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When Katerina had returned from a second visit to the toilet to vomit, they talked about what to do. They were in agreement that they had to do something and do it urgently. Waiting was not an option. Somehow they had to get out of the room.
Noah confessed that he could pick locks. Unfortunately, the lock on this door was like none he had ever seen. He had the others search the two rooms for tools of any kind while he examined the door more closely. As they did, Katerina began explaining her dream, recognizing the corridors and seeing the assassin. Noah had stopped to listen in amazement to her when they heard a scratching at the room door.
Caleb grabbed the x-ray device first this time but before he could use it, the door swung suddenly open. One of the men who had escorted them, the one Amois had shot in the chest, fell into the room. The trail of blood smeared down the hallway revealed his pathway to them.
“Help me!” Noah cried to the other two. Together they managed to lift the dying man awkwardly onto a bed.
They tried to stop the bleeding with one of the bedsheets but there was so much blood it was impossible to know where to put pressure. His valiant trip down the corridor had utterly exhausted him. He was as white as the sheet they were using on his wound, barely moving. He tried to lift his head once but fell back onto the pillow instead, looking dazedly around at them.
“We’ll get you help,” Katerina promised when his eyes landed on her face.
With great effort, he managed to choke out, “No!...I’m sorry...get the papers to Tobiah,” before the light left his eyes. When his head rolled to the side, he was already dead.
“We could do that if we had the papers,” Katerina muttered, sinking back on her haunches in despair.
For the first time in an hour Caleb smiled, grimly, as he pulled something from the back of his jeans. “I hid some, the ones that seemed important, while we were finding Tobiah. I thought I should take a precaution.”
They huddled quickly around the papers to see what they had, Noah keeping an eye on the door. Spread out before them was documented, written evidence of the complicity of Amois with a dozen others in certain bombings, murders and betrayals within Tobiah’s organization. There were photos of at least ten of these traitors too, including one Katerina instantly recognized as the assassin.
The thought of the man pulled her back to the present. “We really should get going in case Amois comes back. We need to find Aaron. If my dream’s right, I think I might know the way.”
Caleb awkwardly searched the dead man before they left, finding one of the devices Amois had used to open their door, along with a small square card which he took in case it proved useful. They closed the man’s eyes and covered him respectfully with a red blanket. Then they closed the door behind them and followed Katerina deeper into the castle.
The dream returned to her immediately as she stepped into the corridor. She led them at a fast pace until they were, according to it, just one turn away from Aaron’s prison. There she stopped to explain, “If I’m right, just around this corner is an enclave and he’s in a room there. In my dream there were bars instead of a door, but we haven’t seen that anywhere else so far, so I’m not sure what sort of security there will actually be.”
Noah nodded, “Okay. I’ll go first.”
He took the corner slowly and pulled back immediately. “There’s a man going into the enclave. One of the ones in the photos.”
Katerina peeked cautiously around the corner just in time to see the man too. “I think it’s the assassin! What shall we do?”
“Get closer. Quietly.”
Several lights were out in the corridor and there was broken glass on the floor, so they had to take their time. They crept near enough to hear voices. When Caleb used the x-ray, he could see the assassin talking to Aaron through the bars. “Tell me what you know about me,” the man was demanding. He had his back to them and was looking down, concentrating on something in front of him though he was addressing Aaron. “I will find out what you know. How I do so is up to you.”
Aaron’s reply sounded tired but resolute. “I have nothing to say to you.”
“Oh, but you will. No one will be anywhere near here for hours. They’re all nicely tied up with the fighting outside. There’s plenty of time for us to have a little talk.”
Aaron remained silent. Then Caleb understood what the man had been doing because the door to Aaron’s cell abruptly swung open. He saw Aaron tense and take a step back. The assassin entered and the knife he held in one hand came into Caleb’s view. Caleb glanced urgently at Noah who took the x-ray from him to look through it too.
“What is it?” Katerina demanded.
“He’s in the cell with a knife.”
“Then we have to do something!”
“We will. Just wait,” Noah answered.
He was scanning the room to see what they could use. But the assassin moved fast, hitting Aaron hard in the stomach, his fist a blur. Aaron doubled over, the wind knocked out of him. The assassin moved in again and this time the knife flashed, slicing into Aaron’s arm. Aaron cried out, Katerina moved in response and Caleb grabbed her to hold her back. “What’s happening? What should we do?” he asked Noah urgently.
Aaron was standing at his full height again. Despite that, it occurred to Noah the priest must be drugged, because he was blinking his eyes and opening them as wide as he could, as if trying to wake up. His arm was dripping with blood but he was ignoring it — or oblivious to it — and now he took up a fighting stance, fists ready. But the assassin just laughed and moved like a flash again, his hand flicking in and out as a second cut appeared on the priest’s shoulder.
Another blow smashed into Aaron’s ribs and he cried out in pain. He staggered back this time, losing his balance and falling to the ground. The assassin stood over him, gloating. It was a horrific sight — the man with the dripping knife and Aaron writhing in agony below him.
“Time to talk!” they heard the assassin snap.
Noah was no stranger to fighting. He had trained as a boxer and fought for Alice more than once. But the assassin was too fast, too confident. He muttered, “Aaron’s in a bad way and that man is scarily good. I don’t know if we can stop him.”
“We have to try!” Katerina’s eyes flashed.
“You don’t understand. He’s almost supernaturally fast! I don’t think I would have a chance against him.”
“But Aaron’s hurt...that man will kill him!”
“Kat’s right, we have to do something,” Caleb agreed.
“Okay. We’ll try to distract him.”
Noah was reminded of a movie he had seen once, a re-enactment of the events of 9/11 on the plane that missed its intended target because men on it had rushed the terrorists. He felt just as doomed as they had been as he studied the scene through the x-ray one more time. As he took a deep breath ready to move out of hiding, they all heard a strange buzzing sound and he saw the assassin pull a phone from his pocket and hold it to his ear.
His end of the conversation was brief. “How did that happen?...Well, how did Tobiah know?...Where is he now?...Then find him!” There was silence as the assassin listened, his eyes on Aaron who was watching him warily. “Get Erin to re-set it, he can re-program the trigger...” Clearly the response to that was not what he wanted, and his voice was sharp with his final words, “I’ll come now.” He hung up the phone and leaned down to Aaron sneering, “I’ll be back soon and we’ll finish our little conversation then.”
Noah waited no longer, hissing, “He’s leaving, come on,” leading them at a run back the way they had come, away from Aaron’s cell. They flung themselves around the corner and waited while Noah checked the x-ray device. To his relief the assassin had turned away from them, disappearing out of sight in the opposite direction. “Someone should follow him and see what he’s doing,” he said.
“I’ll do it. You get Aaron out,” Caleb offered.
“Take this then,” Noah pushed the x-ray into his hands. “How will we find you again?”
“Just try to get Aaron out and I’ll try to find you. I’ll look for you near the main entrance if that’s our only way out. If I can’t find you, we’ll meet at that place Karim told us about.”
“We’ll never get out the front door!” Katerina exclaimed — but Caleb was already running after the assassin.
Aaron’s cell door was shut again and he was lying, only half-conscious, in a pool of his own blood. When Noah accessed the door with the card, Aaron opened his eyes slowly and stared at them as if he was dreaming. They wasted no time binding his wounds tightly to stop the bleeding using sheets from his cell bed. He was too weak to go far on his own so they took a side each and supported him as best they could. As they hurried down the corridors after Caleb, Noah explained how they had found him. Aaron listened silently until Noah was finished then said faintly, “I knew I chose right this time.”
When they reached stairs, they struggled up them as quickly as possible, still supporting Aaron. One level up, there was a small slit window they all glanced out. It was now quite black outside other than the occasional gun-flashes lighting up the darkness. Up another level they entered a deserted hallway. They had no choice but to guess which way to go, opting for a route they hoped led back towards the main entrance. They figured if the assassin hadn’t gone that way, at least it would lead them out eventually...
Caleb felt like a secret agent as he followed the assassin; both exhilarated by the chase and terrified. Thankfully he could use the x-ray device before turning any corner, so he was in no danger of being seen. Besides, the man he pursued seemed oblivious to his presence anyway. Still his heart was racing with adrenaline as they moved through the palace.
They had travelled up several levels and back towards the main entrance when three other men intercepted Caleb’s target. The four immediately moved into a nearby room. Through the half open door Caleb saw one of the newcomers handing over a complicated-looking dark red device. It had wires and circuitry all over it and by the delicacy with which they were handling it Caleb guessed it must be some sort of bomb.
Words were exchanged and for the first time Caleb heard the assassin’s name — Marcos. They gave him a cloth bag of tools and he started working on the device while one of the men stood on guard at the door. The others continued to talk urgently with Marcos but Caleb couldn’t hear what they were saying.
Time passed slowly then Marcos straightened up. Whatever he said next upset his listeners and their voices started to rise. They seemed to be trying to absolve themselves of guilt of some kind, but Marcos was not wearing it. Then it was Caleb’s turn to watch a murder as the assassin spun around like the master he was and planted his knife cleanly into the heart of the nearest man. His victim collapsed forward almost gracefully as Marcos pulled the blade back out.
The other man in the room with Marcos backed off immediately, hands in the air as if to hold him off. Marcos simply picked up the package and walked away, saying clearly enough for Caleb to hear, “This is the crucial one. I’ll plant it, you dispose of him,” waving at the dead man on the floor. Without waiting for a response, he strode out the door.
Caleb couldn’t follow until the other men moved too — but they paused to talk and look at their dead colleague. Eventually they made a decision, went into the room and closed the door.
For long moments Caleb stood uncertain and fearful, knowing he had to risk discovery if he was to keep going; knowing he needed to keep moving if he was to stop the bombing. When he forced himself to step out into the corridor, his heart was pounding so loudly as he passed the door he was certain they would hear him. But he made it by undetected and hurried on after Marcos, desperate not to lose him.
Within a few minutes two more dead bodies informed him he was heading in the right direction. Marcos had not even bothered to hide them this time. A door partly ajar came next, but the x-ray revealed the room was empty. It appeared to be an operations center with a number of unusual looking computers and a wall of screens lit up with pictures and live video feeds from various parts of the palace, both interior and exterior. He was shocked by the exterior feed; there were dead bodies on the lawn and parts of the huge wall in rubble. The fighting seemed localized to the grounds though and all appeared quiet within. That would not last when the assassin’s bomb went off!
The thought galvanized him. He had to step over two more, freshly-murdered men — both still warm, both lifeless, to access the computers. He began searching the feeds to locate Marcus again. It took far too long but eventually he found the man moving through a slightly darker area of the palace. To his horror, the assassin no longer carried the bomb!
He started searching the video feeds frantically. He had to find the bomb, but the task seemed hopeless. It looked like the assassin had travelled some distance already, though it was difficult to determine exactly which corridor led to which. He was panicking when he spotted Aaron, Noah and Katerina pausing to look at the second of the two dead bodies he had passed. Relieved, he hurried back down the corridors to them.
“Caleb! Where’s the assassin?” Katerina exclaimed as he raced into sight.
“He has a bomb, I lost him! I’m searching for it on the security feeds.” He took Katerina’s place at Aaron’s side and hurried them back to the operations room.
They settled Aaron on a seat and joined Caleb at the screens. “Where would he be likely to plant a bomb?” Noah asked Aaron, but the priest’s head was falling forward as he faded out. Noah grabbed his face roughly to wake him.
“He said this was the crucial one so it must be somewhere significant,” Caleb offered.
“Where would be the most impacting place for a bomb to go off?” Noah asked Aaron again.
Aaron struggled to focus a moment, frowning, then he said, “The main hall if it was filled with people. Anywhere Tobiah could be killed. Or here.”
“That makes sense. The hall’s empty and we don’t know where Tobiah is, so everyone start looking here.”
The thought of a bomb about to go off in their vicinity was motivation enough. Caleb found it. He knew what to look for. It was under a desk, strapped tightly to it. There was a timer on it set for twenty minutes.
“What do we do?” Katerina gasped, staring at it in horrified fascination.
“You need to get Tobiah,” Aaron urged. “He’ll know what to do. He knows bombs.”
“How will we find him?”
“Look for a card. They’re small and square. Search the drawers. They’re a map...”
“We got one off that dead man,” Caleb interrupted, pulling it out.
Aaron instructed, “Cup it in your hands. It reacts to the nerves in your hands.” As Caleb did so, a map suddenly appeared, springing up 3D-like on top of it. It even had little dots moving around on it which at closer perusal appeared to be people.
“Tobiah will be surrounded by guards. Look for a concentration of people.” Aaron was wide awake now, adrenaline surging through him.
“There!” Katerina pointed.
“Take the map and hurry! Tell him what we’ve found — run!”
Tobiah was close but Caleb had to make some detours to avoid other people. He reckoned around eight precious minutes had passed before he reached the doors of the room Tobiah seemed to be in. Without pausing he shoved the doors open and yelled, “Tobiah! We’ve found a bomb!” He realized his mistake instantly for Amois was in the midst of the group and went for his gun.
But apparently Amois dared not reveal himself yet so when Tobiah waved him down he reluctantly obeyed. “Bring him up,” Tobiah instructed.
Caleb didn’t wait, pushing past the men impatiently. “There’s no time! We followed a man who planted a bomb in the operations room with all the computers. It only had twenty minutes on the timer and that was at least ten minutes ago!”
“Tobiah,” Amois interrupted, “this man was in custody. How did you get out?” he swung on Caleb.
“One of the men you tried to kill, let us out!”
Tobiah leaned forward with interest at that and his men instantly surrounded Amois without his obvious bidding. Caleb kept going, “Amois tried to take the evidence from us but I hid some,” he pulled the package out and thrust it towards Tobiah. “This is proof that Alexandre is the one causing the war to continue with your brother and he’s using Amois, an assassin named Marcos and others too. If you don’t hurry, the bomb Marcos planted will go off and he said it was the crucial one, so...”
His words trailed off and for a long moment they all stared at each other — Amois, Caleb, Tobiah and the group of men around them. Then Amois swung round, raising his gun in Tobiah’s direction. Others joined him, aiming at Caleb too. But the ruler merely nodded at a man near him who promptly shot Amois through the shoulder, dropping him instantly.
“Take me to the bomb!” Tobiah ordered, ignoring Amois now. As Caleb led him away at a run, Tobiah’s men were already pushing Amois and his men into a huddle under guard.
This time Caleb took the direct route back and they reached the operations room within a few minutes. Tobiah glanced at Aaron slumped over in a chair yet free, but said nothing, stooping with Caleb to study the bomb instead. He summed the situation up rapidly, muttering, “I can’t defuse this in time.” Instead he pulled a knife from his belt and started to cut at the tape binding the explosives to the desk. He worked quickly and with great concentration and they all waited with bated breath.
Moments passed and Tobiah said abruptly, “The room across the hall — go to it and get the windows open, they’re bigger...hurry!” Caleb ran to obey, Noah with him. Katerina waited mesmerized watching the timer tick down, a minute thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight...but as it reached a minute, the bomb was still firmly affixed to the desk.
Tobiah yelled, “Get in here,” and Noah and Caleb came back at a run. “The desk, pick it up,” Tobiah ordered. They all grabbed it awkwardly, getting in each other’s way. “Into the other room, out the window,” Tobiah was pulling them through the door, panic all over his face. Katerina could still see the timer and it was down to twenty seconds when they hoisted the desk onto the windowsill. It stuck momentarily in the window frame but heedless of pain, the three men shoved it with all their might. It took some of the window-framing with it and fell out into the night.
Seconds later there was an almighty splash as it landed in the moat and Tobiah yelled, “Get down!”
Two more seconds and a huge boom preceded a gigantic eruption of water; a torrent that shot up into the air past the windows. The explosion rocked the foundations of the palace like a mighty earthquake. All the windows near them exploded inwards, raining shards of glass like missiles all around them.
Once the dust had settled, the three men sat up slowly and looked at each other, stunned. Tobiah rose first and went to Caleb and then Noah, offering his hand to help them up. “You saved my life and my people,” he said solemnly. “I think it’s time we talked.”
They ate first, a hearty filling stew of some kind which Katerina, Noah and Caleb wolfed down. Aaron was seen by a medic before joining them. Tobiah ate with them too, which Katerina suspected was unusual considering his position and his caution. He was an excellent dinner companion regaling them with a seemingly never-ending supply of entertaining tales as they ate. He used many strange words, idioms and phrases which they tried hard not to react to. Katerina was certain Tobiah noticed but he did not comment on it.
Eventually, when they had finished eating, the man sat back with a satisfied sigh and with a smile, invited Aaron to make his case.
To their surprise, Aaron held nothing back revealing even their identity. Noticing their unease, he did pause at one point to explain, “We can trust Tobiah. We need to trust Tobiah.” They nodded, having no real choice in the matter anyway.
There were many details Aaron explained of which they had been unaware, such as the split in his own priestly organization over his decision to bring them through to Kainnan. He spent considerable time explaining how they had collected the evidence on Amois and his fellow traitors too but as this was irrelevant to Katerina, Noah and Caleb, they each began to switch off as the exhaustion of the day and the lateness of the night set in.
What did catch their attention came at the end when Tobiah asked Aaron what they wanted from him.
“Three things,” Aaron said. “Firstly, that you would take this evidence to Lyonel and seek reconciliation with him. If we take out Alexandre there will be chaos in Santtu and the people will need a united leadership to bring them through. Both of you will be necessary for this. Second, we need help making sure Alice is successful in touching Alexandre tomorrow night at the Ball. We should be there to assist her if she needs us, so we need your help to get in somehow. Third, if Alice succeeds, we need safe passage out of Santtu. Alexandre’s siblings will not delay long in coming after us once they know what we are capable of.”
“These are no trivial things you ask for,” Tobiah was silent some time, deep in thought. Eventually however, he nodded. “Alright. It is long past time my brother and I put Bonnie to rest. I have wanted this for a long time and you have given me the means to bring it about.” He leaned forward and added intently, “And I will always be grateful for it — for what you have accomplished here tonight. For that reason, I will help you in whatever way you desire.” Then he grinned, somewhat impishly, “Besides, being rid of Alexandre may suit me as much as it does you Aaron.” He put his hand out and with a huge sense of destiny rolling over them all, Aaron took it and shook on it.
The big man got to his feet, “I’ll need time to make arrangements for you. In the meantime, I suggest you get some sleep or you will not be fit to help anyone.”
This time they got to choose their rooms and lock them from the inside. For the first time since being on Kainnan, Katerina slept soundly without dreaming.
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