Einstein Must Die! (Fate of Nations Book 1) (31 page)

Tesla looked up and saw the fastest Redcoats were no more than fifty feet away. One of them saw him and smiled as he brought his Enfield up, sighting on his chest.
He can’t miss at this range
. Tesla thought of protecting Savannah, but had no way to accomplish that goal. His eyes fixed on the steel gray barrel aiming at him. The sight was bizarrely hypnotic, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away, even when a tremendous crash erupted from the forest off to his right.

Madelaine had heard her mother’s cry and didn’t waste time backing out of the trees. Instead, she launched herself forward at full speed, gouging deep trenches in the forest floor and smashing dozens of trees to the ground. Her treads were at full power, which was crazy, considering the terrain. But she didn’t know enough to worry about such things. She just knew a lot of trees were in her way, and they had to go.

The smaller trees, less than thirty feet tall, snapped easily and fell before her. She ran over them and barely noticed. The older, thicker trees, the ones that reached up into the sky, went much harder. A heavy, thick hundred-year-old oak shattered with a thunderclap, and the tree collapsed backward as she pushed through. It fell over and behind her, landing and shaking the ground for a quarter mile. The massive stump refused to be pulled from the earth, so she ran over it. The jagged, splintered shards of wood scraped and screamed against her underside as she plowed forward. Then she was past the thick trees and racing for the tree line.

Beowulf exploded from the forest like a Nordic god seeking bloody vengeance. The British instantly forgot their quarry and stared bug-eyed at the steel behemoth bearing down on them.

Madelaine saw the Redcoats and then found her mother and Tesla. She imagined the British dead, and her antipersonnel shredders sprang to life. The chainguns spat high-speed rounds toward the British, tearing up the ground around them. The aim was mostly wild, but the spectacle still caused them to freeze in panic. Here and there, Redcoats were hit randomly. Some went down with lethal chest wounds. Others had their calves or forearms hit.

Madelaine was too wound up to focus her fire, and she quickly ate into her ammunition stores. She kept a steady stream of deadly fire arcing out toward her enemy, the men who were threatening Tesla and her mother.

In her fury she felt omnipotent and righteous. Like a drug, the sense of power was intoxicating. She laughed out loud as she sprayed the field with bullets.

The British retreated, turning back and racing away. She wanted to chase them, but more important was the desire to stay close to her mother.

She kept up her fire as they ran and hit seven more Redcoats in the back. Then she saw two Americans, previously wounded, but struggling to stand and run. Her rounds ripped through them, killing them instantly. That sight made her gasp, and she shut down her shredders. The constant firing had deafened everyone around the tank, and the sudden silence was startling.

Madelaine watched the British forces, still two hundred strong, escaping from her. She wanted to reach out to them, to visit death upon them from afar. Again, the ever-helpful subroutines delivered her desires. She became aware of another weapon at her command. Twin mortar tubes, capable of firing out to 2,100 yards.

Curious, she examined the new toy. A belt fed the mortars into the tubes, and the angle could be set such that the explosives shot high in a parabolic arc, coming down almost vertically, very helpful against enemies sheltered behind cover.
Let’s try it
!

She ordered the twin tubes to be loaded. She guessed the distance to the British to be nine hundred yards, and told tube one to angle itself for that range. It reported back that all was ready, so she fired.

THWUMP
! The mortar launched itself into the air, soaring high over the battlefield. Gravity pulled it back to earth and soon it crested its arc, then fell back, now screaming toward the retreating British.

Her distance estimate had been off, so the tube angle was wrong. The explosive landed 150 yards short of the British.
BOOM
! The mortar hit the ground and exploded, sending a rain of shrapnel in all directions, but there was no one there.

The total miss was embarrassing.
This isn’t just about me. How I behave reflects on Mom and Nikola. His work should be seen as a success. He deserves that.
She adjusted tube two for the extra distance and fired again. This range was more accurate, and it landed near the outer edge the mass of running Redcoats.
BOOM
! The mortar exploded with a geyser of dirt and grass, and three British collapsed.

They were gaining distance, and she felt content to let them run. She saw Tesla helping her mother stand, and that was most important. She told the mortar tubes to stand down.

Moving closer to Tesla, she stopped and opened the crew hatch.

“Are you guys OK?” she asked.

Savannah looked up at her daughter.
I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to her like this. But my twelve-year-old girl just saved our asses
. She pushed the hair from her face and waved, smiling broadly.

“We’re OK, honey. Hell of an entrance there.”

“Yeah, that was pretty cool, huh?”

“The coolest,” agreed Tesla. He gestured at the ladder. “Now let’s get inside the giant tank and never do this again, yes?”

Savannah grabbed the ladder and began climbing. “If you insist, Nikola.”

A lieutenant, bleeding from a gash in his thigh, caught up to Tesla, desperate for an explanation. In response Tesla raised in hands in apology.

“All I can tell you is that we’re on your side. And today was your lucky day.”

The lieutenant rubbed his jaw, thinking. He looked up at the monstrous tank hulking over his head, and decided to accept the non-answer.

“Fair enough. Just get your ass to Boston then. That’s where we’re headed. Be good to see you there.”

“That’s the plan, Lieutenant. Will you be OK here?”

“Should be. The detachment from Providence will be along soon. We were waiting to join up with them when we got hit.”

Tesla nodded. “All right then. Good luck to you.” He turned and climbed into Beowulf.

“You too,” the lieutenant called up. “Not sure if you need it, though.”

Tesla secured the hatch and turned, happy to see everyone again. Even Edison, he realized with surprise.

Savannah was crouching beside Bertram, leaning over to hear his whispered words.

Tesla gave them some privacy and instead sat down on a supply crate to chat with Madelaine.

“You did it again, little miss. Saved our proverbial bacon.”

“Thanks,” she said dully.

“What’s that tone?”

“Nothing,” she said.

“Don’t be that way. It’s unbecoming.”

She hesitated, unsure how to express the jumble of conflicting emotions. “I loved saving you and Mom, I really did. I’ve never felt anything like that, not ever.”

He found a bottle of water and gulped some. “Like I said, you have a lot of new capabilities to learn.”

“I know. But what if I can’t? I’m not supposed to be in here, Nikola. My grandfather was. He was amazing at this. And I—”

“I’d say you handled yourself quite well. Why are you beating yourself up, my dear?”

“Nikola, I just killed two Americans.”

“You—” he began, then sat still in thought. “Well, if you did, it was an accident, of course.”

“Yes! Of course! But I got excited and wasn’t watching what I was doing. I saw them die, Nikola. It was…terrible. Like I just reached out and tore them to pieces. I can’t get the sight of it out of my head.”

Tesla sat down the water. “It has been my habit to treat you like a young woman, not a child. I think you’ve appreciated that?”

“Yes. God, yes! You’re the only one who does.”

“Then listen to me. Our virtues and our failings are inseparable, like force and matter. Do you understand? When they separate, man is no more.”

“I guess so…”

“This is important, Madelaine. Yes, the colonel handled this tank very smoothly. And you will too, in time. Part of that is learning hard adult truths.”

“Like what?”

“Like understanding that you’re fallible. You have to strive to always be better and greater, but you have to also learn not to fear failure. Because you will fail. What matters is what you do after failing.”

She thought on that. “But my failures kill people.”

“They can, yes.”

“And if it happens again? What do I do then?”

“Then we will see what you’re made of.”

ARRIVAL AT HANSCOM

Compared to Fort Hamilton, Hanscom Air Force Base was a flurry of activity. They had radioed ahead to explain the situation before rolling up to the gates and scaring everyone to death. Once they’d been checked out, a space had been cleared for them just off Runway Two.

The hangar was big, almost as large as the lab where Beowulf had lived. They set Madelaine up in the center of the space, and a semicircle of worktables was arrayed behind her. What little gear and supplies they’d escaped with had been put to use. Hanscom’s CO, Colonel Oliver, had been curt but fairly generous in getting them settled in. He knew nothing of the project and had never heard of Tesla, but Mr. Edison’s reputation was impressive. Even more so was the phone call from the White House. The president himself came on the line and asked Oliver to extend every courtesy to the unusual group.

As much as possible, Tesla and his team recreated the old lab in the empty airplane hangar. It wasn’t as comfortable, but they quickly had the basics in place. They could run diagnostics on Beowulf, reequip her, and even do minor improvements.

Savannah made sure they were settled, then followed an officer to the base’s radio room. She was eager to speak to General Houston, both to share news of their escape and to get the latest about the Boston offensive.

George pulled an empty magazine from Beowulf. “I’m glad we decided on using standard ammo,” he said. “Would be hell to resupply, otherwise.”

“Agreed,” said Tesla. “We’ll need to hand-fill the magazines, but the rounds themselves should be easy enough.”

Truth be told, that decision had been Bertram’s. There had been compelling reasons to go with custom ammo for Beowulf, but Bertram had lobbied hard that they were breaking so much new ground in its design, they would be foolish not to use standard gear where possible.

Tesla’s thoughts went to Bertram then. “George, can you handle things here? I want to go check on him.”

“Sure, we’ll be fine. Tell him I’ll be over after dinner.”

“I will,” Tesla said and walked out of the hangar. He turned and headed for the base hospital, mulling over the last news he’d heard about the lab director’s condition. It wasn’t great news.

Bertram was an odd mix of scientist and politician, two distinct skill sets rarely seen within one person. Together those skills had helped him rise from a doctoral student in nuclear fission to the director of what may have been the world’s most advanced research lab. Tesla hadn’t considered the difficulty of that job before, but without it, Beowulf wouldn’t exist.

The thought of all they’d lost in the zeppelin attack made him feel nauseated, but he reminded himself it was a setback, not an end. It could all be rebuilt, given time and money, and there would be more brilliant researchers out there, happy to dive into such a venture. He felt the loss of the men and women he’d met there, but was comforted by the idea that scientific progress would march on, as it must.

As he neared the hospital, a group of airmen passed by, curious about the civilian in the fancy, though dirty, clothes. He nodded in greeting as they walked past him, then headed into the hospital.

Bertram had been given a private room, considering his security clearance. When Tesla arrived, he saw his friend was unconscious. Edison and Colonel Oliver stood to one side of the room, speaking in low tones with Bertram’s doctor. Tesla joined them, ignoring Edison’s cool glare.

“How is he?” he asked.

The doctor shook his head. “Not well, I’m sorry to say. We got the brick out of his chest, and the lung sewn back together, but…”

“What?”

“It’s the infection I’m worried about. The foreign material had a lot of time to settle into the alveoli. We’re treating it as well as we can, but so far he’s not responding.”

Tesla leaned in, keeping his voice just above a whisper. “Are you saying he might not live?”

“I’m saying the next twenty-four hours will be critical. We just have to wait and see.”

Tesla frowned at the prognosis. He caught the colonel staring at him.
I wonder what Edison’s been telling him about me
?

Edison turned to Colonel Oliver. “Colonel, may we speak outside, please?”

“Sure,” he answered, following Edison out to the hallway.

Tesla forgot about them and moved to stand by Bertram’s side. His chest was wrapped in thick white gauze, and his face was slack and immobile. Tesla didn’t care at all for his friend’s thin pallor and pale lips.
He looks half-dead already
. The thought angered Tesla, and he chided himself for it. More than most, he should know that amazing recoveries are possible.