by Paul Kane
She peeked out of the window, and it was then that it happened. Something hit the side of the castle. The whole room shook and she grabbed Clive Jr, dashing out as quickly as she could. Gwen ran back up along the corridor, desperate to find somewhere safe. She'd brought a machine gun with her in case she'd been attacked on the journey, but that was in her jeep. Luckily, she'd kept her pistol about her person, in spite of the 'rules', which she didn't give a shit about. If Mary could break them just because of some sentimental rubbish, so could she.
Gwen reached around and pulled the gun out, tucked away in the back of her jeans, under her baggy jumper. No sooner had she done so than she heard voices below her, heading up the stairs. Russian voices.
She backed away, but Clive chose that particular moment to start crying. Gwen shushed him, but he cried all the more. She turned to run, only to crash into a figure that appeared in front of her.
The man was wearing dark red robes, a hood pulled up over his head. In his hand he held a lethal-looking blade.
He was not alone. There were two more dressed just like him. Gwen knew who they were. Members of the cult Robert had told Tate about. What they were doing here was another matter. She'd been expecting to see soldiers, not religious fanatics.
It wasn't important. All that mattered was they meant her and her son harm. Gwen raised the handgun. None of them even twitched.
"Don't move!" Gwen warned them.
The first, the closest, raised his hand.
"I said don't you fucking move! I'm not afraid to use this thing." She meant every word. It wasn't like the first time she'd held it, when she'd made her first kill: shooting the bastard who'd murdered her beloved Clive. She'd hesitated then, but she wouldn't now.
It didn't stop the cultist from continuing to raise his hand, peeling back the hood to show her his face, painted to look like a skull, a tattoo on his forehead, the one Robert had described. That fazed her momentarily.
But then the cultist on the right rushed forward, raising his machete. Gwen fired — twice — hitting him in the chest. He dropped to the floor, blood pooling around him.
The taller one, Skullface, looked down slowly at his fallen comrade. But if he was angry or upset by the man's demise he hid it well.
Gwen heard noises behind her. The soldiers! She'd forgotten all about them. And, as she pivoted, she saw uniformed men holding automatics, training them in her direction. Holding Clive Jr in the crook of her arm, she fired the gun with her other hand, causing the little one to cry out even louder. Gwen hit the first soldier in the neck and a red spray jetted powerfully out of the wound.
As Gwen spun round again, aware that she'd taken her eye off the cultists, she saw the man rushing forward, brandishing his machete. It connected with the end of her pistol and sent it flying out of her hand, over the rail of the stairs to fall somewhere below.
Now she was defenceless.
Gwen saw the machete blade rise again. "No, please," she implored. "Spare my son."
The robed figure didn't answer, but Skullface stepped forward, looking down at the crying child she was holding — and he cocked his head.
Yes, that's it. That's right. See Clive Jr as a person. See him as a person who could grow up and have so much potential, who could do so many things in this shitty world we've found ourselves in. So much good. Yes, that's it. See him. Really see him.
Gwen knew it might be the only thing that saved her child.
The lead cultist was staring at Clive Jr, dark eyes fixed on him. But other one was about to finish her off. If Gwen didn't do something now, it would be too late. "No, please!" she screamed.
"Wait!" ordered Skullface. "Look."
The machete hung in the air above her like the sword of Damocles. But then, slowly, it began to drop.
Gwen didn't have time to relax, though, because there were more Russian troops suddenly at the top of the stairs.
The cultist pulled Gwen and Clive Jr around, putting himself between them and the guns. Seconds later, she heard the rat-ta-tat of automatic weapons, and the man who'd protected them was toppling over, his body riddled with bullets.
Skullface rushed forward, waving his arms for them to stop — which they did, too late for the Morningstar who'd given his life to save them. Gwen looked down at the man, unable to figure out what had just happened. It was one thing for them not to be able to take a mother and child's life — though that still didn't tally with what Robert had said — but it was quite another to protect them from the Russians.
Why would they do that? she asked herself, and would keep asking herself, even as she was taken away.
Taken prisoner again in this castle.
The Tsar surveyed the devastation and laughed.
The battle, if you could even call it that, was over. They had crushed what was left of Hood's 'Merry Men' in less than twenty minutes. It was what they were best at, crashing in and stamping out all resistance. He stooped to pick up one of the arrows that had been used against them, turning it over in his hands. Now this place was his and, he had to admit, it felt good. He was glad he'd listened to Tanek, even to the point of coming over here himself to be involved in the final stages. Back in Russia, his empire was being run by underlings who knew that if they put even the merest hint of a foot wrong, they could kiss their private parts goodbye once he returned victorious from English soil, leaving similarly loyal subjects to rule here in his name.
Which he would, as soon as he had confirmation that Bohuslav had done the same thing to the rest of Hood's forces. Once he knew that The Hooded Man himself was dead. Maybe they'd put his head on a spike outside the castle walls, just as a reminder to others that The Tsar was now the great power in this region. And, in time, the greatest power in this country.
Then, perhaps, once he had more soldiers drafted in from England, and even Europe, they could think about turning their attentions to the US. Their real enemy.
The Tsar waited while his troops brought him progress reports on the mopping up operation, which included disabling Hood's people at the hotel prisons and assessing which of the prisoners might be of use. The twins were, as ever, by his side as he looked down on the grounds below. He'd feared he might lose them during the confrontation with the man with the staff — one of Hood's lackeys named Jack, he was reliably informed (who'd been taken away for Tanek to have his fun with a little later). But they'd been saved by an unexpected new ally.
De Falaise's daughter, who had gone off with Tanek to look for the other members of Hood's inner circle. The Tsar had to admit she was as deadly as she was desirable. When this was all over, he would seal their newfound alliance in the bedroom — in spite of how much that might pain Xue and Ying. Yes, she definitely looked like a woman who would respond well to his particular appetites.
It wasn't long before the pair returned, descending the steps to the Middle Bailey with a prisoner in tow. A woman being held up by a couple of his soldiers.
"There is no sign of the holy man, Tate. Nor of Hood's adopted son Mark and his little girlfriend," Adele said in that accent The Tsar found oh-so sexy. "But your men did manage to dig out this whore from the rubble." She looked at the woman being held up and spat on her. "I thought I'd killed the cow when I blew up the caves."
"Who is she?"
"Hood's woman," Tanek replied.
Hood's woman did not look very well. She was unconscious for a start, her face and arms battered and bruised, blood pouring from several wounds. One of her legs looked severely twisted. If she was still alive, then she wouldn't remain that way for long.
"She needs medical attention," Tanek confirmed, "if she is to survive."
"And why would we want her alive?" The Tsar said. "I thought the intention was to kill all those close to Hood, including the ones that you have clearly let escape."
"She might yet prove useful," Tanek retaliated.
"The big man will tell you where the others have fled, will he not?"
"Possibly."
"If your skills are lacking, my friend, then I'm sure Bohuslav will oblige upon his return."
Tanek shot him a contemptuous look. "I was thinking more in terms of leverage… against Hood."
The Tsar laughed. "Hood? I would not worry about him. He will soon be dead, if he isn't already."
"Don't underestimate the man."
"He's right," Adele said, siding with the brute who had once been her father's second. "Not that I want to save her, but I've seen the man fight, my lord."
The Tsar smiled. He liked the way that sounded coming from Adele's lips: my lord.
"Nonsense," he said. Then he gazed down and saw people being herded in through the castle's entrance, the first batch of prisoners from the nearby hotel, under armed guard in case they had any stupid ideas about fleeing. "We let her die. Look at her, she is well on her way already. She might even have died as we stood here talking about it."
Tanek looked her up and down and The Tsar was satisfied he'd made his point. Apart from anything else, there weren't many men with medical knowledge amongst his troops. If one of his men was injured, then he was of no use anymore and would either be left to die or shot right there and then. And The Tsar himself relied on Bohuslav to see to his personal health needs. With his detailed knowledge of anatomy, he was better than any doctor. But Bohuslav wasn't here, and even if he was The Tsar wouldn't waste his talents on this whore.
"Sire, sire!" This came from behind and The Tsar whirled around. It was the radio operator from the AFV they'd travelled in. "I have news of the other skirmish."
"Ah, excellent." The Tsar's smile intensified.
"Our… our forces have been…" The Tsar expected the next words out of the man's mouth to be 'successful', but instead the man said quietly: "Defeated."
"What?" The Tsar grabbed the messenger by his collar. "Repeat that, man."
"I… They have been defeated, sire."
"You lie!"
The man shook his head. "One of the remaining vehicles just checked in. Commander Bohuslav's."
Remaining vehicles? What the fuck was this cretin talking about? The Tsar had sent enough firepower to lay waste to an entire city. And what did Hood's men have? Sticks and stones! They didn't even fight using guns. How was this possible? Bohuslav. He was to blame. Oh, when he got his sorry hide back here The Tsar would personally punish him.
"He himself is reported to be extremely badly injured," the man blurted out, still petrified. "Near to death, in fact."
"Bohuslav?"
A nod from the mouse he was holding by the throat. The Tsar looked across at Tanek who was not only nodding in an 'I told you so' kind of way, he was also grinning, probably at the thought of Bohuslav's fatal wounds. "Impressive," commented the giant, "even for Hood."
The Tsar shook his man again, tightening his grip.
"They… they suffered heavy losses as well, majesty," he blurted, probably hoping this might spare him The Tsar's wrath, "including The Hooded Man himself."
At this news, The Tsar did let him go. The messenger dropped to the ground, landing on his backside. Without even bothering to get up, he crawled away in case The Tsar should change his mind.
"Not so impressive, after all," The Tsar countered, and forced a smile — though he couldn't help thinking it had taken all those tanks, armoured vehicles and men to bring down that one man.
"Can we be certain he's dead?" This came from Adele.
The Tsar glowered at her. "What is the matter? You seem disappointed."
She shook her head. "It's just that I hoped I might be the one to kill him."
The Tsar nodded, he could understand that. He'd never met the man and he wished he could have done the deed personally. Now they'd both have to settle for recovering the body and putting that head on a pike.
"Those left alive will return to the castle," Tanek said, showing no emotion concerning Hood one way or the other. Perhaps he didn't really believe it.
"But they will not be expecting us to be here. They will return, battered and exhausted, leaderless, demoralised, expecting a warm welcome… only to find guns jammed in their faces instead." It didn't worry The Tsar in the slightest. "We have more than enough men to stand against them, taking into account our new comrades from the cult and these prisoners."
As he waved a hand across to indicate the folk from the hotel, there was a sudden cry from one of them. A female cry. It was coming from a short woman dressed in scrubs, but with a Ranger's jacket on top. "Mary!" She'd broken ranks and was attempting to get to them, resulting in several automatic weapons being trained on her. But she was unarmed, and The Tsar was curious about who she was. He held up a hand to signal the men to hold their fire. She couldn't do much harm with the twins and Tanek standing so close by.
"Mary," cried the woman again, tears in her eyes. "Mary, what have they done to you?"
"And who might you be?" The Tsar asked.
She glared at him before answering. "Lucy Hill."
The Tsar looked across at Adele, who shrugged. She'd obviously not had much contact with this woman who'd been lumped in with the prisoners. Lucy took another step towards Mary, but it was one of the twins — Ying — who stood in her way this time, arms folded.
"Please," said Lucy, the tone of her voice changing from defiant to pathetic, "let me go to her. She's been training me as a nurse and-"
"Oh dear. If only you'd been here ten minutes ago," The Tsar cut in. "We have just learned that we have no further use for her. You see, Hood is dead."
"Robert?" Now the tears ran freely down Lucy's cheeks. "I don't believe you."
"Believe what you like. It is the truth."
Tanek placed a hand on Ying's shoulder, and was lucky the bodyguard didn't cut it clean off. "Let her go to the woman," he said, making it sound more like a command.
"But why?" asked The Tsar. "What purpose would it serve?"
He didn't answer, but that just backed up what The Tsar suspected. Tanek didn't believe Hood was dead either. He sighed and nodded for Ying to let the nurse through. What did it matter to him if Hood's woman was fixed up, only to be executed later? It was their time and energy they were wasting, not his.
Ying moved aside and Lucy went to Mary, immediately checking her over. Tanek moved to join her, but The Tsar was not quite finished with him yet. "I want to know where Hood's closest companions are," he told the giant, "that is your priority."
Tanek gave a brusque tip of his head, then continued on his path. Lucy said something to him The Tsar didn't quite catch, but the next thing he knew Hood's woman was being taken back up to the castle with the nurse accompanying her. Tanek and Adele followed on behind, but took a different route when they reached the steps, heading down instead of up.
"As useful as he has been, I think Bohuslav may have been correct about Tanek. The time is fast approaching when he will have outlived his usefulness. Do you not agree?" The Tsar said to Ying and Xue. The women concurred with silent nods. "And when that time comes, I will call on one of you to do the honours."
They both smiled at this, no doubt remembering the embarrassment of not being able to best Tanek back in Russia.
The Tsar would have smiled himself, were it not for the fact that he might have to give the same instruction about Adele, depending on where her loyalties lay. He hoped she would be sensible and see the benefits of life with him. Who knew, if she behaved herself and lived up to his expectations — in all departments — he might even give her this castle as a present. Call it her inheritance.
In the meantime they at least had something to celebrate.
The Hooded Man was dead. The Tsar was sure of it even if Tanek wasn't.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The man should be dead.
But instead of getting him back to Mary so she could treat his injuries, Bill had done as Robert requested. Once he'd cleaned up his wounds — stitching up the deep cuts in the shoulder and thigh before applying proper bandages and antiseptic — Bill had taken his former
leader to Sherwood, bringing the Gazelle down in the car park of the old visitor's centre.
All the way here, Bill kept glancing over at him, as Robert drifted in and out of consciousness. One o' these times I'm going to look and 'e won't wake up, Bill thought. Robert was that bad. It wasn't like he hadn't seen Robert this way before, after an explosion at Mary's farm house. But even then he hadn't looked this ill, this close to the end.
Bill remembered them bringing Robert to camp — Jack carrying the man into his tent, Mary by his side, as she'd been ever since. Days later Bill was flying him into Nottingham for the final battle, where Robert took on the Sheriff alone. He shouldn't have been fit enough then, either. Shouldn't have recovered nearly as quickly as he did, even with Mary's attentions.
They'd been in Sherwood, though, hadn't they? Robert had been in Sherwood. So maybe he did have a point after -
Bill dismissed the notion. But he couldn't ignore the fact that the closer they flew to the forest the more Robert seemed to rouse from his stupor. He was muttering something, half dreaming, calling out Mary's name.
"Right, we're here," Bill informed him when the helicopter was down.
Robert lolled to one side. Then he opened his eyes wide and Bill saw him take a good look at the trees, before his eyelids began to flicker again and then close. Bill shook his shoulder gently.
"Let me take you back home, lad."
Robert coughed, then mumbled: "I am home." He was clawing at the door, fingers uselessly slipping off the handle.
Bill got out and went round. He opened the door and had to catch Robert as he fell out. "Judas Priest, yer in no fit state t'be goin' anywhere!"
Almost as soon as he'd said the words, he felt Robert stiffening, summoning strength from somewhere, forcing his legs to support him. Robert lifted his arm, pointing in the direction of the forest.
Bill had to half carry him down the path that led to The Major Oak. When they reached that ancient tree, Robert craned his head.
Then, nodding, he shooed away Bill's hands and leaned on the fence that surrounded it.
