Chapter 13

Godfrey managed to get out of his house with Lewis and the detective chasing him. An Untamed had already occupied the driver's seat of the carriage at that point.

"Off to the station!" Godfrey ordered the thug.

He quickly went inside the carriage and the thug began whipping the horse.

Victor opened the door and he and Lewis saw the escaping Godfrey.

Lewis reacted with surprise, "There's a coachman already?!"

"Must have hidden while we were going in," said Victor. "Quickly, follow me!"

Lewis followed Victor running alley to alley as they planned to stop the fugitive at the train station.

Both Lewis and Victor put in much effort with their running feet and swinging arms against the sounds of horseshoes and carriage wheels.

Moments later, they reached the station at the Strand with Godfrey a hundred meters away from them.

"There they are," mumbled Lewis. He and Victor waited at the entrance for the arriving carriage.

Victor gave Lewis more information, "Irving has fencing experience, he's very good at it. Might draw out a sword all of a sudden."

"Fencing..." The word had Lewis remember reading about fencing from one of the books in his house. He then spotted the carriage in a hurry and immediately stopped.

Godfrey stepped out of the carriage and spotted the two blocking the entrance. He did not expect their presence. "How did they get here?"

Victor smiled and waved at Godfrey, assured he could arrest him now.

But suddenly the accompanying thug whistled very loudly. More men of red came out of the shadows one by one and stormed towards Lewis and Victor.

It was something they did not expect yet were prepared for. They started fighting the thugs back.

Godfrey used the fight to proceed inside the station, assisted by his man. Victor, while countering the attacking red jackets, had his eyes tracked on Godfrey.

"Lewis," Victor called while dodging swings. "You go on ahead. Follow Irving."

Lewis loudly replied, "How about you, Detective?! Can you handle them?!"

Victor landed punches and pushed whoever attacked him aside. Standing, he answered, "I have more experience of getting outmanned. Trust me."

One charged at him from behind but he anticipated with a sidestep. He spread his arms widely and then a ball-shaped bomb, similar to that Godfrey used earlier, came out of his right sleeve.

"PHOSPHORUS!"

Victor shouted the word again, but Lewis realized he had to escape the vicinity and enter the station to get to Godfrey.

Victor dropped the bomb and exploded as it came into contact with the surface. Dense smoke of black dazed the thugs, making them vulnerable.

A man came across the smoke. Victor, inside the smoke, noticed the figure. Though his vision was unclear, he was sure it was not a red jacket.

It was someone he expected to come.

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After escaping the vicinity of the smoke, Lewis was able to spot Godfrey and his assistant running up the station's platform. He decided not to rush and follow them discreetly.

Lewis made it to the platform and saw the fugitive getting in his steam train. An escape steam train, as supposed to be called in this situation.

He knew he needed to make a move to get inside the train. He looked around and saw a few Untamed patrolling the platform. That lessened his options for his next move.

The steam whistle made a sound twice, signaling the departure. Godfrey was definitely in a hurry. He was escaping out of London, of course.

At that point, Lewis did not know what to do. Suddenly the valve gears started to move.

The locomotive had already gone out of the station roof and the carriages with some thugs hanging on the side remained but not for long.

Time was ticking for Lewis to decide. "Looks like I'll have to catch up."

He got out of his hiding spot and ran straight to the last of the carriages despite the presence of the thugs, ignoring the patrolling.

He set foot on the carriage and was spotted. "Oi, wotcher doin' there?!" one thug shouted.

The patrolling thugs on the platform also saw Lewis in the carriage. They ran until the end of the platform but it was too late for them to catch up. The train had already left the station.

Lewis opened the door at the back with force. He entered the carriage of supplies.

And of course, he was greeted by the red jackets lining up to stop him. He mumbled, "All or nothing."

One by one, the thugs charged at Lewis. He parried each of their attacks and pushed them aside.

Two of them rushed towards the man simultaneously. He did not expect it yet remained calm. One threw a punch, he dodged it and held the whole arm to throw it back at the one charging in motion. He was hit as a result.

Both thugs fell to the floor and Lewis just walked past them. Despite his frame, they were no match to him.

He transferred from one carriage to another, which is a small bar. Pretty convenient for an escape train.

Without question, another line of defense greeted him next. This time, they were holding knives. Lewis mumbled, "Am I going to meet the same fate as Julius Caesar?"

Same as from the last wagon, the thugs charged at him as their first move, but Lewis did the same thing towards that one thug at the front.

He held the wrist that had the knife with his one hand and used his other hand to push him backward. He knew the pushing would surprise them.

The thug's back hit the one behind and his was also hit the one behind him. It was a chain reaction. Most of them fell down and those from the back backed their steps.

One of the men pulled out a gun and immediately aimed at Lewis. "Well then," he said.

The shot was fired and Lewis swiftly hid behind the counter of the bar. The next gunshot grazed the counter, making him flinch.

Lewis knew he had to act now, otherwise overpowered by the gunner so he jumped over the counter and ran forward while getting shot. He lowered his head as the bullets were chasing him and were shattering glasses and expensive wine bottles.

Lewis picked up a wine bottle, threw it on the gunner's head, and then jumped over the counter again, facing him. It cracked open and blinded the gunner with its liquid content momentarily. He used it as a chance to disarm the thug and kicked him in the chest.

Now with the gun in his hands, Lewis aimed at the remaining thugs left to right. They no longer wanted to fight him and chose to jump off the train through the door behind them.

"They actually jumped out." Lewis was surprised by the thugs' cowardice.

It was no matter for him now since the door was left open for him to get to the next carriage where Godfrey awaited.

The place was a complete mess, with dripping wines and shattered pieces of glass everywhere on the floor.

Lewis opened the door of the last of the carriages. A desk, a bed, a fireplace, a safe, a wardrobe and a collection of fancy canes. Those were some of the things inside that carriage.

And there he saw the fugitive on his seat loading his pistol.

"I'm surprised you made it through my men," Godfrey told Lewis. "Though part of that is because of their lack of fight and their stupidity."

He finished loading his gun, stood up from the seat and faced Lewis. He added to his line, "I even told them not to USE guns inside my train. Now, they've damaged it."

"That doesn't matter now, Godfrey Irving," Lewis replied. "Because you won't get past the city border."