Chapter Two
The following morning, Mercy was relieved to be able to put the parts together for the water tower. Mi-an had finished her parts as well, so with help from Hugo, who seemed to have forgiven her for her questions the previous night, they dragged them across and got the new, Logan-proof, water tower built.
“Phew, we did good work!” said Mi-an. Mercy grinned back at her.
“Yeah, we did pretty good!” Mercy replied. The hard work had quelled a lot of the nerves that Logan’s sudden appearance had left.
Matilda and Yan walked over to join them.
“Mighty fine job there, builders, just in time for our next water delivery. Builders, our town owes you a debt of gratitude. Yan, ensure these ladies are handsomely rewarded for their efforts!”
With that, Matilda turned and strode off towards City Hall, leaving Yan glaring in her wake.
“Yes, yes, well done and all that, here’s what the city promised to pay you and a whole FIFTY GOLS bonus on top. Don’t let it go to your heads!” He stormed off, leaving Mercy and Mi-an looking at each other.
“Probably just pissed that Matilda being involved means he can’t skim off the fee,” Mercy said with a shrug.
Mi-an gasped. “I thought it was just me!”
“Nope, but he’s a problem for another day. Let’s find Elsie, I promised an update, although to be honest, she won’t be happy.”
“What do you mean, there’s not much?” Elsie cried when they met up in the saloon.
“Keep it down, please, Elsie!” Mi-an hissed.
“What I mean, is that no one seems to know much about it, beyond what we already know. Or they’re not talking. Hugo didn’t want to answer any questions, seemed quite offended I’d asked. I even asked Owen about the wedding, or at least about Logan’s ma and pa marryin’ at the saloon, and he says he was too young to remember much.”
“Which seems fair, from the photo,” Mi-an chipped in. “He couldn’t have been much more’n four or five in that photo.”
“I’m not sayin’ we’re gonna abandon it, Elsie,” Mercy added, “but we need to be careful about this, not rush into anything.”
“Okay, okay,” Elsie grumbled, “but I swear, Logan. Is. Innocent!”
Saturday night, Mercy headed to the Blue Moon for story night. While she was still worried about Logan's statement that he would return - she wasn't sure if that was a promise or a threat - she didn't want to let him interrupt her normal routine.
He was about all anyone could talk about, and Mercy took the opportunity to listen carefully, not just to what people were saying, but what they weren't. While everyone agreed on the basic story - the same one Mercy had repeated to Logan when he had surprised her - there also seemed to be an undercurrent of disbelief. They knew Logan, had watched him grow up, or grown up with him, depending on who you spoke to. They all seemed to agree there was something missing in the story. Even Owen's story time that night, a highly fictionalised version of recent events, drew the same conclusion. While she knew she should be wary about him at the very least, she couldn't help finding herself intrigued by the bandit.
As she walked the short distance from the saloon to her workshop, Mercy turned over what she knew and had heard, and had to agree. There was something missing.
After checking her machines were full of materials, water and fuel - she really needed to get that generator Qi mentioned sorted out - she let herself in.
“You took your time,” said Logan, causing her to jump. “Still, at least you listened and kept your doors locked.”
When she'd left to go to the saloon, it was still light out, so Mercy had only left a small side light on. Logan sat in the chair next to it, watching her intently. The light flickered on his face from below, leaving his eyes in shadow.
“Fat lot of good it did, you still got in," she retorted.
“Better me than some of the others round here. I ain't damaged the lock, but you might want to replace it with a more secure one anyway.”
“You gonna tell me who to watch out for?” Mercy asked.
"You've been here a spell, tell me who you think you need to watch out for."
Mercy left the lights low, and sat on the other chair. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. Where to start, she wondered.
"The people who are actually from Sandrock seem decent," she replied thoughtfully. "People who have moved here, and I appreciate that includes me, seem harder to pin down."
Logan nodded. "Innerestin’. You’ll recall I’m Sandrock born an' bred. So who's on your list?"
"If I start with the guild, there's me, Mi-an and Yan. I'm not plotting against the town, and Mi-an is all about telesis and seems just as invested as Elsie in proving you innocent. Yan is weaselly and selfish, but I don't know if that makes him evil. I sure as darkness don't trust him, though."
"So far we've not found any evidence to implicate him," Logan said, "but that means nothin'."
"Sounds like you think there's a bigger plot going on? And who is 'we'?" Mercy asked. Logan just raised an eyebrow in response and gestured for her to continue.
"Amirah and Arvio are from Barnarock," she went on. "I'd discount them as they seem too self involved to be plotting anything. Though I'm already watching my back around Arvio for other reasons."
"Oh?"
Mercy waved her hand dismissively. "It's nothing, the guy just thinks he's all that and a bag of crisps. Keeps hitting on me and not taking no for an answer. I've got it handled."
Logan frowned, but said nothing.
"So that leaves the Church. Burgess and Dan-bi are both local, and while they can be quite evangelical, I don't think they mean ill.
"Matilda, Miguel and Pen have all been sent here from Meidi. They're harder to get a read on. My head says that as Church representatives, they must be good people. My gut…" She stopped and sighed.
"Sometimes you need to listen to your gut."
"Matilda is nice, but almost too nice, if you follow. That makes me suspicious in itself. Pen is full of himself. He told me he was having problems with his palmar interosseous muscle the night of the temple incident." Mercy sniggered. "Do you know what that is?" She made a rude gesture, and Logan choked as he realised what she meant. Mercy smirked at the fact she'd finally got a reaction from him.
"Anyway, I trust him about as far as I can throw him. That leaves Miguel. He's slimy, but in a different way than Yan. I feel like I need a shower after listening to one of his sermons."
"You're pretty on the mark," Logan agreed. "Anyone else not local?"
Mercy thought for a moment. "No, I think that's… Oh, wait, Grace from the saloon, and Unsuur from the civil corps. Both seem pleasant and straightforward - Unsuur almost to a fault. Ernest the writer recently arrived from Atara, as did Catori. Ernest's a bit of a fanboy of yours, wants to make a fortune from your life story, and Catori is determined to help the town grow for her own selfish reasons. But I don’t get bad vibes from any of them."
Logan stood up - sitting this close, Mercy was suddenly struck by just how tall he actually was as he towered over her - and headed towards the door.
"Remember to lock up behind me," he said. "You're thinking on the right lines."
"So what do I do with the information?"
"I'll be back in a couple of days. Think on it. You’re a smart woman."
With that, he disappeared into the night, leaving Mercy confused and frustrated. Her instinct was to trust him, although she couldn’t be sure why. She was also becoming curious about what exactly was under that mask.
The following morning, Mercy headed along Main Street doing some errands, with the eventual goal of hitting up the commissions board at the Civil Corps. As she passed The Breach, she saw Grace and Justice involved in an argument. While no-one had ever got them to confirm they were involved, the argument had all the hallmarks of a lovers' tiff. Mercy tried walking round the long way to allow them some privacy until Grace called her over.
"Mercy, you've been through The Breach a few times now, haven't you?” Grace asked. “Can you please tell Justice it's safe for me to go in? I need relics from it for research!"
"For Peach's sake, Grace," Justice groaned, "I'm tellin' you this as the local sheriff. The Breach is classified a hazardous ruin. I ain't lettin' no civilians in there. It's not personal, it's policy!"
"Fine!" She threw her hands up in defeat. "Mercy, can I commission you to search for some relics there for me, please? I don't trust this bozo to know the difference between a techno calendar and a sundial!"
"Hey!" Justice protested, then backed down as Grace glared at him. "Okay, okay you have a point."
"So, Mercy? Commission?"
"What do you need?" Mercy asked cautiously.
A couple of hours later, she was back in the Blue Moon, complete with the relics Grace needed for her dissertation - "Old World Utilization Theory: A Case Study on Sandrock's 'The Breach.'"
"Great, Mercy, thank you, these are exactly what I was after." She handed over the agreed fee for a ruins dive, along with a tip for getting it done so promptly.
"Say, why don't you come by the saloon tonight, I can buy you a drink or two as a thank you?"
"Sounds good to me," Mercy replied. "Now the water tower’s finished, I could do with blowing off some steam!!"
"Owen's on close, I finish at eight, so I'll see you about then?"
Mercy was right, she'd needed a night out. She spent the evening gossiping with Grace, Heidi and Pablo until people started to drift out. As she made to leave, Grace poured her another glass of sand wine and insisted she stay a little longer.
Eventually the bar was almost empty. Mercy and Grace were giggling over another glass of wine. Owen was wiping down the bar counters while chatting to Justice, and Hugo was finishing his drink at end of the bar. As the clock struck eleven, Grace looked up at Owen, who nodded, and they each went to the closest door and locked them in.
"Wait, what's going on?" Mercy asked.
Just then, the cellar door opened, and Logan walked into the bar, accompanied by a shorter man that Mercy assumed must be Haru.
"What the actual fuck?" Mercy stood and shouted, now totally confused.
"Welcome to the gang," Logan said.
Mercy looked round at the others in the room. Owen, Justice, Grace and Hugo were smiling. Logan and Haru may have been, but it was hard to tell under their masks.
"You've proved yourself trustworthy," he continued, and we reckon you'll be useful."
They all gathered around the table Mercy and Grace had been sitting at. Owen brought over a bottle of spirits and some shot glasses and passed them round. As they settled down, X flew in from an open window somewhere and landed on Logan’s shoulder.
“Late! Sorry!” he squawked.
“Even X is involved?” asked Mercy.
“Well, it’s an easy way to pass messages,” Grace responded.
“Someone want to tell me what’s actually going on here?” Mercy asked.
"So, coupla months ago," Owen began, "I noticed my inventory was low. Not a massive amount, but consistently just under where it should be. Mentioned it to Hugo, seeing as how our places back onto each other. He'd been havin' the same issue. Mostly bullets, and other sundries.
"With help from Justice, we set up watch one night, and caught this pair of fine upstanding citizens helpin’ themselves to some necessary supplies." He nodded at Logan and Haru.
"Bitch," Logan replied, although the humour was evident in his voice.
"Jerk." Owen retorted.
"Anyway," he continued, "most of us in town never believed the official version of events, so we took this as an opportunity to get to the bottom of things."
"Like I told you," Logan picked up the story, "the basics you know are correct, but the details ain't. I don't believe my pa coulda been so careless as to catch an old world virus. He was good at what he did. But, Miguel wouldn't let me take him for a second opinion. Wouldn't let me bring another sawbones in to see him, neither. So, decided to take matters into my own hands."
"I still feel bad about that," Haru said softly. "I must have messed up the ingredients for the bomb."
Logan shook his head. "I keep tellin' you, weren't your fault. Nothin' we used in those bombs should be able to do that much damage.
"Anyways, the wall of the church was badly damaged, came down on us and my pa was killed. Before he died, he had a coupla last words. "Logan... protect Sandrock... Duvos..." Whatever he found was bigger than any of us suspected.”
“Duvos?” Mercy gasped. “What would Duvos want with Sandrock?”
“That’s a good question,” Grace replied, “and one my bosses want answers to. I’m not an archeology student. Not for a while now, anyway, however, it’s still a hobby of mine. I work for Alliance Central Intelligence, and I’ve been sent here undercover to investigate rumours we’ve been hearing for a while.
“Logan and Haru fancied living up to the name of bandit they’d been given after the temple incident, get the world’s attention focussed on Sandrock. Once I convinced them it would be a bad idea, we started looking to see what we could find. My bosses are convinced there’s a Duvos spy in Sandrock as part of a nefarious plan involving the entire region.”
“Sorry for gettin’ riled up when you were askin’ questions the other day,” Hugo added, “I ain’t much of a secret agent, and I worried you’d blown my cover. But when we got talkin’ we realised you could be a strong addition to our team.”
Mercy looked at the faces around her, and silently held her glass out to Owen for a top up. He filled it half way, and she downed it, the heat of the spirit hitting her throat as she thought everything through.
“OK, if Logan didn’t blow up the water tower, who did?”
“Let’s go back a bit, first,” Grace said. “A while ago, HQ intercepted telegrams about someone called ‘Tiger’ carrying out missions in Sandrock. Further messages suggested that they were stealing water, planning to dry up the town and force everyone to leave.”
“Why would they do that?” Mercy asked.
“Sandrock’s in a very strategic position. If there’s a war, then destroying Sandrock would destroy the link between Atara and Highwind, giving Duvos a huge advantage.”
“You think there’s gonna be a war? I thought we were at peace?”
“The papers don’t tell you everythin’, you know. There’s been low level skirmishes on the border with Duvos for years, they’ve never really stopped. But yeah, they seem to be ramping up again.”
Mercy looked round the others in shock, and they all nodded in agreement with Grace.
“That’s a lot to take in.”
“I know, I’m sorry to drop this all on you, but there’s more. We intercepted further messages, suggesting that they had been successful in hiding water.”
“So, I decided to go and check out the water tower for myself,” Logan added. “Only, Pen showed up on patrol.” Logan sighed and ran a hand over his face. “He’s got a relic weapon, Mercy. Took out the water tower, and then aimed at me. Which is when you saw me heading down the tracks.”
“Pen?”
“Yep, Pen,” Grace replied. “With the plot involving water, it was clear the church was involved. We’re not sure if he’s operating alone, or if the others are involved.”
“So, what now?”
“We keep this between ourselves and keep our eyes and ears open. Owen and Hugo are essentially our quartermasters, organising supplies of food and weapons as needed.”
“Yeah, officially now, rather than you having to sneak them away!” Hugo grumbled affectionately, cuffing Logan round the ear.
“Logan and Haru are still wanted men, so have to stay hidden. X passes messages as required, and Justice and I - and now you - are ears to the ground in town. So we just wait now for the next move.”
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