Steam Tinker by Laura Strickland

Author:Laura Strickland [Strickland, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Steampunk; Buffalo; Victorian; Historical Romance; automatons; robots; mechanics; fight pits; automaton rights
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2021-03-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-One

“You are not, in fact, under arrest,” Officer Greely told Sofia and Jane as they rumbled along over the brick streets. He’d asked his fellow officer, who brought the vehicle, to keep an eye on the demonstration before they headed downtown. “I removed both you ladies from that situation for your own welfare.”

“Oh?” Jane said.

“I do not know if you noticed, but an Undesirable Element had begun moving in. That tends to happen whenever there is the slightest confrontation between humans and automatons. In this case, the Element had rocks in their hands.”

“Oh,” Jane repeated in a far different tone. “You were protecting us.”

“It is what I am sworn to do.”

“But,” Sofia spoke up, “do we actually have to go to the police station? I’ve never been there before.”

“Nor have I.” Jane wiggled. “It’s so exciting.”

The officer said, “I would like you to file reports against that man for harassment. You were in fact demonstrating within your rights. And if he makes an official complaint later, yours should be on file.”

“How thrilling,” Jane enthused.

Sofia could think of far more thrilling events. If she went to the police station, she had no idea how she would get home again. She had no money in her pocket and therefore no hope of cab fare. Could her life get any worse?

“I would just like to say,” Officer Greely confided, “I appreciate you ladies’ efforts on behalf of automaton rights.”

Jane beamed. “That man back there didn’t even realize you are, in fact, hybrid, did he?”

“No, madam. He thought me human, and every bit as prejudiced as he.”

****

“I’m sorry, sir, Captain Fagan’s not here,” the desk sergeant told Lionel. “He’s off on other business at the moment. He is in fact what you might call a hands-on sort o’ captain.”

Lionel gazed across the teeming station room and saw Patrick Kelly sitting at a desk. “Might I make my report to Officer Kelly, then? He was involved with the case in question.”

“Certainly, sir. Go right on over.”

Patrick Kelly got to his feet when Lionel approached, and extended his hand. “Mr. Pike, sir, I’m happy to see you again. What might I do for you?”

“It’s more what I hope I might do for you,” Lionel replied.

Half an hour later, Kelly had a page of meticulous notes and what looked like an interested gleam in his eyes. “Sir, I will make certain Captain Fagan gets this information.”

“Thank you. Has any more been uncovered about the fighting pit, or aren’t you at liberty to say?”

“I am not at liberty to say. That being stated, we have run to ground the individual who sublet the space for leases of which the landlord was unaware. That space was supposed to be used to store equipment. Which, the subletter argues, it was. He denies all knowledge of any fighting pit, even though the evidence was there before our eyes.”

“Yes.”

“You say you are willing to testify in court, Mr. Pike?”

“Yes,” Lionel said again. He hated to get in the middle of a messy tangle, but abuse such as he’d witnessed couldn’t be ignored.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.