Chapter 9
Back in Siberia, the Clockwork Train and the Golden Eagle were humming along and were nearing Mid Market. Some soldiers had to drive the troop carrier and couldn’t stay on the train once it had left. Though they didn’t get the first-class luxury, it would all be over soon, they told themselves. As they arrived at Mid Market, the tourists quickly filed out and gathered in the meeting area of the shopping complex. Tenchi and Kylie came out of the train looking like trendy tourists and were greeted by the soldiers. Captain Tristan brought everyone up to speed and wished the two had dressed more tactically.
However, they reminded him they were on an undercover assignment and needed to look like tourists. Tristan said the rest of the soldiers would take the perimeter while Sgt. Cooper went in with them to assist if required. With final planning done, Tenchi and Kylie headed to the meeting area and were welcomed by the tour guide. The overly enthusiastic greeter tipped off Kylie and Tenchi’s detective instincts instantly. They could tell he’d been doing this to the point of routine. Behind that gaping smile and bright-eyed expression was a man who couldn’t wait until break time. But first, many wayward tourists had to be shuffled through the doors of the biggest market on the planet. As they received their identification gear from the help staff at a table on the left, they went to the area in front of the doors where the tour guide was standing. In addition to that, most of them save a few stragglers still getting their identification gear; the tour guide started to speak.
“Welcome ladies and gentlemen to Mid Market home of over 500,000 shops! I’m your guide Yazid Hofer, and I’ll be here to make sure you enjoy yourselves and don’t get lost! Now as you know Mid Market has more than 500,000 stores selling wares from all over the world and not just China! To that end, there are a few simple rules you have to follow! Who’s here for the first time, raise your hands, please? Ah! I see well you’ll have to remember that your Identification gear serves to help sellers know where your from, and more importantly what currency you have on you. So make sure you fill out your ID forms as accurately as possible and do not try to buy things that are forbidden due to trade restrictions or embargoes! The sellers won’t do it and they will report you immediately I’m afraid! Also, there is the land, sea, and air vehicles zooming about all around so mind your locations and don’t stand in any of the landing zones unless of course, you want to get squished!”
The tour guide’s jokes were hitting with the tourists primarily because of mob mentality and nervousness. But the tour guide did have a genuinely likable personality to go along with easing tensions. Tenchi and Kylie had all their undercover papers ready and proceeded to walk forward when Yazid gave the go-ahead. And like clockwork, the mechanical doors opened to reveal Mid Market, and what a sight it was. The tourists saw much, hovering flight craft zipping above the market and a vast sprawling area of stores and shops spanning out before them on multiple levels. Robotic crane arms and various creative elevator designs lifted and lowered platforms to help customers get to shops more quickly. The streets were bustling with shoppers going to and fro, following their tour guides from tourist spots to trendy shops.
Hans, of course, was quite thrilled to be there. Kate could hardly keep up with him as he scoured the shops looking for mammoth merchandise. He would keep asking random shoppers where the best mammoth wares were located. Kate would apologize on his behalf and suggest they simply check the directory. Hans feeling the inner shopaholic take charge, replied, “Kate my dear, asking is far more fun than looking at a map! You young people want everything over with as soon as possible. Oh! A mammoth-themed skateboard, gimme!” Kate worried Hans was already getting around too fast as it was said, “Hans you don’t need a mammoth skateboard, we’re going to find the real thing remember?” But it was to no avail; Hans would have his fill of mammoth products of all types.
A mammoth suit, in particular, caught his attention, and when anything like that was inspected, Hans felt the need to ask, “Is this real mammoth fur? And do you know where Syberia Island is?” Kate would attempt to explain to the confused sellers that Hans was simply joking and suggested they go to the food court to try the Mammoth Burger special. They decided all the running around was making them hungry, and gimmicky fast food was the perfect remedy. Tatyana was keeping them company as Tenchi and Kylie would be already getting their converter mission over. Tatyana hated when Acme had to do violent assignments but knew it came with the territory of being in law enforcement. When ACME dealt with VILE, there was an “understanding” between the two groups not to take things to that level and certainly not lethal.
But of course, dealing with the traditional criminal elements was just a routine part of the job. The Peaky Blinders weren’t expected to be that much of an issue, but they left nothing to chance. Tatyana received a message forwarded from Acme to Tenchi on his behalf and couldn’t help but find it interesting. She told Kate, Hans, and Oscar, “Tenchi will love this news after he gets back with your music box Hans.” Hans was sure Acme would get the music box back, which is why he could enjoy himself so much in Mid Market. Hans was imagining all kinds of various prison sentences handed down to the thief responsible, while Kate suddenly bumped into a girl who ended up sitting at the table next to her. After Kate apologized, the girl said, “Oh, It’s okay, and hello my name is Sachi Karin, Can you pass the sugar, please?”
Kate was starting to get used to the friendly nature of the tourists on the train and happily gave the girl sugar while striking up a conversation. Everyone was excited to be on this trip, especially Kate. Not only had she taken a chance to help Hans, but she also was studying to be a detective to “expand her skillset,” as she put it. Kate told Sachi, “It’s nice to meet you as well, I am Kate Walker, and this is Hans Voralberg and Tatyana Erzin.” The three made small talk with the tourists from the Golden Eagle, and Tatyana learned more about Sachi while they were there. After eating, they were off to more shopping, trying to buy more than just mammoth merchandise, to Hans’s dismay. Hans protested, “All the space used for that stuff could go to mammoth apparel, just so you know.” But everyone assured him there would be plenty of room on the train.
Tatyana and Kate were becoming more curious about the mission and hoped it would go smoothly. The last thing they needed was for the music box to be damaged and for Hans to get upset. As the time to go drew near, the group kept up their act like regular tourists and boarded the Golden Eagle. They could transfer to the Clockwork train when things got up and running, as Tatyana didn’t want people to know they were on that train since it could tip off the thief to their identities. Therefore the train was kept far back out of sight until the trains were moving; it didn’t matter If the Clockwork train got closer. So they would simply be able to come and go between trains on the move, and Oscar could handle things on his end by himself if need be. Once the trains were up and running and made sure to be seen by people, they went to the rear and transferred to the Clockwork Train to wait on a mission report.
It was almost unreal, but Tenchi and Kylie had been unintentionally prepared for the spectacle. Having been around Home 01, they were used to seeing massive machines and the like enabling work or transportation to be more efficient but were impressed that this operation was done outside of Home 01. The order of the day was tracking down the converter and, later, the thief who stole it. Tenchi’s glasses zeroed in on the tobacco and alcohol samples, making navigating the area the only issue. Tenchi and Kylie would split up, with Tenchi following the trail to the Peaky Blinders while Kylie kept an eye out for trouble. Their arrival couldn’t have come sooner as they were about to witness quite the adventure in another section nearby. Two hooded figures were entering a location to meet with someone. That person is none other than Steven “Tommy” Shelby himself. He was already seated, surrounded by his gang, waiting for the two mysterious people to show up.
As they entered and sat down in the two chairs opposite Tommy’s desk, as he chose to speak more general English, he started talking, saying, “Well it’s good to see you again and you brought a friend as well!” One of the men began to speak as they both removed their hoods, revealing their faces. Getting to the point of their visit, he said, “Do you have what we came for?” Tommy replied, “Yeah I have it, and I lost a lot of people to have it. But this is priceless after all, so what can you give me for it hm?” The two figures looked at each other for a moment before one took out a small pouch. Upon opening it, he revealed a glowing red orb-shaped jewel and placed it on the table.
Tommy, on inspecting it, saw for the first time that they did indeed exist, as the stories said. The Peaky blinders were small-time in the grand scheme of things but had stumbled onto a very serious path. Pursuing the converter had caused them to become aware of bigger things far more important than gold or even diamonds. But their blunt approach hadn’t changed, and now that they knew of things they still didn’t fully comprehend, they figured why not attempt to take charge and get more than they were promised. To that end, Tommy decided that his gang could use the converter for their own ends, saying, “I really do want to give you the converter, but why take this as payment when I can have as many as I want to be made instead?” This caused the two individuals to immediately take out their spear guns and point them at Tommy, prompting a similar response from the Peaky Blinders and their firearms in kind.
Then one of the two figures proclaimed, “We need the converter for our noble cause!” Causing Tommy to respond, “I have the best noble cause to fight for… Mine!” This standoff would have been enough tension for most people, but luckily Tenchi isn’t most people. He entered the room without being noticed and calmly drew his gun, placing it on the back of Tommy’s head. Tenchi then announced himself, saying, “Acme agent Tenchi, I’m here for a noble cause as well; it’s called the law. Steven Shelby, you stand accused of stealing property belonging to the Voralberg Family. And before I drag your ass in I need to recover that stolen property.”
At this point, Kylie was making her way toward Tenchi from his rear as she told him, “Alright Tenchi I’ll be to your left at three o’clock three meters behind.” She was carrying a special armored box for transporting the music box safely out of the area, and upon reaching, Tenchi positioned it next to Tommy from behind him. Still, with an authoritative tone, Tenchi ordered, “Now take it nice and easy, and place it into the box.” Tommy was infuriated, to say the least, but if it was, one thing he had learned in the crime business was to not lose his cool in these situations. He containing his anger, did as he was told and placed the music box into the armored box Kylie was holding, which Tenchi confirmed was secured. Kylie then pressed a button, closing and locking the box for transport. Tristan then got a signal indicating the successful acquisition of the converter and radioed to his men to prepare for EVAC. Kylie turned around and walked off with the armored box to rendezvous with the team, while Tenchi kept the gang from following them by pressing his gun to Tommy’s temple and taking the red jewel on the table as evidence.
This was the last straw for Tommy, who saw his dreams of finally hitting the big time fade away; he flatly stated, “I’ll find you Acme agent Tenchi. Wherever you are on this planet. I’ll find you… and I will kill you.” Almost amused, Tenchi leaned in to aggressively whisper to Tommy, “Good luck.” At this point, formalities were out the window as the Peaky Blinders had nothing to lose anymore, while the two hooded figures were willing to die to get the converter. So all it took was one nervous gangster’s trigger finger predictably slipping, and quickly everyone was shooting. Tenchi fell backward to the floor outside the room and proceeded to make his escape. The two mysterious men ducked down in the confusion and managed to get away without injury. The two men vanished as mysteriously as they arrived, and Tenchi was now on his own, which was fine by him.
Tommy immediately ordered his men to go after Tenchi and get the music box back. Kylie seeing the scene erupt into violence, quickly radioed to Tristan that Tenchi was in trouble. Tristan responded, saying, “Keep going Kylie the mission takes priority, Cooper, cover him.” On receiving orders to engage, Cooper replied, “Copy that, sir.” And casually reached into his bag, pulling out two SMGs and letting loose a hail of gunfire on the pursuing gangsters as they came around the corner. Tenchi continued to run through the streets past Cooper to gain further ground and was soon joined by Cooper, who had run out of ammo.
Having lost the initial pursuers, they played it cool but walked hurriedly through the streets to get lost in the crowds. Unfortunately, among the shoppers present, there were always unscrupulous individuals waiting for an easy payday. Assassins, mercenaries, bounty hunters, and the like frequented Mid Market streets; they quickly responded when a target was posted. Tommy sent a price out for Tenchi wanted dead or alive, and every freelancer wanting some fast cash converged on the section of Mid Market where Tommy was. One of them was first on the scene looking for anyone suspicious, like an undercover cop. As Tenchi and Cooper walked through the area, being bombarded by endless advertisers for the various stores they passed, Tenchi was being kept up to date on Kylie’s location relative to his. Between being harassed by storefront sellers and radio comm chatter, Tenchi decided to pull out his badge to ward off the ever-growing number of advertisers.
Tenchi and Cooper began to run away through the crowd and got separated by the panicked shoppers fleeing from a bad guy with a gun. Tenchi ran towards a manhole cover and used one of his gun’s many modes, which were quite versatile in these combat situations. It had multiple functions since various problems could arise on a mission. Wasting no time, Tenchi stood on top of the manhole and started to charge an energy shot. This was spotted immediately by the bounty hunter, who pointed his gun at Tenchi. The bounty hunter was confused about what he was up to but started running toward Tenchi with his mind on the massive payday.
Tommy wasn’t done by a long shot, either. He headed to a robot pet shop nearby and ordered a vicious dog bot. Not caring about the price, he set it to go after Tenchi, and off it ran with eyes glowing red. Tenchi fired his gun, and the energy shot made the molecules of the manhole cover fracture due to the weak points of the material, causing him to fall through as it shattered like glass. Again and again, he fired, falling through the floors of Mid Market until he could escape. Cooper met back up at the wall to Mid Market. They had to go through the service door and get on the transport on the other side. Tenchi came running up to the meeting spot and started walking along with Kylie toward the exit point.
Tristan, however, was monitoring the situation online and saw that not only were they bounty hunters and assassins, but now a robot dog. Tristan contacted them by radio, saying, “You’re being tracked by a robot keep moving and don’t change position. Oh, and you might want to run.” On hearing this, Tenchi and Kylie began running towards transport APC. They swiftly ran through the door and leaped into the transport APC while Cooper tried to hold off the robot dog on spotting it. Unfortunately, the bullets had no effect, and a now panicked Cooper was hurriedly backed into the truck, where the door closed, and they quickly drove away.
The dog, however, was not giving up easily and burst through the wall to continue pursuing them. The soldiers began firing away at the mechanized mutt only to have their bullets bounce off its armor plating. The transport APC changed into armored mode as the soldiers and detectives returned fire. A hail of energy and ballistic bullets pelted the dog, who was gaining on their truck fast as they drove over the ground, trying to evade it. The dog leaped and rammed the back of the truck knocking the soldiers back and onto the floor. Tenchi and Kylie unloaded on the dog at close range, sending it back and out of the line of fire. Then they set their guns to grenade mode and simultaneously fired off grenade rounds which hit the dog directly, causing it to explode.