.”

  “I saw you take that sack of coins from your vault before we left.”

  “Hmph.”

  “Yeah, you’re a bad guy. Keep telling yourself that.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “How big is the weapons contract you’re after?”

  “We need some basic short swords for the novices to start with,” she said. “Perhaps a hundred or so.”

  I chuckled.

  “He’ll have a heart attack,” I said. “Break it to him gently. That’s more weapons than he made last year.”

  “He’s good, isn’t he?”

  “Oh, yeah,” I said. “There’re not many better. The Farmers have two blacksmiths, and Wilderman has one who’s great. Soba is probably number four in the whole city on quality.”

  “If he’s that good, there’ll be more after that.”

  “He is.”

  “Then he’ll do well.”

  We walked up the street toward the building that housed the Society of the Sword. It had been a large building of a modest ten stories, and it had covered a great deal of space. Teresa and her folks had built defenses around the building and had done a lot of remodeling inside. She had close to two hundred inhabitants who lived on the premises. Close to a hundred of them were novices who had come to learn how to defend themselves. Most of those were poor, but some were from wealthy families in the Scrapers. The Society had grown a great deal in the last five years. They hadn’t opened other Chapterhouses until recently though.

  People traveled to her compound to become part of the Society. If they passed her vetting process, she started their training. When a person graduated as a Knight of the Sword, they were one of the toughest fighters in our broken city. Knights traveled the city when they chose to, and they sought their own path after leaving the compound to start their life quest.

  Teresa had taken a lot from the medieval history I had imparted on her. Knights and quests, things most people didn’t know anything about from before the Fall and long in the past. She tried to form her Society with the best of those things and discard the worst.

  Teresa would train almost anyone in basic skills to survive in this fallen world. Some would take the Oath of Allegiance to the Society and become Yeomen. They would train for a future as a Kni
ght. The wealthy paid to have their children trained, and Teresa trained the less fortunate for other fare. Some would work in the compound as cooks, cleaners, and such.

  “Ma’am.” The sentry nodded toward Teresa with respect.

  His eyes met mine, and he nodded toward me. “Kade.”

  “Michael,” I said. “How’s the wife?”

  “She’s the same as always,” he said. “Crazy.”

  “They’re all crazy,” I said, with a grin.

  “Some are crazier than others.” He chuckled.

  “True enough.”

  Teresa looked at me with one eyebrow raised.

  “What?”

  She shook her head and walked through the gate. I shrugged and followed. As we made our way toward the center of the building, we passed many of the inhabitants of the Chapterhouse. All looked at Teresa with the utmost respect. You didn’t get that sort of respect unless you were something pretty special.

  Considering the hell she had gone through right after the Fall, it was amazing she became the person she is today.

  I saw a familiar face and stopped.

  “Maddy,” I said.

  She had been walking down the hallway with her head bowed. She hardly ever looked into anyone’s eyes.

  She saw me, and the expression on her face went from sadness to wide-eyed joy. She ran straight to me.

  “Kade!”

  I hugged the girl who had been a captive of the Warlord, Moreau.

  “How are you holdin’ up, girl?” I asked.

  “So much better, now.”

  She noticed Teresa and nodded to her. “Ma’am.”

  “I never got to thank you for what you did for me, Mister Kade,” she said, turning back to me. “I only got free of the imprint a few days ago. The Matron has been helping me accept what happened and grow from it. She is an amazing person.”

  “I know,” I said. “Have you seen your father?”