Chapter 9 – The Fallen Triad

Soundtrack: Everybody Wants To Rule The World – Tears For Fears

19th of July, 1870.

Hong Kong was one of six Asian cities to employ Dust technology in any capacity during 1870. And while Singapore, Tokyo, Lahore, Delhi and Bombay were integrating the Schnee Dust Company and their technology to the best of their abilities, the Chinese were wary of the family who dominated Europe, gained a foothold in New England, and were then vying for control over the cradle of mankind. Furthermore, the Chinese did their level best to adhere to their Confucian way of life, and found that this newfangled technology was anathema to their goal.

That wasn't to say that the Chinese completely shunned the use of Dust, however. As an experiment, they had decided to restrict Dust technology to the one city within their borders that had the largest amount of traffic from the outside world; Hong Kong. It thus became the centre of Chinese trade, technology and diplomacy, and was also one-third of the power structure of Chinese governance, with Shanghai serving as the military headquarters and Beijing serving as the home of the monarchy and parliament.

On a balmy summer's morning, the SS Mantle came to dock in the Victoria Harbour. Driving off of it was a white, enclosed carriage with three occupants ensconced within and a driver on the outside. After all, business magnates never did anything so crude and pedestrian as drive their own vehicles. The first occupant was a tall, gaunt man named Corvus Branwen, and he'd been the head of Schnee security since the company opened shop in London. A Welshman with a hint of ancestry from the Emerald Isle, the veteran of the Indian rebellion was grizzled, stern and utterly devoid of compunction over killing or maiming anyone who wronged his employers.

Margarethe Schnee was the second occupant of the vehicle. She was present because of her aptitude for negotiation and experienced counsel, both of which were highly regarded by the last occupant – a young, alabaster-haired man by the name of Johannes Damian Jakob Schnee. He looked determined, yet nervous as the carriage arrived at the Central Government Offices off of Harcourt Road.

Leaving the carriage, Johannes and Margarethe led the way, while Corvus moved behind them out with his eyes rolling around like pinwheels, always watching for threats. Entering the building, Johannes was greeted by a servant.

"The Minister is ready to meet you, sir and madam," the servant began in good English. "He waits within his office on the second floor, near the atrium."

"Why thank you," Johannes replied politely. "Have a good day."

The trio entered the lift, remaining calm and silent until the second floor was reached. Stepping out, they quickly located the atrium and found the office. Entering the room, Johannes lay eyes on the Chinese Minister for Trade. He was a slight, bespectacled man in his late thirties, with small spikes of charcoal-coloured hair framing his thin face. Despite the man's easy smile, there was a nervousness in his hazel eyes that belied everything he did – as though he always walked on egg shells.

"Minister Houlong, if I'm not mistaken," Johannes greeted with an outstretched hand.

"Please, call me Park," the politician replied calmly while shaking hands. "So, what business idea did you want to discuss with me today, Mr. Schnee?"

"As I see it," Johannes started, "China is on the precipice of embracing Dust technology on a much broader scale than beheld before. As heir-apparent to the Schnee Dust Company, I want to help China make upgrades to its infrastructure – especially since the military, the monarchical and the diplomatic arms of the Chinese state are divided between Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing.

"What I propose is the construction of a massive tunnel that features a high-speed rail and telephone line between the three cities, as well as rail and telephone networks within Shanghai and Beijing in the same vein as those found here. It will take fifteen to twenty years to complete," he added while Margarethe handed Park a copy of the proposals, "but the benefits would be worth the investment."

"And what price," Park responded, "must China pay for your help?"

"The only thing I ask for in return," Johannes replied calmly, "is exclusive operation of the Dust mines after the project is completed, and joint operation between my company and the Chinese government whilst the project is still in operation."

"There's one problem with that," Park responded nervously. "All of our Dust mines are operated by the Qiū family already."

"In that case," Margarethe piped up, "why not propose a business alliance? Making use of their Dust for the project will help boost their business, as well as remove the need for importing Dust components which can be made in Hong Kong."

"An excellent idea, Margarethe," Johannes declared proudly. "Shall we discuss this with the head of the Qiū family?"

Park nodded, hesitantly. "I can check if that's feasible. Allow me to make a phone call, and I'll try to make this happen."

"Of course, Park," Johannes admitted. The three left the room while Park picked up the receiver. After a minute's silence, Corvus's feelings couldn't remain contained.

"Sounds like these Qiū fellows aren't legitimate, and Park's stuck in their web," Corvus muttered.

"Definitely," Johannes responded. "Still, when in Rome ..."

At this point, Park leaned out of the office. "Qiū Liúhuáng is on his way to give his response. He should be here in quarter of an hour."

"Capital!", Johannes remarked. "In the meantime, shall we discuss some of the logistical details of the proposal?"

"Of course," Park replied as the three re-entered the office.

Exactly sixteen minutes later, Qiū Liúhuáng strode into the office. He was a Chinese-English hybrid of forty who looked both imperious and impervious. His face was harder than granite, with a perpetual look of disapproval chiselled onto his face.

"Qiū Liúhuáng," Park started, "this is Johannes Schnee and Margarethe Schnee. They're the architects of the business proposal I told you about earlier."

"Well met, Mr. Qiū," Johannes replied before bowing in greeting, as Margarethe curtsied.

"Now Liúhuáng," Margarethe started, "we have a -"

"Did I ask you to talk, jìnǚ?", Liúhuáng snarled ferally. "I want nothing to do with some moronic woman who dares dictate business deals with me." Park looked shocked at his choice of words, as Johannes responded in kind after Margarethe began to tear up.

"How dare you treat my aunt with disrespect!", he bellowed as Qiū Liúhuáng left. While Park began to apologise profusely to Margarethe, Johannes glared at Corvus, and nodded twice. Corvus knew all too well what had been asked of him, and he nodded once in return as an affirmation. The smile Johannes sported at that moment was downright predatory.

That night, the Qiū family were happily relaxing at their mansion at Jardine's Lookout, one of the leafier suburbs in the southern half of Hong Kong. Suddenly, a knock came at the front door, and the butler dashed to open it. It was the last mistake he'd ever make, as Corvus blew a hole into the man's chest with his silenced six-shooter.

Half an hour later, the team of ten gunmen that Corvus Branwen had set upon the family had completed their grisly work. No one within was spared, and the silent manor house was being picked clean for anything of value. At present, Corvus was helping arrange the scene to make it look like another triad had gained revenge against the Qiū family. Suddenly, one of the gunmen called out to him from the stairwell.

"Sir! I've found some blueprints in the basement!"

"Is that right, eh?", Corvus responded. "Let's see them."

The younger man ran to his boss and held the main blueprint out for Corvus to examine. Though he was an old soldier, Corvus had served in the Fusiliers; he therefore had a rudimentary knowledge of Dust technology, and was therefore quite surprised to see designs for a navigation system that lacked the need for manual operation. One simply needed an Analytical Engine, one of the newest Dust technologies available in 1870, for inputting a destination, and this system did the rest. It was years ahead of the advancements made by his employers, and was consequently extremely valuable.

"Well spotted, Andrews," Corvus eventually said. "You didn't happen to see any other prints lying around the place, did you?"

"No sir," Andrews replied.

"Very well," Corvus responded. "Johannes will be pleased to get this. All right, lads!", he called out to the rest of his team, "let's get packing."

Four minutes later, the Qiū mansion lay dormant. It would remain this way until an eight-year old girl and her seventy-three year-old grandmother returned there from a holiday in Xanadu three days later, at which point it became the birthing ground to a weapon utterly dedicated to the destruction of the Schnee Dust Company. A monster like every other that bore the Qiū name.

The day after the Qiū family fell, Johannes returned to see Park Houlong in his office. Straight away, Johannes noticed that Park looked more relaxed than he was before. I was right; the Qiū were behind his recalcitrance to our deal, Johannes observed as he shook hands. Hopefully I'll have better success this time, even if I merely wanted them bashed to a pulp instead of killed.

"Now Park," Johannes started smugly, "I believe you have a solution to yesterday's impasse?"

"Indeed; here's the government's counter-proposal," Park responded. "We'll allow your company to construct the railway and communications networks between and within Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing, but we'll keep the Qiū mines in our control until the end of 1890 – with the sole intent of using those mines to maintain the existing technology we already have at our disposal, and to fuel your proposal. After 1890, if no member of the Qiū family steps forward to claim the mines, we'll hand control of the mines over to you."

Johannes recognised what this meant; given that Corvus had acted dishonourably, the Chinese were trying to con him out of a fortune by playing the long game. Failing to claim complete control of the mines straight away wouldn't please his father either. However, Johannes also knew that increasing the company's business by developing critical infrastructure would prove a massive windfall for the family regardless. The fact that the Qiū triad were in no position to claim the mines helped as well.

"Very well," he eventually replied. "I accept your proposal."

"Good to hear it," Park averred whilst shaking hands with Johannes. "I'll have the paperwork signed immediately, inform the parliament about this decision, and start arranging for construction teams to work with your engineers."

7th of September, 1890.

"And as a result of old Corvus misinterpreting my orders," Johannes concluded, "we are set to claim control of the Chinese Dust mines in three months, unless those Qiū devils resurface. Given the state of affairs, it's possible that a child of the family was holidaying somewhere else when the triad got dealt with, then reared by sympathetic friends or colleagues as an instrument of vengeance. As dastardly as my actions were, the things that Chinese triads are willing to do are even worse. Therefore, the Qiū triad cannot be allowed to regain power in China, lest they corrupt the political process and dominate the East Asian market once again."

The four women were stunned into silence at the revelations. After a rather long pause, Weiss spoke up.

"Well, that's enough of that," she conveyed in a quiet tone that guaranteed a perforated eardrum to Johannes in the near future. Blake pre-emptively stopped her lover's tirade with a question.

"Incidentally, what happened to the technology they developed?"

"That auto-navigation system, after being suppressed long enough to be on par with current technology, was installed solely on the four Amphitrite-class ships built in 1882. The Winter Maiden, my private ship, was the first to receive the technology; the Summer Maiden, our flagship in all of our quasi-military matters, was the second. The Autumn and Spring Maidens, however, are top-of-the-line cargo vessels; the former is our flagship in American and North European trading, and the latter does the same for our Asian and Mediterranean markets.

"Anyhow, this system is installed as a fail-safe in the event of the crew getting incapacitated or engaged in combat; with the system engaged, even a simpleton can tell the ship where it's destination lay."

"So if our assailant gets their hands on any of the Maiden ships," Weiss realised, "they'll be able to take it directly to China and use it against us."

"Exactly," Johannes concluded. "And while I'm not sure of it, I have a gut feeling that the robberies that occurred during July and August are intended to help in a plan to restore the Qiū family to power."

"How so, sir?", Blake enquired. "As I understand it, the August robberies removed several Dust components along with some case-hardened steel from the Cardiff warehouse, and several quantities of different polymers and automaton miscellanea from the Sheffield warehouse, but all Weiss told us about that train in Rotherham was that something valuable got pinched from it."

"Is that so, Miss Belladonna? Well, I'll take the liberty of telling you and the huntresses, on proviso that you three tell no-one else."

"Of course, sir," Blake acquiesced, while Ruby and Yang nodded emphatically.

"Very well. What got stolen was a briefcase of new invention designs that were being sent to London to be developed. They were designs of new weapons and military vehicles for the benefit of General Ironwood. Fortunately, the original blueprints weren't in the case; there were multiple copies made, and the originals and other copies got through to him a few days later."

"Even so," Weiss replied, "the fact that our enemy has access to military designs and materials doesn't sit well with me. We'll need as much force as we can get to stamp out this problem before it gets too big for us to cover up. They were lasted spotted on Salter Road in Rotherhithe."

"Very well; I agree," Johannes concurred. "I'll arrange for my automatist to assist in making Dust munitions for the four of you, and I'll also provide a safehouse on Rotherhithe Avenue itself for you to use for surveillance work."

Weiss smiled confidently. "My thanks, Father. I won't fail you, and my cohorts here won't fail me."

Johannes nodded in satisfaction. "Excellent. I'll start by making the necessary telephone calls; I should have the safe-house readied in two hours, and Grünwald should become available by the evening."

Weiss nodded. "Very good. We'll get straight to work and complete our mission."

As the quartet went to leave, Ruby turned to face Johannes with a smile on her face.

"It was an honour to meet you, sir."

Johannes's gaze and smile became warmer, giving off a quasi-grandfatherly air.

"Likewise, Miss Rose."

No sooner had Weiss's lift stopped at its destination, then the phone rang. Blake surged forward to answer it as the clock struck ten.

"You're talking to Blake Belladonna, secretary of Weiss Schnee. State your business."

"Miss Belladonna, it's Chief Inspector Jaune Arc of Scotland Yard. A stolen Black Maria has been found gutted by fire on the north bank of the Thames, near the Rotherhithe docks. A message that read "Fuck the Ice Queen; kill Weiss Schnee." was written in red paint on the wreckage, along with the same damned sigil that we found in Exham Museum this morning."

Uh-oh.

"Noted. I'll be sure to inform my boss about that in short order. Please ring back in say, ten minutes so we can discuss details?"

"Sounds good to me," the policeman replied. "I'll ring you soon."

Once Blake hung up the phone, she slumped forward.

"Blake, what's wrong?", Weiss asked. "You've gotten paler than me, for crying out loud!"

"First Exham Museum gets burgled," she groused, "now some policeman by the name of Jaune just told me that the culprits torched a Black Maria near Rotherhithe and left a death threat for you, along with that blasted sigil."

"Jaune?", Weiss asked. "Do you mean the Inspector Jaune Arc of the Yard?"

"Chief Inspector now," Blake replied.

"The man tipped me off about Emerald and Mercury in the first place," Weiss confessed. "Getting his help will be a good idea."

"And since me and Yang have been friends of his for roughly half our lives," Ruby noted, "he'd be even happier to lend a hand in dealing with these madmen."

"Then there's his fiance, Dr. Pyrrha Nikos," Yang added. "She works at Exham Museum, and is no slouch with a sword or a rifle. She'd likely be chomping at the bit to return the items the bastards stole from there."

"And her butler used to be a professional bouncer, and one of our mutual friends is "Bloody Nora" Valkyrie", Ruby concluded, to Blake's thinly veiled glee and Weiss's obvious confusion. "Getting them on-side would stack the deck in our favour, without going into all-out war and causing a public scandal."

Weiss considered it for ten long seconds, before a plan hit her like a bolt of lightning.

"Blake," she asked, "fetch our weapons and prepare my personal vehicle that you'll be driving."

"Understood," the secretary replied before bustling out. Weiss then turned to the sisters.

"Yang," she asked, "would you mind writing down an address for a meeting. Perhaps somewhere no-one would actually think to spy on?"

Yang instantly came up with an idea. "I know a place. We'll meet at Pyrrha's townhouse. It's on Hornton Road in Kensington, opposite the library."

"Good thought," Weiss admitted as Yang set to work. "And Ruby," she asked sweetly, "would you mind giving Dr. Nikos and Ms. Valkyrie a telephone call once Jaune calls us again? I believe we've got much to discuss."

A/N: So yeah, this is a heavy chapter. Hope you enjoyed it!

Stay tuned next week as we hit the mid-fic finale.