The train slowly creaked back toward the Chelsea pump station. Rip gave standing orders to people in the last car to give him a heads up when they saw the end of the line approaching. He worried how anyone could see past the robot hanging onto the end, but they assured him they would keep an eye out.

The Verez sisters and Blair remained in the engine compartment with him, as before. From what he could see into the next car, all the policemen had glum expressions on their faces.

“So, what just happened back there? We had overwhelming force. We took out their resistance. Then this Dar Caul dude showed up and sent us packing.”

Blair looked up at him and sighed.

“It’s a matter of authority. And tradition, I suppose. But the Council of Ghent established that a city’s vault is fully autonomous. Law enforcement has no authority there.”

“That didn’t stop us from going there . . .”

“We were called on it. When it was brought to our attention that we were in fact inside the vault’s domain, we essentially had to leave. This goes back centuries.”

“What happens if you just ignore the treaty?”

She gave him a lopsided smile.

“Worst case scenario? The vault stops producing power for its city. It’s happened a couple times. Wurzburg is the one that everyone remembers. About 200 years ago, the local princess had an affair with a scoundrel. When found out, the king threatened the suitor’s life. He then escaped into the vault. The king was not to be denied his pound of flesh, though, and sent knights in after his daughter’s lover. They dragged him out and hanged him. But in response, the vault cut off steam power to Wurzburg. To this day, it’s just a shell of its former self.”

“It seems to me there’s something of a double standard here. That Dar Caul dude was on the airship I took down. Obviously he has no compunctions against sending gunman into Doctors’ Commons and attacking the Lyceum, the Royal Venture Society and the king’s offices.”

Blair shrugged.

“That’s just the reality of the situation. When someone comes out and tells you that your team is violating the Council of Ghent, you back off.”

“So, every crook and murderer who can outrun the law just has to go down into the nearest vault? There’s no justice.”

“It’s not that simple. They’ve got to get there, first. And then, to be honest, no one really sees them again if they do. We don’t know what happens to the criminals who escape into the vaults. Perhaps they’re put to work. Perhaps Darhaven deals with them, puts them on trial or something. No one knows.”

“I’m just saying, it’s a double standard. It seems like the people from the vaults are attacking the surface more often, kidnapping scientists and assaulting public offices. Then when we get a chance to approach them, everyone backs off. It rubs me wrong, that’s all I’m saying.”

Liza looked up from her spot on the floor and smiled at him.

“Welcome to our world, Ripley.”

She said it, he noticed, without a trace of irony.

I guess in this case, it’s not just a figure of speech.

Eventually they made their way into the Chelsea depot, with Rip poking his head out the window to see where to stop.

His implant informed him he gained another skill point in driving trains, which he ignored.

The police officers filed out. The few who stayed behind rushed up to Sperry and delivered a report based on their findings. Rip noted they seemed distraught, and he figured they found the sisters’ meal tickets.

Sharp and Bixby gathered their people and suggested it was time to leave. Humphries eased off his place on the train, then jumped out the back of the robot.

He walked up to the RVS people and said, “Gentlemen, I’d like to gather some more samples. Then I will accompany you back to Doctors’ Commons.”

Without waiting for a response, he opened up his satchel and grabbed items from different piles around the room.

Rip had an idea and approached him.

“Lord Humphries, there’s a couple items in the train that I’m sure are beyond the capacity of my wallet. Could we see if they’ll fit in your satchel? Could I trouble you to bring them back for me?”

“Certainly!”

Rip and Humphries returned to the train for a moment. When they came back out, Humphries went to the robot while Rip followed the other Venture Society members toward the exit.

They waited patiently at the stairs as the robot clomped up to join them, then everyone climbed to the surface and the gazebo.

Outside, dusk had settled across the city.

“Where are the trucks?” Bixby said, looking around.

One of the many police officers who came up to the surface with them overheard his remark.

“We told those biters to shove off. I think they tried to park somewhere else, legally this time.”

He pointed in a general direction down the street. Rip saw a truck that looked like it might be one of the ones they came in on, parked several yards away.

“I’ll go take a look.”

He broke out in a light jog and covered the distance quickly. On the side of the driver’s door, he saw a seal with “RVS” on it.

“That answers that question.”

However, he did not see a driver.

Shrugging, he climbed into the front seat. The vehicle had no electronic ignition, just a series of levers and switches. He examined it for a moment, activating [Mechanical Discernment]. Then he pulled some levers out and pushed some others in, building up a head of steam in the engine.

Finally, the truck lurched into gear and he swung the wheel around, turning its nose for the gazebo.

[You have earned a new skill: Truck Driver.]

“Great. Why not.”

[Skill: Truck Driver, 1.00]

[You have earned similar skills. Skill consolidation activated.]

[You have earned a new combination skill: Transporter.]

[Skill: Transporter (Combo), 1.25]

Hmm. Kept all the points too, I see.

He pulled up his newly updated stats window.

[You are a Tier 2.23 Battle Rogue Technologist.]

[Skill: Detect Traps, 1.10]

[Skill: Vampiric Speed (Boon), 1.11]

[Skill: Night Vision (Boon), 1.15]

[Skill: Transporter (Combo), 1.25]

[Skill: Lock Picking, 1.40]

[Skill: Disarm Traps, 1.43]

[Skill: Mechanical Discernment, 1.45]

[Skill: Stealth, 1.56]

[Skill: Weaponry, 2.16]

[Skill: General Combat, 2.35]

Smiling at his personal progress, he rumbled up to the others waiting on the sidewalk and pushed down on the brake, bringing the truck to a halt. Then he quickly lowered the pressure in the engine’s boiler. A great puff of steam escaped from a front vent.

“I say! Do you think there’s room for my robot back there?” Humphries asked, bending the metal head down toward Rip’s window. “I don’t think I’ve enough water left in here to steam my way home.”

“We can try.”

Rip hopped out and opened the back door. Everyone stood back as Humphries carefully boarded the truck, making the axle groan.

Rip thought Humphries’s control over the contraption had increased exponentially. He made a mental note to ask the scientist what skills he gained while operating the thing.

Once the bot settled down inside, the others filed in behind it. They all looked tired.

Blair jumped up in the passenger seat next to Rip as he climbed in.

“I thought I’d join you up here,” she said with a smile.

“Good, because I don’t know where I’m going.”

He pulled the appropriate levers, building up a head of steam again. Then he let off the brake and eased the truck back out onto the street, joining the evening traffic.