The Kidnap of the Governor’s Daughter Part 4

The dashing rogue known as Zorro comes rushing through skies to help save the kidnapped governor’s daughter but is there more to kidnapped than the dapper hero knows?

Vanessa opens the hatch on top of the train with the wind hollowing down at her. She warped herself in a brown bomber’s jacket and wore a blood-red scarf around her neck to protect her pale skin from the whips of wind and sand. She pushed against the wind with all her might, but one of the soldiers on top still had to help her up on the roofs. She couldn’t read much of his face due to the mask and aviator goggles. She nodded at the man, who simply nodded back at her and then pointed down the tracks where the two airships were steaming towards them.

                She hissed under her scarf at the sight of the warships. She couldn’t tell who they were from here, but she knew it wasn’t the law, nor was the government. The only other person it could be is a rival Guild from Omega. The Guilds would shake hands with each while holding a knife in the other, waiting for you to turn around. The laws in the city made it a bit harder to backstab one another, at least out in the open and assassins were a staple of the city’s life, but outside the city’s walls the Guilds had no problem going head-on with one another. Somehow in a city by warring and rival Guilds they seem to make their home the safest place on earth.

                Vanessa, along with the Duke had planned for this little diversion to happen.

                The solider pointed skyward with the defeating sounds of engines coming over their heads. Vanessa glanced up to see the Z56-Juggernaut come dangerously low and dropped a leader down to her. The maneuver was difficult at best, but the Warring Hooligans had done this little maneuver a thousand times before. The group of seven planes wasn’t a part of the Duke’s army. They weren’t a part of an army unless you pay them well enough. They were a group of mercenaries born out of, who knows well, but Vanessa had worked with them before, and they were good on their word. They couldn’t betray their benefactor until the work was done. Once, the job was over, and they had the cash in their pockets they were back on the market to be hired by anyone, even the enemy of their first boss.

                She had fought with them as much as she had fought against them, but that was the life of a warrior for hire, and she knew it all too well.

                The pilot opens the canopy giving Vanessa a hand into the seat behind him. She plugged herself up to their radio as he closed the glass shield around them and pulled the plane higher into the air. “What’s the plan, boss?” He asked glancing back at her.

                “I need to get on the Capital ship to find out how they found us,” Vanessa spoke into the radio, “everything else is a free game, blow it out of the sky.”

                A chorus of affirmation flooded back at her. The Warring Hooligans pushed their plans harder into the open air using the tactic all fighter plans used when facing a heavily armored airship. Get high in the sky and strafe the enemy.

                “Incoming,” someone said, making Vanessa look below, hoping it wasn’t Zorro coming into the fight. She was sure the Hooligans would give him a run for his money, but they didn’t have time to fight two enemies at once.

                A burst of 50 Cal thundered up at them, making the squad break ranks. The pilot crooked back to her,” Hang on, this is going to get wild.”

                He didn’t give her time to react and jerk the plane to the right, driving at the enemy plane trying to match their speed. Once, the foe saw the Juggernaut cursing down at him, he raced to get out the ways. The pilot much calmer than their enemy didn’t open fire; he knew his rounds were going to miss, and there was no point in wasting ammo. The enemy, a younger pilot, the boy seems not to mind wasting the limited rounds in his plane. As he jerked away from the Juggernaut’s path, he shot a few quick waves of bullets, all of them missed.

                Vanessa had once her fighting in the air was much like being a sharpshooter, it was better to shot once and hit the target then to fire blindly. And the pilot of her plane seems to agree with this statement. He broke his dive chasing after the younger pilot, who pushing his plane’s speed to getaway. It wasn’t working.

                The young boy stared back at them in horror.

                The bullets ripping through his plane only help to send home his terror before he fell out of the sky. The plane started to pour smoke like it was trying to blind them, and the fire soon followed the thick black lines. Vanessa saw for a second the young boy pulling up the cockpit, trying to climb to the edge to jump, but a surge of bullets cut the boy down. His body fell to the earth below, lifeless and trailing blood.

                “Zeus, on your left,” a hoarse voice barked at them. Vanessa looked to her left to see one of the Juggernaut’s falling in line. “The boys are keeping the other dancing.”

                “Roger.

                The sky started to fill with black stars throwing sharpen everywhere around the planes. The airships were using their flank cannons trying to beat back the planes, but the Juggernaut’s supped up armor, engines, and weaponry had no problem withstanding the flank.

                “Get ready,” Zeus ordered Vanessa. “Godsend, keep them off my back.”

                “Aye, aye, Captain,” the hoarse said back to him.

                Vanessa unbuckles herself, checking her dual Colt 45s and bayonet in her boot. She wrapped the red scarf around her face. The war airship started to grow closer and closer. The flank became heavier, but once the plane was over the airship, having to drop speed to match it without crashing into it, but at the same time, giving Vanessa enough time to jump on to it.

                “Good luck,” Zeus said.

                “Stay alive,” Vanessa, order him, “I’m going to need a pickup.”

                “Yes, ma’am,” he said with a thumbs up. “I’ll buy the first round when we get back.”

 

Author's Note

I found out, not too long ago, that Zorro was public domain and was like well, why not use him? Thus, this short story was born. I wanted to put him in my steampunk world, which meant I had to change a few things here and there, but I think it holds true to the heart of the character. Another thing I did in this story which you will soon see, is you never know who the masked hero is, in fact, most of the story is from other people’s point of view facing Zorro.

Artwork: Cover to Dynamite Entertainment's Zorro #2 (March 2008) by Mike Mayhew