by P. S. Power
“We need to get him before that, if we can. Agreed though. We won’t let this go unavenged, if we fail. Let’s not do that though. Do you know where he is, right now?” The words were a bit curt sounding, though he winced as soon as they were out. Instead of being annoyed outwardly at the tone, Cindy nodded.
“They used overland conveyance, but magical ones. Tam-cars. They’re about two hundred miles away from County Ward now. Heading toward a small town, called Darrow, which is along the coast to the north, in Printer County. The plan is to put in there for the evening. They can’t drive well at night, since they don’t have headlights. No streetlights in most places, either. That gives us a chance to work out where they are and take them. The count didn’t come himself, of course. There are eight men in the kidnapping group. None of them have raped Georges yet, though it looks like at least one of them has plans for that, later tonight, after they make camp. We might want to hurry, given that.” She sounded almost bored by the idea of preventing a rape.
Then, she wasn’t that worked up about most of the situation, so it fit. Flying off at every problem in the world wasn’t what made someone a good leader. Being calm and focused tended to help a lot more in the long run. That was what Richard tried to reflect in life, for the most part.
Timon pulled his handheld out and of all things tapped it until it showed a map. Turning it, he pointed at what was probably a name on it, in letters that Richard couldn’t read.
“There, that’s Darrow. We can go in and get him, then, if we know where they will be. Are we raiding or should we stop to get permission first? There are dangers to both. Mainly in that taking an armed force into a land or county without permission, even on a rescue mission, is an act of war. On the other hand, it’s hard to say no to someone if you don’t know they are there.”
Richard wasn’t up on the rules there, so looked at the man closely. Trying to read which plan was actually better.
“What are the odds of being told no or being given the run around until it’s too late?”
The tall, slightly rugged looking man looked back at him, rather frankly.
“Truly, if we have Ambassador Mableton’s name on this, then King Richard will go along with it easily enough. He’s too deeply in her debt not to use something like this as partial repayment. As for Countess Printer… Well, all we can do there is ask. I don’t know what her response will be at all, but my guess is that she won’t want to aid Count Holder all that much. They don’t get along. We should ask first. Of course, if we do that, then go in without such, it will be known who did it.”
Richard nodded then, understanding the basic set up.
“I see, I think. So, I need to get in touch with these people, as quickly as possible. How do I do that?” It was interesting, but while two people dug out hand held devices and put names into them instantly, it was Timon that looked at Richard closely.
Then, before anyone could pick up, his own phone on the glass topped table still, showing a map that looked modern and in multiple colors, he smiled, rather grimly.
“You, personally, plan to ask permission, in your own right. Then, if they say no, you can lead a force in and take the blame for the action on your own shoulders?”
Everyone looked over at him then, though Cindy and Lydia both nodded gently, as if understanding the idea.
Tor gasped a bit.
“I can’t let you…” An image came onto the screen then, of a nice-looking redheaded man, who had swarthy skin of a type that normally wasn’t seen with that kind of hair color. Very blue eyes as well.
The image appearing was enough to get Tor to stop speaking, which happened suddenly.
“Hey, Alphonse. There’s a problem. A man has been kidnapped. Cindy Mableton found him and his captors, but we need to go and get him now, before he’s raped, if at all possible. They’re in Printer, he was taken from the Dowager Ward’s estate. Her man, Georges. Count Holder sent men to do it.”
There was a shocked look, then the sounds of motion as he moved, the screen, that little window to a different place, not blurring as it shook. Meaning to make that effect happen it had to take place in the mind of the viewer, which had Tor looking away a bit.
After a moment, a new face showed up and the first red head spoke to a second one, who was suddenly in front of them. Upside down, though it was probably King Richard, given who had been called in the first place.
“Father, a man has been taken from County Ward. A servant of the Dowager there, Martha Ward. Her top servant, Georges. Ambassador Mableton and her people have located him and his captors. They’re willing to go in to protect the man, but need fast passage, if he’s to be left with virtue intact.”
The second man with his phone out had a woman come up on it. She spoke differently than the others had.
Probably because it wasn’t in English at all. After half a moment, translations came up in front of his eyes, so that he could read along with what was being said.
“Ruel? To what do I owe the pleasure tonight?”
The man grinned, his face looking a little wild.
“Hey, Holly. We have a report from some short blonde woman and her tiny friends about the whereabouts of a man kidnapped from Ward a little bit ago. They used ground craft to make good time and are all the way up into Printer. Planning to stop for the night, once darkness comes. That won’t be for a while there. You heard about that? They should be stopping around Darrow, if we have it right.”
The woman looked baffled for a second, then simply looked over at Cindy.
“You have Ambassador Mableton there? I did hear about the kidnapping. Georges was taken. You have full leave to enter my county to rescue him. Any word as to how many of you will be under arms for that?”
The big man let his head move back and forth.
“There are eight of us here. We might have a few more. Call it… Twelve, all told? No more than that.”
Holly, whoever she was, simply took a deep breath.
Leave granted. I’ll meet you near Darrow, by…” Paper rustled for a few moments, then there was the sound of someone tapping on a wooden desk top. “By the old broken mill. That’s about two miles outside of the town, on the north. We can all be there in… Two hours? It won’t be dark too early, this time of year.”
The big man smiled then.
“See, this is why I love you best, Holly. You not only say for us to save the man, you make plans to help us do it. At the old mill then, in two hours. I’ll call if anything else comes up.”
That conversation was finished at about the same time that King Richard made a hard face.
“Do it. We should try to avoid starting a conflict with Printer. Things haven’t been truly smooth in that area for a while. Countess Printer was in on the last rebellion, I fear.”
Lydia moved in a bit then, nearly on top of Tor, pushing in alongside of him.
“Countess Printer just gave her permission for us to go in. I think she’s planning to go in with us herself. Does that mean we can do this?” She seemed slightly uncertain, though that was clearly an act.
The king of what amounted to North America nodded then.
“Line Walker Lydia? I wasn’t aware you were there. Who, if it’s all right to know, is attending this rescue mission?”
Cindy moved forward then, bowing as she stopped. That meant Richard bowed as well. Interestingly, Dareg Canton did that as well, as did Tor and Lydia. The others all sat there, looking at them like they were being goofy. No one said anything about it, since you didn’t, when it came to bowing.
“We have Brian Yi, Denis Thompkins, Kerry Yoder, Line Walker Lydia, Baron Ruel Havar, Tor Baker, Tim Baker and Tiera Baker, so far. We should add someone from there. How about your Ancient, Sam Builder?” She smiled when she spoke the words, even though the king’s eyes went wide then.
“That…” He glanced, his eyes darting on the phone, as he looked first at Tor, then the others there. “Perhaps I should go myself? I was going to say tha
t I wouldn’t want to risk the Ancient of Noram to such a task, but there are three already present there. More than that. You’re an Ancient, are you not, Ambassador Mableton?”
The woman smiled then.
“Everyone here is, by the way you count things. That isn’t important, really. This is more about making a showing than anything else. Still, yes, you should come. Alone. Perhaps with a pilot? You can do that part for us, since Darrow won’t have a transportation box, being so small. We’ll meet at the old mill north of Darrow, in County Printer, in two hours.”
The man, looking more than a little bit annoyed, bowed at the waist and cut the line immediately. Richard figured that was his way of telling them to stuff their heads up their own behinds, thank you very much. It was, after all, what the man should have said to them, even if he was going to be more polite than that.
Cindy spoke almost instantly.
“He’s in with us on it. The trick will be getting away from his guards. He can order them to stand down but there will be arguing over it, even if he is the king. Plus, he needs to call a craft in, since he doesn’t know how to pilot one himself. It should work. That’s enough of a team, I think. I mean, given that any one of us could probably go in and take care of this on our own. Including King Richard. Now… how are you going to get Georges back from eight armed and armored men, Lydia?”
Everyone smiled at the words, at least until Richard nodded. Then the mood in the room sobered a good bit.
“Right. You’re on point for this one. It’s literally life and death. So, what’s the plan, boss?”
Then, as if it were settled, everyone there just looked at the young seeming woman, and waited for her answer.
Chapter three
There were two things to recall when working with Lydia. The first was that she wasn’t just a fifteen, nearly sixteen, year old girl. She was also a line walker, which meant that she’d spent nearly a thousand years training for that specific job. It didn’t age her, and from what Richard could tell it didn’t cause people to instantly become more mature, past the point of learning to control their thoughts.
The second was that the young lady wanted more responsibility in life. She had powers and years of effort behind her, so was chomping at the bit to be considered an adult.
Which didn’t mean she was a military strategist.
Her voice showed that one, almost instantly, sounding nearly as wry as Gillian had earlier.
“Um… Okay, the first thing I have to do as commander would be to point out that I’m not the best person for the job. I mainly answer the phone and take people around to different realities.”
Richard was about to back his crew member up, walking her through what was needed, even though her realization of skill or lack thereof was salient and on point. The large man, Baron Havar, managed to speak first.
“Exactly. That doesn’t mean you aren’t in charge here, anyway. Simply that you are intelligent. What do you do about it, lacking such knowledge?” The words were in Standard but helpfully there were still subtitles for it, provided by Cindy.
Rather than fold under pressure, Lydia nodded a few times, her entire demeanor shifting as she focused on a level that few would be able to ever manage.
“We need information, first. What are the capabilities of the kidnappers? How are they armed and armored? How is the target being held? Cindy, can you get that for us? We also need to know if their plan changes. They intend to camp in a specific place, that doesn’t mean it will happen that way.”
Rather than get uppity or angry at being asked to work, which wasn’t how Mableton rolled most days, she simply nodded.
“Let me get that. I can’t tell the future but I can go over what is going on right now. I’ll run a live feed on that.”
The big, muscular and fit seeming fellow, Ruel, nodded a bit. What he didn’t do was tell her to go on. Lydia did that on her own.
“Then… We need to make sure we’re all armed and have shields on. The best available. We have some people that have abilities that no one here is ready for, so we should plan on using them for the specific recovery. Kerry and Denis. Den can just put the attackers to sleep. Their shields won’t stop that kind of thing, or at least haven’t been able to in the past. Then Kerry can float the target away. That way we’ll be able to limit risk. After that…” She stopped, her mouth turning slightly to the left, rather cutely. Little furrows appeared between her eyes at the same time.
Then she didn’t speak for a moment. Everyone watched her, instead of interrupting.
“The rest of us need to stand by, not far away. I want a guard for both Kerry and Denis, in case things go sideways on us. Um… The rest of us will be needed to go in and take them prisoner. After that… Well, we need to find out what they know and prove it. Past that I don’t have any idea what will be needed by the laws here. The real problem is with this Count Holder.”
She shrugged, which got a slow nod from the tall woman at the table. Tiera Baker.
“That sounds… Workable, for a starting point. Your friends are willing to aid us in this? We shouldn’t presume. How are they to be paid for their efforts?” There was a slow nod from all four at the table, even though they had to know that no one from the IPB was going to insist on things like that.
Not even Richard was that petty.
He smiled then, only with his lips, since it was a serious situation.
“They were left behind to rest and get ready. All of them are already in. For that matter we could bring in another twenty or so people, at need. I agree with Mableton here in that we don’t really need that. We will need some way to restrain the kidnappers. Do you have handcuffs or… Shackles of some sort?” Richard didn’t even know who to ask about that. Lydia could go back to the base and dig something up, he didn't doubt.
Timon Baker made a soft sound then.
“The guard station here will have some. Largely unused. We don’t really have crime on Harmony. Everyone walks around with a shield on all the time, by law. Really, we need to get you set up that way now. We can’t get weapons at the magic shop. Tor, do you have anything like that? I have my personal gear… Not much else.”
Everyone looked at the tall, far too pretty man. There was a slow movement of his shoulders.
“I can get some. Or make them, if we need. Air chokes and force lances? We can bring explosive weapons and cutters in as well.” That was addressed to Lydia, since she was the one in charge, even if she looked young.
Then, she wasn’t and most of the people there barely looked older than she was. Only Cindy and Ruel seemed to be out of their teens at all. A thing that the people there seemed willing to understand, without acting like it was a big deal. In short, they were instantly backing their new crew, without hesitation of note. Given the tight time frame for the recovery operation, that was nice to see, he had to admit.
Not that he loved that part of things. A new team working together without practice wasn’t optimal at all. That wasn’t something that could be helped at the moment, either.
Standing still, Lydia nodded.
“Get those, please. We need to learn how to use those, that means the people that already have that down will have to go in for that. Um… Okay, for now we’ll have the people from here stand back with those, while one of us moves in to restrain the downed men. I’ll do that part.”
No one told her it was a silly plan or that they had others there who were better suited for it. That was true, but Lydia was in charge and taking a certain amount of the risk was part of doing that kind of thing. It showed that she wasn’t willing to ask more of other people than she was herself. Within reason, that was a good trait.
Tor stood, a few minutes later, and walked away. Without mentioning where he was going or when he’d be back. Ruel glared a bit at his back, but didn't say anything about what he was thinking. Cindy started speaking then.
“The plan is still the same. They’re planning to stop on the south side of Darrow. It is
n’t a specific camp site or anything, just a location that’s in a general area. Away from the town there by enough that no one would normally see them. We won’t know where they’ll stop exactly until they do it.”
That was probably just the truth. Still, Richard had to allow that having even that much information would allow them to be close by when they finally made their decision. As he thought about it, not talking, since it wasn’t his job to be in charge for the moment, Tor came back in. Floating in the air, about four inches above the floor. Moving fast.
The man held out his right hand, settled to the floor and bowed. Toward Lydia. For the first time, everyone else didn’t do it at the same time. Probably because he was presenting a handful of small tiles that had magics on them. They glowed on the fronts, and had hemp strings on them at least, which meant that magic could be expected, as far as Richard knew.
Lydia bowed back and accepted the incredible and magical things. That took using both her hands, since there had to be nearly two dozen of the tiles. They weren’t huge, but it made a handful or two for the smallish woman.
“Thanks, Wizard Baker. I’ll need you to show me what each thing is.” She smiled at the words at least, which had Tor doing the same thing.
“Here… Everyone needs a shield and an air choke. Force lance… I didn’t bring any explosives, well… I have one on me. I know that the rest of us, here at the table have those.” He looked away, as if it were a huge slight, not providing something called that to strangers.
Even if they were on the same team, you didn’t hand a rocket launcher to someone that didn't have a clue how to use it. Richard nodded as Tor handed him several things, not making eye contact.
“What do these do?”
That, it seemed, was a lot, considering they didn’t have time to learn how to use it.
Tiera took over, holding up one of the things first, pulling it from around her own neck.
“The shields will protect you from most weapons. They’re weak to mental effects, which I think is your point in having your man Denis placing people to sleep, Line Walker Lydia? That’s a good plan, if the kidnappers have them, which we have to assume, these days. We can also turn them off at a distance, at need. You can use the shields to fly, or…” She stopped then and shook her head, saying something in Standard which wasn’t translated instantly.