by Paul Moxham
“You can slow down now,” Joe said. “We don’t want to get too close to Chang in case he suspects something.”
The farmer nodded and slowed down. “You’re right. You know, this is just like those police novels I read. Though, in those stories, the police officer roars up beside the vehicle he is pursuing and orders the car to pull over.”
“Well, we can’t do that since we’re not the police,” Joe stated. “However, we saw quite a few police cars earlier, so we should spot one shortly. And, when we do, we can tell the officer what’s going on and he can take charge.”
Unfortunately, no police vehicles were seen and, as the minutes dragged on, Joe wondered where the van was heading. As he studied the map that the farmer had, he realised that the road they were on led to the border.
Joe voiced his concern to the farmer. “I think Chang is heading all the way to the border.”
“But what about the border patrol?” the farmer asked. “Wouldn’t they see it’s Chang and stop him?”
“I’m not sure,” Joe admitted. “I would imagine so, but there has to be a reason why Chang didn’t head for the border instead of heading for Dragons Den and making contact with his people. Which means that the driver of the van knows something that Chang doesn’t, which is why Chang waited for him.”
“Well, the good news is that once we reach the border, there should be a police vehicle in sight,” the farmer said.
Joe nodded. “Yes, but I’m sure Chang knows that as well and…” He frowned as the van suddenly turned off the main road and headed down a dirt road. He hurriedly glanced at the map. “Where’s he going?”
“Shall I turn down the same road?” the farmer asked, slowing down.
“Just wait, we don’t want to get too close.” Joe studied the map and then handed it to the farmer. “Can you see the road the van took? I can’t seem to spot the road.”
The farmer looked at the map for a moment or two before he handed it back to Joe. “That’s because this map doesn’t show every road. So shall we follow them or go to the nearest town?”
Joe made up his mind. “Follow them. We need to see what they’re up to.”
The farmer drove down the dirt road for a number of minutes before bringing the lorry to a stop. It was the end of the road. Nearby was the parked van. Everyone climbed out of the lorry and glanced around.
Will’s eyes came to rest on a walking trail that led towards the woods. “Chang must have gone down there.”
“Of course! He’s trying to cross the border on foot!” Joe exclaimed.
Will nodded. “Thus avoiding the border patrol.”
“But would this trail lead across the border?” Sarah questioned.
“It wouldn’t,” the man stated, peering into the woods, “but it would lead to the top of that nearby mountain. And, when you go down the other side, you’re in Sukova.”
Joe quickly made up his mind. “We’ll follow him on foot.” He turned to the farmer. “Go to the nearest town and alert the police. Tell them everything I’ve told you. And hurry!”
The farmer nodded. “I’ll be as quick as I can.” He ran over to the lorry and climbed in.
As the vehicle headed back down the road, Joe turned to the others. “We’ll have to run if we’re going to catch up to them, but keep alert. We don’t want them to catch sight of us.”
“Got it,” Will replied. “Lead the way.”
The children ran down the trail. At first, it was easy going since it was flat but, as the path headed up the mountain and it became steeper, they had to slow down.
Puffing and panting, they struggled to go fast, so much so that they had to take a small break. Then, after a few minutes rest, they continued up the trail.
After climbing up the trail for half an hour, they finally reached the top. As Will peered down the mountain, he spotted two figures far below them. “Look! Down there! That must be Chang and his companion.”
“I wonder how they got down there without a trail,” Amy said.
“Well, we’ll find out,” Joe said. “Come on, there’s no time to waste.”
As Joe walked down the other side of the mountain, the others followed him. The following half hour was very tiring for all four children. Even when they reached the bottom of the mountain, they still had to follow the two Chinese men since there weren’t any buildings of any kind to be seen.
Finally, after another ten minutes, they saw the two men come to a halt beside a cabin. As they got closer they saw that a small plane had been parked in a nearby clearing.
As Chang called out, a man emerged from the cabin. Fortunately, the children were able to hide behind some nearby trees and thus weren’t in any danger of being seen.
The men clearly had no fear of being heard or seen as they talked loudly to one another. However, the children couldn’t understand a single word that was being said since the men were speaking Chinese.
Will sighed. “Chang must be planning to fly out of the country. That’s why the plane is here. Which means that by the time the farmer alerts the police and they start searching this area, the plane, along with Chang and the crown jewels, will be long gone.”
“Even if we went to the border patrol right now it would still take some time,” Joe admitted. “But maybe if…” He paused as Chang climbed into the plane with the rucksack and reappeared a few moments later without it.
Then the three men left the machine and walked towards the cabin. Half a minute later, they disappeared inside the building.
Joe quickly turned to the others. “We still have a chance. If we act right now, we can get the crown jewels back.”
“But the men could exit the cabin any second,” Sarah argued. “For all we know, they could just have returned to the cabin to get something.”
“Or they could be having a drink to celebrate,” Will suggested. “Or even trying to make radio contact with whoever sent them on this mission. Either way, this is the last chance we have to get the jewels. I just hope I’m fast enough.”
Before any of the others could comprehend what Will was about to do, he leapt up and ran towards the plane.
Chapter 13: Zakova
The three children watched anxiously, glancing back and forth between the cabin and the plane as the seconds ticked by.
Time seemed to stand still for the next few seconds and then, finally, Will emerged from the aircraft with the rucksack in his hand. Not until he was beside the others, and out of view of the cabin, did everyone relax.
“Are you sure the crown jewels are in here?” Joe asked.
“I didn’t examine the contents,” Will admitted. “Let’s do it now.” He emptied the contents onto the grass.
As Amy saw the royal crown, she smiled. “These are definitely the crown jewels.”
Joe nodded as he saw the necklace, the sceptre, and other small trinkets. “Yes, it looks like everything is here.”
“Put them back. We need to get out of here.” Will held the top of the rucksack wide open while the others piled the jewels back into it.
“The border guards are going to be in for a surprise when they see this lot,” Sarah said.
Will hoisted the rucksack onto his back but paused as Joe suddenly grabbed his arm. “Wait! What will happen when Chang notices that the rucksack is missing?”
“He’ll think someone has stolen the jewels,” Will replied.
“And therefore he’ll fly away in the plane so whoever stole the rucksack doesn’t have time to return with police,” Joe said. “And that will be the last we will see of Chang.”
“Good,” Sarah said. “I’ve seen enough of him to last a lifetime.”
“But what if we could catch him as well as getting the jewels back?” Joe questioned.
Amy frowned. “What are you suggesting?”
“Well, if we made it seem as though the jewels are still in the plane, Chang might not leave the country,” Joe explained. “For all we know, he might let the other man take the crown jewels
and then he and other man might return to the van. If that happens, the police can arrest him.”
“But how can the crown jewels be in two places at once?” Sarah questioned. “Either we have them or they have them.”
Joe nodded. “Yes, but we could put the crown jewels into my rucksack and then put rocks into Chang’s rucksack, and then put that rucksack back in the plane. Therefore, when the men emerge from the cabin and enter the plane, they would see the rucksack and assume the crown jewels are still in it. There’s a chance that one of the men may examine them before they depart and therefore discover them missing, but that’s a risk we have to take.”
“I agree with Joe,” Amy said. “It’s worth a try.”
“Well, let’s be quick about it,” Will said. “The men could reappear any second.”
The children quickly found enough rocks to fill the rucksack and, as Will went to put the rucksack with the rocks back into the plane, Joe took the rucksack that had the crown jewels in it and put it on his back. “You stay here while I find the border patrol or a passing police vehicle. If the plane flies off without Chang, follow him.”
“Good luck!” Amy said.
As Joe ran as fast as he could in the direction from which they had come, Will arrived back from the plane. Once the girls filled him in on what Joe had said, he nodded. “That’s a good idea. These two trees don’t offer much protection from being seen so we should find somewhere else to hide so we can hear if the men do notice that the jewels are missing, but not so close that they spot us.”
It didn’t take long to find the perfect spot for there was a cluster of thick bushes which were growing beside a stream. They provided the perfect cover and the children had a clear view of the cabin as well as the plane. As the minutes passed, the children hoped that Joe would get back with the police in time before anything happened.
However, this was not to be the case as, five minutes later, Chang emerged from the cabin and walked towards the aircraft.
Will hoped that Chang wouldn’t examine the jewels. But this hope was quickly dashed as the man yelled out a few seconds after entering the plane. He rushed out of the plane and met up with his companions who had exited the cabin on hearing his yells. There was an argument between the three men which lasted for several minutes.
Suddenly, Sarah sneezed. It was the worst possible time for this to happen since there was a small break in the argument.
As the three men spun around and looked towards the bushes, Will shouted. “Run!”
Almost immediately, the men spotted the children running away and gave chase. Unable to run as fast as the men, all three were caught within a matter of minutes.
As the men lined the children up against the plane, Chang gazed angrily at them. “Who stole my crown jewels?”
“They’re not your crown jewels!” Will retorted. “They belong to King Otto. We were just stealing them back.”
“So you admit you stole them!” Chang shouted angrily.
Will nodded. “Yes, but we hid them, so you’ll never find them.”
Chang frowned. “Where’s the other boy?”
“What other boy?” Will replied, knowing quite well that Chang was talking about Joe, but not wanting to admit it to the man.
Chang glanced at his companions. “Find the boy. He must have the crown jewels.”
“But he could be anywhere by now,” one of the other men protested.
“We’re not leaving without the jewels and that’s final,” Chang yelled. “So split up. We’ll cover more ground that way and…” He frowned as he caught sight of two cars approaching. As the cars turned in their direction, his eyes flashed with rage. “It’s the police!”
“Let’s get out of here!” one of the other men shouted. “The jewels are no use to us if we’re caught.”
“I’m not leaving empty handed.” Chang glared at the children. “I know! We’ll take these children instead.”
“What!” Amy yelled. “You can’t kidnap us.”
Chang took no notice of her protest and pushed her inside the aircraft as the other two men did the same with Will and Sarah. “I kidnapped you once, I’m kidnapping you again. However, you’re not going to escape like last time. This time, you’re going to be locked up in the deepest dungeon you can ever imagine.”
Amy shivered. She most definitely didn’t like the sound of that.
The other men quickly climbed aboard the plane and, as one of them sat down in the pilot’s seat and started the engine, the two police cars roared to a halt beside the aircraft. However, just as one of the officers climbed out, Chang opened fire with his pistol.
As bullets clanged against the metal of the vehicle, the officers knelt behind their cars to avoid being hit.
The plane taxied down the field for roughly a minute before the pilot pulled back on the controls and the plane zoomed up into the air.
As the aircraft levelled out, Chang turned to the children. “You’d better settle in. We’re going to be flying for quite a while.”
“Where are you taking us?” Will asked.
“Zakova,” Chang replied.
“Where is that?” Amy questioned.
“It’s where I’ve been living since I escaped from prison after you got me locked up,” Chang replied. “It’s also a stronghold of the Golden Dragons, so don’t even think about escaping because that’s not even going to be an option.”
~
As soon as Joe saw Constable Lubic exit the police station, he rushed over to him. “Have they spotted the plane yet?”
The man shook his head. “No. It hasn’t been picked up by radar either, which means it’s very unlikely we’ll see any sign of it.”
Joe sighed. “It’s all my fault. I was the one who suggested the others stay behind. If only we had all taken the jewels and headed for the border patrol.”
“You had no way of knowing Chang would take the others as hostages,” Lubic stated.
As Joe followed the police officer to his car and climbed in, he sighed. “Does anyone have any idea where the plane might have flown to?”
Constable Lubic nodded as he started the engine and drove down the road. “Yes, the border patrol guards have a pretty good idea where the plane was flying to and my superior also thinks the same way.”
“Are they going to go after them and rescue the others when the plane lands?” Joe asked.
Lubic shook his head. “No.”
“Why not?” Joe questioned. “If they know where the plane is going—”
“That’s precisely why they’re not doing anything,” Lubic interrupted.
Joe frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s headed to Zakova,” Lubic replied.
“Zakova? The country north of here?” Joe asked. “Why?”
“Because Zakova is where Chang lived before he came to Monrovia and it’s the headquarters of the Golden Dragons,” Lubic explained.
Chapter 14: Eagle’s Nest
As the plane touched down on a small country airport and taxied to a stop, Chang ordered the children to climb out.
Once they had done so, the Chinese man led the way towards an old bus that was parked in the nearest hanger. As the other two men walked behind the children, there was no chance of an escape of any kind so the children had no choice but to follow Chang.
Upon reaching the red bus, one of the men climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine. After a few false starts, it roared to life. As the man drove out of the airport, Chang and the other man sat on either side of the door.
Realizing there was still no chance of an escape, Joe sighed and gazed out of the window. The countryside looked very similar to Monrovia. However, the people didn’t seem as happy or as lively. They were mostly dressed in clothes which were dark and shabby looking.
The whole atmosphere in the village seemed depressing and everyone kept to themselves as they walked along.
When a vehicle approached from the other direction with fo
ur uniformed men inside, the villagers hurried as fast as they could away from the road.
As the vehicle passed them, Will noticed a symbol on the arms of the men. It was a picture of a golden dragon. He then realised why the villagers were running away. They were scared of the soldiers.
After leaving the village, the bus passed a large lake that had a small island in the middle of it. Just behind it was a tall hill. On top of the hill was a castle.
Chang pointed to the majestic structure. “That is Eagle’s Nest, which is where you’ll be spending the next few days, weeks, or maybe months. It just depends on how co-operative your friends are.”
The children were silent as the bus headed up the winding road and, as it did so, they caught sight of a cable car travelling from the castle to the village.
A few moments later, the bus arrived at the entrance to the castle. The big gate creaked open and the bus drove through. As the vehicle clanked to a stop in the massive courtyard, the children were led out.
Chang took a look around at the castle walls before gazing intently at the children. “You’d better take a look up at the sky because that’s the last you’re going to see of it for some time.”
“You can’t keep us locked up forever!” Sarah cried out.
“Not forever,” Chang said. “In fact, I’d be happy to let you go tomorrow. It just comes down to how willing King Otto is. You see, the reason I wanted the crown jewels is because I was going to use them as a ransom for the return of Mr Ming, who is still a prisoner in Monrovia. But since I no longer have the jewels, I will exchange you three for Mr Ming.”
“But what happens if the king doesn’t agree to your terms?” Sarah asked.
“Then I suppose you’ll be staying in the dungeons of Eagle’s Nest forever.” Chang laughed, and then he glanced towards the two men. “Let’s show them their new home.”
~
By the time Constable Lubic had dropped Joe off at the farmhouse, Christo was resting in the living room. After Joe had told him and Nadia everything that the officer had told him, they confirmed his worst fears.
Just like the officer, they thought that Chang would have flown to Zakova and, if that was the case, it would be virtually impossible to rescue the others.
