“Better for you or for me?”
“Both.”
“You are worried that the Federation army might come down on my people, aren’t you?”
“That thought has crossed my mind,” admitted Clint. “The Federation is bound to tie in the release of the children with the diversion. If they do, they will pursue the thieves of Despair with vigor.”
“At least you are being honest about it,” frowned the thief, “but you are endangering my whole operation. There is no amount of gold that can make up for that.”
“Are you backing out?”
Scorpion sighed and shook his head. “I never back out on a deal made, but I am very unhappy about it.”
Clint rose to his feet and walked to the window. He leaned out and gazed at the city. Scorpion remained seated in silence as the cloaked-figure pondered the situation. Eventually Clint returned to his chair and sat down.
“Let’s try a different approach to the diversion,” Clint proposed. “Instead of a gang war, let’s torch some buildings. Perhaps a whole block of buildings. Either find a suitable area of unoccupied buildings, or find some way to quietly evacuate the people living there.”
“A fire will draw a lot of attention,” retorted the thief, “but not enough to draw soldiers from all over the city.”
“It will if your people started shouting about rebels torching the city.”
“Are you serious?” gasped the thief. “Do you understand what you are saying? One mention of rebels, and they will shut down the entire city. You won’t get the children out of Despair.”
“That will be my problem, not yours. The fire must be well south of the northern gates so that the men at the gate will believe that the reeducation center is one of the buildings burning. Can you do that?”
Scorpion thought for a few moments before nodding. “I think I know just the place, but I also think you should reconsider. I am fearful for my men, but I will not sacrifice the lives of children to take the focus off of my people. If the plan is to get the children to safety, we must not compromise that objective.”
“I am touched by your commitment to this mission,” Clint said earnestly.
“I have agreed with the goals of this plan for years,” replied Scorpion. “It is something that Morro and I used to stay up at night talking about. I did not, however, expect to ever see it come to fruition. Now that the time has come, I want to see it done right. If that means disbanding my operation for a year while the Federation hunts for us, I will do so. Do not endanger the goal of rescuing the children.”
“You are everything that Morro said you were,” Clint smiled. “I am proud to be working with you.”
“And I with you,” chuckled the thief, “whoever you are. Morro says that I suffer from an incurable curiosity. Perhaps he is right, but I cannot help but imagine what your plan will be. Even if you get the children out of the city, which is doubtful, what do you do with them then? Surely, you must realize that the Federation will pursue them, even deep into Elfwoods. I think you foreigners do not realize how the Federation works, and that will cause many deaths.”
“I think we know precisely how they will react,” retorted Clint. “They will make all the right moves to gain the return of the children, but they will always be just one moment too late.”
Scorpion sighed heavily. “I do want to believe you, Clint, but I cannot. How could you know how the Federation thinks?”
Clint glanced at the thief. Over the course of many meetings with Scorpion, Clint had come to know the man’s heart. He felt it was time to put some trust in him. He rose from his chair and pulled off his cloak. Scorpion gasped loudly and his hands went for his knives.
“Relax, Scorpion,” smiled Clint. “I am exactly who you thought I was when you entered this room.”
“How is that possible?” Scorpion asked, his hands refusing to leave the hilts of his knives. “You are General Forshire from Tyronia. You killed King Myer.”
“I happen to look a great deal like the original General Forshire. He was discovered to be a traitor to Tyronia before the Federation arrived there. I took his place when he died. You are the only person to know this outside of my fellow Alceans. Do not treat this information lightly.”
“Mercy!” exclaimed the thief. “You have thousands of Federation soldiers under your command. How is this possible?”
“My men are not even aware of my true identity,” replied Clint, “but I think you have the right to know. Besides, now that you do know, you can keep an ear out for any rumors circulating about me. The game I am playing is fraught with danger. At any moment, Emperor Jaar or Grand General Kyrga might discover who I am. If you get wind of anything like that, I must hear about it immediately.”
“You honor me with your trust,” Scorpion replied as he moved his hands away from his knives. “You can be sure that I will keep close watch on your welfare. I still have one question, though. How can you get your soldiers to work against the Federation?”
“Each man is loyal to me above the Federation,” explained the Ranger. “As you know, I recruited my army from the prisons, but I chose carefully. I chose warriors who value a leader who looks out for them. In return, they follow me without question.”
Scorpion started laughing and Clint looked at him curiously.
“That is why none of my men were chosen for the A Corps,” chuckled the thief. “Not one of them would pledge their loyalty to an officer of the Federation. You chose well, my friend.”
Clint smiled and pulled the cloak back on. “Getting back to our plan, I think the fire is a safer bet for your people. How quick were you able to make the subterranean journey?”
“We got it down to twenty minutes,” answered the thief, “but that will not get you outside the gates. Once those gates close, they will not reopen even for a general.”
“Then we will have to make sure that they do not close,” Clint smiled thinly.
* * * *
Natia answered the knock on the door to her suite in the Palace Keep. She opened the door and smiled when she saw Edmond Mercado standing in the hallway.
“Come in,” invited Natia.
Edmond entered the suite and sat down on the couch. Natia closed the door and joined him.
“I was happy to see your wagons last night,” said the gypsy princess. “I was beginning to fear that you would be late.”
“So you noticed the Spino Mercantile signs?” Edmond chuckled. “We actually had to slow down on the way here. I did not want to arrive too soon. Someone might raise questions about a caravan loitering in the city too long.”
“Did you remember to bring a couple of kegs of ale?” asked Natia.
“Hardly something I could forget,” chuckled the merchant. “Tyronian ale sells at a premium in Giza. We have two wagons full of it.”
“Full?” frowned Natia. “We are going to need the space in the wagons.”
“Do not fear,” smiled Edmond. “All of the cargo is being unloaded as we speak. All we will have left are the two kegs and a load of blankets.”
“What are the blankets for?”
“For the children to hide under,” answered Edmond. “Even at night, some soldier might stick his nose in one of the wagons. With the blankets they will see nothing. What do I do with the two kegs?”
Natia rose and walked to her pack. She pulled out a small container and handed it to Edmond. “Put half in each keg. On the night of the new moon, you will deliver it to the reeducation center. They might complain that you have the wrong address, but find some excuse to leave it there.”
“You want the soldiers to drink it?”
“Oh, yes,” smiled Natia. “I am counting on it. What about the road to Olansk? Did you see Clint?”
“I saw him,” replied the merchant. “I also saw his army two days later. They will block all traffic out of Olansk. If anyone is chasing us, they will be coming strictly from Giza.”
“That could be a problem,” frowned Natia. “Your wagons can not move
that quickly.”
“It won’t be much of a problem,” smiled Edmond. “The wagons from Spino Mercantile will disappear. The wagons of Sidney Mercado will suddenly appear, but they will be heading towards the city, not away from it.”
“And the children?”
“They will be escorted into the desert by Garth.”
“So that is why he told me not to worry about anything other than getting them out of the city.” Natia nodded. “I feel better knowing that.”
“The ale might put the soldiers to sleep,” Edmond frowned, “but how is that going to help you get the children out?”
“I have that covered,” Natia offered vaguely as she rose, “but we will have to talk about it later. I need to see someone before the time gets much later. Perhaps we can meet for the evening meal, and we can discuss ways to fool the Federation into thinking that the children never passed through the gates at all.”
“I look forward to that,” Edmond said as he rose and joined Natia on the way to the door.
Natia parted company with Edmond and exited the Palace Keep. She walked quickly through the city streets until she reached the government building where Judge Julius has his office. She mounted the steps, and the guards inside the door waved her through without a question. She climbed the stairs and knocked on the judge’s door. Hearing his permission to enter, Natia opened the door and stepped into his office. The judge smiled as he saw her enter the room and close the door.
“How wonderful to see you again,” greeted the judge. “What treasures do you bring me today?”
Natia crossed the room and placed a bright pink pouch on the judge’s desk. The judge raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but he did not move to open the pouch.
“I am afraid that it is merely a favor that I am asking this time,” Natia said. “That pouch holds twenty-thousand in gold. I am going to have to leave the city on some pressing business for Sidney Mercado. Where I am going involves more than the usual amount of danger, so I would like to leave the pouch with you for safekeeping. Is that all right?”
Judge Julius frowned as he opened the pouch and spilled the contents onto his desk. He counted the twenty one-thousand-gold coins and redeposited them in the pouch. He tied the pouch and placed it back on his desk.
“I don’t care to think of you going into harm’s way,” the judge said with concern. “Do you have to go?”
“It is my job,” smiled Natia. “Do not worry. I will be fine, but it would be foolish for me to carry the gold on such a mission. I do hope that I am not being a bother to you.”
“Certainly not,” smiled the judge as he picked up the pouch and shoved it into a drawer in the desk. “Your gold is safer here than in a bank. This building is guarded at all hours of the day. How long will you be gone?”
“It is hard to say,” shrugged Natia. “I will try to return as soon as possible, but Sidney often sends messages that I can’t ignore, so I make no promises that I cannot keep.”
“Then promise me that you will stay safe,” smiled the judge.
“I promise,” grinned the gypsy princess.
Chapter 36
Bending the Bow
Juggler stood staring in disbelief as both of his men tumbled to the ground at the same time. Before either one of them could get to his feet, the black shadow had risen to his feet, turned around, and pounced on both them with one knee in each of their backs.
“Always expect the unexpected,” Garth said as he rose to his feet and extended an arm to help one of the thieves to his feet.
“Unexpected?” groused the thief. “You are like a whirling dervish. How do you expect any of us to stand against the likes of you? You are not human.”
“I am as human as any of you,” Garth Shado replied.
“I don’t think we are up to this,” complained another thief. “I used to think I was a good fighter, but this warrior is making fools out of us.”
The other thieves agreed, and Juggler looked anxiously towards Garth. The Knight of Alcea nodded knowingly to the head thief and then turned to face the six chosen thieves.
“I am a professional warrior,” Garth said to the men. “I do not expect you to be able to stand against me, but I do want you to live through our engagement tomorrow night. I was told that you six men are the best warriors the thieves of Farmin have. What I am trying to do is deflate your feelings of invincibility. Nothing will kill you quicker than being overconfident.”
“You no longer have to fear that,” laughed one of the thieves. “Now all you have to worry about is us recovering from the wounds that you are inflicting on us during the training.”
The rest of thieves laughed, and Garth laughed with them.
“Seriously,” Garth said when the laughter died down, “you men are capable warriors, but I don’t want any of you dying on me tomorrow night. There will only be seven of us going into the center. From what my people tell me, there will be at least twenty soldiers inside.”
One of the thieves whistled at the unfavorable odds.
“We can do it,” Garth continued, “but it will not be easy. We need more practice so that we work as a team. What I would like to do next is organize you into two-man teams. In order to survive the odds, each team member will have to learn how to protect his partner. If you have worked well with another of the men here, pair off with him now. If not, I will assign team members based on what I have observed so far.”
The six men quickly found partners on their own, and Garth nodded in agreement as he would have chosen the same teams based on their fighting styles.
“We are also going with the children to the waterfront,” stated one of the thieves. “Will we be leaving the city with the children?”
“That is not in the plans,” stated Juggler, “but I am open to it if any of you need to escape the city.”
“Where the children are going will not be pleasant,” frowned Garth, “but each of you are welcome to join us. Having said that, if we pull this off flawlessly, the Federation will not be looking for you, so you should not have a reason to flee.”
“I guess what I was trying to say,” the questioning thief continued, “is that I am beginning to like the idea of being a warrior again. I wouldn’t mind becoming a respectable citizen once more, especially if it involved fighting the Federation.”
Garth smiled inwardly. He had seen such mental conversions many times before, and he always felt good about seeing one. “Bacar, isn’t it?” The thief nodded his head, and Garth continued, “If you want to be a warrior, you do not need to leave Farmin. A war is coming soon to every city in the Federation, and patriots will be needed everywhere. Now, if you still want to go with the children when they leave, just stay with them, but you will follow the orders of those in charge.”
“You are not going with the children?” asked Bacar.
“No,” Garth replied. “I have another task waiting for me elsewhere.”
When there were no other questions, Garth addressed the men once more. “I want you men to take a short meal break before we progress to the team lessons. Be back here in a half hour.”
The warrior thieves filed out of the room, but Juggler remained.
“I thought you would break their spirit with your battle prowess,” the head thief said, “but you know how to handle men like few others do. You do realize that you have stolen my best warriors, don’t you?”
“I am only borrowing them,” smiled Garth.
“You may think that, but each of them idolizes you. They want to be just like you, fighting for what is right in the world. They will not return to thieving.”
“Perhaps that is for the better,” mused the Knight of Alcea. “You should give some thought to what the thieves are going to be doing when the Federation is vanquished.”
“I have already been doing so,” admitted Juggler. “While not all of my thieves can be converted, I think many of them can be productive citizens again.”
“Perhaps you should start forming an
organization of patriots as has been done in other countries.”
“I have heard rumors.” Juggler nodded. “Vinafor and Tyronia both have patriot groups now. Is that your doing?”
“I am in contact with them,” answered Garth, “as well as Karamin, but I cannot take credit for it. The citizens of those countries want their freedom back. Why should Ertak be any different?”
“Why indeed?” smiled Juggler.
* * * *
Tedi rode his unicorn into the slums of Valdo. It was his first trip through the slums where he didn’t see a single body in the streets or alleys, and it brought a smile to his lips. He looked around at the poor wretches who called the slums home, and he noticed a difference in their demeanor. Even though their bodies were still covered in rags, the people walked with their heads upright, and they greeted one another in passing. There were no beggars that Tedi could see, and that told him that the mages were accomplishing their goal of feeding the people. The Knight of Alcea nodded to Theos as he dismounted in front of Kalmar’s healing shop. While Tedi had never been introduced to the mage from Tyronia, Eulena had talked about each of the members of Fakir’s group, and he felt obligated to greet each one of them.
Tedi entered the shop and immediately noticed a change. He frowned as he saw the shelves half empty, and Kalmar’s face was long with sadness. Tedi nodded to the Koroccan healer, but he received no response. Kalmar stood mute behind the counter, staring at the front of the shop. Tedi pushed aside the curtain and entered the rear room. He saw Eulena and Valera sitting at a table talking quietly. The elven mage rose immediately and met the Knight of Alcea halfway.
“What is going on?” Tedi asked with concern. “The shelves out front are nearly empty.”
“Fakir Aziz has said that it is time to be moving on,” answered Eulena. “Everyone is unhappy with the decision, but the Mage is not someone to argue with.”
“Did he say why?” inquired Tedi.
“He did not have to,” replied Eulena. “We all know what will happen in Valdo two days from now. I assume that Fakir wants us out of the city before anything happens.”
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