FEATURE: Butterfly Street Blues pt.7

by Juno Lister

   I sat comfortably in my seat. The engines of the Great Yarn airship were actually quite quiet and I wondered as I leaned my head back into the head rest if I'd sleep for the 5 hour journey to San Pedro. The Good Yarn airship cabin is like a train carriage in the air. Everything is nailed to the floor. Seats, tables even the lamp on the table. The evening sun shone in on the green baize seats and caught the brass on said lamps and reflected pools of light on the wood panelling on the walls. I pulled back the green curtains and hooked it back to reveal that the ground was suddenly starting to move away from us. I could feel the ship climbing. The cabin was full; to the left of me was a rather small man with floppy greasy black hair. He could only be in his 20s he wore a smart suit and round black rimmed glasses. He was reading The Times of San Pedro in San Pedrian. His walking stick was propped against his seat. I remember thinking it unusual for such a young man to possess a walking stick but gave it no further thought.  Opposite me were a couple who looked as if they were newlyweds off on honeymoon to San Pedro. It has become a popular destination for holiday makers since The Good Yarn has been operating. Across the way were a family, the children’s chatter and excitement fell silent as the ship's bard came down the aisle mandolin in hands singing about the legend of the Great San Pedro warrior Adrianu Quick-Axe and his adventures. Our cabin stewardesses were both San Pedrian girls our particular stewardess was called Maria, very pleasant dark haired girl dressed in the Great Yarn green uniform who brought me an ice cold glass of water at my request. She smiled sweetly as she left my table swerving gracefully out of the way of the bards flailing arms as he plied his trade.

   The Great Yarn Airships always have a bard on board. Dressed in a blue skull cap and a black flowing cape this one walked up and down the cabin telling tales and singing songs. Colleagues of mine have spoken of how annoying these San Pedrian bards are but this one was quite amusing his long grey goatee beard flapping around as he turned, his eyes popping out of his face as he executed  his words with deliberation. He made the children laugh and cry. The adults listened as intently as the children. His voice droned on in my mind in a soothing kind of way and as I looked at the failing light outside and the white clouds pass by the window, I dropped off into a well earned sleep. I'd only been a sleep about twenty minutes when I was shaken gently by a hand reaching over the gentlemen next to me. It was the stewardess in a deep strange San Pedrian accent saying

     "Mr. Lister can you come wid me please"

   I thought what a shame such a nice girl should have such a deep voice then my bleary eyes cleared and the stewardess wasn't Maria at all but in fact Guard Isaac Hunt-Fawshaw dressed as a woman in a very ill fitting uniform and badly put on makeup. I was just about to ask that question that needed asking when he dragged me out of my seat over the bloke with the walking stick next to me and frog marched me down the aisle smiling at other passengers trying to make it as inconspicuous as can be when you have a burly guard dressed as a woman dragging a passenger down the cabin. He opened the toilet door and we both crammed into the little space.

     "What I the heavens are you doing man?" I shouted at him …he put his hand over my mouth and said “Shhhhhh! you'll blow my cover"

   He explained that as he was waving goodbye to me he noticed that well known People's Front of San Pedro activist  Toni il-Bomba  the young man with the walking stick was sat next to me. He tried to draw my attention to him  but I didn't understand what he was trying to tell me. He then raced around the back of the ship jumped into the luggage compartment and stowed onboard, found a uniform so he could keep an eye on me as he felt that I was a target for assassination in retribution for  Rikardu l-Irqieq's  murder and my impending story documenting it. He told me there was nothing to worry about. I did query that Bomba means  Bomb in San Pedrian Hunt-Fawshaw stated I was worrying too much as Toni only ever bombed trains. Hoping he hadn't had a change of target I listened to Hunt-Fawshaw as he told me.

     "Now return to your seat act like nothing has happened and if you see Toni's walking stick moving be careful as it contains a sword inside" I gulped .

   With this there was a knock at the door I opened it and there stood another passenger desperate to go to the toilet. He looked at us in disbelief. He had just caught a  stewardess with a bloke in the men’s toilet. I hurried down the cabin very embarrassed . I looked back and the male quickly stepped into the cubicle and shut the door behind him . I didn't see Hunt-Fawshaw come out …I thought….…I stood in the aisle thinking that this wasn't good, I toyed with going back to the door then ….it flew off its hinges and landed in the aisle ,the passenger  came  flying  backwards to the floor. Hunt-Fawshaw  then emerged , picking up the bloke by his neck and started shouting

     "You ever touch a City guards bits again I’ll……….." his voice tailed off as he realized the Bard had stopped playing, the stewardesses were stood staring and the whole carriage were turned looking at him in amazement. Well almost everyone. From behind me I heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed. Hunt-Fawshaw's face turned from one of embarrassment to horror as he started running towards me I turned to see what was behind me. Toni Il-bomba was standing there the walking stick cover on the floor and a short thin sword in his hand  he removed his glasses and lunged forward with the sword like a lance shouting  "Freedom for San Pedro !" at the top of his voice. I stepped sideways just as Hunt-Fawshaw launched the cakes trolley down the aisle. Toni collided into the trolley and started travelling backwards on it like being dragged by a bolting horse. The bard was bowled over by Toni on the trolley his mandolin flying into the air and landing neck down in an old man’s soup splashing him. The trolley with Toni and the bard careered into a door at the end of the cabin and disappeared into the room it went into. Hunt-Fawshaw ran past me and launched himself into the room. I ran behind him and found myself in the cockpit with a rather bemused pilot with a bard sat on his lap …an assassin with an upturned cake trolley on his chest sparko on the floor with a  Victoria sponge perched on his head and a Valroma city guard riding the trolley like a surf board. Hunt-Fawshaw had Toni's sword in his hand and was now pushing the trolley aside. He lifted the sword back as if he was going to dig with a shovel. Toni was out cold. Hunt-Fawshaw threw away the sword  grabbed Toni il-Bomba  and dragged his knocked out body through the cabin to the rear stairs that lead to the engine room. He stepped down the ladder  and  then Toni's body disappeared down the hole too. Hunt-Fawshaw reappeared about ten minutes later back in his uniform.

     "Where was Toni?" I asked.  Hunt-Fawshaw  smiled at me and said

     " I've left him with the engine room staff they don't get much entertainment down there …apparently he's gone down like a bomb!"

   I raced to the window and in the moonlight I could just make out a figure falling through the clouds…and a walking stick following close behind!