Abner puffed on his cigar, watching the city slowly pass by beneath the blimp. The sun had nearly set, casting deep shadows in the city where gas lanterns had started turning on. Doves fluttered about the gantry of the craft.

He checked the positions of the blimps floating nearby. It wasn’t optimal. One would cross overhead close enough for people to make out faces. Those blimps had the look of cargo carriers. They used to be water vessels, but had been retrofitted to be slung beneath a blimp’s gas bag. It was a poor merchant’s way of competing with the Jain.

Abner took note of how difficult it was to make out the faces of those aboard the craft when they were facing away from the sun or in shadow. He could use that to his advantage.

The sound of a metal spoon clinking on china from around the corner caught his ear.

“You’re excused,” came the quiet voice of a man, “I’ll enjoy the rest of my tea alone.”

Abner heard the soft rustle of a woman bowing, then walking away and down the steps into the blimp’s hold. She closed the door behind her.

Abner eyed the cargo blimp as it passed above the wake of the blimp he was on. When he was sure their attention wouldn’t be on his craft, he stepped around the corner and drew his revolver from its holster.

“Who are –”

Abner’s face was stern, but the touch of a smile tickled the corners of his mouth.

“Arron Badger,” Abner said, “mind if I join you for tea?” He stepped so his shadow was covering the man’s face.

Badger was quiet for a moment, then he removed his bowler hat and carefully set it on the table. “Abner Cook, why have you snuck aboard my ship?”

“I think you know.”

“I haven’t the faintest clue.” Badger sat back in his chair and took a sip of tea.

The wind blew a little stronger and Abner’s cigar glowed with embers for a moment.

Badger set the tea cut back down on the table. “Really now, I’ve heard you like to make displays like this Mr. Cook, but this is taking it too far. If someone saw you, you’d be arrested for pointing that gun at me.”

“This isn’t a show, Mr. Badger. You see, I’m going to collect your bounty.”

Badger looked at him quizzically.

“Perhaps I should be clearer? I’m here to collect the bounty of saboteur and spy Dresden Black. Your face and the eyepatch you wear match his descriptions.”

Badger shook his head and smiled. “Saboteur? Spy? That’s why you’ve been hunting me down? Tsk, that was years ago. The country that issued that bounty is long gone. Are you really that hard up for cash? I suppose if you’re working for the rebels this would make sense.” He looked closer at Abner, then shrugged. “What of your friends? Don’t you care about them? If I die, they die too.”

Abner took a drag on his cigar, it had almost burned to a stub. “It seems you’ve known I was on your trail for a while. Then again, I would be disappointed if you hadn’t.”

Badger pointed at Abner. “You seem like a man of ideals, so let me tell you something about my true identity.” He took out a cigar and lit it, then gave it a few good puffs. “You see, I have negotiations and deals with a lot of people. I get this person to do this thing over here, so this person over here will do this. A lot of powerful people depend on me. Killing me would break the peace. Why, in a couple of years there might be a civil war because of it.”

Badger smiled and looked out over the city. “You wouldn’t want that for this people, would you? The Musah would come with their armies and crush us.”

Abner nodded. “I’m well aware. You see, I was born in Riffelm.”

Badger’s smile faded.

It was Abner’s turn to smile. “So, you see, a bounty for your head still exists. The reward is becoming a hero to my people for serving revenge upon the creator of their pain.” Abner gave Badger a level gaze. “You didn’t simply betray your closest ally, you aided the Musah and attacked us with them. You can threaten me all you want. It doesn’t change the fact I actually want a civil war to break out here. So your country can experience the same pain ours did.”

Badger’s face had gone pale white.

Abner raised his gun. “Congratulations, you saved your country for a total of ten years.”

***

Abner thought back to that day as he sat in the fifth floor of an abandoned factory. His back was to one of the outside walls. He could feel his sword awkwardly pushing into his back. He wondered why he continued to carry it around. It had been fashioned to sever through the metal of the Musah’s machines, but he’d found few chances to do so anymore.

It was dark outside. Not even the moon shone from behind the thick clouds of smoke from the burning homes.

He’d been hearing the heavy thumps lingering around the area for a while now. They started coming closer again. He could gauge how close the seven-story walkers were by how much the broken glass bounced upon the floor.

A ray of light flashed through the window near him as a searchlight passed over. That would be the walker making its rounds.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Abner shifted uncomfortably as the walker neared. Soon, the footsteps were so heavy they were shaking the rafters.

The walker walked directly by the factory and suddenly stopped.

Abner’s breath caught.

The waxing and waning glow of a searchlight could be seen through the window. For a moment, the bright light could be seen shining up through every chink in the floorboards. The dust that had been kicked up was illuminated.

Then suddenly, the light shone fully into the window right next to Abner’s head. It lingered, then passed on by.

It felt like an hour passed before the machine moved on, its heavy footfalls receding into the distance.

Abner breathed out in relief.

Distant explosions echoed in the empty room.

He let himself relax for a moment.

When was the last time he had seen grass? Or trees that hadn’t been burnt to a crisp?

He sat in silence for a few moments.

His father had married and started raising children by this time in his life.

Yet, Abner knew that trying to get out of this warzone would be almost more difficult than surviving until the end of the war. If there was an end.