The Tesla Legacy

Chapter 49

Vivian dragged Tesla through the tunnels. He was white and trembling, but he still kept his legs moving. He’d thrown up once inside the building, and she was worried that he’d reinjured his head. She had to get him back to Dr. Stauss.

“Need break,” he said.

She looked back. They’d put some distance between themselves and the Empire State Building. She lowered him to the ground.

He leaned against the stone wall and closed his eyes.

There had to be surveillance cameras in the Empire State Building. It was only a matter of time before someone traced them here. But he couldn’t walk any farther, and he wasn’t going to let her carry him.

She sat next to him, wishing she’d thought to bring a water bottle. The dog was crowded up against his leg, resting his head on Tesla’s lap. It looked worried, too.

“How you doing, sir?” she asked.

He opened his eyes and gave her a weak grin. “Thanks for not letting go back there.”

“That’s my job,” she said. “Rule one: Never let your client fall eighty-five stories. Bad for business.”

“You have a good grip.”

“I climb,” she said. “Good for hand strength.”

He smiled. He looked a little better now. The rest had done him good.

He took the metal device out of his pocket and set it on the ground. “My father wanted me to destroy this.”

“Yes, sir.” They’d seen what it could do in the wrong hands.

“It could be a force for good.” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself of something. “Or evil.”

“Any weapon is only as evil as the one wielding it.”

“If we let this out of our hands, anyone could be the one wielding it.”

“That’s what ‘out of our hands’ means.”

Tesla shut his eyes so long she wondered if he’d gone to sleep. Vivian waited. Destroying the device was Tesla’s choice to make. Even if she did it, for all she knew he could build another one. She glanced back the way they had come. If they got caught here, it would be confiscated, and then there wouldn’t be any decision to make.

Tesla sat back up. He picked up the device and fiddled with it. He used one of his old keys like a screwdriver and took the back off. A few minutes later, he had a pile of metal pieces in his lap.

He raised his arm and tossed a handful down the tunnel. Edison looked out at them as if deciding whether to fetch them back.

Tesla struggled to his feet, and she squelched her instinct to help him. He looked weak, but determined.

He handed her some gears. They were still warm. Back in the building the device had been practically red-hot. She flung them ahead of her. A few pinged off the metal subway tracks.

Together, they walked toward his house, scattering Nikola Tesla’s invention around them as they went.