Bean tossed Kujo into the front seat, and then vaulted over the hood to the other side. He pressed himself into the machine as a secondary explosion erupted too close for comfort.
“Buckle up!”
Jim piled in and gunned the engine into full reverse; Kujo had just clipped herself into place when she was left whiplashed about the restraints. Jim swung hard as he jammed the brakes; the Lotus Espirit drifted a full circle then reacted to Bean’s flooring the machine forward. Shrieking tires echoed through the Titanic’s cargo hold, interspersed with dull booms of fuel caches igniting and splintering crashes of the Espirit smashing her way to freedom. Elise bit back her screams as bullets sparked and ricocheted off the car. The spy paid no heed, ploughing through hasty barricade and bouncing over infested corpses like a crazed beast.
Behind, a dull lurch and a firestorm filling the entire rear view signified that the retrofitted reactor had gone nova.
Up ahead, one of the Turned still not clued in to the latest news had backed up a prime mover into their way.
“Going down!” Jim quipped as he twisted the gear shaft. The Espirit retracted her wheels and flopped on her reinforced belly. Sparks showering in their wake, Jim lost just enough height for the vehicle to neatly slide under the high-arched truck. Momentum then carried the submersible onwards and over the ramp the boy smashed on the way in earlier.
For a moment, there was nothing but air whistling over the slowly tumbling car.
And the next moment, the chasing shockwave shattered out of the ancient hull like a steamroller, slinging bolts, debris and the Lotus in different directions.
Elise rolled about her seatbelt again when bonnet crashed and bubbled through the surface.
The machine sank like a rock amidst a meteor shower of debris shooting into the sea.
Jim crossed his arms and leaned back, letting the craft level out and drift on its own.
“Traffic’s a killer these days, isn’t it?” Bean surmised.
“That’s because you’re the worse driver I’ve ever met!” Kujo retorted.
That snapped the tension from before. Elise clapped her hands over her mouth while Jim let fly the mirth of the moment. And perhaps more had given way, for Jim found himself swathed in rich blond hair. Even the early vigor left a scent greater than any fragrance in an emporium. It was no squeeze; the Lotus had plenty of leg room, but only Elise could have fit into his lap. The Black Reaper closed his arms around the quivering Golden Witch.
“Elise?”
“…stupid Bean...” Kujo croaked, face pressed into his chest while scrunching up a bit of his tuxedo in her small fist. “What are you trying to do, charging through the middle of nowhere and pulling off a stunt like that…”
Bean brushed it off. “When was I not pulling stunts?”
[The rabbit is the monster’s heart.] Elise sang as Bean felt her fist tighten. [If the rabbit dies, so does the monster.]
“[i]‘Le Monstre Charmant’[i], huh...” Jim mused.
“I said it before, didn’t I?” Bean moved his hand to her shoulder. “No matter what happens, if you’re out having fun, I’m going to crash the party.”
His tone grew serious. “I am not going to lose my partner, again.”
Elise smirked into his shirt. “Silly Jim...”
“Did you find what you were looking for?”
Elise nodded, and fished out a tiny artefact from her pocket.
“That... must be some pipe.”
“As you already know, it belonged to my grandmaman and stayed by her side during the hardest times of her life. However, she lost it her trek to Japan.” Elise said as she turned it round and round. “It didn’t bother anyone, but a fortnight ago, the fragments of Chaos were suddenly assembled.”
“The art auction at Kaosiung,” Jim answered.
“And a certain lecture by Prof Sayanaki,” Elise added, bringing it up to the interior lights. There was no mistaking the golden metallic glint at the base of the pot.
“Irokane?!”
“The kind that can change the world for the better.” Elise spoke in a soft voice. “Or plunge it into eternal strife...”
“But that’s not the point...” She clasped it against her chest. “I am sure this pipe played a part in bringing my grandparents together... I will not stand by and watch some filth get his grubby hands on it!”
“With it confirmed to be a Relic, I’m sure Tokyo Butei will protect this piece of history wholeheartedly.” Bean agreed. “And we won’t be in trouble for running off like this.”
“As predicted by my fountain of wisdom.”
“And one more thing...” Bean reached into his arm-rest and flicked a switch that lay out of sight. A compartment by the steering wheel clicked open, and nestled within the velvet packing, was a polished spheroid from the depths of Akihabara.
“Metal Oopa!!” Elise squealed.
“Happy birthday, Elise,” Jim smiled.
“Very well done,” Kujo giggled, taking the item and balancing it cutely on her pipe. “You are a worthy investment for a minion.”
“And now, if we hurry,” Bean said as he checked his watch, then called up the GPS to his panels. “We can still make it for your birthday party and the fireworks.”
“You’re jesting,” Elise scoffed.
“No, I jest not,” Bean winked. “It’s just a straight drive from here.”
~~~~~~
The explosion from sea had made the boatman abandon his evening ruminate over cheese and chardonnay. As he watched, bottle in hand, a plume of smoke welled over the horizon, a lingering testament to an unsinkable ship finally sunk, again.
A speck in the surf caught his eye. He squinted into the orange sunset, watching the object drift closer to shore. Weathered hands brought his binoculars out as he clambered up the pulpit. He could see that it was big, almost rectangular, and cast a strange shadow over the waves. He dialled up the zoom and fine focus, wondering what kind of a creature would have a body like that.
Just as his curiosity could take no more, the Lotus Espirit jumped out of the surf, sprang wheels and rolled up the Bordeaux quay like it was the most natural thing to do.
The watchman dropped his spyglasses, looked at the spirit in his hand, and then tossed it overboard.
And the first wave of Bastille sparkles burst overhead.