~
Admiral Vin's engine was parked in the same place it had occupied for centuries: the center of the bay, also known as Platform 12. A gorgeous old locomotive, she was as black as she was sleek, the headlight at her fore staring out like an all-seeing eye. Isobel climbed the narrow iron stairs leading the small side door, her cold hand barely sensing the frozen handrail. Collecting herself, she rang the old tarnished copper bell at the side of the entrance and noticed that the door was a bit ajar.
"Go away!" a voice bellowed. "Visiting hours are over! I have no more council to impart on the likes of you!"
"It's me, Admiral Vin. It's Isobel," she said, and nudged the heavy door open. She entered the rail car, finding Admiral Vin sitting alone on a worn tangerine couch in the dimly lit living room, his entire focus on a glass of ruby port.
"Isobel - Lady Isobel! Well, why didn't you say so. Come in, come in," he said, squinting at her in the dim light of the car, grabbing his mahogany cane as he set his glass on a side table. The rail car was crammed with mismatched antiques, furniture piled against every wall, and one was certain upon viewing it that some great treasure hid somewhere among all the chaos. She squeezed past a set of cherry wood and brocade chairs, nearly tipping over a crystal lamp, and ageless dust rose into the air.
Admiral Vin wrapped his long fingers around the silver knob of his cane and smiled, placing his other hand over the breast of his navy jacket. He dipped his head in greeting, kindly eyes, the color of bittersweet chocolate, gleaming. A thin scar rode an angle down his face, from just under his right eye, cutting over his aquiline nose, to the cleft of his lip.
"I say, this is an unexpected surprise," he said, grinning his enormous, toothy grin. She was no more a lady than he Landgraevan military elite, though that didn't stop him from addressing himself, and her, as such. But the Admiral's smile disappeared when she came into clear view.
She fidgeted under his long, unwavering observation, pulling the scarf over her forehead in an awkward attempt to hide the imprinting she knew he'd already seen.
"Admiral Vin, I - I'm looking for Montgomery. Have you seen him?"
Admiral Vin sighed and twirled his mustache tips into sharp points. Slowly reaching into his jacket, he pulled out an engraved ivory cigarette case from his breast pocket. Flicking it open, he carefully removed a thin cigarillo.
"I heard a crazy rumor. Imagine someone breaching Bucky. Insane," he said and lit the cigarillo, taking a deep drag, keeping a steady gaze on her. "There will be trouble, Lady Isobel, if you are caught imprinted," he stated grimly. A clock in the room struck the hour on a dissonant note as she desperately tried to think of what to say.
"I'm more worried about Montgomery."
He stood suddenly, his tall frame filling the small car. "You worry for him when you are the imprinted one. Child, you must know what this means."
"The orbital didn't finish the imprinting. I just need to find Montgomery," she explained, smudging her eyes with the back of her hand.
"I haven't seen Montgomery, but if he looks anything like you, I'd say finding him is the least of your worries. I suggest you take the north tunnel home, frightening as that prospect is. Gather your most valued possessions and hide somewhere, anywhere," Admiral Vin advised.
Isobel nodded in agreement. Taking the tunnels was a last resort, but the safest route home if Landgraevan forces were out looking for her. "Where do I go then, after that? Where do I hide?" she asked, touching the back of her neck to feel for any signs of a completed imprinting.
"We both know that there will be no place to hide if you're imprinted. It will be a matter of time, or luck, depending," he replied softly, taking another drag of the cigarillo. "But how is it possible that the orbital didn't finish the job? I've never heard of such a thing happening," he said, moving behind her to examine the nape of her neck.
"A lunatic appeared out of nowhere and pulled it off me."
"And now this person is dead, no doubt. Who would do such a futile thing?" he asked with a quizzical shake of his head. Sitting back on the couch, he motioned for Isobel to take the chair opposite him.
"Why did she try to save me from an imprinting, at the risk of her own life? That's what I don't get," Isobel said, removing a large, ornately carved wooden box from the overstuffed brocade chair to take her seat.
"She? It was a woman?" Admiral Vin asked, his cigarillo frozen just inches from his mouth.
"I couldn't see her, but it was a woman. I could tell by her voice. She was strong too - threw me over the orbital and into the avenue," she explained, cupping her sore upper arm.
"Impressive," Admiral Vin mused, twirling his mustache again.
"Yes, but she couldn't be strong enough to fight off an orbital."
"I'd venture to say you're right, Lady Isobel. Nothing survives one of those things, just as no one escapes once imprinted," he offered.
"I escaped," Isobel rebutted.
"Barely. Dear Lady Isobel, you have always been willful, but never careless. I have known you since you were a mere babe, so eager to explore the tunnels, Montgomery in tow. You always were the strongest of the two," the Admiral said, reminiscing. He fingered the jeweled pin at his throat, the dull red gems gleaming against the threadbare silk cravat at his neck, studying the young woman sitting across of him.
"I forced him to come with me tonight. He didn't want to. And I forced him," she groaned.
"We all have these silly limitations, don't we, Lady Isobel? Montgomery with his extreme caution, and you with your impulsivity," he said, a stream of smoke drifting from his nose.
"You call it impulsive. I call it careless."
"It's hard to see ourselves objectively, Isobel. I'm sure Montgomery fancied himself in possession of some of that grand impulsivity you have, just a much as you fancied yourself in possession of some of his due caution, and neither was the wiser because you balanced each other perfectly."
"I won't forgive myself if something happened to him. If he's been harmed or imprinted then I'll find a way to get even, even if it means blowing up Bucky," she said passionately.
"God help us then," Admiral Vin laughed.
She laughed as well with the absurd thought. "What should I do?" Isobel asked again, softly.
Admiral Vin shrugged in reply. "I don't know. You might want to stay at home until morning. Landgraevan military forces would have already come and gone from your home if they had your cranial dimension. Sometimes the best thing is to hide in plain sight. Perhaps they think the woman is a lone culprit. We can't say."
"You're right," she said, standing. "I'll take the north tunnel home, and if Montgomery shows up, let him know where I'm headed. But don't let him follow me."
"I doubt I could stop him from going after you even if I tried," Admiral Vin said, bending to retrieve a flashlight from the foot of the couch. He handed it to her with a flourish. "Here. The tunnels are dark at this late hour."
Isobel took the flashlight by the shaft, turning it a few times to test the weight, and regarded Admiral Vin. "Thank you. This should help," she said, turning to leave, but knew in her heart that no amount of light would make the north tunnel safe.
Chapter Three