Dr. Roth’s voice sounded into the closet. “Silence, they’re coming.”
Paul and Sierra looked at each other, both shocked that even their whisperings could be heard. The door to the infirmary slammed open, and frantic voices filled the room, chaotic and frustrated because they couldn’t awaken Dr. Roth.
“What the hell happened in here?” Reginald’s voice thundered. “Doctor, wake up, damn you. Search the palace! Alert the guards to be on the lookout for a man and a woman. Shut down the border, ground all flights. No one in, no one out. That girl is as slippery as a greased pig.”
Other voices barked out orders into handheld radios. Victor’s voice sounded into the supply closet. “What’s going on!”
Reginald said, “Victor, help him sit up.”
Voices silenced for a moment and were replaced with mild commotion.
“Dr. Roth, what happened?” Victor demanded.
“One of them hit me after I turned my back to put up the x-rays. I turned to see them running out the door, well not exactly running. He has broken ribs, and her ankle is still painful. They couldn’t have gone far. When you find them, bring them to me. I have a score to settle.”
“Get in line.” Victor’s harsh voice caused Sierra to tremble as Paul held her.
“Get yourself cleaned up, Dr. Roth.” Reginald almost sounded as if he cared. “We need a description of them. What was Sierra wearing this morning, Victor?”
“Uh, um I don’t … I think pants … a shirt?”
Reginald let out a huff and said, “You’re an idiot, Victor.”
“Well, she wasn’t wearing a dress. That’s what I mean. Oh! I remember. She had on a pink top and cream slacks. I remember thinking how ugly the pants were.”
“Good. Dr. Roth, what was the boy wearing?”
“Just the usual prison suit.”
“There, we have a description. Get it out to the police and the border,” Reginald ordered.
The exam room quieted down as most of the voices left the room. “Dr. Roth, may I assist you with your injury?” an unrecognizable voice sounded into the closet.
Paul and Sierra both tensed. What if it was discovered that his injury was really putty?
Dr. Roth didn’t panic, though. “Yes. Please scoot that cart over to me. Thank you. In the cupboard to the left is a suture tray. It’s labeled such.”
Sierra and Paul listened to the variety of noises coming from the exam room. Small talk between the doctor and his assistant continued for about twenty minutes. At one point, Dr. Roth instructed the assistant to get some supplies out of the closet — the very closet they were hiding in. They could hear him rifling through containers just on the other side of the wall, not knowing the fugitives were inches away.
Another breathless voice sounded in from the other room. “They’ve been spotted! They stole your car, Dr. Roth.”
“Are you serious? They must have taken my keys out of my jacket. That’s just great! I just paid off the loan! So, where did they spot them?”
“They made it out of the city and are headed north. They’re stupid if they think they can get past the border. Every policeman, military troop, undercover cop, and drug-sniffing dog is looking for them. They won’t get far.”
“It would appear they’ve gotten far enough without being seen,” Dr. Roth answered back.
Voices on a handheld radio reported in distorted voices, “Suspect’s vehicle crashed.”
“What location?”
“Three mile hill. They went over the edge.”
“Edge of what?”
“What do you think? The cliff. We’re going to need … going to need, ah hell, there’s no way they survived that.” A loud distortion of sound blared through the radio.
Dr. Roth asked, “What was that?”
The other voice answered, “It sounded like a — ”
The radio’s voice was nearly indiscernible. “The car exploded! It’s in flames. We need a fire truck.” There were a lot of voices in the background. “Cancel that. We need a helicopter. We’re just going to have to wait for the fire to burn itself out.”
“How far down is the vehicle?”
“At least five hundred feet,” the radio banter continued.
The three men in the infirmary talked together. Dr. Roth said, “Reginald is not going to like this one bit.”
“Tell me about it. I don’t want to even cross his path for fear he’ll shoot me just to feel better.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“It wouldn’t matter.”
“How’s Victor going to take this?” Dr. Roth asked.
“Victor couldn’t care less, I’m guessing. He’s been seen with the daughter of General Steinman ever since Sierra disappeared a few days ago.”
“Elinore Steinman?”
“Yes.”
“Victor is a piece of work, really,” the third voice stated.
“He’s Reginald’s piece of work, and we all have to live with it,” Dr. Roth said plainly. “You two better get back to your posts before Reginald sees you’re gone or I’ll be treating you later.”
“Um, we realize we don’t really have to ask, but can you keep what we just said, you know, confidential?”
“Of course.”
The two men left the room and silence settled in.
*****
There was no verbal communication between the doctor and his escapees throughout the morning. Paul sat on the small chair, and Sierra sat on the floor, but only after she insisted on it because of his ribs. They kept their whispering to an absolute minimum. Paul and Sierra ate minimal food and drank some water. The less in their systems, the less they’d need to use the bathroom.
Paul struggled several times with his insatiable urge to cough. He knew it would hurt like hell, not to mention it could give away their location. He sipped water and cleared his throat as quietly as he could.
Throughout the day, various palace staff members came into the infirmary with a wide assortment of ailments. Everyone voiced their concern for Dr. Roth’s well being and had their own comments about the situation between Sierra Montgomery and her mysterious friend. Most of the palace employees felt Sierra was right in trying to flee. But with every admission to Dr. Roth, a plea for him to keep it quiet followed.
That evening the word came in: the bodies of the two escapees were being brought to the palace for identification. Paul and Sierra listened to Dr. Roth’s one-sided phone conversation.
“Burned beyond recognition? Then what makes you think it’s them?” Long silence. “Well, only if I had dental records or some other form of medical … wait, I performed x-rays on him. I could make an identification based on those. I have her dental records on file.”
A voice from the exam room said, “Well, ole Reginald’s knickers are sure in a twist over this one. Not only did these two get past him, his guards, and his police, but now he’s lost Sierra Montgomery for good. She was to be the force to bring him stability in power.”
“I’ve never quite understood that,” Dr. Roth said.
“What part? The fact that the Montgomerys were in power before Reginald’s father, or the fact that having Sierra in the palace would calm the people?”
“I thought King Louis held the power and he was only married to a Montgomery.”
“The Montgomerys held the power in this country for several decades leading up to the overthrow of the king. The king was just their puppet.”
“Don’t you think the citizens of Rendier would suspect Sierra was being abused or controlled? I would think it would cause more uprisings than calming. Did Sierra even understand the whole family line issue?”
“I don’t know. You know, Doc, I’m shocked you aren’t up to speed on this subject.”
“You forget, I’m from Baylend. That, and I’m locked down here next to the dungeon. I don’t get out much.”
The two men laughed.
The door to the infirmary opened, and a quick shuffling of feet co
uld be heard. “General Steinman, sir,” the unknown voice said.
“At ease, soldier. Dismissed,” General Steinman said. The door opened and closed. “Doctor, I need you to take a look at something.”
Paul’s throat began having another spasm. Sierra placed her hand on his knee in concern as he swallowed repeatedly in an effort to stifle the cough.
“Have a seat.” The crunching sound of exam bed paper was heard as the general sat.
“How long have you had that?” Dr. Roth asked his patient.
Sierra handed Paul some water to help him fight off the urge to cough.
“A couple of days now,” General Steinman reported.
“What happened?”
“My daughter stabbed … it doesn’t matter. It’s getting worse and the swelling is climbing.”
“You’ve got yourself a nasty case of cellulitis. I’m going to give you an injection of antibiotics and some pills, but you’ll need to let me check that out tomorrow to make sure it’s getting better.”
Dr. Roth’s voice sounded closer as he entered the closet for supplies.
Paul coughed. He knew it was the best time to let it out because Dr. Roth could say it was him, which is exactly what happened.
“Dr. Roth, are you alright?”
“Yes, it’s nothing. I’ve been fighting off a cold for a while now.” Dr. Roth had left the closet and was back in the exam room with his patient. “There you go. That’s a powerful antibiotic. You should see major improvement within twenty-four — ”
Paul coughed again, and everything went silent for five seconds. There was a quick rustling of paper as the general bolted off the exam bed, and then the ominous sound of a gun being cocked.
“Don’t move, Dr. Roth, or I’ll shoot!”
Sierra and Paul embraced each other in absolute fear. Ashamed of his weaknesses, Paul’s eye’s watered. The plan had failed. He had failed Sierra once again.
“What an elaborate plan you’ve concocted, Doctor. Reginald will be pleased to learn the Montgomery girl still lives, but it will madden him to no end to learn his trusted physician is a traitor. I should kill you now and save him the trouble, and I should kill the girl too and save the insurgents the trouble. No, I’ll call up to Reginald. Don’t move!”
Dr. Roth’s knees trembled, and his fingers had gone numb with fear. It had been a good plan, a solid plan. If only he had sound-proofed the cubicle. His eyes darted around the room looking for some type of a weapon. But with a gun barrel staring him down and an excellent marksman behind the trigger, he didn’t dare move. The general picked up the phone and began punching in the four-digit number for Reginald: first number, second, third button pressed … he stopped and hung up the phone.
“Dr. Roth, I hope you realize how lucky you are that Clive likes you.” He un-cocked his gun and put it back in its holster. “I do see his point, though. You will be instrumental when the time comes.”
“You and Clive?”
“Yes. But don’t think for a second I wouldn’t kill the girl if she is captured.”
“She won’t be captured.”
“She would have been right now if I was anyone else.”
Dr. Roth rubbed his hands roughly over his face and sat on the exam bed with a crunch. “General, don’t forget the pills.”
“Right, thank you.”
“Same.”
The door to the infirmary opened and closed. Dr. Roth entered the closet. “Cough it out, son. We’re alone.”
“I’m sorry,” Paul said humbly.
Sierra added, “General Steinman is an insurgent? Who would’ve thought that?”
*****
Late in the night, Paul and Sierra were awakened to the lights being turned on and voices filling the room. Reginald, Victor, and Dr. Roth’s voices were easy to pick out. The others must have been guards.
“Place them here,” Dr. Roth ordered. Dull thuds and chair legs scraping the floor followed by the sound of zippers being opened filtered into the supply closet.
Victor’s voice was muffled as if maybe his hand was over his mouth and nose. “Eww, disgusting. That better be the S-O-B.”
Reginald asked, “How long will it take you to make the identification, Dr. Roth?”
“A couple of hours for a positive ID. I wouldn’t stop searching if I were you. This could be a ruse to throw you off their tracks.”
“I doubt it. They’re not that clever. Besides, that one has a metal splint just like Sierra’s.”
Victor’s voice sounded somber. “Look at the wedding ring. That’s the one I gave her.”
Reginald asked, “Do you need any assistance?”
“No, but I would like some uninterrupted time. Any medical emergencies will need to go to the hospital, not down here.”
“Understood. Let’s go, Victor.”
“I’d like to have a moment alone,” Victor said almost remorsefully. “She was … my wife.”
“Of course. We’ll step out,” Dr. Roth said.
Paul and Sierra held very still in the closet. His arms wrapped around her for comfort.
Victor’s footsteps were heard as he walked around the exam room. The eerie sound of his voice made Sierra’s hair stand on end. “I know you can hear me, Sierra.”
Sierra started shaking with fear. Paul held her tighter.
“There’s no way you’d do this to me and not be here to gloat. All I can say is I’m happy you’re dead. At least Riley can’t have you now.” The door to the exam room opened and then closed.
“Who’s Riley?” Paul asked as he let out large exhale.
“Someone I went to school with. I thought for a second he knew we were in the room.”
“Me too. That was intense.”
Dr. Roth came back in and actually whistled while he worked. They heard him breaking bones and wheeling gurneys into the x-ray room. Later they heard the shuffling of files in the filing cabinet. Occasionally Dr. Roth would mutter something like, “perfect” or “beautiful.” After what seemed an eternity, they listened as he made the phone call informing Reginald that he had completed the identification.
A short while later, Reginald and Victor entered the exam room for the verdict.
“In my medical opinion, based on the evidence, I declare these two corpses are in fact Paul Bronson and Sierra Montgomery Rawlings.”
“You’re one hundred percent positive?” Victor asked.
“Absolutely. Do you want to look over my report?”
“No, it’s not necessary.”
“Really, it’s quite fascinating the matching — ”
“I said no, Dr. Roth,” Victor cut him off with a tone of disgust.
“Suit yourself. I have a recommendation to make, if I may, sir.”
Reginald answered in a much deflated voice, “Go ahead.”
“The body of the male should be returned to Baylend to keep the tension at a minimum between the two countries, and a formal funeral service should be held for Sierra to publicize your willingness to bring her into your family.”
“Fine. See that the boy’s body is shipped back.”
“If I may, sir, I would very much like to visit my family in Baylend. I could take his remains for you and offer condolences on your behalf, if you’d grant me permission to cross the border.”
“Fine, I’ll give you three days leave.”
*****
Reginald sat in his high-back leather chair in his office, sipping a glass of whiskey and staring off into space. Where did it all go wrong? Exactly when had he lost? At least the Montgomery girl had been officially married to Victor and the press conference had taken place. Now he’d have to use another excuse to explain her death. “The damned insurgents succeeded this time in killing the last Montgomery.” Yes, the public would buy that. They are all idiots and believe whatever you tell them. But still, all those years of careful planning and plotting to have Victor marry royalty were for naught. It had been so close. Why was that girl so obstinate? Couldn’t she
see the importance of the overall plan? If only he had beaten her more, maybe it would have sunk in better.
Chapter 13
Being stuffed inside a body bag together wasn’t so bad, Paul thought to himself as he pulled Sierra even closer to him. It was kind of like being in the same sleeping bag. The disturbing thought was that the bag next to them held a real dead person. Dr. Roth had placed an oxygen tank inside with them to ensure better air quality before they left the palace. The body bag didn’t allow adequate air flow since it was designed to contain bodies that didn’t need to breathe. The pair of them would be zipped shut for a good hour until they crossed the border and reached a safe area.
Paul’s ribs hurt, but his heart overflowed with joy that canceled out his pain. Sierra kept asking him if he was comfortable, worrying about his injuries. They were escaping, actually pulling it off, and pain wasn’t even on his mind. Perhaps this was the same type of feeling Sierra had felt when she arrived at their home, her joy overriding her pain.
“I can’t believe this worked,” Sierra spoke softly in Paul’s ear. She tried not to press on his chest too much. But knowing they were mere minutes away from being totally free had her feeling giddy and excited.
“It’s not finished yet.”
“I know, but still. Dr. Roth has earned our respect and allegiance forever.”
“That he has. So you were married to Victor?”
“Yes,” she paused, “he consummated the marriage.”
Paul rubbed her back as much as he could in the limited confines of the bag. “It was a good thing we didn’t do anything at the cabin or else you’d have suffered at the palace.”
“No, you would have, Paul. What if I become pregnant because of Victor?”
“Then we’ll deal with it. I already plan on running away with you ASAP, and if you are pregnant, I’ll marry you to make it look like the child is mine. No one will ever need to know. Certainly not the child, if in fact there is one.”
“You’d marry me so I didn’t have an illegitimate child?”
“No, I’ll marry you because I love you and I need you in my life. I want to marry you.”
“I love you too, Paul. But I do expect a proper proposal before I say yes.”
Scars Of Defiance Page 18
