Bernhardt tugged the anchors free and pulled those in too. He strode across the wall and twirled around so his back faced inside. Then, in a manner that was disarmingly casual, and that left no time for anyone to intervene, he threw himself backwards into the air.
“What?!”
Immediately there was the hard crack of anchors being driven into the wall’s surface. Mathias charged over to see Bernhard hanging on tightened wires, about a meter down, arms stretched out but his body securely attached to the wall.
“Who wants the tour first?”
“You shouldn’t frighten us like that! I thought you’d fallen.”
“Apologies.”
Mathias realized Bernhardt and the others were watching him with grins on their faces. They were, all of them, of dubious moral character and jerks to boot.
He sighed and said, “I’ll go first, if that’s fine.”
“Hoo.” Bernhardt teased him with a smile. “No rush. Your sweetheart is all cooped up inside the wall. She won’t be going anywhere.”
“Can we just go?”
Mathias crouched. He turned his back on Quinta and got down onto his stomach, then carefully began to lower his legs. His toes found Bernhardt’s shoulder. Making sure his chest was flat on the wall, he let his legs reach even farther. Finally the soles of his feet landed on the surface of the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment. He started to transfer his weight, letting it take the strain. At the same time he groped for and found the wire, taking tight hold of it.
“Expertly done!”
“Could you just…stay quiet?”
Fortunately, Mathias’ annoyance was taking precedence over his awareness of height and any fear.
They descended, Mathias and Klaus going first, followed by Jarratt and Nikki.
Bernhardt freed the anchors lodged some fifty meters up with a practiced twitch of his wrists and rapidly pulled the wires back in.
The nighttime town was quiet, partly due to the rain, and partly to the fact that half of the population had fled. The stillness was greater than Mathias had imagined, and he was beginning to doubt whether he’d needed to escape in such a hurry.
“I thought the town would be in a worse state, with people getting desperate from the isolation. From being surrounded by Titans.”
“Might be a different story in the daylight.” Jarratt might have been easygoing, but he was also realistic.
Initially they kept to the wall, getting closer to one of the wider passageways that radiated out from the center. Not surprisingly the road carried some traffic, and they heard the bustle of chatter and footsteps.
Even though he’d only been gone a few days, Mathias felt a burgeoning wave of nostalgia. Fuerth differed from Quinta in every possible way, from the design of its buildings to the size of the main roads and even the smells in the air.
“A moment please.” Bernhardt waved his hand for everyone to stop. “Mathias, perhaps now is a good time for you to enlighten us as to where these treasures are kept.”
All eyes honed in on him. It was understandable that they wanted to know the general direction, in order to make their way there efficiently. Mathias, for his part, no longer required the gang’s company now that he was inside Quinta.
“Sure,” he said.
“Where is it?” prompted Klaus.
“The residential district to the east. Not far from here.”
“I see, closest to the interior side. Obvious when you think about it.” Bernhardt put a hand to his chin, thinking about something. “Meaning it’s the mansion. Your…father’s.” He’d gotten it in one guess.
“Yes.”
“Even so, I imagine the mansion will be quite large. We’ll need your help.”
“You shouldn’t have any trouble. Under a large tree in the northeast corner of the courtyard, there’s an iron trapdoor. Open that and─”
“Nice, sounds about right,” Nikki cut in.
Mathias nodded. “You should find my father’s treasure inside. Okay, is that it?”
“What do you mean, ‘Is that it’?” Bernhardt asked back.
“It’s time for us to part ways. For good.”
“Don’t be silly. You sadden me, Mathias, hoping to part ways like that.”
“But why not?”
“Can’t be sure the treasure’s even there.” This came from Klaus.
Mathias gritted his teeth. “You don’t trust me?”
“Well, we are outlaws,” Nikki said without a hint of shame.
Jarratt folded his arms and nodded. “Just the way it is. Come on, we can be pals a little longer.”
Right, until you confirm the treasure exists.
Mathias’ eyes flicked to either side of the road. He knew the town like the back of his hand, but he still wasn’t confident of giving the four of them the slip. If he tried anything now he’d just end up being shot through, either by a gun, or one of those anchors.
“Okay,” he agreed, bereft of alternatives.
“Good answer!” Bernhardt turned to the rest of his group. “Now that we know which way we’re headed, I suggest we split up.”
“Yes. Easier to work that way,” Klaus assented.
“Five of us would only draw attention,” remarked Jarratt.
Bernhardt nodded at them. “Would you two be kind enough to procure a wagon? We’ll meet…” He launched into an accurate explanation of where the Kramer mansion was located. The outlaw and former member of the Military Police Brigade seemed to know everything. “Just keep an eye out for the largest mansion on the street. We’ll go on ahead and make preparations to load everything up.”
“Sure.”
“Sounds good.”
“Now then.” Bernhardt turned again to face Mathias and Nikki. “If you two would like to accompany me. Any problems?”
“No.”
“Yuck!” Nikki had her tongue sticking out from her hood and was catching raindrops.
Mathias suspected he’d never understand the way her brain worked, not in a hundred years.
“Wonderful. We’ll see the two of you later.”
Klaus and Jarratt responded to Bernhardt’s words with shallow nods and left.
The three who remained pressed quickly on through the rain. Mathias stuck to alleys wherever he could. He knew the area well since his earliest days. It was like a backyard to him.
They passed a number of people but didn’t seem to draw any attention. The long coats and hoods they wore to ward off the rain helped conceal the curious combination of mustached ex-soldier, petite thief of uncertain age, and merchant association heir.
In time they entered a district of high-reaching stone walls. Many of the buildings here had large inner courtyards that let in plenty of natural light. The characteristic meant that the walls along the street tended to be unadorned and fairly staid. The mansion Mathias lived in─had lived in─was one of them.
“We can get in through here.”
He led them to the mansion’s rear entrance. Nikki looked up and down the narrow side street, then up at the Kramer mansion.
“This is all your home, Mathias? It’s big! Really big!”
“Hardly anyone passes this way. And it’s night too, and raining, and─”
“Everyone who lived here was rich. They’d have been the first to evacuate. There won’t be many left in this neighborhood.”
“Exactly.”
“Should anyone come by there’s a good chance of them being outlaws like us. Or soldiers out to catch them,” Bernhardt continued. An amused smile came to his face. “This is something I’ve been considering since we got here, but somebody seems to be maintaining a very high standard of law and order. I wonder if the soldiers are actually doing their jobs for a change.” He swept his eyes over the other mansions in the street. “No signs of looting. Nothing to suggest an invasion of the poor. Yes, quite a miracle!”
“Really?”