Steelheart

As they walk through the steel catacombs, Abraham and David wonder whether the specific gun or bullet caused Steelheart to bleed. They walk past a tense group of outcasts, who slowly surround the Reckoners. The outcasts’ leader makes them a cold offer: Leave their weapons, and they can pass unharmed. In his calm, French-Canadian accent, Abraham negotiates alternative agreements, and David notices, “There was a strange sincerity to Abraham; from another person, words like those might have sounded condescending or sarcastic, but from him they sounded genuine” (133). He and the leader settle on a on a duel, and the winner gets their group’s way. The leader rapidly fires three shots on Abraham, who doesn’t flinch. Leaving his machine gun unused, Abraham unholsters his handgun, shoots the leader in the thigh, and helps tend to the wound. The outcasts are confused, but they let Abraham, Megan, and David pass. Once out of earshot, Abraham cleans his own wound where a bullet shard pierced his chest. The Reckoners’ jackets—invented by Prof—aren’t bulletproof themselves, but they cast an invisible force barrier. The jackets don’t make them impervious to gunshots (they function more effectively for falls or crashes) but they offer one layer of protection. They arrive at their destination—the shop of a weapons merchant named Diamond.

Diamond’s weapon selection lines the walls of a long corridor, and David spins a bad metaphor about how the shop is like a banana farm: “You know, how bananas grow from their trees and hang down and stuff?” (142). David mentions that he read about bananas in an encyclopedia, and Megan calls him a nerd, which unsettles David. David remembers what happened to the smart kids back in school: Steelheart recruited them for his service, and they lost all their freedom. Plus, David doesn’t really perceive himself as naturally intelligent. They keep searching the walls for the right weapon: Something no one has seen before and can produce an effect attributable to an Epic. David takes special notice of stealth explosives—devices that look like ordinary objects but can detonate—and motorcycles, which both Megan and Abraham flatly deny him. Finally, Abraham notices a large, long-barreled rifle called a gauss gun, but Diamond is reluctant to sell it. An imager shows the gauss gun in action, transforming a bullet into a supercharged explosive and nearly destroys a building with one blast of green smoke. However, Diamond doesn’t possess the energy pack to charge even one shot; the Reckoners would need to find and transport their own energy source. Abraham agrees to the sale anyway, and David asks for one of the stealth explosives, a pen detonator. Before they leave, David smells phosphorous in the air and knows that Nightwielder—Steelheart’s right-hand man—has just arrived.

Diamond, who takes care to not advertise his client base, panics because Nightwielder is hours early. However, Nightwielder is an incorporeal Epic with prime invincibility; Diamond can’t simply refuse him. The far end of the hallway is a dead end, and Abraham, Megan, and David hide there. Abraham gives David his machine gun for standing guard while he uses a tensor to dig toward the nearest tunnel. Nightwielder enters with two minions, who speak on his behalf, and Diamond looks fidgety. Nightwielder requests a large, easily-portable weapon for mobile soldiers. Diamond flounders nervously, and Nightwielder notices the empty wall space that the gauss gun previously occupied. The Epic—speaking directly for the first time—asks, “There was something here, was there not? […] You only opened today. You have already had business?” (161). Megan then accidentally nudges a box with her elbow, catching Nightwielder’s attention. Without asking permission, David decides to improvise.

David steps into the light, saying, “Boss, […] I got it working. Magazine comes out easily now” (162). He places Abraham’s machine gun on the empty wall space, where it fortunately fits. Nightwielder, skeptical of the newcomer, asks David to present the specifications, which he does accurately. Nightwielder then ignores David and asks to purchase Abraham’s weapon. Diamond dismisses David back to inventory, but one of Nightwielder’s assistants inquires about forensics devices, giving David an idea. Scientists detect DNA and fingerprints using UV light, which David suspects is Nightwielder’s weakness. As an assistant sorts through a forensics kit, David idly picks up a UV fingerprint scanner and pretends to fidget with it. Then, without looking in Nightwielder’s direction or making any pointed gestures, he turns on the device’s recording feature and shines the light toward the Epic.

Nightwielder immediately whips toward David, who continues to pretend the device isn’t working. Out of eyeshot, David slips the data chip from the device. Nightwielder considers for a while whether to kill David; even if the light was unintentional, he wouldn’t want to risk anyone knowing his weakness. However, killing David seemingly without reason might give the others clues about his weakness. David pretends to finally notice Nightwielder watching him, though he doesn’t need to fake his fear. David asks Diamond if he can return to inventory, which the merchant grants.

David slides through Abraham’s tunnel and meets them on the other side. Abraham asks about his machine gun, and David timidly admits that he sold it to Nightwielder. After they gain more distance, David inserts the data chip into his mobile, curious himself to see what he recorded. As the UV light scans over Nightwielder, he becomes momentarily visible and corporeal, documenting his weakness. Abraham praises his work, but Megan grows even colder toward him.

Once they return to Hole Fourteen, Abraham tells David to show Prof his findings. David finds Prof writing on an imager chalkboard, detailing a plan to kill Steelheart. David is disappointed to hear that Prof only kept the foundations of his plan intact, and they still have a few problems to resolve. The primary issue is the aftermath: The Reckoners will need to convince the public that they were behind the coup all along, rather than an Epic. Simultaneously, the fake Epic should be convincing enough to coax Steelheart, which means that they need to attack the city not with a human rebellion mindset, but rather a contending Epic’s. That means instead of killing as many Epics as possible, the Reckoners should only eliminate Steelheart’s inner circle—Firefight, Nightwielder, and Conflux—and merely bribe others to support the fake Epic’s cause. This change affects their first target, which a rebel group would never attack: basic utilities. Prof notes, “Newcago works on two principles: fear and stability. […] If we start attacking his infrastructure he’ll move on us faster than if we’d attacked his Epics. Steelheart is smart. He knows why people come to Newcago” (180). Prof doesn’t consider what system will replace Steelheart; he simply wants to get the job done, and David realizes that he’s the first person who hasn’t reproached his vengeful motives. Before David leaves, he remembers to tell Prof about Nightwielder’s weakness, and Prof is impressed. David mentions that Megan doesn’t think so, and Prof suggests that she might merely be jealous. Prof never indicated strong emotions throughout the conversation, but he gets the last word with a humbling threat: “You got results by risking the lives of my people. […] if you brashly get one of my people killed, David Charleston, Megan will not be your problem. I won’t leave enough of you for her to bother with” (185).

The Reckoners position themselves to attack the city’s power plant, and David finally feels like part of the team with his new jacket and encrypted mobile. David is nervous about partnering with Megan, who still regards him coldly though professionally. David’s technique with the tensor has improved enough for him to guide himself and Megan through the power plant walls. As they move between rooms, avoiding the hallways’ security cameras, Cody rambles at David with “a delightful running commentary” until an unwitting scientist enters the next room in David’s path (193). He and Megan backtrack to access the elevator shaft. Unlike most buildings, the shaft doesn’t have handholds along the sides—only slick steel. Prof orders them to wait five minutes, and if the elevator doesn’t move to carry them, then the team must abort mission.

After a few minutes, David confronts Megan about her hostility, but she doesn’t respond. The five minutes ends, but David isn’t ready to quit. He uses the tensor to carve handholds in the wall; nobody expected him to have that ability based on his limited practice. As David and Megan slowly climb, Megan finally confesses her frustration: “I joined the Reckoners to kill Epics who deserved it. […] Newcago is one of the safest, most stable places in the entire Fractured States. […] [Steelheart is] brutal, yes, but he’s doing a better job than most Epics” (200-201). Her opinion shocks David, but he finally understands why Megan grows cold every time he makes a breakthrough. Suddenly, two guards open a door to the shaft above them and stare straight down.

A guard shines a flashlight directly over them, but they somehow remain unnoticed. After they walk away, David accidentally removes a whole section of wall with the tensor, revealing a room. David looks down at Megan, who wears a cruel expression and reaches for her gun. David nervously calls her name, and she snaps out of her mood. They crawl into the room, which doesn’t appear on any of the building’s floorplans. Megan guesses that the room houses top-secret information, so they search the room for files and data chips. They use the tensor to cross a few more rooms until they reach their destination, which contains fuel cells powered by Conflux himself that are strong enough to activate the gauss gun. They pack away as many fuel cells as possible and change into disguises: lab coats with fake IDs. After the first bomb explodes, they burst into the hallway, announcing that the building is under attack. In the chaos, no one questions Megan and David’s credentials, and they attribute the siege to an Epic at every opportunity. The Reckoners first detonate nonlethal blasts—designed to prompt civilian evacuation—before obliterating the building.