Goliath

THIRTY-EIGHT

Dinner was unspeakably tedious. The turtle soup had led to saddle of lamb in sauce béarnaise, and that in turn to breast of hazel grouse. Now that the cheeses were done, dessert was “black cow”—ice cream floating in something called root beer, a concoction that had sparked a childish glee in Mr. Tesla and Master Klopp.

“A fencing lesson tomorrow, I should think,” said Count Volger, leaning back from the table and loosening the lower buttons of his jacket.

“An excellent idea.” Alek stared at his unfinished dessert, his ice cream melting into slurry. He’d been too impatient to eat much, but his reflexes were growing rusty from parties and dinners. He needed the feel of a sword in his hand.

Adela Rogers seemed to be in her element, though. She was holding forth at Tesla’s right hand, telling the host’s end of the table how Hearst had managed to wrangle his new movie deal with the famous Pancho Villa. She didn’t seem bothered that she was the only woman in the room. Indeed, she seemed to thrive on it. She was describing Hearst’s flattery and bribes of Villa as if it were a romantic adventure, giving her female viewpoint incontestable authority.

Alek tried to imagine Deryn using the same strategy, if she were ever stuffed back into skirts. Could her swagger ever translate into the sort of flair and charm that Miss Rogers deployed?

Perhaps, Alek thought. But Deryn would also be ready with a good solid punch if one were needed. He could testify to that himself.

“Your Serene Highness?” It was a servant at his shoulder, presenting a letter on a small silver tray. “Just arrived by messenger eagle, sir.”

The envelope was the apple green of the Leviathan’s stationery, and Alek’s name was written in Deryn’s hand. But she’d sent him a letter just yesterday….

Miss Rogers had paused, and Tesla was staring at him. Alek nodded an apology to them, then ripped open the letter.

The writing was rushed, even worse than Deryn’s usual scrawl.

“Ah,” said Alek, his pulse quickening.

“News from our friends on the Leviathan?” Tesla said. “They must be in London by now.”

“No, sir.” Alek hesitated a moment, glancing at Miss Rogers—but every reporter in the world would know soon enough. “They’re stationed only fifty kilometers away, at the mouth of Long Island Sound.”

A stir went round the table.

“But why?” asked Tesla.

“They’ve been watching over us. There were rumors of a German surprise attack.”

“A surprise attack?” Tesla said. Then his face broke into a smile. “Your Highness, please tell Dr. Barlow that she is invited to observe my experiments at any time, no excuses needed.”

“I’m afraid that’s not it, sir.” Alek held up the letter. “Their fears have proven correct. A German underwater walker will be here within the hour.”

The table went silent, and all the guests turned to Mr. Tesla. The inventor stared at Alek for a long moment, then dropped his gaze to the table and began to rearrange his forks. “An underwater walker? What an absurd notion.”

“They exist, sir. My man Klopp has seen working models.”

Tesla looked at Klopp, who appeared to be only half following the English, then brought his dark eyes back to Alek.

“How large is this machine?”

“Large enough to destroy Goliath. Otherwise, why would the Germans bother?”

Tesla spat out an angry noise and pushed away his dessert. “Pardon me, gentlemen and Miss Rogers, but unless this is some sort of joke, I must prepare my defenses.”

Taking up his walking stick, he rose to his feet. The engineers jumped up from the table in unison.

“Defenses?” Miss Rogers asked.

“I am not naive, dear lady. I knew that the Germans would make plans against me.” Tesla waved in the direction of the compound. “That’s why Mr. Hearst provided us with that Pinkerton.”

“But, sir,” Alek said. “That Pinkerton machine is designed to frighten workers on picket lines. It can’t stand up against a proper military walker.”

The reporters had broken into a nervous hubbub, some of them heading for the doors out to the observation deck. Others were asking the waiters to take them to a telephone.

Alek rose to his feet, waving Deryn’s letter. “All of you, listen. I am assured that the Leviathan is on its way. It’s more than capable of taking on a single walker.”

Adela Rogers laughed. “So we should sit here and sip brandy?”

“Not at all, miss,” Count Volger said. “We should retreat to a sensible distance and let the Leviathan handle this.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Tesla turned toward the stairs up to the control room. “I shall stop them myself!”

“Sir…,” Volger said, but the inventor ignored him.

“It’s no use,” Alek sighed. “This is a man who took on three fighting bears with nothing but a walking stick.”

“That hardly fills me with confidence,” Miss Rogers said.

“Nor me. I’ll talk to him.” Alek made for the stairs. “If only to make sure he doesn’t do anything rash.”

“Your Highness,” Volger said. “We can still put some distance between us and this place, even if we have to walk.”

Alek shook his head. “That won’t be necessary, Volger. The Leviathan will protect us.”

The control room was abuzz with shouted orders and sparking electrikals. The engineers were rushing about, wheeling equipment into a new configuration. Tesla was at the center of it all, a telephone receiver in each hand and several more tucked under his arms.

“Deploy the boats!” he shouted into one. “We’ll destroy them as they come out of the water!”

He slammed a receiver down and glared at Alek.

“How long have you known about this?”

“As I said, it was only rumors,” Alek said calmly. “Mr. Sharp heard something two weeks ago.”

“The very day we arrived in New York.” Tesla turned to the control room windows. The ocean was just visible in the distance, a silvery plane of reflected moonlight. “Every time I’m on the brink of a genuine discovery, someone tries to snatch it away.”

“Sir, you needn’t worry. Mr. Sharp has assured me that the Leviathan will deal with this walker.”

“Then, more will come.” The anger had left Tesla’s voice all at once, and he only sounded tired now. “They’ll keep coming for me, one way or another.”

“That’s a bit dramatic, sir. These water-walkers are experimental weapons. I can’t imagine the Germans have too many of them.”

“You don’t know what smaller men are capable of, Alek. Edison, Marconi, and now the kaiser!” Tesla began to place the telephone receivers back into their cradles, till only one was left in his hand. He lifted it to his mouth. “Boiler room? Please go to full.”

“Mr. Tesla, we should abandon the test for tonight. Please!”

“I am abandoning the test.”

Alek frowned. “But you told the boiler room—”

“Don’t you understand? These men, these little men, want to destroy my life’s work, to rob the world of everything Goliath will one day provide. Free power anywhere in the world, all of man’s knowledge coursing across the airwaves! I can’t allow that all to be snuffed out by this idiotic war.”

The inventor turned to face the windows, his dark eyes gleaming, and Alek felt a cold drop trickle down his spine as Tesla placed the last telephone firmly back onto its cradle.

“I’m afraid this is no longer a test.”